Socialising young literacy learners into a discourse of failure: Dominant discourses in literacy teaching and assessment and their impact on the progression of young literacy learners into employment

This paper argues that contemporary literacy programmes are a mismatch for the expectations of both the government and employers as well as the goals of learners. It submits that the dominant discourses in literacy provision have led to the emergence of a learning culture which not only fails the learners but is also incapable of meeting the aspirations of both the government and employers. To support this argument, the paper reports a small scale research project that analyses the perceptions of learners, teachers and employers who were involved in a work placement scheme for young literacy learners in a college of further education. Data for the study were collected through focus group and face to face interviews and analysed using the framework of discourse analysis provided by Gill (2000) with findings codified and analysed thematically. The study found that teachers were aware that their learners were not adequately prepared for the world of work because of the demands of the dominant discourses of quality and performance measurement which were most obviously manifested in their assessment, teaching methods and the attitudes of learners. It found that employers perceive young learners as inadequate in terms of the workplace expectations. Learners in the study revealed that their workplace culture and expectations were totally different from the culture to which they had been socialised in their studies. The study concludes that unless the dominance of these discourses is ameliorated, young literacy learners will continue to be socialised into a discourse of failure.

Practitioners’ perception of the impact of the vision of policy-makers on practice: The example of the recommendations of the Moser Commission

This paper presents the perception of practitioners of the impact of the Moser Committee recommendations and the Skills for Life agenda it generated. The paper further explores areas of convergence and divergence between practitioners’ perceptions and the underpinning values of the Moser Committee recommendations. The study utilised a range of research tools including an online questionnaire, documentary analysis and elements of discourse analysis in the collection and analysis of data. It found that there is substantial divergence between the perception of practitioners and the values underpinning policy. It concludes by suggesting that a varying perception of what constitutes sustainable education and the lack of input from practitioners into policy might be responsible for this significant divergence of opinion and also raised a question on the perceived role of practitioners in the policy‐making process.

Bildung im Rems-Murr-Kreis. Zweiter Bildungsbericht 2014

Analog zum ersten Bildungsbericht ist der zweite Bildungsbericht in sechs Kapitel unterteilt, deren Reihenfolge sich - mit Ausnahme des ersten und letzten Kapitels - am Lebenslauf orientiert: (..) Kapitel A beschäftigt sich mit gesellschaftlichen und wirtschaftlichen Rahmenbedingungen von Bildung und geht in diesem Zusammenhang auf die Bevölkerungsentwicklung, die Arbeitsmarktsituation sowie die soziale Lage im Rems-Murr-Kreis ein. Anschließend wird in Kapitel B die frühkindliche Bildung in den Blick genommen. Der Fokus liegt hier auf der Betreuungssituation der Kinder unter sechs Jahren im Rems-Murr- Kreis, dem Thema Elternbildung sowie auf dem Übergang von der Kindertageseinrichtung in die Grundschule. Kapitel C widmet sich den allgemeinbildenden Schulen im Landkreis. Neben der Schüler- und Angebotsstruktur und dem Erwerb allgemeinbildender Schulabschlüsse wird auf aktuelle schulpolitische Entwicklungen und Maßnahmen zur Berufsorientierung eingegangen. Es folgt Kapitel D zur beruflichen Bildung im Rems- Murr-Kreis, in dem Schülerzahlen und Angebote der Beruflichen Schulen dargestellt werden. Außerdem werden die Themen berufsvorbereitende Bildungsgänge und duale Ausbildung behandelt. In Kapitel E wird die Bildungssituation der beruflichen Weiterbildung und der Erwachsenenbildung dargestellt. Abschließend befasst sich das Kapitel F mit non-formaler Bildung und informellem Lernen, wobei der Fokus auf den Jugendlichen im Rems-Murr-Kreis liegt. Es werden die non-formalen Bildungsorte Musik- und Kunstschulen, Bibliotheken und Einrichtungen der Jugendarbeit in den Blick genommen. Am Ende jedes Kapitels wird darüber hinaus erstmalig auf das Querschnittsthema Inklusion eingegangen. (DIPF/Orig.)

Learning To Live Together

The rise of ethnic tensions has rendered the idea of pluralist societies more problematic than ever before. This article looks at the role played by adult education in helping to build peace in Northern Ireland, a society which is moving towards the stabilisation of its intercommunal conflict. A typology of peace education is put forward, outlining the various strategies adopted by those involved in adult learning or community relations work. Some general observations are added about the role of gender. Questions are then raised about how the impact of peace education progammes can be measured or assessed, and about the methodological problems facing all those attempting to draw conclusions about the role of education in conflict societies.

Lifelong learning through digital storytelling in corporate training

In this paper we discuss collaborative learning strategies based on the use of digital stories in corporate training and lifelong learning. The text starts with a concise review on theoretical and technical foundations about the use of digital technologies in collaborative strategies in lifelong learning. We will also discuss if the corporate training may be improved by the use of individual audio-visual experience in learning process. Careful planning, scripting and production of audio-visual digital stories can help in the construction of collaborative learning spaces in which adults are in the context of vocational training throughout life. Our analysis concludes emphasizing on the need to experience the routing performance of digital stories in the context of corporate training, following the reference levels mentioned here, so we can have in a future more theoretical and empirical elements for the validation and conceptualization in the use of digital stories in the context of corporate training. Ultimately we believe that lifelong learning can be improved with the use of strategies that promote the production of personal audio-visual for those involved in teaching and learning process in organizational context.

A apropriação das TIC, por parte dos adultos, no processo de RVCC de nível básico

Trabalho de projecto de mestrado, Ciências da Educação (Formação de Adultos), Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Educação, 2011

Literacia de escrita em candidatos de RVCC

Trabalho de projecto de mestrado, Ciências da Educação (Formação de Adultos), Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Educação, 2011

O referencial de competências-chave de nível secundário no reconhecimento de adquiridos experienciais : sentido e pertinência

Trabalho de projecto de mestrado, Ciências da Educação (Formação de Adultos), Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Educação, 2011

Conhecer as razões da desistência nos Centros de Novas Oportunidades

Trabalho de projecto de mestrado, Ciências da Educação (Formação de Adultos - Educação e formação de jovens e adultos pouco escolarizados), Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Educação, 2011

E-portefólio na disciplina de TIC : uma experiência com alunos do 7º ano

Trabalho de projeto de mestrado, Ciências da Educação (Formação de Adultos), Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Educação, 2013

Os jovens e a escola : percursos e significados

Trabalho de projeto de mestrado, Ciências da Educação (Formação de Adultos), Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Educação, 2013

Self-directed learning, stress and the adult learner /

The purpose of this correlational study was to investigate the relationship between the degree of self-directed learning readiness and stress for level one nursing students and level two nursing students. One hundred female nursing students participated in the study who were attending an Ontario Community College. Data were collected from the main nursing campus and the satellite nursing campus using the random sample method. Instruments used were said to be valid and reliable for testing self-directed learning readiness and stress respectively. Data were analyzed using frequency response to each item, means and standard deviation, and the Pearson product correlation between selfdirected learning readiness and stress. The results of the study show that there is a difference in the relationship between the degree of self-directed learning readiness and stress between the level one nursing students and the level two nursing students. Such results will be of particular interest to nursing instructors and administrators when planning for delivery of programs to such students.

Dialogue journal writing: a tool for critical reflection in the adult ESL learner

This study attempted to determine whether or not dialogue journal writing encouraged critical reflection in the adult ESL (English as a Second Language) learner. According to research in adult education and anecdotal evidence, the process ofdialogue journal writing can facilitate critical reflection in the adult learner. However, little research has been conducted to examine whether or not journal writing can facilitate critical reflection in the second language learner. As a result, ten low-intermediate level adult ESL students from Brock University's Intensive English Language Programme participated in a dialogue journal writing programme in their writing class. The participants wrote journal entries over a 10-week period, and were interviewed once throughout the process to determine their perceptions ofthe journal writing experience. They also were observed by the researcher throughout the journal writing sessions to establish whether any behaviours or intrusions might affect the participants' writing processes. After the content ofthe journals and the interviews, and the observations made by the researcher were analysed, it was confirmed that, for these participants, dialogue journal writing did not necessarily encourage critical reflection. Moreover, the participants' perceptions ofjournal writing were that it helped them to practise the syntax, vocabulary, and rhetorical patterns ofEnglish; nevertheless, it did not foster critical reflection or thinking.

Manpower development and nation-building : Singapore's experience

Manpower is a basic resource. It is the indispensable means of converting other resources to mankind '.s use and benefit. As a process· of increasing the knowledge, skills, and dexterity of the people of a society, manpower development is the most fundamental means of enabling a nation to acquire the capacities to bring about its desired future state of affairs -- a more mighty and wealthier nation. Singapore's brief nation-building history justifies the emphasis accorded to the importance of good quality human resources and manpower development in economic and socio-political developments. As a tiny island-state with a poor natural resource base, Singapore's long-term survival and development depend ultimately upon the quality and the creative energy of her people. In line with the nation-building goals and strategies of the Republic, as conditioned by her objective setting, Singapore's basic manpower development premise has been one of "quality and not quantity". While implementing the "stop-at-two" family planning and population control programs and the relevant immigration measures to guard against the prospect of a "population explosion", the Government has energetically fostered various educational programs, including vocational training schemes, adult education programs, the youth movement, and the national service scheme to improve the quality of Singaporeans. There is no denying that some of the manpower development measures taken by the Government have imposed sacrifice and hardship on the Singapore citizens. Nevertheless, they are the basic conditions for the island-Republic's long-term survival and development. It is essential iii to note that Singapore's continuing existence and phenomenal-success are largely attributable to the will, capacities and efforts of her leaders and people. In the final analysis, the wealth and the strength of a nation are based upon its ability to conserve, develop and utilize effectively the innate capacities of its people. This is true not only of Singapore but necessarily of other developing nations. It can be safely presumed that since most developing states' concerns about the quality of their human resources and the progress of their nation-building work are inextricably bound to those about the quantity of their population, the "quality and not quantity" motto of Singapore's manpower development programs can also be their guiding principle.