The Storymaker Wheel: An investigation into how teachers and pupils can use a counter‐culture assessment tool to evaluate creative writing in the classroom

This paper outlines the processes of creating a ‘Storymaker Wheel’, a creativity evaluation tool conceptualised with input from a children’s book author, a children’s book illustrator, academics and teachers, for teachers and pupils to use to support and develop their creative writing. It documents the ways in which teachers and pupils engaged with the Wheel in three schools in England: a primary pupil referral unit, a primary school and a secondary school. Interviews with teachers and pupils about the Storymaker Wheel, and classroom observations of the Wheel in use, expose some challenges of teaching creative writing within the current English educational context, which we discuss

Teach First Cymru: Whose Mission? Teach First and the Welsh Government ‘National Mission’ for Education

This chapter offers a comparative analysis of definitions of ‘professionalism’, as articulated by Teach First Cymru and Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) beginner teachers, studying at the same university in Wales. Based on findings from empirical research, discussion focuses on how these two groups of student teachers articulate the concept of teacher ‘professionalism’, and how this relates to the new professional standards and policy in Wales. During focus group discussions and interview, the two groups of participants expressed differing articulations of ‘professionalism’. The responses underline the difference between the self-reliance, and corporate identity, of the Teach First beginner teachers, and the more collaborative, learner-centred approach of the GTP group. While not by itself conclusive, this points to variations in how student teachers perceive the teaching habitus that highlight a fracture in how current ITE programmes prepare students for the profession. The chapter concludes with discussion of how the Teach First ‘values’ are placed within the current policy framework of the Welsh Government’s ‘National Mission’ for Education (Welsh Government, 2017a), and considers whether a more cohesive approach to ITE would be more appropriate in the Welsh context

From visual education to 21st century literacy: an analysis of the Ministry of Education's post-war film production experiment and its relevance to recent film education strategies

In 1943 the Ministry of Education took the decision to sponsor the production of an experimental programme of nonfiction films specifically to be used as ‘instructional’ teaching aids in the secondary classroom. The intervention was a development of pre-war efforts on the part of a number of organisations from the teaching and cultural sectors to realise the value of ‘educational’ film, in response to recognition of the medium’s social and cultural influence. This historical example demonstrates that government recognition of film as an educational resource has been achieved in the past. However, in 2012, the British Film Institute (BFI) launched a new education plan, at the centre of which was the aim to advocate the value of film education to Government (British Film Institute, 2012c). This aim had been the focus of film education initiatives in the previous decade without resolution, for example in the national strategy Film: 21st Century Literacy (UK Film Council, 2009). My research analyses the Ministry of Education’s production experiment in order to discover whether the findings can inform current film education strategies and offer an insight into why the struggle for government recognition of film education still remains. This research combines film theory, archival research and education histories in order to contextualise the films within the particular historical moment of their production. I apply a pragmatic approach to the postmodern and poststructural theories of for example, Nichols (1991), Plantinga (1997), Renov (1993) and Winston (1995) in my textual analysis of the 16 films, sourced from the British Film Institute National Archive. The analysis of form and style informs my discussion of concepts of realism, ‘objectivity’ and ‘truth’ in relation to the films and the social and political ideologies conveyed through the texts. I also analyse contemporary documentation sourced from The National Archives in order to identify the objectives, the pedagogical rationale and the ideological project motivating the Ministry’s experiment as a whole and evaluate its outcomes. I argue that the methodology of the Ministry of Education experiment was flawed so that no definitive conclusions were drawn regarding the educational ‘value’ of film. Furthermore, the ‘experiment’ was turned to political purpose so that the ideological project informing and conveyed through the filmic discourse actually worked to impose the social stratification inherent within the post-war tripartite education system. I also argue that, due in part to technological advances which have removed the need for state sponsorship of educational film production, government recognition is now unnecessary, and carries the risk of ideological and political incentives overcoming the pedagogical objectives of ‘21st century literacy’. I make the recommendation that film education initiatives should exist outside of political agendas and instead build links with teacher training institutions in order to ensure the driving force behind its practical application is pedagogical rather than politica

The Power of creative learning through the Arts: economic imperative or social good?

This article uses data generated through qualitative methods and discourse analysis to explore how ‘creative learning’ is articulated in the current educational context in Wales. The research focused on the Arts and Wellbeing in Education (AWE) professional learning programme for primary and secondary schools, delivered by ‘Arts Champions’ through one of the Regional Arts and Education Networks. The Networks were created to support the Welsh Government / Arts Council Wales Creative Learning through the Arts Action Plan (Welsh Government, 2015). The analysis applies a poststructural framework, influenced by the work of Foucault, to examine the circulating discourses around the ‘benefits’ and ‘value’ of creative learning, and the arts. The discussion reveals the underlying structures and ideological project that in/form the policy context, and the resultant practice. The findings describe how the Welsh Government rhetoric describes a broadly democratic, economic value of the arts, while the case study Network D emphasises the benefit of the arts as a ‘social good’. Within this context, AWE functions as a local revolution extending, enhancing and personalising the ‘social good’ so that the benefits centre on wellbeing through mindful approaches to creativity, the value of which is decided by the individual

Disrupting the Habitus? Media representations and participant experience of Teach First: an exploratory case study in Wales.

Teach First is a schools-based route into teaching, where graduates are able to train while employed by ‘disadvantaged’ schools. Established in 2002, the charity works in partnership with teacher training providers around England and Wales. The first Teach First Cymru cohort began in 2013, at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD). Drawing on the work of Bourdieu, this paper will discuss the potential impact of Teach First Cymru on the teaching habitus, through public and personal articulations of the profession, set within the context of critical debate surrounding the programme. In order to do so, the paper will explore media representations of Teach First and data generated from focus groups and interviews with Teach First Cymru participants and trainees on the Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) at the same university

Creativity through Mindfulness: The Arts and Wellbeing in Education (AWE) Professional Learning Programme

This article uses findings from a case study of an arts/education professional learning programme in Wales to construct a definition of creativity that reflects on and contributes to debates around the concept, and its value within education. The programme, Arts and Wellbeing in Education (AWE) focused on supporting school teachers’ wellbeing through creative practice. The research comprised a participatory methodology that sought to explore the circulating discourse around the key concepts of creativity and wellbeing in order to identify how the team leading the programme conceptualised the value of creativity, and how this was enacted. The findings point to a notion of creativity that is an inclusive, carnival experience that may improve wellbeing through mindful approaches to creative practice

From visual education to 21st century literacy: an analysis of the Ministry of Education's post-war film production experiment and its relevance to recent film education strategies

In 1943 the Ministry of Education took the decision to sponsor the production of an experimental programme of nonfiction films specifically to be used as ‘instructional’ teaching aids in the secondary classroom. The intervention was a development of pre-war efforts on the part of a number of organisations from the teaching and cultural sectors to realise the value of ‘educational’ film, in response to recognition of the medium’s social and cultural influence. This historical example demonstrates that government recognition of film as an educational resource has been achieved in the past. However, in 2012, the British Film Institute (BFI) launched a new education plan, at the centre of which was the aim to advocate the value of film education to Government (British Film Institute, 2012c). This aim had been the focus of film education initiatives in the previous decade without resolution, for example in the national strategy Film: 21st Century Literacy (UK Film Council, 2009). My research analyses the Ministry of Education’s production experiment in order to discover whether the findings can inform current film education strategies and offer an insight into why the struggle for government recognition of film education still remains. This research combines film theory, archival research and education histories in order to contextualise the films within the particular historical moment of their production. I apply a pragmatic approach to the postmodern and poststructural theories of for example, Nichols (1991), Plantinga (1997), Renov (1993) and Winston (1995) in my textual analysis of the 16 films, sourced from the British Film Institute National Archive. The analysis of form and style informs my discussion of concepts of realism, ‘objectivity’ and ‘truth’ in relation to the films and the social and political ideologies conveyed through the texts. I also analyse contemporary documentation sourced from The National Archives in order to identify the objectives, the pedagogical rationale and the ideological project motivating the Ministry’s experiment as a whole and evaluate its outcomes. I argue that the methodology of the Ministry of Education experiment was flawed so that no definitive conclusions were drawn regarding the educational ‘value’ of film. Furthermore, the ‘experiment’ was turned to political purpose so that the ideological project informing and conveyed through the filmic discourse actually worked to impose the social stratification inherent within the post-war tripartite education system. I also argue that, due in part to technological advances which have removed the need for state sponsorship of educational film production, government recognition is now unnecessary, and carries the risk of ideological and political incentives overcoming the pedagogical objectives of ‘21st century literacy’. I make the recommendation that film education initiatives should exist outside of political agendas and instead build links with teacher training institutions in order to ensure the driving force behind its practical application is pedagogical rather than politica

Understanding and improving the care pathway for children with autism

Purpose: To describe current care pathways for children with autism including enablers and barriers, as experienced by health professionals, education professionals, and families in South Wales, UK. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-methods approach using focus group discussions, creative writing workshops and visualisation using rich pictures. Findings: The experiences of the care pathways differed significantly across the three groups. Health professionals described the most rigidly-structured pathways, with clear entry points and outcomes. Education professionals and parents described more complex and confusing pathways, with parents assuming the responsibility of coordinating the health and education activity in a bid to link the two independent pathways. All three groups identified enablers, although these differed across the groups. The barriers were more consistent across the groups (e.g. poor communication, missing information, lack of transparency, limited post diagnosis services and access to services based on diagnosis rather than need). Practical implications: This research could inform the design of new services which are premised on multi-agency and multi-disciplinary working to ensure children with ASD receive joined up services and support. Originality/value: Although this study did not represent all professional groups or all experiences of autism, we examined three different perspectives of the ASD pathway. In addition, we triangulated high-level process maps with rich pictures and creative writing exercises, which allowed us to identify specific recommendations to improve integration and reduce duplication and gaps in provision

Boundary Absorption Approximation in the Spatial High-Frequency Extrapolation Method for Parametric Room Impulse Response Synthesis

The Spatial High-frequency Extrapolation Method (SHEM) extrapolates low-frequency band-limited spatial room impulse responses (SRIRs) to higher frequencies based on a frame-by-frame time/frequency analysis that determines directional reflected components within the SRIR. Such extrapolation can be used to extend finite- difference time domain (FDTD) wave propagation simulations, limited to only relatively low frequencies, to the full audio band. For this bandwidth extrapolation, a boundary absorption weighting function is proposed based on a parametric approximation of the energy decay relief of the SRIR used as the input to the algorithm. Results using examples of both measured and FDTD simulated impulse responses demonstrate that this approach can be applied successfully to a range of acoustic spaces. Objective measures show a close approximation to reverberation time, and acceptable early decay time values. Results are verified through accompanying auralizations that demonstrate the plausibility of this approach when compared to the original reference case