The Achievements of Deaf Pupils in Scotland (ADPS) project has been tracking the educational attainment of deaf pupils in Scotland's schools since 2000. At the time of writing, the database contains records for 1,752 deaf pupils (2000-2005). Here 4-year aggregate educational attainment data are reported for a subset of 152 school-aged deaf pupils with cochlear implants notified to the ADPS database between June 2000 and June 2004. The data describe primary and secondary school results in reading, writing, and math for this subgroup, as well as placement and communication characteristics. The educational attainment of the group of deaf pupils with cochlear implants is clearly marked when the deaf pupil population is disaggregated for hearing loss, achieving comparatively higher average attainment in both 5-14 Curriculum National Tests (Mathematics in particular) and Standard Grades. Therefore the gap in performance relative to the national population data is reduced for those deaf pupils, although it still widens at higher levels of achievement for the National Tests. Although most pupils with cochlear implants are placed in the mainstream, there is no pattern of migration toward mainstream schools. Some deaf pupils with cochlear implants moved out of mainstream to other types of placement, and this has implications for health-economic cost-utility assessments of cochlear implantation that favor mainstream education by drawing upon the relative cost of different placement types. These findings suggest that the ADPS program of research can contribute school outcome data as valuable real-life outcome measures in wider assessments of the benefit of cochlear implants to deaf children and deaf young people.

The purpose of this article is to clarify the epistemological basis of self-regulated learning. The authors note that learning to learn, a term that has pervaded education policy at EU and national levels in recent years is often conflated with self-regulated learning. As a result, there has been insufficient attention paid to learning as social performance and to a more nuanced conceptualisation of agency. A review of the literature on self-regulated learning suggests that self-regulated learning is behaviour that is oriented towards the optimal execution of predefined tasks. The authors suggest that the consequences of this are a resolute focus on the individual learner and a striking denial of learning as social performance. They trace the origins of self-regulated learning to ad-hoc combinations of behaviourism and cognitive psychology and explore the consequences of this for the way in which learning to learn is conceptualized. They argue that a reflexive social epistemology is a necessary counterweight to the systematic neglect of learning as a social process that has resulted from the psychological turn in learning theory.

In Western countries, the number of ADHD diagnoses and medical treatments of children has risen spectacularly over the last decennia, as has the amount of criticism about this trend. Various studies have shown that children receiving an ADHD classification often follow from initial signals that were raised in a school context. Hence, it becomes important to investigate precisely what advantages attach to ADHD classification in educational practice. In this qualitative study, 30 teachers were interviewed about their experiences and views of ADHD. The results suggest that a small number of interviewees sees no advantages to ADHD classification: the classification does not practically help them as teachers, they are familiar with the drawbacks of ADHD classification, and they take issue with the idea of labelling children. The greater number of interviewees, however, suggest ambivalence about ADHD classification: they are aware of its drawbacks while experiencing mainly advantages. According to the interviewees, ADHD classification explains undesirable behaviours and disappointing academic achievement. Classification thereby removes blame from pupils, parents and teachers, and so can be a starting point for productive agreement and collaboration. We will discuss the implications of these findings in the light of the concept of reification, child-centred problematisation and the development of more inclusive education. ARTICLE HISTORY

Several international studies have shown that pupils who are comparatively young within their year group have a greater likelihood of being diagnosed with ADHD and receiving ADHD medication. The findings suggest that comparatively young but age-appropriate behaviour some pupils show in school may be confused with ADHD. This study investigates whether this noted association between birth month and ADHD medication is also found in the Netherlands; and if so, whether GPs (general practitioners) and teachers are aware of this association. Over 2000 birth dates of children between the ages of 5 and 12 were collected from GP client files. The data included whether children are prescribed methylphenidate, the most commonly used medication for ADHD. These data were analysed by descriptive statistics (graphs) and evaluative statistics (logistic regression analysis and relative risk). GPs and teachers were invited by questionnaire to report whether they knew of the association between birth month and ADHD. A significant correlation between birth month and methylphenidate prescription are found. Relatively young pupils are 2.43 times more likely to be prescribed methylphenidate than their older classmates. A majority of GPs and teachers report not being aware of an association between birth month and ADHD medication.

This article explores the construction of learning to learn that is implicit in the document Key Competences for Lifelong Learning--European Reference Framework and related education policy from the European Commission. The authors argue that the hallmark of learning to learn is the development of a fluid sociality rather than the promotion of fluent task-oriented behaviour. They also make the case for greater attention to the embodied, situated, affective and creative dimensions of learning to learn. These are considered in the context of the main trends in EU lifelong learning policy over the last two decades, which indicate a narrow instrumentalist approach to learning situated firmly within the human capital paradigm. The authors focus on the internal coherence of the Framework, and on the tensions inherent in learning 'outcomes' that emphasise personal fulfilment and wellbeing, social cohesion and economic competitiveness respectively. This article is the first step in clarifying the epistemological basis of learning to learn, and wresting it from narrow identification with self-regulated learning and meta-cognition, and ultimately challenging a narrow reading of human capital theory.