News
Science and Religion in the school curriculum
Fri, 11 May Your are invited to 'CREATIVITY, CREATION, AND A BIG BANG: Science and Religion in the school curriculum' - a one-day conference offering an intensive and exciting programme for those with an interest in the teaching and learning of science and religion. The conference will include an update on ongoing research being undertaken with schools across England. The research team includes Dr Keith Taber, senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education, and Fran Riga, a doctoral candidate who is also working part-time for the Faculty's 'Pathway to Inquiry Based Science Teaching' project. Date: Saturday 19th May 2012. Venue: St Edmund's College, Cambridge. For full details please visit the organisers at www.FaradaySchools.com
Book Launch: Musical Creativities in Practice
Mon, 2 Apr 'Musical Creativites in Practice' by Pam Burnard offers a powerful corrective to myths and outmoded conceptions. It argues the need for conceptual expansion of musical creativities in line with real world practices. It explores how different types of musical creativities are recognised and communicated in the practices of professional musicians including composers, improvisers, singer songwriters, original bands, DJs, live coders and interactive sound designers working in the video games industry. Drawing on Bourdieu's thinking tools, this book provides the foundation for a sociological analysis of musical creativities which is designed to transform the ways that music in education is thought about in the future.
'For too long thinking about musical creativity has been dominated by the Beethoven myth. This book vividly shows how the everyday practices of musicians working in widely divergent genres embody equally divergent creativities and explores the educational consequences of this. Never agin will it be possible to talk glibly about 'musical creativity': Pam Burnard has let the genie out of the bottle.' Nicholas Cook, FBA, 1684 Professor of Music, University of Cambridge, Faculty of Music.
'Burnard's 'Musical Creativities in Practice' represents a major achievement in our contemporary understanding of creative music making... This beautifully written and reasoned book presents not only a theoretical framework but also keenly rendered portraits of the creative lives of 19 musicians from a variety of music settings that back up the theory.' Peter R. Webster, PhD., John Beattie Professor of Music Education, Northwestern University, USA.
'Pam Burnard is already internationally known for her work on creativity, and this book will not disappoint. Here she brings together, in elegant prose, an original appraisal of the social dimensions of musical creativity, or rather, as she argues, creativities... This book will be on the core reading list of every music education course and of everyone at all interested in the creative processes governing our diverse musical world, for many years to come.' Lucy Green, Professor of Music Education, London University Institute of Education.
Visit of the Nazarbayev Rector to Cambridge University
Mon, 12 Mar The Rector of Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazkahstan visited the Vice Chancellor. In the afternoon Shigeo Katsu and his colleague Aslan Sarinzhipov, Chair of the Founding Executive Council, and Mrs Anne Lonsdale visited the Faculty of Education to exchange ideas and to discuss their collaboration. The photo shows from left to right, Aslan Sarinzhipov, Anne Lonsdale, Peter Gronn, Shigeo Katsu, Colleen McLaughlin.
Book Launch: Principles for Effective Pedagogy: International responses to evidence from the UK Teaching and Learning Research Programme, Edited by Mary James and Andrew Pollard
Tue, 13 Mar Book Launch: Principles for Effective Pedagogy: International responses to evidence from the UK Teaching and Learning Research Programme, Edited by Mary James and Andrew Pollard. The UK Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) worked for ten years to improve outcomes for learners in schools and other sectors through high quality research. One outcome of individual projects and across Programme thematic work was the development of ten "evidence-informed" principles for effective pedagogy. Synopses of these principles have been widely disseminated, particularly to practitioners. However, the evidence and reasoning underpinning them has not yet been fully explained.
This book fills this gap by providing a scholarly account of the research evidence that informed the development of these principles, as well as offering some evidence of early take-up and impact. It also includes responses from highly-respected researchers throughout the world in order to locate the work in the broader international literature, to extend it by drawing on similar work elsewhere, to provide critique and to stimulate further development and debate. Principles or Effective Pedagogy contributes to international dialogue on effective teaching and learning, providing a focus for scholarly comment, sharing of expertise and knowledge accumulation.
For more information visit: /research/academicgroups/leadinglearning/seminars/ Purchasing Options
Launch of the BAICE Thematic Forum: Education, Disability and Development
Thu, 01 Mar Nidhi Singal and Paul Lynch (School of Education, University of Birmingham) have been awarded a small grant to setup the first BAICE thematic forum (BTF) engaging with issues related to the education of children with disabilities in Southern contexts. This BTF will undertake a series of activities addressing the following concerns:
- The challenges involved in the interpretation and implementation of global frameworks on disability and education, such as inclusive education.
- A critical examination of different models of education being developed in Southern contexts, and lessons for the North.
- The methodological and conceptual challenges present in undertaking research on disability issues in Southern countries.
Book Launch: Perspectives on Bullying and Difference
Wed, 29 Feb Supporting young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities in schools Edited by Colleen McLaughlin, Richard Byers and Caroline Oliver. The bullying of children and young people with disabilities or special educational needs has been ignored in our schools and communities for too long. Based on the findings of a project undertaken by the Anti-Bullying Alliance and the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education this book aims to set the agenda for future research and practice.
Integrating the evidence from young people, parents, carers and practitioners with case studies of practice, Perspectives on Bullying and Difference shows the remarkable overlap between the experiences of these stakeholders and research findings. Bringing these multiple perspectives together for the first time is compelling and it is vital that the messages are acted upon quickly. It is a must read for everyone involved in education.
Perspectives on Bullying and Difference will show there is a great deal that can be done in schools right now to reduce the levels of bullying that these children and young people are experiencing & solutions are closer than we may think.
This book will be published Monday 19 March. Further information
Seminar and Book Launch - Old Enough to Know: Consulting Pupils about Sex and AIDS Education in Three African Countries
Tue, 28 Feb Old Enough to Know: Consulting Pupils about Sex and AIDS Education in Three African Countries by Colleen McLaughlin, Sharlene Swartz, Susan Kiragu, Shelina Walli and Mussa Mohamed (2012) HSRC Press.Tuesday 6th March at 17:00-18:30 in the Donald McIntyre Building, Room GS5.
Questions have long been asked concerning children and sex education; What do they know, what do they need to know, how best to teach them, who should teach them and how does the advent of HIV and AIDS change some of these answers? This book is a summary of a study of children's sexual knowledge and its interaction with formal schooling and the community. The enquiry was undertaken in three African countries, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa and involved using photovoice, video and interviews with young people in primary schools.
Colleen McLaughlin is Deputy Head of Faculty and Director of International Initiatives. She and the the team are now working on the next phase of the ASKAIDS project and are researching the implications in practice of the work reported in in the book. Further information on CCE Seminars.
Future of the Teaching Profession Seminar
Thu, 02 Feb This unique event, held at the Moller Centre in Churchill College on 16 and 17 February, has been planned by Leadership for Learning: the Cambridge Network (LfL) together with Education International (EI), the global federation of teacher organisations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (OECD/CERI) and Open Society Foundations (OSF). An invitation only event, the delegates include a range of academics and policy makers from across the world. The purpose of the seminar is to explore research and policy in relation to teacher quality and the development of the teaching profession. It will not only inform the future of teacher policy generally but also contribute to events such as the forthcoming 2012 Summit on the Future of the Teaching Profession and the OECD's 2013 Teaching and Learning International Study.
Sponsored by Open Society Foundations. Further information from: Ruth Sapsed, 01223 767689 rs683@cam.ac.uk www.educ.cam.ac.uk/centres/lfl/
Twitter link - https://twitter.com/#!/LfLCambridge
Developmental Psychology & Early Childhood Education: New Book
Thu, 19 Jan 'David Whitebread introduces us to a rich array of recent research into early child development, showing how children master the ability to regulate their own learning when adults respect and value their play. His writing models the balance of emotional warmth and cognitive challenge which best supports self regulated learning'
Rod Parker-Rees, Associate Professor in Early Childhood Studies, University of Plymouth
Prestigous Book Prize for Education, Asylum and the 'Non-Citizen' child
Mon, 16 Jan Education, Asylum and the 'Non-Citizen' Child: the politics of compassion and belonging published by Palgrave MacMillan in 2010 was awarded the second book prize for 2011 by the Society for Educational Studies. The authors of this book Halleli Pinson, Madeleine Arnot, and Mano Candappa worked together over a period of 10 years to assess the impact of government immigration policy on the education system in the UK. Madeleine Arnot and Halleli Pinson (initially a Ph.D student and then a postdoctoral fellow in the Faculty) set up the Research Consortium on the Education of Refugee and Asylum-seeking Children with the General Teaching Council, the NUT and the Refugee Council. Their project was pump primed by the Faculty and the GTC. Mano Candappa from University of London Institute of Education and Madeleine researched the ways in which the inclusive ethos of schools was used by teachers to help support such children and educate 'citizen' children to consider refugee issues. The findings from both these projects are reported in the book.
The book has been described as a true 'eye-opener', based on compelling empirical evidence about the moral integrity of schools, teachers and pupils. A 'bold, sophisticated and impressive book' that 'challenges everyone in education to live up to their inclusive rhetoric' (Professor David Gillborn). Madeleine Arnot said: We are honoured to receive such a prestigious award since it recognises the importance of this rarely researched area of education and the extraordinary work that teachers and school do to support asylum-seeking and refugee children in what is a hostile immigration environment for many such children and their families.
The theme of immigration and migration is the focus of the Faculty's collaboration with colleagues in Anglia Ruskin University. The two institutions are hosting an international conference for the British Association for International and Comparative Education (BAICE) on Education, Mobility and Migration: people, ideas and resources from 8-12th September 2012 at Churchill College, Cambridge.
TES Award: Outstanding Teaching Resource
Thu, 12 Jan An 'outstanding teaching resource' award has been won by Andrew Jackson, a Faculty Secondary Science PGCE alumni, now teaching in one of our partner schools - Hitchin Girls School, UK. This award is issued by the Times Educational Supplement and is a British national award that celebrates the best in teaching within the UK. Andrew introduced his Astronomy Master class 'backdrop' submission online at Prezi.
The Framework of the National Curriculum
Tue, 20 Dec For the past year Professor Mary James, along with Tim Oates (of Cambridge Assessment), Professor Andrew Pollard, and Professor Dylan Wiliam have been working as the Expert Panel, alongside a team at HM Government Department of Education, to advise on the review of the National Curriculum.
On 19th December 2011 the Expert Panel report, 'The Framework of the National Curriculum', was published together with reports on the international evidence and the Call for Evidence.
As a direct consequence of their work, the Secretary of State, Michael Gove MP, has acknowledged that 'The recommendations made by the review's Expert Panel set out the scale of the challenge we face, and raise fundamental questions about educational practice in this country.' In order to 'allow for more radical reform of both curriculum and qualifications' he has decided to delay the introduction of a new National Curriculum until 2014.
The Ministerial Statement can be found at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/inthenews/a00201092/written-ministerial-statement-on-the-national-curriculum-review
The full Report of the Expert Panel can be found at:
https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-00135-2011
A brief one page summary from Andrew Pollard and Mary James is at:
http://www.tlrp.org/sh/ncrpage.html
Selected Works of John MacBeath
Mon, 19 Dec Series: World Library of Educationalists
John MacBeath has spent the last 30 years researching, thinking and writing about some of the key and enduring issues in education. In this book John MacBeath brings together over 19 of his most influential writings in one place, including chapters from his best-selling books and articles from leading journals. These are complemented by short news reports which give a flavour of the impact or controversy they aroused.
Through this book, readers can followed the themes and strands that John MacBeath has written about for over three decades and clearly see his important contribution to the field of education.
View the Book
Over 100 teachers at Faculty Conference
Wed, 07 Dec On Saturday November 19th, over 100 teachers at the Researching Practice MEd Conference had the pleasure of hearing Professor Lesley Saunders (see photo) giving a thoughtful and thought-provoking keynote on 'Research and Professionalism'. This Saturday conference (one of five over the year in this blended learning MEd) also offered a series of workshops, including one on Writing Your Thesis, led by Christine Counsell, and one on using SPSS, led by Joan Whitehead. Others included Holly Linklater on Ethnography, Liz Duignan on research design, Rupert Higham on interviews and coding, Yi Feng on Quantitative Research Approaches and Sue Brindley on using Professional Research Diaries. The day was very well received, and one teacher commented that, despite a three hour journey, he had found the day so stimulating that he had left the Conference with more energy than he had arrived with!
Prestigious Book Prize for Cambridge Primary Review
Wed, 16 Nov Children, their World, their Education, the final report of the Cambridge Primary Review, has received First Prize in the 2011 Book Awards of the Society for Educational Studies (SES). The book’s editor and lead author is Professor Robin Alexander, and of its 14 contributing authors, five others – Julia Flutter, Linda Hargreaves, David Harrison, Ruth Kershner and John MacBeath – are or have been Faculty of Education members.
Published by Routledge, the book brings together a massive body of evidence on the condition and future of English primary education. Following a defensive response from the previous government, many of the Review's key policy recommendations have been taken up by the present government and its advisers. Funded since its inception by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the Review now has a national network of regional centres, schools and teachers building on its work.
Robin Alexander said: ‘The Cambridge Primary Review is delighted and honoured to receive this award. Along with the book's royalties, the SES prize money will be used to support some of the country's most vulnerable, disadvantaged and marginalised children. Their education remains top of our list of priorities as we continue to work with teachers and policymakers to take forward the Review's evidence and proposals.
Download the press release
Radio 4's Thinking Allowed
Tue, 15 Nov Radio 4's Thinking Allowed featured Diane Reay debating her new book 'White Middle Class Identities and Urban Schooling' with Melissa Benn. To listen to their discussion, visit www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b016x23b.
The Supportive School published
Tue, 18 Oct There is a widespread perception across the developed world that the social and emotional wellbeing of young people has been in decline in recent years and that various problem behaviours are on the rise. Because children spend so much of their time in educational institutions, schools are assumed to be part of the problem.
In the Supportive School, John Gray, Maurice Galton, Colleen McLaughlin, Barbie Clarke and Jennifer Symonds bring together for the first time the results of over 300 research studies, both from the UK and further afield. They identify key factors related to schooling which impact upon young people's development and affect their wellbeing; document how schools handle young people, particularly at the point of transition from primary to secondary; and place the UK's much-criticised performance on wellbeing issues in an international context.
The research was funded by the Nuffield Foundation as part of its Changing Adolescence Research programme.
Honorary doctorate for services to education
Mon, 10 Oct Mary Jane Drummond, former Faculty of Education lecturer in early years and Deputy Head of Faculty, was awarded an honorary doctorate for her services to education, particularly early years education, at Anglia Ruskin University on Wednesday the 5th of October. She is the author of major texts such as Working with Children, Making Assessment Work, Learning without Limits and Positive Alternatives to Exclusion and was cited as being 'an original and challenging thinker' with a considerable international, national and local reputation.
Book Launch: The International Handbook of Leadership for Learning
Thu, 06 Oct Book Launch: The International Handbook of Leadership for Learning Edited by Tony Townsend and John MacBeath The International Handbook of Leadership for Learning brings together chapters by distinguished authors from thirty-one countries in nine different regions of the world. The handbook contains nine sections that provide regional overviews; a consideration of theoretical and contextual aspects; system and policy approaches that promote leadership for learning with a focus on educating school leaders for learning and the role of the leader in supporting learning. It also considers the challenge of educating current leaders for this new perspective, and how leaders themselves can develop leadership for learning in others and in their organisations, especially in diverse contexts and situations.
Further Information.
Faculty student wins the 2011 British Educational Research Association Dissertation Award
Mon, 19 Sep Dr Jin He obtained the PhD in the Faculty in 2010 for her thesis entitled "The Social Construction of Ideas about English: Case Studies in a Southwest Chinese Town". As her superviser, Dr E.M. Esch received the BERA award in Dr He's name at a ceremony in London on the 8th September.
Fantastic Mr. Dahl
Thu, 08 Sep To mark Roald Dahl Day on September 13th and the 50th anniversary of James And The Giant Peach, Professor Maria Nikolajeva explains why he remains such an important figure for young readers. Read the full article . Maria Nikolajeva: Profile Page.
The Student Voice Handbook: Bridging the Academic/Practitioner Divide
Wed, 07 Sep Bethan Morgan , Joanne Waterhouse, Ros McLellan, Colleen McLaughlin and Susan Kiragu, along with practitioner colleagues, have contributed four chapters to a new publication: The Student Voice Handbook: Bridging the Academic/Practitioner Divide edited by Gerry Czerniawski and Warren Kidd (University of East London). The text offers diverse perspectives with contributions from internationally acclaimed researchers, academics, classroom practitioners and learners across a variety of ages and educational sectors both at local and international levels. The book is published by Emerald. The book will be launched on Wednesday 7th September at the BERA conference at the Institute of Education, London.
The Science of the Art of Psychotherapy
Mon, 05 Sep The Faculty's Cambridge Forum for Children's Emotional Well-being workshop on 8th October 2011 is to be presented by Dr Allan Schore from the clinical faculty of the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioural Sciences, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. Over the last two decades Dr Schore has documented the remarkable advances that have been made in our understanding of early human development. See details.