Personal Narratives and Policy: Never the Twain?

In this article the extent to which stories and personal narratives can and should be used to inform education policy is examined. A range of studies describable as story or personal narrative is investigated. They include life‐studies, life‐writing, life history, narrative analysis, and the representation of lives. We use ‘auto/biography’ as a convenient way of grouping this range under one term. It points to the many and varied ways that accounts of self interrelate and intertwine with accounts of others. That is, auto/biography illuminates the social context of individual lives. At the same time it allows room for unique, personal stories to be told. We do not explicitly discuss all the different forms of auto/biography. Rather, we investigate the epistemology underlying the personal story in the context of social action. We discuss the circumstances in which a story may validly be used by educational policy makers and give some examples of how they have done so in the past.     

A Pragmatic Approach to Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient

A full understanding of correlation requires an appreciation of bivariate distributions, but increasingly rank correlation coefficients are Being used as a measure of agreement with pupils for whom such appreciation is not possible. How can we justify the formula used?     

Extended services in schools: developing resources to prepare student teachers for a rapidly changing working environment

The role of schools in providing extended services to their communities continues to undergo change and development. This has raised issues regarding the training of student teachers who are increasingly likely to take up appointments in schools offering extended services. This research project investigated the development of resources to prepare student teachers for a changing working environment. The project used a case study approach to gather data from primary and secondary schools providing extended services. From these case studies training materials were developed and trialled with focus groups of students in initial teacher training. Findings demonstrate the importance for tutors in initial teacher education to have access to authentic school‐focused materials to assist them in equipping students for the realities of school life.     

The Teaching Company Concept: action—reaction

In the mid 1970^'s the Teaching Company Scheme was established with the aim to improve the problem solving techniques and other managerial qualities of British industry. The University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology (UWIST) quickly realised the potential of this scheme and is currently one of the few universities to operate five or more programmes simultaneously. This article goes on to describe how to establish and operate a Teaching Company programme highlighting the required interaction between industry and university and furthermore gives examples of Teaching Company programmes past and present.