First Steps: briefing document for schools

The Extending Learning Opportunities document is an update of the Study Support Code of Practice and is recommended for use by all schools, centres and organisations who deliver study support activities for children and young people. It is a self evaluation tool which takes the user through a quality development process. First Steps is a concept designed to introduce an audience to using the Extending Learning Opportunities document (ELO) in more detail. It essentially guides the audience through a simple set of questions; the responses to which will address certain themes in the ELO. The concept lends itself to local interpretation and a number of LAs have designed their own First Steps programme for use with schools and centres who are interested in using the ELO. One particular LA used the model as a “readiness indicator” for schools and settings and made it a requirement before engaging with the ELO. Alternatively schools could adapt the approach to benchmark performance across departments or targeted groups

Competing Discourses: the learning society and adults with mental health difficulties

This thesis, by way of an investigation into the learning opportunities available in one town, will examine the learning society, as envisioned and designed by government, and its response to the needs of adults with mental health difficulties, a group who have been identified as being under-represented in adult learning. The contestable nature of the learning society, and the different discourses, which compete and overlap in policy and the literature, will be identified. The dominant discourse, the interpretation of the learning society which has most influence, will be shown to be concerned with the economy, the necessity for the United Kingdom to succeed in an increasingly competitive global marketplace and with increasing the skills of the nation. It will be argued that an over-reliance on this one interpretation will not encourage mental health service users to participate in learning despite the government's drive to increase and widen participation. A combination of research methods has been used, including a postal survey, informal interviews and participant observation, to examine mainstream learning provision and to provide evidence of an alternative form of learning in a non- traditional environment, through participation in Surge, a mental health service user group. The lack of understanding within, and the inadequate response of, adult learning providers to the needs of adults with mental health difficulties will be highlighted, it will be concluded that the learning that occurs in Surge is more appropriate and relevant than that offered by mainstream learning providers. Informal learning, which directly relates to participants' lived experiences, can enable people to overcome disempowerment and exclusion and develop a distinctive discourse. It will be argued that, if the learning society is to be truly inclusive, then the discourse of lifelong learning should be widened to encompass more varied forms of learning, such as that described in this thesis

Using Metacognitive Strategies To Increase Reading Comprehension In The Social Studies Content Area

A large number of academic deficiencies among ninth and tenth grade students in a college preparatory school signaled a problem diagnosed as poor reading comprehension in the Social Students content area. The Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test and the Coopersmith Self-esteem Test were administered to ascertain these problems in comprehension and resulting poor performance on tests/quizzes. A teacher authored test readily showed that the problems did exist. Students were taught five metacognitive study skills strategies, grouped in cooperative leaning peer groups, and taught mapping or clustering to aid notetaking and recall. At the conclusion of the implementation period, an improvement of at least 30 percent in 80 percent of the students was seen. Appendices include tests, survey, individual process sheets, grade sheets, letter to parents, students essay’s and charts

Quality development framework for extended services

The Quality Development Framework (QDF) is a flexible self-evaluation tool which supports review and self-assessment, planning and quality assurance. It is a framework for schools, Children’s Centres and multi-agency partners working as Consortia to deliver Extended Services, which recognises the complex and developmental nature of this process. Engagement with the QDF will contribute to the completion of Schools and Children’s Centres’ Self Evaluations Forms and provide an evidence base to support other Self-Evaluation processes and Quality Assurance systems

Teachers' and children's personal epistemologies for moral education: Case studies in early years elementary education

While there is strong interest in teaching values in Australia and internationally there is little focus on young children’s moral values learning in the classroom. Research shows that personal epistemology influences teaching and learning in a range of education contexts, including moral education. This study examines relationships between personal epistemologies (children’s and teachers’), pedagogies, and school contexts for moral learning in two early years classrooms. Interviews with teachers and children and analysis of school policy revealed clear patterns of personal epistemologies and pedagogies within each school. A whole school approach to understanding personal epistemologies and practice for moral values learning is suggested

Local Authority Development Collaboratives 2008-09 report

As part of the Study Support (SS) Quality Development Programme (QDP) the DCSF provided via Quality in Study Support (QiSS) a grant to develop collaboratives to support Local Authorities (LAs) working together to measure the impact of study support provision within and across regions. Each region was asked to invite Local Authorities (LAs) to commit time to specific projects alongside colleagues within the two themes under the umbrella of QA and impact measurement. Each group would then submit an action plan and budget which would be approved centrally before funding was approved. As a condition of the grant each participating LA initially was asked to carry out a Study Support self-review based on the criteria developed as part of the national framework for Study Support to demonstrate how the proposed collaborative project addressed developmental needs identified in the self-review. Each participating LA was asked to describe how the impact of the activity was evaluated and outcomes disseminated. In addition they were required to indicate how their ‘Development Collaborative’ (DC) has address staff or organisational or service development or delivery issues. 49 LAs participated in DCs during the year 2008-09 .13 DCs were planned but two withdrew and have not been reported upon compared to 19 undertaken in 2007-08). A number of notable outcomes resulted, ranging from increased involvement of young people as advocated and mentors through to holding a conference aimed at commissioners of services and LA Advisors to highlight the importance of engaging in study support activities

Extending learning opportunities: a framework for self-evaluation in study support

The Extending Learning Opportunities (ELO) framework for selfevaluation in study support is a tool to use when quality assuring learning opportunities for children and young people outside of normal lesson time. This framework is a revised edition of the ELO (2009) DCSF publication. It provides a framework for all schools, and school consortiums including Complementary Supplementary Schools, Children’s Centres, Playing for Success (PfS) centres, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and organisations such as libraries, museums, galleries, theatres, including youth and community/volunteer projects that offer a structured learning programmes to young people, to extend and enhance their provision and so to improve their outcomes. It is based on self–evaluation and sets out criteria against which schools, HEIs and other organisations, can review their extended provision, the planning and practices which support it and the overall ethos which supports learning. The criteria, which take the form of Key Indicators, are at three levels: Emerged, Established and Advanced

Social Media Strategies for Small Businesses

Small business owners who fail to implement an effective social media marketing strategy lose the opportunity to increase sales and revenue. Small business leaders are concerned with the lack of proper resources to adopt and implement social media as part of a marketing strategy. Grounded in the diffusion of innovation theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore social media marketing strategies small business owners use to increase their sales and revenue. The participants comprised 6 owners of small businesses in Honolulu, Hawaii, who successfully increased sales and revenue by implementing social media marketing strategies. Data collection consisted of semistructured interviews, company documents, and social media platforms used by each company. Data analysis consisted of thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: factors leading to positive decision-making regarding social media marketing, assessment strategies for efficacy, social media marketing strategies, and perceived barriers. A key recommendation is that leaders of small businesses recognize the importance of using the appropriate social media strategies, overcome personal perceptions about the difficulties of social media learning, carefully evaluate social media marketing program options, and empirically assess the revenue-generative efficacy of each social media program. The implications for positive social change include the potential for small business owners to create jobs and support the economic growth of their local communities by adopting effective social media marketing strategies used by other successful small businesses

Stretch-Orientation of LaRC(TM) RP 50 Polyimide Film

An addition-curable poly(amic acid) film was subjected to various thermal pretreatments and then to uniaxial or biaxial drawing. Hot-stretching to 300% of the initial length produced better than twofold increases in tensile modulus and strength of partially-cured films. Most of the improvement was maintained upon completion of the curing at constant length