School‐Industry twinning

The Non‐statutory Guidance for Information Technology Capability identifies the information technology (IT) co‐ordinator as key in implementing IT across the whole school, and defines the role as a member of the management team with policy and personnel rather than technical skills. This paper presents evidence from a survey of secondary school coordinators across an English local education authority and shows that they deal principally with technical management of the resource. They are allocated a low managerial status, despite being expected to produce and implement a whole school strategic policy. The discussion highlights that IT management requires complex curricular managerial skills, and recognition within school management structures.     

The Contested Nature of Empirical Educational Research (and Why Philosophy of Education Offers Little Help)

This paper suggests that empirical educational research has not, on the whole, been treated well by philosophers of education. A variety of criticisms have been offered, ranging from triviality, conceptual confusion and the impossibility of empirically studying normative processes. Furthermore, many of those who criticise, or dismiss, empirical research do so without subjecting any specific examples to careful scholarly scrutiny. It is suggested that both philosophy of education, and the empirical research enterprise, stand to profit if philosophers pay more attention to real cases—and this attention is especially important at present, when research funding is being based on spurious scientistic criteria such as the use of 'gold standard' randomised experimental research designs.     

Cultural and Gender Biases in Definitions of Mental and Emotional Health and Illness

This article discusses how cultural and gender bias in definitions of mental and emotional health and illness create critical issues for counseling research.