Peer-led focus groups as ‘dialogic spaces’ for exploring young people’s evolving values

ABSTRACT

Although peer-led focus groups are widely used in research with children and young people, surprisingly little has been written that evaluates their methodological appropriateness. Drawing on data from 10 peer-led focus group sessions across 5 international schools, this article demonstrates how focus group discussions around moral and social values, which become more meaningful though the self-reflection provoked in encounters with different experiences and perspectives, can be advantageous for research. Peer-moderators, as both participants and facilitators, run focus groups that open dialogic spaces for exploratory talk that avoids the self-censure and deference that can emerge in the presence of an adult moderator. This is particularly important when participants are structurally disadvantaged and lack similar spaces for collaborative inquiry into their shared experiences. Video capture allows researchers in-depth access to these focus groups after the event, revealing evidentially and pedagogically rich dialogues.     

MAXIMIZING COMPUTER USE AMONG THE ELDERLY IN RURAL SENIOR CENTERS

Two prominent trends are simultaneously occurring in our society today: the aging of our population and an increased reliance on computers. Through a federal grant, Iowa Legal Aid provides computers in 85 rural senior citizen centers across Iowa to foster increased knowledge about program services for the elderly and to enhance their social connectedness with others through e-mail. To understand the attitudes of rural elderly toward computers, focus groups were held with two groups in the community senior centers. The results identified strategies that are necessary if seniors are to maximize the use of computers available to them. This article has three purposes: (1) to review the literature regarding computer usage among the elderly; (2) to describe the findings of focus groups held with elderly; and (3) to identify strategies to enhance computer use in senior citizen centers and maximize the connectivity of elders in their communities.     

Using Focus Groups to Supplement the Assessment of Technical Communication Texts, Programs, and Courses

In this article, we recommend a research methodology, focus groups, that we have found useful in supplementing other, more commonly used measures of qualitative and quantitative assessment. We explain why focus groups are particularly well suited for assessment, how we have used them in our research to examine teacher and practitioner perspectives of effective technical writing, and how others might use them for evaluating texts, programs, or courses.     

The validity and reliability of focus groups as a research method in adult education

The article examines the theory and practice of focus groups in adult education research. Three theoretical positions are described: radical hermeneutic, moderate interpretative and pragmatic realistic position trying to bridge the gap with positivist research. This last position has been chosen as the departure point for a further analysis of the focus group elements, which relate to validity and reliability. The research examines four European research projects in the field of adult education. The most important and surprising data are presented with reference to both socio-psychological and technical problems in the use of this method. The results highlight the importance and dynamics of all the elements discussed.     

论晚唐的牛李党争

牛李党争是晚唐历史上的重大事件,对当时社会生活的各个方面都有重大影响。传统认为,党争的焦点是对进士科的态度,牛党重进士科,李党重门第,李党是反动的,牛党是进步的,因此,关于两党的评价是偏牛非李。笔者认为,传统观点有失偏颇,本文就牛李党争的焦点,两党的社会基础以及评价作一探讨。     

‘Troublesome boys’ and ‘compliant girls’: gender identity and perceptions of achievement and underachievement

Working within a methodological framework that identified four focus groups, high‐achieving boys and girls and underachieving boys and girls, this article presents teachers' perceptions of how gender identity is seen to influence achievement levels. Beliefs about gender identity informed the teachers' perceptions in relation to each of the four focus groups, whereby the underachieving boy and the high‐achieving girl were seen to conform to gender expectations; the high‐achieving boys were seen to challenge gender norms; and the underachieving girl emerges as largely overlooked. The perceived characteristics of the high‐achieving girl are presented as describing all girls. There appears to be a tendency to associate boys with underachievement and girls with high achievement.     

USING FOCUS GROUPS AS AN EDUCATIONAL METHODOLOGY: DECONSTRUCTING STEREOTYPES AND SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE MISCONCEPTIONS CONCERNING AGING AND OLDER ADULTS

During the coming years the number of older adults will increase dramatically, which will require a corresponding increase in the number of social workers who have accurate knowledge of this population. This article reports the impact focus groups with older adults and with service providers who work with older adults and their families have on baccalaureate social work (BSW) students. We find that BSW students exposed to focus groups have their negative attitudes about older adults and service providers deconstructed and replaced with more positive and accurate information about older adults. When students' misconceptions about older adults are confronted, they become more interested in choosing geriatric social work as a career option.     

Staff development: Old dogs can learn new tricks

Abstract

Peer coaching, study groups, and mentoring are all valuable methods for staff development. When all three can occur during the same year with a group of veteran teachers, the result is a learning community that enhances shared professionalism. This article describes such a year in which four veteran teachers came to teach in a residential high school for gifted and talented adolescents. This article reports that the focus from the perspective of the staff developer, as well as the focus from the perspective of three of the four teachers, emphasizes the power of these formats for professional development.     

What action learning is not in the twenty-first century

This article is about what action learning is in the twenty-first century. In 1983 Reg Revans explained how action learning differed from seven phenomena with which it had been confused. This article explores how action learning differs from seven further phenomena with which it is currently confused. The article details similarities and differences between action learning and self-directed teams, coaching, focus groups, action research, seminars, problem-based learning and experiential learning.     

促进教师群体专业成长的评价机制

教师群体专业成长理论是教师专业化发展理论和学说在我们学校实践的提升,是学校教育特色和学校教师特色的双重体现,在教师专业化发展背景下,探索学校教师群体专业成长,形成与之相应的理论体系与评价机制。     

Deploying a Corporate Learning System at the Innovative Startup

The article discusses an empirical study that was conducted by the authors, in which they surveyed focus groups of young innovative entrepreneurs who are at different stages of creating their own projects. The authors devote particular attention to how training programs for the founders and staff should be implemented as the startup develops from its early phases into a sustainable-growth business.     

Inclusive Education in India: International concept,national interpretation

This article examines education of children belonging to marginalised groups, with particular reference to children with disabilities, within the Indian context. Based on an analysis of post‐independence Government documents, various educational provisions made available for children with disabilities are discussed. It explores the Indian Government’s focus on the development of special schools, its efforts towards integration, and the more recent emphasis on inclusive education. Furthermore, it attempts to elucidate “inclusive education” as understood in various official documents. The article concludes by arguing for a need to develop a contextual understanding of inclusive education that is reflective of current educational concerns in India.     

Problematic transitions from school to employment: freeters and NEETs in Japan and Germany

In the international debate surrounding transitions from school to employment, Japan and Germany are regularly cited as examples of success. This article draws on the Japanese concepts represented by two problematic groups – freeters and NEETs – to demonstrate that over recent years, young people in both countries have also been facing serious problems with the transition process. Interpretation of empirical data also, however, reveals a number of contrasts between them. We focus here on differences in their educational systems and on the role each system plays within its own society. The article also uses divergent recruitment practices and employment structures as vehicles for comparison and interpretation.     

“Terms of engagement” not “hard to reach parents”

This article presents findings of qualitative research commissioned by the Achievement for All project in a UK local authority. The research investigated how schools should engage parents, including those considered to be “hard to reach”. A focus group methodology was adapted to enable parents to provide answers to the research questions. The majority of parents contributing to the three focus groups were considered to be “hard to reach” by the schools that their children attended. The analysis employed an inductive thematic approach as a further means of listening to them. Main findings are presented as “a taxonomy for terms of engagement.” Implications for educational psychologists are raised.     

First Day in Secondary School: Learning to Be a ‘Professional Pupil'∗

The first school day of four groups of school students starting secondary school is described and analyzed. The article is based on ethnographic research conducted in two secondary schools in Finland by a group of six researchers. Initial encounters between students and the school and its teachers are discussed. The focus is on how the construction, negotiation and learning of the ‘profession’ of being a pupil in a secondary school begins.     

Disadvantage in Higher Education: A View from the Institutional Careers Service

This article explores the principal methods in which higher education careers services around the world are addressing the needs of an increasing proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. This study is based on data drawn from focus groups with students and interviews with key personnel and employers. The research demonstrates that higher education careers services are beginning to address the needs of students from disadvantaged backgrounds in a number of key ways. In particular, they are becoming more integrated both with the full range of student services and with the academic curriculum and, as in many other examples of widening participation, limited resources are optimised by effective targeting of specific groups. Arguably, too, higher education careers services are well placed to provide the interface between the academy and employers in order to promote diversity outside academia.     

Transformation of students into active and participatory citizens: an exploratory study in Hong Kong

Based on the data collected from focus groups and individual interviews with secondary school students and civic education teachers, this article explores how young people are transformed to become active and participatory citizens. The findings show that the roles and personal beliefs of civic education teachers are of critical significance at the very first stage whereas their teaching methods help enable students to construct the notion of active and participatory citizenship at the second stage. Eventually students gradually develop a strong sense of civic responsibility and competence through social inquiry and political action in the transformation process.     

EXZELLENZ UND EQUITY: NEUE BILDUNGSTHEORETISCHE PERSPEKTIVEN FÜR EIN ALTES SPANNUNGSVERHÄLTNIS

EXCELLENCE AND EQUITY: APPLYING NEW PERSPECTIVES IN THE THEORY OF EDUCATION TO A TRADITIONALLY TENSE RELATIONSHIP – The majority of international assessments of school performance, as well as the international standards-based education reform focus on optimising the skills of children who perform poorly in school. This article, however, places the focus on the top?performers (“excellence”) and links this with the theory of equal opportunities (“equity”). The article follows two main lines of argument. The argument relating to the theory of education deems the achievement of equal opportunities and equity likely only if and when all children start from an equal position and are then allowed to develop unequally and appropriately, according to their individual talents. The second argument highlights the tense relationship between excellence and equity with regard to school children’s varying home backgrounds, and asks how intellectual potential can best be discovered and encouraged. At the same time, the article demonstrates that the concept of accelerated learning, in differentiating between individuals within homogenous groups of learners, opens up a number of interesting perspectives and can ultimately redress the tense relationship between excellence and equity.     

Including students with disabilities in Education for All: lessons from Ethiopia

This article addresses the inclusion of students with disabilities into the Education for All and Sustainable Development Goals agenda through a case study of Ethiopia, a country aiming to promote inclusive education amidst rapidly rising school enrolments. The article begins with a review of debates concerning inclusive education in the Global South and the strategy taken by Ethiopia. It then examines how inclusive education is currently being implemented drawing on recent fieldwork at rural and urban schools in Tigray province. Through interviews, participant observation, and focus groups, we found that teachers and school administrators are generally in favour of mainstreaming children with disabilities into ‘normal’ schools. However, insufficient training of teachers and itinerant teachers along with shortages of teaching materials and resources present major challenges to addressing special education needs.     

Bottom: A Case Study Comparing Teaching Low Ability and Mixed Ability Year 9 English Classes

This article takes the form of a case study which compares two Year 9 English groups ‐ one mixed ability, one a low set ‐ and the different approaches used to prepare the pupils for their SATs. The focus of observation has been on the differing opportunities made available to a mixed ability set, contrasted with a bottom set, and identifies clear implications that lower set pupils are offered a significantly limited range of teaching strategies in the delivery of the National Curriculum. The article indicates that the benefits of selective setting in English are for adults rather than children, and argues that placement in a low set has a detrimental effect on pupils rather than providing an appropriate learning environment. Finally, the article draws attention to the long‐held anomaly that whilst setting continues to proliferate in the UK education system, there is no clear evidence that it has any positive impact on pupil performance.