Approaches to the international recognition of professional qualifications in engineering and the sciences

The recognition and regulation of professional qualifications has sometimes been handled by state bureaucracies and sometimes by professionals themselves. However, professional services are now being provided within global operations and professionals are practising beyond the nation-state in which they were trained. There is a developing need for the international recognition of professional qualifications. It is becoming increasingly important that individuals, and the organizations which employ them, can feel confident that their qualifications are recognized and that professional licences are protected in international markets. This paper reviews the various approaches to the international recognition of professional qualifications and attempts an evaluation with respect to engineering, technology and the sciences. It continues with an examination of the challenges currently facing the international professional federations in these respects.     

Married women and career: career history accounts of primary headteachers

This paper considers how the detail of individual life history and career biography can contribute to sociological understanding about women and career. Using career history material from married women primary and infant headteachers, the paper considers what were, for the women themselves, the structural conditions and the characteristics of the teaching labour market. This is followed by an examination of the variations in the attitudes and experiences of individual women to their work and to promotion in their careers. The paper argues that the study of career biography enables us to make the theoretical link between the structural conditions in particular labour markets and the meanings of career to individual women.     

The engineering and science institutions in the UK: changes,ambiguities and current challenges

The role and performance of the engineering and scientific institutions in the UK have been undergoing gradual change in response to external, State and global influences. Consequently, the institutions are having to adapt and in the process of doing so the traditional balance between learned society and qualifying association activities is now in a state of flux. The relevance of professional registration is being questioned by employers and practitioners alike and the institutions are now having to operate in a greater collaborative context than hitherto. This paper reviews developments which have been taking place since the early 1970’s and, by using responses from a survey of engineering and scientific institutions, identifies significant current problems and some challenges which lie ahead and which have yet to be confronted if the institutions are to continue to make a constructive contribution to society.     

Mystery novel reveals model for educators: reflections on teaching and learning

A narrative passage from a novel is used to explicate knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes of good teachers. Emphasis is on teacher–student interactions designed to facilitate a positive educational experience. Asserted strategies and principles of good teaching are supported by recent literature.     

Women in Engineering: educational concomitants of a non‐traditional career choice

This paper makes use of career history data from 15 women developing professional engineering careers in a high technology industrial company to examine certain educational concomitants of a non‐traditional career choice. Using an interactionist theoretical perspective the focus is on subjective careers, that is how the women actually experienced becoming an engineer. The educational influences on career choice that are identified are those perceived by the women themselves to have been important.     

The Experience of Secondary Headship Selection: continuity and change

This paper is about the experience of secondary headship selection. Using data from career history interviews with 20 headteachers, 10 men and 10 women, from two Midlands educational authorities, the paper demonstrates some of the different procedures and processes used to select headteachers. Then by comparing the experiences of the long‐in‐post and recently appointed heads, aspects of continuity and change in the headteacher role are explored. The paper argues that although the processes and the selectors’ perceptions of the appropriate candidates have changed, nevertheless other features such as gender, networking and reputing continue to be important aspects of the headship selection process.     

When Promotion Ladders Seem to End: the career concerns of secondary headteachers

This paper considers the career concerns experienced by some comprehensive school headteachers when promotion ladders in teaching in schools apparently come to an end. Using career history data from 20 headteachers, 10 men and 10 women, the age and gender differences in the experience of career concern are illustrated. The concept of career in sociological analysis is examined and the linking of actions and structures in the formation of career patterns is demonstrated. It is then argued that, in a time of rapid educational change, new positions will be created and the rules defining who gets particular positions might be altered. In this way, the career expectations of, and new career structures for, headteachers could be developed.     

Returning to Teaching: the career breaks and returns of married women primary headteachers

The term ‘broken career’ is used to describe the most common work pattern for married women teachers. The break in teaching service involves leaving teaching for a period, usually in order to have and to care for young children, and then returning to teaching when family responsibilities seem to permit. The article considers what were the significant features in the timing, the length and the type of the breaks in teaching service of a sample of married women who were primary and infant headteachers. The manner of the returns, is examined, in particular how the returns came about, and this indicates the importance of personal contacts and informal networks in bringing women back into primary teaching. Finally the article considers the inadequacy of the term ‘broken’ or ‘interrupted’ career to describe or explain the experiences of these women.