An overview of the nature of the preparation of practice educators in five health care disciplines

Practice education is a core element of all educational programmes that prepare health care professionals for academic award and registration to practice. Ensuring quality and effectiveness involves partnership working between Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) and health care providers, social care communities, voluntary and independent sectors offering client care throughout the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Clearly practitioners who support, supervise and assess learners for entry to their respective professions need to be well prepared and supported in their roles as practice educators. However it would appear that the nature of this support and preparation varies across disciplines and that good practice is not easily shared. With this in mind, the Making Practice Based Learning Work (MPBLW) project aims to make practitioners more effective at supporting and supervising students in the workplace across a range of health care disciplines namely Dietetics, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Radiology. The Department of Employment and Learning (Northern Ireland) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England has funded this collaborative project involving staff from Ulster, Northumbria and Bournemouth Universities. The outcomes for each phase of the project are: Phase One: • Identify and document good practice on how practitioners are prepared for their educational role. Phase Two: • Develop and evaluate learning materials for use by practitioners across five health care disciplines. • Make learning materials available in a number of efficient media, e.g. paper, electronic, CD-ROM and web-based. • Develop a programme applicable to interprofessional and uniprofessional contexts. • Widen access for a multicultural workforce. Phase Three: • Embed best educational practice through the establishment of an academicpractitioner network. • Disseminate a range of materials and processes across the wider academic and health and social care communities

Internationalisation and Equality and Diversity in Higher Education: Merging Identities

Summary This project arises out of Eade and Peacock’s (2009) scoping report, commissioned by Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) entitled Internationalising equality and equalising internationalisation: The intersection between internationalisation and Equality and Diversity in higher education. The principal aim of the current study is to identify the advantages of building on the intersection of Internationalisation and E and D agendas, through an exploration of the effective mechanisms for linking E and D and internationalisation policies, structures and activities within a small sample of heterogenous HE institutions located in Australia, England and Wales. Reflecting a multi-level and mixed-method approach this report provides an in-depth account of awareness, commitment, understanding and involvement of domestic and international staff and students, and other key players, in Internationalisation and Equality and Diversity. This account is supported by examples of good practice and synergy and consideration of areas of potential improvement in the two fields. The mixed-method approach involves desk research to consider the influence of geographical location, profile and size on rationales for internationalisation and commitment to Equality and Diversity, complemented by interviews of key personnel to provide insights regarding performance, accessibility etc. Data regarding staff and student awareness, perceptions and dispositions is captured via online survey and focus groups. Finally a review of the literature supports data interpretation by suggesting emergent key themes. Institutional challenges are identified within the context of what may be learned from other organisational forms. A central focus is the student learning experience, with discussions embracing key issues such as competing perspectives on learner support models, the association between inclusive curricula and multicultural education and attendant barriers and tensions. Extensive and systematic analysis of institutional policy in Internationalisation and Equality and Diversity within specific local contexts provides substantial evidence of how current and future direction is shaped by the socio-economic and cultural make-up of surrounding communities, tempered by institutional aspirations in the global arena. The insights of senior managers provide the personal accounts and deep insights into the ongoing strategic initiatives and perceived challenges which determine the practice which emerges from the rhetoric of policy statements. The in-depth exploration of awareness, perceptions and dispositions of staff and students serves to highlight a striking continuity of perspective across the range of stakeholders, within different institutions which approach Internationalisation and Equality and Diversity from widely contrasting positions vis-à-vis locality, status, market position and relative size. Seemingly, any shortcomings of policy to practice transfer are not the outcome of a lack of will on the part of those who have engaged in this research, but rather reflect the complexity of finding the most appropriate way, whether senior manager, teacher, support and development professional, student or other stakeholder. The challenges of internationalisation and Equality and Diversity simply manifest themselves in different ways at different levels within different institutional contexts and key messages from this research include for example: • The need to manage structural diversity within the framework of a broadly-based business-case approach in order to maintain internal cohesion and external credibility. Such an approach should acknowledge diversity of mission which derives from the nature of the global-local interface, profile, status etc. • Broad awareness of the potential synergies between Internationalisation and E and D within a framework of inclusive practice • Broad consensus surrounding the merits of inclusion embodying both local and global dimensions. At this level, diversity of mission, location, status etc. becomes irrelevant. Universities with different cultures can learn much from each other since inclusion should be the response of all institutions recruiting international and/or students from a diversity of cultural, ethnic, religious, socio-economic etc. backgrounds • Awareness of tensions at policy and practice levels, which might be eased by appropriate organisational structures and processes designed specifically to embed synergy across institutions • Acknowledgement of the need to embed the concept of synergy at three levels of diversity: structural (demographic mix); classroom (curriculum and pedagogies) and interactional (informal and social settings) • The significance of readily accessible research-informed and evidence-based practice to raise awareness, build confidence, promote engagement and inform future direction within cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional context

Australian Government measures to counter violent extremism: a quick guide

This guide identifies what is meant by violent extremism and outlines relevant counter-measures pursued by the Australian Government to date. Introduction Countering violent extremism was highlighted as an ‘essential element’ of efforts to deal with the ‘foreign fighters’ issue in a United Nations Security Council resolution adopted on 24 September 2014 (Resolution 2178 (2014)). On 11 January 2015, the White House announced it would host a Summit on Countering Violent Extremism on 18 February 2015 ‘to highlight domestic and international efforts to prevent violent extremists and their supporters from radicalizing, recruiting, or inspiring individuals or groups ... to commit acts of violence’. The Attorney-General told the Senate on 9 February 2015 that he would represent Australia at the Summit. Against that background, this Quick Guide identifies broadly what is meant by violent extremism and outlines relevant counter-measures pursued by the Australian Government to date

Teacher competence development – a European perspective

This chapter provides an European perspectives on teacher competence development

Community-based mentoring and innovating through Web 2.0

The rise of social software, often termed Web 2.0, has resulted in heightened awareness of the opportunities for creative and innovative approaches to learning that are afforded by network technologies. Social software platforms and social networking technologies have become part of the learning landscape both for those who learn formally within institutions, and for those who learn informally via emergent web-based learning communities. As collaborative online learning becomes a reality, new skills in communication and collaboration are required in order to use new technologies effectively, develop real digital literacy and other 21st century skills

Theory and implementation evaluation to the STAP/ADAPT diversity programme

Includes bibliographical references.The modern day workplace is faced with the challenge of managing an increasingly diverse workforce. Although diversity among employees yields many benefits, companies must consider the implications of having people from different cultural, linguistic, socio-economic and religious backgrounds working closely together (Chuang & Liao, 2010; Mayo, 2006; Stewart & Ruckdeschel, 1998; Wentling, 2000). It is for this reason that organisations increasingly invest in programmes aimed at managing diversity. Having interventions which allow employees to understand those different from themselves will not only develop their intercultural communication skills, but also impact positively on interpersonal interaction within the company (Avery & Thomas, 2004; Bagshaw, 2004; Cross, 2004). Given the history of South Africa, diversity and diversity management are particularly sensitive topics. Legislative measures, such as the Employment Equity Act No. 55 of 1998, were implemented by the post-apartheid government to redress the past imbalances and inequality. While these laws may mandate certain processes and procedures within organisations, they do very little to change people's mind sets in attempt to get employees to engage and cooperate with each other (Alexander, 2007; April, Ephraim, & Peters, 2012; Cavaleros, Van Vuuren, & Visser, 2002). In order to deal with this human aspect of diversity, initiatives aimed at increasing tolerance for and acceptance of 'different others', reducing stereotypes and increasing individuals' intercultural communication skills, have emerged. These programmes often bring people from various backgrounds together, allowing them to learn about each other and communicate, encouraging them to adopt different perspectives and to tolerate and respect views and opinions that may not coincide with their own (Paluck, 2006; Roberson, Kulik, & Pepper, 2003). Although multinational companies are the forerunners of such programmes, tertiary education providers have been found to invest in or develop similar programmes (McCauley, Wright, & Harris, 2000). The University of Cape Town's Transformation Services Office implemented one such programme: the STAP/ADAPT programme, which is the focus of this evaluation. The evaluation consisted of two parts, namely: a theory and an implementation evaluation