Research quality assessment in education: impossible science, possible art? A response to David Bridges

Response to keynote presentation by Prof David Bridges on the topic of quality in the Research Assessment Exercise. The paper discusses what is meant by quality in educational research

Beyond development: applying the human development paradigm to identifying children with special needs and disabilities

This paper explores two aspects of development in relation to children’s learning: cognitive developmental theories and the human development paradigm. In doing so the aim of the paper is to put forward first a critique of how developmental theories have been applied to construe what and how children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities learn; second to put forward how the human development approach, based on the capability approach, can broaden our understanding of development; and third to suggest a way in which both types of development can be brought together to foster a valuable and meaningful education for all children. In doing so the paper argues that relying on one single way to understand and measure children development is not only short sighted, but counterproductive in as much as it can serve the purpose of stigmatizing and labelling children and thus narrowing the opportunities for learning and flourishing. In relation to freedom, a notion of development which is too structured and focused on cognitive outcomes only delimits, and consequently, limits the opportunities and potential for learning of any child, but particularly children with learning difficulties

Educare la persona: provvedimenti focalizzati sulle capabilities per studenti universitari con disabilità

This chapter adds to the questions of if and how the capability approach can be an innovative and useful way to assess, evaluate and develop the provision university students with disabilities and special educational needs receive. It argues that present, and possibly future practices of determining provision are problematic because they result from the still unresolved tension between within-the-person difficulties and external social and cultural barriers, giving rise and perpetuating a dilemma of difference. By applying the notion of capabilities, that is the substantive freedom people have to be and do what they have reason to value, the capability approach offers the advantage of broadening the informational basis onto which sound and effective provision can be assessed and develop, thus ensuring both quality and equality of education

Still talking about inclusion? Carving new spaces between policy and practice

Invited keynote lecture to PGCE students on the topic of the future of inclusive practice

Inclusive childcare services for children with disabilities in England: review of conditions, standards and practice

The most recent UNICEF (2013) publication on the state of the world’s children is dedicated to the rights of children with disabilities to an education and a meaningful and productive life. The report stresses the importance of building an educational system based on the fundamental principles of inclusion, which are the respect for the rights, aspirations and potential of all children. While inclusion has been practiced and researched in primary and secondary school, much still needs to be done with regard to childcare provision. Despite envisaged changes and setback, concerns for improving childcare’s conditions, provision and offer remain pivotal issues both in relation to educational practice and to the need of the economy. Thus, it is not surprising that considerations about the importance of early childhood education and care (ECEC) have grown considerably in the last three decades in England, in Europe and at the wider international level

Perspectives on the 'preparedness' of teaching assistants: what gets in the way?

The number of teaching assistants (TAs) in English schools has grown significantly over the past two decades (DfE, 2012) due to a national emphasis on inclusion and workload reform agreements (DfES, 2003). Recently, the effectiveness of TAs to support pupils’ academic progress has been questioned (Blatchford et al, 2009) suggesting that TAs ‘preparedness’ (Webster et al, 2011) lies at the heart of effective support. Consequently, there is a need to focus on how TAs are ‘prepared’ for the multiple roles and responsibilities they carry out. Although the term preparedness can be criticised for being still a vague concept, positive links have been made between TAs’ training and its effectiveness on outcomes for pupils’ academic achievement have been more evident (Farrell et al, 2010). In researching the nature and impact of training TAs, research has applied a simplistic input-output model focused on TAs alone rather than taking into account the context in which TAs work. Brown and Devecchi (awaiting publication) and Devecchi et al. (2012) suggest that this approach limits our understanding because it does not account for the reasons behind the ad hoc approach to TAs’ training. Therefore this paper answers the following questions: What are the barriers to TAs in taking up training as perceived by their managers and themselves? Does training form part of the performance review process for a TA? Their findings are drawn on questionnaires (N=238) and interviews (N=23) with TAs and those responsible for the training of TAs, including headteachers, SENCos and other senior managers from one English Local Authority. Findings suggest that TAs still face many barriers in gaining effective training and professional development. One major outcome of the study presented in this paper, is the lack of reciprocal understanding between TAs and their managers. Barriers perceived by managers e.g. family circumstances, preparedness for study are not perceived as barriers by TAs. Instead TAs suggest that finance, lack of communication, support from the school and leadership, and inequity between teachers and TAs’ training opportunities are more important barriers. Performance reviews, on the whole, were not systematic and therefore did not outline for TAs how to develop further. As a result, these findings suggest in order to support the preparedness of TAs, managers should consider training for TAs as part of a whole school plan in parallel with teachers and that this cannot occur without a financial or staffing investment

The utility of critical ethnography as a tool for empowerment in early childhood research

This presentation reported the application of critical ethnography as a means to capture children’s voices in two ways. Firstly, as researchers and secondly as a an authoritative space in which the children’s voices could speak and be heard. The Young Children As Researchers (YCAR) study aimed to conceptualise ways in which young children aged 4-8 years are researchers, could develop as researchers and may be considered to be researchers. The presentation reports on an empirical study exploring research behaviours presenting naturalistically in young children aged 4-8 years. A ‘jigsaw methodology’ was developed, comprising critical ethnography, constructivist grounded theory, case study and the ‘Mosaic Approach’ (Clark and Moss, 2011). Ethnography is commonly indicated in early childhood research because of its capacity to reveal multiple facets of young children’s lived experiences, including features of their everyday contexts that affect and effect those lived experiences. The particular rationale for the present study’s use of critical ethnography was its potential invocation for social justice in respect of a guiding assumption that young children and their voices are excluded from adult worlds, including the ‘academy’. Since the study was an attempt towards democratisation of research, it was guided by three approaches that were adopted to promote recognition of children’s empowerment as researchers: emancipation, participation and induction. Through interview conversations, focus group and a nominal grouping exercise, perspectives of established academy members (n=47) regarding research were gathered, resulting in the identification of four research behaviours academy members identified as ‘most important’: exploration, finding solutions, conceptualisation and the basing of decisions on evidence. Furthermore, the academy members indicated theoretical sampling and consequently, 138 children aged 4-8 years in three early childhood settings and five homes in one English Midlands town participated, together with their parents and practitioners. Children’s everyday naturalistic behaviours were co-constructed through gathering, analysis and meta-analysis of data; in this process, features of critical ethnography integrated coherently with the other instruments forming the jigsaw methodology. Many examples of the four most important key research behaviours presented in children’s naturalistic activities; factors affecting or effecting these behaviours included children’s applications of prior experiences, their innovations, their autonomy, their dispositions and their interactions with material contexts as well as social and cognitive domains. In this study conducted according to the academy’s own protocols, young children’s engagements in research behaviours the academy regards as ‘most important’ were established in ways that suggest the children’s forms of knowledge construction are valid and their voices authoritative. In the research process, the utility of critical ethnography was manifest in form and function: it integrated effectively with other methodologies to create a ‘jigsaw methodology’ that facilitated participatory, emancipatory and inductive approaches. Critical ethnography was also valuable as a vehicle for reifying social justice: the study outcomes reveal a rationale for challenging young children’s exclusion from the academy

‘Nowhere that fits’ – exploring the issues around parental choice and school placement for students with a Statement of Special Educational Needs in England

Giving parents a choice with regard to their children’s education has been central to the political discourse of school reform at least since the 1988 Education Reform Act (ERA) (DfE, 1988). With regard to children with a statement of special educational needs (SSEN), a plethora of policies and laws (e.g. ERA, 1988; Education Act, 1996, SENDA, 2001) have given parents not only the right to choose a school, but also to appeal to decisions in the best interest of their children. Yet, despite the discourse the implementation and practice of such reforms are neither assured nor simple. Participants in the study indicated that they have little choice of suitable provision and are having to compromise either the academic or the social aspects of their child’s schooling. This paper argues that for many parents whose children have a statement of SEN the choice of a school is often a dilemma as nowhere seems to fit