The changing place of careers guidance in schools

National Institute for Careers Education and Counselling (jointly sponsored by the Careers Research and Advisory Centre and by Hatfield Polytechnic). Research interests include careers guidance and the relationship between education and work. Has acted as a consultant to international organisations including the European Commission, OECD and Unesco. Books include Career Development in Britain, Work Experience in Schools,and Education, Unemployment and the Future of Work.     

Conceptual coherence,comprehension, and vocabulary acquisition: A knowledge effect?

Previous research has documented the role of readers’ existing topic knowledge in supporting students’ comprehension of text; yet, we know less about how to build students’ knowledge in order to support comprehension and vocabulary learning. In the current study, we test the hypothesis that knowledge can be built and leveraged simultaneously in the interest of students’ literacy development through the use of conceptually coherent text sets. Fourth grade students (N = 59) were randomly assigned to read either a set of six informational texts that cohered around a set of concepts related to the topic birds (CC texts) or a set of texts that addressed a range of topics (NCC group texts). After reading, we assessed students’: (1) knowledge of the concepts in the conceptually coherent text set, (2) knowledge of target concept-related words that appeared in their respective text sets, (3) knowledge of general academic words that appeared in both texts sets, (4) comprehension of a novel text on a related topic, and (5) interest in the topic of the conceptually coherent texts. Results revealed that students who read the conceptually coherent texts demonstrated more knowledge of the concepts in their texts, more knowledge of the target words in their texts, and had better recall of the novel text compared to students who read unrelated texts. Findings suggest that there is potential for knowledge and vocabulary to be built during English language arts through a focus on conceptual coherence in the design of reading experiences for students.     

Co-designing a civics curriculum: young people,democratic deficit and political renewal in the EU

Contemporary discussion of the ‘crisis in democracy’ displays a tendency to see young people as the problem because they are ‘apolitical’, ‘apathetic’ and ‘disengaged’, or point to deficiencies in institutions deemed responsible for civic education. This discussion normally comes as a prelude to calls for more civics education. This article points to a renewal of politics at the hands of young people relying on new media, and draws on evidence like survey research, case studies and action research projects. This political renewal is occurring largely in response to the assumption of political elites that a ‘politics-as-usual’ will suffice to address the major political challenges of our time. Against the assumption that teachers, curriculum experts and policy-makers already know what kinds of knowledge and skills students need to become good citizens, we make a case for co-designing a contemporary citizenship curriculum with young people to be used for the professional development of policy-makers. We argue that such an intervention is likely to have a salutary educational effect on policy-makers, influence how they see young people’s political engagement and how they set policy agendas. The article also canvasses the protocols such a project might observe.     

The Effect of Cognitive Style on the Preferred Format of Instructional Material

Abstract A total of 90 15‐16‐year‐old female pupils from a single‐sex secondary grammar school did the Cognitive Styles Analysis which assessed their position on the Wholist‐Analytic and Verbal‐Imagery learning style dimensions. They were asked to select their preferred format of a single‐sheet handout on study skills which was offered in three modes: Unstructured‐Verbal, Structured‐Verbal and Structured‐Pictorial. Each mode contained the same information and differed only in format. On the format preference, there was a significant effect of the Verbal‐Imagery dimension (p = 0.002), with the majority of Verbalisers choosing the Structured‐Verbal sheet and the Imagers opting for the Structured‐Pictorial version. There was a smaller effect on the Wholist‐Analytic dimension, where Wholist had a preference for the Structured‐Pictorial and the Analytics for the Structured‐Verbal version (p = 0.056). The findings were discussed in terms of their practical implications for a differentiated approach to instruction.     

Telling tales of torture: repositioning young adults' views of asylum seekers

This paper explores the changing attitudes of a group of young adults towards asylum seekers in the UK. Based on the experience of sixth form students attending a workshop hosted by a former refugee from Pinochet's Chile, it argues for the importance of personal stories and their wider contexts and suggests that each is necessary to enable understanding of the other. The paper addresses the ways in which these students were enabled to confront and contest the populist anti‐asylum discourse prevalent in the UK. The deconstruction of socially constructed barriers that had filtered their perceptions of communities beyond their own immediate environment was central to their shift from initial hostility through sympathy to greater understanding. This is analyzed in terms of risk. The paper concludes by acknowledging the power of the dominant discourse on asylum seekers and by suggesting that time must be made for tolerance.     

Evaluating online CPD using educational criteria derived from the experiential learning cycle

A set of educational evaluation criteria for online continuing professional development (CPD) courses is developed using Kolb's (1984) experiential learning cycle theory. These criteria are used to evaluate five courses provided by online CPD websites. It was found that these online CPD courses neglect parts of the learning cycle. Suggestions for improvements in these areas are given.     

Encounters with the Unexpected: From Holbein to Hirst (and Back Again)

Learning through art in the museum is a Masters’ level module established in 2006 through collaboration between the School of Education at Roehampton University, London and Interpretation and Education staff at Tate Britain and Tate Modern. On completion of the module, participants were asked to reflect on how the experience had altered their perspectives on the collection and their strategies for teaching and learning in art and design. The aim of this article is to explore some of the themes that emerged from these interviews and from other dialogue between tutors and students on the module, themes that are then discussed within the wider context of museum and gallery education. The article concludes by reflecting on broader notions of knowledge and understanding in the context of museum and gallery education. It is argued that the juxtapositions of historical, modern and contemporary art that have been a distinctive feature of Tate's curatorial strategy since 2000 have shed fresh light on older works in the collection and provide opportunities for art educators to reappraise the emphasis currently placed upon the interpretation of modern and contemporary work. It is suggested that developing knowledge and understanding of art is partly about embracing notions of ambiguity and mystery: that engaging with multiple and shifting interpretations of artworks should play a more central role in art education and that part of the process of engaging with art is the experience of not knowing and not understanding.     

Female and minority experiences in an astronomy-based science hobby

Cultural Studies of Science Education - Despite policy changes and targeted outreach, issues of underrepresentation persist for women and minorities in science fields. Previous research has...