The School To Prison Pipeline

Posted on April 10, 2012 | Leave a comment

This 30 minute long audio podcast is an episode of  the BBC World Service radio documentary series which was broadcast by the BBC today, 10 Apr 12 for a worldwide audience.
In this podcast, Nina Robinson reports from Texas on how the heavy hand of the law in some US schools is criminalising the very young. Podcast link: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00qh8pf. The podcast can be downloaded as a 11MB mp3 and kept.
There is an accompanying news feature Misbehaving pupils ending up in court which covers many of the points made in the podcast, and I found it easier to absorb and think about the facts and figures seeing them written down. The BBC provide a link to the research study on which this news item is based, and their whole report can be freely downloaded: Breaking Schools’ Rules: A Statewide Study on How School Discipline Relates to Students’ Success and Juvenile Justice Involvement.
Taken together, the podcast, news feature and research report makes a cohesive package for those with an interest in school discipline and youth justice. Bear in mind that this was broadcast for a global audience – no comparisons are made with the UK, but that doesn’t make it any less valuable as a basis for thinking and debate amongst UK students and practitioners.
BBC podcasts can be shared within the classroom or lecture theatre for educational purposes.  © All rights reserved by the BBC.

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Zero tolerance to gang culture

Posted on March 30, 2012 | Leave a comment

This is a podcast from The Guardian.

‘Analysis commissioned by the government suggests only 13% of those arrested in the 2011 summer riots could credibly be linked to gangs, so Hugh Muir asks if a zero-tolerance approach to gangs is missing the point?’
This 40-minute podcast was originally published on 18 Nov 2011 for a general public audience. It can be downloaded as a 36MB mp3 and kept.
Link: www.guardian.co.uk/world/audio/2011/nov/18/focus-podcast-gang-culture
I did not comment on this when it was published last autumn as there was so much debate in the aftermath of the riots and I was interested to see which would stand the test of time – which this does. The podcast is in two parts: Street-level reports from London, Glasgow & Boston, followed by a well-informed studio debate which will be of interest to youth justice, criminology and youthwork practitioners and students alike. The podcast would make a good basis for a student assignment question or individual preparation for a workplace or tutorial discussion.
As this podcast contains a range of attributable quotes that students might wish to cite in assignments, its value would be enhanced if The Guardian were to provide a transcript, as the BBC sometimes does.
Guardian podcasts are for personal and non-commercial use only. © All rights reserved by The Guardian.

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Introduction to Residential Child Care

Posted on January 21, 2012 | 1 comment

This is one of sixteen elearning resources published by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE).
Jonathan Stanley & Mary Sainsbury’s 2008 Introduction to Residential Child Care is designed for staff new to this area. It may also be relevant to foster carers, children, young people, parents and family members.
This package comprise three modules:

  1. An introduction to residential child care. An interactive exploration of the fundamentals of residential child care.
  2. Meeting the needs of children in residential child care. A series of practical activities and downloadable worksheets.
  3. Managing challenging behaviour. An interactive exploration of the key aspects of challenging behaviour.

Each module is about 20-30 minutes long. They include glossaries, references, transcripts, learning records and links to extra resources. Adobe Flash Player is required on your computer.
These interactive modules provide accurate information in an engaging way, and the references and links to extra resources allow the learning to be extended far beyond the original module.
Link: http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/elearning/residentialchildcare/index.asp.
Use of this resource, and import of the resource into learning management systems, for educational purposes is freely permitted. A SCORM version is offered for free download and use in a virtual learning environment (VLE).

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