SERA Annual Conference
30 Years On
1975-2005
Royal George Hotel
Perth, Scotland
24th – 26th November 2005
Welcome to SERA 2005 at Perth
Building Links across Research Communities
The Scottish Educational Research Association - 30 Years On: 1975-2005
Dear Delegate
We are pleased to welcome you to the Royal George Hotel in Perth with its beautiful outlook over
the River Tay. All daytime conference proceedings will take place in this hotel. Delegates will
also be staying in the nearby Salutation Hotel. Guests staying at the Salutation will have breakfast
there- all other meals are provided at the Royal George. A map is enclosed in the programme for
your reference.
The conference will welcome over 160 delegates during the course of the three days. Scottish
delegates will be joined by colleagues from overseas and across the UK: papers will provide
delegates with a stimulating range of topics for discussion. This year sessions are organised under
seven different strands.
Registration on Thursday 24th November is from 9.00-10.30: you will be met by Margaret Ritchie,
the Conference Secretary, to whom we owe warm thanks for all her hard work towards the
success of this year’s conference. At 10.20 Fran Payne, the SERA President will welcome
delegates to the conference. At 10.30 the first of the parallel sessions will start. Each session will
have a chair who will support presenters. Lunch will be followed by a keynote presentation from
Professor Jenny Ozga, Director of the Centre for Educational Sociology at Moray House School
of Education, University of Edinburgh. A wine reception sponsored by the City of Perth at 17.45
will be followed by an early dinner and a set of evening presentations - we have spilled over as a
result of the numbers of excellent abstracts received.
Friday’s programme starts off at 9.00am, with the SERA Lecture being given by Professor Tom
Schuller, Director of CERI, OECD, at 13.30. The SERA AGM will be held between 16.45 and
17.45 in the MacGregor Room. In the evening in celebration of 30 years’ of SERA, Emeritus
Professor John Nisbet will present his new book “30 Years On: The Scottish Educational
Research Association” and will be awarded SERA Honorary Life Membership. This event will be
followed by the Conference Dinner and an after dinner speech given by John McCormick,
Chairperson of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Authority. A Salsa Ceilidh follows.
On Saturday we are hosting an event to debate the topic: “What should a Curriculum 3-18 be
like?” Professor Guy Claxton, Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of Education, University
of Bristol, will give a keynote of the same title. We expect to be joined by a number of day
delegates – please let registration know if you intend to join us. Signing in forms will be available
for you to select your choice of breakout session.
Look out for notices in the foyer- SERA Networks will be making informal arrangements to meet.
Whilst in Perth do take the opportunity to join SERA or to renew your membership. Further
details can be found on www.sera.ac.uk/
Conference Convenor on behalf of the SERA Conference Committee 2005
Map of Perth and the surrounding area
i
Map of Perth city centre
ii
PROGRAMME
iii
CURRICULUM, LEARNING AND TEACHING (CLT)
1
Citizenship across the sciences: an investigation on future teachers’ understanding of complex socioenvironmental issues.
Laura Colucci-Gray, Dr. Donald Gray, Susan McLaren
2
Seen And Heard?: Pupils Experience of Democratic Educational Practice in Primary and Secondary Schools 3
Dr. Ross Deuchar
Changing Attitudes?: Does learning about the Holocaust in primary school have an impact on pupils’
citizenship values after their transition to secondary?
Paula Cowan and Henry Maitles
4
Active Learners, Active Citizens: developing citizenship through participation
Andrea Priestley, Education Development Officer
5
The Role of fear of failure in determining academic outcomes for undergraduate mathematics students.
Ms. Eveline Pye
6
Applying Concept Map to develop a new Technical Writing technique for enhancing Reading Comprehension
performance
7
Hung Ha
Health education as a vehicle of Europeanizing ideology in Greek Schooling
Peligia Soultatou
8
Something old, something new, something borrowed... The Scottish Adult Literacies Initiative: lizard dressed
as lamb?
9
Aileen Ackland
Imagination and Abstraction in Pre-school Children with Autism (Spectrum Disorder)
Dr. Helen Marwick
Issues Of Curriculum Flexibility - Evaluation Of The Moray Council / Keith Grammar School Standard
Grade In S2/3
Fran Payne, Margaret Gooday,MarySimpson
10
11
Why Are There No Protestant Schools in Scotland?
Robert A. Davis
12
The Faith schools debate
Stephen McKinney
13
Assessment is for Learning: changing practice, changing classrooms
Dr Rae Condie, Liz Seagraves, Dr Kay Livingston
14
Matching What Is To Be Learned With How We Learn
Dr Geoff Lewis
15
Bridging analogies in the teaching of action-reaction forces in Physics.
Professor Tom Bryce, Mr Kenneth MacMillan
16
Interplay: Play, Learning And ICT In Pre-School Education
Christine Stephen, Lydia Plowman
17
Entering e-Society: young children’s development of e-literacies – Phase 1 findings
Dr Christine Stephen, Joanna McPake, Dr Lydia Plowman
18
Nurture Groups – A way to support vulnerable children
Catherine Mills, Patricia Atkinson
19
Vocational preparation of slow learners by fostering their practical and technical reasoning
Matthias Grünke
20
Moving to mainstream: the role of specialist provision within an inclusive model
Anne Pirrie, George Head
21
Evaluating the Usage of Online Resources
Julia Davidson, Irene McQueen & Paul Brna
22
An Investigation of Students’ Interaction and Reflection in Online Discussion Fora
Kristin Susilowati, Dr. Elizabeth A. Boyle Dr. Iain MacLaren
23
The Social Nature of Online Learning: to thread, or not to thread, that is the question
Kenny McIntosh
24
Symposium: Assessment is for Learning: Informing a growing programme
25
Teacher's and children's understanding of thinking skills and intelligence
Lynsey A. Burke & Joanne M. Williams
28
Easing Discomfort in Learning
Dr Dorothy Ferguson
29
Don’t give yourself a reputation” Accessing the views of secondary school entrants
Aline–Wendy Dunlop
30
Impact of Critical Skills on Children’s Learning
Professor J. Eric Wilkinson, Professor Stephen Baron, Ms. Margaret Martin, Dr. Alastair McPhee, Ms. Irene
McQueen, Mr. Fraser McConnell
31
Implementing Critical Skills
Professor J. Eric Wilkinson, Professor Stephen Baron, Ms. Margaret Martin, Dr. Alastair McPhee, Ms. Irene
McQueen, Mr. Fraser McConnell
33
Challenging and supporting children to think: An evaluation of the use of philosophical enquiry and
implications for ‘A Curriculum for Excellence’
Steve Trickey
35
CONTINUED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD)
“But I knew how to do all that already”: Contemporary Trends in Post-qualification Legal Education in
Post-devolution Scotland.
Cary McMahon
36
37
AERS: Learners, Learning and Teaching Network Project 2– Progress Report
Stephen McKinney and members of the Core Research Team
38
Analysis of Practice in the 2004-2005 Scottish Teacher Induction Scheme
Dean Robson and Ron Clarke
39
Integrating Mentoring Initiatives with the Stages of Science Teachers’ Professional Lifecycles
Etain Kiely, Dr. George McClelland.
40
Teacher leadership and diversity: Conceptual and methodological issues
Dharmadeo Luchoomun (Mr)
41
New Leadership in a Capricious Climate
David Meiklejohn
42
Symposium: Further Educational Research Network (FERRN)
43
Symposium: User engagement in researching early professional development
47
Chartered Women Teachers in Primary School: issues of gender and power
Ann MacDonald
50
Only Chartered Teachers Need Apply
Graham Connelly, Margery McMahon
51
Using Research Evidence to Enhance and Develop the Scottish Chartered Teacher Programme
Rosa Murray
52
Enhancing Professional Practice through Continuing Professional Development
Ron Clarke, Dean Robson
53
“Different experiences - changing philosophies – challenging times”
Lawry Price & Ian Pickup
54
Learners’ Perceptions of Action Learning as a Professional Development Activity
Karen Kerr
55
Symposium: Focusing on Practice: Current Issues in CPD
56
Participation in a distributed, collaborative, online network as lecturer CPD
Kevin Brosnan
58
Teachers’ CPD – the Case for PEAR-shaped Design
Mr Norman Coutts
59
Perceptions of pedagogical change: the impact of a seven-day professional development programme
Christine A. Fraser
60
INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION (ITE)
61
Developing professional identities: mature professional graduates’ experience of initial teacher education
Cate Watson
62
Student Teacher Placements in Secondary Schools – To What Extent Are Student Expectations Met?
Yvonne Dewhurst , David McMurtry
63
Male ITE students’ expectation of their role within a pre-school setting
Maria Cassidy, Patricia Brown
64
Professional Identity and the Early Years Pedagogue
Ms. Grace Paton
65
‘When did they last take 30 children on a wet Wednesday afternoon?’ Exploring the concept of the ‘recent
relevant experience’ (RRE) of teacher education staff in two Scottish universities.
Moya Cove
66
Using Concept Mapping to Explore Scottish Student Teachers’ Understanding of Electrical Concepts
Morag Findlay
67
The Socially Constructed Nature of Student Teacher Conceptions of Enthusiasm
David Johnston
68
Video Interaction Guidance as a mentoring tool in Initial Teacher Education
Carole J Thomson
69
Unity and Diversity? Initial teacher education in Scotland and England
Estelle Brisard, Ian Smith, Ian Menter
70
POLICY AND POLICY IMPLEMENTATION (PPI)
71
Methodological considerations in poststructural policy analysis
Aileen Kennedy
72
English and the Social Division of Labour: orientations and outcomes
Dr Tat Heung Choi
73
A Family Affair? The contribution of the Family Support Service to Integrated Community Schools in one
Council in Scotland
74
Brian Boyd
The Nursery as a ‘Children’s Space’?
Lesley Gallacher
75
Many ‘extra hands’?: A study of the impact of additional support staff in Scottish schools
Dr Valerie Wilson, Dr Julia Davidson
76
The Gender Balance in the Teaching Workforce in Scotland: What's the Problem?
Catherine Burns, Alan Ducklin, Sheila Riddell, Anne Stafford, Lyn Tett, Mandy Winterton, Jo Edson
77
Making reasonable adjustments for students with dyslexia in higher education: some of the issues and
tensions
Dr Elisabet Weedon and Professor Sheila Riddell
78
Initial Teacher Education in Hong Kong: in at the deep-end and for the long-term.
Dr Victor Forrester
RESEARCH METHODS (RM)
79
80
“Involving Young People in Community Planning”
Terry Barber
81
Schools and Social Capital: Issues for Policy Research
Ralph Catts
82
No Return to the Golden Age of Egalitarian Reform
Robert Doherty
83
Tension and slippage: the status and impact of educational research in Iceland
Dr M. Allyson Macdonald , Ingibjörg Kaldalóns, Dr Jón Torfi Jónasson
84
Issues in video and audio recording in data collection involving groups of young children
Professor J. Eric Wilkinson, Professor Stephen Baron, Ms. Margaret Martin, Dr. Alastair McPhee, Ms. Irene
McQueen, Mr. Fraser McConnell
85
Mixing methods: the implications of conducting a collective case focus summative evaluation of an in-school
intervention project
86
Ms. Elaine M. Regan and Dr. Peter E.Childs
Roundtable discussion: Starting Points for Research in Schools
87
Symposium: From 0 to 24: enhancing the evidence base using data from large-scale studies
88
Symposium: AERS (Applied Educational Research Scheme) capacity building, networking and ethics: How
can we all work together?
92
POST COMPULSORY EDUCATION (PCE)
97
Stakeholder Perceptions Of Policy & Planning Issues In Ict Work-Based Associate Degree Programmes At
The Barbados Community College - A Participant-Oriented Evaluation Model
98
Kay Diana Patricia Skeete
Developing online learning skills in Further Education lecturers
Sarah Cornelius, Carole Gordon
99
The Changing Landscape of Further Education in Scotland; Middle Managers Perspectives
Alan Ducklin
100
Transitions within FE – a step too far?
Ian Gibb, Janet Gray , Rosheen Young, June Smith
101
Understanding learning cultures and enhancing learning within community based further education
Jim Gallacher (Prof), Paula Cleary, Beth Crossan, Terry Mayes (Prof), David Watson, Lorna Smith
102
Talking at crossed purposes? Portrayals of young people in English education and training policy
documents
Mrs. Alis Oancea
104
Quality Regimes in the Scottish Further Education Sector
Neil Etherington
First the Curriculum then Academic Staff? Repurposing an Existing Three Year Degree for Online
Delivery
Mr Tomas Nilsson
105
106
Implementation of a pilot peer learning programme in an undergraduate Physics course
Jennifer Johnston and Dr. George McClelland
107
A Comprehensive View of Cambridge University: learning to join an elite community of practice
Mr Michael Watts & Dr Tat Heung Choi
108
Research Culture Audit of Higher Education Institution
Dr. Joanna Poon
109
BEING AND BECOMING (B&B)
110
Beginning Research - Finding an Identity Upon embarking on a Professional Doctorate
Jane Mott
111
A cultural analysis of the contemporary Chinese kindergarten curriculum
Ms. Fengling Tang
113
Learning and School Life of Children from Cross-Cultural Marriages Families ---- From Primary Teachers’
Perspectives
114
Pi-Yun Chen
Map of Perth and the surrounding area
SERA Conference 2005
i
Map of Perth city centre
SERA Conference 2005
ii
Health education as a vehicle
of Europeanizing ideology in
Greek schooling.
Soultatou (8)
Something old, something new,
something borrowed... The
Scottish Adult Literacies
Initiative…
Ackland (9)
Changing attitudes?: Does
learning about the Holocaust in
primary school have an impact
on pupils
Cowan, Maitles (4)
Active learners, active citizens:
developing citizenship through
participation
Priestley (5)
Buffet Lunch
Applying concept map to
develop a new technical writing
technique for enhancing reading
comprehensions performance
Hung Ha (7)
Seen and heard?: pupils
experience of democratic
educational practice in primary
and secondary school
Deuchar (3)
SERA Conference 2005
1230 – 1330
1200 – 1230
1130 – 1200
1100 – 1130
1030 – 1100
CLT
Macgregor Room
The role of fear of failure in
determining academic outcomes
for undergraduate mathematics
students
Pye (6)
Welcome by SERA President, Fran Payne (Main Lounge)
1015
CLT
Ballroom
Citizenship across the sciences:
an investigation on future
teachers’ understanding of
complex socio environmental
issues
Colucci-Gray, Gray, McLaren
(2)
Registration (Royal George Hotel)
0900 - 1030
iii
The Faith schools debate
McKinney (13)
Why are there no Protestant
schools in Scotland?
Davis (12)
Issues of curriculum flexibility evaluation of the Moray Council /
Keith Grammar School standard
grade in S2/3
Payne, Gooday (11)
CLT
Library
Imagination and abstraction in
pre-school children with autism
(spectrum disorder).
Marwick (10)
THURSDAY 24th NOVEMBER 2005
Integrating mentoring initiatives
with the stages of science
teachers’ professional lifecycles
Kiely, McClelland (40)
Professional identity and the early
years pedagogue
Paton (65)
Male ITE students’ expectation of
their role within a pre-school
setting
Cassidy, Brown (64)
Student teacher placements in
secondary schools – to what extent
are student expectations met
Dewhurst , McMurtry (63)
AERS: Learners, learning and
teaching network project 2–
progress report
McKinney and members of the
Core Research Team (38)
Analysis of practice in the 20042005 Scottish Teacher Induction
Scheme
Robson, Clarke (39)
ITE
Boardroom
Developing professional identities:
mature professional graduates’
experience of initial teacher
education
Watson (62)
CPD
Morning Room
“But I knew how to do all that
already”: Contemporary trends
in post-qualification legal
education in post-devolution
Scotland
McMahon (37)
SERA 2005 24TH - 26TH NOVEMBER 2005 at the Royal George Hotel, Perth
Programme
Developing online learning
skills in Further Education
lecturers
Cornelius, Gordon (99)
Matching what is to be learned
with how we learn
Lewis (15)
Vocational preparation of slow
learners by fostering their
practical and technical reasoning
Grünke (20)
Moving to mainstream: the role
of specialist provision within an
inclusive model
Pirrie, Head (21)
Interplay: play, learning and ICT
in pre-school education
Stephen, Plowman (17)
Entering e-Society: young
children’s development of eliteracies – Phase 1 findings
Stephen, McPake, Plowman (18)
iv
Discussant:
Steele
Presenters:
Pettigrew, Hunter, Lang
(43)
CPD
Morning Room
Symposium:
Further Educational Research
Network (FERRN)
Chairperson:
Morrison
New leadership in a capricious
climate
Meiklejohn (42)
CPD
Morning Room
Teacher leadership and diversity:
conceptual and methodological
issues
Luchoomun (41)
Reception, courtesy of the City of Perth, & Dinner (Royal George Hotel)
CLT
Macgregor Room
Nurture Groups – A way to
support vulnerable children
Mills, Atkinson (19)
CLT
Ballroom
Bridging analogies in the
teaching of action-reaction
forces in physics.
Bryce, MacMillan (16)
Afternoon Tea
PCE
Macgregor Room
Stakeholder perceptions of
policy & planning issues in ICT
work-based associate degree
programmes at the Barbados
Community College
Skeete (98)
CLT
Ballroom
Assessment is for learning:
changing practice, changing
classrooms
Condie, Seagraves, Livingston
(14)
Video interaction guidance as a
mentoring tool in initial teacher
education
Thomson (69)
Unity and diversity? Initial
teacher education in Scotland and
England
Brisard, Smith, Menter (70)
No return to the golden age of
egalitarian reform
Doherty (83)
ITE
Boardroom
The socially constructed nature of
student teacher conceptions of
enthusiasm
Johnston (68)
Using concept mapping to explore
Scottish student teachers’
understanding of electrical
concepts
Findlay (67)
ITE
Boardroom
‘When did they last take 30
children on a wet Wednesday
afternoon?’…
Cove (66)
Schools and social capital: issues
for policy research
Catts (82)
RM
Library
Involving young people in
community planning
Barber (81)
English and the social division
of labour: orientations and
outcomes
Tat Heung Choi (73)
PPI
Library
Methodological considerations
in poststructural policy analysis
Kennedy (72)
Keynote - Professor Jenny Ozga, Director of the Centre for Educational Sociology, Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh
“Smart, Successful Networks: Research as Social Practice” (Ballroom)
SERA Conference 2005
1745 - 1930
1645 - 1715
1615 -1645
1545 - 1615
1515 – 1545
1445 - 1515
1415 – 1445
1330 – 1415
THURSDAY 24th NOVEMBER 2005 (Continued)
The nursery as a ‘children’s
space’?
Gallacher (75)
Many ‘extra hands’?: A study of
the impact of additional support
staff in Scottish schools
Wilson, Davidson (76)
Issues in video and audio
recording in data collection
involving groups of young
children
Wilkinson, Baron, Martin,
McPhee, McQueen, McConnell
(85)
Mixing methods: the
implications of conducting a
collective case focus summative
evaluation of an in-school
intervention project
Regan, Childs (86)
SERA Conference 2005
2030 - 2100
2000 – 2030
1930 – 2000
PPI
Library
A family affair? The
contribution of the Family
Support Service to integrated
community schools in one
council in Scotland
Boyd (74)
RM
Boardroom
Tension and slippage: the status
and impact of educational
research in Iceland
Macdonald , Kaldalóns,
Jónasson (84)
v
Presenters:
Dodds, Easton, Smith, Swierczek,
Walker, Corbin, Stronach, Gray,
Boreham, Cope
(47)
Discussants:
Boreham, Stronach
Chairperson:
McNally
CPD
Morning Room
Symposium:
User engagement in researching
early professional development
Understanding learning cultures
and enhancing learning within
community based further
education
Crossan (102)
Transitions within FE – a step
too far?
Gibb, Gray, Young, Smith (101)
PCE
MacGregor Room
The changing landscape of
Further Education in Scotland;
middle managers perspectives
Ducklin (100)
THURSDAY 24th NOVEMBER 2005 (Continued)
Initial teacher education in Hong
Kong: in at the deep-end and for
the long-term.
Forrester (79)
The social nature of online
learning: to thread, or not to
thread, that is the question
McIntosh (24)
Buffet Lunch
“Don’t give yourself a
reputation” Accessing the views
of secondary school entrants
Dunlop (30)
Easing discomfort in learning
Ferguson (29)
Chairperson:
Wilkinson
Discussant:
Topping
Presenters:
MacDonald, McDiarmid,
Stalker
(88)
CLT
Ballroom
Teacher's and children's
understanding of thinking skills
and intelligence
Burke, Williams (28)
RM
Library
Symposium:
From 0 to 24: enhancing the
evidence base using data from
large-scale studies
Coffee
Making reasonable adjustments
for students with dyslexia in
higher education: some of the
issues and tension
Weedon, Riddell (78)
An investigation of students’
interaction and reflection in
online discussion fora
Susilowati, Boyle, MacLaren
(23)
SERA Conference 2005
1230 - 1330
1200 – 1230
1130 – 1200
1100 – 1130
1030 - 1100
1000 - 1030
0930 - 1000
0900 - 0930
PPI
Library
The gender balance in the
teaching workforce in Scotland:
what's the problem?
Burns, Ducklin, Riddell,
Stafford, Tett, Winterton, Edson
(77)
CLT
Ballroom
Evaluating the usage of online
resources
Davidson, McQueen, Brna (22)
vi
Learners’ perceptions of action
learning as a professional
development activity
Kerr (55)
“Different experiences - changing
philosophies - challenging times”
Price, Pickup (54)
CPD
Morning Room
Enhancing professional practice
through continuing professional
development
Clarke, Robson (53)
Using research evidence to
enhance and develop the Scottish
chartered teacher programme
Murray (52)
Only chartered teachers need
apply
Connelly, McMahon (51)
Morning Room
Chartered women teachers in
primary school: issues of gender
and power
MacDonald (50)
CPD
FRIDAY 25th NOVEMBER 2005
First the curriculum then
academic staff? repurposing an
existing three year degree for
online delivery
Nilsson (106)
Quality regimes in the Scottish
further education sector
Etherington (105)
PCE
MacGregor Room
Talking at crossed purposes?
portrayals of young people in
English education and training
policy documents
Oancea (104)
Presenters:
Reid, Millar, Cowan,
Lavin, Simpson, Spencer
(25)
Discussant:
Young
Chairperson:
Hayward
CLT
MacGregor Room
Symposium:
Assessment is for learning:
informing a growing programme
Learning and school life of
children from cross-cultural
marriages families ---- from
primary teachers perspectives
Chen (114)
B&B
Boardroom
A cultural analysis of the
contemporary Chinese
kindergarten curriculum
Fengling Tang (113)
RM
Roundtable:
“Starting points for research in
schools”. Research In Schools
Working Group
Convener:
MacDonald
Including: SERA and SEED
representatives (87)
Beginning research – finding an
identity upon embarking on a
professional doctorate
Mott (111)
Boardroom
B&B
SERA Conference 2005
vii
Conference Dinner and after dinner speaker: John McCormick - Chairperson of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (Dining Room)
Entertainment: Salsa Ceilidh (Ballroom)
Presenters:
Brown, Stead, Catts, Rimpilaimen,
Wilson, Christie, McAteer
(92)
Discussant:
McLeary
1915
Research culture audit of higher
education institution
Poon (109)
A comprehensive view of
Cambridge University: learning
to join an elite community of
practice
Watts, Tat Heung Choi (108)
Reception (Royal George Hotel)
Launch of the “30 Years On: The Scottish Educational Research Association” and presentation of SERA Honorary Life Membership Award to John Nisbet ,
Emeritus Professor of Education, University of Aberdeen (Ballroom)
Perceptions of pedagogical
change: the impact of a seven-day
professional development
programme
Fraser (60)
Teachers’ CPD – the case for
PEAR-shaped design
Coutts (59)
Symposium:
AERS (Applied Educational
Research Scheme) capacity
building, networking and ethics:
How can we all work together?
Chairperson:
Munn
Implementation of a pilot peer
learning programme in an
undergraduate Physics course
Johnston, McClelland (107)
1830 - 1915
Presenters:
Fox, Whewell, I’Anson
(56)
Discussant:
Redford
RM
Boardroom
PCE
Library
Annual General Meeting (MacGregor Room)
Challenging and supporting
children to think: An evaluation
of the use of philosophical
enquiry & Implication for a
curriculum for excellence
Trickey (35)
Implementing critical skills
Wilkinson, Baron, Martin,
McPhee, McQueen, McConnell
(33)
Symposium:
Focusing on practice: Current
issues in CPD
Chairperson:
Reeves
CPD
Morning Room
Participation in a distributed,
collaborative, online network as
lecturer CPD
Brosnan (58)
1645 - 1745
1600 - 1630
1530 - 1600
1500 - 1530
Ballroom
Impact of critical skills on
children’s learning
Wilkinson, Baron, Martin,
McPhee, McQueen, McConnell
(31)
CPD
MacGregor Room
Afternoon Tea
1430 - 1500
CLT
SERA Lecture - Professor Tom Schuller, Director of CERI, OECD
“Learning from Each Other: international perspectives on research communities” (Ballroom)
1330 - 1430
A conversation on the Year of Engagement
Chair: Professor Ian Menter
Lunch
1230 - 1330
1330
viii
Plenary:
Introduction to A Curriculum for Excellence Policy Developments: Colin Brown
Developing ACE in practice: Chris McIlroy, HMIE, on behalf of the Programme Board
Informing curriculum through research: Professor Donald Christie
1140 - 1230
SERA Conference 2005
Coffee
1120 - 1140
Confident individuals
Aline-Wendy Dunlop, Anne Hughes
Successful learners
Brian Boyd
Responsible citizens
Rowena Arshad
Library
Presentations: Successful Learners, Confident Individuals, Responsible Citizens, Effective Contributors
1030 - 1120
Boardroom
Welcome by Professor Ian Menter, SERA President
Keynote - Professor Guy Claxton: “What should a curriculum for 3-18 be like?”
0930 - 1030
Morning Room
Registration & coffee (Royal George Hotel)
0900 - 0930
All Saturday sessions will take place in the Ballroom unless otherwise stated
SATURDAY 26th NOVEMBER 2005
Building Links Across Research Communities
What should the 3-18 Curriculum be like?
Effective contributors
Pamela Munn
McGregor Room
Curriculum, Learning and Teaching (CLT)
SERA Conference 2005
1
CLT
Citizenship across the sciences: an investigation on future teachers’
understanding of complex socio-environmental issues.
Laura Colucci-Gray, Dr. Donald Gray, Susan McLaren
University of Strathclyde. Department of Curricular Studies, division of Science, Mathematics and
Technological Education. 0141-9503447 – l.t.gray@strath.ac.uk
Keywords: techno-science, citizenship, curriculum.
In consideration of current debate on education for citizenship and sustainability in the science
curriculum (Davies, 2004), this study discusses the implications that dealing with these topics may
pose to both teaching practice and research methodology. The paper reports the reflections on an
experimental teaching and learning unit, tested with an interdisciplinary group of post-graduate
students, discussing the controversial aspects of intensive fish farming, by means of role-play
simulations (Colucci & Camino, 2000; Colucci-Gray, 2004). Data were collected through
recording of students’ discussion, evaluation feed-backs, researchers’ notes and semi-open ended
questionnaires, and analysed through semi-quantitative approaches. Results showed that in a
complex process of discussion and reflective thinking, students began to develop awareness of the
mutual interactions between structural, cultural and personal components in global issues.
Discussion will focus on future research avenues for creating learning communities which
enhance and legitimise learners’ richness and variety of experiences, when engaging with
‘complex’ problems.
References
Colucci, L., & Camino, E. (2000), Gamberetti in tavola: un problema globale. (“Prawns on the
table”: a global problem). Torino: Edizioni Gruppo Abele.
Colucci-Gray L. (2004). “The Healthy Option”: a role-play on intensive salmon farming in
Scotland. Pilot materials. Glasgow: University of Strathclyde.
Davies, I. (2004). Science and citizenship education. International Journal of Science education,
26, 14, pp. 1751-1763.
SERA Conference 2005
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CLT
Seen And Heard?: Pupils Experience of Democratic Educational Practice in
Primary and Secondary Schools
Dr. Ross Deuchar
Department of Childhood & Primary Studies/ Department of Curricular Studies
University of Strathclyde
Faculty of Education
Southbrae Dr
Glasgow
G13 1PP
Keywords: citizenship, democracy, pupil councils
The principles inherent within the citizenship agenda suggest that children need to be regarded as
active, competent and vocal members of society and should be exposed to a democratic school
ethos. Many schools have responded to these expectations by setting up pupil councils; however,
evidence suggests that they only really work well if they are the centre and symbol of school-wide
democratic practice (Baginsky and Hannam, 1999) and if their agendas focus on genuine
discussion and debate about serious educational issues. The cultivation of a participative ethos in
schools may also be encouraged through pupil consultation in the classroom and the discussion of
controversial issues in the curriculum.
This paper focuses on research data emerging from a longitudinal study of pupils’ experience of
the democratic process in schools. Evidence from a diverse sample of primary schools will
illustrate the way in which pupils are encouraged to participate in decision-making processes and
engage in the discussion of contemporary social issues of their own interest both in the classroom
and during pupil council meetings. This evidence is measured against the recommended
outcomes in the LTScotland (2002) discussion and development document. In addition, evidence
of the way in which these same pupils’ experiences of the democratic process evolve following
their transition to secondary school is also reported. The paper raises new questions about the
extent to which Scottish pupils may be exposed to a living model of democratic education, where
authoritarian structures are eliminated and learners are encouraged to be autonomous in inquiring
and reasoning about contemporary social, moral and political dilemmas.
SERA Conference 2005
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Changing Attitudes?: Does learning about the Holocaust in primary school have
an impact on pupils’ citizenship values after their transition to secondary?
Paula Cowan and Henry Maitles
(University of Strathclyde, Faculty of Education)
(University of Paisley, Faculty of Education)
Contact:
Henry Maitles
University of Strathclyde Faculty of Education
0141 950 3396
h.maitles@strath.ac.uk
In the 21st century, the Holocaust continues to evoke the ultimate in barbarism and inhumanity.
The focus of this paper is to examine whether its learning has any lasting impact on the outlook
that children have towards citizenship issues. Further, what effect does the methodology of
teaching have on this?
Previous research on teaching the Holocaust, primarily case studies in either the primary or the
secondary sectors, suggests that Holocaust education can contribute to pupils’ citizenship values
in a positive way. Yet, in common with other initiatives, this evidence focuses exclusively on the
short term impact of Holocaust education.
Our ongoing longitudinal research (sponsored by the Scottish Executive Education Department
and running from November 2003 until summer 2005) aims to examine the value of Holocaust
education in achieving aspects of citizenship. It is concerned with the immediate and longer term
effects of Holocaust education on pupils’ values and attitudes. Initially focused on primary pupils
aged 11-12 years, it has followed them into the first year of secondary to examine whether the
general improvements in attitudes found in the first stage of the research has been maintained
(although in one category ‘attitudes to English people’, there was a decline in positive attitudes).
Further, we are able to compare their attitudes with pupils in their year who did not study the
Holocaust in their primary schools.
The proposed paper, which will report on the final stages of this research, will draw conclusions
from this study and will concentrate on:
the evidence as to any long term impact of Holocaust education;
a comparison of the citizenship values of the pupils who studied the Holocaust in primary school
with their peers who did not.
SERA Conference 2005
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Active Learners, Active Citizens: developing citizenship through participation
Andrea Priestley, Education Development Officer
Save the Children (Scotland), 7th Floor, Haymarket House, 8 Clifton Terrace, Haymarket.
0131 527 8200
a.priestly@savethechildren.org.uk
Keywords: Citizenship, Participation, teachers’ practice
Our aspiration is to enable all children to develop their capacities as successful learners, confident
individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors to society (SEED: 2004).
In the latest curriculum policy document from the Scottish Executive it is recognised that in order
to achieve this aspiration learners need to be active in their learning, make informed choices, and
engage in critical thinking. A Curriculum for Excellence also asserts that successful learning
would be promoted through ‘scope for more enjoyment in learning’ and building ‘respectful and
constructive relationships’.
Save the Children’s project in partnership with two Glasgow secondary schools, funded by British
Gas, provides some insights into possible approaches to the enactment of this new policy.
This pilot citizenship project promotes a peer-led, peer-assessed approach and culminates in
certification based on the time a young person engages with their chosen issue. The topics are
selected by the young people through dialogue and represent issues that they see as relevant to
them.
A development worker has been employed full time in each of these schools to work with
teachers. This paper will explore if and how teachers’ practice has changed over the two years of
the project, using the Doyle and Ponder (1977) practicality ethic as a framework.
SERA Conference 2005
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CLT
The Role of fear of failure in determining academic outcomes for undergraduate
mathematics students.
Ms. Eveline Pye
Mathematics Division, School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian
University, Tel. 01413313620, Email epy@gcal.c.uk
Keywords: Fear of Failure, Mathematics, Self-handicapping
Background: This research was carried out as a result of concerns about low attainment and skill
shortages in advanced mathematics. A review of existing literature suggested that fear of failure,
academic strategy and learning goal orientation might be significant factors in low attainment.
However, the relevance of these factors for undergraduate mathematics students was
unsubstantiated.
Aims: To investigate a possible association between academic outcomes for undergraduate
mathematics students and fear of failure, self-handicapping, defensive pessimism and learning
goal orientation.
Sample: Participants were thirty-two students in the first two years of an undergraduate
mathematics degree. This was 54% of the total enrolled students.
Methods: Students completed a multi-dimensional questionnaire. Attendance and marks were
obtained from university records.
Results: A multiple regression analysis yielded a model in which academic performance was
negatively associated with both fear of failure and active self-handicapping. Comparison of the
results across the two years of study suggested that both variables had a cumulative negative
affect on academic performance. Presented self-handicapping was associated with positive
outcomes but learning goal orientation and defensive pessimism were not shown to be statistically
significant predictors of academic performance.
Conclusion: Interventions to reduce active self-handicapping are suggested as a possible way of
addressing low levels of attainment in undergraduate mathematics students. The implications of
the results for learning, teaching and assessment strategies are discussed.
SERA Conference 2005
6
CLT
Applying Concept Map to develop a new Technical Writing technique for
enhancing Reading Comprehension performance
Hung Ha
Master Student of Information Systems by Research at Wollongong University
7 / 117 Forest Road, Arncliffe, NSW 2205, Australia
Mobile: 0405 758 989
hmh61@uow.edu.au
Keywords: concept map, technical writing, reading comprehension.
In today dynamic information technology era, technical documents are becoming bigger and are
updated frequently more than ever. As a result, people have to spend a huge mount of time and
efforts to digest these technical documents.
However, traditional technical writing still suffers the essence problems of the prose text such as
language ambiguity and ineffective key concept manipulation. Nevertheless, interestingly, these
problems can be solved effectively by concept map technique. Concept map is a graphical
representation of a network of the interrelationship concepts. Because of its 2-dimension spatial
concept representation, concept map can help to limit the language ambiguity problem, to
manipulate the concepts effectively, and to perceive the information quickly.
Hence, the research described in this thesis aimed to propose a new more effective technical
writing technique by applying concept map to map the whole technical document. The value of
mapping the whole technical document is that it can help readers to perceive the knowledge in that
technical document faster.
As mentioned above, the amount of technical knowledge ever increase, sooner or later human has
to solve the problem how to consume effectively this huge knowledge amount. If we do not
change the way we represent the text in technical document, it will be very hard for people to
enhance their reading comprehension performance of technical documents. So, a new type of
technical writing that can represent spatially the whole technical document is very valuable for
learners to understand the technical knowledge quickly.
SERA Conference 2005
7
CLT
Health education as a vehicle of Europeanizing ideology in Greek Schooling
Peligia Soultatou
32 Chartes House, Abbey Street, SE1 3BU, 020 7 403 1843, pelagia.soultatou@kcl.ac.uk
Keywords: secondary education, Europeanization, health education
Health education (HE) was introduced in Greek secondary education fifteen years ago as an extracurricular activity. Since then, little progress has been marked towards the development of the
subject and restricted evidence is published. The position of HE in the hidden curriculum of
schooling is questioned because: a) HE is among the few elements that survived a withdrawn
educational reform in 1990 and b) it is constantly maintained at the periphery of the national
curriculum despite the parade of Greek governments in power that result in numerous educational
modifications the last two decades.
From a critical social science perspective on health promotion (Eakin et al. 1996) and employing
ethnographic methods (Hammersley & Atkinson 1995) I aim to explore the ideological basis of
this initiative. Taking as a departure point Giroux’ notion of the politics of hidden curriculum, I
will attempt to discern the assumptions and interests that go unexamined in the discourse of
activities that shape school experience (Giroux 1983).
Textual analysis of ministerial circulars, sources of funding and a declaration of a leftist teachers’
syndicate exemplify the birth of this subject. Individual in-depth interviewing with actors involved
in HE programmes, prompted the emergence of the concept of Europeanization, as the
programmes have been considered to be “in favour of Brussels”(Athanasiades & Patramanis
2002;Bouzakis & Koutsourakis 2002;Zambeta 2001). Finally, observation within an urban lower
secondary school assists unpacking the values of the hidden curriculum reflected in the health
education as a fulcrum of action(Banfield 1999).
References
Athanasiades, H. & Patramanis, A. 2002, "Dis-embeddedness and de-classification:
modernization politics and the Greek teacher unions in the 1990s", The Sociological Review, vol.
50, no. 4, pp. 610-639.
Banfield, G. 1999, "Ideological Work: Health Education at Hillside High", Journal of
Contemporary Ethnography, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 138-165.
Bouzakis, S. & Koutsourakis, G. 2002, "The Comparative Argument in the Case of the Greek
Educational Reform in 1997-1998", Comparative Education, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 155-169.
Eakin, J., Robertson, A., Poland, B., Coburn, D., & Edwards, R. 1996, "Towards a critical social
science perspective on health promotion research", Health Promotion International, vol. 11, no. 2,
pp. 157-165.
Giroux, H. A. 1983, Theory and Resistance in Education:A Pedagogy for the Opposition
Heinemann Educational Books, London.
Hammersley, M. & Atkinson, P. 1995, Ethnography: principles in practice, 2nd edn, Routledge,
London.
Zambeta, E. "Greece and Europe:reflections from education policy", Education Policy Research
Group,Keele University,http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/ed/events/conf-pdf/cPaperZambeta.pdf.
SERA Conference 2005
8
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Something old, something new, something borrowed... The Scottish Adult
Literacies Initiative: lizard dressed as lamb?
Aileen Ackland
School of Education University of Aberdeen
01224 274875
a.ackland@abdn.ac.uk
Since the publication of the Adult Literacy and Numeracy in Scotland (ALNIS) report in 2001,
Adult Literacies has achieved a new prominence and undergone significant change. Previously a
marginalised service heavily dependent on volunteers, it has moved to the centre of Community
Learning and Development. Adult literacies tutors, in the past isolated and without formal
training, are now considered in relation to other educational professionals and expected to
undertake formal professional development qualifications.
In apparent contrast to the English Basic Skills agenda, Scottish policy promotes an inclusive,
learner-centred approach to literacies education, based on the social practice model of literacies
theorised by the New Literacies Group (Gee, Street, Barton, Hamilton). This paper will argue that
despite this rhetoric, there are paradoxes at the heart of the Scottish approach.
The theoretical framework of Text Oriented Discourse Analysis (Fairclough: 1992) asserts that
language constructs reality and can establish, sustain and change power relations (Foucault), and
draws attention to the importance of intertextuality. Within this framework, I interrogate key
documents and consider the responses to questionnaires and focus groups which elicited the views
of the range of stakeholders. This exploration reveals a disturbing juxtaposition of the radical with
the retrograde; empowerment with control. In particular, the drive towards the
‘professionalisation’ of the workforce presumes a definition of ‘professional’ that emphasises
regulation and accountability over personal ethics and autonomy.
I conclude that the desire for a more professional workforce may have more to do with borrowed
(and arguably outmoded) notions of managerialism and status than the development of dynamic
and responsive provision.
Key words:
Adult Literacies
Scottish Policy
Professionalisation
SERA Conference 2005
9
CLT
Imagination and Abstraction in Pre-school Children with Autism (Spectrum
Disorder)
Dr. Helen Marwick
National Centre for Autism Studies, Room 212, Sir Henry Wood Building, The University of
Strathclyde, 76 Southbrae Drive, Glasgow, G13 1PP
Imaginary play in young children moves from using a representational toy object as if it was a real
object (sometimes called functional play (e.g. Baron-Cohen, 1987)), to symbolic play involving
substitution of one object for another, the attribution of agency to a doll, the attribution of absent
properties, or creation of non-present decontextualised objects, people and events (Westby, 1980;
Jarrold et al, 1993). Where functional play need involve only recognition of the real object in a
smaller size and application of the associative conventional activity with the object in relation to
self or a doll, being able to engage in symbolic substitution and imaginary attribution and creation
involves being able to use to the process of abstraction. Symbolic substitution play, for example,
involves abstracting out and recognising the similarity of the perceptual affordances (Gibson,
1979) of one object to those of another – a bottle top could be used for being a pretend cup or
bowl because it shares the same affordance of ‘containment’.
But the process of abstraction is recognised as being problematic for many people with autism,
resulting in difficulties with inductive reasoning and with processing contextual elements which
are relevant to a situation (Trevarthen et al, 1998). Correspondingly, children with autism have
been reported to engage less in pretend play and to show a lack of spontaneous imaginative
creativity in pretend play (Libby et al, 1998; Jordan, 2003).
However, work on promoting joint play in children with autism reports that imaginative play and
symbolic representation can be developed in interactive play contexts (e.g. Zercher et al, 2001;
Sherrat, 2002). Marwick and Mackay (2005) report the occurrence of shared symbolic play
involving symbolic substitution, attribution of agency and decontextualised creative pretence in a
group of young pre-school children with autism in an interactive play context. An implication of
this work is that the use of the process of abstraction may be promoted by engaging the child with
autism in a series of joint play interactions.
Using a collated case study design this paper examines the development of symbolic substitution,
attribution and decontextualised creation in this group of 18 young pre-school children with
autism to address the use of abstraction by these children in more detail. Results indicate a
developmental trend in the occurrence of symbolic play and the enabling role of the interactive
context. The implications of these findings in relation to the process of abstraction in imaginative
representation, concept development, and cognitive reasoning in autism are drawn out.
SERA Conference 2005
10
CLT
Issues Of Curriculum Flexibility - Evaluation Of The Moray Council / Keith
Grammar School Standard Grade In S2/3
Fran Payne, Margaret Gooday
University of Aberdeen and Mary Simpson, University of Edinburgh
Fran Payne
School of Education
University of Aberdeen
Hilton Place
Aberdeen
AB24 4FA
01224 274659
f.m.payne@abdn.ac.uk
Keywords: curriculum flexibility, 5-14 curriculum, secondary curriculum
The Scottish Executive’s (SEED) issue of Circular 3/2001 ‘Guidance on Flexibility In The
Curriculum’ has provided an impetus for secondary schools in Scotland to take steps to reform the
curriculum in response to their local needs. SEED’s Future Learning and Teaching Programme
(FLaT) http://www.flatprojects.org.uk has funded a number of initiatives including one in Keith
Grammar School in Moray. The school has tackled a perceived lack of progress at S1/2 by
offering the challenge of Standard Grade courses in S2 with the aim of improving attainment and
achievement levels through developing more motivated learners and providing a more challenging
learning experience. Phase 1 entailed the development of a new S1 course comprising a revised
5-14 curriculum in 16 school departments. This has been implemented since 2002 for incoming
S1 pupils. Pupils now commence Standard Grade at the beginning of S2 (Phase 2) and in 2004
the first cohort take examinations at the end of S3. Phase 3 of the initiative concerns the
development of appropriate courses for a larger cohort in S4/5/6, including new vocational
courses and an earlier start in Higher courses for more able pupils.
This paper reports on the experiences of the participants in Phases 1 and 2: the revised S1 course
and the first year of Standard Grade in S2. Data were collected by classroom observations;
interviews with selected pupils, SMT, secondary staff, parents and associated primary school
Headteachers; questionnaires to all cohort pupils (and the year above), staff and parents;
attendance at relevant school meetings e.g. primary/ secondary liaison meetings; and scrutiny of
school documentation, e.g. planning/development, pupil SG test results. In addition to the
findings, general issues pertaining to curriculum flexibility will be discussed.
SERA Conference 2005
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Why Are There No Protestant Schools in Scotland?
Robert A. Davis
University of Glasgow
Conventional discussion of faith-based education in modern Scotland tends to focus,
understandably, on the fortunes of the Catholic community and the specific concordat reached
between the Catholic Church and the British government that produced both the settlement of
1918 and the unique system of state-supported Catholic schools in Scotland that has survived now
for almost a century.
Within this debate, the history and significance of relations between the Church of
Scotland the Scottish educational establishment has been almost entirely forgotten. This paper
attempts to disinter the lost history of Scotland’s Protestant educational system and the network of
schools steadily absorbed by the Scottish state in the period 1872-1918. Using archival research,
the paper endeavours to explain the absence of Protestant schools in 20th-century Scotland, a
nation once seen as the model Reformation polity. It argues that the rapid demise of Protestant
schools has deep roots in a centuries-long process of estrangement between the Church of
Scotland and the increasingly secularised professional elites of Enlightenment and postEnlightenment Scotland, with their deep aversion to both social contract thought in general and
the role of religion in education in particular. Erosion of the status and position of the Church of
Scotland in the politics of Scottish education, it is proposed, distorted the findings of the Argyle
Commission of 1868 and exaggerated the defects of existing schools provision in Scotland before
1872. Behind this bias lies the steady advance of industrial secular modernity with its inherent
hostility to the claims of religious belief and its resistance to a system of education controlled by
religious authorities. The delegitimisation of the concept of the Protestant school, it is concluded,
is one of the great unexamined narratives of Scottish education, made all the more pointed and
relevant by the astonishing and seemingly incongruous success of the Catholic Church in securing
lasting state support for its own schools.
Dr Robert A. Davis is Head of Department of Religious Education in the University of Glasgow.
SERA Conference 2005
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CLT
The Faith schools debate
Stephen McKinney
Department of Religious Education
Faculty of Education
St Andrew’s Building
University of Glasgow
11 Eldon Street
Glasgow
G3 6NH
Tel: 0141 330 3051/3434
Fax: 0141 330 3470
E-mail: s.mckinney@educ.gla.ac.uk
Keywords: faith schools
In recent years the debate on faith schools in England and Wales has intensified - partly as a result
of labour government interest and promotion of faith schooling and subsequent increase of state
funding. This intensification is reflected in the output of academic literature (Oxford Review of
Education. Vol 27, No. 4, 2001.; British Journal of Religious Education. Vol 25:2 Spring 2003;
Parker-Jenkins, Hartas and Irving, 2004; Gardner, Cairns and Lawton, 2005). Prominent themes
and questions have emerged in this literature: should the state fund religious mission?; are faith
schools divisive?; are they counterproductive to social cohesion?; are they selective on grounds
other than religion?; do they preclude the growth and development of rational autonomy in
children?
Despite these serious questions concerning the role and desirability of faith schools, many parents
continue to enrol their children in these schools. Critics of faith schools pose hard questions about
these parents and these schools: how far do these families genuinely adhere to a religious faith and
how far do these faith schools provide an expression for not just religious, but also, potentially
divisive, ethnic and cultural identity?
The purpose of this paper is two fold. Firstly, the identification, clarification and discussion of the
prominent themes and questions emerging in the contemporary debate on faith schooling in
England and Wales. Secondly, an examination of the contested position of the faith school as an
expression of religious, ethnic and cultural identity.
SERA Conference 2005
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Assessment is for Learning: changing practice, changing classrooms
Dr Rae Condie, Liz Seagraves, Dr Kay Livingston
Deputy Principal, University of Strathclyde, Quality in Education, University of Strathclyde,
Quality in Education, University of Strathclyde
Quality in Education, University of Strathclyde, Faculty of Education, Jordanhill Campus, 76
Southbrae Drive, GLASGOW G13 1PP
tel: 0141 950 3185 email: liz.seagraves@strath.ac.uk
Keywords: Assessment, Learning, Change
The Assessment is for Learning Programme (AifL) was designed to bring together the various
purposes of assessment into a single coherent framework which would answer questions of
accountability, standards and the monitoring of progress and performance, but which also
emphasised the role of assessment in supporting individual pupils’ learning in the classroom.
Developments towards this purpose were taken forward through 10 projects, 2 of which were
national level projects and 8 involved classroom based developments by teachers following an
‘action research’ approach, with planning, reviewing, reflecting and modifying phases,
culminating in a case study report. Working collaboratively with colleagues (using methods akin
to action research) and engaging in wider project networks or communities were important aspects
of the Programme.
The Programme was complex, seeking to bring about substantive change in relation to teaching,
learning and assessment practices. Three key elements of introducing such change were: firstly,
the breaking of the ‘big issue’ into smaller component parts, ie the 10 projects, while retaining the
focus on a single coherent system; secondly, giving responsibility to practitioners to develop new
approaches in a way relevant to their own context and situation as opposed to imposing a new
policy or approach (‘bottom-up’); and, thirdly, as the programme developed, funding was given to
Associated School Groups to encourage joint-working at a local level.
The paper will reflect on the successes and limitations of the three approaches to managing
change, following up on issues raised at the ‘work in progress’ presentation at SERA 2004.
(The Quality in Education Centre at the University of Strathclyde was commissioned to complete
a national evaluation of the Programme between January 2003 and December 2004.)
SERA Conference 2005
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CLT
Matching What Is To Be Learned With How We Learn
Dr Geoff Lewis
School of Education
University of Aberdeen
MacRobert Building
King’s College
Aberdeen
AB24 5UA
Tel: 01651 873045
Email: gelew@clara.co.uk g.e.lewis@abdn.ac.uk
Keywords
Learning Curriculum Literacy
This paper is intended to inform a discussion of the relationship between curriculum and learning,
building a picture from selected research literature. It suggests that we are in danger of ignoring
powerful forms of learning and the real nature of much that ‘has to be learned’. Current discourse
about learning often takes place within a narrow range of assumptions about the nature of and
conditions for learning: e.g. a direct association with teaching, strong reliance on verbal
instruction/explanation, emphasis on conscious effort, an implicit ‘work ethic’, use of tangible
performance as indicators of learning, a notion that complex learning is best broken into smaller
components for learning. This paper argues that there is a body of evidence that significant
learning is often unconscious (e.g. Claxton, 2005, de Beaugrande, 1997), and that there is value in
re-examining the role of play, this time from a ‘play ethic’ viewpoint (e.g. Kane, 2004). Unless
this is realised some current practice may, at best, restrict opportunity for learning, and at worst
actually impede learning. Issues such as differentiation, structure, assessment, continuity and
progression are directly implicated. The situation is illustrated by reference to literacy learning,
demonstrating the interaction between the nature of what has to learned (i.e. the structure of the
English language) and mode of learning. Finally there is discussion of some implications for
learning/teaching and research methodology.
SERA Conference 2005
15
CLT
Bridging analogies in the teaching of action-reaction forces in Physics.
Professor Tom Bryce, Mr Kenneth MacMillan
University of Strathclyde
Department of Educational and Professional Studies, Faculty of Education, University of
Strathclyde, t.g.k.bryce@strath.ac.uk, 0141.950.3536
Keywords: Bridging analogies, conceptual change, Physics teaching
This qualitative study examined the effectiveness of bridging analogies intended to bring about
conceptual change as part of a constructivist approach to teaching in Physics. Newton’s Third
Law contains the idea that all forces come in so called ‘action – reaction’ pairs and European and
North American literature indicates that the law is often misunderstood and misapplied by
secondary school students, particularly in the ‘at rest’ condition. Bridging analogies involve a
series of related analogies that take the learner from a rather distantly related, but easily
understood, everyday base analogy to the target situation, via a series of intermediate steps (cf.
Bruner’s scaffolding and Vygotsky’s zones of proximal development). Twenty-one 15 year old
students were involved in the investigation with subgroups previously exposed to different
information regarding forces, weight and the accepted cause of the reaction force, in simple
physical arrangements. In-depth ‘think aloud’ interviews were used to track each student’s
conceptual status as they worked with bridging analogies and transcript coding was carried out
using open and axial coding (as in a grounded theory methodology). The findings showed that the
bridging analogies were effective in engaging students with the idea of action-reaction forces;
students were adept in mapping each of the analogies to the target concept and using them to
generate and refine their causal theories for the reaction force. There was evidence to suggest
that, for some students, bridging analogies were more effective in bringing about conceptual
change than didactic teaching. Their use extends beyond illustrative purposes and supports the
development of meta-cognitive skills.
SERA Conference 2005
16
CLT
Interplay: Play, Learning And ICT In Pre-School Education
Christine Stephen, Lydia Plowman
University of Stirling
Contact details: Dr Christine Stephen, Institute of Education, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9
4LA, Tel 01786 467630, christine.stephen@stir.ac.uk
Keywords: Pre-school, ICT, learning
Interplay aims to identify ways of enhancing young children’s experiences with ICT through
guided interaction with practitioners. In our previous study we observed children engaging
fleetingly and sometimes unproductively with ICT in their playrooms. Beginning from a sociocultural perspective we have used the concept of guided interaction to examine the ways in which
adult-child interactions mediate learning with new technologies in pre-school settings.
We adopted a process of guided enquiry to explore the ways in which practitioners worked with
children and ICT in the playroom. Practitioners in eight pre-school settings took part in a
practitioner-generated process of planning, action and review, meeting with the researchers to
share observations based on video recordings made in the playrooms, discuss practice and plan
interventions and new ways of working with ICT. This process was supplemented by interviews
with practitioners, observations in the playroom and conversations with children. In addition, a
survey of children’s use of ICT at home and case studies of particular families allowed us to
explore the relationship between ICT experiences at home and in pre-school settings.
This paper will describe our findings, focusing in particular on the ways in which practitioners can
support children’s learning with ICT in the playroom and the particular demands that arise from
interactions with technology. The paper concludes with a look at the implications for pre-school
practice and practitioner enquiry that emerge from Interplay and the contribution that this research
makes to socio-cultural theory and pedagogy. Interplay is funded by the ESRC’s Teaching and
Learning Research Programme.
SERA Conference 2005
17
CLT
Entering e-Society: young children’s development of e-literacies – Phase 1
findings
Dr Christine Stephen, Joanna McPake, Dr Lydia Plowman
Rm B21
Pathfoot Building
University of Stirling
STIRLING
01786 466135
konstantina.martzoukou@stir.ac.uk
Keywords: e-literacies, digital connectivity, pre-school children
This paper reports Phase 1 findings from Entering e-Society: young children’s development of eliteracies, a project funded by ECRC’s e-Society Programme. The study aims to investigate the
entry of pre-school children into e-society, where digital connectivity (e.g. the internet, mobile
phones) is an essential feature of everyday life. This research addresses three inter-related themes:
the nature of children’s experiences as they enter e-society; factors supporting or hindering the
development of early e-literacies; and the emergence of digital divides between children with
extensive and varied experiences of digital connectivity at home and in the community, and those
who have not had such opportunities. A first broad picture of parents’ views was established via a
survey of 400 families with young children (3-5 years old) from a wide range of economic, social
and cultural backgrounds. The survey was conducted in four local authorities of Scotland: two
with a high level of urban deprivation, and two with a more mixed distribution of urban and rural,
affluence and disadvantage. Questions were centred around issues of digital connectivity and
forms of children’s interaction with new technologies including the internet (websites, e-mail,
chat, webcam), mobile phones and interactive television. Parents’ views about children’s
experiences with new technologies and the ways in which these are supportive to children’s
emerging development of e-literacies were gathered. Parents’ own frequency of use and the
importance they personally assigned to new technologies in their lives were also examined.
Survey data were analysed to identify economic, social and cultural facilitators and barriers.
SERA Conference 2005
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Nurture Groups – A way to support vulnerable children
Catherine Mills, Patricia Atkinson,
Headteacher, Primary Pupil Support Service , Support Headteacher, Primary Pupil Support
Service
Primary Pupil Support Service, c/o St Mary’s PS, Drip Road,, Kildean,, Stirling , FK8
1RR
Tel: 01786 463248
Email: atkinsonp62s@stirling.gov.uk
Keywords:
Nurture Groups
emotional health
development
Nurture Groups were pioneered, by Marjorie Boxall in ILEA in the early 1970s, as a response to
social deprivation, particularly regarding personal and social development.
Ongoing, long-term research in the London Borough of Enfield, has confirmed their effectiveness
in preparing vulnerable children for greater success at school.
In 1999, the headteacher of the Stirling Primary Pupil Support Service (for children experiencing
SEBD) became an accredited Boxall Nurture Group teacher, and piloted a group in a mainstream
school. Lessons from this project informed the recent developments.
This session, two groups have run, one in the Base, one in another mainstream school, both run
according to Nurture Group principles, but with slightly different practice.
As part of the national evaluation of Nurture Groups, we have been evaluating these groups
throughout the session, using a practical action research approach.
Children’s progress in personal, social and emotional behaviours is measured using the Boxall
Profile and Goodman’s Strengths and Development Needs questionnaires. Formative assessment
is also used throughout, linked to personal learning planning. Further qualitative analysis is based
on responses from trained Nurture Group staff, mainstream staff, ourselves as critical friends,
personnel from other agencies and parents.
With an ex-headteacher of a small nurturing school now in the team, a further dimension is added
to the evaluation.
So far, the evaluation demonstrates clearly how participation in a Nurture Group can help children
to access education in the mainstream more effectively, once the prerequisites for learning have
been supported.
SERA Conference 2005
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Vocational preparation of slow learners by fostering their practical and technical
reasoning
Matthias Grünke
University of Oldenburg
University of Oldenburg, School of Education, Department of Special Needs Education, 26111
Oldenburg, 0049/441/7984696, matthias.gruenke@uni-oldenburg.de
Keywords: training in practical & technical reasoning, school for slow learners, vocational
integration, data analysis of individual treatment effects
In order to prepare intellectually challenged school leavers (IQ between 70 and 85) for the
requirements in technical fields of work, the universities of Oldenburg and Cologne are
developing a program to improve their understanding of fundamental laws governing everydayphysical phenomena (practical and technical reasoning). The training is designed to be used by
special educational needs-teachers in their daily work. This study is directed towards gaining
information on the effectiveness of the intervention in school-settings. It was hypothesized that a
set of 14 lessons, based on the principles of discovery teaching, cooperative learning and adaptive
instruction, would enhance the practical and technical reasoning of juveniles with severe learning
problems more than an alternative motivational program. In accordance with a randomized control
group design, 25 students between 12 and 15 years of age from two German schools for slow
learners (Schulen für Lernbehinderte) were trained with those program elements that presently
exist, while 29 students received a formal identical reattributional training (aimed at teaching
young people to attribute positive events to internal factors and aversive events to instable
reasons). After the intervention, the experimental group showed a significant advantage over the
alternative training group. Yet, the percentage of subjects from the experimental group, which
profited from the training to a relevant extent, amounted only to 60%. The significance of these
findings is discussed in light of emerging research questions (such as “What makes responders
different from non-responders?”, “Which physical laws are well understood by young people with
special educational needs and which aren’t?” or “What are the long-term effects of the training?”).
Improving the practical and technical reasoning of intellectually challenged school leavers is an
important ethical challenge, because it increases their chances of a successful vocational
integration significantly.
SERA Conference 2005
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Moving to mainstream: the role of specialist provision within an inclusive model
Anne Pirrie, George Head
University of Glasgow
Dr Anne Pirrie
The SCRE Centre
Faculty of Education
St Andrew’s Building
11 Eldon Street
GLASGOW G3 6NH
Tel: 0141 330 1919
Fax: 0141 330 3491
Email: Anne.Pirrie@scre.ac.uk
This paper draws upon a recent study of the impact of the presumption of mainstreaming
contained in Section 15 of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc Act 2000. The study began in
January 2004, and was conducted by staff at The SCRE Centre at the University of Glasgow, in
collaboration with colleagues in the Department of Educational Studies, and an external
consultant with specialist expertise in SEN and ICT.
The paper will examine the locus of specialist provision within an inclusive model of service
delivery, with particular reference to the impact of parental choice upon policy development in
this field. The researchers will draw upon data from the survey of special schools that was
conducted in the course of the study, and which was specifically designed to gauge the impact of
the new legislation upon the special school sector. The researchers will focus on changes in the
special school population in the last five years, and on the staffing profile in the schools surveyed.
We shall also explore the extent to which any such changes were attributed to the impact of
mainstreaming. Finally, we shall examine the impact of the mainstreaming policy on teaching and
learning in special schools.
SERA Conference 2005
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CLT
Evaluating the Usage of Online Resources
Julia Davidson, Irene McQueen & Paul Brna
The SCRE Centre, University of Glasgow
St Andrew's Building, 11 Eldon Street, Glasgow G3 6NH
Tel: 0141 330 1918, Email: Julia.Davidson@scre.ac.uk
Keywords: Teacher usage of online resources, Stakeholder analysis, Uses of web data, 5-14
National Curriculum
The web has a large amount of online resources available for teachers but our knowledge of how
these resources are really used by teachers is difficult to obtain, and identifying ways of improving
the content is consequently often driven by the experience assembled in the website design team.
This paper addresses the issue of how to evaluate the use of online resources with reference to
research conducted for Learning and Teaching Scotland on their 5-14 Online Website. The aim of
the research for Learning and Teaching Scotland is to examine the quality and usefulness of the
existing website, the balance of the coverage across the curriculum, additional requirements of
teachers and student as well as suggestions from already engaged users and potential users for
other feasible online resources for LT Scotland websites. The methods selected for this work
include a survey, focus group discussions and interview with informants, and the use of diaries
collected in the form of web logs. Results of the research will be used to illuminate the methods
selected.
SERA Conference 2005
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An Investigation of Students’ Interaction and Reflection in Online Discussion
Fora
Kristin Susilowati*, Dr. Elizabeth A. Boyle*, Dr. Iain MacLaren**
*University of Paisley
** Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, National University of Ireland, Galway,
Republic of Ireland
School of Computing, University of Paisley, High Street, Paisley PA1 2BE, UK Telephone
number: 0141-848 3615 Email address: kristin.susilowati@paisley.ac.uk
Keywords: Online discussion forum, interaction, reflection
This study investigates the interaction and the reflectivity demonstrated by students who
participated in an online discussion forum. The purpose of this online discussion forum was to
give students space to communicate with the instructor and each other and to have a discussion on
theme-related topics of the course. This discussion forum is one of the facilities used to support an
online postgraduate course for continuous professional development. The data collected were the
threads of discussions and the transcripts of the messages from 2 cohorts of a module of this
course. Quantitative analysis of the numbers and frequencies of contributions by participants and
qualitative analysis of the content, using a coding scheme that measures the level of reflection,
were undertaken. The results will illustrate the participants’ interaction in the online discussion
and the extent to which an online discussion forum can elicit reflectivity from the students.
SERA Conference 2005
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The Social Nature of Online Learning: to thread, or not to thread, that is the
question
Kenny McIntosh
School of Education
University of Aberdeen
Hilton Place
Aberdeen
AB24 4FA
Telephone: 01224 274647
Email address: k.j.mcintosh@abdn.ac.uk
Keywords:
emotions, threading, asynchronous learning environments
This paper reflects my ongoing research into how students’ emotions relate to their participation
and learning in asynchronous learning environments.
At SERA in November ’04 (Emotions, Enquiry and E-learning: the loneliness of the long-distance
learner in one PGCE (S) English course), I reported that 74% of the 1903 postings to the
Discussion Board under study were either unthreaded, with no follow-up from class members, or
had no more than one or two follow-up postings. Responses to questionnaires and interviews with
students highlighted the prominent part played by emotions in the process of deciding whether or
not to move from being an online reader to becoming an online collaborator.
Wegerif (1998) describes this move as ‘the threshold experience’, conceptualising it as “the line
between feeling part of a community and feeling that one is outside that community looking in.”
Fernback and Thompson (1995) argue that the action that leads to community is dependent on
communication. Mann (2005), in studying feelings of alienation in online learning environments,
suggests such feelings may result from “a failure of communication rather than on a failure of
community”. My recent research responds, in part, to these theoretical prompts.
This paper addresses the following question: in what ways can a deeper understanding of students’
emotions, communications and perceptions of community impact on collaboration in an online
learning environment within Initial Teacher Education?
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Symposium:
Assessment is for Learning: Informing a growing programme
Chairperson: Louise Hayward, University of Glasgow
lhayward@educ.gla.ac.uk
Discussant: Myra Young, LTScotland
Assessment is for Learning (AifL), as its name suggests, is a national initiative intended to explore
if , and if so then how, assessment can help to enhance the quality of learning in Scotland. The
Assessment is for Learning Development Programme (AifL) developed from the Assessment 5-14
(SOEID, 1991) initiative. Although the Assessment 5-14 policy was largely welcomed by
teachers, it had had little impact on practice (SOEID, 1999). The question was why? Research
evidence, eg, from Black & Wiliam (1998) showed remarkable consistency with the research
evidence used to inform the original Assessment 5-14 policy (Hayward, 1991) but clearly there
were major gaps between research, policy and practice. The Aifl programme was designed to
bring together policy makers, practitioners and researchers into new collaborative relationships
that would explore how to bring research, policy and practice in assessment into closer alignment.
The programme is neither top down nor bottom up but attempts to recognize the interdependence
of all three groups in the process of real and meaningful change. It attempts to be a learning
programme, having been built taking into consideration both research evidence on assessment and
on the process of change. AifL is often compared to a learning journey (Hayward, Priestly &
Young, 2004, Hayward & Hedge, 2004, Hutchinson & Hayward, 2005). This symposium reports
on three projects that are part of this process of learning, where issues identified within the
programme become a focus for research, the findings of which are then used to inform the
growing programme. The papers report on three projects undertaken by University staff who are
part of the Higher Education group within the AiFL programme. They contribute to the emerging
‘home grown’ research base about the benefits of formative assessment for learning. The learning
of different groups in the education system is considered: pupils, student teachers and experienced
teachers
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Paper 1: Theory for Practice: Experiences that help student teachers implement
formative assessment in classrooms
Lesley Reid ,University of Strathclyde,
lesley.c.reid@strath.ac.uk
Elaine Cowan, University of Aberdeen
e.m.cowan@abdn.ac.uk
Keywords: formative assessment, initial teacher education
This project looks at the experiences of student teachers at two Scottish universities. In one
institution, 4th year BEd students were involved; in another PGDE primary students participated.
School placement evaluations, professional development summary papers, interviews and concept
maps were used to investigate students’ understandings of the principles of formative assessment
Data were analysed with a view to identifying experiences that enabled students to transfer
formative assessment theory into classroom practice. Similarities and differences in the training
experiences of the two cohorts of students are analysed. Student learning is considered from the
perspectives of in-faculty course content and placement school experiential learning.
Paper 2: Does Formative Assessment influence children's self-perceptions?
David Miller & Fiona Lavin, University of Dundee
d.j.miller@dundee.ac.uk
Keywords: formative assessment, pupil self- perception
This project looked for evidence that Formative Assessment techniques in the primary classroom
have an influence on children's self-esteem, self-competence and their views of themselves as
learners. Quantitative data were collected from 400 primary six and seven children in 16 schools.
Qualitative data were also collected from the teachers about their beliefs and practices. Finally, a
number of group discussions with pupils provided extra information on children's views of the
different techniques. Pre- and post-test data indicated statistically significant gains in mean scores
for self-esteem, self-competence and self-worth for the total sample. Gender differences were
noted, with boys gaining more from the experiences. Differential effects were also evident for
children with previous experience of Formative Assessment, for children classified as high,
medium or low ability, and for those who had a negative view of themselves as learners. The
qualitative data provided support for these findings and suggested extra insights related to the
techniques employed.
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Paper 3: Exploring Success in Assessment is for Learning
Louise Hayward, Mary Simpson and Ernie Spencer
Keywords: formative assessment, teacher learning
Exploring Success in Assessment is for Learning’ by Louise Hayward, Mary Simpson and
Ernie Spencer reports on an investigation into work within AifL on formative assessment.
Evidence emerging from the evaluation of the formative assessment programme by the Institute of
Education (Hallam, 2003) and within the overall programme evaluation undertaken by the
University of Strathclyde (Condie & Livingstone, 2005) suggested that the formative assessment
programme had had a major impact on teachers’ thinking and on their reported practices. There
was evidence that the early stages of the AifL programme had had an impact on practice of the
kind to which Assessment 5-14 had aspired. The question was why and what implications might
arise for the next phase of AifL as it attempted to grow from the involvement of 300 schools to the
involvement of more that 3000? This project attempted to explore what influences within the
AifL programme had led to the enthusiasm and commitment demonstrated by teachers,
headteachers and education authority co-ordinators.
This paper will outline the research process, will identify the major findings arising from the study
and will reflect on possible implications for both the next phase of this programme and for
innovation in education more generally.
Black, P. & Wiliam, D. (1998) Assessment and classroom learning, Assessment in Education, 5,
7–73.
Hayward, L. (1991) Research influences on assessment 5–14, Assessment for the 90s, forum on
educational research in Scotland (Edinburgh, Scottish Council for Research in Education).
Hayward, L., Priestly, M. & Young, M. (2004) Ruffling the calm of the ocean floor: merging
research, policy and practice in Scotland, Oxford Review of Education, 30(3), 397–415.
Hayward, L. and Hedge, N. (2005). Travelling towards change in assessment.
Assessment in Education, 12(1), 55-76
Hutchinson, C. & Hayward, L. (2005 in press) The Journey Sofar : Assessment for learning in
Scotland, Curriculum Jounal
Scottish Office Education Department (1991a) Curriculum and Assessment in Scotland:
Assessment 5-14 – Improving the Quality of Learning and Teaching Edinburgh, HMSO.
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Teacher's and children's understanding of thinking skills and intelligence
Lynsey A. Burke & Joanne M. Williams
Falkirk Council , McLaren House, Marchmont Avenue, Polmont, FK2 0NZ
lynsey.burke@falkirk.gov.uk, telephone 01324 506708
Keywords: Thinking skills, conceptions of intelligence, developmental changes, teacher's
perceptions.
This paper reports two linked studies. The first investigates teacher's understanding and use of
thinking skills within the classroom and across the curricular areas. The second study investigates
age changes in children's understanding of thinking skills and intelligence. Teacher's perceptions
were investigated using an audit which involved a self-complete questionnaire (n=127). Levels
of the teachers' familiarity of different thinking skills will be presented. To gain some information
about school children's concepts of thinking skills and intelligence, twenty-five children in each of
three age groups (5, 7 and 11 years) were interviewed. Children were sampled from four primary
schools in central Scotland. During individual interviews children were asked a series of
questions to explore their definitions of intelligence and thinking; their views of the characteristics
of varying levels of intelligence; the relation between effort and ability; and their conceptual
understanding of stability of intelligence and thinking skills. The methods and procedure adopted
for this study were based on those of previous research (Dweck, 1999; Kurtz-Costes, McCall,
Kinlaw et al., 2005). Data were coded using content analysis and analysed using non-parametric
statistics to reveal age trends in conceptual understandings. The findings will contribute to
knowledge of teacher's and children's understanding of thinking skills and the relation between
intelligence and thinking. Furthermore, the perceptions of both teachers and children are
fundamental to the success of school-based interventions to improve thinking skills.
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Easing Discomfort in Learning
Dr Dorothy Ferguson
Head of Division of Community Health,
School of Nursing, Midwifery & Community Health, Glasgow Caledonian University
Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow, Scotland, UK, G4 0BA
Phone: 0141 331 3469 Fax: 0141 331 8312
E-mail address D.H.Ferguson@gcal.ac.uk
Keywords: discomfort; learning; action research
Background
The behaviour of mature nursing students entering higher education was noted to be inconsistent
with their age and stage of professional development. This was also thought to impede adaptation
to the programme of study. Literature suggested that this behaviour may result from discomfort.
Objective
The study aimed to explore the phenomenon further in order to clarify whether or not the
development of academic practice would enhance the student experience.
Method and Results
Action research provided the structure through which interventions were introduced and
evaluated. Academic staff collaborated in the action research cycles to plan, act, observe and
reflect on the impact of the interventions. During the first step of the action research spiral,
students were introduced to the notion that discomfort may accompany learning. This had an
observable impact on student behaviour. In the second step, additional activities were undertaken
which were shown to further increase the students’ awareness of discomfort and to impact on their
behaviour. Students were found to work more collaboratively with the staff, accepting
responsibility for their learning more readily and at an earlier stage in the programme than had
previously been the case. It was thought that their adaptation to Higher Education was facilitated
by the interventions.
Conclusion
The study identified that the interventions helped the students to recognise discomfort and to
channel it in more constructive ways, enhancing their learning experience.
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Don’t give yourself a reputation” Accessing the views of secondary school
entrants
Aline–Wendy Dunlop
Professor Aline-Wendy Dunlop
Chair of Childhood & Primary Studies, Department of Childhood & Primary Studies, University
of Strathclyde, 76 Southbrae Drive, Glasgow G13 1PP
Keywords: Research methods, primary-secondary transition, pupil voice
This paper draws on the experience of working with a small focus group of young secondary
pupils and on ways of accessing their views of the transfer to secondary school. The main study
from which the focus group is drawn, includes 150 children, originally in 6 different primary
classes in one year group. Overall the study relates these pupils’ primary-secondary transition in
2004 to their first major transition from nursery to primary education in 1997, and to a range of
primary and secondary school outcomes. Twenty-eight children became focus children: 22 of
these pupils are still in the original local authority area, 4 have moved to private education, and
two have left the area.
The 6 class cohort completed questionnaires in June of Primary 7 about their feelings surrounding
transition to secondary education. The focus children completed the Adolescent Coping Scale
(Freydenburg & Lewis, 1993), kept transition journals from June 2004 until the end of September
2004, and have met together as a group on 6 occasions during the calendar year since starting
secondary education. The focus group’s perspectives on the various changes and transitions that
occur for them during their early secondary school experience will be shared. Methods used to
access their views, and insights into the key challenges for pupils at primary secondary transition
will be reported, and the implications for a ‘best fit’ methodology will be discussed.
SERA Conference 2005
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Impact of Critical Skills on Children’s Learning
Professor J. Eric Wilkinson, Professor Stephen Baron, Ms. Margaret Martin, Dr.
Alastair McPhee, Ms. Irene McQueen, Mr. Fraser McConnell
Contact Address:
Faculty of Education, University of Glasgow, 11 Eldon Street, Glasgow G3
6NH
0141 330 5409, j.e.Wilkinson@educ.gla.ac.uk
Keywords:
Critical Skills, Evaluation, Children’s Learning
The Critical Skills Programme (CSP) has been acclaimed as a form of teaching and learning that
will better equip young people for the challenges of the future. It needs to be established,
however, whether such pedagogic methods can effectively be introduced into the school system in
Scotland and, perhaps more importantly, whether the critical skills pedagogy impacts on young
learners in a meaningful way that better equips them with the tools they will need to think and act
both independently and with others when faced with a new learning challenge.
It is a particular model of co-operative learning – an approach to teaching used widely in USA and
Canada. It involves learners in an active, collaborative and student-centred learning process. CSP
consists of a set of Critical Skills and Fundamental Dispositions. In 2001 CSP was introduced into
a cluster of schools in the City of Glasgow. Formal training sessions were organised for teachers
in a number of schools and pre-five establishments in the Smithycroft Learning Community.
An evaluation, supported by SEED’s Future Learning and Teaching Programme, was undertaken
in two phases. Phase 1 focused on the understanding, adoption and implementation of CSP
teaching and learning methodologies in the schools and pre-five establishments in the Smithycroft
Learning Community in Glasgow. Phase 2 used a quasi-experimental design to explore the
impact of CSP on two age groups of learners in one primary school in Smithycroft Learning
Community.
The paper reports on Phase 2 of the evaluation. In Phase 2 a quasi-experimental design was used
to explore the impact of CSP on children’s learning strategies. In order to make the experiment
manageable, two CSP skills (Problem Solving and Communication) and two CSP dispositions
(Collaboration and Community) based on two curriculum areas in the 5-14 National Curriculum
guidelines were selected as the basis for collecting the data.
Two primary schools were selected in the Smithycroft Learning Community to participate in the
experiment. One school (designated the ‘experimental’ school) had considerable experience in
the implementation of CSP whilst the other (designated the ‘control’ school) was still to engage
with CSP. Within each school two age groups (P3 and P7) were selected in consultation with the
headteacher of School A as having most exposure to CSP, thus allowing for the maximum
opportunity to display CSP characteristics when faced with a new learning challenge. The
curriculum areas selected from the National Curriculum Guidelines were Environmental Studies
and Personal and Social Development.
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For the experiment, three new challenges were devised for both classes in both schools. Each
group’s engagement with the challenges was both video- and audio-recorded.
The extent to which children engaged with the new learning challenges and their deployment of
selected skills and dispositions in the challenge were subsequently rated by the evaluators on a
minute by minute basis. Although no overwhelming evidence emerged to endorse CSP in terms of
its impact on children, tentative indications emerged showing that some children taught by
teachers trained in CSP might have benefited in terms of their willingness to engage in a new
learning challenge and deploy skills and learning dispositions to that challenge. Such benefits
were in evidence in terms of younger, less academically able and more socially competent
children.
In the light of these findings , the paper explores a range of models for implementing innovation
in an established school context.
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Implementing Critical Skills
Professor J. Eric Wilkinson, Professor Stephen Baron, Ms. Margaret Martin, Dr.
Alastair McPhee, Ms. Irene McQueen, Mr. Fraser McConnell
Contact Address:
Faculty of Education, University of Glasgow, 11 Eldon Street, Glasgow G3
6NH
0141 330 5409j.e.Wilkinson@educ.gla.ac.uk
Keywords:
Critical Skills, Evaluation, Training/Implementation
The Critical Skills Programme (CSP) has been acclaimed as a form of teaching and learning that
will better equip young people for the challenges of the future. It needs to be established,
however, whether such pedagogic methods can effectively be introduced into the school system in
Scotland and, perhaps more importantly, whether the critical skills pedagogy impacts on young
learners in a meaningful way that better equips them with the tools they will need to think and act
both independently and with others when faced with a new learning challenge.
It is a particular model of co-operative learning – an approach to teaching used widely in USA and
Canada. It involves learners in an active, collaborative and student-centred learning process. CSP
consists of a set of Critical Skills and Fundamental Dispositions.
In 2001 CSP was introduced into a cluster of schools in the City of Glasgow. Formal training
sessions were organised for teachers in a number of schools and pre-five establishments in the
Smithycroft Learning Community.
An evaluation, supported by SEED’s Future Learning and Teaching Programme, was undertaken
in two phases. Phase 1 focused on the understanding, adoption and implementation of CSP
teaching and learning methodologies in the schools and pre-five establishments in the Smithycroft
Learning Community in Glasgow. Phase 2 used a quasi-experimental design to explore the
impact of CSP on two age groups of learners in one primary school in Smithycroft Learning
Community.
This paper outlines the evaluation undertaken in Phase 1. A qualitative methodology was used
based on interviews with key stakeholders involved in delivering CSP at each stage of the
schooling process – secondary, primary and pre-five establishments. The evaluation focused on
participants’ responses to the training sessions and their adoption of CSP good practice. Of the
ten schools and six pre-five establishments in the Smithycroft Learning Community, nine schools
and all pre-five establishments had sent representatives to the training sessions. It was decided to
interview all pre-five and primary school staff and a cross-section of secondary school staff. In
addition, seven heads of establishment who had not been trained were interviewed.
In terms of the training and implementation of CSP pedagogy, the findings of the evaluation are
reasonably optimistic. Professionals from a range of backgrounds from pre-five to secondary
school teachers responded positively to the principles and practices of CSP. They enthusiastically
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endorsed the CSP philosophy and were receptive to its practical implications. They willingly
engaged in the appropriate training and reported applying the principles of CSP to their practice.
The experience of the implementation of CSP in a cluster of schools in Glasgow will be used to
reflect critically on current models of innovation in Scottish schools.
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Challenging and supporting children to think: An evaluation of the use of
philosophical enquiry and implications for ‘A Curriculum for Excellence’
Steve Trickey
Senior Psychologist, Clackmannanshire Council
Psychological Service, 15 Mar Street, Alloa, FK10 1HR
01259 226003
strickey@clacks.gov.uk
Keywords: Philosophy for Children, Evaluation
This presentation will discuss a four year study into developing classroom ‘communities of
enquiry’ in primary schools in one Scottish council. The initiative aimed to promote more
reasonable thinking, wiser judgements and deeper levels of understanding in children. The
presentation will also discuss how this initiative is being extended to secondary schools. The
approach is based on the Philosophy for Children model. The project has involved teachers with
little previous experience of using enquiry methods and has taken place with classroom
communities of around 30 children. The presentation will describe the nature of the interactive
process that challenged children to think more independently. The presentation will focus on
results arising from the use of a range of different evaluation methods. These evaluations were
used to measure the effects of philosophical enquiry on cognitive development, critical thinking
and social/emotional development. Consideration will be given to the implications of this
initiative for wider policy and practice and, in particular, A Curriculum for Excellence.
Steve Trickey is a senior educational psychologist with a particular interest in how children can be
encouraged to think more independently. Steve works closely in this work with Keith Topping,
University of Dundee .
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Continued Professional Development (CPD)
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CPD
“But I knew how to do all that already”: Contemporary Trends in Postqualification Legal Education in Post-devolution Scotland.
Cary McMahon
This will be a descriptive paper dealing with current developments in CPD in the legal community
in Scotland. A distinction will be drawn between CPE and CPD, thus allowing the consideration
of management education alongside the teaching of the European dimension to post-qualification
lawyers whose initial degree courses did not contain European elements. This description of
policy and provision will then be grounded in a series of semi-structured interviews with legal
professionals and providers of CPD for lawyers in order to provide a phenomenological insight
into attitudes amongst this particularly tight-knit disciplinary community. The paper will also, it
is hoped, allow consideration of how a profession of the ‘ideal’ type is providing for the impact of
societal and political change.
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CPD
AERS: Learners, Learning and Teaching Network Project 2– Progress Report
Stephen McKinney and members of the Core Research Team
Contact person:
Stephen McKinney
Department of Religious Education
Faculty of Education
St Andrew’s Building
University of Glasgow
11 Eldon Street
Glasgow
G3 6NH
Tel: 0141 330 3051/3434
Fax: 0141 330 3470
E-mail: s.mckinney@educ.gla.ac.uk
Keywords: AERS; CPD
The Applied Educational Research Scheme (AERS) commenced in January 2005 and over the
next four years will identify and investigate the prominent research topics in Scottish education
under four main themes. This paper is concerned the theme of ‘the Learners, Learning and
Teaching Network’ (LLTN) and specifically, Project 2: ‘Understanding teachers as learners in the
context of continuing professional development’.
Within the overall aims of AERS:
•
To improve the infrastructure of educational research across
Scottish HEIs
•
To carry out high quality applied research relevant to promoting National priorities in
school education,
LLTN Project 2 aims:
•
to examine the conditions for effective continuing professional development for teachers
by developing research instruments
o
to provide secure information
o
to help establish criteria for good practice
o
which can be applied and tested at different levels within the educational system.
This paper presents a progress report of stage 1 of LLTN Project 2: the review of international
academic literature. This review examines the literature and categorises emergent themes (eg
conflicting concepts of CPD; contrasting expectations of CPD; evaluation of effectiveness of
CPD) and their relevance to CPD in Scotland. The paper will conclude by discussing the impact
this review will have on subsequent empirical investigations undertaken by the core research
team.
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Analysis of Practice in the 2004-2005 Scottish Teacher Induction Scheme
Dean Robson and Ron Clarke
The General Teaching Council for Scotland,
Clerwood House,
96 Clermiston Road,
Edinburgh,
Scotland EH12 6UT.
Telephone : 0131 314 6070
Email address : dean.robson@gtcs.org.uk
Keywords: standards, induction, CPD
The Scottish Teacher Induction Scheme was first implemented in academic session 2002-2003.
The Standard for Full Registration (SFR) clearly sets out what is expected of new teachers during
their induction year and provides a professional standard against which decisions will be taken on
full registration. It also provides a structure for schools and employers developing the first stage of
the new national framework for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for all Scottish
teachers.
As probationer teachers work towards the SFR, they need guidance and support to address
specific development needs. This support has been delivered through structured induction
programmes organized by local authorities and schools. Probationer progress is monitored by the
use of interim and final profiles which are submitted to the Council in December and May each
year. The forms enable recording of supporter meetings, observed teaching sessions and CPD
activities undertaken by the probationer. The information presented in the profiles provides the
basis for decisions regarding progress to full registration.
This paper presents the results of a detailed analysis of those interim and final profiles submitted
to the Council in academic session 2004-2005 which indicated satisfactory probationer progress.
The analysis has enabled the Council to evaluate the quality of support provided in comparison
with that of previous years and initial guidelines set out in the SFR. The paper also outlines how
the findings of the research analysis have been utilised by the Council to enhance the induction
experience, with some focus on the CPD related aspects.
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Integrating Mentoring Initiatives with the Stages of Science Teachers’
Professional Lifecycles
Etain Kiely, Dr. George McClelland.
Physics Department, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
etain.kiely@ul.ie, +35387-6314909
Keywords: Initial Teacher Education; Mentoring; Professional lifecycle.
Mentoring initiatives are embedded in a new era of teacher professionalism and offer mutual
benefits to both mentors and student teachers. This paper explores the career stages in which Irish
science teachers participated in a pilot mentoring programme. Hierarchical focusing interview
technique and a phenomenological methodology are used to elicit the mentors’ conceptions of
mentoring in initial science teacher training. Participants’ teaching profile is merged with their
interview responses to provide an insight into mentors’ professional lifecycle stages.
This paper offers an account of why the teachers became mentors and the implications mentoring
has had on their own practice and professional development as science teachers. It argues that
mentoring initiatives need to be guided by a conceptualisation that regards mentoring as an
approach to continuing professional development. Mentorship involves more than guiding the
mentee through learning standards. It extends to providing support aligned with the concepts of
good teaching required by the current demands of educational research in a changing social
context. This paper offers suggestions for informing current practice and future mentoring
initiatives.
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Teacher leadership and diversity: Conceptual and methodological issues
Dharmadeo Luchoomun (Mr)
Faculty Office, Faculty of Education & Social Work, Gardyne Road Campus, University of
Dundee, Broughty Ferry, Dundee, DD5 1NY
Tel: +44(0)1382464000
E-mail add: dluchoomun@dundee.ac.uk
Keywords: teacher leadership; diversity
This paper explores epistemological and methodological issues relating to educational leadership,
an area where theory is complex and contested. The question of ‘teachers as leaders’ draws the
attention of researchers, scholars and policy makers, but such concepts as distributed leadership,
shared leadership, parallel leadership, and empowerment have created more confusion to the
epistemological status of this field of knowledge. Rather than trying to conceptualise ‘teacher
leadership’, a concept which is already problematic; this paper addresses the conceptual and
methodological contexts and underpinnings. Another contentious issue that has drawn little
attention of the leadership literature is that leadership within the classroom encompasses all forms
of human difference, for example, gender, abilities, physical impairment, ethnicity and belief
systems. So far, the issues of classroom diversity and the pluralistic commitment of the classroom
teacher do not seem to have been seriously considered in the leadership literature. This paper,
therefore, explores the already established philosophical tradition of inquiry and proposes the
grounded theory methodology with its theoretical foundations drawn from symbolic
interactionism. Key premises of symbolic interactions regarded as central to the study are outlined
and an analytical overview of the grounded theory methodology is provided. Three important
aspects are examined and established; first, the philosophical fit of the inquiry into teacher
leadership; second, a better understanding of the classroom reality; and third, a new direction to
surmount the confused conceptualisation of teacher leadership within a diverse classroom.
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New Leadership in a Capricious Climate
David Meiklejohn
10 Broaddykes View, Kingswells, Aberdeen AB15 8UG
Tel: 01224 745323 email: dmeiklejohn2002@hotmail.com
Keywords: Leadership - Individualism - Reality
In November 2004 Education Minister Peter Peacock announced twelve key reforms with
significant implications for the secondary school sector. Described in the publication Ambitious,
Excellent Schools (1 November 2004) as the most comprehensive modernisation programme for a
generation there are critical role implications for head teachers. This paper is analytical, provides
information via discourse analysis and explores some of the realities and contextual considerations
which ought to be contemplated prior to launching the Scottish Executive’s new Leadership
Academy at the end of 2005.
The paper attempts to deconstruct the concept of leadership as employed in many current policy
documents. It explores the work of MacBeath and Hesselbein as well as the more recent views of
Walter Humes and Daniel Murphy.
A reflective paper based on critical analysis of key documents it explores Leadership in context
with international perspectives on school leadership. It examines the reality of ‘individualism’ and
the forces which militate against success.
The aspiration of the Academy, which is likely to be a virtual institution, is to endow head
teachers with world class thinking on school leadership, providing opportunities for professional
growth and development. To be successful the Academy must take full account of the present and
diverse nature of education delivery, its cultural constraints as well as the potential for growth. In
doing so it must recognize the systemic barriers which heads presently face and seek to establish
conditions which are conducive to the implementation of effective leadership strategies.
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Symposium:
Further Educational Research Network (FERRN)
Chairperson: Andrew Morrison FERRN
Email: amorrison@elmwood.ac,uk
Tel: 01334 658875
Discussant: Donald Steele FERRN
Email: donald.steele@ed-coll.ac.uk
Tel: 0131 315 7310
Papers 1 and 2:
Paper 3:
Developing a New Approach to Professional Updating
Continuing Professional Development. A CPD Toolkit for
Scotland’s Colleges.
Papers 1 and 2 report on a programme of development for teaching and support staff which
enabled them to keep up-to-date with current developments in their specialist field. Participating
staff were released from their college commitments to allow them to engage in a short placement
with an external organisation. Findings indicate that staff were enthusiastic about the programme
as it had a positive impact on their personal motivation and raised their effectiveness and
confidence in performing college roles. The benefits for the college include improved staff
competence, an awareness of developments in a number of areas affecting college provision and
the potential to establish collaborative networks.
The success of this initiative has been recognised by SFEFC who are funding a further
development phase. This project specifically will continue the initial development and aims to
address issues of professional updating by:
•
Developing a model of staff development that supports professional and curriculum
updating.
•
Systematically building communication and working relationships with potential host
organisations outwith local Further Education Colleges.
•
Allowing all staff wider access to these external organisations to develop and update their
professional and vocational skills.
•
Encouraging the external organisations to access experienced college staff as a means of
sustaining and developing their future business, customer and workforce needs.
•
Piloting a variety of development opportunities that will ensure this model becomes
sustainable and can be replicated in other FE colleges.
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•
Demonstrating this model supports professional and curriculum updating as required by
the HMIe Quality Framework indicators A4.4 and 4.5 and B5.1, B5.2, and B5.3.
•
Ensuring this model can be embedded in colleges’ staff development strategies, plans and
processes.
Paper 3 reports on research carried out to develop a good practice model for CPD for Scotland’s
Colleges. It was identified at an early stage that the majority of colleges do not address the career
and future skills development of their staff in a systematic manner. To address these issues
requires a college to plan and record professional development undertaken. This project
developed a toolkit which provides colleges with the means to assist staff in planning, recording
and reflecting on their development activities. It also enables the assessment of the impact on
development activities to be made, focusing on performance in learning and teaching.
Paper 1: Developing a New Approach to Professional Updating
Roy Pettigrew and Wendy Sutherland
Project Co-ordinators
SFEFC FE/47/04 Project
Elmwood and Angus Colleges
rpettigrew@elmwood.ac.uk
Wendy.Sutherland@angus.ac.uk
This is a process designed to update the skills and knowledge of all college staff by encouraging
them to gain experience of operating in a non-college organisation.
The paper examines the benefits gained by the College and staff members from spending up to
five days in a non-college organisation of their choice. Most organisations are subject to change,
including Colleges of Further Education. Few organisations, however, change at the same pace
and this can cause concern amongst college staff that they may not be as up-to-date in their skills
and knowledge as those external organisations that must be internationally competitive to survive.
Long serving FE staff, perhaps unfamiliar with the latest research work, often worry that they may
be teaching knowledge and techniques that are not the state of the art.
In the Millennium year Elmwood College piloted a very simple scheme to encourage its staff to
test the waters beyond the College boundaries. A part-time member of staff, with industry wide
experience, led the pilot scheme. He discussed the ideas expressed by the applicants and then
contacted potential hosts on their behalf. Most potential hosts welcomed this approach. This pilot
scheme was a success.
Each year since then, around 15 staff from Elmwood have enjoyed this experience. Most staff
have been reassured that their knowledge and skills are still valued by the host organisations. This
has also encouraged staff to consider how best to develop the curriculum in their department.
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Support staff have returned with the knowledge that what they are doing is as good or may even
be better than what is being done in other organisations.
The paper explores other benefits gained such as creating new opportunities for graduating
students; giving senior management a clearer view of the needs of the communities the College
serves; and giving staff accurate benchmarks by which to judge their skills and knowledge. The
costs and benefits of this scheme are evaluated.
Paper 2: Professional and Technical Updates – The
Practitioners View
Iain Hunter
Elmwood College
Cupar
Fife
KY15 4JB
Email: ihunter@elmwood.ac.uk
Telephone: 01334 658800
This paper examines two routes by which lecturers can update their professional and technical
knowledge and skills.
The paper explores issues arising from two projects undertaken by the author to update himself 1)
in his specific subject area – horticulture - and 2) his skills as a further education lecturer.
The first project, undertaken during 2002, involved spending a period of one week at one of
Britain’s leading horticultural businesses. The project involved both “hands on” skills updating
and a business management overview.
The second project took place in May of this year and involved spending two weeks at a leading
land based College in southern England. This seemed a natural progression from the subject
update. The author was keen to look at how another institution with a similar teaching portfolio to
his own operated, with a view to learning new and innovative methods of teaching.
The institution was chosen on the basis of its National/International reputation, this being
confirmed by their recent outstanding “OfSTED” report.
The opportunity rarely occurs for practitioners to step back and reflect on how they teach, through
viewing other institutions and their methods of curriculum delivery.
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Paper 3: A Model of CPD for Scotland’s Colleges to Support Present and Future
Success
Pat Lang
CPD Adviser
Scottish Further Education Unit
Email: pat.lang@sfeu.ac.uk
This research took place from April 2004 to May 2005 and emerged from a recognition that a
variation in the term CPD exists.
The Professional Development Network (PDN), recognise the relationship between the abilities of
college staff and the quality of service they offer and felt there was a need to improve the
execution of CPD within Scottish Colleges. This belief followed a survey with college staff including senior management, staff development officers and heads of school/faculty - to assess
how CPD is viewed and managed within the sector. The results showed a wide variation in the
understanding and management of CPD.
Having identified the need for a more co-ordinated approach, a project proposal was developed
and commissioned to develop guidelines and a toolkit for CPD which would be used by the sector
as a whole and act as a reference guide for the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Further
Education Funding Council (SFEFC). This toolkit would take full cognisance of national
guidelines and occupational standards and operate with the guidance of the Professional
Development Forum. The specific objectives of the project were to:
•
Undertake research in other sectors including the Scottish HE sector on best practice in
CPD in the UK and internationally.
•
Identify a range of activities which can add value to CPD.
•
Develop a good practice model of CPD for further education in Scotland, to include
guidelines and a toolkit that support the planning, recording and evaluation of individual
CPD activity.
•
Pilot the model in two colleges and undertake wider consultation with a representative
sample of colleges and college Principals.
•
Disseminate findings to the sector in the form of a good practice model of CPD.
•
Disseminate guidelines and toolkit through the annual PDF/PDN conference and through
the Principal’s Forum.
The presentation will explore the research methods used in developing the model and provide an
illustration of the key features of the final model development.
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Symposium:
User engagement in researching early professional development
Chairperson: Jim McNally
Institute of Education, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA
01786 466265
g.mcnally@stir.ac.uk
Discussants: Professors Nick Boreham, Peter Cope and Ian Stronach
Institute of Education, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA
01786 467617
n.c.boreham@stir.ac.uk
Outline of the Symposium
Drawing on the experience of the first phase of the ESRC-funded ‘Early Professional Learning’
(EPL) project in TLRP Phase 3 (Stirling and Manchester Metropolitan Universities), each paper
examines the impact of user involvement from a different perspective. Central to the research
design and theory of EPL were the teachers who gathered the data in their own schools and the
first paper presents their reflections on their changing roles and relationships during this process.
The second paper reports on how the perspective of children can be used as an insight into
understanding and assisting the early development of teachers. ‘Children’s descriptions’ is one of
five indicators developed by the research team which, along with the theory of EPL, form the
basis of the next stage of the project. This involves negotiation with local authorities and schools
of an intervention that will allow the ‘model’ of EPL to be put to the test, the subject of the third
paper. The final discussion will attempt to identify methodological themes of user engagement
from these papers and propose a theoretical base which might usefully inform similar practicebased approaches to research.
Paper 1: Reflections of teachers as researchers in a major research project
David Dodds, Lesley Easton, Dr. Colin Smith, Phil Swierczek and Lesley Walker.
Colin Smith
c/o Institute of Education, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA
Tel: 01786 467608
colin.a.smith@btinternet.com
Keywords: teacher-researchers, identity, isolation
This paper reflects upon the experiences of a group of teacher-researchers in the first phase of an
ESRC TLRP project investigating the early professional development of their new colleagues.
The main focus of the project is what new teachers learn and how they learn it. The teacher-
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researchers’ role in this phase was to act as ethnographers in their own schools and to get as close
as possible to the new teachers’ experiences of the induction process. We discuss some issues that
arose for us during this time, including: introducing the teacher-researcher role to our schools, the
gathering of interview data, transcribing the data, identity issues, and bridging the different
cultures involved. We point to lessons learned that may be of interest to others who plan projects
involving similar research models comprising partnerships between practitioners and academic
researchers. Although we are teacher-researchers, we teach in different schools with different
characteristics, have different backgrounds, and our interviewees have been very different. A
theme that emerges is how, without structures in place, these differences can lead subtly to
feelings of isolation, despite the warm and genuine rapport at whole team meetings. We indicate
how these feelings have been resolved, enabling us more fully to enjoy both the intellectual
stimulation and fun of the project.
Paper 2: What do Pupils think?
Professor Ian Stronach and Dr. Brian Corbin
Institute of Education, Manchester Metropolitan University
799WilmslowRoad, Didsbury, Manchester M20 2RR
email: becorbin@tiscali.co.uk
Keywords: children, new teachers, indicator
Of the five indicators in the EPL Project, the one being developed at MMU initially draws on data
gathered from a TTA project on the use of pupil evaluations in trainee teacher effectiveness, or
'PETE' for short. The instruments piloted reflect the fact that the schools involved are quite varied
in how they use pupil views. Hence there are several versions developed with different kinds of
user engagement, resulting in PETE 1, 2 and 3 etc. In the joint Stirling-Manchester TLRP project
the initial focus has been to have baseline methods of gathering pupil evaluations which are
readily administered and do not assume a history of systematic use of pupil views in teaching and
learning, yet which can serve as a resource for early professional development with new teachers.
Preliminary findings from PETE suggest that (a) pupils are capable of sophisticated and helpful
judgements of teacher performance, (b) that such feedback is highly (if apprehensively)
appreciated by trainees, (c) that the obstacles are obvious but not as great as many imagine, (d)
that both trainees/new teachers and pupils can learn to give feedback sensitively, and (e) that
while departments and schools are inevitably at different stages of receptivity to such ideas,
instruments and procedures can be adapted to different regimes and contexts.
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Paper 3: Intervention, enhancement or just more work for somebody: design
experiments and user engagement in the classroom and beyond
Dr. Peter Gray, Professor Nick Boreham, Professor Peter Cope and Jim McNally
Peter Gray, Institute of Education, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA
pbg1@stir.ac.uk
Keywords: intervention, users, negotiation
The increasing focus on user engagement within educational research tends to be coupled with a
stress on measurement and proof of success, using techniques such as the Random Controlled
Trial (MRC 2000) and the design experiment (Gorard 2004). In the context of education, both of
these assume that some form of intervention into established practices will be necessary. This
symposium contribution explores the process of negotiating such an intervention (or
‘enhancement action’) within the Scottish secondary education system, as part of the EPL project
looking at the early professional development of teachers. The paper describes how the
intervention was developed and filtered through implicit and explicit negotiations with the main
stakeholders, comprising local education authorities and schools as well as the research team,
including the teacher-researchers who constitute the front line of the project in terms of user
engagement and help us translate research findings into practice settings in order to test the
usefulness and credibility of our tentative model. The data supports the promotion of various
practices inside and outside schools, some of which are already in place within individual schools
and authorities. One problem has been, therefore, how to create a coherent set of practices which
would be sufficiently effective to produce measurable results, without imposing an artificial form
of ‘best practice’ which could antagonise some or all of the stakeholders. The paper will also
report on this process and its outcomes.
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Chartered Women Teachers in Primary School: issues of gender and power
Ann MacDonald
Simon Laurie House, Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh,
EH8 8AQ
Tel: 0131 651 6539 email: ann_macdonald@education.ed.ac.uk
Keywords: CPD-Chartered Teacher, gender, power
A ‘culture of compliance’ has characterized Scottish primary teachers’ participation in structures
of power in recent decades, but the introduction of Chartered Teacher Status
creates the opportunity for classroom teachers to challenge the hitherto hierarchical nature of
educational management and to reposition themselves as experts in learning and teaching.
Drawing on data gathered through semi-structured interviews with women candidates for
Chartered Teacher Status in Scottish primary schools, this paper explores their motivation in
pursuing CT status and their emerging identities as CTs and reflects on the implications in terms
of their future conformity or resistance to structures of power. Further, it explores the
particularity of being a woman in this context and the ways in which gender may limit or
constrain the ambitions and expectations of Chartered Teachers in Scotland’s primary schools.
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Only Chartered Teachers Need Apply
Graham Connelly, Margery McMahon
Graham Connelly, CT Programme Director, University of Strathclyde
Margery McMahon CT Programme Director, University of Glasgow
Department of Educational Studies, Faculty of Education, University of Glasgow
Tel: 0141 330 3018 email: m.mcmahon@educ.gla.ac.uk
Keywords: Chartered Teacher, Professionalism, Enhancement
This paper reviews the Chartered Teacher (CT) initiative after its first two years. Chartered
Teacher was introduced across Scotland in 2003. The programme was designed to impact on the
quality of teaching in schools through award-bearing professional development. Achievement
would be recognised by the award of CT status and enhanced salary. By April 2005, more than 70
teachers had become Chartered Teachers via a fast-tracking route and over 1500 teachers were
engaged in programmes of study leading to a Masters degree.
Drawing on qualitative and quantitative research undertaken with teachers currently on CT
programmes in two universities, we will explore how teachers perceive the CT initiative, what
they consider to be the impact of the programme and how they view their role as aspiring
Chartered Teachers. The paper concludes by considering the implications for shaping the future
of the Chartered Teacher initiative.
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Using Research Evidence to Enhance and Develop the Scottish Chartered
Teacher Programme
Rosa Murray
The General Teaching Council for Scotland, Clerwood House, 96 Clermiston Road, Edinburgh,
EH12 6UT, Tel: 0131 314 6082, E-mail: rosa.murray@gtcs.org.uk
Keywords: CPD, Chartered Teacher, survey
The Scottish Executive’s document “A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century” heralded a new
era in Scottish Education as it placed greater emphasis on the rights and responsibilities of
teachers to undertake additional continuing professional development (CPD).
The Standard for Chartered Teacher forms an integral part of the new continuing professional
development framework. The General Teaching Council accredits programmes and modules and
confers the professional award of Chartered Teacher.
The Standard for Chartered Teacher is the first opportunity in Scottish Education to recognise the
leadership of the teacher within the classroom, and for that experience and commitment to be
financially remunerated without the need to seek a management post.
In 2005 the Council initiated research to survey the progress of those teachers who had expressed
interest in the Chartered Teacher programme. The principle aims of the survey were to:
(i)
extend the understanding and awareness of the key issues relating to the Chartered Teacher
programme;
(ii)
monitor the progress of teachers on the route and their evaluation of progress so far;
(iii)
evaluate the quality of advice and support offered to teachers interested in the Chartered
Teacher programme;
(iv)
understand any obstacles or barriers teachers face when deciding to progress with the
Chartered Teacher programme;
(v)
use the information and views expressed to help inform future Council policy.
This paper presents the vision underpinning the Chartered Teacher programme and its progress so
far within the Scottish teaching profession. The paper also reports on the initial/…
initial findings of the research and identifies key issues in terms of teacher response and attitude to
the Chartered Teacher programme. The findings have formed the basis of our plans for the way
ahead with the Chartered Teacher in Scotland.
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Enhancing Professional Practice through Continuing Professional Development
Ron Clarke, Dean Robson
The General Teaching Council for Scotland,
Clerwood House,
96 Clermiston Road,
Edinburgh,
Scotland EH12 6UT.
Telephone : 0131 314 6050
Email address : ron.clarke@gtcs.org.uk
Keywords: professional practice, standards, CPD
In the post-McCrone era, Scottish teachers are contractually obliged to undertake 35 hours of
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) each year as part of their professional practice. The
GTCS would encourage teachers to undertake worthwhile and effective CPD to enable them to
maintain and enhance their professional practice and professional standards.
In 2004, the Council initiated a large-scale research project with an overarching aim of generating
detailed and critical evidence relating to :
(i)
Scottish teachers’ engagement with the process of CPD :
(ii)
the effectiveness of that engagement, specifically in relation to the maintenance and
enhancement of their professional practices and standards.
The research methodology employed incorporates two main interconnected strands. In the first
strand , a group of appointed GTCS research scholars ran a series of focus groups with teacher
colleagues to generate a rich seam of research evidence concerning their experiences of the CPD
process. In the second strand, a detailed questionnaire was sent to 8000 fully registered teachers
in Scotland to elicit their views. The development of the questionnaire detail was informed to
some extent by the focus group discussions.
It is envisaged that the research will generate information which can be used to inform the
development of good practice guidance for Scottish teachers as to how they might plan and
undertake a range of effective CPD activities to maintain and enhance their professional practice
and standards. The paper reports on the research findings to date.
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“Different experiences - changing philosophies – challenging times”
Lawry Price & Ian Pickup
Contacts:
Roehampton University, Roehampton Lane, London, SW15 5 PJ
Tel No. 0208-392-3495
Email – L.Price@roehampton.ac.uk, I.Pickup@roehampton.ac.uk,
This paper is a fifth in a longitudinal study tracking how BA Primary Education PE subject
specialists acquire subject knowledge and develop a personal philosophy for the subject, from the
beginning of their training through to first employment as a teacher, and ultimately into posts of
responsibility for the subject delivery in schools. We have identified from previous research
emerging strands that shape and nurture student beliefs about what it takes to successfully teach
the subject successfully in the primary school setting. This part of the research is timed to
coincide with the all-important early period of education and training when thoughts, beliefs and
opinions are being formed by a range of experiences, set tasks and unique challenges.
This paper describes further investigation and an extension of research methodology into the use
of Log/Journals as a tool for monitoring students’ knowledge and emerging philosophies, and
includes the results and analysis of “starting profile” statements and semi-structured interview
questions to arise out of this activity. The contextualising of the findings within a “changing
climate for PE” (PESSCLS), as well as against a background of meeting the demands of
“Qualifying to teach” (Qtt), offers strong supporting evidence for the importance of highlighting
initial and continuing professional development that is constructively mapped out and rigorously
followed through.
Key words:
ITE – Initial Teacher Education
PE – Physical Education
PESSCLS – Physical Education, School Sport and Club Links Strategy
Qtt – Qualifying to teach
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Learners’ Perceptions of Action Learning as a Professional Development Activity
Karen Kerr
Researcher
Scottish Further Education Unit
Argyll Court
Castle Business Park
Stirling
FK9 4TY
karen.kerr@sfeu.ac.uk
Keywords: Leadership development, action learning, phenomenology
Action learning has been a key component of the Scottish Further Educations Unit’s Leadership
Programme for prospective principals since 1999. There has been a wide range of responses to the
action learning sets, some senior managers in Scotland’s Colleges have reported that action
learning sets have been a significant learning activity; others have been much less convinced of
the merits of such an activity. The main aim of this research is to determine whether senior
managers in Scotland’s Colleges perceive participation in action learning sets to be effective as a
professional development activity.
Based on the earlier work of Hodgson and Watland (2004), who undertook a similar study to
examine the learners’ experience of a networked learning knowledge community design, a
phenomenological approach was adopted for the primary research. On this basis qualitative
research, in the form of in-depth interviews, was used to capture the necessary data. All senior
managers who had taken part in the action learning phase of the Leadership Programme and for
whom contact details were available (a total of 34) were invited to take part in the research. A
good response was achieved and a sample of 14 senior managers from a variety of Scottish
colleges was interviewed during March 2005.
Analysis will be completed by the end of May 2005 and is currently being undertaken using
grounded theory based on the work of Glaser and Strauss (1967). Sub-group analysis based on the
extent to which senior mangers had participated in the action learning activity and whether they
had completed the action learning activity recently or several years ago will be undertaken to
review whether either of these factors impact on senior managers’ perceptions of the effectiveness
of action learning sets as a professional development activity.
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Symposium:
Focusing on Practice: Current Issues in CPD
Chairperson: Dr Jenny Reeves
Senior Lecturer, Institute of Education, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, 01786 467607
cjr1@stir.ac.uk
Discussant: Morag Redford
Teaching Fellow, Institute of Education, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA,
01786 466279, mr19@stir.ac.uk
These papers explore a number of issues pertinent to CPD, in relation to the practice-based
Chartered Teacher programme, MEd Professional Enquiry in Education. The first two papers
explore our interpretation of the Standard for Chartered Teacher as providers. We will look at the
ways in which this interpretation has impacted upon the practice of developing Chartered Teacher
and how we facilitate this. The third paper will look in more detail at learners’ perceptions of
those aspects of the programme which lead them to change their ideas and their practice.
Paper 1: What is Collaborative Professional Enquiry?
Alison Fox
Senior Teaching Fellow, Institute of Education, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA
Keywords: Collaborative professional enquiry, collegiality, chartered teachers
Aspiring Chartered Teachers undertaking the MEd Professional Enquiry in Education programme
at the University of Stirling undertake a collaborative professional enquiry (CPE) as the final
work-based element of their course. This paper will explore our understanding of what this means
in relation to different models of CPE. It will look at the issues that have been raised as the
teachers in the pilot cohort undertake a CPE in their own settings, regarding the practicability of
such an enterprise. While policy makers assume collegiality within school communities, there is
evidence to suggest that this way of working is not universally embraced. The intention is also to
start a dialogue about the value of such professional action. What, if anything, does CPE
contribute to learning in schools?
SERA Conference 2005
56
CPD
Paper 2:
Translating Policy into Practice: Reflective Practice
Claire Whewell
Teaching Fellow, Institute of Education, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA
Keywords: reflective practice, collaborative dialogue, learning journals
The publication of the Standard for Chartered Teacher has led to the development of universitybased Masters courses that allow teachers aiming to achieve the Standard to explore their personal
practice. Within our own programme individuals join cohorts that encourage collaborative
dialogue and exploration through the use of reflective practices. These reflective practices include
the use of dialogue, learning journals and critical incidents. Through engaging with these
practices individuals bring their own experiences and interpretations of readings that they have
undertaken prior to group discussions. Readings range from national and school policy
documents to more academic texts. In turn this supports critical engagement with current
professional practice. Those engaging in our programme have experienced this as a safe and
supportive environment in which to explore personal practice, an opportunity that, for some, is
currently missing from schools. This can lead to conflict arising from the individual’s role in
school as well as relationship with colleagues as they develop professionally and work towards
achieving the Standard for chartered teacher.
Paper 3: Thinking Movement: making changes through CPD
Dr John I’Anson
Lecturer, Institute of Education, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA
Keywords: changing practice, professional self, professionalism
The Chartered Teaching initiative in Scotland was premised upon transformed professionalism in
which professional practice is changed through teachers’ work upon their professional selves.
This paper draws extensively upon interviews conducted with nine students midway through their
M.Ed course in order to explore respondents’ own views of the effects of the course upon them.
A key theme in respondents’ accounts of their professional learning that came through in the
interviews was that of movement. This concept would appear to reform considerable work in the
sense that respondents make of their learning experiences. In this paper we will (1) explore how
this concept was used by respondents (2) consider what respondents see as having produced these
movements and (3) enquire in to the effects of these movements. These movements are explored
in relation to changing practice and becoming a ‘different’ professional self.
SERA Conference 2005
57
CPD
Participation in a distributed, collaborative, online network as lecturer CPD
Kevin Brosnan
Teaching Fellow, University of Stirling
DAICE, Institute of Education, Airthrey Castle, Stirling, FK9 4LA, 01786 466143,
k.d.r.brosnan@stir.ac.uk
Keywords: pedagogy, boundary-crossing, narrative
The Learning to Learn project (L2L) is funded by the UK Joint Information Systems Committee
(JISC) for three years to July 2005. The project brings together staff from a range of further
education colleges (FECs) and one higher education institution (HEI) in central Scotland. The
project is developing learning-objects, digital learning resources that conform to internationally
agreed standards regarding their structure and the meta-data used to describe them. The resultant
learning objects will be deposited in a national repository and made available to the UK FE and
HE sectors. The L2L learning objects are designed to be used by tutors working with mature
students returning to formal education or making the transition from FE to HE. The L2L project
has developed a pedagogic framework, based on the work of Tom Shuell (1992) and is
investigating how effective this framework is in helping lecturers express and share their
pedagogic strategies with other lecturers and how useful this process is as an aspect of continuing
professional development. In regarding learning-objects as artifacts (embedded within the process
of sharing them across a distributed community of practice), that may be useful in supporting
continuing professional development, the paper draws attention to the work of Star (2003) on
boundary objects. The concept of boundary objects is further elaborated by Wenger (1998) and
this paper examines whether this perspective can be usefully applied to the work of L2L in
investigating the potential of learning-objects as artefacts for staff development. The paper draws
upon empirical data collected as part of the ongoing evaluation of the L2L project.
Shuell, T. (1992). Designing instructional computing systems for meaningful learning. In M.
Jones & P. Winne (Eds.), Adaptive learning environments.New York: Springer.
Star, S., & Griesemer, J. (2003). Institutional ecology. 'translations' and boundary objects:
Amatuers and professionals in berkeley's musuem of vertebrate zoology, 1907-39. Social
Studies of Science, 19(3), 387-420.
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity.Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
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CPD
Teachers’ CPD – the Case for PEAR-shaped Design
Mr Norman Coutts
University of Aberdeen, School of Education, Hilton Site, Aberdeen, AB24 4FA 01224
274584, n.coutts@abdn.ac.uk
Keywords: CPD : Practitioner Research: Professionalism
The professionalism of Scottish teachers has been and is being redefined and attention given to
how an extended and enhanced professionalism can be developed and sustained. The conceptual
basis of CPD and the means of its delivery are being reconsidered. Thus the adequacy of existing
and emerging models of professionalism and CPD are both subject to debate. This paper seeks to
contribute to these debates by drawing insights from involvement in the AERS project on
communities of practice and a series of SEED FLaT evaluator projects to reflect on how teachers
do, and might, learn together to sustain their professional growth. A model of CPD as PEARshaped activity inspired by principles of learning through participation (commitment to help
others learn), exploration (of problematic aspects of practice and wider policy issues), action (for
change) and reflection (for self and systemic evaluation) is presented for scrutiny and discussion.
The paper concludes that such a model marks and requires a significant shift away from technicist
and individualistic ideas, such as reflective practice, towards more collegiate and social models of
CPD as a form of social learning or shared sense-making.
SERA Conference 2005
59
CPD
Perceptions of pedagogical change: the impact of a seven-day professional
development programme
Christine A. Fraser
Lecturer in Education (Primary)
University of Aberdeen, School of Education, Hilton Drive, ABERDEEN AB24 4FA
tel. 01224 274839
email: c.a.fraser@abdn.ac.uk
Keywords: professional development, teachers, science education
ABSTRACT: Within this study, the continuing need for professional development in science
education is established and the philosophy of one programme of professional development is
outlined. The subsequent case study examines teachers’ perceptions of the impact of a seven-day
professional development programme on confidence, understanding of investigative (or process)
skills, and pedagogy in relation to science investigations. The evidence considered was collected
through questionnaires involving 36 teachers and in-depth interviews with 3 of them. The
questionnaires were completed on conclusion of the seven-day professional development
programme and approximately one term later. Interviews were conducted one term after
completing the programme. The reflective views of teachers indicated that confidence in using,
and understanding of, investigative skills not only increased during the seven-day programme, but
continued to do so for at least one-term afterwards. However, an increased perception of the value
of investigative work did not result in teachers carrying out more investigations with their classes.
The nature of, and some of the reasons for, perceived changes are examined in the light of
experiences provided and existing models of professional development. Possible implications
for the structure and timing of professional development programmes are noted.
SERA Conference 2005
60
Initial Teacher Education (ITE)
SERA Conference 2005
61
ITE
Developing professional identities: mature professional graduates’ experience of
initial teacher education
Cate Watson
School of Education, University of Aberdeen, Hilton Place, Aberdeen AB24 4FA
01224 274873
ca.j.watson@abdn.ac.uk
Keywords: identity, mature students, initial teacher education
Recent changes in Scottish education have sought to redefine the nature of ‘professionalism’ in
teaching. How has this impacted on the development of students’ professional identities? The aim
of this paper is to explore the experiences of a group of mature Professional Graduate Diploma in
Education (Secondary) (PGDE(S)) students of their ITE course within the new educational
landscape in Scotland. In particular, it focuses on the school as a site for the development of
teaching identities within the context of being a ‘mature’ student and examines the students’
perception of the relationship between school and university. The paper offers a primarily
thematic analysis of group interviews held over the course of a year with a group of PGDE(S)
students. This analysis is placed within a reflective framework in which the students themselves
have responded and contributed to the analysis.
SERA Conference 2005
62
ITE
Student Teacher Placements in Secondary Schools – To What Extent Are Student
Expectations Met?
Yvonne Dewhurst , David McMurtry
Yvonne Dewhurst, The School of Education, The University of Aberdeen, Hilton Place,
Aberdeen, AB24 4FA. Tel: 01224 274635; y.dewhurst@abdn.ac.uk
Keywords: Student teacher placements; mentoring; key experiences and support.
The presentation will report upon research undertaken by the presenters during 2004-2005 which
involved an extensive review of literature and empirical research.
The principle research question was ‘What support and experiences do student teachers think are
essential whilst they are on placement in secondary schools and to what extent are these
provided?’
The research is essentially qualitative as it endeavours to understand the perspectives of the
individual participants. Quantitative data has been collated and analysed to determine frequency.
Two groups of student teachers preparing for their final placement in schools, in different years,
were asked what support and essential experiences they think they need whilst on placement in
schools. Over 160 responses were received. Principal Teachers in schools throughout the North
East of Scotland were then asked to state what experiences and support they provided or offered; a
similar number of responses was received. The comments from both groups were then coded and
classified to produce statements which communicated all the opinions expressed. What was
perceived to be essential by the students and the extent to which this support and these
experiences were provided by schools was then determined. The data was then further analysed
using qualitative statistical software (Statistical Package for the Science Sciences) and
associations between different views were exposed, analysed and evaluated. The findings from
this empirical research were then compared with the work of others and theoretical and conceptual
literature and thinking on mentoring, professional placements, and internships.
The conference presentation will report upon the findings of the review of literature and the
empirical research. It will also propose or suggest what are the key support mechanisms and
experiences which secondary schools and/or teachers should provide to student teachers on
placement and why. A paper will be distributed to those present.
SERA Conference 2005
63
ITE
Male ITE students’ expectation of their role within a pre-school setting
Maria Cassidy, Patricia Brown
Faculty of Education, University of Glasgow, St. Andrew’s Building, 11 Eldon Street, Glasgow,
G3 6NH
0141 330 3429
0141 330 3423
mcassidy@educ.gla.ac.uk
PatriciaBrown@educ.gla.ac.uk
Keywords: pre-school; male; ITE students
Statistics available from the Scottish Executive (SE; 2004) show that men accounted for just
under 8 per cent of staff in private and maintained primary schools in Scotland and “nearly all”
the pre-school teachers were female (Scottish Office Central Research Unit: 1998). Men are rarely
found in nurseries. A substantial number of those employed in pre-five settings are female (SE:
2005). The lack of male staff has been framed as problematic and current debates about the
gender imbalance of early years educators focus on children’s need for male role models, boys’
perceived underachievement in some curricular areas and the status of early years educators.
The focus and aims of the study were to investigate the views and expectations of male ITE
students of their role within the pre-five setting, as they undertake the pre-five experience
placement of the B Ed (Hons) course in primary education.
The methodology of this study involved two strands. Firstly, a review of the literature was
undertaken. This revealed that there wide gaps in terms of the total amount of literature
available. Secondly, a focus group interview was held prior to the student’s pre-school
placement. The data was analysed manually by response to each question. These were entered
into a repertory grid to give an overview of the responses and identify trends.
The paper presents the findings of this study in which the expectations of make ITE students of
their role within a pre-school setting are examined.
Early findings suggest that students are confident about being accepted by the children in the
nursery, however, less confident about their relationship with the adults. Trends that emerged
throughout the interview were anxieties held by the students about three particular issues. These
were physical contact with the children, ability to communicate effectively with young children
and their image.
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64
ITE
Professional Identity and the Early Years Pedagogue
Ms. Grace Paton
School of Education
University of Paisley
University Campus, Ayr.
Beechgrove
Ayr KA8 0SR
01292 886227
grace.Paton@paisley.ac.uk
Keywords: early childhood –pedagogy- collaborative working
In the context of the Scottish Executive currently reviewing policy relating to early education and
care, the research focuses on the pre-school education component of initial professional
programmes for teacher education students and childhood studies students. A small-scale case
study approach using focus groups is adopted to investigate how Bachelor of Education Students
and BA Childhood Studies students construct the role of the early years pedagogue. The research
reflects curriculum development within a School of Education of a Scottish University. Analysis
of data over a 2-year period indicates diversity in interpretation of the role of the early childhood
pedagogue within and across student groups. Findings indicate that academic staff’s approaches to
learning and teaching and the expectations of the student role in placement influence how the
undergraduates construct the role of the pedagogue. Whilst there was some consensus of opinion
on pedagogical issues, marked differences in attitudes to collaborative practice were apparent.
SERA Conference 2005
65
ITE
‘When did they last take 30 children on a wet Wednesday afternoon?’ Exploring
the concept of the ‘recent relevant experience’ (RRE) of teacher education staff in
two Scottish universities.
Moya Cove
Lecturer (University of Glasgow)
Department of Curriculum Studies, St. Andrew’s Building, 11 Eldon Street, Glasgow G3 6NH
Keywords: Recent relevant experience / teacher education / theory-practice
This paper explores a concern raised by a number of serving teachers (McCrone Report, 2000)
about the ‘recent relevant experience’ (RRE) of teacher education staff. Despite policy initiatives
in England and Wales (DES Circular 3/84: DES Circular 24/89) to direct teacher education
institutions to guarantee that ITE staff have RRE (and similar embracement of this principle in
Scotland) questions exploring the effectiveness of this move have been neglected in research
studies. This small scale qualitative study employs focus groups and semi-structured interviews to
find out what concepts, attitudes and beliefs are held by a range of ITE stakeholders on the issue
of RRE and to examine how RRE is perceived to add value to ITE programmes.
The findings indicate that the concept of RRE is problematic. There is no agreed definition of the
term itself and different stakeholders have different interpretations of RRE which appear to relate
to the nature of their role within the ITE partnership and to their role expectations of others. The
findings shed some light on the nature of the disquiet about RRE and would suggest that this is
related to fundamental debates about ITE and how teacher education is conceptualised. The study
shows agreement amongst ITE partners that valid classroom currency is essential to maintain
quality in all ITE programmes, though there were different views on how this can be achieved.
The study concludes that existing partnership arrangements would benefit from review to clarify
and strengthen stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities.
SERA Conference 2005
66
ITE
Using Concept Mapping to Explore Scottish Student Teachers’ Understanding of
Electrical Concepts
Morag Findlay
Department of Curricular Studies, Division of Mathematics, Science and Technological
Education, University of Strathclyde, Jordanhill Campus, 76 Southbrae Drive, Glasgow, G13 1PP,
0141 950 3406, morag.findlay@strath.ac.uk
Keywords: Concept mapping, initial teacher education, electrical concepts
In Scotland all specialist teachers of Physics, Chemistry and Biology also teach General Science.
One topic in First and Second Year secondary Science which research has shown to be
problematic for pupils and teachers is electricity. There is no consensus on how to teach
electricity, leading to a variety of approaches in schools. This paper looks at student teachers’
understanding of electrical concepts at the beginning of a one-year Initial Teacher Education
(ITE) course. Student teachers were asked to draw a concept map based on the electrical
vocabulary in the 5-14 Environmental Studies National Guidelines before considering electrical
concepts during the course. The concept maps were converted to an electronic format using
Cmap Tools software. Initial analysis suggests that the concept maps drawn by student teachers
of Physics contain more concepts and are more complex than the concept maps drawn by the other
student teachers. The longer-term aim is to identify particular concepts which may benefit from
further attention during ITE. Further research is needed to explore the stability of the student
teachers’ concept maps; how much the maps change over the course of the ITE year and any
variation between the groups of students. Expanding the survey to include topics from Biology
and Chemistry education would help to answer some of these questions
SERA Conference 2005
67
ITE
The Socially Constructed Nature of Student Teacher Conceptions of Enthusiasm
David Johnston
School Of Education
Aberdeen University
Hilton Place
Aberdeen
AB24 4FA
Tel: 01224 274646
Email address: d.h.johnston@abdn.ac.uk
Tutors interviewing applicants for the PGDE (Secondary) English course at Aberdeen University
have noted that interviewees often justify their intentions to become a secondary English teacher
in terms of a desire to pass on to pupils their own love of reading and of literature. Moreover,
previous research conducted by this writer into PGDE English students’ conceptions of being an
English teacher has revealed the centrality of ‘enthusiasm’ as a core personal construct.
While current thinking about learning emphasises the importance of the emotions to cognition,
there is little existing research on the nature of enthusiasm as a construct, on its origins and
manifestations and on the influence of contextual factors in shaping the development of student
teachers’ working understanding of what it means to be an enthusiastic teacher.
Indeed, the research on enthusiasm that does exist is inconclusive in its findings. Although some
studies have suggested links between levels of teacher enthusiasm and positive student outcomes,
others have warned of the deceptive nature of enthusiasm: being enthusiastic is necessary but
insufficient in itself in supporting successful pupil achievement.
Drawing on data from interviews, reflective logs and on-line discussion postings, the present
study investigates enthusiasm as seen from the perspective of PGDE Secondary students of
English. It aims to discover how they construe enthusiasm, how they see it working, both
positively and negatively, in the different contexts in which they work as student teachers. Early
findings point to the socially constructed nature of enthusiasm and to the mutually constituting
effects of contextual factors and enthusiasm. Enthusiasm seems to be embedded in student
teachers’ moral purposes, in their relationships and interactions with both school colleagues,
university tutors and school pupils – relationships which are imbued with notions of power and
status and which are developed through the school and university cultures into which student
teachers are socialised.
In the light of reports of teacher disaffection and burn out, the implications are considered as
regards supporting student teachers and newly qualified teachers in sustaining enthusiasm
throughout a career often characterised by, on the one hand, by pupil indiscipline and disorder
and, on the other, by a culture of excessive bureaucracy and centralised control.
SERA Conference 2005
68
ITE
Video Interaction Guidance as a mentoring tool in Initial Teacher Education
Carole J Thomson
University of Aberdeen
c.j.Thomson@abdn.ac.uk
Keywords: video interaction guidance, reflection, mentoring
Video Interaction Guidance is an approach which aims to give students insights into their
relationships in classroom interactions
The aim was to evaluate the methodology of Video Interaction Guidance as a tool to facilitate
student teachers’ reflections on their interactions with children and improve their practice. A
secondary aim was to explore the technique as a means of professional development for tutors.
The methodology involved the researchers video-taping students’ interactions with children for
ten minute segments while on placement in schools. The videotapes were analysed to identify
three short sections of each student’s positive interactions with children. These were viewed by
the student and researcher together and discussed. The aim is for the student teacher to identify
the positive elements of their interactions, how these might be enhanced and increased and also to
note any areas for further development. In turn these discussions were also videoed and analysed
by the researchers to identify their own positive strategies in this process. Data collection has also
included questionnaires and interviews.
Findings would suggest that using video to reflect on their interactions has assisted students in
identifying positive strategies in their interactions with children and increased their confidence in
their ability to teach. It also points to a number of different mentoring styles of tutors and their
effects on students’ reflective responses.
SERA Conference 2005
69
ITE
Unity and Diversity? Initial teacher education in Scotland and England
Estelle Brisard, Ian Smith, Ian Menter
Estelle Brisard and Ian Smith, University of Paisley; Ian Menter, University of Glasgow
Estelle Brisard, School of Education, University of Paisley, University Campus Ayr, Beech
Grove, Ayr KA8 0SR, 01292 826600
Keywords: Initial teacher education; Scotland; England
Initial teacher education in Scotland is currently provided by just seven university education
departments and there is a very limited number of routes of entry into the profession. In England
on the other hand entry into the profession is possible through a great variety of routes and
involves more than a hundred providers, including schools, higher education institutions and other
organisations and partnerships.
This paper draws on 'Convergence or Divergence?', a two year comparative study based at the
University of Paisley, which has been examining policy and practice in initial teacher education in
the two countries.
The particular questions addressed here are:
•
•
•
Is the Scottish system as homogeneous as it appears?
What are the effects of the heterogeneity of the English system?
What is the significance of the apparent relative (apparent) unity and diversity of the two
systems?
The paper explores the relationships between policy processes and initial teacher education
practices in order to answer these questions. Data is drawn from interviews with policymakers,
ITE practitioners and students in both settings, as well as from observations of practice and from
policy documents.
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70
Policy and Policy Implementation (PPI)
SERA Conference 2005
71
PPI
Methodological considerations in poststructural policy analysis
Aileen Kennedy
Department of Educational & Professional Studies
University of Strathclyde,
76 Southbrae Drive
Glasgow
G13 1PP
Telephone 0141 950 3356
Email: aileen.kennedy@strath.ac.uk
Keywords: poststructuralism, critical discourse analysis, policy analysis
This paper takes as its focus a recent study analysing CPD policy for teachers in Scotland. Using
this example, it justifies the poststructural approach adopted and illustrates and evaluates the
methodological processes used. The chosen approach does not seek to analyse the content of
policy as such, but instead seeks to interrogate the assumptions made in policy development and
the ways in which dominant discourse normalises a particular ideological approach to policy. The
approach acknowledges the explicit political engagement of the researcher in seeking to ‘expose
structures of domination by diagnosing ‘power/knowledge’ relations’ (Peters and Humes, 2003, p.
112).
The paper begins with an exploration of the definition and limitations of the term
‘poststructuralism’ as it applies to educational research and in so doing provides a justification for
the approach adopted in the analysis of this particular policy. It then goes on to explore in detail
the two principal sources of data: documentary evidence and a series of interviews with elite
figures in Scottish education. The data were subject to critical discourse analysis, using van Dijk’s
(2001) socio-cognitive framework, and the interview data were organised and analysed using the
software NVivo.
While the paper focuses on the analysis of one particular policy as an illustration, it argues that
this methodology is not only sound in relation to this piece of analysis, but that it provides a
means by which the interrogation of educational policy can be opened up to much more
fundamental debate about purpose, values, power and control.
References:
Peter, M. & Humes, W. (2003). The reception of post-structuralism in educational research and
policy. Journal of Educational Policy, 18(2), 109-113.
van Dijk, T. A. (2001). Multidisciplinary CDA: A plea for diversity. In R. Wodak & M. Meyer
(Eds.), Methods of critical discourse analysis (pp. 95–120). London: Sage.
SERA Conference 2005
72
PPI
English and the Social Division of Labour: orientations and outcomes
Dr Tat Heung Choi
Department of Education Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Hong Kong Baptist University,
Kowloon, Hong Kong; tel: 00 852 3411 5716;
e-mail: thchoi@hkbu.edu.hk
Keywords: English-medium education; social differentiation; symbolic control
This paper begins by expressing concern over the paucity of research into social differentiation
and English-medium education in Hong Kong, despite evidence from comparable colonial
contexts. Two aspects of orientation to English are identified: occupational and cultural
orientations. Occupational orientation refers to the role of English in social stratification and the
distribution of employment opportunity. Cultural orientation refers to the role of English in the
structuring of consciousness and identity. This dual form of occupational and cultural orientations
is manifest in the penetration of the instrumental and symbolic values of English in the economic
and social spheres. On these grounds, English is a powerful colonising habitus in the fields of
production and symbolic control. Drawing on trajectory data from a sample of A-level students
through interviews, the analysis focuses on their perceptions of the values of learning English, of
the privileging of English at the secondary stage, and of their association of English with power
and competence. Despite a common recognition of the instrumental and symbolic values of
English as a colonial and international language, there was differentiated consciousness between
and within the broad social classes, through the realisation of English in academic and social
contexts. The implications of these complex orientations and outcomes are discussed in the light
of Bernstein’s work on language and symbolic control. Such connections, though by no means
direct, provide a way of understanding many facets of the respondents’ orientations to English that
are significant for their academic destinations and social identities (regions of the social division
of labour).
SERA Conference 2005
73
PPI
A Family Affair? The contribution of the Family Support Service to Integrated
Community Schools in one Council in Scotland
Brian Boyd
Professor of Education
University of Strathclyde
Faculty of Education
76 Southbrae Drive
Glasgow G13 1PP
0141 950 3296
E-mail: brian.boyd@strath.ac.uk
Keywords: Integrated Community Schools; family support; inter-agency collaboration
A Council in Scotland has developed a Family Support Service within the Education Department
and has deployed it in support of its Integrated Community Schools. As part of its strategy of
‘rolling out’ the ICS concept to all schools in the Council, the Family Support Service has also
beome available to all schools. The dilema facing the Education service is how to maintain its
commitment to schools in the areas of most severe disadvantage while supporting families in need
across the whole authority. The research project commissioned by the Education department was
short-term and small-scale, involving four clusters of schools from Jnauary to June 2005. It was a
qualitative study, involving interviews with key groups and individuals including pupils, parents,
school staff, professionals from other departments and agencies and Family Support Service staff;
observation of groups and individuals in schools and community projects; analysis of
documentation and sources of evidence on impact and attandance at key meetings of decisionmakers. The issues which emerged are important in the light of the recent HMIE report More
than the sum of its parts and include clarity of roles and function, management, criteria for
allocation and transparency of decision-making; tension between allocation to the most
disadvantaged schools and the desire to support all schools; need for valid and reliable indicators
of impact. Finally, the paper will consider issues of such Council sponsored policy-led research
and its locus in the intenal decision-making process particularly in terms of the integrity of the
research process when expectations of stakeholders vary.
SERA Conference 2005
74
PPI
The Nursery as a ‘Children’s Space’?
Lesley Gallacher
Institute of Geography, University of Edinburgh, Drummond St, Edinburgh, EH8 9XP
0131 650 2532
lesley.gallacher@ed.ac.uk
Keywords: preschool, social organisation, space
This paper explores the concept of ‘children’s spaces’ as a way of understanding the social and
spatial processes of teaching and learning in the nursery. Peter Moss and Pat Petrie offer this
notion as an alternative to more traditional understandings of public provisions for childhood as
bureaucratic, technical and disciplinary in nature. They term this the ‘children’s services’ model.
Instead, children’s spaces are actual places which are continually (re)negotiated-in-action by the
adults and children who use them. This concept is heavily influenced by the internationally
renowned system of preschool education developed in the Italian town of Reggio Emilia. Reggio
Emilia educators advocate a pedagogy of listening and relationships in which learning is
understood as a process of negotiation. They also refer to the nursery environment as an educator
in its own right. Thus, space is not understood as a mere physical container to be arranged by
preschool educators to produce specific outcomes, but as having social, cultural, emotional and
discursive, as well as physical, characteristics. This is a useful way of conceptualising the
spatiality of Scottish preschool education. This paper explores these ideas in relation to an
ethnographic study of a Scottish nursery, looking at the social and spatial negotiations as nursery
educators and children organize and (re)organize the nursery.
SERA Conference 2005
75
PPI
Many ‘extra hands’?: A study of the impact of additional support staff in Scottish
schools
Dr Valerie Wilson, Dr Julia Davidson
SCRE Centre, Glasgow University
Contact:
Dr Valerie Wilson, SCRE Centre, Glasgow University, St Andrew’s Building, 11 Eldon St,
Glasgow G3 6NH
Tel: 0141-330-1968, Email: valerie.wilson@scre.ac.uk
Keywords: Teachers’ Agreement, Support staff, Scottish schools
Background
The national agreement on teachers’ pay and conditions (A Teaching Profession for the 21st
Century) (Scottish Executive, 2002) promised that the equivalent of 3500 additional support staff
would be appointed to work in Scottish schools by 1 April 2004. The aim was to reduce the
administrative burden on teachers and ensure that they could concentrate on those activities which
required their professional expertise. Between 2002 and 2004, fifty million pounds were allocated
annually to local authorities through Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) so that this part of the
Teachers’ Agreement could be implemented.
Research aim
This paper will report the main findings from a study of the impact of additional support staff
funded by the Teachers’ Agreement. It was commissioned by the Scottish Executive on behalf of
the Scottish Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers and undertaken by the SCRE Centre
between September 2004 and April 2005. The main aims were to:
estimate the number of support staff employed;
estimate the value of any capital expenditure; and
evaluate the impact of additional support staff upon teachers’ workload.
Methods
Evidence was collected from all 32 Scottish local authorities (100% response rate), a sample of
850 schools (267, 31% response) and six case study schools.
Implications
The implications for teachers’ workload will be discussed.
SERA Conference 2005
76
PPI
The Gender Balance in the Teaching Workforce in Scotland: What's the
Problem?
Catherine Burns, Alan Ducklin, Sheila Riddell, Anne Stafford, Lyn Tett, Mandy
Winterton, Jo Edson
Catherine Burns, Alan Ducklin, Sheila Riddell, Anne Stafford, Lyn Tett, Mandy Winterton ,
Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh, Jo Edson (University of Glasgow).
School of Education, University of Edinburgh, Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH88AQ
0131 651 6121
alan.ducklin@ed.ac.uk
Keywords: Teaching Profession, Gender, Change.
According to Scottish Executive Statistics, the proportion of teachers who are male has dropped
from 30 per cent in 1996 to 25 per cent in 2004. Primary school teaching has always been
dominated by women, whilst the proportion of women and men in secondary school teaching has
been more evenly balanced. However, women now also make up the majority of secondary
school teachers. This paper draws on findings from a research project funded by the Scottish
Executive Education Department and conducted at the University of Edinburgh in 2005. The
research investigated statistical trends, made comparisons with the composition of the teaching
profession in other countries, surveyed undergraduates' views of teaching as a career and
accessed the views of practising teachers through focus groups and individual interviews.
Drawing on the perceptions of a range of groups and the statistical data, this paper asks the
following questions:
What changes have taken place in the gender composition of the teaching workforce in Scotland?
Why is the proportion of men in teaching falling?
Should we be concerned about the declining participation of men in teaching, and if so, what
solutions to halt or reverse the trend might be possible?
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Making reasonable adjustments for students with dyslexia in higher education:
some of the issues and tensions
Dr Elisabet Weedon and Professor Sheila Riddell
Centre for Research in Education Inclusion and Diversity, Moray House School of Education,
University of Edinburgh, Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AQ
0131 651 6170
Elisabet.Weedon@ed.ac.uk
Keywords: students with dyslexia, reasonable and anticipatory adjustments, academic staff
The number of students with a diagnosis of dyslexia in higher education has increased
considerably over the past decade. This group now makes up around 50% of students with a
declared disability (www.hesa.ac.uk/holisdocs/pubinfo/student). Recent legislation requires HEIs
to ensure equal opportunities for all students. In relation to disabled students, this includes
making ‘reasonable adjustments’, and increasingly ‘anticipatory adjustments’, to the teaching,
learning and assessments of these students. However, what constitutes a ‘reasonable adjustment’
is not entirely clear-cut (Tinklin et al, 2004, Riddell, et al, 2005). This lack of clarity creates
tensions both at an institutional level, at the departmental level and for students. What constitutes
‘dyslexia’ is contentious (e.g. Rice with Brooks, 2004), adding to the difficulties in defining what
constitutes reasonable adjustments for this group of students. Perceptions of what is ‘fair
treatment’ of all students thus impact on both staff and students.
This paper will explore some of these tensions by drawing on case study materials from a fouryear, ESRC/TLRP Phase 3 longitudinal study entitled ‘Enhancing the learning experiences and
outcomes for disabled students in higher education’ (RES-139-25-0135). The project includes
four different universities; however, this paper focuses mainly on materials from one of these
institutions and examines data drawn from a questionnaire survey and interviews with academics
and students. The way that academics view reasonable support for dyslexic students and the
provision that they make, or choose not to make, is considered in relation to the students’
experiences and expectations.
References:
Rice, M. and Brooks, G. 2004 Developmental Dyslexia in Adults: A Research Review. London:
National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy
Riddell, S., Tinklin, T. and Wilson, A. 2005 Disabled Students in Higher Education. London:
Routledge Falmer
Tinklin, T., Riddell, S. & Wilson, A. (2004) Policy and provision for disabled students in higher
education in Scotland and England: the current state of play. Studies in Higher Education, Vol
29, No 5
www.hesa.ac.uk/holisdocs/pubinfo/student
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Initial Teacher Education in Hong Kong: in at the deep-end and for the longterm.
Dr Victor Forrester
Department of Education Studies,
Baptist University,
Kowloon,
Hong Kong
vforrest@hkbu.edu.hk
Keywords: initial teacher education, scaffolding professional development, Hong Kong.
Two research projects are reported that investigate first the perspectives of school principals about
to hire new teachers and second the experiences of newly hired teachers.
These perspectives are probed in the context of on-going education reforms within Hong Kong’s
government-funded secondary school system. In keeping with the exploratory nature of the
inquiry, interview and questionnaire methods are adopted. Reported school managers’
perspectives encompass traditional conceptions of professionalism: knowledge, skills, values and
attitudes, as well as an attitudinal ability to cope successfully with educational change. By
contrast, reported beginning teachers’ perspectives describe their reality in secondary schools as
conforming to a different tradition: for these beginning teachers, concerns with professional
development are less important than coping with their individual contexts. An analysis will be
offered to provide an initial teacher education framework that scaffolds both the immediate
demands on & needs of initial teachers while also fostering their longer-term professional
development. Contrasts will be encouraged between the reported Hong Kong experience and
Scotland’s post-McCrone Report initial teacher development scaffolding.
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“Involving Young People in Community Planning”
Terry Barber
University of Dundee
Contact: t.barber@dundee.ac.uk. Telephone: 01382-464427
Keywords: Community Planning, Involvement, Methods
This paper explores the theory and practice of involving young people in Community Planning
Partnerships across the 32 Local Authority Areas of Scotland. The work draws upon an extensive
literature review of participation theory and models of participation which seek to explain the
nature of involvement by young people in structure. The paper will outline a range of research
methodologies used to collect data from young people involved in the community planning
process and those connected at a more strategic level professionally. An interpretative analysis
will draw upon field research carried out by the University in partnership with YouthLink
Scotland over the past year, as well as a national survey of the Partnerships and their strategies for
involvement. The focus of this paper is to highlight the efficacy of methods and structures which
seek to enhance experiential learning within the Community Planning context. A number of
conclusions outline the opportunities and contradictions which exist in developing the genuine
engagement of young people in Scotland. These conclusions, it is argued, will have implications
for working with young people in both mainstream and informal educational settings.
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Schools and Social Capital: Issues for Policy Research
Ralph Catts
PhD Senior Research Fellow, AERS,
in collaboration with AERS Network members to be advised.
Institute of Education, Airthrey Castle, University of Stirling FK9 4LA
01786 466273; ralph.catts@aers.ac.uk
Keywords: Social Capital, policy, review, collaborative research
Social capital is recognised as a useful framework for understanding educational contexts
(Coleman, 1990, Fine and Green, 2000). The concept focuses on networks, norms, trust and forms
of reciprocity that make it particularly relevant to issues of inclusion and civic engagement and
the ways in which relationships within schools contribute to, or restrict, these processes.
This paper considers the existing knowledge base of social capital, its value in understanding
school contexts and its capacity for informing policy and implementing change. The paper is
based on a synthesis of three reviews to be completed in June 2005 in the Schools and Social
Capital (SSC) Network of the Applied Educational Research Scheme (AERS). One group has
reviewed Scottish policies, a second considered research findings about Social Capital and
Schools, and the third examined the relevance to schooling of theories of social capital. One
outcome is the identification of policy research questions for Scotland.
Each review group included policymakers, school professionals and academics. The participants
identified texts for review and analysing. The participants’ own educational contexts provided an
important basis for considering relevance and implications. The activities were envisaged as an
exercise in building social capital, as a framework for collaboration and co-authoring, and as a
more effective means of knowledge transfer (Ozga, 2005). Thus, the paper, as well as reporting
the findings of the three reviews, will consider also the process of engagement among the key
stakeholders.
References
Coleman, J (1990) Equality and achievement in education. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Fine, B and Green, F (2000) Economics, Social Capital and the Colonisation of the Social
Sciences", in Baron, S. et al (eds) Social Capital: Critical Perspectives, Oxford: Oxford University
Press, pp. 78-93.
Ozga, J (2005) In the Public Interest? Research, Knowledge Transfer & Education Policy.
Inaugural Lecture, 25 January, 2005, University of Edinburgh.
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No Return to the Golden Age of Egalitarian Reform
Robert Doherty
University of Glasgow
McPherson, A. and Willms, J.D. (1987) Equalization and Improvement: Some effects of
Comprehensive Reorganisation in Scotland, Sociology, 21 p.509-39.
“It may be that a later historical perspective will have to acknowledge the early 1980s as the high
point of egalitarian reform…” (McPherson and Willms, 1987).
This paper attempts to explore the implications for education policy arising from aspects of Third
Way political thought. The self-understanding of a Third Way project as articulated by some of its
key advocates is reviewed and the context of its emergence considered. Some reflections on the
nature of mass politics in the liberal democracy of late modernity are offered in an attempt to
create a background from which to consider social policy and in particular the impact of Third
Way on state education policy. In particular this paper considers the implications for equality
arising from the project of Third Way politics in relation to education.
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Tension and slippage: the status and impact of educational research in Iceland
Dr M. Allyson Macdonald , Ingibjörg Kaldalóns, Dr Jón Torfi Jónasson
Dr M. Allyson Macdonald
Iceland University of Education, allyson@khi.is, +354 563 3805
Ingibjörg Kaldalóns
Iceland University of Education, inga@khi.is, +354 563 3891
Dr Jón Torfi Jónasson
University of Iceland, jtj@hi.is, +354 525 4524
Keywords: research policy, educational research, impact
The status accorded to educational research may be as much a result of the activities of
researchers as it is a reflection of the way in which research and development systems initiate,
fund, use and reward educational research.
Labaree (2003) has written about the status of educational research in the academy and about the
problems educational researchers face in “living with a lesser form of knowledge” (Labaree
1998). Educational knowledge is soft and applied rather than hard and pure, and it provides use
value rather than exchange value. In recent years several evaluations of educational research have
been carried out, including a major study in Australia (2000) and OECD national reviews in New
Zealand (2001), England (2003), Mexico (2003) and Denmark (2004). Knowledge management is
a clear theme in the OECD approach (http://www.oecd.org) .
From 2003-2005 an evaluation of educational research in Iceland was carried out under the
auspices of the Icelandic Centre for Research focussing on:
ƒ University-based educational research,
ƒ Institute-based research,
ƒ Development work in schools, and
ƒ Research and evaluation in education in the private sector.
Several themes emerged from the evaluation.
In this paper we will consider some assertions made by Labaree and evaluators of educational
research and the extent to which they are borne out by the Icelandic findings. The status of
researchers within the scientific community and in relation to practitioners and policy-makers is
discussed. Further we consider dilemmas raised by ‘consultation’, ‘coordination’, ‘cooperation’
and ‘collaboration’ in attempts to enhance the impact of educational research.
References:
Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Australia (2000). The impact of educational
research.
Labaree, David (1998) Educational Researchers: Living with a Lesser Form of Knowledge. Educational
Researcher, 27, 8, 4-12.
Labaree, David (2003). The Peculiar Problems of Preparing Educational Researchers. Educational
Researcher, 32, 4, 13-22.
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Issues in video and audio recording in data collection involving groups of young
children
Professor J. Eric Wilkinson, Professor Stephen Baron, Ms. Margaret Martin, Dr.
Alastair McPhee, Ms. Irene McQueen, Mr. Fraser McConnell
Contact Address:
Faculty of Education, University of Glasgow, 11 Eldon Street, Glasgow G3
6NH 0141 330 5409 j.e.Wilkinson@educ.gla.ac.uk
Keywords:
Video-recording, Scaling, Reliability
This paper focuses on the research methodology deployed in evaluating the impact on children’s
learning of the Critical Skills Programme introduced into a primary school in Glasgow. The
methodology used was a quasi-experiment, the data from which was generated from analysing
extensive video and audio recordings of children’s engagement with three new learning
challenges.
Two primary schools were selected in the Smithycroft Learning Community to participate in the
experiment. One school (designated the ‘experimental’ school) had considerable experience in
the implementation of CSP whilst the other (designated the ‘control’ school) was still to engage
with CSP. Within each school two age groups were selected in consultation with the headteacher
of School A as having most exposure to CSP, thus allowing for the maximum opportunity to
display CSP characteristics when faced with a new learning challenge. These were P3 and P7.
The curriculum areas selected from the National Curriculum Guidelines were Environmental
Studies and Personal and Social Development.
The challenges were based on the idea of a blind person having to be guided round a village by a
guide dog. This involved map reading and direction skills of both P3 and P7, as well as their
interpersonal skills.
Using a 3D model village, the children had to devise a set of directions to guide the blind person
round the village as she took charge of her new guide dog ( Challenge 1) and identify the dangers
she would encounter on her trip ( Challenge 2) . Each group then devised a role play (Challenge 3)
where the blind person would explore her feelings about her initial journeys with the guide dog. A
simulated village obstacle course and a real guide dog were used as a stimulus for this final
challenge.
Three video cameras and two microphones were used for each small group to record children’s
engagement with each learning challenge. Using the criteria specified in the CSP literature, two
scales were devised: the first, coded on a three-point scale whether children displayed the skill
disposition being analysed in the time period allocated; the second, coded on a five-point scale
the level at which the skill/disposition was displayed.
Reliability coefficients were generated with pairs of observers coding the video-/audio-tapes.
These were all significant at the 1% probability level.
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The paper explores the process whereby the scales were generated and refined and suggests that
generating primary data on children’s behaviour when faced with a learning situation is the only
valid method for studying the impact of new teaching and learning methodologies.
Mixing methods: the implications of conducting a collective case focus summative
evaluation of an in-school intervention project
Ms. Elaine M. Regan and Dr. Peter E.Childs
Elaine.Regan@ul.ie, +353 86 3940232, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
Keywords: Reseach methodology; methodological pluralism; pragmatism.
The methodological debate concerning the use of quantitative and qualitative approaches has
ensued for a considerable period of time. The current view focuses on legitimising a more
situational and pragmatic position in the paradigmatic wars (Gage, 1989; Hammersley, 1992).
Many researchers have been advocating the mixing of methods and the case for methodological
pluralism (Little, 1991; Wildemuth, 1993; Sechrest and Sidani, 1995; Jones, 1997; Waysman and
Savaya, 1997; Niglas, 2000; Esteves and Pastor, 2004; Knox, 2004; Niglas, 2004).
This paper describes the theoretical framework for conducting a study of an intervention project
for the promotion of science from a methodologically pluralist position. A mixed method
approach of research questions, paradigm selection and analysis techniques was utilised to gain a
fuller understanding of science enrolments and subject choice. The argument begins by explaining
why a collective case focus summative evaluation research design was used. The paper focuses on
the implications of this stance in terms of the possible trade-offs - in the appropriateness to the
research topic, reliability and, internal and external validity. The argument concludes with details
on how theory is built from the case study focus and presents a research design that shows novel,
testable and empirically valid research.
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Roundtable discussion:
Starting Points for Research in Schools
Research in Schools Working Group
Convenor: Jo MacDonald
Principal Research Officer, Schools Research, SEED
1B (South), Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ, 0131 244 0906,
Jo.MacDonald@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
The Research in Schools Working Group was established as a joint venture between SERA and
the research team of the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED). As well as
representatives of these two organisations, the Working Group includes two serving school
teachers and a local authority representative. The General Teaching Council for Scotland is also
represented.
The task that the Working Group has been set is to develop guidance for all concerned with
research being undertaken in schools. A booklet has been drafted which sets out some of the
potential benefits of involvement in research within schools. Notes of guidance for a range of
stakeholders is provided, designed to assist them in deciding whether or not to involve themselves
in particular research activities or projects. The stakeholders covered include: headteachers,
teachers, school students, parents, researchers, local authorities and research sponsors.
This roundtable is the first step in a series of consultation events through which the Working
Group is seeking to refine and improve the booklet, with a view to its publication in 2006. All
interested colleagues are warmly invited to take part in the discussion.
Draft copies of the booklet will be provided to all conference participants. If you are intending to
take part in the roundtable, you are encouraged to read the draft in advance of this session.
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Symposium:
From 0 to 24: enhancing the evidence base using data from large-scale studies
Jo MacDonald
Principal Research Officer, Schools Research, SEED
1B (South), Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ, 0131 244 0906,
Jo.MacDonald@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Chairperson: Diana Wilkinson
Senior Researcher, SEED, 1B (South), Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ, 0131 244 0756,
Diana.Wilkinson@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Discussant: Keith Topping
Professor of Educational & Social Research
Faculty of Education & Social Work
University of Dundee
Gardyne Road
Dundee DD5 1NY
01382 464000
k.j.topping@dundee.ac.uk
The purpose of this symposium is to discuss the role that large-scale, longitudinal studies play in
enhancing the evidence base about early years, school education and school leavers. Researchers
from the Scottish Executive Education Department will discuss the opportunities and the
challenges that these large-scale studies present in the policy environment. The studies discussed
will be:
Early Years Longitudinal Study: Growing Up in Scotland (GUS)
Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)
Scottish School Leavers Survey (SSLS)
Paper 1: Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) Study
Fiona McDiarmid
Senior Research Officer, Children, Young People & Social Care Research, SEED
1B (S), Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ
0131 244 2652 fiona.mcdiarmid@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Keywords: Children, Young People, Families, Scotland, Longitudinal Survey, Policy
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This paper will outline and provide the opportunity to discuss the development and planning of
this new Scottish Longitudinal Survey.
The Growing Up in Scotland Survey (GUS) will follow the lives of groups of Scotland’s children
from babies through to their teens, and will provide important new information that will help
develop policies affecting young children and their families in Scotland.
The primary objective of the survey is to address a significant gap in the evidence base for early
years policy monitoring and evaluation. It will collect information about the experiences of young
children and their families from birth to age 5 and provide the basis for tracking their development
into adolescence. The data will also serve wider policy research requirements for cross sectional
analysis of issues affecting children and young people. It represents a major investment in the
Scottish Executive Education Department evidence base with a specific focus on children in
vulnerable groups.
The survey design consists of initially recruiting a total of 8,000 parents in 2005 divided into two
cohorts of children (5000 from birth, 3000 from age two) and interviewing parents annually, up to
when the child reaches age five. Data from the survey will be made publicly available through the
ESRC funded UK Data Archive.
Paper 2: Scottish School Leavers Survey (SSLS)
Barry Stalker
Senior Research Officer, Schools Research, SEED
1B (S), Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ
0131 244 0740 barry.stalker@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Keywords: Post Compulsory Education, Transitions, Policy
This paper will outline and provide the opportunity to discuss the future direction of the Scottish
School Leavers Survey, after a review of the study carried out in the Summer of 2005, as well as
discussion on the use of the data from the study for academic research.
The Scottish School Leavers Survey is a longitudinal cohort study of a representative sample of
young people in Scotland, from completion of compulsory education in S4 to age 23-24. The
study aims to follow this cohort through transitions from school into employment, training,
higher/further education or other directions. The study has a range of policy interests from the
Education and Enterprise Transport and Lifelong Learning Departments, as well as other
stakeholders including Careers Scotland and Scottish Enterprise.
The study has been conducted using various methodologies since the 1970s and provides a rich
source of longitudinal data. The SSLS currently consist of 4 ‘sweeps’ per cohort, with the first
sweep one year after completion of S4 followed up at ages 18/19, 21/22 and 23/24. Cohorts are
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recruited on a three year cycle, with the newest cohort recruited in 2003 (from young people in S4
June 2002) and the next due to be recruited in 2006 (from young people in S4 June 2005).
Outputs form the study consist of a report for each sweep, technical report and dataset.
Datasets from the study and has historically been lodged in the ESRC data archive and are
available for academic research.
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Paper 3: Scottish 15 year olds in the PISA study
Jo MacDonald
Principal Research Officer, Schools Research, SEED
1B (South), Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ
0131 244 0906, Jo.MacDonald@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Keywords: Assessment, International comparisons, Secondary education, Policy
Scotland has taken part in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study
since 2000. This study, run by the OECD assesses a nationally representative sample of 15 year
old students in the three domains of reading, mathematics and science. As well as the subject
domain assessment, each student completes a questionnaire, as do headteachers in the sample
schools. To date two cycles have taken place and the third is underway: in PISA 2000 the main
domain was reading; in 2003 it was mathematics; in 2006 it will be science.
Publication of results from the PISA study generates considerable attention internationally, often
with reporting in the media of an international ‘league table’. One of the challenges is to move
beyond this reporting of rankings and to make better use of the vast amount of data generated.
This paper will present analysis undertaken during 2005 of Scottish level data, along with
international comparisons from both the 2000 and 2003 studies. These findings will be used to
illustrate the opportunities and challenges of participation in large-scale studies and their use in
informing policy.
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Symposium:
AERS (Applied Educational Research Scheme) capacity building, networking and
ethics: How can we all work together?
Chairperson: Professor Pamela Munn
Moray House School of Education
University of Edinburgh
Holyrood Road
Edinburgh EH8 8AQ
Pamela.munn@ed.ac.uk
0131 650 6008
Discussant: Bernard McLeary
(L.T. Scotland)
B.McLeary@LTScotland.org.uk
SYMPOSIUM OUTLINE
This symposium present four accounts from the Scottish Applied Educational Research Scheme
(AERS). AERS is a new and challenging initiative that depends upon the promotion of
collegiality, inclusivity, collaboration transparency and equity of all those who engage in it.
Fundamental to its aims is the promotion of effective working relationships amongst the diverse
constituents of educational research. By focusing on the overarching issues of collaboration
including networking and ethics, these accounts will explore the complexities of working together
through involvement in applied research projects.
The challenge of bringing together academic researchers, policy makers and practitioners from
different organisations, institutions and disciplines presents many opportunities and obstacles for
all those engaged in this process. Now almost 2 years into a 5 year programme all the papers in
this symposium are reflecting on ‘progress so far’ and on the issues raised. At individual,
organisational and institutional levels there is recognition that collaboration can be beneficial and
is worth pursuing. The four papers in this symposium will therefore focus on how collaboration is
currently developing from the perspective of the various stakeholders involved.
The session will begin with a paper by Jane Brown and Joan Stead which explores the issues of
trust, mutual understanding, shared language and professionalism as policy makers, academic
researchers, and teachers begin to work together to develop research questions and strategies. The
second paper by Ralph Catts looks at the expectations and perceived benefits of engaging in
collaborative research from the viewpoint of those who have completed a research activity.
The third and fourth papers move to the macro organisational level of collaborative research by
looking at the use of a shared Virtual Research Environment (paper by Sanna Rimpilainen and
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Alastair Wilson) and some implications of collaborative research for ethical conduct (paper by
Erica McAteer).
Paper 1: Collaboration: Meaning(s) and Possibilities
Dr Jane Brown/Dr Joan Stead
Contact:
Dr Joan Stead
Moray House School of Education
University of Edinburgh
Simon Laurie House
Holyrood Road
Edinburgh EH8 8AQ
Telephone 0131 651 6221
Email: joan.stead@ed.ac.uk
Keywords: Collaboration, Networks, relationships, shared language, professionalism.
In the current policy climate collaboration for research purposes is actively supported and
encouraged and there are many examples of one or more institutions/agencies engaging in
‘collaborative research’. However, in some contexts the practice of ‘collaboration’ would appear
to allude to research tasks being divided between participants into discrete pieces of work,
undertaken and executed in relative isolation. However, particular issues which need to be
acknowledged and worked through for a fruitful collaboration include establishing positive
working relationships, a degree of trust, a shared and mutually understood language, together with
empathy/understanding. Yet some of these issues are rarely shared or discussed in public space.
As a consequence this presentation will provide some initial feedback on how collaborative
relationships have developed in one of the AERS networks so far.
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Paper 2: Collaborating in Applied Research – participant views
Dr Ralph Catts,
Contact:
Dr Ralph Catts
Senior Research Fellow
Applied Educational Research Scheme
Institute of Education
Airthrey Castle
University of Stirling FK 4 9 LA
Ralph.catts@stir.ac.uk
(44) (0)1786 466273
Keywords: Capacity building, Collaboration, networks, research.
Planning for collaborative research includes provision for people from different agencies to
participate. There are various ways that this can be done. One method adopted by the SSC
Network, is to segment research activities into discrete sub-programs to allow people to select
both a period of time for their engagement, and their level of effort. In the first half of 2005,
twenty-four people participated in three research activities. In June 2005 they were invited to
reflect on their experiences. This paper summarises the outcomes in terms of their expectations,
their attitudes toward research, their perceived benefits, and the likelihood of their continuing to
engage in research.
Paper 3: Virtual Collaboration ‘Where’s the file-store gone?’ Developing
effective use of a Virtual Research Environment in collaborative research teams.
Ms Sanna Rimpilainen, Mr Alastair Wilson, Professor Donald Christie, Applied
Educational Research Centre, University of Strathclyde
Contact:
Sanna Rimpiläinen
Research Officer
The Applied Educational Research Centre
Faculty of Education
University of Strathclyde
76 Southbrae Drive.
Crawfurd Building
GLASGOW G13 1PP
Tel & Fax: +44 (0)141 9503135
Email: sanna.rimpilainen@strath.ac.uk
Keywords: Virtual research environment, collaborative research, research community
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One of the hallmarks of the research networks established under AERS is a collaborative model of
educational research. Drawing on data from several research projects hosted within the Learners,
Learning & Teaching Network this paper explores the extent to which the use of a Virtual
Research Environment (VRE) has facilitated a collaborative model of research. The paper
provides an introduction to the VRE adopted by AERS, outlining its key features and their
potential to assist in the collaborative research process. It then presents data in the form of
interviews, questionnaires and electronic user data collected from several case studies of active
research teams using the VRE. While these are initial findings the paper presents some of the key
issues encountered in the adoption, establishing and effective use of a VRE.
Paper 4: Principle and Practice: ethical conduct in educational research
Erica McAteer
Contact:
Dr Erica McAteer
The Applied Educational Research Centre
Faculty of Education
University of Strathclyde
76 Southbrae Drive
Crawfurd Building
GLASGOW G13 1PP
0141 950 3140
Email Erica.mcateer@strath.ac.uk
Keywords: educational research; ethical principles; codes of conduct; investigation on human
beings; informed consent; confidentiality;
Research Councils, major research charities and other external funding bodies now require ethical
review of projects when considering award of grants. Many scientific journals also require it as a
condition for publication of research outcome.
Ethical principals and general guidance for the conduct of ‘investigations on human beings’ have
been derived through such bodies as the World Medical Association, the Medical Research
Council, and developed and refined by a number of professional associations and learned societies
(eg in the UK the British Psychological Society, British Sociological Association, the NHS
Research Ethics Committees’ Governance Regulations in Scotland). SERA’s guidelines focus
codes of conduct to the field of educational research, referring to and compatible with those of
sister organisations.
The challenge for applied educational researchers is to realise general guidelines for ethical
conduct in particular communities of study.
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From the AERS perspectives of collaborative research development and research capacity
building grounded in contexts of professional practice, two broad issues will be taken up for
discussion by symposium participants:
Conformity to the formal requirements of ethical conduct set by the different institutions
and agencies implicated in AERS network research project development, where the
research teams include people from diverse professional communities with particular
governances.
Realisation of principles of ethical conduct in day-to-day research practice involving a
range of participant communities. Informed consent, deception, debriefing, trust, respect,
exposure, compromise, protection, privacy, confidentiality, risk, deception, vulnerability,
are terms whose meaning for ethical conduct defines differently according to the particular
context of investigation.
One interesting aspect of the AERS is that, of itself, it embodies a model of collaborative research
in reflective practice. Across the networks, we are collectively our own ‘participants’. Informed
consent, confidentiality and trust are critical issues for our distributed research community.
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Post Compulsory Education (PCE)
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97
PCE
Stakeholder Perceptions Of Policy & Planning Issues In Ict Work-Based
Associate Degree Programmes At The Barbados Community College - A
Participant-Oriented Evaluation Model
Kay Diana Patricia Skeete
Curriculum Specialist
Barbados Community College
Barbados Community College
Howell’s Cross Road
St. Michael
Barbados
Tel: 426-2858
429-5607
Ext 5299 Or 5240
Kskeete@Bcc.Edu.Bb
Keywords: Evaluation, Experiential, Work-based
Small developing economies, heavily dependent on human capital for their development, expect
public funded education to produce graduates who are ‘relevant’ ‘current’, well trained and
supremely trainable. This study used a participant – oriented model to investigate stakeholder
perceptions of the effectiveness and efficiency of the Barbados Community College’s ICT workbased programme. Against the background of best practices, and negative practices identified in
the literature, the study focused on three primary stakeholders – students who had completed the
work attachment, participating employers, and participating faculty/co-ordinators.
The study highlighted the complexity of experiential learning, especially work-based programmes,
the potential for both growth and wastage, the vested interests of employers as compared with
institutional priorities, and the mechanisms to be instituted to enhance the College’s programme.
Of particular interest were the emerging disparities and complementarities between the priorities
of employers and those of the interns and the institution, resulting primarily from their respective
interests. In addition, some comparative advantages of the Community College’s ICT training
over the traditional training approaches of Universities were highlighted. The study also revealed
a dichotomy in the approach to student evaluation, and in the workplace feasible means of
addressing the same. In discussing this study, the Presentation will, in addition, comment
critically but briefly on the strengths and limitations of the participant- oriented evaluation
strategy.
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98
PCE
Developing online learning skills in Further Education lecturers
Sarah Cornelius, Carole Gordon
School of Education, University of Aberdeen, Hilton Place, Aberdeen, AB34 4FA
tel. 01224 274616; email s.cornelius@abdn.ac.uk
Keywords: Further Education, online learning, professional development
Virtual Learning Environments and other online learning tools have been adopted in the majority
of Scottish Further Education (FE) colleges, however few staff have experience of them and there
is still something of a culture change needed in order to integrate online learning into the everyday
practice of the FE lecturer (Dailly, 2003). There is a pressing need to integrate training in online
learning into professional development programmes and core teacher training. This is particularly
important as it is recognised that teaching staff need to develop confidence with the technology if
they are to use it successfully (Harris et al., 2004).
In April 2005 over 50 participants on Aberdeen University’s Teaching Qualification (FE) from a
range of Scottish FE colleges took part in pilot online learning workshops. These workshops were
designed not only to deliver course content, but also to provide first hand experience of online
learning tools and build confidence in using technology. This paper presents some of the findings
from the evaluation of these workshops. The findings provide evidence of the need for further
training for FE lecturers and allow us to make suggestions about the format of professional
development activities. There are comments about the potential use of online learning with
lecturers’ own students, and on the perceived value of online tools in an FE setting.
Recommendations for further development of online learning skills for staff in FE are also made.
References
Dailly H (2003) The Enhanced Training Needs Analysis. JISC Regional Support Centres,
Scotland
http://www.rsc-ne-scotland.ac.uk/publications/ [accessed 26 April 2005]
Harris R, Hall J and Muirhead A (2004) Impact of e-learning on learner participation, attainment,
retention, and progression in Further Education: report of a scooping study. Scottish Centre for
Research into On-Line Learning and Assessment, University of Glasgow
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RW15.pdf [accessed 26 April 2005]
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PCE
The Changing Landscape of Further Education in Scotland; Middle Managers
Perspectives
Alan Ducklin
School of Education, University of Edinburgh, Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH88AQ
0131 651 6121
alan.ducklin@ed.ac.uk
Keywords: Changing Further Education, management perspectives, policy, gender,
Further Education has been charged by the Scottish Executive with a key role in Social Inclusion
and Lifelong Learning initiatives alongside a need to provide the economy with an appropriately
skilled workforce. It is therefore important to review the extent to which those charged with
delivering such policy on the ground have been affected by such apparently ever-increasing
demands This presentation will report on progress relating to a small-scale study conducted in 6
FE colleges selected to reflect the diversity of provision and location of the sector throughout
Scotland. The study seeks to consider the experiences of managers in Scottish Further Education
in relation to external and internal change processes. Utilising a combination of interviews and
questionnaires the research is interested to obtain responses from middle managers (deemed by
much of the research literature to be at the sharp end of policy application) in respect to the
changing context in which they work and what impact such changes in role and expectation have
had upon them in the workplace. Given also that middle management has been increasingly
‘feminised’ (as has much of education) it will be useful to ascertain whether the changes noted
above have impacted upon the work of these managers and, if they have, in what particular
respects.
SERA Conference 2005
100
PCE
Transitions within FE – a step too far?
Ian Gibb, Janet Gray , Rosheen Young, June Smith
Ian Gibb Perth College; Janet Gray Anniesland College; Rosheen Young Anniesland College and
June Smith, Centre for Research in Lifelong Learning Institute of Education, University of
Stirling
Airthrey Castle, University of Stirling, Stirling, KY9 4LA, 01786 466263, j.m.smith@stir.ac.uk
Keywords: Transition, Further Education, Ethnography
Teachers within FE have recognised for a long time that many students find the difference
between NC (SCQF 5) level work to HNC (SCQF 7) more than a step up but closer to a giant
leap. The impact on learning of the transfer from one institution to another is well-documented
within the secondary school sector (Doyle, 2002; 2005; Nicholls and Gardner, 1999; Galton,
1999). The transition of students from further to higher education, particularly of those students
moving from higher education courses within further education colleges to higher education
within universities, is currently being researched, (Davies et al, 2002; Parry et al, 2003) However,
what is less well documented is the transition between further education and higher education
within the FE institution itself. While many do progress, for some this transition is so great for
many that they fall not between a crack but down a chasm. This paper will provide case studies of
transition within the vocational areas of hospitality, accounts and childcare. Based on the
ethnographic research project, the case studies have emerged from the ‘Literacies for Learning in
Further Education’ (www.lancs.ac.uk/lflfe) which has been funded for three years from January
2004 as part of the UK’s Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP). In particular it
will focus on the literacy challenges faced by students when progressing within their chosen area
of study.
References
Davies, P., Osborne. M. and Williams, J. (2002) For Me or Not for Me? - That is the Question: A
Study of Mature Students’ Decision Making. Report for the Department for Education and
Skills 1999-2000 (Research Report No 297).
Doyle, L. (2002) Continuity and Progression from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3, University of Kent
2002 Unpublished PhD Thesis.
Doyle, L. and Godfrey, R. (2005) Investigating the reliability of the Key Stage 2 test results for
assessing individual pupil achievement and progress in England. London Review of
Education, 3, 1, p29.
Galton, M., Gray, J. and Ruddock, J. (1999) The Impact of Transitions and Transfers on Pupil
Progress and Attainment. Research Report RR131, Nottingham: DfEE Publications.
Nicholls, G. and Gardner, J. (1999) Pupils in Transition. London: Routledge
Parry, G., Davies, P. and Williams, J. (2003) Dimensions of Difference: Higher Education in the
Learning and Skills Sector. Report for the Learning and Skills Development Agency
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PCE
Understanding learning cultures and enhancing learning within community
based further education
Jim Gallacher (Prof), Paula Cleary, Beth Crossan, Terry Mayes (Prof), David
Watson, Lorna Smith
Centre for Research in Lifelong Learning, Glasgow Caledonian University, 6 Rose St, Glasgow
G3 6RB, 0141 273 1339/47. jwga@gcal.ac.uk
Keywords: Community based further education; learning cultures; learning relationships
This paper will draw on the outcomes of a project which is investigating learning cultures in
community based further education (FE). The project is part of the UK wide Teaching and
Learning Research Programme (TLRP). The theoretical perspectives for this project derive from
three sources: situated learning theory, which has led to a particular interest in learning
relationships (Fowler & Mayes, 1999; Lave & Wenger, 1991); the work of Bourdieu and his
associates which has influenced recent work on the understanding of learning cultures (Bourdieu
& Passeron, 1990; Hodkinson et al, 2004); the idea of learning careers derived from symbolic
interactionism (Bloomer & Hodkinson, 2000; Crossan et al, 2003).
Field work for this project has been undertaken in two community based learning centres (CLCs)
attached to two colleges, one based in Glasgow, the other serving a number of small towns in
North Ayrshire. This has focused on understanding learning cultures within the CLCs, and in
particular the role of learning relationships in these cultures. Data has been gathered through
interviews with students and staff in the centres. The initial interviews focused on life histories,
while the second round have explored more fully the learning relationships of students and staff.
These interviews have been analysed through a technique known as Interpretive
Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Outcomes from the research are providing a better
understanding of the distinctive nature of learning cultures within community based FE, and areas
of possible change within the CLCs and the FE colleges, which could enhance the learning
experience within the CLCs. The research team, in co-operation with staff within the partner
colleges, is working towards change of this kind. The paper will report on the outcomes of this
work.
References.
Bloomer, M. and Hodkinson, P. (2000) ‘Learning careers: continuity and change in young
people’s dispositions to learning’, British Educational Research Journal, Vol. 26, pp. 528-597.
Bourdieu P and Passeron J-C (1990) Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture, Second
Edition (London, Sage).
Crossan B, Field J, Gallacher J Merrill B (2003) Understanding participation in learning for nontraditional adult learners; learning careers and the construction of learning identities, British
Journal of Sociology of Education 24, 1 pp55- 67
Fowler, C.J.H. and Mayes, J.T. (1999) ‘Learning relationships: from theory to design’,
Association for Learning Technology Journal (ALT-J), Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 6-16.
Hodkinson P, Biesta G & James D (2004) Towards a cultural theory of college based learning.
Paper presented at British Educational Research Association Annual Conference, September,
2004.
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PCE
Lave, J. and Wenger, E. (1991) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation.
Cambridge University Press.
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PCE
Talking at crossed purposes? Portrayals of young people in English education
and training policy documents
Mrs. Alis Oancea
University of Oxford Department of Educational Studies, 15 Norham Gardens, OX2 6PY
Tel. 01865 274037, e-mail: alis.oancea@edstud.ox.ac.uk
Keywords: 14-19 education and training; policy; young people
This paper was prepared as part of the Nuffield Review of 14-19 education and training, one of
the most comprehensive reviews of a part of the educational system ever conducted in the UK,
established in September 2003 to address the issues which comprise 14-19 provision – curriculum
and framework of qualifications, institutional provision and funding, progression through the
system and retention within it, meeting economic needs and higher education entry, comparisons
with other countries, and historical perspective.
The paper uses techniques of textual analysis in order to map out the main descriptors that English
policy documents (24 White papers published since 1978) use in order to portray young people.
These descriptors are important in that they are at the basis of a set of assumptions on which a
policy document constructs its argument and builds its recommendations. The analysis shows that
a discrepancy exists between such policy accounts of young people and some of the accounts that
research with and about young people provide. The comparison also draws on a review of the
literature in the fields of education and of youth studies. Overly simplifying accounts are thus
challenged and the continuities and discontinuities between the policy and the research accounts
are highlighted.
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PCE
Quality Regimes in the Scottish Further Education Sector
Neil Etherington
University of Strathclyde, Department of HRM, Graham Hills Building, 50 Richmond, Street
Glasgow G1 1XU Tel: 0141-5484018 email: neil.etherington@strath.ac.uk
Keywords: Quality regimes, managerialism, professionalism
This paper is intended to illustrate some of the evolving and emerging forms of regulation in
Further education by focusing on the role and impact of quality regimes, as a mechanism of
change. The work will eventually contribute to the emerging critical debates about the how
institutional work practices have been transformed in FE across the UK (see: Elliott, 1996; Randle
and Brady, 1997 among others).
Significantly, with the exceptions of Elliott, 1996; Moreland and Clark (1999) in the English
context and more recently Laird (2002), in Scotland, little specific empirical work has been
undertaken on the ‘quality regime’. The author of this paper remains critical of works to date, that
tend to assume impacts of quality, due to a tendency to subsume quality as a feature of
managerialism.
The context for the research is the Scottish FE sector (incorporated in April 1993 as with other
UK colleges), meaning that institutions were faced with ‘radical change’ (Alexiadou, 2001). In
Scotland, the Scottish Further Education Funding Council would eventually be responsible for
financing colleges, but also have the legal responsibility to promote quality; subcontracted to the
HMI, who inspect colleges and report on matters of quality.
The paper draws on some of the findings of case study research, interviews, documentary
analysis and observation across three Scottish colleges.
The key research questions of this paper, investigates how academic staff perceive and interpret
external influences on quality. In doing so, it is necessary to establish the existence of quality
regimes, what they consist of, and exemplify the mechanisms that make a difference in the post1993 FE era. Consideration is given to the impacts audits have on professional autonomy.
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PCE
First the Curriculum then Academic Staff?
Repurposing an Existing Three Year Degree for Online Delivery
Mr Tomas Nilsson
Researcher and E-Learning Specialist
Centre for Mountain Studies, Perth College, Crieff Road, Perth, PH1 2NX, Tel. 01738-877371, Email. tomas.nilsson@perth.uhi.ac.uk
Keywords: Repurposing, curriculum and staff development, e-learning, flexible online delivery
This paper aims to critically evaluate and reflect on lessons learnt from the BA Tourism Online
Development Project that is scheduled to be completed in late May 2005. The initial focus of the
paper will be on the advantages and disadvantages of repurposing an existing three year degree for
online delivery – in particular:
− incorporating activities suited to both the medium and the curriculum;
− creating navigable and easy to use online materials;
− ensuring compliance with SENDA and DDA;
Secondly the paper aims to reflect on the complexities surrounding the required ‘upskilling’ of
academic staff to allow them to effectively deliver to, and support students online. This will be
done by analysing the effectiveness of the following 5 staff development workshops:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The use of ice-breakers;
Netiquette and group working;
Learning and working together online;
E-moderating;
In conclusion the paper will provide a synthesis of lessons learnt – both in terms of the curriculum
and staff development elements of the project – and a reflection on the anticipated benefits
stemming from online delivery. The conclusion will also incorporate evaluative feedback from
staff in particular regarding the creation of online activities, and their perception of to what extent
the staff development offered has met their needs.
Main audience: It is anticipated that the paper will be of most interest to colleagues in the HE
sector involved in the repurposing or creation of materials for online delivery.
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PCE
Implementation of a pilot peer learning programme in an undergraduate Physics
course
Jennifer Johnston and Dr. George McClelland
Physics Department, University of Limerick.
Physics Department, University of Limerick, Castletroy,
Limerick, Ireland.
Telephone: 00 353 61 213483.
Email: Jennifer.Johnston@ul.ie
Keywords: Peer Learning, Physics.
Abstract: This study focuses on the implementation of a pilot peer learning programme for first
year undergraduate students of Physics and an evaluation of its effectiveness for Physics and the
Science Learning Centre at the University of Limerick. Students experienced two different
teaching styles in their tutorials. Peer learning, where the students worked in cooperative groups
with the teacher as a facilitator of learning. This was compared with students experiencing
traditional teaching without peer learning. Group size, ability grouping, seating arrangements, role
assignments, group testing and individual testing were all found to contribute to the performance
of the peer learning groups. This study evaluates the effectiveness of peer learning in introductory
physics modules using quantitative and qualitative data on student performance, attitudes and
implementation techniques. It is intended that the results of this project will provide valuable
guidelines for the implementation of peer learning in Physics and the Science Learning Centre.
SERA Conference 2005
107
PCE
A Comprehensive View of Cambridge University: learning to join an elite
community of practice
Mr Michael Watts & Dr Tat Heung Choi
Von Hügel Institute, St Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0BN; tel:
01223 741844; email: michael.watts@uea.ac.uk (Watts)
Department of Education Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Hong Kong Baptist University,
Kowloon, Hong Kong; tel: 00 852 3411 5716; email: thchoi@hkbu.edu.hk (Choi)
Keywords: higher education; widening participation; communities of practice
Charges of social elitism continue to bedevil policies and programmes seeking to widen
participation in higher education. In this paper we draw upon the experiences and perceptions of
Cambridge undergraduates from the UK’s state-maintained schools and colleges, particularly
those ‘outsiders’ (Watts, 2002) targeted by widening participation initiatives, and consider the
ways in which they learn to participate in the university’s ‘community of practice’ (Lave &
Wenger, 1991). Life histories are used to examine the perceptions these outsiders have of their
social suitability and academic ability (Watts, 2002); and statistical data is used to show that
academic expectations are strongly associated with the type of school attended, with students from
selective schools more likely than others to aspire to first class degrees and to go on to further
studies (Choi, 2005). The two studies enable us to consider the motivation, confidence, social
talents and academic performance of these Cambridge outsiders; and, focusing on their academic
aspirations, we argue that the extent to which they perceive their participation in the Cambridge
undergraduate community as legitimate (Lave & Wenger, 1991) is conditioned by social rather
than academic factors. We then turn to Baudrillard’s concept of third order simulation to consider
the hyperreal construction of Cambridge’s image (Watts, 2005). In the gap between academic
aspiration and hyperreal construction we ask: How do these outsiders learn to participate in
Cambridge’s community of practice? The answer, although specifically located in Cambridge,
has significance for widening participation policies and programmes across the higher education
sector.
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PCE
Research Culture Audit of Higher Education Institution
Dr. Joanna Poon
Research Funding Officer
Research Office, Edge Hill College of Higher Education, St Helens Road, Ormskirk,
L39 4QP
Keywords: Research Cultural Audit, Higher Education
The aim of this paper is to report the research findings on a project ‘Research Culture Audit of a
Higher Education Institution’.
Research culture is important for higher education institution as research links to funding
mechanism, such as Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and Higher Education Innovation Fund
(HEIF). For the studied institution, research plays another important role because of its
importance for the application of Teaching Degree Awarding Power (TDAP). The provision at
Level 3 and Master Degree is underpinned by appropriate research and scholarly activity.
Cultural Web and Force Field Analysis (Johnson and Scholes, 1999) are chosen as the main
theoretical framework for the report. It aims to identify the driving forces and restraining forces
for change of research culture.
Research methodology is insider research as the author is employee of the studied institution. Data
is collected through peer interview.
Six respondents are interviewed. They have responsibilities on creating and maintaining
institutional research culture, at institutional, faculty and departmental levels. A professional
support staff is also included and she is the representative of support staff in institution’s Research
Committee.
The research findings stated that the main driving force for developing/ enhancing the institutional
research culture is the ‘enthusiastic researchers’. They are keen on conducting research and
producing high quality research outputs. While, the main restraining force is the lack of support
from senior managers as research is not on the top priority on their agenda. However, the situation
is changing now because the importance of research for TDAP application.
References:
Johnson, G. and Scholes, K. (1999). Exploring Corporate Strategy, Fifth Edition. London:
Prentice Hall.
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Being and Becoming (B&B)
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B&B
Beginning Research - Finding an Identity Upon embarking on a Professional
Doctorate
Jane Mott
Lecturer in Inclusive Studies, School of Education, University of Aberdeen, Hilton Place,
Aberdeen AB24 4FA
Tel: 01224 274660
e-mail: e.j.mott@abdn.ac.uk
Keywords: professional doctorate, academic knowledge, practitioner knowledge, educational
research
This paper will start by defining a professional doctorate [EdD], and outlining the features that
distinguish it from the more traditional research degree [PhD], It will consider the following:
• Equivalence
• Evolution
• Aims
• Focus
• Type of research
• Applicants
• Entry qualifications
• Approach to learning
• Assessment
I will briefly examine the tension between academic [disciplinary] knowledge and practitioner
knowledge [Scott 2004] in relation to the professional doctorate, my own personal development,
and my area of research.
Educational research in general is the focus of much of the criticism [Pring 2001], most of which
is directed at this interface between academic and practitioner knowledge. Educators perceive
research to be:
• Theoretical rather than practical
• Carried out by ‘outsiders’
• Inaccessible
• Only for other academics
• Lacking credibility - politically orientated, or government funded
• Exclusive of those who do not share its ideological underpinnings
• Insufficiently rigorous, often too small-scale, subjective and context-based. Unable,
therefore, to be generalised.
• Ignored – by politicians, managers and teachers [even ‘good’ research]
Deeply aware of this and unable to completely rationalise the tension between the two areas of
knowledge, I will suggest that maybe there is a ‘hybrid’ which combines aspects of both academic
and practitioner knowledge, which enhances and validates the knowledge gained. The
professional doctorate focuses on achieving the balance between the two, and developing the
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B&B
‘hybrid’. It could contribute to an improved perception of educational research among practicing
teachers.
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B&B
A cultural analysis of the contemporary Chinese kindergarten curriculum
Ms. Fengling Tang
PhD student at Roehampton University, England
Address:
Fengling Tang
Grove House, Froebel College
Roehampton University
Roehampton Lane
London
SW15 5PJ
Tel: 07887695289
Email: fenglingtang@yahoo.com.cn
Keywords: culture, kindergarten curriculum, Chinese traditional culture
This paper is a pilot study of my PhD research, which is motivated by the contemporary tendency
in China of the erosion of Chinese traditional culture among Chinese people, especially young
people, and even young children in the urban areas in the twenty-first century (Hu Zhifan, 2004;
Xinhuanet, 2004a; Xinhuanet, 2004b; Yao Li, 2004; Thinkquest Team, 2005). Underpinned by the
philosophy that Chinese traditional culture is valuable both for Chinese nation and for Chinese
children, the starting point of this research is that Chinese kindergarten curriculum bears a
substantial responsibility to transmit, preserve, and develop Chinese traditional culture (Hao
Deyong, 2004).
This pilot study will be conducted in August and September 2005 in one government-sponsored
kindergarten and one private kindergarten in Zibo, a city with a population of 4.1 million in mideast part of China and greatly influenced by Confucianism. Participant observations in two
kindergarten classrooms, semi-structured interviews with two kindergarten head-teachers and four
kindergarten classroom teachers, and questionnaires for 40 parents will be undertaken in this pilot
study. The cultural presence including Chinese traditional culture and Western cultures in the four
areas of the contemporary kindergarten curriculum – kindergarten textbooks, kindergarten
teachers’ syllabuses, kindergarten educational activities, and kindergarten teaching approaches –
will be explored in the first place. Then, the determinants of the cultural presence in the
contemporary Chinese kindergarten curriculum will be examined according to the participant
agencies in curriculum decision making proposed by both Western and Chinese scholars (Gordon,
1981; Liu Yan, 1995; Cong Lixin, 2000): perceptions of teachers, parents, education
professionals, and policy makers of the cultural presence; education/training system for Chinese
kindergarten teachers; and the contemporary Chinese social conditions. Finally, this pilot study
will evaluate if Chinese traditional culture is sufficiently present in the contemporary Chinese
kindergarten curriculum.
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B&B
Learning and School Life of Children from Cross-Cultural Marriages Families --- From Primary Teachers’ Perspectives
Pi-Yun Chen
Assistant Professor,
Director of Multicultural Society Development Centre
Mei-Ho Institute of Technology, Taiwan
Address: 23，Ping Kuang Road, Neipu, Pingtung, 91202, Taiwan
Tel: 886-8-7799821#590
Fax: 886-8-7789837
Email: x2105@mail.meiho.edu.tw / piyunchen@yahoo.com
Keywords: cross-cultural marriages, learning difficulties, teachers’ perspectives
Extending from the long on-going observation on multicultural education in Taiwan, I am now
looking at the issues relating to “foreign spouses” that have recently received public awareness
from the social private sectors and government agencies in Taiwan.
The phenomenon of foreign spouses in Taiwan is described as “commodified transnational
marriages” and a by-product of capitalist development (Hsia, 2003). Responding to the rapidly
increasing number of foreign spouses mainly from China and south-east Asia over the past ten
years, the government has taken different measures that mainly aim to help this group of
“immigrants” accommodating themselves into the life of Taiwan. However, many have pointed
out that many children from cross-cultural marriage families of Taiwan-Southeast Asia are
observed to have learning and communication difficulties in schools Yang, 2003; Wu, 2004 .
Adding to the existing literatures within which the causes of those observations are not yet
identified, my research aims to obtain teachers’ view on the learning and life of children from
Taiwan-Southeast Asia mixed marriage families in primary schools. The field study was
undertaken in a fishing village where a great number of foreign spouses from south-east Asia are
reported.
Interview is employed as the main research tool for dada collection. The informants taking part in
this study are all primary school teachers who have experiences in teaching children from the
cross-cultural marriages families. Three main aspects, including family, school and culture that
appear to be as the influential factors on the children’s learning and life in school, are explored
and discussed. Through the in-depth interviews with class teachers, it is aimed to find out how
children from cross-cultural marriage families learn and accommodate themselves in schools and
in what ways they experience difficulties and further to identify the causes and possible solutions.
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