School-based Practice Research Articles

School-based curriculum′s development and construction for 'Nursing occupational quality and competence’

Objective To explore the nursing occupational quality and ability of school-based curriculum development and practice and improve the comprehensive quality of nurses continually. Methods We surveyed and set up development leading group, wrote outline and teaching design, compiled school-based teaching materials and organized teaching activities. Results In 2010, students in Grade Three had to chose this course as compulsory course. Over the four years since developed the nursing course of 'Occupational quality and competence’, 378 students (94.5%) of the total 400 students participated in study believed this course was necessary to set up. Conclusions While build the high nursing education course system, it is feasible, practical and necessary to develop and improve the nurses′ quality and competence by the course. Therefore, it is suggested to promote this course in different level nursing education of hospital schools. Key words: Bachelor education of nursing; Occupational quality; Professional ability; School-based curriculum

Teaching Interprofessional Collaboration: Using Online Education Across Institutions

ABSTRACTInterdisciplinary courses among students in occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology are important for addressing teamwork, communication, and understanding of professional roles, especially in pre-service training for early intervention and school-based practice where collaboration is essential. Although interprofessional education (IPE) as a part of higher education in the health sciences has been strongly encouraged, IPE courses are difficult to schedule and implement. This article discusses the challenges of developing and delivering two IPE courses in an online format, specifically the innovation that addresses logistics, time factors, and social presence for the IPE courses across two institutions.

Exploring and challenging pupil disaffection: an evaluation of a motivational interviewing-based intervention delivered by paraprofessionals

Research suggests motivational interviewing (MI) techniques can be useful in educational settings for improving motivation in disaffected pupils. This exploratory mixed methods study sought to investigate whether implementing an MI-based programme through school-based paraprofessionals would be effective in improving pupil motivation. Five pupils identified as disaffected took part in five sessions of a MI-based intervention delivered by paraprofessionals within one high school setting. All of the pupils completed pre- and post-intervention measures of school-based motivation. The paraprofessionals involved in programme delivery took part in pre-intervention training; and post-intervention were given an opportunity to express their views about the usefulness of the programme and practicalities of implementation during a focus group. Results showed that although the paraprofessionals expressed positive views about the effectiveness of the intervention, these observations were not necessarily supported by quantitative outcomes relating to pupils’ self-reported school-based motivation. Implications for the delivery of MI-based interventions as an individual approach for school-based practice are discussed.

A Case Review: Reframing School-Based Practices Using a Critical Perspective

ABSTRACTIt is well established in the literature that school-based practice is fraught with challenges such as acquisition of appropriate and sufficient resources, communication barriers among professionals, parental burden, and redundancies and gaps in services. The purpose of this perspective paper is to reframe potentially problematic school-based practices using a critical social science perspective, suggesting a vision and strategies for therapists working in the context of school-based practice. We illustrate our approach with a case example. To reframe school-based practices, we begin with Jill's case, exploring it through a critical lens to identify potential issues and opportunities for change. We then trace these findings to our larger dataset from an ongoing program of research to ensure relevance to the broader context of school-based practice. Reframing of three school-based practice issues is discussed from: (a) advocacy by proxy to collaborative dialogue, (b) governing texts to guiding texts, and (c) playing the “right” part to having a voice. Although this is a perspective paper based on a case exemplar, we posit how we may reframe and rethink school-based practices in pediatric rehabilitation. We suggest that only with a genuine shift in our professional values will we see the enactment of collaborative practice in school-based settings.

Physical Therapists’ Perceptions of School-Based Practices

ABSTRACTAims: Surveys have reported that most school-based physical therapists perceive ideal practices are not commonly implemented in their settings. Our aim was to obtain a more in-depth understanding of these perceptions through open-ended inquiry. Methods: Qualitative data were derived from voluntary open-ended responses provided upon completion of a survey regarding school-based physical therapy practice. Of the survey's 561 participants, 250 provided open-ended commentaries that were analyzed using interpretive phenomenology. Results: Six qualitative themes emerged from the open-ended responses, including: In quest: Meeting students’ school-based needs via physical therapy; Seeking relatedness: Finding working teams in the school system; Building understanding: Developing a voice/identity in the school context; Stretched beyond limits: Managing workloads; Networking: Coordinating services outside school to meet student needs; Defying definition: What does working in an educational model mean? Conclusions: School-based physical therapists seek to meet educationally relevant physical therapy needs of students, ages 3 to 21 years. Successes appear woven of a multitude of factors such as therapist expertise, team dynamics, and district supports.

Between education and psychology: school staff perspectives

When discussing contributions from psychology in/to educational practices like school-based mental health promotion, it is peculiar that psychologists (of an educational or clinical kind) or education-oriented sociologists, both not often based in schools or classrooms, dominate the topic. It has been acknowledged that school staff have been over looked and underutilised in contributing to the discussion, particularly as this pertains to sharing perspectives on how they experience their role in relationship to education policy and practice. The study presented here looked to address this situation by seeking the perspectives of school staff on a range of concerns situated at the nexus between education and psychology. Contrary to the type of displaced assessment intimated above, this group of school staff generally accepts they perform a crucial task in supporting students, their main concern being to incisively question how they might negotiate existing role-related pressures to better current school-based practice.

The Challenges Never Stop! Two Decades of Reaching for the Best in Clinical Practice

The University of South Carolina Professional Development School (USC PDS) Network has been engaged in designing and redesigning school–university partnerships for more than 20 years with a focus on ensuring that school-based practice lies at the heart of candidate preparation. In 2012–2013, the USC PDS Network once again reexamined their program design to identify and build upon those elements that have proven successful. This article shares the journey and lessons learned in the evolution of the USC PDS Network, including the results of the most recent reexamination. The focus is on challenges inherent in the creation of effective school–university collaboration and insights into key components of success, including relationship building, leadership and administrative support, sense of purpose, organizational structures, and adaptability to change.

Medication-Related Practice Roles: An Ethical and Legal Primer for School Psychologists

Given the prevalence of school-age children and adolescents who are prescribed with and are taking psychotropic medications, a critical issue that school psychologists may likely encounter in contemporary practice is providing both quality and continuity of care to these students in the context of relevant legal and ethical parameters. With a thorough understanding of federal, state, and local legislation, relevant case law, and ethical standards, school psychologists are well positioned to competently navigate these situations in school-based practice. This article highlights critical practice roles for school psychologists to undertake in working with students who are prescribed with and are taking psychotropic medications within the school setting.

IPad Apps in Early Intervention and School-Based Practice

The use of iPads as a therapeutic tool in occupation al therapy practice has become increasingly prominent in helping children with disabilities (Amerih, 2013). The iPad, along with various applica...

Commentary on “Nationwide Survey of School-Based Physical Therapy Practice”

Commentary on “Nationwide Survey of School-Based Physical Therapy Practice”

Expanding School-Based Problem-Solving Teams to Include Occupational Therapists

This study described the perspectives of school-based occupational therapists working with problem-solving teams in response to intervention (RtI) initiatives. Ten therapists were interviewed about their participation in RtI. Data analysis revealed four major themes: (1) “They Don't Really Know What I Do”; (2) “Can You Take a Quick Look at this Kid?”; (3) “What Does It Really Look Like?”; and (4) “Where is Participation Inhibited?” The results of this study suggest that occupational therapists need to advocate for an expanded role in school-based practice in order to fully contribute to problem-solving teams in RtI.

Towards a new era of character education in theory and in practice

The authors use a Bourdieuean framework of “legitimating principles” and the “symbolic capital” of dominant “discursive themes” to explore (a) the genealogy and (b) the current state of the discourse on “character education” (understood broadly as any approach to moral education that foregrounds the cultivation of moral character and moral virtue). After tracing the genealogy of the legitimating principles for the cultivation of pupils’ characters, from the “sinful pupils” of the eighteenth century to the “flourishing pupils” at the beginning of the twenty-first, the authors argue that although the battle for the symbolic capital of character education may be winning at the theoretical level and the level of empirical school-based practice, there is still a battle for legitimating principles that needs to be won – and which has barely begun – at institutional levels. Research findings and academic advances in current character education need to be adapted to the language used in official policy. To achieve that aim, character educationists must act as “knowledge brokers”, repackaging information in an effective way to legitimate changes in teacher training and educational policy.

School-Based Groups to Support Multiethnic Sexual Minority Youth Resiliency: Preliminary Effectiveness

Sexual minority youth (SMY) face multiple challenges as a result of their marginalized sexual and/or gender identities, yet evidence informed programs for the population are absent from the literature. This study describes the pilot research efforts of affirmative supportive safe and empowering talk (ASSET), the first LGBTQ affirmative school-based group counseling intervention created specifically to promote resiliency. In a pilot uncontrolled trial, multiethnic SMY (n = 263) completed measures of self-esteem, social connectedness, and proactive coping at baseline and following completion of the ASSET intervention. Post-intervention analysis using general linear modeling suggests that self-esteem and proactive coping increased significantly across all subgroups, while social connectedness remained constant. ASSET holds promise to enhance the resiliency of SMY in school-based practice settings. Further research should address the effect of ASSET participation on measures of risk and resiliency, and compare outcomes across multiple group interventions. Language: en

School-based telerehabilitation in occupational therapy: using telerehabilitation technologies to promote improvements in student performance.

This article discusses the use of telerehabilitation technologies in occupational therapy for school-based practice. Telerehabilitation, for the purpose of this program, included the implementation of occupational therapy services via two-way interactive videoconferencing technology. The subjects included in this pilot program were children, ages 6 to 11 years, who attended an online charter school and had difficulties in the areas of fine motor and/or visual motor skills which impacted success with handwriting. Each participant completed a virtual evaluation and six 30-minute intervention sessions. The Print Tool™ Assessment was used to determine progress pre- and post-program. A learning coach/student satisfaction survey was given at the end of the program to determine participant satisfaction. Outcomes revealed improvements in handwriting performance for most students who participated in the program and high satisfaction rates reported by all participants.

A Review of Research on School Bullying Among African American Youth: An Ecological Systems Analysis

School bullying and peer victimization are social problems that affect African American youth across various environmental contexts. Regrettably, many of the empirical research on bullying and peer victimization among African American youth has examined individual and direct level influences in silos rather than a constellation of factors occurring in multiple settings, such as home, school, and neighborhood. As a holistic model, the social–ecological framework provides a context with which to situate and interpret findings and draw implications from a broader psychosocial framework, which can be applicable across various systems. We utilize Bronfenbrenner’s (American Psychologist 32:513–531, 1977) social–ecological framework as a springboard for investigating the accumulation of risk contributors and the presences of protective factors in relation to school bullying and peer victimization of African American youth. More specifically, we examine the risk and protective factors occurring in the micro- (i.e., parents, peers, school, and community), exo- (i.e., parental stress), and macrosystem levels (i.e., hypermasculinity, and gender role beliefs and stereotypes). We then discuss implications for research and school-based practice.

Exploring the Utility of a Novel Knowledge Translation Tool for School-Based Occupational Therapists

Statement of context: Occupational therapists may have difficulty using evidence from systematic reviews. Critical reflection on practice: The use of Summary of Findings (SoFs) tables of systematic reviews, sent via email, was explored in two focus groups with six occupational therapists at a school-based practice. Descriptive content analysis was used. Summary: Participants voiced typical barriers to the use of evidence and said that SoFs were helpful. They felt that SoFs were easy to use, understandable, and increased awareness of research and gaps. Some reported difficulty understanding statistics. Participants believed that they would think about applying the evidence in future. Key message: SoFs via email to school-based occupational therapists may be a useful format to disseminate evidence.

School-Based Occupational Therapy Practice: Perceptions and Realities of Current Practice and the Role of Occupation

The purpose of this study was to explore how school-based occupational therapists describe current practice including the role of occupation. Participants included 16 occupational therapists currently practicing in the schools. Data were collected via an interview. The methodology used in this study was a mixed qualitative design based on multiple-case study analysis and grounded theory. The participant interviews were analyzed for themes. The results indicate that school-based practitioners have a high level of satisfaction with their job. Participants report a belief that the natural context of the school supports occupation, and occupation is a strong influence during the intervention process as well as the overall daily practice of the school-based practitioner. Teams are also reported to strongly influence current practice.

Family-Centered Principles Implemented in Home-Based, Clinic-Based, and School-Based Pediatric Settings

The goal of this study was to determine whether pediatric occupational therapy practitioners implemented family-centered principles in their practice. Twenty-eight occupational therapy practitioners were interviewed in three practice settings: home based, clinic based, and school based. A grounded theory approach was used to analyze the results. Responses were compared across respondents and across practice settings. Responses varied among practitioners and, more significantly, practice settings. A continuum of family-centered practice was demonstrated, with home-based practice as the most family centered, school-based practice as the least family centered, and clinic practice varying in between. Occupational therapy practitioners are familiar with most principles of family-centered practice. However, implementation of those principles differs significantly across practice settings.

Preparing Speech-Language Pathology Students for School-Based Practice: The Importance of Graduate Clinical Experiences in Universally Designed Classrooms

Purpose: In this article, I will describe how practicum experiences in universally designed classrooms help prepare speech-language pathology graduate clinicians for the roles and responsibilities of school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs). The article is based on a poster session presented at the ASHA Schools Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin entitled Successful Collaboration: A Communication Enhancement Program in a Universally Designed Classroom (Waller, McChesney, Riehle, & Cook, 2012). Method: Graduate students in speech-language pathology participated in a practicum in a universally designed prekindergarten (pre-K) classroom in an elementary school for 3 months. The students used a 6-item questionnaire with a narrative-response format to identify what they learned from this experience. Conclusions: Providing graduate students in speech-language pathology with clinical opportunities in universally designed classrooms can help prepare these students for working in today's schools. For exampl...

American Academy of Pediatrics. School-Based Health Centers and Pediatric Practice. Pediatrics. 2012;129(2):387–393

American Academy of Pediatrics. School-Based Health Centers and Pediatric Practice. <i>Pediatrics</i>. 2012;129(2):387–393