Overcoming Barriers: Engaging younger students in an online intercultural exchange

This paper reports findings from a small-scale project involving an online school exchange between two classes of 11/13 year olds located in the North of England and the Ruhr area of Germany. The overarching aim of the project was to develop intercultural understanding (IU) in foreign language learning through communication in an online environment. Analysing data from website posts, lesson observations, student questionnaires and interviews, the study documented emergent practical and pedagogical issues

The place of research in teacher education

Why is teacher education policy significant - politically, sociologically and educationally? While the importance of practice in teacher education has long been recognised, the significance of policy has only been fully appreciated more recently. Teacher education in times of change offers a critical examination of teacher education policy in the UK and Ireland over the past three decades, since the first intervention of government in the curriculum. Written by a research group from five countries, it makes international comparisons, and covers broader developments in professional learning, to place these key issues and lessons in a wider context

Culture Learning in the Language Classroom

Language learning is linked to culture learning through the assumption that language and culture are inseparable and that full understanding of a language is only possible if learners have some knowledge of one or more countries where the language is spoken. For many years, culture learning involved knowing about national cultures; this has often been criticized as leading to stereotyping or essentializing. More recently, however, the emphasis has been on culture as complex and constantly evolving, and thus, culture learning involves knowing about different groups within societies as well as the changes taking place in those societies. In addition to the long-established focus on knowledge of other cultures, the cultural dimension of foreign language teaching is more recently expected to also influence attitudes and build skills, both components of intercultural competence. Language educators design activities to enhance learners’ attitudes toward people speaking the target languages, reduce prejudice, and increase their ability to interact successfully with such people. Thus, intercultural competence is now considered by many to be a central aspect of learning in the language classroom, even though there may not be as much attention paid to it as might be expected, owing to gaps in language teachers’ preparation or lack of teachers’ skills in culture teaching. This entry provides a historical overview of the cultural dimension in the language classroom, demonstrates how various education policies reflect theoretical developments, and outlines some of the pedagogical principles and methods of intercultural language teachin

The significance of intercultural understanding in modern foreign languages Key Stage 3 curriculum : the perspectives of policy makers, teachers and pupils

This study focuses on the significance of Intercultural Understanding (IU) in the Key Stage 3 Modem Foreign Languages (MFL) curriculum. It investigates the perspectives of the three key stakeholders: policy makers, teachers and pupils. The research is situated against the backdrop of the 2008 National Curriculum revision which placed a new emphasis on Intercultural Understanding in MFL. At the macro level, it examines the drivers for this curriculum change and the extent to which the new terminology for the cultural dimension (which was previously called "cultural awareness") overlaps with theoretical research on interculturallanguages education. At the micro level, it investigates teachers' conceptualisations of IU and the factors which affect their intercultural practice. It is equally concerned with pupils' perceptions about the significance ofIU, investigating how these may vary as a function of demographic and social influences. The study adopts a predominantly interpretative approach, employing semi-structured interviews with policy makers (n=2) and secondary MFL teachers (n=18). Pupil perceptions were investigated using a questionnaire survey (n=765) which was followed up with group interviews (n=5). The teacher and pupil samples were drawn from a total of fourteen state schools in the North West of England that comprise of mixed comprehensive, girls' comprehensive, boys' comprehensive, girls' grammar and boys' grammar schools. The study finds that the reference to Intercultural Understanding in curriculum policy was primarily influenced by broader political concerns that overlooked interculturallanguages theory and has resulted in ambiguous curriculum guidelines. This research reveals a new insight into the teacher perspective, showing that attitudes and pedagogical approaches to the cultural dimension are highly individualistic and are closely related to interests, personalities and life experiences. Furthermore, the pupil perspective on IU varies not only from school to school, but also from pupil to pupil. Overall, the findings suggest that effective IU curriculum development in MFL must be flexible enough to respond to and cater for this evident diversity

Free access to the concert hall: widening university students’ participation in extracurricular activity?

The role of extracurricular activity in higher education is receiving increasing international attention as a means for developing social and cultural resources for steering social and employment networks. The focus of this paper is on a post-1992 English university partnership with an orchestra, enabling students to attend free concerts. The initiative aspired to extend the student experience, break down barriers, and encourage students to try a new musical experience. This study explores students’ experiences and contrasts these with the aspirations of the vice-chancellor. In view of studies establishing relationships between extracurricular activity and inequality of opportunity, this paper also investigates whether financial subsidies widen participation

The role of the mentor in professional knowledge development across four professions

Purpose - Against a British policy backdrop, which places an ever-increasing emphasis on workplace learning in pre-service professional programmes, this paper investigates the contribution of the mentor to professional knowledge development in nursing, paramedicine, social work and teaching. Approach - Taking the form of a literature review, it explores the influence of policy, professional and theoretical conceptualisations of the mentor role and structural factors influencing the mentor’s contribution to professional knowledge. Findings - Where there are clearly delineated policy obligations for the mentor to ‘teach’ mentees, mentors are more likely to make connections between theoretical and practical knowledge. When this responsibility is absent or informal, they are inclined to attend to the development of contextual knowledge with a consequent disconnect between theory and practice. In all four professions, mentors face significant challenges, especially with regard to the conflict between supporting and assessor roles and the need to attend to heavy contractual workloads, performance targets and mentoring roles in tandem. Practical implications - The authors argue first for the need for more attention to the pedagogy of mentoring and second, for structural changes to workload allocations, career progression and mentoring education. In order to develop more coherent and interconnected professional knowledge between different domains, and the reconciliation of different perspectives, it would be useful to underpin mentoring pedagogy with Bhabha’s notion of ‘third space’. Originality - The paper contributes to the field since it considers new obligations incumbent on mentors to assist mentees in reconciling theoretical and practical knowledge by consequence of policy and takes a multi-professional perspective

The role of the mentor in an increasingly school-led English initial teacher education policy context

Against an international policy backdrop that favours school-led initial teacher education, this paper presents the results of a study seeking to explore the role of the teacher mentor in the English context. Using an online survey (n=64) and semi-structured interviews (n=7), the study examined how mentors conceptualised their roles and related skills, and if perceptions varied depending on whether they supported mentees on school-led or university-led routes, and, or, other contextual variables. In light of preliminary findings from the survey, suggesting that views could be affected by the particular workplace in which mentors were located, the second (interview) phase of the research was theoretically underpinned by Kemmis et al.’s (2014) ‘practice architectures’ framework. Whilst overall the findings revealed that perceptions and reported practices continued to be influenced by structural factors identified in existent studies, they also suggested the emergence and impact of new cultural and situational dynamics, characterising practice architectures, at school level. The authors consider the reasons for variations in practice architectures and the implications for future mentor development

Leptin Resistance in Vagal Afferent Neurons Inhibits Cholecystokinin Signaling and Satiation in Diet Induced Obese Rats

Background and Aims: The gastrointestinal hormone cholecystokinin (CCK) plays an important role in regulating meal size and duration by activating CCK1 receptors on vagal afferent neurons (VAN). Leptin enhances CCK signaling in VAN via an early growth response 1 (EGR1) dependent pathway thereby increasing their sensitivity to CCK. In response to a chronic ingestion of a high fat diet, VAN develop leptin resistance and the satiating effects of CCK are reduced. We tested the hypothesis that leptin resistance in VAN is responsible for reducing CCK signaling and satiation. Results: Lean Zucker rats sensitive to leptin signaling, significantly reduced their food intake following administration of CCK8S (0.22 nmol/kg, i.p.), while obese Zucker rats, insensitive to leptin, did not. CCK signaling in VAN of obese Zucker rats was reduced, preventing CCK-induced up-regulation of Y2 receptor and down-regulation of melanin concentrating hormone 1 receptor (MCH1R) and cannabinoid receptor (CB1). In VAN from diet-induced obese (DIO) Sprague Dawley rats, previously shown to become leptin resistant, we demonstrated that the reduction in EGR1 expression resulted in decreased sensitivity of VAN to CCK and reduced CCK-induced inhibition of food intake. The lowered sensitivity of VAN to CCK in DIO rats resulted in a decrease in Y2 expression and increased CB1 and MCH1R expression. These effects coincided with the onset of hyperphagia in DIO rats. Conclusions: Leptin signaling in VAN is required for appropriate CCK signaling and satiation. In response to high fat feeding

The dopamine D1 receptor is expressed and induces CREB phosphorylation and MUC5AC expression in human airway epithelium

Background Dopamine receptors comprise two subgroups, Gs protein-coupled “D1-like” receptors (D1, D5) and Gi-coupled “D2-like” receptors (D2, D3, D4). In airways, both dopamine D1 and D2 receptors are expressed on airway smooth muscle and regulate airway smooth muscle force. However, functional expression of the dopamine D1 receptor has never been identified on airway epithelium. Activation of Gs-coupled receptors stimulate adenylyl cyclase leading to cyclic AMP (cAMP) production, which is known to induce mucus overproduction through the cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) in airway epithelial cells. We questioned whether the dopamine D1 receptor is expressed on airway epithelium, and whether it promotes CREB phosphorylation and MUC5AC expression. Methods We evaluated the protein expression of the dopamine D1 receptor on native human airway epithelium and three sources of cultured human airway epithelial cells including primary cultured airway epithelial cells, the bronchial epithelial cell line (16HBE14o-), and the pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma cell line (NCI-H292) using immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting. To characterize the stimulation of cAMP through the dopamine D1 receptor, 16HBE14o- cells and NCI-H292 cells were treated with dopamine or the dopamine D1 receptor agonists (SKF38393 or A68930) before cAMP measurements. The phosphorylation of CREB by A68930 in both 16HBE14o- and NCI-H292 cells was measured by immunoblot. The effect of dopamine or A68930 on the expression of MUC5AC mRNA and protein in NCI-H292 cells was evaluated by real-time PCR and immunofluorescence staining, respectively. Results The dopamine D1 receptor protein was detected in native human airway epithelium and three sources of cultured human airway epithelial cells. Dopamine or the dopamine D1-like receptor agonists stimulated cAMP production in 16HBE14o- cells and NCI-H292 cells, which was reversed by the selective dopamine D1-like receptor antagonists (SCH23390 or SCH39166). A68930 significantly increased phosphorylation of CREB in both 16HBE14o- and NCI-H292 cells, which was attenuated by the inhibitors of PKA (H89) and MEK (U0126). Expression of MUC5AC mRNA and protein were also increased by either dopamine or A68930 in NCI-H292 cells. Conclusions These results suggest that the activation of the dopamine D1 receptor on human airway epithelium could induce mucus overproduction, which could worsen airway obstructive symptoms