OARS - Open Access Repository Suffolk
Not a member yet
2036 research outputs found
Sort by
Critical studies of artificial intelligence and education: putting a stake in the ground.
No full textThe rapidly developing connections between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and education (AI&ED) have prompted widespread policy and institutional responses. However, critical examinations of AI's implications for education are fragmented, often overshadowed by techno-optimist narratives and mostly ignored by policymakers. This community-authored paper aims to help make AI and education's critical voices more visible, by sharing and building upon the findings of a survey completed by 185 researchers, educators, and policymakers from 56 countries, which followed a Critical Studies of AI and Education (CSAI&ED) online symposium. In the first part of the paper, we present our analysis of the survey responses-what is understood by CSAI&ED, what questions should be asked, and what challenges we face. Key themes that emerge include CSAI&ED's interdisciplinary nature, its interventionist role in challenging power structures and commercial influences in education, and broader ethical imperatives. Respondents emphasised the need for research that interrogates AI's impact on teacher and student agency and democratic participation, while cautioning against techno-solutionism and environmental costs. In the second part of the paper, we build on the respondents' contributions with a three-level interrogation of AI&ED discourse and practice. At the level of educational processes, we explore how AI systems risk reducing education to learning, and learning to a transactional activity, eroding student-teacher relationships and displacing collective agency. At the level of the ecosystem, we examine how AI reinforces market logics and surveillance infrastructures, further entrenching neoliberal policies in schools. Finally, we confront what remains unsaid: the politics of imagination, temporality, and legitimacy that underlie dominant AI narratives and attempt to shape educational futures. In conclusion, we argue that CSAI&ED must move from the margins to the centre of AI discourse in education-to ensure that education is reclaimed as a site of collective meaning-making that prioritises pedagogical integrity, equity, and democratic values
Encounters of help: disabled people negotiating help and participation in public spaces
Full text linkIn the context of increased disability activism and changes in policy towards better accessibility for disabled people, the need for help from strangers remains misunderstood. Attitudes towards helping disabled people are shaped by the medical, charity and social models of disability that position disabled people as dependent, vulnerable, or self-sufficient resulting in difficulties managing situations when help may or may not be needed. To explore disabled people’s experiences of encounters of help in public spaces, six interviews were analysed through the lens of the bio-psycho-social model. The findings demonstrated that disabled people negotiated their needs against allowances of the physical and social environments. They navigated a complex field of interactions related to expressions of demand and offer of help resulting in consented or unconsented help, or no help at all. Recommendations for helping behaviour and policy implications are raised in terms of supporting individually relevant participation of disabled people
Being a black academic in a predominantly white university
No full textThis chapter addresses the lack of ethnic diversity in the nursing and midwifery higher education (HE) workforce in the UK. Despite 14% of the UK population being from Black or minority ethnic backgrounds (BME), only 7.2% of academic staff in HE are from BME backgrounds. This disparity is significant given the diverse applicant pool for UK nursing degree programmes. The chapter explores the demographics of the NHS and HE workforces, highlighting the implications of limited diversity among academics. The authors share their migration stories, highlighting the challenges and cultural shocks they faced transitioning to the UK. The chapter delves into the various forms of racism experienced by Black academics, including interpersonal, systemic, and internalised racism. Black academics often face heightened scrutiny and cultural barriers in teaching predominantly white student cohorts. Therefore, the chapter advocates for decolonising the curriculum and fostering allyship to create a more inclusive academic environment. It emphasises the importance of addressing systemic racism and supporting Black academics and students
The still centre of the turning world
No full textA series of pictures and an essay which seeks to re-contextualise the paintings of John Crome into a contemporary framework of landscape practice
How can antifragility help us theorize coaching in a volatile and unpredictable world?
No full textThis conceptual article explores how antifragility might support a fuller theorization of coaching in the context of a world characterized by increasing levels of complexity, volatility and unpredictability. Antifragility, a term which describes how certain systems become stronger when exposed to volatility, has been embraced by and applied within a range of disciplines and industries but is yet to receive any substantive attention in the coaching literature. This article introduces the concept of antifragility and explores how antifragility might support a process of greater critical reflexivity in how the purpose of coaching is conceptualized and the types of coaching conversations it might facilitate. It is proposed that antifragility offers a valuable lens for re-examining and redefining some of the under-theorized norms of coaching including the still largely unchallenged assumptions concerning the benefits of performance enhancement, growth and efficiency. In doing so, this article seeks to add to the growing number of scholars who are calling for coaching to reposition itself as a vehicle for social change rather than a method of individual and organizational optimization
Reimagining entrepreneurship education in the Artificial Intelligence age
No full textThe fundamentals of entrepreneurship education are based on assumptions that humans recognise and pursue opportunities, but if Artificial Intelligence (AI) can perform these tasks with speed and efficiency, what then is the role of the human agent (entrepreneur) in the entrepreneurial process and how do entrepreneurship educators capture these nuances in entrepreneurial education
CAR and the new dialogues about language education
Full text linkThis paper presents a collaborative synthesis of 19 submissions from professional bodies responding to the Department for Education’s Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR). Coordinated by the Coalition for Language Education (CLE) and the Committee for Linguistics in Education (CLiE), the synthesis highlights broad consensus across the language education sector. Respondents collectively call for curriculum reform that supports multilingualism, promotes language awareness, and embeds inclusion as a guiding principle. The findings also stress the need for assessment reform, more flexible post-16 pathways, and greater recognition of oracy and digital literacies. Taken together, the submissions reveal a strong, unified voice for systemic change in language education, urging policymakers to address gaps identified in the CAR Interim Report and to create a curriculum that reflects the linguistic diversity of contemporary England
‘It's about collaboration’: a whole-systems approach to understanding and promoting movement in Suffolk
Full text linkAbstract Background
Population-levels of physical activity have remained stagnant for years. Previous approaches to modify behaviour have broadly neglected the importance of whole-systems approaches. Our research aimed to (i) understand, (ii) map, (iii) identify the leverage points, and (iv) develop solutions surrounding participation in physical activity across an English rural county.
Methods
A systems-consortium of partners from regional and local government, charities, providers, deliverers, advocacy groups, and health and social care, and public health engaged in our research, which consisted of two-phases. Within Phase 1, we used secondary data, insight-work, a narrative review, participatory workshops, and interviews in a pluralistic style to map the system-representing physical activity. Phase 2 began with an initial analysis using markers from social network analysis and the Action Scales Model. This analysis informed a participatory workshop, to identify leverage points, and develop solutions for change within the county.
Results
The systems-map is constructed from biological, financial, and psychological individual factors, interpersonal factors, systems partners, built, natural and social environmental factors, and policy and structural factors. Our initial analysis found 13 leverage points to review within our participatory workshop. When appraised by the group, (i) local governing policies, (ii) shared policies, strategies, vision, and working relationships, (iii) shared facilities (school, sport, community, recreation), and (iv) funding were deemed most important to change. Within group discussions, participants stressed the importance and challenges associated with shared working relationships, a collective vision, and strategy, the role of funding, and management of resources. Actions to leverage change included raising awareness with partners beyond the system, sharing policies, resources, insight, evidence, and capacity, and collaborating to co-produce a collective vision and strategy.
Conclusions
Our findings highlight the importance and provide insight into the early phase of a whole-systems approach to promoting physical activity. Our whole-systems approach within Suffolk needs to consider methods to (i) grow and maintain the systems-consortium, (ii) create a sustainable means to map the system and identify leverage points within it, and (iii) monitor and evaluate change
Hashtag activism and Women’s rights: are social media campaigns really making laws better for Women and Girls?
No full textWith over five billion internet users globally, it is crucial to understand social media activism and legal change for women and girls.
This insightful book examines the impact of international Twitter (now X) campaigns on domestic laws affecting women and girls. Exploring the complexities of legal change for women and girls across seven countries from Latin America to Middle East and Africa, the book offers empirical insights into the effectiveness of hashtag advocacy and sheds light on the role of social media in shaping different outcomes.
This is a key resource for understanding the dynamics driving social media activism and its potential impact on the rights of women and girls worldwide