Diversity, dialogue, and identity in designing globally relevant social work education

        This article reflects on how to design social work education for internationally diverse cohorts of students. It draws on insights from a Master program for social work practitioners from around the world that has been delivered by a partnership of five European universities since 2013. Three particular issues are explored: developing…Continue Reading Diversity, dialogue, and identity in designing globally relevant social work education

Secondary school students’ attitudes to practical work in biology, chemistry and physics in England

Practical work is frequently and widely used in the teaching of science in secondary schools in England (Bennett 2005). Indeed, many science teachers in England believe its frequent use to be both ‘the “natural” and “right” thing to do’ (Millar 2002, 53) and that it plays an important role in motivating students towards the study of science…Continue Reading Secondary school students’ attitudes to practical work in biology, chemistry and physics in England

Secondary school students’ attitudes to practical work in biology, chemistry and physics in England

        In England, practical work is a major part of secondary school science and yet little research has examined students’ attitudes specifically to practical work. The research considered students’ attitudes in terms of an established analytical framework incorporating the affective, behavioural and cognitive (ABC) domains and used a mixed methods approach involving…Continue Reading Secondary school students’ attitudes to practical work in biology, chemistry and physics in England

Mixed methods, mixed outcomes? Combining an RCT and case studies to research the impact of a training programme for primary school science teachers

A randomised controlled trial (RCT) and a series of case studies were used to determine the impact of two variants of an intervention (a professional development programme) aimed at improving primary school science teachers’ subject and pedagogic content knowledge, and enhancing their subject leadership ability. Ninety-six schools were randomly assigned to full or partial treatment…Continue Reading Mixed methods, mixed outcomes? Combining an RCT and case studies to research the impact of a training programme for primary school science teachers

Academic Freedom and World Class Universities: A virtuous circle?

Using empirical data from over 1500 respondents (drawn from across the UK) to a survey on academic freedom, and the Times Higher’s World University Rankings, this paper is a comparative assessment of the relationship between professed levels of defacto protection for academic freedom by teaching and research staff in individual UK universities, and their institution’s…Continue Reading Academic Freedom and World Class Universities: A virtuous circle?

Assessment Companion for Thinking Skills (ACTS)

Erasmus+ is a European Union initiative that aims to modernise education, training and youth work across Europe. A bid for a three year project that focuses on the development of critical thinking skills through innovative approaches and the exchange of good practices was submitted to Erasmus+ by the University of Lincoln in March 2017. The…Continue Reading Assessment Companion for Thinking Skills (ACTS)

Does Paired Mentoring of Year 11 Students with STEM Undergraduates in Science Work?

          This reports on a project delivered by the school of Education at the University of Lincoln the was designed to support year 11 (aged 15-16) students from disadvantaged backgrounds by pairing them with undergraduate mentors during the last year of their science General Certificate of secondary Education (GCSE) study. University…Continue Reading Does Paired Mentoring of Year 11 Students with STEM Undergraduates in Science Work?