Aims, challenges, means and organisation AimsThe Research Centre for Schools, Colleges and Teacher Education (SCaTE) aims to encourage the generation of high-quality research, robustly theorized, that benefits students and teaching staff. This aim implies, investigating questions, around schools, colleges and teacher education, that are relevant to practitioners and are situated in problems of public interest…

Recent policy on teacher education in England is being implemented at a fast-changing rate, and may lead to huge changes in the field. Academic Reading Group will discuss teacher education policy on Friday in the Library meeting room at 3.00-4.00. Damien Shortt will lead the discussion; all are welcome.

Should school league tables be abandoned? Based on an analysis of data from the National Pupil Database, Harvey Goldstein argues that they should. His paper (3 pages long) is available here: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/cmm/team/hg/full-publications/2008/league-tables-critique.pdf Academic Reading Group will discuss school league tables on Friday in the Library meeting room at 3.00-4.00 (after CLIS).  You are very welcome to participate,…

This week, Academic Reading Group meets on Thursday, 3.00-4.00 in the library (meeting room 4). We will debate the question, ‘how does educational research influence educational practice?’ All welcome. Tim Cain.

Our next Academic Reading Group discussion will be based around a highly-cited article, dealing with teachers’ identities: Beijaard D., Paulien, C. Meijer, & Verloop, N. (2004) Reconsidering research on teachers’ professional identity, Teaching and Teacher Education, 20 (2) 107-128.  We meet on Friday in the Library meeting room at 2.00-3.00. I anticipate a lively discussion…

The discussion of Gee (2000) will happen on Dec 2, not Nov 18 because the CLIS symposium is not scheduled to finish until after 3.00. My apologies – I hadn’t realised!

“In modern capitalist societies, non-elites are “encouraged” to accept the inferior identities elites ascribe to them in talk and interaction … as if they were the actual achieved identities of these non-elite people, achieved on the basis of their lack of skill, intelligence, morality, or sufficient effort in comparison with the elites …non-elites accept the…

Not many people were able to discuss Ryan & Deci, which is a pity because it is, in my opinion, a good example of an educational theory. It starts by remarking on evidence that human beings are, more or less from birth, inquisitive creatures. We have an instinct to learn which can be supported or twarted…

“Inductively, using the empirical process, we have identified three [such] needs – the needs for competence … relatedness … and autonomy – that appear to be essential for facilitating optimal functioning of the natural propensities for growth and integration, as well as for constructive social development and personal well-being.” According to Deci & Ryan (quoted…

Is educational theory dead? Wilf Carr argues that it is, here (follow the links): Carr, W. (2006) Education without theory, British Journal of Educational Studies, 54(2) 136-159. For future sessions, please nominate texts so we have a variety of stimuli to set us thinking, discussing and generally disturbing the brain cells. The ‘default’ texts for the remainder of…