An analytic knowledge network process for construction entrepreneurship education

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a quantitative multicriteria decision-making approach to knowledge management in construction entrepreneurship education by means of an analytic knowledge network process (KANP) Design/methodology/approach- The KANP approach in the study integrates a standard industrial classification with the analytic network process (ANP). For the construction entrepreneurship education, a decision-making model named KANP.CEEM is built to apply the KANP method in the evaluation of teaching cases to facilitate the case method, which is widely adopted in entrepreneurship education at business schools. Findings- The study finds that there are eight clusters and 178 nodes in the KANP.CEEM model, and experimental research on the evaluation of teaching cases discloses that the KANP method is effective in conducting knowledge management to the entrepreneurship education. Research limitations/implications- As an experimental research, this paper ignores the concordance between a selected standard classification and others, which perhaps limits the usefulness of KANP.CEEM model elsewhere. Practical implications- As the KANP.CEEM model is built based on the standard classification codes and the embedded ANP, it is thus expected that the model has a wide potential in evaluating knowledge-based teaching materials for any education purpose with a background from the construction industry, and can be used by both faculty and students. Originality/value- This paper fulfils a knowledge management need and offers a practical tool for an academic starting out on the development of knowledge-based teaching cases and other teaching materials or for a student going through the case studies and other learning materials.

Challenging students in Further Education: themes arising from a study of innovative FE provision for excluded and disaffected young people

The paper draws on a research project on innovative provision in an FE college for excluded and disaffected young people. The college offers places on vocational courses to students who are still of compulsory school age who have been excluded by or have persistently failed to attend or achieve in school. One set of themes to emerge relates to the experiences of the students: the role of personal relationships and, especially, relationships with teachers, in the breakdown of school placements; the importance both of good relationships with tutors, often expressed as 'being treated like an adult', and of a vocational and practical curriculum in successful re-engagement at college; and positive but highly instrumental and employment related attitudes to education. Another set of themes relates to the practical and organisational difficulties and the way that a lack of flexibility in 14-19 provision, especially while students are still of compulsory school age, creates difficulties for programmes of this kind. Finally the paper considers the tensions between pressures for accountability and outcome-driven measures and the aims of increasing participation and using education to address issues of social inclusion.

Teachers' networks in and out of school

A 'mapping task' was used to explore the networks available to head teachers, school coordinators and local authority staff. Beginning from an ego-centred perspective on networks, we illustrate a number of key analytic categories, including brokerage, formality, and strength and weakness of links with reference to a single UK primary school. We describe how teachers differentiate between the strength of network links and their value, which is characteristically related to their potential impact on classroom practice.

Formative assessment in teacher education: the development of a diagnostic language test for trainee teachers of German

This article describes the development and validation of a diagnostic test of German and its integration in a programme of formative assessment during a one-year initial teacher-training course. The test focuses on linguistic aspects that cause difficulty for trainee teachers of German as a foreign language and assesses implicit and explicit grammatical knowledge as well as students' confidence in this knowledge. Administration of the test to 57 German speakers in four groups (first-year undergraduates, fourth-year undergraduates, postgraduate trainees, and native speakers) provided evidence of its reliability and validity.

In-service and pre-service teachers' opinion on the use of models in teaching chemistry

The presented study examined the opinion of in-service and prospective chemistry teachers about the importance of usage of molecular and crystal models in secondary-level school practice, and investigated some of the reasons for their (non-) usage. The majority of participants stated that the use of models plays an important role in chemistry education and that they would use them more often if the circumstances were more favourable. Many teachers claimed that three-dimensional (3d) models are still not available in sufficient number at their schools; they also pointed to the lack of available computer facilities during chemistry lessons. The research revealed that, besides the inadequate material circumstances, less than one third of participants are able to use simple (freeware) computer programs for drawing molecular structures and their presentation in virtual space; however both groups of teachers expressed the willingness to improve their knowledge in the subject area. The investigation points to several actions which could be undertaken to improve the current situation.

Diverging from the dominant discourse- some implications of conflicting subject understandings in the education of teachers

This paper addresses beginning teachers thinking about the nature and purposes of their subject and the impact of this on their practice. Individual qualitative interviews were undertaken with 11 history teachers at the beginning of their teaching careers. Data was analysed using writing as the method of analysis and revealed that teachers whose thinking was at odds with dominant discourses, for example in the form of a national curriculum, encountered difficulties embracing pedagogies and aspects of the curriculum that do not accord with their own deep-seated beliefs, demonstrating a need for the initial training and professional development of teachers to forefront consideration of subject understandings.

Diverging from the dominant discourse – some implications of conflicting subject understandings in the education of teachers

This paper addresses beginning teachers thinking about the nature and purposes of their subject and the impact of this on their practice. Individual qualitative interviews were undertaken with 11 history teachers at the beginning of their teaching careers. Data was analysed using writing as the method of analysis and revealed that teachers whose thinking was at odds with dominant discourses, for example in the form of a national curriculum, encountered difficulties embracing pedagogies and aspects of the curriculum that do not accord with their own deep-seated beliefs, demonstrating a need for the initial training and professional development of teachers to forefront consideration of subject understandings.

One size fits all: the increasing standardisation of English teachers' work in England

English teachers in England have experienced a lengthy period of external constraint, increasingly controlling their practice. This constraint was originated in the 1989 National curriculum. Although in its first version it was in harmony with practice, its numerous revisions have moved it a long way from teachers’ own values and beliefs. This move is illustrated through research into the teaching of literature, which is seen by English teachers as often arid and driven by examinations alone. This period has been increasingly dominated by high-stakes testing, school league tables and frequent school inspections. Another powerful element has been the introduction of Standards for teachers at every career level from student teachers to the Advanced Skills Teachers. Research demonstrates that this introduction of Standards has had some beneficial effects. However, research also shows that the government decision to replace all these, hierarchically structured standards, with a single standard is seen by many teachers as a retrograde step. Evidence from Advanced Skills Teachers of English shows that the government’s additional proposal to bring in a Master Teacher standard is equally problematic. The decline of the National Association for the Teaching of English, the key subject association for English teachers, is discussed in relation to this increasingly negative and constraining environment, concluding that many English teachers are choosing a form of local resistance which, while understandable, weakens the credibility of the profession and erodes the influence of its key voice, NATE.

Working through the layers: curriculum implementation in language education

This chapter presents findings on English Language instruction at the lower primary level in the context of policies for curricular innovation at national, school and classroom levels. The focus is on policies which connect national and school levels, and on how they might be interpreted when implemented in multiple schools within Singapore’s educational system. Referring to case studies in two schools and to individual lesson observations in 10 schools, we found much agreement with national policies in terms of curriculum (i.e. lesson content and activity selection),leading to great uniformity in the lessons taught by different teachers in different schools. In addition, we found that schools had an important mediating influence on implementation of national policies. However, adoptions and adaptations of policy innovations at the classroom level were somewhat superficial as they were more related to changes in educational facilities and procedures than in philosophies.

Proximity, strategic groups and reputation: an exploratory study of reputation in higher education

This paper explores the idea that stakeholder proximity, that is, how much/little experience a stakeholder has with a focal organization, impacts the extent to which stakeholders rely on strategic group characteristics as an anchor when judging the reputation of higher education institutions. We synthesize theories from psychology (ie, cognitive categorization theory) and management (ie, strategic group theory) to explore how stakeholder proximity may influence the formation of organizational reputation. Specifically, we examine how the proximity of three key stakeholders (N=1,049; prospective students, parents of students and hiring managers of new graduates) influences the perceived strategic character and generalized favorability of three distinct groups of post-secondary institutions (research-intensive universities, teaching-intensive universities and career colleges). Our results suggest that high proximity stakeholders rely less on strategic group characteristics, while reputation at a strategic group level is suggested to have greater influence on stakeholders who have less direct experience of and low proximity to an organization. Interestingly, our findings reveal some consistent differences between perceptions of prospective students and hiring managers that pose important theoretical questions about the role and impact of direct experiences in the reputation-building process, while also suggesting that higher education institutions may benefit significantly from differentiated marketing strategies according to issues of proximity.