The educational developer’s portfolio

The roles and responsibilities described in internationally advertised job opportunities for educational developers reflect the diversity and emerging professionalism of the field. Models adapted from the traditional teaching portfolio are a promising means of articulating these roles and responsibilities, and of defining the nature of the educational development profession.     

Development of expertise in elite and sub-elite British rugby league players: A comparison of practice experiences

Previous studies have investigated how individuals reach an expert level by counting the number of hours engaged in specific practice types. Here we sought to understand and compare the microstructure (e.g. practice tasks undertaken) of these practice hours experienced by elite and sub-elite British rugby league players. Semi-structured interviews explored the practice experiences of eight international and eight domestic level players. A two-staged thematic analysis was used to interpret the data. The analysis revealed that both player groups experienced a rich and narrow landscape of affordances and were exposed to early diversification of sports experiences during childhood. Differences were identified in domestic level players’ experiences of amateur and professional sports, where episodes of negative developmental environments were reported. International players’ practice experiences revealed differences in their professional careers, where exposure to scenario-based practice and dynamic learning environments were reported. The findings suggest that insights from ecological dynamics provide a suitable theoretical framework to guide coaches in the design of practice environments that should consider the physical, psychological, emotional and social dimensions of expertise acquisition.     

Evaluation Research: A Pragmatic,Program-Focused,Research Strategy for Decision-Makers

Human resource development (HRD) practitioners frequently need to gather and organize data to support decisions about programs. Unfortunately, in many work environments there is a short time available to gather data in support of the decision-making process. Yet the ability to develop or use data or to convince others to use data has become the prime concern of decisionmakers. The evaluation research strategy contains four primary features—utility, feasibility, proprietorship, and accuracy. With a philosophical foundation grounded in pragmatism, evaluation research follows a four-level decision-making hierarchy: purpose, techniques, plan, and implementation. In addition, there are nine major purposes. There are two primary participants in evaluation research: the researcher and the stakeholder group. The stakeholder group is included because of the belief that people who have a stake in an evaluation research outcome should be actively and meaningfully involved in shaping that research effort, thus increasing the likelihood of utilization. Evaluation research may be goal-driven; or it may focus on evaluation questions, concerns and issues, program rationales, decisions or problems, or organization (client) needs.     

Educating the Secular Citizen in English Schools, 1897–1938

This article examines secularists’ efforts over 41 years to shape civic morality and civic culture in their own image. Through pressure groups – the Moral Instruction League (1897–c.1923) and the League of Nations Union (1919–1938) – activists aimed to create secular citizens in English schools. In so doing, they aimed to act as ‘agents of secularisation’. Some (limited) political influence was achieved, and their publications reached many thousands. Yet campaigners were unable to unite a majority of Christians, or even all secularists, behind their proposals. The process of forming the non-Christian citizen proved a complex one, involving shifting alliances, dialogue and compromise.     

Mainstreaming the e-excluded in Europe: strategies,good practices and some ethical issues

E-inclusion is getting a lot of attention in Europe these days. The European Commission and EU Member States have initiated e-inclusion strategies aimed at reaching out to the e-excluded and bringing them into the mainstream of society and the economy. The benefits of mainstreaming the excluded are numerous. Good practices play an important role in the strategies, and examples can be found in e-health, e-learning, e-government, e-inclusion and other e-domains. So laudable seems the rationale for e-inclusion, few have questioned the benefits. In fact, e-inclusion does raise ethical issues, and this paper discusses a few of the key ones. The paper draws several conclusions, principally regarding the need for some empirical research on what happens to the e-excluded once they have access to information and communications technologies, notably the Internet.