980 research outputs found
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Liminal spaces constructed by primary schools in predominantly white working-class areas in England
No full textDespite successive policy interventions, students’ socio-economic
status continues to strongly predict educational outcomes. Many schools aspire to ‘close’ this ‘gap’. This paper presents an ethnographic study of a group of Primary schools in predominantly white working-class areas in the Midlands of England. Generating ethnographic data through time-recurrent, multi-sited fieldwork including observation, informal conversations, semi-structured interviews, photography and documentary analysis, findings were constructed through critical
dialogue between the group of six researchers. A concept of liminal spaces is used to analyse the schools’ work in seeking to move individuals, families, and communities beyond that which they previously knew, foregrounding norms, practices, and discourses constructed on the ‘inside’, and highlighting aspects in
tension with the imagined ‘outside’. These schools’ conceptualisations of poverty are shown to be complex and multifaceted, and suggestions are made to employ liminality for articulating and critically exploring the spaces and transformations
that schools seek to construct
The discursive construction of low-risk to sexually transmitted diseases between women who are sexually active with women
No full textThis paper uses discursive analytical method to explore dominant discourses concerning the sexual health of women who have sex with women. In-depth interviews were conducted with a cross-cultural sample of women from England and Brazil. Sex between women was discursively constructed as ‘safe’ and women who have sex with women were seen as being at low to negligible risk of contracting/transmitting sexually transmitted infections. Analysis identified two discourses underlying these constructions: a binaries discourse which focused on dichotomies of gender, sexuality and risk; and a sexual double-standard discourse, which focused on the positioning of sex between women as safe and the use of barrier methods of protection as indicative of not engaging or fully enjoying the sexual act
Technology enhanced learning in higher education; motivations, engagement and academic achievement
No full textTechnology Enhanced Learning (TEL) has become a common feature of Higher Education. However, research has been hindered by a lack of differentiation between usage and engagement and not recognising the heterogeneity of TEL applications. The current study aimed to assess the impact of emotional, cognitive and behavioural engagement with TEL on students’ grades and to also look at how motivation levels differentially predict engagement across different types of TEL. In a sample of 524 undergraduate students, we measured engagement and usage of TEL, student learning motivations and self-report student grades. Our results indicate that intrinsic motivations predict engagement, whilst extrinsic motivations predict usage. Importantly, engagement was predictive of grades whereas usage was not. Furthermore, when TEL was broken down by type, the use of social media groups was a significant predictor of grade, whereas reviewing lecture slides/ recordings, reading additional content and using course blogs/ discussion boards were not. We conclude that a sole focus on usage of TEL is misleading. Implications for researchers and educators are discussed
Teaching assistants managing behaviour – who knows how they do it? Agency is the answer
No full textThis paper revisits a previous publication which questioned how Teaching Assistants (TAs) manage behaviour in mainstream English primary schools (Clarke and Visser, 2016). That paper highlighted the lack of specific research in the area and noted, that despite increases in research on TAs work, there remained a lack of understanding in relation to how TAs supported children’s non-academic or ‘soft skills’. Following on from that, this paper details the findings of a doctoral research project that investigated factors that constrained and supported TAs’ management of behaviour. Using the findings from that research, this paper offers suggestions to the to the question I outlined in the previous paper ‘Teaching Assistants managing behaviour - who knows how they do it?’ (Clarke and Visser, 2016). Concepts including TAs’ understanding of their ‘place’, the impact of agency and how consistency in a range of areas influenced the agency TAs experienced in managing behaviour will be discussed
Crafters of kingship: smiths, elite power, and gender in early medieval Europe
No full textIn the earliest centuries of the Middle Ages, skilled metalsmiths were greatly valued by cult leaders who required impressive objects to maintain social links and the loyalty of their retainers. Despite their clear importance, smiths were peripheral characters operating on the fringes of elite communities. Such treatment may reflect an attempt to limit the influence of metalworkers, whose craft was seen as supernatural and who themselves were probably spiritual figureheads; archaeological evidence associates smiths and their tools in symbolic processes of creation and destruction, not only of objects but also of buildings and monuments. The Church clearly appropriated these indigenous practices, although conversion eventually saw the pre-eminence of the sacred smith and their practice wane. Anthropological study provides numerous comparators for skilled crafters acting as supernatural leaders, and also suggests that as part of their marginal identity, smiths may have been perceived as a distinct gender
“No More Heroes Anymore”: marginalized identities in punk memorialisation and curation
No full textThe 40th ‘anniversary’ of punk in 2016 was marked by various events in London including museum exhibits. Missing from far too many of these events has been the voice and experiences of marginalized punks. Was the subversive nature of punk being undermined by the realities of a display space that must cater to a wide range of users and stakeholders? Or is the inclusive platform that punk sells itself on a well –disguised miasma that arises from its perpetuation of (and belief in) troubling norms such as sexism, ableism, racism and homophobia? This article will argue that it was a combination of both. Utilising interviews it will demonstrate the impact that the exhibit had on marginalized groups within punk and their reflections on whether it reflects wider norms within punk. Relying on the stranger fetishization theory of Sara Ahmed, this article will examine how punk’s memorialization of itself forces marginalized groups within it to be used as a means of bolstering a particular narrative of inclusivity that in reality ensures they remain strangers within their own subculture
Robert Grosseteste and theories of education: the ordered human
No full textThis book examines Robert Grosseteste’s often underrepresented ideas on education. It uniquely brings together academics from the fields of medieval history, modern science and contemporary education to shed new light on a fascinating medieval figure whose work has an enormous amount to offer anyone with an interest in our educational processes.
The book locates Grosseteste as a key figure in the intellectual history of medieval Europe and positions him as an important thinker who concerned himself with the science of education and set out to elucidate the processes and purposes of learning. This book offers an important practical contribution to the discussion of the contemporary nature and purpose of many aspects of our education processes.
This book will be of interest to graduate and post graduate students, researchers and academics of educational philosophy, medieval history, philosophy and theolog
“I can be a role model for autistic pupils”: Investigating the voice of the autistic teacher
No full textDespite extensive interest in the needs of autistic pupils in education, there has to date been no focus on the needs or attitudes of teachers who are autistic. This paper reports on the case study of an autistic trainee teacher during his Initial Teacher Education (ITE) year undertaking a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at Secondary level. ‘Greg’ (a pseudonym) took part in an unstructured interview with the researcher, his contributions were recorded and his responses transcribed and coded. Coding was conducted co-operatively between Greg and the researcher, leading to co-created data. Greg’s attitudes towards his own autism and its role in his teaching are discussed here, together with his understanding of the needs of autistic pupils. Limitations of the study and the potential for future research are suggested, together with recommendations for the inclusion of the position of autistic teacher in ITE concerning autism
Adolescents' experiences of street harassment: creating a typology and assessing the emotional impact
No full textPurpose: Research examining young people's experiences of harassment has tended to focus on the school and digital environment. Despite street harassment being identified as a common experience for adult women, very few studies have explored adolescents' experiences of street harassment. Methodology: A person centred analytical approach, based on experienced reporting, was used to create a typology of street harassment. Reports of street harassment were received from 118 (68 female, 43 male, 7 no gender reported) 11- to 15-year-olds over a 6 to 8 week period. Findings: Cluster analysis revealed four distinct groups: "predominately verbal", "non-verbal/non-direct", "other incident", and "all forms". Young women and those in the "all forms" group reported experiencing greater negative emotions following the episode of street harassment. Young men were equally as likely as young women to report experiencing street harassment. Value: The findings uniquely highlight that adolescents experience distinct types of street harassment and some of which are associated with negative emotions