Study of the factors involved in the occupational aspirations of fifth year secondary school pupils

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Care-less spaces and identity construction:transition to secondary school for disabled children

There is a growing body of literature which marks out a feminist ethics of care and it is within this framework we understand transitions from primary to secondary school education can be challenging and care-less, especially for disabled children. By exploring the narratives of parents and professionals, we investigate transitions and self-identity, as a meaningful transition depends on the care-full spaces pupils inhabit. These education narratives are all in the context of privileging academic attainment and a culture of testing and examinations. Parents and professionals, as well as children are also surveyed. Until there are care-full education processes, marginalisation will remain, impacting on disabled children’s transition to secondary school and healthy identity construction. Moreover, if educational challenges are not addressed, their life chances are increasingly limited. Interdependent caring work enables engagement in a meaningful education and positive identity formation. In school and at home, care-full spaces are key in this process.

Time and professional work in public sector organisations: an examination of four occupational groups in education and medicine

The aim of this thesis is to examine the experience of time of four professional occupational groups working in public sector organisations and the factors affecting this experience. The literature on time and work is examined to delineate the key parameters of research in this area. A broad organisation behaviour approach to the experience of time and work is developed in which individual, occupational, organisational and socio-political factors are inter-related. The experience of secondary school teachers, further education lecturers, general medical practitioners and hosoital consultants is then examined. Multiple methods of data collection are used: open-ended interviews, a questionnaire survey and the analysis of key documents relating to the institutional settings in which the four groups work. The research aims to develop our knowledge of working time by considering the dimensions of the experience of time at work, the contexts in wlhich this experience is generated and the constraints these contexts give rIse to. By developing our understanding of time as a key feature of work experience we also extend our knowledge of organisation behaviour in general. In conclusion a model of the factors relating the experience of time to the negotiation of time at work is presented.

Empirical analysis of human capital development and economic growth in Europe

Recent discussion of the knowledge-based economy draws increasingly attention to the role that the creation and management of knowledge plays in economic development. Development of human capital, the principal mechanism for knowledge creation and management, becomes a central issue for policy-makers and practitioners at the regional, as well as national, level. Facing competition both within and across nations, regional policy-makers view human capital development as a key to strengthening the positions of their economies in the global market. Against this background, the aim of this study is to go some way towards answering the question of whether, and how, investment in education and vocational training at regional level provides these territorial units with comparative advantages. The study reviews literature in economics and economic geography on economic growth (Chapter 2). In growth model literature, human capital has gained increased recognition as a key production factor along with physical capital and labour. Although leaving technical progress as an exogenous factor, neoclassical Solow-Swan models have improved their estimates through the inclusion of human capital. In contrast, endogenous growth models place investment in research at centre stage in accounting for technical progress. As a result, they often focus upon research workers, who embody high-order human capital, as a key variable in their framework. An issue of discussion is how human capital facilitates economic growth: is it the level of its stock or its accumulation that influences the rate of growth? In addition, these economic models are criticised in economic geography literature for their failure to consider spatial aspects of economic development, and particularly for their lack of attention to tacit knowledge and urban environments that facilitate the exchange of such knowledge. Our empirical analysis of European regions (Chapter 3) shows that investment by individuals in human capital formation has distinct patterns. Those regions with a higher level of investment in tertiary education tend to have a larger concentration of information and communication technology (ICT) sectors (including provision of ICT services and manufacture of ICT devices and equipment) and research functions. Not surprisingly, regions with major metropolitan areas where higher education institutions are located show a high enrolment rate for tertiary education, suggesting a possible link to the demand from high-order corporate functions located there. Furthermore, the rate of human capital development (at the level of vocational type of upper secondary education) appears to have significant association with the level of entrepreneurship in emerging industries such as ICT-related services and ICT manufacturing, whereas such association is not found with traditional manufacturing industries. In general, a high level of investment by individuals in tertiary education is found in those regions that accommodate high-tech industries and high-order corporate functions such as research and development (R&D). These functions are supported through the urban infrastructure and public science base, facilitating exchange of tacit knowledge. They also enjoy a low unemployment rate. However, the existing stock of human and physical capital in those regions with a high level of urban infrastructure does not lead to a high rate of economic growth. Our empirical analysis demonstrates that the rate of economic growth is determined by the accumulation of human and physical capital, not by level of their existing stocks. We found no significant effects of scale that would favour those regions with a larger stock of human capital. The primary policy implication of our study is that, in order to facilitate economic growth, education and training need to supply human capital at a faster pace than simply replenishing it as it disappears from the labour market. Given the significant impact of high-order human capital (such as business R&D staff in our case study) as well as the increasingly fast pace of technological change that makes human capital obsolete, a concerted effort needs to be made to facilitate its continuous development.

School vision screening, ages 5-16 years:The evidence-base for content, provision and efficacy

The optometric profession in the UK has a major role in the detection, assessment and management of ocular anomalies in children between 5 and 16 years of age. The role complements a variety of associated screening services provided across several health care sectors. The review examines the evidence-base for the content, provision and efficacy of these screening services in terms of the prevalence of anomalies such as refractive error, amblyopia, binocular vision and colour vision and considers the consequences of their curtailment. Vision screening must focus on pre-school children if the aim of the screening is to detect and treat conditions that may lead to amblyopia, whereas if the aim is to detect and correct significant refractive errors (not likely to lead to amblyopia) then it would be expedient for the optometric profession to act as the major provider of refractive (and colour vision) screening at 5-6 years of age. Myopia is the refractive error most likely to develop during primary school presenting typically between 8 and 12 years of age, thus screening at entry to secondary school is warranted. Given the inevitable restriction on resources for health care, establishing screening at 5 and 11 years of age, with exclusion of any subsequent screening, is the preferred option. © 2004 The College of Optometrists.

The campaign to save Croxteth comprehensive: an ethnographic study of a protest movement

This thesis is based on ethnographic research carried out on a Liverpool protest movement which occurred between November, 1980 and July,1983. The protest movement was waged by residents of the working class community of Croxteth Liverpool who wished to retain their state secondary school, Croxteth Comprehensive. The Liverpool City Council voted in favour of closing Croxteth Comprehensive in January, 1981 because of its declining roles. Residents began theIr campaign as soon as they became aware of intentions to close the school at the end of the previous year. The campaIgn itself went through a number of different phases, distinguishable accordIng to the groups of people involved, the strategy and tactics they employed, the ways in which they justified their campaign, and the goals they pursued. In July of 1982 the organisation which led the protest, the Croxteth Community Action Committee, took illegal possession of the school buildings and ran a pilot summer school project. In September of 1982 they opened the school doors for all secondary pupils on the council estate and began running classes, with the help of volunteer teachers. The school was run successfully in this way for the entire 1982/83 school year. By the end of this period the school was officially reinstated by a new Labour Party majorIty on the city council. This thesis presents a comprehensive account of the entire campaign, from its beginning to end. The campaign is analysed in a number of ways: by situating the closure itself in the economic and political conditions of Liverpool in the 1980s, by examining the relation of Croxteth Comprehensive to its community, by describing the conditions in which different groups of people contributed to the campaign and the changes it went through in its use of tactics, and through a close examination of the activities which took place inside the school during its year of occupation. A number of levels of analysis are used in the study. To explain the closure and the early forms of resistance which developed to oppose it, the structural location of the local government of Liverpool in the late 1970s and early 1980s is described. To explain the relationship of the school to its community, the formation of a group of activists and their leaders, and the resources available to the protestors for pursuing their aims, a single-group model of social action is used. To analyse the establishment of social routines and schooling practices within the school during its occupation, action-theoretica1 models are drawn upon., The chapters of literature review and concept analysis with which this thesis begins link these different levels theoretIcalIy through a model of actIon and its conditions. The theoretical framework employed is reviewed in the last chapter. It is one which could be used to study any social movement, and has applications to other social phenomena as well. Lastly various issues within the sociology of education are examined in light of the events which took place in Croxteth Comprehensive, especially the theory of community education.

Teachers' conceptions of their role

An analysis is made of the conceptions which serving teachers have of their role, though no attempt is made to relate this to their practice of teaching. A series of role items was collected to afford a description of the teacher's role in terms of school and society expectations as well as classroom behaviours. These were taken from the literature and from interviews with teachers, and confirmed in a preliminary survey. Presented as a questionnaire, replies to the main investigation were made by 881 teachers, working in a variety of schools from nurseries to comprehensives. Two attempts have been made to construct a role model. The first, depending on the judgement of items fitting theoretically derived roles, failed, due to diffuseness in the role of teacher. The second used factor analysis; six factors were extracted which represent meaningful and distinct areas of role. The analysis has depended largely on examination of scores taken from these factors. Teachers in all types of school have similar conceptions of discipline. Nursery-infant and junior staff generally agree on the other areas investigated, but the concepts of secondary teachers are distinct. They are more conservative and less child-centered. When the class being taught is held constant, few differences in role conception are found to be related to sex, being a parent, graduate status, or personality, as measured in terms of the extrovert and neurotic dimensions. The first few years of teaching bring considerable changes in role conception, and further changes occur with prolonged experience. Deputy heads in junior schools and nursery nurses have quite distinct role conceptions; those of all other teachers, including those holding senior posts in secondary schools, are similar. The perception of school climate influences the role conception of primary teachers directly, but it does not influence that of secondary teachers. The greatest variation in role conception is related to scores on the radical scale of Oliver and Butcher. Primary school teachers experience little constraint, but that reported by secondary school teachers is considerable, especially that coming from the head. Despite difficulties caused by the wide division between primary and secondary education, teachers have an accurate perception of the roles their colleagues adopt. A few misunderstandings may be due to a feeling of idealism amongst nursery and infant teachers. There is evidence in their conception of role that would enhance the professional standing of teachers, but this is not in a form which is likely to be recognised by the public.

School children's attitudes towards computers as a fucntion of gender, course subjects and availability of home computers

The attitudes of 328 British Secondary School children towards computers were examined in a cross-sectional survey. Measures of both general attitudes towards computers and affective reactions towards working with computers were examined in relation to the sex of the subject, courses studied (computer related/noncomputer related) and availability of a home computer. A differential pattern of results was observed. With respect to general attitudes towards computers, main effects were found for all three independent variables indicating that more favourable attitudes increased as a function of being male, doing computer courses and having a home computer. In contrast to this, affective reactions to working with computers was primarily related to doing computer courses, such that those doing computer courses reported more positive and less negative reactions. The practical and theoretical implications of these results are discussed.