Lost in translation? Comparative education research and the production of academic knowledge

The worth of academic knowledge tends to be tested against global metrics of citations and articles published in high-ranking English language academic journals. This paper examines academic knowledge production in three local fields of research with different national languages (English, Finnish and French). It focuses on knowledge production on the topic of apprenticeship where there are distinctive differences in the three local research fields and the associated patterns of academic publication over a fifteen-year period. The findings suggest that publication patterns are still largely tied to the respective national languages. Concerns are raised about the limited visibility of non-Anglophone local contexts and conceptual frameworks as filtered through global academic knowledge production processes. The language practices in the production of academic knowledge need to be challenged to ensure that knowledge from these sources is not lost in translation or in the re-contextualisation for global audiences

A comparative exploration of the meanings of apprenticeship : convergence or divergence in apprenticeship in England, Finland and France?

This EdD thesis compares and contrasts apprenticeships for 16-18 year olds as an\ud element of the vocational education and training system in England, Finland and\ud France. It is an exploratory study that contributes to the debate on the convergence\ud and divergence of education and training systems in Europe in terms of policy,\ud practice and research. The motivation for the study has arisen from the researcher's\ud experience as a policy practitioner with significant experience and exposure to a\ud number of different education systems. England, Finland and France are chosen as\ud the cases for the study based on a typology of European education and training\ud systems. Whilst apprenticeship is not a mainstream pathway for young people in\ud these countries, the respective governments nevertheless continue to renew their\ud commitment to promoting apprenticeships as a mode of initial vocational education\ud and training, as well as a mode of continuing vocational education and training. The\ud thesis draws on published academic research identified through systematic reviews\ud of literature in English, Finnish and French, complemented by interviews with expert\ud researchers on the subject in each of the countries. The research literatures and the\ud interview transcripts are analysed using thematic analysis. The thesis shows that the\ud role and meaning of apprenticeship as a form of initial vocational education and\ud training is different in the three countries. This divergence arises from the differing\ud contexts in which apprenticeship occurs and its place within the wider education\ud systems in the three countries. The differing institutional frameworks for\ud apprenticeship, and variation in the wider societal values placed on education and\ud training also have a role to play. There is some evidence of convergence in terms of\ud the policy rhetoric of apprenticeship, but there are significant differences in the\ud conceptualisation of apprenticeship research in the three countries. The study offers\ud a number of recommendations for policy and practice emphasising that\ud understanding the original context is crucial to successful apprenticeship policy and\ud practice. The thesis also suggests that further research on apprenticeship should\ud seek to extend the boundaries of the field by broadening the choice of countries\ud studied and expanding the concepts of validity that are used in comparative\ud research

Oppisopimuskoulutus koulutuspolitiikan armoilla: oppisopimuskoulutus nuorten koulutuksena Englannissa

Oppisopimuskoulutuksen etuja nuorten koulutuksen muotona on nostettu esille eurooppalaisessa koulutuspoliittisessa keskustelussa. Oppisopimuskoulutuksella on kuitenkin marginaalinen asema suomalaisessa nuorten koulutuksessa. Tämä katsaus esittelee englantilaisen oppisopimuskoulutuksen mallin ja tarkastelee oppisopimuskoulutukselle asetettuja monia odotuksia. Katsauksessa kuvattu Englannin esimerkki osoittaa oppisopimuskoulutuksen toteutuvan osana nuorten koulutusjärjestelmää, ja usein muun koulutuspolitiikan armoilla. Oppisopimiskoulutuksen marginaalinen asema suomalaisessa nuorten koulutuksessa on näin nähtävä osana laajempaa kokonaisuutta. Nuorten oppisopimuskoulutuksen periaatteiden ja niihin liittyvien koulutuspoliittisten tavoitteiden vertaileminen Englannissa ja Suomessa havainnollistaakin kuinka tärkeää eurooppalaisessa koulutuspoliittisessa keskustelussa on huomioida oppisopimuskoulutuksen asema osana kansallista koulutusjärjestelmää ennemmin kuin vertailtava yksittäisten osien asemaa eri koulutusjärjestelmissä

2,5-Dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3(2H)-furanone (Furaneol®) from Methyl α-D-Glucopyranoside

An efficient synthesis of 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3(2H)-furanone (Furaneol®), an important strawberry flavour, starting from the readily available and cheap methyl α-D-glucopyranoside is described

Produção da cidade: quais dados para quais questões?

O artigo é o resultado do seminário “Dinâmicas de urbanismo e representações espaciais: heurística dos dados e contexto”, organizado no âmbito do projeto USP-Cofecub entre as universidades de Lyon e de São Paulo. Propõe-se explorar os métodos e as fontes dos dados utilizados por três doutorandos que tratam da produção da cidade em diferentes trabalhos de campo no Brasil, na Itália e na França. Cada posicionamento é dirigido pela especificidade da pesquisa, do estado da arte no local do trabalho de campo e, sobretudo, pelo nível de análise da produção da cidade escolhido: o ator social envolvido, os meios e o território. Esses níveis possibilitaram estruturar questões específicas a fim de explorar dados diferentes para contribuir para uma compreensão global do fenômeno acerca da produção da cidade.This article is the result of the seminar organized for the Project USP-COFECUB between universities of Lyon and São Paulo, entitled “Dynamic planning and spatial representations: heuristic data and context”. It highlights the methods and sources used by three doctoral students that deal with the production of the city on different field researches in Brazil, in Italy and in France. Each research is oriented by its particularities, the state of science in its own place, but mainly by the level of analysis of the city production, used by the researcher: the actor, the means and the territory. These levels are forcing to ask specific questions, to use different data to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the global phenomenon of the production of the city. This article is the result of the seminar organized for the Project USP-COFECUB between universities of Lyon and São Paulo, entitled “Dynamic planning and spatial representations: heuristic data and context”. It highlights the methods and sources used by three doctoral students that deal with the production of the city on different field researches in Brazil, in Italy and in France. Each research is oriented by its particularities, the state of science in its own place, but mainly by the level of analysis of the city production, used by the researcher: the actor, the means and the territory. These levels are forcing to ask specific questions, to use different data to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the global phenomenon of the production of the city.

The misallocation of students to academic sets in maths: A study of secondary schools in England

Drawing upon data gathered from 9301 Year 7 students (12–13 years old) from 46 secondary schools in England, this study represents the first larger‐scale attempt to compare their actual set allocations in maths with the counterfactual position where their allocation to sets is based solely on their prior attainment at the end of primary school [using their Key Stage 2 (KS2) fine‐grained scores in maths]. Through such an analysis, the study found that nearly a third of students (31.2%) had been misallocated to lower or higher sets than their KS2 results would have warranted. Beyond this, school setting practices were found to exacerbate differences in set allocation in relation to gender and ethnicity, but not socioeconomic background. The odds of girls being misallocated to lower sets in maths than their prior attainment would warrant was found to be 1.5 times higher than that for boys. Similarly, the odds of Black students being misallocated to lower sets was 2.4 times higher than for White students, whilst the odds of Asian students being misallocated to lower maths sets was 1.7 times higher than for White students. The article concludes by reflecting on the significant role that setting by attainment in secondary school can play in exacerbating already established patterns of educational inequalities in gender and ethnicity

Why is it difficult for schools to establish equitable practices in allocating students to attainment 'sets'?

Research has consistently shown ‘ability’ grouping (tracking) to be prey to poor practice, and to perpetuate inequity. A feature of these problems is inequitable and inaccurate practice in allocation to groups or ‘tracks’. Yet little research has examined whether such practices might be improved. Here, we examine survey and interview findings from a large-scale intervention study of grouping practices in 126 English secondary schools. We find that when schools are encouraged to allocate students and move them between groups according to equitable principles by participation in a ‘best practice’ intervention, there is some increased equity of practice, i.e. a reduction in non-attainment factors used in allocation. However, the majority of schools continue to use subjective and potentially biased information to group students. Furthermore, some schools that claim to be using attainment setting appear to be using the inequitable practice of streaming. Our findings show that improvements in equity are constrained by operational and strategic factors, including timetabling, finance and teachers’ values and beliefs relating to student ability and progression. We suggest strategies for encouraging schools to change their grouping practices, drawing on approaches for working with complex organisations

The achievement gap: The impact of between‐class attainment grouping on pupil attainment and educational equity over time

Despite extensive research on attainment grouping, the impact of attainment grouping on pupil attainment remains poorly understood and contested. This paper presents evidence from a study conducted with 2944 12–13 year olds, from 76 schools in England, who were allocated to between-class attainment groups (‘setting’) in English and mathematics over the first 2 years of secondary schooling. After controlling for prior attainment, pupils in the top set performed significantly better than pupils in the middle and bottom sets in both English and mathematics. The findings indicate a widening gap in attainment, especially in the case of English. Findings, especially in the case of mathematics, provide more evidence of a relative benefit for pupils placed in top sets than a relative detriment for those in bottom sets.Education Endowment Foundation (EEF

Learners’ attitudes to mixed-attainment grouping: Examining the views of students of high, middle and low attainment

There is a substantial international literature around the impact of different types of grouping by attainment on the academic and personal outcomes of students. This literature, however, is sparse in student voices, especially in relation to mixed-attainment practices. Research has indicated that students of different attainment levels might have different experiences and views of grouping structures. This paper represents a significant contribution to this literature. Drawing on the data collected as part of a large study on student grouping and teaching in England, we analyse the attitudes of students of different attainment levels to mixed-attainment practice, focusing on their explanations for their preferences or aversion to mixed-attainment classes. The data-set is drawn from group discussions and individual interviews with 89 students age 11/12 (Year 7) from eight secondary schools practicing mixed-attainment grouping in mathematics and English. Our analysis identifies some broad patterns in student attitudes, including a strong preference for mixed attainment among those at lower prior attainment. The analysis of the explanations students give for their opinions on mixed-attainment practice demonstrates how the learner identities of different groups of students are constituted in various ways by the discourses around ‘ability’, and constrained by the dominant ideology of ‘ability’ hierarchy

Socio-Emotional Competencies and School Performance in Adolescence: What Role for School Adjustment?

There is growing evidence in the literature of positive relationships between socio-emotional competencies and school performance. Several hypotheses have been used to explain how these variables may be related to school performance. In this paper, we explored the role of various school adjustment variables in the relationship between interpersonal socio-emotional competencies and school grades, using a weighted network approach. This network approach allowed us to analyze the structure of interrelations between each variable, pointing to both central and mediatory school and socio-emotional variables within the network. Self-reported data from around 3,400 French vocational high school students were examined. This data included a set of interpersonal socio-emotional competencies (cognitive and affective empathy, socio-emotional behaviors and collective orientation), school adjustment measures (adaptation to the institution, school anxiety, self-regulation at school, and self-perceived competence at school) as well as grades in mathematics and French language. The results showed that self-regulation at school weighted the most strongly on the whole network, and was the most important mediatory pathway. More specifically, self-regulation mediated the relationships between interpersonal socio-emotional competencies and school grades