Using forum theatre in organised youth soccer to positively influence antisocial and prosocial behaviour: a pilot study

The aim of this pilot study was to examine the possible effects of a forum theatre intervention on moral team atmosphere, moral reasoning, fair play attitude and on‐ and off‐field antisocial and prosocial behaviour in male adolescent soccer players from 10 to 18 years of age (n = 99). From pre‐test to post‐test, small but positive changes were found in moral atmosphere, but not in moral reasoning or fair play attitude. Changes were also found in on‐field antisocial behaviour, which showed a significant decrease one month after the intervention. However, the changes in antisocial behaviour were not affected by the changes in moral team atmosphere. Off‐field antisocial behaviour and both on‐ and off‐field prosocial behaviour did not show a significant change. The results suggest that more extended efforts built on a similar approach are worth investigating.     

Dialogue education in the post‐secondary classroom: reflecting on dialogue processes from two higher education settings in North America

Initial teacher training for post‐compulsory education in England is currently undergoing profound change in terms of central direction of curricula and the provision of financial support for trainees. Within a discourse of the ‘professionalisation’ of teaching in the sector, unprecedented control of the detailed structure and content of training courses has been established and is increasing in extent. At the same time, principles of free access to Cert. Ed. and PGCE courses are being set aside, so that those universities which provide training are simultaneously contending with imposed curriculum change and with a serious threat to student recruitment. This article examines the origins and nature of these developments, considers the political and economic background from which they stem, and discusses in detail some features of the characteristic discourse of the reforms instituted by central government. It goes on to consider the likely effects of the recent and on‐going changes in university‐led training and suggests that the outcome of the reforms might be to undermine the government's own aspirations for professionalisation of the teaching workforce in post‐compulsory education.     

Mathematical stories: why do more boys than girls choose to study mathematics at AS‐level in England?

In this paper I address the question: How is it that people come to choose mathematics and in what ways is this process gendered? I draw on the findings of a qualitative research study involving interviews with 43 young people all studying mathematics in post‐compulsory education in England. Working within a post‐structuralist framework, I argue that gender is a project and one that is achieved in interaction with others. Through a detailed reading of Toni and Claudia’s stories I explore the tensions for young women who are engaging in mathematics, something that is discursively inscribed as masculine, while (understandably) being invested in producing themselves as female. I conclude by arguing that seeing ‘doing mathematics’ as ‘doing masculinity’ is a productive way of understanding why mathematics is so male dominated and by looking at the implications of this understanding for gender and mathematics reform work.     

Parenting and adolescents’ values and behaviour: the moderating role of temperament

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of parenting and adolescent fearfulness on adolescents’ pro‐social values and pro‐social and antisocial behaviour. A total of 134 adolescents (M age = 16.22, 72 girls, 62 boys) responded to questions regarding their own fearfulness, pro‐social values and pro‐social and antisocial behaviour, as well as their perceptions of maternal attachment and maternal appropriateness. Results revealed few main‐effect findings, most notably a negative relation between attachment and antisocial behaviour. However, findings pointed to several multiplicative relations as a function of parenting, adolescent fearfulness, and child gender, including: (1) maternal appropriateness was more important for boys than for girls, (2) maternal attachment was related to greater importance of pro‐social values and higher pro‐social behaviour for boys low on fear and (3) maternal appropriateness was related to lower antisocial behaviour for boys low on fear. The discussion focuses on the importance of examining the multiplicative relations between parenting and adolescent temperament and the implications of this for both educators and parents.     

Book Reviews

Rational choice models of teenage sexual behaviour lead to radically different predictions than do models that assume such behaviour is random. Existing empirical evidence has not been able to distinguish conclusively between these competing models. I use regional data from England between 1998 and 2001 to examine the impact of recent increases in access to family planning on teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection diagnosis rates. I find consistent evidence that access to family planning services is not associated with reductions in teenage pregnancy rates. I also find consistent evidence that increased promotion of emergency birth control in youth family planning clinics has not affected the relationship between clinic services and teenage pregnancy rates, but has significantly worsened the relationship between clinic services and teenage sexually transmitted infection diagnosis rates. Most of the observed relationships are inconsistent, with teenage sexual behaviour being the result of a random decision‐making process.     

Post‐graduation reflections on the value of a degree

This article investigates the impact of a changing higher education system on young adults' priorities and motivations. A considerable number of studies have explored the impact of recent changes on patterns of participation within higher education. However, there has been less emphasis on how such changes have been played out in the experiences of graduates and, more specifically, in the interface between higher education and lifelong learning. To redress this gap, this article explores the changes to graduates' experiences brought about by the ‘massification’ of the higher education system. Research conducted amongst young people in Australia has suggested that as result of the normalisation of post‐compulsory education and the encouragement of high aspirations, young people have come to assume a one‐to‐one relationship between being qualified and having a lasting professional career. It has been argued that as a result of these assumptions, young adults are often disappointed when they do eventually enter the labour market, and experience uncertainties previously associated with the end of compulsory schooling. If young adults do indeed feel misled about the rewards of a higher education, it is possible that this may have a significant bearing on their perceptions of the value of engaging in further education and training in the future. Drawing on 90 life history interviews with graduates in their mid‐twenties, this article explores the prevalence of such attitudes in the UK and their impact on young adults' attitudes to lifelong learning.     

(Im)possible dream: post‐Fordism,stakeholding and post‐compulsory education

This paper explores the new conditions and ideational framework within which post‐compulsory education and training is placed in England and Wales. It does so by examining the impact of ideas derived from post‐Fordist analyses and stakeholding theory as well as the arguments put forward by left modernizers. It seeks to consider the limits and possibilities that surround these ideas which have provided a new inflection or accenting of educational policy. This accenting connects a concern with social inclusion and cohesion to global competitiveness. The paper concludes by suggesting that the project of left modernizers is seriously compromised through its entrapment within a capitalist logic, but that nevertheless the potential for struggle remains within the contradictions of the discourse and rhetoric surrounding educational policy.     

Who studies STEM subjects at A level and degree in England? An investigation into the intersections between students’ family background,gender and ethnicity in determining choice

The relative lack of students studying post‐compulsory STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects is a key policy concern. A particular issue is the disparities in uptake by students’ family background, gender and ethnicity. It remains unclear whether the relationship between student characteristics and choice can be explained by academic disparities, and whether students’ background, gender and ethnicity interact in determining university subject choices, rather than simply having additive effects. I use data from more than 4000 students in England from ‘Next Steps’ (previously the LSYPE) and logistic regression methods to explore the interacting relationships between student characteristics and subject choice. There are four main findings of this study. Firstly, disparities by students’ ethnicity are shown to increase when controlling for prior attainment. Secondly, family background indicators are differentially related to uptake for male and female students, with parents’ social class and education larger predictors of choice than financial resources. Thirdly, gender, ethnicity and family background interact in determining choices. Particularly, as socio‐economic position increases, young women are more likely to choose STEM over other high‐return subjects. Finally, associations between student characteristics and subject choices, including interactions, largely persisted when accounting for A‐level choices. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.     

UK initiatives to promote inclusion in higher education for students with disabilities

ABSTRACT

The inclusion in higher education of students with disabilities and learning difficulties has become a matter of concern within the past eight years. Recent Higher Education Funding Council initiatives to promote greater inclusion have had some success in improving access to higher education (HE) and raising awareness across the sector of the need to ensure full participation by students with disabilities in the learning environment once they enter the university. Hopes that the new UK disability rights legislation would help promote equality of access to HE were disappointed when it became apparent that the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 excluded education from its main provisions. The only requirement affecting post‐compulsory education is that institutions publish a statement on their provision for students with disabilities and learning difficulties. These disability statements confer no legal rights and it appeared that they would have little impact on access to HE for disabled people. This paper reports the findings of a survey of the anticipated effects upon the higher education sector in England of the requirement to produce disability statements. There may be some positive effects not only upon the nature and form of information available, but also on the provision offered in the sector.     

Student behaviour self‐monitoring enabling inclusion

Disruptive, antisocial behaviour remains an ongoing issue for all schools, and particularly those identified as inclusive. Children who exhibit elevated levels of antisocial behaviour have an increased risk of numerous negative life consequences, including impaired social relationships, escalating aggressive behaviours, substance abuse, and school dropout. Schools remain committed to the use of exclusions as response to disruptive behaviours, justified in terms of protecting the teaching and learning environment of others. However, exclusions disrupt the educational and social supports of these ‘high‐risk/high‐needs’ students at a time when they need it most. Schools remain confounded, citing insufficient resources and time. This paper suggests student behaviour self‐monitoring presents opportunities for a combined intervention and assessment strategy, increasing the capacity to identify and respond to incidents of disruptive behaviour for all students before patterned disruptive behaviours emerge or are constituted as problematic.     

Sustainable leadership and the implication for the general further education college sector

The purpose of this article is to review the models of sustainable leadership which are currently available in the compulsory sector to establish whether the models are appropriate for post‐compulsory education, and in particular for general further education colleges. Due to the complexities of the environment in which further education colleges operate, models of sustainable leadership have not been applied to this sector. In order to achieve this, leadership challenges for further education will be explored and the sector's responses to these will be considered. Many of these challenges are based on government pressure for efficiency and effectiveness savings, and so will be contextualised in a new managerial framework. The article then goes on to examine current models of sustainable leadership, looking at whether they are applicable for general further education colleges. Should they not be appropriate, then a suggested model will be put forward which draws on the transferable components for existing models with additions which are appropriate to the post‐compulsory sector.     

Value‐added is of little value

Published indicators of school ‘performance’, such as those shown annually in league tables in England, have been controversial since their inception. Raw‐score figures for school outcomes are heavily dependent on the prior attainment and family background of the students. Policy‐makers in Wales have reacted to this fundamental flaw by withdrawing the publication of school results. In England, on the other hand, they have reacted by asking for more information to be added to tables, in the form of student context such as the percentage with a special educational need, and ‘value‐added’ figures. In 2004, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) value‐added figures for England were based on student progress from Key Stage 2 at the end of primary education to GCSE at the end of compulsory secondary education. For 2005, at time of writing, the DfES plan to use context information in their model as well. This paper re‐analyses the 2004 value‐added figures and shows that they contain the same flaw as the original raw‐score tables. The purported value‐added scores turn out to be a proxy for the overall level of attainment in the school, and almost entirely independent of any differential progress made by the students. The paper concludes by considering the implications of these findings, if accepted, for policies based on identifying schools that are clearly more or less effective, and for the field of school effectiveness and improvement research.     

Managing Messes and Coping with Uncertainty: reviewing training for teachers in post‐compulsory education and training

Abstract

Post‐compulsory teacher training in England has been under review, and standards developed by the Further Education Staff Development Forum were to be launched in January 1999 as a precursor to a mandatory qualification for teachers in further education in England and Wales. Until now, many further education colleges have worked in partnership with higher education institutions to run Certificate in Education programmes, which aim to develop both practical teaching skills and critical knowledge and understanding of teaching and learning in a post‐compulsory context. A review of one such programme is outlined here. In a context where further education teachers must help to widen participation and promote lifelong learning, it is argued that any new arrangements for initial teacher training and continuing professional development need to include ‘competence’ in the practical skills involved in teaching and learning, but must also go beyond this, and aim to develop critical knowledge and understanding of the changing context in which staff work. It is argued that turning the new Further Education National Training Organisation standards for further education teachers in England and Wales into a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) is inadequate to this task. A strengthened partnership between further and higher education providers to develop more robust and coherent approaches to professional capability is advocated.     

Community‐based early intervention for children with behavioural,emotional and social problems: evaluation of the Scallywags Scheme

Scallywags is a community‐based, early intervention programme for young children (aged 3–7) with behavioural, emotional and social problems, which integrates work in the home and school with a parenting curriculum and direct work with children. A pre‐post intervention study across multi‐sites of 340 participants is reported. Using standardised measures, the study found statistically significant reductions in problems at home and school experienced by children who completed the programme, and in parental stress levels. Participation was found to be high and the project acceptable to parents, many of whom would be described as hard to reach. The rigorous evaluation of this real‐life service and its positive outcomes highlight the potential of such programmes to tackle the needs of these children and families, and help prevent longer‐term problems associated with early onset behavioural problems, including social exclusion, antisocial behaviour and educational failure.     

Competence and Citizenship: Towards a Complementary Model for Times of Critical Social Change

Abstract

Citizenship and competence are both contested concepts, and both have maximal and minimal versions which may be contradictory or complementary. Beth concepts have assumed a prominent place in discourses on the post‐compulsory curriculm and the development of life and work trajectories in early adulthood. Maximal concepts of citizenship allow consideration of the processes by which young adults make their transitions to full participation in society, with reference to the life course and the social structures of inequality. Tensions are created between individual potential and capacities and the institutional, social and labour market structures within which young adults are active. In England, Vocational Education and Training (VET) is now dominated by competence‐based approaches which seek to regulate behaviour through outcomes. In Germany, VET serves the broader purpose of preparing young people for citizenship. Some cultural assumptions behind these differences are revealed in ongoing comparative studies, whose findings are discussed with reference to complementary and contradictory trends in Competence and Citizenship, and the need for future models which bring together maximal versions of both.     

Oldknow,Adrian & Knights,Carol ed (2013) Mathematics education with digital technology Bloomsbury (London) isbn 978‐0‐5672‐5028‐5 272 pp £24.99 http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/mathematics‐education‐with‐digital‐technology‐9781441184726/

This book looks at the impact of digital technologies on the teaching and learning of mathematics. The focus is on learning at school and most of the twenty‐nine invited contributions are drawn from England and the US. Mathematics education with digital technology will be of interest to school teachers, teacher‐educators and educational technologists. If it is likely to be relevant to you, I recommend that you borrow a copy for a while. Pete Cannell     

On the Epistemology of Narrative Research in Education

The purpose of this article is to explore the epistemological foundations of narrative research in education. In particular, I seek to explain how one can obtain knowledge, given its origin in teachers' subjective experiences. The problem with rhetorical and aesthetic criteria that narrative researchers use to warrant their knowledge claims is not that they don't meet a correspondence criterion of truth as post‐positivists contend, but rather that they fail to connect teachers' ethical views with their practice. Since narrative research is aimed at understanding teachers' actions and not at seeking some kind of mechanism in teachers' behaviour, the link between past experiences and present teaching practice is not causal but teleological. I suggest that although the knowledge claims of narrative researchers may not be justified (because they don't meet the criteria of truth as correspondence theory), we might nonetheless be intellectually entitled to accept them. Entitlement is an epistemic right or warrant that constitutes knowledge as justification, but uses different reasons—teleological not causal explanations. I offer three criteria to establish entitlement to accept narrative researchers' findings: (1) the meeting of rhetorical standards such as plausibility, adequacy, and persuasion; (2) the inclusion of teachers' stories about their pedagogical practice; (3) the meeting of ethical criteria that connects a teacher's actions to an articulate and defensible end‐in‐view or vision of the good.     

The ‘shape’ of teacher professionalism in England: Professional standards,performance management,professional development and the changes proposed in the 2010 White Paper

Teacher professionalism in England may be considered to have been shaped by the set of professional standards, and the accompanying statutory performance management system, introduced by the Labour government in 2007. More recently the coalition government's 2010 White Paper, The Importance of Teaching, announced reforms that will potentially re‐shape teacher professionalism. In this article I examine the ‘shape’ of teacher professionalism in England, as defined by the professional standards. I reveal it to be a lop‐sided shape, indicating a professionalism that focuses predominantly on teachers’ behaviour, rather than on their attitudes and their intellectuality. Presenting my conceptual analysis of professionalism, and examination of its link with professional development, I consider whether—and to what extent—teacher professionalism may in fact be shaped by government‐imposed reform. I conclude that ‘enacted’ professionalism may be quite different from ‘demanded’ professionalism, and shaping professionalism involves a complex and indecipherable process that is better understood by examining the process whereby individuals develop professionally.