(2018). School-Less or Out-of-School? Re-Thinking Special Needs Education and Practice in Baluchistan, Pakistan. International Journal of Special Education, v33 n2 p248-263. School absenteeism is oftentimes couched in Pakistan's local media and reports of development agencies in terms of "ghost schools" and "ghost teachers." Little has been written in the scholarly literature of the universal right to education about how this phenomenon is affecting the school attendance of primary and secondary school students with physical disabilities and learning difficulties. We propose the qualitative distinction between being school-less and being out-of-school as a conceptual tool to encourage fresh thinking about special needs education and teacher training in places, where public education is understaffed and underfunded, as in the politically unstable and impoverished province of Baluchistan bordering on Iran to the West and Afghanistan to the North. Instead of critiquing the lagging reform process and lack of service provision for children with special educational needs, we make this theoretical intervention to illuminate opportunities for… [PDF]
(2018). Newly Arrived Migrant Students in German Schools: Exclusive and Inclusive Structures and Practices. European Educational Research Journal, v17 n2 p290-304 Mar. Newly arrived migrant students in German schools are currently the centre of attention. In 2015 and 2016 the incoming number of migrant children and adolescents of school-age has risen. Schools, the education administration as well as politics need to take action with regard to this. In the on-going debate on new immigrant students in school, German media and the public focus have been predominantly on asylum seekers from conflict zones such as Syria or Afghanistan. For schools, the increasing number of newcomers with no or little proficiency of German currently poses a challenge, even though new immigrant students at school are not a new phenomenon, but rather a permanent one. From a theoretical point of view, social participation can be discussed within the division of inclusion and exclusion. In this article we examine the potential of a theoretical framework of social inclusion and exclusion in the case of new immigrant students and establish a connection between the organisation… [Direct]
(2020). Classroom Accommodations for Student-Veterans Attending Community Colleges. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Walden University. Soldiers have returned from serving in Iraq and Afghanistan with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and have enrolled in post-secondary education in large numbers, especially at community colleges because of flexible course scheduling. The problem explored in this study was the need for 1 community college to have better information regarding classroom needs for student-veterans with PTSD or a TBI. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of both student-veterans with PTSD or a TBI and faculty concerning classroom accommodations for student-veterans at the study site. Knowles' theory of the adult learner served as the conceptual framework for this qualitative case study. Data collection consisted of individual interviews with student-veterans and faculty. Data analysis included coding, theme development, member checking, and triangulation. The results of this study revealed that not all student-veterans want or are aware of… [Direct]
(2015). Engaging Military Fathers in a Reflective Parenting Program: Lessons from Strong Families Strong Forces. ZERO TO THREE, v35 n5 p43-47 May. Through Strong Families Strong Forces, a reflective parenting program for military families with young children, we were privileged to work with contemporary military fathers who served in the post-9/11 conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Due to this work, the authors gained valuable insight into the complexity of fathering during wartime, the critical role of fatherhood as motivation for seeking support during reintegration, and the strong commitment to healthy parenting among military fathers. In this article, the authors describe their positive experiences of engaging fathers in Strong Families Strong Forces and attempt to convey important elements of the fathers' stories as they navigated postdeployment parenting, co-parenting, and family life…. [Direct]
(2016). Evolving Approaches to Educating Children from Nomadic Communities. Prospects: Quarterly Review of Comparative Education, v46 n1 p39-54 Mar. Evolving policies have increasingly aimed to include nomadic groups in EFA, but an overemphasis on mobility has distracted policy makers from going beyond access logistics to consider learning needs within nomads' contemporary livelihoods and cultural values. Notable global trends are the growth and institutionalization of forms of Alternative Basic Education (provided by state and nonstate actors for "disadvantaged" learners) and advocacy of Open and Distance Learning. Case studies of mobile pastoralists in Kenya, India, and Afghanistan, and of sea nomads in Indonesia, illustrate policy and practices on the ground. They highlight a need to address equality, equivalence, and learner progression more closely, rather than adopting strategies for education inclusion that reinforce nomadic groups' sociopolitical marginalization. This requires an extended post-2015 engagement with the larger political question of education's role in undermining, or sustaining and validating,… [Direct]
(2011). Afghanistan, the Taliban, and Osama bin Laden: The Background to September 11. Social Education, v75 n4 p185-190 Sep. On May 1, 2011, a group of U.S. soldiers boarded helicopters at a base in Afghanistan, hoping to find a man named Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden, the leader of the al Qaeda terrorist network, was responsible for a number of terrorist attacks around the world, including those of September 11, 2001, that killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States. The United States had been looking for bin Laden for nearly 15 years. On this May night, U.S. soldiers found him hiding in a large house in Pakistan with members of his family and a few al Qaeda members. The soldiers killed bin Laden and four others and flew back to their base in Afghanistan. Ten years after 9/11, the United States is still fighting a war in Afghanistan against the Taliban, an extreme Islamist group that controlled Afghanistan's government. This article details key issues and events including the rise of the Taliban and the emergence of Osama bin Laden as a global terrorist figure…. [Direct]
(2019). Including the Excluded: Promoting Multilingual Education. MTB MLE Resource Kit. UNESCO Bangkok The number of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB MLE) programmes has increased in recent years, especially in the Asia-Pacific Region. The case study booklet in this MTB MLE Resource Kit describes programmes in Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan that are examples of what language communities can do to help their children prepare to enter and learn in government schools. It also describes programmes in the Philippines and Viet Nam, two of the growing number of countries in which governments support MTB MLE in the formal education system. A variety of activities that are part of MTB MLE programmes in Asia, Africa and the Pacific are presented in the booklets for policy makers, programme implementers and community members. These examples provide evidence of the creativity and strategic thinking of the people who plan, implement and support MTB MLE, often in very challenging situations. This MTB MLE Resource Kit is for people who are committed to the idea that all children have… [Direct]
(2015). Readjustment of Urban Veterans: A Mental Health and Substance Use Profile of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans in Higher Education. Journal of American College Health, v63 n7 p482-494. Objective: To identify the prevalence of substance use and mental health problems among veterans and student service members/veterans (SSM/V) returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to New York City's low-income neighborhoods. Participants: A sample of 122 veterans attending college and 116 veterans not enrolled recruited using respondent-driven sampling. Methods: Logistic regression analysis of variation in characteristics of those veterans attending college; linear regression examining effects of college attendance on life satisfaction. Results: Having a traumatic brain injury or disability was positively associated with college attendance. Being married, employed, or in college was predictive of overall life satisfaction. SSM/V were significantly less likely to screen positive for depression or drug use disorder. African American veterans were significantly less likely to attend college than white or Hispanic veterans. Conclusion: Substance use and some mental health disorders do not… [Direct]
(2016). Women's Leadership in the Asian Century: Does Expansion Mean Inclusion?. Studies in Higher Education, v41 n5 p801-814. This paper draws on British Council commissioned research in response to concerns about women's absence from senior leadership positions in higher education in South Asia. The study sought existing knowledge from literature, policies, and available statistics and collected original interview data from 30 academics in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. A central finding was that gender is not a category of analysis in higher education policy, research or statistical data in the region. Our interview data suggest that leadership was frequently not an object of desire for women. Being associated with particular types of masculinities, leadership often carried a heavy affective load for those women who transgressed patriarchal socio-cultural norms and disrupted the symbolic order of women being led by men. Leadership was frequently perceived and experienced by women in terms of navigating a range of ugly feelings and toxicities that depleted aspirations,… [Direct]
(2015). Integrating Military and Veteran Culture in Social Work Education: Implications for Curriculum Inclusion. Journal of Social Work Education, v51 suppl 1 pS128-S144. This article explores the conceptual question of how to best integrate military culture and issues into social work education. Military service members, veterans, and their families are returning to civilian communities with the ending of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and seeking community-based providers for health and mental health treatments. Civilian social workers need to have an appreciation for the unique psychosocial stressors and needs of this population to be able to engage and intervene effectively with them. The military lifestyle and its demands require an understanding of topics that include coping and adaptation to stress, ecological and systems theories, family roles and functioning, community capacity to support the population, and the effect of these across the lifespan…. [Direct]
(2012). Reconsiderations: "Brave Words"–Rehabilitating the Veteran-Writer. College English, v74 n4 p351-365 Mar. From September 2008 to July 2009, the author traded academic robes for the Army Combat Uniform issued to US Navy personnel deploying to Afghanistan. Along with using the ceramic and Kevlar body armor he learned to don at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, he metaphorically defended himself from the disruption to his personal and professional life that would result from this mobilization by calling it a fully funded overseas federal fellowship. In this article, the author explains how his military service in Afghanistan left him having to reconsider his identity as a scholarly writer. (Contains 9 notes.)… [Direct]
(2013). War Gaming Peace Operations. Simulation & Gaming, v44 n1 p118-133 Feb. Today's military personnel fight against and work with a diverse variety of nonstate actors, from al-Qaeda terrorists to major nongovernmental organizations who provide vital humanitarian assistance. Furthermore, the nontraditional battle spaces where America and its allies have recently deployed (Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq) include a wide range of activities quite different from classic military campaign. How can the United States and its allies train its military personnel to think through the intersection of issues regarding working alongside and against nonstate actors, particularly in culturally sensitive environments? This article describes one such approach, the development of a war game for peace, designed for U.S. military officers and now utilized in the classrooms of several military colleges. More specifically, the article describes how reconstruction and stabilization operation decisions are modeled and worked through in the highly religious environment of contemporary… [Direct]
(2017). Supporting the Camouflaged in Transition: Serving Student Veterans with Disabilities. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, California State University, Stanislaus. The purpose of this study was to identify the ways in which veterans with disabilities navigate the process of transition from their lives as members of the military community to participants in the community college. This study analyzed the subset of veterans with disabilities in a community college to identify the support structures and services that can help this population to navigate their academic experiences effectively. A qualitative, community-based participatory research design was used to provide a holistic account of the military to community college transition experience for student veterans with disabilities who participated in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Three major themes emerged from the data. The themes include: (a) the personal journey into new roles and identities; (b) building communities and overcoming adversities; and (c) the reflective veteran. This study provides community colleges with insights that may enable them to improve their services for this… [Direct]
(2011). Treating Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans with PTSD Who Are at High Risk for Suicide. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, v18 n1 p85-97 Feb. Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans diagnosed with psychiatric disorders commit suicide at a higher rate than the general population (Kang & Bullman, 2008). Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been identified as a risk factor for suicide in veterans (Bullman & Kang, 1994) and is the most common mental disorder among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans presenting for treatment at Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities (Kang, 2009). Therefore, it is critical for health providers to identify veterans with PTSD who are at high risk for suicide in order to more effectively intervene to promote safety, stabilization, and reduce psychiatric symptoms. In the following paper, we discuss risk for suicide in veterans with PTSD and application of cognitive behavioral therapies to reduce suicidality in high-risk patients. We also discuss pertinent clinical issues common to treating Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans with PTSD…. [Direct]
(2014). A Rough Guide to Afghan Youth Politics. Special Report 344. United States Institute of Peace This report builds on several initiatives by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) to explore how a growing youth population and an increasing number of young political leaders are reshaping Afghan politics. Drawing on 160 interviews with politically active youth, university students, and young journalists in seven of Afghanistan's thirty-four provinces–Kabul, Kandahar, Khost, Herat, Balkh, Bamiyan, and Nangarhar–from June to November 2013, this report complements a focused ethnographic study by Anna Larson and Noah Coburn of three communities in and around Kabul city published by USIP in January 2014. [Contains notes.]… [PDF]