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Young people, youth work & the ‘levelling up’ policy agenda
Get PDF‘Levelling UP’ has taken on considerable significance in the policy discourses of the Johnson conservative government, particularly regarding the English regions. However, what is meant by Levelling up has been far from clear, although if it is to mean anything it must at least in part mean addressing the needs of disadvantaged and left behind communities. Key premises of this paper are that young people must be considered valued members of those communities; and that, to meet their expressed needs, youth work can be the best placed service for (re)investment, not least because it has demonstrated that it consistently enables a wide variety of outcomes in their lives. The investment required must be seen in the context of the huge austerity cuts to youth services in England which disproportionately affected disadvantaged communities. To make the case for ‘levelling up’ to completely rebuild as well as further develop those services. This paper brings together an analysis of past and current youth policies with a range of relevant empirical data
Play, Learn, and Teach Outdoors—Network (PLaTO-Net): terminology, taxonomy, and ontology
Get PDFBackground: A recent dialogue in the feld of play, learn, and teach outdoors (referred to as “PLaTO” hereafter) demonstrated the need for developing harmonized and consensus-based terminology, taxonomy, and ontology for PLaTO. This is important as the feld evolves and diversifes in its approaches, contents, and contexts over time and in diferent countries, cultures, and settings. Within this paper, we report the systematic and iterative processes under‑taken to achieve this objective, which has built on the creation of the global PLaTO-Network (PLaTO-Net).
Methods: This project comprised of four major methodological phases. First, a systematic scoping review was conducted to identify common terms and defnitions used pertaining to PLaTO. Second, based on the results of the scoping review, a draft set of key terms, taxonomy, and ontology were developed, and shared with PLaTO members, who provided feedback via four rounds of consultation. Third, PLaTO terminology, taxonomy, and ontology were then fnalized based on the feedback received from 50 international PLaTO member participants who responded to≥3 rounds of the consultation survey and dialogue. Finally, eforts to share and disseminate project outcomes were made through diferent online platforms.
Results: This paper presents the fnal defnitions and taxonomy of 31 PLaTO terms along with the PLaTO-Net ontol‑ogy model. The model incorporates other relevant concepts in recognition that all the aspects of the model are interrelated and interconnected. The fnal terminology, taxonomy, and ontology are intended to be applicable to, and relevant for, all people encompassing various identities (e.g., age, gender, culture, ethnicity, ability).
Conclusions: This project contributes to advancing PLaTO-based research and facilitating intersectoral and inter‑disciplinary collaboration, with the long-term goal of fostering and strengthening PLaTO’s synergistic linkages with healthy living, environmental stewardship, climate action, and planetary health agendas. Notably, PLaTO terminology, taxonomy and ontology will continue to evolve, and PLaTO-Net is committed to advancing and periodically updating harmonized knowledge and understanding in the vast and interrelated areas of PLaTO
Ploughing the Field: (Inter)disciplinary Approaches to YA Studies
Get PDFThe categories of ‘book people’ and ‘child people’ identified by John Rowe Townsend to demarcate the key players in children’s literature studies might also be applied to YA studies, where scholars and practitioners from diverse disciplines – including literary studies, book studies, creative writing, library sciences, and education studies – engage with the same source material but from different vantage points and with divergent priorities. “Book people” are those whose interests lie in literature, and who are perhaps “bound to look first at the book, because that is their job” (Townsend 407), while “child people” are concerned with the pedagogical, moral, and social functions of children’s literature and focus, instead, on its “non-literary standards” (407). The distinction is perhaps simplistic and has certainly been critiqued, but the “turf wars between these factions” (Hunt 19) have shaped the development of the study of texts for young people ever since they were first introduced. In our third edition of “Ploughing the Field”, we disrupt the disciplinary borders and boundaries of our field to unpick the current state of play and consider some of the future possibilities for interdisciplinary collaboration. We do so by bringing together the perspectives of 10 scholars from a range of disciplines with stakes in YA and YA studies (see Table One)
Use of strontium isotope ratios in geolocation of Guatemalan population: Potential role in identification of remains
Get PDFWithin post-conflict communities, attempts to identify and repatriate unidentified and missing individuals poses a difficult task. As current forensic strategies commonly lack the capacity to provide region of origin assessments, forensic anthropologists/ investigators are often unable to identify sources of DNA for kinship analysis. Using Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS), hair samples from 10 volunteers were used to assess the variation in strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) between extant people in Guatemala City and Coban; with a leach (external) and digest (dietary) signal analyzed for each sample. A two-way anova demonstrated that the difference between 87Sr/86Sr of Guatemala City and Coban was statistically significant (F [1, 16] = 259.839, p< 0.05), with no statistically significant differences observed between leach and digest 87Sr/86Sr (F [1,16] = 4.319, p = 0.054). Overall, individuals from Coban demonstrate 87Sr/86Sr comparable to previously recorded baseline values, demonstrating a minimal change in diet which is reflected in associated surveys. Volunteers from Guatemala City, however, show a marked shift in 87Sr/86Sr away from predicted values highlighting the potential influence of imported goods. The results here highlight the applicability of 87Sr/86Sr in hair to serve as a potential tool to support the identification of unknown individuals in Guatemala in a forensic context
A status-based crisis of teacher shortages? Exploring the role of ‘status’ in teacher recruitment and retention.
No full textThere is an international crisis in teacher supply. Recruiting and retaining enough teachers to meet school needs has been challenging the agencies that control teacher supply for many years. The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Sustainable Development Goal 4.c is to ‘substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers’ to support an equitable education system. In England in 2021, 40 per cent of teachers left the profession by year ten, 23 per cent by year three; while recruiting teachers in 2022 was 50 per cent below the target for trainee teachers. In the United States Education Secretary Miguel Cardona warned of disruptions caused by teacher shortages with the National Education Association reporting that 55% of educators are ready to leave the profession in 2022. In Australia, states are reporting that Covid has worsened existing teacher shortages. The OECD concur with international reporting on the impact of Covid in worsening existing challenges in teacher supply.
Schools appear stuck in a cycle of struggling to recruit teachers to plug the gaps of those that leave. Governments attempt to support schools by focusing on financial packages to attract new teachers (especially in subjects perceived in the previous year to be falling short of required teacher numbers), while failing to secure the retention of experienced teachers. Teaching is not a preferred graduate profession and those that do enter teaching continue to leave in large numbers. This paper offers a theory of status-based teacher shortages. It is argued that teaching and teacher status is complex, developed in multiple objective and subjective contexts, and is impacted by a number of social factors. The agencies that control teacher recruitment and oversee teacher retention have not realised the importance of ‘status’ in establishing a set of circumstances that contribute to declining trainee teacher numbers and increasing teacher attrition
The Development of the Early Career Framework: Putting Early Career Teacher Retention Front and Centre
No full textIt has long been recognised that there is a teacher recruitment and retention crisis in the UK, with formal governmental acknowledgement culminating in the Education Select Committee report of Feb 2017 on this topic. The report highlighted the need for a long-term, evidence-based plan to tackle the challenges associated with teacher supply, with a greater emphasis on improving teacher retention and raising the status of the profession. As part of this improvement, high-quality, relevant continuing professional development is required for teachers to continually develop their practice and in order to create future leaders. On the recommendations of the consultation on ‘Strengthening QTS and Improving Career Progression for Teachers’, the Department for Education (2018) committed to the development of an Early Career Framework of support and mentoring for all NQTs. This chapter will explore the process of this development, from its inception, the EEF-funded RETAIN pilot and the exploratory research, through the pilot projects to the statutory framework that came into force in September 2021
Making it happen with multiple stakeholders; effective knowledge exchange for placement-based learning.
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Chapter 8: Ambition Institute lead provider case study: ‘Nothing works everywhere, everything works somewhere’
No full textIn August 2021, I interviewed Kyle Bailey, Learning Design Lead for Ambition Institute, about the national roll-out (NRO) of the Ambition Institute Early Career Framework (ECF) programme. Kyle had led on the design of the Ambition Institute ECF provision since 2019 and was, therefore, able to offer real insight into the Ambition Institute ECF programme for early career teacher (ECT) induction. This case study uses Kyle’s interview responses, and information from the Ambition Institute website to understand more about this lead provider's contribution to ECT professional development
Afterword
No full textIn 2013/14, I was in discussion with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) about a funding proposal for researching and delivering an intervention to mitigate high levels of early career teacher (ECT) attrition. Having worked with schools to support initial teacher education (ITE) and continuing professional development (CPD) over many years, I had observed increasing challenges with ECT retention, particularly in schools with high levels of persistently disadvantaged children, such as those in socio-economically deprived coastal and rural areas of England (Ovenden-Hope and Passy 2015; 2019). The EEF awarded a grant (contracted to The Cornwall College Group, my employer at the time of the award) for RETAIN (EEF 2018) in 2015
Australian University Nursing and Allied Health Students’ and Staff Physical Activity Promotion Preparedness and Knowledge: A Pre-Post Study Using an Educational Intervention
Get PDFThe promotion of physical activity (PA) by health professionals is a key strategy to increase PA levels in the population. In this study, we investigated PA promotion, preparedness, and knowledge among university nursing and allied health students and staff, as well as PA resource usage within curricula, before and after an educational intervention. Students and staff from 13 health disciplines at one Australian university were invited to complete an online survey, and a curriculum audits were conducted before and after PA teaching resources were promoted by academic PA champions (n = 14). A total of 299 students and 43 staff responded to the survey pre-intervention, and 363 and 32 responded to the post-intervention, respectively. PA promotion role perception (≥93%) and confidence to provide general PA advice (≥70%) were high throughout the study. Knowledge of PA guidelines was poor (3–10%). Students of physiotherapy, sport and exercise science, as well as more active students, were more likely to be aware of the PA guidelines (p < 0.05). Over 12 months, PA promotion preparedness and knowledge did not change significantly, nor was there a change in the amount of PA content delivered, despite a significant increase in the use of the teaching resources across a number of disciplines (p = 0.007). Future research should be carried out to investigate the implementation of the resources over time and to develop additional strategies for PA promotion and education scaffolded across curricula