Oportunidades y retos : apoyo en transiciones hacia la educación y el empleo para jóvenes del sistema de protección en Inglaterra

Research over the past three decades consistently shows poor outcomes in education and employment for young people leaving care in England. Evidence indicates lower levels of education attainment and post-16 participation for young people in and leaving care in comparison to other young people. It also suggests a lasting impact, with care experienced adults at greater risk of social exclusion, being overrepresented in marginalised groups such as the long-term unemployed, homeless and prison populations and adults with mental health difficulties. This paper draws on recent research carried out with young people leaving care to explore the challenges they face in finding and sustaining participation in education, employment and training. It shows that support from formal and informal sources to address the practical, emotional and financial challenges is crucial for successful journeys and that young people’s own motivation and self-belief are significant factors in increasing and sustaining participation

Analysing motivation to do medicine cross-culturally : the international motivation to do medicine scale

Vaglum, Wiers-Jensen & Ekeberg (1999) developed an instrument to assess motivation to study medicine. This instrument has been applied in different countries but it has not been studied cross-culturally. Our aims were to develop a Motivation to do Medicine Scale for use in international studies and to compare motivations of UK and Spanish medical students (UK: n= 375; Spain: n= 149). A cross-sectional and cross-cultural study was conducted. The Vaglum et al. (1999) Motivation to do Medicine Scale (MMS) was used. The original MMS factor structure was not supported by the Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Exploratory Factor Analyses within each country identified four factors: 'People', 'Status', 'Natural Science' and 'Research'. Students scored higher on the 'People' and 'Natural Science' than on the other factors. The UK sample scored higher than the Spanish sample on the 'Research' factor and there were greater difference between genders in Spain for both 'People' and 'Research' factors. The scale is suitable for use in cross-cultural studies of medical students' motivation. It can be used to investigate differences between countries and may be used to examine changes in motivation over time or over medical disciplines

Leaving care in Scotland : the residential experience

Each year over a thousand young people aged sixteen and over leave care in Scotland. What does leaving care mean for these young people and what happens to them in the early stages of post-care living? What has helped them to prepare for leaving care and how best can they be supported to achieve positive outcomes as they continue their transition to independent living? These questions formed the basis of a recent survey of young people who had moved on from the care of three Scottish local authorities (Dixon and Stein, 2002a; 2002b

Corporate Parenting for young people in care: making the difference : Summary report of key findings

The summary report outlines the key findings from a three year Big Lottery funded study of Corporate Parenting for young people in and leaving care in 12 local authorities in England. Led by Catch 22's National Care Advisory Service and University of York researchers, the study looked at policy, practice, experiences and progress across all areas of young people's lives including education, health and wellbeing, accomodation, supprt networks and transition to adulthood and EET. Importantly, the study was conducted alongside care expereinced young people, who received training and support to work as peer researchers. The full report is published by Catch22 and is available via https://www.catch-22.org.uk

Teacher Candidates’ Perceptions of Debriefing Circles to Facilitate Self-Reflection During a Cultural Immersion Experience

This study followed 9 teacher candidates through a 3-week cultural immersion experience in which they volunteered in educational settings where they were not members of the majority culture. This learning experience was designed to help candidates better understand their culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse future students. A qualitative design with an ethnographic approach was used to explore the use of debriefing circles, based on Parker Palmer’s clearness committee structure. Debriefing circles were examined as a tool to facilitate self-reflection as a scaffold toward culturally responsive teaching. Candidate perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the debriefing-circle discussion framework are analyzed

The use of reflective practice to support mentoring of elite equestrian coaches

Many equestrian coaches are self employed and receive no formal support for development after completion of their lead body qualification. This study investigated a potential solution to maintain professional enthusiasm and engagement. Three elite coaches were selected through purposive sampling to engage in a distance mentoring scheme, and data collected via interviews and self-reflection. Key results drawn down from emergent themes were sub-divided into four reflective aspects and four mentoring themes. During this process coaches developed a positive cognitive awareness of their own ability facilitating ownership of their practice. Findings suggest the mentoring process supportive and aided development of self-reflection