Pupil attitudes: a longitudinal study of children's attitudes to science at transfer from primary to secondary school

This thesis examines pupils' attitudes to science as they move from primary to secondary school, and seeks to identify any factors that might influence these attitudes. A review of the literature on attitudes to science research finds that existing studies with similar aims have tended to use cross-sectional samples, many of which were small or unrepresentative, and furthermore that there has often been inadequate control of potentially influential variables. The present work employs a longitudinal study of over 3000 children, between 10 and 12 years old, from schools in Essex. Data has been collected by means of questionnaires, supplemented by a free response section, and by interviews. Information was also collected from over 300 primary and secondary teachers by means of questionnaires, supplemented by a free response section, and interviews. Information was collected, by interviews and from statistical data in the public domain, about all participating schools. The integrated data from the children, their teachers and their schools has been analysed in three different ways: the quantitative data was subjected to a variety of statistical techniques to compare the two sets of data from primary and secondary school as two cross-sections, and to investigate changes for individual pupils taking a longitudinal approach. The qualitative data was subjected to textual analysis and it was also integrated with the quantitative data. These analyses yield conclusions, which inform pedagogy, school management, teacher training, and social justice

Entrances and exits: changing perceptions of primary teaching as a career for men

Original article can be found at: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713640830~db=all Copyright Informa / Taylor and Francis. DOI: 10.1080/03004430802352087The number of men in teaching has always been small, particularly in early childhood, but those that do come into teaching usually do so for the same reasons as women, namely enjoyment of working with children, of wanting to teach and wanting to make a difference to children's lives. However, in two separate studies, the authors have shown that on beginning teacher training in 1998, and at the point of leaving the profession in 2005, men and women tend to emphasise different concerns. This article will explore those differences and seek possible explanations for how men's views of teaching might be changing over time.Peer reviewe

Teacher gender and career patterns

“The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com” Copyright Springer [Full text of this chapter is not available in the UHRA]In general, across the world, the career trajectories of men and women are clearly differentiated. There has been much research that demonstrates men and women tend to occupy different positions in the workplace and there is a clear gender divide between some occupational groups, with, for example, men predominant in engineering and women in nursing (horizontal segregation), and a gender divide within many occupations, where men disproportionately occupy senior positions and women disproportionately more junior ones (vertical segregation, Hakim, 1979). Such divisions have most recently been confirmed by the British Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which, in its annual report, ‘Sex and Power: Who Runs Britain? (EHRC, 2008a), likened women’s progress in the workplace to that of a snail, and recorded a ‘worrying trend of reversal or stalled progress’ in terms of ‘women in top positions of power and influence across the public and private sectors.’Non peer reviewe

Experience, Policy and Practice in Diversity in Higher Education

As the numbers of people globally who take part in higher education increases, how can nations and individual HE institutions ensure that this opportunity is open and available to all who are able to benefit? How can institutions best manage the diversity of their student body to the benefit of all students? What does higher education mean to the most disadvantaged in society? And how can both the content and mode of higher education pedagogy ensure that all possible learners can take part?This edited collection takes an international overview of these questions, addressing issues that are usually only tackled at the national or local level. It explores the inter-connectedness of recent trends in higher education widening access, internationalisation, equality and diversity and inclusive curriculum. Moreover it offers and evaluates examples of practice from around the world that have, in different ways, attempted to provide solutions to these issues.This book would be of interest to an international higher education audience including senior managers; policy makers; academics and academic development professionals; access, equality and diversity professionals; student affairs directors and anyone else with an interest in the relationship between higher education and social inclusion

Diversity and social integration on higher education campuses in India and the UK : student and staff perspectives

Original article can be found at : http://www.tandf.co.uk/ Copyright Taylor & FrancisThis paper reports findings from the first year of a UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI), 'Widening participation: Diversity, isolation or integration in Higher Education?' Over a three-year period this project will explore issues of diversity and integration, social cohesion and separation, equality and discrimination as experienced by students and staff on higher education (HE) campuses in India and the UK. Initial findings suggest that separation of groups on the HE campuses studied is pervasive and ubiquitous. While some such separation may be for supportive reasons, convenience, or inertia, at other times it is due to overt discrimination on the grounds of race, region, nationality, caste, class, religion, age or gender. However, most respondents said that greater integration was both desirable and possible.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Pelagic seascape ecology for operational fisheries oceanography: modelling and predicting spawning distribution of Atlantic bluefin tuna in Western Mediterranean

The ecology of highly migratory marine species is tightly linked to dynamic oceanographic processes occurring in the pelagic environment. Developing and applying techniques to characterize the spatio-temporal variability of these processes using operational oceanographic data is a challenge for management and conservation. Here we evaluate the possibility of modelling and predicting spawning habitats of Atlantic bluefin tuna in the Western Mediterranean, using pelagic seascape metrics specifically designed to capture the dynamic processes affecting the spawning ecology this species. The different seascape metrics applied were processed from operational oceanographic data products providing information about the temporal and spatial variability of sea surface temperature, kinetic energy and chlorophyll a. Spawning locations were identified using larval abundances sampled in the Balearic Sea, one of the main reproductive areas for this species in the Mediterranean Sea. Results confirm the high dependence of bluefin tuna spawning ecology on mesoscale oceanographic processes while providing spawning habitat maps as a tool for bluefin tuna assessment and management, based on operational oceanographic data. Finally, we discuss the coming challenges that operational fisheries oceanography and pelagic seascape ecology face to become fully implemented as predictive toolsVersión del editor2,277