A PERSONAL CONSTRUCT APPROACH TO EVALUATING TEACHING PRACTICE

During 1976, one of us decided to investigate the use of Kelly's personal construct theory and the triadic form of his repertory grid in enhancing understanding between a supervisor and a student‐teacher, when evaluating that student's teaching. An account of the procedure is given. In discussion, the student and supervisor agreed that the procedure, although long and demanding, led to a greater understanding of their own and each other's perspectives of the lesson evaluated. But it was admitted that the particular procedure employed and the use of the triadic form of the repertory grid are both time consuming and tiring. A rating form of the repertory grid in a simpler procedure was then explored in a similar teaching situation. An account of this second approach is also given. It was agreed that this approach was much simpler than in the original investigation and both student and supervisor (who were common to both investigations) found that it led to a greater understanding of their own and each other's perspectives. The authors therefore suggest that a rating form of the repertory grid (and the accompanying theory) can be used to enhance understanding between student‐teachers and their supervisors. They also propose that this would be a useful procedure in other educational contexts when an evaluation takes place.     

Teaching Orthodox religious education on the border

In geographical areas bordering those of other states, the function of educational systems, as the means for states to foster their citizens, is challenged by ambiguities and tensions connected to intercultural experiences. In this article, I illustrate some of the findings from a project that studies religious education in four border areas around the Baltic Barents Sea, by bringing forward the case of a school teacher who teaches Orthodox religious education (ORE), in a town in Finland close to the border with Russia. Thus, the aim is to present and discuss ORE in Finland as well as to understand what implication the border situation can have on religious education.     

Conceptualising gender and violence in research: Insights from studies in schools and communities in Kenya,Ghana and Mozambique

Gender and violence are complex and contested concepts, understood in varying ways in research, policy and interventions in education. Often there has been an emphasis on acts of violence, with much less attention to the social conditions and gender relations behind these acts. This paper discusses the development of a conceptual framework that emphasises not just acts and individuals, but also transformation of gendered power relations and inequities, alongside a focus on addressing the identity conflicts and struggles of everyday life. The framework underpins research, advocacy and community interventions in a multi-partnered project on violence against girls led by ActionAid.     

Superteachrs: From Policy Towards Practice

This article is concerned with the origins and evolution of the Advanced Skills Teacher (AST) initiative from its announcement in 1995 to the end of 1999. It examines the Government rationale and the contributions of the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE), the Teacher Training Agency (TTA) and the School Teachers' Review Body (STRB).     

From Vocationalism to Enterprise: social and life skills become personal and transferable

In this paper we address Cohen's (1985) argument in “Against the New Vocationalism” by broadening the debate into an examination of how generic skills have gained a wider application with the emergence of new technology and structural enonomic change. In order to demonstrate the extent of this development, we include examples from training programmes in social and life skills for young people with learning difficulties and examine the Enterprise in Higher Education Initiative (EHEI), which, among other things, aims to give students personal and transferable skills. In this process, we extend Cohen's analysis to illustrate the diverse ways in which a behaviouristic model of skill transfer has been adopted.     

Incorrigible Offenders

As a contribution to the historiography of female criminality, this article charts the discursive contours of media representations of female habitual criminals. The discussion is based on analysis of the ways in which the late Victorian and Edwardian newspaper press in New Zealand reported cases of female criminals through the gendered and classed trope of ‘the adventuress’. The specific focus is on how concepts of class were implicated in the ways in which competing representations of female fraudsters, swindlers and thieves were portrayed in syndicated international articles and local news media. It is argued that representations of adventuresses sensationalised as headline-making anomalies in the news media need to be understood within the context of changing constructions of the thief. Newspaper reporting of their ‘exploits’ operated as implicit cautionary moral tales that reinforced normative constructions of feminine respectability.     

Anti‐racism Education within an Early Childhood Education Diploma Programme

An awareness of racism and anti‐racism strategies for educators are important aspects to be included in pre‐service early childhood teacher education. This paper provides a case‐study of the approach adopted by the Centre for Early Childhood Care and Education, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Within this early childhood education programme, there is a focus on developing an awareness of racism and commitment to anti‐ racism in early childhood students. This paper outlines the historical background to ‘biculturalism’ in Aotearoa/New Zealand, followed by policy statements at various institutional levels, and then discusses pedagogical considerations in implementing a commitment to anti‐racism in pre‐service early childhood teacher education.