Those who laugh, last: Exploring the use of humor as a vehicle of healing through personal reflection, theory, and practice

The premise of this paper is to examine the healing and therapeutic nature of humor in the counseling relationship. Discussion will focus on the cognitive, emotional, and physical benefits of humor, as well as the methods and techniques used to implement humor and laughter into therapeutic practice. The best practices, benefits, and recommendations for using humor in the therapeutic relationship are reviewed, emphasizing type of humor and assessing client for appropriate use. Application of humor in times of grief and loss is explored, offering insight to the resilience that can be found in the human spirit. Humor is studied as a promoter self-care, social connection, optimism, and new perspectives. Criticisms and concerns for the use of humor in therapy are considered, noting the continued need for research on the subject. The aim of this analysis is to revive the topic and use of humor in the mental health counseling field

Markets, selection and equity: how reputation and popularity influence student admissions and recruitment in universities in England

This research investigates how university selection practices vary according to institutional reputation and course popularity through an examination of English university admissions and recruitment policies and practices. It seeks to evaluate what implications this has for equity in terms of student access to higher education. The research examines data from semi-structured interviews carried out in 2008/09 with admissions and recruitment from staff working at four case study institutions, selected to reflect some of the diversity in the HE market. Admissions policies and practices using information given on University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) forms, interviews, conditional offers and after A Level results have been published, are analysed. This is complemented with a multivariate analysis of UCAS data for students seeking to enter higher education in 2006/07 to test the generalisability of the qualitative findings. Quantitative analyses show how the use of discretion in conditional offers is associated with student background characteristics, course popularity and institutional reputation. Following this, institutional recruitment practices are analysed, first through an examination of ‘general’ recruitment policies and practices aimed at the consumer market as a whole, followed by an examination of the case universities’ widening participation programmes. This includes an analysis of the institutions’ access agreements. Finally, the motivations underpinning the behaviour of admissions and recruitment staff working at the case universities are discussed. Whether self-interest or altruism influences staff behaviour is analysed, alongside a consideration of the role that government incentives play in regulating university behaviour. The thesis concludes that, while some admissions and recruitment practices are likely to further equity of access for students from different social and educational backgrounds, changes can be made to increase equity of access to higher education

Secondary school admissions in England: policy and practice

This report presents the findings from the first part of a research project commissioned by the Research and Information on State Education (RISE) Trust with financial support from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. It aims to provide an analysis of secondary schools’ admissions criteria and practices in England in light of the new legislative and regulatory context; it focuses on admissions to Year 7 in 2008. In addition to examining admissions criteria and practices, the report also provides an analysis of the content of supplementary information forms parents may be required to complete

Student mobility, qualifications and academic recognition in the EU

This paper explores the relationship between student mobility, qualifications and academic recognition within Europe. It provides an outline of supranational legal instruments and policies in relation to academic recognition and student mobility. It then examines some of the difficulties associated with the different concepts underpinning the notion of 'student mobility' and the consequences in terms of the data available. This is followed by an overview of national policies relating to university admissions, recognition of upper secondary qualifications and mobility, with particular reference to four EU countries with different systems of higher education. We argue that although recognition is clearly of importance, other issues, in particular foreign language proficiency and adequate financial support, also need to be addressed if student mobility is to increase significantly

L'impact de la crise financière sur la politique d'éducation supérieure au Royaume-Uni

Cet article évalue l'impact de la crise financière sur la politique de l'enseignement supérieur au Royaume-Uni. Pour la période 2010-2011 et au-delà, le gouvernement compte effectuer des coupes sombres dans ces budgets. En dépit de l'introduction partielle de mécanismes de marché dans l'enseignement supérieur, les universités dépendent encore largement du gouvernement pour leur financement. Cette interpénétration des forces de marché et du contrôle gouvernemental centralisé se traduira probablement par une profonde reconfiguration du système d'enseignement supérieur en Angleterre

Decentralisation and educational achievement in Germany and the UK

We examine decentralisation in school-based education, with particular reference to two countries, Germany and the UK. In section 2 we explore the notions of devolution and decentralisation. We examine different types of decentralisation and some of the ideas with which it is associated including, in education, improving educational standards. In section 3 we consider the decentralisation of education in Germany and the UK. We examine the decentralisation of political authority, policies pursued at national and subnational levels, and the delegation of responsibilities to school level. We then compare achievement levels in the two case study countries and explore whether particular policies, pursued at subnational levels, might be associated with differing levels of attainment. We argue that decentralisation in the field of education is multifaceted and complex, with different types of decentralisation coexisting. Our analysis suggests that certain policies, pursued as a result of decentralisation, may be associated with different educational outcomes, but it is not possible to draw definitive conclusions particularly in light of the differing political, policy, and socioeconomic contexts.

Secondary school admissions in England 2001 to 2008: changing legislation, policy and practice

The distribution of pupils amongst schools is fundamental to concerns about equality of educational opportunity and it is for this reason that the process by which pupils are admitted to schools is of significance. This paper focuses on admissions criteria and practices used by English secondary schools in 2001 and 2008 in light of changes to legislation and the regulatory context. In 2008, unlike 2001, virtually all schools gave priority to children in care and very few used interviews. In a minority of schools, predominantly those responsible for their own admissions, criteria designed to ‘select in’ certain pupils were used, with partial selection by aptitude/ability increasing over time. An analysis of ‘supplementary information forms’ revealed that a minority of schools requested information that was prohibited and unrelated to admissions criteria. Notwithstanding some positive impacts, further changes could make the admissions process easier for parents/carers and enhance equality of educational opportunity