980 research outputs found
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Measuring motivation in english schools: the appeal of self-determination theory
No full textMuch SDT research in the language learning domain focuses on the learning of English as a second or foreign language, in many cases by undergraduate students. By contrast, our work focuses on adolescent learners (aged between 11 and 16) of what are termed Modern Foreign Languages—languages other than English—in schools in England. In this context, school-level policy means that language learning is often optional for students beyond the age of 14, and this optionality makes motivation critical. In this article, we suggest that Self Determination Theory provides a suitable framework for measuring the motivation of such students and compare it with the well-known Second Language Motivation Self System (L2MSS) developed by Dörnyei. We draw on data from two large-scale studies of school students in England (N1 = 666; N2 = 1797), the first to use the Self-Regulation Questionnaire (Academic) in this context, and a smaller pilot study (N = 338), similarly the first to use the L2MSS in this context, and argue that SDT provides a more useful lens for studying motivation in English schools. As the L2MSS relies heavily on the learner’s Ideal Self, a version of themselves who can communicate competently in the target language, we argue that it is not suitable for use with learners in this context, although there is scope to incorporate some elements of it. SDT’s lack of focus on the target language community, which is not always within reach for students, allows it to better access students’ motivation for study. We consider the implications for future studies of student motivation in an English context, as well as other Anglophone settings
Reflecting on ethical processes and dilemmas in doctoral research
No full textThis paper discusses ethical dilemmas from an early-career researcher perspective, drawing up-on doctoral research experiences—my own. The doctoral study involved life-history interviews with five primary-school-teacher mothers. During the study, ethical dilemmas arose that were not considered by me or in the official university ethical processes. This left me feeling vulnera-ble in the data-collection period and overwhelmed with concerns for the well-being of partici-pants and for myself as researcher. This paper draws on my journal entries and reflections; de-tailed reflections of the pre-, during and post-fieldwork stages were collected (totalling over 600 entries). The paper utilizes critical incidents analysis to explore two ethical dilemmas from the data collection phase. Findings include personal reflections on experiences of university pro-cesses and the mismatch between the metaphor of ethics as a ‘hurdle’ on a smooth track to com-pletion, and the real-life incidents and dilemmas that followed ethical approval. Recommenda-tions are made for a consideration of doctoral ethical dilemma support and the limitations of formal ethics processes in UK universities
Well-being: theory and practice for beginning geography teachers
No full textInitial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes (including the one-year PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education), which all of the authors teach on) have often been described by trainees as a rollercoaster. Emotional peaks and troughs are experienced by almost all trainees to a range of degrees and many express their time in ITE and the early years of their careers as the toughest of their life. Well-being and stress-management issues for those in training and early in their careers are often significant, with non-linear and high-stakes struggles - emotionally, financially and academically – common for many (Birchinall et al., 2019).
This chapter will consider well-being for beginning geography teachers, exploring potential sources of challenge and providing practical guidance for mentors supporting well-being which is underpinned by our own empirical research, alongside the wider literature on supporting mentors and other staff in school who are engaged in mentoring practices. In particular, this chapter aims to:
● introduce recent research in well-being for trainee and early career teachers, with a particular focus on geography teaching;
● share the well-being see-saw and how it can be used to support mentees;
● consider how reflecting on challenges and resources for beginning geography teachers can be supportive and develop strategies for positive well-being; and
● discuss key steps that can be taken to develop and maintain positive well-being for mentees
The mysterious blocked gateway of 1217
No full textA short article discussing a recently discovered gateway in Lincoln Castle and how it could relate to accounts of the 1217 Battle of Lincol
What we do in the shadows: dual industrial policy during the Thatcher governments, 1979-1990
No full textSelective industrial policy in the United Kingdom is conventionally believed to have vanished prior to the global financial crisis. This article, in contrast, argues that industrial policy remained an intrinsic, if seldom acknowledged, element of neoliberal statecraft. The basis of this is a subterfuge, conceptualized here as a ‘dual industrial policy’, which we explore via an empirical focus on the Thatcher governments. Throughout this time, actions explicitly endorsed by governments as industrial policy generally corresponded with neoliberalism’s hostility to intervention. These conveniently distracted attention from a second set of policies which, although never codified
by government as industrial policy, were intended to affect the allocation of resources between economic activity. Analysis of official government publications and expenditure reveals that industrial policy expenditure under Thatcher was far higher than customarily reported. The United Kingdom’s approach has important implications for debates about neoliberal resilience, especially neoliberalism’s capacity to conscript apparently contradictory ideas
Tales from the soft-play fifth shift mother, teacher, mentor, academic and student.
No full textMotherhood, a middle-aged, unmarried and childless male colleague told me, is the ‘female privilege’ that compensates for the many male privileges in life. Once I had calmed down enough to be audible, I explained to him that whilst motherhood can be a wonderful experience (that isn’t wanted by or open to all women), it also presents challenges for most mothers, particularly those who are juggling work and other caring responsibilities. In this chapter, I tell one story of academic motherhood. It is my story, which also draws upon the research literature in this area. I also share the stories of educators who are also parents from my doctoral study. These narratives suggest that the tensions brought about by competing life-worlds are not an easy or unusual experience. It is a story set in an endless soft-play session, where the competing roles of mother, teacher, academic, mentor and student are thrown into sharp and often amusing relief. Am I here to work, play, learn, teach or supervise? Is this time stolen from my child, my boss, my partner, my supervisors or myself? I use the metaphor of one common motherhood haunt, the soft-play centre, to explore connections between my experiences and the wider challenges of academic motherhood. If you are not a mother, there may be overlaps in experience with other educators, those with other caring responsibilities and those with other additional academic workload, such as research responsibilities
and targets
Insights on student-centred and knowledge-centred teaching: Jewish studies teachers, pedagogy and community
No full textThe contrast between student-centred and knowledge-centred teaching is explored through a qualitative case study exploration of the pedagogies (Bruner’s ‘folk pedagogies’) of six teachers of Jewish studies. These teachers, based in orthodox Jewish schools in the UK and Australia, discussed their roles as teachers in the context of their responsibility for inducting students into the Jewish community. They appear to overcome (or at least mitigate) the tensions between being student-centred and knowledge-centred through understanding both students and knowledge in communal terms. This communally-focused approach, drawing on the philosophers of ‘personal’ knowledge such as Polanyi, and of personalist approaches to schooling such as those of Macmurray and Noddings, is then proposed as of value in debates on schooling and the curriculum in general, well beyond the religious context of this particular research
From Belfast with love: the women and female presenting punks of Northern Ireland and their 'subculture'.
No full textThe experiences of straight edge women and female identifying punks in Northern Ireland is a noticeable gap in the current histories of Northern Irish and UK punk accounts. The 30 + years of civil war in Northern Ireland has resulted in a constricting dual lens – that of the Troubles and that of the experiences of male participants who adhere to particular performative aspects of punk. This chapter aims to address this by focusing on the experiences of women and female identifying straight edge punks post the Belfast Agreement (1998). Focusing on their lifestyles and choices, it will argue that the creation, sustaining and loss of punk spaces was vital in ensuring that the strict boundaries enforced during the Troubles (physically and psychically) could continue to be dismantled. This will lead to a consideration of whether the punk community in Northern Ireland could be considered a subculture (Hebdige: 1979, Haenfler: 2014, and Williams: 2011) or if they are more accurately a post subculture (Bennett: 2011, Nwalozie: 2015) given the radical changes that the Belfast Agreement heralds
Mathematics in the Primary Classroom
No full textMathematics in primary schools is being influenced by Mastery. This is based around five big ideas: Representation & Structure; Mathematical Thinking; Variation; Fluency; and Coherence. This chapter focuses on these big ideas, as well as problem solving, approaches to differentiation in a mastery approach and making connections