Role of the local centre in strengthening student support in UWI’s distributed learning programmes

A key component of conventional distance education organizations has been the network of local study centres, set up to serve as a bridge between students and the educational organization. With the capacity of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to enable direct contact between the educational institution and its dispersed students, it is arguable that the local site is no longer necessary. This article reports on a study that explores the factors that suggest the need to revisit the role of the local study centre in view of the growing interest in ICT‐supported distance learning. The study, conducted in the University of the West Indies Distance Education Centre, comprised a survey of students and interviews conducted with site coordinators. Based on the results obtained, the article makes recommendations for enhancing the student support role of the local study centre.     

Inner speech in the learning context and the prediction of students’ learning strategy and academic performance

Abstract

The present study investigated whether and how learning-specific inner speech predicted students’ learning strategy and academic performance. Frequencies of inner speech use in specific learning settings were assessed. Four dimensions of inner speech including self-criticism, self-reinforcement, self-management, and social assessment were investigated and linked to the learning strategy and academic performance. Data were collected from both secondary school students and university students. The results indicated that both the cognitive regulative function (self-management) and the affective regulatory function (self-criticism or self-reinforcement) of inner speech contributed to students’ learning strategy, while only the cognitive regulative function of inner speech significantly predicted students’ academic performance. Furthermore, the prediction of inner speech to academic performance was partly mediated by the learning strategy.     

Learning‐to‐learn and learning‐to‐teach: the impact of disciplinary subject study on student‐teachers’ professional identity

A coherent view of student‐teachers’ preparation and the learning experiences to which they are exposed are key to sustaining the relevance of university‐based teacher‐education programmes. Arguably, such coherence is lacking and the research base to an understanding of the student‐teacher experience is still a relatively limited one. This paper takes the view that student‐teachers’ epistemological growth is a key component of their professional development, their sense of identity as intending teachers, and their successful entry into a teaching career. In adopting a phenomenographic approach it explores a chain of evidence which demonstrates that immersion in the processes of learning and knowing, within a specific disciplinary context, had a significant impact on students’ emerging professional identities and on their values as teachers which extends beyond the subject matter itself. Arguably, the findings of this case‐study hold important implications for a teacher‐education programme and for effective pedagogic practice.     

The impact of intensive ‘value for money’ performance auditing in educational systems

The starting point for this article is the authors' ongoing collaborative enquiry into professional practice, which primarily aims to improve and develop our roles in Staff and Educational Development in Higher Education (HE). Part of this action research cycle includes an empirical study carried out in the authors' institution to find out how academic colleagues view their work practices. They identify the major difficulties faced in supporting the professional development of these staff and argue that to be effective within a culture that encourages individualism, and that is driven by a disciplinary-research agenda, those who have responsibility for academic professional development should promote the idea of teachers as researchers. They argue that a research approach to development, centred on individual practice and learning, should be considered by those who engage in professional learning. Beyond these issues, the study also provides a snapshot of academic values in a research-led Higher Education Institution in Britain in the late 1990s.     

Leading learning and teaching: an exploration of ‘local’ leadership in academic departments in the UK

Tertiary Education and Management - This paper reports on a small-scale longitudinal study of ‘local’ leadership roles at two UK universities. The research explored perceptions of the...     

Leading learning and teaching: an exploration of ‘local’ leadership in academic departments in the UK

This paper reports on a small-scale longitudinal study of ‘local’ leadership roles at two UK universities. The research explored perceptions of the leadership provided by a specific group of staff who held roles for enhancing learning and teaching. Based on ethnographic design principles, the study was based at one UK higher education institution with another as a comparator. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and focus groups with ‘local’ leadership role-holders and their colleagues. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with academic managers. Analysis of the data was based on grounded theory and thematic analysis. The discussion and conclusion suggests that, to maximize the impact of these roles, the leadership aspects of them should be made explicit, recognized by colleagues at all levels and supported by leadership development. Further investigation into local leaders’ career progression may provide valuable insights for the relatively limited body of knowledge and practice of leadership within professional teams.     

Proximal ethnography: ‘inside-out-inside’ research and the impact of shared metaphors of learning

This paper examines the way Higher Education (HE) students use metaphors to make tangible the lived and living experience of learning. The article provides a contemporary development of the ethnographic paradigm by offering a new model termed ‘proximal ethnography’ to capture the sense of inside-out-inside research, of being what one has studied. In this innovative model, the researcher shares the same experiences as the observed but does so outside their specific domain. Semi-structured interviews were held with eight trainee educational professionals at intervals during their two-year courses, and an online survey was sent to students on the same courses in regional Further Education colleges. Results show that students possessed a hierarchy of motivating drivers; some of these remained stable while others fluctuated. Acceptance of this instability helped them succeed on their course. Some students used metaphor to associate their trainee identities with previous successful professional characteristics to help them cope with the demands of HE study. If HE institutions can incorporate these findings into student induction and peer support programmes, there is the potential to normalise feelings of uncertainty, providing simple approaches to staying motivated and succeeding.     

Challenges for teachers’ professional learning for inclusive education in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States

Efforts to prepare teachers and other professionals for inclusive education in the Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS/CEE) region are heavily influenced by the legacy of Soviet defectology (the study of children with disabilities) and Soviet traditions of teacher education. The authors identify some challenges facing those concerned with preparing teachers for inclusive education and provide examples of current projects in the region that address the complex problems associated with providing inclusive education for children identified as having disabilities. The changing role of defectologists in inclusion policy and practice is also discussed. Case examples from Armenia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Azerbaijan, and Serbia reflect current innovations in teacher education and professional development in the region.     

Mobile student to mobile worker: the role of universities in the ‘war for talent’

Universities, as part of the neoliberal regime imposed on them, are being co-opted into a ‘war for talent’, in which national economic success is heavily invested. We examine part of this ‘war’ that affects universities directly – the recruitment of ‘the brightest and the best’ internationally mobile students and their subsequent retention by the host country as high-skill workers. After an account of this war for talent and its implications for higher education, we review the literature on study-migration transitions by international students and identify gaps in both data and theorization. We propose a three-part model that uses the notion of ‘flows’ to organize a research agenda in this field and the possible roles of universities in implementing it. We conclude that only by resisting full recruitment into this global talent war can academic researchers continue to maintain the integrity and value of their professional and disciplinary calling.     

Bringing the jellyfish home: environmental consciousness and ‘sense of wonder’ in young children’s encounters with natural landscapes and places

The over-arching aim of this study was to elucidate and interpret topics that are relevant to how we understand children’s experiences and creation of meaning in natural landscapes and places within these landscapes. Following two nature-kindergarten groups regularly over ten months, the data for this ethnographic study consist of constructed narratives and narrative maps. Key topics relate to children’s multi-sensory experiences and the development of environmental consciousness, and their ‘sense of wonder’ as a driving force for exploration, interpretation and creation of meaning. Implications of the study for discourses of environmental education in the early years and local practices of taking children into nature are also discussed.     

Portfolios as ‘learning companions’ for children and a means to support and assess language learning in the primary school

This article explores the idea of portfolios as a way to collect evidence of pupils' learning and achievement in their language learning in the primary school. The emphasis is on portfolio work as an active and reflective process to underpin and support learning and to show evidence of achievement and progression. Pupil choice and reflexivity are essential in the process. The process can encourage learners to draw on their learning experiences across the curriculum. Whilst a means of providing evidence of learning, and for showcasing work pupils are proud of, portfolios are seen as central to and embedded in the day-to-day learning and underpinned by the principles of formative assessment. Designed to be used with other modes of assessment including the European Languages Portfolio, portfolios are in essence flexible, inclusive and a dynamic record of learning, achievement and potential for every learner. In this article, the use of portfolios from an early age as a means to promote development and learning and a way of assessing learning are inextricably linked. Teachers working to develop portfolio work, and some of their pupils, add their voices to the discussion of portfolio development towards an enhanced dialogic assessment culture.     

Insights into the value of a ‘stand‐alone’ course for sustainability education

Education for sustainability (EfS) is emerging as an urgent imperative and challenge for higher education. But what exactly does it mean to put sustainability into higher education? How do we bring sustainability themes into university curriculum, across the enormous diversity of academic disciplines? This paper describes the experience of teaching a large ‘stand‐alone’ EfS subject which sits within the professional contexts of the large first‐year cohort undertaking it. We describe the themes, architecture and approach to sustainability education taken in this course and evaluate the learning and assessment activities offered to students. We conclude with reflections on the student experience and feedback, which suggests that while academics build towards a deeply embedded sustainability ethic in higher education, specialist parallel courses have a valuable role to play in the transition to sustainable futures.     

Students’ views of oral performance assessment in mathematics: straddling the ‘assessment of’ and ‘assessment for’ learning divide

This paper explores the views of a group of students who took an oral performance assessment in a first-year mathematics module. Such assessments are unusual for most subjects in the UK, but particularly within the generally homogenous assessment diet of undergraduate mathematics. The evidence presented here resonates with some, but not all, of the existing literature on oral assessment and suggests that, despite concerns about anxiety and fairness, students see oral assessments as encouraging a focus on understanding, being relatively authentic and reactive to their needs. We argue that, suitably implemented, oral assessment may be a viable assessment method for straddling the ‘assessment for’ and ‘assessment of’ learning divide in higher education.     

Using tourism free‐choice learning experiences to promote environmentally sustainable behaviour: the role of post‐visit ‘action resources’

This paper argues the need for the providers of ecotourism and other free‐choice environmental learning experiences to promote the adoption of environmentally sustainable actions beyond their own sites, when visitors return to their home environments. Previous research indicates that although visitors often leave such experiences with a heightened awareness of conservation issues and intentions to adopt environmentally responsible behaviours, only a minority translate these intentions into real actions. Building on research and theory in relation to visitor experiences in free‐choice learning environments, the paper identifies three different stages in the educational process and proposes a strategy for facilitating the translation of visitors' behavioural intentions into the adoption of sustainable actions through the provision of post‐visit action resources.     

Evaluation of a university‐wide strategy providing staff development for tutors: effectiveness,relevance and local impact

In this article we report on the results of an evaluation of a two‐tiered strategic approach to the development of sessional teaching staff in one Australian university. Analysis of the data reveals a tension between the institutional imperatives underpinning the strategy and its local implementations. This tension ultimately undermines the effectiveness of such development strategies. We identify and describe various dimensions of this tension and its impact on programme quality and effectiveness and make recommendations for future strategic initiatives and their implementations.     

Who dares to disconnect in the age of uncertainty? Teachers’ recesses and ‘off‐the‐clock’ work

In 1999, all student teachers at secondary I level at the University of Bern who had to undertake an internship were asked to participate in a study on learning processes during practicum: 150 students and their mentors in three types of practicum participated—introductory practicum (after the first half‐year of studies), intermediate practicum (after two years of studies) and final practicum (after three years of studies). At the end of the practicum, student teachers and mentors completed questionnaires on preparing, teaching and post‐processing lessons. All student teachers, additionally, rated their professional skills and aspects of personality (attitudes towards pupils, self‐assuredness and well‐being) before and after the practicum. Forty‐six student teachers wrote daily semi‐structured diaries about essential learning situations during their practicum.

Results indicate that in each practicum students improved significantly in preparing, conducting and post‐processing lessons. The mentors rated these changes as being greater than did the student teachers. From the perspective of the student teachers their general teaching skills also improved, and their attitudes toward pupils became more open. Furthermore, during practicum their self‐esteem and subjective well‐being increased. Diary data confirmed that there are no differences between different levels of practicum in terms of learning outcomes, but give some first insight into different ways of learning during internship.     

Enriching intimacy: the role of the emotional in the ‘resourcing’ of middle‐class children

This paper analyses qualitative interviews conducted with Norwegian middle‐class parents. It explores how a particular type of intimacy – an enriching intimacy – is produced as part of everyday parent–child interactions and considers the notion of the social self that spurs middle‐class parents to seek this very type of intimacy with their child. By so doing it adds to the growing field of research on middle‐class parents’ child‐rearing strategies and the role these strategies play in the ‘resourcing’ of middle‐class children. The relevance of the dimension of intimacy for studies on the parental effect on children’s school achievement is discussed.     

Neoliberalism,lifelong learning,and the homeplace: problematizing the boundaries of ‘public’ and ‘private’ to explore women's learning experiences

This paper develops a critical feminist theoretical analysis of the significance of the homeplace in explaining the experiences of adult women learners. It argues that current discourses in lifelong learning are shaped by neoliberal influences that emphasize individualism, competition, and connections to the marketplace. Critical educators, drawing upon a Habermasian analysis, make some valid critiques of problems with developing an educational agenda shaped by neoliberal values, but their assessment is insufficient for explaining the persistence of gender inequalities within adult education. This is because critical theory does not adequately take up other ‘medias’ of power, such as patriarchy. A feminist lens is used to explore and complicate the perceptual divisions between the ‘public’ and ‘private’ spheres through an examination of three focal points in the homeplace; identity, relationships, and labour. Drawing upon a social science and humanities (SSHRC) research study that looks at women's learning trajectories in Canada, and a Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) grant on women and active citizenship, examples are brought in to support the discussion. From this analysis, recommendations are made for educators, administrators, and policy makers to challenge a neoliberal agenda in lifelong learning and develop a more holistic and gender inclusive approach that troubles commonly accepted parameters of ‘public’ and ‘private’ by exploring the significance of the homeplace on adult learning experiences.     

Cumulative and segmented learning: exploring the role of curriculum structures in knowledge‐building

The present article extends Basil Bernstein’s theorisation of ‘discourses’ and ‘knowledge structures’ to explore the potential of educational knowledge structures to enable or constrain cumulative learning, where students can transfer knowledge across contexts and build knowledge over time. It offers a means of overcoming dichotomies in Bernstein’s model by conceptualising knowledge in terms of legitimation codes (bases of achievement) and semantic gravity (context‐dependency of knowledge). This developed framework is used to analyse two contrasting examples of curriculum – from professional education at university and secondary school English – that aim to enable cumulative learning. Analyses of students’ work products show that both cases can constrain knowledge‐building by anchoring meaning within its context of acquisition. The basis for this potential is located in a mismatch between their aims of enabling students to learn higher‐order principles and their curricular means that focus on knowers’ dispositions rather than articulating principles of knowledge.