Measuring the Expertise of Paediatric Rehabilitation Therapists

This article describes the development of a classification system to measure the expertise levels of practicing paediatric rehabilitation therapists. Seventy‐five therapists from five disciplines (physical, occupational, speech‐language, behaviour, and recreational therapy) were involved, along with 170 peers, and 188 parents of children with disabilities. A cluster analysis of 10 indicators of expertise (derived from a battery of self‐completed, peer‐completed, and parent‐completed measures) indicated three levels of therapist expertise—novice, intermediate, and expert. Expertise level was related to various aspects of experience but not to therapy discipline. The classification system will be useful for the education and professional development of paediatric therapists, and for research on expertise in paediatric rehabilitation.     

A comparison of Hungarian and English teachers' conceptions of mathematics and its teaching

This paper reports on a statistical study of English and Hungarian teachers' conceptions of mathematics and its teaching. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to teachers of mathematics in 200 English and40 Hungarian schools teaching children in the 11–14 age range. Factor analyses identified four conceptions of mathematics and five of mathematics teaching. These were compared with those yielded by an earlier study involving the same English teachers and found to be consistent indicating the existence of similar conceptions in different educational systems. Differences and similarities in the strengths with which those conceptions are held were suggestive of both global and national conceptual traditions. The significant similarity to emerge concerned teachers from both countries sharing, with similar strengths, a general conception of mathematics teaching incorporating the teaching of mathematical skills, a variety of classroom approaches including investigations and problem-solving, and a recognition that mathematics provides an essential lifetool. Multi-dimensional scaling indicated that English teachers have their perspectives informed by two underlying, and possibly conflicting, traditions– pedagogic relevance and mathematical utility. The Hungarians appeared concerned only with notions of pedagogic relevance – those practices perceived to facilitate effective learning of a subject which is untainted by utilitarian perspectives. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

All in a day's work: primary teachers ‘performing’ and ‘caring’

This article discusses the current nature of primary teachers' work, which is explored in terms of ‘performing’ and ‘caring’ activities. It considers how the education policies of successive Governments in the UK, particularly for England, have given rise to a ‘performance culture’ in primary schools which emphasises targets, testing and tables and is overly concerned with the monitoring and measurement of teachers' work. The article examines teachers' experiences of working in a more competitive and performance‐driven environment particularly given that primary teaching is historically perceived as ‘women's work’ and linked with caring and mothering. The introduction of performance related pay and performance management in schools in England by the New Labour Government has made ‘performing’ activities more transparent while undermining, overshadowing and rendering invisible ‘caring’ activities in primary schools. The findings suggest that there appears to be a changing role for women teachers as the primary school culture shifts significantly from its association with the feminine qualities of nurturing towards a more masculine culture of management and performance.     

Teacher planning in the development of collaborative cultures

The value of collaborative working practices in schools and other institutions has been studied by a number of researchers, eg Fullan (1991); Hargreaves (1994). Researchers generally agree that collaborative practice is an important factor in teacher development and school improvement.

The significance of planning in primary schools is widely acknowledged. However, limited research has been carried out into the planning of primary teachers in Britain and much of what is written and advocated as good practice has little evidential basis.

This article explores the symbiotic relationship between planning and collaboration. In particular, it discusses the significance of this relationship to the individual teacher and to the school as an institution.     

School composition,school culture and socioeconomic inequalities in young people's health: Multi‐level analysis of the Health Behaviour in School‐aged Children (HBSC) survey in Wales

Health inequalities emerge during childhood and youth, before widening in adulthood. Theorising, testing and interrupting the mechanisms through which inequalities are perpetuated and sustained is vital. Schools are viewed as settings through which inequality in young people's health may be addressed, but few studies examine the social processes via which institutional structures reproduce or mitigate health inequalities. Informed by Markham and Aveyard's theory of human functioning and school organisation, including their concept of institutional boundaries, critical theories of marketisation and the concept of micro‐political practices within schools, this paper presents analysis of student survey data (N = 9055) from 82 secondary schools in Wales. It examines the role of socioeconomic composition, social relationships at school and institutional priorities in mitigating or perpetuating health inequality. It finds that affluent schools were most unequal in terms of student health behaviours and subjective wellbeing. In relation to health behaviours, students from affluent families accrue a disproportionate benefit. For wellbeing, students from poorer families reported lower subjective wellbeing where attending more affluent schools. Student–staff relationships appear to be a key mechanism underpinning these effects: poor relationships with staff were predicted by a pupil's position within schools’ socioeconomic hierarchy and associated with worse health outcomes. That is, students from the poorest families reported better relationships with teachers where attending less affluent schools. Universal approaches engaging with these social processes are needed to reduce health inequalities.     

Academics’ experiences of understanding of their subject matter and the relationship of this to their experiences of teaching and learning

In this paper we focus on the issue of how academic staff experience the understanding of their subject matter and the relationship of this understanding to their experience of teaching. In recent years there has been a substantial amount of research into how academic staff conceive of teaching and learning, how they approach their teaching, and how their approaches to teaching relate to how their students approach their learning. In our present project this research is being extended by looking at the way 31 academics from four broad fields of study experience their understanding of their subject matter and how this relates to the way they experience their teaching. Using a phenomenographic approach we show that academics who experience their subject matter in atomistic and less integrated ways experience their teaching in more information transmission and teacher-focused ways, while those with a more integrated and holistic experience of understanding their subject experience their teaching in more conceptual change and student-focused ways.in final form: 9 September 2004     

Pulled in many directions: tensions and complexity for academic staff responding to international students

This article reports on an interview-based study of the academic practices of staff members in a New Zealand university in response to international students in their classes and under their supervision. International students enter academic cultures which are inevitably different from those which have provided their academic preparation. Participant academics often revealed a tension between trying to support students adjusting to new demands and meeting their own expectations of tertiary teaching. Most had implemented some changes to their practices which they identified as enhancing international students’ ability to study successfully, but recognised the need for balance between support and an expectation of student autonomy. For some, however, adjustment of practice to reflect these students’ different expectations and skills violated their understanding of what higher education should be. Using the lens of different orientations that Fanghanel 2012 Fanghanel, Joelle. 2012. Being an Academic. London: Routledge. [Google Scholar]. Being an Academic. London: Routledge] identified among academic staff the article considers possible responses to the current situation.     

Virtual action learning: experiences from a study of an SME e-learning programme

This paper presents the findings from a project investigating management development for SME managers using an action learning programme, combining both face-to-face workshops and a virtual action learning environment. This programme was undertaken as part of the ENSeL (Engaging Networks for Sustainable eLearning) project, which was supported by the European Commission. The project aimed to address three main objectives: reworking results from previous European projects to disseminate to a wider audience, creating a learning network amongst the project partners and to undertake three learning trials with SMEs in UK, France and Italy. This paper principally addresses the findings from the UK trials, which ran between February and April 2005, and provides valuable learning to all those interested in developing future learning programmes aimed at SMEs.