The Doctorate in Fine Art: The Importance of Exemplars to the Research Culture

The doctorate in Fine Art has had a troubled history in the UK. Although there are growing numbers of doctorates being undertaken and over forty institutions which offer doctoral study, there is still little understanding of this research culture. There is a developing literature, but it remains curiously focused on research methods and protocols rather than on establishing the character of the culture through what is being produced by doctoral students. Macleod and Holdridge have produced an AHRB‐funded study of selected exemplars of doctoral submissions. The study seeks to make both a practical and strategic intervention in the ongoing ‘making/writing’, ‘theory/practice’ debate. It also seeks to clearly demonstrate how artist researchers have dealt with the academic requirements of the PhD and how the production of a substantial written text (generally 30,000 words plus) showing a keen knowledge and criticality of the subject field has been achieved. The exemplars demonstrate both the distinctive and the normative character of the PhD in Fine Art. However, the underpinning empirical research for the study (1996 —) has also demonstrated the critical independence of such exemplars within the broader field of academic research. Through a brief analysis of three doctoral submissions selected from the study, the paper seeks to draw out some of the more important findings and their implications for the developing research culture.     

Professional learning communities as drivers of educational change: The case of learning rounds

Many researchers claim that there is a compelling weight of evidence for the effectiveness of PLCs in promoting teachers’ learning and pupil achievement. However, others raise fundamental questions about their nature and purpose. Some of the uncertainties about the nature and purpose of PLCs relate to the ways in which the macro-context of neo-liberalism has shaped the practices of PLCs in particular ways. The fundamental questions raised about PLCs relate to the type of change they are intended to produce, the model of community they are based on and whether the right conditions and skills are in place for them to contribute to change. Some researchers argue that we need to pay more attention to shortcomings within existing PLCs and their internal dynamics. Others argue that little research focuses on the specific interactions of teachers inside PLCs. The research reported here goes ‘inside the teacher community’ of Learning Rounds to explore what the shortcomings of some examples of this model in practice add to what we know about how to assist PLCs to produce change in education.     

Student-centered instruction and academic achievement: linking mechanisms of educational inequality to schools’ instructional strategy

Research in the sociology of education argues that the educational system provides different learning opportunities for students with different socioeconomic backgrounds and that this circumstance makes the educational process an important institutional context for the reproduction of educational inequality. Using combined survey and register data for more than 56,000 students in 825 schools, this article conducts the first empirical test of the argument that instructional strategies which emphasize student responsibility and activity, also referred to as student-centered instruction, increase educational inequality. We analyze whether the impact of student-centered instructional strategies on academic achievement differs for students with different socioeconomic backgrounds. Results suggest that a student-centered instructional strategy has a negative impact on academic achievement in general, and for students with low parental education in particular. Our findings support the argument that the instructional strategy of schools is an important mechanism in generating educational inequality through the stratification of learning opportunities.     

Early Childhood Educators’ Wellbeing During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Early Childhood Education Journal - The importance of Early Childhood (EC) educators’ wellbeing has been brought into sharp focus during the COVID-19 pandemic, as educators have navigated...     

Compliance through care and commitment: why young people do as adults ask

Although the behaviour of young people is often a focus for concern, most young people do as they are asked. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study across four educational settings that set out to explore reasons for this compliance. Forty-four young people (aged 12–21) participated in interactive focus groups and 21 practitioners were interviewed. A critical exploration of the authority relationships between the young people and the participating adults was undertaken. The research was designed to explore the relevance of the typology of authority relationships proposed by Dennis Wrong for educational settings. The findings confirmed the applicability of his work; however, the paper argues that an additional basis for authority relationships characterised by ‘care and commitment’ should be included. The results suggest the potential for long-term caring relationships, authenticity and professional competence as key factors in enhancing compliance in educational settings.     

Balfour’s Mission to Palestine: Science,Strategy, and the Inauguration of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem

In 1925, A.J. Balfour, first Earl Balfour and author of the famous ‘Balfour Declaration’, attended the inauguration of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His education and experience of foreign policy equipped him to take a prominent role. However, the conditions of strife-torn Palestine weighed heavily upon him, and raised wider interests of imperial concern. This essay recounts the circumstances leading to his visit, and suggests that, whatever the region’s political destiny, Balfour’s vision of science-based economic development would play an essential role in crafting its future.

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Immune nutrition and exercise: Narrative review and practical recommendations

Abstract

Evidence suggests that periods of heavy intense training can result in impaired immune cell function, and whether this leaves elite athletes at greater risk of infections and upper respiratory symptoms (URS) is still debated. There is some evidence that episodes of URS do cluster around important periods of competition and intense periods of training. Since reducing URS, primarily from an infectious origin, may have implications for performance, a large amount of research has focused on nutritional strategies to improve immune function at rest and in response to exercise. Although there is some convincing evidence that meeting requirements of high intakes in carbohydrate and protein and avoiding deficiencies in nutrients such as vitamin D and antioxidants is integral for optimal immune health, well-powered randomised controlled trials reporting improvements in URS beyond such intakes are lacking. Consequently, there is a need to first understand whether the nutritional practices adopted by elite athletes increases their risk of URS. Second, promising evidence in support of efficacy and mechanisms of immune-enhancing nutritional supplements (probiotics, bovine colostrum) on URS needs to be followed up with more randomised controlled trials in elite athletes with sufficient participant numbers and rigorous procedures with clinically relevant outcome measures of immunity.     

The impact of prospective teachers’ perceived competence on subsequent perceptions as schoolteachers

This longitudinal study examines connections between 110 teachers’ perceived professional competence acquired during professional preparation and later perceptions as schoolteachers in Norway. The results indicate that theoretical understanding plays an important role in schoolteachers’ professional competence development and that prospective and practising schoolteachers do not tend to perceive themselves as either good theorists or good practitioners. Furthermore, the results contradict research arguing that the teacher education programme has limited effect. Instead, the results indicate that the level of perceived competence acquired during professional preparation in the general teacher training programme is of major importance for perceived mastery of teaching as a schoolteacher. In addition, the results also underscore the importance of experiencing continuing mastery of teaching requirements for supporting perceptions of teaching specific self-efficacy over time. This finding again supports previous research that has emphasised the importance of supporting teaching specific self-efficacy during both the period of teacher education of prospective teachers and the induction period of newly qualified teachers.     

Bad,mad or sad: constructions of young people in trouble and implications for interventions1

Young people in trouble can be seen as passive victims of circumstance who are in need of help; as individuals responsible for their own behaviour who need to be punished; or as sufferers from medical conditions who require treatment. This paper will examine the history of policy relating to pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties in Scotland, noting the continued co‐existence of both punitive and welfare approaches. It is argued that the punitive approach, which construes pupils as deliberately causing trouble, is counter‐productive. Evidence from interviews with pupils will be presented to argue that the pupils internalise the reflected appraisals of the adults around them, with implications for their sense of self. This paper argues for a revitalisation of approaches to young people in trouble which are grounded in a more welfarist approach. The importance at the same time of retaining a sense of the pupils' individual agency is noted. Recent developments in restorative approaches are evaluated as a potential way forward in this respect.     

Enhancing employability through industrial training in the Malaysian context

This study discusses the industrial training programme at the University of Malaya in Malaysia, specifically the issues that need to be addressed in order to enhance the employability skills of graduates. Findings from the feedback obtained from trainees and organizations in the 2008/2009 academic session were examined in terms of the extent to which trainees felt they were prepared for their training, and the extent to which the tasks given to them during their training were appropriate. Further, trainees’ self-rating of particular skills and industry’s rating of the trainees were also examined. The feedback is discussed in the context of the need to equip graduates with employability skills, an issue facing Higher Education Providers worldwide. The findings indicate that most of the students were prepared to face the world of work. However, there were several issues which needed attention. These included the need to address the possible mismatch between the tasks assigned to trainees and their areas of study, and the need to enhance English language competency and particular soft skills throughout their degree programme. Continuous input from industry is also necessary to ensure that the training benefits all parties and contributes to the employability skills of trainees.