More than Just Worksheets?: A Study of the Confidence of Newly Qualified Teachers of English in Teaching Personal, Social and Health Education in Secondary Schools

This paper addresses concerns regarding the preparedness of newly qualified teachers to deliver Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) in the United Kingdom in relation to the training received during Initial Teacher Education and through early Continuing Professional Development. The paper is situated not only within a context where OfSTED has questioned the adequacy of some non-specialist PSHE teachers but also one where, due to a range of social and health concerns centred on young people, schools and teachers are being expected to play an increasingly important role in the social and health education of their pupils. As such, PSHE is increasingly seen as important across all curriculum areas. This paper relates specifically to the confidence of trainee and newly qualified teachers of English in teaching PSHE in secondary schools in the United Kingdom. Drawing on questionnaire data collected from recent Professional Graduate Certificate in Education graduates, the paper suggests that trainee and newly qualified teachers have the skills and knowledge drawn from their main subject (English) to deliver PSHE; however, many lack confidence and awareness to acknowledge these skills. The paper suggests that this situation may be addressed through increased opportunity to deliver and receive feedback on PSHE teaching during initial teacher training.     

Differing expectations: an account of home and school factors affecting EAL learners from Arabic-speaking backgrounds

This article considers research from a preliminary study of Libyan children's accounts of their experience learning English as an additional language (EAL) within mainstream schools in the LJK. The analysis of interviews and classroom observations suggests that for equal opportunity to take place, local education authorities need to place greater emphasis on language and educational provision for newcomers to UK primary schools. In addition, there is still a communication barrier as well as a language barrier between home and school which needs to be addressed in order for children to adjust to and meet school requirements. In a similar way, parents of newly arrived children need to have clear expectations. The implications of this piece of research are extremely relevant for additional language acquisition in British schools and, in particular, for the education of newcomers whose circumstances are similar to those of the children in this study. This research also enables the voice of Arab children, as learners of the English language, to reach educators and policy makers, and empower them further in the research processes which inform British education policy.     

Hokanson,Brad & Gibbons,Andrew ed (2013) Design in educational technology Springer (Berlin) isbn 978‐3‐319‐00926‐1 283 pp £90 http://www.springer.com/education+%26+language/learning+%26+instruction/book/978‐3‐319‐00926‐1

Here is a well written and well edited book with focus on the concept of design in modern educational technology practice. It is for both new and experienced designers; those new to the field might find opportunities to expand their practice, while experienced designers will find affirmation of many past practices and the opportunity to explore new ideas for future projects. If you think this book is likely to be of value to you, I suggest you buy your own copy Diane P Janes     

Indirekte Gesundheitseffekte des Unterrichtsprogramms HealthyPEP

Numerous studies have confirmed direct health effects of interventions with a physical activity component on students without providing sufficient information on the contents or the degree to which the programs have been carried out. The empirical evidence of the indirect health effects of physical education is weaker. In this article the focus is placed on the evaluation of the indirect health effects, such as the enhancement of physical activity and its psychological determinants (e.g. motivation, attitudes, self-efficacy and knowledge) of the health promotion program HealthyPEP, using a quasi-experimental design with 516 sixth grade students. When taking into account the contents of HealthyPEP and the degree of implementation, it was clear that the program had different effects on the two genders whereby girls evaluated HealthyPEP in a more positive way compared to boys. In girls, positive tendencies were observed on rational cognitive determinants (e.g. knowledge and attitudes towards sports). The contents of HealthyPEP must be further optimized in the future to achieve positive indirect health effects also on boys.