A practice focussed study of outdoor learning in five Scottish secondary schools 2011-2019

This thesis employs a social constructionist approach to explore the practices of outdoor learning [OL] enacted in five Scottish secondary schools and to consider local and temporal conditions that enabled and constrained practices across two time periods, 2011 and 2019. Continuities and discontinuities in practices are revealed. The decision to consider OL in Scottish secondary schools is in response to an identified gap in the research literature. Scotland’s OL curriculum policy is recognised as world-leading and teacher dispositions to OL positive. However, despite calls for a more embedded curricular role, the sparse literature available suggests minimal practice changes. The literature positions OL as an evolving and contested term, which encapsulates a range of purposes and approaches linked to physical, affective, and environmental learning outcomes. OL’s relationship to the Scottish curriculum has been marked by peaks and troughs of interest and support, reflecting temporal policy, social and cultural forces. A widening poverty-related attainment gap and rising mental health and wellbeing concerns in schools are manifestations of rising precarity and austerity during the years of 2011-2019. The timescale of this study presents an opportunity to consider current factors shaping OL practices. A qualitative inductive, deductive and abductive analysis framework is applied to teachers’ semi-structured interview data. Practice Architecture [PA] Theory was applied to reveal sayings, doings and relatings across a typology of OL that featured five distinctive types. Distinctive sayings, doings and relatings for three different types of OL; OL-as-Physical-Activity, OL-as-Pupil-Support and OL-asCurriculum, update our understanding of practices within secondary schools. A number of residual, dominant and emergent features are identified. Four overarching themes conclude that OL is: malleable, shaped by contexts and individuals, peripheral, potentially powerful as a pedagogy of affect and integral for some young people. An OL lens illuminates curriculum-making challenges within Scottish secondary schools. Implications for practice at Scottish education and school level are outlined.This thesis employs a social constructionist approach to explore the practices of outdoor learning [OL] enacted in five Scottish secondary schools and to consider local and temporal conditions that enabled and constrained practices across two time periods, 2011 and 2019. Continuities and discontinuities in practices are revealed. The decision to consider OL in Scottish secondary schools is in response to an identified gap in the research literature. Scotland’s OL curriculum policy is recognised as world-leading and teacher dispositions to OL positive. However, despite calls for a more embedded curricular role, the sparse literature available suggests minimal practice changes. The literature positions OL as an evolving and contested term, which encapsulates a range of purposes and approaches linked to physical, affective, and environmental learning outcomes. OL’s relationship to the Scottish curriculum has been marked by peaks and troughs of interest and support, reflecting temporal policy, social and cultural forces. A widening poverty-related attainment gap and rising mental health and wellbeing concerns in schools are manifestations of rising precarity and austerity during the years of 2011-2019. The timescale of this study presents an opportunity to consider current factors shaping OL practices. A qualitative inductive, deductive and abductive analysis framework is applied to teachers’ semi-structured interview data. Practice Architecture [PA] Theory was applied to reveal sayings, doings and relatings across a typology of OL that featured five distinctive types. Distinctive sayings, doings and relatings for three different types of OL; OL-as-Physical-Activity, OL-as-Pupil-Support and OL-asCurriculum, update our understanding of practices within secondary schools. A number of residual, dominant and emergent features are identified. Four overarching themes conclude that OL is: malleable, shaped by contexts and individuals, peripheral, potentially powerful as a pedagogy of affect and integral for some young people. An OL lens illuminates curriculum-making challenges within Scottish secondary schools. Implications for practice at Scottish education and school level are outlined

Teachers' and Pupils' Views on the Proposed Redevelopment of Lochwinnoch RSPB Centre & Reserve

The RSPB aims to enhance the firsthand experiences of wildlife for young people, encourage growth in young people’s membership, and build its contacts and work with schools (RSPB, 2007). In order to achieve its goals, the RSPB is cognisant of the role of nature reserves and the need to ensure that educational provisions support this work. The RSPB Lochwinnoch Reserve is a nature reserve and visitor centre located in Renfrewshire close to Glasgow, attracting about 35 thousand visitors per year. Facilities available for educational use include the visitor centre with classroom space, observation tower, nature trails and hides, shop, toilets, and an outdoor picnic area. Currently, the centre buildings are in need of substantial refurbishment. Before any redevelopment plans are finalised, this research, among other submissions, has been commissioned to determine what current and prospective use requirements might be, and how best to encourage better and greater educational use of the centre and reserve

Teaching in Nature: A Research Briefing: Summary Findings

SNH has a remit for people's enjoyment and understanding of the natural heritage as well as the care of it. The potential for the educational use of National Nature Reserves (NNRs) (and similar 'wild' places for nature) is not well understood. This research, funded by SNH, was designed to enable practicing teachers from primary and secondary schools to collaboratively explore how National Nature Reserves could be used as sites for outdoor educational provision across a range of subject areas. This work was conducted within the context of the new national curriculum initiative in Scotland, Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) (LTS, 2010). For further information (including video of outdoor excursions, lesson plans, and supporting commentaries), visit the project website: http://teachinginnature.stir.ac.u

Improving Outcomes in NSCLC: Optimum Dose Fractionation in Radical Radiotherapy Matters.

IntroductionWe analyzed a comprehensive national radiotherapy data set to compare outcomes of the most frequently used moderate hypofractionation regimen (55 Gy in 20 fractions) and conventional fractionation regimen (60-66 Gy in 30-33 fractions).MethodsA total of 169,863 cases of NSCLC registered in England from January 2012 to December 2016 obtained from the Public Health England were divided into cohort 1 (training set) diagnosed in 2012 to 2013 and cohort 2 (validation set) diagnosed in 2014 to 2016. Radiotherapy data were obtained from the National Radiotherapy Dataset and linked by National Health Service number to survival data from the Office of National Statistics and Hospital Episode Statistics, from which surgical data and Charlson comorbidity index were obtained. Of 73,186 patients with stages I to III NSCLC, 12,898 received radical fractionated radiotherapy (cohort 1-4894; cohort 2-8004). The proportional hazards model was used to investigate overall survival from time of diagnosis. Survival was adjusted for the prognostic factors of age, sex, stage of disease, comorbidity, other radical treatments, and adjuvant chemotherapy, and the difference between the treatment schedules was summarized by hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval. The significance of any difference was evaluated by the log likelihood test.ResultsOf patients with stages I to III NSCLC, 17% to 18% received radical fractionated radiotherapy. After adjustment for independent prognostic factors of age, stage, comorbidity, and other radical and adjuvant treatments, patients in cohort 1 treated with the 2.75 Gy per fraction regimen had a median survival of 25 months compared with 29 months for patients treated with the 2 Gy per fraction regimen (HR = 1.16, p = 0.001). Similarly, in cohort 2, the respective median survival values were 25 and 28 months (HR = 1.10, p = 0.02).ConclusionsBig data analysis of a comprehensive national cohort of patients with NSCLC treated in England suggests that compared with a 4-week regimen of 55 Gy in 20 fractions, a 6-week regimen of conventional daily fractionation to a dose of 60 to 66 Gy at 2 Gy per fraction is associated with a survival benefit. Within the limitations of the retrospective big data analysis with potential selection bias and in the absence of randomized trials, the results suggest that conventional fractionation regimens should remain the standard of care

Swimming against the tide: A case study of an integrated social studies department

A recent trend in developed countries’ school curricula has been the transition from disciplinary to generic forms of knowledge, resulting in an emphasis on interdisciplinary organisation and more active forms of learning. Subject specialists are increasingly expected to demonstrate how their subject interconnects and equips pupils with key life skills. Such a change requires a major cultural shift and has been controversial, particularly in Scotland where Curriculum for Excellence, the latest curriculum reform, has seen this debate re-emerge. A detailed empirical case study of one secondary school Social Studies department that has already negotiated these shifts is presented. The case study provides insights into how school and department structures and cultures conducive to a more integrated approach have been developed. Leadership, increased opportunities for teachers to exercise greater autonomy in their work, sources of impetus and support for innovation, and the co-construction of meaning through dialogue are important themes in this process. This case study connects with current policy and provides an insight into strategies that other schools might employ when seeking to embed integrative practices. The department is identified as a significant locus for innovation and one which appears to challenge the norm

Place-responsive pedagogy: learning from teachers' experiences of excursions in nature

The nature-based excursion has been a significant teaching strategy in environmental education for decades. This article draws upon empirical data from a collaborative research project where teachers were encouraged to visit natural areas to provide an understanding of their roles and experiences of planning and enacting excursions. The analysis indicates that teachers' sensitisation towards 10 place was aided by collaboration, advance planning visits and the very practice of making place-responsive excursions with pupils. The authors build on the analysis to propose a theory of place-responsive pedagogy. At its core, place-responsive pedagogy involves the explicit efforts to teach by means of an environment with the aim of understanding and improving human-environment 15 relations. Some implications for teacher professional development are offered

Putting the treatment of paediatric schistosomiasis into context

Abstract Despite increased international efforts to control schistosomiasis using preventive chemotherapy, several challenges still exist in reaching the target populations. Until recently, preschool-aged children had been excluded from the recommended target population for mass drug administration, i.e. primary school children aged 6–15 years. Our studies and those of others provided the evidence base for the need to treat preschool-aged children that led to recommendations by the World Health Organization to include preschool-aged children in treatment programmes in 2010. The major challenge now lies in the unavailability of a child-size formulation of the appropriate anthelmintic drug, praziquantel. The currently available formulation of praziquantel presents several problems. First, it is a large tablet, making it difficult for young children and infants to swallow it and thus requires its breaking/crushing to allow for safe uptake. Second, it is bitter so it is often mixed with a sweetener to make it palatable for young children. Third, the current formulation of 600 mg does not allow for flexible dose adjustments for this age group. Thus, there is a need to formulate a child-appropriate praziquantel tablet. This paper discusses the target product profile for paediatric praziquantel, as well as knowledge gaps pertinent to the successful control of schistosome infection and disease in preschool-aged children

National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic

Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020). Respondents who reported identifying more strongly with their nation consistently reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies. Results were similar for representative and non-representative national samples. Study 2 (N = 42 countries) conceptually replicated the central finding using aggregate indices of national identity (obtained using the World Values Survey) and a measure of actual behaviour change during the pandemic (obtained from Google mobility reports). Higher levels of national identification prior to the pandemic predicted lower mobility during the early stage of the pandemic (r = −0.40). We discuss the potential implications of links between national identity, leadership, and public health for managing COVID-19 and future pandemics.publishedVersio

Predicting attitudinal and behavioral responses to COVID-19 pandemic using machine learning

At the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 became a global problem. Despite all the efforts to emphasize the relevance of preventive measures, not everyone adhered to them. Thus, learning more about the characteristics determining attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic is crucial to improving future interventions. In this study, we applied machine learning on the multinational data collected by the International Collaboration on the Social and Moral Psychology of COVID-19 (N = 51,404) to test the predictive efficacy of constructs from social, moral, cognitive, and personality psychology, as well as socio-demographic factors, in the attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic. The results point to several valuable insights. Internalized moral identity provided the most consistent predictive contribution—individuals perceiving moral traits as central to their self-concept reported higher adherence to preventive measures. Similar results were found for morality as cooperation, symbolized moral identity, self-control, open-mindedness, and collective narcissism, while the inverse relationship was evident for the endorsement of conspiracy theories. However, we also found a non-neglible variability in the explained variance and predictive contributions with respect to macro-level factors such as the pandemic stage or cultural region. Overall, the results underscore the importance of morality-related and contextual factors in understanding adherence to public health recommendations during the pandemic.Peer reviewe