Hearts and Flowers : A New Flower Song

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Higher education, mature students and employment goals: policies and practices in the UK

This article considers recent policies of Higher Education in the UK, which are aimed at widening participation and meeting the needs of employers. The focus is on the growing population of part-time students, and the implications of policies for this group. The article takes a critical perspective on government policies, using data from a major study of mature part-time students, conducted in two specialist institutions in the UK, a London University college and a distance learning university. Findings from this study throw doubt on the feasibility of determining a priori what kind of study pathway is most conducive for the individual in terms of employment gains and opportunities for upward social mobility. In conclusion, doubts are raised as to whether policies such as those of the present UK government are likely to achieve its aims. Such policies are not unique to the UK, and lessons from this country are relevant to most of the developed world

Gender, foundation degrees and the knowledge economy

This article questions the concept of ‘education for employment’, which constructs a discourse of individual and societal benefit in a knowledge‐driven economy. Recent policy emphasis in the European Union promotes the expansion of higher education and short‐cycle vocational awards such as the intermediate two‐year Foundation Degree recently introduced into England and Wales. Studies of vocational education and training (VET) and the knowledge economy have focused largely on the governance of education and on the development and drift of policy. Many VET programmes have also been considered for their classed, raced and gendered take‐up and subsequent effect on employment. This article builds on both fields of study to engage with the finer cross‐analyses of gender, social class, poverty, race and citizenship. In its analysis of policy texts the article argues that in spite of a discourse of inclusivity, an expanded higher education system has generated new inequalities, deepening social stratification. Drawing on early analyses of national quantitative data sets, it identifies emerging gendered, classed and raced patterns and considers these in relation to occupationally and hierarchically stratified labour markets, both within and without the knowledge economy

Reflections on the Shifting Shape of Journalism Education in the Covid-19 pandemic

Journalists usually report on crisis. The Covid -19 pandemic places journalists, like everyone else, in the crisis. Thus, it presents a unique challenge to journalism, which is founded on the principle of impartiality, and to journalism educators, striving to teach professional values in an online environment, whilst also focusing on student wellbeing. This paper shares the initial reflections of journalism practitioners who are members of a journalism education research group within the Centre for Excellence in Media Practice at Bournemouth University in the UK. The overarching theme considers the delivery of high quality, industry - facing and relevant journalism education in a digital environment and within a context where we are all part of the story. We reflect on building community and identity for undergraduate and postgraduate students; the challenges of teaching the normative values and skills of journalism (such as objectivity, accuracy, fairness), emotional literacy and the delivery of industry-accredited standards. These individual reflections are presented as a collective essay which engages with questions of identity, self and voice: how can we instil a sense of wellbeing in journalism students who may feel anxious and marginalised? How can they focus on telling the stories of others when they are part of the same story? How can we best engage with these challenges in a digital environment, whilst instilling an understanding of the importance of self–care and wellbeing? In responding and adapting to crisis, we have also discovered - through the work of our students in the virtual classroom - new ways of teaching journalism and innovative approaches to storytelling as we grapple together with the shifting shapes of journalism practice and journalism education

4-Anilino-1-benzyl­piperidine-4-carbo­nitrile

The title mol­ecule, C19H21N3, an important precursor in the synthesis of porphyrin–fentanyl conjugates, has its piperidine ring in the chair conformation, with endocyclic torsion-angle magnitudes in the range 53.26 (8)–60.63 (9)°. The C N group is axial, while the CH2Ph and NHPh groups are equatorial. The NH group does not engage in strong hydrogen bonding, but forms an inter­molecular N—H⋯N inter­action

Achieving equity through 'gender autonomy': the challenges for VET policy and practice

This paper is based on research carried out in an EU Fifth Framework project on 'Gender and Qualification'. The research partners from five European countries investigated the impact of gender segregation in European labour markets on vocational education and training, with particular regard to competences and qualifications. The research explored the part played by gender in the vocational education and training experiences of (i) young adults entering specific occupations in child care, electrical engineering and food preparation/service (ii) adults changing occupations

Lifelong learning and schools as community learning centres : key aspects of a national curriculum draft policy framework for Malta

The island of Malta has been engaged in policy document formulations for curriculum renewal in the country’s educational system (4-16 years of age) since 1988 when the first National Minimum Curriculum (henceforth NMC) was launched (Wain, 1991; Borg et al, 1995). In 1999 a revamped NMC (Ministry of Education, 1999) was developed following a long process of consultation involving various stages and stakeholders. It was a compromise document (Borg & Mayo, 2006) which emerged as a result of reactions to a more radical and coherent draft document produced in 1988. Both curricular documents were subject to debates and critiques (Wain, 1991; Darmanin, 1993; Borg et al, 1995; Giordmaina, 2000; Borg and Mayo, 2006). More recently a series of volumes providing guidelines, key principles and aims for a national curriculum framework (henceforth NCF) have been produced (MEEF, 2011a,b,c,d) and are currently the target of debate and the focus of reactions by various stakeholders in education including teachers who were asked to read the volumes and provide reactions in the form of answers to a set questionnaire. In this paper, I will focus on one aspect of the documents, the first of its three aims: ‘Learners who are capable of successfully developing their full potential as lifelong learners.’ It is that aspect of the framework documents that falls within the purview of the title for this special issue. The use of this notion attests to the influence of the EU’s policy communications on member states, Malta having joined the Union in 2004 (Mayo, 2007).peer-reviewe

Learning through social spaces: migrant women and lifelong learning in post-colonial London

This article shows how migrant women engage in learning through social spaces. It argues that such spaces are little recognised, and that there are multiple ways in which migrant women construct and negotiate their informal learning through socialising with other women in different informal modes. Additionally, the article shows how learning is shaped by the socio-political, geographical and multicultural context of living in London, outlining ways in which gendered and racialised identities shape, construct and constrain participation in lifelong learning. The article shows that one way in which migrant women resist (post)colonial constructions of difference is by engaging in informal and non-formal lifelong learning, arguing that the benefits are (at least) two-fold. The women develop skills (including language skills) but also use their informal learning to develop what is referred to in this article as 'relational capital'. The article concludes that informal lifelong learning developed through social spaces can enhance a sense of belonging for migrant women