Creative knowing and spaces for learning

Building sustainableknowledge communities

Supporting the newgeneration of researchers

Impacting on educational assessment

2009

EditorialWelcome to REACH, the Graduate School ofEducation’s annual magazinethat keeps you up to date withexciting research developmentsin the School and with how ourwork is having an impact indifferent contexts – both in andout of formal learning settings,and across international borders.

The Graduate School has nine Research Centres and this edition focuses on the ways in which staff from our different centres work collaboratively on a wide range of research projects, both globally and locally. This issue of REACH highlights thestrong Post-Doctoral and Doctoral provision in the School and our work with the next generation of educational researchers who will grapple with the challengingeducational and knowledge demands of the 21st century. We introduce the work of our new Centre for Assessment and Learning Studies, how we are researching andtransforming technology enhanced learning, and how we are playing a key role ininforming policymakers and practitioners.

We invite you to contact us with your feedback or to discuss research opportunities and ideas.

Professor Pauline Rea-DickinsDirector of Research

At the Graduate School of Education, we take pride in the programme of support we providefor our staff who serve as ‘intellectual lifeblood’ to our work. We welcome Dr Hope Nudzorand Dr Benjamin Whalley, who are two new ESRC Funded Post-Doctoral Research Fellows.

Dr Hope NudzorHope’s research aims at promotingawareness and understanding of thebarriers to effective policy implementationin low-income countries. The project isbased on his PhD research which usesthe Free Compulsory Universal BasicEducation (fCUBE) policy in Ghana as a case to unmask the conceptual andoperational challenges of universalprimary education provision.

His doctoral thesis provides a very usefulbasis for providing policy-makers andpractitioners, particularly in Sub-SaharanAfrica, with a better understanding of howpolicy can be effectively implemented inthe interest of the most disadvantagedlearners. His doctoral research hashighlighted that accentuating policypurposes and intentions particularly inlow-income countries is not inherentlyproblematic but, rather, that the problemlies in the way policy is conceptualisedand operationalised, taking intoconsideration the diverse socio-cultural,economic, geo-political and discursivecontexts within which policies areimplemented in these countries.

Hope is based in the Centre forInternational and Comparative Studies(ICS) where he will be working closelywith his mentor, Professor Leon Tikly todisseminate fully this research throughpublications, conference presentationsand user-engagement activities,particularly with Ghanaian stakeholders.

Prior to this award, Hope worked as aprimary school teacher in Ghana, as aTutor at the Department of Educationaland Professional Studies, University ofStrathclyde, where he obtained both hisMSc in Management and Leadership in Education and PhD in EducationalStudies, and more recently as a PostDoctoral Teaching Fellow at LiverpoolHope University.

Hope says: “I am attracted to hold thisfellowship at the Graduate School ofEducation because of its extremely strongresearch culture and the system ofsupport provided for ‘novice’ researchers”.

www.bris.ac.uk/education/research/centres/ics

Dr Benjamin WhalleyBen’s research focuses on using ground-breaking statistical techniques to evaluatethe effectiveness of psychologicaltherapies, and the mechanisms thatunderpin improvement during therapy.The project extends some of the findingsfrom his PhD: “My research to date hasbeen focused on non-specific effects oftherapy. These are commonly termedplacebo effects, but this tends to maskthe importance of meaning andexpectancy in all medical treatments.”

Ben is based in the Centre for MultilevelModelling (CMM) and will be working withProfessor Jon Rasbash and ProfessorFiona Steele, learning many new techniquespioneered at the centre, in particular, theuse of multilevel-models in meta-analysis. He decided on working in the GraduateSchool for a range of reasons:“The CMM’s academic reputation waswhat first attracted me to Bristol, but the dynamic, friendly team and Jon’sespresso machine really sealed the deal!”

Ben’s route into this field has beencircuitous – he started his academic lifeas an historian at Cambridge in 1995, andthen spent 8 years in industry working onhuman-computer interaction for internetapplications. He got interested in placeboeffects, suggestion, and the mechanismsinvolved in psychological therapies muchlater; he left London for Plymouth, wherehe has been based for the past 4 years,completing his PhD. Most recently heworked with the Cochrane group in Exeteron a systematic review of psychologicaltherapies for coronary heart disease.

“My goal is that by developing myexpertise in the Graduate School, I’llcontribute to a more balanced andpragmatic approach to the evaluation andprovision of psychological therapies.”

www.cmm.bristol.ac.uk

REACH • 2009 01

The sky’s the limit 01Post-Doctoral capacity-building in the Graduate School of Education

Creative knowing and spaces for learning 02Informal and formal learning

A measure of hope? 04Impacting on educational assessment locally, nationally and internationally

Building sustainable knowledge communities 06The challenge of putting knowledge to work

Supporting the new generation of researchers 08Developing inquiring knowledge communities

Graduate School of Education

Understanding how to educate people for today’s politically,technologically and socially changingworld is at the core of the work of the Graduate School of Education.

We believe that the ways in whichpeople learn throughout life, withineducational institutions, the workplaceand informal settings is of majorsignificance for the future developmentof the UK and countries around the world.

For more information, contact:

Lucy StephensResearch OfficeGraduate School of EducationUniversity of Bristol35 Berkeley SquareBristol BS8 1JATelephone: +44 (0) 117 331 4341Email: Lucy.Stephens@bristol.ac.ukwww.bristol.ac.uk/education

The work of education academics already reflects thesubject’s inherent multidisciplinarity and the GraduateSchool of Education has a dynamic presence in boththe University and the Faculty of Social Sciences andLaw. A good example of this is a new university-wideresearch theme led by the School’s Dr Jane Speedy ofthe Centre for Narrative and Transformative Learning(CeNTraL). The theme – Learning, Identity and Society –has generated interest from over 60 colleagues fromfive university faculties. Our staff are also involved inother university research themes, including Gender andHuman Rights; some run funded cross-disciplinaryseminars, such as our successful series onSustainability and Higher Education. The GraduateSchool benefits from the University’s and Faculty’sfacilitation of strong cultures of enquiry that cut acrosstraditional divides; as Jane remarks “this way ofworking is at the heart of our conceptualisation of the education discipline.”

Professor Rosemary DeemResearch Director, Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

www.bris.ac.uk/fsslwww.bris.ac.uk/education/research/centres/central

Contents

Design & print: www.cw-design.co.uk

Photography: www.daveprattphotography.co.uk

Front cover image: Martin Chainey

Printed on 100% recycled paper using vegetable oil-based inks.

Top: Professor Rosemary DeemBottom: Dr Jane Speedy

‘Hope’s research aimsat promoting awarenessand understanding of the barriers to effectivepolicy implementation inlow-income countries’

‘Ben’s research focuseson using modern statisticaltechniques to evaluate the effectiveness ofpsychological therapies’

The sky’s the limitPost-Doctoral capacity-building in theGraduate School of Education

exploration and negotiation with moregoal directed efforts to foregroundknowledge advancement.

Visual methodologiesDr Tim Jay from CPLiC has been usingmobile phones as a research tool toinvestigate people’s perceptions andexperiences of their environments. This involved participants’ recordingneighbourhood and city tours using GPS, photos, video, audio and text,creating a moblog (mobile diary) of theirexperiences. Besides moblogging, other visual methodologies are beingdeveloped. For example, Dr FedericaOlivero, L-KIT Centre, is usingvideopapers as an innovative way ofaddressing the divide betweeneducational research and practice.VideoPaper integrates and synchronisestext, video, images and hyperlinks in onesingle non linear cohesive document. The project – funded by the NationalCentre for Excellence in the Teaching ofMathematics (NCETM) – investigatesways of introducing Mathematics teachersto research findings that are closely relatedto their current needs and interests.

From research to design oftechnologies for learningWhy is the design of digital technologiesfor young children usually based on amodel of one child interacting with a

computer? By contrast the design ofbooks for similar age groups is based onchildren’s participation with adults andother young people. These questions are addressed in a recent publicationPerspectives on Early Years and DigitalTechnologies. The publication, derivedfrom the work of a Futurelab network ofresearch students and academics fromthe Universities of Bristol, Nottingham andStirling, was co-ordinated by Bristol’sdoctoral student Sarah Eagle from the L-KIT Centre.

Developing professional learningcommunitiesSTEM (Science, Technology, Engineeringand Mathematics) education is a nationalpriority area in the United Kingdom andBristol’s research is playing a key role ininforming policy-makers and practitionersabout continuing professional developmentof Mathematics and Science teachers.

In the TDA-funded Step-IN project led by Dr Sibel Erduran, L-KIT Centre,colleagues have worked with Scienceteachers to promote inclusive Scienceteaching in secondary classrooms.

The professional development modelunderlying the project is based onargumentation around evidence from the classroom, including sources such asvideos, pupil materials and lesson plans.

In the NCETM funded project TheEconomy of Teaching Mathematics, led by Laurinda Brown, Centre for Narrativesand Transformative Learning (CeNTraL), a collaborative group of mathematicsteachers have been exploring ways inwhich making mathematics visible andtangible to students enables them to usetheir powers of discrimination anddescription to develop mathematicalconcepts. The teacher’s role is in focusingstudents’ attention and supportingmathematical discussion.

Similar research is being carried out bypart-time doctoral students. In Rwanda,Alphonse Uworwabayeho, L-KIT Centre,is working with Mathematics teachers toenhance students’ learning of Mathematicsthrough the use of dynamic geometrysoftware. In Cyprus, Demtris Lazarou isworking with teachers to introduce theidea of argumentation in primary Science,with the long-term aim of designing anICT environment for learning Science.

Professor Rosamund Sutherland, Chair of the Joint Mathematical Council of the UK, and a member of the STEMHigher Level Advisory Board says that:“understanding processes of learning at the level of the classroom is key to the professional development ofMathematics and Science teachers”.

www.bris.ac.uk/education/research/centres/l-kitwww.bris.ac.uk/education/research/networks/loosewww.bris.ac.uk/education/research/networks/mobile

REACH • 2009 03

Creative knowing andspaces for learningIn the Graduate School ofEducation, our research relatesto all forms of learning. Thisincludes learning in schoolsacross a range of subjectcultures, in training contexts (HE, FE and work-based), and in informal learning within diverse social contexts.

From learning to leadershipRecent research has highlighted the ways inwhich ICT can be used to enhance learning.However there are many intractablequestions that still need to be answered,for example “Why despite multi-millionpounds of investment are schools notexploiting the potential of ICT for learning?”To answer such questions ProfessorRosamund Sutherland and colleagues fromthe Graduate School of Education haveset up a think-tank series in collaborationwith Mouchel Management Consulting(www.mouchel.com) and not-for-profitorganisation, Futurelab (www.futurelab.org.uk).Through the work of the think tank theyare beginning to untangle the complexrelationships between policy, leadership,professional learning and the design of spacesfor learning, an ambitious agenda that weshall be tackling over the next five years.

Learning out-of-schoolProfessor Martin Hughes is in the last yearof an ESRC Professorial Fellowship on‘out-of-school learning’. He has beentalking to children and young people andlooking at their learning across differentout-of-school contexts, including an after-school drama club, a chess club and asoccer skills course. He is also working withcolleagues Marina Gall, Centre for Learning,Knowing and Interactive Technologies (L-KIT), and Wan Ching Yee, Centre forPsychology and Learning in Context (CPLiC),to study the development of a Bristol-based teenage rock band, the Naturals.He recently ran a drama workshop at theMerchants Academy with the KokopelliTheatre around the theme of ‘learning tobe a teenager’, in which young Academystudents dramatised important learningevents from their out-of-school lives. Martinhas been impressed with the inventivenessand tenacity shown by young people intheir out-of-school learning, and has beensharing his findings with an internationalnetwork of experts in this field. He also recently took part in a FuturelabRoundtable discussion on informallearning with Lord David Puttnam,Baroness Estelle Morris and the Children’sCommissioner Sir Al Aynsley-Green.

Adding a mobile dimension to learningThe increasing use of handheld, mobiletechnologies by students is causing us torethink the boundaries of traditionalspaces for learning. Young people areusing their mobile devices such asphones, PDAs, Smartphones and MP3players to learn, record and to shareinformation and images in and acrossdifferent contexts. These contexts caninclude informal learning activities outsideschool such as hobbies, sports andmuseum visits or within school using themobile device to capture contextual andother information to enable effective and authentic subject learning. TheUniversity funded research networkAdding a Mobile Dimension to Teachingand Learning led by Dr Jocelyn Wishart,L-KIT Centre, meets regularly to debateand share information on the impactmobile devices are having on education in schools, colleges and universities.

Transforming learning thoughcommunication and collaborationIncreasingly young people are usingcommunication tools to interact with friendsand teachers, and this is particularly thecase for the 14-19 age range. A BECTAfunded project is investigating the ways inwhich informal networked learning can be integrated into more formal learningactivities. The team, Dr Sally Barnes andSue Timmis, L-KIT Centre, and PaulHoward-Jones, CPLiC, are drawing onresearch in neuroscience that suggeststhat computer-mediated communicationprovokes strong emotional engagement,which may play a role (positively ornegatively) in learner engagement.

An approach which may encourage a greater use of collaborativetransformational learning comes from aNorwegian project with secondary schoolstudents and their use of Wikis. Dr IngvillRasmussen, University of Oslo, has beenvisiting Bristol as part of a post-doctoralexchange. The TWEAK project – TweakingWikis for Education and Advancement ofKnowledge – develops new Wiki designsand models that balance learner

REACH • 200902

‘Young people are usingtheir mobile devicessuch as phones, PDAs,Smartphones and MP3players to learn, recordand to share informationand images in andacross different contexts’

‘Why is the design of digital technologies for young children usually based on a model of one child interacting with a computer?’

Amour Khamis are taking an innovativeview of these issues and investigating the dynamics of language, both Englishand Kiswahili, in students’ performance in their national examinations that are currently all in English. This three-year project has just completed a major data collection phase andpresented preliminary findings to theMinistry’s Senior Management Team. Dr Abdulhamid Mzee, Principal Secretary,Ministry of Education and VocationalTraining, Zanzibar and Chair of SPINE’sAdvisory Group – and former doctoralstudent in the Graduate School says:

“To succeed in today’s competitive world,one has to think globally and act locally.In education terms this means puttingemphasis on both the use of mothertongue (Kiswahili) which has proved to play a key role in education qualityimprovement and English, which has nowbecome a global language of businessand communication. The major challengeis to strike an appropriate balance so that our children become competent andproficient in using both languages. I hopethat SPINE will address this challenge andadvise us with some strategies on howbest we can make it.”

How is educational quality evaluated in China? Dr Sally Thomas and Dr Wen-Jung Peng,Centre for Multilevel Modelling (CMM), haveconsiderable experience in researchinganswers to this question and are nowusing their expertise in collaboration withcolleagues at the Chinese NationalInstitute for Educational Research, Beijing,to conduct an ESRC/DfID funded projectImproving Educational Evaluation andQuality in China (IEEQC).

They are using quantitative methodology(Multilevel Modelling) to explore theeffectiveness of Chinese schools. Theywill also be investigating the views of keystakeholders on the nature of educationalquality and the use of innovative schoolevaluation methods in rural and urbansecondary schools.

Learning, identity and place withAustralian indigenous studentsWorking with a team of teachers in aschool in New South Wales, Australia, Dr Ruth Deakin Crick, Centre forNarratives and Transformative Learning(CeNTraL), is leading a research projectinto the relationships between learning,place and identity with a cohort ofindigenous students. Her work onassessing learning dispositions focuseson the person who is learning and on theunique personal and cultural stories thatshape how those students approach theirlearning in schools. The teachers aredeveloping a model of inquiry-basedlearning which builds on the assessmentof learning dispositions by using this as a

framework for a mentored conversationabout the relationship between the ‘self’of the learner, the ‘text’ of the curriculumand the traditions and stories of the local community.

Making a difference to ‘learning power’in Bedfordshire There is a thriving doctoral researchcommunity in the Graduate School withdoctoral students from across the worldconducting research on assessment andlearning. PhD student, Kai Ren (CeNTraL)has also been working with the challengesof school and learning underachievementin the south of England. Kai has beenresearching the learning dispositions of students in Bedfordshire schools. Interventions to improve ‘learning power’of underachieving students were designedand the effects evaluated. One of the major findings suggested thatunderachievers as a group seemed to be weak on strategic awareness, criticalcuriosity, changing and learning andmeaning-making. Kai Ren says:“For me it has been a long but rewardinglearning journey. A disseminationconference about the research saw theproject winning positive feedback frompractitioners, fellow researchers and inparticular, student representatives. I wasdeeply moved when one of the studentsthanked me, which made my PhD specialbecause it might actually make adifference to the youngsters’ life.”

www.bris.ac.uk/education/research/centres/calshttp://bristol.ac.uk/spinehttp://ieeqc.bristol.ac.uk

REACH • 2009 05

A measure of hope? Impacting on educational assessment locally,nationally and internationally

No matter where you are in the world, tests are a prominent feature of alleducation systems. And the stakes are high for the people taking them. But are examination systems robust and fair? Researching the quality of testsis a critical activity for achieving social justice, and the Graduate School ofEducation is known for its research on assessment, including large scaleassessments. With the launch of our new Centre for Assessment and LearningStudies (CALS), the school looks forward to increasing impact particularly in areas of examination standards, policy and assessment evaluation.

Centre for Assessment and LearningStudies (CALS)Carrying out multidisciplinary researchhas been a priority for solving complexreal-world problems and one in which the Graduate School is well-known forexcelling. CALS, under the direction of Dr Jo-Anne Baird (former Head ofResearch at the Assessment andQualifications Alliance), aims to reach outglobally by bringing together expertiseboth from across the School and outsidethe university. The Centre will focus oncore theoretical issues in a wide-range of contexts such as national assessmentin England, assessment of language insub-Saharan Africa, school effectivenessin China and Learning to Learn inAustralia and Bedfordshire.

Impacting on national assessmentpolicy in the UK What is the future of testing in primaryand secondary schools?How reliable is testing in England?Ed Balls, Schools’ Secretary in England,recently announced the abolition of KeyStage 3 tests and is introducing SchoolReport Cards to replace them. Thegovernment is also working on issues to do with Teacher Assessment, nationalsampling at Key Stage 3, as well as the impact of all of this on teachers’workloads. Jo-Anne has been appointedas Technical Adviser for this work.

Another government initiative, SingleLevel Tests for primary schools, is beingpiloted, to form part of the Government’s‘Making Good Progress’ policy.

Researchers from across the School areworking with CALS on the learning andassessment model and test design thatwould be needed for tests like these: Dr Richard Kiely, Centre for Research onLanguage and Education (CREOLE), DrLisa Lucas, Centre for Studies in Higherand Post-Compulsory Education (C-SHAPE), as well as Professor GordonStobart of the Institute of Education.

A current hot topic in educationalassessment is how to set standards in A-level and GCSE examinations. TheCALS Coordinator has been appointed as Chair of an international panel ofassessment experts and will be reportingthe findings to a new examinationwatchdog - the Office of the Qualificationsand Examinations Regulator (Ofqual) -that will report to parliament on improvingEngland’s examination standards.

Does language matter in examinations?Research in ZanzibarWhether to use a local or an internationallanguage in sub-Saharan African schoolshas been debated for decades. But whatevidence do we have to shed light on thisdebate? The ESRC/DfID SPINE (StudentPerformance in National Examinations:the dynamics of language) researchproject is hoping to do just this.

Professor Pauline Rea-Dickins, Dr Guoxing Yu and Dr Oksana Afitska –from CREOLE - with colleagues from theState University of Zanzibar – Dr ZuleikhaKhamis, Abdulla Hemed Mohamed, Dr Haji Mwevura, Shumbana Said and

REACH • 200904

Embarking on a field visit in Zanzibar: researchers Professor Pauline Rea-Dickins and Abdulla Hemed Mohamed.

‘A current hot topic ineducational assessment is how to set standards in A-level and GCSEexaminations’

Left: Indigenous students and their mentors in Australia.

Below: Kai Ren, PhD student andmember of Centre for Narrative &Transformative Learning (CeNTraL).

“To succeed in today’scompetitive world, onehas to think globally and act locally”

together the scientific community andstakeholders to create a strategic,evidence informed dialogue with policy-makers. With 15 partners in the network,one of the key challenges is how to draw together this diverse group into aneffective working and learning community.Through collaborative projects, researchexchanges, and the sharing of expertise of all kinds (e.g. theoretical,methodological), STELLAR hopes todevelop and extend research capacityacross Europe on intelligent approachesto using technology to enhance learning.This, in turn, will contribute to thedevelopment of a Europe of knowledgewith a sustainable economy and society.

Higher and Further Education forknowledge economies and societiesThe Graduate School is also participatingin UK-based knowledge communities;Learning and Lifechances in KnowledgeEconomies and Societies (LLAKES), thenew ESRC-funded Research Centre(2008-2012) was launched in May 2008by Education Minister, John Denham.

LLAKES researchers will be working on a series of projects oriented towardsinvestigating the role of lifelong learning inpromoting economic competitiveness andsocial cohesion. Working with GraduateSchool colleagues Susan and Roger fromthe GES Centre, LLAKES brings togetherresearchers from the Institute ofEducation (London), the National Instituteof Economics and Social Research(London) and the University ofSouthampton. These groups are workingin partnership with a wide range of

communities (e.g. policy-makers,education and training professionals,employers and trade unions) in order toimprove and develop innovative ways inwhich national and international researchevidence is both shared and used. Twospecific LLAKES projects are led by theSchool: Roger is leading a project thatfocuses on Europe, Higher Education and Regionalism, whilst Susan will beexamining the role of the university in city-regional development and regeneration.

Bristol-Africa partnership strengthensdoctoral programmesThe challenges for researchers studyingfor doctoral qualifications in Africa arecomplex and mostly underestimated.Facilities that doctoral students in Bristoltake for granted, such as good internetaccess and library resources, are in amuch more fragile state and staff workingin less developed contexts may be deniedthe resources to develop effectiveteaching and learning curricula, especiallyat doctoral level.

Dr Angeline Mbogo Barrett, ICS Centre,has been challenged to think outside theknowledge-production box in her recentcapacity-building project to strengthendoctoral training provision in Education in three sub-Saharan African universities.Funded by the British Council, Angeline’sproject (2007-08) built partnerships withthe University of Buea, Cameroon, theUniversity of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania,and the University of Cape Coast, Ghana.The project also considered ways tostrengthen the teaching of overseasresearch students at Bristol. Dr Sheila

Trahar, Centre for Narrative andTransformative Learning (CeNTraL), Dr Lisa Lucas, Centre for Studies inHigher and Post-Compulsory Education(C-SHAPE), Richard Brawn, ICS Centre,and other colleagues from the GraduateSchool also worked with the partnerinstitutions to generate new doctoral-levelunits, to organise a research methodsconference for staff and students and adoctoral conference at which studentscould present their work in progress.

Inter-institutional collaboration as inAngeline’s work provides the muchneeded and significantly valuableinitiatives that offer genuine opportunitiesfor knowledge building that is situated,enabling, and ultimately sustainable.

Higher Education and Climate Change:A Bristol responseThe changing global environments posechallenges close to home that demand an interdisciplinary response. Dr JennethParker, a researcher in C-SHAPE andlongstanding innovator in Education forSustainability, is coordinating a series ofcross-faculty lectures on the University of Bristol’s response to the Stern Reporton the Economics of Climate Change. The lectures aim to consider the widerange of interdisciplinary researchagendas across the university relevant toclimate/sustainability issues, encouragingparticipants to situate themselves on themap of sustainability research.

www.bris.ac.uk/education/research/centres/gesLLAKES:www2.ioe.ac.uk/ioe/cms/get.asp?cid=18911

REACH • 2009 07

Building sustainableknowledge communities

In the new global era, universities areexpected not only to develop knowledgebut also to be part of the process ofputting it to use to build competitive andsustainable economies and communities,locally, nationally and internationally. Thismeans that universities need to engagewith policy-makers in UK, Europe andbeyond, as well as forge internationalpartnerships. The best way to do this is to create this knowledge collaborativelythrough building knowledge communities.At the same time, university researchersare also aware that learning is acontinuous process and that they need to be constantly reflexive as they developand disseminate evidence and insights.After all, knowledge is power but it can be even more powerful depending on theconditions under which it is produced.

Knowledge networks in Europe – threeGraduate School Professors participatein European policy advice networkGraduate School of Educationresearchers are involved in networksaimed at providing policy advice forbuilding a competitive Europe. ProfessorRoger Dale, also from the GES Centre, asScientific Coordinator for the Network ofExperts in Education and Social Science(NESSE, 2007-09), is leading one that isresponsible for providing the European

Commission with expert advice on thesocial aspects of education policy. TheNESSE network, comprising leadingeducation sociologists, psychologists andeconomists from across the EU, includestwo other professors from the GraduateSchool: Professor Susan Robertson, GESCentre, and Professor Marilyn Osborn,Centre for International and ComparativeStudies (ICS).

However, one of the major challengesfacing NESSE is how to bring to the forethose knowledges from the various partsof Europe that might otherwise beignored. Clearly language is a majorchallenge here raising questions as tohow we communicate effectively acrossdifferent linguistic and cultural spaces inways that value both unity and diversity.

STELLAR – new EU project ontechnology enhanced learningWhilst just out of the starting blocks,Professor Rosamund Sutherland and Dr Sally Barnes, Centre for Learning,Knowing and Interactive Technologies (L-KIT), are some of the leaders of anambitious large scale multidisciplinary EU research project – STELLAR – fundedby the European Commission. STELLARstands for Sustaining TechnologyEnhanced Learning and aims to bring

REACH • 200906

Professor Susan Robertson from the Centre forGlobalisation, Education and Societies (GES) talksabout the challenge of putting knowledge to work.

Post-doctoral fellows influencepolicy and practice

In his ESRC funded doctoralresearch, Peter Jones, Centre forGlobalisation, Education andSocieties (GES), identified that theEuropeanisation of education policyis still crucially determined bynational processes. Having beenawarded a post-doctoral ESRCFellowship, Peter is now in a positionto communicate his findings andpromote discussion with EuropeanCommission and policy-makers onthe key findings of his doctoralresearch thus contributing directly topolicy development.

Peter says: “The post-doctoralfellowship is a valuable opportunity to continue to be an internationallyactive and interdisciplinaryresearcher. I will use the year fordissemination and to develop futureresearch projects with the EuropeanInstitute of Technology.”

ESRC funded PhD researcher,Thomas Muhr, GES Centre, has also won a prestigious ESRC post-doctoral fellowship which he is taking up in Bristol’s School of Lawto disseminate his doctoral researchon Venezuela, higher education andhuman rights.

www.bris.ac.uk/education/research/centres/ges/gesresearchstudents

‘The changing global environmentspose challenges close to home thatdemand an interdisciplinary response’

Peter Jones Thomas Muhr

Polly Mercer, ESRC PhD Scholarshipholder, talks about her research inhigher education in the area of academicliteracy for students with English as a Second Language

By developing her proposed researchproject, with the support of supervisor, DrRichard Kiely in the Centre for Researchon Language and Education (CREOLE),Polly hopes to examine more closely howinternational students develop academicliteracy, and the contexts which both helpand hinder this process.

“It is very important to me that myresearch project contributes to the bodyof knowledge in this area, but also that it provides meaningful insights intostudents’ lived experiences, and changesin English for Academic Purposes (EAP)and university practices.”

Maria Daniil, ESRC PhD Scholarshipstudent, asks is it possible for teachersto improve their practice withoutreflecting on it?

Maria’s Master’s research indicated thatstudent teachers who reflected on theirteaching by using a multimedia documentintegrating video, text, slides and images,called VideoPapers, were more analyticalabout their professional practice.

“Implementing and promoting reflectivepractice in teacher education is acomplex and difficult task. I hope toaddress how the implementation ofreflective practice in the Bristol PGCEcourse through the use of innovative

tools, like VideoPaper, can contribute toteachers’ professional development andgradually lead to better educationprovided in schools.”

Maria is supervised by Dr Federica Olivero and Professor RosamundSutherland and is a member of the Centre for Learning, Knowing andInteractive Technologies (L-KIT).

Shawanda Stockfelt, one of fourUniversity of Bristol Scholarshipstudents in the Faculty of SocialSciences and Law, reflects on how her background and experience hasdeepened her understanding of thedynamics of cultural identities,minorities and the status-quo

“Being a practitioner in the field ofeducation, experiencing and identifyingwith the struggles of ethnic minoritystudents has inspired me to solicitchange.”

The discourse surrounding African-Caribbean boys in the UK seems to agree on one factor: the needs of thisgroup are not being met, and Shawanda’sMaster’s research in the Graduate Schoolexplored just this. Researching personalbeliefs about competence withinschooling, she identified factorscontributing to academic attainment. Her doctoral research now builds on thisby looking at how personal beliefs aboutcompetence have been linked withperformance focused on the dynamicrelationship between mother, child and school.

Part of her interest in this research comesfrom her own heritage as an Afro-Jamaican/Swedish woman with a background inPsychology, Anthropology and Education.She is supervised by Professor Leon Tiklyin the ICS Centre and Dr Ruth DeakinCrick in the Centre for Narratives andTransformative Learning (CeNTRaL).

Bruce Wong, EdD student, whorecently won The Chief Executive of Hong Kong’s Award for TeachingExcellence (2008/9), talks about hisresearch on school market orientation

Market-oriented organisations areconsidered to be better equipped todeliver quality services and superior value, resulting in satisfied and loyalcustomers. But what evidence is therethat supports the implementation of this theory in schools? Bruce’s study,supervised by Dr Jo-Anne Baird, focuseson the barriers and facilitators to thedevelopment of market orientation inschools and aims to identify the principaltypes of management behaviour whichaffect the extent to which a school cansuccessfully achieve this orientation.

As a School Principal in Hong Kong,Bruce aims to establish an active careeras a researcher and contribute to bridgingthe gap between theory and day-to-daypractices.

“The EdD offers a thriving, active research community with an excellentreputation as one of the best in the UK;here I found excellent support, especiallyfrom my supervisor”.

When two became one, thecollaborative writing partnership of recent EdD Narrative graduates, Dr Jonathan Wyatt and Dr Ken Gale

Jonathan and Ken’s thesis ‘Between thetwo: a nomadic inquiry into collaborativewriting and subjectivity’, which exploredtheir collaborative writing partnership, isthe first jointly authored doctoral thesis toemerge from Graduate School. Supervisedby Dr Jane Speedy in CeNTraL, they willbe returning this academic year as VisitingAcademics to facilitate a performativewriting workshop for students and staff.

A marriage of two minds – husbandand wife EdD students, Drs Hubert andBeatrice Fulford, graduate together

Recently, Hubert and Beatrice bothsuccessfully negotiated their EdD’s on the same day. They are citizens of theTurks and Caicos Islands (TCI) and theirresearch is informed by a wealth ofprofessional experience gained fromworking there.

Hubert, Executive Permanent Secretaryfor the TCI government, researchedhuman resource management and staff appraisal models in Small States and in the TCI. He found that staffappraisal models can be empoweringinstruments in human resourcedevelopment, yet cautioned against the uncritical international transfer ofpolicies and practices, highlighting theneed to tailor carefully human resourcemanagement strategies to local culturaland contextual conditions.

Beatrice, Director of Education,Department of Education in the TCI,studied the factors impacting uponteacher recruitment and retention in Small States, and the challenges theypose for education systems, withparticular reference to the TCI. Herfindings highlighted the impact of globalmigration trends upon Small States, thestrategic importance of continuingprofessional development and improvedconditions of service for teachers, and the benefits to be gained from locallygrounded research into such issues. Both were supervised by ProfessorMichael Crossley in the ICS Centre.

www.bris.ac.uk/education/programmes/doctoral

REACH • 200908 REACH • 2009 09

Supporting the newgeneration of researchersDeveloping inquiring knowledge communities ofdoctoral students

The diversity of our doctoralstudents is a key strength of the Graduate School. Ourprogrammes include studentsfrom around the world, eitherexpanding on work they havedone in Masters courses via aPhD or seeking to integratetheory and practice with an EdD.They study in Bristol or in HongKong. This diversity of contextsand experiences enriches theschool. However one thing theyall have in common is a desirefor research that is innovativeand of high quality.

Above: Maria Daniil.

Top left: Polly Mercer.

Top right: Shawanda Stockfelt.

Above: Drs Hubert and Beatrice Fulford.

Top left: Bruce Wong receives award from Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of Hong Kong.

Top right: Jonathan Wyatt and Ken Gale talking at seminar.

Publications

For more information, contact:

Lucy StephensResearch OfficeGraduate School of EducationUniversity of Bristol35 Berkeley SquareBristol BS8 1JATelephone: +44 (0) 117 331 4341Email: Lucy.Stephens@bristol.ac.ukwww.bristol.ac.uk/education

Rosamund Sutherland,Susan Robertson and PeterJohn (2008): Improvingclassroom learning with ICTExamines how ICT can be used to enhance teaching andlearning in different classroomsettings and subjects.

Tim Bond and BarbaraMitchels (2008):Confidentiality and RecordKeeping in Counselling andPsychotherapy Contains comprehensiveguidance on why and howrecords should be kept.

Roger Dale and SusanRobertson (eds) (2009):Globalisation andEuropeanisation in Education Developed from theexperience of a EuropeanUnion Thematic Networkfocusing on complex andvarying relationships betweenGlobalisation, Europeanisationand Education.

Fiona Steele: Analysis ofMultivariate Social ScienceSata, second edition (2008)Develops a basicunderstanding of how to usekey multivariate methods inthe social sciences.

Jenneth Parker and RosWade (2008): Journeysaround Education forSustainabilityProvides a critique on the roleof Education for Sustainabilityin contributing to sustainability.

Comparative Education(Professor Michael Crossley,Editor)Explores from comparativeperspective challenges andtrends in education throughoutthe world.

Assessment in Education:Principles, Policy andPractice (Jo-Anne Baird,Editor)Provides a focus forinternational scholarly outputin the field of assessment.

Globalisation, Societies andEducation (Susan Robertsonand Roger Dale, Editors)Provides a focus for currentsociological perspectives oneducation at all levels and in all settings.

Books:

International Journals:

www.bristol.ac.uk/education/research/publications