Imagining a different life in school: educating student teachers about ‘looked after’ children and young people

The research described in this paper concerns the acquaintance of student teachers with the educational and wider pastoral experiences of children and young people who are or have been ‘looked after’ and who they may well teach at some point, together with the familiarisation of student teachers with the ‘looked after’ system in the UK. We discuss an exploratory awareness‐raising curriculum project within a Teacher Education Department at a University in the UK that utilises digital multimedia to develop a ‘community of awareness’ of young people and student teachers. As a result of this work, the student teachers were able to reflect on their pedagogical knowledge and practices related to teaching and wider pupil pastoral care. Further, those involved in the project therefore not only learned how to use technology, but to apply it in meaningful, productive ways, which were potentially transforming in terms of appreciation and knowledge of diversity. Benefits for the participants – the young people involved and the student teachers, as well as implications for both student teachers’ understanding of diversity and limitations of the technology – are discussed.     

Are the needs of children and young people with social,emotional and behavioural needs being served within a multi‐agency framework?

This article discusses the effect that recent policy and legislation has had on services for children and young people with social, emotional and behavioural needs (SEBN), particularly ‘Looked After Children.’ The article highlights the Government's overarching plan to promote social inclusion and effective multi‐agency collaboration and discusses the confusions arising from the use of ‘multi‐agency’ terminology. Two case studies of individual children then illustrate the manner in which collaborative working is either supportive of, or hinders, positive intervention. Finally the article discusses how general policy issues impact on practice with children with SEBN.     

Actor‐network theory of cosmopolitan education

In the past, philosophers discussed cosmopolitanism as a normative ideal of allegiance to humanity as a whole. A debate among social theorists, however, has examined cosmopolitanism as an incipient empirical phenomenon: an orientation of openness to foreign others and cultures. This paper introduces actor‐network theory to elaborate the social‐theoretical conception of cosmopolitanism. In light of the actor‐network theory of cosmopolitanism, the paper proposes cosmopolitan education that aims to foster in students three dispositions: to extend attachments to foreign people and objects; to understand transnational connections in which their lives are embedded; and to act on these attachments and understandings to effect transformations across national borders. Through this three‐fold cosmopolitan education, students will grow to be citizens of the world who traverse national borders dialogically by virtue of their transnational attachments, understandings, and actions.     

Changes in first entry to out-of-home care from 1992 to 2012 among children in England

Placement in out-of-home care (OHC) indicates serious childhood adversity and is associated with multiple adverse outcomes. Each year 0.5% of children in England live in OHC but evidence is lacking on the cumulative proportion who enter during childhood and how this varies over time. We measured the proportion of children born between 1992 and 2011 who entered OHC, including variation in rates of entry over time, and explored the determinants of these changes using decomposition methods. We also described changes in placement type, duration and stability. By age 18, 3.3% of children born 1992–94 entered OHC. This proportion varied by ethnicity (1.6% of White vs. 4.5% of Black children born 2001–03 entered OHC by age 9, 95% CI [1.5–1.7] and [4.4–4.6], p < 0.001) and increased over time (0.8% of children born 2009–11 entered OHC by age 1 vs. 0.5% born 1992–94, 95% CI [0.7–0.9] and [0.4–0.6], p < 0.001). This overall increase was driven primarily by the increased rate of entry among White children and not by concurrent changes in the population's ethnic composition. The proportion of children entering OHC in England is increasing and characteristics of the care they receive are changing with earlier intervention and longer, more stable placements. Further research is required to understand the reasons for these changes in practice and whether they are cost-effective, sustainable, and improve outcomes for children and society.     

Children in care in education: Who is entered for exams and who reaches critical thresholds of success at age 16?

Being entered for exams and reaching key educational thresholds, for example 5 A* to C grades (including English and Mathematics) at GCSE, are important markers of participation and success in secondary education. However, little is known about the prevalence and make-up of children in care reaching these thresholds. Using secondary data analysis, we compared the proportions of children in care, children ‘in need’ and children in the general population who achieved four key thresholds, including exam entry and 5 A* to C grades, including English and Mathematics. We then focused on children in care and examined factors that predicted exam entry and achieving 5 A* to C grades, including English and Mathematics. Children receiving social care interventions were less likely than children in the general population to be entered for exams or to reach important educational thresholds. For children in care, several socio-demographic, care and educational factors predicted their likelihood of success. No children with an autistic spectrum disorder or who had ever been permanently excluded were recorded to have achieved 5 A* to C grades, including English and Mathematics. Children with poor attainment at Key Stage 2 were also at significant risk of not achieving this threshold. Practitioners and policymakers should consider the modifiable risk factors for poor educational performance and be aware of groups of children in care who are at significant risk of not achieving a minimum standard which could open doors for their future.     

Resilience: a study of risk and protective factors from the perspective of young people with experience of local authority care

As part of a review of services in one local authority, young people aged 13–19 with experience of local authority care were asked to provide their views of what makes a difference to them. As Jackie Dearden makes clear in this article, young people consistently reported on themes collated from previous research into resilience and identified factors which were most and least helpful. The compelling personal accounts draw attention to what services could do to increase protective factors which include interest of carers, access to facilities, taking bullying seriously, a clear sense of a positive future and adults who listen. Additionally, positive change occurred most often after significant changes in circumstances, especially transition phases, providing turning points for some young people. Such personal stories present a powerful perspective that would be hard for service providers to ignore. This raises the question of how local authorities are routinely consulting with vulnerable young people.     

行动者网络理论视域下乡村学前教育发展的内生路径

近年来,乡村学前教育在实现跨越发展的同时也表现出过分、单一依赖政府的倾向,缺乏整体观与内生力。在行动者网络理论视域下,本研究对39名乡村学前教育相关人员进行深度访谈,借助NVivo 12软件对访谈资料进行编码分析,以探索乡村学前教育发展的内生路径。结果发现,行动者识别不足、核心行动者定位不准,异质行动者之间需求、视角差异大,发展不均衡、队伍不稳定,外力扶持发展惯性强、缺乏内驱力是制约乡村学前教育发展的重要内因。乡村学前教育发展应实现从外力扶持向内生发展的路径转型,为此应全面识别异质行动者,明确核心行动者;锁定强制通行点,形成动态发展利益联盟;打通多元渠道,提升乡村学前教育质量;凸显乡村学前教育在乡村发展过程中的多重功能,尊重乡村文化,创新师资培养方式,实施乡村教师本土化培养,完善乡村教师保障机制,实现城乡学前教育公平。     

Vocational knowledge in motion: rethinking vocational knowledge through vocational teachers’ professional development

The paper presents empirical data to consider some of the current debates concerning the nature of vocational knowledge taught in Further Education colleges to students following craft, vocational and occupational courses. The concept of ‘knowledge in motion’ and workplace learning theories are employed as a conceptual framework to examine the continuing professional development (CPD) activities of vocational teachers. This is used to shed light on the ways in which teachers use CPD as a means of accessing and transporting vocational knowledge from occupations to classrooms. Empirical data were gathered through questionnaire, in-depth interviews and participant observation. The findings are presented around five themes: (1) the range of CPD engaged with by vocational teachers; (2) the limitations of propositional, explicit knowledge; (3) engaging with and capturing tacit knowledge; (4) managing the temporality of vocational knowledge; and (5) networking within and to the occupation. Findings suggests that vocational knowledge is distributed and networked and this conceptualisation makes visible some of the ways teachers are able, through CPD activity, to transport vocational knowledge from occupations to classrooms.     

‘He knows he is safe; you are the safety net’. Key adult intervention with children with attachment difficulties: the TAs perspective

Children and young adults who are ‘looked after’ can present teachers and teaching assistants with a variety of day-to-day classroom challenges and a range of complex behaviours due to adverse childhood environments. This group of vulnerable young people have very complex social and emotional behaviours that require a considered approach of support and interventions. The types of interventions deployed in schools, however, may depend on staff knowledge, staff self-confidence, and interpersonal skills to support the child's learning and complex behaviours. An example of an intervention is the key adult intervention programme, which is purported to develop staff knowledge and self-confidence when working with looked after children. training in key adult intervention occurred at a special school, which had a high percentage of looked after children, situated in an East Midlands town. The purpose of the study was firstly to support the children through in-depth knowledge development for supporting staff, and secondly to investigate staff confidence and understanding of the needs of looked after children. In addition, supporting factors of the key adult intervention and a discovery of any barriers to its implementation were sought. Using a mixed methods approach, data were collected from participating staff using questionnaires and focused conversations. Qualitative data were analysed using Cresswells six-step process. Findings suggest that the key adult intervention is an effective means to support staff confidence and understanding and offer support for looked after children. Recommendations for future practice include increased training and support for teaching assistants, teachers and the school community as a whole. In addition, targeted professional and emotional support for the teaching assistants deployed, and increased communication between senior leaders and teaching assistants is crucial. The current research, therefore, adds to existing literature by providing an evaluation of the key adult intervention within a special school setting with evidence gathered from teaching assistants.     

Feel the Fear: Learning Graphic Design in Affective Places and Online Spaces

This article explores the idea of pedagogic affect in both onsite and online graphic design learning spaces, and speculates on the role that this affect plays in the formation of the design student. I argue that embodied design knowledge is built by interactions with design professionals, activities that mimic the daily work of designers, and practices of display such as exemplar student work galleries within design schools. Therefore bodies in motion, and the places they move within, take on more importance in the making‐up of a graphic design student than we may expect. This idea has obvious implications for online design learning. Drawing on concepts from both Actor‐Network Theory (ANT) and Non‐Representational Theory (NRT), this article works three empirical instances of affect. The analysis presented is targeted towards exploring the contribution of affect to teaching in onsite and online learning spaces. As the practices described here carry through time and space to other design schools, the findings put forward have implications for a broad suite of practices in design education. Thinking through how affect plays out in the onsite design school points the way towards the creation of more vibrant online learning spaces.     

学前教育“保教并重”基本原则的反思与重构

\"保教并重\"被视为幼儿园教育的基本原则,体现着幼儿园教育的特殊性。然而,现实中幼儿园保育工作主要由素质、待遇与地位都较低的保育员承担,幼儿教师不愿意从事保育工作,表明\"保教并重\"的基本原则根本未能在幼儿园得到很好的实践与坚持。幼儿园保育工作是家庭养育功能的自然延续,对建立幼儿对幼儿园的归属感与安全感、教师与幼儿之间的亲密关系有着积极的促进作用,是幼儿园实施生活教育的直接途径,有利于保障幼儿学会基本独立生活与日常生活交往的幼儿园教育基本目标的实现。幼儿园\"保教并重\"的基本原则应修正为\"保育优先,教育其次;保育为重,教育为辅\"。     

Personalisation: the nostalgic revival of child‐centred education?

Personalisation is an emerging ‘movement’ within education. Its roots reside in marketing theory, not in educational theory. As a concept it admits a good deal of confusion. It can refer either to a new mode of governance for the public services, or it qualifies the noun ‘learning’, as in ‘personalised learning’. The concern here is with its intellectual affinity to child‐centred education, one which the government in England has strongly denied. On balance, the government’s view of personalisation is not of a piece with what may commonly be regarded as child‐centred education. But the strong semantic accord between the terms ‘personalisation’ and ‘child‐centred education’ provokes a question: why does the government not provide a term which unequivocally distinguishes its current ‘vision’ for education from child‐centred education? By retaining the term personalisation, the government purports to do two things: first, because of its focus on personalised ‘tailored’ needs and co‐produced solutions, it adapts education even further to a consumerist society; and second, because the term personalisation strikes a chord with the discourse of child‐centred education, it blurs the fact that little to do with pedagogy or with curriculum has in fact been changed. The term personalisation generates a nostalgic appeal to better times long gone.