Three approaches to religious education at Key Stages one and two in Wales: how different are church schools?

Survey data provided by 361 headteachers regarding religious education provision at Key Stages one and two within schools in Wales are modelled to distinguish between three main approaches to religious education, characterised as concerned with spiritual development, world religions, and Christian nurture. No differences in emphasis on these three approaches are found between non‐denominational schools and Church in Wales voluntary controlled schools. In Church in Wales voluntary aided schools greater emphasis is placed on the spiritual development dimension and on the Christian nurture dimension. In Roman Catholic voluntary‐aided schools greater emphasis is placed on the spiritual development dimension, greater emphasis is placed on the Christian nurture dimension, and less emphasis is placed on the world religions dimension.     

Explanation and Causality in Counselling: Consequences and Alternatives

Despite calls for counselling to take greater cognizance of the social context in which we live, it remains primarily monadic in its approach, focusing on individual pathology rather than on contextual links. This is explored in a discussion of behavioural, cognitive, and humanistic approaches to counselling which — despite their differences — exhibit remarkably similar features when viewed from a perspective outlining patterns of causality. A systemic approach is presented which attempts to provide a framework for describing human behaviour that acknowledges the interaction between intrapsychic dynamics and patterns of communication. The likely consequences of the traditional and systemic approaches are then discussed within a framework of 'self-fulfilling prophecies' .     

Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression in Older Adults Delivered via Videoconferencing: A Pilot Study

Depression affects up to 25% of older adults. Underdetection and subsequent undertreatment of depression in older adults has been attributed in part to difficulties in older adults being able to access treatment. This uncontrolled pilot study, N = 3, explored the acceptability and efficacy of a brief behavioral activation treatment delivered via videoconferencing to 3 participants, aged 64 to 73 years, diagnosed with major depressive disorder. The results indicate that a 5-session behavioral activation treatment delivered via videoconferencing produced clinically significant and reliable decreases in depression. The results also showed clinically significant and reliable decreases in negative affect and clinically significant and reliable increases in positive affect. Treatment gains were maintained at 1-month follow-up. Videoconferencing can be a valuable and effective tool in increasing accessibility to psychological treatment for older adults.     

Parent–child talk and children's memory for stressful events

The relationship between parents' styles of talking about past events with their children and children's recall of stressful events was explored. In this investigation, 2‐ to 5‐year‐old children's recall of injuries requiring hospital emergency room treatment was assessed within a few days of the injury and again 2 years later, along with the way their parents reminisced with them about the event. Correlational analyses showed that age and parental reminiscing style were consistently related to child memory; regression analyses showed that although age was most important, parents who were more elaborative had children who recalled more during their initial interview about the harder‐to‐remember hospital event. Thus, an elaborative parental style may help children's recall of even highly salient and stressful events. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spiritual development in church schools—a survey of Welsh head teachers’ perceptions

A questionnaire to assess views about spiritual development was completed by 112 of the 174 head teachers of church primary schools in Wales. The findings indicated that despite the seemingly ambiguous nature of the term ‘spiritual development’, head teachers had clear views about its meaning. While most head teachers emphasised the need for pupils to engage in their own personal spiritual search, their views differed in the extent to which they felt that promoting spiritual development meant encouraging pupils to adopt Christian beliefs. While the age and sex of head teachers was found to have no significant impact on their views; and the location and category of the school for which head teachers were responsible had only a limited impact on their view, the language of the school and the religiosity of the head teacher had a considerable impact on views regarding these matters.     

Parents’ Experiences of Receiving the Initial Positive Newborn Screening (NBS) Result for Cystic Fibrosis and Sickle Cell Disease

The clinical advantages of the newborn screening programme (NBS) in the UK are well described in the literature. However, there has been little exploration of the psychosocial impact on the family. This study followed the principles of grounded theory to explore parents’ experiences of receiving the initial positive NBS result for their child with cystic fibrosis (CF) or sickle cell disease (SCD). Semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with 22 parents (12 mothers and 10 fathers) whose children had been diagnosed with CF or SCD via NBS and were under the age of 1 year at the time of interview. The main themes that arose from the data were; parents previous knowledge of the condition and the NBS programme, the method of delivery and parental reactions to the result, sharing the results with others, the impact on parental relationships and support strategies. Study conclusions indicate that most parents thought initial positive NBS results should be delivered by a health professional with condition specific knowledge, preferably with both parents present. Genetic counselling needs to include a focus on the impact of NBS results on parental relationships. Careful consideration needs to be given to strategies to support parents of babies who have positive NBS results both in terms of the psychological health and to assist them in sharing the diagnosis.