Kay Livingston

The Impact of an Online Learning Program on Teaching and Learning Strategies

Just as the workplace, for many adults, has been transformed by the introduction of information and communication technology (ICT), expectations are high that educational establishments, particularly schools, will follow suit. This article explores the impact of technology on learning and teaching in the classroom. It draws on the findings of several recent studies conducted in Scotland concerning the impact of technology. In particular, it considers the findings of an evaluation of an online learning program (Scottish Common Higher Open Learning and Access Resources [SCHOLAR] Program). The article discusses the impact of active, self-regulating learners on the role of teachers and highlights some of the implications of blending traditional classroom teaching with online student learning. The implications that emerge for learning and teaching strategies and for the leadership and support function of teachers are relevant for any school systems using technology in classrooms

The Coherent System and the Empowered Individual: Continuing Professional Development for Teachers in Scotland.

SUMMARY In Scotland today, it has been recognised that the continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers is as important as initial teacher education. Consequently, new proposals call for a systematic framework approach to CPD. This paper provides a short summary of the forms of CPD in Scotland from 1970 to 2000, which indicate considerable variety and diversity in provision. It is this variety and diversity that has led to the call for a more coherent framework to be put in place. Decisions regarding the nature and composition of any framework for CPD are dependent on what one understands professional development to be and its underlying purpose. The rationale for CPD and the different perspectives that may be held by teachers, school managers, local education authority personnel and policy-makers are discussed. It is argued that a greater understanding of the characteristics of CPD is necessary and it is suggested that the ideal scenario is one that accommodates the needs of individual teachers and schools as well as local authority and national priorities. The paper emphasises that the nature and method of CPD should be decided in partnership between all the agents concerned and that it should leave the teacher feeling empowered by the process.

Effects of group work training on science attainment in rural and urban schools

This study investigated the effects of collaborative group work skills training on pupil attainment in science. Twenty‐four experimental classes were drawn from schools in rural and urban settings. Pupils in experimental classrooms engaged in general group work skills training and two structured group work activities in science. Attainment was assessed using the Performance Indicators in Primary Schools (PIPS) instrument. Significant gains in science attainment were observed in the experimental urban and rural classes. Significant changes in observed group work behaviours were observed in both urban and rural classes. Changes in group work behaviour were correlated to increased science attainment. The implications for practice, policy and future research are explored.

Creating curricula: aims, knowledge, and control a special edition of the Curriculum Journal

The contributors build on this importance to suggest a rapprochement in the field around the idea of curriculum knowledge as both constructed and real. This book was originally published as a special issue of The Curriculum Journal.

What is the Future for National Policy Making in Education in the Context of an Enlarged European Union

This article considers the impact of European policy making on national education systems. It discusses a selection of recent initiatives taken by the European Union (EU) and the growing emphasis on joint action in the Member States in the field of education. In particular, the article is concerned with the effects that common objectives, benchmarks and quality indicators set for education at EU level have on the education agenda in the Member States. The growing number of international studies comparing education systems and the concern that policy makers have about their countrys place in international league tables add to the pressure to conform to goals and standards set at international level. For example, studies such as the Programme for International Student Assessment publish international comparisons and attract significant media attention. This undoubtedly puts pressure on policy makers to make changes at a national level to improve or maintain their international standing. The article considers a number of questions: will these trends in international cooperation and comparison result in a loss of diversity that is evident in the education systems in Europe today? And will they stunt the growth of innovation and creativity within each country and ultimately lead to conformity in education?

Teacher education’s role in educational change

Teacher educators have important responsibilities supporting and challenging the development of teachers for the future. Yet it often seems that teacher education is caught in the winds of change o...

Developing teachers’ capacities in assessment through career-long professional learning

Abstract In a context of increasing demand for quality and equity in education and a sharp focus on accountability, classroom teachers are also expected to support and improve learning outcomes for pupils in response to their individual needs. This paper explores three issues: how teachers understand assessment in relation to their students’ learning, the curriculum and their pedagogical choices; how teachers’ capacity to use assessment to improve students’ learning can be developed through career-long professional learning (CLPL); and how teachers’ learning can be implemented and sustained in schools, both locally and nationally. In considering these issues, recent thinking about learning and assessment and CLPL are considered alongside empirical evidence from the development and implementation of assessment processes and approaches to professional development in Scotland. The paper emphasises the importance of a dynamic framework of CLPL that recognises the individuality of teachers’ learning needs and the consequent need for tailored professional learning opportunities with different combinations of support and challenge at school, local and national levels.

Mobilising research knowledge for teaching and teacher education

This special issue is concerned with mobilising research knowledge for teaching and teacher education. Various terms are used to describe this concept so we begin by elaborating what we mean by it. We understand knowledge mobilisation to mean the process by which knowledge is transferred from its originating community – often a research community – to other communities, which are often policy or practice communities. We understand research use to refer to the ways in which research is interpreted and used by policy-makers and practitioners. When research-generated knowledge is used by practitioners, we can refer to research-informed practice. If research provides a foundation for teaching directly, we refer to this as research-based practice. Beyond these relatively established terms, the articles assembled in this special issue also refer to knowledge sharing, transfer and transformation. All these terms address challenges that appear when research-generated knowledge, usually generated by academics, is transferred to schools, usually to inform teaching practice. The terms and concepts are varied, and there is a lack of agreement about their use, but many of these terms reflect the idea that three processes are involved: knowledge generation, knowledge mobilisation and knowledge use. As there is no commonly agreed term to describe the entire process, we followed other writers in referring to this as knowledge mobilisation, abbreviated to KM.

Living with supercomplexity

David Lambert (1999) used the idea ‘supercomplexity’ when arguing for the need for geography teachers to engage in careful moral teaching to explore with young people ‘supercomplex’ environmental processes in a global world. Looking back, what seemed supercomplex then seems almost simple in comparison to the challenges global education now faces. In a previous edition of this journal, our editorial (Livingston, Hayward, Higgins, & Wyse, 2015) explored the role of education in a supercomplex world. The editorial framed the argument around Barnett’s (2015) contention that in a complex world although bombarded by facts, evidence, data and arguments, there are frameworks to help us handle them. In a supercomplex world nothing can be taken for granted and even our frames of understanding are contested and no longer feel secure. In 2015, only two years ago, it is doubtful that we understood the full implications of what that might mean for the world and for education in 2017. This current issue develops the theme of supercomplexity and features research in educational environments internationally: this is research to explore, research to inform and research to challenge. This issue brings together papers presenting research from researchers across four continents, Asia (Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Iran), Australasia (Australia and New Zealand), North America (Canada and the US) and Europe (Cyprus, Spain and Portugal). These researchers, in common with others across the world, are trying to build a better evidence base for action, to help to create the firmer ground that Barnett (2015) argues is shifting beneath our feet. The first paper in this issue explores tensions that lie in the boundaries between education, identity formation and politics. Set in the context of the Hong Kong civil disobedience campaign of September 2014, the Umbrella Movement, Fung and Lui examine teacher and student perceptions of the claim that the Liberal Studies curriculum was used as a political instrument to instigate students’ participation in the protest movement. Both teachers and students challenged this claim, arguing that teachers had maintained neutrality, even when dealing with politically sensitive topics. There was, however, a perception that the proposed reform of Liberal Studies by government was politically motivated and student and teacher views about an increase in the number of China related topics were divergent. The paper offers a fascinating insight into the potential for possible present and future roles for Liberal Studies, including a possible role in the democratisation of local society. At the other end of the continuum of research into the contribution of education, identity and society, the second paper explores the way in which school experiences impact on the lives of young adults. Entitled ‘Learning to live together. The contribution of school’, Pomar and Pinya, present findings from in-depth interviews with ex-students to identify the extent to which their future civic identities are influenced by their early

Developing teachers’ and teacher educators’ professional identity in changing contexts

As I indicated in my last editorial, the title of the 41st Annual Conference of the Association for Teacher Education in Europe (ATEE) was ‘Educating the best teachers: a challenge for teacher education’. Discussions among the conference delegates following keynote addresses, parallel sessions and in the research community meetings concerned a range of issues including innovation in schools and teacher education. Questions arising in these discussions were – what characteristics do the ‘best’ teachers have? and how do teacher education programmes enable the development of the ‘best’ teachers? Many of the discussions were about the identification of characteristics of a teacher’s identity that enable and promote innovation. The topic of teacher identity is not new and much has already been written and said about it. Indeed a search of back issues of this journal will reveal that teacher identity has been the focus of many articles over the last decade. Why then are we still talking about teacher identity? The discussions about identity that I participated in during the conference with delegates from different countries, highlighted that teacher identity is not easily described or fixed. It evolves as contexts, learning and teaching approaches and student/teacher relationships change – our understanding about who we are as teachers’ changes. Some teachers feel comfortable about re-forming their identity as a teacher and others find it a very difficult process. Discussions inevitably led to further questions about the role of teacher education in the development of teachers’ professional identity. In particular how to support the development of professional identities that enable teachers to take an inquiring, reflective and collaborative approach to learning and teaching in school. Fred Korthagen, one of the keynote speakers at the conference, focused his presentation on developing understanding of the complexity of the relationships between personal and professional identity and the influences of the environment in which we work. If teacher education is to be successful in supporting teachers in identity shifts, we must be willing to re-form our own identities as teacher educators in changing educational contexts. This requires self-reflection and a deeper understanding of the relationships between who we are teachers and teacher educations and our values and beliefs about education in general and learning and teaching approaches in particular. It also requires a better understanding of the implications of our way of being in the classroom for the decisions we make about what we teach, our pedagogical choices and our relationships with students. While the articles in this issue do not all necessarily consider identity specifically, all the authors in some way consider teacher reflection, influences on pedagogical approaches, collaborative relationships or the development of a better understanding who we are as teachers from different perspectives. Wall and Hall, the authors of the first article in this issue, discuss data gathered as part of a longitudinal collaborative study conducted with teachers in England from schools and further education colleges. The article concerns the relationship between the pedagogies used by teachers to develop their students’ metacognition and their own learning and metacognitive knowledge and skills. König and Pflanzl also explore teachers’ pedagogy in the second article. Their particular focus is on the relationship between what is identified in the article as teachers’ general pedagogical knowledge and the quality of student instruction. In the article, the authors discuss