Partnership as Educational Policy Imperative: An unquestioned good?

“Partnership” is often promoted as an unquestioned “good” for higher education institutions in relation to its various stakeholder organizations. This paper seeks to problematize this uncritical valorization through a critical interrogation of the concepts and socio-material practices associated with partnership. In the name of partnership, new forms of governance are inaugurated that have far-reaching effects. More specifically, this paper is concerned with a critical analysis of partnership in relation to a longitudinal study of the relational practices between a university and five local authorities within a Scottish educational context. In particular, we trace how a “signature event” transformed a partnership assemblage, from one characterized by a grammar of participation, to a formal partnership aligned with a set of principles that we characterize as a grammar of representation. We argue that this transition led to a new assemblage that enacted new accountabilities, performativities, and alignments under the sign of partnership

Primary science: an analysis of changing policy, policy text and practice

This thesis sets out to examine the extent to which primary science is a complex interplay between educational and political perspectives which in turn has influenced and shaped the way primary schools interpret, reconstruct and implement science in practice. This study uses a policy trajectory to consider the changing conceptions of primary science within the arenas of policy influence, policy text and practice in relation to its curriculum content, related pedagogy and assessment. In addition, it examines the nature and impact of professional development to support the implementation of primary science in practice. Evidence was collected through a series of interviews with elite figures in education, a regional survey of primary schools, along with in-depth cases studies in order to develop a deeper understanding primary science within the policy to practice context. The findings would indicate that despite a succession of top down science education policy reforms, there are still concerns about the extent to which teachers have sufficient science subject knowledge to develop conceptual understanding, a clear idea of the purpose of science investigations and how to use formative asiessment as an effective way of diagnosing pupil understanding. Furthermore, the evidence would suggest that the emphasis placed on summative assessment and accountability has narrowed teachers' conceptions of primary science. The implications are that science policy reform needs to acknowledge existing practice and support a wider definition of science that includes an appreciation of the historical and cultural aspects of science together with an understanding of technological applications. In addition, a more robust infrastructure of professional development needs to be in place which places more emphasis on the science co-ordinator to support teaching and learning in order to provide teachers with access to a changing knowledge base and opportunities to update skills in primary science. Unless these implications are given serious consideration the unrelenting focus on performativity and accountability will prevent any real development of creativity and innovation in the primary science curriculum

Teaching as a Masters profession: the need for continued debate

The research presented here builds on an original pilot project which reported on the introduction of PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) Masters level programmes in England. A major finding of the pilot project was that Masters was by no means embedded as a positive perception in the minds of student teachers or indeed teacher educators and one of the recommendations was to „continue the M level debate'. This research concentrates on the continuing perceptions of a range of teacher educators from across the UK, sharing their experiences and working together to make sense of the challenges and opportunities faced in the quest to make teaching a Masters profession. Findings suggest that it remains difficult for teacher educators to propose a definition of „Masters' which satisfies them on a personal or political level. There are hints of a „jargon' of „Mastersness' - expedience rather than conviction, assumption linked with confusion – and a lack of certainty over whether teaching should be a Masters level profession at all. This has led to the main finding of this research which is that the debate on teaching as a Masters profession needs to continue

Bachelor's Degrees in Education

The chapter explores the impact of discourse, policy and practice on the Bachelor's degrees in Education. The development of these degrees and the involvement and influence of different stakeholders is critiqued. The way in which competing policy texts influence the degrees are highlighted as teacher preparation straddles Higher Education Institutions and its regulations and quality assurances processes, professional accreditation by the GTCS and the professional practice arena in schools and local authorities. Two issues are explored in particular detail: the balancing of intellectual rigour and academic study with practical experience in the classroom; and the partnership working in relation to Bachelor's degrees.pubpu

Personal professional development

Sandra Eady - ORCID: 0000-0002-1089-666X https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1089-666Xhttp://www.worldcat.org/oclc/662402486pubpu

Primary science : an analysis of changing policy, policy text and practice

This thesis sets out to examine the extent to which primary science is a complex interplay between educational and political perspectives which in turn has influenced and shaped the way primary schools interpret, reconstruct and implement science in practice. This study uses a policy trajectory to consider the changing conceptions of primary science within the arenas of policy influence, policy text and practice in relation to its curriculum content, related pedagogy and assessment. In addition, it examines the nature and impact of professional development to support the implementation of primary science in practice. Evidence was collected through a series of interviews with elite figures in education, a regional survey of primary schools, along with in-depth cases studies in order to develop a deeper understanding primary science within the policy to practice context. The findings would indicate that despite a succession of top down science education policy reforms, there are still concerns about the extent to which teachers have sufficient science subject knowledge to develop conceptual understanding, a clear idea of the purpose of science investigations and how to use formative asiessment as an effective way of diagnosing pupil understanding. Furthermore, the evidence would suggest that the emphasis placed on summative assessment and accountability has narrowed teachers' conceptions of primary science. The implications are that science policy reform needs to acknowledge existing practice and support a wider definition of science that includes an appreciation of the historical and cultural aspects of science together with an understanding of technological applications. In addition, a more robust infrastructure of professional development needs to be in place which places more emphasis on the science co-ordinator to support teaching and learning in order to provide teachers with access to a changing knowledge base and opportunities to update skills in primary science. Unless these implications are given serious consideration the unrelenting focus on performativity and accountability will prevent any real development of creativity and innovation in the primary science curriculum.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceSt. Martin's College (Lancaster, England)GBUnited Kingdo

Developing life cycle inventory for life cycle assessment of Australian cotton

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an internationally recognised approach for evaluating the environmental impacts of products and services. In this paper, the potential issues in the development of a consistent and comprehensive life cycle inventory (LCI) data are illustrated in the context of Australian cotton industry. These include diversity and variable nature of farming practices, and the inherent complexities such as the inter-linkages between co-products. For the implementation of LCI, the choices of functional unit and system boundary, definition of regional sub-sectors, methods of energy assessments, and rules of allocations of inputs and emissions are discussed. It is shown that for cotton production, the contribution of on-farm indirect 'chemical' inputs is particularly important, accounting for up to 50–80% of the total energy input in the life cycle. The need for quantified trade off analysis between alternative systems in the LCA context is also emphasized

Partnership as educational policy imperative: An unquestioned good?

Sandra Eady - ORCID: 0000-0002-1089-666X https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1089-666XItem deposited in University of Stirling (STORRE) repository on 11 January 2018, available at: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/26138“Partnership” is often promoted as an unquestioned “good” for higher education institutions in relation to its various stakeholder organizations. This paper seeks to problematize this uncritical valorization through a critical interrogation of the concepts and socio-material practices associated with partnership. In the name of partnership, new forms of governance are inaugurated that have far-reaching effects. More specifically, this paper is concerned with a critical analysis of partnership in relation to a longitudinal study of the relational practices between a university and five local authorities within a Scottish educational context. In particular, we trace how a “signature event” transformed a partnership assemblage, from one characterized by a grammar of participation, to a formal partnership aligned with a set of principles that we characterize as a grammar of representation. We argue that this transition led to a new assemblage that enacted new accountabilities, performativities, and alignments under the sign of partnership.7pubpub