DEEPER THAN REASON: WHY PRACTICAL AND PRODUCTIVE FORMS OF KNOWLEDGE NEED TO BE RESTORED TO VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

This article chronicles factors contributingto the neglect of the assessment of practical forms of knowledge in Vocational Education and Training (VET) in England. It illustrates how older, more coherent concepts of forms of knowledge, skills and competence have been pushed to the margins of educational discourse, replaced by restricted, fragmented and much less credible conceptual imposters. The consequences of these restricted conceptions and how they have subsequently become organised, taught and assessed in VET are discussed. Particular attention is given to the ways in which such restricted conceptions can lead to vocational assessment regimes which require little more than ‘one-off’ demonstrations of successful performance, expressed in behaviourist outcomes; the superficial recall of cognitive concepts; and the regurgitation of factual information in pen and paper examinations. Comparisons are drawn between the strongly centralist system of control regulating VET in England and alternative more collaborative state partnership systems of VET currently operating in Continental Europe. This small-scale, qualitative study, conducted with 12 tutors of VET in Further Education (FE) colleges and Industry Training Providers (ITPs) brings to light the impact of these restricted concepts in VET in England today. Research methods include, iterature review, transcripts of semi-structured interviews with vocational teachers and education leaders and focus group discussions. Reflexive Thematic Anlaysis (RTA) is employed to identify subthemes and themes in the data in order to identify, refine and discuss findings. Results reveal that sector practitioners require further professional development in addressing current issues in incoherent curriculum design and inauthentic approaches to assessment. Key words: Vocational Education and Training (VET); Forms of Knowledge; Joint Curriculum Planning; Problem and Project-based Learning; Multimodal Assessment

Unlocking the Potential of Skills for Life (SfL) Tutors and Learners: a critical evaluation of the implementation of SfL policy in England

This paper uses data from interviews with eleven Skills for Life (SfL) practitioners in the North East of England to highlight how instruments for the implementation and evaluation of SfL policy are shaping practice at the local level. The paper concludes that the means being used to implement and evaluate the success of SfL policy are constraining practice in a number of ways which are not in line with the intentions of political or policy professionals. Such unintended consequences range from responses to SfL policy which simply frame practice in terms of outward imperatives of the market; through to technical-instrumental responses construed in terms of the simple acquisition of a set of pre-specified ‘skills’; to other, more inwardly directed responses, premised upon concerns for the more holistic educational needs of learners

Chromosome morphology and cytogenetics in the genus Ranunculus L

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Learning Together: Evaluating and improving Further Adult and Vocational Education through practice-focused research

This paper argues that the relationship between educational research and educational practice cannot be reduced to the simple application of knowledge gained from research conducted by others. It contends that far from teachers being passive consumers of knowledge produced by others, often in the form of ‘blueprints’ or ‘recipes’ for good practice, teachers are in fact creators of new educational knowledge as well as potential generators of and contributors to educational theory. It asserts that the new learning involved in putting an idea, concept or theory from educational research into educational practice is a process of inquiry and therefore an important and legitimate form of educational research. The paper discusses how an approach to the continuing professional development of teachers, based upon practice-focused educational research and inquiry-based pedagogy, coupled with a programme of dedicated research support, can enable teachers to produce significant, well-theorised and systematic educational research, leading to improvements in educational practice. This paper concludes that a practicefocused and inquiry-based model of educational evaluation and improvement offers education and policy professionals in the Vocational Education and Training sector (and potentially in the schools sector) an alternative to current technical-rational, top-down approaches to inspection and improvement in educational contexts. Keywords educational evaluation, educational improvement, educational research, further, adult and vocational education (FAVE)

Mutations in Known Monogenic High Bone Mass Loci Only Explain a Small Proportion of High Bone Mass Cases.

High bone mass (HBM) can be an incidental clinical finding; however, monogenic HBM disorders (eg, LRP5 or SOST mutations) are rare. We aimed to determine to what extent HBM is explained by mutations in known HBM genes. A total of 258 unrelated HBM cases were identified from a review of 335,115 DXA scans from 13 UK centers. Cases were assessed clinically and underwent sequencing of known anabolic HBM loci: LRP5 (exons 2, 3, 4), LRP4 (exons 25, 26), SOST (exons 1, 2, and the van Buchem's disease [VBD] 52-kb intronic deletion 3'). Family members were assessed for HBM segregation with identified variants. Three-dimensional protein models were constructed for identified variants. Two novel missense LRP5 HBM mutations ([c.518C>T; p.Thr173Met], [c.796C>T; p.Arg266Cys]) were identified, plus three previously reported missense LRP5 mutations ([c.593A>G; p.Asn198Ser], [c.724G>A; p.Ala242Thr], [c.266A>G; p.Gln89Arg]), associated with HBM in 11 adults from seven families. Individuals with LRP5 HBM (∼prevalence 5/100,000) displayed a variable phenotype of skeletal dysplasia with increased trabecular BMD and cortical thickness on HRpQCT, and gynoid fat mass accumulation on DXA, compared with both non-LRP5 HBM and controls. One mostly asymptomatic woman carried a novel heterozygous nonsense SOST mutation (c.530C>A; p.Ser177X) predicted to prematurely truncate sclerostin. Protein modeling suggests the severity of the LRP5-HBM phenotype corresponds to the degree of protein disruption and the consequent effect on SOST-LRP5 binding. We predict p.Asn198Ser and p.Ala242Thr directly disrupt SOST binding; both correspond to severe HBM phenotypes (BMD Z-scores +3.1 to +12.2, inability to float). Less disruptive structural alterations predicted from p.Arg266Cys, p.Thr173Met, and p.Gln89Arg were associated with less severe phenotypes (Z-scores +2.4 to +6.2, ability to float). In conclusion, although mutations in known HBM loci may be asymptomatic, they only account for a very small proportion (∼3%) of HBM individuals, suggesting the great majority are explained by either unknown monogenic causes or polygenic inheritance.This study was supported by The Wellcome Trust and NIHR CRN (portfolio number 5163). CLG was funded by a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Training Fellowship (080280/Z/06/Z), the EU 7th Framework Programme under grant agreement number 247642 (GEoCoDE), a British Geriatric Society travel grant, and is now funded by Arthritis Research UK (grant ref 20000). SH acknowledges Arthritis Research UK support (grant ref 19580). KESP acknowledges the support of Cambridge NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. KAW is supported by the core programme of the MRC Nutrition and Bone Health group at MRC Human Nutrition Research, funded by the UK Medical Research Council (Grant code U10590371). EM acknowledges support of the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust Clinical Research Facility. The SGC is a registered charity (no. 1097737) that receives funds from AbbVie, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Genome Canada (Ontario Genomics Institute OGI- 055), GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Lilly Canada, Novartis Research Foundation, Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Innovation, Pfizer, Takeda, and Wellcome Trust (092809/Z/10/Z).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.270

Activin type I receptor polymorphisms and body composition in older individuals with sarcopenia-Analyses from the LACE randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Ageing is associated with changes in body composition including an overall reduction in muscle mass and a proportionate increase in fat mass. Sarcopenia is characterised by losses in both muscle mass and strength. Body composition and muscle strength are at least in part genetically determined, consequently polymorphisms in pathways important in muscle biology (e.g., the activin/myostatin signalling pathway) are hypothesised to contribute to the development of sarcopenia.METHODS: We compared regional body composition measured by DXA with genotypes for two polymorphisms (rs10783486, minor allele frequency (MAF) = 0.26 and rs2854464, MAF = 0.26) in the activin 1B receptor (ACVR1B) determined by PCR in a cross-sectional analysis of DNA from 110 older individuals with sarcopenia from the LACE trial.RESULTS: Neither muscle mass nor strength showed any significant associations with either genotype in this cohort. Initial analysis of rs10783486 showed that males with the AA/AG genotype were taller than GG males (174±7cm vs 170±5cm, p = 0.023) and had higher arm fat mass, (median higher by 15%, p = 0.008), and leg fat mass (median higher by 14%, p = 0.042). After correcting for height, arm fat mass remained significantly higher (median higher by 4% padj = 0.024). No associations (adjusted or unadjusted) were seen in females. Similar analysis of the rs2854464 allele showed a similar pattern with the presence of the minor allele (GG/AG) being associated with greater height (GG/AG = 174±7 cm vs AA = 170 ±5cm, p = 0.017) and greater arm fat mass (median higher by 16%, p = 0.023). Again, the difference in arm fat remained after correction for height. No similar associations were seen in females analysed alone.CONCLUSION: These data suggest that polymorphic variation in the ACVR1B locus could be associated with body composition in older males. The activin/myostatin pathway might offer a novel potential target to prevent fat accumulation in older individuals.</p

Activin type I receptor polymorphisms and body composition in older individuals with sarcopenia—Analyses from the LACE randomised controlled trial

Background: Ageing is associated with changes in body composition including an overall reduction in muscle mass and a proportionate increase in fat mass. Sarcopenia is characterised by losses in both muscle mass and strength. Body composition and muscle strength are at least in part genetically determined, consequently polymorphisms in pathways important in muscle biology (e.g., the activin/myostatin signalling pathway) are hypothesised to contribute to the development of sarcopenia.Methods: We compared regional body composition measured by DXA with genotypes for two polymorphisms (rs10783486, minor allele frequency (MAF) =0.26 and rs2854464, MAF =0.26) in the activin 1B receptor (ACVR1B) determined by PCR in a cross-sectional analysis of DNA from 110 older individuals with sarcopenia from the LACE trial.Results: Neither muscle mass nor strength showed any significant associations with either genotype in this cohort. Initial analysis of rs10783486 showed that males with the AA/AG genotype were taller than GG males (174±7cm vs 170±5cm, p=0.023) and had higher arm fat mass, (median higher by 15%, p=0.008), and leg fat mass (median higher by 14%, p=0.042). After correcting for height, arm fat mass remained significantly higher (median higher by 4% padj=0.024). No associations (adjusted or unadjusted) were seen in females.Similar analysis of the rs2854464 allele showed a similar pattern with the presence of the minor allele (GG/AG) being associated with greater height (GG/AG = 174±7 cm vs AA = 170 ±5cm, p=0.017) and greater arm fat mass (median higher by 16%, p=0.023). Again, the difference in arm fat remained after correction for height. No similar associations were seen in females analysed alone.Conclusion: These data suggest that polymorphic variation in the ACVR1B locus could be associated with body composition in older males. The activin/myostatin pathway might offer a novel potential target to prevent fat accumulation in older individuals

ACE I/D genotype associates with strength in sarcopenic men but not with response to ACE inhibitor therapy in older adults with sarcopenia:Results from the LACE trial

BACKGROUND: Angiotensin II (AII), has been suggested to promote muscle loss. Reducing AII synthesis, by inhibiting angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) activity has been proposed as a method to inhibit muscle loss. The LACE clinical trial was designed to determine whether ACE inhibition would reduce further muscle loss in individuals with sarcopenia but suffered from low recruitment and returned a negative result. Polymorphic variation in the ACE promoter (I/D alleles) has been associated with differences in ACE activity and muscle physiology in a range of clinical conditions. This aim of this analysis was to determine whether I/D polymorphic variation is associated with muscle mass, strength, in sarcopenia or contributed to the lack of response to treatment in the LACE study.METHODS: Sarcopenic individuals were recruited into a 2x2 factorial multicentre double-blind study of the effects of perindopril and/or leucine versus placebo on physical performance and muscle mass. DNA extracted from blood samples (n = 130 72 women and 58 men) was genotyped by PCR for the ACE I/D polymorphism. Genotypes were then compared with body composition measured by DXA, hand grip and quadriceps strength before and after 12 months' treatment with leucine and/or perindopril in a cross-sectional analysis of the influence of genotype on these variables.RESULTS: Allele frequencies for the normal UK population were extracted from 13 previous studies (I = 0.473, D = 0.527). In the LACE cohort the D allele was over-represented (I = 0.412, D = 0.588, p = 0.046). This over-representation was present in men (I = 0.353, D = 0.647, p = 0.010) but not women (I = 0.458, D = 0.532, p = 0.708). In men but not women, individuals with the I allele had greater leg strength (II/ID = 18.00 kg (14.50, 21.60) vs DD = 13.20 kg (10.50, 15.90), p = 0.028). Over the 12 months individuals with the DD genotype increased in quadriceps strength but those with the II or ID genotype did not. Perindopril did not increase muscle strength or mass in any polymorphism group relative to placebo.CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that although ACE genotype was not associated with response to ACE inhibitor therapy in the LACE trial population, sarcopenic men with the ACE DD genotype may be weaker than those with the ACE I/D or II genotype.</p

Effect of perindopril or leucine on physical performance in older people with sarcopenia: the LACE randomized controlled trial

Acknowledgements: AAS, TA and MDW acknowledge support from the NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre. AA acknowledges support from the Health Services Research Unit which is core funded by the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorate. The authors acknowledge support from the NIHR Ageing Clinical Research Network and the NHS Scotland Support for Science programme, The authors would also thank the efforts of all the research nurses and other ants to the trial, all the participants, and all the staff of the Tayside Clinical Trials Unit for their support of the trial. Funding: The LACE trial (project reference 13/53/03) is funded by the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) Programme, an MRC and NIHR partnership. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the MRC, NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.Peer reviewedPublisher PD