Family learning: "What's the score?"

Family Learning through Football and Coaching (FLTFC) was developed with Sunderland Association Football Club (SAFC) Foundation, an adult basic skills provider, a primary school and the Open College Network. Ten years on this programme has high participation rates and is recognised for its capacity to engage the ‘hard-to-reach’ in learning. This paper provides a focused historical analysis and attempts to locate family learning in relation to policy, local authority structures and educational discourse. As cuts to public services continue, there is an expectation that the third sector, including social enterprises such as SAFC Foundation, will step in to fill the gap. The success of FLTFC could be presented as evidence of the effectiveness of the Big Society agenda however taking the long view it is evident that partnership with the public sector is an essential element in the development and continuity of successful provision. The theoretical framework which informs the paper incorporates brief consideration of the concept of lifelong learning and an examination of informal learning in the context of the family. The emerging localism agenda and issues relating to the current Coalition government's Big Society concept also inform the discussion. The paper will contribute to understanding of support for learning within families by providing a historical analysis of the endurance and success of a specific family learning programme. The findings of this study have the potential to contribute to the implementation of policy arising from the current review of adult informal community learning (BIS, 2011)

Factors that affect the embedding of blended learning and how they vary across organisational levels within an English Further Education College

This thesis builds on and contributes to work in the field of adoption of blended learning (BL) within the context of the English Further Education (FE) sector. The research, a single-site case study guided by grounded theory, aimed to identify the key drivers and barriers to BL adoption within one English FE College from the viewpoints of policy makers, managers and teachers then compare them, with the goal of identifying where they differed and the impact this has on BL implementation. Although other recent studies (e.g. Armstrong, 2019; Paulson and Campbell, 2018) have examined the barriers and drivers for BL adoption within educational institutions, very few have focused on FE and to my knowledge none have attempted a qualitative, multiple-perspective comparison. As such, this study provides valuable insight into the underdeveloped literature base of FE and introduces the concept of research into the interplay between different viewpoints in relation to perceived barriers and drivers for BL integration into the curriculum. Through document analysis and interviews, I discovered there are some fundamental differences in the barriers and drivers perceived by the different groups. These differences had created a lack of clarity of vision in relation to eLearning goals and implementation. Furthermore, the programs and resources produced by policy makers did not match the collaborative, social environments favoured by teachers and managers to develop and implement eLearning programmes. Findings correlate with those of social learning theorists such as Vygotsky (1980) and Bruner (1991), suggesting that social interaction and collaboration was one of the most important drivers of successful eLearning adoption. Finally, whilst successful leadership and management of the change process was key for an holistic approach to BL adoption, findings suggested that, as indicated in Rogers’ (1995) Diffusion of Innovation model, early adopters of technology within departments who promoted sharing of practice were able to successfully drive eLearning adoption within their departments from the bottom up

The development of UK government policy on citizens' access to public sector information

The aim of the research was to investigate the development of United Kingdom government policy on citizens' access to public sector information (PSI) from 1996 to 2010. In addition to a mapping of UK policy documents, the main research method was the undertaking of open and semi-structured interviews with influential experts and the analysis of interview transcripts. These experts came from both inside and outside government, including: policymakers and implementers; regulators and advisors; lobbyists and campaigners; academics; and the information profession. Main findings were: lack of co-ordination of information policy across government; new skills required within government to provide information in the Web 2.0 environment; uneven progress in the development of citizen-centric services; lack of information literacy policy; and low involvement of the information profession in driving forward the developments in the provision of PSI. A major gap identified was the lack of co-ordinated evaluation of information policy in general, and of the provision of PSI in particular. A framework for assessing implementation of policy was developed and tested against the Power of Information Taskforce recommendations, and suggestions were made for new measures. The research also charted the increase in the opening up of government data for re-use during 2009 and 2010, both during the run-up to the general election and subsequently when plans for transparency were put in place by the new Coalition government. It is considered significant that this increase in transparency, by both main political parties, should come at a time when trust in government was low, citizens' expectations of electronic access to information were rising and the technology was enabling new channels for engagement. The influence of individuals was found to be considerable, not least as exerted by Sir Tim Berners- Lee, Professor Nigel Shadbolt, Tom Steinberg, Labour Digital Engagement Minister Tom Watson, and Natalie Ceeney at The National Archives. Recommendations to government address: policy co-ordination mechanisms: the role of the Office of Public Sector Information; and support for intermediaries. Those aimed at the information profession cover: new skills needed; co-ordination for lobbying on specific issues; and support for developing information literacy. This research has been the first within the information policy academic community in the UK to address how government is opening up its data in the wake of new technological innovations and is focussed on the needs of citizens.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Employability through a philosophical lens – a conceptual analysis

This thesis argues that the primary importance placed on skills as a panacea for economic growth is a misplaced emphasis, situated within an employability and skills narrative that has so far failed to deliver on its claims. Furthermore, the failure to acknowledge and give equal weighting to notions of personal formation and human flourishing, in other than financial terms, has resulted in a one-dimensional dominant political discourse that depicts a reductionist view of higher education and impoverishes the concept of employability. The government-commissioned reviews and reports examined for this study chart the changing nature of this discourse over a fifty year period (1963-2013), as it moves away from the holistic vision for higher education set out in the Robbins Report (Robbins, 1963), towards a dominant discourse of ‘economically valuable skills’ (Leitch, 2006, p.44) and the assertion that universities ‘should assume an explicit responsibility for facilitating economic growth.’ (Witty, 2013, p.6). The philosophical lens through which the concept of employability is examined focuses primarily on the work of David Carr, whose thinking on moral and virtue education serves as the central voice around which other voices and perspectives can be identified and heard, and to show how a virtue ethical approach can form the basis of a credible, alternative employability and skills narrative. By bringing a case study approach into the conceptual analysis of employability, I have been able to interrogate how a particular university perceives and engages with the concept and this has provided unique insights into how universities, through key stakeholders, engage with employability in ways that are complex and negotiated. The term ‘nostalgic pragmatism’ has been coined in an attempt to convey what I have found to be a sense of yearning for the pre-expansion period of higher education, balanced by recognition of the relative importance of the concept of employability in an era of mass participation

Student journey work: a review of academic library contributions to student transition and success

This review aims to capture projects, services and approaches that are being used to ensure student success and sustainability across the stages (or transitions) of the student experience of higher education where these extend the traditional role of the library, in the UK and internationally. The article examines why the student journey (and supporting it) has become a central part of the contemporary academic library's repertoire. Fundamentally, through a student lifecycle perspective, the author will attempt to show how academic libraries contribute to their university's bottom line. Finally, the article will reflect on strategic implications and areas for further investigation

Smart Specialisation as an Engagement Framework for Triple Helix Interactions

The Triple Helix (TH) framework is a well-established theoretical concept and a basis for portraying patterns of industry-science-government interactions. The TH framework provides a useful depiction and description of what might take place in what are commonly described as ‘regional innovation ecosystems’. There is a presumption that interactions will evolve around the convergence of missions concerning creation and utilisation of knowledge, regional networks, government regulation and venture finance, and decisions of multinational corporations and international organisations. However, like the regional innovation systems model itself, the TH model offers little in the way of practical guidance about how interactions can be nurtured and developed, what and where new public and private innovation investments should be made, the most appropriate way to go about building and strengthening engagement between institutions to achieve innovation outcomes, and most significantly, the governance and intermediary arrangements appropriate to guide planning, budgeting and resource allocation at a regional level. This paper addresses the extent to which the Smart Specialisation framework can address those investment, engagement and governance issues

E-learning and libraries

Learning in most academic institutions has relied on the provision of library resources to both support and supplement what is being taught and researched. This chapter focuses on the research process of students in the digital environment and discusses the challenges they and service providers in the library face in terms of accessing and making available academically relevant information resources. In order to understand these challenges, a consideration of how developments in technology have changed scholarship in the digital environment is important. Further, the evolving role of the information professional is considered in connection with these changes. The deluge of information, both open-access and subscribed, affects the way in which users search for and access information sources. Thus an appreciation of the information-seeking behaviours of researchers is imperative if educators are to provide the relevant support, manage user expectations and ensure the successful provision of an information service in the twenty-first century e-learning environment. The (often younger) tech-savvy, multi-tasking user who is fluent in the use of mobile technologies, conversant with social media and Google, YouTube and Wikipedia, often has different expectations of the academic digital library. These expectations are quite often dashed and users may end up discouraged, as they may not have the appropriate skills to navigate the different search platforms that publishers make available to academic libraries. Users require skills that include knowledge of different types of information resources and an understanding of the most appropriate ways for searching, locating, accessing, and critically evaluating information, as well as using and managing this information. ‘Information literacy’, as these information and literature search skills are referred to, go hand-in-hand with digital literacies, which allow users to make the best use of the technologies employed by information providers such as libraries. These literacies, in turn, form the gamut of academic literacies that ensure that learners leave formal education with the appropriate skills to enable them survive in the work place and to continue their learning throughout life. The chapter also discusses ways in which academics can work collaboratively with support staff within educational institutions and offers practical solutions to improving the student learning experience through collaborative practices

Improving Older Adult Learners’ Motivation: Developing A Model of Teaching and Learning through Art Activities in the UK

There is a limited amount of literature that has discussed ways in which older adult learners could be motivated to engage in lifelong learning activities, particularly those in the age groups identified by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) as Stage 3, 50-74 and Stage 4, 75+ (Schuller and Watson, 2010). Currently learners in the UK may face an issue when seeking to join an activity as there is a lack of any collaborative or coherent model of delivery in this sector. This is caused by the fact that providers, such as further and higher education institutions, as well as community and care home providers all operate within separate systems and there is little or no joint provision. Moreover, the rationale of this study argues that, within the context of an ageing society, engaging in learning activities at Stages 3 and 4 can provide older adults with a stimulating experience, which enables them not only to meet their personal growth needs through a positive and meaningful experience of ageing, but also increase their sense of well-being. This study develops a collaborative model of teaching and learning for this age group, based on detailed feedback from learners and educational professionals, which will enable teachers, facilitators and providers to work in a novel collaborative way to improve their learners’ motivation. The study seeks to obtain a fuller understanding of older adults’ learning motivation in the context of Art activities through inductive and evaluative methods. The initial findings revealed that these learners were willing to engage in Art activities with the learning and teaching Model. The benefits from socialising are significant for society, as it enables learners both at Stages 3 and 4 to relax physically and also improve their mental health, for instance by preventing loneliness