Inspiring a generation: an examination of stakeholder relations in the context of London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics educational programmes

The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games (London 2012) inspire a generation legacy aim targeted young people in the United Kingdom (UK) and internationally. This article explores how the London 2012 education-based legacy programmes aimed at young people, such as the Get Set initiative, affected relations between stakeholders connected to the Games. Utilising a stakeholder relations theoretical perspective we analysed documentary-based dialogue from a UK parliament Education Committee inquiry through a critical discourse analysis. From the analysis two discourses emerged. Firstly, around clarity of the purpose of the London 2012 educational programmes. Secondly, varying stakeholders’ understanding during the inquiry of the inspire a generation legacy aim was articulated around the notion of a “missed opportunity,” in particular, when translated into the domestic policy context around education and sport. The findings encourage stakeholders to reflect on potential fragmented accountability between sport mega event and domestic sectors; and achieving greater clarity to the purpose of legacy-based educational programme within a broader policy context

Digital technology and governance in transition: The case of the British Library

Comment on the organizational consequences of the new information and communications technologies (ICTs) is pervaded by a powerful imagery of disaggregation and a tendency for ?virtual? forms of production to be seen as synonymous with the ?end? of bureaucracy. This paper questions the underlying assumptions of the ?virtual organization?, highlighting the historically enduring, diversified character of the bureaucratic form. The paper then presents case study findings on the web-based access to information resources now being provided by the British Library (BL). The case study evidence produces two main findings. First, radically decentralised virtual forms of service delivery are heavily dependent on new forms of capacity-building and information aggregation. Second, digital technology is embedded in an inherently contested and contradictory context of institutional change. Current developments in the management and control of digital rights are consistent with the commodification of the public sphere. However, the evidence also suggests that scholarly access to information resources is being significantly influenced by the ?information society? objectives of the BL and other institutional players within the network of UK research libraries

Children’s participation in school grounds developments: creating a place for education that promotes children’s social inclusion

Abstract This paper advances the idea that ‘education for the social inclusion of children’ is similar but different to ‘inclusive education’ as it has come to be understood and used by some authors and UK government documents. ‘Inclusive education’ tends to carry an inward emphasis on the participation of children in the education system (with discussions on school culture, transitions, truancy, exclusion rates, underachievement, and school leaving age). In contrast, education for the promotion of children’s social inclusion requires an outward emphasis on children's participation in 'mainstream' society while they are still children. The latter emphasis is seen to be lacking in educational policy discourse in Scotland though a recent shift in policy towards education for active citizenship is noted. Examples are provided to show how many policy statements enact a limitation on the scope for education to promote children’s social inclusion by emphasising children’s deficits as social actors and focussing on the ‘condition’ of social exclusion. The paper draws on an empirical study of children’s participation in changing school grounds in Scotland. The analysis shows how the enclosure of learning in books, classrooms and normative curricula was challenged. Learning from school grounds developments was constructed relationally and spatially but the scope of what was to be learned was often delineated by adults. The paper closes with a discussion of how education that promotes the social inclusion of children will benefit from seeing both children and adults as current though partial citizens and utilising socio-spatial opportunities for the generation of uncertain curricula through their shared and/or differentiated participation

Parents, pre-schoolers and learning with technology at home : some implications for policy

Schemes that seek to ensure that children have access to technology at home have, so far, been aimed at children over the age of 8. However, there is likely to be an increasing policy interest in extending similar schemes to pre-school children given widespread commitment to the value of early intervention in children's education and family life. We draw on three research studies conducted by the authors to discuss the range of technologies that children encounter at home, the different forms their learning takes and family support for learning. We use these findings to provide starting points for considering the implementation of similar schemes for pre-school children and their parents in the future, identifying several questions to consider when developing policy on home access to technology for pre-schoolers: which technologies are most appropriate? Will access to technology at home lead to increased use? What roles do parents play in supporting learning? Which forms of learning are most likely to be promoted