A Co-constructed School-University Partnership Model of Professional Development for Teachers

This article analyses an innovative model of school-university partnership to deliver effective professional development for teachers. The university engages in partnership with a school (either primary, secondary or a group of schools) and then they co-construct and co-deliver a programme based upon what improvement the school requires for its teachers. The teachers get access to the university’s resources and gain a postgraduate qualification, usually a master’s degree or a postgraduate certificate. This model has produced mutual benefits for all the parties concerned. The university has boosted reputation in the field and such partnerships with schools in professional development have led to other collaborations. Schools have benefitted from creating learning communities in their organisations and they have an upskilled workforce which impacts on pupil outcomes. Ultimately, the collaboration of partners has led to best practice professional development, which in turn has benefitted teachers and the pupils in their care

Working Memory: The Importance of Assessment, Identification and Intervention

Working memory is an important factor in the acquisition of language, literacy and numeracy skills. It is closely linked to learning and achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not staff in schools were able to identify working memory difficulties in their students and how pupils with these difficulties were supported. Qualitative and quantitative data was sought from 35 randomly selected primary schools via a questionnaire. Semi-structured follow-up interviews were carried out with SEN Co-ordinators from 10 of the schools. Results revealed that the schools seldom carried out working memory assessment and staff were generally unaware of the characteristics of a poor working memory. Many of the schools within this study were not familiar with the range of assessment tools or resources available for intervention and support. This has significant implications for the provision of training and development of intervention strategies and resources for schools

Kinship and Collegiality: An exploration of the underpinning characteristics of external partnerships at a University Education Department

Purpose External partnerships are crucial to the functioning of a university education department. The purpose of this paper is to explore the underpinning characteristics of such partnerships. It examines different types of partnerships from those in initial teacher education, to continuing professional development to international. Evidence-based data are gathered from both external partners and university staff who deal with partnership. Softer skills and intellectual kingship are identified as the fundamental drivers of partnership and the subsequent implications for universities are examined. Design/methodology/approach In order to explore the nature of these partnerships, a qualitative approach was essential as the focus was in the motives and perspectives of the authors’ partners, the authors’ colleagues and the university as a corporate entity. To this end, questionnaires were designed for use with a broad range of teacher education partners. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with university-based colleagues involved in a range of these partnership activities. Findings The institutional reputation on its own does not appear to be the main driver for partnership and as such, the partner bases their decisions and judgements upon the relationship and discussions with the link person they deal with. In turn, those key actors in the university education department also see the wider university as an inhibitor and constraint upon partnership but maintain their relationships by drawing on autonomous forms of professionalism. Thus, intellectual kinship, collegiality and common goals may be argued as key to generating successful external relationships. Practical implications It is important to note that a business relationship which relies on an individual is fragile; people move, become ill and change roles. Clear strategies are essential for succession planning across all such partnerships in an institution, if they are to avoid the potential financial and reputational repercussions arising from unplanned change. Originality/value This study highlights the significance of effective communication between the department establishing the partnership and those responsible for broader managerial and administrative systems in the institution, as well as the potential importance of shared values across departments in respect of supporting and maintaining international partnerships. Further, institutions should recognise the fundamental importance of the link person, in terms of the boundary-spanning nature of the role, the importance to that role of intellectual kinship and the potential this has for the development of new or expanded relationships

Pupil Voice in PE and the desire for (in)visibility

The importance of children is a universally accepted concept in schools. Their rights are enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). However, do we actually listen to what children have to say? Rudduck and Fielding (2002, p.2) argue that the voices of pupils are ‘silent’ or ‘silenced’. The purpose of this research was to listen to and hear the voice of pupils, regarding PE, in two schools in the north east of England. PE is a curriculum subject where there are few pupil voice studies, and what does exist tends to focus mainly on girls and state schools. This study incorporated girls, boys, an independent school and a state school. It involved 154, 14-16 years old pupils across the two schools. The aim of the study was concerning their experiences in PE, with the direction of the study being driven by pupils and thereafter following the issues that they raised. A phenomenological approach was utilised as the study is about how pupils feel which can be individual and/or shaped by group interaction. A focus group in each school (6 pupils per study) drove the direction of the study which then sort breadth through a questionnaire to the whole year group in both schools (154 respondents) and finally depth through 12 individual interviews. Using the Braun and Clarke (2006) method of analysis, 5 themes emerged from the data, those being Choice, Participation, Pressure, Development and Ability, and Health. A theoretical framework was selected post findings to ensure that it best represented the emergent data. Social field theory was applied as an interpretative mechanism to explain and understand events, actions and behaviours. Through this Pupil voice method, it emerged that pupils have vastly different experiences in the PE lesson. For some it is that of humiliation and censure, and for others it is about success and achievement. The uniqueness of the lesson with regard to physique and the exposure of both skill and body can affect this duality, negatively and positively. There are adverse consequences for deleterious experiences upon participation and health. The latter being something normally associated with PE for positive connotations. This can lead to the desire for or coerced (in)visibility for many pupils. Solutions from pupils, at both ends of the ability spectrum, to counter issues in PE involved giving choice of activity and having ability setting for classes. The findings from this research have implications regarding how PE is structured and delivered in schools. It also demonstrates the benefits of an authentic Pupil Voice approach and the subsequent insight that pupils can bring to policy and practice in schools

Youth Sport: A Frontier in Education

Children are encouraged to participate in sport (Allender et al., 2006), through the school curriculum and specific dedicated clubs. Such provision can be described as a frontier in education with the role of the facilitator or “teacher” usually being undertaken by a coach. However, the experiences of those in involved in this type of informal learning environment are not well-researched or documented. Therefore, the aim of this study is to gain an insight into the experiences of children and stakeholder adults in such a setting. This study analyses and assesses the reality of the learning experience from the perspectives of the key stakeholders, children, coaches, and parents through their involvement in a particular youth cricket club. A qualitative approach was deployed, in the form of three separate focus groups for parents (n = 5), children (n = 10), and coaches (n = 3). At thematic analysis was conducted across the data set. Together with the coaches, who assume the role of a teacher, delivering learning, parents were included to take part in this study because they can be observers of the learning (unlike in mainstream education) and indirectly affect the learning through pseudo coaching. The children are involved as recipients of the learning and may view the coaches with a teacher identity. The study highlighted a good development and learning environment within this particular youth cricket club and it alludes to a disparity within the wider field of youth sport. All three of the chosen groups, the players, parents, and coaches, have aligned successfully to create a supportive, non-threatening environment, to allow the children to learn, develop their confidence, self-esteem and skill. In contrast, all groups highlighted the difference of their experiences of youth football, where a more negative experience was identified, potentially due to the subculture or the stakeholders involved

What is recognised as ability in physical education? A systematic appraisal of how ability and ability differences are socially constructed within mainstream secondary school physical education

In sport, schools and physical education (PE) ability has invariably been understood as an inherent and relatively immutable capacity, amendable to varying degrees by interventions such as training regimes and education. Differences in achievement are assumed to be an inevitable consequence of natural variations in ability and an indication of motivation or effort. Drawing on the theoretical tools of Pierre Bourdieu, Evans, in 2004, proposed an alternative socially constructed perspective of ability. Evans suggested that an individual’s embodied dispositions can function as capital and thus be ‘perceived as abilities when defined relationally with reference to attitudes, values and mores prevailing within a discursive field’ (e.g. PE). Drawing on the data of existing socially critical research on the social construction of ability, this paper takes the form of a systematic appraisal. Systematic searches were conducted in numerous electronic databases and electronic journals and contact was made with authors to identify relevant studies. Nine studies in total complied with a pre-determined inclusion/exclusion criteria. The data for the studies included in this appraisal are for the most part located in Queensland, Australia and to a lesser extent Sweden. Therefore, importantly, the Australian and Swedish contexts are the focus of this report. The aims of this systematic appraisal are to investigate how ability is socially constructed (conceived of and re/produced) in PE and how conceptualisations of ability in the subject influence students’ learning, experiences and potential achievement. The conclusions of this paper suggest that teachers and the PE curriculum in Queensland, Australia and Sweden play a significant role in (re)producing particular discourses around the body which reward (with ‘high’ ability identification) only those few (mostly male) students whose abilities are consistent with the values prevailing within the field (e.g. being competitive and aggressive). The limited acknowledgement of a ‘range’ of abilities in the subject leads to many students (both male and female) perceiving themselves incapable of being successful, not because they lack ability per se but rather because their abilities are not recognised or transactable for high achievement grades in the field

Are trans-national Professional Development Programmes doomed to fail to influence student outcomes?

Trans-national education is increasing (Mahony, 2014) and with regard to professional development for teachers, is an important aspect of upskilling teachers to deliver high quality learning experiences for their pupils. This paper is concerned with Trans-national Professional Development delivered by one UK HEI and delivered to Chinese Teachers. In the Chinese context, the need for such professional development is rooted in the Ministry of Education’s (2010) vision for developments, which will lead to a shift from an exam orientated education system to one that is quality orientated. The university has engaged with a number of different regions in China to deliver professional development for their teachers and head teachers in this vein. Although on the surface, positively received, participants identified a number of barriers that constrained the impact of the professional development. This article explores the pedagogical, cultural and investment barriers that led some participants to perceive that it was impossible to implement new strategies in their context. Insight of this nature can support institutions to tailor their international professional development programmes towards a model of input coupled with continued professional support to increase the potential for training to have an impact on practice and children’s educational experiences

The contribution of Teacher education to universities:a case study for international teacher educators

This paper reports on the initial stage of a research project which aims to develop deeper understanding of the contribution teacher education, as a sub-discipline within Education, makes to Higher Education in England. The study is located in the intersection between the domains of teacher education and higher education scholarship, which in England represents a contested and ambiguous professional space. Tensions between competing accountability measures, pulling away from university-based to exclusively school-based teacher education, are exacerbated by proposed policy changes arising from the government's recent market review. Findings drawn from analysis of qualitative data from a national survey are discussed in the context of Elizabeth Povinelli's critique of late liberalism and previous scholarship on the nature of teacher educators’ work. Evidence from the study demonstrates numerous benefits to higher education of hosting teacher education departments, including contributions to standard metrics, regional development and knowledge exchange within a strategic social justice agenda. However, teacher educators themselves may find articulating these benefits difficult, because of marginalisation from the dominant ways of achieving and accounting for excellence in the modern university. These findings offer a cautionary tale to international colleagues whose governments may be embarking on equivalent paths of teacher education reform.<br/