School self‐evaluation and the role of a critical friend

School self‐evaluation is receiving increasing attention in England, partly as a result of changes in the Ofsted inspection framework giving greater prominence to what schools can do to speak for themselves. The relationship between internal self‐evaluation and external inspection was a theme in a high profile policy speech made by the Schools Standards Minister, David Miliband, at the North of England Conference in January 2004. As part of a ‘new relationship with schools’ heralded in the speech, Miliband articulated critical friendship in terms of a ‘school improvement partner’. This article draws upon a number of research projects to critique these proposals, especially in respect of the role of a critical friend in school self‐evaluation. Issues discussed include different models of self and external evaluation, the importance of context, and the various ways in which a critical friend can support school self‐evaluation.     

Using the theory of planned behaviour framework to understand Tasmanian dairy farmer engagement with extension activities to inform future delivery

Purpose: To identify and understand factors influencing farmers’ decisions to engage with extension activities. To understand farmer segments and how these factors vary in order to develop recommendations for future extension delivery.

Methodology: Qualitative data was obtained through semi-structured interviews with 30 Tasmanian dairy farmers. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) framework was used to identify and explore factors influencing farmer engagement intentions and behaviour.

Findings: There was a negative effect of social influence on experienced farmers’ intention to re-engage with extension, due to the belief extension activities were targeted to less experienced, younger farmers. Perceived control factors limiting engagement included lack of confidence about existing knowledge, resulting in farmers perceiving extension activities as confronting.

Practical implications: Key factors influencing intention to engage and continued engagement with extension were identified. These findings will inform future design and targeting of extension activities to improve initial and continued engagement. Subsequent recommendations are presented.

Theoretical implications: Previous TPB studies on adoption as an outcome of extension have typically focused on quantifying adoption predictions, rather than exploring how social factors interact and influence intentions and behaviours. This paper demonstrates how the TPB can be qualitatively applied to better understand farmer decision making, in this instance with respect to their initial and continued engagement with extension.

Originality/value: This paper demonstrates how the TPB can provide an evidence-based framework to qualitatively explore farmer intentions and behaviour. This approach has led to new insights into farmer decision making that will inform improvements in future extension development.     

Differently Academic? Constructions of ‘academic’ in higher education

This article draws on my research, in which I have interviewed a group of students over the course of their degrees. The women are all taking women's studies combined with a range of other subjects in a ‘new’ university with campuses in inner London and on its outskirts. This article considers the women's perceptions of both women's studies and their second subjects as "academic", as well as how they think both the university and the wider world value the academic nature of their various subjects. It asks whether subjects are only valued as "academic" if they focus on the writings of men, and are considered "objective", abstract and theoretical. Do students need to be seen to be "thinking like a man" in order to value their subjects and have them valued by others, or are there ways to be "differently academic"? It concludes by suggesting some alternative ways for institutions of higher education to consider the meaning of "academic" in higher education.     

A new mathematics pedagogy for the early years: in search of principles for practice

The new English mathematics curriculum for three to five year olds requires adults to teach number. How this should be done is not clear: this article looks at current theory and research in order to recommend some teaching strategies. A new mathematics pedagogy is proposed, based on holistic principles and considering children's mathematical learning in terms of cognitive, physical, social and emotional aspects. A range of cognitive processes, an emphasis on large‐scale activity and multisensory learning, concern for children's self‐esteem and agency in their own learning, diverse home experiences and supportive pair and group situations are identified as key features. Teaching strategies therefore need to take account of these, for instance by avoiding direct questioning. This framework is then applied to two official English guidance documents, which are found to give mixed and conflicting messages, and inappropriate recommendations.     

Critical moments and second-chance education constructing socially excluded women’s stories of career success

This study narrates the role of education/training in the career success stories of twelve women on an Irish active labour market programme, Community Employment (CE). All from lower socio-economic groups, having early school-leaving backgrounds, and, prior to CE, were long-term unemployed. CE enhances the employability of the long-term unemployed by offering job opportunities and providing education/training. Using narrative inquiry, it understands how the women (re)construct their interpretations of their career success following critical moments of change in their lives. The study narrates the stories on a case-by-case basis according to the category of critical moment that each participant experienced and then views the chronicles via the lens of social class as mediated through the educational structure. It, therefore, specifically recognises the micro-individual and macro-social aspects of a person’s interpretation of his/her career and education/training experiences. To understand the change process inherent in the stories, a theoretical construct, Giddens’ (1991) fateful moment, is operationalised by examining how the critical moments evolve in to fateful moments facilitated by the structural influence of the education/training provided by the expert system of CE. The study concludes by proposing three categories of career success for this sample to take account of their altered career structures.     

Listening to men student primary school teachers: some thoughts on pedagogy

This article is about teaching undergraduate student primary school teachers and is concerned with the pedagogical approaches that will support students as they move into the culture of the primary school and learn a professional identity as a teacher of young children. The paper draws on data from interviews with men student teachers, who, as a numerical minority, are in a context which obliges them and me to notice their gendered identities. What teaching approaches might help students to notice the assumptions shaping their perceptions and others' perceptions of them? How might the process of ITT suggest to student teachers that alternatives are possible? What sort of teacher/student relationship and interaction could help students to rethink themselves as teachers? Active encounters, detail, sensitivity and difference are put forward as important themes to underpin a pedagogy for primary Initial Teacher Training which prioritises conversations and relationships.     

Re-inhabiting place in contemporary rural communities: Moving toward a critical pedagogy of place

Heather Zimmerman and Jennifer Weible’s (Cult Stud Sci Educ, 2016) use of place-based pedagogy in high school science education honors their participants’ lived experiences and the rural communities from which they come. They raise an unresolved tension in their findings: Why did the youth in their study, who clearly learned a lot about the local watershed, not feel empowered or knowledgeable enough to propose collective, action-oriented strategies to address the poor quality of the water? We use this tension as a focus point of our response, drawing on one author’s (Huffling’s) biography and David Gruenewald’s (Educ Res 32:3–12, 2003. doi: 10.3102/0013189X032004003) critical pedagogy of place to re-imagine the curriculum that Zimmerman and Weible describe. We provide strategies that align with Gruenewald’s (2003) constructs of decolonization and reinhabitation that could promote youths’ collective empowerment.     

Talking about Sex in Sex Education

In the context of the recent controversy and confusion around sex education in Britain, I argue that an understanding of how boys and girls talk about sex and an awareness of the different and changing social worlds boys and girls inhabit, are crucial starting points for formulating sex education policies. Sex education is often embarked on without adequate understanding of the social context of sexuality and of the significance of changes in sexual practice that have occurred over the past few decades. Drawing on interviews and group discussion with male and female adolescents, I illustrate the difficulty boys and girls have communicating with each other and how for boys, to be intimate is to forego their dominance. I argue that there is a need to develop ways in which the power relations between boys and girls can be addressed and the derogatory way menstruation, pregnancy, and girls are perceived by boys can be challenged.     

Assessing and Predicting Small-Group Literacy Instruction in Early Childhood Classrooms

Research Findings: The present study assessed the extent to which early childhood educators utilized small-group literacy instruction and explored factors potentially associated with the use of this evidence-based practice. The classroom activities of 83 early childhood educators were observed in the fall and spring, and videos were coded to calculate time spent in small-group literacy instruction. Educators completed questionnaires indicating classroom adult:child ratios, literacy beliefs, and feelings of self-efficacy. Classroom Assessment Scoring System scores for classroom organization and instructional support measured the quality of classroom management and instructional interactions, respectively. On average, educators provided 11.4 min (SD = 10.6) of small-group literacy instruction a day. It is notable that many educators provided little or no small-group literacy instruction. Negative binomial regression analyses indicated that educators with better classroom management, higher quality instructional interactions, and lower adult:child ratios were more likely to use small-group literacy instruction. Educators’ beliefs and feelings of self-efficacy were not associated with the use of small-group literacy instruction. Practice or Policy: Educators may be better able to provide small-group literacy instruction in contexts affording low adult:child ratios and high levels of classroom management and instructional support, all of which are malleable factors that can be changed via policy or professional development.