The Sorcery of Apprenticeships and New/Old Brooms: Thinking about theory,practice, the practicum and change

Attempts to reform teacher education, and in particular the practicum, often fail to produce the desired results. I apply Bourdieu's notion of field to teacher education, to show how a theory/practice binary maps onto the hierarchically ordered cultural and symbolic capitals of university-school relationships. Reform of teacher education cannot be achieved simply by adding more practice to university courses, nor by inverting the dyad to produce theory-less school-based teaching apprenticeships. Following Bourdieu, I suggest that those arguing for change-in teacher education, schools and leadership-must look at their own investments in the game, as well as working with/against it, in order to produce new forms of partnerships and a new approach to the practicum.     

Not quite university people? Academics teaching on foundation studies programmes in New Zealand universities

ABSTRACT

In the current neoliberal environment in higher education, universities are viewed as a valuable source of income. To generate this income, universities need to attract students, and in order to do so, they need to perform well in global ranking tables. These tables are influenced to a large extent by staff research and postgraduate teaching. Foundation studies programmes (FS) do not usually have a great deal to offer in these categories and this places staff teaching on these programmes in a difficult position. This article explores the perceptions of staff teaching on FS programmes in New Zealand universities, drawing on data from semi-structured interviews with 22 lecturers from four universities. Although lip service is paid in higher education circles to the importance of widening access to university education for traditionally marginalised groups, it appears that staff teaching on FS programmes do not, on the whole, receive acknowledgement, support or reward for the work that they do. Despite their marginalised status, these lecturers are committed to helping second chance learners. However, their ability to make a positive impact on these students’ lives is limited by their lowly status in the university sector. This article discusses the insights of FS staff and considers the implications of their positioning in the university sector. It offers some suggestions as to how, in a small way, universities could address the difficulties these academics face in their attempts to widen university access.     

Transpromo实现与客户成功交流

在过去的20年里．全世界的公司使用Transpromo（Transpromo=transaction＋promotion,票据广告）已经取得相当的成功。20年!你会认为这不太可能!难道Transpromo技术不需要色彩和数据挖掘以及可变数据印刷吗？事实上．Transpromo有多种不同的形式．从最基本的信息,比如基于客户信息的黑白印刷的声明材料．到最复杂的文档．比如根据客户信息及其需要确定的可变信息、图像．甚至不同的文字大小和格式。     

The Impact of League Tables on University Application Rates

In the UK, the popular use of league tables in assessing the comparative standing of universities has escalated to such an extent that most UK national newspapers now publish them. A review of literature to date suggests there has been little academic research undertaken to establish the value of such tables or to assess their impact upon student application rates. This paper explores the relationship between league position and application rates in the UK, using rankings from the Sunday Times as an example, with important lessons for higher education across the globe. Results show that in the period when league tables were newly introduced, there was a significant negative association between league table position (ranked from highest to lowest) and the change in application rates (that is, the higher the league position, the faster the growth in applications) an association that subsequently weakened and may have even have reversed. The paper goes on to explore the notion of various divisions within the overall league table, suggesting that there are effectively two 'selecting' divisions, typically choosing from a surplus of applicants, and two 'recruiting' divisions, typically working to avoid an applications shortfall against target numbers.     

Disciplinary regimes of ‘care’ and complementary alternative education

In schools, the notion of ‘care is often synonymous with welfare and disciplinary regimes. Drawing on Foucault, and a study of alternative education (AE) across the UK, and looking in depth at two cases of complementary AE, we identify three types of disciplinary regimes at work in schools: (1) dominant performative reward and punishment, (2) team-building and (3) therapeutic. We argue that while all three regimes aim to steer identified students back to the norm, the two complementary approaches that we saw avoided the narrow instrumental behaviourist approaches of the dominant pattern. In so doing, they also opened up wider horizons of possibility and ways to be and become.     

Intergenerational activities

Early Childhood Education Journal - How can we prepare the young children of today for the future, when 20 percent of all Americans will be old? Education about the process of human aging can help...     

Quality and change in higher education

There is increasing evidence that the pressures on British universities for greater quality and accountability, linked closely to funding, are leading to loss of quality. These governmental pressures, exerted through the Funding Councils, are wholly different from those applied in a quite separate way from another government source, the Employment Department. This article analyses the nature and effects of the two kinds of pressures in terms of change theory. This also demonstrates that the observed effects were not only largely predictable but to a substantial extent were predicted, and warns of the danger that the resulting deleterious effects may become irreversible.Lewis Elton obtained an M.A. in Mathematics at Cambridge University and a B.Sc. in Mathematics and a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics at the University of London. He is a Further and Higher Education Adviser to the UK Employment Department and Emeritus Professor of Higher Education at the University of Surrey. His special interests are in the improvement of university teaching and learning; staff development; distance learning; and organizational change in higher education. Pat Cryer obtained a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Physics at the University of Exeter and a Ph.D. in Educational Development at the University of Surrey. She has recently resigned as Professional Adviser of the UK Universities' Staff Development Unit and is now a Consultant in Higher Education. Her special interests are in issues of quality; staff development; and teaching large classes.The opinions expressed in this paper are our own and do not commit the Employment Department.