Integration of learning and practice as part of the educational system development in Eritrea. "School Management" - a distance learning program by technical university of Kaiserslautern

The distance learning program "School Management" supports decision makers at the school and ministerial levels in the shaping of formal and informal learning processes at different levels in schools and curricula in Eritrea. This paper examines how the distance learning program is interconnected to educational system development. (DIPF/Orig.)

Unlocking Characteristics of Outstanding Leadership in Schools and Colleges in England

The workshop will invite participants to engage in a discussion of the characteristics of outstanding leadership by taking part in an interactive activity which we have developed and used in different types of schools and colleges in England. The activity uses Q-methodology to develop and refine characteristics of outstanding leaders and outstanding leadership in education from a range of stakeholder perspectives. Q-methodology is a research method which originates from psychology and is used to study people's subjective viewpoints. We are applying the methodology to the study of enacted leadership practice in different educational contexts. Our sample of stakeholders consists of school and college leaders, governors, middle leaders, teachers, teacher educators, researchers and scholars in educational leadership and management research and practice. The range of contexts in which they work represents different age phases of education; primary, secondary and further education colleges, urban and rural schools and colleges and selective and non-selective schools. In the workshop participants will be invited to take part in the Q-sort activity we have used with in our research, using statements from leadership theory and practice. The Q-sort will be followed by discussion and reflection on the statements in relation to participants’ own experiences of leadership, management and governance in different contexts.

Authentizität und Lernen - das Fach in der Fachdidaktik. Gesellschaft für Didaktik der Chemie und Physik Jahrestagung in Berlin 2015

Die 42. Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Didaktik der Chemie und Physik (GDCP) wurde im September 2015 an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin ausgerichtet. Zum Tagungsthema „Authentizität und Lernen - Das Fach in der Fachdidaktik“ diskutierten neben den Plenarreferentinnen und -referenten eine große Anzahl an Tagungsgästen. Der vorliegende Band umfasst die ausgearbeiteten Beiträge der Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer. (DIPF/Orig.)

L’expérience mimétique dans l’apprentissage adulte: le cas des formations par simulation

L’objectif cet article est de discuter la pertinence de la notion de mimétisme dans l’apprentissage adulte en prenant appui sur une recherche effectuée au cours d’une formation sur simulateur de pleine-échelle pour des infirmiers en anesthésie. Les résultats montrent que les participants engagés dans des dispositifs de formation par simulation font une expérience particulière, qualifiée de mimétique, qui ne peut être réduite entièrement au travail de référence. Nos résultats soulèvent la question du rapport de "similarité-différence" entre l’activité de travail et l’activité de formation. Nous faisons l’hypothèse que l’expérience mimétique est également présente dans d’autres environnements d’apprentissage qui sont considérés comme «sérieux»: c’està-dire ne nécessitant pas d’engagement explicitement ludique ou mimétique de la part des participants. (DIPF/Orig.)

Die politische Ökonomie der Berufsbildung in Großbritannien und in Deutschland

Der Beitrag wägt die Vor- und Nachteile des dualen Berufsbildungswesens in Deutschland gegen die sehr viel weniger geregelte Ausbildung in Großbritannien ab. Es werden die Interessen dargelegt, die Arbeitgeber daran hindern bzw. ermutigen; eine betriebsspezifische oder aber eine allgemein anwendbare Aus- oder Fortbildung anzubieten. Verglichen werden Muster einer Interventionspolitik und wirtschaftlicher Regulierung mit denen eines Prinzips des freien Marktes, beides in parlamentarischen Systemen. Der Vergleich der britischen und der deutschen Entwicklung zeigt die unterschiedlichen Voraussetzungen beider Gesellschaften, die auch einer Übertragung des dualen Berufsbildungssystems entgegenstehen. (DIPF/Orig.)

Josef Schrader: Struktur und Wandel der Weiterbildung. Bielefeld: W. Bertelsmann 2011 [Rezension]

Rezension von: Josef Schrader: Struktur und Wandel der Weiterbildung. Bielefeld: W. Bertelsmann 2011 (447 S.; ISBN 978-3-7639-4846-8)

Europeanization in VET policy as a process of reshaping the educational space

The EU represents a transforming educational space, where national and supranational boundaries in educational governance are becoming blurred. The EU has become an important actor in educational governance and an important arena for policy learning and transfer. This paper explores how the process of reshaping the educational space manifests itself in the process of the Europeanization of VET policy in the case of Estonia. In Estonia, this process was followed by the growth of executive VET institutions and has developed from rather uncritical initial policy transfer to more active learning from the EU, although conformism can still be seen in cases of the introduction of standardizing policy tools. (DIPF/Orig.)

Technology for employability toolkit

This toolkit distills the ideas and guidance from the Jisc ‘Technology for employability’ http://bit.ly/technology_for_employability report into a useful and usable toolkit that can be used by Higher Education (HE) and Further Education (FE) educational providers to aid dialogue, decision-making and planning in respect of developing student employability and use of technology for employability.

Highbury College: interview with Stella Mbubaegbu

Thought leadership interview with Stella Mbubaegbu, Highbury College Portsmouth. Stella started her career teaching in schools before turning her attention to further education. She has been principal and chief executive of Highbury College Portsmouth since 2001 and was awarded the CBE for services to further education in 2008.

Student digital experience tracker 2016: results from the pilot project

Building on funded work on the experiences of today’s digital students http://bit.ly/jiscdigistudent (2014-2015) and feedback from stakeholders, Jisc piloted a tracker tool with 24 education providers in Higher education (HE) and Further Education (FE) and skills. The aim of the tracker is to provide a snapshot of learners’ digital experiences at a training provider, college or university so that education providers can better understand this aspect of the learning experience. This survey report highlights key findings from the tracker pilot.

Ein Weiterbildungsprojekt als Promotor von Hochschulentwicklung – Realität oder Größenwahn

In diesem Beitrag werden die Besonderheiten des BLK-Projektes OLIM1 in Bezug auf die Implementierung von Nachhaltigkeit und die Entwicklungsimpulse aus der Weiterbildung in die Hochschulen hinein dargestellt. Ausgehend von der besonderen Situation in Hamburg und in der Arbeitsstelle für wissenschaftliche Weiterbildung der Universität Hamburg wird das Projekt in seinen wesentlichen Zügen skizziert. Es schließt sich eine Darstellung wichtiger Faktoren zum angestrebten Ziel Nachhaltigkeit sowie eine Beschreibung ihres konzeptionellen Beitrags an. Am Beispiel erster Projektergebnisse wird aufgezeigt, inwiefern sich die hohen Erwartungen bisher erfüllt haben oder ob es sich um einen Anflug von Größenwahn einer kleinen Einrichtung in einer großen Universität handelt. (DIPF/Orig.)

Qualitätssicherung für nachhaltige Strukturen in der ICT-basierten Lehreraus- und -fortbildung

Das Institut für Ökonomische Bildung (IÖB) an der Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg ist u.a. mit der wissenschaftlichen Durchführung des Projekts „Ökonomische Bildung online“ befasst, mit dem die Entwicklung eines vollständigen internetbasierten Studiengangs, differenzierter Fort- und Weiterbildungsprofile für Lehrkräfte an allgemein bildenden Schulen und die Vorbereitung des Exports des Studiengangs nach Russland erreicht werden soll. Ein vertraglich fixiertes Hauptaugenmerk bei der Entwicklung dieser Angebote liegt auf der Nachhaltigkeit, d.h. nach Ablauf der Projektförderdauer (7/2001–12/2004) sollen sich die Produkte auf dem wachsenden Bildungsmarkt selbst refinanzieren. Wie versucht werden soll die Nachhaltigkeit zu erreichen, ist Gegenstand dieses Artikels. Im Mittelpunkt stehen dabei Maßnahmen der Qualitätssicherung, die m.E. aber nicht bei der Betrachtung der Produkte an sich, d.h. der Inhalte und Kurse selbst beschränkt bleiben kann, sondern auch die Ausrichtung an der Marktsituation, die Bedürfnisse der Zielgruppen, die Kooperationsbeziehungen, die Finanzierung und die Technik ins Blickfeld nehmen muss. (DIPF/Orig.)

Das verflixte (?) siebte Jahr – Sieben Jahre Virtuelle Universität

Im Wintersemester 1996 wurde am Lehrgebiet Praktische Informatik I mit einigen wenigen Kursen und ebenso wenig Studierenden die Virtuelle Universität (VU) der FernUniversität in Hagen gestartet. Heute arbeiten mehr als 25.000 Nutzer aktiv mit dieser Plattform und können aus über 300 Kursen aller Fachbereiche ihr individuelles Studienprofil auswählen. Die Virtuelle Universität (VU) hat allerdings nicht nur enorme Veränderungen von Lehren und Lernen bewirkt, auch die Organisation als Ganzes erfährt inzwischen durch die VU einen Strukturwandel. Viele Publikationen beschäftigen sich mit den technologischen, didaktischen und auch juristischen Aspekten des Wandels; aber kaum jemand beschreibt die kompletten Auswirkungen durch den Einsatz eines solchen Systems und doch wird genau danach sehr häufig gefragt. Nicht nur Studierende, auch Lehrende, Verwaltungsangestellte und Techniker werden vor neue Herausforderungen gestellt. Im folgenden Papier werden die Erfahrungen aus dem Projekt Virtuelle Universität der FernUniversität in Hagen zusammengefasst. Am Beispiel des Projektes soll gezeigt werden, wie ein Initiativprojekt eine ganze Organisation in seinen Bann zog und vielfältige Veränderungen in allen Bereichen bewirkt hat. (DIPF/Orig.)

Fallbasiertes E-Learning durch dynamische Verknüpfung von Fallstudien und Fachinhalten. Neue Diskussionsansätze zu einem vernachlässigten Konzept

Der Einsatz von Fallstudien kann als wichtiges Bindeglied zur Verknüpfung von Theorie und Praxis betrachtet werden. Fallstudien ermöglichen die Anwendung theoretischen Grundlagenwissens und die Entwicklung überfachlicher Kompetenzen. Damit können sie einen wichtigen Beitrag zur beruflichen Handlungskompetenz genau dort leisten, wo praktische Erfahrungen im Rahmen der Aus-und Weiterbildung nicht möglich sind. Der Einsatz von Fallstudien sollte aus diesem Grund nicht nur den „klassischen“ Anwendungsdisziplinen wie den Rechtswissenschaften, der Betriebswirtschaftslehre oder der Psychologie vorbehalten sein. Auch im Bereich der Informatik können sie eine wichtige Ergänzung zu den bisher eingesetzten Methoden darstellen. Das im Kontext des Projekts New Economy1 entwickelte und hier vorgestellte Konzept zur didaktischen und technischen Aufbereitung von Fallstudien am Beispiel der IT-Aus- und Weiterbildung soll diese Diskussion anregen. Mit Hilfe des vorgestellten Ansatzes ist es möglich, unterschiedliche methodische Zugänge zu einer Fallstudie für eine computerbasierte Präsentation automatisch zu generieren und mit fachlichen Inhalten zu verknüpfen. Damit ist ein entscheidender Mehrwert gegenüber den bisherigen statischen und in sich geschlossenen Darstellungen gegeben. Der damit zu erreichende Qualitätssprung im Einsatz von Fallstudien in der universitären und betrieblichen Aus- und Weiterbildung stellt einen wichtigen Beitrag zur praxisorientierten Gestaltung von Blended Learning-Ansätzen dar.(DIPF/Orig.)

Identifying health inequalities in individuals with major mental illness (MMI) using routine data

Abstract and Summary of Thesis: Background: Individuals with Major Mental Illness (such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) experience increased rates of physical health comorbidity compared to the general population. They also experience inequalities in access to certain aspects of healthcare. This ultimately leads to premature mortality. Studies detailing patterns of physical health comorbidity are limited by their definitions of comorbidity, single disease approach to comorbidity and by the study of heterogeneous groups. To date the investigation of possible sources of healthcare inequalities experienced by individuals with Major Mental Illness (MMI) is relatively limited. Moreover studies detailing the extent of premature mortality experienced by individuals with MMI vary both in terms of the measure of premature mortality reported and age of the cohort investigated, limiting their generalisability to the wider population. Therefore local and national data can be used to describe patterns of physical health comorbidity, investigate possible reasons for health inequalities and describe mortality rates. These findings will extend existing work in this area. Aims and Objectives: To review the relevant literature regarding: patterns of physical health comorbidity, evidence for inequalities in physical healthcare and evidence for premature mortality for individuals with MMI. To examine the rates of physical health comorbidity in a large primary care database and to assess for evidence for inequalities in access to healthcare using both routine primary care prescribing data and incentivised national Quality and Outcome Framework (QOF) data. Finally to examine the rates of premature mortality in a local context with a particular focus on cause of death across the lifespan and effect of International Classification of Disease Version 10 (ICD 10) diagnosis and socioeconomic status on rates and cause of death. Methods: A narrative review of the literature surrounding patterns of physical health comorbidity, the evidence for inequalities in physical healthcare and premature mortality in MMI was undertaken. Rates of physical health comorbidity and multimorbidity in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were examined using a large primary care dataset (Scottish Programme for Improving Clinical Effectiveness in Primary Care (SPICE)). Possible inequalities in access to healthcare were investigated by comparing patterns of prescribing in individuals with MMI and comorbid physical health conditions with prescribing rates in individuals with physical health conditions without MMI using SPICE data. Potential inequalities in access to health promotion advice (in the form of smoking cessation) and prescribing of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) were also investigated using SPICE data. Possible inequalities in access to incentivised primary healthcare were investigated using National Quality and Outcome Framework (QOF) data. Finally a pre-existing case register (Glasgow Psychosis Clinical Information System (PsyCIS)) was linked to Scottish Mortality data (available from the Scottish Government Website) to investigate rates and primary cause of death in individuals with MMI. Rate and primary cause of death were compared to the local population and impact of age, socioeconomic status and ICD 10 diagnosis (schizophrenia vs. bipolar disorder) were investigated. Results: Analysis of the SPICE data found that sixteen out of the thirty two common physical comorbidities assessed, occurred significantly more frequently in individuals with schizophrenia. In individuals with bipolar disorder fourteen occurred more frequently. The most prevalent chronic physical health conditions in individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were: viral hepatitis (Odds Ratios (OR) 3.99 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 2.82-5.64 and OR 5.90 95% CI 3.16-11.03 respectively), constipation (OR 3.24 95% CI 3.01-3.49 and OR 2.84 95% CI 2.47-3.26 respectively) and Parkinson’s disease (OR 3.07 95% CI 2.43-3.89 and OR 2.52 95% CI 1.60-3.97 respectively). Both groups had significantly increased rates of multimorbidity compared to controls: in the schizophrenia group OR for two comorbidities was 1.37 95% CI 1.29-1.45 and in the bipolar disorder group OR was 1.34 95% CI 1.20-1.49. In the studies investigating inequalities in access to healthcare there was evidence of: under-recording of cardiovascular-related conditions for example in individuals with schizophrenia: OR for Atrial Fibrillation (AF) was 0.62 95% CI 0.52 - 0.73, for hypertension 0.71 95% CI 0.67 - 0.76, for Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) 0.76 95% CI 0.69 - 0.83 and for peripheral vascular disease (PVD) 0.83 95% CI 0.72 - 0.97. Similarly in individuals with bipolar disorder OR for AF was 0.56 95% CI 0.41-0.78, for hypertension 0.69 95% CI 0.62 - 0.77 and for CHD 0.77 95% CI 0.66 - 0.91. There was also evidence of less intensive prescribing for individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder who had comorbid hypertension and CHD compared to individuals with hypertension and CHD who did not have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Rate of prescribing of statins for individuals with schizophrenia and CHD occurred significantly less frequently than in individuals with CHD without MMI (OR 0.67 95% CI 0.56-0.80). Rates of prescribing of 2 or more anti-hypertensives were lower in individuals with CHD and schizophrenia and CHD and bipolar disorder compared to individuals with CHD without MMI (OR 0.66 95% CI 0.56-0.78 and OR 0.55 95% CI 0.46-0.67, respectively). Smoking was more common in individuals with MMI compared to individuals without MMI (OR 2.53 95% CI 2.44-2.63) and was particularly increased in men (OR 2.83 95% CI 2.68-2.98). Rates of ex-smoking and non-smoking were lower in individuals with MMI (OR 0.79 95% CI 0.75-0.83 and OR 0.50 95% CI 0.48-0.52 respectively). However recorded rates of smoking cessation advice in smokers with MMI were significantly lower than the recorded rates of smoking cessation advice in smokers with diabetes (88.7% vs. 98.0%, p<0.001), smokers with CHD (88.9% vs. 98.7%, p<0.001) and smokers with hypertension (88.3% vs. 98.5%, p<0.001) without MMI. The odds ratio of NRT prescription was also significantly lower in smokers with MMI without diabetes compared to smokers with diabetes without MMI (OR 0.75 95% CI 0.69-0.81). Similar findings were found for smokers with MMI without CHD compared to smokers with CHD without MMI (OR 0.34 95% CI 0.31-0.38) and smokers with MMI without hypertension compared to smokers with hypertension without MMI (OR 0.71 95% CI 0.66-0.76). At a national level, payment and population achievement rates for the recording of body mass index (BMI) in MMI was significantly lower than the payment and population achievement rates for BMI recording in diabetes throughout the whole of the UK combined: payment rate 92.7% (Inter Quartile Range (IQR) 89.3-95.8 vs. 95.5% IQR 93.3-97.2, p<0.001 and population achievement rate 84.0% IQR 76.3-90.0 vs. 92.5% IQR 89.7-94.9, p<0.001 and for each country individually: for example in Scotland payment rate was 94.0% IQR 91.4-97.2 vs. 96.3% IQR 94.3-97.8, p<0.001. Exception rate was significantly higher for the recording of BMI in MMI than the exception rate for BMI recording in diabetes for the UK combined: 7.4% IQR 3.3-15.9 vs. 2.3% IQR 0.9-4.7, p<0.001 and for each country individually. For example in Scotland exception rate in MMI was 11.8% IQR 5.4-19.3 compared to 3.5% IQR 1.9-6.1 in diabetes. Similar findings were found for Blood Pressure (BP) recording: across the whole of the UK payment and population achievement rates for BP recording in MMI were also significantly reduced compared to payment and population achievement rates for the recording of BP in chronic kidney disease (CKD): payment rate: 94.1% IQR 90.9-97.1 vs.97.8% IQR 96.3-98.9 and p<0.001 and population achievement rate 87.0% IQR 81.3-91.7 vs. 97.1% IQR 95.5-98.4, p<0.001. Exception rates again were significantly higher for the recording of BP in MMI compared to CKD (6.4% IQR 3.0-13.1 vs. 0.3% IQR 0.0-1.0, p<0.001). There was also evidence of differences in rates of recording of BMI and BP in MMI across the UK. BMI and BP recording in MMI were significantly lower in Scotland compared to England (BMI:-1.5% 99% CI -2.7 to -0.3%, p<0.001 and BP: -1.8% 99% CI -2.7 to -0.9%, p<0.001). While rates of BMI and BP recording in diabetes and CKD were similar in Scotland compared to England (BMI: -0.5 99% CI -1.0 to 0.05, p=0.004 and BP: 0.02 99% CI -0.2 to 0.3, p=0.797). Data from the PsyCIS cohort showed an increase in Standardised Mortality Ratios (SMR) across the lifespan for individuals with MMI compared to the local Glasgow and wider Scottish populations (Glasgow SMR 1.8 95% CI 1.6-2.0 and Scotland SMR 2.7 95% CI 2.4-3.1). Increasing socioeconomic deprivation was associated with an increased overall rate of death in MMI (350.3 deaths/10,000 population/5 years in the least deprived quintile compared to 794.6 deaths/10,000 population/5 years in the most deprived quintile). No significant difference in rate of death for individuals with schizophrenia compared with bipolar disorder was reported (6.3% vs. 4.9%, p=0.086), but primary cause of death varied: with higher rates of suicide in individuals with bipolar disorder (22.4% vs. 11.7%, p=0.04). Discussion: Local and national datasets can be used for epidemiological study to inform local practice and complement existing national and international studies. While the strengths of this thesis include the large data sets used and therefore their likely representativeness to the wider population, some limitations largely associated with using secondary data sources are acknowledged. While this thesis has confirmed evidence of increased physical health comorbidity and multimorbidity in individuals with MMI, it is likely that these findings represent a significant under reporting and likely under recognition of physical health comorbidity in this population. This is likely due to a combination of patient, health professional and healthcare system factors and requires further investigation. Moreover, evidence of inequality in access to healthcare in terms of: physical health promotion (namely smoking cessation advice), recording of physical health indices (BMI and BP), prescribing of medications for the treatment of physical illness and prescribing of NRT has been found at a national level. While significant premature mortality in individuals with MMI within a Scottish setting has been confirmed, more work is required to further detail and investigate the impact of socioeconomic deprivation on cause and rate of death in this population. It is clear that further education and training is required for all healthcare staff to improve the recognition, diagnosis and treatment of physical health problems in this population with the aim of addressing the significant premature mortality that is seen. Conclusions: Future work lies in the challenge of designing strategies to reduce health inequalities and narrow the gap in premature mortality reported in individuals with MMI. Models of care that allow a much more integrated approach to diagnosing, monitoring and treating both the physical and mental health of individuals with MMI, particularly in areas of social and economic deprivation may be helpful. Strategies to engage this “hard to reach” population also need to be developed. While greater integration of psychiatric services with primary care and with specialist medical services is clearly vital the evidence on how best to achieve this is limited. While the National Health Service (NHS) is currently undergoing major reform, attention needs to be paid to designing better ways to improve the current disconnect between primary and secondary care. This should then help to improve physical, psychological and social outcomes for individuals with MMI.