980 research outputs found
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Embodied reflexivity: discerning ethical practice through the six-part story method
No full textEarly reflective practice drew on the work of John Dewey and the concept of learning-by-doing involving individual reflection on, and in, action. More recently the practice of reflection has also been taken into a more socially constructed, and emergent, sense of knowing where the individual ‘reflexes’ in, and through, experiences as felt ways of knowing. This concept forms the basis of this article. We will explore a process of learning called the Six-Part Story Method (6PSM). Originally created in the field of dramatherapy as a diagnostic tool to enable child victims of trauma to be supported, Elinor further developed it in 2017 to support education professionals and leaders to enhance their reflective practice and create new opportunities to develop greater self-awareness. Warren then utilized it in teaching a course on ethical practice in a graduate programme; the course’s epistemological underpinning is the concept of ‘ethical know-how’. We then include the work of Helen, a student in the programme, as she explores the story she developed through the 6PSM and then analyzes the effect of it on herself one year later
Factors shaping prayer frequency among 9- to 11-year-olds
No full textThis paper begins by reviewing the evidence from international research concerning the personal and social correlates of prayer frequency during childhood and adolescence. Overall these data continue to support the view that young people who pray not only report higher levels of personal wellbeing but also report higher levels of pro-social attitudes. These findings raise a research question of particular relelvance within church schools regarding the factors that predict higher levels of prayer activity among students. The Student Voice Project offers data that can illuminate this research question. Among the 3,101 9- to 11-year-old students who participated in the project 11% prayed daily, 9% at least once a week, 32% sometimes, 11% once or twice a year, and 37% never. The present paper tests the power of four sets of predictor variables to account for individual differences in prayer frequency among these students: personal factors (age and sex), psychological factors (using the three dimensional model of personality proposed by Eysenck), church attendance (self, mother, and father), and family discussion about prayer (mother, father, and grandparents). Multiple regression analyses identified discussion of prayer with mother as the single most important predictor. These findings locate the development of the practice of prayer within the home, even more than within the church
The concept of neutrality: a new approach
No full textPurpose: Neutrality is a much debated value in Library and Information Science. The ‘neutrality debate’ is characterised by opinionated discussions in contrasting contexts. The study reported here fills a gap in the literature by bringing these conceptions together holistically, with potential to deepen understanding of LIS neutrality.
Methodology: Firstly, a literature review identified conceptions of neutrality reported in LIS literature. Secondly, seven phenomenographic interviews with LIS professionals were conducted across three professional sectors. To maximise variation, each sector comprised at least one interview with a professional of five or fewer years’ experience and one with ten or more years’ experience. Thirdly, conceptions from the literature and interviews were compared for similarities and disparities.
Findings: Four conceptions each were found in literature and interviews. In the literature these were labelled: ‘Favourable, ‘Tacit Value’, ‘Social Institutions’ and ‘Value Laden Profession’, whilst in interviews they were labelled: ‘Core Value’, ‘Subservient’, ‘Ambivalent’, and ‘Hidden Values’. The study’s main finding notes the ‘Ambivalent’ conception in interviews is not captured by a largely polarised literature which oversimplifies neutrality’s complexity. To accommodate this complexity, it is suggested that future research should look to reconcile perceptions from either side of the ‘neutral non-neutral divide’ through an inclusive normative framework.
Value: This study’s value lies in its descriptive methodology which brings LIS neutrality together in a holistic framework. This framework brings a contextual awareness to LIS neutrality lacking in previous research. This awareness has the potential to change the tone of the LIS neutrality debate
Becoming a teacher of early reading: charting the knowledge and practices of pre-service and newly qualified teachers
No full textEducation policy in England requires student teachers to demonstrate effective teaching of early reading, including systematic synthetic phonics, in order to qualify to teach. Although there is a range of literature about initial teacher education, little is documented about how pre-service or ‘student’ teachers develop specific knowledge and practices for teaching early reading and how they apply these in their first term as newly qualified teachers (NQTs). This research used a primarily qualitative longitudinal, collective case study design involving seven lower primary (3–7 years) postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) students enrolled at one university in the East Midlands of England. Semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and documentary analysis with the students and their teacher mentors were used to gather data from entry onto the course to the participants’ first term as qualified teachers. A thematic analysis was applied in conjunction with deductive observation codes developed from a previous study (Louden et. al, 2005). Findings indicate a broad continuum of progression in student and newly qualified teacher knowledge and practice for teaching early reading which could be used to inform university organisation, mentoring and school participation. They highlight the influence of school cultures on the experiences of student and pre-service teachers
Sexual crime and the experience of imprisonment
No full textThis book focuses on the experience of imprisonment from the perspectives of individuals with sexual convictions. It stresses the importance of a positive and rehabilitative prison climate. The volume begins with an exploration of the theoretical underpinnings of a rehabilitative prison climate and discusses some of the practical ways of creating rehabilitative cultures in prisons housing people convicted of sexual offences. Four empirical chapters focus on the experience of stigmatisation, prison officers’ attitudes towards prisoners’ offences, negotiating the ‘sex offender’ identity in prisons and the varied experience of ‘being’ in prisons exclusively for individuals with sexual convictions. Throughout the authors discuss the specific benefits of peer-support, such as the chance to earn self-forgiveness, construct adaptive identities and consequently move away from harmful labels. The book also spotlights a chapter on the experience of imprisonment written by a former service-user, this unique position offers an insightful account of an individual’s journey through the prison system
Speaking in harmony: an exploration of the potential for rhythm and song to support speech production in four young adults with Down Syndrome.
No full textEngagement in music and singing may be a valuable tool to support or develop speech skills in people with DS, as it is for TD populations. However, to the author's knowledge, no study has yet examined in detail the musical abilities of people with DS, or whether the conditions that support the transfer of learning from the musical domain to the speech domain (Patel, 2011; 2014) may be met. This study explores the potential value of musical learning to support speech perception and production in the population. A set of case studies with multiple measures were used to assess the cognitive, speech, vocal and musical abilities of four young adults with DS and SLD, who participated in four sessions of a sixweek programme of song-based musical activities. Their progress in learning new songs was tracked during this time. Participants had physiological, cognitive and perceptual difficulties that were common to speech and musical domains. These included a low digit span and attentional difficulties, dysfluency, and evidence of dysphonia and diplophonia in speech and song. However, their voice quality, in particular, varied according to task demands. Individuals made progress in mastering new songs and in imitating pitch and interval-matching tasks. They were able to transfer learning from songs to the spoken domain. Differences in the performance of individuals in both domains could be primarily attributed to previous learning, hearing status, and to task effects. Aspects of music-based learning appeared to support the perception and production of speech in the four participants. The study concluded that music activities might be an appropriate means of supporting aspects of speech development in people with DS. A programme of musical activities is recommended that could support the perceptual and productive speech difficulties that are common to the wider DS population
Mr Brown is feeling down. In medias re story openers: meeting the challenge of a 'low floor, high ceiling' creative writing activity for KS3
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Moving beyond teaching excellence: developing a different narrative for England’s higher education sector
No full textPurpose: Teaching excellence remains a contested term in English higher education. This paper begins by reflecting on its complex and sometimes blurred meaning, charting the divergence between academic interests in the complexity and contextual questions relating to practice development and organisational and sectoral shifts which have been driven by managerialism, accountability and ‘top-down’ ideas of change. We argue that this divergence, epitomised in the development of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), has led to a confused, if ubiquitous, use of excellence to identify organisational and sector-led ideas of what it means to deliver quality teaching. However, these frameworks have become progressively detached from the complexity of practice investigated by those interested in pedagogy.
Design/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual paper which brings together literature from teaching excellence, organisational science, time and higher education to develop an alternative approach to pedagogic development.
Findings: Based on a critique of the current, confused conceptualisation of teaching excellence, we offer a different narrative which demonstrates how a reconsideration of the factors important in developing critical and challenging teaching opportunities. Based on a ‘bottom-up’ system focusing on dialogue, sustainability and ‘unhasty’ time, we argue for a re-establishing of a holistic approach in HE providers based on emergent pedagogies as opposed to teaching excellence.
Originality and value: This paper demonstrates why teaching excellence has become conceptually fractured in an English context, and why a new approach to pedagogic development needs to be considered to establish a more positive and critical approach at both institutional and sectoral levels. This paper outlines a possible approach to developing such renewal
