Education in England – a testbed for network governance?

Since devolution in the late 1990s, education policy in England has diverged further from that in Scotland and also from policy in Wales and Northern Ireland. In this paper we review the roots and trajectory of the English education reforms over the past two decades. Our focus is the schools sector, though we also touch on adjoining reforms to early years and further and higher education. In so doing, we engage with various themes, including marketization, institutional autonomy, and accountability. Changes in governance arrangements for schools have been a defining feature of education reforms since devolution. This has been set against an evolution in national performance indicators that has put government priorities into ever sharper relief. In theorising the changes, we pay particular attention to the suggestion that the English education system now epitomises the concept of ‘network governance’, which has also been applied to education in a global context. We question the extent to which policies have in practice moved beyond the well-established mechanisms of ‘steering at a distance’ and undermined the very notion of an education system in England. We conclude by considering possible futures for education policy and how they may position England in relation to other parts of the UK and the wider world

‘I always wanted to be a nurse’ how do sexual health nurses construct their identities within the context of role change?

In the United Kingdom there are increased pressures to extend the role of nurses as a result of policy reform, rising demands for health care, a shortage of doctors and financial constraints within the National Health Service (Faithfull and Hunt, 2005). As nurses are called upon in times of ‘crisis’ to fill the skills gap, the development of nurse-led services and the consequent shifting of professional boundaries between health care groups have led to certain challenges and tensions within the discourse of modernisation in delivering compassionate, safe and effective care for people in the 21st century (Maben and Griffiths, 2008). This thesis focuses on the nursing biographies of ten sexual health nurses (nine female and one male) in the North West of England. They describe how they came to be nurses and their experience of their on-going clinical practice as their roles and responsibilities change as a result of reorganisation. Using narrative interviewing as a means for data collection, the theoretical and interpretative framing of this study is based on Gee’s (2011) theory of ‘Big D’ Discourse and Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner and Cain’s (1998) theory of Figured Worlds, emphasising the role of narrative in identity construction and the ways in which individuals draw on the figured nature and cultural models of the nursing world. I argue that while a recurrent narrative theme describes childhood and adolescent experiences of ‘always wanting to be a nurse,’ the majority of the respondents appear to have had limited choices, given their academic achievement, family backgrounds and influences and socio-economic status. The single male nurse in the sample offers an account of his career which puts the women’s stories into relief, drawing attention to particular aspects of gender discourses and caring. For women, nursing was in fact, ‘a respectable career for a working class girl,’ and it also fitted in with being a mother. A discourse of caring is also prominent in their accounts and this underpins much of what they say about becoming a nurse and their experience of role change. I argue that whilst their strong values of caring and compassion are sometimes seen at odds with their new role, in some accounts the discourse of caring is clearly incorporated into their developing clinical skills and knowledge. I report that not all the nurses ‘embrace’ role change; their stories present anxieties, conflicts and resistance around new responsibilities, power imbalances within the doctor-nurse relationship and the disruption of their figured world of nursing, which raises issues of perceived inequality of pay and some ambivalences concerning their new role

Coupling of a locally implanted rare-earth ion ensemble to a superconducting micro-resonator

We demonstrate the coupling of rare-earth ions locally implanted in a substrate (Gd$^{3+}$ in Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$) to a superconducting NbN lumped-element micro-resonator. The hybrid device is fabricated by a controlled ion implantation of rare-earth ions in well-defined micron-sized areas, aligned to lithographically defined micro-resonators. The technique does not degrade the internal quality factor of the resonators which remain above $10^{5}$. Using microwave absorption spectroscopy we observe electron-spin resonances in good agreement with numerical modelling and extract corresponding coupling rates of the order of $1$ MHz and spin linewidths of $50 - 65$ MHz.Comment: 4 pages, 2 Figure

Physiotherapists’ reported attitudes and perceived influences to their continuing professional development – results of an online questionnaire

Introduction – There are intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence physiotherapists’ participation in continuing professional development (CPD). A number of benefits of and barriers to CPD participation are identified in the literature, but relatively little is known about factors that influence attitudes towards continued learning. The aim of this study was to identify factors influencing UK physiotherapists’ attitudes towards CPD, with a focus on career point and type of employment, in the context of motivational theories. Methods – An online questionnaire consisting of likert style questions was used to collect data from UK physiotherapists. Nominal and ordinal data were analysed to determine differences between subgroups within the dataset. Results – 205 physiotherapists completed the online questionnaire. Physiotherapists were generally internally motivated towards CPD, but attitudes were influenced by career point, and whether physiotherapists worked in the National Health Service (NHS) or in the private sector. External factors appeared to have a negative effect on motivation towards CPD. Discussion – Differences in attitudes at different points on the career path suggests that organisational structure may impede lifelong learning at some stages in career progression, while differences between those working privately and in the NHS may potentially reflect organisational differences between these types of employment. Implications for Practice – individual attitudes towards CPD are affected by a number of factors and employers should strive to encourage engagement, while recognising the different drivers within different types of employment and at different career points. By increasing physiotherapists’ engagement with CPD, patient experience of care and best practice will improve

The influence of portfolio aims and structure on student attitudes towards portfolios as a learning tool: A Literature Review.

Background: Portfolios are widely used in undergraduate health professional education, however the majority of literature suggests that these are poorly received by students, in terms of being an effective learning tool. Objectives: to evaluate whether the aims/purpose or structure/level of standardisation/content of student portfolios influences their attitudes to and perceptions of its use as a learning tool. Major Findings: Aims/purpose and structure/level of standardisation/content of portfolios were analysed in relation to student responses in order to determine any relationship between these. The level of information provided in the studies was variable, making analysis difficult, however there appeared to be no clear link between any of these factors and student responses. The interplay of level of support and guidance, the time required for completion of the portfolio, and the role of assessment appear to have the greatest influence on student views. Conclusions: Considering the wide use of portfolios in health professional education, student support for these is limited, and further research is required to determine if alternative approaches to portfolio learning can positively influence student attitudes and perceptions