Karin Crawford

Continuing Professional Development in Higher Education: The Academic Perspective.

This research note discusses a current project that aims to develop an understanding of influences on the continuing professional development practices of academics (academic development)working in higher education in England. In this piece, the author outlines the research, its theoretical basis and key concerns before concluding by inviting readers to contact her with comments and views on the issues raised. The research sets out to offer insight into the views and perspectives of academics, with regard to continuing professional development, with the intention that this knowledge will inform the way in which higher education institutions enable effective professional development across academic staff (faculty). In order to develop an understanding of the social world of academia, a qualitative, comparative, multiple, evaluative case-study approach is being taken, through narrative semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis.

Change, challenge and choice: being a student mentor

Purpose – This collaborative project, undertaken in the context of higher education in England, examined students’ motivations for undertaking a voluntary extra‐curricular mentoring role with young people in public care. It also considered students’ perspectives on what they gained from this experience.Design/methodology/approach – The research was undertaken using a qualitative case study approach, with a focus on students undertaking mentoring in addition to their studies. The case study was a community project that drew on student volunteers to mentor children and young people who are looked after by the local authority. Methods included semi‐structured interviews, focus groups, development of individual exemplars, and the use of Web2 technologies, specifically a blog site and vodcasts. Data were collected between September 2010 and May 2011.Findings – Findings reported in this paper demonstrate the reasons students engaged with mentoring looked after children as an extra‐curricular activity and the be...

Responding to university policies and initiatives: the role of reflexivity in the mid-career academic

ABSTRACT How do academics make sense of university policies and strategic initiatives and act on them? Interviews were conducted with 27 mid-career academics in different disciplines, different research-intensive university environments and two countries (England and Australia). Data were analysed iteratively utilising a critical realist perspective, specifically, Archer’s modes of reflexivity. The paper argues that individuals’ responses to university policies and initiatives, to changes in policy and policy conflicts, can at least partially be understood through interrogating the modes of reflexivity they employ.

Digital Exclusion: Implications for Human Services Practitioners

Issues around digital exclusion may be in their infancy but they are developing fast. The Internet has the potential to offer equity of digital access for enabling individual independence and empowerment in an increasingly digital society. However, for many users of assistive technologies, this remains a problematic scenario. Citizens, who already experience disablement through social failure to recognize difference and diversity of need, may be doubly disabled by exclusive digital policy and practice. There is an urgent need to research the implications of this exclusion for human service educators and practitioners.

Navigating the demands of academic work to shape an academic job

ABSTRACT Findings from interviews with mid-career academics in English and Australian universities elucidate how academics interpret and navigate complex institutional contexts in shaping academic jobs. The paper argues that how they do this is a function of what they notice and respond to as well as the mode of reflexivity they employ. Three core areas are seen to affect academics sense of agency as they shape their own jobs: how they orient themselves to the world around them including the academic institution and department; their underlying goals and purposes as they seek to have a fulfilling role; and how they relate to structural conditions of the workplace. The paper argues that understanding academics’ differing foci of awareness in these areas is helpful to institutional policies and strategies.

Finding the perfect match: pre-placement meetings in social work practice learning

Prior to the commencement of a practice placement, a social work student will usually be invited to formally meet with their practice educator, and sometimes other members of the team, in their work setting to discuss a range of issues about the forthcoming placement. In the absence of significant research about these pre-placement meetings, this small scale study examined the understandings and experiences of social work students and practice educators regarding the role played by this meeting. Qualitative methods were employed to answer a range of questions, related to how the pre-placement meeting was used to aid decision making about the viability of the placement, participants’ perceptions of the meeting, and concerns about the process that needed to be addressed. Findings indicate that there are a variety of ways in which the meeting is configured and organised, understood and used. The implications for the organisation of social work practice placements are discussed.

Towards measures of longitudinal learning gain in UK higher education: the challenge of meaningful engagement

ABSTRACT Learning gain is considered to be the distance travelled by students in terms of skills, competencies, content knowledge and personal development. This article discusses the administration experience and tests results from a first year cohort of 675 students at the University of Lincoln who undertook a self-assessment and standardised psychometric test as part of a project to develop measures of learning gain in UK higher education. The tests themselves are shown to be potentially suitable for this purpose however the biggest challenge was student participation and engagement. Various approaches to improve engagement were trialled. Whilst some of these approaches are shown to increase the number of responses, there is no evidence that they increase meaningful task engagement, leading to the conclusion that until this challenge is addressed the validity of learning gain data from bespoke tests is potentially questionable and the value of participation to students as individuals is limited.

Your social work practice placement : from start to finish

Embarking on a first practice placement can be an anxious experience for social work students. This textbook takes them step-by-step through the process, holding their hand through preparation for practice modules and during the course of the placement itself. Focusing on practicalities, knowledge, values and skills, the authors guide students through the challenges they may face. Chapters include numerous real-life case examples which reflect a range of varying placement contexts including different settings, service-user groups, locations and areas of practice. The book will help students become confident on placement and lead to rich placement experiences which will benefit them throughout the rest of their degree and upon entry to the profession. Your Social Work Practice Placements is essential reading for all social care students.

Engaging students in quality processes

Abstract The role and contribution of students to quality processes in universities is an area of increasing interest across the academic community. This paper draws on the literature and ethos of the student as producer initiative to critique and explore ways in which we might strengthen the student voice and change relationships between teachers and students. It is argued that there is overwhelming evidence for building processes and practices that are more participative and learner-centred at a subject level in curriculum development and subject committees.