1,589 research outputs found
The benefits of using co-creation in higher education
No full textThis is an author's accepted manuscript of a chapter published on 18/12/2025 by Routledge in An Introduction to the Study of Education edited by David Matheson, available online at: https://www.routledge.com/An-Introduction-to-the-Study-of-Education/Matheson/p/book/9781032819273?srsltid=AfmBOoo90b5YGFAPd0sl-iHYGu0oRVSKr1W9KV83txSV-XWnTiRuFVgp
The accepted manuscript may differ from the final published version
What is education?
No full textThere are some notions which most of us think we know what they are and assume that others share the same or similar ideas. These can include ideas such as fairness, equality and justice. They are terms which are easy to use and to feel that we understand what we mean by them but notoriously difficult to explain to others, other than by appealing to common sense and asserting that ‘everyone’ knows what justice, fairness, equality and so on actually are. Some terms, such as professionalism, are even best described by their absence. To define professionalism per se is notoriously difficult but unprofessional somehow appears easier, even if in reality unprofessional is more often exemplified than defined. In this morass of potential confusion, there are the phenomena which we recognise when we see them but would be hard put to describe in anything even vaguely resembling objective terms. Among these slippery concepts is the concept of education. Education is what might be termed an essentially contested concept (Winch and Gingell 1999). It is one with a vast range of definitions, none of which is totally satisfactory. For example, we have the common equation between education and school. In this case, what about higher education? Where does further education fit in? And, for that matter, where do we place things we teach ourselves? We can discuss education that includes all of these arenas for learning or we can exclude at least some of them. We may even do as Abbs (1979) does and claim that ‘education and school can refer, and often do refer, to antithetical activities’ (p 90). Or we can go even further and align ourselves with Illich (1986) and assert that school is not only the antithesis of education but that its main function is to provide custodial day care for young people. This chapter has its function to consider what education might be. I intend to do this by considering a well-known attempt at defining education. I will then consider some of the things that education can be for and, lastly, I will consider what it might mean to be educated before briefly considering Education Studies itself
Education in Scotland
No full textChapter from 'An Introduction to the Study of Education' 4th edition.An Introduction to the Study of Education provides a comprehensive and reflective introduction to the study of education, inviting students to question what education is, who it is for and what purpose it serves. Taking the reader from the early years through to lifelong learning, it examines all forms of education and learning
Déballage d'idées, catégorisation et hiérarchisation comme activités structurées en groupe focalisé
No full textLanguages of Scotland: culture and the classroom
No full textThe indigenous languages of Scotland are in a precarious position faced with the massive presence of English. This essay examines the state and nature of the Scots and Gaelic languages. It places them in their historical context and traces how each has had its heyday in Scotland, in the case of Gaelic to be supplanted by Scots and in the case of Scots to be supplanted by English. Both have become marginalised in Scottish life and in the Scottish school. Both have been subject to various concerted campaigns aimed at their destruction. Gaelic, however, has at least had the consolation of being regarded as a language while Scots has not. The changing relationship between the school and these languages is examined in the context of the current revival of Scottish culture on a multiplicity of fronts
Educational issues in the learning age
No full textEducation and its context are both changing rapidly. In a world characterized by postmodernism and globalization, even the discourses that we use to discuss education are changing. This raises fundamental questions concerning the relationship of education to culture, identity, society, and power.To understand education in the twenty-first century we need a new map. By considering issues both fundamental and topical from citizenship to lifelong learning, from school effectiveness to learning outside the school, this book provides a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary guide to education in the new era
Lifelong learning and lifelong education: a critique
No full textIt is suddenly fashionable in political circles in the United Kingdom (and elsewhere) to talk about lifelong learning and lifelong education. This seems to be the direct result of the present economic climate which has called into question many previous assumptions: job security has become an effective myth for most of those who can actually get work; long-term unemployment seems to have become structural and permanent. Consequently, the notions of lifelong learning and lifelong education have taken on dimensions far removed from the almost Utopian ideals of their supporters in the years following the publication of the report Learning to Be. Given the current economic gloom, the popularity of the terms with politicians and the fact of being in the European Year of Lifelong Learning, it is perhaps appropriate to take stock of the whole notion of lifelong learning and lifelong education and to see just what meaning (if any) lies behind these words and where they might take us in the future. This essay lays its foundations in the historical background to the ideas of lifelong learning and lifelong education before moving onto a critique of the post-Faure advocates of the principles. It discusses various problems inherent in the concepts (such as lifelong inadequacy) before concluding that, although many of the difficulties in the concepts are due to the confused nature of adult education itself (e.g. is it education or leisure?), there is a greater need than ever for sustained efforts in favour of lifelong education to help to restore the hope which seems to have become a rare commodity among an all too large section of society
Matheson, David Roderick L P, [No Service Number]
No full textThis record was harvested from a previous catalogue system and will be withdrawn in 2025. Information in this record may be superseded or incomplete. Visit this record in UMA's new catalogue at: https://archives.library.unimelb.edu.au/nodes/view/402062Surname: MATHESON. Given Name(s) or Initials: DAVID RODERICK L P. Military Service Number or Last Known Location: [No Registration Number]. Missing, Wounded and Prisoner of War Enquiry Card Index Number: 27622.221708
Item: [2016.0049.34355] "Matheson, David Roderick L P, [No Service Number]
Wikipedia as informal self-education for clinical decision-making in medical practice
No full textBackground For almost any topic, a Wikipedia page will appear among the first ten items of a search online. Wikipedia is also a site whose quality and reliability has been called into question. Methods In this paper, we aim to discuss medical practitioners’ use of Wikipedia, what this consists of and what it might be. We consider the context and history of Wikipedia before discussing the relationship between Wikipedia and the medical profession. In so doing, we will consider Wikipedia as a means of informal self-education and the extent to which it might inform clinical decision-making. We compare with the existing literature results from our two small-scale empirical studies of Wikipedia and clinical decision-making. Results Notwithstanding issues over quality and reliability, Wikipedia’s rules on verifiability are such that its articles are very heavily referenced, and this is just as true of health-related articles. The Cochrane/Wikipedia Initiative in improving the quality and reliability of medical and health pages in Wikipedia is significant in increasing reliability. Our respondents largely concurred with the results from earlier studies on the use of Wikipedia by medical practitioners. Conclusion Perhaps the very doubt over Wikipedia’s accuracy is its greatest strength as a means of informal education of doctors. That medical and health articles on Wikipedia can be so fully referenced and still be doubted is arguably a good thing and one whose effects may be spread into other, more trusted, publications. Hence, one might envisage a future where no one source is taken automatically on trust. Keywords Wikipedia, informal education, continued professional development, medical education
Community development: Freire and Grameen in the Barrowfield Project, Glasgow, Scotland
No full textThis article is an attempt to examine one of the better-known failures in UK community development – the Barrowfield Project in Glasgow (1986–1996) – and to compare and contrast it with other attempts at community development, especially some associated with the work of Mohammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank, and the legacy of Paulo Freire. We conclude that both Freire and Yunus make assumptions about the pre-existence of community which limit the potential impact of their ideas in an area such as Barrowfield, where anomie and apathy were rife. We further find that just as actions intended to be liberating may reinforce the dominant hegemony, the converse may on occasion also be true. In recent years the Barrowfield Project has risen from the ashes of its previous demise, and so the present work needs to be seen in that context
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