Representing education 1969–80: notes on ‘Kes’ and ‘Grange Hill’

Focusing on the Working Men’s College (WMC), this study charts the chequered fortunes of a Victorian project: providing workers with a ‘liberal education’. The paper analyses the project’s aim (making ‘better citizens’), its disciplinary content (the humanities and/or the sciences) and its challenges (the increasing prestige of vocational studies). It argues that, in an increasingly professionalised society, a ‘liberal education’ for workers became contentious ground. As the role of the sciences within a ‘liberal education’ diminished, and the provision of practical skills took precedence in the local-authority-funded courses, Victorian workers’ opportunities for education became polarised between ‘useful’ sciences and ‘profitless’ humanities. With natural scientists losing the intellectual independence of their discipline to technicians, the WMC Edwardian educators chose to side unequivocally with the humanities. The paper contends that it was in the Edwardian context of the adult education movement that the ‘two cultures’ debate first emerged in Britain.     

The process of relationship development and deterioration: Turning points in friendships that have terminated

This study examines friendships that have ended. Five recalled trajectories for dissolved friendships were found. Certain turning points were generally associated with increases in friendship closeness, while others were associated with decreases in closeness. In addition, gender differences were found for several of the turning points reported. Implications are discussed for interpersonal communication research based on a traditional linear conceptualization of relational development and deterioration.     

Becoming a ‘learning nation’: what are South Africa's chances?

The article explores the possibilities for South Africa as a learning nation given its historical context and current attempts to transform its political and social structures. It argues that the satisfaction of international criteria by which a learning society is judged, will depend upon the acceptance and promotion of non‐formal educational processes throughout South Africa, given the damage done to the formal education system by the policy of apartheid between 1948 and 1988. Through a case study of transformational learning at the Mercedes Benz plant in the city of East London, the article explores the contribution that non‐formal education agencies can make (via the workplace) to the achievement of learning society status by South Africa. It argues that similar possibilities exist in other non‐formal learning contexts ranging from sports organizations to performing arts councils. The paper concludes that whilst South Africa is still far from qualifying as a learning nation, it has one of the most important pre‐requisites ‐ the political and societal will to develop a culture of learning in the country.     

Student perceptions of hidden messages in teacher written feedback

Students take away a variety of messages from teachers’ responses to their writing, although not all the information conveyed is explicit or related to the work at hand. In fact, both the content of this feedback and the ways they respond can lead students to interpret their tutors’ beliefs about their subject, about learning, and about the value of literacy in their disciplines. Drawing on a series of interviews with 24 first and second year students at a Hong Kong university, this paper seeks to identify what these messages are and the consequences they can have for students’ attitudes to their field of study, to disciplinary writing, to learning and to teacher–student relationships.     

The role of the university tutor in school-based work in primary schools in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

There has been much international debate on the role of the university tutor in the supervision of student teachers during school-based work. This study focuses upon the Irish context, where there has been little research. It involves a comparative study of the views and attitudes of university staff, student teachers and class teachers from the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland. Data collection methods comprised questionnaires to university tutors, class teachers and students (n = 150), focus groups and one-to-one interviews. This project reveals a reservoir of goodwill between tutors, teachers and students, along with a willingness to engage in dialogue and collaboration. Importantly, this study concludes that it is the university tutor who should have the lead role in collaborative models of school-based work partnership, with significant consultation and input from the class teacher and consultation with the student in the evaluation process.     

Restrictive and expansive policy learning – challenges and strategies for knowledge exchange in upper secondary education across the four countries of the UK

Abstract

This article examines the challenges and possibilities for UK policy learning in relation to upper secondary education (USE) across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (NI) within current national and global policy contexts. Drawing on a range of international literature, the article explores the concepts of ‘restrictive’ and ‘expansive’ policy learning and develops a framework of dimensions for examining what is taking place across the UK at a time of change for all four national USE systems. From an examination of recent national policy literatures and interviews with key policy actors within the ‘UK laboratory’, we found that the conditions for expansive policy learning had markedly deteriorated due to ‘accelerating divergence’ between the three smaller countries and a dominant England that has been pursuing an ‘extreme Anglo Saxon education model’. The article also notes that some aspects of policy learning continue to take place ‘beneath the radar’ between UK and wide civil society organisations. This activity is more prevalent across the three smaller countries although each, to differing degrees, is still constrained by its position in relation to the UK as a whole.     

Three versions of ‘localism’: implications for upper secondary education and lifelong learning in the UK

As part of the international debate about new forms of governance and moves towards decentralization and devolution, this article discusses the increasing interest in the concept of ‘localism’ in the UK, marked recently by the publication of the UK Coalition Government’s ‘Localism Bill’. A distinction is made between three versions – ‘centrally managed’, ‘laissez-faire’ and ‘democratic’ localism. The article draws on two research projects funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and one by the Nuffield Foundation, as well as sources by specialists in local government, political analysts and educationalists. It explores the broad features of the three versions of localism and their implications for upper secondary education and lifelong learning. The article concludes by examining the strengths and limitations of the first two models and suggests that the third has the potential to offer a more equitable way forward.     

Higher education,Curriculum 2000 and the future reform of 14–19 qualifications in England

This article, which is based on research funded by the Nuffield Foundation, examines the responses of higher education institutions (HEIs) to the recent reform of advanced level qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, known as Curriculum 2000. The research, undertaken in late 2002 and early 2003 following the ‘graduation’ of the first cohort of Curriculum 2000 learners, combined documentary analysis, use of national survey findings and interviews with a sample of university admissions tutors from new (post‐1992) and old (pre‐1992) universities in England. The research shows that HEIs were generally well‐informed about most aspects of the advanced level reforms and, at the level of public statements, welcomed the possibility of a broader advanced level curriculum. However, this relatively positive approach was not reproduced in terms of offer‐making to candidates: admissions tutors, particularly in the pre‐1992 universities, continued to make offers largely on the basis of predicted grades in three main A Levels. We argue that the reason for this cautious approach by the HEIs was not simply a result of their traditional support for subject specialisation, but also stemmed from systemic problems related to the Curriculum 2000 qualifications, their voluntarism and their less than universal up‐take by schools, colleges and learners. We conclude by looking briefly at the implications of these research findings for the future reform of 14–19 curriculum and qualifications in England.