‘Operating on a Basis of Student Consent’: Peter Medway’s Work in Finding a Language

Written nearly 40 years ago, Peter Medway’s Finding a Language continues to be an arresting read, which offers a powerful vision of what might be possible in education. In this brief introduction, I set the work in context, referring to ideas that Pete engaged with and recalling a little of the times.     

Dopingberichterstattung in den Medien

This contribution reviews existing research on media coverage of doping in Germany. Based on a keyword search, 22 works were identified. The review aims to provide a survey of the state of the art in terms of questions addressed, methods and results as well as blind spots and methodological deficits. Moreover, directions for future research are outlined. Although research is characterized by substantial methodological heterogeneity, central results can be presented following the influential approach of Bette and Schimank. In accordance with their ideas media coverage of doping is characterized by scandalization, personalization and moralization. However, shortfalls of theoretical perspective and methodological shortcomings are noted. These deficits serve as an inspiration for future research.     

Degrees of value: comparing the contextual complexities of UK transnational education in Malaysia and Hong Kong

This paper reveals the complex diversity that underpins ostensibly similar transnational education programmes (TNE), through a comparison of UK TNE in Malaysia and Hong Kong. It draws on data from two different yet cognate studies on the role of UK universities in delivering higher education in Asia. Some fine-grained and informative differences between the ways in which ‘value’ in TNE is constructed in different host contexts is revealed. The paper brings to light the ‘voices’ of TNE students and graduates, which are very seldom heard. The arguments adapt and extend the concepts of education as a positional good, and as cultural capital. For various instrumental, intrinsic and personal reasons the authors discuss in detail, UK TNE is more highly valued in Malaysia than in Hong Kong. The paper makes a wider contribution to knowledge on the changing landscape of international higher education and the impact on social and personal (dis)advantage.     

Enhancing quality with a research-based student feedback instrument: a comparison of veterinary students’ learning experiences in two culturally different European universities

This paper explores the value of a research-based student inventory from the quality assurance point of view in two culturally different European higher education institutions for veterinary education. Perceived heavy workload is a well-known problem in veterinary studies and is a challenge to the quality of learning. First- and third-year students in both institutions responded to an inventory consisting of items regarding their approaches to learning, self-efficacy, study workload and the teaching-learning environment. There were differences in students’ approaches to learning and perceived workload between the two institutions. In both contexts, the strongest predictor of the workload turned out to be the surface approach to learning. Self-efficacy showed a positive correlation with the deep approach to learning and organised studying. The strengths of the teaching-learning environment varied between the institutions. Moreover, the present study discusses how the gained information could be used in improving the teaching-learning environment and students’ learning.     

A model for making decisions about ethical dilemmas in student assessment

In this mixed-methods study we investigated the development of a generalized ethics decision-making model that can be applied in considering ethical dilemmas related to student assessment. For the study, we developed five scenarios that describe ethical dilemmas associated with student assessment. Survey participants (i.e., educators) completed an online survey to express their decision-making process when faced with ethical dilemmas relating to student assessment. Based on the literature and the educators’ written responses to the scenarios, elements to consider in an ethics decision-making model related to student assessment include the following: (1) the critical incident giving rise to the ethical dilemma; (2) identification of the conflict elements; (3) decisions about the ethicality of the elements; (4) justification of the decisions; (5) implications; and (6) alternative suggestions. This model offers guidance to educators in considering the dimensions of an ethical dilemma in assessment prior to making a decision.     

Tracing unique trajectories of participation for a ‘girl with ADHD’: from ‘unwilling student’ to ‘agentive learner’

ABSTRACT

The overall aim of this study is to explore how individual children with long-term school difficulties follow unique ‘trajectories of participation’ in special educational needs settings, sometimes in unexpected ways, and how this contributes to alternative forms of identification and processes of learning. The data draws on long-term video-ethnographic work, tracing trajectories of participation during the course of a school year for an individual girl with an ADHD diagnosis who is a newcomer to a special support school in Sweden. We use a multi-layered theoretical and methodological framework to learning, identities and participation as situated practices to explore how the focal girl, through her everyday participation in classroom contexts structured to amplify the student’s capabilities, gradually moves from an ‘unwilling student’ to an ‘agentive learner’. Through a multimodal interactional analysis, we demonstrate how the focal girl’s actions and the teacher’s scaffolding responses are interactionally organised, and the emotional and relational dimensions in the creation of participation frameworks for learning. It is argued that the student’s agency and emerging emotional engagement in school-based learning are intimately linked to the pursuit of building long-term learning relationships based on mutual trust.     

Identification of temporal factors related to shot performance for indoor recurve archery

The purpose of this study was to investigate the temporal phases of the archery shot cycle that distinguish the arrows distance from centre, in an attempt to understand critical factors that affect performance. Fifteen archers of varying ability each performed 30 shots at 18 m. Fourteen potential predictor variables were measured for statistical modelling by stepwise multiple linear regression. The results show that pre-shot time (pre-performance routine), follow-through time (post-performance routine), aiming time, speed of the arrow and the %variation in clicker-release time, account for 7.7% of the variation in predicting shot performance. The results have implications for practice demonstrating factors that coaches should focus on to develop their athletes. Further work on pre-, but more importantly, post-performance routines are needed generally within sport research as they are lacking and have been shown to be important contributing factors in a number of sports.