The benefits of multi-year research experiences: differences in novice and experienced students' reported gains from undergraduate research

This mixed-methods study explores differences in novice and experienced undergraduate students' perceptions of their cognitive, personal, and professional gains from engaging in scientific research. The study was conducted in four different undergraduate research (UR) programs at two research-extensive universities; three of these programs had a focus on the biosciences. Seventy-three entry-level and experienced student researchers participated in in-depth, semi-structured interviews and completed the quantitative Undergraduate Research Student Self-Assessment (URSSA) instrument. Interviews and surveys assessed students' developmental outcomes from engaging in UR. Experienced students reported distinct personal, professional, and cognitive outcomes relative to their novice peers, including a more sophisticated understanding of the process of scientific research. Students also described the trajectories by which they developed not only the intellectual skills necessary to advance in science, but also the behaviors and temperament necessary to be a scientist. The findings suggest that students benefit from multi-year UR experiences. Implications for UR program design, advising practices, and funding structures are discussed.     

Examining the aesthetic dimensions of teaching: Relationships between teacher knowledge,identity and passion

Having an appreciation for the subject, their students and what the subject can offer their students has both cognitive and emotional dimensions for teachers. This paper uses empirical data to explore the efficacy of a Deweyan inspired framework called “Aesthetic Understanding” to scrutinise relationships between teacher knowledge, identity and passion. The paper uses case study data of three teachers of maths and/or science generated from a video study to illustrate the relationships between the three elements of Aesthetic Understanding. The need to value the aesthetic dimensions of teaching when examining the subject-specific nature of secondary teaching is discussed.     

‘I h8 u’: Findings from a five‐year study of text and email bullying

This study charts reports of nasty or threatening text and email messages received by students in academic years 7 and 8 (11–13 years of age) attending 13 secondary schools in the North of England between 2002 and 2006. Annual surveys were undertaken on behalf of the local education authority to monitor bullying. Results indicated that, over five years, the number of pupils receiving one or more nasty or threatening text messages or emails increased significantly, particularly among girls. However, receipt of frequent nasty or threatening text and email messages remained relatively stable. For boys, being a victim of direct‐physical bullying was associated with receiving nasty or threatening text and email messages; for girls it was being unpopular among peers. Boys received more hate‐related messages and girls were primarily the victims of name‐calling. Findings are discussed with respect to theoretical and policy developments, and recommendations for future research are offered.     

Pupil involvement in special educational needs disagreement resolution: a parental perspective

Recent international and Governmental policy has identified the need for all public services and professionals involved with children to take into account the children's views, needs and wishes, when making decisions about their care and educational provision. This is of particular importance in the context of special educational needs disagreement resolution. This article reports on a small scale preliminary study carried out in January 2004, focusing upon parental perspectives of pupil involvement in SEN disagreement resolution. Ten parents of children with SEN were interviewed using a semi‐structured interview schedule, addressing their experience of the disagreement resolution process and the extent and nature to which their child was involved. Whilst it is acknowledged that the sample in this study was small, and thus may be regarded as tentative and preliminary, a thematic analysis of the content of the interviews indicated that children are not directly involved in informal disagreement resolution meetings. Most notably the parents report that they are unclear about the process and rules about directly involving children. Where children are involved, their views are given indirectly and in most cases their views are only presented by the parents. The authors make several recommendations for enhancing pupil participation in SEN mediation arrangements including, making the overall process more transparent and perhaps having a child advocate who could ensure that the child's views are represented in a way that is suitable to the particular needs of each child.     

Features of an interactive writing discourse: conversational involvement, conventional knowledge, and internalization in Morning Message

This study describes how meaning potentials were constructed in the literacy event known as Morning Message. Morning Message provided teachers and students with opportunities to construct a written text around the experiences of one student. This discourse of writing allowed for the examination of how meaning was orchestrated and scaffolded between the teacher and her students. Three findings are discussed, including the function of a series of conversational involvement moves utilized by the teacher, the specific writing conventions and metamessages afforded in the Morning Message dialogue, and an examination of how the social dialogues of Morning Message may have come to guide independent action as internalized processes on several transfer measures.     

Neoliberalism,higher education and the knowledge economy: from the free market to knowledge capitalism

The ascendancy of neoliberalism and the associated discourses of ‘new public management’, during the 1980s and 1990s has produced a fundamental shift in the way universities and other institutions of higher education have defined and justified their institutional existence. The traditional professional culture of open intellectual enquiry and debate has been replaced with a institutional stress on performativity, as evidenced by the emergence of an emphasis on measured outputs: on strategic planning, performance indicators, quality assurance measures and academic audits. This paper traces the links between neoliberalism and globalization on the one hand, and neoliberalism and the knowledge economy on the other. It maintains that in a global neoliberal environment, the role of higher education for the economy is seen by governments as having greater importance to the extent that higher education has become the new star ship in the policy fleet for governments around the world. Universities are seen as a key driver in the knowledge economy and as a consequence higher education institutions have been encouraged to develop links with industry and business in a series of new venture partnerships. The recognition of economic importance of higher education and the necessity for economic viability has seen initiatives to promote greater entrepreneurial skills as well as the development of new performative measures to enhance output and to establish and achieve targets. This paper attempts to document these trends at the level of both political philosophy and economic theory.     

Degree Classifications in English, Welsh and Northern Irish Universities: Trends, 1994–95 to 1998–99

In order to determine trends in the percentages of good degrees awarded, data showing the awards profiles for the five academic years 1994–95 to 1998–99 for universities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland were analysed by institution and by subject area. Although earlier research had shown a rise in the modal class of honours degree over the period 1973 to 1993, the present analyses demonstrate that, although there is an overall upward trend in the percentage of good degrees, the direction of the trend has varied from subject area to subject area. In seven of 17 subject areas, the upward trend is, statistically, reasonably robust. The trends in individual institutions have varied, probably as a result of differing combinations of influences.