Participation and Agency: the experiences of young people in a Scottish secondary school

The purpose of this study is to better understand the classroom experiences of current secondary school students, in light of the present policy drive towards participation. Using an approach with ethnographic intent (participant observation, interviewing, shadowing and field notes) this research explores six students’ experiences, in one secondary school in Scotland. Emerging themes from the literature, regarding participation and participatory approaches, suggest that these can be understood in different ways, ranging from economic instrumentalism to democratic renewal. This study took a fresh theoretical approach, employing an ecological, temporal-relational understanding of the achievement of agency. This understanding acknowledges a young person’s awareness of, and capacity to engage with, a range of different possible actions, by means of a particular context at a particular time. This approach provided theoretical tools, with which to interpret aspects of these students’ school experiences. The findings are detailed in terms of teacher-student relationships, the cultural realm, and young people’s aspirations. Students’ achievement of agency in the school setting is complex, but one major finding is that the quality and type of teacher-student relationship are significant in enabling these students to achieve agency. Peer relationships and ties beyond the school gates are also significant. The ecological understanding of agency provides a basis for educators to better understand the interdependence of the individual and the environment and to explore how participation might afford a wider range of possibilities for young people. This reflection on participation is important if we want to shape educational ecologies to encourage practices which facilitate the achievement of agency by young people

Mapping the impact of educational interventions: A report commissioned by the Education Achievement Service for South East Wales

This report addresses impact capture within education systems, with a focus on contexts in which the system, or particular interventions, have been identified as successful in some respect. It was commissioned by the Education Achievement Service for South East Wales, and addressed the following brief: What do the most effective improvement systems use as a frame for impact capture, and how do they map impact to learner outcomes across short, medium and long term assessments of value and impact? Literature relevant to the capture of the impact of educational policies and reforms worldwide was reviewed, and a selection of detailed case studies produced, in relation to the following research questions:  What principles guide impact capture in effective education systems?  What systems/processes exist for impact capture in effective education systems?  What is the relationship between impact capture systems and student learning outcomes?  Is there evidence of short, medium and long term impact on student attainment and outcomes?  Is there evidence of perverse incentives derived from impact capture systems, and how are these mitigated?   Five case studies were produced, describing policies and impact capture/QA systems in Singapore, Australia, Korea, Ontario and Finland

The Health of Looked after Children and Young People : a Summary of the Literature

This paper gives an overview of some of the main research findings regarding the physical health, mental health and health behaviours of looked after children. The paper begins with a child-level discussion of the health needs of looked after children, before considering some factors at the family-level, community-level and societal level which impact on the health of looked after children. The approach taken emphasises the importance of context and illustrates the need to attend to and understand the environment in which children, young people and adults are situated. The emerging implications for policy and practice have a common component in that they require an attendance to the diversity and individuality of looked after children. This is reflected in the call for more targeted data collection, robustness of research, reviews of the effectiveness of current interventions and consistent evaluation

Youth Engagement Framework : Consultation Response Questionnaire

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) was established by the Police and Fire Reform Act (Scotland) 2012 (the Act) and came into being on 1st April 2013. The main purpose of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is to work in partnership with communities, the public and private sectors and other agencies on fire safety, prevention, protection and emergency response to improve the safety and wellbeing of people throughout Scotland. SFRS are developing a range of service frameworks which set out explicit standards for prevention and protection that are evidence based and capable of being measured. The Youth Engagement Framework is designed around lifelong learning and sets key ambitions in respect of activities intended to improve outcomes for children and young people in Scotland

Consultation on Regulations and Guidance under the Welfare Funds (Scotland) Act 2015

The Welfare Funds (Scotland) Bill was passed in the Scottish Parliament on 3 March 2015, placing the interim Scottish Welfare Fund into law. The Scottish Government were consulting on the regulations and statutory guidance for this Bill. The Welfare Funds (Scotland) Act 2015 will come into place in April 2016

Comparative analysis of the time-dependent functional and molecular changes in spinal cord degeneration induced by the G93A SOD1 gene mutation and by mechanical compression

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Rapid Review of National Qualifications Experience 2020

Summary of findings - This report draws upon a range of evidence, including stakeholder testimony (generated in panel and individual interviews) and analysis of relevant documentation (including government and SQA emails). - SQA, the government, local authorities and schools faced an extremely difficult set of circumstances, within which there were no easy solutions. In this context, a workable system for qualifications, the Alternative Certification Model (ACM), was developed. This was based on three core principles and four stages. - All parties involved in the process were found to have acted with integrity, with the best interests of students in mind. - Respondents (teachers, lecturers, head teachers and local authority officials) generally found that SQA guidance was clear and useful. - The generation of estimated grades, while clearly undertaken with integrity in the majority of centres, has been subject to variation (in the types of evidence available, the processes followed for internal moderation and the support given by local authorities), which has impacted on reliability and consistency of assessment at this stage. - The statistical approach to moderation could have been more transparent earlier in the process, and moreover it has led to anomalies in grade adjustment, especially at the level of subject cohorts within centres and individuals. - There is widespread criticism by respondents of SQA for a perceived lack of transparency and a failure to engage in participative development of solutions with stakeholders. - While the application of the appeals process offered an in-principle technical solution to address these anomalies, it paid insufficient attention to the severe impact on those students obliged to undergo it (in terms of mental health and wellbeing, missed opportunities to transition into Higher Education, etc.). - Principles relating to what data is appropriate to be held by certain organisations at certain points in time.(i.e. SQA, the Scottish Government), which make perfect sense in normal times (e.g. arrangements around data sharing), appear to have impeded the development of actions that might have led to an earlier anticipation and mitigation of subsequent problems. - The equalities implications of an over-reliance on a statistical approach, premised on comparison with historical cohort data, had been raised repeatedly from April onwards, but seem to have been under-emphasised by both the government and SQA until late in the process. - Many stakeholders believe that, subsequently, opportunities were missed (or dismissed) to engage in qualitative moderation of the statistical process (e.g. sense-checking of anomalous cohort patterns by local authorities). - There has been an erosion of trust/confidence in SQA amongst teachers and young people, and damaged relations in some cases between young people and their teachers. - Communications (with professionals and with young people and their families) has been a constant source of criticism. - Our overall assessment is that, despite the extremely difficult environment for decision making, there are points in the process where different decisions may have led to better outcomes and at least partially avoided the controversy that ensued in August 2020. Of course, we are making this observation with the benefit of hindsight, thus our primary intention is to illustrate how the system can benefit from lessons learned in 2020 to avoid a similar predicament in 2021

Rapid Review of National Qualifications Experience 2020

Summary of findings - This report draws upon a range of evidence, including stakeholder testimony (generated in panel and individual interviews) and analysis of relevant documentation (including government and SQA emails). - SQA, the government, local authorities and schools faced an extremely difficult set of circumstances, within which there were no easy solutions. In this context, a workable system for qualifications, the Alternative Certification Model (ACM), was developed. This was based on three core principles and four stages. - All parties involved in the process were found to have acted with integrity, with the best interests of students in mind. - Respondents (teachers, lecturers, head teachers and local authority officials) generally found that SQA guidance was clear and useful. - The generation of estimated grades, while clearly undertaken with integrity in the majority of centres, has been subject to variation (in the types of evidence available, the processes followed for internal moderation and the support given by local authorities), which has impacted on reliability and consistency of assessment at this stage. - The statistical approach to moderation could have been more transparent earlier in the process, and moreover it has led to anomalies in grade adjustment, especially at the level of subject cohorts within centres and individuals. - There is widespread criticism by respondents of SQA for a perceived lack of transparency and a failure to engage in participative development of solutions with stakeholders. - While the application of the appeals process offered an in-principle technical solution to address these anomalies, it paid insufficient attention to the severe impact on those students obliged to undergo it (in terms of mental health and wellbeing, missed opportunities to transition into Higher Education, etc.). - Principles relating to what data is appropriate to be held by certain organisations at certain points in time.(i.e. SQA, the Scottish Government), which make perfect sense in normal times (e.g. arrangements around data sharing), appear to have impeded the development of actions that might have led to an earlier anticipation and mitigation of subsequent problems. - The equalities implications of an over-reliance on a statistical approach, premised on comparison with historical cohort data, had been raised repeatedly from April onwards, but seem to have been under-emphasised by both the government and SQA until late in the process. - Many stakeholders believe that, subsequently, opportunities were missed (or dismissed) to engage in qualitative moderation of the statistical process (e.g. sense-checking of anomalous cohort patterns by local authorities). - There has been an erosion of trust/confidence in SQA amongst teachers and young people, and damaged relations in some cases between young people and their teachers. - Communications (with professionals and with young people and their families) has been a constant source of criticism. - Our overall assessment is that, despite the extremely difficult environment for decision making, there are points in the process where different decisions may have led to better outcomes and at least partially avoided the controversy that ensued in August 2020. Of course, we are making this observation with the benefit of hindsight, thus our primary intention is to illustrate how the system can benefit from lessons learned in 2020 to avoid a similar predicament in 2021

The human G93A-SOD1 mutation in a pre-symptomatic rat model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis increases the vulnerability to a mild spinal cord compression

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Traumatic injuries can undermine neurological functions and act as risk factors for the development of irreversible and fatal neurodegenerative disorders like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In this study, we have investigated how a mutation of the superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) gene, linked to the development of ALS, modifies the acute response to a gentle mechanical compression of the spinal cord. In a 7-day post-injury time period, we have performed a comparative ontological analysis of the gene expression profiles of injured spinal cords obtained from pre-symptomatic rats over-expressing the G93A-SOD1 gene mutation and from wild type (WT) littermates.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The steady post-injury functional recovery observed in WT rats was accompanied by the early activation at the epicenter of injury of several growth-promoting signals and by the down-regulation of intermediate neurofilaments and of genes involved in the regulation of ion currents at the 7 day post-injury time point. The poor functional recovery observed in G93A-SOD1 transgenic animals was accompanied by the induction of fewer pro-survival signals, by an early activation of inflammatory markers, of several pro-apoptotic genes involved in cytochrome-C release and by the persistent up-regulation of the heavy neurofilament subunits and of genes involved in membrane excitability. These molecular changes occurred along with a pronounced atrophy of spinal cord motor neurones in the G93A-SOD1 rats compared to WT littermates after compression injury.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In an experimental paradigm of mild mechanical trauma which causes no major tissue damage, the G93A-SOD1 gene mutation alters the balance between pro-apoptotic and pro-survival molecular signals in the spinal cord tissue from the pre-symptomatic rat, leading to a premature activation of molecular pathways implicated in the natural development of ALS.</p