I was fortunate to travel home via the Netherlands - so organised to visit my PhD student, Anniek van Doornik. Anniek was very hospitable and we also had time to catch up on the latest regarding her PhD. I am looking forward to supporting her to submit in the next 6-9 months. Her research is important - so I can't wait for the world to see it.
Aðjúnkt Kathryn Crowe and A/Prof Þóra Másdóttir teach and research in the Talmeinafræði program at the University of Iceland
https://ugla.hi.is/kennsluskra/index.php?tab=nam&chapter=namsleid&id=820072_20176&kennsluar=2023
I enjoyed visiting to see exactly where they worked - and Icelandic research into speech development and their home language maintenance research with their multilingual children.
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| Working on a book chapter and a Memorandum of Understanding between our universities |
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| McLeod and Crowe (2018) posters in Iceland |
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| Icelandic speech development poster featuring Lubbi and based on Masdottir & McLeod (2021) |
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| Kate with her CSU award |
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| Kate's office |
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| Kate and Thora are currently undertaking a large-scale randomised controlled trial in preschools across Iceland to support multilingual children's speech and language development. |
The Nordic House is located at The University of Iceland. https://nordichouse.is/en/
It is a library of books and artwork from Nordic and Baltic countries. It has a vibrant children's section, hosts concerts and events, and was a wonderful place to visit to learn more about language and literature from:
Kate showed me how many resources were found in multiple languages and I had lots of ideas to bring back to the International Children's Communication Centre at CSU.
Iceland is spectacular and because it is summer, the days have been long. In the north of Iceland the sun has set after 11pm and risen just after 3am.
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| Icelandic sky at 12:15am |
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| Sharynne, Marie and Kate at Gullfoss |
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| Learning about fishing and the role of women |
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| Sharynne, Kate, Marie and Thora at Godfoss |
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| Icelandic children's readers |
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| Learning about elves |
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| Kate and Thora explained Icelandic folklore. This is Grýla the troll who eats naughty children. |
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| Kate at Dettifoss |
Íslensk málnefnd [Icelandic Academy of Novel Words] https://islenskan.is/islensk-malnefnd/ considers words that come into the international lexicon (e.g., computer, GPS, social media) and makes recommendations to the Icelandic government about equivalent new Icelandic words. Ultimately, it is the Icelandic people who choose which word they will use as language is a living thing - but it is interesting to learn about this method of language preservation.
Congratulations to Marie Ireland who submitted her PhD in Iceland today. She undertook her PhD by Prior Publication.
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| Congratulations Marie! |
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| The moment of submitting Marie's PhD |
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| A/Prof Sarah Verdon (in Australia) and Adjunct A/Prof Kate Crowe, Marie Ireland and Prof Sharynne McLeod in Iceland |
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| Lava cake! |
Marie's thesis title was "Evaluation and Eligibility of Students with Communication Disorders in Public Schools in the United States" and consisted of 13 chapters (10 publications + 3 exegesis chapters).
Here is the abstract
Communication is an essential human right that, beginning early in a child’s life, provides the foundation for interaction with others. Communication is the underpinning for success in school and untreated communication disorders may impact children’s futures. In the United States, students with disabilities in public schools receive free speech and language evaluations and, if needed, services from speech-language pathologists (SLPs). In U.S. public schools this process is regulated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and services are only available to students who meet specific eligibility criteria. An educational disability must result in an educational impact and is decided by a team that includes SLPs. Private speech-language pathology services are also available using a fee for service model decided by individual service providers. As parents and some educators may desire free services for students under IDEA, there is pressure to identify students as disabled who do not meet eligibility criteria. Misidentification due to cultural or linguistic differences also occurs. There are potential negative consequences to inappropriate disability identification such as: segregation from typically developing peers, violating the child’s rights with decreased expectations or limited educational opportunities, increased caseloads for SLPs resulting in recruitment and retention issues, and violation of state and federal regulations. While service options exist outside of IDEA, inconsistency in evaluation practices and eligibility decision-making has been documented and creates tensions for families, educators, and SLPs.We had a fun day preparing for submission - see here.
This thesis presents work for a PhD by Prior Publication to explore and describe evaluation and eligibility of students with communication disorders in U.S. public schools using quantitative and qualitative research and publications (presented as chapters) over the span of a career drawn together through an exegesis. Part 1 includes 7 chapters and provides an introduction and literature review that examines the SLPs’ practice patterns and documents the unique requirements for public-school practice in the United States. Chapter 2 reviews public policy and Chapter 3 discusses educational requirements and provides the context of public policy in the United States. A review of evaluation and eligibility requirements under IDEA and research on evaluation practices focusing on students from diverse backgrounds, test accuracy, and state differences are included in Chapter 4. Clarification regarding regulations, guidance and information to support understanding of guidelines and severity rating tools used by states as they implement IDEA is presented in Chapter 5. Options for services to support students with language differences, not disorders, outside of IDEA are detailed in Chapter 6. Chapter 7 integrates research and policy in the United States and addresses the implementation of research on children with speech sound disorders in the context of IDEA.
Part 2 includes six chapters and addresses the complex activity system involving team decision-making regarding evaluation and eligibility for speech-language pathology services in U.S. schools. Chapter 8 presents the theoretical framework that was used as the unifying approach to this thesis and for the study reported in Chapter 9. The chosen theoretical framework, Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) by Engström (1987, 2015), was used to explain the complex activity system of speech-language pathology services in U.S. schools. Chapter 9 investigates the team decision-making activity system for determining student eligibility for speech or language services in U.S. schools and documents nine major tensions related to the team decision-making activity system. Chapters 10, 11, and 12 document SLPs’ use of evidence-based practices and language sample analysis techniques. Variations in evaluation and eligibility decision-making often are attributed to the SLP, rather than the team decision-making system. The impact of differences in state and local regulations and policy, input from other members of the team, and variations in requirements for use of specific tools for evaluation were identified. Knowledge of the individual elements within the team decision-making activity system and the interactions and tensions that arise between elements may assist in understanding practice patterns of SLPs in U.S. schools. There are common tensions experienced by school SLPs regarding evaluation and eligibility of students. Using the CHAT framework enables acknowledgment of the interplay of elements within the broader activity system (beyond the SLP) and promotes the importance of teamwork and advocacy by SLPs at the local, state and national level. Inconsistency and tensions in school team decision-making are well documented in the research literature. Once identified, information on inconsistency and tensions can be used to develop of strategies to improve practice. The findings identify needs and solutions to strengthen school teams’ and SLPs’ knowledge of the regulations, research, and advocacy to address challenges in the school setting. Use of evidence-based practices for evaluation and compliance with IDEA regulations for data collection and decision making will reduce mis- and overidentification and protect students’ civil rights. Improving consistency by school decision-making teams will enable all students to receive quality evaluations and appropriate decision-making regardless of where they live or attend school. Consistency in evaluation and eligibility processes is essential to advance SLPs’ professional practice and build or maintain trust between families, students, and public-school professionals across the United States.
Marie Ireland and I have come to Iceland to visit Dr Kate Crowe so that three of four of the team can be together for Marie's PhD submission (Dr Sarah Verdon is in Australia). We had to drive past a few magnificent waterfalls on the way to submission. We fixed a few punctuation marks and page formatting at Gullfoss while drinking hot chocolate, then had celebratory dinner before heading to our colleague's summer house for the submission event - coordinated with people win the US and Australia.
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| Marie with supervisors Sharynne and Kate at Thingvellir |
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| Marie with excited supervisors Sharynne and Kate at Gullfoss |
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| Celebratory dinner |
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| Checking submission status in the north of Iceland |
Dr Kate Crowe is both an Adjunct Associate Professor at Charles Sturt University and Adjunct at The University of Iceland. It was good to see where she spends a lot of time each day.
We are working on creating a Memorandum of Understanding between Charles Sturt University and the University of Iceland https://english.hi.is/university/partner_universities
I was very welcomed by the Félag talmeinafræðinga á Íslandi https://www.talmein.is/ [Speech Therapy Association of Iceland]. I really enjoyed meeting speech therapists and students. Marie Ireland also joined us from the Unitted States. One new graduate (Ösp) even brought her book for me to sign!
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| Meeting with the Speech Therapy Association of Iceland |
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| Meeting with members of the Speech Therapy Association of Iceland |
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| I enjoyed chatting with Ösp about her work and research |
On behalf of the communication disability research cluster and the speech pathology team at MMU, I would like to express my sincere thanks to you, for all your hard work with us last week. The Dept Research Wellness workshop on Monday 17th was very well received by the 16 people who attended, many of whom are early career researchers. I received a number of emails expressing gratitude for the session.
The webinar on Communication Disability and the Sustainable Development Goals which you and I jointly presented on Tuesday 18th, was attended by local, national and international attendees, both face to face and online. Again, attendees said that it was extremely useful and thought provoking.
Thank you for providing six in-depth one-to-one mentoring opportunities for members of the Communication Disability Research Cluster. They were was energised and inspired by the work that you did with them.
It was excellent for you and I to have an opportunity to meet with our Head of Dept, Julie Wright and our faculty Pro-Vice Chancellor, Saul Becker, and to talk about further collaborative opportunities.
Thanks for attending graduation with us- it is always lovely to have visitors.
In between these activities, you and I also managed to complete a video recording for Speech Pathology Australia to accompany our guest co-edited special edition of the International Journal of Speech Language Pathology that focuses on the Communication, swallowing & the SDGs, to redraft an article to be submitted to BMJ Global Health and to prepare papers for our next international conferences.
I look forward to continuing our very fruitful collaboration over the next months and years.With all good wishes,
Julie Julie Marshall (She/her) PhD., MPhil, BSc.,
Professor of Communication Disability. Health Professions Dept. Manchester Metropolitan University
Honorary Research Fellow, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZuluNatal, South Africa.
To continue from Monday's research wellness retreat, today I had 1 hour meetings with 5 staff members to discuss their research and career aspirations. It was a great opportunity to dream about the difference these people will make in the lives of so many people by the time they retire.
Manchester Metropolitan Universitiy has a fantastic Resource Centre for their students and staff to create, unertake assignments, and enjoy. All the assessments and audio/video equipment was available here to be borrowed as well. Another good idea to bring home.
Manchester's symbol is the bee.According to the Manchester City Council "The bee denotes Mancunians' hard work ethic and the city being a hive of activity." The bee is known for its link between Manchester and the industrial revolution.
Manchester also is the home of Emmeline Pankhurst, who organised the British suffragette movement and helped women win the right to vote.
