University of Cumbria Open Access Journals
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Exploring young people\u27s voices in ethnographic research: Remarks on the ethical implications of ethnographic interviews with marginalised young people
Get PDFThis paper frames a general theoretical discussion on the use of children’s and young people’s voices in social research. Through examples drawn from the ethnographic interview methodology used in the project: Marginalisation and Co-created Education (MaCE), the paper explores the research ethical implications when conducting ethnographic interviews with possibly vulnerable and marginalised young people. I argue that the methodological reflections on research ethics come down to a discussion on navigating through dilemmas regarding children’s and young people’s right to an actual voice in research. Through the term ethical situationism, I argue that researchers must undertake ethical judgements and deal with ethical considerations as they go – and in that sense act ethically according to context while interviewing. Not everything can be planned for and must be dealt with on the go
The Indirect Approach – Refleksion, kritik og potentialer
Get PDFBased on fieldwork with young people and their experiences of being young and going to school, this article looks into the methodology used in our work where we have conducted interviews based on The Indirect Approach at two Danish educational institutions. This article examines our reflections and considerations about the use of The Indirect Approach and what specific aspects we find important to be aware of using this method. Our aim with this article is to pass on our own experiences with The Indirect Approach to other researchers
Challenging Neoliberal Discourses as ‘nasty little theories’: Co-Creation in Higher Education
Get PDFThe current operating context for higher education in the UK is of neoliberal consumerism and competition. This drives ‘efficiency’ measures such as high class sizes, low staffing and low contact hours. In direct contrast to this context the Marginalisation and Co-created Education research project funded time for rich, relational, co-created learning with academic staff and undergraduate and postgraduate students from three European nations. Four mixed method surveys were conducted over an academic year in order to understand the impact this way of studying could have. The results from a sample of three students is used to support a move away from the dominant neoliberal agendas
Assessing the credabilty and validity of the Motivational Strategies for Learning Questionaire (MSLQ) to aid self regulating learning to a cohort of undergraduate students
No full textThe aim of this paper is to focus on using the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) to determine its credibility and validity to a group of student research participants. Innumerable research including that undertaken by Roth, Ogrin and Schmitz (2014); Zimmerman (2008); Van Eekelen, Boshuizen and Vermut, (2005); Tuckman and Kennedy (2011); McKendry, Wright and Stevenson (2013); Kukkonen, Suhonen and Salminen (2015) and Robshaw and Smith (2004) indicates the credibility and validity of self-regulated learning with a view to its indication of academic achievement success. Henceforth, this study sought to apply the MSLQ to twenty-three undergraduate participants, undertaking a three-year BSc (Hons) Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) course within a Higher Education (HE) institution located in the North West of England to determine if this applied to them. Proposed strategies to assist cogitation were fed back to each participant. The overall rationale being to signpost support to the participants such as, targeted resources available to them within the University to underpin their studies. The study commenced with, a presentation to the participants followed by an eighty-one-point questionnaire for them to complete. On completion, the emergent data allowed each participant to be informed of improvement strategies and the support available to them. Finally, to validate the outcomes, a focus group was convened to discuss if and how, each participant had interacted with the self-regulating learning
Common understanding or ‘hodgepodge’? The consistency and accuracy of school-based mentors’ assessment of trainee primary teachers in England
Get PDFThe small-scale research study reported in this paper aimed to explore the ways in which mentors in primary school settings approach the assessment of trainee teachers within the English Initial Teacher Education system. Consistency and accuracy of assessment is judged by Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education) as a key indicator of quality, and yet very little is understood about the ways in which assessment is enacted by mentors. The paper explores some of the tensions involved in mentor assessment of trainees: variable interpretations of criteria, the dichotomous role of the mentor and differing operating contexts and personal constructs of mentors. It is concluded that these all influence mentor decision making, and a ‘mentor assessment identity’ is theorised, based on mentors’ previous and current experiences, contexts and beliefs. Consistency in terms of the application of criterion-based assessment to trainees’ teaching is thus fundamentally critiqued, and a way forward is suggested based on qualitative formative feedback. It is thus suggested that ITE providers could move away from grading and focus instead on strengths and areas for development for trainee teachers
The search for 100% satisfaction with feedback
Get PDFThe National Student Survey (NSS) frequently highlights students’ dissatisfaction with feedback. Data collected over the past two years by tutors working on a Batchelor of Arts (Honours) Primary Education 5-11 programme, leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), shows increasing satisfaction as students engage with and use feedback. The initiatives outlined in this longitudinal, action research study have shown that face-to-face, oral communication is at the heart of student satisfaction. Speaking with students is key in helping them to reflect upon the variety of feedback, understand its relevance and consequently to act upon it in practical ways. The research suggests that rather than searching for a perfect model of feedback, we should work towards changing the way that students view, access and respond to the variety of feedback offered. The study shows enhancing student engagement with feedback through a range of improved measures, can impact on student satisfaction ratings such as those in the NSS. The paper argues that by working together in partnership, students and tutors could move closer to achieving the elusive 100% satisfaction for feedback
Teacher Emotions Matter: Bridging Teacher Learning and Mathematics Instruction in the early years Using an Affective Instruction Design
Get PDFInterest in the role of emotion within mathematics education has increased in recent decades. Within a case-study framework, I explored how an Affective Instructional Design (AID) supported an early years teacher develop the capacity to change her instructional approaches, influenced her mathematic affect, and the affective experiences of her students. My conceptualisation for AID is based on an integrated framework approach drawing from emotion-learning theory, instructional design theory, and teaching and learning mathematics theory to integrate affect and cognition throughout the instructional process. Participants included 15 kindergarten children and their class teacher from a K-12 school in Tennessee, USA. Measures included teacher interviews, video recordings of 13 mathematics lessons, and field notes. Findings from this small study suggest instructional supports such as AID influence teacher capacity to bridge new learning and enacted practice; preliminary findings indicate AID contributed to a rise in positive teacher and learner affect, and improved teacher capacity to plan and implement quality mathematics learning environments
Could a focus on ethics of care within teacher education have the potential to reduce the exclusion of autistic learners?
Get PDFCurrent figures suggest one in every hundred UK children and adults are autistic. The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice (2015) places a statutory duty on local authorities to incorporate learners with SEND, including autism, in mainstream educational settings. This thought piece explores how although policy reforms suggest inclusive education for all, there is evidence of an increasing number of young people on the autism spectrum being excluded from mainstream educational settings. Exclusions from school can have a devastating impact on self-esteem, mental health and future prospects of the learners. In addition to caring for learners, it is important for educational establishments to extend the care to the staff team in order to support their emotional and physical well-being. Care has a fundamental role to play in educational settings. Ethics of Care is a normative ethical theory. Central to this theory is reciprocal, interpersonal relationships. Starting with an overview of ethics of care, I will then examine the exclusion of autistic learners and consider whether a focus on this philosophy within teacher education has the potential to reduce the exclusion of autistic learners
School-Based Dogs, their Use and Effectiveness: A Phenomenological Study
Get PDFAccording to the research, full-time school-based dogs can contribute significantly to a positive environment as well as have a positive impact on children and young people’s social and emotional development, behaviour and enthusiasm towards academia. The research comprised of mixed method approach, phenomenological study. Findings support past research
Fylde Coast Living Libraries: Seaside Story Telling – within a pedagogy framework
Get PDFThe co-design of the MaCe project is about bringing together, young people, researchers, academics and students to explore their environment within an Equalities Framework. This article forms part of the overall research findings and will be part of a framework of knowledge based on the inequity within an educational system, supporting and underpinning pedagogic research, enabling wider opportunity for debate and critical review