Stephen Rayner

Towards a Categorisation of Cognitive Styles and Learning Styles.

Abstract This paper considers the construct, ‘style’, in the study of individual differences and learning. The origin and elaboration of learning style as a concept is discussed, tracing the influence of a cognition and a learning‐centred approach to the psychology of individual difference. The authors argue that a contemporary overview of style can contribute to a rationalisation of the theory and facilitate a greater application of learning style in educational practice. A case is made for the need to integrate more fully various models of style into a single construct of learning style.

The Information Superhighway and Individualized Learning

Abstract In recent times there have been considerable advances in both communications technology and in the psychological understanding of the factors affecting individualised learning. The technological developments have resulted in the establishment of the Information Superhighway, which permits the interactive transfer of information on a world‐wide basis. Psychological studies have considered the effect of individual characteristics such as prior knowledge, intelligence, personality and cognitive style on learning performance. Separately these developments have consequences for education and training, but their effect is very greatly enhanced when they are integrated. This paper considers some of the implications and possibilities of this integration.

Cognitive Style and School Refusal

Abstract The degree to which truancy may contribute to delinquency, social disorder and educational failure has led to continued political and public interest in the problem of school non‐attendance or refusal. There is, however, a notable lack of empirical research into the phenomenon of truancy and school refusal. This paper investigated the learning style of 17 students aged 15‐17 years identified as school refusers and compared their style distribution to that of 850 students in regular attendance in mainstream secondary schools. The Cognitive Styles Analysis was administered individually to students in the Refusal Group at their Centre during the period of one term. The results indicated that, compared to the comparison group, the learning style of the school refusers was skewed to the Wholist end of the Wholist‐Analytic style dimension. An implication of this research is that a particular learning style was associated with school refusal and research is merited particularly to (a) develop further re...

Cognitive Styles and Learning Styles

The psychological construct of style in personality, cognition, and learning is explained in this article. The development of a styles theory is interpreted as the evolution of a generic concept of individuality and its status as an individual difference in cognition and learning. The emergence of popular applications of learning styles as well as a wave of critical revisionism and new directions in researching style differences is related to this development. An application of style differences for lifelong learning in both education and workplace are then considered, including implications for further study of differential psychology, pedagogy, training, and the nature of an individuals personal approach to learning (style).

Leadership in inclusive education: a professional development agenda for special education

Leadership roles in special education have changed dramatically over recent years. Stephen Powers, Stephen Rayner and Helen Gunter, all of whom are lecturers and researchers in the School of Education at the University of Birmingham, conducted a questionnaire survey of the perceived professional development needs of heads, deputies and senior staff working in specialist contexts. The results reveal a significant concern with organisationally focused issues; support for school- and LEA-based courses and higher education provision; but a perceived lack of Government-funded training addressing the needs of those in leadership roles in special education. The authors conclude this article with a call for interested readers to become involved in further research in this important area.

Professional development needs for leaders in Special Education

Abstract This article reports on a small-scale survey of the professional development experiences and perceived needs of teachers with leadership responsibility who work in special education within the Midlands (United Kingdom), both in special and mainstream schools. The study reveals that issues around leadership and management are central to the concerns of many professionals in special education and they would welcome more opportunity for professional development in this area, especially around issues of performance management. Furthermore, there is a perceived high need for their continuing professional development in leadership and management. Secondly, local short-term training and longer-term professional development through postgraduate study is enabling many Special Educational Needs (SEN) professionals to engage with their own learning needs, but targeted and government funded training is either not attracting them or is not targeted at them. Thirdly, respondents to this survey wanted training for the positions they were in, rather than training for promotion

Supporting school improvement: The development of a scale for assessing pupils' emotional and behavioural development

This paper reports the construction of a teacher rating instrument designed to monitor the social and emotional development of school age children and young people (4–17 years). The instrument was developed by reviewing previously implemented checklists to build an extensive list of behavioural and emotional criteria and through the use of focus groups to establish the views of key stakeholders. The criteria were categorized according to three areas: conduct, emotion and learning. The initial instrument of 21 items was piloted and amended accordingly. The final trial of the instrument was carried out on a sample of 7285 pupils from a cross‐section of UK schools. A principal component factor analysis confirmed the division of the scale into three factors. The instrument was supported by trends showing that the distributions were different for different types of schools and between males and females. The final version of the instrument was amended to include 15 items, five in each category (conduct, emotion, learning), all expressed positively on a six‐point scale. The scale is a useful tool for providing a basis for a strategic discourse between staff in planning approaches to the emotional and behavioural development of students in school.