Search

In the name of curriculum breadth and raising standards, recent government policy in England has removed a large number of non-academic qualifications from the list of those that secondary schools can count in league tables, discouraging their use. Most of these were vocational qualifications, but they also include skills-led qualifications. This paper reports mixed methods research investigating the relationship between mainstream secondary school qualifications in England and a specific, widely used skills-led qualification: the Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE). Neither academic nor vocational, CoPE requires learners to assemble a portfolio of evidence in response to "challenges" negotiated with the teacher. It is designed to promote a reflective learning orientation and to develop (and assess) skills that underpin learning and future employability. We use a combination of regression analysis, pseudo-experiment and qualitative case study. Our research shows that CoPE is associated with improved outcomes in the "mainstream" academic qualifications often regarded as the benchmark for the quality of schools and much of what goes on in them. Thus, we argue that certain reforms designed to raise standards are likely to depress attainment in the very qualifications deemed as core indicators of educational standards.

The paper reports a study that investigated the relationship between students' self-predicted and actual General Certificate of Secondary Education results in order to establish the extent of over-and under-prediction and whether this varies by subject and across genders and socio-economic groupings. It also considered the relationship between actual and predicted attainment and attitudes towards going to university. The sample consisted of 109 young people in two schools being followed up from an earlier study. Just over 50% of predictions were accurate and students were much more likely to over-predict than to under-predict. Most errors of prediction were only one grade out and may reflect examination unreliability as well as student misperceptions. Girls were slightly less likely than boys to over-predict but there were no differences associated with social background. Higher levels of attainment, both actual and predicted, were strongly associated with positive attitudes to university. Differences between predictions and results are likely to reflect examination errors as well as pupil errors. There is no evidence that students from more advantaged social backgrounds over-estimate themselves compared with other students, although boys over-estimate themselves compared with girls.

The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent the language factor contributes to students' critical thinking abilities. The critical thinking (CT) skills and abilities of final year undergraduate students studying on the same program were tested using a modified Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal questionnaire. The students were divided into two groups: a Chinese-educated group and native-speaking and British-educated one. The results indicated that the overall CT skills of the English-speaking students are higher than those of Chinese students and especially in certain aspects of the appraisal. It was also found that Chinese students performed better when completing the appraisal in their native language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the purposes of state intervention for habitat conservation and the forms it assumes. Justifications for intervention from anthropocentric to ecocentric; Recognition of the need to conserve habitats; Impact of changes in land use and management on habitats in England and Scotland; Problems with the regime for habitat conservation.