Tutors’ Forum: engaging distributed communities of practice

The need to engage students studying at a distance in order to reduce isolation, foster a sense of belonging and enhance learning has received significant attention over the past few years. Conversely, very little research has focused on teachers working in this type of environment. In fact, we argue, they appear to be the forgotten dimension in ‘communities’ of distance learning. In this paper we identify some of the problems generated by teaching university subjects simultaneously across a network of campuses: a practice known as multi‐location teaching. We examine strategies for engaging multi‐location teachers as key contributors to a quality learning experience for students, and provide an analysis of how identified teaching needs and professional development are addressed within one particular teaching team by a small but powerful micro‐practice called the ‘Tutors’ Forum’. Drawing on data collected through a survey and interviews conducted over 2006/07, we discuss the benefits and critical success factors of the Tutors’ Forum in facilitating engagement and professional development for teachers working at a distance from the subject coordinator and other members of the teaching team. These factors include a specific style of leadership that fosters an inclusive, dialogic space where the patterns of interaction are characterised by reciprocity, collegiality and professional care. We discuss the implications of this practice for the further engagement of university teachers in an increasingly casualised and fragmented higher education sector.     

The Great Education Reform Bill 1988 ‐ some issues and implications

The article explores some of the wider policy issues and concerns raised by the 1988 Education Bill, in particular the implications of the Bill for control over schooling. There is a brief discussion about the main aspects of the Bill's proposals as they affect schools. The paper then moves on to consider the extent to which the Bill gives power both to the Secretary of State for Education and to parents and school governors, whilst removing power from Local Education Authorities and teachers themselves. It is pointed out that the proposals will make long term educational planning and policy implementation across a range of schools very difficult. The paper concludes by questioning whether all the intentions of the Bill will be realized but notes that opposition to the Bill has not really fully taken on board alternative strategies for improving the quality of education.     

Walking the Fine Line: How High School Teachers “Manage” Behavioral Issues

As teachers make daily decisions regarding how to address behaviors in their classrooms, they are walking a fine line of behavior management. In order to be successful in modifying student behaviors, teachers need to analyze the purpose of their strategies and predict the outcome of their actions. This article reports the results of a survey given to secondary teachers working with students with disabilities. Participants were asked to identify the frequency with which they intervened with certain problematic behaviors, which strategies they used, and to what extent they found these strategies useful for modifying student behavior. The implications of their responses are discussed in relation to how they make decisions about improving students' behavioral outcomes.     

Association of leisure time and occupational physical activity with obesity and cardiovascular risk factors in Chile

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between physical activity (PA), both occupational (OPA) and during leisure time (LTPA), with obesity and cardiovascular risk factors in Chilean adults. 5,157 participants from the Chilean National Health Survey 2009–2010 were included in this study. OPA and LTPA levels were assessed using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. The association between both PA with obesity and cardiovascular risk factors was determined using logistic regression. Our findings showed a significant trend between higher LTPA and lower odds for obesity (OR 0.64 [95% CI: 0.53; 0.76], central obesity 0.52 [0.44; 0.61]) and other cardiovascular risk factors including diabetes (OR: 0.72 [0.55; 0.94]), hypertension (OR: 0.59 [0.50; 0.71]) and metabolic syndrome (OR: 0.62 [0.50; 0.78]). In contrast, OPA was only associated with lower odds of diabetes (OR: 0.79 [0.65; 0.98]) and hypertension (0.85 [0.74; 0.98]). In conclusion, LTPA was associated with a lower risk of all major cardiovascular risk factors, whereas OPA was only associated with a lower risk of diabetes and hypertension.     

Changing Research Perspectives on the Management of Higher Education: Can Research Permeate the Activities of Manager‐Academics?

The paper considers whether, and if so how, research evidence can permeate the world of higher education (HE) management in publicly funded institutions. The paper explores the author's experience of two recent research projects (1998–2000 and 2004) on aspects of managing UK HE institutions and issues arising from the preparation of the HE element of a third study of leadership and public service change agendas in education and health during 2004. Despite the topicality in education and other public services of debates about evidence‐based practice, there is little indication that this debate has permeated HE management qua management. The paper utilises Bourdieu's work on academics and social and cultural capital to explore why manager‐academics may resist taking the findings of research seriously in relation to their own work. It is suggested that, where there is reluctance to learn from research, this may reflect the changing nature of HE, the status of HE research as an academic field and form of academic capital and the relative paucity until recently of training in management for most UK manager‐academics.