Academic misconduct in teaching portfolios

Within academia, clear and standardised communication is vital. From this point of departure, we discuss the trustworthiness of teaching portfolios when used in assessment. Here, misconduct and fraud are discussed in terms of fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism, following the literature on research fraud. We argue that the portfolio’s unclear academic status and confusing standards makes it difficult to define misconduct. We see a risk that the practice of portfolio writing for assessment can lead to misconduct, including downright lies about accomplishments. We conclude that the trustworthiness of teaching portfolios is a responsibility for the academic community as a whole.     

Punishing kids: the rise of the ‘boot camp’

This paper is concerned with the rise of ‘the boot camp’ as a means of addressing ‘the problem’ of troubled youth’ in contemporary industrialised nations such as Australia and the UK. Drawing on a corpus of publicly available material including press releases and policy documents, media reports, and programme websites, the paper explores the legitimating discourses surrounding boot camps and suggests that they are a symptom of what Giroux [2011. “Youth in the Suspect Society and the Politics of Disposability.” Power Play: A Journal of Educational Justice 3 (1): 3–21] calls the ‘punishing state’. Such discourses work to construct young people as an escalating and uncontrollable problem, to frame this problem as individual rather than structural, and to suggest that state responses to problematic youth have been inadequate. Furthermore, we suggest, as the rationale for these boot camps indicate, that within this ‘punishing state', the militarisation of schooling is deemed to be an appropriate solution to this problem.     

Gypsy,Roma and Traveller pupils in schools in the UK: inclusion and ‘good practice’

This paper examines inclusionary processes and examples of ‘good practice’ in primary and secondary schools for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils in one inner London Borough in the UK. It will explore the role of the Traveller Education Service (TES) and argue that the support provided by the TES to schools is essential for the development of ‘good practice’, but at the same time it stresses that the TES is not a substitute for the school’s educational and welfare responsibilities. The paper will also argue that the commitment of the head teacher and senior management team to the inclusive ethos of the school is crucial in setting the tone of the school towards positive treatment of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils. Where an inclusive ethos works successfully it is often the result of a wider social engagement between the school and community. The paper will draw on qualitative interview data with parents, head teachers, deputies, heads of year, teachers, and classroom assistants at the schools.     

Warwick University PGCE Mentoring Scheme

As schools and HEIs have become partners in initial teacher education, the roles of personnel from both institutions have experienced radical change. Whilst the role of the university tutor as a student support and assessor has diminished, the teacher's role has been extended, to that of the student's subject‐specific mentor. Considering the importance of mentorship in the teacher education process and the lack of evidence on mentoring from the student's perspective, the present study sought to expand on current knowledge and increase understanding of the student's perspective through exploration of postgraduate PE and Dance students’ perceptions of the mentor role and the mentorship relationship at the University of Brighton. This study forms part of a larger, collaborative project between the University of Brighton and Liverpool John Moore's University which is investigating the development and impact of School Based Teacher Education Partnerships. In semi‐structured interviews, 25 students were asked to discuss: ideal qualities for mentoring and the student/mentor relationship; the mentor's role and their influence on the student. Students generally valued a supportive, professional relationship with their mentor which allowed mutual input and a mentor who is approachable and has a depth of subject expertise. These findings indicated the need, in the course of future research, to consider interaction and information exchange in the student/mentor relationship and the perceived and actual role which student and mentor play in this relationship.

Of current interest is the postgraduate student's experience of mentoring, which is highlighted and discussed in the present article. The data discussed here derive from work in the project's early stages at the University of Brighton, and the article is the first in a series which will be presented as the project continues. Future publications will discuss investigations which expand on the present findings and which result from either collaborative inquiry between the two institutions or replication studies to enable cross‐comparison between findings.     

A review of the uses of the Kelly's Repertory Grid method in educational assessment and comparability research studies

Comparability between different educational qualifications is an important issue within policy discourse in the UK. In this context, the comparability of qualification demands has been explored through the use of expert human judgement. The involvement of human judgement in estimating assessment demands has consequences for methodology. This review considered the ways that the Kelly's Repertory Grid (KRG) technique has been used to compare assessment demands over recent years. The review involved the identification and analysis of research documents as well as consideration of the original theory on which the KRG method was founded. This article describes how the technique has been adapted as it has shifted from its original psychotherapeutic context to be used in educational assessment and comparability studies. The review also explored possible disadvantages that stem from these adaptations, leading to recommendations to ensure the validity of findings when using the technique in educational assessment studies.     

Entwicklung und erste Validierung eines Tests zur Erfassung technologischer und informationsbezogener Literacy (TILT) für Jugendliche am Ende der Sekundarstufe I

The objective of this study was to develop a reliable and valid test to ascertain ICT literacy 0 = Information and Communication Technologies Literacy). It was designed as a paper-and-pencil test to ensure that it can be used flexibly. The results of two studies (pilot study: N = 308; validation sample of the final form of the test: N = 263) showed satisfactory item and scale values and indicated the one-dimensional nature of the construct. Tests of the test instruments for convergence and discrimination validity showed the expected links with computer-related pupil characteristics. To supplement this, expert reviews indicated a satisfactory content validity. Analyses of the construct validity showed that ICT literacy was clearly distinguishable from general cognitive abilities and, at the same time, possessed incremental validity in addition to other measures of computer literacy. The findings are discussed in relation to open questions about the construct validity of the test instrument.     

Primary School Boys' Identity Formation and the Male Role Model: An exploration of sexual identity and gender identity in the UK through attachment theory

This paper questions the concept of feminisation which has been invoked by some commentators to explain the widely reported difficulties with boys. Its focus is upon primary schooling, and the point is made that a literature dominated by the consider ations of adolescence and secondary schooling has underestimated the degree to which younger boys are socialised into the norms of hegemonic masculinity. Attachment behaviour theory is used as the framework for analysis, and a detailed study of a primary school provides evidence for the central contention that peers, rather than teachers, are the main role models for boys. The discussion is therefore critical of the notion that an increased number of male teachers who will act as role models has any serious purchase in tackling the problems of boys' identity formation. The paper identifies a number of weaknesses in the conceptualisation of 'the problem with boys' and points out the degree to which homophobic and sexualised bullying is a largely unrecognised issue in primary schools. The conclusion is that such issues need to be tackled in the light of an understanding of the significance of peer attachments.     

Does Russia need sex education? The views of stakeholders in three Russian regions

Objective To investigate the attitudes of the main stakeholders towards the introduction of sex education in schools in Russia.

Design Qualitative semi-structured interview study.

Setting Altai Krai, Volgograd Oblast, Moscow, Russian Federation.

Participants One hundred and fifty-three interviews with Intersectoral HIV/AIDS Committee members, government officials responsible for HIV policies and interventions, non-governmental organisation and private-sector representatives.

Main outcome measures Perception of and attitudes towards the introduction of sex education in schools.

Results Ninety-one per cent of stakeholders welcomed the introduction of sex education in schools and emphasised its importance for a child's personal development, public health, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS control, and pregnancy planning. The majority of respondents suggested providing different information for each age and grade. Despite the claimed support of interviewed policy-makers and main HIV stakeholders, there has been no action to introduce sex education. The majority of respondents were of the view that wider positive support through propaganda about health, sex and healthy lifestyle should be gained prior to introducing sex education in schools by addressing the stigma surrounding sexual issues.

Conclusions There was little opposition to the introduction of sex education in Russian schools expressed in our survey, but there are uncertainties regarding curriculum quality, teaching methods and the starting grade of teaching about sex, and there is a need to cover local sensitivities in the territories. These concerns could and should be addressed during curriculum design, development and programme implementation by the federal and local authorities. Wider involvement of educational specialists, peer-adults, health workers, celebrities and religious representatives in discussion of the curriculum could help prevent opposition to its implementation.

Contribution to knowledge Discussion of sex-related topics has been taboo in Russia and there has been little research into opinions on issues related to sex education. The contribution of this research is in gaining theoretical in-depth understanding of the attitudes of the interviewed stakeholders in Russia about the introduction of sex education in schools.