Theorising simulation in higher education: difficulty for learners as an emergent phenomenon†

Despite the widespread interest in using and researching simulation in higher education, little discussion has yet to address a key pedagogical concern: difficulty. A ‘sociomaterial’ view of learning, explained in this paper, goes beyond cognitive considerations to highlight dimensions of material, situational, representational and relational difficulty confronted by students in experiential learning activities such as simulation. In this paper we explore these dimensions of difficulty through three contrasting scenarios of simulation education. The scenarios are drawn from studies conducted in three international contexts: Australia, Sweden and the UK, which illustrate diverse approaches to simulation and associated differences in the forms of difficulty being produced. For educators using simulation, the key implications are the importance of noting and understanding (1) the effects on students of interaction among multiple forms of difficulty; (2) the emergent and unpredictable nature of difficulty; and (3) the need to teach students strategies for managing emergent difficulty.     

Place-people-practice-process: Using sociomateriality in university physical spaces research

Pedagogy is an inherently spatial practice. Implicit in much of the rhetoric of physical space designed for teaching and learning is an ontological position that assumes material space as distinct from human practice, often conceptualising space as causally (and simplistically) impacting upon people’s behaviours. An alternative, and growing, perspective instead theorises infrastructure as a sociomaterial assemblage, an entanglement, with scholarly learning, teaching, institutional agendas, architectural intent, technology, staff, students, pedagogic outcomes, and built form all participants in an active symbiosis of becoming. This article synthesises and works with spatial theories to elaborate on the emergent literature and illustrates a sociomaterial understanding through narratives of self and staff, teaching and learning in a university context. The terms sociomaterial, assemblage and entanglement allude to a relational ontology underlying spatial-social being-becoming. This understanding can support the realisation of the intent underlying transformations of material spaces to create collaborative and inclusive university environments, where staff and students can learn, belong, and become as part of a scholarly community. I argue that sociomaterial theory is valuable to make meaning of the inseparable mélange of people, place, technologies, interaction, discourse, feeling, value and power that is teaching and learning.     

Continuing attachments in academic work in neoliberal times: on the academic mode of existence

Is there (still) something specific about academic practice in contemporary neoliberal times? This article reports on a sociomaterial, ethnographic study informed by Deleuze’s untimely empiricism conducted at two research centres of a research university. We unfold the specificity of ‘the academic’ by elaborating upon two central notions: relational aspirations (the attachments of these academics, and the operations that such attachments generate) and mode of existence (the way academic practice comes into being by and through these attachments). The article discerns four types of relations that are typical for academic practice and argues that the way in which academic practice exists nowadays is characterized by a continuous distancing in action, that is, by drawing things together and by slowing things down.     

Understanding,Personal Identity and Education

Analysing the triad ‘understanding–personal identity–education’ in three different contexts (scientism, historicism, hermeneutics) make it possible to investigate the kind of thinking that is emphasised most in each context. The implications of thinking to educational practice are stressed at each level of interpretation. The chief shortfalls in the first two contexts are reviewed, together with their restrictive consequences for how education comes to be understood and practiced. The hermeneutic context recognises the primacy of interpretation and ‘pre‐understanding’ in all human understanding. Because of this it acknowledges the interplay that is invariably active between understanding and personal identity, and between both of these and what it means to educate. This third—hermeneutical—context is therefore offered not as any kind of final word on educational matters, but as a more appropriate and inclusive context in which education as a practice might be thought about and bettered.     

Threshold concepts,systems and learning for sustainability

This paper presents a framework for understanding the role that systems theory might play in education for sustainability (EfS). It offers a sketch and critique of Land and Meyer’s notion of a ‘threshold concept’, to argue that seeing systems as a threshold concept for sustainability is useful for understanding the processes of learning for sustainability. With an understanding of systems approaches as a key part of the practice of sustainability, educators do well to focus on ways to facilitate learners’ internalisation of systems thinking through EfS. This is particularly relevant given that sustainable development requires learners to go out into the world and apply sustainability theory to create change. The capacity to do this, it is argued, depends on learners’ understanding and internalisation of the core concepts of sustainability, such as systems.     

Creating change agents for interprofessional education and practice: a leadership programme for academic staff and health practitioners

Universities face increasing pressure not only to embed interprofessional education within health education curricula but also to prepare graduates as catalysts of change for interprofessional, team-based approaches to health care delivery. Currently, few leadership programmes exist that support the expansion of interprofessional education. This paper describes the development, implementation and evaluation of a leadership programme aimed to build faculty and health practitioners’ capacity to become change agents for interprofessional education and practice. The programme was delivered by two Australian universities, each in partnership with a local health care provider. A mixed method approach was adopted to measure participants’ pre- and post- knowledge, reactions to the programme, planned and reported behavioural changes, and organizational outcomes. The programme was positively evaluated and reported to increase participants’ understanding of interprofessional education and practice. Follow up with participants suggested the programme had facilitated the implementation of interprofessional education and practice in both academic and practice contexts.     

The sociology of Pierre Bourdieu and researching education policy

Bourdieu did not write anything explicitly about education policy. Despite this neglect, we agree with van Zanten that his theoretical concepts and methodological approaches can contribute to researching and understanding education policy in the context of globalisation and the economising of it. In applying Bourdieu’s theory and methodology to research in education policy, we focus on developing his work to understand what we call ‘cross‐field effects’ and for exploring the emergence of a ‘global education policy field’. These concepts are derived from some of our recent research concerning globalisation and mediatisation of education policy. The paper considers three separate issues. The first deals with Bourdieu’s primary ‘thinking tools’, namely practice, habitus, capitals and fields and their application to policy studies. The second and third sections consider two additions to Bourdieu’s thinking tools, as a way to reconceptualise the functioning of policy if considered as a social field. More specifically, the second section develops an argument around cross‐field effects, as a way to group together, research and describe policy effects. The third section develops an argument about an emergent global education policy field, and considers ways that such a field affects national education policy fields.     

Pedagogic affect and its politics: learning to affect and be affected in education

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the critical contribution that affects as bodily capacities to act, engage and connect can make to children’s learning in museums and schools. Drawing chiefly on empirical material collected over the course of visits by school children to Museums Victoria, Australia, and bringing a sociomaterial sensibility to bear, I trace the movements of these children through exhibition spaces and show pedagogic affect at work. I argue that children’s learning can usefully be understood in ways that go beyond social constructivism which underwrites museum learning and school education yet tends to neglect the role of affectivity and material agency in learning, as well as relations of power. As the empirical material shows, the politics of affective practice involve the co-constitution of bodies, spaces and objects in ways that actively intervene in established relations of power. I conclude by calling for a renewed engagement with the affective in education.     

Saving rhetorical children: sexuality education discourses from conservative to post-modern

Sexuality policy is currently changing at global, national and local levels. This move is affecting the sexuality education discourses in education policies around the world. However, the changes are not always translating into a direct re-thinking of approaches, and in some cases result in a push for more conservative policy. This paper provides a discourse exemplar for understanding the broad range of sexuality education discourses currently at work in education policies and policy movements internationally. It is intended for use in sexuality education policy research, conception and practice. The different constructions of ‘the child’ at the core of the various discourses are examined, including the ways in which the different discourses attempt to ‘save’ these children from perceived sexuality problems through education. The article posits that such rhetorical children should not ‘stand in’ for the needs of actual children in sexuality policy, without being explicitly acknowledged as constructs.     

The development of a mathematics teacher’s professional identity during her first year teaching

This study is focused on a period that poses several challenges for the development of mathematics teachers’ professional identities and agency: their first year of teaching in schools. During this period, beginning mathematics teachers confront tensions and contradictions among the principles, ideals, and experiences encountered during pre-service education and the demands, and restrictions of their teaching practice in schools. This article approaches this topic by developing an interpretative case study centered on one novice mathematics teacher, Sol. The aim is to describe and understand the development of Sol’s professional identity and agency during her first teaching year. Considering identity development as a diachronic phenomenon, we carry out a narrative analysis of the research data. The findings show that Sol developed her professional identity and agency through a process that gathered together the teaching practices possible inside her school, the positions she could negotiate as a newcomer inside the institution, and the cultural practices and discourses embodied during pre-service education. The results bring to the forefront the profound and tense interactions between the intimate and personal terrain of mathematics teachers and the social and cultural world of the schools where they work. Sol’s case also contributes to understanding the role that a robust pre-service education can play in the development of beginning teachers’ professional identities and in the possibility they could become agents of transformation in their schools.     

Theatre and drama education and populism: The ensemble ‘family’ as a space for dialogic empathy and civic care

This article, understanding populism as an essentially undemocratic ideology, argues that the pro-social theatre education approach of ensemble pedagogy can offer a model of educational practice which counters these anti-democratic rhetorics by creating a shared space for the enactment of empathetic discourse. Via an ethnography of the UK Shakespeare Schools Foundation festival project, the notion of the theatre education ensemble ‘family’ as a model of civic caring is offered as an alternative, feminist ‘care perspective’ on civic and political rhetorics, in contrast to the patriarchal ‘justice perspectives’ which facilitate the reductive anti-democratic rhetorics of populism. Thus, this article concludes that ensemble approaches to theatre education, viewed through this feminist pedagogy lens, hold rich potential for developing learners’ capacity to resist populism and act in socially hopeful ways.     

Developing holistic practice through reflection,action and theorising

This article outlines how I, as a primary teacher engaging with a self-study action research process, have come to a deeper understanding of my practice. It explains how I have also come to an understanding of why I work in the way I do; of how this understanding influences my work, and the significance of this new understanding. My work as a teacher frequently includes doing collaborative digital projects with my class. As I engaged in research on my practice, I initially experienced difficulties problematising this work. I struggled to achieve clarity not only with engaging in critical thinking but also with articulating my educational values. I found Mellor’s idea about ‘the struggle’ helpful as he explains how ‘the struggle’ is at the heart of the research process. My new understanding around these collaborative projects emerged in terms of holistic practice; clarifying my ontological values and learning to think critically. I am now generating an educational theory from my practice as I see my work as a process for developing spiritual and holistic approaches to learning and teaching. I conclude by outlining what I perceive to be the significance of my work and its potential implications for education.     

What is ‘Agency’? Perspectives in Science Education Research

The contemporary interest in researching student agency in science education reflects concerns about the relevance of schooling and a shift in science education towards understanding learning in science as a complex social activity. The purpose of this article is to identify problems confronting the science education community in the development of this new research agenda and to argue that there is a need for research in science education that attends to agency as a social practice. Despite increasing interest in student agency in educational research, the term ‘agency’ has lacked explicit operationalisation and, across the varied approaches, such as critical ethnography, ethnographies of communication, discourse analysis and symbolic interactionism, there has been a lack of coherence in its research usage. There has also been argument concerning the validity of the use of the term ‘agency’ in science education research. This article attempts to structure the variety of definitions of ‘student agency’ in science education research, identifies problems in the research related to assigning intentionality to research participants and argues that agency is a kind of discursive practice. The article also draws attention to the need for researchers to be explicit in the assumptions they rely upon in their interpretations of social worlds. Drawing upon the discursive turn in the social sciences, a definition of agency is provided, that accommodates the discursive practices of both individuals and the various functional social groups from whose activities classroom practice is constituted. The article contributes to building a focused research agenda concerned with understanding and promoting student agency in science.     

Raising the standard: contradictions in the theory of student-teacher learning

This article offers a critical examination of the use of teachers’ standards for student-teachers in teacher education in England. Using an illustrative data example of student-teachers working in a school department setting, benefits of a cultural historical activity theory analysis are forwarded. The example highlights shortcomings in the current education of student-teachers which is in transition owing to changes in English teacher education policy. Focusing heavily on meeting required teachers’ standards, the school teaching practice in the research example does not encourage student-teachers or teachers to develop their understanding of teaching. Neither is the context of the teacher education work taken into account nor personal views of participants. Ways of analysing experiences recognising the influence of schools in affecting the kinds of learning available to student-teachers are needed in England in order to increase understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of different approaches to school-based teacher education.     

Learning Science Concepts by Teaching Peers in a Cooperative Environment: A Longitudinal Study of Preservice Teachers

Misconceptions of science principles are frequent among university students. This is particularly problematic in teacher education, as these misconceptions can be passed on by teachers to pupils at school. In this study, 40 preservice teachers studied 8 common misconceptions by 3 different approaches: learning by teaching (LbT) and learning from peers (LfP; both organized in cooperative groups and using self-developed activities) and conventional lecturing. Participants’ understanding was evaluated prior to, 1 month after, and 2 years after instruction, together with their views on the effectiveness of these methods for achieving learning. The 3 approaches improved scores on all posttests, but LbT achieved the best results. This coincided with perceptions of the participants who gave diverse reasons for the success of LbT. For lecturing, the longitudinal perspective showed that gains in student learning at 1 month had partially declined by 2 years, even though there was still a medium effect size compared to the pretest. However, for LbT and LfP gains remained statistically stable throughout. A combination of these methods might not only contribute efficiently to conceptual change for a good number of misconceptions but also connect teacher education to an almost real school classroom, giving opportunities to translate student learning into teaching practice.     

Design-driven education in primary and secondary school contexts. A qualitative study on teachers’ conceptions on designing

Design in educational contexts is a relatively new topic. The basic idea of design and design-driven education is that students and teachers participate together in the planning, implementation and evaluation of learning projects. However, how design-driven education should be carried out in practice is yet to be established. Therefore, the aim of this study is to gain insights into how such practice could be implemented. Through a qualitative study, the authors examined primary and secondary school teachers’ (N = 5) conceptions on various aspects of design in educational contexts. The results indicate that design-driven education emphasises the need for collaboration between students and teachers, and the teachers’ active roles as facilitators for learning. Furthermore, in order for such design-driven practices to be successful, the learning process requires students to be self-regulative learners. The use of technology was also experienced as a natural part of design-driven education. The results present the participating teachers’ understanding of how design-driven education in school contexts could be organised.     

高等职业教育实践性教学实施现状与策略分析

从教师对实践性教学目标的认识、任务的设计依据、教材内容组织形式、教学方法和数字化资源在实践性教学中的应用等多个层面调查分析了我国高等职业教育实践性教学实施的现状和存在的问题,并在分析问题的基础上提出了使高等职业教育实践性教学从原有的自发性的示范、模拟,发展成为有特定教学目标、教学内容、教学方法、教学评价标准的系统化教学活动的实施途径。     

The role of archbishop Walsh in the resolution of the Irish University question

Abstract

This paper traces the evolution of early childhood care and education (ECCE) in Ireland over the course of the last century. Changing conceptualisations of the nature of childhood provide the context for understanding historical and contemporary approaches to ECCE. Historically, young children's care and education were treated as separate entities, with ‘care’ provided within the home and ‘education’ outside the home. However, the contemporary perspective recognises that young children's learning occurs on a continuum from birth, with care and education being interdependent. Although a distinct ECCE sector is beginning to emerge, prompted by developments at policy, practice and research level, there is considerable scope for further progress. Given ‘where we have come from’ and ‘where we are currently at’, future directions and recommendations for ECCE are elucidated.     

Re-conceptualising the paradox in policy implementation: a post-modernist conceptual approach

A review of education policy and practice indicates a paradox in policy implementation. Policy outcomes most often differ significantly from intended purposes and provisions enacted. This paper re-conceptualises this policy phenomenon, drawing on the post-modernist conception of policy as both ‘text’ and ‘discourse’ as an approach for understanding and unmasking the messiness and contested nature of education policy processes. The choice of approach is based on three factors. First, the choice is grounded in its efficacy in explicating and legitimatising the issues of power within the policy arena. Second, the choice is based on the potential of the approach in integrating social and political theories of discourse with more linguistically oriented approaches to the study of policy. Third, the preference of approach follows from its potential to draw on language as a resource for reading into and/or analysing complex social issues.     

Potentiality for change? Revisiting an action research project with a sociomaterial approach

This article takes as its point of departure an action research project conducted in an upper secondary school in Sweden. The project had a practitioner research approach and was carried out with students in one class. In this article, I elaborate on the tensions that appeared during the project concerning collaboration and action. This is done by revisiting the project with a theoretical approach of sociomaterialism. Revisiting entails critically and creatively exploring how to comprehend collaboration and action differently. It raises question about who or what are involved in the collaborations and what are to be considered ‘good’ actions. Within the elaboration, collaboration and action become intertwined phenomena that are always working together. Furthermore, it proposes how the notion of intervention embraces the distributed and collective disposition of both collaboration and action. By addressing the notions of collaboration and action with a sociomaterial approach changing a teaching practice becomes a relational experiment without preset goals. The potential for change becomes within speculative interventions that affords various encounters and relations.