Jo Rose

Team reasoning and collective rationality: Piercing the veil of obviousness

The experiments reported in our target article provide strong evidence of collective utility maximization, and the findings suggest that team reasoning should now be included among the social value orientations used in cognitive and social psychology. Evidential decision theory offers a possible alternative explanation for our results but fails to predict intuitively compelling strategy choices in simple games with asymmetric team-reasoning outcomes. Although many of our experimental participants evidently used team reasoning, some appear to have ignored the other players expected strategy choices and used lower-level, nonstrategic forms of reasoning. Standard payoff transformations cannot explain the experimental findings, nor team reasoning in general, without an unrealistic assumption that players invariably reason nonstrategically.

Aspirations and an Austerity State: Young People's Hopes and Goals for the Future.

Survey findings from 1701 Year 11 and Year 13 students across 35 English educational institutions are reported, which indicate young people’s hopes and goals, and the ways in which their institutions support them in their aspirations. This research adds to the literature empirical findings using a methodological stance on the study of aspirations that is open to broader perspectives of young people’s agendas for their lives. The majority of young people reported high-educational (e.g. university) and career (e.g. a professional or well-paid job) aspirations. Life satisfaction and developing relationships was also high on the agenda of many young people.

So tell me what you want: a comparison of FE college and other post-16 students’ aspirations

This study compares the aspirations of students in further education (FE) colleges and non-FE post-compulsory settings. Within the context of a survey about their education, 928 students across 26 institutions were asked what their ‘hopes, goals and plans’ were, with space for five open responses. Coding of responses was based upon self-determination theory. Career aspirations were most frequently mentioned, followed by educational aspirations (approximately one quarter of responses for each). Students from FE settings mentioned career aspirations more frequently and educational aspirations less frequently than students in non-FE settings. Aspirations such as personal happiness and life satisfaction were also mentioned by students. The need for FE colleges to support students in developing high aspirations was highlighted. Furthermore, a wider framework of student aspiration for use in both research and educational practice is needed.

Restrictions into opportunities: how boundaries in the life course can shape educational pathways

This study explores relationships between experiences in initial education, subsequent life experiences/opportunities and the decision to return to education later in life. Semi-structured interviews with seven female returners to education, focused initially upon the women’s perceptions of their aspirations and motivations at various ages, how these related to the choices they felt they had available to them at different points in time, and their sense of agency. Subsequently, the interviewees considered the relationship between early educational experiences, post-school experiences, and their current choices. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts led to the identification of four main themes: restrictions, opportunities, personal development, and an underlying theme of planning. Consideration of the relationships between these themes led to the conclusion that it was life experiences rather than initial education that both motivated and empowered the interviewees to take advantage of opportunities for higher education.

Collective commitment and collective efficacy: A theoretical model for understanding the motivational dynamics of dilemma resolution in inter-professional work

This paper presents a new theoretical model which conceptualizes inter-professional and multi-agency collaborative working, at the level of the individual within a group. This arises from a review of the literature around joint working, and is based on social psychological theories which refer to shared goals. The model assumes that collective commitment, collective efficacy, and process and outcome beliefs interact and feed into the development and maintenance of collaborative processes and outcomes. This is situated within an ecological framework that summarizes the context of inter-professional and multi-agency collaboration. The model illustrates working resolutions of specific inter-professional dilemmas around identity, role and control. This paper extends the literature around theoretical approaches to collaborative work in a multi-agency or inter-professional context, with its specific social-psychological focus on the motivations of the individual within the group.

“You have to do something beyond containing”: developing inclusive systems in a partnership of primary schools

ABSTRACT Reducing fixed term exclusions (FTE) in primary schools is a difficult proposition. This research discusses how a partnership of primary schools developed more inclusive systems to support students previously given FTEs for disciplinary purposes. Longitudinal data from interviews and documentary sources trace the development of an approach amongst primary schools with previously high levels of FTE. The process of developing a model of transferred inclusion (TI) within the partnership led to schools changing practices around behaviour management, thus developing more inclusive systems. The paper elaborates on partnership work around the TI project that opened up discussion and questioning of practice around behaviour, leading to schools thinking about their systemic practice. The benefits of TI, therefore, were a prompt for development, rather than just an intervention to reduce exclusions. Changes in practice supported through the TI process lead to claims that substantive change would not have happened without the TI project.

Convincing Students? Quantitative Junkies, Avoiders and Converts on a Cross-Disciplinary Course Using Quantitative Narratives

Abstract Amidst growing concern about the shortage of social science undergraduate students with even basic quantitative methods skills, student apprehension is recognised as a barrier to learning quantitative methods. A recent ESRC-funded project has sought to overcome such fear and anxiety through the design of a cross-disciplinary social sciences unit for first-year undergraduates. The unit aimed to capture students’ imaginations by the use of ‘quantitative narratives’ – descriptions of current social issues or controversies that allow quantitative concepts to be introduced in a contextualised way. This paper presents findings from the qualitative evaluation of the unit. It considers the attitudes and experiences of students who covered a spectrum of social science subjects, self-cited levels of confidence and prior experience of statistics. A typology of students taking the course is presented, revealing the challenge of meeting the needs of all students. Conclusions consider the implications of this evaluation both for the development of quantitative methods curricula and wider considerations for cross-disciplinary teaching in higher education.

Why is parental involvement in children's mathematics learning hard? Parental perspectives on their role supporting children's learning

This article focuses on parents’ experiences and practices supporting children’s mathematics learning. We employ a conceptual framework that makes a distinction between school-centered and parent-centered approaches to parental involvement in children’s learning. We review literature showing that aspects of both school-centered and parent-centered approaches can be problematic, and explore this further in a group interview study. Group interviews were conducted with parents of children in 16 primary schools in a city in the southwest of England. Topics of discussion included parents’ level of confidence and perceived ability in mathematics, their experience of doing mathematics with their children out-of-school, and their interactions with school about mathematics. Findings revealed some specific negative effects of school-centered approaches, and suggested that school-centered approaches may in fact restrict parents’ understanding of how they can support mathematics learning in the home. However, the analysis also adds useful depth to our understanding of opportunities associated with a parent-centered approach to parental involvement in mathematics learning.

‘You kind of don’t want them in the room’: tensions in the discourse of inclusion and exclusion for students displaying challenging behaviour in an English secondary school

ABSTRACT Internationally and within England, there has been increasing focus upon perceived behaviour problems within schools. This study, which took place within a mainstream English secondary school, considered the interplay of the competing notions of exclusion and inclusion for children displaying challenging behaviour. The study used a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative data gathered on school referrals (temporary exclusions from lessons) and interviews with staff and students. This approach allowed both a consideration of trends within referrals and an analysis of how students displaying challenging behaviour are constructed within the discourse of the school. Findings showed that some groups were disproportionately affected by referrals. Within interviews, students and staff oscillated between individualising and contextualising the cause of challenging behaviour both blaming the student and seeing them as a victim of circumstance at the same time. Teachers indicated a greater willingness to change their practice and use a contextual approach to understanding pupils’ behaviour when they felt they had been given a reason from the student’s home life or background to do so. Recommendations are made for future research in the previously under-researched area of referrals and implications for practice are discussed to make schools more inclusive of students with challenging behaviour.

Adoption, adaptation, and integration: renegotiating the identity of educational research through interdisciplinarity

With increasing calls for large-scale research projects that cross boundaries of disciplines, institutions, and countries, there has never been a more appropriate time to problematize collaborative research practices, both within education and between education and other disciplines. This special issue draws together examples and discussion of interdisciplinary research in education to consider the complexities of working across and beyond disciplinary boundaries. Despite such complexities, we propose that there is potential for education to take a clear position within research partnerships that cross disciplinary boundaries: a position that takes account of the unique characteristics of our field and that goes beyond merely providing a context for other disciplines to test out their concepts. Considering this potential helps us to consider the identity of educational research as a discipline, and of educational researchers as individuals. This special issue has brought together papers that seek to understand how and why interdisciplinary research can