Left Out: The Struggle of Newly Arrived Haitian Immigrant Youth Enrolling in New York City High Schools Through Family Welcome Centers

On April 26, 2019, CDP and Flanbwayan Haitian Literacy Project (Flanbwayan) released "Left Out: The struggle of newly arrived Haitian immigrant youth enrolling in New York City high schools through Family Welcome Centers." When immigrant high school students arrive in New York City, their high school admissions are processed through Family Welcome Centers, offices set up by the Department of Education to provide transition services for immigrants and others who are new to New York City. This process is fraught with challenges, and often gives young people little, if any, choice in what school they attend.  The report, based on over 150 surveys conducted by Flanbwayan, details the experiences of Haitian youth who enrolled in high schools though Family Welcome Centers. The research reveals significant barriers to education for Haitian immigrant students in New York City. Findings from the report include that Haitian students enrolling in school through Family Welcome Centers are not being asked about their academic preferences and interests, are being placed in schools that are incompatible with their needs and are faced with a lack of information to make informed choices about their academic futures. The report offers policy recommendations and reforms to address the systemic challenges faced by immigrant students enrolling through Family Welcome Centers

To what extent does a regional dialect and accent impact on the development of reading and writing skills?

The issue of whether a regional accent and/or dialect impact(s) on the development of literacy skills remains current in the UK. For decades the issue has dogged debate about education outcomes, portable skills and employability. The article summarizes research on the topic using systematic review methodology. A scoping review was undertaken with the research question ‘To what extent does a regional dialect and accent impact on the development of reading and writing skills?’. The review covers research relevant to the teaching of 5-16 year olds in England, but also draws on research within Europe, the USA, Australia and the Caribbean. The results suggest that curricula have marginalized language variation; that the impact of regional accent and dialect on writing is relatively minor; that young people are adept at style-shifting between standard and non-standard forms; and that inappropriate pedagogical responses to regional variation can have detrimental effects on children’s educational achievement

Medicines information and adherence in HIV/AIDS patients

Background: Providing written medicines information is being legislated in an increasing number of countries worldwide, with the patient information leaflet (PIL) being the most widely used method for conveying health information. The impact of providing such information on adherence to therapy is reportedly unpredictable. Therapy for human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and related opportunistic infections usually involves polytherapy and complex regimens, both of which are risk factors for non-adherence. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of medicines information on adherence to chronic co-trimoxazole therapy in low-literate HIV/AIDS patients. Methods: Two different PILs were designed for co-trimoxazole tablets and were available in both English and isiXhosa. Participants were randomly allocated to a control group (receiving no PIL), group A (receiving a 'complex PIL') and group B (receiving a 'simple PIL' incorporating pictograms). At the first interview, demographic data were collected and the time, date and day that the participant would take his/her first tablet of the month's course was also documented. In a follow-up interview adherence to therapy was assessed using two methods; self-report and tablet count. Results: The medicines information materials incorporating simple text and pictograms resulted in significantly improved adherence to therapy in the short term, whereas a non-significant increase in adherence was associated with the availability of the more complex information. This was shown by both the self-reported assessment as well as the tablet count. Conclusion: This research suggests that appropriately designed written material can have a positive impact in improving adherence and, together with verbal consultation, are essential for enabling patients to make appropriate decisions about their medicine taking

Using Quantitative and Qualitative Methods to Pretest the Publication Take Charge of Your Diabetes: A Guide for Care

Quantitative and qualitative methods used to pretest the guidebook Take Charge of Your Diabetes: A Guide for Care are presented in this paper. Questionnaires were used as the quantitative method (completed by 59 diabetes educators and 301 people with diabetes) and focus groups were used as the qualitative method (3 groups composed of 22 black men and women with diabetes) to examine the relevance, purpose, content, and presentation of the Guide. Findings from between-methods triangulation supported the relevance, clarity Of messages, identification of groups that would be most likely to benefit, readability, understandability, and credibility of the Guide. Specific areas that needed modification were identified. Each evaluation method provided unique data; for example, quantifiable data on intention to change behavior was provided from one method and a recommendation that diversity be maintained was provided from the other method, The relative strengths and limitations of combining quantitative and qualitative approaches are described.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68540/2/10.1177_014572179602200608.pd

Teaching Contentious Books Regarding Immigration: The Case of Pancho Rabbit

This department highlights language learning for bi/multilingual students worldwide, from our earliest learners to early adolescent writers. It also highlights exemplary teachers and ways that they include research-based instruction to develop bi/multilingual learners