Increasing the impact of a Master’s programme on teacher leadership and school development by means of boundary crossing

In this case study, we investigate how the development and impact of teacher leadership through a Master’s programme can be supported by a design that encourages boundary crossing activities between schools and universities. The case study focuses on 42 experienced teachers from three vocational colleges who were promoted to senior teacher positions and participated in a Master’s programme. Through individual and focus group interviews, data were collected on how boundary crossing activities can connect professional development and school development, and on favourable conditions for effective boundary crossing. The study shows that strategic alignment and shared ownership between university and school, a collective approach with multiple participants from one school, and the use of boundary objects, created the conditions through which the Master’s programme could serve as a catalyst, stimulating innovation of work practices and development of new leadership practices. The leadership of the senior teachers initiated a development process that shifted from formally mandated forms of leadership to more culturally embedded forms of leadership. This case study leads to a new understanding of design criteria for Master’s programmes and boundary objects that can support the process of developing teacher leadership within schools by facilitating boundary crossing between university and school.     

Beyond locality: the creation of public practice‐based knowledge through practitioner research in professional learning communities and communities of practice. A review of three books on practitioner research and professional communities

In both the fields of educational practice and educational research the professional development of teachers was, is and is promising to remain an urgent and relevant topic. Practitioner research performed by teachers in professional learning communities and communities of practice is promising to serve their professional development. In addition, practitioner research and participation in these learning and working communities aim at explicating the locally existing tacit professional knowledge. Since practitioner research is also defined as a means to the aim of creating knowledge that is more relevant to the practice of education than the knowledge created by research institutes, we are concerned with the question of which mechanisms can be identified as enabling the production of public practice‐based knowledge. Therefore we review three current books on practitioner research and professional communities.     

Comparing age-wise reference intervals for serum creatinine concentration in a “Reality check” of the recommended cut-off

An increase in the communication within the healthcare services, both nationally and internationally, has strengthened the need for harmonization of measurements and reference intervals in laboratory medicine. In the present report, the calculated reference interval for serum creatinine (sCr) levels of healthy normal individuals (n=1121) in different sex and age groups are compared with the established interval. The calculated reference interval for sCr level was 0.4–1.3 mg/dL and 0.6 to 1.3 mg/dL in the age groups of 21–40 and 41–60 years respectively. The difference between the mean sCr values in total males and total females (age range 21–60 years) was statistically significant (p<0.0001); When male and female subjects were analyzed age-group wise, the data showed a significant difference in mean sCr values (p<0.0001) in three age groups (21–30, 31–40 and 41–50 years) however, in older age group (51–60 years), the difference was non-significant (p=0.07). The reference ranges were 0.7–1.3 and 0.4–1.0 mg/dL for males and females respectively where the lower limit was 0.1–0.2 units less than that of standard limits. An increase in the mean value of sCr was observed particularly in females with an increase in age. Hence it is of interest to validate an age specific reference ranges for sCr in our population.     

The CREDIT project: Towards a generic framework for assessment and accreditation—a prototype for childcare

Many individuals throughout Europe acquire knowledge and skills in an informal manner for which they find no official recognition. Procedures for assessment and accreditation are meant to help individuals in finding recognition of previously gained competencies. The CREDIT (Capabilities, Registration, Evaluation, Diagnosis and advice through Internet Technology) project develops a computer system that supports the assessment and accreditation process and provides advice on further training possibilities tailored to the level of knowledge and skills of individuals.