Five a Day

Musings on how we can best provide students with assessment opportunities

FRS17 and its Impact on UK Universities

FRS 17 Retirement benefits introduces onto the balance sheets of HE Institutions the surplus or deficits in their funded pension schemes, and introduces new elements into the Income and Expenditure account. This paper sets out some of the rationale for FRS17 and demonstrates the impact on University Finances

The Extent to Which the Use of Accounting Software and Excel is Incorporated in HE Accountancy Courses

The accounting practitioner will almost inevitably use accounting software packages in their working life. The first aim of this project was to review the extent to which such skills are taught as part of HE accounting courses and then propose whether and how such skills should be included in UMS modules as part of the proposed degree in Accountancy in Worcester Business School. The research motivation here was simply to ensure that our curriculum was fit for purpose. A second aim was to review the use of Excel in teaching accounting courses. As with accounting software, the use of Excel or similar spreadsheets is part and parcel of an accountant’s working life. In addition some seminar activities are based in computer labs and depend on a certain level of expertise in using Excel to solve accounting problems. Marriott (2004) discusses some of the pedagogical benefits of using spreadsheets to enable learning of accounting concepts, stressing the role of experiential learning. The research motivation here was twofold; to give some measure of students’ expertise in Excel for business use and to investigate whether learning outcomes were compromised by the level of expertise

Lesbian and Gay Foster Care and Adoption: A brief UK history

Stephen Hicks presents a history of foster care and adoption by lesbians and gay men in the UK since 1988. He reviews key research, policy, law and debates about lesbian and gay carers and discusses key changes and developments in this field of practice. The article discusses a number of common arguments that surface in debates about this topic, including the idea that the children of lesbians and gay men will suffer psychosocial damage or develop problematic gender and sexual identity. In addition, the author critiques the notion that children do best in ‘natural’ two-parent, heterosexual families and that lesbian or gay carers should not be considered or should be used only as a ‘last resort’. Although the number of approved lesbian and gay carers has been increasing and there has been a range of positive changes in this field, it is argued that a series of homophobic ideas remain a key feature of this debate. The article asks how much things have changed since 1988 and what social work can do to contribute to an anti-homophobic practice. </jats:p

Perceptions of the learning environment in higher specialist training of doctors: implications for recruitment and retention.

INTRODUCTION: Career choice, sense of professional identity and career behaviour are influenced, subject to change and capable of development through interaction with the learning environment. In this paper workplace learning discourses are used to frame ongoing concerns associated with higher specialist training. Data from the first stage of a multimethods investigation into recruitment into and retention in specialties in the West Midlands is used to consider some possible effects of the specialist learning environment on recruitment and retention. METHODS: The aim of the study was to identify issues, through interviews with 6 consultants and questionnaires completed by specialist registrars from specialties representing a range of recruitment levels. These would inform subsequent study of attributes and dispositions relevant to specialist practice and recruitment. The data were analysed using NVivo software for qualitative data management. RESULTS: Participants' perceptions are presented as bipolar dimensions, associated with: curriculum structure, learning relationships, assessment of learning, and learning climate. They demonstrate ongoing struggle between different models of workplace learning. CONCLUSION: Changes in the postgraduate education of doctors seem set to continue well into the future. How these are reflected in the balance between workplace learning models, and how they influence doctors' sense of identity as specialists suggests a useful basis for examination of career satisfaction and recruitment to specialties

Liberal Education and Its Postmodern Critics

W poniższym tekście współczesny amerykański filozof, zajmujący się problematyką filozofii edukacji, przedstawia całościowy obraz filozoficznego namysłu nad kształceniem i wychowaniem w perspektywie historycznej. Punktem wyjścia jest teza o podstawowej roli filozofii w namyśle nad edukacją. Następnie w kolejnych trzech punktach autor przedstawia założenia filozoficzne edukacji w okresach: premodernistycznym, modernistycznym oraz postmodernistycznym, uwypuklając te aspekty filozofii edukacji w każdym okresie, które zasadniczo odróżniają ją od dwóch pozostałych filozofii. Pomocne w śledzeniu argumentacji autora są liczne cytaty i tabele. Autor identyfikuje się z modernistyczną filozofią edukacji oraz jej liberalnymi źródłami i podkreśla, że dziś największym zagrożeniem dla tej filozofii jest postmodernizm