980 research outputs found
Sort by
The genealogy of a book collection: an early history of the Cavendish family’s book collection, 1599-1811
No full textThis article analyses the early modern book collecting activities of
the Devonshire branch of the Cavendish family as an example of
elite cultural capital accumulation across multiple generations. The
detailed records of seventeenth-century book collection by the
first, second and third Earls of Devonshire and their librariantutor
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679), demonstrate the development
of the collection at Hardwick Hall as a resource for investment
information, political news, scholarly activity and children’s education.
The family tradition was continued by the first Duke of
Devonshire (1640–1707) who shifted the base of collection to
Chatsworth House, and the bibliophile second Duke (1673–1729)
who expended vast amounts on works using an array of London
booksellers; as did the third Earl of Burlington (1694–1753), and
the Duchess Georgiana Cavendish (1757–1806) thereafter. These
collections were amalgamated at Chatsworth by the sixth Duke of
Devonshire at the start of the nineteenth century, where this
account concludes
Constructing ‘good teaching’ through written lesson observation feedback
No full textThis paper explores the ways in which ‘good teaching’ is constructed through mentors’ written lesson observation feedback during Initial Teacher Education (ITE). Written lesson observation feedback has received little research attention, yet represents a potentially powerful activity for teachers’ development. It is also an important aspect of direct university-school-beginning teacher collaboration which is common across diverse programmes and ITE partnerships internationally. Data were collected from written lesson observation feedback given to beginning teachers (n=127) on one ITE programme in England across one year to a total of 508 lessons, and analysed through a typology of competing conceptions of teaching defined by Winch et al.; craft, executive technician, and extended professional. This data suggests that teaching is predominantly constructed through mentors’ written feedback as a craft or technical activity. In response, we argue that there is scope to broaden the evidence considered, in particular, by bringing observed insights about beginning teachers’ practice into dialogue with research evidence in order to construct a more expansive vision of teaching as a professional endeavour. Using this theoretical framework highlights the important contribution written lesson observation feedback might offer to broader attempts seeking to improve teachers’ engagement with research evidence
‘Your own calm space’: reclaiming poetry for KS4 in a time of Covid
No full text“At time of writing, many are in uproar at the government decision regarding the 2021 ‘Covid-light’ GCSE curriculum
for English that does not make the study of poetry compulsory. Scottish writer and teacher Kate Clanchy, for example,
tweeted that dropping poetry at GCSE ‘sends a signal down the school that it’s the dispensable bit of English’.
However, the Covid crisis, and even the option of removing poetry study from the examination syllabus, may leave
opportunities for poetry to flourish in other environments. Away from the heat of examination, perhaps poetry may
regain some intrinsic value in the eyes of our young people. During ‘lock-down’ Game of Thrones actor Emilia Clark
instigated the reading of ‘therapeutic’ poetry to help people manage loneliness and isolation, and BBC Radio 4 read a
poem a day to keep the nation’s spirits up. A little like religion, it seems, people may turn to poetry in times of crisis.
Assessing the impact of the Student Voice Project on shaping the ethos of Anglican primary schools: A study focusing on the Diocese of Llandaff
No full textThe inspection criteria for schools with a religious character within the state-maintained system in England and Wales require the sponsoring body to arrange assessment on aspects of the distinctiveness of the school ethos and on school worship. The Student Voice Project was designed to include year-five and year-six students in this process. Within the Diocese of Llandaff, the Diocesan Director of Education utilised the customised reports prepared at the end of the first year of the survey for schools participating in the project with the senior leadership teams in order to enhance school improvement and effectiveness. The present study compares the responses of the 1,192 students participating in year one of the survey with the responses of the 1,111 students from the same 23 schools participating in year two. These data show a significant overall increase in scores recorded on the five six-item scales designed to measure student attitude toward five areas of ethos. No significant difference was recorded on the five-item scale designed to measure student attitude toward school worship. These findings suggest that the Student Voice Project, effectively implemented by the Diocesan Director of Education, had significant impact on the participating schools
Student teachers’ beliefs about diversity: analysing the impact of a ‘diversity week’ during initial teacher education
No full textThis article reports findings from a week of enrichment placements framed around ‘diversity’ within a secondary Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programme in England. The authors outline the demographics of the county – a largely rural, White county in the East Midlands of England – and describe the challenges this presents for ITE. A mixed-methods approach was used to study student teachers’ (n = 56) beliefs about diversity, generating data through: pre- and post-survey of beliefs and attitudes; student-created reflective videos; journaling; and one pre- and post-diversity week interview. The findings reveal shifts in student teachers’ perceptions about gender, race and sexuality, and these attitudinal shifts were more significant in those attending all week than those attending only the first day. This is particularly interesting because for some topics the only formal input was on the first day, and so the authors argue for the importance of time and space for creative reflection in beginning teachers’ professional development
The unknown creed: punk and political uncertainty in Northern Ireland
No full textNorthern Ireland is often, over-simplistically, considered to be a bi-cultural society and as such the focus has been on accommodation, specifically; “the accommodation of apparent cultural differences between British and Irish, unionists and nationalists, Protestants and Catholics.” (Nic Craith, 2003: 1) Accommodation rather than assimilation is favoured, but it leaves little space for those who exist and live outside those dominant bi-cultural groups. In regards to those who consciously and deliberately choose to live a lifestyle and create an identity that seeks to challenge those binaries and categories, they are at additional risk of attack and retaliation as they potentially pose a risk to the easy narrative and the use / control of power. Within punk and anarchy communities in Northern Ireland there has been a history of challenge to the very concept of a bi-cultural society and numerous attempts to demonstrate alternative conceptions of community and living that involves decision making that often put such communities at risk in a very uncertain climate. Utilising interview quotations, this chapter will be divided between an historical overview and examples from the punk community at large, before focusing on the decision to create a community within community as a form of protest and resistance through the Straight Edge movement that is centred on making an informed choice
‘Howling at the scrabble-board’: Exploring classroom literature from an autistic viewpoint
No full textThere has, to date, been little discussion of how autism may affect the experience of the reading of fiction for pupils in the classroom, other than through a deficit model. One of the researchers in this study (‘Celia’) is training to be a secondary school English teacher and identifies as autistic. Her experience provides an enriched understanding of the subject and enables the study to be undertaken in line with best practice for autism research. Her experiences are explored within the concepts of Theory of Mind, empathic regulation, language awareness and local rather than global processing bias. Impact on managing authentic engagement with texts for all pupils is discussed, together with specific questions for teachers regarding appropriate support for – and celebration of – autistic pupils’ reactions to fiction
A pedagogical meeting place or a problem space? Extending play-based pedagogy in year one
No full textSchool readiness performance measures, such as the Good Level of Development (GLD), are increasingly associated with children’s readiness to start formal learning, presenting challenges for supporting the transition to compulsory school. This research focuses on how an English primary school extended play-based pedagogy into Year One for children who did not achieve a GLD. Over a period of six-months, regular observations and interviews with senior leaders and teachers were carried out. The data cautions against an over-reliance on the GLD and identifies a number of challenges associated with extending play-based pedagogy into Year One when it is positioned as an intervention
Blake, children and lockdown
No full textOn 23 March 2020 the UK went into lockdown to manage the spread of COVID-19. We were told that we should stay indoors, and then ‘alert’, and keep two metres apart if/when venturing outside. Stay safe! On my walks I often wondered who had caught COVID-19. A virus doesn’t discriminate and this virus’s symptoms can be subtle; there was much scrutinizing of faces in the streets for “Marks of weakness, marks of woe” (l.4, E26). There was – thinking about my daily walks through the lens of Blake’s “London” – no leading of old (blind) men or women by small children as shown on the plate for “London”: Children especially, this was the official guidance, had to keep their distance from those more vulnerable than them
Averting the crisis in trainee teacher well-being – learning lessons across European contexts: A comparative study
No full textTeacher well-being is frequently high-lighted as a significant contributor to poor retention rates. Whilst there remains a focus on the well-being of serving teachers and pupils, there is a paucity of research directly focusing on the well-being of trainee teachers. This pilot study sought to compare the experiences of trainee teachers from three European countries, in an attempt to identify the resources and challenges faced by teachers during their training. Through the use of interviews and visual approaches, key factors, which appeared to influence trainee teachers’ well-being, were identified. Through shifting the focus of training onto the development of communities of practice, the development of interpersonal skills, and supporting the development of strong relationships, it is hoped that Initial Teacher Training (ITT) programmes in England can draw on some best practice from other European contexts to better support trainee teachers’ well-being