Place and student subjectivities in Higher Education ‘cold spots’

Abstract

This article uses an analytical framework informed by social geographies to explore the complex relationships between Higher Education Institution, undergraduate student and place. Drawing on findings from a qualitative study exploring the experiences of college-based Higher Education students studying degree courses in Further Education Colleges in England, the article sees student subjectivities as structured through inequalities of institutional positioning in a stratified system as well as through layered local histories of industrial loss. Taken as an instance of undergraduate education in a massified and geographically unequal national context, the findings in this article offer an insight into the contradictory role played by Higher Education in its local area, particularly where a local area is defined by both a lack of and a need for increased educational opportunity.     

Randall Jarrell's mermaid:The Animal Family and “semifeminine” poetics

Richard Flynn is the author ofRandall Jarrell and the Lost World of Childhood (Georgia, 1990) which was recently named a 1992 Outstanding Academic Book byChoice magazine. He teaches contemporary poetry and children's literature at Georgia Southern University, and serves on the executive board of MLA's Division on Children's Literature.     

Multimodal Training Improves Spatial Reasoning Skills in Female College Students

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Spatial reasoning is a valuable cognitive tool which enables navigation of the body in relation to other objects in space, permits deconstruction of...     

An Exponential Misconception

This article points out an unexpected but common misconception by students dealing with the exponential distribution.     

Teachers and Polish children: capturing changes in the linguistic field

This article presents original insights into the English learning experiences of Polish children and contributes a longitudinal perspective on teachers’ relationships with them. Data from interviews conducted in 2016 with primary school teachers, Polish children and their parents are compared with outcomes from an earlier study ending in 2009, in order to examine whether teachers’ practice for their Polish children has persisted or changed. Previously, findings suggested that teachers in England are constrained by a monolingually-oriented curriculum and that they identify Polish children as a ‘model minority’. In the current study, interviews with teachers, parents and children were used to develop and question these findings. Using Bourdieuian notions of linguistic field, habitus and capital, data analysis illuminates: the changing responses of teachers to migration; the ways in which teachers’ pedagogy has adapted for children who have English as an additional language; and the fluid nature of children’s linguistic identities.     

Industry–school partnerships: boundary crossing to enable school to work transitions

Industry–school partnerships (ISPs) are increasingly being recognised as a new way of providing vocational education opportunities particularly in industries where there are skills shortages. However, there is limited research investigating their impact on school to work transitions. This paper reports on a government-led ISP, the Gateway to Industry Schools Program, established in Queensland, Australia. Central to this initiative is the Resources Academy, a lead organisation for 28 schools and 17 multinational sponsor companies. This research adopted a qualitative case study methodology and draws upon boundary crossing theory as means to understand a Minerals and Energy ISP. We distinguish four types of boundary crossing mechanisms, which partners navigate in ISPs. The main findings were that boundary crossing mechanisms assist ISPs to develop industry-based contextualised curriculum and to prepare school students for employment.     

The impact of an international field experience on preservice teachers

This study addresses the question, “What is the impact of an international field experience on preservice teachers?” and corroborates many of the findings of a similar study by Willard-Holt [(2001). The impact of a short-term international experience for preservice teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17, 505–517]. In May 2005, 15 teacher education students from the US completed a 4-week international practicum, working in the classroom with teachers and students at a private international primary through secondary (K12) school in Rome, Italy. Data include preservice teachers’ reflections and comments collected from their personal journals, focus groups with supervisors, observation notes, a final reflection paper, course evaluations, and a questionnaire completed 1 year after the experience to assess any lasting impact the trip may have had on them as individuals and future teachers. While there were a few negative experiences, the results indicate that overall the benefits included both professional and personal changes, such as increased confidence, a better appreciation and respect for differences of others and other cultures, and an awareness of the importance that feedback and reflection play in professional and personal growth. The article concludes with recommendations on how to improve such experiences to enhance the personal growth and cross-cultural competency of preservice teachers.