Public policy failure and fiasco in education: perspectives on the British examinations crises of 2000–2002 and other episodes since 1975

Abstract

This article is the first part of a debate with David Hargreaves about the ideas expressed in his article ‘Diversity and choice in school education: a modified libertarian approach’. It discusses the difficulties of using cost‐benefit analysis in education, examines in detail some of the documents on which Hargreaves's argument is based and traces the development of policy on school choice. It is argued that policy on choice must be understood within a consideration of the wider social and political context in which that policy has arisen. The article then documents the various new forms of selection that have accompanied increased choice and considers problems of social segregation. The article concludes with suggestions on how the system might be reformed.     

GOD IN OUR FLESH: BODY THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Abstract This article examines the theological perspective known as Body Theology in order to reflect on its implications for how we do religious education. Part one provides a summary of the viewpoint s basic arguments and part two both suggests broad pedagogical implications and offers examples of specific instructional practices directly generated from these new, theologically-based aims. Though several theologians have written what could be called body theologies in recent years, my summary of Body Theology is based on a reading of James B. Nelson s (1992) landmark book, Body Theology, and more specifically the third chapter entitled Doing Body Theology.     

Acculturation and religion in schools: the views of young people from minority belief backgrounds

This paper aims to explore the relationship between religious identity, acculturation strategies and perceptions of acculturation orientation in the school context amongst young people from minority belief backgrounds. Based on a qualitative study including interviews with 26 young people from religious minority belief backgrounds in Northern Ireland, it is argued that acculturation theory provides a useful lens for understanding how young people from religious minority belief backgrounds navigate majority religious school contexts. Using a qualitative approach to explore acculturation theory enables an in‐depth understanding of the inter‐relationship between minority belief youth's acculturation strategies and their respective school contexts. Similar to previous research, integrationist attitudes generally prevailed amongst minority belief young people in this study. The findings highlight how young people negotiate their religious identities in a complex web of inter‐relationships between their minority religious belief community and the mainstream school culture as represented through peer and staff attitudes, school ethos and practices and religious education. Young people demonstrated differentiated understandings of acculturation orientations within the school context, which they evaluated on the basis of complex perceptions of educational policy, interpersonal relationships and individuals' motivations. Findings are discussed in view of acculturation tensions, which arose particularly in relation to the religious education curriculum and their implications for opt‐out provision as stipulated by human rights law.     

Understanding How Families Use Magnifiers During Nature Center Walks

This analysis uses a sociocultural learning theory and parent–child interaction framework to understand families’ interactions with one type of scientific tool, the magnifier, during nature walks offered by a nature center. Families were video recorded to observe how they organized their activities where they used magnifiers to explore in the outdoors. Findings include that families used magnifiers for scientific inquiry as well as for playful exploration. Using the concept of guided facilitation where families develop roles to support their joint endeavor, three roles to support family thinking were found to be: (a) tool suggester, (b) teacher, and (c) exploration ender. Some families struggled to use magnifiers and often, parents and older siblings provided support for younger children in using magnifying lenses. Implications to informal science learning theory are drawn and suggestions for future family learning research are offered: (a) inclusion of sociocultural and situated perspectives as theories to study informal learning in outdoor spaces, (b) further study on the role of siblings in family interactions, (c) design-based research is needed to encourage family role-taking when engaging in science practices, and (d) new conceptualizations on how to design informal programs that support science learning while leaving space for visitors’ personal agendas and interests that can guide the families’ activities.     

Exploring the Utility and Student Perceptions of Synthetic Cadavers in an Undergraduate Human Anatomy Course

The synthetic cadaver is a high-fidelity model intended to replace or supplement other anatomy learning modalities. Academic attainment and student perceptions were examined in an undergraduate human anatomy course using a combination of plastic models and synthetic cadavers to learn lower body anatomy (“Experimental group”), compared to a Historical group who used only plastic models. Grades on an upper body test, for which both groups used only plastic models, were compared to ensure that no academic differences existed between groups (P = 0.7653). Students in the Experimental group performed better on the lower body test for which they used both plastic models and synthetic cadavers (median = 73.8% (95% CI: 72.0%-75.0%) compared to the Historical group (70.1% (95% CI: 68.3%-70.7%), P < 0.0001); however, less than half of students (49%) attributed this to the synthetic cadavers. Students' perception of laboratory resources (P < 0.0001) and learning experience (P < 0.0001) both improved with the addition of synthetic cadavers compared to using only plastic models, and 60% of students in the Experimental group agreed that the synthetic cadavers would be a key reason that they would choose that institution for undergraduate studies. This investigation showed improved student grades when plastic models and synthetic cadavers were combined, in addition to improved student perceptions of the learning experience. Results of the student questionnaires also suggested that although synthetic cadavers carry a notable up-front cost, they may be a useful recruitment tool for institutions.     

A systematic review and synthesis of qualitative research: the influence of school context on symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

This systematic review and synthesis of qualitative research explored contextual factors relevant to non-pharmacological interventions for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in schools. We conducted meta-ethnography to synthesise 34 studies, using theories of stigma to further develop the synthesis. Studies suggested that the classroom context requiring pupils to sit still, be quiet and concentrate could trigger symptoms of ADHD, and that symptoms could then be exacerbated through informal/formal labelling and stigma, damaged self-perceptions and resulting poor relationships with staff and pupils. Influences of the school context on symptoms of ADHD were often invisible to teachers and pupils, with most attributions made to the individual pupil and/or the pupil’s family. We theorise that this ‘invisibility’ is at least partly an artefact of stigma, and that the potential for stigma for ADHD to seem ‘natural and right’ in the context of schools needs to be taken into account when planning any intervention.     

A chimpanzee’s (Pan troglodytes) long-term retention of lexigrams

In this experiment, a chimpanzee’s (Pan troglodytes) long-term retention was examined. The chimpanzee, Lana, was trained to use lexigrams (geometric symbols representing linguistic units) for foods, colors, and objects when she was 2 years of age. At the age of 27, her recognition of three sets of lexigrams was examined. One of these sets (long term lexigrams) included five object lexigrams, one color lexigram, and one food lexigram, none of which had been seen by Lana for more than 20 years. The second set (different-referent lexigrams) contained lexigrams that are still present on current lexigram keyboards, but had been assigned new referents. The third set (same-referent lexigrams) contained lexigrams that had been kept on the keyboards Lana had used and that had retained the same referents. A food, a colored square, or an object was presented, and Lana had to select, by using a joystick, a lexigram on a computer screen. Lana chose the correct lexigram at a level significantly greater than chance for five of the seven lexigrams that she had not seen for more than 20 years.