Making research engagement part of the life force of the school

David Godfrey and Graham Handscomb explore the concept of the school as part of an ecosystem and the contribution of research engagement at all its levels

Microfocus Radiography

I should emphasize that what I am going to talk about is really the result of a very brief program which was funded at Harwell by David Godfrey of AMTE, who is probably well-known to ceramic practitioners here. We were very glad to have this contact because it gave us access to the TTCP specimens which were prepared in this country; specimens, in particular, of silicon nitride tiles containing seeded defects, which many of you have studied by various techniques

2.3 Violence

Rampike Vol. 2 / No. 3 (Violence issue): Jacques Ferron, John Kenneth Galbraith, Joseph Beuys, Dennis Oppenheim, Yolande Villemaire, John Baturin, Pauline Harvey, Eric McLuhan, William Burroughs, Lucien Francoeur, Michael Gay, Stuart Brisley, Vito Acconci, Nicole Brossard, David Godfrey, Frank Davey, Dave McFadden, Chris Dewdney, Anita M. Alksnis, Steve Smith, Ken Decker, bp Nichol, Sid Marty, Paul Artaud, Michael Peel, Dawnold Brackett, Tom McNeely, Steve McCaffery, Gerry Gilbert, Eli Mandel, Susan Frykberg, People’s Republic of Poetry, Shaunt Basmajian, Ed Prato, Jupiter Larsen, Kirk Wirsig, Sandy Lewis, Paul Dutton, Tom Peifer, Don Thompson, George Bowering, Toronto Research Group, Burning Books, Karl Jirgens, David Hylnsky, Chris Burden. Cover Photo: Karl Jirgens, featuring Robert Stewart

Tracing the Web: House of Anansi’s Spiderline Editions

Established in 1969, the House of Anansi Press's Spiderline series represents a unique moment in Canadian publishing history. At no time previously had a Canadian publisher attempted to release the work of so many unknown and untried novelists simultaneously and also emphasize the fact that these were first, and perhaps not perfect, novels. Anansi's goals for the Spiderline series were to let new voices be heard, to give first-time novelists a chance at publication, and to get it done quickly by producing each of the Spiderlines with the same Spartan cover and identical typeface. All of the first five writers published — Peter Such, Russell Marois, Matt Cohen, John Sandman, and Pierre Gravel — were white, male, and no older than thirty. With its diverse collection of authors, experimental styles, and youthful enthusiasm for the new, the local, and the bilingual the original Spiderline books were the vision of Dennis Lee and David Godfrey at a time of great patriotism and literary expansion. The decision to reintroduce the Spiderline series in the late 1990s can be viewed as an attempt to regain Anansi's earlier status as a "progressive" and unique publishing enterprise

Research informed practices in English schools: Educational Excellence Everywhere?

This article reviews the English Government’s policies regarding the role that educational research should play in the school education system. Education policy since 2010 is outlined, followed by an analysis of the policy direction as stated in the 2016 White Paper “Educational Excellence Everywhere”. The role that research evidence is proposed to play in educational reform in England is explored. The extent to which a technicist, ‘what works’ view of teaching versus a more empowering version of professionalism are promoted in this White Paper is revealed. Implications are drawn for the teaching profession, universities and schools

How effective is the research and development ecosystem for England’s schools?

This article examines the role of research and development within England's school system. From a range of literature past and present we argue that six features (three dimensions) should form the focus for action at the institutional, systemic and policy levels. Applying these stress tests to the current system, we suggest that an effective ecosystem of research-informed schools is as yet not being fully realized. We argue that the keys to improving this are to change the structures, cultures and incentives that bridge the research–practice divide, and to align accountability arrangements to allow schools to learn through enquiry

How did Teacher Collaboration Develop During the Pandemic? A Case Study of six Public High Schools in Santiago, Chile

Background: Although it is often assumed that the COVID-19 crisis led to increased teacher collaboration, there is a scarcity of empirical studies in this area. // Aims: This research aims to investigate the impact of the pandemic on teacher collaboration in six public high schools in the Metropolitan Region of Chile over a two-year period (2020-2021). // Methods: A qualitative methodology was employed, utilizing a multiple case study design, with a focus on conducting individual semi-structured interviews. Principals and teachers from the six high schools were interviewed three times, resulting in a total of 146 interviews.// Results: I) The crisis resulted in three distinct moments: emergency responses, remote working, and adapted face-to-face modes that affected collaborative work. II) Three shared tasks emerged: remote teaching, addressing emerging student needs (prioritizing learning), and renewing teaching approaches on which teachers focused their professional collaboration. III) Two key factors, namely social capital and a pre-existing culture of collaboration, as well as effective school leadership, played a mediating role in the varied responses observed among the high schools.// Conclusions: Although the crisis initially contributed to increased teacher collaboration across all the high schools examined, this collaboration often diminished as the school year progressed and returned to a more normal state, without extending over time. Only a few high schools were able to sustain the progress made and implement changes in their institutional and pedagogical management, as well as in their teaching working conditions. These changes facilitated a successful transition to face-to-face teaching. The key factor to understand the difference between the high schools lay in organizational learning, which can be defined as the schools’ capacity to convert crises into opportunities for transformation, specifically through collaboration among teachers

"It's the controlling still". Power effects in the implementation of the bicultural/bilingual early childhood curriculum in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Racism is an undelying current within educational practice in Aotearoa/New Zealand. This paper discusses some of the data from a doctoral study that explored a particular teacher education context. In Aotearoa, the early childhood curriculum, Te Whariki, has a bicultural paradigm that requires a degree of bicultural and bilingual competence on the part of educators. This paper explores some of the issues around preparing teachers to deliver this curriculum, with a particular focus on racism

What should excellent integrated service delivery feel like and look like from a young person’s point of view? – ‘Don’t treat me like I’m a bother’ (Sharing our experience, Practitioner-led research 2008-2009; PLR0809/096)

Gateshead Young Women’s Outreach Project (GYWOP) offers support, information and empowering learning opportunities for young women, including young mothers, aged 13 to 19. The research team, including peer researchers, worked with young women accessing GYWOP, as well as 58 other services, to ascertain what excellent integrated working practice looks like and feels like for young women. Six focus groups, comprising approximately 30 young women, were involved in the research. The first was peer researchers. Two of the groups consisted of young women who were pregnant, or mothers who were involved in the project as they were not yet ready to move on to other more formal education, employment or training. Another consisted of mothers or expectant mothers who were of statutory school age. Another was made up of young women of statutory school age but not mothers, who either did not attend school or attended very little due to circumstances often related to bullying. The last group consisted of young women, some of whom were mothers, who had issues in their lives, resulting in isolation and low selfesteem. The main findings were as follows. • The importance of the ethos and general environment of the service. This impacts on the engagement of young women and adds to their confidence and general wellbeing, contributing to positive outcomes and progression. • The value of the service and a holistic approach are important, as is ease of access, varied communication methods, a range of social interaction and learning opportunities. • Being treated with respect is paramount. • Perceptions - young women can ‘pick up’ on things that are not necessarily intended - workers need to be extra sensitive and aware of the impact on young women. • It is vital that young women feel that they can trust workers. For young women in care, confidentiality is a serious concern, leading to the feeling that ‘everyone knows their business’. • Young women need to feel in control of what is happening to them and value voluntary engagement with services. • Affirmation by workers has an extremely positive impact, giving feelings of pride and self-worth. The findings will be used to produce awareness-raising interactive training sessions and materials, to be delivere

School improvement and peer learning partnerships: building organizational resilience in primary schools in England

IntroductionThis article looks at organizational resilience (OR) through the analysis of a sub-set of data gained from an independent and embedded mixed methods implementation and process evaluation (IPE) of the Schools Partnership Program (SPP) implemented over 3 years (2018–2021) and funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) in England. We describe ways in which SPP ‘learning map’ addresses the (i) anticipation, (ii) coping and (iii) adaptation stages and the extent to which SPP helped building organizational resilience. Taking this theoretical framework as a foundation is a novelty, as despite OR has become prominent in the academic literature apart from a few exceptions there is a dearth of international research examining OR within the school sector.MethodsA sample of 422 primary schools that took part in SPP (treatment schools) and their comparisons are analyzed applying the organizational capability-based framework. Drawing on SPP empirical data from numerous data collection strategies (interviews, surveys, shadowing school reviews and improvement workshops), the extent to which schools’ resilience capacities were improved is analyzed.ResultsOur findings suggest that SPP supported the development of OR in SPP primary schools. Despite facing several challenging external factors (student deprivation, the COVID disruption, changes to the external accountability framework and competing demands of other partner organizations) and internal factors (teacher attrition, need to developing leaders, upgrade pedagogical skills and encourage student subgroups who were underperforming) SPP schools exert (1) knowledge building through training, the review process, professional dialogue, learning from each other, as well as receiving and giving feedback. Regarding (2) resource availability, schools used SPP as a scaffold to build improvised strategies to access and mobilize shared human and physical resources; (3) social resources were built in the SPP through social capital, sharing of knowledge, enhancing a shared vision and trust. Finally, (4) SPP promoted lateral power dynamics driven by professional learning and accountability.DiscussionOverall, the paper extends the understanding of school peer review approaches for school improvement and adds to the OR international literature by presenting features that extend it toward building system resilience