Sue Ralph

Change-linked work-related stress in British teachers

This article examines the impact of educational change and government initiatives on teachers. As a result, stress and its effective management are high on the agenda of many schools. It has been identified as a major factor in teacher job dissatisfaction, job-related illness and early retirement. The research identifies major stresses in primary and secondary schools. Adapting an illuminative research paradigm, it gave teachers the opportunity to voice concern in a series of focus groups, followed by individual focused interviews. Certain work-related stressors emerged as common, even though the causes of stress might be different for each individual or group of teachers. The research analysis grouped the stressors into eight clusters or factors. It confirmed the importance of considering both organisational and personal factors in any examination of teacher stress and that it is the relation between them which explains why stress is felt as a stigma by many teachers. The article suggests a number of strategies which school leaders need to consider as part of any management plans.

Research ethics and the use of visual images in research with people with intellectual disability

Abstract The aim of this paper is to encourage debate about the use of creative visual approaches in intellectual disability research and discussion about Internet publication of photographs. Image-based research with people with intellectual disability is explored within the contexts of tighter ethical regulation of social research, increased interest in the use of visual methodologies, and rapid escalation in the numbers of digital images posted on the World Wide Web. Concern is raised about the possibility that tighter ethical regulation of social research, combined with the multitude of ethical issues raised by the use of image-based approaches may be discouraging the use of creative visual approaches in intellectual disability research. Inclusion in research through the use of accessible research methods is also an ethical issue, particularly in relation to those people who have hitherto been underrepresented in research. Visual approaches which have the potential to include people with profound and multiple intellectual disabilities are also discussed.

Researches in Brief The Management of Television and Video by Parents of Children with Autism

Television and video play an important and positive role in the lives of most families. However, for parents of children with autism they also cause problems when the children become obsessive about video recordings and prevent family use of the main television. These problems are examined through a content analysis of the discussion of a small focus group (n = 6) of parents of children with autism. Six substantive issues surrounding the use of video in families with children with autism are identified.

Gender‐related Causes of Stress in Trainee Teachers on Teaching Practice in the School of Education, University of Manchester, UK

Abstract In this paper the gender‐related causes of stress in trainee teachers on teaching practice in the School of Education, University of Manchester are examined. A questionnaire was administered to trainee teachers on a Post Graduate Certificate in Education course (teacher training course for both primary and secondary trainee teachers) during their period of initial teaching practice in the academic year 1998/9 in order to identify their stressors. The means and standard deviations of each item were then calculated separately for males and females. In only 12 of the 61 items did the males have a higher mean (indicating higher anxiety) than the females. There is clear evidence to indicate that the females were more stressed than the males. However, of the 12 items the males found more stressful than the females the two which were significant centred around issues of support of friends, family and partner. The best way to deal with stress is to try to prevent it occurring, and this research would seem to indicate the need for PGCE tutors to include some stress identification and management courses in teacher training.

Using the DYSA Programme to Reduce Stress and Anxiety in First‐year University Students

With recent increases in the number of students attending universities without a proportional increase in resources, it is likely that there has been a decrease in the quality of life students experience and an increase in the stress they feel. This is of course added to by tuition fees and the need to take out student loans. The writers review research into student stress and highlight the fact that many researchers have noted the need for stress-reduction courses, though this has been a recommendation that has not generally been taken up. A specific stress-reduction programme for school pupils and university students is described. This programme was tested with first-year undergraduates. The students involved all felt that the programme had been valuable. Apart from its clear relevance to the support of university students, this paper raises issues which are of importance to those working with sixth-form students.

Visible images of disabled students: an analysis of UK university publicity materials

This paper analyses the portrayal, within UK universities’ publicity materials, of disabled students and disability services. Basic public relations practices explain that an organisation should know its audiences and focus its messages accordingly. We argue that recruitment is an issue which cannot be ignored in discussions of learning and teaching. It is a fundamental aspect of higher education: without students there would be no learning, teaching or curriculum. By failing actively to recruit disabled students, universities will miss out on the diversity and valuable contributions of an important group. Our analysis indicates that recruitment of disabled students does not appear to be a priority in many universities. There are significant numbers of prospective disabled students in the community; some universities could be taking more proactive measures to recruit this group of students.

The Importance of Reflection in Experiential Learning with Community and Youth Workers for the Learning Age.

The New Labour government, in its Green Paper on the Learning Age, published in February 1998, put lifelong learning at the heart of its programme. In this article we aim to demonstrate that there is a direct parallel between the processes outlined in the Green Paper and the processes of experiential learning and community development by focusing on the Diploma in Community and Youth Work Studies run by the Community Work Unit (CWU) based in the Centre for the Development of Continuing Education at the University of Manchester. Community action provides a setting for informal education. Community workers are in a unique position in relation to developing the potential for learning in the groups and individuals with whom they work. Their education and training should enable them to articulate and value their experience and reflect upon it in order to establish a meaningful basis for further self- and/or community development. We will explore how the CWU uses participative learning methods which recognize, value and use the experience and understanding of the participants as a basis for their own and others’ learning, and the relevance of these learning methods to the work practice of the participants.

Teacher stress and school improvement

As we move into a new century and a new millennium, the management of primary schools will be tested as never before. Education is now a high political priority for most governments as they grapple with the issues created by accelerating change, increasing complexity and profound uncertainty. These are severe challenges for educators who now find themselves in the survival business. (Day et al., 1998:20)

Dyslexia and education in the 21st century

This paper both reviews the other papers in this special issue and puts them in the context of the current agenda of research in dyslexia education. The pluralistic nature of the field is explored with reference to this special issue. The paper suggests a way forward for the field in terms of a developing research agenda for dyslexia education as we progress further into the 21st century.

Students' Production of Curricular Knowledge: Perspectives on Empowerment in Financial Capability Education.

The aim of this article is to extend our understanding of the relationship between knowledge of personal finance and empowerment. The analysis is based on interview data obtained as part of a longitudinal study of students, aged 16–19, who completed a financial capability course in the UK. The analysis presents a set of cultural models or storylines implied in student discourse about what it means to be financially capable. Possibilities for empowerment are interpreted from these cultural models with implications for how we define the boundaries of financial capability education. References to empowerment in terms of having a voice and feeling confident to make consumer decisions and to advise others in matters of finance were common across the interview data. However, a form of knowledge and empowerment that positioned students not as aware consumers but as individuals with a critical awareness of financial and economic systems was less evident.