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As an increasing number of British universities are now requiring/encouraging mathematics applicants to have taken ‘extension papers’ such as the Mathematics Admissions Test (MAT), Advanced Extension Award (AEA) and Sixth Term Examination Paper (STEP), current students were asked how useful they were in preparation for their degree. The MAT was most commonly described as good preparation for undergraduate mathematics, whilst most participants who had taken the AEA were indifferent regarding its usefulness. Participants were positive about STEP, commending its similarity to undergraduate-style assessment and its challenging questions. The students’ views suggested that those wishing to be well prepared for tertiary mathematics should take one of these papers, preferably STEP. However, whilst universities may not necessarily wish to require applicants to pass extension papers, it may be beneficial for universities to recommend students to take them in order to improve their mathematical thinking and expectations of undergraduate mathematics study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Threshold concepts are a widely used idea, particularly in curriculum design and evaluation of student learning. However they can be criticised as being hard to identify, vague and teacher imposed. Using the cognitive theory of Bernard Lonergan we argue that his epistemology enables us to reframe threshold concepts by adding a learner focussed understanding. We extend this to include considerations of liminality and ‘stuckness’, as well as the multiple paths to the threshold learners may take. Adding an understanding of cognitive process to the idea of threshold concepts also enables us to understand how they can be identified in disparate subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the role of the teachers in a curriculum development and presents contributions from the British Curriculum Forum (BCF) conference related to it. Topics include importance of teachers thinking and acting as a researcher in their classrooms, pedagogies, and intervention of the Building Research in Primary Schools project.

Research has not always been a focal point of midwifery work and education; however, since the 1980s, evidence-based practice and research have become the norm. Ensuring that new generations of midwives have an understanding of the research process; an ability to critique it; and a view that research is attainable and necessary to midwifery, is a crucial role of the midwife educator. This article will discuss how the relationship between research and midwifery developed, and how research is now an established part of midwifery undergraduate programmes. It will also suggest meaningful ways of challenging negative attitudes and engaging student midwives to learn about research. The aim is to prepare students for practice by ensuring that the reasoning behind their clinical skills is understood, evaluated and safe, thereby enhancing the care of women and their families and shaping the future of midwifery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional progression and skills development are the main expectations of mid-career managers when enrolling on an Executive MBA (EMBA), yet it can be personal development (PD) that turns out to be the unexpected benefit of management education. Joining a growing number of voices making a case for personal development and self-awareness in management education, and calling for schools to incorporate it in the curriculum, this paper advances the case for personal development as a core Executive MBA module. The paper sets out the holistic rationale and philosophic principles used to design and deliver a course underpinned by curiosity and self-reflection on an EMBA in the United Kingdom, and presents empirical findings from a survey conducted among 230 students and alumni. These suggest that the focus on reflective practice and integration of PD promotes a richer and deeper appreciation of the value of reflection for lasting and sometimes unexpected personal growth. In addition, the raising of awareness of self also brings awareness of others, and develops critical thinking in application of the MBA at work. The paper concludes with a discussion re-evaluating the subject of tacit knowledge in reflective practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether ultrasound (US) should be incorporated into a medical undergraduate curriculum remains a matter of debate within the medical education arena. There are clear potential benefits to its early introduction particularly with respect to the study of living anatomy and physiology in addition to the learning of clinical skills and procedures required for the graduate clinical practice. However, this needs to be balanced against what is perceived as an added value in addition to financial and time constraints which may potentially lead to the sacrifice of other aspects of the curriculum. Several medical schools have already reported their experiences of teaching US either as a standalone course or as a fully integrated vertical curriculum. This article describes and discusses the initial experience of a UK medical school that has taken the steps to develop its own pragmatic vertical US curriculum based on clinical endpoints with the intent of using US to enhance the learning experience of students and equipping them with the skills required for the safe practice as a junior doctor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background We report on the development of the ‘STOP Diabetes’ education programme, a multi-component lifestyle behaviour change intervention for the prevention of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors in adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). Methods We combined qualitative stakeholder interviews with evidence reviews to develop the intervention, guided by the MRC Framework and informed by intervention mapping and two existing diabetes prevention programmes. We conducted two pilot cycles drawing on additional stakeholder interviews to inform and refine the intervention. Results The STOP Diabetes education programme employed a theoretical framework, using sound learning and behavioural principles and concrete kinaesthetic methods, to provide the grounding for innovative games and activities to promote health behaviour change in adults with ID. Qualitative data also suggested that two educators and one support person delivering a programme of one carer session followed by seven 2.5-h sessions over 7 weeks was acceptable to service users, carers and educators and appeared to benefit the participants. Conclusions The STOP Diabetes education programme was successfully developed and is suitable for a definitive randomized controlled trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores teachers’ decision making by examining the topics that 11 history teachers from 10 schools in England chose to teach and how they approached teaching these topics. Data were gathered from curriculum documents and semi-structured interviews in which teachers’ topic choices and approaches to history were explored. Most teachers adopted a disciplinary approach to history teaching but one focused on analytical structures rather than processes. Additionally the findings suggest a large degree of uniformity in the topics chosen despite the freedom provided within the policy documents for history teaching in England. Few teachers had given much consideration to approaches that demonstrate the ‘usability’ of history for young people. This suggests a need to engage teachers more fully in robust curriculum debates given their central role in enacting curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Primary care physicians have become a fundamental aspect of teaching in modern medical school curricula worldwide with a significant proportion of undergraduate teaching taking place in primary care. There are calls for this to increase with more patient care occurring in the community but teaching capacity in primary care is a potential challenge. Medical schools, therefore, need strategies to be able to increase their primary care physician teaching workforce. Methodology: We asked all Heads of General Practice Teaching in UK medical schools to share their three top tips for recruiting and retaining GPs to teach undergraduate students. The majority (two-thirds) of medical schools responded and we have summarized the answers into the following twelve tips. Results: Although the twelve tips are varied and comprehensive, including broad topics such as finances and training, one clear theme running through the majority of tips is good communication and relationships between education teams and GPs. Conclusions: The solutions to recruiting and retaining GPs to teach undergraduate medical students are clearly multifactorial and complex. We hope that by presenting suggestions from UK GP heads of teaching as these twelve tips provides some helpful, thought-provoking ideas and inspiration for both the UK and internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decision mathematics is at present the least established and arguably the most contested strand of applied mathematics within the British A-level mathematics and further mathematics qualifications. This article presents data from a study comprising 10 A-level further mathematics candidates who chose as a cohort to study a second module of decision mathematics. The students described their developing attitudes towards, and perceptions of decision mathematics in two sets of questionnaires and one round of follow-up interviews. Together they reported different levels of challenge, mostly positive affective profiles, and a high level of appreciation for the utility of decision mathematics. Using the concept of figured worlds, this article explores further how the students understood the activity contained within the decision mathematics modules, and the extent to which they positioned it as legitimate mathematical practice. The participants' accounts show that the study of decision mathematics not only augmented the students' knowledge of how mathematics might be applied in the world, but for some also worked to extend and reconfigure their perceptions of mathematics as a curriculumdiscipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to explore the potential of woodland as a milieu for Outdoor and Environmental Learning (OEL) in the context of phenomenal rise of Forest Schools (FS) in the United Kingdom. Whilst broadly supportive of these developments, the paper adopts a critical stance in arguing that the notion of the 'forest' as a literal and metaphoric wild and expansive space of risk, excitement, freedom, exploration and intimate contact with nature which underpins the original FS concept seems to be giving way to a diluted sense of controlled spaces and activities for curriculum enrichment, a process referred to as 'scolonisation'. Furthermore, the paper considers FS in relation to two 'axes': 'learning milieu' and 'practitioners', arguing that a spectrum exists from, on the one hand, relatively 'deforested' to substantially wooded learning contexts; and, on the other, novice through to expert practitioners. The paper argues that the most efficacious woodland-oriented Outdoor Learning will take place in woodland environments under the facilitation of 'silvanatives' - those with substantial practical and pedagogical knowledge about learning in woodland contexts.However, this ideal potential is under-realised when the learning context is relatively 'deforested', or practitioners are relatively 'silvanaïve' or superficially trained, trends that are seemingly increasingly characterising the movement as it becomes 'scaled-up'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers whether subject choice at 14–16 influences post-16 transitions, taking into account prior academic attainment and school characteristics, and if so, whether this accounts for socioeconomic, gender, and ethnic differences in access to post-16 education. We consider post-16 progression to full-time education, A-levels, and studying two or more facilitating subjects at A-level. We use ‘Next Steps’, a study of 16,000 people born in England in 1989–1990, linked to administrative education records (the National Pupil Database). We find that students pursuing an EBacc-eligible curriculum at 14–16 had a greater probability of progression to all post-16 educational outcomes, while the reverse was true for students taking an applied GCSE subject. Curriculum differences did not explain the social class differences in post-16 progression, but an academic curriculum was equally valuable for working-class as for middle-class pupils. Pursuing an EBacc-eligible curriculum particularly strongly increased the chances of girls and white young people staying in the educational pipeline, whereas applied subjects were particularly detrimental for girls. An EBacc-eligible curriculum at age 14–16 increased the chances of studying subjects preferred by Russell Group universities at A-level. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite a wide international literature on the effect of vocational and general education on school-to-work transition, relatively little is known about the role of having studied specific subjects in explaining inequalities in young people’s labour market outcomes. This paper aims to fill this gap by examining differences in employment chances of young people who left education early, either at the end of compulsory schooling or at the end of secondary school. Using data from the Scottish Longitudinal Study, a large-scale linkage study created using data from administrative and statistical sources, we found little gender differences but strong parental background differences in school leavers’ employment status and type of occupation entered. Social inequalities in labour market outcomes were only partly explained by curriculum choices. Moreover, after controlling for social origin and grades, only history and business for lower-secondary leavers and maths for upper-secondary leavers were associated with a reduction in the chances of being unemployed/inactive. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper provides an historical but critical context for examining the relation of the pursuit of greater equality in schooling to the development of curriculum. This requires a brief account of what one means by the principle of equality, before showing the different ways in which there have been curriculum responses underpinned by philosophical understandings which need to be examined closely. These different ways are explained in terms of:• ‘rational curriculum planning’ with its detailed definition of ‘aims, objectives, methods and evaluation’—and thereby a ‘science of teaching’;• ‘forms of knowledge’ or ‘realms of meaning’ to enable all pupils to have a basic understanding of the physical, social, and moral worlds they inhabit;• the pursuit of enquiry through which, for all learners, understanding is enlarged;• provision of common curriculum experience as a basis for citizenship;• taking diversity seriously; and• equalisation of opportunities through a common system of national standards and assessments. However, in the light of greater government involvement in the minutiae of curriculum reform, mainly through changes in qualifications and examinations, there is clearly a need to ask what sort of evidence is relevant to ‘what works’. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses papers in the issue on topics including impact of curriculum choice on the social aspects of education in Great Britain, choice of subject and assessment method in Northern Ireland and Wales, and effect of education on labor market.

A Patchwork Text is a creative approach to learning and assessment based on short pieces of reflective writing to promote deep, meaningful reflection. A five-year study was undertaken to explore whether this approach supports postgraduate students’ personal and academic development and the factors that influenced student experience, within one UK university. Our adapted approach encompasses patches of reflection, a structured Reflective Journal, formative feedback, and action learning within a constructively aligned curriculum. Between 2010 and 2015, 100 students attended the MSc Leadership Development programme and 71% (n=71) completed a questionnaire at the end of the first module. The questionnaire contained mainly open questions. The overwhelming majority of responses (89%, n=63) reported their experience of action learning was extremely positive. Eighty-five percent (n=58) reported that the Patchwork Text approach supported their academic development. Seventy-five percent (n=52) agreed the approach was helpful in relation to their summative assessment which comprised a reflective integrated portfolio. Thematic framework analysis of the qualitative data suggests the Patchwork Text approach increased self-awareness and insight; deepened and promoted on-going reflection; and facilitated critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis thereby enabling completion of the summative assignment. Findings suggest the adapted Patchwork Text approach increased students’ self-awareness as well as supporting them with both their summative assignment and the development of academic writing skills. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper discusses the conceptual and methodological challenges facing two researchers investigating the development of interdisciplinary curricula in two new secondary schools, one in the UK and one in New Zealand. It is a discussion of research in progress that will be of interest to readers because of both the methodological challenges discussed and the research area itself. The key issue we identify is one for both researchers and teachers: how might the concepts and perspective of one discipline be brought into a relationship with another to enable deep learning? This question in turn highlights a key methodological challenge: developing the means to describe and evaluate new forms of curricular design and implementation where a traditional discipline-based curriculum has been rejected in favour of interdisciplinary ones. The integrative aims of interdisciplinarity are also examined. We employ Bernstein's (2000) concept of knowledge structures and languages of description to theorise a continuum of approaches to curriculum integration, from functional to principled. This methodological manoeuvre is made possible by the development of a translation device. This procedural mechanism makes accessible to analysis the organising principles that are in play in the interdisciplinary curriculum design practices we have observed. We conclude with recommendations for the interdisciplinary curriculum researcher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has become increasingly common for tasks traditionally carried out by engineers to be undertaken by technicians and technologist with access to sophisticated computers and software that can often perform complex calculations that were previously the responsibility of engineers. Not surprisingly, this development raises serious questions about the future role of engineers and the education needed to address these changes in technology as well as emerging priorities from societal to environmental challenges. In response to these challenges, a new design module was created for undergraduate engineering students to design and build temporary shelters for a wide variety of end users from refugees, to the homeless and children. Even though the module provided guidance on principles of design thinking and methods for observing users needs through field studies, the students found it difficult to respond to needs of specific end users but instead focused more on purely technical issues. [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]

This paper discusses some of the qualitative data obtained from a small number (23) of semi-structured interviews of academic staff who are involved in module design, and who are employed within one UK university. Analysing the interview transcripts produced eight main themes. One of these themes was the perceived pressures or constraints on design. Using verbatim responses given by the interviewees, a discussion of the data used to illustrate this theme compares the findings of this project with those from the existing literature. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite the economic, environmental and patient-related imperatives to prepare medical students to become health promoting doctors, health promotion remains relatively deprioritised in medical curricula. This paper uses an in-depth case study of a health promotion curriculum implementation at a large UK medical school to provide insights into the experiences of teachers and learners across a range of topics, pedagogies, and teaching & assessment modalities. Topics included smoking cessation, behavioural change approaches to obesity, exercise prescribing, social prescribing, maternal and child health, public and global health; with pedagogies ranging from e-learning to practice-based project work. Qualitative methods including focus groups, analysis of reflective learning submissions, and evaluation data are used to illuminate motivations, frustrations, practicalities, successes and limiting factors. Over this three year implementation, a range of challenges have been highlighted including: how adequately to prepare and support clinical teachers; the need to establish relevance and importance to strategic learners; the need for experiential learning in clinical environments to support classroom-based activities; and the need to rebalance competing aspects of the curriculum. Conclusions are drawn about heterogeneous deep learning over standardised surface learning, and the impacts, both positive and negative, of different assessment modalities on these types of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introduction: The unique challenges to learning and participation in education associated with visual impairment are well documented in the literature, as is the importance of addressing these challenges through ensuring practitioners who support them are equipped with appropriate knowledge, understanding, and skills. We use a bioecological systems theory as a lens through which to examine the personnel preparation of vision specialist teachers to act as agents of change. We draw on the different teacher preparation programs for specialist teachers of learners with visual impairments in the United Kingdom to demonstrate how this theory can be applied. Methods: We use a bounded case study to bring together the respective teacher preparation programs in the UK in order to demonstrate complementary characteristics of the theoretical model proposed. Results and discussion: We argue that a bioecological systems theory offers a holistic framework for educators involved in personnel preparation to explicitly engage with vision specialist teachers in their role as potential agents of change. This preparation includes developing distinctive knowledge, understanding, and skills to facilitate learner participation in education through promoting "progressive" and "mutual" accommodation between the active learner and the changing learning environments in order to achieve successful outcomes. Implications for practitioners: The article is original in applying a bioecological systems theory to the preparation of these specialist teachers, with a focus on their role as agents of change. We argue that it has significance, therefore, for practitioners and researchers concerned with the personnel preparation of other practitioners for learners with distinctive educational needs across national contexts and settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A roadmap of making critical learning achievable at the master's level in the UK. • A framework to dip in and out to meet individual needs of being a critical thinker. • Cognitive complexity embedded in the performance of critical thinking. • Mapping out critical points of different learning and engagement required for success. • Role of knowledge understanding and application for becoming a critical thinker. There are various arguments surrounding critical thinking, from it being an innate ability to its perceived absence due to cultural backgrounds, to diversities in the presentation of critical thinking. Less attention, however, is placed on the cognitive complexity embedded in critical thinking performance, particularly the important role of knowledge understanding and application when becoming a critical thinker. While there are generic statements stipulating learning outcomes and expectations, operationalising them in the curriculum design, learning activities and assessments by students is less transparent. Thus, this study aims to propose and validate a critical learning skills (CLS) framework to contextualise expected learning outcomes through a visual roadmap for successful achievement at the master's level. We assume that being a critical thinker entails various critical learning skills, and that critical thinking performance is closely related to knowledge understanding and application. The CLS framework includes four components: information gathering, building understanding, knowledge application and productive thinking. The descriptors of each component were generated after analysing the keywords stated in the learning outcomes in the qualification descriptors at the master's level in the UK context. A questionnaire and confirmatory factor analysis were used to validate the framework with a sample of 132 master's students from two programs at one UK university. The results indicate that the framework is reliable and valid. The potential of using the CLS framework as a guide for future research and postgraduate teaching and learning are discussed. The framework can be applied to master's programs in other contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To compare undergraduate otolaryngology curricula in the United Kingdom. To develop a tool which would allow undergraduate specialty curricula to be compared. Design Development of a curriculum evaluation framework (CEF) and survey. Setting UK medical schools. Participants Otolaryngology curricula were requested from all 32 UK medical schools who award a primary medical qualification. Nineteen curricula were received and examined. Main outcome measures Thematic and content analysis of curriculum documents were undertaken. Outcome measures include an examination of curriculum content and methods, type of assessment and alignment of curricula with the General Medical Council's Tomorrow's Doctors document. Results Learning objectives were listed by 18 of the 19 medical schools who responded. The most commonly included theme was clinical conditions (100%). Psychosocial aspects of otolaryngology was the least covered theme (37%). Examination skills was covered by the majority (74%). Outpatient clinics and theatre attendance were the most commonly utilised teaching methods (47%). Student checklists were the most common form of assessment (32%). Only four medical schools linked their curricula to the GMC's Tomorrow's Doctors document. Conclusions The development of a CEF allowed for a systematic comparison of curricula. This study, evaluating otolaryngology curricula, has highlighted the variability of curricula from both a content and methods perspective in the UK. The study provides those involved with curriculum planning an overview of the main themes currently taught in the UK and offers examples of individual topics. It also offers an insight into the way in which otolaryngology is taught in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Doctors rate clinical relevance and applicability as the most important determinants of continuing professional development (CPD) course selection. This study examined patterns of current CPD practice and perceived CPD needs among hospital doctors in Ireland across various clinical specialties. A cross-sectional survey was administered to doctors, focusing on the areas of training needs analysis, CPD course content and preferred course format. In total, 547 doctors identified doctor-patient communication as the skill ranked highest for importance and level of current performance. Workload/time organisation and stress management were areas where a skills deficiency was identified. Non-clinical CPD topics, including resilience training, management and communication skills, were preferred areas for future CPD offerings. All respondents favoured interactive, hands-on sessions. CPD course completion and preference patterns differed significantly across clinical specialties. These results highlight the importance of considering the individual needs and preferences of clinicians across clinical specialties to facilitate more effective CPD programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the need for an updated sex education for children in Great Britain to keep them safe from harm and able to establish healthy relationships. Topics covered include the possible causes of children's unrealistic perceptions of how they should look, the positive response to the idea of having relationship and sex education (RSE) in all secondary schools and the problem on the Westminster Department of Education's SRE statutory guidance.

This article reflects on the implications for practitioners, researchers and policy-makers of the future of the humanities in primary schools in the light of the challenges facing future generations. There is wide divergence in the four jurisdictions of the UK. The humanities are perceived as important, in principle, though curriculum frameworks differ. However, the status of the humanities is often uncertain, in practice, given the current emphasis on outcomes in literacy and numeracy. There is a lack of robust research on how, and by whom, the humanities are taught. The more theoretical articles suggest that the humanities, broadly conceived, are an essential aspect of young children’s education – to enable a deeper understanding of human culture and identity, and to develop the qualities and values needed in a diverse world. Additionally, curricular breadth is required alongside a realisation that narrowly focusing on propositional knowledge is limiting. While this has implications for the whole curriculum, History, Geography and Religious Education have key roles in meeting these aims and in engaging and motivating young children. A stronger policy steer is called for, to ensure that schools give more priority to humanities education, with greater investment in professional development in Initial Teacher Education and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Public health faces the paradox of being increasingly emphasized by the key health and social care regulators and stakeholders, while remaining a largely under-represented discipline in the context of medical curricula. Enhancing medical student engagement in public health teaching is one way to address this concern. Methods: We discuss four key solutions to the challenges faced by public health educators in medical schools, and present five case studies which demonstrate innovative approaches to engaging medical students in our discipline. Results: Four different approaches have been piloted by members of the Public Health Educators in Medical Schools (PHEMS) network: (i) ensuring social accountability, (ii) demonstrating clinical relevance, (iii) mapping the core curriculum, and (iv) using technology enhanced learning. Preliminary student feedback suggests that these approaches can be used to position public health as an enabler of modern medical practice, and promote a more holistic understanding of medicine by linking patient-centred care to the population level. Conclusions: The zeitgeist in both academia and the healthcare system supports the teaching of public health within the medical curriculum; there is also consensus at the political and pedagogical level. The challenge of ensuring engagement now needs to be met at the student–teacher interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the past twenty years there has been increasing demand for more flexible forms of higher education, especially for adult learners. Adults have strong preferences for vocational learning, tailored to their professional context. Universities, organised along lines designed to meet the needs of an industrial society have been largely unable to adapt to the consequences of increased role specialisation in the post-industrial labour market. This chapter reviews developments in accredited universities in the United Kingdom where the development of 'shell frameworks', based upon the requirements of learners rather than subject discipline, has enabled some adults to fulfil their learning requirements and gain formally accredited qualifications. In the absence of research in this area a detailed case study familiar to the author is presented and an agenda for further research outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the policy of developing a, transparent and competitive European higher education sector, learning outcomes (LOs) are attributed a foundation stone role in policy and curriculum development. A premise for their implementation is that they bear fundamental similarities across national, institutional or professional/disciplinary contexts. In contrast, detractors suggest that LOs cannot communicate precisely across programmes or national boundaries. With this as a backdrop, this article analyses how LOs are used to communicate what students are to learn and the extent to which their use drives standardisation. The analysis is based on a case study of how LOs are formulated in study programme documents in two professional education programmes in Norway and the UK. The findings indicate that LOs can be considered to drive standardisation through the same presentation using bullet points. The study also finds that LOs are framed in different ways in the two countries and within the different study programmes and in a web of interconnected documents. This 'local' structural use of LOs disrupts their 'foundation stone' role as a vehicle for standardisation and weakens the establishment of sameness across institutions and nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on a study of 1,989 elementary school teachers in 108 schools across 12 countries, which examined views pertaining to teaching values and spirituality at the elementary school level. Results of the logistic regression analyses showed that teachers from European countries, the United States, Canada, and Australia; Christians; those who had longer teaching experience; and those with higher scores on the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale and the Portrait Values Questionnaire 5X were more likely to construct the meaning of spirituality for children as relational consciousness. Teachers also sought the connection between spirituality and values education through the congruence of spiritual tenets and values and moral education. Spiritual assessment of children was understood as assessing the spiritual starting point of children, and spiritual techniques comprised teaching universal values of peace, unity, mutuality, unconditional love, and forgiveness. The goals of spiritually defined values education for children entailed having embedded/ingrained notions of unity, peace and equity, and building a relational consciousness. The article concludes by highlighting how elementary school children's spiritual sensibilities and potential can be effectively used to build a values education curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informal Science Learning (ISL) is a policy narrative of interest in the United Kingdom and abroad. This paper explores how a group of English secondary school science teachers, enacted ISL science clubs through employing the Periodic Table of Videos. It examines how these teachers ‘battled’ to enact ISL policy in performative conditions at the micro-scale, and how this battle reflected macro-scale epistemological and political considerations. Data from the study suggests that for some, ISL was low stakes as it was seen to have negligible impact upon performance data. As a result, there was some resistance towards enacting ISL and conflict between the formal and informal curriculum processes. Nonetheless, analysis indicates that the informants highly valued ISL despite the requirement for them to justify it over more formal and ‘effective’ approaches to learning science. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As the number of older people in society increases, gaining an awareness of the needs of an aging population is important for university students from all academic backgrounds. Using a multidisciplinary approach to aging, we developed a new teaching module (NU-AGE [Newcastle University Aging Generations Education]) aimed at students enrolled in all undergraduate degree programs at our university. In acknowledgement of the important role that members of the public can play in higher education, we recruited a team of older adults to help design and deliver the module. The curriculum was constructed through collaboration with older members of the public and students to outline both the pertinent challenges facing an aging society, and the positive aspects of aging. The team of older adults contributed to the development and delivery of a series of interactive teaching sessions for a cohort of undergraduate students and collaborated with evaluation of the module. Early analysis of evaluation data suggested that students and members of the public highly valued the opportunity to interact and exchange ideas about the importance of aging in society in a multidisciplinary environment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article provides insight into different expectations between Chinese and British academic culture for distance learning. The article is based on a pedagogic research project, a case study, and is centered on a distance learning course in maritime law proposed by a British university for a university in China. Some important commonalities and gps between perceptions of deliverers and receivers of the proposed course were identified. There were important differences between Chinese and UK respondents about the value of open educational resources, the sequential access to course materials, the type of technologies that were important for delivery of content and for communication, the value of peer assessment, and the time expectations for feedback. Recommendations are suggested for bridging the cultural gaps in distance learning between a British and Chinese context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on reviewing energy law education in the UK. For such a fast-growing discipline it is important to reflect on the features that give cohesiveness to its curriculum development: how it is taught; who is teaching it and where it is being taught; and what content is given to the curriculum offered? Is it, for example, national in focus or international, or both? A recent review on the state of energy law education in the US demonstrates the scale and ambition of energy law education in that country. This article complements that exercise by providing a review of energy law education in the UK as at 2016. By comparing and contrasting the two approaches, we can glean some distinctive features of the UK approach. More research is needed on energy law education but from this article it is clear that energy law has taken a foothold in legal education in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microsurgery is used in a variety of surgical specialties, including Plastic Surgery, Maxillofacial Surgery, Ophthalmic Surgery, Otolaryngology and Neurosurgery. It is considered one of the most technically challenging fields of surgery. Microsurgical skills demand fine, precise and controlled movements, and microsurgical skill acquisition has a steep initial learning curve. Microsurgical simulation provides a safe environment for skill acquisition before operating clinically. The traditional starting point for anyone wanting to pursue microsurgery is a basic simulation training course. We present twelve tips for postgraduate and undergraduate medics on how to set up and run a basic ex-vivo microsurgery simulation training course suitable for their peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International health electives pose specific ethical challenges for students travelling from to low and middle income countries. We undertook a systematic review of the literature on interventions to prepare students to identify ethical issues addressed, educational approaches and to collate evidence on the effectiveness of different strategies. We searched nine electronic databases of peer-reviewed literature and identified grey literature through key word searches; supplemented through citation mapping and expert consultation. Articles that described ethical training conducted by universities or professional bodies were included for review. We reviewed forty-four full text articles. Ten sources of published literature and seven sources of grey literature met our inclusion criteria. We identified thirteen ethical situations that students should be prepared to manage and eight generic skills to support this process. Most interventions were delivered before the elective, used case studies or guidelines. Some suggested ethical principles or a framework for analysis of ethical issues. Only two papers evaluated the intervention described. Our paper collates a small but growing body of work on education to prepare students to manage ethical issues. Ethical training should have elements that are delivered before, during and after the elective. Interventions should include case studies covering thirteen ethical issues identified here, linked to ethical principles and a process for responding to ethical issues. We suggest that evaluations of interventions are an important area for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The UK Government has categorically stated in its Knowledge and Skills Statement for Children and Family Social Work what social workers need to know and be able to do when responding to concerns about children. The Hope for Children and Families modular systemic interventions programme provides evidence informed responses for targeting harmful parenting and the associated impairment of children. The training resources, developed by Bentovim et al., apply the ‘common elements approach’ and are aimed at qualified practitioners. However, there also appears to be scope for their use in social work qualifying programmes. This paper will review the development of an undergraduate children and families module using the materials. It discusses how these resources were incorporated into a learning, teaching and assessment strategy which aims to develop and test the interpersonal components of knowledge and skills alongside technical/procedural knowledge. The outcomes indicate that these resources have contributed significantly in closing the gap between study and practice by providing an applied starting point from which learners can critically engage in the complexities of what they need to know and be able to do to be effective practitioners. Further use of these resources across programmes is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Limited research exists that considers the usefulness of outdoor learning as a legitimate pedagogical approach for the delivery of a mainstream secondary school curriculum. To address this shortcoming, we investigated the ways in which mathematics and geography teachers and students from three secondary schools in Scotland responded to the Outdoor Journeys programme, which is a school-based teaching approach that enables pupils to learn about the people and place in which they live. Data collection included participant observation, short questionnaires and interviews with approximately 150 students (11-14 years old) and 10 teachers. In most cases, pupils enjoyed the opportunity to guide their own learning experientially and beyond the familiar classroom context. Teachers acknowledged that such an approach presented an opportunity to develop pupils' critical thinking skills and that these skills can, in some cases, be overlooked in early secondary education. Following these findings, we discuss the pedagogical implications arising from the inclusion of critical thinking as a key outcome of outdoor learning, and as part of the Outdoor Journeys programme, within a secondary school context. We continue by adding our voice to the nascent literature addressing outdoor learning approaches that seek to gain traction within the broader social ecology of established school cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term 'boundary-work' is used to refer to the constant effort to draw and re-draw the boundary of science; it has long been portrayed as constructed by the stakeholders of science to demarcate science from non-science to establish the authority of science. Twenty-nine semi-structured interviews were carried out with students from one university in England, originally to explore their views about genetically modified ( GM) food. However, the distinctive repertoires adopted by students of natural science as opposed to humanities and social sciences were striking. As a result, the focus of this study shifted to examine the discourse students adopted to talk about a controversial scientific topic, using GM food as a case study. This paper shows that the boundary between scientific and non-scientific academic disciplines is heavily ingrained in university students' discourse and it is collectively constructed by both actors that are included in, and excluded from, the institution of science. The innate authority assigned to the institution of science is found to have deepened the gap between scientific and non-scientific disciplines. In this study, science disciplines were portrayed as coherent and consistent, following similar scientific methods and philosophy whereas humanities and social sciences disciplines were merely considered as 'non-science' disciplines. Hence, this paper suggests the wide scope of science should be better recognised and acknowledged in the education system. Finally, this paper demonstrates that people's role in relation to the institution of science has an impact on their discourse about and, perhaps subsequently, their views towards, science and technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the controls and influences over geography teachers' curriculum making. A tension is identified between the teacher's agency to “make” a geography curriculum and a controlling social–economic climate of accountability, performance pressure and technological change which limits the teacher's agency. The paper argues that teachers are responding to this tension by the coping strategy of “banding together” both at the school level and in wider communities. The extent of teachers' reliance on other people in curriculum making is such that curriculum making can be described as becoming “hyper-socialised”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon selected literature from the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Canada we examine how Foucault's concepts of 'episteme', 'rupture' 'parrhesia' 'care of the self', and 'problemitization' have been applied to particular contexts of leadership development, pedagogy, nursing knowledge, and the relationship between caring and politics. Our aims are threefold: to give examples of how selected Foucauldian concepts have been taken up in practice; to clarify how we are positioned today as nurses; and to invite more nurses to engage critically with historical inquiry and to engage in deep philosophical reflection about their relationship with nursing. We begin by examining the conditions and circumstances of Foucault's life, and conclude by posing the question in our subtitle to stimulate debate about the philosophical relevance of Foucauldian scholarship to nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our previous articles we outlined the various challenges to learning disability nursing as a separate professional registration and considered the experiences of some recent graduates who have a dual learning disability nursing and social work qualification. It seems that as the concept of learning disability as a medicolegal category has undergone revisions, so too has the role, scope and function of those professionals who provide care for this group of people. Where there were once 'imbeciles and idiots' warehoused in asylums in the nineteenth century, the more contemporary notion of community care and individualised planning has ushered in new practices and the profession has adapted to meet contemporary challenges. People with learning disabilities as service users and their professional carers continue to demonstrate resilience in the face of sometimes provocative and unhelpful social and economic circumstances. But what happens next? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the ways in which information about course pedagogy has been represented to potential students through national descriptors and specifications such as the United Kingdom’s Key Information Set. It examines the extent to which such descriptors provide helpful information about pedagogy, for example innovative uses of technology. The paper starts by exploring the wider context within which these descriptors have been developed, including a comparison of similar descriptions internationally. This is followed by a comparative analysis, in which two courses (one single honours undergraduate degree, one Massive Open Online Course) are classified and compared. This serves to illustrate the blind spots in classifications such as the Key Information Set. The paper concludes by arguing that further work is needed to develop classification schemes that both address explicitly the interests of potential students and are able to represent the pedagogic decisions that differentiate teaching in contemporary higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this Guide is to support teacher with the responsibility of designing, delivering and/or assessing diversity education. Although, the focus is on medical education, the guidance is relevant to all healthcare professionals. The Guide begins by providing an overview of the definitions used and the principles that underpin the teaching of diversity as advocated by Diversity and Medicine in Health (DIMAH). Following an outline of these principles we highlight the difference between equality and diversity education. The Guide then covers diversity education throughout the educational process from the philosophical stance of educators and how this influences the approaches used through to curriculum development, delivery and assessment. Appendices contain practical examples from across the UK, covering lesson plans and specific exercises to deliver teaching. Although, diversity education remains variable and fragmented there is now some momentum to ensure that the principles of good educational practice are applied to diversity education. The nature of this topic means that there are a range of different professions and medical disciplines involved which leads to a great necessity for greater collaboration and sharing of effective practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper retrospectively reports on an evaluation framework applied to a local interprofessional education (IPE) curriculum design. The theoretically informed IPE curriculum spans the undergraduate health and social care programmes of over 10 professions as a curriculum theme. The teaching design and its impact were informed by psycho-social and learning theories. Aims: This meta-analysis is presented to share the importance of longitudinal IPE, whole curriculum evaluation for comparisons and to advance our understandings of what works and why. Method: The meta-analysis used the Presage, Process and Product conceptual framework outlined by Biggs in 1993, and the Kirkpatrick in 1996, evaluation outcome model. Data are shared on the final overall learning from evaluating the teaching and the outcomes from students, teachers, practitioners, patients and carers. Results: The evaluation highlighted cyclical issues relating to students experiences, facilitators abilities and highlights the challenges of learning in practice which was highly praised by students. The problems and challenges were solved through the application of theory to illuminate our understandings. Conclusion: We lament at missed opportunities for the application of theoretically informed research questions that still require to be addressed. However, we share this framework as having offered a complete and comprehensive evaluation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of using industry champions (ICs) to inform curriculum development for work-based learning and to probe their perceptions of and attitudes towards work-based learning. The research took place as part of a project that ran from 2009 to 2012. Design/methodology/approach – The research adopted a grounded theoretical framework. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews. Findings – The ICs had positive attitudes towards work-based learning which did not change significantly throughout the timeframe of the project. Their involvement was very useful with respect to curriculum development but less so for marketing and recruitment of learners. Research limitations/implications – The participant pool was small. Practical implications – The involvement of ICs in curriculum design of work-based learning is effective. Originality/value – This industry champion model of curriculum development is novel and identifies an effective way for academia to design bespoke work-based learning activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The General Medical Council (GMC) provides a core curriculum for all medical degrees in the UK. However, these guidelines do not provide in-depth, specific learning outcomes for the various medical specialties. Recognising our ageing population, the British Geriatrics Society in 2013 published their own supplementary guidelines to encourage and further direct teaching on Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine in medical school curricula. Although teaching on Geriatric Medicine, a sub-discipline of Gerontology, has reassuringly increased in UK medical schools, there are convincing arguments for greater emphasis to be placed on the teaching of another sub-discipline: Social Gerontology. Considering the skills and knowledge likely to be gained from the teaching of Social Gerontology, in this paper we argue for the greater universal adoption of its teaching. This would help ensure that the doctors of tomorrow are better equipped to manage more successfully and holistically the growing cohort of older patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the turbulent ‘dog eat dog’ environment of the learning and skills sector in England the provision and expansion of higher education taught in further education colleges (HE in FE) offers potential opportunities for greater diversification of higher education. However, it also presents significant challenges, which include developing an HE culture, managing shifting partnerships, and ensuring the curriculum meets benchmarks for quality and standards of provision. This article uses principles of appreciative enquiry to explore the experience, potential and challenge of growing HE in FE in two large colleges, one located in an urban area and the other in a rural region of central England. Both colleges reflect similarities and differences in their strategy and delivery of HE in FE and neither uses the term ‘further’ to describe its provision. This shift in branding reflects the strategic ambitions of governors and senior leaders as the curriculum offer is no longer general ‘further education’ but much more diverse, and includes HE courses delivered in partnership with four universities. Using data from governing bodies, cross-college committees and course leaders we reflect on the spaces and places for growing HE in FE and the challenges it poses for governors, leaders, tutors and students. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Work-Related Learning (WRL) has been enthusiastically embraced by UK governments since the 1990s as a means of reengaging learners in the final years of compulsory schooling. However, recent years have seen a policy shift away from WRL towards a more academic curriculum for all young people. Drawing on a qualitative study commissioned by the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency, this article explores good practice in using WRL to motivate 14- to 16-year-old learners. The article aimed to refocus discussion on the beneficial effects of WRL for disengaged young people. It argues that WRL can be a powerful engagement tool as part of a holistic approach to support learners to engage or reengage in learning. It also highlights that any appraisal of the merits of WRL for disaffected learners should also consider the indirect benefits such as increased confidence and motivation to participate, which can potentially lead to hard outcomes of success. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]