Going Beyond the Theory/Practice Divide in Early Childhood Education focuses on the use of pedagogical documentation as a tool for learning and transformation. Based on innovative research, the ...author presents new approaches to learning in early childhood education, shifting attention to the force and impact which material objects and artefacts can have in learning. Drawing upon the theories of feminist Karen Barad and philosophers Gille Deleuze and Félix Guattari, Hillevi Lenz Taguchi discusses examples of how pens, paper, clay and construction materials can be understood as active and performative agents, challenging binary divides such as theory/practice, discourse/matter and mind/body in teaching and learning. Numerous examples from practice are explored to introduce an intra-active pedagogy. 'Methodological' strategies for learning with children in preschools, and in teacher education, are brought to the fore. For example:
the neighbourhood around the preschool and children's homes is explored, using drawing and construction-work on the floor;
mathematics is investigated in teacher education, using the body, dance and music to investigate mathematical relationships and problems;
taken-for-granted forms of academic writing are challenged by different forms of praxis- and experience-based writings that transgress the theory/practice divide;
children, students and teacher educators use pedagogical documentation to understand their own learning, and to critique dominant habits of thinking and doing.
Challenging the dominant understanding of ‘inclusion’ in educational contexts, and making ‘difference’ actively visible and positive, this book is rooted in the experiences, practices and words of teachers, teacher educators and student teachers. It will appeal to all those involved in early childhood education and also to those interested in challenging educational thinking and practices.
Hillevi Lenz Taguchi is an Associate Professor at the Department of Education, Stockholm University, Sweden.
Introduction 1. Going beyond the theory/practice and discourse/matter divides 2. Learning and becoming in an onto-epistemology 3. The tool of pedagogical documentation 4. An intra-active pedagogy and its dual movements 5. Transgressing binary practices in Early Childhood Teacher Education 6. The hybrid-writing-process – going beyond the theory/practice divide in academic writing 7. An ethics of immanence and potentialities for early childhood education References
Childhood trauma is a key modifiable risk factor for psychopathology. Despite significant scientific advances, traumatised children still have poorer long‐term outcomes than nontraumatised children. ...New research paradigms are, thus, needed. To this end, the review examines three dominant assumptions about measurement, design and analytical strategies. Current research warns against using prospective and retrospective measures of childhood trauma interchangeably; against interpreting cross‐sectional differences in putative mediating mechanisms between adults with or without a history of childhood trauma as evidence of longitudinal changes from pre‐trauma conditions; and against directly applying explanatory models of resilience or vulnerability to psychopathology in traumatised children to forecast individual risk in unseen cases. The warnings equally apply to research on broader measures of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Further research examining these assumptions can generate new insights on how to prevent childhood trauma and its detrimental effects.
Read the Commentary on this article at doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13195
Beatriz alcubierre Moya, Niños de nadie. Usos de la infancia menesterosa en el contexto borbónico, México, Bonilla artigas editores, Universidad autónoma del estado de Morelos, 2017, 196 pp. ISBN ...978-607-8519-45-3 (uaem), IsBN 978-607-8560-09-7 (Bonilla artigas editores).
Spinal muscular atrophy is an autosomal recessive neuromuscular disorder that is caused by an insufficient level of survival motor neuron (SMN) protein. Nusinersen is an antisense oligonucleotide ...drug that modifies pre-messenger RNA splicing of the SMN2 gene and thus promotes increased production of full-length SMN protein.
We conducted a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, phase 3 efficacy and safety trial of nusinersen in infants with spinal muscular atrophy. The primary end points were a motor-milestone response (defined according to results on the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination) and event-free survival (time to death or the use of permanent assisted ventilation). Secondary end points included overall survival and subgroup analyses of event-free survival according to disease duration at screening. Only the first primary end point was tested in a prespecified interim analysis. To control the overall type I error rate at 0.05, a hierarchical testing strategy was used for the second primary end point and the secondary end points in the final analysis.
In the interim analysis, a significantly higher percentage of infants in the nusinersen group than in the control group had a motor-milestone response (21 of 51 infants 41% vs. 0 of 27 0%, P<0.001), and this result prompted early termination of the trial. In the final analysis, a significantly higher percentage of infants in the nusinersen group than in the control group had a motor-milestone response (37 of 73 infants 51% vs. 0 of 37 0%), and the likelihood of event-free survival was higher in the nusinersen group than in the control group (hazard ratio for death or the use of permanent assisted ventilation, 0.53; P=0.005). The likelihood of overall survival was higher in the nusinersen group than in the control group (hazard ratio for death, 0.37; P=0.004), and infants with a shorter disease duration at screening were more likely than those with a longer disease duration to benefit from nusinersen. The incidence and severity of adverse events were similar in the two groups.
Among infants with spinal muscular atrophy, those who received nusinersen were more likely to be alive and have improvements in motor function than those in the control group. Early treatment may be necessary to maximize the benefit of the drug. (Funded by Biogen and Ionis Pharmaceuticals; ENDEAR ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02193074 .).
Investigation of treatments that effectively treat adults with post-traumatic stress disorder from childhood experiences (Ch-PTSD) and are well tolerated by patients is needed to improve outcomes for ...this population.
The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two trauma-focused treatments, imagery rescripting (ImRs) and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR), for treating Ch-PTSD.
We conducted an international, multicentre, randomised clinical trial, recruiting adults with Ch-PTSD from childhood trauma before 16 years of age. Participants were randomised to treatment condition and assessed by blind raters at multiple time points. Participants received up to 12 90-min sessions of either ImRs or EMDR, biweekly.
A total of 155 participants were included in the final intent-to-treat analysis. Drop-out rates were low, at 7.7%. A generalised linear mixed model of repeated measures showed that observer-rated post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms significantly decreased for both ImRs (d = 1.72) and EMDR (d = 1.73) at the 8-week post-treatment assessment. Similar results were seen with secondary outcome measures and self-reported PTSD symptoms. There were no significant differences between the two treatments on any standardised measure at post-treatment and follow-up.
ImRs and EMDR treatments were found to be effective in treating PTSD symptoms arising from childhood trauma, and in reducing other symptoms such as depression, dissociation and trauma-related cognitions. The low drop-out rates suggest that the treatments were well tolerated by participants. The results from this study provide evidence for the use of trauma-focused treatments for Ch-PTSD.
Numerous studies over the past two decades have found a link between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and worse adult health outcomes. Less well understood is how advantageous childhood ...experiences (counter-ACEs) may lead to better adult health, especially in the presence of adversity.
To examine how counter-ACEs and ACEs affect adult physical and mental health using Resiliency Theory as the theoretical framework.
Participants were Amazon mTurk users ages 19–57 years (N = 246; 42% female) who completed an online survey.
We conducted a series of regression analyses to examine how counter-ACEs and ACEs predicted adult health.
Corresponding to the Compensatory Model of Resiliency Theory, higher counter-ACEs scores were associated with improved adult health and that counter-ACEs neutralized the negative impact of ACEs on adult health. Contrary to the Protective Factors Model, there was a stronger relationship between ACEs and worse adult health among those with above average counter-ACEs scores compared to those with below average counter-ACEs scores. Consistent with the Challenge Model, counter-ACEs had a reduced positive effect on adult health among those with four or more ACEs compared to those with fewer than four ACEs.
Overall, the findings suggest that counter-ACEs protect against poor adult health and lead to better adult wellness. When ACEs scores are moderate, counter-ACEs largely neutralize the negative effects of ACEs on adult health. Ultimately, the results demonstrate that a public health approach to promoting positive childhood experiences may promote better lifelong health.
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