Conceptualising knowledge for access in the sciences: academic development from a social realist perspective

Whilst arguing from a social realist perspective that knowledge matters in academic development (AD) curricula, this paper addresses the question of what knowledge types and practices are necessary for enabling epistemological access. It presents a single, in-depth, qualitative case study in which the curriculum of a science AD course is characterised using Legitimation Code Theory (LCT). Analysis of the course curriculum reveals legitimation of four main categories of knowledge types along a continuum of stronger to weaker epistemic relations: disciplinary knowledge, scientific literacies knowledge, general academic practices knowledge and everyday knowledge. These categories are ‘mapped’ onto an LCT(Semantics)(how meaning relates to both context and empirical referents) topological plane to reveal a curriculum that operates in three distinct but interrelated spaces by facing towards both the field of science and the practice of academia. It is argued that this empirically derived differentiated curriculum framework offers a conceptual means for considering the notion of access to ‘powerful’ knowledge in a range of AD and mainstream contexts

What have we been thinking of? A critical overview of 40 years of student learning research in higher education

This paper is a response to the request from the organisers of the HECU4 conference to consider the following three questions in relation to the recent history of research into student learning in higher education: What do we know?, What do we need to know?, and What might we do about it? A survey of article titles reporting on research into student learning was carried out in three key higher education journals, and the results of this were then considered in the context of other, related research perspectives. The paper will first report on the results of this review, and then discuss these results in the context of theoretical moves in psychology and sociology over the same period of time. The trends identified in the higher education journals will then be compared to research into student learning in higher education which is published in two other disciplinary areas: Adult Education and Sociolinguistics. After raising some questions that arise from these comparisons, the final section of the paper will outline some suggestions about ways in which higher education researchers might begin to ‘think differently’ about learning and research in this field

Becoming a Performance Analyst : Autoethnographic Reflections on Agency, and Facilitated Transformational Growth

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in Reflective Practice, on 3 September 2014, available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2014.900014.This paper features an autoethnographic approach in presenting and reflecting upon the story of one higher education student’s rapid vocational and academic transformation. Initially an inconspicuous undergraduate student, Andrew experienced an accelerated development that catapulted him to working in elite sport performance analysis (PA) environments, within a year. PA is a sub-discipline of sports coaching that involves using the latest technological advances to influence sporting performance, through the objective analysis of performance data. This autoethnographic piece is partly Andrew’s personal reflection upon that journey towards his newfound profession, which initially grew out of his experience of a generic sports degree at a university. Through stepping out of his comfort zone, and analysing sports previously unknown to him, extraordinary progress was made, and various vocational and academic opportunities arose. The initial catalyst for this developmental journey was facilitated by coaching lecturer David, who reflects upon how Andrew’s story links to his own educational philosophies. Andrew and David explore what these stories might mean to them personally, including potential links to the metaphor of learning as becoming, and notions around the concepts of learner agency, and educational facilitation. The paper ends by exploring the theoretical frameworks that guided this paper’s structure and focusPeer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Unplugged Computing and Semantic Waves: Analysing Crazy Characters

We explore how Legitimation Code Theory, and, in particular, semantic waves, provides a useful way to understand what makes unplugged computing activities eff ective (or not) in the classroom. We overview the theory, discuss how it applies to unplugged activities, and describe a case study where we apply it to a specific widely used, unplugged activity. In particular, we show that the published lesson plan follows a semantic wave. We suggest that semantic waves are useful both in developing and reviewing lesson plans around unplugged (and other) computing activities. They also have great potential in teacher training and continuous professional development of computing teachers

Participatory analysis for adaptation to climate change in Mediterranean agricultural systems: possible choices in process design (versão Pre Print)

There is an increasing call for local measures to adapt to climate change, based on foresight analyses in collaboration with actors. However, such analyses involve many challenges, particularly because the actors concerned may not consider climate change to be an urgent concern. This paper examines the methodological choices made by three research teams in the design and implementation of participatory foresight analyses to explore agricultural and water management options for adaptation to climate change. Case studies were conducted in coastal areas of France, Morocco, and Portugal where the groundwater is intensively used for irrigation, the aquifers are at risk or are currently overexploited, and a serious agricultural crisis is underway. When designing the participatory processes, the researchers had to address four main issues: whether to avoid or prepare dialogue between actors whose relations may be limited or tense; how to select participants and get them involved; how to facilitate discussion of issues that the actors may not initially consider to be of great concern; and finally, how to design and use scenarios. In each case, most of the invited actors responded and met to discuss and evaluate a series of scenarios. Strategies were discussed at different levels, from farming practices to aquifer management. It was shown that such participatory analyses can be implemented in situations which may initially appear to be unfavourable. This was made possible by the flexibility in the methodological choices, in particular the possibility of framing the climate change issue in a broader agenda for discussion with the actors

A New Framework for Understanding Memories and Preference for Music

What can musical memories tell us about preference, and what can musical preferences tell us about memory? In this article we contrast the two perspectives using a dialogic conversation, drawing on insights brought into relief at the recent Music and Lifetime Memories conference. We use dialogue to present two different bodies of relevant background literature and theory and consider their overlaps, interactions, and contradictions in depth. We then compare our two different approaches to the same dataset – the Desert Island Discs archive – which provide complementary perspectives and insights. We interpret each other’s analyses from our own perspectives, and finally conclude with reflections on future directions for the field

Group interventions to improve health outcomes : a framework for their design and delivery

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Myopia and misrecognition : the impact of managerialism on the management of compliance

This article explores the construction of a particular form of compliance in probation practice during a period in which policy shifted from enforcement towards compliance. The article uses four concepts from Bourdieu's field theory (habitus, field, misrecognition and symbolic violence) to highlight the way in which the shift in policy was attuned to the subjective structure of probation practitioners' habitus but resulted in a form of compliance which was myopic in nature and thus did not adhere to what we know about habitus in probation from other research. The article explores this phenomenon through Bourdieu's notion of misrecognition suggesting that whilst the policy change was regarded generally positively, it is an example of 'symbolic violence'. In turn, this tells us about practitioners' position in the field which is useful in terms of future analyses of how changes to the delivery of community sanctions will manifest in the coming years

Chief examiners as Prophet and Priest: relations between examination boards and school subjects, and possible implications for knowledge

Evidence from an ethnographic study of three secondary school geography departments in England is drawn on to describe aspects of the relationships between examination boards and school subjects. This paper focuses on one department, in ‘Town Comprehensive’, and the argument is illustrated through a discussion of observed lessons with a teacher in this department. Ofqual (Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation) have recently announced that examination boards may continue to endorse commercially available teaching resources. The argument presented in this paper extends possible areas of ‘risk’ identified beyond those they currently consider. Specifically, it is argued that chief examiners play multiple roles in the recontextualisation of knowledge, holding substantial power over school subjects. The strong role of accreditation as a rationale is argued to restrict knowledge taught in school geography to horizontal discourses, limiting students’ access to powerful knowledge