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This paper introduces a learning analytics policy and strategy framework developed by a cross-European research project team -- SHEILA (Supporting Higher Education to Integrate Learning Analytics), based on interviews with 78 senior managers from 51 European higher education institutions across 16 countries. The framework was developed adapting the RAPID Outcome Mapping Approach (ROMA), which is designed to develop effective strategies and evidence-based policy in complex environments. This paper presents four case studies to illustrate the development process of the SHEILA framework and how it can be used iteratively to inform strategic planning and policy processes in real world environments, particularly for large-scale implementation in higher education contexts. To this end, the selected cases were analyzed at two stages, each a year apart, to investigate the progression of adoption approaches that were followed to solve existing challenges, and identify new challenges that could be addressed by following the SHEILA framework.

Teaching and learning research in higher education, often referred to as the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), is still relatively novel in many academic contexts compared to the mainstay of disciplinary research. One indication of this is the challenges those who engage in SoTL report in terms of how this work is valued or considered credible amongst disciplinary colleagues and in the face of institutional policies and practices. This paper moves beyond the literature that describes these specific challenges to investigate how 23 experienced SoTL researchers from five different countries understood the notion of credibility in relationship to their SoTL research and how they went about developing credibility for their work. Semistructured interviews were facilitated and analyzed using inductive analysis. Findings indicate that notions of credibility encompassed putting SoTL research into action and building capacity and community around research findings, as well as gaining external validation through traditional indicators such as publishing. SoTL researchers reported a variety of strategies and approaches they were using, both formal and informal, to develop credibility for their work. The direct focus of this paper on "credibility" of SoTL work as perceived by experienced SoTL researchers, and how they go about developing credibility, is a distinct contribution to the discussions about the valuing of SoTL work.

Open dialogue is a systemically-based approach to mental healthcare, originating from Finland. Growing numbers of practitioners are being trained internationally, but little is known about the impact of such trainings within a UK setting. This study used interpretative phenomenological analysis of focus group data to explore the experiences of thirteen individuals undertaking a three-year UK open dialogue training. Four themes emerged: (1) a powerful experiential process; (2) personal therapeutic change; (3) deeper and more open relationships and (4) altered relationships to power in working practice. The findings suggest that open dialogue trainees experience greater depth in relationships with both clients and colleagues as a result of training, even participants who already had therapeutic training backgrounds. The findings also contribute to Transformational Learning literature regarding how experiential, non-hierarchical, dialogical teaching methods may enhance learning on therapeutic programmes and, therefore, lead to positive changes within clinical practice., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

This paper is a response to Cotton, Miller and Kneale's 2017 paper on the current state of higher education research within UK universities. It seeks to contribute to the debate surrounding the inclusion of pedagogic research (PedR) via SoTL in the UK's Research Excellence Framework (REF) in the context of researchers who reside within a disciplinary context. The inclusion of PedR in the REF continues to be contentious, despite recommendations in the Stern Report which could make its inclusion more feasible. This paper focuses on PedR which is conducted, published and disseminated by academics situated within Life Science departments, rather than Schools of Education. The twenty-one teaching-focused academics in this study discussed their commitment to PedR integral to their academic identity, the challenges they faced in carrying out PedR, and their thoughts on REF 2014. Their opinions and conclusions give food for thought on decisions regarding inclusion of PedR in REF 2021.

In this paper, we focus on the experience of faculty learning to do the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). Our two studies uncovered similar threshold concepts in SoTL in two contrasting contexts; one study done in the United Kingdom with teaching-focused academics while the other study, done in North America, focussed on educational leaders at a research-intensive university. Both studies revealed similar ontological and epistemological transformations of learning and doing SoTL. Underpinning the results of these studies is the reality that educational leaders are situated within a complex cultural network of personal, professional, and financial tensions. There are two levels of institutional culture: university level and departmental level. But, institutional policies are only useful if also supported locally. This paper is of interest to those developing their expertise in supporting SoTL, as well as faculty on a teaching and scholarship career route.

First Public Lecture sponsored by Teaching Public Administration (delivered at the Public Administration Conference, University of Northumbria 12 September 2018). The author provided views on why public administration is needed now more than ever, outlining how current events necessitate the need for research to inform our teaching and learning. She also discussed some of the barriers to this task, and her views of the future.

This paper reports the evaluation of a student-faculty collaborative study investigating international students' perceptions of the role of reading in higher education. The study examined the academic reading and source-use practices of ten undergraduate students in a range of disciplines in one UK university. In previous research on student literacy practices, students are often positioned as research "objects" rather than as active participants with an investment in enhancing the student experience through engagement in pedagogic research. In this paper we present a case study of student faculty collaboration in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). Drawing on the analysis of student and lecturer accounts of the collaborative research experience, we identify the benefits and challenges of student-faculty partnership approaches. We conclude by arguing that conceptualising SOTL as pedagogy may facilitate the engagement of students as co-researchers and expose to scrutiny a "hidden curriculum" of current approaches to SoTL.

The paper describes the importance of graphicacy as a key communication tool in our everyday lives. The need to better understand the development of graphicacy and its use in the school curriculum is emphasised. The need for a new research tool is explained and the development of a new taxonomy of graphicacy is described. The use of this tool within a methodology researching the significance of graphicacy in the curriculum is introduced. An overview of prior research concerning how children deal with graphicacy is also provided. The paper then discusses the results reported in the context of this prior research. The paper illustrates how graphicacy can affect children's learning; identifies cross-curricular links involving different areas of graphicacy and consequential transfer opportunities; illustrates how the implementation of a curriculum policy for graphicacy could influence students' learning; demonstrates the magnitude of the research opportunities in relation to graphicacy within general education curricula and suggests the need for collaboration in order to effectively pursue these substantial research agendas.

Thirty years ago Boyer's report "Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate" (1990) inspired the launch of the 'SoTL movement' which sought to raise the status of learning and teaching in higher education. In this paper we argue that despite its honourable intentions the SoTL movement has been a thorn in the flesh of serious scholarship into learning and teaching in higher education. Drawing on various debates within and outside the SoTL movement and interviews with teaching and learning leaders in the UK, we argue that the time has come to consign SoTL to history, and start the process of asserting the value of higher education research. A widened understanding of SoTL that we conceptualise as SoTL 2.0 has superseded and edged out earlier conceptualisations of SoTL (SoTL1.0), weakening SoTL's potential research rigour, legitimacy and validity.

Aim. This article presents a discussion on how to maximize nursing students' learning about research for evidence-based practice in undergraduate, preregistration programmes. Background. Evidence-based practice may use information from many sources, including research. Research utilization concerns the translation of research findings into practice. Thus, while evidence-base practice may not be solely research-based and hence more than research utilization, research remains an important ingredient in ensuring quality and cost-effective care and an academic requirement for nursing students undertaking a science degree-level qualification. Nevertheless, how educators can best support research-related learning and application remains uncertain and requires discussion. Data sources. MEDLINE, CINAHL, Social Science Citation Index, British Nursing Index, and Intute were searched for papers published 1980-2011 using the following search terms: research, research utilization, evidence-based practice, learning, teaching, education, training, nursing, health, and social care. Discussion. Nursing students need to be able to value the relevance, authority, and utility of nursing research for patient care through embedding research learning in both academic and practice-based settings. Students can be supported in learning how to access, understand, and appraise the authority of research through weaving these skills into enquiry-based learning. Furthermore, encouraging students to undertake research-based practice change projects can support research utilization and development skills. Conclusion. Research should be fully embedded throughout nursing curricula beyond the confines of 'research classes', integrating learning in academic and practice-based settings. Although this requires synergistic and integrated support of student learning by nurse educators, managers, clinical practitioners, researchers and policymakers; nurse educators have a pivotal role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing frame how they interpret their educational experience and their approaches to, and perspectives on, learning, teaching and assessment. This paper draws on previous research identifying the ways of knowing of undergraduates on entry to a UK post-92 university, findings from which confirm the prevalence of absolute beliefs in which knowledge is viewed as certain, uncontested and students are largely authority-dependent. Student perspectives on assessment and feedback are explored based on thematic analysis of student responses within two main categories of beliefs, absolute/dualist versus contextual/pluralist. The paper teases out the implications of these perspectives for students' satisfaction with their assessment and feedback experience in the context of today's increasingly market-orientated higher education environment. Findings demonstrate that student perspectives on, and satisfaction with, assessment and feedback are strongly intertwined with their beliefs on knowledge and teaching. Students holding absolute/dualist beliefs considered "good" assessment and feedback practice to entail clear and unambiguous assessment tasks, criteria and standards along with the receipt of unequivocal and corrective feedback. The paper concludes that faced with assessment tasks that move beyond established facts and demonstrable theories it may only be students who view knowledge as relative and mutable that will likely be satisfied with their assessment and feedback experience.

Purpose: It has recently been suggested that the learning organisation (LO) is dead (Pedler, 2013). The authors make the case here that it is still alive. This paper provides a brief history of LO and organisational learning, follows this with some survey findings, a discussion and an exploration of some related contemporary issues and concludes with an overview and summary of the conclusions. Design/methodology/approach: Survey of practitioners. Findings: From this small survey, whilst some of the 16 respondents are still excited by the idea, a larger group sees the learning organisation as more of a background concept, performed in ways that might not fit with the aspirations of 20 years ago. Research limitations/implications: The authors started with the question: is the LO idea still alive in 2016? No clear answer emerges. Given the variety of the responses, it is difficult to sum them up in a simple way. The yea-sayer will find plenty of evidence for the LO's continued existence and relevance, but the nay-sayers will also feel at least partly vindicated. What does emerge clearly arise from the mixed messages, are the opportunities for further research. Practical implications: This paper calls for further research and suggests useful directions. Social implications: LO is still seen as socially useful. Originality/value: The paper is based on small empirical sample of practitioners who display multivocality on this concept.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to argue that curriculum-based careers education is part of a wider move to treat higher education students as holistic learners and to reframe the ways in which careers educators can learn from, and contribute to, these wider developments. Design/methodology/approach: The paper conceptualises students as "embodied learners" who require opportunities for reflection to understand and process the existential, affective and pedagogic challenges inherent in their learning. Drawing on Palmer's notion of "paradoxical spaces", careers education is shown to be one of many related responses to these student needs. Findings: Consequently, while sometimes perceived as an anomalous feature of the higher education landscape, careers education is found to share important commonalities with other pedagogic initiatives which inform and extend current debates about careers in the curriculum. Originality/value: By showing the familial characteristics that careers education shares with related initiatives, a new basis for including careers within the curriculum is proposed and a new collaborative mode for careers educators to engage with other teaching staff is encouraged. A new rationale for curriculum based careers education is advanced, that differs from utilitarian and vocational arguments by being derived from a pedagogic discourse, which seeks to establish common ground between careers educators and other academics. (Contains 1 figure.)

Immersive virtual reality (IVR) offers possibilities of creating a learner‐centric environment that can provide more presence and engagement for students leading to an enhanced learning experience compared to conventional classroom practices. However, the potential of IVR in vocational education and training (VET) has not yet been explored in‐depth, and it is an open question of whether it can effectively support learner creation in a designing task. In this paper, we present an IVR application developed to support gardener apprentices in designing gardens. Using this application, we conducted an experimental study with gardener apprentices to investigate the effect of the IVR interface compared to paper sketching and learner behavior on the proportion, composition, and creativity of the design outcome. Additionally, we investigated how it can be combined with a paper sketching activity to improve its effectiveness. Our analysis shows that the IVR interface can be more effective for the proportion aspect, but this may be limited to students that are able to use it after working with paper. In terms of the combination order, the effectiveness of IVR on the design quality was improved when it was carried out after the paper sketching and this ordering produced a more effective outcome for the proportion and composition aspects. Finally, our results show that IVR design quality is related to learner behaviors such as the time spent on designing and the number of simulations used. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of IVR applications in supporting designing skills and how effectiveness can be improved by combining it with a conventional method of practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: An innovative technology called consciousness-based education (CBE) is being introduced in schools worldwide. The approach includes both an experiential and an intellectual component. However, research studies exploring learning in CBE are rare. The purpose of the paper is to explore how organizational learning takes place in schools, which adopt CBE in addition to their ordinary curriculum. Moreover, the ambition of the approach regarding quality is examined. Methodology/approach: A multiple-case study has been carried out. Four schools using CBE have been studied: a private school in Fairfield, Iowa, USA; a governmentally funded free school in Skelmersdale, United Kingdom; an independent school in Melbourne, Australia, and a primary school in Lelystad, the Netherlands. In total, 26 in-depth interviews have been performed, mainly with teachers and students but also with principals and experts in the CBE pedagogy. In addition, three focus-group interviews with primary school pupils were conducted and observation during classes was included. The data were analyzed by the constant comparative technique from the grounded theory approach. Findings: Categories characterizing organizational learning in the CBE schools have been identified. These findings are related to theories of the learning organization, resulting in a framework depicting different components of learning. Research limitation/implication: The study provides a framework illustrating organizational learning in schools that utilize CBE which affords an overview of the technology and can serve as a vantage point for further research. Since this is a qualitative case study, the effectiveness of the CBE approach and its impact on learning outcomes were not assessed, and the possibilities to generalize the findings are limited. Originality/value: CBE has not previously been studied from an organizational learning perspective.

Computer programming education has practice-oriented as well as theory-oriented learning goals. Here, lab work plays an important role in students' learning. It is however widely reported that many students face great difficulties in learning theory as well as practice. This paper investigates the important but problematic relation between the learning of theory and the learning of practice for novice programming students. A phenomenographic and variation theoretical analysis on novice students' understanding of concepts is combined with a variation theoretical analysis on students' programming activities. It is shown that different levels of practical proficiency as well as different levels of conceptual understandings are related to dimensions of variation. The paper proposes a way to describe how students' learning of practice and concepts are related. In this way it extends traditional use of phenomenography and variation theory by discussing students' learning of practice as well as concepts, and specifically how these relate.

The paper notes that action learning has spread globally and is used in a variety of local cultures. It considers Revans' involvement in this international aspect and explores the author's own experience of action learning in cross-cultural contexts. It addresses the issue of 'acculturation' and draws evidence from a number of examples of action learning in varying cultural settings before offering some conclusions regarding action learning in cross-cultural contexts.

Opportunities for the development of science-related pedagogy during training are necessarily limited for the generalist primary (elementary), preservice teacher. While school placement is an important context within which to develop such professional expertise, the role of institution-based learning is less well understood in this regard. This paper explores the generation of science-related pedagogy as preservice primary teachers learn about the traditionally challenging subject of forces as part of their institution-based science education course. Findings illustrate how critical interpretation of the school curriculum is informed as a consequence of preservice teachers developing metacognitive awareness of their own learning of science. A subject matter learning audit provides a framework to enable the teachers to analyze their learning and apply their perspectives to the primary curriculum through focusing attention on the abstract and counterintuitive nature of forces. Pedagogic insight emerges as the student-teachers craft successive reflective accounts of their own understanding of forces and interpret the curriculum relating to forces. In doing so, they begin to translate their learning as pedagogical apparatus for their future work with pupils. The paper concludes with discussion of some implications for the role of institution-based learning in the development of pedagogical subject knowledge in science. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)

This paper contributes to current debates about the contradictory character of approaches to learning and teaching in UK higher education by suggesting an ideal-typical distinction between an academic orientation and an instrumental orientation. The paper suggests that these two distinctive orientations are associated with different kinds of student expectations on entry to UK higher education. Furthermore, the instrumental orientation is associated with an increasing preference within institutions for modes of programme delivery that are compatible with the instrumental tendencies of audit and surveillance. Institutions are likely to give priority to instrumental approaches not for pedagogic reasons but because they are convenient for the administration.

This paper details a case study of using Pinterest as an educational resource in an introductory anthropology course. Its use was evaluated through the data provided by the platform itself and focus groups. This evaluation found that Pinterest was a popular and useful tool for developing curated multimedia resources to support students' learning. The focus group findings suggested that online resources were shared by students across a variety of social networks, including but not limited to Pinterest. These resources were shared and used beyond the classroom, both physically in locations outside, but also with friends and family that were not part of the classroom. The opportunities for developing critical thinking through the use of tools such as Pinterest are explored.

In this article, author Daisy Christodoulou, a former teacher in the United Kingdom, debunks the myth that teaching facts prevents understanding, and she explains why teaching content knowledge is part of the primary mission of education. Throughout this article, she tries to stress that she shares the aims of many of the people whose methods she disagrees with. She does however say that she is concerned about the current education system because she thinks that the methods currently being used to achieve educational improvement simply do not work. She believes that the main reason they do not work is because of a misguided, outdated, and pseudoscientific stigma against the teaching of knowledge. She shares a strong conviction that there is strong empirical evidence about the success of curricula that teach knowledge, and that there is strong evidence about the success of pedagogy that promotes the effective transmission of knowledge. She argues the points that knowledge is at the heart of cognition, and if educators fail to teach knowledge, pupils fail to learn.

In this paper, I discuss SoTL as a methodology for the professional development of academics. I propose that as an agentic form of inquiry that focuses on processes, boundary-crossing, and making public its findings, SoTL is a sophisticated methodology that brings the activities of teaching and research in close alignment, and contributes to developing an approach to inquiry that differs from what I have called "managed" research. I propose that, as a methodology for professional development, SoTL provides a space for dialogic critique of singular investigations into practice that contribute to advancing individual and collective knowledge of the field of higher education. I argue that in a context where approaches to practice have become driven by competitivity and international rankings that rely on objectivist understandings of practice for their judgments, SoTL presents an alternative, rich model of practice.

This paper focuses on a key issue for university managers, educational developers and teaching practitioners: that of producing new operational knowledge in the innovation system. More specifically, it explores the knowledge required to guide individual and institutional styles of teaching and learning in a large multi-disciplinary faculty. The case study presented outlines a sustainable approach for achieving quality enhancement of teaching and learning and producing new operational knowledge. Sustainability is achieved by linking to, and being sympathetic to, the innovative activity-led concept of learning reported in this paper. This leads to the identification of elements of evaluation that are appropriately aligned to the teaching and learning behaviours, attitudes and approaches that are critical for the innovation to be successful. Such context-sensitive evaluation elements allow meaningful feedback for the purposes of creating new operational knowledge that may then be applied and tested for on-going refinement and learning.

This paper sets out to look critically at the influences on pedagogy in early years education, at the ways in which it is enacted in practice and the pedagogical perspectives held by practitioners. The aim of the paper is to explore the current state of understanding and suggest areas to be included in an agenda for future research. The factors that influence practitioners' actions are reviewed and the consensus around child-centredness and play is challenged. Findings from two studies of pedagogy in action in the early years are presented and examined in terms of sociocultural theory and its implications for practice. The first of these studies draws attention to the varied nature of pedagogical interactions that support learning while the second looks at the experience of pedagogical innovation. The need for researchers and practitioners to find effective ways of communicating and working together is stressed throughout the paper. (Contains 2 tables.)

Since the 1997 election of the Labour Party to political power in the UK the foci for educational change have been widespread. One area that has received particularly intense scrutiny is that of teacher activity. In particular, the profession has seen a marked rise in the identification of "best practice". As a term "best practice" has entered the parlance of English educational policy to describe that which seemingly has "official" approval. This paper uses a social constructionist perspective to consider how increases in pupil attainment on national tests are currently used to demonstrate better pupil learning. Specifically, it identifies that the use of such data to describe the plausibility, veracity and legitimacy of teaching before the test as "best practice" is questionable. In so doing, the critique argues that "best practice" confers and retains legitimacy due to its self-perpetuation within the discourse of performance. The paper concludes by offering three areas for further research and debate. (Contains 1 note.)

Purpose: This paper aims to use (in)visibility as a lens to understand the lived experience of six women managers in the headquarters of a large multinational organization in the UK to identify how "gender" is expressed in the context of organizational learning. Design/methodology/approach: The researchers take a phenomenological approach via qualitative data collection with a purposeful sample--the six female managers in a group of 24. Data were collected through quarterly semi-structured interviews over 12 months with the themes--knowledge, interaction and gender. Findings: Organizations seek to build advantage to gain and retain competitive leadership. Their resilience in a changing task environment depends on their ability to recognize, gain and use knowledge likely to deliver these capabilities. Here, gender was a barrier to effective organizational learning with women's knowledge and experience often unseen and unheard. Research limitations/implications: This is a piece of research limited to exploration of gender as other, but ethnicity, age, social class, disability and sexual preference, alone or in combination, may be equally subject to invisibility in knowledge terms; further research would be needed to test this however. Practical implications: Practical applications relate to the need for organizations to examine and address their operations for exclusion based on perceived "otherness". Gendered organizations cause problems for their female members, but they also exclude the experience and knowledge of key individuals as seen here, where gender impacted on effective knowledge sharing and cocreation of knowledge. Social implications: The study offers further evidence of gendered organizations and their impacts on organizational effectiveness, but it also offers insights into the continues social acceptance of a masculinized normative model for socio-economic practice. Originality/value: This exploration of gender and organizational learning offers new insights to help explain the way in which organizational learning occurs--or fails to occur--with visibility/invisibility of one group shaped by gendered attitudes and processes. It shows that organizational learning is not gender neutral (as it appears in mainstream organizational learning research) and calls for researchers to include this as a factor in future research.

Historically fitness testing has been identified as a common but controversial physical education (PE)-for-health practice across the globe. Despite this, little is known about the current prevalence and implementation of fitness testing. This paper therefore reports on findings from a survey which gathered both quantitative and qualitative data to explore the 'if?', 'why?' and 'how?' of fitness testing and provide new insights into teachers' learning intentions, pedagogical practices, and attitudes towards it. The survey was distributed to PE departments in secondary schools across the UK, and responses were analysed and reported descriptively and thematically. Responses from 260 schools highlighted that fitness testing remains a common practice in PE, with 80% of PE teachers reporting it to feature in their curriculum. There was less consensus surrounding the 'why?' and 'how?' of testing, with variation evident in teachers' stated learning intentions, pedagogical practices, and attitudes. Despite its prevalence, PE teachers expressed concerns over negative pupil outcomes potentially arising from fitness testing, and over 60% of teachers were uncertain or agreed that fitness testing can have a negative impact on pupils' psychological health. Given the findings and the reported widespread prevalence of fitness testing, further research should explore pupils' perspectives, responses, and outcomes of fitness testing, including their motivational and emotional responses to testing. Working with teachers and encouraging them to critically reflect on the 'if?', 'why?' and 'how?' of fitness testing is recommended and will hopefully help to bridge the gap between research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an era in which "teaching excellence" in higher education attracts much attention, what is "scholarship?" In this conceptual paper, I re-examine the notion of scholarship in relation to the goals and purposes of higher education. How does "scholarship" speak to value-based conceptions of "good" education in the European tradition, encapsulated in the German term "Bildung?" How might the notion of scholarship relate to the principles, practices and "outputs" of research? I argue that a more nuanced understanding of the legitimate diversity of scholarly practices in higher education could help individuals develop scholarly careers that draw on their personal values, strengths and goals. It can also help departments and institutions reward education-focused scholars and leaders more equitably. Finally, realising fully the synergies between education and research within a holistic "scholarship circle" can strengthen institutions' capacities for making an impact for good in the world.

Momentum is continuing to grow in the circulation of neuroscientific discourse, informing aspects of how we live but affecting too how we think about education and learning. Neurologically informed intrusions into education frequently align with psychology which has until now largely adopted a "medical model", supporting policies and practices which ultimately invoke psychopathology and arguably render individual young people more vulnerable to various forms of social and educational exclusion. This paper urges caution in respect of understandings of educational neuroscience that focus on individual deficits and diagnoses. Rather it holds in mind the broader historical context for neuroscience and its implications for our understandings of what it is to be human in the twenty first century and thereafter for education and learning. Theoretical resources from critical and affective neuroscience but also critical educational psychology are brought together specifically to support the principles of inclusionist policies and practices in education.

This paper is a response to Cotton, Miller and Kneale's 2017 paper on the current state of higher education research within UK universities. It seeks to contribute to the debate surrounding the inclusion of pedagogic research (PedR) via SoTL in the UK's Research Excellence Framework (REF) in the context of researchers who reside within a disciplinary context. The inclusion of PedR in the REF continues to be contentious, despite recommendations in the Stern Report which could make its inclusion more feasible. This paper focuses on PedR which is conducted, published and disseminated by academics situated within Life Science departments, rather than Schools of Education. The twenty-one teaching-focused academics in this study discussed their commitment to PedR integral to their academic identity, the challenges they faced in carrying out PedR, and their thoughts on REF 2014. Their opinions and conclusions give food for thought on decisions regarding inclusion of PedR in REF 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to evaluate the perceived efficacy of outdoor groupwork skills programmes for the undergraduate and postgraduate students, and the factors that influence its success. It also illustrates the use of Kirkpatrick's (1994) 4-level model of training evaluation as a framework for qualitative investigation of learning and transfer, from the perspective of key stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach: Over 24 hours of recorded data were collected using a video diary room, one-to-one interviews and focus group discussions. Participants were current students (n = 66), alumni (n = 12), outdoor education instructors (n = 6) and academic staff (n = 5). The data were transcribed, and then analysed by conducting conventional content analysis. Prolonged engagement, triangulation, peer debriefing and referential adequacy were used to establish the trustworthiness and reliability of the analyses. Findings: Outdoor groupwork skills programmes were widely viewed as being effective for developing interpersonal skills, attitudes and knowledge that were then further developed and applied during degree courses and later in the workplace. Four of the main perceived benefits were increased social integration amongst peers, academic success, personal development and employability. A range of psychological and environmental factors were reported to influence the extent of skill development and transfer, and are presented in the Model for Optimal Learning and Transfer. Practical implications: This study supports outdoor groupwork skills programmes as an effective method of groupwork skills training during higher education, and offers recommendations for promoting learning and transfer following training courses. Originality/value: This is the first study to systematically evaluate the long-term impact of outdoor groupwork skills programmes in higher education. A novel methodological approach is also demonstrated, which can be replicated in other contexts of training evaluation.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature on innovation and entrepreneurial learning by exploring how SMEs learn and innovate, how they use both formal and informal learning and in particular the role of networks and crisis events within their learning experience. Design/methodology/approach: Mixed method study, comprising 13 focus groups, over 1,000 questionnaire responses from SME managers, and 20 case studies derived from semi-structured interviews. Findings: SMEs have a strong commitment to learning, and a shared vision. Much of this learning is informal through network events, mentoring or coaching. SMEs that are innovative are significantly more committed to learning than those which are less innovative, seeing employee learning as an investment. Innovative SMEs are more likely to have a shared vision, be open-minded and to learn from crises, being able to reflect on their experiences. Research limitations/implications: There is a need for further process driven qualitative research to understand the interrelationship between, particularly informal, learning, crisis events and SME innovation. Practical implications: -- SME owners need opportunities and time for reflection as a means of stimulating personal learning -- particularly the opportunity to learn from crisis events. Access to mentors (often outside the business) can be important here, as are informal networks. Originality/value: This is one of the first mixed method large scale studies to explore the relationship between SME innovation and learning, highlighting the importance of informal learning to innovation and the need for SME leaders to foster this learning as part of a shared organisational vision.

Technology has become an integral part of our educational systems, and its importance in our schools cannot be overstated. However, digital skills, unlike other literacy skills, such as reading, writing, and numeracy, still have many discontinuities between how children use them at home versus in school. Therefore, in Wales (UK), digital skills are being promoted as part of the Digital Competence Framework (DCF) and feature highly in the new Curriculum for Wales (2022). Moreover, the new Digital Technology General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) in Wales has been introduced to provide learners with the opportunity to gain a qualification that builds digital skills, knowledge, and understanding. However, this also brings many challenges for teachers, such as a lack of confidence, knowledge, and training, as well as a lack of resources and fear of change, to name a few. These challenges, in turn, have an impact on pupils' motivation and performance, as well as parents' ability to support their children. This paper presents a qualitative case study on the development of a new digital technology learning community for primary and secondary school pupils, their teachers, and parents in Blaenau Gwent, Wales (UK). Firstly, the paper will provide insight into what was required to establish an effective learning community, including ensuring engagement and buy-in from all stakeholders. Secondly, through the description, analysis, and interpretation of findings from two studies, the paper will highlight the impact of the DTLSN learning community on teachers and pupils in Blaenau Gwent, especially in terms of their learning and teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pupil voice is an emerging force for change and improvement in many UK schools, but what is not fully understood is how best to access pupil voice within the specific context of secondary mathematics departments. This paper presents a research project designed to use pupils as co-researchers in increasing knowledge about how to improve learning in mathematics. Pupils within the school were selected and trained as "Ambassadors" to understand and disseminate innovative ways of learning mathematics into their school environment and to act to allow the voice of all the pupils in their year group to be heard. The project was intended both to raise the pupils' awareness of how learning mathematics could be different and to enable them to voice their newly informed opinions about how best they learned mathematics. The pupils' current feelings about the way that they were taught mathematics were explored, but the focus of the project was on enabling the pupils to make informed decisions about how they felt their learning could be improved. The pupils' awareness of different ways of learning mathematics was raised by introducing them to alternative teaching approaches. The data generated were initially analysed by the pupils themselves in order to inform their teachers about their views and subsequently constant comparison analysis resulted in the outcomes reported here. The outcomes indicate that the students could have an important role in enabling schools to develop their teaching and improve their pupils' mathematical learning when that voice is both informed and authorised.

Universities are facing severe cuts in funding and a transformation of both the economic model underpinning higher education and the relationship between students, tutors and universities and the traditional forms of support for students' learning may be eroded. At the same time, mobile communications, instant messaging and social networking are now widespread amongst students and offer possible opportunities for developing new models of support. This paper reports on the use of instant messaging amongst peers, as part of a study of digitally-mediated communication and collaborative activities, crossing formal and informal boundaries, amongst campus-based undergraduate students, at a large university in the UK. It is argued that instant messaging conversations offers a means of sustainable peer support for students by demonstrating how they emerge from everyday practices, drawing on existing relationships and shared histories and redrawing the boundaries between formal and informal settings and practices. The importance of time is highlighted, showing how longitudinal, dialogic conversations were important for both practical and empathetic support. The potential of the instant messaging conversations in supporting the co-creation of artefacts, meaning making, motivation and affective support are also demonstrated, drawing on detailed examples of authentic conversations. However, such peer support practices remain largely invisible and therefore need acknowledging, fostering and encouraging, working alongside students to understand and develop these ideas so that peer support in universities can build on the existing practices of students themselves. (Contains 9 figures and 1 table.)

Recent research has established that small firms tend to develop and acquire the skills they need in different ways to those employed by larger organisations. More specifically, due to certain characteristics inherent to their small size, small firms generally display greater informality in their learning processes. As such, it is now broadly accepted that they cannot normally be expected to learn in the highly formalised and structured ways more often pursued by their larger counterparts. However, this enlightened perspective has, in certain parts of the literature, arguably led to a neglect of formal training as a means of developing skills. Small firms can and do benefit from formal training--some more than others--but this is at risk of being ignored. Based on a critical review of the relevant research, the paper aims to bring a measure of clarity and structure to this emerging debate. In doing so, it draws on the concept of "learning architecture" to illuminate the connection between firm size and learning processes.

Education is for anarchism, and what can very broadly be termed "autonomism"--that is, the many different schools of non-Leninist Marxism--of paramount importance in creating a society worthy of humanity, but this is not a simple formula of countering the dominant mode of institutional indoctrination known as schooling with libertarian propaganda, though that may have its place. The importance of education can be said to be "an-end-in-itself" prefiguring free social relations of community and reciprocity, comprised of autonomous individuals capable of comprehending both themselves and the world in which they live. Such a process of learning and acquiring knowledge must also nourish intellect and other forms of intelligence, just as intellect and other forms of intelligence nourish the acquisition of knowledge. This paper will seek to critically explore some of the key issues involved in an anarcho-Marxist critique of schooling and develop the basis for what might constitute an alternative view of education which could be said to be in radical opposition to such schooling at all levels. (Contains 8 notes.)

Degree-integrated placements (DIPs) are an important learning experience for many bioscience undergraduates. How these extended experiences will be affected by the proposed changes in higher education funding in the UK is uncertain. This paper explores one bioscience degree programme to investigate the contention that learning outcomes, traditionally attributed to extended undergraduate work placements, can equally well be gained from other strands of teaching in higher education institutions. The research compares two groups of bioscience students: those who have been on a DIP and those who have not. It gauges the acquisition of transferable skills in both workplace settings and also in three other strands of the degree programme. Findings suggest that the broad learning that is gained from a DIP cannot be replicated in other strands of undergraduate experience; nor can it be achieved in less structured types of work experience. Possible reasons for this are discussed. (Contains 3 tables.)

Following an internal evaluation exercise, using Action Research, this paper identifies the positive impact of small-scale research projects on teaching and learning at a single case study UK University. Clear evidence is given of how the projects benefited students and staff, and enhanced institutional culture. Barriers to better practice are also identified, with suggestions for continuous improvement. The evaluation process is offered as an example of good practice in stewardship of public funds at a time of recession. (Contains 1 table.)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to stimulate changes to the way performance data is used to improve performance taking the government's use of project data as an example. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses systems theory to review the way the government's major projects portfolio should be analysed. Findings: This paper concludes that broader engagement in the analytics process should be considered as a way of improving insights and learning from reviews. The paper suggests that report alone has limited value. Research limitations/implications: By taking a systems approach, this study raises questions about the methods used to manage data analysis and system improvements. Systems thinking is a useful tool to consider applications such as the performance of the government's project portfolio, but there are many other approaches that can be applied. Practical implications: This study makes very specific recommendations around the roles and responsibilities of people and teams at different levels in the system. Roles and activities are described together with recommendations about interfering in and overreaching these roles and activities. Originality/value: This paper synthesises a number of systems approaches together with a view of why "we measure" to create a framework for analysing approaches to performance improvement. The practical application provided here gives insights into how these approaches can be used in real-life contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narrative analysis offers a powerful and accessible means of understanding the ways in which individuals experience learning across a range of educational sites. Drawing on a recent study that explored "dyspraxic" pupils' experiences of drawing from observation, this paper offers an insight into the potential that narrative analysis has for enhancing our understanding of the ways in which individuals experience complex contexts for learning, where the fields of art education, "special" education and inclusion intersect. I argue here that a narrative approach can enhance our understanding of pupils' experiences of learning by a capacity to resist the compartmentalization of experience. The "natural" drive to use narrative as an interpretive procedure for explaining departures from the "norm" is also discussed, with the concepts of "breach and exception" offering a useful frame for exploring the spaces between centres of practice in art education and the potentially "de-centred" "dyspraxic" learner. (Contains 2 figures.)