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Nurse‐led research and innovation is key to improving health experiences and outcomes and reducing health inequalities. Clinical academic training programmes for nurses to develop research and innovation skills alongside continued development of their clinical practice are becoming increasingly established at national, regional and local levels. Though widely supported, geographical variation in the range and scope of opportunities available remains. It is imperative that clinical academic opportunities for nurses continue to grow to ensure equity of access and opportunity so that the potential of nurse‐led clinical academic research to improve quality of care, health experience and health outcomes can be realised. In this paper, we describe and report on clinical academic internship opportunities available to nurses to share internationally, a range of innovative programmes currently in operation across the UK. Examples of some of the tangible benefits for patients, professional development, clinical teams and NHS organisations resulting from these clinical academic internships are illustrated. Information from local evaluations of internship programmes was collated to report what has worked well alongside 'real‐world' set‐up and sustainability challenges faced in practice. Clinical academic internship schemes are often opportunistically developed, making use of hybrid models of delivery and funding responsive to local needs and available resources. Key enablers of successful clinical academic internship programmes for nurses were support from senior clinical leaders and established relationships with local universities and wider organisations committed to research capacity building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the relationship between education, parenting and family through the prism and particularities of family learning. Family learning is an example of an educational initiative, primarily aimed at parents and linked to wider policy concerns, which can be explored through a mapping of its social geographies; family learning is played out across and productive of different sites, spaces and identities. Based on qualitative research undertaken in West London, this paper draws on individual and group interviews with mothers participating in family learning classes and interviews with family learning providers. The key argument we extend is that focusing on the social geographies of family learning - of home, school, work, community and nation - allows us to see how educational initiatives extend the state's reach in family life, producing particular normative versions of family and 'good' parenting operating at a range of interconnecting scales. Education remains a cornerstone of family policy in the UK and detailed analyses of specific initiatives at the point of implementation - how they are practiced and received - is vital for better understanding their diverse and varied effects in contemporary society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015, the United Kingdom government harnessed Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) providers to its anti-terrorism strategy by placing them within the scope of the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015. They became subject to the 'Prevent Duty' which requires them to have due regard to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. However, the promotion of Fundamental British Values (FBV), as a specific measure to prevent young children being drawn into terrorism, has raised questions about the role of the ECEC sector as an instrument of counter terrorism policy. This paper analyses the ways in which early childhood practitioners mediated the requirement to promote FBV through their pedagogical practice. Although practitioners are commissioned to mediate specific values formulated in the political arena their response was complex and multi-layered. Whilst a public display of compliance to FBV was performative values education was an everyday pedagogical practice unconstrained by the instituted definitions of FBV. Practitioners deployed a contextual moral pedagogy where children construct understandings of moral values and practices characterised by rich democratic dialogues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Any pedagogy of media practice sits at the intersection between training for employment and education for critical thinking. As such, the use of projects is a primary means of structuring learning experiences as a means of mirroring professional practice. Yet, our understanding of the nature of projects and of project-based learning is arguably under-theorised and largely taken for granted. This paper attempts to address this issue through a synthesis of the literature from organisational studies and experiential learning. The article aims to shift the debate around project-based learning away from an instrumentalist agenda, to one that considers the social context and lived experience of projects and re-conceptualises projects as ontological modalities of doing, being and becoming. In this way, the article aims to provide a means for thinking about the use of project-based learning within the media practice curriculum that draws on metaphors of discovery, rather than of construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In England and Wales government pressures to raise attainment has led many schools to implement structured “ability” grouping in the form of setting. The introduction of selective grouping has been justified with the assumption that the differentiation of students by “ability” advances students’ motivation, social skills, independence and academic success in national tests and examinations because students are “better engaged in their own learning”. This paper critically engages with this assumption. Drawing upon qualitative research conducted in primary and secondary mathematics, science and English setted classrooms in England the aim of this literature review is to consider how teachers’ pedagogic practices with low, middle and high “ability” sets facilitates and/or constrains students’ learning and potential achievement. We also explore why, despite strenuous criticism and moves towards egalitarianism in schools, the segregation of students on the basis of “ability” continues to be a common feature in schools in England and Wales. This literature review draws attention to a number of substantive issues including (but not restricted to) fixed and permanent grouping; the potential misplacement of students to sets and a culture of stereotyping where learners within a set are taught as a single homogenous unit. We conclude the paper by suggesting foci for future research in the hope of eliciting renewed critical interest in and investigation of setting by “ability” in a broader range of subjects of the curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The decision to make the UK student population financially responsible for their own university education has major implications for the future of higher education provision. Chief among these implications will undoubtedly be a much stronger emphasis on the student experience, not least the experience of the teaching and learning environment. Given the increasing influence of consumerism on student identity, the distinct possibility exists that such notions of market-led accountability will be first in line to shape how the academic–student relationship is redefined and understood in future years. It is therefore an appropriate time to explore alternatives to such a narrow understanding of relationships—an understanding that inevitably tends to frame direct accountability in terms of economic exchange. It is argued in this paper that one alternative can be developed by exploring a more relational approach to HE pedagogy, and more specifically one that is based on a synthesis of critical theory and psychoanalysis. By emphasising the intersubjective nature of learning and teaching and the role of emotions in this regard, the paper argues that a relationally centred approach takes seriously questions of trust, recognition and respect at the heart of the academic–student relationship, while also making space for doubt, confusion and relational anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose |!|#8211; The purpose of this paper is to discuss performance in postgraduate education in Sweden and Scotland. Drawing on two cases, the paper considers three themes: differences in students|!|#39; performance by study mode, differences in students|!|#39; performance by length of study, and finally comparing performance by study mode between modules in Scotland with an entire programme in Sweden. Design/methodology/approach |!|#8211; The empirical setting from Scotland builds on an evaluation of online and on-campus study groups with exactly the same module syllabus. The Swedish setting is also based on an evaluation of distance and on-campus study groups with exactly the same module syllabus. The data compiled in both countries arise from student performance scores and grades. Findings |!|#8211; The results indicate that students in both countries foremost use the virtual learning environment (VLE) as a forum for accessing information, to access asynchronous postings in the forums and access streaming-synchronous online lectures which are also accessed asynchronously in the VLE. The results show that there are no differences between the grades or test scores between campus students with face-to-face education and distance students with electronically (VLE) mediated education. These differences and similarities will form the basis of these reflections in this paper. Research limitations/implications |!|#8211; The study is limited because the examples given are only a few cases and small samples and there is a need to more rigorously investigate different educational programs in different academic disciplines. Originality/value |!|#8211; The paper contributes to quality issues in distance, online and campus education by taking into account, in the first case, different student performance in the same course over a longer period and in the second case, changes over time within the same educational program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is the role of schools, and more specifically school leadership, in the transition to a sustainable future for humankind? What different forms of leadership are needed to enable this role? The challenges are huge and complex and for those of us engaged in promoting sustainability learning, it is clear that the issue has never been more pressing. Action at government and corporate level is required, as well as an immense shift in patterns of consumption, especially in richer countries. This paper aims to explore the nature, challenges and opportunities of sustainability leadership within the context of formal education in the UK. A critical pedagogy (Freire, 1970; Gatto, 1992) lens is used to explore ways in which the formal education system is constructed on mental models that are inherently unsustainable, and that reinforce the principles of hierarchy, power and control, separation, competition and colonialism that are at the root of sustainability challenges. Drawing on interviews with school leaders, some possibilities will be explored, such as alternative pedagogies that create space for relaxed, collaborative, co-constructive learning, that encourage critical thinking, and reignite children’s sense of connection with each other and with the environment (Woodlin, 2014). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review and highlight some recent examples of embedding education for sustainable development (ESD), within science and related curricula in ways that are meaningful and relevant to staff and students and reflect on different embedding strategies and discourses. Design/methodology/approach – A review of recent selected UK and international teaching and learning practice drawing on an expert workshop and link to wider debates about student competencies and embedding ESD in the curriculum. Findings – There are a number of practical ways of bringing sustainable development into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related subjects. Successful implementation requires linking teaching activities to the core activities of the STEM discipline. Reformist approaches to curriculum re-orientation are more likely to be successful than calls for radical, transformational models. Practical implications – Embedding ESD into the core curricula of STEM subjects is potentially difficult. This paper highlights practical ways of doing this which can be adopted and introduced within the mainstream of STEM curricula and have a greater chance of being taken up than bolt-on approaches. Originality/value – The treatment of ESD in STEM subjects is relatively under-developed compared to social sciences, humanities and subjects allied to environment. The economic and social significance of STEM subjects means that STEM-related subjects are integral to sustainable development and therefore STEM education must be re-oriented to sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace have been subject to much recent debate within the educational community. Whilst growing numbers of educators celebrate the potential of social networking to (re)engage learners with their studies, others fear that such applications compromise and disrupt young people's engagement with 'traditional' education provision. With these ongoing debates in mind, the current paper presents an in-depth qualitative analysis of the Facebook 'wall' activity of 909 undergraduate students in a UK university. Analysis of these data shows how much of students' education-related use of this social networking application was based around either the post-hoc critiquing of learning experiences and events, the exchange of logistical or factual information about teaching and assessment requirements, instances of supplication and moral support with regards to assessment or learning, or the promotion of oneself as academically incompetent and/or disengaged. With these themes in mind, the paper concludes that rather than necessarily enhancing or eroding students' 'front-stage' engagement with their formal studies, Facebook use must be seen as being situated within the 'identity politics' of being a student. In particular, Facebook appears to provide a ready space where the 'role conflict' that students often experience in their relationships with university work, teaching staff, academic conventions and expectations can be worked through in a relatively closed 'backstage' area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we report on survey and focus group data relating to the activities and perceptions of learning with Web 2.0 technologies of students aged between 11 and 16 years in 27 UK secondary schools. The study confirms that these learners had high levels of access to Web 2.0 technologies and that Web 2.0 activities were prolific. However, patterns of use were complex. The types of activity evidenced by the study suggest that learners can be categorised into four main groups: (1) researchers: mainly in terms of reading with little evidence of critical enquiry or analytical awareness; (2) collaborators: mainly with respect to file sharing, gaming and communicating; (3) producers and (4) publishers: mainly in terms of sharing experience through social networking sites. Whilst most expressed an interest in using online technologies to support familiar school activities, such as presentations or for communication, learners seemed cautious about other values associated with Web 2.0 tools, such as the shared construction of knowledge in a public format. Few learners were familiar with the complete spectrum of Web 2.0 activities and only a small number were engaging in more sophisticated activities, such as producing and publishing self-created content for wider consumption. There was little evidence of groundbreaking activities and only a few embryonic signs of criticality, self-management or metacognitive reflection. The paper concludes that these higher order thinking skills need to be encouraged and supported in any attempt to use Web 2.0 for learning in formal education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has two main aims: to present the current position of information literacy education (ILE) in UK-based academic institutions, and to propose a strategy that ensures the integration of ILE in learning and teaching practices. The first part of the paper offers an insight into the perceptions of information literacy by exploring four distinct perspectives: those of the institution, the faculty, the library staff, and the students. From an institutional perspective, information literacy is dominated by the need to measure information skills within the context of information as a discipline in its own right. Also, there is a great deal of misinformation regarding information literacy, and as a result, a clear marketing strategy must be adopted by information professionals to address the misconceptions held by faculty staff and students alike. This article aims to address these points by drawing on recent scholarship and research in the field, which demonstrates the validity of information literacy as a process for fostering independent learning. The second part of the paper explains how a fellowship project has placed information literacy on the pedagogical agenda of the University of Staffordshire in the UK by promoting information literacy education as an integrated element of the curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the current assumptions behind vocational training for graduate teaching assistants at a large, urban, research-led UK university. Through qualitative evaluation it reflects on the perceptions of participants on a graduate teaching assistant 'learning and teaching module' in terms of an interpretation of their views on pedagogic practice. These reflections suggest that three of the assumptions upon which GTA training has been, and still is, predicated view the process in a relatively simplistic manner. The paper suggests that the pedagogic socialization process has been inaccurately homogenized as a postgraduate issue, ignoring the possibility that relatively sophisticated perceptions of good teaching practice are already firmly in place when a graduate enters a doctoral programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contrasts two types of "autodidact" located in the UK in different historical periods, which utilised different learning/research technologies to different ends. From the 1920s to the 1960s some working-class activists committed to the Communist Party of Great Britain became "educated" in Marxism (and more) through the processes intrinsic to their politics. This radical acculturation was undertaken outside the universities in consequence of both an absence of access to higher education and because of the relatively enclosed social world of British Communism. The widening of educational opportunities and the decline of political Marxism effectively extinguished this kind of autodidact. New technologies have meant that the 21st century is witnessing individuals and cyber-communities that are creating knowledge-based challenges to professional and institutional power in the face of personal/family "medical" crises. The paper outlines the characteristics of these two categories of autodidact and a new terrain of counter-hegemonic learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the influence of behaviourism on vocational education and training in Britain in the period between the Second World War and the mid-1970s. By the 1970s, behaviourism provided deeply-rooted underlying curricular and pedagogic principles that were widely accepted by VET professionals in the UK. Insofar as behaviourist ideas were debated, critics focused on the rigidity with which they were applied in practice, rather than on the ideas themselves. The paper explores the context within which behaviourist ideas came to dominate the VET profession, outlining their operationalisation as 'programmed instruction' (later as 'programmed learning'), and showing how their advocacy and adoption helped to underpin the emergence of a professional community of VET scholars and practitioners. The paper draws largely on contemporary evidence, including professional journals, textbooks and official records, as well as archival materials. It concludes by challenging simplistic dismissal of programmed instruction as mechanistic, utilitarian and reductionist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analysis of the ways in which UK higher education (HE) has become increasingly commercialised and commodified in the post-1980s. It critiques the strategies adopted by successive UK governments to reinvigorate the relationship between educational and economic life, and to facilitate a more corporate and entrepreneurial spirit within the academy in line with the pressures of a 'knowledge-based economy'. Arguing for a more critical exploration of teaching and learning within HE, the paper presents evidence from work carried out by the Reinvention Centre for Undergraduate Research, a Centre for Excellence in Teaching in Learning (CETL) which adopts a research-based learning approach to teaching and learning at undergraduate level.1 Within the context of ongoing debates surrounding the relationship between teaching, learning and research in UK HE, the paper advocates a reinvention of curriculum design through an engagement with the broader principles of critical pedagogy, and in so doing, presents a critical engagement with the commercialisation of HE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is inspired by, and constructed around, a number of fundamental questions that are relevant to teacher educators working within the context of the government policy initiatives and implementations that are influencing Higher Education in the UK at the present time. Using teacher education practices as sites of inquiry, and a number of figures from the work of Deleuze, the paper investigates approaches to teaching and learning that are described as having an aesthetic and ethically sensitive character. Mindful of such approaches and of the pervasiveness of policy influences, the paper also encourages a careful and thorough re-thinking of the theory and practice of teacher education as a terrain of complexity, multiplicity and interconnectedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the sociological issues raised by a recent study on school councils in England. This study revealed a lack of clarity among policy-makers and schools regarding the purpose of provision for pupil voice. The paper argues that this allows important questions about the functions of pupil voice to be avoided. While suggesting ways in which schools could refine their provision, the paper asks whether more effective pupil voice would make the concept less attractive to policy-makers and schools in the first place. It goes on to highlight more fundamental questions raised by critiques of notions of 'voice'. Connected to this, the paper outlines the potential for pupil voice to support neo-liberal as well as progressive ends. It concludes by arguing that teachers must grasp the opportunities provided by pupil voice to ensure that it serves 'collaborative' rather than 'managerial' professionalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper traces the origins of the concept of personalisation in public sector services, and applies it to school education. The original conceptualisation stressed the need for ‘deep’ rather than shallow, personalisation, if radical transformation of services were to be achieved. It is argued that as the concept has been disseminated and implemented through policy documents, notably the 2005 White Paper, it has lost its original emphasis on deep personalisation. The focus in this article is particularly upon gifted and talented students whose education provides the best case example of how the theory of personalisation might work in practice. Two examples of the lessons in a sixth form college are used to illustrate the character of personalised pedagogy in practice. The implications for theory and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of design for learning has arisen as education faces up to the implications of modern pedagogy, student diversity, and the affordances of information and communication technologies. This paper examines some of the benefits and issues for teachers in further and higher education surrounding the idea of learning design and its practical implementation in blended learning. It looks particularly at questions of documenting and representing learning designs so that they can be communicated to others. It explores the differing requirements of representations at various stages in the planning and sharing process, and for different communities of users, finding that multiple perspectives on a learning design are usually necessary. However, few representations to date have succeeded in capturing the essence of a good piece of teaching. Ways of representing designs as dynamic processes, rather than static products, may need to be developed. The paper is based on the outcomes of work with practising teachers during the UK Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)-funded Models of Practice Project, part of JISC's Design for Learning Programme, which runs from 2006 to 2007. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ‘independent learner’ is a key construct within discourses of educational policy and practice in the UK. Government policy statements stress the importance of developing learner independence, and higher education pedagogical practices tend to rest on the assumption that students are independent learners. This paper draws on research with undergraduate students in a post-1992 university to offer a critical appraisal of the discourse of the independent learner. The paper examines students’ perceptions of independence in both their first year of undergraduate study, and in the later years of their degree courses. Support for learning and issues related to asking for help are discussed. Whilst students tend to both expect and want to be independent, it is suggested that dominant constructions of the independent learner are gendered and culturally specific, and as such are inappropriate for the majority of students in a mass higher education system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperative learning, which is a relatively new form of pedagogy developed in North America, has recently been introduced into a number of schools in the UK. One such form of this pedagogy is referred to as Critical Skills. Two systematic evaluations of pilot projects which have implemented Critical Skills in UK schools have recently been undertaken. The paper reports on the evaluation of one such pilot project in a cluster of schools and pre‐five establishments in the city of Glasgow and compares the findings with the evaluation of the project in Jersey, England, involving all the schools on the island of Jersey. The evaluation of both projects identifies a number of common issues in introducing innovative pedagogical practices with established and experienced teachers. The paper addresses a number of models of innovation and proposes a model of ‘immersion’ to secure the sustainability of innovative teaching and learning arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the various papers published in the 2006 issue of the periodical "Studies in the Education of Adults." In one of the papers the author presents information on how academics participating in the Research Assessment Exercise in Great Britain have been much exercised by the possible use of metrics, including citations and journal ranking, as a proxy for the objective measure of the quality of research. Another paper explores critically a number of popular discourses of pedagogy in adult education theory and practice. A papers presents information on a recent email survey of professors of education in the United States and in Great Britain. A paper reports on a research with archaeologists working in the Yucatan in Mexico to try and create an archaeology that is less damaging to local environments, cultural resources and local communities than many archaeological projects. A paper presents information on activity theory and situated learning perspectives in education.

This paper discusses using action learning with different professional groups in the UK—nurses and educators. It addresses the question: To what extent is action learning an effective approach in relation to professional development, and, if so, in what way/s? The formulation and developmental processes of action learning sets are examined. The paper provides examples of the professional and personal development of these individuals as a result of experiencing the action learning process, as well as some positive impacts (outcomes) they achieved at an organisational level. It is also argued, however, that current tensions and challenges within professional groupings, cultures and contexts can impede action learning and, hence, have a negative impact on professional development. For example, political agendas and the psychodynamics of organisational life were found to hinder, or discourage, the learning process, i.e. the likelihood of bringing about change, in favour of maintaining the status quo for the individuals themselves and within their organisational structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this paper is the `culture of learning' in Chinese complementary schools. The term `culture' refers to the norms, attitudes, values and beliefs of the participants in these schools. Using data collected through multiple research methods from Chinese community schools in Britain, this paper takes a glimpse at cultural negotiation by examining the language choice in these schools. It briefly reviews the situation of learning Chinese as a community language, including outlining the general setting of Chinese schools in the UK. The paper then looks at examples of the language choices of the participants as a result of their cultural language traditions, their experiences and attitudes. It argues that `culture of learning' should be considered not only in classrooms, but also in the wider societal and institutional context. It invites further discussions on community language practices and ideologies in community schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the ways in which British Chinese pupils are positioned and represented within the popular/dominant discourse of teachers working in London schools. Drawing on individual interviews from a study conducted with 30 teachers, 80 British Chinese pupils and 30Chinese parents, we explore some of the racialised, gendered and classed assumptions upon which dominant discourses around British Chinese boys and girls are based. Consideration is given, for example, to teachers' dichotomous constructions of British Chinese masculinity, in which British Chinese boys were regarded as 'naturally' 'good' and 'not laddish', compared with a minority of 'bad' British Chinese boys, whose laddishness was attributed to membership of a multiethnic peer group. We also explore teachers' constructions of British Chinese femininity, which centred around remarkably homogenised representations of British Chinese girls as 'passive' and quiet, 'repressed', hard-working pupils. The paper discusses a range of alternative readings that challenge popular monolithic and homogenising accounts of British Chinese masculinity and femininity in order to open up more critical ways of representing and engaging with British Chinese educational 'achievement'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of Intensive Interaction in interactive pedagogy for students with severe and complex learning difficulties. It begins with an overview of the theoretical context for interactive pedagogy and then goes on to describe how one particular approach, Intensive Interaction, can, within a flexible curriculum, support sociability and communication development for pupils who are hardest to reach because they have not yet learned the fundamentals of early communication. Findings from one case study are drawn upon to illustrate the efficacy of this and to discuss how teamwork can affect optimal outcomes. The paper argues for more pupil-centred, flexible curricula and the wider adoption of approaches such as Intensive Interaction in inclusive mainstream schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes an exploratory trial conducted with 14–15 year-old students in English state schools who were studying business start-ups as part of a course in “Business Studies”. The intervention uses a “Story Grammar” strategy to improve students’ reasoning by increasing the frequency and complexity of their use of “connectives” such as “when”, “if” and “because”. The analysis reports positive effects of the intervention on students’ understanding as judged by the use of a standard examination style mark scheme, and the number and complexity of connectives used by students in their extended writing. By reporting effects on immediate target variables we are able to examine the causation with precision. Effects are reported through standardt-tests and effect size. We also discuss the design of the experiment and comment on its practicability as a model for investigating effects of classroom interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The area of simulation within education is fast developing, with many educational providers striving to keep up with current advances in technology. Evaluation of simulation learning appears overwhelmingly positive (Moule et al, 2008; McCaughey and Traynor, 2010; Hope et al, 2011). However, when looking to generate financial support to develop simulation practices within education, little evidence exists regarding its impact within clinical practice. This paper details the findings of a scoping exercise undertaken to ascertain current simulation practice within nursing curricula, in order to identify good practices and a clear evidence-base for embedding and using simulation to enhance education and practice. The project found overwhelming support for simulated learning from students and facilitators. However, it was highlighted that no clear guidance or strategies were universally used to effectively incorporate simulation within curricula, nor to evaluate or audit its effect upon student competency within clinical practice. Further evidence to support the implementation of simulation within nurse education is therefore required to ensure effective implementation and transferability of learning into clinical care settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nursing profession has experienced significant change over the last 100 years. Consequently, the work-force of the 21st century is a diverse entity that is edging toward the specialization of nurses in a specific clinical setting. In such an environment, a common knowledge base is demanded of nurses - a factor that has affected the development of second level, or enrolled nurses (ENs). The forces at play raise questions about nursing roles and scopes of practice. The establishment of education pathways that promote career development has been the stimulus for conversations about the effectiveness of the transition of EN to registered nurse (RN). This paper presents a review of the literature that identifies and explores common emerging themes (making the move from EN; adapting to Bachelor of Nursing; transitioning to RN) associated with this transition through the process of undertaking baccalaureate studies in nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the role of various linguistic sub-disciplines in teaching Finnish and Hungarian. We sketch the profile of the two languages, including difficulties in learning and teaching them, and the context in which they are taught in the UK. Using examples from our own teaching, we argue that a linguistically oriented approach is well suited for less widely used and less taught languages as it enables students to draw comparative and historical parallels, question terminologies and raise their sociolinguistic and pragmatic awareness. A linguistic approach also provides students with skills for further language learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing literature suggests that doctoral students' learning and experience are significantly influenced by their relationships with a wide range of people within and beyond academic settings. However, there has been little theoretical work focused on these issues, and questions of agency in doctoral study are in need of further attention. This paper draws on sociocultural theory in the analysis of interviews conducted with 33 doctoral students across four UK research-intensive universities. It focuses on agency and frames others as mediating students' experiences whether as embodied or represented in material, or imaginary form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years a combination of ever more flexible and sophisticated Web technologies and an explosion in the quantity of online content has sparked learning technologists around the world to pursue the promise of the 'reusable learning object' or RLO with the idea that RLOs could be reused in different educational contexts, thereby providing greater overall flexibility and return on investment. In 2002 the ACETS Project undertook a three-year study in the UK to investigate whether RLOs worked in practice and how the pursuit of reuse affected the teacher and their teaching. Teachers working in healthcare-related subjects in Higher and Further Education were asked to create an original learning design or activity from third-party digital resources and to reflect both on the process and its outcomes. The expectation was that teachers would be the ones selecting and reusing third-party materials. This paper describes how one of the ACETS exemplifiers reinterpreted this remit, challenged the anticipated transmissive model of learning, and instead, gave their students an opportunity to create their own original learning designs and learning activities from third-party digital resources. By describing the educational enhancements, the resulting heightened levels of critical thinking, and sensitivity to patient needs, 'reuse' will be shown to be an effective heuristic for student self-direction and professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a school-based investigation into revision as a means of improving writing in the English classroom. It suggests that although pupils tend to perceive revision as a teacher-directed, discrete stage in the writing process, during revision they engage in independent questioning, evaluation and employ a working model of audience as a guide to their operations. An approach to revision which involved pupils actively investigating each other's work, combined with an emphasis on multiple-drafting, was trialled in the English Departments of two different schools. The findings suggest that this alternative approach creates a classroom context for improvement which is not teacher-centred but embraces all students and highlights the potential for revision as an active learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The internet presents many potential opportunities for people to learn for both formal and informal purposes. However, not everyone is able to make the most of the internet for learning. This paper utilises quantitative nationally representative survey data of internet use in Britain in order to explore the digital divide in relation to learning activities online. The results from this analysis give a detailed picture of the digital divide in Britain; illustrating those who are non-users and users of the internet and the reasons that are important in explaining the diversity in non-use and use of the internet for learning (e.g., age, educational background, skills, attitudes and experience). The findings may assist in the development of policies that seek to support under-served groups to make the most effective use of the internet for formal and informal learning opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to provide a broad understanding of the role of union learning representatives (ULRs) and the contribution of union education and learning initiatives. It examines the scope for union learning to be distinctive and sustainable, and it does this by summarising and building upon a holistic review of research of ULR activity across the range of work and unions in the United Kingdom. The paper finds that there are opportunities arising from union learning, particularly for individuals to access learning opportunities for the first time, enabling economic and social well-being; and the potential to develop critical awareness, reflection and action, with an emphasis on learning through social participation. It also stresses the need for caution in assessing achievement to date, with research suggesting a narrow focus of union learning, on increasing supply of qualifications rather than raising skill demand, and on low-level qualifications with little added value. The article concludes that ULRs can play a central role in strengthening the contributions of learning initiatives through the union movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws upon original qualitative data to present an initial assessment of the significance of learning agreements for the development of socially responsible approaches to professional and human resource development within the workplace. The article suggests that the adoption of a partnership-based approach to learning is more important for the advancement of social responsibility in relation to professional and human resource development than formal learning agreements, but that such agreements contribute to the sustainability of learning partnerships when they establish or strengthen mechanisms for social dialogue. The paper also argues that the most socially responsible approaches to professional and human resource development are associated with learning partnerships in which there is a relatively even balance of power between employers and unions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key feature of housing policy in the UK is the transfer of affordable housing stock owned by local authorities to not-for-profit registered social landlords. Such transfers involve local authority tenants to varying degrees in the development and implementation of the transfer proposals. Reporting the findings of a series of interviews with tenants involved in stock transfers, this paper argues that tenant involvement in housing stock transfers is in itself a site of critical pedagogy, characterised by experiential learning and active citizenship. It goes on to outline Freire's philosophy of emancipatory education, and analyses the interview data within a theoretical framework provided by Freire. It concludes that Freire provides a useful conceptual framework for understanding tenant involvement in housing stock transfers, and addresses some of the practical and policy implications for actors in the stock transfer process that flow from this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Courses in product design are offered within the United Kingdom at the University of Brighton and the University of Sussex and in both cases are run within engineering departments alongside traditional engineering courses. This paper outlines some of the intrinsic pedagogic practices that are employed by these, and other, design courses. It highlights why creativity is a central tenet within these courses, which has underpinned the successful bid by the universities to jointly become the UK Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Creativity (CETL in C), and why, in particular, creativity is a key requirement in sustainable design. It supposes why these practices might, and should, offer a suitable role model for more traditional engineering courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to growing population movements the UK Government has introduced a number of measures designed to facilitate the social inclusion and integration of refugees into UK society. This paper explores some of the lifelong learning issues for refugees and argues that the current discourse of social inclusion and exclusion gives rise to narrow and prescriptive learning opportunities which fail to address the barriers facing refugees in the UK. Using the concept of social capital as an explanatory framework, I will argue that for refugees to become integrated and useful members of society requires a shift away from the present focus on formal, individualised education provision to a greater recognition of informal and social learning opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a commissioned research project to evaluate the impact of support (mainly funding) given by the UK Government's National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) to various projects under the general heading of ‘science learning’ over a four-year period (2000-2004). Findings emerging from the study indicate that NESTA is an imaginative and risk-taking project funder, supporting innovative approaches to science education, typically involving special events or producing web-based resources or other e-learning outcomes, characteristically with strong environmental, technological or creative themes. However, the article also reports on methodological and theoretical issues emerging from a medium-scale, largely retrospective evaluation, such as the pros and cons of a ‘multi-method’ approach (Saxe & Fine, 1979; Bennet, 2003); the need to construct a methodology that would be acceptable to the commissioning body, and the extent to which findings can be set within ‘theories of change’ frameworks proposed by Fullan (2001) and Harlen and Kinder (1997). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing concern throughout the UK and beyond about the lack of suitably qualified post-primary teachers in some subject areas, particularly mathematics, design and technology and the sciences. This paper reports on a survey of teacher qualifications in Northern Ireland which indicates that a significant percentage of teachers are unqualified in the areas of mathematics, physics, ICT, history and Irish, and that Key Stage 3 teachers tend to be less well-qualified than those at Key Stage 4 or post-16. Unqualified teachers are less likely to be found in the grammar sector than the non-grammar sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper advances some bases for a workplace curriculum. These are premised on conceptions of curriculum as intents directed to individuals’ progression towards full and effective workplace performance, yet whose enactment is shaped by workplace factors and is ultimately experienced by workers as learners. So whether the intentions will be realized is likely premised on the support (affordances) for their enactment by interests within the workplace. Workplace affordances, like those in educational institutions, emphasize the role that the norms and social practices that comprise workplaces play in regulating individuals’ engagement in and learning through work. The degree to which these affordances invite, structure, support, and guide participation, and are likely to engage workers in the kinds of thinking, acting, and learning required for effective workplace performance, is important for developing effective vocational practice. The conception of an ideal curriculum directed towards full participation is subject to the affordances of the interests of managers, co‐workers, and factors affecting production, as well as the intentionalities of worker‐learners themselves. These concepts may well provide ways of thinking about curriculum more broadly as participatory practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thinking about the museum’s engagement in educational programmes is increasingly adopting a more critical perspective on the implications of a programme in authorizing and defining particular knowledge. While objects are still invoked to define history and culture and to underscore their authority, the museum’s claim to educational purposes is being questioned by the museum itself. This has resulted in changes to the ways in which student learning occurs within the museum. Using data gathered during a year‐long study of the changing role of a Canadian regional history and ethnology museum, this paper argues that the changing role of the museum prompts reconsideration of their roles not only as sites of knowledge but also as sites of knowledge‐production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the strengths and weaknesses of Lave and Wenger's concept of 'legitimate peripheral participation' as a means of understanding workplace learning. It draws on recent ESRC-funded research by the authors in contemporary workplace settings in the UK (manufacturing industry and secondary schools) to establish the extent to which Lave and Wenger's theories can adequately illuminate the nature and process of learning at work. The new research presented here, which was located in complex institutional settings, highlights the diverse nature of patterns and forms of participation. Case study evidence is used to identify individual and contextual factors which underpin and illuminate the ways in which employees learn. The paper argues that whilst Lave and Wenger's work continues to provide an important source of theoretical insight and inspiration for research in to learning at work, it has significant limitations. These limitations relate to the application of their perspective to contemporary workplaces in advanced industrial societies and to the institutional environments in which people work. These complex settings play a crucial role in the configuration of opportunities and barriers to learning that employees encounter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classified honours degree has so much prestige and so venerable a tradition that only very serious and systemic changes could justify the question as to whether classification has a future. However, while this paper argues that such changes have indeed taken place in the past 30 years, the main arguments for change are pedagogical. The proposed change is for an unclassified degree, in which details are provided in a profile, covering assessments—only some of which can be classified—in a range of learning activities. A major innovation is the creation by each student of a portfolio, a device well known in art and architecture, which documents their learning. One consequence of this change is that students are treated individually and the traditional concept of fairness, which is based on all students being treated the same, has to be replaced by a more sophisticated concept of fairness. More generally, this change—with its stress on integrating assessment and the process of learning, as opposed to the current attitude where assessment certifies the product of learning—will have to affect not only the processes of assessment, but of all associated teaching and learning. The proposed scheme ought to be helpful also to prospective employers, who would, however, have to change many traditional attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2000 the UK Engineering Professors' Council (EPC) drafted an output standard to describe first-cycle engineering programmes that would prepare students for practice and further professional learning. The standard described what is authentic and worthwhile in engineering education—it identified complex outcomes of learning. This poses practical and theoretical challenges: how can we know if a student has met this standard? This paper argues that complex outcomes like these often resist measurement and that it is appropriate to use other forms of judgement when trying to assess student achievement. This differentiated approach to assessment, which values formative assessment (or feedback) as well as summative assessment (or feedout), is summarized. It becomes necessary, then, to think about the assessment arrangements for whole programmes, not just for individual modules. Some implications of this programmic and differentiated approach are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues against the dominant discourse of lifelong learning. It is primarily a mode of social control that acts as a new disciplinary technology to make people more compliant and adaptable for work in the era of flexible capitalism. Whilst the main reference point is trends in the UK, the argument has a wider resonance. Lifelong learning diminishes the public sphere, undermines educational activity, introduces new mechanisms of self-surveillance and reinforces the view that failure to succeed is a personal responsibility. It is ultimately a 'deficit discourse', which locates the responsibility of economic and political failure at the level of the individual, rather than at the level of systemic problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]