University Admissions and the Prediction of Degree Performance: an Analysis in the Light of Changes to the English Schools’ Examination System

The United Kingdom's Department for Education has recently changed the nature of the AS‐level examinations normally taken by students aspiring to enter higher education degree courses one year into their post‐compulsory education. In the face of protests from universities and other institutions that this would both harm students’ progression towards the A‐level qualifications, on which entry to English universities is normally based, and make it difficult for universities determining which of their applicants were best placed to benefit from their degree courses, the Department conducted research which it claimed showed that degree outcome could be predicted as well from the results of GCSE examinations taken one year before AS‐levels as from AS‐levels themselves. This paper critiques those analyses and their conclusions showing, through a re‐analysis and extended interpretation of the Department's data, that AS‐levels provide a more reliable predictor of degree performance in 2011 than GCSEs and that many students who performed better at AS‐level than at GCSE gained a place, and performed well, at a university with high entrance standards.     

Elite coaching and the technocratic engineer: thanking the boys at Microsoft!

The primary purpose of this article is to provide an in-depth understanding of the manner in which surveillance technologies have become readily appropriated and utilised by elite Rugby Union coaches. It is conceded that positions adopted by populist writings commonly categorise the act of coaching as an educational activity that harnesses holistic intentions. Through reflecting upon semi-structured interviews with players located at an Aviva Premiership Rugby Union Club, we provide insight into an elite sporting institution that more accurately depicts coaching as a technocratic activity. The resultant analysis is critical in its review of surveillance mechanisms embedded in institutional practice, extending to the sports coaching setting, which explicate sinister rather than pastoral motives to enforce a disciplinary power that enhances the quantification of athletic performance. The article concludes by emphasising the impact of such practices upon establishing a sense of trust and the construction of self autonomous to the sporting domain. We argue that the emerging and steadfast acceptance of technology in the elite coaching environment is threatening to circumvent the learning potential of players by merely viewing them as functionaries. In adopting this position, we tentatively suggest that future research seeking to inform the practice of coaching and coach education should continue to pursue this critical dialogue to question whether, and to what extent, an overreliance on technology is becoming perceived as the ‘gold standard’ of professional practice amongst the coaching fraternity.     

Facilitation skills: the catalyst for increased effectiveness in consultant practice and clinical systems leadership

Consultant practitioner is the pinnacle of the clinical career ladder for all health care disciplines in the United Kingdom. Consultant nurse, midwife and health visitor roles build on the clinical credibility and expertise characteristic of advanced level practice, but also possess expertise in: clinical systems leadership and the facilitation of culture change, learning and development; advanced consultancy approaches, and research and evaluation to prioritise person-centred, safe and effective care across patient pathways.

This project aimed to help new and emerging consultants to become more effective in their role through a programme of support to develop their expertise.

Emancipatory action research, supported by claims, concerns and issues tool, derived from Stakeholder Evaluation, and other methods (active learning, action learning, collaborative workshops and individual tools e.g. qualitative 360 degree feedback and reflective reviews) comprised the supportive intervention which enabled participants to research their own practice.

The programme’s methodology and methods helped participants to: research their own practice; theorise from practice; grow the facilitation skills needed to develop and demonstrate their own effectiveness; foster the effectiveness of others and; transform practice culture. Greater effectiveness in their multiple roles was demonstrated, as was the impact of this on others, services and organisations.

The study concludes that the support programme augmented by the methodology, facilitation skills and the 10 principles derived from a concept analysis of work-based learning is central to achieving improved effectiveness and transformation of others, services and organisations. Theoretical insights at collective/community levels also resulted. Key recommendations are identified for commissioners, higher education and research.     

General Mass Communications

Alan Gowans' The Unchanging Arts: New Forms for the Traditional Functions of Art in Society (J. B. Lippincott, $12.95)

Manley R. Irwin's The Telecommunications Industry: Integration vs. Competition (Praeger Special Studies in U.S. Economic and Social Development, $11.00).

Robert Shelton and Burt Goldblatt's The Country Music Story (Arlington House, 81 Centre Ave., New Rochelle, N.Y. 10801, $7.95).

Howard Stephenson (ed.) Handbook of Public Relations (McGraw-Hill, $24.50– second edition)

Scott M. Cutlip and Allen H. Center's Effective Public Relations (Prentice-Hall, $11.95).     

Effects of emotional intelligence and supportive text messages on academic outcomes in first-year undergraduates

An increase in the number of students entering higher education has intensified the need for targeted strategies to support a wider range of student requirements. Current research suggests that emotional intelligence (EI) may be associated with academic success, progression and retention in university students but the use of EI screening as a prospective measure of success requires further investigation. This study evaluates the utility of prospective EI screening to predict progression rates, mean grades, attendance and online engagement in a sample of first-year undergraduate students enrolled on the same degree programme (N = 358). A supportive text messaging intervention was employed during potentially stressful periods of the academic year with a subsection of participants (n = 60) who demonstrated low total EI scores relative to the cohort. Results showed no effects of EI classification on progression rates, mean grades, attendance or online engagement (all p > 0.418). Alternatively, the text messaging intervention was associated with significant improvements compared with a matched control group for progression rates (p = 0.027), mean grades (p = 0.026) and attendance (p = 0.007). The frequency of access to the virtual learning environment also tended to be higher in the intervention group compared with the control group (p = 0.059). In conclusion, this study did not identify any benefits of EI screening as a prospective indicator of student success but provides encouraging indications that a text messaging support intervention could help to improve progression rates, mean grades, attendance and online engagement in first-year undergraduate students. Further research is warranted to develop these proof-of-concept findings.     

A Successful Physics Course Within a Traditional Medical Program

The problem of teaching physics to students in the early years of a traditional medical course, while not well covered in the recent literature, is a difficult one. Here we describe one medical school's attempts over a period of more than ten years to do so successfully. The final, successful, attempt is explained in some detail. In the process of investigation it was found that there is a minimal correlation between students' avowed level of interest in a subject and their perceptions of its difficulty (about ‐0.4), but a strong correlation between their perceptions of a subject's relevance to clinical studies and their avowed interest in the subject (about 0.95). Anecdotal evidence and comments written on evaluation questionnaires suggest that this correlation may well reflect a causal chain, a conclusion of considerable importance for course designers     

DIVERSITY IN CONSULTATION: "Teaching on Racism: Tools for Consultant Training"

Diversity is becoming an increasingly important consideration in the consultation field. Consultants are often in a unique position to make significant individual and organizational change with respect to diversity. As the field beings to develop cross-cultural consultation competencies and skills, it is important to emphasize the sociopolitical factors of diversity, specifically oppression. Lessons learned from a course on White racism are presented, with a focus on strategies for identifying and changing contemporary racist behavior. These lessons are presented as useful foundations for training preservice or inservice consultants to address diversity concerns and related systems of oppression.     

Transitional justice in Myanmar: fragments of quieted voices

This creative piece combines non-fiction, poetry and fiction to imagine the voices of a refugee, a market vendor, a soldier and a dissident addressing the question of transitional justice in Myanmar. Drawing primarily from my experiences working with Burmese lawyers and refugees on the Thailand–Myanmar border, the piece first provides an overview of transitional justice efforts in Myanmar, and then shifts to voices inspired by people whom I met along the way – in refugee camps, selling vegetables, recovering from prison. Transitional justice too often ignores these quieter voices. The voices that I attempt to capture, however, are frustratingly unhelpful, frequently evasive and largely ambivalent about justice. I expected passionate condemnation of past wrongs and outrage at government abuse. The quieter voices defied my expectations. The poetry and vignettes, therefore, reflect a more nuanced, lyrical perspective that partially surrenders to the passing of time and the powerlessness that people feel in the face of distant authority.