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The trouble with the latest accreditation round for initial teacher education
No full textApplications for the latest accreditation process opened on 26/02/25, for providers wishing to begin delivering Initial teacher training (ITT) AY 2026/27. According to the DfE this targeted round will offer eligible organisations ‘a smooth transition from any existing partnership arrangements.’ (DfE, 2024)In this piece, I present an overview of the previous ITT Reaccreditation (DfE, 2022), alongside the current information required for prospective providers. I take a retrospective view, considering how the conservative government’s attempt at, ‘Delivering world class teacher development,’ (DfE, 2022) ended up decimating the landscape of ITE, leaving those of us left to pick up the pieces. I offer a ‘lessons learned’ perspective and ‘a read with caution’ for those hoping to re-enter the sector. It’s a welcome back laced with spoonful of caution. <br/
Nobody's Memoir:An unreliable history of fragments
No full textIn this essay, the authors discuss the possibilities of partial and fallible memories to provide source material for creative memoir, and the abnegation of individual authorial control as a key element of creative process. Considering Jonathan Gottschall’s characterisation of narrative as central to human experience, the authors explore the way in which their own fragmented and discrete personal narratives, when ‘recycled into mutant strains,’ as Gareth E Rees puts it, may be combined and shaped into what they describe as ‘a shared psychogeography of memories,’ which belongs to both writers, and to neither. They illustrate how, in practice, this creates a narrator who is, as other collaborative writers have acknowledged in the past, an independent third entity, and that this speaker adopts the role of a psychopomp, leading both writers and readers through a strangely familiar landscape that, ultimately, is nobody’s creation but its own
Developing a pedagogy of critical reflection and reflexivity on a professional doctorate towards equity, ethics and social justice
No full textThe Professional Doctorate in Education (EdD) is designed for researching practitioners to address problems of practice and to develop theoretically informed practice-based knowledge, based on equity, ethics and social justice, according to the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate. Within the EdD programmes, practitioner reflection is a key characteristic. While extensive literature on reflection in educational programmes exists, there is little literature on how critically reflective approaches might be developedin practice at the beginning of a EdD programme. The article takes the example of the first module on a EdD programme and shows how such approaches can develop and deepen researching practitioners’ (EdD students) understandings of problems of practice. This article contributes to understandings of EdD pedagogy. Co-written with EdD students who have completed their first module of the programme, it includes their first-personresponses to the approaches taken to foster critical reflection and reflexivity and offers a model for this form of collaborative writing. The article highlights the importance of considering students’ standpoint and positionality as researching practitioners and the value of a critically reflective and reflexive approach which is guided by the challenge oftheory
Is the rise of Involuntary Celibacy Extremism a threat to the safety of the United Kingdom?
No full textThis paper will examine whether Involuntary Celibacy extremism is a threat to the United Kingdom. The word ‘incel’ refers to a person who identifies as involuntarily celibate, who is unable to form intimate and sexual relationships. Many are predominantly young males, around 18 to 30 years old, and in the past twenty years, the community has seen a huge rise. The incel community has also began to advocate an increasingly violent misogynistic ideology, where blame is placed on women and society for their inability to form a romantic relationship. The number of deadly attacks with the perpetrator either having strong links to the incel community or has openly claimed the attack for the incel community have increased. Research has also risen, examining why people turn to the incel community and how these people become radicalised. Many findings demonstrate that negative mental health patterns have a huge impact on turning men to this community. In addition to this, the reach of social media is allowing these people to connect and spread the incel ideology. There is clinical research that tells us that these community members have difficulties in social settings and forming relationships; this is then worsened by the changing dynamics of contemporary society. There is clear evidence highlighted that the factors that turn people towards the incel ideology is on the rise, so it can be recognised that it is likely to see significant growth in the coming years. Countries across the world are reacting, but this is still in its early phase, and a better understanding of the community and its threat is needed if this is to be managed moving forward. There are comparisons between the international community and the UK in how governments are responding to this threat within this research project. International cooperation will be valuable to share and learn good practice when preventing the threat of extremism by the incel community.The paper will assess the current and future risk to the United Kingdom (UK) posed by incel extremism. It will explore current understanding of individual incel personality traits, their communities and the developing ideologies through analysis of research journals, predominantly produced in western society. The research will delve into the factors that lead a person to become an incel and what may drive the growth of this ideology in the future
Enhancing diversity and professionalism in policing through multiple entry routes and Higher Education
No full textThis paper examines the impact of diverse entry pathways and higher education on enhancing professionalism and diversity within the policing profession. Considering historical challenges in representation, it argues that retaining and fully utilising varied entry routes, including degree apprenticeships, non-degree paths, and graduate programs, is essential for attracting a diverse applicant pool. By analysing recruitment data from all 43 police forces in England and Wales, the study identifies inconsistencies in adopting these pathways. It highlights the influence of higher education on officers' critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and community engagement. The findings suggest that police forces employing multiple recruitment routes can build a workforce that reflects their communities, fostering trust, legitimacy, and effective law enforcement. This paper advocates for a coordinated approach to recruitment, ensuring that diverse entry routes are consistently applied to achieve a professional and inclusive police force capable of navigating modern policing demands
Wittgenstein and arguments from design
No full textAmong the most popular arguments for God are those from design, which draw from science to argue that the universe is so finely tuned for life that it implies the existence of a designer. Wittgensteinians reply that although such arguments can convince a person that a creator exists, they do not necessarily lead to a religious belief. Wittgensteinians explain that a belief is religious because of what it is like, not what it is about, and what it is like is an aspect of a form of life. Convincing a person that a creator exists is not the same as changing their life religiously. Since arguments from design focus on the former over the latter, they often fail to develop religious beliefs. If this is convincing and such arguments aim to develop religious beliefs, supporters should reconsider the design of arguments from design. That said, Wittgensteinians are vocal in their complaints about the failures of arguments but quiet when asked to specify what a successful argument would look like. In this paper, I motivate the Wittgensteinian case against arguments from design and then outline what a successful argument needs to achieve and how it could be achieved. In doing so, this paper highlights the importance of changing lives alongside minds and encourages reflection on how arguments from design can be designed to do so
Injury Epidemiology in Brazilian Rugby Union: Implications for Strength and Conditioning Practice
No full textRugby Union is a high-impact sport with considerable injury risk, especially in emerging rugby settings where structured physical preparation may be limited. This study aimed to assess the epidemiological profile and injury incidence among Rugby Union players in Brazil, providing insights to inform strength and conditioning strategies. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted between October 2023 and February 2024 using a digital questionnaire that captured demographic data, sports participation history, and detailed information about injuries sustained in 2022 and 2023. A total of 236 players participated (58.9% male; mean age = 29.4 ± 7.5 years), with males averaging 29.6 ± 7.7 years and females 29.1 ± 7.5 years. Overall, 183 injuries were reported. Most injuries occurred during matches (73.3%) and were contact-related (82.1%), with the shoulder/clavicle and knee being the most affected regions. Ligament injuries (27.3%), dislocations (15.3%), and fractures (16.4%) were the most prevalent types. Female players had a distinct injury pattern, with a greater proportion of non-contact mechanisms. Significant associations were found between injury occurrence and sex (p = 0.012), playing modality (p < 0.001), injury type (p = 0.013), and recovery time (p = 0.006). These findings highlight the urgent need for tailored strength and conditioning interventions focused on injury prevention and athletic preparedness. Such programs should address sport-specific demands, promote neuromuscular resilience, and be accessible across competitive levels to improve performance and minimize injury-related setbacks
Can atheists play along? Wittgensteinian challenges to religious fictionalism
No full textAll atheists think that the central claims of religion are false, but not all atheists think that religion is useless. Some believe that, despite its falsehood, religious language and rituals are pragmatically valuable because they lead to goods worth getting. However, it is not easy for an atheist to engage in religion to obtain these goods because they can feel intellectually or morally insincere in saying and doing things they consider false or faulty. Religious fictionalism aims to address this by claiming that atheists can take part as they would in a fictional game of make-believe, and as they do so knowingly, they do so sincerely. We examine religious fictionalism from a Wittgensteinian perspective, which holds religious language as not in the business of asserting factual beliefs and religious rituals as not methods for achieving things. This leads to two challenges that indicate prima facie incompatibility between Wittgenstein and religious fictionalism: religious fictionalists are usually presented as atheists who think religious beliefs are false and are motivated to participate in religion because they believe it remains useful. We conclude with some responses to each challenge, showing that hermeneutic fictionalism is the most promising form of fictionalism from a Wittgensteinian view
Mind The Gap Screening at London Metropolitan University
No full textBlog post previewing the 30th October event at the London Metropolitan University for a FACE screening of Ricardo Barker’s latest feature, Mind The Gap (2025