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The article is concerned with the research approaches and nature of methodologies and epistemologies used by practitioner-researchers in a range of occupational areas. The authors use the experiences of candidates on a generic Doctorate in Professional Studies who undertake a module on research and development for professional practice. They also bring their experience as tutors and programme leaders and the results from focus groups with their peers in other universities to this current and topical area of the higher education curriculum. Part of the module asks candidates to write an assignment in which they investigate the methodologies and epistemologies used as a practitioner-researcher. A close analysis of ten of these assignments reveals that the methodologies selected for practice-based projects may be as a result of the candidates' personal, professional and disciplinary backgrounds as well as a time imperative and desire for brevity that arises from an immediacy in the situation. The authors also conclude that a range of factors were important to the practitioner-researchers and that these have important epistemological implications. The social-science-oriented approaches introduced on the programme offer tried and tested ways to research, but more practice-based approaches to practitioner-research could be developed further. (Contains 2 figures.)

Describes the development of a tool, FACT (Formative Automated Computer Testing), to formatively assess information technology skills of college students in the United Kingdom. Topics include word processing competency; tests designed by tutors and delivered via a network; and results of an evaluation that showed students preferred automated testing as compared to traditional written tests. (Author/LRW)

With the push for evidence-informed policy and practice, schools and policy makers are now increasingly encouraged and supported to use and enagage with research evidence. This means that consumers of research will now need to be discerning in judging the quality of research evidence that will inform their decisions. This paper evaluates the quality of evidence behind some well-known education programmes using examples from previous reviews of over 5,000 studies on a range of topics. It shows that much of the evidence is weak, and fundamental flaws in research are not uncommon. This is a serious problem if teaching practices and important policy decisions are made based on such flawed evidence. Lives may be damaged and opportunities missed. The aim of this paper is to show how widespread this problem is and to suggest ways by which the quality of education research may be improved. For example, funders of research and research bodies need to insist on quality research and fund only those that meet the minimum quality criteria. Journal editors and reviewers need to be cognizant of fundamental flaws in research and reject such submissions. One way to do this is to encourage submission of the research design and research protocol prior to acceptance, so acceptance or rejection is based on the design and not on the outcomes. This helps prevent publication bias and biased reporting. Individual researchers can improve quality by making it their moral responsibility to be truthful and transparent.

This paper reports on what has happened since Elliott ("Dynamic Assessment in Educational Settings: Realising Potential," 2003) in those applications of dynamic assessment that he considered. There continues to be two broad applications, one, largely researcher led, and the other, largely practitioner led, although there are examples of researcher-practitioners. Since Elliott, arguably, it is now relatively easy both to reach consensus over constructs and assessment processes and also to mutually respect differences through clarity over professional and assessment purposes. There is a fuller account than Elliott provided of educational psychologists' practice in the UK, which partly serves to highlight the difference in purpose and imperative to research and evaluate outcomes that persists for researchers and practitioners. The paper concludes by arguing that the premise in Elliott's title of "realising potential" was always contestable.

In 1980 the first meeting of the UK-based Language Testing Forum was held in Lancaster. In 2010, 30 years later, the annual meeting celebrated that first meeting, basing the discussions, as in 1980, on three seminal papers: on the structure of language ability, on communicative language testing, and on testing Languages for Specific Purposes. Following the 1980 meeting, Charles Alderson and Arthur Hughes edited the three papers along with the proceedings of the conference as Issues in Language Testing 1981: ELT Documents: London: the British Council. I was asked to give the keynote address at the 2010 meeting, reflecting on the language testing situation in 1980.

This paper examines the uptake of Rasch measurement in language testing through a consideration of research published in language testing research journals in the period 1984 to 2009. Following the publication of the first papers on this topic, exploring the potential of the simple Rasch model for the analysis of dichotomous language test data, a debate ensued as to the assumptions of the theory, and the place of the model both within Item Response Theory (IRT) more generally and as appropriate for the analysis of language test data in particular. It seemed for some time that the reservations expressed about the use of the Rasch model might prevail. Gradually, however, the relevance of the analyses made possible by multi-faceted Rasch measurement to address validity issues within performance-based communicative language assessments overcame language testing researchers' initial resistance. The paper outlines three periods in the uptake of Rasch measurement in the field, and discusses the research which characterized each period. (Contains 4 tables and 12 notes.)

Cambridge Assessment has more than 20 years experience in assessing Critical Thinking (CT) in a number of diverse tests and qualifications, unrivalled by any other body within the UK. In recent years, a number of research activities have been carried out in order to support these assessments, with a focus on the validity of measurement. This paper will describe the programme of work, related to four areas of research: (1) to derive a definition, taxonomy and glossary of CT and the importance of such work not just for test design but also for syllabus design and question setting; (2) to survey the practical issues surrounding teaching CT in schools, the experiences and perceptions of teachers; (3) to examine the impact of taking A/AS levels in CT on students' performance in their other A-level subjects; and (4) to examine the predictive validity of HE admissions tests containing CT on subsequent university exams and degree performance. Finally, the paper will discuss how these research activities contribute to the validity of CT tests and qualifications. (Contains 4 figures and 4 tables.)

This paper focuses on formative assessment in the field of higher education. It examines Bernstein's work on vertical discourses and knowledge structures with the view to deepening understanding of the concept of assessment "for" learning. The first part of the paper draws on Vygotsky's work on concept development and Bernstein's work on knowledge structures to explain why "generalisation" and "hierarchy" are central in knowledge acquisition. It then explores Bernstein's claim that, within the vertical discourse, different knowledge structures (hierarchical and horizontal) afford greater or lesser visibility of their epistemic structure, and thus of their evaluation criteria of what counts as a legitimate text. The second part of the paper investigates the ways epistemic expectations are signalled through the practice of evaluation to first-year university students in a professional education course and proposes that markers do not offer students stuffiest access to recognition rules necessary for producing legitimate texts in the future. Drawing on Maton's distinction between semantic gravity and semantic density, the paper offers an example of how markers could recast what is present in students' work to offer students access to key ordering principles in vertical discourses. (Contains 2 tables and 18 notes.)

The rank-ordering method for standard maintaining was designed for the purpose of mapping a known cut-score (e.g. a grade boundary mark) on one test to an equivalent point on the test score scale of another test, using holistic expert judgements about the quality of exemplars of examinees' work (scripts). It is a novel application of an old technique (Thurstone's paired comparison method for scaling psychological stimuli), and one that can be applied when the more familiar methods of statistical equating or item banking are not possible. How should a method like this be evaluated? If the correct mapping were known, then the outcome of a rank-ordering exercise could be compared against that. However, in the contexts for which the method was designed, there is no "right answer". This paper presents an evaluation of the rank-ordering method in terms of its rationale, its psychological validity and the stability of the outcome when various factors incidental to the method are varied (e.g. the number of judges, the number of scripts to be ranked, methods of data modelling and analysis). (Contains 5 figures, 6 tables and 7 notes.)

Constraints in resourcing and student dissatisfaction with assessment feedback mean that the effectiveness of our feedback practices has never been so important. Drawing on findings from a three-year study focused on student engagement with feedback, this paper reveals the limited extent to which effectiveness can be accurately measured and challenges many of the assumptions and beliefs about effectiveness of feedback practices. Difficulties relating to multiple purposes of feedback, its temporal nature and the capabilities of evaluators reveal that measuring effectiveness is fraught with difficulty. The paper argues that the learner is in the best position to judge the effectiveness of feedback, but may not always recognise the benefits it provides. Therefore, the pedagogic literacy of students is key to evaluation of feedback and feedback processes.

This paper presents the findings from an evaluation research project undertaken by Henley Management College in 2006. This project followed an earlier research study that focused on identifying the leadership development needs for leaders of small and medium sized-enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, developed a leadership development model and made recommendations for a leadership development programme. The principle challenges facing the SME organisations overwhelmingly concerned leading change in their organisation. Their personal challenges concerned implementing change initiatives, communicating these and motivating the people in their organisation. In consideration of the challenges identified, one of the key recommendations was to pilot an action learning programme and evaluate the effectiveness of action learning to develop leadership skills in SME leaders. Henley Management College then conducted a research project to evaluate the pilot programme. This pilot consisted of three learning sets, run in three geographical areas in the UK and facilitated using three very different styles. Following the pilot programme, there were several wider reviews by academics, advisors and representatives of relevant government boards. This has since resulted in a significant programme of action learning for SME leadership development being implemented. This paper provides an overview of the relevant literature and research methodology and then presents the evaluation results from the pilot programme. The dominant theme was that action learning does indeed deliver significant business benefits and provides a real opportunity for SME leaders to develop their leadership skills. (Contains 6 tables and 3 figures.)

This paper explores why the learning posited as an intrinsic dimension of evaluation practice and use has been difficult to achieve, and how it might be more effectively realized. In recent decades language programme evaluation has evolved from focused studies of teaching methods inspired by language learning theories to a curriculum management enterprise with a focus on quality assurance and enhancement. There has been a parallel development from evaluation as a research-type study, where the findings are disseminated through publications, to evaluation as a dialogue within programmes for ongoing improvement of learning opportunities. These changes raise issues about learning from evaluation. Who should learn from programme evaluation? What should they learn? And how? The argument in this paper is for a synthesis of these conceptions of programme evaluation, so that the research-type knowledge-building enterprise and the ongoing quality management processes are mutually informing, and programme evaluation becomes a socially-situated cycle of enquiry, dialogue, and action. To facilitate the integration of research and management perspectives, three aspects of programme development are explored: innovation, teachers at work, and the quality of the learning experience of students. These are aspects of programmes which have not always had attention in evaluation theory and practice, but are central to understanding how language programmes work and develop. The significance of these issues is explored in episodes from the evaluation of materials used in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programme. (Contains 4 tables.)

There is an emergent field of effective leadership of schools that is the product of recent policy strategies regarding the relationship between the state, public policy and knowledge. It is argued in this paper that this is producing a centralised branded form of effective leadership for the commissioning and delivery of provision that is essential to the further extension of the market into public education. Consequently, the future of leadership research is related directly to a technical form of knowledge production that produces evidence to support ongoing reform. While the situation looks gloomy the authors examine strategies for those who believe in educational leadership research to use to both challenge and to generate alternatives. They argue for doing intellectual work and being a public intellectual so that what "counts" as leadership and good practice research is challenged and questioned in ways that both counter and provide alternatives to deeply entrenched conservative interests regarding public services.

This paper reviews the intentions and strategies adopted by the UK's Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) in its attempts to maximise the impact of its research portfolio. The Programme's early commitment to user engagement and to an 'interactive, iterative, constructive, distributed and transformative' impact strategy is described. The specific outputs and initiatives of the Programme are considered in relation to three issues - the transformation of findings beyond abstract academic forms; the authentic engagement of users; and the exploitation of ideas which are culturally and politically current. From TLRP experience, it is argued that such work requires significant resources, technology, imagination, expertise and time. The paper concludes with a call for substantial, long-term investment in an appropriate infrastructure to maximise the impact of research in education. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

This paper describes the process of designing and administering a sufficiently valid and reliable assessment instrument to measure the progress in attainment of adult learners studying numeracy, and discusses some of the inherent difficulties that were involved. The fieldwork took place during 2003-2005 and involved a sample of 34 teachers and 412 learners aged post-16. The paper details how the lack of a range of suitable instruments, the heterogeneous nature of adult numeracy teaching, the remit and requirements of the research project and other practical factors, made it difficult to produce an instrument capable of measuring learners' progress accurately, and hence to produce robust and reliable conclusions, generalisable across the whole sector. Having said this, and despite all the problems faced, the researchers still believe that the test has a "sufficient" degree of validity for the purposes of the study. The paper ends with some recommendations that may benefit other researchers when it comes to designing future numeracy assessments. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

In 2002 the UK Government produced a report highlighting the problems faced by women returning to employment in science, engineering and technology (SET) after a career break. In response to this report, a national strategy was developed, with funding from the UK's Department of Trade and Industry and the European Social Fund "Equal" Programme, to address the issues highlighted by the report. One of the key parts of the strategy was the creation of a short (100 hours), online course by the Open University (UK) aimed at supporting and empowering women who were returning to employment in SET after a break. An ePortfolio forms an integral part of the course experience. This paper reports the experiences of the first group of 100 women who participated in this course. A range of data sources have been used to analyse the responses of participants to the course including questionnaires, emailed "critical incident" narratives, discussion board postings and telephone interviews. This paper draws on that evaluation research to discuss the perceptions that women scientists, engineers and technologists had about the usefulness of personal/professional development planning (PDP) and an ePortfolio in helping them re-enter employment, and their intentions to use it in future. Some of these findings can be generalised to other groups (either employed or not) who might benefit from a similar approach, i.e. developing an ePortfolio through a set of structured and guided e-learning activities. (Contains 1 note and 2 figures.)

Determining the potential of educational information and communications technology for enhancing teaching and learning is the subject of a great deal of research activity. This paper argues that the technologies employed to enhance learning can also be exploited for the enhancement of research. Recorded learner-system interactions, dynamically captured computer screen activity and visual attention tracking all provide sources of rich process data that can be triangulated with tradition learning outcome (product) data. Such multiple data source approaches can be used in various research design and methodological contexts--design experiments, microgenetic experiments, case studies and so on. Process-analytic methods can reveal the fine details of an individual's learning trajectory and permit the effects of short-timescale interventions upon longer term learning outcomes to be assessed. In this paper, three illustrations of technology-enhanced research (TER) are described. The first example ("switchER") illustrates an iterative learner-centered design cycle. The second example (Hyperproof) illustrates how process data can elucidate individual differences in learning. The third example (PATSy, VL-PATSy) demonstrates how an established online e-learning system can be used as a tool for identifying students' clinical reasoning difficulties and how it can then be extended by having additional learning support resources added to it together with a context-sensitive, rule-based delivery system. The paper concludes with a discussion of broader TER issues such as the need to anticipate and plan for the analysis of large amounts of rich data. It concludes by suggesting some further ways in which TER might be exploited and provides links to some potentially useful TER tools and resources. (Contains 8 figures and 18 notes.)

Purpose: The relevance of business education is coming under increasing challenge from many quarters, who argue that business schools are not delivering research and programmes that are relevant to the needs of business and society. The purpose of this paper is to test these claims by evaluating the impact of a leadership development programme on middle managers within a city council organisation. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative methodology was employed within an evaluative research approach. Interviews were held with 32 line managers of the Leading Managers (delegates on the programme). A thematic analysis was undertaken using categories of "knowledge", "skills" and "attributes". Key stories were also collected as "vignettes" to illuminate where the line manager had considered the impact of the programme to have been particularly significant to their department or to the organisation as a whole. Findings: The research was able to identify how the programme had benefited those managers who had taken part on the programme, and how the programme had positively impacted on the organisation as a whole. Research limitations/implications: The paper counters the claims that business schools and business education have little impact at organisational level. The paper provides evidence to support the value and relevance of training and development within the workplace. Originality/value: There is little hard evidence available highlighting the impact of management education on organisations. This paper provides such evidence. (Contains 3 tables.)

This paper considers some of the methodological implications of undertaking and representing multimedia and digital, ethnographic work. It explores some of the challenges and opportunities of working with and across a range of media, and explores some of the consequences of bringing hypermedia applications to ethnographic work. The paper draws on a project that sought to explore the learning opportunities and experiences of an interactive science discovery centre, and that utilised a multimedia, ethnographic approach. The paper locates this methodological approach alongside recent and ongoing developments within qualitative research, and aims to situate educational research within the context of these developments. The paper particularly addresses issues of integrating different forms of qualitative data, ethnographic "design", the ethics of research practice, communication and capacity building. (Contains 1 figure.)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the process and lessons learned from an evaluation of "Teen Talk", a health drop in service at Kidbrooke, a state secondary school in Greenwich. Design/methodology/approach: A multi-pronged approach was adopted for the evaluation. This included a questionnaire survey of a sample of 180 pupils within the school; in-depth discussions with 12 young people who had used the service; interviews with health and education professionals and parents; desk research including an analysis of costs and discussions with senior staff in other schools in Greenwich to determine the feasibility of replicating the "Teen Talk" model elsewhere in the borough. Findings: "Teen Talk" is greatly valued by pupils and staff at the Kidbrooke and was seen to provide a unique service. The overall perception is that it provides good value for money. However, the evaluation identified important lessons in setting up and managing the project which can help refine the service and which have relevance for local and national contexts. Research limitations/implications: This paper illustrates the advantages of embedding evaluation research in health service design and implementation, particularly when there is the potential of replicating service delivery models in other school settings. Originality/value: Creating safe and confidential spaces for young people to access help and advice on a range of health issues is by now well recognized as good practice. School-based health facilities are a relatively new approach to young people's health promotion. Although the benefits of this type of provision are largely undisputed, to date, few such services have been evaluated. (Contains 6 tables.)

Twenty nine European ministers have signed the Bologna declaration in June 1999 and committed their governments and their countries to create the European Higher Education Area by 2010. The European Commission is actively supporting the Bologna Process and has set out their own Action plan "From Prague to Berlin--the European contribution." In Europe interest in accreditation is a direct consequence of the increased interest in accountability of those people who are employed in the public sector. Globalization and the increased internationalization of the higher education market has led to attempts to compare the systems in place in different countries. For many European universities, however, accreditation is mainly seen as an opportunity to strengthen their image by demonstrating their quality. Therefore, it is also an opportunity to improve their market position internationally. The idea for this paper came from the authors' recent experiences of accreditation and quality assurance. Both their Departments have recently been through extensive external assessments so they have both experienced the process from the perspective of the assessed and one of them was one of the assessors of the Department in Tallinn Pedagogical University. Aware of the burgeoning interest in compatibility between the higher education systems within Europe, these experiences led them to attempt a comparison of the processes used in the two countries (Estonia and United Kingdom) and to seek to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the two approaches. For the purposes of this paper they take quality assurance to include any processes which are adopted to ensure and to continuously improve the quality of the educational provision which is offered. Therefore accreditation/validation is seen as a part of the quality assurance process which can also include mechanisms internal to a university. In order to share with the readers their views of the strengths and weaknesses of the differing approaches adopted by their countries it is necessary for them to outline the processes which are in use in each country. Having done that firstly for the United Kingdom and secondly for Estonia, the authors have then set out the strengths and weaknesses which the two approaches have in common and the specific strengths and weaknesses of the approaches adopted by their countries. (Contains 1 footnote.)

There has been a substantially increased interest in biomedical research impact assessment over the past 5 years. This can be studied by a number of methods, but its influence on clinical guidelines must rank as one of the most important. In cancer, there are 43 UK guidelines (and associated Health Technology Assessments) published (up to October 2006) across three series, each of which has an evidence base in the form of references, many of which are papers in peer-reviewed journals. These have all been identified and analysed to determine their geographical provenance and type of research, in comparison with overall oncology research published in the peak years of guideline references (1999-2001). The UK papers were cited nearly three times as frequently as would have been expected from their presence in world oncology research (6.5%). Within the United Kingdom, Edinburgh and Glasgow stood out for their unexpectedly high contributions to the guidelines' scientific base. The cited papers from the United Kingdom acknowledged much more explicit funding from all sectors than did the UK cancer research papers at the same research level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by Whitehead and McNiff's "living theory" approach and the "Thinking Schools International" programme, this paper focuses on issues surrounding self-evaluation practices in schools and research aimed at school improvement, with specific consideration given to grounded theory and action research. Specifically, the inclusion of the "self" in a process of practitioner research that seeks to grow schools from the "inside out" is suggested. As a result of a proposed synergy between grounded theory principles and action research, a new model of practitioner research is offered in order to advance existing notions of "grounded action", "grounded action research" and "grounded practice". An illustration of how the model has been applied for the purposes of both practitioner research and self-evaluation is outlined in a bid to redefine current perceptions of the self-evaluation process. In conclusion, a move towards research-based evaluation is proposed as a vehicle for widening teacher involvement in educational research and in doing so promotes the "Stenhousian" view of research as the basis for teaching.

Looking back to the language testing world of the 1980s in the United Kingdom, we need to be aware that how we perceive or remember ourselves to have been then--whether as individual language testing academics or as corporate language testing organisations--will be shaped by multiple influences. Although we may have been present at and shared in the 1980 discussions, our recollections of how things were then and our views on how they have (or have not) changed will vary. What follows in this article offers a predominantly personal perspective. It is the view as I perceive it, in light of my own journey as a UK-based language teacher and tester over the past 30 years, seen from where I stand now as a consultant to a large international examining board in the United Kingdom. It is also therefore an institutional perspective, drawing on a long association with one particular language testing organisation. Just as my perspective is from the position of only one language testing institution, I am also only one individual from within that institution. There will undoubtedly be other stances, voices, and perspectives that are equally valid and relevant from within the same institution.

Evidence from recent research suggests that in the UK the public perception of errors in national examinations is that they are simply mistakes; events that are preventable. This perception predominates over the more sophisticated technical view that errors arise from many sources and create an inevitable variability in assessment outcomes. The public perception also seems to invest assessment grades and marks with the precision and accuracy of scientific measurements; a perception that does not sit easily with the academic and professional understanding that grades and marks are assigned rather than measured. However, growing numbers of successful challenges by students to their examination results present an interesting challenge for examination bodies. Such evidence could point to a number of possible causes. For example, there might be an increasing awareness among students of the uncertainty surrounding the grades assigned to their work; or their confidence in the capacity of such assessments to reflect the true quality of their performance may be decreasing. As the numbers of challenges increase year on year, there is growing consensus among assessment experts that public confidence needs to be strengthened. Clearly this may be achieved in a number of ways, e.g. by reducing the incidence of human errors and system breakdowns or by improving the public understanding of the assessment process. The latter tactic prompts calls for greater openness and transparency in all aspects of assessment design and process. However, such calls rarely touch on one of the most enduring dimensions of the problem: the public's perception of precision and accuracy in educational assessments. This paper argues that this problem partly arises from a misuse of the term "measurement" in educational assessment and that in addition to openness and transparency, any public understanding strategy should seek to reduce the misconceptions it causes. (Contains 3 tables and 3 notes.)

Extant between 2004 and 2011, Aimhigher was the UK government's flagship national initiative for widening participation to higher education for young people from disadvantaged social groups, with costs approaching 1 billion British Pounds. Its demise was predicated on a perceived lack of progress and the absence of compelling evaluative research. This paper argues that this "lack of progress" was at least partly due to a confusion in the implementation of the policy aim leading, inter alia, to the late adoption of a poor outcome measure that underestimated improvements in participation from the target groups and focused on the wrong stage of entry to higher education. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

Implementation refers to the process by which an intervention is put into practice. Research studies across multiple disciplines, including education, have consistently demonstrated that interventions are rarely implemented as designed and, crucially, that variability in implementation is related to variability in the achievement of expected outcomes. Put simply, "implementation matters" (Durlak & DuPre, 2008). This paper reviews several key issues in the study of implementation and calls for an increasing emphasis on this often neglected aspect of evaluation research in UK journals. These issues include programme-specific reasons for studying implementation as an intervention passes through the various stages of development, advancing knowledge and understanding about the processes of implementation (including the balance required between fidelity and adaptation, and the range of factors that may facilitate or impede implementation), and improving measurement and assessment of implementation. Through discussion of these issues the case is made for more research that focuses specifically on the examination of implementation in school settings.

This paper addresses a key methodological challenge in the modeling of individual poverty dynamics--the influence of measurement error. Taking the US and Britain as case studies and building on recent research that uses latent Markov models to reduce bias, we examine how measurement error can affect a range of important poverty estimates. Our data are taken from the British Household Panel Survey and the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics, for working-aged adults over the period 1993-2003. For both national samples we ask how common vulnerability to poverty was over the period in question, what the entry and exit probabilities were for the group likely to transition into or out of poverty, and how effective redistributive programs were at protecting those most at risk. Crucially, in answering these questions we estimate and remove the effects of error in the measurement of poverty status. Throughout, we compare our results with estimates that do not take this error into account, and assess the implications for understanding poverty dynamics both within and between the two countries. Our modeling strategy extends previous research in several respects, enabling us to make stronger statements about measurement error and individual poverty dynamics. We find that correcting for error affects conclusions in important ways: Poverty is less temporary and risks are less widely dispersed than otherwise assumed, while cross-national differences are more pronounced.

This paper explores the implications of the effective integration of research, teaching and learning for academic development through the lens of an international multi-institutional comparison of student perceptions of research and its impact on their learning environment. The study, with a sample of over 500 final-year undergraduate students across three institutions in the UK and Canada, represents a spectrum of research and teaching intensive universities and is one of the largest exploring undergraduate student perceptions of research in the linking teaching and research literature. The results indicate a complex relationship between student perceptions and experiences of research and the type of institution, as well as the individual, institutional and national context. They also inform the discussion of particular issues that academic developers face and the strategies they use to improve the integration of research and teaching to benefit the undergraduate learning experience in their institution. (Contains 6 tables.)

A new judgemental method of equating raw scores on two tests, based on rank-ordering scripts from both tests, has been developed by Bramley. The rank-ordering method has potential application as a judgemental standard-maintaining mechanism, because given a mark on one test (e.g. the A grade boundary mark), the equivalent mark (i.e. at the same judgemental standard) on the other test can be determined. If the two tests come from different years then the standard from the earlier year can be applied to the later year. The current standard maintaining method used by Awarding Bodies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, is the "awarding meeting". Here expert judgement takes place within the context of a variety of statistical information, including score distributions and hence likely pass rates. The rank-ordering method, in contrast, involves harnessing expert judgement independently of any statistical information. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which the outcome of an awarding meeting could be cross-validated using a rank-ordering exercise. Furthermore, the study aimed to discover whether rank-ordering produces similar results when the activity is conducted by post compared with a face-to-face meeting. The results showed that the outcomes of the postal exercise were closely replicated by the meeting exercise, indicating that the method is a reliable technique for capturing expert judgement. In terms of cross-validation of the rank-order outcomes with awarding data, there was some concurrence and some disparity at key grade boundaries. However, because the awarding meeting uses more information and different procedures from a rank-ordering exercise, the outcomes should not be expected to be the same. The potential advantages and disadvantages of replacing the "top-down, bottom-up" judgemental part of an awarding meeting with a rank-ordering exercise are discussed. (Contains 4 figures, 11 tables and 12 notes.)

Self-assessment is a crucial component of learning. Learners can learn by asking themselves questions and attempting to answer them. However, creating effective questions is time-consuming because it may require considerable resources and the skill of critical thinking. Questions need careful construction to accurately represent the intended learning outcome and the subject matter involved. There are very few systems currently available which generate questions automatically, and these are confined to specific domains. This paper presents a system for automatically generating questions from a competency framework, based on a sound pedagogical and technological approach. This makes it possible to guide learners in developing questions for themselves, and to provide authoring templates which speed the creation of new questions for self-assessment. This novel design and implementation involves an ontological database that represents the intended learning outcome to be assessed across a number of dimensions, including level of cognitive ability and subject matter. The system generates a list of all the questions that are possible from a given learning outcome, which may then be used to test for understanding, and so could determine the degree to which learners actually acquire the desired knowledge. The way in which the system has been designed and evaluated is discussed, along with its educational benefits. (Contains 4 figures and 9 tables.) {Research partially funded by the Royal Thai Government.]

Fieldwork is central to teaching and learning in geography. The assessment of student learning from fieldwork can, however, be problematic. This paper evaluates the use of reflective diaries for assessing level three undergraduate geography fieldwork. It is concluded that reflective fieldwork diaries offer an innovative and flexible approach to teaching, learning and assessment that encourages deep learning. The method enhances students' critical self-reflection and communication skills. The authors' findings highlight that clear assessment guidelines and assessment criteria are essential, and students need to fully understand the process of learning through reflection. (Contains 1 figure and 5 tables.)

This article is a reply to Gewirtz and Cribb's argument for ethical reflexivity, presented in a previous issue of this journal. These authors compared their views with mine, suggesting a way in which the differences between our positions could be overcome. I argue that, while there is certainly substantial agreement, there are also some fundamental differences between us, notably about the goal of research. Indeed, in my view, what they recommend involves a greatly increased danger of bias and a version of scientism. At issue here is, in large part, the "kind" of ethical reflexivity that is appropriate in sociological work. (Contains 8 notes.)

There are some important ambiguities in discussions about the implications of "evidence-based practice", both for educational research and for the work of teachers. In this paper we explore several of these through examining the Evidence-based Practice in Science Education (EPSE) study--part of the Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP), a major UK research initiative that is explicitly committed to improving the contribution of educational research to policymaking and practice. The field of science education is in some ways a critical case, given that the notion of evidence-based practice treats scientific research as a privileged source of evidence. We examine the assumptions built into the EPSE study, and how these relate to the classical medical model of evidence-based practice, and to some other approaches to educational research that are concerned with closing the gap with practice. (Contains 14 notes.)

Research and development on formative assessment has paid little attention to part-time adult basic education in informal community-based settings. A three-year project funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the National Research Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy, and the Quality Improvement Agency addresses that gap in vocational and adult basic education. It explored factors that help and hinder change to teachers' formative assessment practices, and the ways in which different "learning cultures" affect different approaches to formative assessment. The project used a problem-based approach to professional development that rejects simple, top-down "recipes" and guidance for "best practice". This paper evaluates critically the effects of the "learning culture" on whether teachers' formative assessment practices were in the "spirit" or "letter" of assessment for learning in adult literacy and numeracy classes, drawing on interview and observation data from six classes in two very different organisations. (Contains 2 tables.)

The evaluation of government-financed research has become increasingly important in the last few decades in terms of increasing the quality of, and payoff from, the research that is done, reducing the cost of doing it, and lending public credibility to the manner in which research is funded. But there are very large differences throughout the world in the extent to which systems used promote these results. This paper briefly presents the dimensional results of a study designed to comparatively evaluate the national-level research evaluation models in sixteen countries on five merit-defining dimensions. (Contains 6 figures.)

This theoretical paper examines current practice in work-based studies where recognition of prior unaccredited work is normally limited to around 50% of the total programme. The basis of this limiting concept is challenged and consideration is given to a number of factors that have contributed to it. Comparison is made with the current practice of awarding Ph.D.s by previously published work and a model is proposed to facilitate the creation of a postgraduate work-based award completely by previously completed practice in the workplace. A number of key points are examined in relation to evaluating the model and to illuminating assessment and measurement of the previous work for 100% recognition within a work-based programme.

This article argues that the engagement of teachers in collaborative discussions about assessment can provide a fruitful context for valuable professional learning. It is of interest to those who provide Continuous Professional Development (CPD) opportunities for teachers and teachers themselves. It looks particularly at the value of writing assessment moderation meetings, where teachers aim to use exemplars of pupil work to arrive at commonly held understandings about pupil achievement. Teachers' views of participating in the process of assessment moderation were sought. In the case study, two rounds of semi-structured interviews were conducted by the researcher with a project team of one staff tutor and six teachers. Data from these interviews were supplemented by field notes from the project team meetings and a one day writing assessment moderation meeting which was attended by teacher representatives from 10 schools. The results have implications for the organization of assessment moderation meetings within and between primary and secondary schools.

In qualification programmes based on action learning, there has hitherto been little articulation of what is particular to research dissertations undertaken in an action learning mode. This article addresses the questions of what such a dissertation entails and how it can be undertaken, supervised and examined. It discusses some of the foundations of action learning research and how accounts of practice may be integrated with reflection. It suggests that an action learning dissertation may be framed around Revans' Systems Alpha, Beta and Gamma as interlocking systems that address the investigation of the problem on which the dissertation is based, its resolution and the learning of the participant. A blueprint is presented that incorporates four elements: (i) the work and organisation and the participant's engagement with it, (ii) the action learning set and what the participant learned through it, (iii) the information and literature which have made a difference to the participant's thinking and (iv) the personal and professional learning of the participant. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

Performance assessment in the UK science General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) currently relies on pupil reports of their investigations. These are widely criticized. Written tests of procedural understanding could be used as an alternative, but what exactly do they measure? This paper describes small-scale research in which there was an analysis of assessments of pupils' GCSE scores of substantive ideas, their coursework performance assessment and a novel written evidence test. Results from these different assessments were compared with each other and with baseline data on CAT scores and pupils' attributes. Significant predictors of performance on each of these assessments were determined. The data reported shows that a choice could be made between practical coursework that links to "behaviour" and written evidence tests which link, albeit less strongly, with "quickness". There would be differential effects on pupils. (Contains 1 note, 10 tables and 6 figures.)

This paper presents the rationale, development, and psychometric status of a non-clinical self-report measure for the general population (GP) ? including students ? derived from the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) and hence termed the GP-CORE. In contrast to the CORE-OM, the GP-CORE does not comprise items denoting high-intensity of presenting problems or risk and thereby increases its acceptability in a non-clinical population. Uniquely, over half the items in the GP-CORE are positively keyed. Analyses showed the GP-CORE to have good reliability, to distinguish between clinical and non-clinical populations, and have convergent validity against the full version. Norms for student populations are presented. It is suggested that the GP-CORE has considerable utility as a means of tapping the psychological well being of students and can then interface with counselling and mental health services using the CORE-OM.

This paper analyzes a UK-based psychoeducational intervention for users of online child sexual exploitation material (CSEM). It is founded on 17 months of anthropological research in group programs with 81 participants and 15 staff. The article argues that group exercises help participants reframe knowledge about their offending, and ultimately reinforce the theoretical concept of discipline (Foucault) toward internal and external surveillance, normalization, and decreased risk. The paper first discusses factors participants believed contributed to offending. It then analyzes the program and participants' experiences, focusing on exercises about the mind (fantasy), Internet usage (disclosure and relationships), needs met by offending (Good Lives and true needs), and planning for the future (relapse prevention). Critical is that participants are encouraged to reengage offline lives and enact discipline on and to the online world. Thus, the article ends with an anthropologically-minded discussion about digital norms, online morality, and implications for Internet offender psychoeducational practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Over 90% of the 50,000 deaf children in the UK have hearing parents, many of whom were not expecting a deaf child and may require specialist support. Deaf children can experience poorer long-term outcomes than hearing children across a range of domains. After early detection by the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Programme, parents in the UK receive support from Qualified Teachers of the Deaf and audiologists but resources are tight and intervention support can vary by locality. There are challenges faced due to a lack of clarity around what specific parenting support interventions are most helpful.Methods: The aim of this research was to complete a systematic scoping review of the evidence to identify early support interventions for parents of deaf infants. From 5577 identified records, 54 met inclusion criteria. Two reviewers screened papers through three rounds before completing data extraction and quality assessment.Results: Identified parent support interventions included both group and individual sessions in various settings (including online). They were led by a range of professionals and targeted various outcomes. Internationally there were only five randomised controlled trials. Other designs included non-randomised comparison groups, pre / post and other designs e.g. longitudinal, qualitative and case studies. Quality assessment showed few high quality studies with most having some concerns over risk of bias.Conclusion: Interventions commonly focused on infant language and communication followed by parental knowledge and skills; parent wellbeing and empowerment; and parent/child relationship. There were no interventions that focused specifically on parent support to understand or nurture child socio-emotional development despite this being a well-established area of poor outcome for deaf children. There were few UK studies and research generally was not of high quality. Many studies were not recent and so not in the context of recent healthcare advances. Further research in this area is urgently needed to help develop evidence based early interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]