The Origin, Organization & Aims of the Council

Overview of the early history of the Society for Values in Higher Education

Bridging the cultural divide? : Exploring UK school pupils’ perceptions of medicine

Acknowledgements We would like to thank the study participants for sharing their experiences, the teachers who assisted with the organisation of the focus groups, and the medical school staff who facilitated contact with the high schools, particularly Sally Curtis (Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton). We would also like to thank our reviewers at Medical Education for their insightful and constructive feedback. Funding We thank the College of Life Sciences and Medicine at the University of Aberdeen for funding KA's programme of doctoral research.Peer reviewedPostprin

When I say…fairness in selection

Alexander and Clelan

Including the religious viewpoints and experiences of Muslim students in an environment that is both plural and secular

This paper sets out the context and some main lines of argument about the education of Muslim children in England, including concern over low attainment, over segregation and violent extremism. Three approaches to inclusion of Muslims in mainstream educational settings are identified. The paper describes and assesses the identity-based approach to inclusion common to many English schools using a distinction between permissive and affirmative stances to analyse practice. It proceeds to argue for an epistemology-based approach that makes room for students’ experiential and theological perspectives on the content of their learning

Improving the professional knowledge base for education: Using knowledge management (KM) and Web 2.0 tools

Improving education systems is an elusive goal. Despite considerable investment, international studies such as the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) project and the McKinsey Report How the world’s best performing schools come out on top indicate that improving teacher quality is more important than increased financial investment. Both reports challenge governments, academics and practitioners to adopt new ways of sharing and building knowledge. This paper makes the case for national education systems to adopt tried and tested knowledge management and web 2.0 tools used by other sectors and highlights the neglected potential of teacher educators as agents for improvement

Young men’s experiences of accessing and receiving help from child and adolescent mental health services following self-harm

Given the high rates of completed suicide and poor help-seeking among young men, this research explored how young men, who had successfully sought help from a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), experienced help-seeking. The study focused on the factors that facilitated initial access and on-going engagement in services. Eight young men between the ages of 16-18, who had entered CAMHS following self-harm or suicidal ideation, and who were engaged in on-going therapy, were recruited. Each young man was interviewed to elicit his personal experiences of help-seeking and help-receiving. Interviews were transcribed and subjected to Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four superordinate themes, that overarched participant’s individual experiences, emerged from the data: Role of external adult in recognising, normalising and initiating help seeking; Challenging and renegotiating perception of need for help and meaning behind this need; Maintaining an independent self; and Mechanisms of engagement. Help-seeking was described as a journey of two stages: 1) initial access and 2) on-going engagement, during which the presence and timing of external influences (parents, teachers) and internal influences (personal beliefs and attitudes) were crucial. A model of help seeking in young men who self-harmed was developed, which considered both access and engagement to help, and combined a consideration of internal and external influences on their ability to access help

Let us not neglect the impact of organizational culture on increasing diversity within medical schools.

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Reclaiming professional identity through postgraduate professional development: Career practitioners reclaiming their professional selves

Careers advisers in the UK have experienced significant change and upheaval within their professional practice. This research explores the role of postgraduate level professional development in contributing to professional identity. The research utilises a case study approach and adopts multiple tools to provide an in-depth examination of practitioners’ perceptions of themselves as professionals within their lived world experience. It presents a group of practitioners struggling to define themselves as professionals due to changing occupational nomenclature resulting from shifting government policy. Postgraduate professional development generated a perceived enhancement in professional identity through exposure to theory, policy and opportunities for reflection, thus contributing to more confident and empowered practitioners. Engagement with study facilitated development of confident, empowered practitioners with a strengthened sense of professional self