Aspects of health among an employed population

This survey collected information on aspects of health amongst an employed population, employees in 14 different organisations in the West Midlands Regional Health Authority; and was a stratified sample of senior managers, middle managers and operatives. Nine hundred and sixty questionnaires were distributed asking for both quantitative and qualitative information on 58 questions covering health, work, family, leisure activities and life-style. A response rate of 48% (459 returned questionnaires) came from 290 men (63%), 165 women (36%) and four people (1%) who did not answer the gender question. The initial findings from this study are unique in that there has not been a specific review of the health of people at work. In answer to the main research questions, 92% felt they were healthy. Compared to others of a similar age, 34% felt their health was `above average', 58% `average', and 7&37 `below average'. Thirty two percent of respondents had visited their GP in the past 1-2 months; the highest reason given was disorders of the respiratory system, 20%. People's perceptions on the effects of work on their health were: good effect, 13% fair effect, 20% no effect, 27% poor effect, 27% and bad effect, 7%. The effects of leisure activities on health were thought to be more positive: good effect, 46% fair effect, 20% no effect, 21% poor effect, 3% and bad effect, 2%. The perceptions of effects of life-style on health were considered to be: good effect, 32% fair effect, 32% no effect, 20% poor effect, 9% and bad effect, 1%.  In this survey, leisure and life-style were seen by employees to have more beneficial effects on health than work. Future implications include a review of occupational health as a major policy development area within primary care. There is a need to influence the education and training of health care practitioners in order to affect their ability to practise effectively in this new and challenging area of work.

Education and racism:a study of the teachers' and the pupils' relations in the schooling of black boys

This thesis examines the teachers' and the pupils' relations in the schooling of black boys. The study using the methodology of participant observation focusses on one school (Kilby) in an area of black population in an English city. The thesis’s intentions are two fold: firstly, in order to examine these relations, two major aspects of their interaction are addressed, that of the absence of teachers from conventional 'race-relations' research, and, the identification and examination of the anti-school pupils' sub-cultures. Two substantive questions are asked: what is the response of the teachers to the schooling of black pupils? and, what is the meaning of the pupils' resistance to schooling? Secondly, in attempting to answer these questions and offer a critique of the dominant 'race-relations' culturalist explanation of black youth's response to schooling, a theoretical framework has been developed which takes account of both the 'economic' and the 'sociological' perspectives. Methodology allowed and pointed to the importance of examining the teachers' ideologies and practices as well as those of the black boys. It is argued that a class analysis of the racially structured British society is more adequate than the conventional ethnic approach in explaining the black boys' location within Kilby School. Hence, it is posited that the major problem in the schooling of black youth is not that of their culture but of racism, which pervasively structures the social reality at Kilby school. Racism is mediated both through the existing institutional framework that discriminates against working-class youth and through the operation of race specific mechanisms, such as the process of racist stereotyping. It is thus further argued that the Kilby school teachers are of central causal significance to the - problems that the boys encounter. Furthermore, it is in response to these racist ideologies and practices that both West Indian and Asian pupils develop specific forms of collective resistance, which are seen to be linked to the wider black community, as legitimate strategies of survival.

Researching primary engineering education:a UK perspective, an exploratory study

This paper draws attention to the findings of an exploratory study that critically identified and analysed relevant perceptions of elementary level engineering education within the UK. Utilising an approach based upon grounded theory methodology, 30 participants including teachers, representatives of government bodies and non-profit providers of primary level engineering initiatives were interviewed. Three main concepts were identified during the analysis of findings, each relevant to primary engineering education. These were pedagogic issues, exposure to engineering within the curriculum and children's interest. The paper concludes that the opportunity to make a real difference to children's education by stimulating their engineering imagination suggests this subject area is of particular value.

Inclusive education and intellectual disability:a sociological engagement with Martha Nussbaum

As a result of exclusionary tactics, social, cultural or economic disadvantage or disability, vast numbers of pupils have poor educational experiences and are either marginalised or demonised due to 'difficult differences'. In the context of Martha Nussbaum's capabilities approach, where she suggests that we ought to be who we want to be, this paper addresses intellectual disability, inclusion and inclusive education. It proposes that care, compassion, creativity and ethics are critical in understanding the education for all children and young people, rather than necessarily pedagogical process. In addition, it suggests that learning should take place within and through relationships and that these relationships are important in developing a healthy sense of self. Therefore politically, rather than following a path of blame whether it is the dysfunctional family, the deficit child or the economically deprived nation, this paper says that we require socially just practices, compassion and care as fundamental to human development, social inclusion and inclusive education. Ultimately, education is failing a large sum of children and young people and therefore needs to be radically reconsidered.

The sociological approach to teaching and learning in higher education with special reference to first year sociology courses at a technological university

DUE TO COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTATION AT ASTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY WITH PRIOR ARRANGEMENT

The future of engineering - Do primary school engineering education interventions leave a lasting impression?

This positional paper proposes a conceptual framework and methodological approach for use in a PhD study investigating the longer term educational and social impact of 'active' engineering focused interventions for children age 8-10 in the UK. The study will critically analyse how a child's participation in an engineering education activity contributes to the Engineering Capital that the child possesses; focusing on how the child's awareness and perceptions about engineering are affected. To achieve this aim it is proposed that Grounded Theory methodology be used to enable an in-depth analysis of participation from the perspective of the child participant. The study proposed will be longitudinal, taking place over three formative years for the education and career aspirations of the child, from age 8-10 to 11-13. Although the research is in its infancy, this paper will provide the opportunity to develop theory in an underdeveloped area of engineering education research.