Learning for work and working to learn： Challenges within a changing UK higher education system

Higher education in the United Kingdom is currently undergoing major changes. In the foreseeable future, it will also undergo farther change. The nature of these changes can be attributed to several key areas-government demand for change, industry demand for change and student demand for change. The UK, like many other major economies and not for the first time in recent history, is having to face the implications of severe skills shortages in its workforce, coupled with the increasing competitiveness of more globalised workforees and workplaces. A recent major government report has set out the country＇s skills agenda until 2020 and UK higher education is starting to wrestle with the implications of these changes, some of which challenge the traditional preserves of university education. This paper will focus on the implications of these skills shortages and the impact that is having on UK higher education. In particular, reference will be made to the impact of the new 2 years vocational Foundation Degrees, to the shift from supply-led to demand-led higher education, the increasing integration and tensions of work-based learning and to the accreditation of Continuous Professional Development （CPD） within an academic framework. This paper presents one story of the growing and changing relationship between higher education and industry.     

Writing to learn writing skills – a case study

The paper describes a case study in which the main objective is to understand how engineering students can improve their writing skills, regarding spelling and syntax, when taught specifically on these issues. The methodology Writing To Learn is applied in two courses and, making use of the written texts, the students’ writing skills are assessed and evaluated. In one course, writing skills are taught and assessed and in the other they are only assessed. The comparison allows conclusions on the success of teaching writing skills, the influence of text styles and the differences between basic and advanced writing skills. It was found that writing skills were successfully taught, particularly with regard to basic writing skills. Advanced writing errors are twice as common as basic writing errors. Schematic writing styles favour a reduced number of writing errors.     

Learning inter-professional teamwork during university studies: a case study of student-teachers’ and social work students’ shared professional experiences

This paper explores ways of enhancing inter-professional skills as part of professional development during university studies. From a socio-psychological viewpoint, inter-professional teamwork can be regarded as an interface between the group and individual levels, where collective commitment, efficiency, shared processes and outcomes, as well as tensions and dilemmas, are brought together. Inter-professional skills, which are already practised in university, may enable professionals to work in inter-professional contexts during their careers. In this case study, the participants (three student-teachers, two social work students and four supervisors) reflected on their shared experience of participating in a shared practicum at a primary school. The data-set comprises two group interviews conducted separately with the students and supervisors following the practicum. The results indicate that it is possible to develop inter-professional competencies during one’s university studies and that this has the potential to promote students’ reflective skills as they reframe their expertise and the expertise in other professions.     

Do online web resources help professionals to work more effectively? A case study based on three sites

This article contains important messages for all those with an interest in enhancing the effectiveness of professional development supported by websites. It is informed by the findings of a Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) funded evaluation of the use and effectiveness of three websites whose development the TDA had supported. Data were collected from teacher educators and student teachers from a variety of initial teacher education (ITE) providers by means of face-to-face, telephone and e-interviews, as well as case study visits. It was found that although all three websites were regarded as being high quality, their effectiveness in supporting professional development varied. This article considers possible reasons for this and implications for other websites, not just within the English and schools contexts, but also more globally.     

From university to working life: an analysis of field-based studies in early childhood teacher education and recently graduated kindergarten teachers’ transition to work

The aim of this article was to shed light on problematic issues related to the practical element in early childhood teacher education. We approach these questions mainly through scrutinizing and interpreting this part of kindergarten teachers’ university education in Finland. We then expand our analysis to include the broader issues of job commitment and the role of mentoring programmes among newly qualified kindergarten teachers. With the ‘kindergarten teacher as researcher’ as the chosen teacher model, our findings indicate that this aim can only be realistically achieved if all stages of the teacher education process are effectively linked. Key elements begin with the entry requirements for students and include productively connecting practicum experiences with on-campus courses, establishing a ‘double supervision model’, and cooperating with a stable network of early childhood centres for field studies. A further finding is that, despite a successfully completed professional education, the induction phase in the workplace can be a vulnerable time for novice teachers, suggesting an urgent need for mentoring programmes.     

Do computerised training programmes designed to improve working memory work?

A critical review of working memory training research during the last 10 yers is provided. Particular attention is given to research that has attempted to investigate the efficacy of commercially marketed computerised training programmes such as “Cogmed” and “Jungle Memory”. Claimed benefits are questioned on the basis that research methodologies were flawed. It is also argued that the Working Memory model in its current stage of development was under-specified and paradigmatically unsuited to working memory training research. Implications in respect of memory training for applied psychologists working in schools, and possible areas for future research are suggested.     

Learning to Teach or Learning to Manage Mentors? Experiences of school-based teacher training

In the late 1990s teachers acting as mentors play a key role in initial teacher training (ITT). This article reports the findings of a study which examined student teachers' perceptions of 'good' practice in mentoring. Given that certain parallels have been drawn between the nineteenth-century pupil-teacher scheme and school-based ITT, the work of Lave and Wenger (1991) who see apprenticeship as central to learning was used as a framework for analysing the data. The study highlighted the significance of the affective in student teachers' school-based learning. But it also highlighted the significance of the affective in mentors' practice: e.g. mentors' feelings of vulnerability. The way in which students responded to mentors in this respect - how far they were able to 'manage' their mentors - ultimately contributed to the success of students' placements. The article concludes that the possession of mentoring skills alone will not guarantee that students receive appropriate support.     

Infant pointing: communication to cooperate or communication to learn?

Tomasello, Carpenter, and Liszkowski (2007) present compelling data to support the view that infant pointing, from the outset, is communicative and deployed in many of the same situations in which adults would ordinarily point for one another, either to share their interest in something, or to informatively help the other person. This commentary concurs with the view that infant pointing is a communicative gesture, but challenges their interpretation of the motives behind pointing in 12-month-olds. An alternative account is proposed, according to which infant pointing is neither declarative nor imperative, but interrogative, and rather than being driven by the motive to share or help, it may serve a powerful cultural learning mechanism by which infants can obtain information from knowledgeable adults.     

A world-class university in China? The case of Tsinghua

Higher education, an integral part of China’s nation-building project, is a critical element in China’s strategic policy initiative of building national strength through science and education. One way to achieve this goal is to develop a higher education system of international stature. Perhaps more than any other country, through national programs such as 211 and 985, China has been explicit in selecting its best universities for intensive investment, with the expressed aim of making them world-class within coming decades, and contributing more to overall R&D and scientific development. Analysing how these top-tier universities in China are reaching for the gold standard, and using Tsinghua University as an example, this article examines the role of higher education in China’s rise and how Chinese universities are responding to the drive for innovation, against a background of globalisation and internationalisation. It analyses the experience of Tsinghua, a Chinese flagship university, sometimes dubbed ‘China’s MIT’, through an in-depth case study in an international context, seeking to answer the question of how far Tinsghua embodies the qualities of a world-class university.     

Contents or ideology? A case study of mathematical teaching in North Korea

This article addresses mathematics education in one of the most closed countries in the world, North Korea. It is known that ideology permeates all aspects of life in North Korea, but how exactly do the ideological and substantive mathematical components interact in mathematics education there? What concrete form does this interaction take in actual everyday teaching practice? This article seeks to answer these questions based on interviews with former North Korean mathematics teachers and students who have found a refuge in South Korea. With their help, we attempt to analyze the everyday life of North Korean schools, by reconstructing their concrete features and the routines of North Korean mathematics education.     

Graduates’ evaluations of usefulness of university education,and early career success – a longitudinal study of the transition to working life

A successful transition from university to working life requires that graduates are able to employ their education and academic competences in real working-life contexts. Our previous research showed that graduates varied in how they were able to reflect on their competences at the time of graduation. The present longitudinal mixed-method study follows the same graduates and explores their evaluations of the usefulness of university education and career success, three years after graduation. The follow-up data consisted of 57 graduates’ survey answers analysed by quantitative and qualitative methods. The results showed that graduates who were able to describe and evaluate more competences at the time of graduation perceived their current jobs to correspond more to their education. Graduates with more limited evaluations of their competences, on the other hand, had experienced more challenges related to employment and were more uncertain of their goals. The results also showed that having diverse competences and an ability to recognise them at the time of graduation is important for later career success and may also be related to what kind of challenges graduates face in working life.     

Learner managed learning: managing to learn or learning to manage?

A central assumption behind innovations in education and training over the last 20 years has been that learners need to take greater responsibility for the direction and pace of their own learning. The rationale for this is provided by an analysis of the contemporary social and economic order which highlights instability and change as core conditions. A discourse of ‘learner-management’ has emerged, linked with techniques of personal development planning and recording achievement, which appears to offer learners the possibility for individual autonomy and control. The article examines some of the assumptions embedded in this discourse, questioning the relevance of the rational decision making model, and the origins of the ‘character’ of the self-managing learner. ‘Learner management’ is viewed as a discursive form of power, shaping subjective understandings of what it means to be a learner, a manager, a person. It is suggested that this is not the only discourse of learner management available, and that education has a role to play in mapping more creative and diverse forms of learner identity.     

Ready for university? A cross-national study of students’ perceived preparedness for university

Students’ preparedness for higher education is seen as one of the main factors affecting first-year attrition or study success. In this paper we report on a cross-national study in which students’ preparedness for university was measured before students commenced their study at a university in New Zealand or in the Netherlands. This cross-national project provided a unique opportunity to compare students’ perceptions of readiness for university where students are prepared for higher education in quite different secondary school systems. Departing from a transition framework, and comparing the results in both countries using logistic regression techniques to investigate which aspects of readiness could predict perceived preparedness, we discovered similarities in as well as differences between students’ perceived readiness for university study. It could be argued that differences are caused by the different educational systems at secondary level. However, overall we can conclude that, in spite of differences between the educational systems in the two countries, many differences were not remarkable or very significant. This has clear implications for how we view the relative importance of secondary school preparation and tertiary induction. We can expect greater benefit from implementing first-year pedagogical practices in universities that would assist students to develop their academic skills, than from demanding that high schools prepare students better.     

How do elementary school teachers learn coding and robotics? A case study of mediations and conflicts

Education and Information Technologies - In this qualitative case study, we examined in-service elementary school teachers’ learning of coding and robotics in a blended professional learning...     

How do primary school teachers develop knowledge by crossing boundaries in the school–university partnership? A case study in China

University experts typically serve as knowledge sources for teacher learning. Experts in China are no exception. Nevertheless, minimal attention has been focused on knowledge flow between experts and teachers, and its contribution to teacher knowledge development. Drawing on the perspective of knowledge process across boundaries, this qualitative study investigates knowledge growth of primary school teachers involved in a small-scale school–university partnership in Northern China. In-depth interview was adapted as the main approach to collecting data. Nine participating teachers, two school administrators, and one university expert were interviewed. Findings show that expert-led knowledge transfer (knowledge-for-practice is directly delivered) and teacher-involved knowledge translation (knowledge-in-practice is reframed and situated) are the main focus of the partnership studied. However, collaboration-oriented knowledge transformation (altering existing knowledge and creating knowledge-of-practice) is insufficiently emphasised. Furthermore, this study discusses significant implications for advancing the transformation of knowledge and expert–teacher collaborative knowledge creation as well as for further study.     

Learning to be a culturally responsive teacher through international study trips: transformation or tourism?

Recent rapid changes in the ethnic and cultural make-up of school communities have highlighted the need for teacher education to prepare teachers for culturally diverse contexts. International study trips provide direct experience and interaction with culturally diverse ‘others’ as a way to extend pre-service teachers’ understandings of difference and diversity. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study that investigated the experiences of 15 Australian pre-service teachers who attended a short-term study programme in either Korea or India. Drawing on notions of the ‘comfort zone’ and ‘pedagogies of discomfort’, we discuss how the pre-service teachers were challenged to move beyond their comfort zone into new and unfamiliar territory, and into states of dissonance and discomfort. Three interrelated themes emerged from the interview data: (1) dissonance resulting from physical discomfort; (2) dissonance resulting from culturally different communication styles and expectations about appropriate behaviour and interaction and (3) dissonance resulting from incidents/events that challenged the pre-service teachers’ views of themselves and their own cultures. We suggest that many of the participants experienced levels of discomfort and dissonance that hindered effective learning, and limited the transformative potential of the experience. We conclude by discussing some implications for international experience programmes in teacher education.     

Workaholism and work–family conflict among university academics

Because of governance and management changes in universities in recent decades, the working environment of university academics has changed. The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to investigate whether university academics are more workaholic and report more work–family conflicts than other university personnel and to provide empirical knowledge about the antecedents and outcomes of workaholism and work–family conflict among university academics. A questionnaire was used to collect data on job demands, job resources, workaholism and work–family conflict from 2186 university academics and 2551 technical and administrative personnel at 3 universities in Norway. The results show that academic personnel experienced more workaholism and work–family conflict than non-academic personnel. High job demands, especially high role overload, affected both workaholism and work–family conflict. Job resources had a marginal effect on both workaholism and work–family conflict. Workaholism was positively associated with work–family conflict and partly mediated the relationship between role overload and work–family conflict. It is not clear how job demands and workaholism interact with work–family conflict. Nevertheless, paying attention to the risks of workaholism and preventing it at all levels are important, since workaholism is associated with work–family conflict, which may adversely affect the health of the individual, the family and the workplace.     

A study of the difficulties of care and support in new university teachers’ work

This paper discusses some findings from a small‐scale qualitative study involving ‘new’ teachers in a medium sized, regional English university. Using Grounded Theory methods to inform and guide the research, the study explores participants’ views on working as both teachers and researchers whilst also managing considerable amounts of ‘caring work’ with a diverse body of students who often need academic and pastoral support in excess of that assumed within the university academic timetables or support networks. The voices of these teachers suggest that care is an overlooked aspect of university teachers’ work, yet it plays an important part in maintaining their and their students’ sense of scholarly endeavour. Further, our findings suggest that within the university at large there is a ‘discourse of difference’ in the way that many academics conceptualize and represent the student body and students’ needs to be supported. This discourse impacts on the development of new teachers’ identities and aspirations. Some implications of these findings for implementing strategies for supporting teachers to develop both academic and pastoral roles within universities are discussed.     

Redefining university roles in regional economies: a case study of university–industry relations and academic organization in nanotechnology

The emerging field of nanotechnology has created a new frontier for the convergence of university and industrial research. In the United States, major federal investments provided a massive boom for this field over the decade. This paper reports on a case study of how the University at Albany came to establish the first college of nanotechnology in the US, as part of a larger R&D complex oriented towards building a regional nanoelectronics cluster. The case points to the role of entrepreneurs in mobilizing ideas and resources to advance novel organizational forms. This study demonstrates how a mode of technology transfer based on research facilities was deliberately used to build a nanotechnology complex at Albany, highlighting the enabling role of state S&T policies in supporting university engagements in regional economic development.