University of Cumbria Open Access Journals
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We are all in this together: Building learning communities of practice in higher education through quality mentoring in early years initial teacher training
Get PDFThis article explores the nature of effective mentoring practices in training Early Years Teachers in a University. A small-scale enquiry was undertaken where mentees and their mentors were asked about their experiences of meeting the standards to gain Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS). The results indicate that the use of grading to identify training goals was seen by mentors and their mentees as useful in supporting improvements in practice. These professional dialogues were helpful in supporting the students’ transitions between the University setting and their placement or professional setting. The research team had some concerns about whether the role of the mentor would be compromised by asking the mentor to assess their mentee in practice, drawing on professional standards and Ofsted scales. Mentees and Mentors revealed that the assessment process yielded enhanced professional development. The success of students to meet professional standards rests on the shoulders of mentors, and mentors say that they felt empowered by training from the University. In this sense mentorship may be seen as a crucial part of the University’s Community of Practice, breaking down the boundaries between academic and professional knowledge, and enabling a culture of professional dialogue and critical reflection
A systematic review of literature on teacher attrition and school-related factors that affect it
Get PDFThe retention of teachers is one of the key challenges currently facing schools today. The imperative to bring more teachers into the profession and keep them there has never been more urgent. With Government interventions in England mainly concentrated on the recruitment of teachers into the state sector, little consideration has been given to the scale of teachers leaving or their reasons for doing so. National data masks significant local variations and the overall extent of the attrition problem. Impact from the Retention and Recruitment strategy as a strategic Government driver has yet to be determined. The teacher supply crisis cannot be solved by recruitment drives alone. Reducing teacher attrition could well be the key lever to overcoming the acute recruitment shortage now faced in England. By examining a number of school-related factors, this paper argues that reducing attrition is vital for the sustainability of the teacher workforce, pupil performance and school improvement and the paper concludes by making recommendations for policy makers
Mixed-Age Teaching and Mastery Approaches to Mathematics
Get PDFInternationally, schools with small numbers of children and constrained funding are not able to group the children in classes based on their age. Rather, the children are combined into larger ‘mixed-age’ classes. Schools and teachers manage this situation in different ways, for example by teaching the class as two or more separate age-based groups within the classroom, or by ‘mixed-age’ teaching of the whole class together. All teachers face the challenge of diversity within their class of learners but arguably this is exacerbated for teachers of mixed age classes. In England, this issue of mixed age teaching has been foregrounded during current efforts to reform the teaching of mathematics, where a national policy is focused on developing ‘teaching for mastery’. The characteristics of mastery approaches to teaching mathematics are contested and there is considerable variation between schemes and schools. Mastery approaches developed in England have been influenced to different degrees by practice in East Asian nations including Singapore, Shanghai, and Japan, which have all, with their varied contexts and approaches, seen success in international comparative tests. This paper provides a selective review of international research into mixed-age teaching, judging the current evidence to be of some use but insufficient, and positions the findings in relation to key characteristics of mastery approaches to teaching mathematics. Three generally agreed characteristics of mastery approaches to teaching mathematics, expectations of success for all pupils, in-depth sustained study of topics, and whole class teaching, appear to offer opportunities as well as additional challenges for teachers of mixed-age classes
Mobning som sociale eksklusionsprocesser – virkning og eftervirkning
Get PDFThe debate about dropouts and marginalized young people is often narrowed down to being about socioeconomic status, gender, grades and educational level. The following paper contains a holistic analysis based on two interviews with two Danish young women who talk about bullying in their early school years. Even though, their narratives are different both women tell a story about the feeling of being excluded and ‘not fitting in’. The article will explore the phenomenon ‘bullying’ as an inclusion and exclusion process with great impact on both women’s adult lives. In their narratives we see how in- and exclusion processes can be both implicit and explicit, and throughout this paper we argue that both processes can be seen as bullying. The repercussions for both women are significant. We see Stine who developed a depression and reading difficulties, and struggles to make it through the educational system, and Marlene who positions herself as ‘different’ from the others and quits communities when facing difficulties
Anchoring and Breaking Points - Biographies of Young People without School-Leaving Certificates
Get PDFWhat anchoring and breaking points shape biographies of young adults without school-leaving certificates? Which persons or events have helped them in the past to cope with difficult life situations? What positive experiences have they had? How do institutions, the educational system or society influence them? This work presents first results of a participatory research project in Germany, which involves young people without school-leaving certificates as co-researchers examining their personal biographies. The group worked on a wide range of topics to gain a better understanding of the whole context of their lives. The data obtained within a creative process in the research group, in group discussions, and in individual interviews is evaluated applying the Qualitative Content Analysis (Mayring, 2015). The Bioecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006) does not only offer a theoretical basis for the formation of corresponding categories, but is also applied as a tool to work with the co-researchers to investigate multifactorial correlations for leaving school without a certificate
An evaluation of peer-to-peer feedback using adaptive comparative judgement
No full textAdaptive Comparative Judgement is an alternative to conventional marking in which the assessor (or judge) merely compares two answers and chooses a winner. Repeated judgements and the use of a suitable sorting algorithm allow marked to be derived from a rank order of scripts. Feedback can be added to each script as it is judged.
We have evaluated the use of adaptive comparative judgement for peer assessment and feedback using a case study in the third year of a Pharmacy programme. The exercise consisted of five parts each of 100 words.
Each student conducted 10 judgements and left feedback, which was of overall very high quality. The assessment, however, was less successful. Students’ judgements were not very consistent with one another, nor with staff assessment. This contrasts with a previous exercise, in which the student assessment was of high reliability but the feedback was less good.
This exercise was successful in promoting mutual support among students through the giving and receiving of feedback. We conclude, however, that for optimum use of adaptive comparative judgement for peer assessment, a hierarchical marking scheme is required, but students should be encouraged to give feedback on all aspects of the assessment
Bridging the chasm – a study of the realities of edtech use among trainee teachers
Get PDFThis paper evaluates the findings of a small scale research project into how trainee teachers can use technology for educational purposes. The paper is inspired by an apparent disconnect between the availability of educational technology (abbreviated from here to edtech) and the frequency and impact of its use. Furthermore, the paper aims to assess the extent to which trainee teachers are developing the skills and behaviours that are deemed necessary for the digital world. This paper’s focus is on the use of edtech with a cohort of trainee teachers. The first cohort is comprised of Secondary PGDE students, the second of PGCE trainee teachers specialising in Further Education and Training. A complementary element to the research reveals the disparities between individual trainees in their confidence towards using edtech and the barriers that are inhibiting the use of edtech. The work adheres to the principles of action research and was supported by two universities in the north of England. Through online questionnaires using Surveyhero.com, and focus groups, this paper raised some notable issues and areas for further study
‘Great expectations’ in the UK education system
Get PDFThroughout 2017 and 2018 the MaCE project team co-created an Equalities Literacy Framework (henceforth EQL) (Stuart et al., 2019). This paper focusses in on one element of the EQL framework – that of technologies of oppression and liberation in order to more fully develop an understanding of what does and does not work for young people, from a youth perspective, in the UK education system. One aspect of this work is discussed, the expectations of young people from the education system. The paper draws on data collected by two academics in the Marginalisation and Co-Created Education (MaCE) project. The data were collected using an Indirect Approach with individuals and small groups of young people. The participants included five young people in a housing scheme for homeless youth (The Foyer) and five from a Church funded secondary school. The data corpus was abductively analysed which revealed a theme of ‘expectations’ as a significant technology of oppression. The range of expectations placed upon young people in schools is presented in this paper