Search

Historically fitness testing has been identified as a common but controversial physical education (PE)-for-health practice across the globe. Despite this, little is known about the current prevalence and implementation of fitness testing. This paper therefore reports on findings from a survey which gathered both quantitative and qualitative data to explore the 'if?', 'why?' and 'how?' of fitness testing and provide new insights into teachers' learning intentions, pedagogical practices, and attitudes towards it. The survey was distributed to PE departments in secondary schools across the UK, and responses were analysed and reported descriptively and thematically. Responses from 260 schools highlighted that fitness testing remains a common practice in PE, with 80% of PE teachers reporting it to feature in their curriculum. There was less consensus surrounding the 'why?' and 'how?' of testing, with variation evident in teachers' stated learning intentions, pedagogical practices, and attitudes. Despite its prevalence, PE teachers expressed concerns over negative pupil outcomes potentially arising from fitness testing, and over 60% of teachers were uncertain or agreed that fitness testing can have a negative impact on pupils' psychological health. Given the findings and the reported widespread prevalence of fitness testing, further research should explore pupils' perspectives, responses, and outcomes of fitness testing, including their motivational and emotional responses to testing. Working with teachers and encouraging them to critically reflect on the 'if?', 'why?' and 'how?' of fitness testing is recommended and will hopefully help to bridge the gap between research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile methodology has long been adopted in social science as a data collection tool and there is an established industry focused on cemeteries and ghost walks as a novel and appealing way to engage audiences in mortality. However, death studies have rarely sought to embrace mobile methods as an opportunity for innovation in teaching to enhance Higher Education (HE) student learning. This paper will reflect on the value and potential of adapting mobile methods to become mobile learning, an innovative pedagogic approach enabling the teaching of mortality to become an immersive experience of ‘learning on the move’ using mobile technology. Learning on the move has, I will demonstrate, a range of benefits for participants. These include the stimulation of the thanatological imagination and the schooling of participants to communicate effectively and sensitively about death, dying and the dead. I will explore the significance of mobile learning through the York Death and Culture Walk (DaCWalk), an open access self-guided fully podcasted walk through the centre of one of the UK’s oldest cities. The walk is designed to enable HE student walkers to experience embodied learning as they come to both know and understand mortality in a historic urban space. Mobile learning is argued to be a powerful innovation as a pedagogic tool for teaching and learning about death, dying and the dead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents research that explored the ways that systemic and family therapists might approach the support of families living with dementia. A constructivist grounded theory methodology was used to interpret interviews with four systemic family therapists working in the United Kingdom. All participants had professional and/or lived experience of dementia. Transcript analysis and theoretical sampling led to the development of five categories, each related to different aspects of considering systemic therapy in a dementia context. These categories were further developed into a 'systemically informed dementia orienteering' conceptual framework, which is presented in this paper as a learning resource. Findings are related to existing literature, and recommendations for future research are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. This article presents a discussion on how to maximize nursing students' learning about research for evidence-based practice in undergraduate, preregistration programmes. Background. Evidence-based practice may use information from many sources, including research. Research utilization concerns the translation of research findings into practice. Thus, while evidence-base practice may not be solely research-based and hence more than research utilization, research remains an important ingredient in ensuring quality and cost-effective care and an academic requirement for nursing students undertaking a science degree-level qualification. Nevertheless, how educators can best support research-related learning and application remains uncertain and requires discussion. Data sources. MEDLINE, CINAHL, Social Science Citation Index, British Nursing Index, and Intute were searched for papers published 1980-2011 using the following search terms: research, research utilization, evidence-based practice, learning, teaching, education, training, nursing, health, and social care. Discussion. Nursing students need to be able to value the relevance, authority, and utility of nursing research for patient care through embedding research learning in both academic and practice-based settings. Students can be supported in learning how to access, understand, and appraise the authority of research through weaving these skills into enquiry-based learning. Furthermore, encouraging students to undertake research-based practice change projects can support research utilization and development skills. Conclusion. Research should be fully embedded throughout nursing curricula beyond the confines of 'research classes', integrating learning in academic and practice-based settings. Although this requires synergistic and integrated support of student learning by nurse educators, managers, clinical practitioners, researchers and policymakers; nurse educators have a pivotal role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based upon a multi-species ethnography of companion dog training in the UK, this paper examines the training class as a site of inter-species communication through which dogs and their humans are mutually affected and transformed. We argue that dog training represents an important form of multi-species learning in which participants (human trainer, trainee and canine) shape one another, jointly if asymmetrically, through the performance of particular tasks and challenges. Successful training requires 'attunement' to the haptic and sensory experiences of another species and the creation of shared embodied languages through which relationships of trust and reciprocity are formed. Responding to calls for less human-centred methods we examine the possibilities of visual and ethnographic methods for capturing the 'animal's point of view' and explore how deep ethnographic involvement of the researcher's own body can draw attention to the everyday complexities of embodied inter-species communication. We consider the importance of our own embodied learning in decentring the human in the research process, engendering a corporeal understanding of the multi-sensory nature of inter-species interaction and transforming ourselves in the process. Through the use of ethnographic vignettes, photos and video stills we highlight the importance of body language, sound, touch, smell and training atmospheres in the creation of shared knowledges. In doing so we explore the possibilities of such methods for evoking the affective dimensions of human-canine interactions and attending to the complex and multiple actors and sensibilities which comprise multi-species training relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The first purpose of this paper is to update the core data set of self-neglect safeguarding adult reviews (SAR) and accompanying thematic analysis. A second purpose is to rebalance the narrative about adult safeguarding and self-neglect by highlighting two case studies where the practice was informed by SAR and the evidence-base of best practice. Design/methodology/approach: Further published reviews are added to the core data set, drawn from the websites of Safeguarding Adults Boards (SAB). Thematic analysis is updated using the four domains used previously. Two case studies are presented, using the four domains of direct practice, team around the person, organisational support and governance, to demonstrate that positive outcomes can be achieved when practice and support for practitioners align with the evidence-base. Findings: Familiar findings emerge from the thematic analysis and reinforce the evidence-base of good practice with individuals who self-neglect and for policies and procedures with which to support those practitioners working with such cases. The case studies are illustrative examples of what can be achieved and signpost SABs and SAR authors to question what enables and what obstructs best practice. Research limitations/implications: A national database of reviews completed by SABs has been established (https://nationalnetwork.org.uk) with the expectation that, in time, this will become a comprehensive resource. It is possible, however, that this data set is incomplete. Drawing together the findings from the reviews nonetheless builds on what is known about the components of effective practice, and effective policy and organisational arrangements for practice. Although individual reviews might comment on good practice alongside shortfalls, no published SARs have been found that were commissioned specifically to learn lessons from what had worked out well. More emphasis could be given to what might be learned from such cases. Practical implications: Answering the question "why" remains a significant challenge for SAR not only where concerns about how agencies worked together prompted review but also where positive outcomes have been achieved. The findings confirm the relevance of the evidence-base for effective practice, but SARs are limited in their analysis of what enables and what obstructs the components of best practice. Greater explicit use of case studies with positive outcomes might enable learning about what enables positive system change. Originality/value: The paper extends the thematic analysis of available reviews that focus on work with adults who self-neglect, further reinforcing the evidence base for practice. The paper presents two case studies where practice and the context within which practitioners were working closely aligned to the evidence-base for best practice. The paper suggests that SABs and SAR authors should focus explicitly on what enables and what obstructs the realisation of best practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present our development of a previously articulated approach to counselling education of transformational learning through a relational dynamic approach (Macaskie et al., 2013). We replace the idea of integration with a values-based approach and supplement the notion of transformational relational learning with a not-knowing attitude. This perspective on education and learning in counselling parallels the attitude within psychotherapy that we teach our students. We argue that this unites relational approaches to learning and psychotherapy across modalities and offers a trans-theoretical approach that could explain the common factors research in psychotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the UK, transition to university has become regarded as the 'normative' next step for young people following completion of their post-16 education. This paper examines the views of 23 young people who, despite being suitably qualified to progress to university, were anticipating alternative pathways and options. The paper illuminates the centrality of young people's 'learning identities' in their decisions and the role of wider social contexts in structuring their opportunities to embark on higher education. Their 'learning identities' informed their views on the value of higher education and other options in securing future employment. The implications of these findings are highly significant in the context of congested and competitive UK labour markets in which obtaining a degree has become, in very many contexts, the bare minimum for securing employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to update the core data set of self-neglect safeguarding adult reviews (SARs) and accompanying thematic analysis. It also explores whether lessons are being learned from the findings and recommendations of an increasing number of reviews on self-neglect cases. Design/methodology/approach: Further published reviews are added to the core data set, mainly drawn from the websites of safeguarding adults boards (SABs). Thematic analysis is updated using the domains used previously. The domains and the thematic analysis are grounded in the evidence-based model of good practice, reported in this journal previously. Findings: Familiar findings emerge from the thematic analysis and reinforce the evidence-base of good practice with individuals who self-neglect and for policies and procedures with which to support those practitioners working with such cases. Multiple exclusion homelessness and alcohol misuse are prominent. Some SABs are having to return to further cases of self-neglect to review, inviting scrutiny of what is (not) being learned from earlier findings and recommendations. Research limitations/implications: The national database of reviews commissioned by SABs remains incomplete. The Care Act 2014 does not require publication of reports but only a summary of findings and recommendations in SAB annual reports. National Health Service Digital annual data sets do not enable the identification of reviews by types of abuse and neglect. However, the first national analysis of SARs has found self-neglect to be the most prominent type of abuse and/or neglect reviewed. Drawing together the findings builds on what is known about the components of effective practice, and effective policy and organisational arrangements for practice. Practical implications: Answering the question "why" remains a significant challenge for SARs. The findings confirm the relevance of the evidence-base for effective practice but SARs are limited in their analysis of what enables and what obstructs the components of best practice. Greater explicit use of research and other published SARs might assist with answering the "why" question. Greater scrutiny is needed of the impact of the national legal, policy and financial context within which adult safeguarding is situated. Originality/value: The paper extends the thematic analysis of available reviews that focus on study with adults who self-neglect, further reinforcing the evidence base for practice. Propositions are explored, concerned with whether learning is being maximised from the process of case review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paramedics frequently encounter patients requiring palliative and end of life care. This is anticipated to increase with an ageing UK population, a strengthening preference for care and death to occur in the home, alongside pressurized community services. Nationally education is lacking and despite localized efforts of improvement, widespread change within ambulance services to advance the quality of care for this patient group has been slow to emerge. This paper describes two UK ambulance service improvement programmes that have sought to address this need. South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and London Ambulance Service NHS Trust collaborated with a nationally renowned charity, Macmillan Cancer Support, to create innovative programmes of change. Both services targeted data exploration, valued inter-professional learning and effectively engaged local stakeholders. Experience demonstrates the need for collaboration with specialist palliative care and dependence on community services to access support and alternatives to hospital conveyance. This paper considers the future for end of life care leadership in UK ambulance services and the development of specialist paramedic roles. While the future of an alliance of paramedicine and palliative care is yet to be fully realized, our work exhibits the significant progress made by UK ambulance services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) are a statutory requirement in England and Wales, conducted when somebody aged 16 and over dies from violence, abuse or neglect by a relative, intimate partner or member of the same household. While key aims of DHRs are to identify recommendations and lessons learned to eventually prevent further domestic homicides, there is limited evidence globally regarding the extent to which these are followed up or make a difference. This paper explores the barriers and facilitators to the conduct and impact of DHRs to enhance their learning potential. It is based on nineteen qualitative interviews with professionals involved in the DHR process across five Safeguarding Boards in Wales and fourteen Community Safety Partnerships in the North‐West of England, UK. Findings are presented thematically under four section headings: upskilling and democratising the review process; family and friends' involvement; negotiating organisational blame to foster learning; and actioning and auditing recommendations. It is suggested that organisational learning cannot be achieved without accepting organisational responsibility, which could be interpreted as blame. The role and skills of the Chair are perceived as key to ensure a safe, evidence‐based, transparent and learning‐focused DHR process. Developing and actioning recommendations may challenge longstanding prejudices. Promoting the role of families/survivor networks and professionals on an equal footing would support a more democratic process. Learning could be enhanced by thematising recommendations and proactively using lessons from one area to inform another. Participants called for appropriate central regulation and accountability to support the action of recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immersive virtual reality (IVR) offers possibilities of creating a learner‐centric environment that can provide more presence and engagement for students leading to an enhanced learning experience compared to conventional classroom practices. However, the potential of IVR in vocational education and training (VET) has not yet been explored in‐depth, and it is an open question of whether it can effectively support learner creation in a designing task. In this paper, we present an IVR application developed to support gardener apprentices in designing gardens. Using this application, we conducted an experimental study with gardener apprentices to investigate the effect of the IVR interface compared to paper sketching and learner behavior on the proportion, composition, and creativity of the design outcome. Additionally, we investigated how it can be combined with a paper sketching activity to improve its effectiveness. Our analysis shows that the IVR interface can be more effective for the proportion aspect, but this may be limited to students that are able to use it after working with paper. In terms of the combination order, the effectiveness of IVR on the design quality was improved when it was carried out after the paper sketching and this ordering produced a more effective outcome for the proportion and composition aspects. Finally, our results show that IVR design quality is related to learner behaviors such as the time spent on designing and the number of simulations used. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of IVR applications in supporting designing skills and how effectiveness can be improved by combining it with a conventional method of practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serious games are designed to improve learning instead of providing only entertainment. Serious games analytics can be used for understanding and enhancing the quality of learning with serious games. One challenge in developing the computerized support for learning is that learning of skills varies between players. Appropriate algorithms are needed for analyzing the performance of individual players. This paper presents a novel clustering‐based profiling method for analyzing serious games learners. GraphoLearn, a game for training connections between the speech sounds and letters, serves as the game‐based learning environment. The proposed clustering method was designed to group the learners into profiles based on game log data. The obtained profiles were statistically analyzed. For instance, the results revealed one profile consisting of 136 players who had difficulties with connecting most of the target sounds and letters, whereas learners in the other profiles typically had difficulties with specific sound‐letter pairs. The results suggest that this profiling method can be useful for identifying children with a risk of reading disability and the proposed approach is a promising new method for analyzing serious game log data. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Serious games are used to improve learning and to tailor learning environments for people with various difficulties in learning.Learning analytics and serious games analytics are growing research fields, applying and developing data analysis methods to analyze, profile and understand learning using serious games.GraphoLearn is a learning game for training reading skills. The game provides preventive support for learners with varying skill levels including individuals who are struggling with reading.What this paper adds The paper develops and presents a novel approach for serious games analytics to analyze GraphoLearn players.The proposed data analysis approach produces an interpretable set of error profiles, which characterize the learning difficulties in a unique way.The profiling method can be used for longitudinal studies and applied to analyzing logs of other serious games.Implications for practice and/or policy It is possible to reveal and understand profiles of serious game players.The proposed data analysis method can be used to identify players who have a potential risk for reading difficulties or disabilities.Even though the proposed method provides only limited information about players' future skills, it offers a good starting point for other studies in which players' development can be monitored more accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education institutions (HEI) have undergone fundamental changes driven by ICT developments, globalisation, and the advent of socio-constructivist pedagogic approaches. As a result, within the UK, capital investment in new and retrofitted facilities has reached a record expenditure. Recent research on user-related evaluations of facilities, particularly in HEI learning spaces, highlights the prevalence of evaluations dominated by reductionist approaches focused on measuring outcomes, on users, such as satisfaction, learning outcomes or engagement. These approaches have a major pitfall, neglecting the complexity of the dynamic relationships between people, spaces, technology, institutional structure and pedagogic practices. In response, this paper aims to propose a shift on current approaches by exploring the application of sociotechnical systems theory to learning space design and evaluation. Amid these, it is argued that Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) offers promising alternatives to inform design and management of higher education learning spaces. Finally, within the paper, three CWA interventions are proposed and discussed, focusing on how these address previously identified shortcomings of predominant approaches used in HEI learning space design and evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on an undergraduate project, Making:Archives — Narrative Artefact, as an exemplar of collaborative good practice, expanding on its case study in the National Archives and History UK's Guide to Collaboration for Archive and Higher Education. The paper examines the expected and unexpected impacts of the Making:Archives collaborative project for the stakeholders involved: the Institution, the Archive Service, its depositors, and in particular the students. Students have both struggled and excelled in the project, with the most engaged developing a range of creative and transferrable skills that have been repurposed in the creation of work beyond Making:Archives. The paper also reflects on the challenges faced, and numerous opportunities presented, during the co-creation, delivery and evaluation of the project, drawing extensive data gathered from student participants. The project is presented in the context of relevant literature from both the textile education, industry, and archive sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a response to Cotton, Miller and Kneale's 2017 paper on the current state of higher education research within UK universities. It seeks to contribute to the debate surrounding the inclusion of pedagogic research (PedR) via SoTL in the UK's Research Excellence Framework (REF) in the context of researchers who reside within a disciplinary context. The inclusion of PedR in the REF continues to be contentious, despite recommendations in the Stern Report which could make its inclusion more feasible. This paper focuses on PedR which is conducted, published and disseminated by academics situated within Life Science departments, rather than Schools of Education. The twenty-one teaching-focused academics in this study discussed their commitment to PedR integral to their academic identity, the challenges they faced in carrying out PedR, and their thoughts on REF 2014. Their opinions and conclusions give food for thought on decisions regarding inclusion of PedR in REF 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Whole Class Ensemble Tuition (WCET) is a model of teaching and learning music which takes place in many English primary schools. It is a relative newcomer to music pedagogy in the primary school. In the groundbreaking study reported in this paper, two new models of teaching and learning music are proposed. These are (a) Music education starts with the instrument and (b) Music education takes place via the instrument. Conceptualised descriptions of classroom music pedagogies are not commonplace, and so this paper makes a significant contribution to the music education research literature by delineating, describing and labelling two of these with reference to the WCET programme. These distinctions are of international significance and are useful to describe differences between programmes, which constitutes a major contribution to music curricula discussions. The paper concludes that clarity on the purposes of teaching and learning is fundamental to effective musical pedagogy and that this is a matter that education systems worldwide should be considering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The UK is a popular educational hub for international students from different parts of the world. These students often face different transitional challenges, which have a significant impact on the success or failure of their studies. The purpose of this paper is to systematically investigate the issues and challenges confronting international students in the UK in their efforts to acquire academic knowledge and achieve personal development. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 104 UK-based international students in five higher education institutes in London from 25 countries participated in this study. The study was undertaken qualitatively through 21 semi-structured and 13 focus group interviews. Findings: The findings reveal that the process of transitional adjustment is affected by various issues, all of which determine the duration of the students' involvement in each stage of the transitional process. International students in the UK experience language/accent-related difficulties; impaired communication; and a difficult adjustment to the British education system and culture. Research limitations/implications: The extent to which the findings of this research can be generalised is constrained by the limited scope of the research. Practical implications: In choosing to study in the UK, international students primarily seek to obtain a qualification, other life experiences, and cultural assimilation. The students' parents, institutions and the UK authorities (such as the Department of Education) have an important role in ensuring that the students achieve success. While the roles of parents and the UK authorities are not the focus of this paper, their supportive roles certainly allow students to complete the different stages of the process of transitional adjustment quickly and smoothly. Originality/value: The study offers valuable insight into understanding the challenges facing international students in acquiring knowledge in a foreign land. The paper contributes to the pedagogic literature on this topic by proposing a three-stage scaffolding model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

The value for money of UK undergraduate degree courses is under increasingly critical scrutiny. Understanding the level of learning achieved by students on any particular course has therefore become of paramount importance as an indicator of teaching quality. The change to the learning that a student undertaking a course has acquired can be expressed as being their 'learning gain' and this paper applies a course level lens to investigate this using an innovative bottom-up approach which considers both the distance travelled by each student (explicit knowledge), and also their journey travelled (tacit understanding). Benchmarking learning gain data was collected from undergraduate marketing students, and gaps in perceived learning were identified. Changes to the teaching were implemented to address issues identified, and data was collected from the next cohort of students for comparison. Students reported significant improvements in learning after the changes in teaching had been implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses how one special school for pupils with moderate‐learning difficulties reflects themes in the literature on pupil motivation. It aims to highlight good practice and is based on reflections from prolonged working with the school as an advisory teacher, illustrated with teacher, pupil and parent comments from Y6 Education Health Care Plans and Y7 annual review documents (n = 23) and from OFSTED reports. It beings by exploring the origins and influences on pupil motivation, identifying the differences between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and examining motivational traits and attributions within individuals. It then discusses the motivational influences of the social and learning contexts of the school: organisation, curriculum and pedagogy, and goals and rewards. Throughout, school‐specific observations are related to and discussed alongside themes in the literature. Motivation is commonly defined in quantitative terms that describe the intensity, direction and duration of behaviour and effort. It is the qualitative aspects of how motivation is aroused and maintained that are germane to this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing options for older people in the United Kingdom (UK) have been rather limited to remaining living 'independently' in one's own home and some variant of institutionally provided, pre-established and age-exclusive housing such as retirement communities, extra-care or sheltered housing. However, interest in alternative forms of housing and living which align more closely with the expectations of those currently entering later life is steadily growing. In this paper, we present some findings from original, mixed-methods research on the UK's only established example of senior co-housing, which also happens to be women only. Through thematic analysis, we explore two key questions about this important social experiment: (a) is this a model merely for the dedicated, activist and privileged few, as is often presumed; and (b) what might it tell us about post-traditional ageing. Is it merely a retirement lifestyle choice and identity project, grounded in logics of age denial, activity, choice, individualism and risk management? Our findings cannot be conclusive at this stage, but they do suggest a new model of later-life dwelling for the UK based on more collectivist values of inter-dependence, commitment, learning and, even, love. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite emotion being recognized as fundamental to learning, the affective aspects of learning have often been side-lined in higher education. In the context of rising student wellbeing challenges, exploring ways of supporting students and their emotions in learning is increasingly significant. Pedagogic partnerships have the potential to help students to recognize and work with their emotions in their learning in a positive manner. As such, pedagogic partnerships offer opportunities to promote resilience and enhance student wellbeing. In this paper, we develop partnership research in three ways by: 1) considering the ways in which pedagogic partnership may support students to encounter emotions and empower them to develop resilience, leading to positive wellbeing; 2) exploring how this process might be achieved in the disciplinary context of geography; and 3) developing an evidence-based model to summarize the potential effect of pedagogic partnership in enhancing student wellbeing. We draw upon two case studies of student-faculty and student-student pedagogic partnership within geography curricula in order to evidence that emotional awareness in learning comes through the joys and struggles of working in partnership. We argue that pedagogic partnership may be developed to support the wellbeing of modern-day higher education communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on educational choices and participation has tended to focus on youth and to some extent on older adults, with little attention to the group in between. This paper therefore analyses participation in various types of learning by people in their 30s and 40s. This group are often juggling career and family life commitments meaning that there are substantial barriers and time constraints on learning participation. We draw on large-scale quantitative longitudinal data for Britain to examine the trajectory of engagement with learning using latent class analysis to identify patterns in the data and regression modelling to investigate explanatory factors. We show that both highest qualification reached by their early 30s and participation in learning activities of some kind in young adulthood are key antecedent factors predicting higher chances of participating in learning in mid-life. The research confirms the importance of cumulative processes in learning as in other aspects of the lifecourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guiding hints and challenge can help scaffold learners to progress beyond what they would achieve independently. The interactive and adaptive capabilities of mobile devices allow educational applications (apps) to support learning through scaffolding designs. However, little research has tested the effects of scaffolding features in apps on young children's learning. Using a 3 × 2 between‐subjects design, this study experimentally tests how three types of app feedback (nonverbal sounds, verbal encouragement, or scaffolded verbal hints) and two types of leveling (gradual vs. random‐ordered challenge) influence 4–5‐year‐old children's learning of novel words (N = 240). Results showed that scaffolded feedback was especially useful when provided at the beginning of app play (p <.01), and scaffolded leveling through gradual increases in difficulty supported faster and more accurate responses than random order challenge (p <.001). Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Researchers have worked to apply what we know about traditional in‐person teaching with young learners and how that might translate to digital platforms.Parent and teacher scaffolding has been shown to successfully help young children learn. Guidance through increased difficulty and explanatory feedback can help learners gradually build their skills and reflect more deeply on the content they are learning.What this paper adds This study adds to the newly growing collection of experiments testing the design features of educational pre‐school apps.Findings show that scaffolding through educational app feedback and leveling can support young children learning.Results also show that the impact of scaffolding can depend on when the guidance is presented during app play – at the very beginning of play versus later on.Implications for practice and/or policy Findings can help educators and other consumers identify which types of apps are better for scaffolding young children's learning.Suggestions are provided to support educational app developers in designing products that are truly effective.Findings suggest that combinations of app designs may differently impact young children's learning, providing next step testing conditions for educational app designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared the effects of support for peer feedback, peer feedforward and their combination on students' peer learning processes, argumentative essay quality and domain‐specific learning. Participants were 86 BSc students who were randomly divided over 43 dyads. These dyads, in a two‐factorial experimental design, were assigned to four conditions including: peer feedback (n = 22), peer feedforward (n = 22), mixed (n = 20) and control group (n = 22) conditions. An online peer feedback environment named EduTech was designed which allowed us to implement various types of support in the form of question prompts. In this online environment, students were asked to write an argumentative essay on a controversial topic, to engage in peer learning processes and to revise their essay. Overall, the results showed that students in the three experimental conditions (peer feedback, peer feedforward and their combination) benefited more than students in the control group condition (without any support) in term of peer learning processes, argumentative essay quality and domain‐specific learning. However, there was no significant difference among the three experimental conditions. This implies that peer feedforward can be as important as peer feedback in collaborative learning environments which is often neglected both in theory and practice. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic? Writing argumentative essays is a common practice for higher education students in various disciplines which deal with controversial issues.Writing argumentative essay requires solid argumentation strategies which makes it a challenging task for higher education students.Additional instructional support is needed to help students write high‐quality argumentative essays.What this paper adds? Peer learning is a promising instructional strategy for improving students' argumentative essay writing and learning.Online support in the form of question prompts to guide students during peer learning can improve their argumentative essay writing and learning.Next to the peer feedback, peer feedforward is also a promising instructional approach to support students' argumentative essay writing and learning.Implications for practice and/or policy Given the positive effects of peer learning processes, the use of peer feedback and peer feedforward should be given more attention by teachers to support students write high‐quality argumentative essays for controversial issues.Teachers and educational designers should not only provide opportunities for students to engage in peer feedback processes (how I am doing?) but also in peer feedforward processes (where to next?). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research shows that both teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and their engagement in metacognitive activities are essential to technology integration in the classroom. However, the interplay between teachers' TPACK ability and their metacognitive skills is still underexplored, especially in the context of developing technology‐infused lesson plans. This study examined how the interrelations among metacognitive activities and TPACK constructs affected preservice teachers' technology integration in instructional design. Sixty‐four preservice teachers designed a lesson with nBrowser, a computer‐based learning environment (CBLE) that helps teachers incorporate technology into instruction by promoting self‐regulated learning (SRL). Drawing on the lesson plans, we extracted six types of metacognitive processes preservice teachers exhibited while solving the task and generated two distinct SRL profiles according to the identified latent profile of metacognitive patterns. The competent self‐regulated learners demonstrated more efforts in metacognitive monitoring activities than the less competent self‐regulated learners in regulating their task solving processes. When comparing TPACK comprehension and design performance between the two profiles, the competent self‐regulated learners outperformed the less competent self‐regulated learners on comprehension and design outcomes. This study provides deep insights into teachers' self‐regulation in CBLEs and emphasizes the pivotal role of metacognition and SRL in teachers' TPACK development. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Success in technology integration calls for teachers' conceptual understanding of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK).Teachers' self‐regulated learning (SRL) ability mediates their TPACK development since metacognitive activities in the SRL process enable teachers to monitor and evaluate TPACK learning towards the sophisticated levels of TPACK.What this paper adds nBrowser, the computer‐based learning environment fosters teachers' engagement in regulated TPACK development.Analysis of teachers' lesson plans affords opportunities to identify teachers' specific metacognitive processes in self‐regulated TPACK development.Latent profile analysis helps to understand the heterogeneity of teachers' metacognitive processes and establish distinctive profiles regarding teachers' self‐regulation.Teachers' TPACK development differed significantly across distinctive SRL profiles.Implications for practice and/or policy Teacher educators should find ways to support teachers' SRL ability in technology education.The identification of SRL profiles could contribute to designing metacognitive scaffolds in the specific domain of teachers' technology education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, we tested the effectiveness of three learning strategies (self‐explanation, learning by teaching and passive viewing) used by students who were learning from video lectures. Effectiveness was measured not only with traditional measures, but also with electroencephalography (EEG). Using a within‐subjects design, 26 university students viewed three sets of short lectures, each presenting a different set of English vocabulary words and were asked to use a different learning strategy for each set of lectures. Participants' EEG signals were assessed while watching the videos; learning experience (self‐reported motivation and engagement) and learning performance (vocabulary recall test score) were assessed after watching the videos. Repeated measures ANOVAs showed that the self‐explaining and teaching strategies were more beneficial than the passive viewing strategy, as indicated by higher EEG theta and alpha band power, a more positive learning experience (higher motivation and engagement) and better learning performance. However, whereas the teaching strategy elicited greater neural oscillations related to working memory and attention compared to the self‐explanation strategy, the two groups did not differ on self‐reported learning experience or learning performance. Our findings are discussed in terms of potential application in courses using video lectures and in terms of their heuristic value for future research on the neural processes that differentiate learning strategies. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Watching video lectures does not always result in learners actively making sense of the learning material.Self‐explaining facilitates deep learning from viewing video lectures and in traditional educational settings.Learning by teaching also facilitates deep learning in traditional educational settings.What this paper adds Learning by teaching resulted in the highest theta and alpha band power in EEG assessment while viewing video lectures.Compared with passive viewing, learning by teaching enhanced students' motivation to try to understand the material; in addition, both learning by teaching and self‐explaining enhanced the amount of mental effort students put into understanding the material.Learning was increased via both self‐explaining and teaching strategies after viewing video lectures.Implications for practice and/or policy Learners are encouraged to generate explanations during pauses in video lectures or after viewing them, in order to increase learning.Learners are also encouraged to learn by teaching, as this strategy can increase learning and also increase neural oscillations associated with memory and attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For higher education, the question of how in‐class activities can be supported in large lectures is of great relevance. This paper suggests a gamified flipped classroom approach to address this challenge. In an experimental study, N = 205 educational science students performed either gamified in‐class activities using a gamified quiz with points and a team leaderboard, or non‐gamified in‐class activities using exercise sheets. In line with the theory of gamified learning, the results show a positive indirect effect of gamification on application‐oriented knowledge that is mediated by learning process performance. Furthermore, based on a self‐determination theory framework, the results show positive effects of gamified in‐class activities on intrinsic motivation and social relatedness, but no significant effect on competence need satisfaction. The study provides insights into a particular casual construct of game design elements (points and team leaderboards) triggering specific mechanisms (immediate task‐level feedback and team competition) affecting a mediator (learning process performance) that in turn affects a learning outcome (application‐oriented knowledge). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the design and delivery of classroom pedagogies and students’ engagement with it in two different UK universities. Under the banner of curriculum design and Bourdieu's curriculum principles, the study set out to create modules that provided students with an interdisciplinary perspective on how the web is changing the way citizens live, interact and learn. Focusing on the idea that the web is becoming a tool of intellectual inquiry and an instrument of reproduction of knowledge inequality, the goal of this research was to transform knowledge practices by encouraging a learning habitus that relies on knowing how to learn rather than becoming ‘knowledgeable.’ The paper concludes that the Bourdieuian perspective on curriculum design still holds currency in the digital age, given that it shares an epistemology of practice similar to that advocated by a digital participatory culture. We also offer a critique to our approach, using Bourdieu's logic of practice to examine how education as a field displays (hidden) rules that students embody as their learning habitus. As students’ learning practices become doxified through their educational trajectories, learners find it difficult to engage with a curriculum that aims to diversify pedagogical structures and reflect a changing society. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research highlights that children across the UK access the outdoors less than previous generations, often at levels below that prescribed by the United Nations as a basic level of outdoor access for prisoners. School staff and parents are intrinsic partners in facilitating children's access to the outdoors and the associated learning opportunities it presents. There exists however a complex set of relationships and perceptions governing the dynamics of these relationships and the resultant access to opportunities presented by learning outdoors. This paper aims to explore these perceptions by examining data collected through a combination of questionnaires and interviews with parents and teachers. The results indicate a significant disconnect in parent and teacher perceptions related to the purpose and opportunities for learning outdoors. These findings have a range of important implications for early childhood educators, parents and others looking to promote the outdoors as a learning environment across the foundation stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the widespread availability of network and technology infrastructure at higher education institutions, the pedagogical innovation envisioned from technology‐enhanced learning is still not prevalent. Faculty need to develop expertise for designing and implementing technology‐enhanced learning strategies that is termed as technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). This study uses action research to examine how one‐to‐one instructional consultation for technology‐enhanced learning functions as an avenue for supporting faculty's TPACK creation. Through content analysis of the consulting notes from 18 consultation sessions, the study found that faculty can be supported to create TPACK through the consultation approaches of technology modelling, pedagogical realignment and deepening practice. These three approaches can be used during instructional consultation for faculty with varying objectives and experiences with technology‐enhanced learning. The implications for faculty professional development in technology‐enhanced learning are discussed. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic: Studies of teacher professional development programmes show that TPACK creation can be fostered through technology modelling and the use of TPACK Activity Types, lesson design prompts and design rubrics.Studies of unfacilitated peer-based design teams show that teachers create TPACK by deepening their understanding of PCK and TPACK through their design conversations.Higher education studies outside of teacher education show that individual technology mentoring and consultation encourages faculty technology adoption.What this paper adds: Academic developers can use three approaches to faciltiate TPACK creation during individual consultation with faculty. These approaches are termed as technology modelling, pedagogical realignment and deepening practice.Technology modelling is suitable for faculty without extensive experience in technology‐enhanced learning. By modelling technology tools and lesson exemplars, faculty develop baseline vocabulary of technological knowledge (TK) and technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) for TPACK creation.Pedagogical realignment is suitable for faculty with some experience of technology‐enhanced learning for didactic teaching. Developing their understanding of student‐centered pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) provides them with pedagogical guidelines to create student‐centred TPACK.Deepening practice is suitable for faculty who are already implementing models of technology‐enhanced learning. Engaging them in reflective discussions helps them to develop TK, TPK, PCK, technological content knowledge (TCK), pedagogical knowledge (PK) and TPACK to improve different aspects in their current model of practice.Implications for practice and/or policy: Faculty can be at different implementation stages of technology‐enhanced learning and a one‐size‐fits‐all approach does not adequately address their development needs.Higher education technology mentoring programmes focus on technology adoption. Different kinds of faculty development strategies are needed to support faculty towards and beyond technology integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: People with intellectual disability (ID) experience significant health and social inequality compared to their non-disabled peers. Individuals with ID who access mental health services can have complex comorbidities and presentations. In the UK, a significant proportion of individuals with ID are supported within general adult mental health services not by specialist ID teams. The purpose of this study is to explore whether psychiatry trainees in the Maudsley Training Programme (MTP) feel adequately skilled to support individuals with ID. Design/methodology/approach: An online survey of trainee psychiatrists in the MTP was completed to evaluate self-perceived skills and knowledge in the care of individuals with ID in mental health services. Statistical analysis of the results was completed. Findings: Experience of working in specialist ID teams is positively associated with greater confidence and skills among trainees in the care of people with ID; this is beyond what would be expected based on seniority alone. Research limitations/implications: The response rate was 16.7 per cent; a larger sample size would add strength to the study. Like all online surveys, there exists the risk of selection bias. Practical implications: UK Policy states that people with ID should be supported to access mainstream services where possible, including psychiatric care. Practical experience for all psychiatry trainees involving specialist ID services and people with ID could improve the care given to that particularly disadvantaged group. Originality/value: This is the only paper known to the authors that has focused specifically on the skills and knowledge of psychiatry trainees in the UK with regards to ID. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses a central paradox that affects the nature of the student experience in the U.K. On the one hand, the marketisation of higher education, with its associated emphasis on performativity indicators, may be seen to have reduced students to numbers, with the attendant consequence that the affective domain of studying and learning has been lost. On the other hand, there is more attention given to student feelings than was ever the case in the past and questions about student satisfaction have become more prominent. This paper will explore this paradox using empirical data gathered from a longitudinal study of ‘non-traditional’ students at one ancient university in Scotland. We indicate the ways in which the tension between the technicist spaces of the neoliberal university and its empathetic, caring spaces are mediated by students as they make their way through their degrees. We argue that caring relationships with staff are of central importance to students’ well-being and success at university, and that students actively seek to construct support when and where they need it. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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]

The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development steered by The United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) since 2005 ended in 2014. It looked into the integration principles, values and practices of sustainable development in all aspects of education and learning, with the intention of addressing the global social, economic, cultural and environmental issues in the 21st century. It has become an essential issue in architectural education to create awareness among future generations of architects to be more sensitive towards the environmental impact of architecture on human behavior. This encouraged every school of architecture to incorporate sustainability knowledge into its curriculum and promote ‘sustainable architectural education’, leading to the questions of: what type of structural model of integration approach being applied in promoting architectural sustainable education? The objectives of this paper are to investigate the type of structural models that have been applied in architectural curriculum in selected schools of architecture in both countries and evaluate the level of emphasis in incorporating sustainability knowledge in the curriculum. Therefore, this paper reviewed the approach of integration principles, values and practices of sustainable development at 10 conveniently sampled architecture schools in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA). Data was collected from their respective web sites and their concepts of integration were reviewed and the distribution of credit hours revealed to determine the level of emphasis considered. Findings showed various paths taken by the different institutions in integrating the knowledge of sustainability into their architectural curriculum. This paper concludes with recommendations for further research into gauging the effectiveness of architectural curricula with integrated sustainability knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patient and public involvement (PPI) is a requirement for UK health and social care research funding. Evidence for how best to implement PPI in research programmes, such as National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaborations for Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRCs), remains limited. This paper reports findings from an action research (AR) project called IMPRESS, which aims to strengthen PPI within CLAHRC East of England (EoE). IMPRESS combines AR with Normalisation Process Theory (NPT) to explore PPI within diverse case study projects, identifying actions to implement, test and refine to further embed PPI. Methods: We purposively selected CLAHRC EoE case study projects for in-depth analysis of PPI using NPT. Data were generated from project PPI documentation, semi-structured qualitative interviews with researchers and PPI contributors and focus groups. Transcripts and documents were subjected to abductive thematic analysis and triangulation within case. Systematic across case comparison of themes was undertaken with findings and implications refined through stakeholder consultation. Results: We interviewed 24 researchers and 13 PPI contributors and analysed 28 documents from 10 case studies. Three focus groups were held: two with researchers (n = 4 and n = 6) and one with PPI contributors (n = 5). Findings detail to what extent projects made sense of PPI, bought in to PPI, operationalised PPI and appraised it, thus identifying barriers and enablers to fully embedded PPI. Conclusion: Combining NPT with AR allows us to assess the embeddedness of PPI within projects and programme, to inform specific local action and report broader conceptual lessons for PPI knowledge and practice informing the development of an action framework for embedding PPI in research programmes. To embed PPI within similar programmes teams, professionals, disciplines and institutions should be recognised as variably networked into existing PPI support. Further focus and research is needed on sharing PPI learning and supporting innovation in PPI. [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]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report and discuss the findings of a thematic analysis from a survey of 114 serious case review (SCR) executive summaries in adult safeguarding. The Care Act 2014 (Section 44) makes the establishment of Safeguarding Adults Boards a statutory requirement. One of their responsibilities/functions is to undertake Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SAR-previously known as SCRs). They must also publish an annual report which includes the recommendations and actions from these SAR’s. This paper draws attention to the potential of SCR as national learning materials, and offers recommendations for strengthening the scope for interpretation in practice. Design/methodology/approach – This paper maps the findings and recommendations from 114 SCRs undertaken in England and Wales between 2000 and 2012. It then identifies the dominant themes and universal lessons to emerge, and makes suggestions for the improvement of learning. Findings – The demographic profile of SCRs bore some correlation to UK prevalence reports on perpetrator characteristics, but there was variance in relation to victim characteristics, where people with mental illness were the subject of SCRs with a level of frequency that does not mirror the prevalence of mental illness in reported abuse in the UK. The thematic analysis of conclusions and recommendations identified that these could be categorised as either idiosyncratic or bureaucratic. Research limitations/implications – The quality and quantity of information contained within the various SCR executive summary reports collated evidenced the lack of consistency/standardisation. Consequently, the analysis of demographic characteristics from these reports was compromised by incomplete data. In order to strengthen the scope of interpretation and understanding from future SARs to inform wider learning within the safeguarding community some national collation and standardisation is necessary. Originality/value – This paper offers an analysis of the demographic profile and common themes emerging from an examination of the largest survey of SCR executive summaries reported on in the UK so far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is set in the context where there is a policy emphasis on teacher learning and development in a number of countries as a means towards school improvement. It reports on a longitudinal research project about the workplace learning of English secondary school teachers, carried out between 2000 and 2003. This was part of a Teaching and Learning Research Programme network of projects looking at learning in a variety of workplaces. The paper contrasts some key features in the teacher development and workplace learning literatures, which highlight different understandings of learning—as acquisition, participation and/or construction. We argue that insights from the literature and the research, including insights from other projects in the network, enhance our understanding of teacher learning. The paper describes some of the main ways in which experienced teachers learn, and then identifies three dimensions which interact in influencing the nature of that learning. The dimensions are: the dispositions of the individual teacher; the practices and cultures of the subject departments; and the management and regulatory frameworks, at school and national policy levels. Based upon the findings, we argue that current policy approaches to teacher development in the UK are over-focused on the acquisition of measurable learning outcomes, short-term gains, and priorities that are external to the teachers. They also assume and strive for impossible and counterproductive universality of approach. Instead, our findings suggest that teacher learning is best improved through a strategy that increases learning opportunities, and enhances the likelihood that teaches will want to take up those opportunities. This can be done through the construction of more expansive learning environments for teachers. We examine briefly some barriers to this approach, and give some suggestions of what could be done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the history of educational research, primarily in Britain, showing how the concept of research in education--what it is, how it was done, and what its function should be--has changed over the past hundred years. A central theme is the growing acceptance of research in education, which paradoxically, it is suggested, may have had the effect of restricting its scope. Experimental research in education originated in the late 19th century in Germany, and initially was seen primarily as psychological inquiry into learning, an academic activity whose contribution to school practice and policy issues was essentially theoretical and long term. The application of research came to be recognised in the first half of the 20th century, but it was seen as the work of experts and specialists, to be used where appropriate by teachers and administrators. The 1950s and 60s saw educational research accepted as a discipline in its own right, and brought it into closer partnership with policy and practice, with increased funding giving those who commission research greater say in design, management and dissemination. The teacher-researcher movement, initially aimed to support teachers in carrying out research themselves, developed into a more fundamental view of research as a key element in a professional approach. In summary, the role of researcher has moved from academic theorist in phase 1, through expert consultant in phase 2, to reflective practitioner in phase 3. The paper concludes with a review of recent trends, postmodernist and poststructuralist, which challenge the positivist assumptions underlying the scientific-experimental paradigm which has been dominant throughout the 20th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to understanding of different ways that parents and schools develop and maintain working partnerships to improve outcomes for children by focusing on quantitative evidence about parental involvement (PI). The key questions for this synthesis are: what is the evidence about the extent of impact of PI on cognitive or academic outcomes for children, and how consistent and reliable is this evidence? Design/methodology/approach – This is an “umbrella” review comparing and contrasting findings from 13 meta-analyses across three areas of PI and home/school partnerships: first, general approaches; second, home and family literacy programmes; and finally, targeted interventions focused on individual or specific family need. Findings – There is consistent evidence about the extent of impact from general approaches (three to six months average additional gain for children’s educational outcomes) and for targeted intervention (four to six months), but with a wider range of estimates for family literacy (two to eight months average gain). Variation in approaches and evaluation quality make specific recommendations for practice challenging, though some consistent patterns of findings indicate strategies that are likely to be “good bets” to explore and evaluate. Research limitations/implications – The quality of the underlying studies makes drawing secure implications for practice difficult. The nature of the review means that it does not capture the most recent studies. Originality/value – The paper provides a synthesis of quantitative evidence from 13 meta-analyses to identify where there is consistency in estimates of impact and what is associated with systematic variation in this impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents findings of a research project that aimed to critically examine the pedagogical beliefs of work-based learning teachers, and their potential implication on practice and expectations of learners and employers. Based on an online tool, qualitative and quantitative (descriptive) data were generated from a purposive sample of some 120 academics working in the sector across the United Kingdom. Two pedagogical belief orientations emerged: ‘pedagogical belief A’ – transfer of professional/working knowledge; and ‘pedagogical belief B’ – facilitating learning and developing reflective practice. The paper argues that the ability of work-based learning teachers to look beyond their own beliefs and understanding of teaching to more strategically blended and shared understanding would be important to ensure that while teaching and learning meet academic quality standards, student learning experiences would meet expectations at the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

It is the intention of the UK government to enhance progression routes for apprentices to higher education. However, little research has been carried out into why former apprentices pursue higher education or the experiences of this transition. This paper seeks to redress this gap by reporting three case studies of former apprentices who had completed or were completing a higher education qualification in England. Each case study represents a different route to higher education: progressing to a full-time higher education course; pursuing a part-time route to sustain full-time employment; and undertaking a career change during the transition to higher education. The paper addresses their experiences of the apprenticeship, the decision-making to progress and the perceived outcomes of their transition so far. Analysis draws on Fuller and Unwin’s expansive–restrictive framework and conceptual lenses for understanding learning. The findings revealed that although their apprenticeships were restrictive in different ways, progression was pursued for a number of reasons involving the context in which apprenticeships were completed, the relationship to their employer, the higher education context and their understanding of learning. Experiences of boundary crossing were particularly associated with more complex descriptions of personal transformation and learning as becoming. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the experiences of students undertaking higher education in a further education setting in the UK. Since the 1960s, there has been a policy commitment in the UK to widen participation in education to social groups previously under-represented (Thompson, 2000; Burke, 2012). The consequence is a discourse in which it is argued that higher education has been “dumbed down” to include non-traditional students frequently ill-prepared for academic challenges (Haggis, 2006). This research explored an alternative discourse, proposing that education should be a catalyst for significant social, emotional and intellectual growth, culminating in a transformative experience (Mezirow, 1978a, 1991; Cranton, 2006).Design/methodology/approach In total, 12 non-traditional graduates from a full-time BA programme at a Scottish College of Further and Higher Education were interviewed to determine if graduates experienced significant social, emotional and intellectual growth as a result of participation; what teaching and learning settings make this possible; can it be proposed that graduates can be transformed by the experience of higher education in further education?Findings The findings of the research indicate that the participants all experienced some significant shift in attributes such as confidence, independence and willingness to try new things. How they experience, conceptualise and participate in their social worlds has become more discriminating. The authors conclude by proposing that higher education in further education (HE in FE) can have the potential to provide transformative experiences for non-traditional students.Research limitations/implications The implications of this study lie as much in the nature of the transformative learning experience as in the structures in which education is provided. Additionally, it is proposed that transformative teaching and learning theory may be as significant now as it ever was in understanding the changes which learners experience in higher education study. Limitations of the study include the small number of interviewees who were interviewed more than once in some depth, and the particular setting of one further education college. As in all such research generalisation might be difficult.Practical implications Practically, the research suggests that the authors can learn from how students like the ones featured in the transformation stories experience learning in HE in FE. Despite being seen as “non-traditional” students who return to education with weak learning histories and fragile learner identities, the research has shown that if a nurturing, student-centred approach is adopted by teaching staff, a significant shift in how students see themselves and their place in the world can be achieved. This has significant implications for teaching practice. The findings could be an inspiration and guiding principle for other HE in FE tutors and help them find commonalities in their own work.Social implications The authors argue that education should not be regarded only as an economic-driven activity insofar as most HE in FE programmes are vocational and are geared towards preparation for the workplace. The authors’ key proposition is that education can be a life changing experience that might be considered a transformation. The social implication is that participating in HE in FE could be a catalyst for the development of confident and engaged citizens, ready to make a real contribution to the social world beyond and out-with only the workplace. Within a Freirean framework, this might be transformative education’s most significant contribution to society.Originality/value Transformative learning theory research has mostly been undertaken in informal learning contexts and higher education institutions. There has also been research undertaken on diverse contexts not immediately related to education. In terms of empirical research, however, transformation learning theory in HE in FE is yet unexplored. Yet, it is an ideal learning site to promote transformation because of the relatively small, intimate milieu, typical of colleges. The originality lies in the paucity of other research focused on transformation in an FE context. The value lies in its showing that particular teaching approaches can transform students in this context. [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]