Personal development planning in the first year

The approach to quality and standards in higher education (HE) in Scotland is enhancement led and learner centred. It was developed through a partnership of the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), Universities Scotland, the National Union of Students in Scotland (NUS Scotland) and the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) Scotland. The Higher Education Academy has also joined that partnership. The Enhancement Themes are a key element of a five-part framework, which has been designed to provide an integrated approach to quality assurance and enhancement. The Enhancement Themes support learners and staff at all levels in further improving higher education in Scotland; they draw on developing innovative practice within the UK and internationally The five elements of the framework are: z a comprehensive programme of subject-level reviews undertaken by higher education institutions (HEIs) themselves; guidance is published by the SFC (www.sfc.ac.uk) z enhancement-led institutional review (ELIR), run by QAA Scotland (www.qaa.ac.uk/reviews/ELIR) z improved forms of public information about quality; guidance is provided by the SFC (www.sfc.ac.uk) z a greater voice for students in institutional quality systems, supported by a national development service - student participation in quality scotland (sparqs) (www.sparqs.org.uk) z a national programme of Enhancement Themes aimed at developing and sharing good practice to enhance the student learning experience, facilitated by QAA Scotland (www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk). The topics for the Enhancement Themes are identified through consultation with the sector and implemented by steering committees whose members are drawn from the sector and the student body. The steering committees have the task of establishing a programme of development activities, which draw on national and international good practice. Publications emerging from each Theme are intended to provide important reference points for HEIs in the ongoing strategic enhancement of their teaching and learning provision. Full details of each Theme, its steering committee, the range of research and development activities as well as the outcomes are published on the Enhancement Themes website (www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk). To further support the implementation and embedding of a quality enhancement culture within the sector - including taking forward the outcomes of the Enhancement Themes - an overarching committee, the Scottish Higher Education Enhancement Committee (SHEEC), chaired by Professor Kenneth Miller, Vice-Principal, University of Strathclyde, has the important dual role of supporting the overall approach of the Enhancement Themes, including the five-year rolling plan, as well as institutional enhancement strategies and management of quality. SHEEC, working with the individual topic-based Enhancement Themes' steering committees, will continue to provide a powerful vehicle for progressing the enhancement-led approach to quality and standards in Scottish higher education

A review of teacher evaluation beliefs

Teacher evaluation beliefs have received a substantial amount of attention in the educational literature, but comparatively little attention from the belief research topics specially. As the driving force, evaluation resembles belief mention but lack the systemic description. On the base of the student-centered and teacher-centered philosophy, in the present paper, we provide a literature review to explore the essential factors of teacher evaluation beliefs (why, what, who, when and how), followed by the key problems of Chinese New Curriculum Reform as “why-aim”, “what-content”, “who-student-teacher relationship”, “how-method” and “when- time”. In line with the discussion of five factors of evaluation beliefs, we proposed six perspectives to inform educational researchers for the further researches

A Review of the Major School Counseling Policy Studies in the United States: 2000-2014

Jay Carey and Ian Martin conducted a review of the major policy studies concerning school counseling in the United States. The authors located 37 documents disseminated between 2000 and 2014 that were either intentionally written with a focus on policy implications or were frequently used to attempt to influence policy decision-making. Their review is organized by types of policy studies: Literature Reviews, Survey Research, Statewide Evaluations of School Counseling Programs, State Evaluations of School Counseling Practice, Existing Database Investigations of School Counseling, Research Identifying Elements of Exemplary Practice, Studies of Evaluation Capacity and Practices in School Counseling

FEEDBACK METHODS IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR SUPPORTING STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES AND/ DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Purpose: Feedback is considered to motivate students and enhance their learning. In Vocational Education and Training (VET) and workplace settings, feedback methods have been implemented to ensure a better connection between teaching and learning. However, to date, not much seems to be known about feedback methods used on students with learning disabilities/difficulties in VET. This literature review study examines the current feedback methods and outcomes among students with disabilities and/or difficulties in learning in vocational education, training, and workplace settings. Methods: For this purpose, ERIC, PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, Google Scholar, and Web of Sciences were used to identify relevant literature between 2015 and 2022. The review was conducted following the PRISMA-P guidelines. Amongst the studies identified, four studies met the inclusion criteria to be included in the study. The feedback methods identified in the studies include videotaped feedback dialogues between students and teachers, video modelling with video feedback interventions, peer feedback through collaborative writing activities, and a combined peer-teacher feedback method. Findings: The results showed that students received feedback from peers, teachers, and instructors in vocational education and training schools and workplace settings. The feedback, such as communication, reflection, and practical learning capabilities, assisted these students with their working lives. It significantly impacted their learning capacity, enhanced their persistence, increased their perceived abilities, enabled them to understand their learning development better, and improved their performance as they acquired new skills by doing tasks. Conclusion: Generally, the feedback methods were perceived as supportive, constructive, and motivating, prompting reflection and inspiring performance. Notwithstanding, more research on feedback methods and their outcomes on students with learning disabilities/difficulties in vocational education and workplace settings is needed. This must be in conjunction with research on how these same students experience/perceive the feedback methods used on them. This will enable new measures to facilitate the effective transition from school to employment for this category of VET students.   Article visualizations

Making Connections for Community Change - The Staten Island Foundation Biennial Report: Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015

The Staten Island Foundation has released its Biennial Report for Fiscal Years 2014-2015. Highlights include:Messages from the Foundation's Chair and Executive Director: Looking Back, Looking Ahead;An infographic summarizing the Foundation's Hurricane Sandy funding to date;Stories on how the Foundation is engaging the community, cultivating leadership for an emerging future, and extending its reach through catalytic connections.The Staten Island Foundation is a private foundation established in 1997 to improve the quality of life on Staten Island. To date, the Foundation has provided over $50 million to hundreds of local nonprofits with strong relationships and deep knowledge of the borough's operating ecosystem. In partnership with the local community, nonprofit, public and private sectors, the Foundation strives to ensure this vibrant, diverse community -- especially its least advantaged -- has access to the resources necessary to maximize its potential. With a results orientation, the Foundation views its support as an investment in change, the measure of changed lives for a better community

Bumpy moments considered as critical incidents in dialogue : professional Identity of technical VET-teachers

Technology students need strong vocational education that supports both cognitive and career devel-opment in order to be adequately prepared for highly qualified jobs. The professional identity and underlying I-positions of teachers largely determine whether the quality of teaching meets these requirements. In an in-depth study we explored the professional identity of teachers working in technical VET. Bumpy moments as indicated by eleven teachers were discussed and analysed both quali-tatively and quantitatively. The results show that teachers largely identified bumpy moments relating to their pedagogical content knowledge. Most teachers in the technical domain predominantly re-flected an I-position as being a professional expert. We conclude that the dominant focus on peda-gogical content knowledge legitimises professionalisation in favour of cognitive development and the career development of youngsters. By incorporating dialogue derived from the flower model can help teachers to better understand their professional identity, determining the quality of vocational education.Los estudiantes de tecnología necesitan una sólida formación profesional que apoye tanto su desa-rrollo cognitivo como profesional, a fin de estar adecuadamente preparados para trabajos alta-mente cualificados. La identidad profesional de los profesores y sus I-positions subyacentes de-terminan en gran medida si la calidad de la enseñanza cumple los requisitos. En un estudio en profundidad exploramos la identidad profesional de los profesores que trabajan en la formación profesional técnica. Se discutieron y analizaron, tanto cualitativa como cuantitativamente, los momentos difíciles señalados por once profesores. Los resultados muestran que los profesores identificaron en gran medida los momentos de dificultad en relación con sus conocimientos pedagógicos. La mayoría de los docentes de tecnología reflejaron predominantemente una I-position como profesionales expertos. Concluimos que el enfoque dominante en base al conocimiento pedagógico legitima la profesionalización en favor del desarrollo cognitivo y el desarrollo de la carrera de los jóvenes. La incorporación del diálogo derivado del denominado "Flower model" puede ayudar a los profesores a comprender mejor su identidad profesional, determinando la calidad de la formación profesional

The College of Richard Collyer in Horsham: report from the Inspectorate (FEFC inspection report; 71/96 and 78/99)

Comprises two Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) inspection reports for the periods 1995-96 and 1998-99