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This paper examines the possible relationship between religious education and social justice. A consideration of what it is that education in the public sphere should seek to achieve, in a normative sense, is followed by an explanation of how we conceptualise social justice in this paper. This leads us to be able to explain why the relationship between teacher and child or young person is significant and why it is insufficient to conceptualise religious education only in terms of knowledge. Instead, we propose that the teacher's first responsibility when beginning any course of study is to bring the child to attend to their experience and that of their wider community. We argue that curriculum cannot be made in isolation of the context of the child and that education is not something that takes place in abstraction. Rather, it requires the teacher to be attentive to this particular child, the one who is here now, and in this particular place. Having begun to set out the educational position of our argument, we show how this is working practically guided by a Locally Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education: Living Difference IV, in religious education taught in a school in an area of high deprivation in the southeast of Hampshire. UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrochemistry education of future researchers is crucial if we are to decarbonise economies and reach targets for net zero, and this arguably begins with education in electrochemistry within undergraduate degrees. This paper reviews the teaching of electrochemistry in UK universities at the undergraduate degree level. We review where and how electrochemical concepts are introduced into chemistry, chemical engineering and materials science programmes. We provide some motivation for this review, which was stimulated by discussions from a workshop on the 'Future of Fundamental Electrochemistry Research in the UK', held in 2022. We summarise briefly how consensus on UK degree programme course content has been reached and inconsistencies that remain. Electrochemistry curriculum content from a convenience sample of UK universities, and disciplines, has been collected and is summarised, with a reflection on some trends. Finally, we present some implications for policy. A roadmap is suggested to ensure that the teaching of electrochemical fundamentals is addressed in the curriculum at an appropriate level to underpin the many technically relevant applications of electrochemistry that graduates will encounter in their further education or employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operative and non-technical skills exposure of urology trainees has reduced due to a number of factors, including the European Working Time Directive, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Simulation-based education (SBE) is an innovative addition to clinical experience which can begin to address the skills-based learning deficiency in order to help trainees meet their curriculum requirements and optimise the exposure required for a trainee to become a competent general urology consultant. Surgical simulation is an effective training tool but has a complex implementation process, requiring considerable planning tailored to specific educational targets, to ensure it is sustainable and reproducible. Methodology from the field of implementation science offers an invaluable approach to design an effective simulation-based training adjunct, as exemplified by the example of the UK Urology Simulation Boot Camp (USBC), a comprehensive training course which incorporates core technical and non-technical skills based on the current Joint Committee on Surgical Training (JCST) urological training curriculum to equip newly appointed urology trainees to work as competent junior registrars. Delivered annually in Leeds since 2015, the course has had excellent feedback and results in improving the urological knowledge of trainees, as well as increases in trainees' confidence. This paper will provide a summary of how the course was designed, delivered, reproduced, sustained and evaluated. Its success is demonstrated by its incorporation into the UK urology training programme, and since 2018, it is now recommended to all new urology residents in the UK. The course implementation model would be applicable to other surgical specialties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at the initiatives by the Associated Booksellers of Great Britain and Ireland between 1920 and 1930 to formalise training for booksellers, reflecting on the current moves to reinstate some kind of bookselling qualification through the partnership of Waterstones with the University of Derby. It uses as primary sources the trade papers of The Publishers' Circular and Booksellers' Record and The Bookseller, both key narrative repositories for histories of this nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper offers to substantiate a claim about the so-called Meritocratic Conception of how educational opportunities ought to be distributed. Such a conception holds an individual's prospects for educational achievement may be a function of that individual's talent or effort levels but should not be influenced by their social class background. The paper highlights the internal tension in the Meritocratic Conception between on the one hand a prohibition on the influence of social class on educational opportunities and on the other a permission to allow unequal educational opportunities on the basis of talent and effort. This tension obtains because individuals' talent and effort are themselves subject to influence by social class. The paper makes a positive case for an interpretation of the Meritocratic Conception that resolves this tension in favour of an egalitarian version, such that social class represents an objectionable determinant of unequal educational prospects even when its influence is mediated through the cultivation of talent and effort. This argument is further supported through an explanation that the character of social class as a systemic social source of the structure of individuals' opportunities makes it an objectionable influence on educational opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education institutions in the UK are required, by law, to make anticipatory reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities. Inclusive teaching practice, if adopted across the sector, would ensure that the needs of students with disabilities are considered and provided for, before they even arrive on campus. This paper sets out the background and key findings from an institutional research project at a UK university that aimed to discover if academic staff's attitudes would be problematic or conducive to the implementation of inclusive teaching practice. The paper concludes that there is little evidence of widespread “resistance” but rather, the research discovered a prevailing belief in the rights of students with disabilities to education, albeit a belief which is limited in its practical application in the classroom. The paper also reports on a number of recommendations made to the case study university as a result of this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new perspective for higher education policy research. It introduces the concept of policy object to designate the discrete preoccupation(s) of a policy text (e.g. a new governance regime, a quality system, or new degrees) and suggests that actor conceptualisations of the policy object intersect with other elements in the policy process to shape enactment and outcomes. First, the policy object concept is described. It is argued that the policy object does not have an objective existence and two concepts are proposed to explain it: ontology and enacted ontology. The former refers to what actors believe the policy object is, a socially-construed context-determined conceptualisation, whereas enacted ontology refers to what the policy object becomes further to enactment under the influence of ontology. Second, the paper presents the findings of a comparative study of master degrees further to the Bologna process in different national and institutional settings to illustrate the policy object approach. This research puts forward arguments to suggest that the policy object could be an important variable to consider in policy research. This somewhat different lens, inviting fine-grained attention to a specific policy object (its ontologies and enacted ontologies), could bring additional insight into policy outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global community, from UNESCO to NGOs, is committed to promoting the status of women in science, engineering and technology, despite long-held prejudices and the lack of role models. Previously, when equality was not firmly established as a key issue on international or national agendas, women's colleges played a great role in mentoring female scientists. However, now that a concerted effort has been made by governments, the academic community and the private sector to give women equal opportunities, the raison d'être of women's universities seems to have become lost. This paper argues otherwise, by demonstrating that women's universities in Japan became beneficiaries of government initiatives since the early 2000s to reverse the low ratio of women in scientific research. The paper underscores the importance of the reputation of women's universities embedded in their institutional foundations, by explaining how female scientific communities take shape in different national contexts. England, as a primary example of a neoliberal welfare regime, with its strong emphasis on equality and diversity, promoted its gender equality policy under the auspices of the Department of Trade and Industry. By contrast, with a strong emphasis on family values and the male-breadwinner model, the Japanese government carefully treated the goal of supporting female scientists from the perspective of the equal participation of both men and women rather than that of equality. Following this trend, rather contradictorily, women's universities, with their tradition of fostering a 'good wife, wise mother' image, began to be highlighted as potential gender-free institutions that provided role models and mentoring female scientists. By drawing on the cases of England and Japan, this paper demonstrates how the idea of equality can be framed differently, according to wider institutional contexts, and how this idea impacts on gender policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present the current state of cultural diversity education for undergraduate medical students in three English-speaking countries: the United Kingdom (U.K.), United States (U.S.) and Canada. We review key documents that have shaped cultural diversity education in each country and compare and contrast current issues. It is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss the varied terminology that is immediately evident. Suffice it to say that there are many terms (e.g. cultural awareness, competence, sensitivity, sensibility, diversity and critical cultural diversity) used in different contexts with different meanings. The major issues that all three countries face include a lack of conceptual clarity, and fragmented and variable programs to teach cultural diversity. Faculty and staff support and development, and ambivalence from both staff and students continue to be a challenge. We suggest that greater international collaboration may help provide some solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the measurement of performance in public service provision in an international context by examining outcome-based measures for the education sector. It first sets out the measurement issues in general terms. The paper then applies these methods to comparing the UK experience with that in the US over the period 1979–2002. The results show higher labour productivity growth in the UK education sector than in the US over this time period, so that the UK eliminated the productivity gap with the US by the end of the Century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effect of parents’ income on children’s drop-out from school at age 16 using data from the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70). Unlike previous papers using the same data set, we use a continuous measure of income derived from the grouped income variable available in the BCS70, we employ instrumental variable techniques to address the issue of endogeneity of family income and take account of the potential endogeneity of income response with respect to a child’s education by jointly modelling the school drop-out decision and response to the family income question. Our estimates show the exogeneity of response to the income question with a child’s education and are in line with the previous literature finding a statistically significant small negative effect of family income on school drop-out at 16. On the contrary, other non-pecuniary parental effects, such as parental education and social class, turn out to be both significant and of a sizeable magnitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

This paper explores the management and outcomes of a specific model of intergenerational learning, concerned with student digital leader support in a number of secondary schools in England. A local educational partnership set up a student digital leader project late in 2011, which aimed to develop a range of skills and outcomes for both the digital leaders themselves and for a potentially wider variety of personnel within the schools. Five schools were involved in the project. The student digital leaders shared their digital technology expertise with others with less developed skills, including teachers and managers in these schools. The study reported in this paper explored ways that the digital leader initiative was implemented, identifying and analysing outcomes and issues arising. Evidence from informants and from the analysis of benefits arising indicates that the student digital leader initiative led to a variety of positive outcomes. A key finding and conclusion is that this form of initiative has involved some students who tend not to be involved in other leadership or school-wide activities. The initiative enables these students to contribute to the community, rather than just receiving from it; students become active contributors to, as well as receivers from, the educational system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Networking and collaboration in educational settings have become increasingly important in terms of supporting innovation and policy developments in many educational systems. However, to date, the role and action of the middle tier remains an under-researched area, especially in the United Kingdom. This paper draws on findings from a study of district level (local authorities (LAs)) capacity to broker and facilitate school-based networks within a context of complex multiple agendas. The study, funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) Innovations Unit and the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) involved 19 LAs over a two-year period. The authors worked as second order action researchers supporting local authority staff develop a range of strategies to broker and facilitate school-to-school networks. This paper draws on Habermassian notions of a critical theorem to describe the construction and use of a new theoretical framework outlining the strategies adopted by the middle tier officers within the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of International Migration & Integration is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A healthcare curriculum must be up-to-date, fit for purpose and relevant to the population it serves wherever that population might be, worldwide. In this paper we describe the rationale for the design and implementation of a curriculum in a new dental school in UK. We assessed the general and dental health needs of our local population and proposed a set of core skills our dentists will need on graduation and in the future. This core learning falls into three domains of learning. The psychomotor domain covers the learning of technical skills for which we use the shorthand 'hands'. The affective domain covers empathy and behaviour management, that is the 'heart'; and the cognitive domain including critical thinking, the 'head'. The three domains require different ways of learning but all are delivered in context in an integrated, case-based spiralling curriculum building in complexity year on year. Students treat patients from half way through year 1, which helps them appreciate the relevance of the 'hands', 'heart' and 'head' of dentistry as they begin to build their knowledge and experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores some of the major continuities and changes in policy and practice concerning the inclusion of racial and ethnic minorities in education and economic placement in a global economy. It refers to papers given at five sessions of the International Sociological Association's (ISA) four-yearly world congresses, held between 1986–2002. In particular it notes educational changes and disadvantages affecting minorities in Britain over twenty-five years. A major conclusion is that education within a competitive global economy can encourage new forms of racial and social exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Health and social care professionals are ideally placed to identify and address gender-based violence (GBV), yet research continues to demonstrate that the subject is being poorly covered at undergraduate level. This qualitative study explored health and social care students' and educators' views on GBV education, with a view to identifying 'best practice'. We aimed to capture students' and educators' experiences and perceptions of GBV education across participating countries; how participants thought GBV should be taught/learned within their curricula; and their views on how GBV education might be 'optimized'. Methods: We conducted nine focus group discussions and one semi-structured interview with 23 students and 21 academic staff across the UK, Australia and Chile. Results: Thematic analysis yielded three themes: (1) GBV addressed in all but name, (2) Introduce sooner, explore later and (3) A qualitative approach to learning. Educators and students indicated that GBV is largely being overlooked or incompletely addressed within curricula. Many participants expressed a wish for the subject to be introduced early and revisited throughout their study, with content evolving as cohorts mature. Lastly, our findings indicate that GBV education could benefit from adopting a 'qualitative' approach, prioritizing survivor narratives and incorporating dialogue to facilitate student engagement. Conclusion: Though time constraints and competing demands within undergraduate curricula are frequently cited as barriers to moving away from traditional didactic methods, our findings suggest that teacher-centered strategies are insufficient and, in some regards, inappropriate for GBV education. The need for a paradigm shift in GBV education is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern undergraduate dental curricula strive to provide meaningful clinical experiences for their students. Outreach learning is now well established in most UK dental schools and provides an additional clinical environment in which the whole dental team can develop their skills. This paper evaluates student, patient and practitioner experiences of a general dental practice placement scheme. A number of practices in the Yorkshire region hosted senior undergraduate dental students. All parties were very positive about the experience. The students found the experience in general dental practice to be very different from that in outreach centres, with the experiences of working in well established teams being seen as very beneficial. Practitioners and their teams reported a number of unforeseen benefits and the patients found their experiences to be overwhelmingly positive. Some students reported positive perceptions of their clinical experience, when being interviewed for their vocational training and general professional training posts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-based clinical teaching programmes are now an established feature of most UK dental school training programmes. Appropriately implemented, they enhance the educational achievements and competences achieved by dental students within the earlier part of their developing careers, while helping students to traverse the often-difficult transition between dental school and vocational/foundation training and independent practice. Dental school programmes have often been criticised for 'lagging behind' developments in general dental practice - an important example being the so-called 'business of dentistry', including clinical audit. As readers will be aware, clinical audit is an essential component of UK dental practice, with the aims of improving the quality of clinical care and optimising patient safety. The aim of this paper is to highlight how training in clinical audit has been successfully embedded in the community-based clinical teaching programme at Cardiff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

strong negative correlation is often found between schooling and teenage childbearing. The question at the center of this research is whether this correlation represents a causal relation. This paper uses changes in compulsory schooling laws in Great Britain and Northern Ireland to purge schooling estimates of biases resulting from individual-specific error components correlated with education. The results suggest that increased schooling does appear to reduce the incidence of teenage childbearing. Moreover, the results serve to highlight an important change in the impact of schooling on teenage childbearing following the legislation on contraception in the late 1960s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of International Migration & Integration is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper builds on earlier work by the author to explore the international dimensions of a study of the changing roles and identities of professional staff in higher education (Whitchurch , ). It further develops the concept of the blended professional, characterising individuals with identities drawn from both professional and academic domains, and examines the institutional spaces, knowledges, relationships and legitimacies that they construct. Comparisons between the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States are used to provide indicators of possible futures for this group of staff, including their positioning in the university community, the challenges they face, and the potentials that they offer to their institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyse part-time employment of teenagers still in full-time education, their academic performance, and their school leaving decisions. Our estimation strategy takes account of the possible interdependencies of these events and distinguishes between two alternative states to full time education: entering the labour force full time and going on to further training. We model this decision in a flexible way. Our analysis is based on data from the UK National Child Development Study, which has an unusually rich set of variables on school and parental characteristics. Our main finding is that working part time while in full-time education has only small adverse effects on exam performance for females, and no effects for males. The effect of part-time work on the decision to stay on at school is also negative, but small, and marginally significant for males, but not for females. Other important determinants of exam success as well as the continuation decision are parental ambitions about the child’s future academic career. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I wish to comment upon the use of polemical argument in philosophy of education and education. Like Foucault, I believe that a whole morality is at stake because polemical argument obfuscates the search for truth at the expense of truth and the other’s veracity, integrity and dignity. The use of polemics is illustrated by two arguments. The first general argument is taken from an attack upon Albert Camus by the British writer Colin Wilson. The second more particular example is taken from attacks in New Zealand by the State Department of Education upon the educational ideas of the novelist and educator Sylvia Ashton-Warner. Finally I discuss how polemics might be countered in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on postponement of couple formation and first birth. We analyze couples born 1930–1979 who have experienced both events. First, we estimate a spouse choice equation based on individual human capital and family of origin characteristics as well as marriage market indicators, using a multinomial logit model. We create nine educational categories using predicted probabilities. Secondly, we estimate the rates of union formation and first birth using Weibull hazard models with individual unobserved heterogeneity, predicted educational categories from the first step, and other fixed and time varying variables. Higher education of one of the spouses, duration of education, and unfavorable labor market conditions delay couple formation and first birth. Swedish women form their unions later than British women, but once the union has been formed, they have their first birth sooner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crisis in UK mathematics education, both in schools and universities, has been widely reported in the national media. A recent study shows that 26% of full-time mathematics teachers in UK schools have no qualification in the subject, and that 31% of all UK schools' mathematics teachers are now over the age of 50. The crisis in school mathematics has impacted on much of the university sector, with some departments under threat of closure and widespread difficulties experienced in student recruitment. The availability of attractive careers for mathematics graduates impacts upon the numbers choosing to enter teaching, thus risking a spiral of decline. Furthermore, studies suggest that UK mathematics graduates often lack confidence in several key skills essential for teaching, such as presenting information effectively, working in teams, and written communication. This paper recounts the development of a unit of study in the Faculty of Mathematical Studies at the University of Southampton, England, in conjunction with a new initiative, the Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme, which seek to address the crisis in UK mathematics education through the training and placement of final year undergraduates as teaching assistants in local schools. This with a view to promoting mathematics to the broadest possible constituency as a university choice, whilst simultaneously developing those key transferable skills in which undergraduates regularly feel least confident, and allowing undergraduates to experience a flavour of teaching as a career option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For young children, learning begins in conversation contexts such as schools. The author of this paper contends that talk activities are fundamental to future knowledge and understanding. Implicit is critique of a current British model that values the practice of speaking through effective talk. This view is contrasted to one centered on expressive speech and authentic listening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled applications are increasingly being used in providing healthcare services, such as medical imaging support. Sufficient and appropriate education for medical imaging professionals is required for successful AI adoption. Although, currently, there are AI training programmes for radiologists, formal AI education for radiographers is lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate and discuss a postgraduate-level module on AI developed in the UK for radiographers. Methodology: A participatory action research methodology was applied, with participants recruited from the first cohort of students enrolled in this module and faculty members. Data were collected using online, semi-structured, individual interviews and focus group discussions. Textual data were processed using data-driven thematic analysis. Results: Seven students and six faculty members participated in this evaluation. Results can be summarised in the following four themes: a. participants' professional and educational backgrounds influenced their experiences, b. participants found the learning experience meaningful concerning module design, organisation, and pedagogical approaches, c. some module design and delivery aspects were identified as barriers to learning, and d. participants suggested how the ideal AI course could look like based on their experiences. Conclusions: The findings of our work show that an AI module can assist educators/academics in developing similar AI education provisions for radiographers and other medical imaging and radiation sciences professionals. A blended learning delivery format, combined with customisable and contextualised content, using an interprofessional faculty approach is recommended for future similar courses. Key points: A novel postgraduate module on AI for radiographers was developed and evaluated. Blended-learning delivery, customisable and contextualised course content, and interprofessional faculty are the ways forward for an ideal AI course for radiographers. Future courses could use this approach to develop their own AI training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we investigate the impact of individual, parental and social factors on young adults' job-finding intentions across countries and overall. We test our hypotheses by conducting binary logistic regressions on the basis of an original dataset that comprises responses from more than 5200 young adults and their parents from 11 European countries. Our findings show that individual factors are most decisive in shaping the job-finding intentions of young adults. Most importantly, being enrolled in education does not prevent young adults from lowering their aspirations with respect to anticipated earnings or finding more sophisticated jobs. Social factors, in terms of being socially involved or having more friends in employment, lead to stronger mobility intentions as well as to stronger intentions to improve skills or develop new ones. At the country level, and compared to Italian participants, who go through a longer school-to-work transition, participants from Northern or Central European countries, as well as from the United Kingdom, show weaker mobility intentions. In many of these countries, young adults are also more willing than their Italian counterparts to lower income aspirations, while being less inclined to lower their aspirations in terms of finding more sophisticated jobs. In a last step, we reflect on education as a means of improving professional aspirations and the need to offer adequate on-the-ground services to help young people through the school-to-work transition, especially in Southern European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaboration and successful teamworking are important components of clinical practise, and these skills should be cultivated early in medical school. The breadth of current medical school curricula means that students often have limited exposure to clinical neurosciences. Since its inception in 2009, the Neurology and Neurosurgery Interest Group (NANSIG) has become a national (UK and Republic of Ireland) example of student and junior doctor synergistic collaboration to deliver educational materials, research, conferences, seminars and workshops, as well as advocating for diversity in this field. Recently, it has expanded to incorporate an international audience and cater for a larger group of young medical professionals. The organisation has overcome numerous challenges and is constantly innovating new approaches to harness the necessary knowledge, skills and network to succeed in a career in neurosciences, neurology and neurosurgery. This article summarises the initiatives undertaken by the group over its first 10 years of existence and its organisational structure, as well as its future plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Inspiring Readers programme, designed and implemented by Book Aid International, aimed to contribute to educational provision in African primary schools by setting up cupboard libraries and promoting reading, through a collaboration between schools and libraries. Public librarians were trained in how to equip teachers with the skills to run school libraries and offered ongoing support to schools. This afforded primary school children the opportunity to develop an interest in and habit of reading, through regular access to child-friendly, age-appropriate fiction and non-fiction books. Publisher-donated brand-new books were a vital part of this programme, with 372,473 UK publisher-donated books donated in total. As a result of the books, children have developed positive attitudes towards reading and have shown increased self-esteem and confidence as a result. Vibrant school libraries have increased the profile of the schools within their communities and teachers have benefited from the enhanced teaching aids available to them. Librarians' knowledge and skills have grown and, as a result, positive working relationships between librarians and teachers have begun. Librarians are also more visible within their communities and feel more respected. Within wider communities, there has been support for Inspiring Readers with parents borrowing books to read at home with their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using panel data from the BHPS and its Understanding Society extension, we study life satisfaction (LS) and income over nearly two decades, for samples split by education, and age, to our knowledge for the first time. The highly educated went from lowest to highest LS, though their average income was always higher. In spite of rapid income growth up to 2008/2009, the less educated showed no rise in LS, while highly educated LS rose after the crash despite declining real income. In panel LS regressions with individual fixed effects, none of the income variables was significant for the highly educated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To explore the attitudes of United Kingdom (UK) medical students regarding artificial intelligence (AI), their understanding, and career intention towards radiology. We also examine the state of education relating to AI amongst this cohort. Methods: UK medical students were invited to complete an anonymous electronic survey consisting of Likert and dichotomous questions. Results: Four hundred eighty-four responses were received from 19 UK medical schools. Eighty-eight percent of students believed that AI will play an important role in healthcare, and 49% reported they were less likely to consider a career in radiology due to AI. Eighty-nine percent of students believed that teaching in AI would be beneficial for their careers, and 78% agreed that students should receive training in AI as part of their medical degree. Only 45 students received any teaching on AI; none of the students received such teaching as part of their compulsory curriculum. Statistically, students that did receive teaching in AI were more likely to consider radiology (p = 0.01) and rated more positively to the questions relating to the perceived competence in the post-graduation use of AI (p = 0.01–0.04); despite this, a large proportion of students in the taught group reported a lack of confidence and understanding required for the critical use of healthcare AI tools. Conclusions: UK medical students understand the importance of AI and are keen to engage. Medical school training on AI should be expanded and improved. Realistic use cases and limitations of AI must be presented to students so they will not feel discouraged from pursuing radiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of university students with autism is increasing, and it is crucial that these students can access adequate support. An online questionnaire was completed by 26 autistic students and 158 non-autistic students enrolled at UK universities to investigate social and academic experiences. Autistic students self-reported significant challenges and more mental health difficulties than non-autistic students. Significant challenges focused on the social components of university life, including social skills, social support opportunities, and levels of ASD awareness from others. Many strengths were also reported regarding academic skills of autistic university students. Importantly, there were more thoughts of withdrawal by the students with autism highlighting the need for support. These data can inform university student support services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Children and Families Act (2014) placed a statutory responsibility on local authorities in the UK to establish a virtual school headteacher with the role of championing the education of all children looked-after within that authority. The current research was designed to illuminate how virtual schools are currently supporting educational outcomes for children looked-after, not only through educational interventions, but also through supporting broader psychological factors that might impact on attainment such as attachment, relationships and mental health. Virtual school headteachers from 29 local authorities completed an online survey about the services they provided to three target groups—children looked-after, foster carers and schools—with a particular focus on the transition years from primary to secondary school, which have been identified as being a difficult time for children looked-after. Using inductive thematic analysis, four overarching themes to service provision were identified: enhanced learning opportunities, specific transition support, well-being and relationships, and raising awareness. Direct work, interprofessional working and the development of supportive environments, particularly guided by attachment theory, were identified as important areas of practice. Practice is discussed in relation to resilience and ecological systems theory and suggestions for future research are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing recognition of autism in Somali migrant communities means that appropriate support services are needed. Attitudes to autism and barriers related to help-seeking in these communities are poorly understood. We aimed to assess what families affected by autism need, and how health, education and social care services can support them. In partnership with the local Somali community the research team conducted 15 in-depth interviews with parents affected by autism. Two themes are reported; 'Perceptions of Autism' and 'Navigating the System'. Our research shows the importance of understanding cultural views of autism and the need to raise awareness, reduce stigma and provide support to encourage families not to delay seeking help for their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the significance of four year doctorate programme in universities of Europe , Great Britain and United States. In the united Kingdom, the trend is up from three years to three and a half or four. With financial commitments from the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Wellcome Trust, the number of four-year programmes is rising. Ironically, the new European ideas are modelled on the US system, where four or five-year programmes often stretch much longer. According to a professor, students need to consider where their aspirations lie. If academia is not the ultimate objective, doing a doctorate should not be given.

Background: There is a lack of educational tools available for surgical teaching critique, particularly for advanced laparoscopic surgery. The aim was to develop and implement a tool that assesses training quality and structures feedback for trainers in the English National Training Programme for laparoscopic colorectal surgery.Methods: Semi-structured interviews were performed and analysed, and items were extracted. Through the Delphi process, essential items pertaining to desirable trainer characteristics, training structure and feedback were determined. An assessment tool (Structured Training Trainer Assessment Report-STTAR) was developed and tested for feasibility, acceptability and educational impact.Results: Interview transcripts (29 surgical trainers, 10 trainees, four educationalists) were analysed, and item lists created and distributed for consensus opinion (11 trainers and seven trainees). The STTAR consisted of 64 factors, and its web-based version, the mini-STTAR, included 21 factors that were categorised into four groups (training structure, training behaviour, trainer attributes and role modelling) and structured around a training session timeline (beginning, middle and end). The STTAR (six trainers, 48 different assessments) demonstrated good internal consistency (α = 0.88) and inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.75). The mini-STTAR demonstrated good inter-item reliability (α = 0.79) and intra-observer reliability on comparison of 85 different trainer/trainee combinations (r = 0.701, p = <0.001). Both were found to be feasible and acceptable. The educational report for trainers was found to be useful (4.4 out of 5).Conclusions: An assessment tool that evaluates training quality was developed and shown to be reliable, acceptable and of educational value. It has been successfully implemented into the English National Training Programme for laparoscopic colorectal surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Law and ethics is an integral part of medical and dental professional practice. The subject is touched upon in the undergraduate curriculum. Historically, dentists interested in postgraduate study in this subject have accessed courses on medical law and ethics. While there are areas of shared interest (for example, consent, confidentiality) there are differences in emphasis and content (for example, end of life care, organ transplants, etc) which are not relevant to dentistry. A new postgraduate certificate (PgCert) course was approved by the University of Bedfordshire designed specifically for dental practitioners, making it the only university accredited course in the UK that is specific to dental staff. Students' perception of the subject of dental law and ethics at a postgraduate level was not known. The first PgCert student cohort was assessed at the start and the end of the course using two questionnaires. Sixteen students, all qualified dental practitioners working in the UK, took part. The perception toward the subject of dental law and ethics was in-line with the current guideline and regulations governing the dental profession. Perception of dental law was clearer at the end of the course compared to the beginning while dental ethics remained a challenging subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article will discuss Islamic philosophy of education to explain the role and aims of education for the Muslim Ummah (Community). It will then debate the needs of the UK Muslims with regard to the education of their children in the context of multi-locationality, and associated challenges of bringing up children while living between two different 'ways of life'. How their concerns shape their expectations from education in the UK and their educational choices, will be argued while drawing on relevant literature and research, followed by some suggestions to inform future policy regarding education of the UK Muslims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In the past, students in England and Wales born within the first 5 months of the academic year could leave school one term earlier than those born later in the year. Focusing on women, those who were required to stay on an extra term more frequently hold some academic qualification. Using having been required to stay on as an exogenous factor affecting academic attainment, we find that holding a low-level academic qualification has no effect on the probability of being currently married for women aged 25 or above, but increases the probability of the husband holding some academic qualification and being economically active. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of historical earthquakes itself has an interesting history, and Nick Ambraseys figures highly in it. This historiographic tribute relates the pivotal role that he played in the development of the British and Scandinavian Earthquake Archives. Maintaining his academic distance from direct hazard consulting, he nevertheless exerted a significant influence on the scientific conduct of hazard analyses. From the collection of instrumental and macroseismic data to the assignment of magnitudes, the modus operandi which he recommended was followed in pioneering seismic hazard studies in Britain, the North Sea and Norway, during the 1980s. Because of the confidentiality of seismic hazard reports produced for the UK nuclear industry, there is little record in the open seismological literature of the contribution of Nick Ambraseys. As a civil engineer, he had an exceptional interest in the earthquake evidence that could be gleaned from historical documents. An illustrative reference is given to the discovery of fresh evidence from an Aegean earthquake that shows how even the most knowledgeable of earthquake historians can be surprised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Britain's oldest birth cohort study, the MRC National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD) provides data to explore life time influences on ageing. The latest data collection was undertaken between 2006 and 2011 when study members were aged 60-64 and consisted of postal and pre-assessment questionnaires to eligible study members, followed by invitation to attend one of six clinical research facilities (CRFs) across the UK for clinical assessments, and dietary diaries and activity monitors in the days following the CRF visit. The option of a home visit for clinical assessments was provided if the study member refused or was unable to attend the CRF. We examined response and attrition, here describing rates overall and for postal and clinical assessment modes of data collection, identifying socioeconomic and health-related predictors of response, and assessing the continued representativeness of the sample. In total, 2,661 (84 % of the target sample) responded. Lower educational attainment, lower childhood cognition and lifelong smoking independently predicted lower likelihood of both overall response and CRF cooperation. At 53 years, not owning one's home and not being married predicted lower likelihood of overall response whereas manual social class and obesity predicted lower likelihood of CRF cooperation. Providing for collection of biomedical data in the home and use of assessment instruments and modes to retain study members with lower education attainment, lower cognition and poorer health behaviours should be priorities for helping reduce attrition amongst vulnerable ageing study members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze the relationship between parents' education and the time devoted to childcare activities, with a focus on activities aimed at increasing the child's human capital. We use the sample of opposite-sex couples with children under age 18, from Spain (2002) and the UK (2000), included in the Multinational Time Use Study. By estimating a seemingly unrelated regressions tobit model, we find that mothers' education is associated with an increase in the time devoted to educational childcare by fathers in both Spain and the UK, while it is associated with an increase in the time devoted to educational childcare by mothers in Spain. We also find that fathers' education has no effect on the time devoted to educational childcare time by either parent. It seems that what really matters in determining the time devoted to educational childcare at the couple level is the educational level of the mother. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study reported here was to investigate the effectiveness of a conceptual design unit as part of the Design and Technology curriculum for 14 years old pupils in England. One research question drove this study: What sort of designing do pupils do when they design without having to make what they have designed? Data consisted of the design ideas of a whole class developed during 6 lessons towards the end of an 18 lesson teaching sequence. Findings, which are in line with those of the pilot study, indicate that the pupils' designing was highly iterative, creative, involved making a wide range of design decisions and revealed understanding of technological concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Medication errors are a potential major threat to patient's health, and allergic reactions occurring in patients with known allergies are an important preventable form of adverse drug event. The use of penicillin antibiotics in patients who are allergic to penicillin, in particular, is a major concern. Aim To survey staff attitudes and beliefs to incidents involving penicillin allergic patients who are prescribed and administered penicillin antibiotics. Setting A 650 bed teaching hospital in England. Method Using individual and (focus) group interview proceedings with a purposive sample of doctors, nurses and pharmacists, an electronic questionnaire was administered hospital wide to all clinical staff. No reminders were issued. Main outcome measures: Clinical staff's views on the causes of penicillin medication errors. Results The electronic survey was completed by 235 members of the clinical staff. Half the respondents definitely considered themselves knowledgeable about which antibiotics contain penicillin medicines, though approximately 90 % of respondents considered that misinformation or lack of knowledge on which antibiotics contain penicillin medicines was an issue for some or most colleagues. Various organisational issues such as the use of red wrist bands, the wearing of red tabards by the nurse during the medicines round, and a busy work environment were recurrently highlighted as systems factors that could be improved upon. Conclusion Our study elucidated concerns amongst clinical staff relating to the scenario of a penicillin allergic patient receiving a penicillin antibiotic. The resulting local learning and feedback about staff beliefs pertaining to this one specific type of error will be used to consider the nature and type of local action to be taken to help improve patient safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]