Browsing by Author "Greenstock, Louise"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemMetadata only
    Collaborative implementation: working together when using graphic symbols.
    (SAGE, 2011) Greenstock, Louise; Wright, Jannet A.
    Teachers, speech and language therapists, teaching assistants and nursery nurses are required to work together in a range of contexts in Foundation Stage (FS) school settings in the UK. In some cases these groups of practitioners are mutually involved in the implementation of a strategy or intervention and in the use of a particular tool or resource with children in these settings. The use of graphic symbols with children in the FS of education is increasingly common in mainstream and special school settings and is an activity that may involve any combination of practitioners in these professional groups. Graphic symbols are used with a wide range of children for a diverse range of purposes. A study was conducted in which the experiences of teachers, speech and language therapists, teaching assistants and nursery nurses using graphic symbols in FS school settings were explored. Practitioners in each of these groups working in the East Midlands region of the UK were interviewed about their experiences of using graphic symbols. The findings of this study encompassed a thematic framework and theoretical model depicting the patterns and themes emerging in the practitioners’ accounts. The proposed theoretical model suggests that practitioners are influenced by their unique professional reasoning processes, as well as the ways they perceive their own professional role and the roles of others. This article introduces the proposed theoretical model reflecting the factors influencing the collaborative implementation of graphic symbols in these FS school settings. Implications for collaborative practice in schools are considered.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    ‘Using graphic symbols’: An investigation into the experiences and attitudes of a range of practitioners using graphic symbols with children in the Foundation Stage (three to five year olds) school settings.
    (De Montfort University, 2010) Greenstock, Louise
    There has been a recent increase in the use of graphic symbols in school settings (Abbott and Lucey, 2003). However, the use of graphic symbols in schools remains, to date, an under-researched area. In order to address this and develop understanding of practitioners’ experiences of using graphic symbols in school settings, exploratory research was conducted investigating the experiences of a range of practitioners using symbols in Foundation Stage school settings. A qualitative research design was used drawing upon an interpretive phenomenological philosophical framework. The research sample consisted of three groups of practitioners; teachers, early years practitioners (teaching assistants, learning support assistants and nursery nurses) and speech and language therapists. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews which were conducted face-to-face by the researcher. In the interviews participants were encouraged to explore their experiences of using graphic symbols and their associated beliefs and attitudes about this topic. Interview data was analysed using thematic analysis which was facilitated by the use of qualitative data management software QSR NVivo2. Prolonged engagement with the data led to the development of a theoretical framework based on a set of themes and subthemes. Four major themes were identified: practitioners’ beliefs about which children to use symbols with; practitioners’ thoughts about children’s understanding of symbols; practitioners’ accounts of the ways symbols are used; and, practitioners’ experiences of the implementation of symbols. Interpretations of the data were extended further to develop two original theoretical constructs; ‘models of reasoning’ and ‘perceptions of professional roles’. These constructs were developed to provide an over-arching framework depicting the researcher’s interpretations of the data set as a whole. The findings suggest that practitioners go through a process of reasoning and decision making surrounding the use of symbols. Practitioners in this study also appeared to be influenced by their perceptions of their own professional role and those of others in their decisions surrounding the implementation of symbols. The theoretical model may provide some explanation for the ways in which individual practitioners interact and work alongside practitioners from the same and different professional groups. The findings of the research were related to existing literature in the fields of symbolic development, symbols and literacy, and, collaborative working. The findings led to the development of five suggestions for future research.