AISHE-J - The All Ireland Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
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Stepping up to Leadership in Higher Education
No full textLeadership in Higher Education is as yet an under-researched topic but one which is clearly coming to the forefront in current higher education literature. Universities are under as much pressure as other public funded entities to change and adapt to the challenges we face in the 21st century. An important aspect of that change is to examine our conceptions of leadership and our identities as leaders and ask ourselves how we might make a stronger and more explicit contribution to developing the leaders of the future. On the one hand universities are charged with becoming more bureaucratic, more managerial with institutional leaders perhaps overly focused on performativity and revenue generation. On the other hand there are growing expectations of higher education to contribute more to society by strengthening its role in building leadership capacity and capability. This article explores different interpretations, viewpoints and epistemological approaches to leadership and leadership development and challenges readers to take more responsibility for engaging with the leadership literature and blending the scholarship of leadership and the scholarship of learning and teaching.
Abstracts from ESA 'Education and Citizenship: theoretical issues, policies and practices ' Conference
No full textEuropean Sociological Association: The RN10 Sociology of Education mid-term international conference.Education and Citizenship: theoretical issues, policies and practices 8 -9 September 2014, ISCTE-IUL Lisbon Portugal.
Review of Irish Higher Education: A Comparative Perspective, by Patrick Clancy, Dublin, Institute of Public Administration, 2015.
No full textCircle Time as an Inclusive Learning Space: Exploring Student Teachers’ Prior School Experiences.
No full textAbstract Promoting inclusive practices has become a priority for many higher education institutions (Higher Education Authority (HEA) 2008). Inclusive learning is promoted across a number of teacher education courses as part of the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degree. Circle time - a widely employed and popular learning method amongst primary and post-primary teachers – is conceptualised as one effective method for facilitating inclusive learning at third-level.[1] Drawing on research which investigated student teachers’ prior experiences of and attitudes towards circle time in their primary and post-primary schools (Collins and Kavanagh 2013), this paper critically assesses the extent to which the practice of circle time reflects its inclusive theoretical underpinnings in light of research findings, and highlights some implications for teacher educators who wish to promote inclusion in their courses. The methodology employed was mixed methods, with the use of a self-administered questionnaire distributed to 200 students and provision for focus group interviews with a small number of students. Two key research questions were identified: what was your prior experience of circle time at primary and post-primary school; and how will this impact on your future use of the method in your own teaching practice? The research uncovered both positive and negative aspects of students’ prior experiences of circle time and practices which support and undermine inclusion. Circle time’s capacity to facilitate students’ voices and peer discussion were cited as key benefits but some students did not feel that they were provided with opportunities to participate on an equal basis either with each other or with the facilitating teacher. These findings suggest a need to modify practices in order to promote inclusion, participation and equality of voice. This paper’s findings and implications may resonate with other third level practitioners who seek to facilitate inclusive learning as part of their pedagogical approach.[1] In this paper, inclusive learning is conceptualised as organising learning to ensure that all students are provided with opportunities to actively and meaningfully participate in the learning process (Kershner 2009; Black-Hawkins, Florian, and Rouse 2007). In particular, it requires providing students with equal opportunities to exercise their voices, to have a say in decisions which affect them and to have what they say taken seriously and acted upon (Cook-Sather 2006; Holdsworth 2000).
EDIN: Leadership in Academic and Educational Development
No full textInvited reflection from the current Chair of Education Developers in Ireland Network (EDIN)
Review of Reflective teaching in Higher Education by Paul Ashwin, David Boud, Kelly Coate et al, Bloomsbury, 2015
No full textIntegrating Customised Video Clips into The Veterinary Nursing Curriculum to Enhance Practical Competency Training and The Development of Student Confidence
No full textCompetency training is a critical aspect of veterinary nursing education, as graduates must complete a practical competency assessment prior to registration as a veterinary nurse. Despite this absolute requirement for practical training across a range of domestic animal species, there is a lack of published literature on optimal teaching approaches. The aim of this project was to assess the value of customised video clips in the practical skills training of veterinary nursing students. The effectiveness of the intervention in promoting student-centred learning and competency development was evaluated via a qualitative case study incorporating student surveys and focus groups. The study found customised clips to be a valuable teaching tool. The video library helped address problems such as large class sizes, limited individual instruction time and restricted opportunities to practise skills. Internal student factors that inhibited learning, primarily lack of confidence, were also highlighted. Focus groups were found to be an effective way to obtain insights into the learner experience. They facilitated the identification of hidden learning barriers. Strategies to improve the training of practical competencies based on the findings of this study were identified for veterinary nursing educators
What Undergraduate Early Childhood Education and Care Students Find ‘Troublesome’ During the Early Period of Practice Placements
No full textSocial professional students, such as those training to become Early Childhood Education and Care Practitioners, Social Workers or Social Pedagogues, transform their understanding of the social professional role during practice placements. Students observe practitioners at work, eventually learning how to direct their own activities with service users. Yet the challenging part of this learning journey, which students are required to traverse to perform social professional functions, frequently gets minimised in tales of professional identity metamorphosis.Employing the education theory ‘Threshold Concepts’ (Meyer & Land, 2003), I was interested in exploring the ‘troublesome’ aspects of learning during practice placements for Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) students. I interviewed six ECEC practice placement supervisors and six final-year ECEC students to understand these troubles.Following a narrative analysis of these interviews, I identified two principal learning challenges which arise for ECEC students during the early phase of practice placements. First, students must come to terms with an unfamiliar workplace culture. Second, students must learn to ‘find their voice’ to participate in preschool settings. These difficulties place cognitive, emotional and physical demands on ECEC students; these demands should not be underestimated.Arguably, college educators do their students an injustice by not acknowledging, understanding and exploring the difficult aspects of placement learning. For a start, students will remain ill-prepared for their placement experiences. More widely, admitting that childcare work can be difficult for students aligns with a commitment to promote and normalise a wider discourse which acknowledges that childcare work can be challenging at times for every childcare worker. Consequently, identifying what students find difficult during practice placements enables us to reflect more generally on the supports which need to be put in place for childcare workers, to prevent a repeat of dangerous childcare practices witnessed on RTÉ’s Prime Time (television) programme (June 2013).