An Innovative Approach to Involving Parents in the Education of their Early Years Children

This paper describes and evaluates a project undertaken with parents from an inner city primary school in Hartlepool, UK, devised to help realise children's potential and raise standards. In order to achieve this, it was necessary to create a partnership between parents, school and the child in an environment characterised by the ‘core conditions’ (Rogers, 1957). It was hoped to increase the self‐esteem of the parents and to give them an understanding of the preschool curriculum in order to develop their skills, knowledge and confidence. It was also the intention of the project to involve these, and other parents, in school life and to enable them to take ownership of their own children's education. The multimedia approach involved video, photographs, word processing and press and radio interviews. The process encouraged the fulfilment of the objectives described above. The paper concludes by describing the successful outcomes of the project and indicates some possible developments.     

Negotiating tensions between the high-performing and socially just college: A consideration of the discursive construction of youth in English college governing boards

The English further education (FE) sector caters for young learners who are regularly defined as at risk due to a range of economic and social challenges, as transitions from youth to adulthood become more protracted, and inequalities amongst young people and between generations persist and deepen. At a time when policy places increasing responsibilities on governors and leaders to balance college performance and cost-effectiveness against FE’s long-standing social justice mission, this article analyses how this tension plays out through the discursive construction of young learners by two English college governing boards. We use a critical discourse analysis approach to connect how young learners are ‘talked into being’ through the micro-level processes of governing within the wider context in which college governing operates. We argue that, despite a wider drive for governors to interact with learners, their understanding of learners is dominated by data, through which young learners in particular are constituted as a risk rather than at risk. We explore the discursive constructions of young learners that ensue in this data-dominated context, and the social practices governing boards use to manage the risks posed by young learners. We highlight the different positionings of governors and college senior managers within these constitutive practices, arguing that the ways young learners are discursively constructed is revealing of a central tension in college governing practices—that between the high-performing and the socially just college.     

Exploring practicum: student teachers’ social capital relations in schools with high numbers of pupils living in poverty

The complexity of practicum in initial teacher education, in terms of the range of diverse social relations and differing school contexts, provides a challenge for teacher educators worldwide, aiming to guide and shape opportunities for student teachers learning to teach. This challenge is further compounded by societal problems linked to child poverty. Drawing from social capital theory, this paper explores the kinds of social relations that are currently associated with student teachers’ practicum experience in schools located in areas of social and economic deprivation or with significant proportions of pupils living in poverty. The paper brings to the surface types of social relations that are beneficial to mitigating the effects of poverty on educational outcomes. The case is made that practicum does not currently support the principles of social capital theory by enabling student teachers to develop an understanding of how to make connections, and develop the social relationships required to support positive educational outcomes for the children and young people in such contexts. Findings indicate that more effective ‘joint practice’ is required to better support student teachers’ professional learning.     

MOTIVATIONAL AND INFLUENTIAL COMPONENTS OF MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS

Fifteen pianists were asked to study the same piano piece for a period of time. They were then interviewed about motivation to pursue musical performance and factors which influence the generation of performance. Participants were encouraged to raise their own issues or refute the ones presented. The data were then subjected to a content analysis. It was assumed that emotion plays an important part in motivating a performer over a long period of time and also influences actual playing. Four main components common to the participants emerged as influencing performance generation. There also appeared to be four main components describing motives for pursuing music. The results suggest that emotion is intertwined with both performance generation and motivation for musical performance. Findings may have a bearing on the nurturing of musical talent, and imply that competitiveness could be detrimental rather than beneficial to an artistic endeavour.     

University Lecturers' Perceptions of Gender and Undergraduate Writing

It has been argued that male and female undergraduates adopt different, gendered writing styles. This paper discusses findings from a project that examined this issue, and explores lecturers' perceptions of gender and undergraduate writing. It shows that, in the case of 'second-class' awarded essays, a majority of academics were unable to correctly identify the authors gender. Applying analysis of discourse to the explanations of academics concerning their attempts at gender identification, we found that narratives used by academics tended to support discourses of gender difference, particularly in terms of ability. These various narratives, and the resulting constructions of male and female students, are discussed. It is argued that the narratives position male and female students in stereotypical ways, with implications for their power positions. We conclude that while it is important that gendered trends around undergraduate writing are recognised and addressed, the stereotyping of students according to gender must be avoided.     

When Your Breasts Might Not Work: Anticipatory Guidance for Health-Care Professionals

There are many factors that can negatively impact a mother developing a copious milk supply and being able to exclusively breastfeed her infant. In this article, we present two case exemplars (glandular hypoplasia and breast reduction surgery) to illustrate that not all mothers may be able to develop a full milk supply, and that families should receive appropriate prenatal anticipatory education and guidance from childbirth educators and all health-care providers. Important considerations include the value of every drop of milk that the mother is able to produce, treating the milk as an important medical intervention, and developing a plan with the family for supplementation so the infant can receive adequate intake for growth.