The Significance of the Learning Society for Women and Men with Learning Difficulties

This article draws on work undertaken as part of the Economic and Social Research Council's Learning Society Programme. The project from which data are drawn, entitled 'The Meaning of the Learning Society for Adults with Learning Difficulties', focused on lifelong learning opportunities available to people with learning difficulties and experiences of these services. The article begins by examining theories of late modernity, their use by feminist and disability studies theorists and their relationship to ideas of a learning society. Subsequently, using case study material, it is argued that the identities of people with learning difficulties are not chosen freely from a range of options but are socially ascribed. The status of learning difficulties is used as a dominant category to justify deprivation of basic political and economic rights. In addition, the lives of people with learning difficulties are structured by gender and class, and these intersect with the category of learning difficulties. For both women and men, the advantages of middle-class social and economic capital are overridden by the negative category of learning difficulties. In relation to gender, men with learning difficulties are more likely to receive post-school training, but in inappropriate areas of the labour market. Their domestic needs are also likely to be attended to by others, but in the absence of employment, they find themselves without any valued social role. Women with learning difficulties are also likely to be excluded from the labour market, but are more likely to be involved in reciprocal, albeit limited, social relationships. It is concluded that postmodernist theories are inadequate to describe the structuring of the lives of people with learning difficulties.     

Pedagogical content knowledge and the teaching of outdoor education

This theoretical paper examines the concept of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and explores how it might contribute to conversations around quality teaching and learning in outdoor education. This paper begins by summarizing the historical and contemporary literature, including issues of definitions, curriculum, content, and pedagogy in outdoor education. We then review the concept of PCK, its history, and contributions to other subject areas, including mathematics. We present a framework for PCK from the field of mathematics education and propose a 'modified' PCK framework for outdoor education. We postulate that this framework might help articulate knowledge areas needed by a teacher of outdoor education, and how these differ from and are similar to those required in other subject areas. We conclude by exploring how the idea of PCK and the modified framework might add to existing understandings of what it means to provide high quality outdoor education teaching and learning experiences.     

Engaging Actively with Issues in the Responsible Conduct of Science: Lessons from International Efforts Are Relevant for Undergraduate Education in the United States

Numerous studies are demonstrating that engaging undergraduate students in original research can improve their achievement in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and increase the likelihood that some of them will decide to pursue careers in these disciplines. Associated with this increased prominence of research in the undergraduate curriculum are greater expectations from funders, colleges, and universities that faculty mentors will help those students, along with their graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, develop an understanding and sense of personal and collective obligation for responsible conduct of science (RCS). This Feature describes an ongoing National Research Council (NRC) project and a recent report about educating faculty members in culturally diverse settings (Middle East/North Africa and Asia) to employ active-learning strategies to engage their students and colleagues deeply in issues related to RCS. The NRC report describes the first phase of this project, which took place in Aqaba and Amman, Jordan, in September 2012 and April 2013, respectively. Here we highlight the findings from that report and our subsequent experience with a similar interactive institute in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Our work provides insights and perspectives for faculty members in the United States as they engage undergraduate and graduate students, as well as postdoctoral fellows, to help them better understand the intricacies of and connections among various components of RCS. Further, our experiences can provide insights for those who may wish to establish “train-the-trainer” programs at their home institutions.