Psychology, Sociology and Education
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/14
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Item Ode to Joy: discussions on creating a chorus of jubilation in education(University of Aberdeen, 2025-09-16) Lord, Kat; Deazley, StephenIn this dialogue, Stephen, Artistic Director of a non-profit arts organisation, and Kat, a former primary school teacher and Senior Lecturer in Education at a Post-1992 university, reflect on the nature of joy in informal and formal education spaces as taken from their professional experiences. They explore how to create the conditions for joy in those spaces through song, discussing their collaboration to design an inclusive and sustainable singing programme, Sing for Wellbeing.Item The Impact of Parental Complaints on Teacher Mental Health and Wellbeing(Diamond Scientific Publishing, 2022-03) Lord, Kat; Williams, JaneThis study examined the impact of parental complaints on the mental health and wellbeing of teachers within Scottish state schools during Covid-19. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, a significant proportion of teaching staff reported feeling undervalued by society (OECD, 2018) and over half of Scottish teachers reported mental ill health due to workplace stress (White, 2020). As the pandemic continued, poor mental health continued to affect UK teachers (Kim & Asbury, 2020) and a noticeable, negative rhetoric about teachers began circulating in the UK media (O'Donnell, 2020, Power, 2020; Prior, 2020; Vine, 2020; Woolcock, 2020) and via social media platforms (Chakrabarti, 2020; Education Support, 2020), with parental dissatisfaction and anxiety directed at teachers. The research was undertaken using a mixed methods sequential design consisting of an online survey followed by semi-structured interviews. The survey data was analysed using SPSS, providing descriptive and inferential statistical data about the respondent demographics, experiences of complaints, and level of wellbeing as measured through an interpretative phenomenological approach exploring how the parent – pupil – teacher – school relationship is impacted by complaints. Findings include: (i) the need for greater dialogue around the role of complaints and parental engagement in schools postCovid, (ii) what teachers believe they are able to deliver and parental expectations of that delivery, at times resulted in unreasonable and difficult parental behaviours that impacted the parent- pupil relationship in a minority of cases, and (iii) that most interviewees felt well supported but that the complaints process could be improved.Item Unlocking Imaginations: Lessons Learnt from Using Story Stem Completion with Young Children(Routledge, 2024-11-21) Rennie, Catriona; Jones, Sian; Uytman, ClareAlthough a substantial proportion of psychological research focuses on the topic of ableism in schools, there is an extremely limited use of qualitative methodology in this area, with no instances, thus far, employing the story stem completion method. Furthermore, there is a scarcity of academic literature discussing best practice in terms of research conducted (a) with children instead of adults, (b) within school settings, or (c) addressing ableism and disabilitybased prejudice. This paper seeks to fill this gap by sharing insights gained from our own research project. We collected qualitative data through story stem completion tasks to explore perceptions and discourse surrounding disability among N = 195 children aged 5 – 11 years in the UK. We explain and critically assess our research decisions, including the creation of story stems, remote and indirect engagement with pupils and school staff, and our data collection methods. In doing so, we highlight the array of choices available to researchers, emphasize the importance of further dialogue within the research community, and advocate for evidence-based best practices in this specific research area.Item School and university in partnership: a shared enquiry into teachers’ collaborative practices(Taylor and Francis Group, 2019-11-09) Oates, Catriona; Bignell, CaroleAlthough partnership working has been a feature of educational practice for some time, some recent reforms and developments have refocused educators’ attention on this phenomenon. Whilst there are many versions and interpretations of partnerships in education, the most common understanding of partnerships between school and university is as the arrangement to facilitate, support and assess student teachers in practical teaching experience. The aim of this paper is to critically examine the concept of partnership between school and university. We offer a critique of partnership as it is presented in literature at a macro and meso level, and we report on a collaborative enquiry between school and university staff in a (micro-level) secondary school setting. The project was structured around a series of workshops in the school setting to support and facilitate Learning Rounds. Using data from this project including field notes and semi-structured interviews, we will give voice to the often unheard testimony of the teacher in their lived experiences of partnership, and make a contribution to the ongoing debate around partnerships by highlighting some of the difficulties and tensions arising from partnership in practice.Item Análisis del discurso crítico sobre la reducción de jornada en periódicos gallegos: ampliando miradas desde el feminismo decolonial(FapUNIFESP (SciELO), 2023-11-09) Ferreira-Marante, Rocio; Veiga-Seijo, SilviaResumen Introducción Se está produciendo una crisis de los cuidados reforzada por diversos aspectos, entre ellos, las políticas neoliberales. La reducción de jornada es un derecho para favorecer la conciliación. Sin embargo, este fenómeno todavía no ha sido explorado desde Terapia Ocupacional Social. Objetivo Ahondar en el fenómeno de la reducción de jornada laboral en mujeres mediante el análisis de medios de comunicación desde una perspectiva feminista decolonial y de la Terapia Ocupacional Social. Método Se utilizó el Análisis del Discurso Crítico desde una perspectiva feminista decolonial, como enfoque metodológico para analizar los discursos, el lenguaje y los significados transmitidos en los medios de comunicación. Se ha empleado la base de datos Factiva para localizar las noticias. La búsqueda fue realizada el 2 de mayo de 2020 de forma conjunta por las autoras. Se han incluido 50 noticias de periódico. Resultados Este trabajo visibiliza situaciones de violencia institucional, negación de derechos de las mujeres, privación de libertad, injusticias y desigualdades. Se entretejen reflexiones desde la Terapia Ocupacional Social y el feminismo decolonial. Conclusiones La Terapia Ocupacional Social llama por un constante cuestionamiento sobre los espacios (locales y situados, en este caso Galicia) y acciones de práctica, lo que implica cuestionar las estructuras opresivas de dominación (estructura del estado en la articulación de la ley de reducción de jornada y en los discursos sociales construidos). La reducción de jornada es un ejemplo más de cómo nuestros haceres cotidianos son mediados por relaciones de poder patriarcales y coloniales.Item Exploring Curriculum Making in Scottish Secondary Schools: Trends and Effects(Edinburgh University Press, 2023-11) Shapira, Marina; Priestley, Mark; Peace-Hughes, Tracey; Barnett, Camilla; Ritchie, MichelleThis article presents the findings from a recent study funded by the Nuffield Foundation, which aimed to provide insights into the experiences of young people and teachers in secondary schools across Scotland under the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). Our research has uncovered a decrease in the number of National Qualifications entries in S4 under CfE, a phenomenon commonly referred to in Scotland as ‘curriculum narrowing.’ Furthermore, we have identified evidence of social stratification in overall and subject entry patterns in S4, with students from disadvantaged areas experiencing a more significant decline in entries and being limited to a narrower range of subjects. Additionally, our study has revealed signs of curriculum fragmentation during the Broad General Education phase (years S1–S3). The findings from our study also suggest that the curriculum decisions made in schools are primarily driven by the demand for better attainment data, particularly in National Qualifications during the Senior Phase (school years S4–S6), with less emphasis on what it means for an individual to become an educated person in a modern and complex society. Based on our findings, we have concluded that curriculum fragmentation and narrowing under CfE have a detrimental impact on the progression and attainment of young people. Schools that offer a broader curriculum in S4 demonstrate higher enrolment rates for Higher qualifications in S5 and Advanced Higher qualifications in S6. In contrast, schools that offer a narrower curriculum in S4, particularly those in deprived areas, are more likely to experience delays in higher-level qualification entry. A broader curriculum in S4 has been associated with improved performance in National 5 qualifications, higher scores in international tests such as PISA English and Maths, and higher scores on OECD measures of global competences. On the other hand, a narrower curriculum is correlated with less favourable outcomes after leaving school, especially in terms of Higher Education enrolment.Item The learning styles neuromyth: when the same term means different things to different teachers(Springer, 2020-07-03) Papadatou-Pastou, Marietta; Touloumakos, Anna K.; Koutouveli, Christina; Barrable, AlexiaAlthough learning styles (LS) have been recognised as a neuromyth, they remain a virtual truism within education. A point of concern is that the term LS has been used within theories that describe them using completely different notions and categorisations. This is the first empirical study to investigate education professionals’ conceptualisation, as well as means of identifying and implementing LS in their classroom. A sample of 123 education professionals were administered a questionnaire consisting both closed- and open-ended questions. Responses were analysed using thematic analysis. LS were found to be mainly conceptualised within the Visual-Auditory-(Reading)-Kinaesthetic (VAK/VARK) framework, as well as Gardner’s multiple intelligences. Moreover, a lot of education professionals confused theories of learning (e.g., behavioural or cognitive theories) with LS. In terms of identifying LS, educators reported using a variety of methods, spanning from observation and everyday contact to the use of tests. The ways LS were implemented in the classroom were numerous, comprising various teaching aids, participatory techniques and motor activities. Overall, we argue that the extended use of the term LS gives the illusion of a consensus amongst educators, when a closer examination reveals that the term LS is conceptualised, identified and implemented idiosyncratically by different individuals. This study aims to be of use to pre-service and in-service teacher educators in their effort to debunk the neuromyth of LS and replace it with evidence-based practices.Item Considering Social Justice: Lived Experiences of Education Students During the First Course Year.(SAGE, 2022-12-23) Jones, Sian; Eady, Sandra; Craig, LindaIncreasing research focus is placed on how to embed social justice within Education degrees. This paper reports findings from the first two phases of a cohort study completed just before and at the start of the pandemic, which track Scottish Education students’ reflections on social justice at one university. We used three focus groups (n = 14) and surveys to analyse students’ (n = 45) definitions of social justice. Using Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological System’s Theory and Saldana’s Analytical Coding framework we found that themes around prejudice, culture, policy, and emerging professional identity captured participants’ reflections as both beginning teachers and students of educational studies. Key to our findings was that fewer reflections of social justice were cited to global than to local contexts. This paper highlights ways in which university educators may conceive of social justice such that it is considered by students in both their immediate and in global contexts.Item Mentoring Teachers in Scotland: A Practical Guide(Routledge, 2022-05-19) Eady, Sandra; Essex, Jane; Livingston, Kay; McColl, Margaret; Eady, Sandra; Essex, Jane; Livingston, Kay; McColl, MargaretThis book assists mentors in developing their mentor skills, offering guidance needed to support the development of beginning teachers in early years, primary and secondary schools in the Scottish education system, as well as supporting all teachers in their career long professional learning.Item Acts of pedagogical resistance: Marking out an ethical boundary against human technologies(SAGE, 2021-01-04) McNair, Lynn J.; Blaisdell, Caralyn; Davis, John M.; Addison, Luke J.This article highlights an action research project that sparked transformation regarding how early years practitioners documented children’s learning. The dominant discourse of standardisation and narrowing of early childhood education, encapsulated in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s International Early Learning Study, has resulted in the ‘shaping’ and ‘testing’ of young children around the globe. The OECD has become very interested in early childhood education and is a very instrumental player today (Moss, 2018). Consequently, the testing of young children has been instigated by governments to ensure children gain the accepted knowledge, skills and dispositions required to be successful learners. Situated within this context of testing and standardisation, this article will share knowledge gained from a small action research project that took place in one Scottish early years setting. The study was stimulated by the early years practitioners of the setting, who strongly opposed the ‘reductionist’ formal ‘tick-box’ assessments produced by their local authority. These types of didactic formal assessments suggest that pedagogy is underpinned by a desire to tame, predict, prepare, supervise and evaluate learning. This article is of critical importance as it examines the imposition of didactic assessment from the practitioners’ perspective. The practitioners in the study contested that ‘tick-box’ assessments diminished children’s identities down to a list of judgements about their academic abilities, or lack thereof. The introduction of the ‘tick-box’ assessments presented a dilemma for the practitioners, in terms of the different views of the government and practitioners of what knowledge is worth knowing and what individuals and groups are able to learn. Many of the practitioners from the early childcare and learning setting positioned themselves and their work as being consciously different from what was going on in the wider sector. The early childcare and learning setting employed in this article introduced a new method to capture children’s learning, which they named the ‘Lived Story’ approach. In this article, we argue that Lived Stories are a form of narrative assessment which are designed to track children’s progress whilst respecting the complexity of their learning, their position within the learning process, the flow/fluidity of their ways of being and their ability to act in radical, creative and innovative ways. We conclude that by using ‘Lived Stories’ practitioners were able to lessen the surety of the language we use. The article highlights that as practitioners write Lived Stories and assess children’s progress they are freed to use language such as ‘wondering, puzzling, thinking, exploring’. In turn, we demonstrate that this language, and the ideas it enables, are on a continuum; a journey that spans a lifetime.