Showing papers in "British Journal of Educational Studies in 2008"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the effectiveness as a professional development mechanism of the imposition of changes to policy and/or practice that require modification or renovation of professionalism, and the pitfalls associated with mechanisms for modifying professionalism through a reform and standards agenda.
Abstract: What purpose is served by renovation or redesign of professionalism, and how successful a process is it likely to be? This article addresses these questions by examining the effectiveness as a professional development mechanism of the imposition of changes to policy and/or practice that require modification or renovation of professionalism. The ‘new’ professionalisms purported to have been fashioned over the last two or three decades across the spectrum of UK education sectors and contexts have been the subject of extensive analysis, and this article avoids going over old ground and revisiting issues that have already been much debated. Nevertheless, the example of UK government education policy during this period is used as a basis for considering the pitfalls associated with mechanisms for modifying professionalism through a reform and standards agenda. The article's analysis incorporates re-definition and examination of the concept and substance of professionalism and offers new perspectives ...
420 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a discussion about learning with considerations of intersubjectivity, personal epistemologies, pedagogy and curriculum as experience is elaborated through a discussion of learning with consideration of personal epistemic, subjectivity and agency.
Abstract: Individuals actively and continually construct the knowledge required for their working lives. Two outcomes arise from this constructive process: (i) individual change (i.e. learning) and (ii) the remaking of culturally-derived practices comprising work. These arise through a relational interdependence between the contributions and agency of the personal and the social. The relationship is interdependent because neither the social nor personal contributions alone are sufficient. The social experience is important for articulating and providing access to work performance requirements. However, personal factors such as individuals’ capacities, subjectivities and agency shape how workers interpret and engage with what they experience and, consequently, how they learn and remake practice throughout their working life. This case is elaborated through a discussion about learning with considerations of intersubjectivity, personal epistemologies, pedagogy and curriculum as experience.
214 citations
TL;DR: In this article, apprenticeship is considered as a model of education that both teaches technical skills and provides the grounding for personal formation, based on anthropological fieldwork with minaret builders in Yemen, mud masons in Mali and fine woodwork trainees in London.
Abstract: The paper considers apprenticeship as a model of education that both teaches technical skills and provides the grounding for personal formation. The research presented is based on long-term anthropological fieldwork with minaret builders in Yemen, mud masons in Mali and fine-woodwork trainees in London. These case studies of on-site learning and practice support an expanded notion of knowledge that exceeds propositional thinking and language and centrally includes the body and skilled performance. Crafts – like sport, dance and other skilled physical activities – are largely communicated, understood and negotiated between practitioners without words, and learning is achieved through observation, mimesis and repeated exercise. The need for an interdisciplinary study of communication and understanding from the body is therefore underlined, and the paper suggests a way forward drawing on linguistic theory and recent neurological findings. It is argued that the validation and promotion of skilled p...
178 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider the use of secondary data analysis in educational research and explore a possible role for the secondary analysis of numeric data in the new political arithmetic tradition of social research.
Abstract: This paper considers the use of secondary data analysis in educational research. It addresses some of the promises and potential pitfalls that influence its use and explores a possible role for the secondary analysis of numeric data in the ‘new’ political arithmetic tradition of social research. Secondary data analysis is a relatively under-used technique in Education and in the social sciences more widely, and it is an approach that is not without its critics. Here we consider two main objections to the use of secondary data: that it is full of errors and that because of the socially constructed nature of social data, simply reducing it to a numeric form cannot fully encapsulate its complexity. However, secondary data also offers numerous methodological, theoretical and pedagogical benefits. Indeed by treating secondary data analysis with appropriate scepticism and respect for its limitations, by demanding that tacit assumptions about the unreliability of secondary data are applied equally to ...
141 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the impact of school inspections on school improvement and found that the number of insufficient scores received from inspectors, the extent of feedback and suggestions for improvement, and the agreement between an inspector and the school regarding improvement activities do not seem to contribute to school improvement after school inspections.
Abstract: The effects of school inspections on school improvement have been investigated only to a limited degree. The investigation reported on in this article is meant to expand our knowledge base regarding the impact of school inspections on school improvement. The theoretical framework for this research is partly based on the policy theory behind the Dutch Educational School Supervision Act (the latter includes assumptions about how school inspections lead to school improvement). Interviews and a survey with school inspectors gave insight into how school inspectors implement the Supervision Act and how they assess schools, and stimulate schools to improve. The results of ten case studies showed that all schools started to improve after a school visit. The innovation capacity of the school and the school environment do not seem to contribute to school improvement after school inspections. No effects were found on school-improvement processes of the number of insufficient scores that schools received from inspectors, the extent of feedback and suggestions for improvement, and the number of agreements. The provision of feedback about weaknesses, the assessment of these weak points as unsatisfactory, and the agreements between an inspector and the school regarding improvement activities do appear to make a difference in promoting school improvement.
130 citations
TL;DR: The authors analyse a relatively coherent governmental project, spanning the decades of Conservative and New Labour government in England since 1979, that has sought to render teachers increasingly subservient to the state and agencies of the state.
Abstract: This paper draws on recent work by John Clarke and Janet Newman and their colleagues to analyse a relatively coherent governmental project, spanning the decades of Conservative and New Labour government in England since 1979, that has sought to render teachers increasingly subservient to the state and agencies of the state. Under New Labour this has involved discourse and policies aimed at transforming teaching into a ‘modernised profession’. It is suggested that this appropriation of both the concept and substance of professionalism involves an attempt to silence debate about competing conceptions of what it might be to be a professional or to act professionally. The overall process is thus arguably one of de-professionalisation in the guise of re-professionalisation.
126 citations
TL;DR: In this article, different indicators of school composition are used: academic, socio-cultural, language, and sex composition, and the results show that the school composition effect explains significant amount of between schools variance even after controlling for pupils' initial performance, socio cultural background, and non-cognitive dispositions.
Abstract: Even if the literature on the effects of pupil composition has been extensive, no clear consensus has been reached concerning the significance and magnitude of this effect. The first objective of this article is to estimate the magnitude of the school composition effect in primary schools (6th grade) in French-speaking Belgium. Different indicators of school composition are used: academic, socio-cultural, ‘language’ and sex composition. Except for sex composition, the results show that the school composition effect explains significant amount of between schools variance even after controlling for pupils’ initial performance, socio-cultural background, and non-cognitive dispositions. The second objective is to examine covariance between school composition and several organisational variables and their joint effect on school performance. The second set of analyses is intended to question the conceptual nature of the school composition effect, establishing whether it is direct or indirect.
96 citations
TL;DR: The marketisation of education in England began in the 1980s and was facilitated by national testing and New Public Management (New Public Management), which introduced a posteriori funding and competition among providers.
Abstract: The marketisation of education in England began in the 1980s. It was facilitated by national testing (which gave objective and comparable information to parents), and by the New Public Management (which introduced a posteriori funding and competition among providers). Now a new complementary phase of marketisation is being introduced: personalisation, whose intellectual provenance is in marketing theory. Conceptually, personalisation is imprecise; practically, at this stage, its intended effects within schools may amount to no more than a new legitimatory rhetoric which leaves pedagogy and the curriculum little changed.
64 citations
TL;DR: This article explored pupils' ideas about which facets of history were of interest to them, what history they believed should be taught in schools, and their views on the purposes of school history and history in general.
Abstract: The article presents the findings from a survey of over 400 young people in metropolitan areas in the Netherlands and England concerning their views on identity and school history. The research explored pupils’ ideas about which facets of history were of interest to them, what history they believed should be taught in schools, and their views on the purposes of school history and history in general. The coding of the data made it possible to delineate between those from different ethnic minority backgrounds, boys and girls, age and level of education and first or second generation of migration. The study revealed significant differences between young people's ideas about history and identity, and those advanced by politicians and policy makers in the Netherlands, England and elsewhere. The concluding section of the paper considers the implications of the findings for policy makers in the field of history education in schools.
63 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors draw on empirical data and theorising that focuses on the relationship between the state, public policy and knowledge in the construction and configuration of school leadership under New Labour from 1997.
Abstract: We draw on empirical data and theorising that focuses on the relationship between the state, public policy and knowledge in the construction and configuration of school leadership under New Labour from 1997. Specifically we show how a school leadership policy network comprises people in different locations who operate as policy entrepreneurs in shaping policy.
57 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the Globalisation and Pedagogy: Space, Place and Identity (Second Edition), by Richard Edwards and Robin Usher. London: Routledge. 2008.
Abstract: Globalisation and Pedagogy: Space, Place and Identity (Second Edition). By Richard Edwards and Robin Usher. London: Routledge. 2008. £80 (hbk), £22.99 (pbk). ISBN 978-0-415-42895-8 (hbk), 978-0-415-42896-5 (pbk).
TL;DR: In this paper, Debra Myhill, Susan Jones and Rosemary Hopper describe effective talk in the primary classroom, including listening, listening and learning. But they do not discuss the role of the teacher.
Abstract: Talking, Listening, Learning: effective talk in the primary classroom. By Debra Myhill, Susan Jones and Rosemary Hopper. Pp. 154. Maidenhead: Open University Press. 2006. £19.99 (pbk). ISBN 0-335-21744-3
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the needs of those most likely to be affected by the current proposal are subordinated to the need of an English economy that is increasingly based upon low-skill, low-pay work relations.
Abstract: This paper problematises the official discourse of economic competitiveness and social inclusion used by the 2007 Education and Skills Bill to justify the proposal to extend compulsory participation in education and training in England to the age of 18. Comparisons are drawn between this attempt to raise the age of compulsion and previous attempts, which took place in a significantly different socio-economic context. It is argued that the needs of those most likely to be affected by the current proposal – young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) – are subordinated to the needs of an English economy that is increasingly based upon low-skill, low-pay work relations.
TL;DR: A study of children's attitudes to school based on a questionnaire survey of 845 pupils in their first year of secondary school in England, together with interviews with a sample of the children as discussed by the authors showed that almost universal commitment to the value of education but, for a minority, an ambivalence about the experience and relevance of schooling for them.
Abstract: The paper reports a study of children's attitudes to school based on a questionnaire survey of 845 pupils in their first year of secondary school in England, together with interviews with a sample of the children. A clearly structured set of attitudes emerged from a factor analysis which showed a distinction between instrumental and affective aspects of attitudes but also dimensions within these, including a sense of teacher commitment and school as a difficult environment. Virtually all children had a strong sense of the importance of doing well at school. However, a substantial minority were not sure that they would stay on after 16. There were few differences between boys and girls or between children from different socio-economic backgrounds but children planning to leave at 16 enjoyed school less and were less sure that it had anything to offer them. There was an almost universal commitment to the value of education but, for a minority, an ambivalence about the experience and relevance of schooling for them.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse the power of nation states in international education policy, and argue that the nation states' power might be a chance for further participation of affected people.
Abstract: The increasing research on international organisations’ education policy lacks analyses of the relation between international organisations and nation states. This paper aims to analyse the power of nation states in international education policy. Focusing on the new degree system in higher education in Europe, partly from Foucault's governmentality perspective, the paper suggests that nation states retain power while operating in international settings. The study's conclusions argue that the nation states’ power might be a chance for further participation of affected people.
TL;DR: This paper evaluated the relevance of the Christian identity for these institutions in light of recent scholarship on the subject, drawing upon documentary and site-based research to evaluate the importance of the identity of these institutions.
Abstract: Although church-related universities in England gradually became more secular throughout the twentieth century, a group of nine teacher education colleges with church foundations have recently developed into full fledged universities. This article draws upon documentary and site-based research to evaluate the relevance of the Christian identity for these institutions in light of recent scholarship on the subject.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the experience of individual learners who have been allocated learning support in the further education system in England, focusing on interviewees' constructions of their emotional and psychic experiences.
Abstract: This article investigates the experience of individual learners who have been allocated learning support in the further education system in England. The particular focus is on interviewees’ constructions of their emotional and psychic experiences. Through the adoption of a psycho-social perspective, learners’ tendency to ‘idealise’ their learning support workers is understood as a strategy for coping with the anxiety generated by a range of previous experiences. The implications for policy-makers are discussed.
TL;DR: The body may be important in schooling, though not in education as mentioned in this paper, but it does not provide an alternative route to knowledge, if so of what, and the conclusion is drawn that none of these claims is sustainable in terms that make them of any great educational significance.
Abstract: There is a need to disentangle various distinct kinds of claim. The body may be important in schooling, though not in education. Movement, sport, fitness and health need to be distinguished. Does sport improve character? Does education imply knowledge about matters of health? Is learning to dance analogous to either learning to play cricket or learning to play a musical instrument? The most challenging questions concern whether the body provides an alternative route to knowledge, if so of what. For example, is ballet a unique form of language with its own intrinsic value, an alternative way of arriving at valued propositional knowledge, or does it provide access to a unique kind of knowledge? The conclusion is drawn that none of these claims is sustainable in terms that make them of any great educational significance.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the development and validation of a diagnostic test of German and its integration in a programme of formative assessment during a one-year initial teacher-training course.
Abstract: This article describes the development and validation of a diagnostic test of German and its integration in a programme of formative assessment during a one-year initial teacher-training course. The test focuses on linguistic aspects that cause difficulty for trainee teachers of German as a foreign language and assesses implicit and explicit grammatical knowledge as well as students’ confidence in this knowledge. Administration of the test to 57 German speakers in four groups (first-year undergraduates, fourth-year undergraduates, postgraduate trainees, and native speakers) provided evidence of its reliability and validity.
TL;DR: Teaching the Holocaust in school history as discussed by the authors is a popular topic in history courses and can be seen as a form of "teaching the history of the holocaust in school".
Abstract: Teaching the Holocaust in School History. By Lucy Russell. Pp. 154. London and New York: Continuum. 2006. £65 (hbk). ISBN 0-8264-9082-4 (hbk).
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors outline the policy context for teachers' learning and continuing professional development in Scotland and consider this in relation to the perspectives of key informants gained through interview, drawing on a triple-lens conceptual framework.
Abstract: This article outlines the policy context for teachers’ learning and continuing professional development in Scotland and considers this in relation to the perspectives of key informants gained through interview. The analysis draws on a triple-lens conceptual framework and points to some interesting contradictions between the policy text and the expressed aspirations of the interviewees. Current policy and the associated structural arrangements are viewed as broadly positive, but interviewees express concerns that an unintended emphasis on contractual arrangements might inhibit the more transformative elements of professional learning.
TL;DR: This article explored the rationale for primary science in England with a focus on how competing perspectives arising from perceptions of educational ideology and policy discourse have helped to shape current practice and found that teachers in primary schools face tensions between promoting both an educational and a political rationale for learning primary science.
Abstract: The paper explores the current rationale for primary science in England with a focus on how competing perspectives arising from perceptions of educational ideology and policy discourse have helped to shape current practice. The aim will be to provide a conceptual understanding of this by focusing specifically on how policy has influenced practice. In particular it will consider the way in which discourse and policy text have contributed to the emergent rationale for primary science which in many ways reflects conflicting influences, views and policies. Data were collected over a year from a regional survey and from four case-study primary schools. The findings suggest that teachers in primary schools face tensions between promoting both an educational and a political rationale for learning primary science. The paper will conclude by suggesting that the justification for primary science should be based on what we already know about how children learn science as well as helping them to develop an ...
TL;DR: In this article, the Imaginations of Coleridge and Wordsworth are used to develop children's imaginations and their capacity to be imaginative, and the issue is what does this mean? And what are its implications?
Abstract: No one sincerely doubts that schools should take seriously the need to develop children's imaginations and their capacity to be imaginative. The issue is what does this mean? And what are its implications? This paper, which is mostly inspired by the writings about the imagination of two British nineteenth-century Romantic poets – Coleridge and Wordsworth – provides some answers. Maybe that's what the problem is these days. We don't have time to imagine. (Tracey Emin, artist, Independent, 29 June 2007)
TL;DR: Blacker as discussed by the authors describes how complexity challenges a liberal ideal in the Democratic Education Stretched Thin: How Complexity Challenges a Liberal Ideal. New York: State University of New York Press. 2007. Pp. 249.
Abstract: Democratic Education Stretched Thin: How Complexity Challenges a Liberal Ideal. By David J. Blacker. Pp. 249. New York: State University of New York Press. 2007. $80.50 (hbk), $26.95 (pbk). ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6965-1 (hbk), 978-0-7914-6966-8 (pbk).
TL;DR: Engaging the Curriculum in Higher Education as mentioned in this paper is a survey of the state-of-the-art curriculum in higher education. Maidenhead: Open University Press and Society for Research into Higher Education 2005. Pp 190.
Abstract: Engaging the Curriculum in Higher Education. By Ronald Barnett and Kelly Coate. Pp. 190. Maidenhead: Open University Press and Society for Research into Higher Education. 2005. £23.99 (pbk), £65 (hbk). ISBN 0 335 21289 1 (pbk), 0 335 21290 5 (hbk).
TL;DR: Structure and Spontaneity: the Process Drama of Cecily O’Neill as mentioned in this paper, edited by Philip Taylor and Chris Warner, Trentham, UK. 2006. Pp 169.
Abstract: Structure and Spontaneity: the Process Drama of Cecily O’Neill. Edited by Philip Taylor and Chris Warner. Pp. 169. Stoke on Trent: Trentham. 2006. £18.99 (pbk). ISBN 1 858563224.
TL;DR: Evans as mentioned in this paper discusses educational failure and working class white children in Britain, focusing on the educational failure of white British children in the UK. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan 2006. Pp 205.
Abstract: Educational Failure and Working Class White Children in Britain. By Gillian Evans. Pp. 205. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 2006. £50.00 (hbk). ISSN 1-4039-9216-9.
TL;DR: Barnett and Di Napoli as mentioned in this paper discuss the changing identities in higher education and discuss the role of diversity in the process of identifying identities in the context of higher education, and present a survey.
Abstract: Changing Identities in Higher Education: Voicing Perspectives. Edited by Ronald Barnett and Robert Di Napoli. Pp. 226. London and New York: Routledge. 2008. £75.00 (hbk). ISBN 10:0-415-42605-7 (hbk).
TL;DR: Bekerman and McGlynn as discussed by the authors addressed ethnic conflict through peace education: International Perspectives. New York and Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan 2007. Pp. 263.
Abstract: Addressing Ethnic Conflict through Peace Education: International Perspectives. Edited by Zvi Bekerman and Claire McGlynn. Pp. 263. New York and Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 2007. $69.95 (hbk). ISBN 978-1-4039-7168-5 (pbk), 1-4039-7168-4 (hbk)
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an Anthology of the Philosophy of Education: An Anthology, edited by Randall Curren. Pp. xx + 582 + 682.
Abstract: Philosophy of Education: An Anthology. Edited by Randall Curren. Pp. xx + 582. Oxford: Blackwell. 2007. £19.99 (pbk), £65 (hbk). ISBN 9781405130233 (pbk), 9781405130226 (hbk).