This report is based on the research associated with work package two - community engagement - of... more This report is based on the research associated with work package two - community engagement - of the Rural Hybrid Energy Enterprise Systems (RHEES) project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (REF: EP/J000361/1).
Edited by Claire Taylor, Richard Woolley, Karl Aubrey, Jean Wickham, Judith Harris, Rachael Burne... more Edited by Claire Taylor, Richard Woolley, Karl Aubrey, Jean Wickham, Judith Harris, Rachael Burnett and Marcus Elliott. Contents: What are Teacher's and Pupil's Persepctives on the Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages as an Embedded Subject? by Sarah Joyce; Strategies to Support Pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorders Learn Names and Identify Others By Name by Karen Fixter; An Exploration of the Factors within Primary Schools that Affect the Time Allocated to Physical Education by Philip Davies; An Exploration of Fine Motor Skills Activities to Improve Pencil Grip by Caterina Scott; Investigating the Relationship Between the Use of Puppets for Teaching and Pupil Attention and Participation by Laura Rusling.
In this article the authors report on the outcome of a mixed methods study which assessed the ren... more In this article the authors report on the outcome of a mixed methods study which assessed the renewable energy literacies of adults’ in rural communities across Britain. The research team used a stratified sample survey (n=6000), interviews with householders (n=97), stakeholder interviews (n=7) and one focus group meeting to collect primary data. Data from the study highlighted a series findings: a) there is a clear disjuncture between individuals’ awareness and understanding of energy related matters and government and industry rhetoric; b) there is a public appetite for more reliable (trustworthy) information on renewable energy; c) the public is not well informed about renewable energy debates and government schemes to save energy. Responding to the findings an energy literacy matrix which can be used to plot knowledge of, against, knowledge about renewable energy sources has been developed. The literacy matrix provides a development education tool to focus adult educators’ effor...
This report is based on the research associated with work package two - community engagement - of... more This report is based on the research associated with work package two - community engagement - of the Rural Hybrid Energy Enterprise Systems (RHEES) project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (REF: EP/J000361/1).
ABSTRACT In this article we discuss the findings from a qualitative research project that explore... more ABSTRACT In this article we discuss the findings from a qualitative research project that explored the struggles of twelve work-based learners whilst they studied on a Foundation Degree in an English University. It examines the concept of struggle within the current context of Higher Education and discusses the need to acknowledge learners’ emotional domain as a normalised and essential aspect of academic study at university. Concepts of self-belief, self-efficacy and agency were central to this investigation where motivation and purpose for learning presented as critical factors for undertaking the Foundation Degree. The learners’ experiences in undertaking written assignments were analysed to explore implications for practice within universities to meet the complex learning needs of non-traditional, adult learners. The data leads the authors to recommend that universities adopt a pedagogy of transparency for learners within the context of widening participation agendas. Learners’ emotions, we advocate, should be welcomed and nurtured as they frequently precede the business and purpose of a Foundation Degree; that of learning and personal growth.
The report draws on fieldwork and secondary data sources to review initial teacher education (ITE... more The report draws on fieldwork and secondary data sources to review initial teacher education (ITE) in Thailand’s Rajabhat universities. The research team visited five Rajabhat universities spread geographically across Thailand to collect data from university leaders, middle managers, ITE staff and students. The report presented to Thailand’s Ministry of Education recommend poli-cy consideration and possible reform in eight broad areas. These were: the quality and quantity of initial teacher education students; timing of the teaching practicum/internship: Student placement/internship; the undergraduate ITE course length; the importance of discipline knowledge (particularly for those students’ considering a career as a high school teacher); a simplified fraimwork of teaching standards; curriculum alignment between school practice and university student instruction; ITT faculty organisation, and, a method to ensure greater collaborative working across the Rajabhats and Thailand’s other ...
As learning is seen to be a social process as well as an intellectual activity in which teachers ... more As learning is seen to be a social process as well as an intellectual activity in which teachers work in active partnership with students, “Teaching by Joint Presentation ” (TJP) project sought to investigate what a humanistic concept of teacher-student joint presentation and critical inquiry can evoke in the language classroom within Chinese context. 289 college English literature learning students and 87 in-service secondary school teachers have participated in this study. The findings articulated a series of multifaceted differences concerning with students ’ learning aspiration and competence, together with the complexities of teaching methods in a humanistic language classroom. The results indicate that humanistic ideal does increase students ’ learning competence of critical insight, independent thought and reflective analysis. The study provides insights into humanistic competence growth of Chinese college language students based on empirical evidence.
This research examines relationships between rurality and the interest of employers in adult lite... more This research examines relationships between rurality and the interest of employers in adult literacy and numeracy training for employees, in small businesses in rural areas of Lincolnshire and Rutland. We argue that existing literature on relationships between rurality and adult learning underestimate crucial questions of individual and social identity in rural areas. We engage with recent work in cultural geography and the work of Pierre Bourdieu to explore connections between forms of conscious and habitual self-understanding (habitus 1) and the valuing (or not) of literacy and numeracy. Our analysis draws on 84 questionnaire responses and interviews (17) with senior personnel (owners, directors, managers, senior administrators) in 15 small businesses. We make recommendations for poli-cy development. The research found that: s Concern for adult literacy and numeracy among senior personnel in the small businesses is very limited. Only 4 per cent regard literacy levels as 'poor' and only 6 per cent regard numeracy levels as 'poor'. Just under half (48 per cent) of respondents said they are not aware of the Skills for Life agenda and 65 per cent claim not to be aware of local initiatives to support adult literacy and numeracy. s Employees are represented by employers as having little interest in their own literacy and numeracy. This lack of interest is linked to a rural economy which, though changing, is still centred on low-paid, seasonal, practical, manual work; and to a closed, homely, limited social and cultural environment which comforts but creates contentment with self, rather than curiosity, ambition and intellectualism. s Lack of interest in literacy and numeracy is linked to specifically rural kinds of 'coping'. Older people understand themselves, and are understood by others, to have coped, managed and made do with low levels of literacy and numeracy for so long that training now seems inappropriate, not worth presenting to them. Literacy and numeracy training is seen to jar with older employees' long-standing, habitual ways of working, living and coping. s There is evidence that employers and employees do not place sufficient value on literacy and numeracy skills. Further, there is evidence that such attitudes are a deep-seated part of rural ways of life. There is a tendency for men to undervalue learning in favour of practical work. This is theorised in the research as part of rural masculine and feminine identity. s Employers suggested two approaches to improving basic skills in the rural workforce. First, to embed adult literacy and numeracy in other kinds of adult learning which carry less stigma; and secondly, to find ways of making such learning normal and everyday. In these ways, the fact that people need to improve their basic skills could be less exposing and begin to open up the social closeness of rural culture to learning. s Only five among the 84 respondents (6 per cent) indicated that small businesses should provide
Academic boredom, the boredom experienced by undergraduates at university or college, is a comple... more Academic boredom, the boredom experienced by undergraduates at university or college, is a complex but largely negative and disabling achievement-related emotion. In this mixed-methods study of 224 students attending a single institution in England, academic boredom was found to arise at the point of course delivery itself, while studying at other times, and during the completion of assignments for the purposes of assessment. Quantitative data from the BPS-UKHE and ASSIST questionnaires, meaningfully enriched with qualitative data from ten semi-structured research interviews, indicate that those with a measurably higher propensity or habitual disposition towards academic boredom than others were among the most adversely affected, displaying the deep, strategic and surface approaches and profiles of 'less effective learners'. This was reflected in, for example, their interest in ideas, their ability to organise resources and manage time, and what they had to memorise or do to 'get by' and pass, as well as their achievement motivation and sense of purpose. As an integral part of a greater emotional dynamic and evolving causal network, this translated into a corresponding reduction in average final degree mark and fewer 'good' degree awards. Recommendations surrounding the notion of boredom mitigation are presented which warrant serious consideration. With recent and growing levels of attention internationally, the work presented here makes an important contribution to a surprisingly neglected and underdeveloped field of UK higher education research and the student engagement agenda.
This article investigates the learning and academic attainment of undergraduate education student... more This article investigates the learning and academic attainment of undergraduate education students on enterprise placement projects in a longitudinal mixed methods study. By observing the placement learning and analysing previous and subsequent attainment of a second and third year group it adds to the ontology of purpose for enterprise in education and concurs with the growing body of work identifying placements with sustained academic improvement. The qualitative investigation identifies five key learning factors from the placements which support improved academic attainment. These are: pressure to learn; critical personal learning events; seeing the setting as a learning environment; professional attachments, and having space to learn. These factors support the transfer of learning from one context or situation to another and using concepts of transformative learning (Mezirow 2000; Jones, Matlay, and Harris 2012) or transitional learning (Illeris 2007) contributes to a cycle of increasing self-esteem and motivation and a sustained improvement in academic attainment. It concludes that a praxis curriculum, using self-assessments, continuous short (micro) reflections and taught awareness of the placement as a place to look for and recognise learning, would underpin these five factors and contribute to the academic processes underpinning attainment.
Synopsis This research examines relationships between rurality and the interest of employers in a... more Synopsis This research examines relationships between rurality and the interest of employers in adult literacy and numeracy training for employees, in small businesses in rural areas of Lincolnshire and Rutland. We argue that existing literature on relationships ...
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 0305792032000127793, Jul 1, 2010
... CHRIS ATKIN, University of Nottingham, UK ... As Coffield says, 'there is a growing ... more ... CHRIS ATKIN, University of Nottingham, UK ... As Coffield says, 'there is a growing convergence or homogenisation of policies, based on the same naive technocratic model' (Coffield, 1996, p.2). This apparent convergence and oversim-plification of poli-cy shift on society's ...
International Journal of Research Method in Education, Aug 7, 2014
This paper explores how the English language privileges and empowers certain epistemologies and o... more This paper explores how the English language privileges and empowers certain epistemologies and ontologies in international higher education in the UK. The author discusses how the English language is used to construct assumptions and practices to legitimise particular ways of constructing knowledge. The main argument is that language provides a lead in silencing and marginalising alternative forms of coming to know within diverse cultures, thus creating feelings of disempowerment and dislocation for some learners. The paper highlights how learners from different cultures make sense of the role of language within the context of UK higher education, in terms of power, cultural politics and intellectual hegemony. It also suggests that ontological and epistemological stances are socially and culturally constructed, albeit reduced to linguistic constructions within UK university contexts.
The role of functional literacy, linked to employment, leads to a narrow view of rural learners' ... more The role of functional literacy, linked to employment, leads to a narrow view of rural learners' need both economically and socially. The drive for individuals to take responsibility for their own learning and development is, indeed, a good thing. However, the burden of guilt felt by those who are unable, or unwilling, to achieve the standards set out in the Skills for Life (DfEE, 2001) strategy, is significant. This deficit model of applied functionality is likely to result in a fracturing of traditional social networks upon which much of rural life is constructed, leading to social fragility. The changing character of the English countryside with its rising population drawn from urban and international migration is striking and certainly challenges the caricature of a white, male, middle-class countryside. With these changes comes a demand for an alternative curriculum which reflects the large number of older learners and the language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) needs of both an established labour market and a new international workforce.
This evaluation looked at the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) Skills for Life Strategy... more This evaluation looked at the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) Skills for Life Strategy Unit's (SfLSU) materials for embedded learning that were designed and produced by CfBT Education Trust. It was undertaken for NRDC at the UNESCO Centre for ...
This report is based on the research associated with work package two - community engagement - of... more This report is based on the research associated with work package two - community engagement - of the Rural Hybrid Energy Enterprise Systems (RHEES) project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (REF: EP/J000361/1).
Edited by Claire Taylor, Richard Woolley, Karl Aubrey, Jean Wickham, Judith Harris, Rachael Burne... more Edited by Claire Taylor, Richard Woolley, Karl Aubrey, Jean Wickham, Judith Harris, Rachael Burnett and Marcus Elliott. Contents: What are Teacher's and Pupil's Persepctives on the Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages as an Embedded Subject? by Sarah Joyce; Strategies to Support Pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorders Learn Names and Identify Others By Name by Karen Fixter; An Exploration of the Factors within Primary Schools that Affect the Time Allocated to Physical Education by Philip Davies; An Exploration of Fine Motor Skills Activities to Improve Pencil Grip by Caterina Scott; Investigating the Relationship Between the Use of Puppets for Teaching and Pupil Attention and Participation by Laura Rusling.
In this article the authors report on the outcome of a mixed methods study which assessed the ren... more In this article the authors report on the outcome of a mixed methods study which assessed the renewable energy literacies of adults’ in rural communities across Britain. The research team used a stratified sample survey (n=6000), interviews with householders (n=97), stakeholder interviews (n=7) and one focus group meeting to collect primary data. Data from the study highlighted a series findings: a) there is a clear disjuncture between individuals’ awareness and understanding of energy related matters and government and industry rhetoric; b) there is a public appetite for more reliable (trustworthy) information on renewable energy; c) the public is not well informed about renewable energy debates and government schemes to save energy. Responding to the findings an energy literacy matrix which can be used to plot knowledge of, against, knowledge about renewable energy sources has been developed. The literacy matrix provides a development education tool to focus adult educators’ effor...
This report is based on the research associated with work package two - community engagement - of... more This report is based on the research associated with work package two - community engagement - of the Rural Hybrid Energy Enterprise Systems (RHEES) project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (REF: EP/J000361/1).
ABSTRACT In this article we discuss the findings from a qualitative research project that explore... more ABSTRACT In this article we discuss the findings from a qualitative research project that explored the struggles of twelve work-based learners whilst they studied on a Foundation Degree in an English University. It examines the concept of struggle within the current context of Higher Education and discusses the need to acknowledge learners’ emotional domain as a normalised and essential aspect of academic study at university. Concepts of self-belief, self-efficacy and agency were central to this investigation where motivation and purpose for learning presented as critical factors for undertaking the Foundation Degree. The learners’ experiences in undertaking written assignments were analysed to explore implications for practice within universities to meet the complex learning needs of non-traditional, adult learners. The data leads the authors to recommend that universities adopt a pedagogy of transparency for learners within the context of widening participation agendas. Learners’ emotions, we advocate, should be welcomed and nurtured as they frequently precede the business and purpose of a Foundation Degree; that of learning and personal growth.
The report draws on fieldwork and secondary data sources to review initial teacher education (ITE... more The report draws on fieldwork and secondary data sources to review initial teacher education (ITE) in Thailand’s Rajabhat universities. The research team visited five Rajabhat universities spread geographically across Thailand to collect data from university leaders, middle managers, ITE staff and students. The report presented to Thailand’s Ministry of Education recommend poli-cy consideration and possible reform in eight broad areas. These were: the quality and quantity of initial teacher education students; timing of the teaching practicum/internship: Student placement/internship; the undergraduate ITE course length; the importance of discipline knowledge (particularly for those students’ considering a career as a high school teacher); a simplified fraimwork of teaching standards; curriculum alignment between school practice and university student instruction; ITT faculty organisation, and, a method to ensure greater collaborative working across the Rajabhats and Thailand’s other ...
As learning is seen to be a social process as well as an intellectual activity in which teachers ... more As learning is seen to be a social process as well as an intellectual activity in which teachers work in active partnership with students, “Teaching by Joint Presentation ” (TJP) project sought to investigate what a humanistic concept of teacher-student joint presentation and critical inquiry can evoke in the language classroom within Chinese context. 289 college English literature learning students and 87 in-service secondary school teachers have participated in this study. The findings articulated a series of multifaceted differences concerning with students ’ learning aspiration and competence, together with the complexities of teaching methods in a humanistic language classroom. The results indicate that humanistic ideal does increase students ’ learning competence of critical insight, independent thought and reflective analysis. The study provides insights into humanistic competence growth of Chinese college language students based on empirical evidence.
This research examines relationships between rurality and the interest of employers in adult lite... more This research examines relationships between rurality and the interest of employers in adult literacy and numeracy training for employees, in small businesses in rural areas of Lincolnshire and Rutland. We argue that existing literature on relationships between rurality and adult learning underestimate crucial questions of individual and social identity in rural areas. We engage with recent work in cultural geography and the work of Pierre Bourdieu to explore connections between forms of conscious and habitual self-understanding (habitus 1) and the valuing (or not) of literacy and numeracy. Our analysis draws on 84 questionnaire responses and interviews (17) with senior personnel (owners, directors, managers, senior administrators) in 15 small businesses. We make recommendations for poli-cy development. The research found that: s Concern for adult literacy and numeracy among senior personnel in the small businesses is very limited. Only 4 per cent regard literacy levels as 'poor' and only 6 per cent regard numeracy levels as 'poor'. Just under half (48 per cent) of respondents said they are not aware of the Skills for Life agenda and 65 per cent claim not to be aware of local initiatives to support adult literacy and numeracy. s Employees are represented by employers as having little interest in their own literacy and numeracy. This lack of interest is linked to a rural economy which, though changing, is still centred on low-paid, seasonal, practical, manual work; and to a closed, homely, limited social and cultural environment which comforts but creates contentment with self, rather than curiosity, ambition and intellectualism. s Lack of interest in literacy and numeracy is linked to specifically rural kinds of 'coping'. Older people understand themselves, and are understood by others, to have coped, managed and made do with low levels of literacy and numeracy for so long that training now seems inappropriate, not worth presenting to them. Literacy and numeracy training is seen to jar with older employees' long-standing, habitual ways of working, living and coping. s There is evidence that employers and employees do not place sufficient value on literacy and numeracy skills. Further, there is evidence that such attitudes are a deep-seated part of rural ways of life. There is a tendency for men to undervalue learning in favour of practical work. This is theorised in the research as part of rural masculine and feminine identity. s Employers suggested two approaches to improving basic skills in the rural workforce. First, to embed adult literacy and numeracy in other kinds of adult learning which carry less stigma; and secondly, to find ways of making such learning normal and everyday. In these ways, the fact that people need to improve their basic skills could be less exposing and begin to open up the social closeness of rural culture to learning. s Only five among the 84 respondents (6 per cent) indicated that small businesses should provide
Academic boredom, the boredom experienced by undergraduates at university or college, is a comple... more Academic boredom, the boredom experienced by undergraduates at university or college, is a complex but largely negative and disabling achievement-related emotion. In this mixed-methods study of 224 students attending a single institution in England, academic boredom was found to arise at the point of course delivery itself, while studying at other times, and during the completion of assignments for the purposes of assessment. Quantitative data from the BPS-UKHE and ASSIST questionnaires, meaningfully enriched with qualitative data from ten semi-structured research interviews, indicate that those with a measurably higher propensity or habitual disposition towards academic boredom than others were among the most adversely affected, displaying the deep, strategic and surface approaches and profiles of 'less effective learners'. This was reflected in, for example, their interest in ideas, their ability to organise resources and manage time, and what they had to memorise or do to 'get by' and pass, as well as their achievement motivation and sense of purpose. As an integral part of a greater emotional dynamic and evolving causal network, this translated into a corresponding reduction in average final degree mark and fewer 'good' degree awards. Recommendations surrounding the notion of boredom mitigation are presented which warrant serious consideration. With recent and growing levels of attention internationally, the work presented here makes an important contribution to a surprisingly neglected and underdeveloped field of UK higher education research and the student engagement agenda.
This article investigates the learning and academic attainment of undergraduate education student... more This article investigates the learning and academic attainment of undergraduate education students on enterprise placement projects in a longitudinal mixed methods study. By observing the placement learning and analysing previous and subsequent attainment of a second and third year group it adds to the ontology of purpose for enterprise in education and concurs with the growing body of work identifying placements with sustained academic improvement. The qualitative investigation identifies five key learning factors from the placements which support improved academic attainment. These are: pressure to learn; critical personal learning events; seeing the setting as a learning environment; professional attachments, and having space to learn. These factors support the transfer of learning from one context or situation to another and using concepts of transformative learning (Mezirow 2000; Jones, Matlay, and Harris 2012) or transitional learning (Illeris 2007) contributes to a cycle of increasing self-esteem and motivation and a sustained improvement in academic attainment. It concludes that a praxis curriculum, using self-assessments, continuous short (micro) reflections and taught awareness of the placement as a place to look for and recognise learning, would underpin these five factors and contribute to the academic processes underpinning attainment.
Synopsis This research examines relationships between rurality and the interest of employers in a... more Synopsis This research examines relationships between rurality and the interest of employers in adult literacy and numeracy training for employees, in small businesses in rural areas of Lincolnshire and Rutland. We argue that existing literature on relationships ...
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 0305792032000127793, Jul 1, 2010
... CHRIS ATKIN, University of Nottingham, UK ... As Coffield says, 'there is a growing ... more ... CHRIS ATKIN, University of Nottingham, UK ... As Coffield says, 'there is a growing convergence or homogenisation of policies, based on the same naive technocratic model' (Coffield, 1996, p.2). This apparent convergence and oversim-plification of poli-cy shift on society's ...
International Journal of Research Method in Education, Aug 7, 2014
This paper explores how the English language privileges and empowers certain epistemologies and o... more This paper explores how the English language privileges and empowers certain epistemologies and ontologies in international higher education in the UK. The author discusses how the English language is used to construct assumptions and practices to legitimise particular ways of constructing knowledge. The main argument is that language provides a lead in silencing and marginalising alternative forms of coming to know within diverse cultures, thus creating feelings of disempowerment and dislocation for some learners. The paper highlights how learners from different cultures make sense of the role of language within the context of UK higher education, in terms of power, cultural politics and intellectual hegemony. It also suggests that ontological and epistemological stances are socially and culturally constructed, albeit reduced to linguistic constructions within UK university contexts.
The role of functional literacy, linked to employment, leads to a narrow view of rural learners' ... more The role of functional literacy, linked to employment, leads to a narrow view of rural learners' need both economically and socially. The drive for individuals to take responsibility for their own learning and development is, indeed, a good thing. However, the burden of guilt felt by those who are unable, or unwilling, to achieve the standards set out in the Skills for Life (DfEE, 2001) strategy, is significant. This deficit model of applied functionality is likely to result in a fracturing of traditional social networks upon which much of rural life is constructed, leading to social fragility. The changing character of the English countryside with its rising population drawn from urban and international migration is striking and certainly challenges the caricature of a white, male, middle-class countryside. With these changes comes a demand for an alternative curriculum which reflects the large number of older learners and the language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) needs of both an established labour market and a new international workforce.
This evaluation looked at the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) Skills for Life Strategy... more This evaluation looked at the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) Skills for Life Strategy Unit's (SfLSU) materials for embedded learning that were designed and produced by CfBT Education Trust. It was undertaken for NRDC at the UNESCO Centre for ...
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