Improving performance through HEI–industry engagements in the built environment

The poor performance and inefficiencies of the construction industry are well recognized and documented. Through a variety of combined industry and government initiatives there has been a continual expression in the UK over the last decade of the urgent need to address the fragmented nature of the industry to improve its performance. A major challenge is for education and industry stakeholders to create closer and more effective relationships with each other to facilitate greater mutual understanding. ‘Accelerating Change in Built Environment Education’ (ACBEE) is a sponsored initiative designed to encourage the closer working together of industry, education and professional bodies to provide more relevant training and education. This paper introduces ACBEE, along with an evaluation framework for measuring the performance of engagements at various levels. This is followed by an analysis of the application of this performance measurement framework through case studies of industry–education engagement. A number of case studies were identified as operating at the grades of ‘strategic alliance’ and ‘partnership’ (as classified in the ACBEE evaluation framework). The analysis of these cases focuses on the drivers behind and the purpose of the engagement, and how these are aligned with the business strategy of the collaborating organizations and measurement of the activity. Evidence of meeting the explicit business needs and strategic objectives and the contribution to good practice knowledge are also discussed

Learning in virtual worlds : Using communities of practice to explain how people learn from play

Although there is interest in the educational potential of online multiplayer games and virtual worlds, there is still little evidence to explain specifically what and how people learn from these environments. This paper addresses this issue by exploring the experiences of couples that play World of Warcraft together. Learning outcomes were identified (involving the management of ludic, social and material resources) along with learning processes, which followed Wenger’s model of participation in Communities of Practice. Comparing this with existing literature suggests that productive comparisons can be drawn with the experiences of distance education students and the social pressures that affect their participation

Problematising parent–professional partnerships in education

The value of, and need for, parent–professional partnerships is an unchallenged mantra within policy relating to ‘special educational needs’. In spite of this, partnerships continue to be experienced as problematic by both parents and professionals. This paper brings together the different perspectives of two disability researchers: one a parent of a disabled child while the other was a teacher for 20 years of children with the label autism. The paper deconstructs the concept of partnership and then, drawing on the expertise of parents, suggests how enabling and empowering parent–professional relationships might be achieved

Problematising parent–professional partnerships in education

The value of, and need for, parent–professional partnerships is an unchallenged mantra within policy relating to ‘special educational needs’. In spite of this, partnerships continue to be experienced as problematic by both parents and professionals. This paper brings together the different perspectives of two disability researchers: one a parent of a disabled child while the other was a teacher for 20 years of children with the label autism. The paper deconstructs the concept of partnership and then, drawing on the expertise of parents, suggests how enabling and empowering parent–professional relationships might be achieved

Raising the participation age in historical perspective : Policy learning from the past?

The raising of the participation age (RPA) to 17 in 2013 and 18 in 2015 marks a historic expansion of compulsory education. Despite the tendency of New Labour governments to eschew historical understanding and explanation, RPA was conceived with the benefit of an analysis of previous attempts to extend compulsion in schooling. This paper assesses the value of a historical understanding of education policy. The period from inception to the projected implementation of RPA is an extended one which has crossed over the change of government, from Labour to Coalition, in 2010. The shifting emphases and meanings of RPA are not simply technical issues but connect to profound historical and social changes. An analysis of the history of the raising of the school leaving age reveals many points of comparison with the contemporary situation. In a number of key areas it is possible to gain insights into the ways in which the study of the past can help to comprehend the present: the role of human capital, the structures of education, in curriculum development and in terms of preparations for change

Teaching inclusively: are secondary physical education teachers sufficiently prepared to teach in inclusive environments?

Background: Contemporary British educational guidelines, such as the National Curriculum (NC) have adopted inclusivity in the way children with special educational needs (SEN) are taught. Therefore, inclusion has risen up the political agenda, resulting in more children with SEN being taught in mainstream environments. Empirical research has attempted to examine PE teacher's perceptions of inclusion. However, it is evident that PE teachers perceive the training they receive during initial teacher training (ITT) as a constraint on their practice with specific regard to teaching children with SEN. Purpose: This study aimed to determine if student secondary PE teachers are sufficiently prepared to teach children with SEN inclusively, by examining their training at ITT as well as their perceived preparedness and confidence to teach inclusively. Participants and setting: 107 students from a four-year BA (Hons) and a PGCE secondary PE ITT course attending a North West England ITT institution participated in the study. Research design: Survey research was implemented to examine if student secondary PE teachers attending two different ITT courses were sufficiently prepared to teach in inclusive environments. Data collection: A 31-item semi-structured questionnaire comprising predominantly of closed questioning, was used for this study. Open-ended questions were included to collect qualitative data, intended to add richness to the data and explore students' perceptions. Questions focused upon respondents' inclusion training at ITT, the perceived effectiveness of this training, students' preferences in teaching, experience of teaching children with SEN, as well as their perceived preparedness and confidence to teach inclusively

Changing times in England: the influence on geography teachers’ professional practice

School geography in England has been characterised as a pendulum swinging between policies that emphasise curriculum and pedagogy alternately. In this paper, I illustrate the influence of these shifts on geography teacher's professional practice, by drawing on three “moments” from my experience as a student, teacher and teacher educator. Barnett's description of teacher professionalism as a continuous project of “being” illuminates how geography teachers can adapt to competing influences. It reflects teacher professionalism as an unfinished project, which is responsive, but not beholden, to shifting trends, and is informed by how teachers frame and enact policies. I argue that recognising these contextual factors is key to supporting geography teachers in “being” geography education professionals. As education becomes increasingly competitive on a global scale, individual governments are looking internationally for “solutions” to improve educational rankings. In this climate, the future of geography education will rest on how teachers react locally to international trends. Geography teacher educators can support this process by continuing to inform the field through meaningful geography education research, in particular in making the contextual factors of their research explicit. This can be supported through continued successful international collaboration in geography education research

Teacher knowledge and initial teacher education in the English learning and skills sector

Recent reforms of initial teacher education (ITE) in the learning and skills sector(LSS) in England are standards based and emphasise subject specialism. The reforms are underpinned by objectivist epistemological assumptions which are incompatible with socio-cultural theories of professional knowledge, and ignore the diverse teaching roles and contexts in the sector and wider systemic issues. A qualitative scoping study found that LSS in-service trainee teachers drew on three types of knowledge resources, or clusters of ‘rules’ for practice, in their teaching: these were related to their subject/vocational area, generic teaching and learning processes and specific learners and groups. Trainees generated knowledge resources through participation in their workplace, ITE course and other social contexts, and from embedded and encoded workplace knowledge. Trainees’ beliefs, values and prior experiences were both a knowledge resource and influenced their engagement with knowledge generation activities. It is argued that using a knowledge resources perspective, which recognises how trainees generate knowledge and seeks to bridge gaps in their access to knowledge resources, would be more effective in supporting trainees’ development than the current reforms

Outdoor learning spaces: the case of forest school

© 2017 The Author. Area published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.This paper contributes to the growing body of research concerning use of outdoor spaces by educators, and the increased use of informal and outdoor learning spaces when teaching primary school children. The research takes the example of forest school, a form of regular and repeated outdoor learning increasingly common in primary schools. This research focuses on how the learning space at forest school shapes the experience of children and forest school leaders as they engage in learning outside the classroom. The learning space is considered as a physical space, and also in a more metaphorical way as a space where different behaviours are permitted, and a space set apart from the national curriculum. Through semi-structured interviews with members of the community of practice of forest school leaders, the paper seeks to determine the significance of being outdoors on the forest school experience. How does this learning space differ from the classroom environment? What aspects of the forest school learning space support pupils’ experiences? How does the outdoor learning space affect teaching, and the dynamics of learning while at forest school? The research shows that the outdoor space provides new opportunities for children and teachers to interact and learn, and revealed how forest school leaders and children co-create a learning environment in which the boundaries between classroom and outdoor learning, teacher and pupil, are renegotiated to stimulate teaching and learning. Forest school practitioners see forest school as a separate learning space that is removed from the physical constraints of the classroom and pedagogical constraints of the national curriculum to provide a more flexible and responsive learning environment.Peer reviewe

Reassessing employer expectations of graduates in UK travel services

This article sets out to ascertain travel and tourism industries employers' views on degrees. Research of this kind and on this scale has not previously been carried out and a large scale survey of industry views was conducted with key issues identified and discussed. These cover topics such as the employment of graduates within the UK travel services industry, views on their contribution and appropriateness, the types of skills that such degrees provide, salary scales and graduate training schemes. Current government policy on widening participation in higher education (HE) and its impact on industry skills is also evaluated. The issue of the provision of tourism curricula and their content has at the beginning of 2007 once again been pushed centre stage. This is as a result of the increasing scrutiny of the Sector Skills organisation People 1st and the launch of the government's new vocational diplomas in 2008. The findings in this article are pertinent for government bodies and educators alike and have previously been shared with the Sector Skills organisation and Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in addressing HE in tourism