By‐Products of the College Classroom∗

Postmodern media scholarship suggests that mass media are best described as naturalized aspects of our cultural environment, raw materials we use in shaping our identities, our relationships, and our communities. Rather than being reliably produced and predictably consumed, mass‐media “texts” provide space for creative negotiation and even resistance between the author of a given media “text,” the receiver of that text, and the context in which the text is produced and consumed. In this landscape the role of religious educator is one of giving people access to the symbolic, narrative, and sacramental resources of our faith communities.     

Towards the re‐articulation of the work of teacher educators in Higher Education institutions in England

In recent years, teacher educators in the Netherlands and the USA have developed professional standards for their occupational groups. These standards have been used to identify the professional expertise of teacher educators, to analyse their professional development needs, and to provide assessment mechanisms for accreditation. This article begins by outlining the impact of changes in pre‐service work on teacher educators' work in England and arguing that a re‐articulation of the work of this occupational group is needed. It then analyses the Dutch and American initiatives, and, drawing on discussions at the Association for Teacher Educators in Europe conference in 2005, debates the potential and relevance of drawing on these models for developing a similar framework with teacher educators in England. The article concludes that, whilst developing rigidly defined standards would be inappropriate, considering the intra‐professional development of a broad professional framework would facilitate the identification and understanding of teacher educators' complex work, and provide a springboard for providing enhanced induction and professional development opportunities.

Ces dernières années, les formateurs d'enseignants aux Pays‐Bas et aux Etats‐Unis ont mis au point des critères de compétence pour leur corps professionnel. Ces critères ont été utilisés pour identifier l'expertise professionnelle des formateurs d'enseignants, analyser leurs besoins en matière de développement professionnel, et permettre d'établir des mécanismes d'évaluation de leurs compétences afin de les accréditer. Cet article débute par une analyse des initiatives hollandaise et américaine. S'inspirant des discussions qui ont eu lieu à la conférence de l'ATEE de 2005, il se poursuit par un débat sur le potentiel et la pertinence d' élaborer à partir de ces deux modèles une structure semblable pour les formateurs d'enseignants d' Angleterre. L'article conclut que, tout en reconnaissant qu'il serait inapproprié d'établir des critères rigidement définis, l'existence d'une structure générale de critères professionnels permettrait de mieux identifier et de mieux comprendre le travail complexe des formateurs d'enseignants, et fournirait une base pour un meilleur système d'intégration et de developpement professionnel.

In letzter Zeit haben Lehrerausbilder in Holland und der Vereinigte Staaten berufliche Normen für ihre Berufsgruppe entwickelt. Diese Normen sind um die Fachkenntniss der Lehrerausbilder zu feststellen, die Bedarfe ihre berufliche Weiterbildung zu analysieren und um die Beurteilungsmethode der Zulassung zu versehen benutzt worden. Dieser Artikel fängt mit einer Untersuchung den holländischen und amerikanischen Iniativen an. Sie zieht an Gespräche der Association for Teacher Educators in Europe Konferenz 2005 heran, und berät das Potenzial und die Bedeutung die Benutzung der zwei Ausfuhrung um ein ähnliches System mit Lehrerausbildern in England zu entwickeln. Die Artikel kommt zum Schluss dass, obwohl klar abgegrenzt Normen zu entwickeln wäre ungeeignet, der Betracht der Entwicklung eines breiten beruflichen System würde die Erkennung und das Verstandnis der kompliziert Arbeit des Lehrerausbilder ermöglichen und ein Sprungbett für die Besorgung eine erweiterte Einleitung und berufliche Weiterbildung Möglichkeiten anbieten.

En los últimos años, los formadores de profesores de Holanda y EE.UU han creado normas profesionales para sus grupos ocupacionales. Esas normas se utilizan para identificar la cualificación profesional de los formadores de profesores, así como para analizar sus necesidades de desarrollo profesional, y proporcionar mecanismos de evaluación para la acreditación. Este artículo comienza analizando las iniciativas holandesa y estadounidense. Tomando como punto de partida los debates que tuvieron lugar en la Conferencia de la Asociación para la Formación del Profesorado en Europa (ATEE, por su sigla en inglés), celebrada en 2005, el artículo discute las posibilidades y la importancia de usar esos modelos con vistas a crear un marco similar para los formadores de profesores en Inglaterra. El artículo concluye que, mientras la creación de normas definidas rígidamente sería inadecuada, la creación de un amplio marco profesional facilitaría la identificación y la comprensión del complejo trabajo que realizan los formadores de profesores, además de servir de trampolín para proporcionar integración y oportunidades de desarrollo profesional.     

An Analysis of the Process of School‐Based Evaluation: A Critique of the IMTEC Programme

Five case-studies of mathematics departments in secondary schools in England are analysed. Three areas are studied closely: the horizontal integration of the mathematics curriculum, curriculum provision for the mathematically least able, and school-based, in-service training.     

Towards evidence‐based recruitment processes in the UK

There is a growing demand for admissions tutors in UK universities to use more rigorous and systematic decision‐making methods in recruitment processes. A key barrier to achieving this goal is the lack of a coherent and definitive body of knowledge upon which such methods can be built. The yardstick used for the majority of applicants is A2‐level performance measured through the grades that are attained, often translated into a points score. However, A2‐level performance is widely thought to be a crude and inaccurate way of predicting future academic performance. The aim of the research reported in this paper was to inform the practice of admissions tutors by improving the basis upon which decisions are made. Specifically, the goal was to provide admissions tutors with evidence to support their decision‐making processes by providing concrete data upon which recruitment decisions can be made. The research studied the first year (Level 1) performance of one cohort of students studying mechanical engineering programmes at the University of Leeds. The focus of the research was on the relationship between A2‐level performance and other information that is available to admissions tutors when they are selecting students, and Level 1 university performance. The results of the research indicate that, for applicants with A2‐levels, (1) only 28% of the variance in their university performance could be attributed to their A2‐level performance and (2) admissions processes should focus on the A2‐level grades that are attained rather than the A2‐level points scores that are frequently used.     

Towards a socio‐psychological view of school achievement

Abstract

The learning society has been advocated as an answer to current economic, political and social problems by a wide coalition of interests, including politicians, employers and educators. Here we critically analyse the concept as a myth; that is, as an idea which may or may not have validity, but which many people believe in. For the purpose of this analysis, the learning society is set alongside four other myths upon which it builds: those of productivity, change, lifelong education and the learning organisation. It is argued that the United Kingdom cannot currently be considered to be a learning society, nor is it likely to become one in the foreseeable future. But the idea of the learning society retains an important role as a myth, in drawing together and channelling energies in directions sought by policy‐makers.     

Spur‐of‐the‐moment speeches

This study investigated the degree to which applicants' perceptions of interview behaviors differed from interviewers' perceptions. Data were drawn from 188 actual employment interviews conducted under the auspices of a university‐operated placement center. Data analyses revealed applicants rating themselves and the interviewers significantly higher than the interviewers' ratings of either themselves or the applicants.     

The Organizational Implications of School Self‐Evaluation

This paper describes an action research approach to investigating the diverse goals and dilemmas that characterise staff appraisal activity. An intervention takes place to counter ineffective, defensive reasoning and teach the principals of two schools how to think and act in productive ways in order to manage dilemmas. The challenges of the complex theoretical and practical curriculum that underpins problem‐based methodology are discussed, and implications of the research for training that enables leaders to manage quality and diversity are examined.     

In the Kingdom of the Seals

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Towards a More Authentic Science Curriculum: The contribution of out‐of‐school learning

In many developed countries of the world, pupil attitudes to school science decline progressively across the age range of secondary schooling while fewer students are choosing to study science at higher levels and as a career. Responses to these developments have included proposals to reform the curriculum, pedagogy, and the nature of pupil discussion in science lessons. We support such changes but argue that far greater use needs to be made of out‐of‐school sites in the teaching of science. Such usage will result in a school science education that is more valid and more motivating. We present an “evolutionary model” of science teaching that looks at where learning and teaching take place, and draws together thinking about the history of science and developments in the nature of learning over the past 100 years or so. Our contention is that laboratory‐based school science teaching needs to be complemented by out‐of‐school science learning that draws on the actual world (e.g., through fieldtrips), the presented world (e.g., in science centres, botanic gardens, zoos and science museums), and the virtual worlds that are increasingly available through information technologies.