Challenges in planning transition to adulthood for young people who have special educational needs and disabilities: professional and managerial perspectives

This study reviewed perceived changes to planning and management of transitions to adulthood for young people with special educational needs and disabilities in three local authorities in England, following implementation of the Children and Families Act (2014). Wenger's ‘community of practice’ theoretical framework was used to examine how groups of professionals and managers working in education, health and social care in three areas, set about implementing selected radical changes required by the legislation. Telephone interviews with sixteen participants were transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis. Themes identified related to professional activity, planning and organisation, implications for young people and families and outcomes. There were indications of shifts in professional conceptualisations and reported practices as a result of the Act. Participants described enhanced cross‐service communication and co‐ordinated working practices, achieved though service restructuring, co‐location and changed lines of accountability. An increased emphasis on long‐term planning and involving young people in planning and decision‐making was evident with regard to defining outcomes, and living and working as an adult. The results are considered in relation to the extent that mandated change can influence attitudes and cultures within communities of practice, contributing to the contemporary theoretical debate to incorporate issues relating to power.     

Developing a university contribution to teacher education: creating an analytical space for learning narratives

What might a distinct university contribution to teacher education look like? This paper tracks a group of prospective teachers making the transition from undergraduate to teacher on a one-year school-based postgraduate course. The study employs a practitioner research methodological framework where teacher learning is understood as a process of developing and evaluating self-representations. Students persistently revised a story of ‘Who I am becoming’, referenced to evolving notions of pedagogic subject knowledge. University sessions provided a platform for students to share and discuss their experiences in schools and reflect upon the research process as it occurred. Our findings suggest this approach enables student teachers to account for their learning in more nuanced and sophisticated ways where time for university-based reflection is restricted. The theoretical perspective draws on the psychoanalytic theory of Jacques Lacan. Subjectivity is conceptualized not as fixed but persistently re-produced in an increasingly analytical developmental perspective. Data comprise reflective and analytical material produced by students at successive stages of the course, where this material provides temporal reference points for them in tracking and asserting their own development. The paper provides a methodological framework for teacher education informed by critically reflective constructions of the process through which individuals become teachers.     

Student perspectives on formative feedback as part of writing portfolios

Despite the crucial role that students play in formative assessment practices, student perspectives on such practices are relatively under-researched. Through a qualitative analysis of 128 reflection notes written by student teachers of English, this article investigates the students’ perceptions of formative feedback as part of portfolio assessment at two teacher education institutions in Norway. As such, it contributes to bridging the gap between research and practice. Students received peer and teacher feedback on assignments and wrote reflection notes during the semester. Findings show that students are positive towards teacher feedback and highlight the significance of teacher praise. Main objections raised against peer feedback concern the lack of constructive criticism. However, positive attitudes towards peer discussion groups suggest that they may be a more effective way of implementing peer assessment than formalised written peer commentary. Student reflections suggest that a failure to understand the task and the feedback is a possible hindrance to successfully revising assignments. Overall, students’ positive attitudes towards the portfolio process, which includes multiple drafting, suggest that students in higher education would benefit from more opportunities to revise and resubmit their work, yet they need adequate practice in providing peer feedback, and interpreting and implementing feedback in general.     

Sense-making—A case study using the movieJurassic park

In this ecological age, communicating information on environmental issues is extremely important. Yet, problems exist in communication models where knowledge is seen as absolute and the individual envisioned as an empty receptacle. What happens when a person assimilates knowledge? How does this knowledge relate to a person's view of the world (reality)? This paper is a brief introduction to Sense-Making, an alternative methodology which allows an insight into a person's perception of reality. Interviews were conducted with science teachers following a viewing ofJurassic Park to investigate the relationship of the movie to their ontological view of science, society and self. The Sense-Making methodology may be very beneficial in helping educators and communicators to understand the assimilation of knowledge by people and consequently the development of future communication models on scientific and environmental issues.     

Minimum and maximum entitlements: literature at Key Stage 2

How far does the difference between a child's minimum reading entitlement (“I can read different types of text for different purposes – and I've got level 4 to prove it”) and maximum entitlement (“I recognise the power of literature and want to read it for the rest of my life”) encapsulate a tension present in many primary classrooms? In England, literature (poetry, narrative, plays) is taught as part of the National Literacy Strategy and a child's knowledge of how it works may be assessed if literary texts are included in the end of Key Stage 2 reading test. The requirements of the Strategy and especially the reading test may well impact on the maximum entitlement of a child to become a reader for life. This article explores some of the dangers which result from viewing the minimum entitlement as the maximum being aimed at in the classroom.     

Teacher Absenteeism and Ill Health Retirement: A review

Teachers who take time away from work through sickness present problems for school principals in covering their work. Their absence will have an impact on students and other teachers, as well as on the money available to schools. When teachers become too ill to teach again, their absence before retirement may affect the organisation of the school, while their premature retirement due to disability can have adverse consequences both for the individual and the education system as a whole. This paper reviews research into teacher illness and absenteeism. Drawing on data from Europe and North America, it examines a number of issues, including the definition and measurement of absenteeism, its cost, and the relationship between absenteeism and student attendance and school performance. Research comparing teacher absenteeism data with figures for other public employees is also considered. Approaches to managing absenteeism, including policy development and implementation, are reviewed. Possible causes of teachers' early retirement because of disability are set within the context of management practice, educational reform and making best use of 'older' employees.     

Senior management perspectives of mathematics and statistics support in higher education: moving to an ‘ecological’ approach

This article explores the perspectives of three senior managers in higher education institutions in England regarding their mathematics and statistics support provision. It does so by means of a qualitative case study that draws upon the writing of Ronald Barnett about the identity of an ‘ecological’ university, along with metaphors associated with the notion of organisations as living ‘organisms’, suggested by Gareth Morgan. Using these ideas as a heuristic sheds light upon the view that whilst outwardly universities appear to represent a uniform landscape, mathematics and statistics support alternatively, can be seen as different ‘species’ within the higher education system. The study illustrates how three universities occupying contrasting ecological ‘niches’ are responding to the challenges they face by providing and planning different forms of learning support for mathematics and statistics. In conclusion, it is recommended that senior managers reflect upon the possibilities offered by the idea of ‘ecological’ identities in order to explore how they might respond strategically to a rapidly changing environment. This includes adapting various solutions and the further development of innovative ways of supporting students’ transitions throughout the academic lifecycle. In addition, an ecological approach could also aid the formation of the co-creational relationships and networks required for the future success of those developments.     

Representational guidance and student engagement: examining designs for collaboration in online synchronous environments

In this paper we report the results of a study which investigated the affordances of multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) for collaborative learning from a design perspective. Utilizing a mixed methods approach, we conducted a comparative study of the effect of varying representational and interactional design features on a collaborative design activity in three online synchronous environments. We compared environments featuring multiple modes of interaction (MUVEs), shared representations (text chat and 2D still images) and text-only features. Sixty-one students enrolled in an undergraduate course on Child Development participated in the study. Participants were asked to design a theoretically-based, developmentally appropriate, preschool classroom setting. Students were randomly assigned to one of three online learning environments that provided varying levels of representation and interaction. Significant differences in collaborative problem solving interactions were found. Participants in the shared representations + text condition evidenced stronger learning outcomes as regards substantive discussion and integration of child development concepts; while participants in the MUVE condition reported the most enjoyment with the experience. These findings are explained by the concepts of representational guidance, representational bias, educational affordances and interface design metaphors. Suggestions for the design of MUVEs for collaborative learning are provided.