Staff gender Balance in Primary Schools

Copyright Manchester University PressPeer reviewe

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

Getting diverse students and staff to talk about integration on campus, and what they say when they do: A UK-India collaborative case study.

This paper reports the early stages of a UKIERI-funded project, ‘Widening Participation: Diversity, isolation or integration in Higher Education?’.The project is concerned with greater equity, social justice, community and social cohesion within the current globalised, market oriented context of higher education (HE), and with enabling students to be better prepared for, and thrive in social networks and work-related arenas which are increasingly diverse, multicultural, interdependent and global. The main aim of this 3 year project is to explore the nature of social cohesion, integration and separation, diversity, equality and discrimination experienced by diverse, minority, disadvantaged and under-represented students attending HE in UK and India. Group stereotypes are often subconsciously held, emerging into consciousness only when they appear confirmed or confounded by personal experience or public events. Where there is little knowledge or personal experience then reliance upon group stereotypes is more likely (Kunda & Thagard, 1996). This can impact upon student and staff expectations of, responses to, and interactions with each other. Individual students’ experiences and perceptions lie at the core of this project, but the ultimate purpose is to illuminate our understanding as to how these are mediated, shaped and formed, in relation to and in interaction with the structures and contextual features of the educational environments in which they, as students, are located. It is thus framed by socio-cultural rather than psychological or therapeutic theories and is located within a social-constructivist perspective (Moore, 2000). Social constructivism facilitates the development of improved understandings of educational and social environments that shape rather than determine individual dispositions towards social diversity encountered on campus. It is highly suited to the understanding of perceptions, and exploring resonances with actions, reactions and interactions. The initial stage of this project involved inviting students and staff (academic and support staff) from five HE colleges and universities in England and India to keep a record (written and photographic) of what for them seemed to be important and relevant events relating to what they saw, heard, did and experienced on campus for a period of 1 month, in teaching, learning and social situations; namely interactions in classes and social settings; what seem to be good experiences and what seem to be negative ones; how and if their particular knowledge and experiences were used, valued and incorporated into their HE experience and learning or how they were negated. A sample size of 90 record keepers was sought across the participating institutions. Getting that sample presented significant difficulties to all but one of the participating institutions, and raised questions about • the methods initially adopted, • the general willingness of students and staff to address and share issues relating to diversity, equality, social cohesion and integration on HE campuses with researchers • cultural differences in accessing respondents to take part in the research Additional data collection methods were adopted and by January 2009 the intended sample size almost met. This paper will address the problems encountered in undertaking the first stage of this research and present initial findings from the data that were eventually obtained

Coordinating procedural and conceptual knowledge to make sense of word equations: understanding the complexity of a ‘simple’ chemical task at the learner’s resolution

This paper discusses the conceptual demands of an apparently straightforward task set to secondary level students – completing chemical word equations with a single omitted term. Chemical equations are of considerable importance in chemistry, and school students are expected to learn to be able to write and interpret them. However, it is recognized that many students find them challenging. The present paper explores students’ accounts of their attempts to identify the missing terms, to illuminate why working with chemical word equations is so challenging from the learner’s perspective. 300 secondary age students responded to a 5-item exercise based on chemicals and types of reactions commonly met at school level. For each item they were asked to identify the missing term in a word equation, and explain their answers. This provided a database containing more than a thousand student accounts of their rationales. Analysis of the data led to the identification of seven main classes of strategy used to answer the questions. Most approaches required the coordination of chemical knowledge at several different levels for a successful outcome; and there was much evidence both for correct answers based on flawed chemical thinking, and appropriate chemical thinking being insufficient to lead to the correct answer. It is suggested that the model reported here should be tested by more in-depth methods, but could help chemistry teachers appreciate learners’ difficulties and so offer them explicit support in selection and application of strategies when working with chemical equations

Distribution of natural disturbance due to wave and tidal bed currents around the UK

The UK continental shelf experiences large tidal ranges and winter storm events, which can both generate strong near-bed currents. The regular tidal bottom currents from tides plus wind driven ‘benthic storms’ (dominated by wave-driven oscillatory currents in shallow water) are a major source of disturbance to benthic communities, particularly in shallow waters. We aim to identify and map the relative impact of the tides and storm events on the shallower parts of the North West European continental shelf. A ten-year simulation of waves, tides and surges on the continental shelf was performed. The shelf model was validated against current meter observations and the Centre for Environmental, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) network of SmartBuoys. Next, the model performance was assessed against seabed lander data from two sites in the Southern North Sea; one in deep water and another shallow water site at Sea Palling, and a third in Liverpool Bay. Both waves and currents are well simulated at the offshore Southern North Sea site. A large storm event was also well captured, though the model tends to underpredict bottom orbital velocity. Poorer results were achieved at the Sea Palling site, thought to be due to an overly deep model water depth, and missing wave-current interactions. In Liverpool Bay tides were well modelled and good correlations (average R–squared=0.89) observed for significant wave height, with acceptable values (average R–squared=0.79) for bottom orbital velocity. Using the full ten-year dataset, return periods can be calculated for extreme waves and currents. Mapping these return periods presents a spatial picture of extreme bed disturbance, highlighting the importance of rare wave disturbances (e.g. with a return period of 1 in 10 years). Annual maximum currents change little in their magnitude and distribution from year to year, with mean speeds around 0.04 ms−1, and maximums exceeding 3 ms−1. Wave conditions however are widely variable throughout the year, depending largely on storm events. Typical significant wave heights (Hs) lie between 0.5–2 m, but storm events in shallow water can bring with them large waves of 5 m and above and up to 18 m in North West Approaches/North West Scotland ( Sterl and Caires, 2005). The benthic disturbance generated by waves and currents is then estimated by calculating the combined force on an idealised object at the bed. The patterns of this disturbance reflect both regular tidal disturbance and rare wave events. Mean forces are typically 0.05–0.1 N, and are seen largely in areas of fast currents (View the MathML source>1ms−1). The pattern of maximum force however is more dependent on water depth and exposure to long-fetches (View the MathML source>1000km) suggesting it is dominated by wave events

Tidal intrusion within a mega delta: an unstructured grid modelling approach

The finite volume community ocean model (FVCOM) has been applied to the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) delta in the northern part of the Bay of Bengal in order to simulate tidal hydrodynamics and freshwater flow in a complex river system. The delta region is data-poor in observations of both bathymetry and water level; making it a challenge for accurate hydrodynamic models be configured for and validated in this area. This is the first 3D baroclinic model covering the whole GBM delta from deep water beyond the shelf break to 250 km inland, the limit of tidal penetration. This paper examines what controls tidal penetration from the open coast into an intricate system of river channels. A modelling approach is used to improve understanding of the hydrodynamics of the GBM delta system. Tidal penetration is controlled by a combination of bathymetry, channel geometry, bottom friction, and river flow. The simulated tides must be validated before this delta model is used further to investigate baroclinic processes, river salinity and future change in this area. The performance of FVCOM tidal model configuration is evaluated at a range of sites in order to assess its ability to capture water levels which vary over both a tidal and seasonal cycle. FVCOM is seen to capture the leading tidal constituents well at coastal tide gauge stations, with small root-mean-squared errors of 10 cm on average. Inland, the model compares favourably with twice daily observed water levels at thirteen stations where it is able to capture both tidal and annual timescales in the estuarine system. When the river discharge is particularly strong, the tidal range can be reduced as the tide and river are in direct competition. The bathymetry is found to be the most influential control on water levels within the delta, though tidal penetration can be significantly affected by the model's bottom roughness, and the inclusion of large river discharge. We discuss the generic problem of implementing a model in a data-poor region and the challenge of validating a hydrodynamic model from the open coast to narrow river channels

Impacts of climate change on storms and waves relevant to the coastal and marine environment around the UK

We have updated the review by Woolf and Wolf (2013) by summarising the results of the IPCC AR5 report for storms and waves and then including more-recent work published since 2013. There are similar conclusions: wavemodel results are controlled largely by the quality of the wind data used to drive them, and the forcing climate models have slightly improved in accuracy as well as resolution. In general, trends are obscured by wide natural variability and a low signal-to-noise ratio. Assessment of changes in storminess and waves over the last 200 years are limited by lack of data, while future projections are limited by the accuracy of climate models. Recent work has led to more insight in some areas. There are now more climate- and wave- model ensembles, more in-depth assessments of the results of CMIP5, and the CMIP6 project and IPCC AR6 assessments have started. There is a move towards higher-resolution models, which give better accuracy for simulation of tropical and extra-tropical storms. Further work is being done with coupled atmosphere-ocean-wave models, which give insight into key dynamic processes. There is evidence for an increase in North Atlantic storms at the end of the 20th Century. Some projections for North Atlantic storms over the 21st Century show an overall reduced frequency of storms and some indication of a poleward shift in the tracks, in the northern hemisphere (NH) winter, but there is substantial uncertainty in projecting changes in NH storm tracks, especially in the North Atlantic. Projections for waves in the North Atlantic show a reduction in mean wave height, but an increase in the most-severe wave heights. There is a likelihood of larger wave heights to the north of the UK as the Arctic sea ice retreats and leads to increased fetch

Guidance note on the application of coastal monitoring for small island developing states : Part of the NOC-led project “Climate Change Impact Assessment: Ocean Modelling and Monitoring for the Caribbean CME states”, 2017-2020; under the Commonwealth Marine Economies (CME) Programme in the Caribbean.

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are a diverse group of 51 countries and territories vulnerable to human-induced climate change, due to factors including their small size, large exclusive economic zones and limited resources. They generally have insufficient critical mass in scientific research and technical capability to carry out coastal monitoring campaigns from scratch and limited access to data. This guidance report will go some way to addressing these issues by providing information on monitoring methods and signposting data sources. Coastal monitoring, the collection, analysis and storage of information about coastal processes and the response of the coastline, provides information on how the coast changes over time, after storm events and due to the effects of human intervention. Accurate and repeatable observational data is essential to informed decision making, particularly in light of climate change, the impacts of which are already being felt. In this report, we review the need for monitoring and the development of appropriate strategies, which include good baseline data and long-term repeatable data collection at appropriate timescales. We identify some of the methods for collection of in situ data, such as tide gauges and topographic survey, and highlight where resources in terms of data and equipment are currently available. We then go on to explore the range of remote sensing methods available from satellites to smart phone photography. Both in situ and remotely sensed data are important as inputs into models, which in turn feed in to visualisations for decision-making. We review the availability of a wide range of datasets, including details of how to access satellite data and links to international and regional data banks. The report concludes with information on the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and good practice in managing data

Contributions to 21st century projections of extreme sea-level change around the UK

We provide a synthesis of results of a recent government-funded initiative to make projections of 21st century change in extreme sea levels around the coast of the United Kingdom. We compare four factors that influence future coastal flood risk: (i) time-mean sea-level (MSL) rise; (ii) changes in storm surge activity; (iii) changes in the offshore wave climate; (iv) changes in tidal amplitude arising from the increase in MSL. Our projections are dominated by the effects of MSL rise, which is typically more than five times larger than any of the other contributions. MSL is projected to rise by about 53 to 115 centimetres at the mouth of the Thames and 30 to 90 centimetres at Edinburgh (5th to 95th percentiles at 2100 relative to 1981–2000 average). Surge model projections disagree on the sign of future changes. Typical simulated changes are around +/−7 centimetres. Because of the disagreement, our best estimate is of no change from this contribution, although we cannot rule out changes of either sign. Wave model projections suggest a decrease in significant wave height of the order of 7 centimetres over the 21st century. However, the limited sample size and uncertainty in projections of changes in atmospheric circulation means that we cannot be confident about the sign of future changes in wave climate. MSL rise may induce changes in tidal amplitude of more than 15 centimetres over the 21st century for the Bristol Channel. However, models disagree on the sign of change there. Elsewhere, our projected tidal amplitude changes are mostly less than 7 centimetres. Whilst changes in MSL dominate, we have shown the potential for all processes considered here to make non-negligible contributions over the 21st century

Forcing ocean model with atmospheric model outputs to simulate storm surge in the Bangladesh coast

Tropical cyclones are devastating hazards and have been a major problem for the coastal population of Bangladesh. Among the advancements in atmospheric and oceanic prediction, accurate forecasting of storm surges is of specific interest due to their great potential to inflict loss of life and property. For decades, the numerical model based storm surge prediction systems have been an important tool to reduce the loss of human lives and property damage. In order to improve the accuracy in predicting storm surge and coastal inundation, recent model development efforts tended to include more modeling components, such as meteorology model and surface wave model in storm surge modeling. In this study, we used the outputs of an atmospheric model to force the ocean model for simulating storm surges in the Bay of Bengal with particular focus on the Bangladesh coast. The ability of the modeling system was investigated simulating water levels in the Bangladesh coast of two tropical cyclones Sidr (2007) and Aila (2009). The effectiveness of the model was verified through comparing the obtained computational outputs against tide gauge data. The cyclone tracks and intensities reproduced by the atmospheric model were reasonable, though the model had a tendency to overestimate the cyclone intensity during peaks and also close to coast. The water levels are reproduced fairly well by the ocean model, although errors still exist. The root mean square errors in water level at different gauges range from 0.277 to 0.419 m with coefficient of correlation (R2) between 0.64 to 0.97 in case of Sidr and 0.209 to 0.581 m with R2 0.62 to 0.98 for Aila. The overall coupled modeling system is found to be useful with reasonable accuracy and precision, though there are spaces for improvement. Higher-resolution modeling approaches are recommended to gain more skills