Liberal And General Studies In Further Education: Voices From The ‘Chalk Face’

This paper presents initial findings from research investigating an important but largely neglected facet of the history of Further Education (FE) – the Liberal Studies and General Studies (LS/GS) movement. Drawing on historical documents and interview data from a group of former LS/GS lecturers, the paper provides important insights into some of the key events and initiatives between the 1950s-1980s, which led to the rise and eventual fall of the LS/GS movement, and seeks to capture the voices of those who were involved at the ‘chalk face’. Whilst it is acknowledged that the quality and nature of LS/GS was often variable and that the experiences of both teachers and learners were often uneven, the central argument of the paper is that many of the principles of the LS/GS movement were not only ahead of their time, but are perhaps more relevant to FE today than ever before

Community Economic Development, Community Development Finance: Introducing the Terms Exploring the Relationship

How the two terms community economic development and community development finance are defined is crucial to the construction of any development system, whether it be geographic or functional in scope. What the terms are thought to entail will influence the fundamental direction of any effort. In this article, the authors set out what is generally accepted as the connotation of these terms, and then report the particular principles that appear to underlie the most effective practice in CED and Community Development finance

Book Reviews

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Assessing vulnerability to risk of suicide and self-harm in prisoners : a Rasch analysis of the suicide concerns for offenders in the prison environment (SCOPE-2)

BACKGROUND: With increasing levels of suicide and self-harm behaviour in the criminal justice system professionals would benefit from a tool that can identify individuals who may be at risk of self-harm and/or suicidal behaviour. METHOD: The Suicide Concerns for Offenders in the Prison Environment (SCOPE) tool was originally devised and validated in six UK prisons between 2003 and 2004. The goal of this study is to re-evaluate the SCOPE using Rasch methodology to produce a psychometrically robust instrument. Data were presented from 1051 SCOPE assessments of male and female offenders. RESULTS: The analysis produced a revised SCOPE-2 tool reducing the tool from a 27 to a 19 items and simplifying the categorical six point scale to a four item scale. CONCLUSIONS: Further validation of the new SCOPE-2 tool is required in samples of male and female prisoners to assess different cut-off points for clinical and policy use