Choosers or losers? Progression from school to lifelong learning in the UK

This paper discusses the relationship between secondary schools and life-long learning as provided by Further Education (FE) colleges in the UK. It argues that this relationship is often problematic, both as a result of prevailing market ideology and of historically-grounded discourses about the relative status of the two sectors. The paper questions the notion that learners transferring to FE a t 16 are exercising a real 'choice'; but also draws attention to evidence that significant numbers of them nevertheless find FE a more engaging and rewarding experience than school

Coercion or co-operation? Developing teachers' motivational skills in the vocational education sector

This paper is based on a one year research project in the UK designed to investigate how effectively teacher education and continuing professional development for the vocational sector is equipping teachers to motivate learners and manage non-compliant behaviour. Carried out in collaboration with 203 teachers of vocational education, the inquiry set out to identify, through the use of observations and focus groups, the learner behaviours most commonly identified by teachers as ‘challenging’, and the strategies used by teachers in addressing these. Although its focus is on teacher competence to motivate and manage, the research was not predicated on a deficit model of teachers, but aimed to identify successful skills, strategies and approaches and discuss the extent to which these can be usefully incorporated into useful teacher training programmes for the sector. The findings suggest that lack of learner motivation in the 14-19 age group is endemic within vocational education provision manifesting in behaviours such as lack of punctuality, failure to submit coursework and refusal to remain on task. There was also evidence to indicate that experienced teachers were no more effective in managing such behaviours than teachers in their first year of professional practice. The implications of this, in terms of teacher education and development, are discussed in the final section of this paper which goes on to argue that, although it is necessary in addressing non-compliance for teachers to develop a positive relationship with learners, the root causes of such behaviours often lie beyond the individual teacher’s control

Guardian angels and teachers from hell: using metaphor as a measure of schools' experiences and expectations of General National Vocational Qualifications

In this paper the author examines some claims about the nature of metaphor, its possible significance in illuminating cultural, institutional, and personal constructs, and some ways in which this has been applied in educational research. To illustrate the application of metaphor analysis, the paper describes an examination of the figurative language used by teachers and headteachers in six English secondary schools when speaking about their new vocational curriculum and its students. Transcripts of interviews were scrutinized for metaphorical and other figurative modes of expression, and instances were identified of recurring patterns and themes. This paper argues that the metaphorical language employed within each of the schools reflects a lower level of esteem for the vocational qualification and the pupils taking it than that which is overtly expressed, and suggests that the negative metaphors employed by the headteacher may be instrumental in determining the status of such qualifications within the school

When you’re smiling: exploring how teachers motivate and engage learners in the further education sector

This paper is based on a one year research project in the UK designed to investigate teachers' strategies for motivating learners and managing non-compliant behaviour in the Further Education sector. Carried out in collaboration with 203 teachers in three colleges of further education, the inquiry set out to identify, through the use of observations and focus groups, the learner behaviours most commonly identified by teachers as 'challenging', and the methods teachers employ to successfully address these. It also sought to capture teachers' theories about the possible causes of non-engagement, with a view to incorporating findings about both theorising and practice into sessions for initial teacher training and continuing professional development. Drawing on these data, this paper suggests that lack of motivation in the 14-19 age group is a common phenomenon across this range of colleges, manifesting in behaviours such as lack of punctuality, failure to submit coursework and refusal to remain on task; and that experienced teachers are no more effective in managing such behaviours than teachers new to the profession. The implications in terms of teacher education and development are discussed in the final section which points to the evidence that, although positive teacherlearner interaction is found to be productive in addressing the immediate symptoms of disengagement, participants in the study consider the root causes to lie beyond their control

Survey of Federal Legislation Affecting Private Home Financing Since 1932

debtedness on urban real estate in the United States more than trebled; this debt per capita more than doubled; the ratio of this debt of real estate values more than trebled; and the ratio of the annual charges on this debt to the national income more than doubled.1 The burden of the debt was, of course, increased by the decline in income and property values during the depression. By 1932 the number of fore-closures in urban areas, which had risen steadily even during the years of prosperity, had mounted to nearly four times the 1926 level.2 New lending had practically ceased. Such demand for loans as existed arose almost entirely from the necessity of refinancing existing obligations, and lending institutions, pressed for liquidity, were unable to meet even this demand. These developments focused attention on certain basic defects which had long existed in this portion of the credit system. The most important of these defects may be listed as follows:3 (i) the instability of real estate values, resulting from population movements and enhanced by the flow of speculative funds into and out of the real estate market, which has caused lenders to restrict their first mortgage loans to rather low percentages of appraised property values; (2) the unsatisfactory, costly, and frequently illegal system of second and third mortgages, resulting from the fact that many families attempting home ownership have not been able to provide from their own funds the difference between the amount o

Role of relativity and nucleon compositeness in few-body systems

Recent progress is reviewed in four areas where new experimental data have been obtained: proton-proton bremsstrahlung, threshold pion production in proton-proton collisions, elastic electron-deuteron scattering and deuteron photodisintegration at several GeV photon energy. Relativistic effects are expected to be significant in these processes. High energy photodisintegration suggests that partonic behavior could be relevant in subamplitudes at large momentum transfer.Comment: Invited talk at XVII European Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics, Sept. 11-16, 2000, Evora, Portugal. (12 pages, 2 postscript figures

Assessing and enhancing quality through outcomes-based continuing professional development (CPD): a review of current practice

Numerous professional bodies have questioned whether traditional input-based continuing professional development (CPD) schemes are effective at measuring genuine learning and improving practice performance and patient health. The most commonly used type of long-established CPD activities, such as conferences, lectures and symposia, have been found to have a limited effect on improving practitioner competence and performance, and no significant effect on patient health outcomes. Additionally, it is thought that the impact of many CPD activities is reduced when they are undertaken in isolation outside of a defined structure of directed learning. In contrast, CPD activities which are interactive, encourage reflection on practice, provide opportunities to practice skills, involve multiple exposures, help practitioners to identify between current performance and a standard to be achieved, and are focused on outcomes, are the most effective at improving practice and patient health outcomes

Reciprocal Strategies and Aspiration Levels in a Cournot-Stackelberg Experiment

We examine behavior in Cournot and Stackelberg markets in a simple experiment where participants experience both market forms. Moreover, Stackelberg followers have to submit full response strategies. Our main finding is that Stackelberg followers employ rather flat, reciprocal response function, i.e., they punish leaders in who try to exploit their strategic adavantage and are willing to cooperate with cooperative leaders. Also, it turns out that prior exposure to a symmetric market makes followers more aggressive which hints at the role of aspiration levels in markets

Corn Growing in Ohio

Exact date of bulletin unknown.PDF pages: 2

Flexible thermal device

Fabrication of expansion joint, vibration isolator device with sufficient cross sectional area for high thermal conductivity is discussed. Device consists of multiple layers of metal foil which may be designed to meet specific applications. Thermodynamic properties of the device and illustration of construction are provided