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What is Wrong with our Teachers: An Interdisciplinary Approach to solving the Problem of Educator Sexual MisconductIntroduction

Educator Sexual Misconduct (ESM) is becoming more and more of a problem in our society to date. Occurrences are happening at an accelerated rate when compared to twenty years ago. To date there are no preventative measures in place to intercept these potentially harmful individuals who are on their way to becoming teachers in charge of our children. A new nationwide process that will research, evaluate, and forecast these types of criminal behaviors associated with ESM is what’s needed today in order to avoid this problem in the future. In addition, legislature could step in and create a more stringent penalty structure for both male and female violators. The school is a place for learning and although a cliche, that is where our future lies. Because of that, we need to protect and nurture that environment and not let potential pedophiles roam freely to disrupt that environment.

Educator sexual misconduct is not a new problem by any means, but a topic that has jumped onto the scene and won’t go away without special attention. Just talking about it won’t help or even lessen the problem. Sexual predators are a brash group and just telling them you know they’re there and that you are looking for them won’t deter them from their prey.

Sexual predators come in many packages. Sexual predators could be male, female, old, young, gay, lesbian, or even bisexual. Considering that, every child who at one point in time goes through the education system is at risk of becoming a target of these predators. The actual victim could be school aged child, a mom, a dad, a spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend, or a friend. This type of perversion can potentially touch any individual person at any time and last for a lifetime. Since this is an event that could potentially tough every person who ever goes through the school system then why shouldn’t we put more emphasis on making sure this doesn’t happen.

ESM is a wide spread problem that need to be attacked from many different sides. To solve this problem we will need to pull expertise from numerous disciplinary perspectives to reach and expert understanding.

Educator sexual misconduct cannot be solved just by one topic alone. Many disciplines are needed to understand the problem, the children involved, and the context in which these events typically occur in. Specifically, one should understand the psychology of the predator as well as the prey, have a sound understanding of the educational system, criminal law, as well as the skill to comb through mountains of statistical data. (Dr Repko’s text must be cited but not quoted here)

In examination of this problem a view from multiple disciplines is necessary in order to reach a complete understanding of the issue at hand. The disciplines needed to understand this topic are criminal justice, political science, psychology, and statistics.

Specifically, we need to know how an ESM event will affect the development of a child and what problems they will face in the future. It is also necessary to look at the problem from a political science viewpoint in order to understand what legislature could, will, won’t, and can’t do about the problem. A criminal justice viewpoint will allow for a better understanding of how these perpetrators are currently being punished and what adjustments need to be made to in the penal system to get them to not commit these acts.

To what I have learned about epistemology is that the question asks you how you learned the event in question. So, for the epistemology for this paper, there was a primary focus on analysis off scholarly research, interpretation of previous mentioned scholarly articles, examination f recent laws court decisions, and policy when it come to prevention and punishment of these acts.

Statistics is a process of gathering, arranging, summarizing, and presenting data in a simple yet informative way (Keller 2006). Statistics will be implemented to show that these events are on the rise when compared to twenty years ago.

Psychology targets the academic study of mental process and behavior (Plotnik &Kouyoumdjian 2007)). Psychology will be utilized to highlight the long term damage that these predators inflict on their victims. It will also show the difficulty these victims face in relation to recovery from the behavioral, developmental, and social disorders associated with ESM.

Criminal Justice, which is the system of law and penalties used to maintain order, social control, and to deter and control crime (Siegel & Senna 2008)). This discipline will reflect societies current trend when attempting to punish and deter these criminals.

Political Science will be the last disciplines and one of the most important. It is in this discipline that the power for reaching a complete resolution for this problem. Political science itself is a social science that is concerned with theory, analysis, and prediction of political behavior (Jackson &Jackson 1996). In this case, we will focus on legislature, policy makers, and administrators who have the power to change laws and implement policies to make future violations of these adolescents nearly impossible.

This paper is based on careful research of scholarly articles, state laws, recent court decision and administrative decisions and policies of government run school systems. Together these sources will allow for a deeper understanding of complex and growing problem in our school systems.

The purpose of this paper is to show that that there is a growing problem in the school system. In the end it should be clear that there is a need or a new process that will multi faceted process to screen potential teachers who fit the profile of ESM, provide harsher punishment for offenders, and a process to help identify personality types of students who are at higher risks of becoming targets. ESM to date is one of the most feared and devastating problems for any school district. So why not attack your most feared enemy with your most powerful weapons available?

Background

9.6 percent of all students in grades 8 to 11 report contact and/or non-contact educator sexual misconduct that was unwanted. While this definition includes many different kinds and degrees of ESM they are all considered unwanted and serious in nature. Using this data, for every 2,000 student in a high school, 192 students will experience some degree of ESM. Take for instance a student that goes to a 5A school in Texas. The data shows that they will have a 9.6% chance of being one of those 192 students and an even greater chance of knowing or being friends with one of the 192 students.

Now take the total US population and apply it to our topic. Out of 303 million people 29,088,000 million will, or have personally experienced some sort of ESM. That number grows substantially when associated with people who are mildly affected by ESM.

It isn’t clear when exactly this problem began to spiral out of control, but it is clear that it is a recent trend. In this case, straight comparisons to past numbers wouldn’t be accurate because of major population growth. But comparisons or percentages do show a growth in this trend that is began to accelerate its growth in the last fifteen years. Although there has never been a time when ESM did not exist, there was a long period where it was an incredibly rare occurrence and violators were treated severely. Now, most violators aren’t scared off by the punishment or believe that the system won’t catch them.

Those that think the system wont catch them are right. To become a teacher you must only be able to pass a background check. Being a person who has gone through that process I know it is not a very thorough one. I don’t have a criminal record or anything but I do have an unreasonably high amount of traffic violation on my driving record. However, the school asked me if I would like to get a bus certification since my driving record appeared clean and I would need it for coaching. If that is typical of the care these administrators take in clearing an individual’s past driving record then you must ask how bad could a person’s criminal record be and still be allowed to teach?

Besides fingerprinting and criminal background checks there isn’t much else schools are doing to prevent these predators from entering the schools. Some districts are starting to catch on and requiring additional references to include ones personal life in the application process but that is all. There still is no psychological examination, personality screening, extensive research, or a full criminal background check. Some might say that is an invasion of ones privacy but remember that this is voluntary and these teachers have chosen to be around children. When one chooses to help children they need to also extend that aid in helping safeguard them, if that means surrendering so more intrusive examination during the interviewing process than that’s what has to be done.

To date there is not enough attention given to the seriousness of t he problem. If a person went out today and began their research to see the extent of the problem they would find; cases involving male teachers and female students at an all time high, court cases involving women educators that receive a favorable judgment often times not including jail time, and an environment in which student don’t know of or aren’t concerned with the dangers.

One town epidomises the mindset around the nation. This town, their policymakers, and their citizens thought they were not at risk and couldn’t be touched by this epidemic. That was the sentiment in Spring, Texas which is now on their third case in the past two years. When asked, city officials responded with, “When it happens to you and your school district, it certainly increases your awareness” (Radcliffe 2008). That answer is not sufficient though. A better question would be what is being done now that you realize you need to change, or what are you going to change from two years ago, and why did you miss this?

According to a draft report commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education, in compliance with the 2002 “No Child Left Behind” act signed into law by President Bush, between 6 percent and 10 percent of public school children across the country have been sexually abused or harassed by school employees and teachers.

Here are some excerpts from the study:

In the state of New York alone, more than $18.7 million was paid between 1996 and 2001 to students who were sexually abused by educators. Fees for attorneys and investigators are in addition to the settlement amounts. None of the abusers was reported to authorities

** Only 1 percent lost their license to teach

** Only 35 percent of abusers received a negative consequence for their actions: 15 percent were terminated or, if not tenured, they were not rehired; and 20 percent received a formal reprimand or suspension.

** Another 25 percent received no consequence or were reprimanded informally and off-the-record. Nearly 39 percent chose to leave the district, most with positive recommendations or even retirement packages intact.

There are many reasons for why teenagers don’t see the danger in a relationship with their teacher but I believe the media is the reason for not communicating the problem in a correct manner. Recently in “Boston Public”, a recently cancelled primetime show that’s set in an inner city high school, a female student engages in a sexual relationship with a male teacher and is seen as being a ‘cool’ for having the relationship, and the teacher carries on the relationship because he is given the chance to resign and isn’t even prosecuted. Another episode has a young female student who falls in love with her teacher and initiates contact with him. She then uses that event to blackmail him many times before he turns himself in.

Once again, ESM is a complex, ongoing, and disturbing problem in the U.S. and deserves a careful examination. To do so requires and interdisciplinary approach that will allow input from the various topics and academic disciplines that this problem exists in. To better describe how this process will work you should take the complete opposite of “ceterus parabus” which is the theme for economics. It basically states that economics will study the effects on supply from one perspective or event at a time. Here, we will need more than one perspective to examine our topic or we will fail to completely understand the problem and not see the solution. While all steps in the interdisciplinary process are important, without integration you cannot develop, combine and produce a new deeper understanding to the problem. In this case the interdisciplinary approach will allow for a further breakdown of the problem itself. It will allow for perspectives from psychology, political science, math, and criminal justice. When you individually attack the many different and complex aspects of this topic, you will then be able to synthesize this knowledge and come out with a “new whole” (Repko 2005).

Disciplinary Perspectives and Insights

Integration

Conclusion

References

Criminal Justice

Siegel, Larry J & Senna, Joseph J. (2008) Introduction to criminal justice (11^th ed.). New

York: Thomson Wadsworth.

Political Science

Jackson, Robert J. & Jackson, Doreen (1996). A comparative Introduction to Political Science.

New York: Prentice Hall.

Robins, Sydney L. (2000). Protecting Our Students. Ontario, Canada: Ontario Ministryof the Attorney General.

Robins, Sydney L. (1998). Protecting our students: A review to identify and prevent sexual misconduct in Ontario schools. Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, Toronto.

Additional Sources

Psychology

Corbett, K., Gentry, C., and Pearson, W., Jr. (1993). Sexual harassment in high school. Youth and Society. Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 93-103. P

Flemming J. (1997). Prevalence of childhood sexual abuse in a community sample of Australian women. Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 166, pp65-68. P

Freel, M. (2003). Child sexual abuse and the male monopoly: An empirical exploration of gender and a sexual interest in children. The BritishJournal ofSocial Work. No. 33, pp 481-498. P

Plotnik, Rod & Kouyoumdjian, Haig. (2008). Introduction to Psychology (8^th ed.). NewYork: Thomson Wadsworth.

Statistics

Keller, S (2006). Statistics for management and economics (7^th ed.). New York: Thomson South-Western.

Additional Sources

American Association of University Women (2001). Hostile Hallways, Washington,D.C.: AAUW Educational Foundation

Corbett, K., Gentry, C., and Pearson, W., Jr. (1993). Sexual harassment in high school. Youth and Society. Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 93-103.

Flemming J. (1997). Prevalence of childhood sexual abuse in a community sample of Australian women. Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 166, pp65-68.

Freel, M. (2003). Child sexual abuse and the male monopoly: An empiricalexploration of gender and a sexual interest in children. The BritishJournal of Social Work. No. 33, pp 481-498.

Repko, A. (2005). Interdisciplinary practice: A student guide to research and writing (Preliminary ed.). Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing.

Robbins, D. (2001, April 22). Out of bounds: Sexual misconduct by educators in Texas. Chronicle investigation reveals relationship of coaches and students rife with abuse. Houston Chronicle.com Available online: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.hts/special/coaches/884307.

Robbins, D. (2001, April 22). We trust our kids to them every day. But a Chronicle investigation reveals the relationship between secondary school coaches and students is rife with abuse. Out of bounds. The Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 22, 2007 from Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe database.

Robins, Sydney L. (2000). Protecting Our Students. Ontario, Canada: Ontario Ministryof the Attorney General.

Robins, Sydney L. (1998). Protecting our students: A review to identify and prevent sexual misconduct in Ontario schools. Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, Toronto.

Shakeshaft, C., and Cohan, A. (1994). In loco parentis: Sexual abuse of students in

schools. What administrators should know. Report to the U.S. Department of

Education, Field Initiated Grants.

Shakeshaft, C. (2003, Spring). Educator Sexual Abuse. Hofstra Horizons, pp. 10-13.

Shakeshaft, C., & Cohan, A. (1994). In loco parentis: Sexual abuse of students in

schools. What administrators should know. Report to the U.S. Department of

Education, Field Initiated Grants.

Shakeshaft, C. (2003, Spring). Educator Sexual Abuse. Hofstra Horizons, pp. 10-13.

Appendices

Glossary

Contact or Non Contact Abuse:

Introduction

For several years, many science concepts have been accepted and included into the curriculum, however more often than not these concepts are incorporated as a division of topics within a specific discipline. For example, specialty science courses like environmental biology, environmental chemistry, environmental physics, and environmental geology.

Field trips to local spots of interest can be an educational and enlightening component of a science course. In spite of the complexity of arranging these and creating them into the course curriculum, they should be strongly measured. Plan field trips in advance so that the time is used efficiently. For example, if a visit to the local zoo is considered, give students some initial worksheets on animal behaviour while they are there. A visit to a local water resource, information about environment and flora and fauna should come first and follow the trip. Procedures for environment assessment are available from many sources, including the local department of natural resources, the local EPA office, or other professionals like the scenic rivers coordinator in your state.

However the acceptance of science teachers on the use or the incorporation of science fieldtrips in the curriculum has been put in question. Some teachers are hesitant to conduct fieldtrips for various different reasons. Their attitude and behaviour towards this well accepted practice varies from training to a personal judge of their capacity. A study regarding the effect of training on urban science teachers’ perspective on the educational potential of science fieldtrips had been conceptualized to address the trend and its implication to the academe.

Review of Literature

The quality of learning that students acquire and the degree of experience that students have from their educational activities depend greatly on their teachers. The National Standards for Science Education has incorporated a detailed parameter for teachers and teacher preparation programs that will assist in advancing science literacy in their students. There are a very limited number of researches published that evaluates teachers’ opinions with regards to taking their students to natural environments such as museums to learn. The research proposes that teacher’s give importance to outside learning experiences but also report disincentives and significant institutional roadblocks that stand in their way. This review of studies and literatures will discuss how teachers are motivated by this other form of teaching environment and teaching mechanism.

Insight from studies in the last thirty years as to what factors facilitate the learning experience for school field trips were discussed (Bitgood, 1989; Price & Hein, 1991; Griffin, 1998). Falk and Dierking (1992) discuss perceptions that John Falk and associates have gained from their various studies involving field trips. They said that children begin a field trip with two programmes. The first programme is child-centered and focuses on what students imagine they will be doing: seeing exhibits; having fun travelling there; buying gift shop items; and having a day off from their normal school routine. The second programme communicates to the school’s and museum’s expectations. These programmes are that they assume they will learn things and be meeting people who work at the museum.

Field trips are undertaken with a particular reason. These purposes vary. Griffin (1998) did a study involving school excursions to museums in Sydney Australia, and found teachers stated disagreeing purposes for going on field trips. Some of the teachers viewed the field trip as a change of tempo for students and a social experience. Some teachers formulated learning oriented objectives pertaining to the curriculum presented to them. Griffin found that teachers’ explicit and implicit purposes may differ. There are teachers who wishes to incorporate social interaction and enrichment of previously discussed or presented topics therefore resolve the field trip in highly educated manner in which their knowledge and skills will be further enhanced. She suggests that teachers may react in this manner because they are uncomfortable with their capacity to manage their students in an unfamiliar environment. She feels that teachers are perhaps ignorant of, or unable to understand many of the principles of learning in informal environments, such as learning through play and direct involvement with phenomena. In addition, she found that the teacher’s purpose for the field trip influences the students’ rationale for the visit. Therefore it can be said that students’ attitudes tend to mirror the teacher’s attitude (Griffin, 1998; Griffin & Symington, 1980). Research studies by Gottfried (1980) and others support the idea that teachers view field trips as enrichment experiences (Gottfried, 1980; Brigham & Robinson, 1992; Griffin, 1998).

With this given analysis it presupposes that fieldtrips appeal to the educating world as means of escape to a usual habit or pattern. Sometimes it holds true that teachers are not sure of how to facilitate a learning environment outside the four corners of the classroom. As observed some may let the students wander off to the new environment without making any further information on what is seen and observed in the environment to where the educational fieldtrip is conducted.

The author was quick to assume that teacher’s attitudes and motivation to adapt a science fieldtrip in the curriculum relies on their outlook of how they will perform or how prepared they are to facilitated and head the said trips. The accountability is overwhelming for teachers in the eyes of the author.

In this case I presume that the author knows the essence or the importance of the teacher’s readiness to hold such responsibility in being motivated to include a science fieldtrip in their curriculum.

Connections between Informal Science Sites and Schools

In recent times, there has been a growing interest in the development of relationships between informal science sites and schools. This is conceptualized to the detection that informal education sites have the potential to offer more than a one-time field trip to teachers and students. According to Ramey-Gassert (1997), science fieldtrips has many potential benefits. These include improving motivation and attitudes, interactive participation, and fostering curiosity. In itself this may be reason enough for teachers to be interested in promoting connections between schools and informal education sites.

In a sense, fieldtrips may encourage students to actively take part in the study. In fact the application of what is taught at school may be seen and experienced firsthand during fieldtrips. Having done so, teachers may use this to stir student’s curiosity and further encourage them to find means to improve or develop what they have seen. Technology is best taught if the application is seen and viewed by the students.

Michie (1998) found that the environment of informal science learning, which incorporated features such as “voluntary, unstructured, non-assessed, open-ended, and learner-centered” (p. 248) led to heightened student interest. This open-ended learning experience can also have optimistic effects on how students feel about science learning. (Gottfried, 1980). While the most beneficial facet of informal science learning may be the often incalculable notions of appreciation and motivation for further learning, researchers have also reported gains in content knowledge by students (Gottfried, 1980; Fiso, 1982; Munley, 1991).

The freedom to manipulate, operate and explore the learning environment makes learning highly conducive and interesting. This attitude may be encouraged to further stress a point or a concept. Teachers may utilize this to explore the student’s perception and opinion regarding a particular topic. Teachers may very well plan a curriculum under which interactive participation may be facilitated.

Most importantly, informal science sites can offer teachers and students something which they often cannot experience in the formal classroom. Mullins (1998) illustrates the experience this way: it is precisely because informal science sites are informal learning settings, where attendance is voluntary. In an informal science sites, the visitor is at liberty to wander at will, taking in things that connect to previous knowledge and experience, and discovering new ideas with pleasure (p.42).

The appeal of fieldtrips to students is not confound to it being compulsory and rigid. In fact as previously mentioned the idea that this environment is less strict and more open has its appeal to students more and more interesting.

However, before teachers aspire to make schools more like an informal science sites, it is important to understand the inherent differences between schools and informal science sites. Despite doing a similar activity as with the classroom as students in an informal environment, there are important disparities between the assumptions that are made as the teaching/learning is taking place. Informal learning stands separately from school learning in that it is free-choice, non-sequential, self-paced, and voluntary. The formal education system was not designed in this way. Schools are designed to teach students so that they are equipped to function successfully in society. The learning requirements are set as standards that all students are expected to learn. The teaching and learning that most often occurs in schools involves obligatory learning in which learning is focused by a programmed set of requirements imposed externally by a forced authority (Falk, 2001). Unfortunately, as Falk and Dierking (1992) point out, learning has become tantamount with the words “education” and “school” where learning is perceived as “primarily the attainment of new ideas, facts, or information, rather than the consolidation and slow, incremental growth of existing ideas and information” (p. 98). Recognizing these disparities is vital to understanding how each approach and their associated fundamental assumptions are part of the whole learning experience for students and teachers. Instead of trying to make one institution be like the other, a suitable approach may be to recognize the strengths of both informal sciences sites and schools and to bring those resources together to better serve both teachers and students.

Anderson (2004) points out that the informal and formal education communities are pursuing the same goal of educating the public – even if it originates from different assumptions and inherent qualities. One way that informal science sites can contribute to this objective is by helping teachers to gain assurance in teaching science. Science teaching assurance, or science teaching self-efficacy, is an essential component of effective science teaching. Teacher effectiveness has been found to be one of the most important factors influencing teachers’ work (Bitgood, 1993; Lessow, 1990) and is an important factor in teacher motivation. Horizon Research, Inc. (2001a) reported that long-term association with an informal science sites can begin to shift a teacher’s confidence in science teaching. For example, one teacher in their study reports, “This museum has done a lot for the individual teacher. I think many of us have undergone a long-term change in our teaching style, and are more confident and comfortable in a student-centered teaching approach” (p.16). Price and Hein (1991) assures that gains in science assurance and enthusiasm by elementary school teachers after they were engaged in collaborative projects with an informal science sites. According to a national survey which appeared in 2001, only approximately 25 percent of elementary teachers feel they are well qualified to teach science (Horizon Research, 2001a). Furthermore, teachers will normally avoid situations where they qualm their ability to perform successfully. Improving elementary teachers’ science teaching confidence is therefore an imperative factor in the development of science education.

As results of this recognition of the advantages of informal science learning, an increasing number of universities are collaborating with informal science sites in preparing their future teachers. Muse, et.al (1982) describes the many benefits includes the chance to work with children of different ages and backgrounds, the chance to work with other teachers, the chance to practice good science teaching and gain assurance, and the knowledge of science teaching resources. Across all of these partnerships, the specific strengths of the informal sites are acknowledgement and brought into the training of future teachers.

As suggested by a university professor, in addition to the benefits of a unique kind of teaching and learning that occurs in informal environments, research also advocates teachers can benefit from the resources and programs offered by informal science sites. This can include interactive exhibits, educational materials and science equipment that many teachers and school districts cannot afford or do not have access to in school (Rennie, 1995).

Teachers who not using Informal Science

Horizon Research Inc. (2001a) established that there is nearly one informal science education institution for every 1,000 elementary school teachers in the United States. Yet these institutions serve only 10 percent of all U.S. teachers teaching science.

While there has been a changing focus to heightened the numbers of these relationships with teachers, many teachers do not seem to be using museum resources in “partnering” ways where unambiguous links are made to classroom curricula and teachers return for additional assistance and partnership as needed throughout the school year.

The literature on this subject revolves around the assumption that “using informal science” actually pertains to “taking field trips”. These studies do not openly concentrate on those teachers who continually use informal science sites in many different ways. Nonetheless, these studies show why teachers may not be as likely to take their students on field trips as other teachers. Explanations for why teachers are not taking field trips can be arranged into several categories.

Logistics: transportation coordination and cost (Lessow, 1990; Michie, 1998; Price and Hein, 1991), safety concerns (Michie, 1998); and student misbehaviour and large class size (Fido and Gayford, 1982; Lessow, 1990; Price and Hein, 1991)

External Support System: a lack of support from the government who see the field trip as a “vacation” (Michie, 1998; Mullins, 1998; Price and Hein, 1991); and a lack of support from other teachers who are uncomfortable with new experiences and getting out of the classroom (Michie, 1998; Mullins, 1998)

Personal Motivation: such as fear of failure (Mullins, 1998), lack of energy and time (Lessow, 1990; Michie, 1998; Mullins, 1998; Price and Hein, 1991) low interest (Mullins, 1998); and lack of personal knowledge of and positive experiences with informal science sites (Fido and Gayford, 1982; Michie, 1998)

Availability of Resources: inadequate choice of informal science sites (Michie, 1998)

Orion (1993) points out that many of the complications involved in linking informal science institutions and the formal education system can be addressed to differences in size, orientation, and mission. Informal science sites tend to be smaller than school systems, are profit oriented and are mostly private. Ramey-Gasset (1996) asserts that these obvious differences can make associations very difficult to attain. While both classroom teachers and informal science sites educators have the similar Objectives of educating students, they approach it from very different outlooks.

Schools and informal science sites have not viewed themselves as equal partners; asserting that each feels that they are performing different things in terms of science education, and one does not necessarily complement the other. There is also a common view of informal science educators as “pseudo-educators”. Claiming that “museum educators practice some of the best teaching in a community” may not be entirely correct and may overestimate the teaching proficiency of these teachers (Munley, 1991, p. 14). While many informal science sites educators are superior teachers, many do not have the experience or training to serve as model teachers. For this truth, many school administrators and teachers may not view the informal community as a competent partner in science education. However, this may change. Creating standards for informal science educators has the impending to positively impact future partnership between the informal science community and schools.

Factors Influencing Teachers to take Field Trips

The focal point of this research is on teachers who use the resources of informal science on a regular basis. This subject appears to be focused on the actual field trip and not on using informal science resources in different ways and on a regular basis. There are numerous studies that address this concern of the factors influencing teachers to take field trips.

Lessow (1990) surveyed 585 teachers on their use of informal science and used quantitative analysis to settle on the possible correlations between teacher quality and use of informal science. Some of his major findings were that teachers took more field trips when they had taken personal trips to a particular site felt that their students gained either cognitively or affectively. Lessow (1990) did not find that those teachers who assumed having a science related hobby, read science journals or attended more professional development took more field trips. And those teachers with more experience teaching also did not take more trips than other teachers. While this study had some interesting findings, it did not disclose the nature of these trips or teachers’ personal thoughts on taking them. While Lessow (1990) addressed the efficiency of the field trips, this was determined primarily through survey answers and focused around the use of pre-visit and post-visit activities. Therefore, how these teachers used these sites was not revealed.

Michie (1998) interviewed 28 secondary science teachers in Australia to determine the influences on them to organize and conduct field trips. It was found that teachers who took field trips wanted to give students hands-on, real life experiences which they could not have in the classroom. He also said that while there was some perplexity on the usefulness of field trips, most teachers accepted the cognitive gains associated with the trips. There were some teachers who commented on the emotional values. In addition, six more experienced teachers– elementary teacher to college professors were chosen for follow-up interviews. These expert teachers reported that they conducted field trips for three reasons. The first was because of the positive benefits they and their students receive in reference to the relationships that developed among students, between students and teachers, and between students and informal educators. Mullins (1998) reported that these relationships “raised confidence, invigorated lives and enhanced their questioning and learning” (Mullins, 1998, p. 165). The second reason these teachers chose to take these outdoor trips was that they acknowledged that their thinking on how learning takes place had changed after engaging in these environmentally based trips. They realized the worth of interactive learning and project-based learning where the students were involved in real-life projects. The third reason was simply because of the experiential benefits. They said that nature taught them how to teach; and that observing students attach with nature was their main purpose for having field trips. This study also reported that most of the experienced teachers all had positive field experiences as children.

While the literature concerning the factors motivating teachers to take field trips is informative, there is the absence of a clear picture of teachers who choose to frequently use the resources of informal science. Further, at a time when the majority of elementary teachers do not feel well-equipped and credible to teach science and are teaching less science (Horizon Research, 2001a), hearing from those elementary teachers that do feel confident in their ability to teach science and incorporate informal science in their teaching can inform this issue.

While many teachers will take their students on at least one field trip during the year, fewer will lead effective field trips where students gain both cognitively and affectively. Many teachers will use it as a form of leisure or will not amalgamate it into their curriculum (Lessow, 1990).

Support for Using Informal Science

Realizing how and why these teachers continually use informal science was the focal point of this study. And directly related to this is the support they receive for using informal science. An important result of this study is that the existence of support is indispensable to whether these teachers use the resources of informal science for the gain of their students. However, it is paramount that they have support. This can have significant effects on less experienced teachers. Mullins (1998) found that a teacher support system, either from peers or administrators, makes the distinction in whether a novice teacher chooses to pursue informal science opportunities.

A large portion of the required assistance for using informal science is budget. This is especially the case for taking students on field trips – which is the primary way in which these teachers – and most other teachers – tend to use informal science (Inverness Research Associates, 1995). The cost will be used for transportation and money for entrance fees. A school (or most often, the school district) allots a certain amount of field trips based on priorities and what can be afforded. These costs can be huge obstructions to teachers’ use of informal science. Teachers identified transportation costs as a major limiting factor to using informal science in studies by Lessow (1990) and Michie (1998). These two studies focused on teachers who did not necessarily use informal science on a regular basis. The teachers in those studies were accompanying their grade level on their allotted yearly field trips.

The teachers do not directly refer to money as a limiting factor. Kaspar (1998), in his survey of administrators and teachers in regards to the use of informal science, also found that more experienced teachers did not list administrative tasks and logistics as obstacles. The teachers are experts at navigating these barriers. While funding is always important to their use of informal science, these teachers talk more about the basis of the funding. Based on the teachers’ stories, they are more concerned with the emotional support they receive from these sources. This importance of administrator support is reflected in Mullins’ (1998) study where a lack of support by the school administration was one of the most frequently mentioned obstacles to taking field trips. This is further supported in a statement made by an experienced teacher who uses informal science regularly in her teaching.

Those teachers have to somehow have an administration that understands that a field trip is not just kids getting away from school; it’s not a play day. The administration has to understand that it is an extension of the classroom. Five hours on a field trip can be worth far more than five hours in the classroom. Administrations and school boards have to be able to see how field trips can positively impact grades and see that it’s okay to be different (Mullins, 1998, p. 134).

Further, administrative support has been described as being extremely important to teachers’ ability to effectively teach science (Ramey-Gassert et al., 1996). District and state current policy on science education likely affects some teachers’ use of informal science. This is especially true for Betty, who expresses how the de-emphasis on science and focus on passing the state standardized tests has hindered her teaching of science and use of informal science. None of the other teachers expressed this same sort of frustration. Teaching at a school in a low-income area where passing the tests was of major concern was likely an important factor. While Greg also teaches in a high-poverty school, he is somewhat protected due to his district-approved and specially funded science-focused classroom. Without administrative support of some kind, even a highly motivated teacher will find it difficult to do the things he/she would like to do with students in science inside or outside of the classroom.

Administrative support is narrated as a motivating factor in these teachers’ ability to use the resources of informal science – although to different degrees among them. A teacher in a small school in a large district relies heavily on principal support, while another in a large school in a smaller district relies mainly on district level support. Administrative support is likely to be especially significant for teachers in low-income areas. Without district support of non-profit program, most teachers would have difficulty involving their class in such an extensive off-campus project with an informal science site. The success of that program has largely been due to the collaborative nature of its beginnings and the community encouragement it has received. While the fact that most teachers do not discuss it does not mean that it has not been an essential factor, it is a factor that they may have taken for granted. This is the case in the higher-income schools where there tends to be more parent support for these trips and projects – especially in terms of funding. Parents, in turn, are able to financially support these projects and trips and since many mothers work at home, they can act as chaperones.

Surprisingly, there is little in the discussions on the importance of parent support in teachers’ use of informal community resources. The studies of teachers’ use of informal science tend to focus more specifically on the field trip and not the teachers themselves (e.g. Lessow, 1991; Michie, 1998; Mullins, 1998). Further, those studies focus on either experienced science teachers from all levels of education (Mullins, 1998) or on more typical teachers on a grade level field trip (Lessow, 1991; Michie, 1998). Yet, parent support was found to be a significant authority on all of the teachers in this study. Teachers realize the significant role that parents play in making that possible. When parents are not able to pinch as much due to financial limitations or work schedules, those teachers rely more heavily on administrative and outside support and must try harder to provide informal science experiences for their students.

Because the teachers in this study are often responsible for planning the field trips for their grade level, many of them express frustration at the negative attitudes of other teachers towards project involvement and science in general.

On a finding supported by Michie (1998), it shows that teachers reported some resentment from other teachers if they took students on field trips. However, in Michie’s study, the students were in secondary school. The teachers protested because students were taken out of class or were late for another class. The teachers in this study are experienced, science-oriented, curious teachers. And unfortunately, they are not the standard in the mentoring profession. They are more like the teachers in Mullins (1998) study, even though those teachers were mostly secondary-level teachers and college professors. They were clearly passionate about teaching science. Mullins (1998) found that the more experienced teachers reported fear within the teacher to be the most significant obstacle to teachers implementing field trips. One teacher said,

It’s just not familiar. Teachers need someone because most of them are troubled by the idea that they are in fact clueless as to what may transpire during fieldtrips. You’re likely to do things the way you’ve always done them unless you have some good reason to do something different…like if there is a real good program and someone suggests field trips and they take teachers out and then teachers say, “Oh, that’s not so hard, I can do this.” Teachers want to; they just don’t know what to do because we do so little of this in our teacher training programs (Mullins, 1998, p. 136).

While the teachers in this study have ultimately been responsible for their choice to use informal science in their teaching, they are the first to admit that it has required plenty of support – financial, logistical and emotional. All of these teachers claimed to require support to use informal science. It is not something they can easily do on their own. These teachers are excellent at “navigating the barriers” in terms of their use of informal science – whether it is simply rallying parent support despite a lack of funds, holding bake sales, or finding ways to bring informal science into their classroom. And if these teachers, who are clearly exemplary science teachers, require support and encouragement, then it is likely that other teachers need even more encouragement in using informal science. As mentioned earlier, the average elementary teacher is likely to feel apprehensive about teaching science, and will lack the confidence needed to seek out informal science opportunities. The exceptional teachers in this study often found this on their own – it was the emotional support that they needed in order to continue the pursuit of their science teaching goals. Based on my interpretations, providing more support for teachers in using informal science is a logical place to begin to focus energy so that more teachers are likely to look to these community resources.

Highlights of the Teachers’ Attitudes towards Conducting Science Field Trips

Field trips can be referred as one of the three ways through which science can be taught – through formal classroom teaching, practical work and field trips. In the United States teachers tend to use the term ‘field trip’ instead of ‘excursion’. There have been a number of challenges to define field trips. The definition used in most the researches is taken from Krepel and Duvall (1981): “a trip arranged by the school and undertaken for educational purposes, in which the students go to places where the materials of instruction may be observed and studied directly in their functional setting: for example, a trip to a factory, a city waterworks, a library, a museum etc.” (p. 7). The use of the term ‘field work’ emphasizes some of the formal exercises which are conducted outside of the classroom, usually in biology and geology at senior high school and tertiary levels. These activities may be referred to be a subset of field trips or excursions.

Much of the literature start off from museums and science centers, other noted venues such as zoos, aquariums, planetariums and field study or nature centers (see reviews such as Falk & Dierking, 1992; Ramey-Gassert, Walberg & Walberg, 1994; Rennie & McClafferty, 1995, 1996). It often relates a range of effects on visitors, rather than students per se,

Quantitative studies of the attitudes of teachers towards field trips were done and facilitated by Falk and Balling (1979), Fido and Gayford (1982) and Muse, Chiarelott and Davidman (1982). The researchers found that, in the opinion of teachers, the positive benefits derived from field trips were

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School Readiness

The heart and core of this paper is the increased emphasis on School Readiness. The paper would define the integration, Cognition and Emotion with conceptualization of Children’s functioning at School level Entry.

The character of work and society in the United States is changing. The technological nature of the information-based economy is placing increased emphasis on the active role of the individual in seeking out and applying knowledge in diverse ways. The workplace and the classroom increasingly require ready access to information and analytical and creative thinking skills that allow for self-regulated learning through goal setting, strategy use, and self-monitoring. Indeed, some see the ability of our educational institutions to enhance thinking skills and produce self-regulated learners as having broad implications for the future role of the United States in the global economy and the ongoing viability of the democratic process (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 1999; President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology, 1997).

PART I Problem Statement

From the standpoint of research on learning, the growing emphasis on thinking skills and self-regulation signals the need for increased understanding of the ways in which young children become active seekers and appliers of knowledge (Lambert & McCombs, 1998). High levels of motivation and self-regulation are clearly associated with academic achievement independent of measured intelligence (Gottfried, 1990; Skinner, Zimmer-Gembeck, & Connell, 1998). The developmental origins of motivation and engaged learning during early childhood, however, are less well known. Parents’ involvement, peer-group influences, and school characteristics have all been shown to influence motivation and engagement (e.g., Eccles, Wigfield, & Schiefele, 1998; Grolnick & Ryan, 1989; Ryan, 2000). But children’s characteristics associated with engagement in learning, particularly those related to brain development, have been less well studied.

Part II Analysis of Policy Approaches

Recent advances in developmental neuroscience indicate the rapid growth and modification in infancy and early childhood of brain areas that subserve self-regulation, including emotion, memory, and attention (Nelson & Luciana, 2001). An important next scientific step in the study of self-regulation and engaged learning is the examination of implications of this rapid change and its determinants for functional outcomes, such as the adjustment to school (Byrnes & Fox, 1998).

To this end, I detail a central role for emotionality and emotion-related functioning in neurological development and children’s adjustment to school. I conclude by suggesting that influences on emotionality can influence the development of neurological interconnections among structures underlying emotion and higher order cognition. As such, these influences on emotionality are particularly relevant to the design and implementation of early compensatory educational programs to promote children’s school readiness (see Nelson, 2000b) and can assist in the ongoing construction of an empirical foundation on which to erect social policy designed to meet America’s foremost educational goal: ensuring that all children enter school ready to learn (Lewit & Baker, 1995; Zigler, 1998). However, although my focus is on the development of self-regulation abilities as an aspect of school readiness, only by keeping in mind that readiness is a multidimensional construct involving family, peer, school, and community levels of influence will the value of the neurodevelopmental perspective on self-regulation become apparent. Ecologically minded thinkers on readiness focus on transactional, systemic models of influences and seek to define processes at multiple levels (S. L. Kagan, 1990, 1992; Meisels, 1996; Pianta & Walsh, 1996). Within this developmental transactional approach, the study of emotionality provides an excellent framework for arraying multiple influences on readiness.

Part III- (Recent Legislation)

Whether defined as the regulation of emotion in appropriate social responding or the regulation of attention and selective strategy use in the execution of cognitive tasks, self-regulatory skills underlie many of the behaviors and attributes that are associated with successful school adjustment. Researchers have long considered intelligence to be a key predictor of success in school. Indicators of self-regulation ability, however, are independent and perhaps equally powerful predictors of school adjustment. Much of the literature on school readiness points to the importance of self-regulation (Grolnick & Slowiaczek, 1994; Normandeau & Guay, 1998; Wentzel, Weinberger, Ford, & Feldman, 1990). Clear relations between achievement and the percentage of time that students are engaged in academic activities have been demonstrated both in elementary and in preschool regular and special education classrooms (Carta, Greenwood, & Robinson, 1987; Greenwood, 1991).

Emotionality and regulatory aspects of measures of temperament have also been implicated in school achievement in both regular and special education classrooms. Children who are temperamentally less distractible and exhibit more positively valenced and moderate levels of emotional intensity are rated by their teachers as being more teachable and achieve at higher levels academically than do children without these characteristics (Keogh, 1992; Martin, Drew, Gaddis, & Moseley, 1988; Palinsin, 1986). As well, aspects of social and cognitive self-regulation, such as those implicated in friendship and social interaction skills (Ladd, Birch, & Buhs, 1999) and in perceived control over learning (Skinner et al., 1998), point to a key role for children’s self-regulatory ability in the transition to school.

Further, data from the National Center for Education Statistics survey of kindergarten teachers’ ratings of child characteristics considered to be essential or very important to being ready to start kindergarten indicate teachers’ predominant concern for regulatory aspects of children’s behavior (Lewit & Baker, 1995). In particular, it is noteworthy that 84% of teachers endorsed that children need to be able to communicate wants, needs, and thoughts verbally, 76% endorsed the idea that children need to be enthusiastic and curious, and 60% endorsed that children need to be able to follow directions, not be disruptive of the class, and be sensitive to other children’s feelings. In contrast, only 21% of teachers endorsed the need for children to be able to use a pencil or paintbrush, and only 10% and 7%, respectively, endorsed knowing several letters of the alphabet and being able to count to 20 as being essential or very important to being ready to start kindergarten.

In addition, in a survey conducted by the National Center for Early Development and Learning, 46% of a nationally representative sample of kindergarten teachers indicated that over half the children in their class lacked the kinds of abilities and experiences that would enable them to function productively in the kindergarten classroom (Rimm-Kaufman, Pianta, & Cox, 2000). This suggests that many children are arriving at school without effective self-regulation skills. Overall, the results of these teacher surveys clearly indicate that kindergarten teachers are concerned with children’s regulatory readiness for school activities rather than with more strictly cognitive and academic aspects of readiness. The surveys suggest that teachers are concerned with being able to teach; that is, they are concerned with the capacity of each child to be attentive and responsive and to become engaged in the classroom.

Development of Regulation

Despite growing interest in self-regulation and evidence for its direct relevance to school readiness, individual differences in self-regulation and the relation of these individual differences to functional outcomes, such as the adjustment to school, have not been studied. The developing cognitive skills that, in part, form the basis for self-regulated learning are generally referred to as executive or metacognitive skills. Executive function is a construct that unites working memory, attention, and inhibitory control for the purposes of planning and executing goal-directed activity (Bell, 1998; Lyon & Krasnegor, 1996; Zelazo, Carter, Reznick, & Frye, 1997). That is, the construct combines basic cognitive processes within a goal-directed executive that marshals resources toward a desired end state.

Normative developmental study of executive function, usually in cross-sectional designs with a battery of neuropsychological assessments, indicates an age-related maturational developmental course for the construct and its component processes (Krikorian & Bartok, 1998; Luciana & Nelson, 1998; Welsh, Pennington, & Groisser, 1991). These findings support the idea that the emergence of behaviors indicative of cognitive processes involved in executive function are dependent to some extent on the development of the prefrontal cortex at ages approximately congruent with school entry (Gerstadt, Hong, & Diamond, 1994; Luciana & Nelson, 1998). As well, the finding that executive ability and general intelligence are only moderately correlated (Krikorian & Bartok, 1998; Welsh et al., 1991) further underscores that executive regulatory skill is an independent contributor to the school-adjustment process. Clinical examination of frontal lobe damage has indicated that frontal dysfunction, depending on the exact location of the deficit, leaves specific cognitive abilities and general intelligence largely intact but greatly impairs planning, self-monitoring, attention, and responsiveness to impending reward or punishment (Damasio, 1994; Eslinger, Biddle, Pennington, & Page, 1999; Tranel & Eslinger, 2000).

A longitudinal study of the development of one aspect of executive cognition, referred to as effortful or inhibitory control has demonstrated it to be an antecedent of the internalization of norms of conduct in young children (Kochanska, Murray, & Coy, 1997). When examined by a multimethod measure defined as the ability to inhibit a predominant response when instructed to engage in a subdominant response (i.e., to be told to wait to eat a cookie or to unwrap a present), effortful control has been shown to increase with age, to be stable, and to become increasingly coherent.

As well, several characteristics of children and parents have been associated with the construct of effortful control. Children’s capacity for focused attention in infancy and maternal responsiveness to children, as well as parental personality characteristics such as dependability, prudence, and self-control, have been associated with variation in effortful control (Kochanska, Murray, & Harlan, 2000). Similarly, maternal responsiveness in infancy, as assessed by a measure of the affective synchrony of the mother and child in face-to-face interaction, has been identified as a precursor of effortful control at age 24 months. Most notably, however, the interaction of mother–child affective synchrony with child negative emotionality appears to be a highly salient predictor of self-regulation. In particular, the impact of affective synchrony in mother–infant interaction on the development of effortful control is large for children exhibiting high negative emotionality in infancy. The effect of affective synchrony on effortful control for infants not characterized by negative emotionality is substantially smaller (Feldman, Greenbaum, & Yirmiya, 1999).

The role of negative emotionality in early intervention to prevent grade retention is of strong interest. Grade retention appears to be a well-intentioned educational practice that frequently has deleterious consequences for children’s academic and social success in school (Shepard & Smith, 1989). In spite of evidence indicating adverse outcomes associated with its use, the practice persists, and effective programs to prevent its occurrence are needed. The continued use of grade retention as a remedial strategy seems to reflect the lack of alternative solutions when teachers have concerns about the academic progress, maturity, and general school readiness of individual children. To the extent to which grade retention is dependent on interrelations among children’s social, emotional, and cognitive adaptation to school, it may be that early compensatory education interventions that specifically address social and emotional functioning can prevent its occurrence.

Future Directions

Examination of emotionality within early intervention to promote school readiness and prevent grade retention provides a useful model for evaluating the role that programs to enhance social and emotional competence might play in preschool education. The study of emotionality suggests that a particularly promising direction for early intervention efforts may be the implementation in preschool and early elementary school of programs that combine interventions focusing on social and emotional competence with early compensatory education. Such programs would provide an exceptionally strong model for the promotion of school readiness and school success. As noted above, several early compensatory education interventions have demonstrated cognitive benefits to program recipients. Several school-based programs to enhance social and emotional competence have also demonstrated benefits to children’s social competence (see Eisenberg, Wentzel, & Harris, 1998, for a review).

An interesting area in which programs focusing on social competence interface with more cognitively oriented programs is problem solving related to the development of executive cognitive functioning. A particular example of the executive cognitive problem-solving approach to the promotion of prosocial behavior and social competence is the Promoting Alternative Thinking Skills (PATHS) curriculum, an intervention curriculum with demonstrated benefits to young children’s social competence, emotion regulation, and problem-solving skills in the early elementary grades (Greenberg, Kusche, Cook, & Quamma, 1995).

The neurobiological approach to early childhood education and school readiness is premised on the idea that the school classroom represents a distinct context within which specific regulatory demands are made of children. Children are expected to adapt to a socially defined role for which they may or may not have been previously socialized. Differences among children in the capacity for regulation within this environment, as well as differences in supports for children’s self-regulatory attempts both within and without this environment, are important to conceptualizations of readiness that view the transition to school within an ecological framework (Meisels, 1996; Pianta, Rimm-Kaufman, & Cox, 1999). From the foregoing, it can be seen that a focus on children’s characteristics in the development of readiness does not preclude study of the influences of parents, schools, and communities. On the contrary, when viewed from the ecological contextual perspective that drives much of the research on child development, it necessitates their inclusion.

Researchers concerned with readiness over the past two decades have rightly moved from static child-focused conceptions of readiness embodied in academically oriented standardized tests of ability or aptitude. An exclusive focus on children’s cognitive skills and abilities in the assessment of readiness has proved to be of limited benefit (Pianta & Walsh, 1996). This fact has rightly led researchers to seek alternative definitions for and determinants of readiness. This recognition of readiness as a socially constructed phenomenon has led to a broadening of the research base to include a focus on schools and teachers and the development of educational policies geared toward maximizing children’s potential for success in school (Graue, 1993; NAEYC, 1990; Willer & Bredekamp, 1990).

Continued efforts to foster readiness with an eye toward the neurobiology and psychophysology of children’s emotionality and regulation may be particularly likely to yield long-term benefits. In this, measures of biologically based processes can serve as both predictors and outcomes in the evaluation of programs to promote readiness and success in school. Programs to foster regulation can use physiological and neurocognitive measures to identify individuals at high risk for poor school outcome because of negative emotional reactivity. Treatment ? Risk interactions can be specified that can increase the precision with which intervention effects on outcomes are estimated.

Although-brain imaging techniques are perhaps not currently usable with children younger than seven years of age because of features of the assessment, magnetic resonance imaging and perhaps, under certain conditions, positron emission tomography could be used, along with physiological and neurocognitive assessments, as outcome measures of the efficacy of preschool interventions. Programs could demonstrate efficacy through assessments of behavioral outcomes and underlying neurobiology and physiology.

As in the studies by Fox et al. (2001) and Davidson and Rickman (1999), which indicated change over time in emotional reactivity and EEG measures of frontal asymmetry, intervention studies might demonstrate change in frontal asymmetry and emotionality in response to curricula designed to reduce stress, foster emotional competence, and enhance attention, working memory, and other components of cognitive self-regulation. As noted by Nelson (1999), neuroscientific measurement techniques and knowledge of neural plasticity and human development are now sufficiently advanced to inform the conceptualization and evaluation of interventions to promote competence and foster resilience.

PART IV Conclusion

In conclusion, the neurobiological approach to the study of readiness can now supplant nativist or idealist conceptions of readiness that focus exclusively on maturation. The maturational view, primarily associated with Arnold Gessell (1925), posited that readiness comes about through the gradual development of abilities that facilitate learning: being able to sit quietly, to focus on work, to attend, and to follow directions. Certainly, there is some maturational component to the neurodevelopmental view of readiness; however, the traditional maturational view has been fully supplanted by an epigenetic conception of relations between nature and nurture (Elman et al., 1996). Indeed, the ideas that fostered the replacement of the traditional maturational view with an epigenetic conception of development were clearly in place in Gesell’s time, most notably in the work of Myrtle McGraw (1946/1995).

Although any explicitly maturational view is and always has been unsuitable as a theoretical basis for child study, the child characteristics important for readiness that such a view purports to explain remain vital to the construct. In their modern form, however, these characteristics are now tethered to a comprehensive and ecologically sensitive framework relating neurobiological and behavioral research. Behavioral scientists, educators, and policymakers studying readiness and school adjustment should be aware of this. To this end, I have attempted to propose a conception of readiness that maintains a focus on relevant aspects of child functioning in a way that is theoretically and empirically well established and that has demonstrated or demonstrable links to family, peer, classroom, school, and community influences on readiness and school achievement.

Review your own roles and responsibilities as a Teacher, in terms of the Teaching/Training Cycle, identifying boundaries that should be set.

INTRODUCTION

In every profession, there are roles and responsibilities and boundaries that are set in order to divide the line that indicates the farthest limit. Roles and Responsibilities are important because they would facilitate order in any given organisation and allow personal and organisational objectives to be met, as those with Roles will be accountable to their functions. Actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group are referred to as “Roles” while the obligations to carry forward an assigned task to a successful conclusion are referred to as “Responsibilities.” All learning institutions are subject to legislation. It is of relevance that in this assignment I link these roles and responsibilities to current legislative requirements such as Disability Discrimination Act, (DDA), Special Education Needs (SEN), and Equal Opportunities. Under the Professional Code of Practice, I have responsibilities as a teacher to undertake 30 hours of Continued Professional Development per year and I must also update my subject knowledge. I must therefore, have clarity on my roles and responsibilities in order to prevent omission of duty.

In this assignment I will examine the Roles and Responsibilities of a Teacher in relation to the Teaching/Training Cycle. This will lead to focussing on professional activities within the learning cycle. I will also recognise the professional boundaries that govern a teacher’s behaviour in order to comply with the Professional code of conduct. It is therefore, of significance that I discuss where the teacher’s different roles stop. After analysing this topic, I will come up with a conclusion.

Holtrop (1997) suggests that “Obviously teachers wear many hats: friend, counsellor, judge, mentor, hundreds of roles and different roles for different classes, students and extracurricular duties.” In relation to the Training cycle, I have a role of Assessor. A majority of learners will have different individual learning needs and for me to accommodate their needs, I need to have assessment skills that will promote equality, diversity and inclusion. I will link this to Domain A of the LLUK Standards which states one of the professional practices as “Apply principles to evaluate and develop own practice in promoting equality and inclusive learning and engaging with diversity.” I can achieve this by carrying out thorough initial assessments that will help me to identify different learner needs such as poor writing skills, poor reading skills, disabilities etc. This

would be in line with Domain C “Ways to identify individual learning needs and potential barriers to learning in own specialist area.” This will make it easier for both the learner and me to access learning and deliver learning respectively, because based on the assessment needs that I will identify, I must have knowledge understanding of how I will apply the different assessment methods like formative and summative assessments to meet these needs. This may increase the level of motivation to both the learner and teacher.

I will link this to Domain E which is about assessment for learning “Theories and principles of assessment and the application of different forms of assessment, including initial, formative and summative assessment in teaching and learning.”

In my role as a teacher I am to conduct initial assessments which will help me to identify learner’s needs, knowledge and skills and also help to identify referral points against levels within the National Standards. When I identify needs that need to be referred, I will have to give the learner information, advice and guidance to where they are being referred. This will be linked to Domain F which is about access and progression- “sources of information, advice, guidance and support to which learners might be referred.” This also promotes the

Wayt (2008) explains that “Assessing varying learning styles within a group and considering learner’s motivation and previous experiences helps identify various teaching methods that could be useful throughout the programme. Sessions incorporating visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning styles ensures students have equal rights to learning and provide the opportunity to re-evaluate what is already known while exploring aims and objectives from a different perspective.”

The initial assessment will provide me with some important detail to inform the plan, which will be revised on an on-going basis to monitor the learner’s progress and identify any subsequent support needs. Both learner and teacher will be aware of what the learner knows and is able to do and what he/she needs to learn. It is also important for me and the learner to know how the learner likes to learn; as this helps me to identify barriers to learning such as difficulties in reading, writing, numeric, language skills and any other disabilities and will make reasonable adjustments in order to use the appropriate assessment methods that will meet the individual learner’s needs and promote equality and diversity. At this stage, should any learner require support which is beyond my competence, I will refer and ensure that I give the learner the right information on their referral, so as to meet the professional standards in Domain F of the LLUK “Sources of information, advice, guidance and support to which learners might be referred.

This is in line with the Equal Opportunities Act (2004) which states that all learners must have equal access to learning regardless of their learning barriers, disabilities, sex, religion, and race. Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995(as amended by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001) disabled learners must not be treated less favourably and teachers must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled learners are not at a substantial disadvantage compared to their peers.

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Following the initial assessment, I should do a diagnostic assessment in order to identify specific individual needs and support required and this will lead to the creation of a detailed personal profile, providing the basis for an Individual Learning Plan.

As an Assessor, I have limits to this role. By doing a thorough assessment, I may identify needs that are beyond my competence and may need to refer the learner appropriately. For example, if I identify that a Learner has financial needs, I may need to refer the said learner to the appropriate department. This in itself is helping meet the learner’s need and adhering to the professional boundaries. It would be very unprofessional for a teacher to give money to a learner to fund his/her education or get money from a learner. This is to conform to the LLUK standard in Domain A which states that “Conform to statutory requirements and apply codes of practice and also Domain F which says “Boundaries of own role in supporting learners.” And one of the professional code of practice introduced by the Institute for Learning (IFL) states that a teacher must protect the interest of the learners and the wider public and any member of the Institute for Learning who breaches the code will be subject to disciplinary investigation as described by the disciplinary procedure.

Let me look at another role of a teacher.

As a teacher, I am a Planner, in that I plan appropriate, effective, coherent and inclusive learning programmes that promote equality and engage with diversity. This means I should plan for the use of different teaching methods and activities which are in line with the curriculum requirements and meet the needs of the learners. These may be group discussions, questioning etc. This is in line with the LLUK Standard Domains B and D – BK2.1 “Principles of learning and ways to provide learning activities to meet curriculum requirements and the needs of all learners.” DK 1.1 “How to plan appropriate, effective, coherent and inclusive learning programmes that promote equality and engage with diversity.”

Planning is a very important role for me because it will direct or guide me in the delivery session. My planning will depend on the identified individual needs, which will prompt me to use the appropriate teaching methods. This is because I am required to ensure that the identified needs of my learners are properly taken care of in my planning process.

Without planning, I might not be able to meet the learner’s needs and may not deliver in line with the curriculum. This may result in de-motivation and dissatisfaction to both the learner and I, as learners will feel they have not been catered for and I will feel I have not played my role as a planner.

In view of the on going assessments, I am responsible for preparing the assessments in such a way that they meet the needs of individual learners and promote equality, diversity and inclusion. In this case, it is important for me to use different assessment methods such as formative and summative assessments. These could be direct observation, oral questioning, professional discussion, witness testimony of case studies. When this is done, I will have met the LLUK Standard Domain E “Theories and principles of assessment and the application of different forms of assessment, including initial, formative and summative in teaching and learning.” It is part of my responsibility to ensure that learners are involved in planning for assessments. Learners should not be subjected to a “surprise assessment.” I should always involve them at the planning stage and be able to give them opportunities to make their own suggestions and choices without putting them in situations where they feel overwhelmed. This will give them a sense of ownership. This is in line with LLUK Standard Domain E “Ensure that learners understand, are involved and share in responsibility for assessment of their learning.” The planning session should be able to meet the individual learner needs, by considering different resources that will promote fair and effective assessment. For example, a teacher who is going to assessor a learner at a place of work must have planned in advance with the learner, who might have suggested that it was better to do the assessment in the morning because that is when a lot of activities take place. If this happens, it is most likely that the learner will feel at ease and have a sense of fulfilment because he/she has been involved in the planning process and his/her need met. This is linked to Domain E “Apply appropriate methods of assessment fairly and effectively.”

A teacher is also an Information Provider (Lecturer). In reference to the Teaching/Learning cycle, this role requires me to deliver/implement teaching as planned and designed, inclusively to promote equality and diversity.

Gay (2000) states that, “It is very important for teachers to appreciate the impact culture has on learning. Furthermore, they must make their teaching well suited to the social cultural contexts and frames of reference of ethnically diverse students.” I must therefore, take the differentiation approach, to be able to offer a range of approaches and resources to meet the needs of an individual or a group of learners. It is my responsibility to develop and produce teaching and learning materials appropriate for a range of contexts, purposes and target audiences. Different learners have different levels of understanding and knowledge, and if I am to cater for their needs, I will have to use different teaching tools, such as DVDs, handouts and practical demonstrations(which must be referenced to the curriculum) When applied these teaching tools will promote equality, diversity and inclusion and will have the potential for language, literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology for learners and will make it easier for those who understand visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning. For example, a learner who understands well when they see might need to watch the video to get understanding. This can be linked to Domain B of the LLUK Standards – “Ways to ensure that resources used are inclusive, promote equality and support.” This can also be linked to Bloom (1997)’s taxonomy where he separates out learning into three Domains –

Cognitive domain concerns our thinking and memory and our capacity for understanding. The psychomotor domain deals with our abilities, the skills that we have, what we can physically do. Affective domain relates to our understanding, i.e. our approach, our attitude to what we do.

I am also responsible for making the learning environment a safe place to comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974.) This calls for risk assessments, which help to identify any hazards that would hinder learning. According to Maslow’s pyramid, everyone needs to feel protected against any life threatening cause. This is also in accordance with the LLUK Standard Domain B- which states that “Ways to maintain a learning environment in which learners feel safe and supported.” It is therefore important for me to maintain safety in the learning environment and to make learners be aware of their responsibilities in maintaining safety, as health and safety is everyone’s responsibility.

As a teacher, I have the role of a Mentor/ Counsellor in delivering the course.

I should be able to apply appropriate teaching and learning strategies which take account of individual learner needs. When delivering the course, I must show understanding of the responsibilities and boundaries of my own role in providing support for individual learners for example, signposting and /or referring on specialist services. Learners should be given information on where they can find further information, advice, guidance or learning provision.

I also need to ensure that learners understand the context of the course, for example the NVQ standards, its application and contribution to the care sector, the economy and the community. It is therefore, important for me to attend standardisation meetings in order to keep abreast with current standards in my specialist area, as required by the LLUK Standards Domain C “Own specialist area including current developments” and Domain C “Ways in which own specialist relates to the wider social, economic and environmental context.”

Gravells (2007) asserts that, “learners learn from each other as well as the tutor.”

To promote diversity in my delivery, I must ensure that there is involvement of all students in relevant activities, rather than excluding them for any direct or indirect reasons (inclusively), as mentioned in the Tomlinson report. Teachers must facilitate learning environments which will promote culture and ethnic diversity. Therefore, learners from different ethnic groups will be able to voice their cultural expression in order to increase content and learning processes.

The assessment of learner’s competence is an important role of a teacher. I will assess what the learner has learnt and will be responsible for finding out what methods of teaching and learning would be most appropriate for the learner and to motivate the learner to continue and to do better.

This can be achieved by using formative and summative assessments.

In relation to my area of teaching – NVQs in Health and Social Care, formative assessment is aimed to helping the learner become competent and meet specific performance criteria. This should be an ongoing process, where regular tutorial sessions take place, teacher following workplace observation and completing of written tasks. I am responsible for giving learners constructive feedback on their performance, which will motivate them, especially those that are unsure of their own abilities. This can be linked to Domain E “The role of feedback and questioning in assessment for learning.” I am also responsible for recording outcomes of formative assessment and keeping these records updated and stored safely for confidentiality to conform to the LLUK Standard Domain A “Keep accurate records which contribute to organisational procedures.” This will in turn give learners a clear guidance as to what aspects of performance they shall still need to work on.

In view of the Data Protection Act (1998), I must keep all records within confidentiality agreements to comply with organisational policies and procedures and also to comply with the LLUK Standard Domain A “The need for confidentiality, respect and trust in communicating with others about learners.”

Summative assessment will take place at the end of the learning, giving feedback on learning achievements, maybe a qualification, test or a completed Individual Learning Plan. In relation to NVQs, summative assessment will represent a formal summing up of the learner’s achievement on completion of a particular piece of work; this may be at a completion of each unit. I will be responsible for making a final judgement on the whole of a unit after making a series of formative assessments. This also must be recorded as evidence to represent the learner’s competence at the time of the summative assessment.

A teacher has a role of an evaluator as well. It is my responsibility to make an assessment of, or to judge what I have delivered. Evaluation will help me to look back at how I delivered the learning and find out what could be done differently.

I will need to evaluate my own practice on a regular basis, such as my opinions on the course and how it could be made better next time.

Learners must be given the opportunity to evaluate the course – whether they achieved something, were the teaching materials enough? Did the course meet individual learner needs? This will help to improve delivery in subsequent sessions.

In my role as NVQ Tutor/Assessor, I may need to follow the established structure in place, that means I need to be observed actually assessing and giving feedback and then I will be given feedback on how I perform and how I could improve. Some of the ways of getting feedback on my assessment and teaching skills could be, asking an experienced colleague to observe me, get feedback- formal and informal from learners on different types of assessments I use and how these can be improved. This can also be done by writing reflections to explore and evaluate the different ways I assess, using information from colleagues and learners, as well as the actual experiences and results related to the assessments I use with learners. Reflective practice will enhance good practice and further improve what I do in my subject area. All this is in line with the LLUK Standard Domain E “The role of feedback in effective evaluation and improvement of own assessment skills.”

Revising is about making changes based on the evaluation information and will enable continuous improvements to be made. I am responsible for making any changes to the assessment or teaching methods that were not effective to the learners in order to meet their needs. This can be linked to Domain E “The role of feedback in effective evaluation and improvement of own assessment skills.”

A teacher is a researcher.

I should take responsibility to engage in continuing professional development to inform my practice, as this is one of the Codes of Professional Practice. As a teacher, I need to do a lot of research by reading relevant books, using the internet, journals, attending training and other relevant sources to update my knowledge. I am responsible for attending Standardisation meetings to inform my practice and to work in line with the specified standards. I must take it upon myself to explore and keep my mind focused to get knowledge and understanding.

Collaborating with others would help to improve my own and team performance. This is in relation to the LLUK Standards in Domain A “Ways to reflect, evaluate and use research to develop own practice and to share good practice with others.”

There are boundarieswithin professional disciplines. Teachers are not supposed to borrow money from learners, neither are they allowed to lend money to learners. It would be unprofessional for a teacher to be found in such a situation. Teachers are also reminded not to go beyond their role by going to learner’s home for assessment or learner coming to teacher’s home for assessment. All assessments must take place at the centre and /or workplace. As a teacher, I must always follow organisational procedures in dealing with issues such as complaints and appeals and make references appropriately, especially where the issue is not within my competence.

CONCLUSION

Roles and responsibilities are important because they will promote accountability among teachers and will help meet personal, organisational goals and individual learner needs. It would be frustrating if teachers lacked clarity on their roles and responsibilities because they would be stuck with who is doing what and who answers to whom? When these roles and responsibilities are applied, they benefit both the learner and teacher, by delivering learning which is inclusive, and promotes equality and diversity. Boundaries will help teachers to work within their limits and adhere to the professional code of practice. .

Wayt(2008) “The responsibility of a teacher will be to continually reassess development and change during the course and create a seamless transition to ensure smooth delivery.”

This just confirms the teaching/learning cycle. I am responsible for ensuring that the cycle is on going, by seeing to it that action plans are put in place, constructive feedback is given to the learner where necessary and the cycle does not break. This will increase the level of motivation, satisfaction and will help to achieve the goals for both the learner and me.

The teacher will also be responsible for inducting the learners to the organisation and course so that learners understand what is expected of them and what the organisation can deliver. This will also help the learners to have a clear understanding of the organisational rules and regulations and also of the course contents.

This is likely to result in learners having a good foundation for their course and be able to prepare adequately.

REFERENCES

Bloom (1997) Maslin-Prosthero -page 185

Gay (2000) Available at http:/www.intime.uni.edu/multiculture/curriculum/culture/roles.htm

Accessed on 6th December, 2009

Gravell A (2007) FE champion January, 2007- Post compulsory education and training. Available at www.pcet.net/articles63.html

(Date accessed 6th December, 2009)

Holtrop (1997) Available at http:/www.huntington.edu/education/lessonplanningroles.html

Accessed on 6th December, 2009

Wayt S.(2008). Holistic Health and well-being. Available at http/:www.balance-therapy.co.uk Accessed 6th December, 2009

LLUK STANDARD DOMAINS LINKS

Domain A – AP 3.1

Domain C – CK3.2

Domain E – EK 1.1

Domain F -FK 1.1

Domain A – AP 6.1

Domain F -FK 2.1

Domain B – BK 2.1

Domain D – DK 1.1

Domain E – EK1.1

Domain E – EP3.1

Domain E -EP2.1

Domain B – BK5.2

Domain B – BK1.1

Domain C – CK1.1

Domain C -CK1.2

Domain E – EK4.1

Domain E – EK5.1

Domain E – EK4.2

Domain A – AK4.

Task 1

An annotated resource list detailing stories, books, rhymes, songs, finger-plays, story props, puppets, resources and classroom contexts which can be used to support and extend literacy for real life purposes in their setting. You must take into account the particular needs of bilingual learners.

In doing this you will realise that what you are doing is describing what you will provide in the role-play context and why. This amounts to a very basic plan together with a rationale for the resourcing.

Resource List

Following much discussion about poor standards of English teaching, the Literacy Hour was introduced into all English primary schools through the National Literacy strategy during the school year 1998/99. The daily literacy hour is divided between 10-15 minutes of whole class reading or writing; 10-15 minutes whole-class session on word level work (e.g. phonics, spelling) and sentence level work; 25-30 minutes of directed group activities; and a plenary at the end for pupils to revisit the objectives of the lesson, reflect on what they have learnt and consider what they need to do next. The resource list that has been complied has been designed to support activities that take place during the literacy hour.

The educational resources market is huge and there is a great deal of choice available. There are many new publishers. For example, Badger Publishing Ltd (www.badger-publishing.co.uk) was established in 1989 and provides a range of books, which are designed to improve children’s literacy skills. The company’s publications are divided into three categories.

Badger History for Foundation and Key Stage 1 uses bright and colourful images to stimulate the interest of children in historical concepts. Badger History uses nursery rhymes, changes in everyday life, stories and legends, and significant people and past events drawn from the history of Britain and the rest of the word. Each year of Foundation and KS1 has its own Big Book and Teacher Book. Each Big Book has 10 themes. Details of the book for nursery / reception classes are listed below.

Big Book 1 for Nursery / Reception

Old Mother Hubbard
12 days of Christmas
London Bridge is falling down
Boys and girls come out to play
Miss Polly had a dolly
Ride a cock-horse
Mary had a little lamb
Sing a song of sixpence
Oranges and lemons
Rats

Badger Nursery Rhymes introduces the first sight words for reception classes. They also provide a literacy course, which aims to fulfil the early learning communication, language and literacy goals and the National Literacy Strategy. The publication contains – 24 popular nursery rhymes, coverage of all 45 high frequency words and a range of objectives (word, sentence and text level work).

Badger also has another range of publications, which are called Storyteller. This is a new series which uses 36 familiar stories to support the writing, speaking and listening objectives of the National Literacy Strategy in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. This publication allows children to hear and learn about traditional stories, develop comprehension skills, develop speaking and listening skills, use drama to explore themes and characters, and increase their experience of the language and structure of stories. Each book has its own focus. For example, the publication for Reception uses stories, (The Gingerbread Man) with rhyme and repetitive phrases.

Fingerplays are a fun way of introducing poetry to children. Fingerplays are also useful tools for practicing fine motor skills, following directions and introducing concepts. They also provide the opportunity to strengthen children’s language experiences and improve their literacy skills. The following fingerplays can be added to the list of resources:

Balls (size, counting)
Grandmother’s Glasses
Choo! Choo!
Two Little Blackbirds (counting)
Funny Bunny
Up, Up, Up (spatial concepts)
Jack in the Box (spatial concepts)
Unwind the Thread
Riding in a Wagon
A Teeny Weeny Spider
Pat-a-cake
Hickory, Dickory, Dock
Grand Old Duke of York

Literacy Connections (www.literacyconnections.com) is an American based organisation, which provides a vast array of information on reading, teaching and tutoring techniques, ESOL literacy, and adult literacy. Whilst, its resources etc, obviously cater for the needs of the American educational market, many of the items can be readily adapted to meet the literacy needs of children in the UK. A variety of songs can be accessed from this website. They can used to promote and develop a range of literacy skills. A selection of these songs is shown below.

“Alphabet” is an interactive rap song. It targets the comprehension and manipulation of the alphabet and various words in the English language. Using this rap for Reception classes, challenges the children’s abilities to listen, respond, and demonstrate awareness of language patterns and sounds.

The “Alphabet” Song

A, B, C, D, E, F, G

H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P

Q, R, S, T, U, and V

W, X, Y, Z

A Boy Caught Danny Eating Father’s Groceries

A like ant,

B – boy….

The “Alphabet Animals at the Zoo” song allows children to develop the following skills and gain a greater understanding of a number of concepts. Notably – identifying letters of the alphabet, learning the order of the letters of the alphabet, recognising symbol sound correspondence, and increasing vocabulary movement. The children stretch, shake and bounce to warm up during the opening verse. Next, they create motions which go with a word for each letter of the alphabet.

For example, arch, reach up and bend backwards, bend, bend forward, clap, clap hands, droop, let head, arms and spine sag forward, expand, make the body tall and wide. After completing the alphabet, each child faces someone and does the motion that goes with the first letter of his / her name.

Alphabet Animals at the Zoo

Learn the abc’s with ease

While getting fit and having fun

Aphabetise your exercise

And do your moves one by one

At the store or in the car park

You’ll cause a small commotion

If you suddenly stand and start

The alphabet in motion

Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, provides a wide range of resources, which can be accessed from its website (www.teacher.scholastic.com). It provides information on how children can create pet puppets and use them interactively in their play.

Pet Puppets

The creation and use of pet puppets in their play, helps children to develop their social, language and literacy skills. The following materials are required: socks (one for each child), fabric markers, children’s safety scissors, white craft glue, materials to decorate puppets (e.g. feathers, buttons, fabric scraps etc), chart paper and marker. The children work together to create sock puppet pets.

In making the puppets the children will be engaged in the following activities:

Read stories to children about pets or animals and then engage them in a conversation about different types of pets.
Do they have pets? What types of pets do they have?
What types of pets do they have? What types of pets do they wish they had?
Tell the children that they make sock pet puppets out of socks.
When the puppets are complete – the children should be encouraged to participate in activities to develop dramatic-play and language skills.
The Role of Parents In Developing Their Children’s Literacy Skills

The most important benefit that parents can give to their children is their undivided attention. In a classroom situation a teacher will have to deal with 30 or more children. Therefore, the scope for a teacher to work one-to-one with a pupil is highly restricted. Thus parents play a crucial role in developing their children’s language, literacy and social skills.

Adams, M, (1990), estimated that by the time her son was six, he had received 1700 hours of stories being read to him. He had also spent 1000 hours watching the literacy-focused television programme “Sesame Street”. By contrast, she calculated that in the first year of schooling he would have received 360 hours of literacy instruction, and less than 18 hours were given in individual attention.

Toomey, D, (1993), reported studies, which demonstrated that, without help and guidance, parents were much less likely than teachers to praise, and pause and therefore encourage guesses or self-correction, or to give clues if children were hesitant. He suggested that careful thought, and appropriate resources, needed to be given to ensure that this invaluable potential support was channelled effectively. To deal with this issue the government has launched a number of initiatives e.g. Sure Start. This is designed to encourage parents to play a proactive role in their children’s learning.

Resources For Bilingual Children

There is a huge selection of resources available for developing the language and literacy skills of bilingual children. The use of such resources in the Literacy Hour depends heavily upon the make-up of the Reception class. For example, let us assume that a reception class contains 24 children. If the class contained 20 bilingual children and four native English speakers, this would clearly need a completely different teaching strategy, if the numbers were reversed. In both situations the literacy needs of the two groups most be accommodated.

This is why the role of Teaching Assistants has become very important in terms of helping Reception Class teachers deliver a teaching strategy that meets the learning requirements of the children in a specific set. In Task 2, this issue is revisited – as the observation of the children entails analysing the effectiveness of the teaching and resources used in the delivery of the Literacy Hour. In the activity that was observed a specialist bilingual resource was not used. A First Experience book was used Tidy Up – this introduces children to the everyday activity of tidying up. A list of household objects (e.g. coat hanger etc) are involved.

No matter how good the teacher, the support and resources are, bilingual speakers are always going to have major problems, if their parents do not make a significant contribution towards developing their children develop their English language and literacy skills. Young children have the monumental task of learning their native language. However, more non-English speaking children are now entering UK schools and are required to develop skills in English as well. Many teachers are now finding that some pupils are not proficient in any language. This is because children are pushed into learning a second language without continuing development in their native language.

According to Fillmore, W, (1991), this is happening because children are pushed into learning a second language without continuing development in their native language. Research has shown that children that develop adequate language skills are more likely to experience success when they begin reading (Liberman, 1983; Roth, Speece and Cooper, 2002; Snow, Burn and Griffin, 1998). Early language acquisition begins at home and occurs somewhat naturally, through interactions with friends and family members. Children need these opportunities to develop their native language before they can master a second language.

Summary

An extensive resource list has been developed. The source and purpose of the items in the list has been explained. If children are going to learn – they must be encouraged to participate. In other words they need to be engaged in a positive and progressive. The contents of the resources list are designed to become fully involved with role play. For example, a teacher can read a short story to group of children. The children will become completely in tune with the experience, when they dress up and act the storyline themselves. Resources provide the opportunity for children to use their imagination.

Literacy skills do not sit in isolation. Reading, writing, speaking and listening all interact with social interaction and new learning experiences. Further to this, as highlighted, is the importance of parents becoming actively involved in developing their children’s literacy and language skills. For bilingual children different teaching strategies are required to facilitate their particular learning needs. Specialist resources do exist – but more often than not – the key to success, is using readily available learning resources in new and imaginative ways to meet their needs.

Task 2

The second piece of coursework is an evaluation of how well the planned activity meet the intended outcomes – i.e. did the role play area, support and extend the reading, writing, speaking and listening of all the pupils, including bilingual pupils.

Introduction

This task involves the observation of a number of activities that took place during place Literacy Hour. The children that were observed are in a Reception Class. Communicative competence provides a theoretical framework within, which these observed activities will be reviewed and critically evaluated. Also research findings relevant to the areas under investigation will also be considered.

Educational Theory Underpinning Literacy Skills

Communicative competence is a concept introduced by Dell Hymes and discussed and redefined by many authors. Hymes’ original idea was that speakers of a language have to have more grammatical competence in order to communicate effectively in a language; they also need to know how language is used by members of a speech community to accomplish their purposes. There are eight aspects of communicative competence. They are grouped together into two groups of four:

Linguistic aspects:

Phonology and orthography – Phonological competence is the ability to recognise and produce the distinctive meaningful sounds of a language, including; consonants, vowels, tone patterns, intonation patterns etc. Orthographic competence is the ability to decipher and write the writing system of a language.
Grammatical competence – This is the ability to recognise and produce the distinctive structures of a language and to use them effectively in communication.
Lexical competence – This is the ability to recognise and use words in a language that speakers of the language use them. Lexical competence includes understanding the different relationships among families of words and the common collections of words.
Discourse competence – This is used to refer to two related, but distinct abilities. Textual discourse competence refers to the ability to understand and construct monologues or written texts of different genres, such as narratives, procedural texts etc. Learning a language involves learning how to relate these different types of discourse in a way that is coherent to the readers and listeners.

If you like, the linguistic aspects of learning a language are the theoretical aspects that have to be mastered. In terms of learning how to read and write, the starting point is phonology. Mastering phonetics is at the very heart teaching Reception Class pupils how to read. The other three aspects are developed over a longer term period. Although by the end of the Reception Year – the children must have made some progress towards becoming effective in terms of the grammatical and lexical competencies.

Pragmatic aspects:

Functional competence – This refers to the ability to accomplish communication purposes in a language. For example, the ability to use language to greet someone.
Sociolinguistic competence – This is the ability to interpret the social meaning of the choice of linguistic varieties and to use language with the appropriate meaning of the communication situation.
Interactional competence – This involves knowing and using the mostly-unwritten rules for interaction in various communication situations within a given speech community and culture.
Cultural competence – This is the ability to understand behaviour from the standpoint of the members of a culture and to behave in a way that would be understood by the members of the culture in the intended way. Cultural competence therefore involves understanding all aspects of a culture, but particularly the social structure, the values and beliefs of the people, and the way things are assumed to be done.

Practice makes perfect – is a phrase that all school children will be familiar. If a child is going to become a proficient reader, writer and speaker of English, then they must be provided with endless opportunities to practice their skills and knowledge of the language. Herein lies the real importance of role-play in learning – it provides children with the opportunity to master the pragmatic competencies. As already stated, in Task 1, parents must become actively involved in developing their children’s literacy skills.

Observation Of The Literacy Hour

This was a Reception Class in a primary school. The class has 24 pupils. 20 of who are native English speakers. The other 4 are bilingual. The literacy hour is spread throughout the day and is covered in a number of sessions.

Session 1 – Whole Class Reading (15 minutes)

Session Objectives:

The pupils will extend their vocabulary, exploring the meanings and sounds of new words
Hear and say initial and final sounds in words and short vowel sounds in words
Read a range of familiar and common words and simple sentences independently
Know that print carries meaning and, in English, is read from left to right and top to bottom
Show sufficient understanding of the elements of stories, such as main character, sequence of events, and openings, and be able to answer questions about where, who, why and how.

This session involved using the story (The Gingerbread Man) from the Storyteller range of books produced by Badger Publishing Ltd. The teacher read a line from the book and asked the whole class to read the line aloud. For those children who struggled with a line they were assisted by the teacher or the teacher’s assistant to complete the task. This process lasted for about five minutes. The teacher then asked questions to help the class to recap on what they had read so far. The children were then put into pairs and were asked to read alternate lines to their partners. For those pupils who struggled with this task – they were aided by the teacher or the teacher’s assistant to complete their sentence.

The teacher then moved the session beyond the book and asked the pupils to consider what materials they would like to be made of. This generated a wide range of interesting and amusing responses – ranging from rubber to chocolate. The children were asked to consider what special power they would like to have and why, in their new characterisation. The repetition of the reading aloud of sentences from the story book did not really motivate the pupils.

However, when they were allowed to use their imagination and develop their own characterisation in a new format, the majority of the group found this stimulating. The reading aloud and repetition of the sentences was designed to allow the pupils to further develop their lexical competence. The relaxation of the structured rigidity, that is a by-product of reading aloud, provided the pupils with much greater freedom to use their imaginations and consequently develop the pragmatic aspects of the communicative competence framework.

As with everything in life, the educational system suffers from two major constraints. That is, a lack of time and a lack of resources. As outlined, in Task 1, there is very little scope for offering individual pupils a sufficient amount of one-to-one contact with the teacher. The average size of Reception Classes in the UK is greater than 24. The bigger the class size and the greater the diversity in language skills (i.e. how many bilingual children are in the class?) then more pressure is placed on the teacher.

The Literacy Hour has been in operation for nearly 8 years and its impact has been extensively researched. According to researchers from the University of Newcastle – whole class teaching has not encouraged opportunities for pupils to question or explore ideas to help them regulate their own thinking. The researchers have identified the problem of teachers adapting to the new curriculum without changing their old teaching styles or patterns. Consequently, many of the innovations of the National Literacy Strategy are not implemented as a result.

Session 2 – Fingerplays – Directed Group Studies (25 minutes)

Session Objective – Show sufficient understanding of the elements of stories, such as main character, sequence of events, and openings, and be able to answer questions about where, who, why and how.

The class was divided into six groups of four. Each group was presented with a different fingerplay (e.g. Unwind the Thread, Riding in a Wagon, Hickory Dickory Dock etc). The teacher was assisted by a teacher’s assistant and a volunteer worker. Working their way round the groups – the children were instructed on how to participate in the fingerplay and were encouraged to work as a group to generate ideas on what they thought the words contained in the rhymes, actually.

The children were then asked again to work as a group and think of a storyline that could be developed using a fingerplay. This session was adequately staffed and this meant that no group of children had to wait long for assistance, in terms of getting answers to their questions. This role-play element of the session proved to be very successful and the children on the whole worked well within the groups to which they had been allocated. This session provided opportunities for the children to develop their proficiency with regard to the pragmatic aspects of the communicative competence.

Session 3 – Developing The Language Skills Of Bilingual Pupils (20 minutes)

Session Objective – By the end of the session the pupils will show sufficient understanding of the elements of stories, such as main character, sequence of events, and openings, and be able to answer questions about, where, who, why and how.

Two of the bilingual students have only recently joined the school. Both of them are new to the UK and to English. Although their parents read to them in Urdu, they are used to a different writing system and print which goes from right to left, rather than from left to right. The TA (Teacher’s Assistant) is using a book which the teacher used at the beginning of the academic year (ie Tidy Up). It is a picture story with no words. The TA had been working with the two new pupils for two weeks and had established a good rapport. She worked her way through each picture and explained to the children what was happening in each scene. A volunteer worker, who was fluent in English and Urdu was on hand.

The TA had a number of items (e.g. a clock, a coat hanger, a drinking mug, a torch etc) which featured in the story. As she produced each object she encouraged the children to handle it and say its English name. She asked questions about the objects – what they were for, where might you find them, and so on – and asked the children to find them in the pictures. She talked about the each item’s part in the story. The volunteer remained silent throughout and only interjected when the children did not understand what was being asked of them.

Speaking briefly in Urdu to clarify and issue, and then allowing the TA to resume contact with the children. She then asked the children to take on roles of characters in the book, and she also took on a role. Together they acted the story out, using the household objects as props and she encouraged the “characters” to talk about what they were doing. She then asked the children to “read” the book in English, and supported (with help from the volunteer worker when appropriate) them individually as they did this. At the end of the session, she reviewed the session, the progress the two children had made. Overall the session was a positive experience for all of the concerned parties.

The volunteer worker is helping the children to develop literacy skills within their first language i.e. Urdu. The parents of the children are attending ESOL classes at the school and are actively involved in helping their offspring develop their language skills in Urdu. This is having a positive impact on their ability and willingness to learn English. The use of role-play both at school and at home is increasing their proficiency in both languages. Thus in this instance the use of role-play has generated positive benefits. The objective for the session was achieved.

The successful completion of this activity reinforces the factors which are at the heart of the educational theory stated at the beginning of this task. It is counterproductive to fast track the two new arrivals into the class. They need to be helped to master their native language as well as being slowly introduced to English. Their confidence with regard to speaking their own language and becoming more exposed to English, will be increased by the use of role-play activities as observed and by being positively engaged by their parents and extended family, within their home and domestic surroundings.

The results of this observation provide a clear link to the previously stated research of several authors (i.e. Fillmore, W, 1991; Liberman, 1983; Roth, Speece and Cooper, 2002; Snow, Burn and Griffin, 1998) that early language acquisition begins at home and occurs somewhat naturally, through interactions with friends and family members. Children need these opportunities to develop their native language before they can master a second language.

References

Research – Evaluation of the National Literacy Strategy – Academic Findings and Recommendations (www.literacytrust.org.uk/research/liteval.html)

Literacy Improvement Programme – Developing Literacy in the Early Stages (www.ltscotland.gov.uk)

The National Literacy Strategy – Guidance on the organisation of the NLS in Reception classes (Department for Education and Employment, September, 2000)

Parental Tips for Enhancing Print Awareness, Phonological Awareness and Oral Language Skills in Young Children Learning English as a Second Language – Crystal Torti, Yvette Carrasco (Top Tips on Parenting, Fall, 2004, Volume 6, Number 3)

Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning About Print – Adams, M. (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press – 1990)

Parents hearing their children read: a review – Toomey, D. (Rethinking the lessons of the Haringey Project – Educational Research, 35/3, 223-236, 1993)

Cluster 1 – Thinking about children as learners – What role do parents play in children (www.abdn.ac.uk/education/research-and-initiatives/RTR)

Early Childhood Today – Pet Puppets (http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/ect/Petpuppets.htm)

Fingerplays Index Page (http://falcon.jmu.edu/ramsey/fingerplayindex.htm)

Aspects of communicative competence – (www.sil.org/lingualinks/LANGUAGELEARNING/OtherResources)

First Experiences (http://books.kelkoo.co.uk/b/a/cpc)

How Most Children Learn To Read – Derry Koralek, Ray Collins (Reading Rockets, 1997 – www.readingrockets.org/articles/386)

Various pages from Literacy Connections (www.literacyconnections.com)

Various pages from Badger Publishing Ltd (www.badger-publishing.co.uk)

Literacy Reception Module – (Department for Education and Employment, September, 2003)

Employee Relations in Small and Medium EnterprisesA Non-union Approach
Introduction

The term SME or small and medium business enterprise is often used to describe a business enterprise that has anywhere between 10 to 15 employees for a small business whereas anything under 250 would be a medium enterprise. However, the number of employees is not the only classification that is used, and can be as diverse as turnover, industry, or business structure. According to a survey carried out by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) in 2004, the UK “had 1.16 million private sector firms with fewer than 250 employees, representing 94 per cent of all employers in the UK economy.1 These SMEs employed a total of 8.66 million employees (36 per cent of all employees in the UK) and they accounted for 47 per cent of private sector employers’ turnover.” This suggests the apparent importance of these enterprises.

The other important aspect of SMEs is their ability to be innovative, and adaptive to the constantly changing market environment, creating employment opportunities in the economy, and contributing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). SMEs vary in size depending on the industry, and skills. A biotechnology firm is likely to have fewer highly skilled employees where as a cleaning services firm will have more unskilled workers. Nonetheless, the fact that a significant fraction of the working population is employed by an SME, it is necessary to understand how these enterprises are managed, and how human resources policies regarding recruitment, training, performance evaluation, and day to day employee relations are adopted and practiced.

Management and employment relations in an SME

A typical structure of an SME is largely business, product or process orientated, with little specialist involvement in areas outside the remit of the business, human resources for instance. Managers have little expertise or qualifications to conduct personnel management task, most managers tend to rely on their past experience in managing relationships. This is interesting because it provides a unique opportunity to study management issues and strategies that can be anywhere from non-existent in a small firm to informal and semi-formal in a medium firm. Tradition management styles that have been identified in Fox (1974) and Purcell and Sisson (1983), relate to management perspectives with regards to employee relations in an industrial setup. The classifications were based on the type of views held by both management and employees, where both could be either unitary or pluralist. Marchington and Parker (1990) point out that these differences were in relation to how management viewed unions and their involvement on issues like employee participation and conflict resolution. These assertions are applicable in a large complex organisation but may not necessarily be true in a small setup where human resources and employee relations may be absent altogether.

Goss (1991) found that management styles at small firms were likely to be characterised by how the owner-manager experience relative disposition of power, and identified four types of management control –

Fraternalism, Paternalism, Benevolent Autocracy, and Sweating

.

The distinction was based on how much independence employees enjoyed for every degree of dependence the employer possessed. A host of studies conducted in the UK (WERS, 2004), Europe (EIRO, 2006), and Canada (CFIB, 2004) give an idea of what management practices are adopted in the SME sector generally and how working hours, training, remuneration, and employee representation are handled. A key observation found synonymous in all the studies was that employee representation, although significant, was conducted in informal settings through individual contracts and concepts of collective bargaining and unionisation were largely absent in smaller firms but rose with firm size. And where a non-union employee structure is prevalent, it is difficult to compare or comment on the effectiveness of such a structure, as all previous studies go only as far as determining the type of employee participation practiced but do not assess their quality of impact.

Non-union employee participation

According to Guest (2001), a non-union workplace lacks formal human resources or industrial relations departments which interface between management and employees. Dundon et al., (2005) describe a non-union workplace where the importance of union is not recognised in determining employee issues such as pay and work conditions, as opposed to whether or not employees are members of any union. They also point out the reasons, incentives, and motivation for managers for choosing a non-unionised interaction with the workforce. Guest and Hoque (1994) went on to classify the various non-union employer types, differentiating them on the basis of a range of human resources attributes. They banded employers as either good, bad, or ugly depending on these attributes. Although some counter arguments to this classification were on the grounds of methodology selected and if it collected information on employee views on their employers, and the lack of motivation and incentive, if any, from the employees in preferring to be non-union (Dundon, et al., 2005).

Although type of employee participation and representation is seen as an important part of the relationship between management and employees, it is interesting to understand how these become part of the culture. Freeman and Medoff (1984) describe employee representation, or employee voice, as having both consensual and conflictual connotation, and showed how participation could impact quality and productivity, whilst on the other it could help resolve disputes. Managers in a relatively small workplace are likely to view non-union participation more favourably because they may not have experience of dealing with unions and may feel more comfortable dealing with issues locally and informally. As the workforce becomes larger and larger, the advantages of a non-union representation diminish and firms tend to seek a formal approach to interaction as seen in larger firms.

Ackers et al., (2004) suggest that direct communication with the employees is also one of the most significant concept of a non-union employee representation, adding that managers would be more willing to share information relating to the business, work arrangements, staffing and job prospects directly with employees.

Collective bargaining, remuneration, and workplace relations

The concept of collective bargaining is more or less relevant to a union based employee representation, where the propositions are deemed to be in the best interest of the entire workforce as opposed to a single employee or groups. Since the relationships between management (owners, managers) and employees are less formal, such discussions can take place individually and would reflect the firm’s position vis-a-vis a particular employee. On the other hand, managers responsible for personnel matters may be involved in other tasks and is likely to spend more time on such tasks than those in similar positions in larger firms. Wage determinations and remuneration discussions are similarly done, and could be either set unilaterally by the management or negotiated on an individual basis. Therefore it would be common to assume a variable pay structure either by merit or performance, and the likelihood to profit-sharing. Pay reviews could be less regular in such a setup and may often require to be initiated by employees.

Recruitment, training, and personal development

The recruitment process at small firm may be less formal or rigorous compared to large organisations because of the level of expertise and sophistication available within the firm. A lengthy recruitment process can be costly, and can be counter productive to the immediate requirements of the business; hence employers may be willing to make quick decisions on the basis of the incumbent’s skills alone. WERS (2004) suggest that training and development opportunities were dependant on firm size, the larger the firm the more likely they were to offer on or off-the-job training. This can be true for two reasons, firstly cost implications, and second, the option to hire an already trained worker. In a non-union workplace this can be both beneficial and disadvantageous at the same time, since over-simplification could get the job done but may not necessarily represent the best interests of employees.

Conflict resolution

Irrespective of the size of the firm, grievances can arise and depending on the relationship an employee involved has with their manager, it could be dealt with informally in the first instance, and small and medium firms would adopt such a process not because they may not have a formal grievances and conflict resolution procedures as seen in large firms. Majority of employers have such procedures for regulatory purposes, but how effectively these are used varies from firm to firm. Since SMEs are not labour intensive collective disputes are unlikely to emerge requiring collective resolution through means of a union representation. This can be viewed as an incentive for managers to have a non-unionised employee representation to avoid the hassles of dealing with the union when a dispute arises (Dundon, et al., 2005).

Employee attitudes

The WERS (2004) survey reveals that managers in SMEs were more likely to involve employees in workplace related decision making processes and employee influence was greater in small firms than larger ones. Guest and Hoque (1994) suggest that employees that feel better appreciated were more likely so see their employer as “good” non-union employers and may be even motivated to discourage a unionised workforce which would tend to reduce their influence on management decisions. The employees’ perception of workplace and management being the same, changes as firm size increases. This is significant enough incentive for managers to cultivate a non-unionised workplace. To this extent there is a big difference between employees’ expectations for collective representation and employers’ willingness to subscribe to one. On the whole, the management is in a position to decide what type of representation they would like, and what mechanisms to utilize.

Conclusion

Small and medium-sized firms are vital for the growth of the economy, and play a significant role in providing employment to the population. The size and nature of products and services offered by these firms varies distinctly, and so does their management and employment practices. Size of the workforce does influence the type of management style that will be adopted, but it also depends on managers (owners) past experience and their perception of how work should be managed based on a set of beliefs. Small businesses have been seen to be less formal and tend to follow a close contact with their employees, and do not conform to hierarchal structures of management that are predominant in large organizations. These structures of relationships tend to get more formal as the firm size increases. Employees, on the other hand, find little or no difference between their workplace and management, an important distinction observed in larger firms which clearly distinguish between the “firm” and the “management”. Although employee relations in small and medium sized firms tend to be more informal they can be inflexible to changes in the workplace. Managers may lack the necessary experience and expertise in issues like performance appraisals and dispute resolution; they tend to rely on their experience and prefer to engage the employees directly. Issues of pay determinations and other forms of compensation are set out by managers but it allows employees to engage with management over discussions, without the necessary involvement of collective employee representations like unions. The dialogue is less formal and gives the management opportunity to consider personal circumstances of employees. Similarly conflict resolution and grievances are accorded an informal process, whereas any disciplinary action resulting from such discussions may be formal and follow a traditional approach. And because managers prefer to have a less formal involvement of employees the concept of non-unionized representation is favoured as management sees more flexibility in running the business and find to have less control when a collective representation is sought. Formality in relationships increases with firm size when management wants to have more distance between owners and employees in order to maintain a consistent level of control through decentralization. The degree of formality exercised may vary within the firm itself, for instance management may adopt a more formal approach to employee training and development, but at the same time conduct performance appraisals informally.

In regards to SMEs the nature of employment relations is not always straightforward and management practices, which may appear simple and unsophisticated, are influenced by a variety of factors and have evolved as a response to a particular need as the industry and business requirements, or regulations, evolved over time.

References

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Learning Preferences

Learning is a life long process and can be had in various shapes and forms. It can be based on education, experience, formal training etc. Every individual has his preferred way of learning which can change during the course of his lifetime. Eg. Individuals can prefer class-room learning when they are young and formal training when they grow old. Usually learning based on experience is considered one of the best ways to learn, but George Bernard Shaw (cited in Moyer, 2007) believes that experience doesn’t guarantee learning. He points out that men are wise in proportion, not to their experience, but to their capacity for experience and one needs to pay attention to find the lessons. Formal training is another way to learn and has been greatly successful within organizations over the years. But, Peter Drucker in his article “Managing Oneself” (HBR March–April 1999; pg 148) doubts the effectives of formal training by stating that training can be an impediment to learning because it is based on the assumption that there is only one right way to learn. Education and class-room based learning have traditionally been a preferred mode of learning. Rapid rise in technology and its applications has meant ready and continuous access to training and business communications which has meant that learning can now be more timely, specific and synchronous (Sullivan, 2003). Today’s generation want to be connected to instant messaging and short, highly-focused training that can be quickly downloaded and accessed via mobile phones, PDAs, or MP3 players(Ware, 2007; pg 58). Every learning technique has its advantages and limitations and the most preferred learning technique depends on variables like age, life-style, receptiveness and responsiveness of the brain, patience etc.

Preferred Team Roles

Teams have become a key component in organizations; properly working teams are now central to the organizations health. (Fisher at el., 1998) Because of the growing emphasis on team-working, a lot of research has gone into the structure, dynamics and the operations of the team. This has led to segregating team member by their functionality and the roles and responsibilities they entail as a part of the team. Belbin (1981) identified eight different roles within the team with each member complementing the others strengths and compensating for the weaknesses. Belbin classified and named his team roles as:

The plant – Is a problem solver and has innovative, creative and unorthodox way of dealing with situations. Has a strong ownership of ideas.
The resource investigator – Is the networking member the team that explores opportunities through new and pre-existing contacts. Is an extrovert, enthusiastic individual having good communication skills.
The coordinator – Coordinates different activities of the team and acts as a chairperson. Is responsible for most of the decision making and is normally more experienced than other members.
The Shaper – Overcomes obstacles with his drive and courage. Thrives on pressure.
Monitor-Evaluator – Has good judgment and the ability to look at the bigger picture. Has more strategic focus.
Team–Worker – Responsible for avoiding conflicts and making sure the team gels together and coordinates well.
Implementer – Responsible for turning ideas into actions.
Completer – Is a perfectionist responsible for finishing the project on time.

(Belbin, 1993)

Attitudes to Decisions making

No matter what sector or industry people work in, they have to make decisions. Decision making involves risk because, most often than not, the outcome cannot be guaranteed. By definition, a decision involves choice and therein lie the difficulty- making the right choice. (McGuire, 2002) The degree of risk involved is greater if the decision is made at the strategic level as compared to the tactical and operational level.

Normal attitudes to decision making include:

Indecisiveness – People try to evade decision making because it involves risk. Faced with choices and being unclear about which one to make leads to indecisiveness and inaction.
Over Analysis – Another attitude to decision making can be over-analyzing options to make sure the correct decision is made. Langdon (2001) calls it ‘paralysis by analysis’ syndrome which means inaction caused by too much thinking.
Decisions made on past experiences (historical evidence)– Decisions, at times, are also made by on past experiences without considering the current situation. Eg. If faced with a similar problem as in the past, there is likelihood that the decision similar to the one made in the past will be made.

Other attitudes to decision making include decisions made in haste and decisions made without proper consultation with others.

Leadership and management skills

Leadership is the ability to obtain results from others through personal direction and influence and requires management of self and management of others. Leadership and management differ in the way that management is concerned with ensuring things remain as they are and is often done by standard practice and regulation; leadership involves possessing vision, and the ability to communicate that vision. Leaders should possess the following skills

Problem Solving – Problem solving involves identification and definition of the problem, generation of a number of solutions that could be accepted, evaluation of alternatives and their outcomes. An important attribute within problem solving is, communication, in particular, listening skills, as various opinions and possible solutions are being generated. The leader has to see the big picture and choose the best possible solution (decision-making).
Decision making – Decision making goes hand in hand with problem solving (as cited in the last paragraph). Every aspect of leadership requires decision making. Delegation, for example, requires the manager to decide which individual is suited for specific tasks and how to distribute work in an optimal and best possible way.
Communication – It is very important that the leader has regular and open communication with both the customer and the team members.
Change-management – Managing change is also vital to effective leadership because changes might be requested by the stakeholders, caused by unexpected events. Therefore, it is important that the leader has the skills to manage and control change and make sure that the impact of change on accomplishing objectives is kept to a minimum.
Management skills

Independent of the leadership ability, managers has been studied to have different styles. The style chosen by a manager depends on the assumptions that they make about subordinates, what they think they want and what they consider their attitude towards work to be. Managers have to provide direction to the team, the drive and motivation to work as a part of the team, represent the purpose of team working and working as a group.

All the components mentioned below are essential traits of a leader. There has been a widespread acceptance that leadership is an essential management component but it has proved to be difficult to identify the elements of effective leadership and how effective leadership relates to good management practices. (James & Walke, 2004) It is worth pointing out that there is no one best style of leadership that is equally effective for all circumstances. The best leadership style is the one that fulfills the need of the group the most, while at the same time satisfy the needs of the external stakeholders.

Personal Development plan
Areas of development

Author’s weaknesses lie in the following areas:

Delegation skills – The author is not very good at delegating tasks and has an inherent weakness to doubt others capabilities. He is more comfortable when most of the crucial responsibilities and decision making rests in his own hands and where he just tells the team what to do.
Communication – Communication in one of the author’s other weaknesses. This takes off from his delegation style, because he believes in centralized decision making and the need to communicate with subordinates or other team members is seldom realized.
Negotiation – The author also finds himself lacking in negotiation skills at times. He is good at understanding and knowing the background to the problem but it’s the bargaining phase of negotiation that the author is not very good at (especially in project management environment).

Strengths (Key Skills)

Author’s strengths lie in:

Organization and Planning – The author excels at organization and planning and makes good use of planning tools. He takes time out to decide on the critical activities and the slack and apportion responsibilities accordingly. He has a clear understanding of the tasks ahead and prioritizes tasks according to their order of importance.
Motivation – The author is a highly motivated individual who could turn on creative juices, fight against odds and walk the extra mile to reach set goal and attain objectives.
Change Management – Embracing change is another one of the author’s positive traits. He has always identified the need to change and how change can be effectively implemented with least resistance.
Background

Preferred team role

The author’s preferred team role based on his capabilities is that of the ‘plant’ (going by Belbin’s classifications). Armed with strong theoretical basics and practical training, he has a strong ownership of ideas. The author also possesses an unorthodox way (out of the box thinking) of dealing things and is always looking for new and better ways to tackle issues and solve problems. He is skeptical to an all-logical approach to problem solving and does not always adhere to norms and proven ways of doing things. Author’s weakness lies in his ability to work under pressure and to consequently avoid situations that may entail pressure.

Decision making style

The author does make decisions after a proper analysis of the situation and how the decision affects individuals and the organization. His decision making style involves a process of elimination where a final decision is taken after eliminating alternatives. The author’s weaknesses lie in giving minimal consideration to external factors. What is required for decision making is the use of appropriate decision making tools. SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) is one such tool which helps to assess the internal and external decision making environment. Edward de Bono’s ‘six thinking hats’ is another tool for making team decisions. Before making a decision, the author has to make sure that the impact on external stakeholders is also considered. One of the other weaknesses of the author is the tendency to rush with decisions (haste). To overcome this, the author has to make sure that the issue is defined properly, all the information and alternatives are carefully considered and all the options weighed and evaluated before the decision is made.

Preferred learning style

The author’s preferred mode of learning is through hands-on training after having a firm theoretical knowledge of the basic concepts. A good way to learn for the author would be to start with a theoretical learning exercise through a tutor based class-room course and then having to execute the learning with hands-on training under some supervision. This would be an ideal scenario as it blends theory and practice. It might take some extra time to carry out the training, but at the end of it, the author would have added sufficient skills and is likely to be more efficient while working. This will also make sure sufficient time is allocated to train individuals; training is not rushed with and does not cover just one aspect (theoretical or practical).

Goals

The author sets goals based on his strengths. He makes sure that the goal is specific. A specific goal like improving profitability by 3% in the next financial year gives direction to the efforts. Also the author makes sure that the set goals can be measured (in relative or absolute terms) and are attainable. If goals are far too optimistic (unrealistic) and beyond reach, then it tend to have an adverse effect on motivation. The author only sets goals which he believes can be accomplished. It is made sure that the goal is attained within a specific time frame. Goal setting is a variable process for the author where the goal can be varied depending on external and unforeseen circumstances. Goals are set based on authors past performances and it is made sure that the goals are neither too easy nor too difficult to attain.

Planning

A plan is devised by the author to attain goals. Firstly, the author lists key skills required to attain the goal along with other requirements and constraints. Then a structure is given to the planning process to bring all aspects of planning together into a coherent, unified process. The planning structure includes analysis of opportunities, identification of aims, exploring of options, selection of the best option, evaluation of the plan followed by implementation and closure of the plan.

Opportunities

Setting up a goals and giving direction to the career to achieve that goals opens up several opportunities. The first opportunity is to realize the shortcomings and working on improving them. When we list our goals, we build our self-image and we see ourselves worthy of these goals which acts as a motivating agent. (Hosking & Bass, 2001) As a result, we try our best to develop the traits and personality that allows us to possess those goals. Improving on weaknesses and learning through experience are the two best opportunities to be gained from the self development process.

Progress

The author makes use of indicators like Gantt Charts (See Appendix 1) and Network diagrams (See Appendix 2) to track progress. Gantt charts help in setting a time frame that allows carrying out all the necessary steps. The author makes sure that the critical activities are paid sufficient attention and sufficient time is allocated as ‘slack’.

Authors skill set also includes soft skills such as impulse to lead and attain objectives, anticipatory skills to adjust the goals according to the changing environment and empowerment skills. Successful plans make optimal use of skills, experience and specialist knowledge.

References

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Appendix 2

Recorded Conversation

After a basic skills assessment of using visual arrays, mastery questions on applying the written grid method were required for their next steps in multiplication.

E:Miss, I’m not sure how to do the grid method.

TA:So, written method. Same scenario, but we are not going to draw the arrays. What is the calculation?

E:13 x 9.

TA:OK. What do you need to do first?

E:Break the 13?

TA:How?

E:Into place value.

TA:Correct. Show me how you’ll do that.

E:One 10 and three 1’s.

TA:Good. Now what?

E:First you times 3 by 9, then 10 x 9.

TA:OK, off you go.

E:(writes) 3 x 9 = 27 and 10 x 9 = 90.

TA:Good, now what do I do with those two answers?

E:Add them together.

TA:See. You know what to do. What do we need to remember when we use column addition?

E:Make sure everything is in line.

TA:Yes. We need to make sure our place value is aligned correctly. Well done!

Reflection:

Upon evaluation, I believe that I succeeded when it came to asking the appropriate open questions to provoke their own thinking, which helped them achieve their learning objective but evidently lacked the necessary more informative feedback the child deserved to understand their next target. I hope that I will be able to address this better after some directed CPD training.

Appendix 3

Child Y

LO: To use the grid method to solve multiplication word problems.

SC: R U C S A C

CAN DO

CAN’T DO

Understood what had to be done for step 1 of question.

Chose correct operation.

Partitioned numbers correctly on the grid.

Did not know all of 4x table.

Used times table grid in classroom.

Aware that all the answers had to be added together.

Addition calculation was written incorrectly. (pv not aligned)

Able to calculate once prompted to use correct pv alignment.

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A Search of Teacher Professionalism. A personal reflection through the Lenses of a Traditional, Conflict Theory, Neo Liberal and Critical Perspective.

In a recent Guardian Secret teacher article (2015) one school leader explains how they feel lost, set adrift, since the last update to the Ofsted inspection guidance.

“I used to think I knew the rules for inspections – I built my career on it.”

Is this a reflection of the teaching profession today? Have teachers been re-professionalised under the scrutiny of performativity as put forward by Ball (2003). I aim to consider these ideas looking at the role of the professional with particular emphasis on my own feelings of professionalism.

I joined the teaching profession to make a difference or that is certainly how it felt. My decision to become a teacher was built upon a desire to influence the life chances of young people. But having entered the profession with seemingly noble intentions what sort of profession have I joined? What sort of professional have I become?

The nature of professionalism has been subject to much scholarly debate. It has even been suggested (Whitty, 2000) that a profession is whatever society thinks it is and therefore this could mean we have to consider professionalism in a personal context. In order to discuss the concept of professionalism I first need to attempt to define the term ‘professionalism’ for myself. The terms professional and professionalism mean different things to different people.

Through my readings around professionalism there appear to be four main structures with which to consider the concept of professionalism. I will examine each of these stances and reflect on my own sense of professionalism through these lenses. Ultimately attempting to consider each perspectives utility for my own practice.

Traditional

Traditional views of professionalism are largely based on occupations like medicine and law (Demirkasimoglu, 2010). These professions have high status and pay but also high levels of autonomy. For this reason occupations like teaching are traditionally accepted as quasi professional in that ‘Bureaucratic control….fills the need for coordination by limiting the semiprofessional’s discretion or autonomy’ (Leiter, 1981 pp225)

There are many aspects of teaching that I believe correlate with the traditional view of a professional. Teachers provide a public service, require expert knowledge and skills, and are driven by a moral imperative. I would align myself with these principles and therefore to some extent with the view that teaching is a traditional profession and that I myself am a professional from a traditional perspective. Teaching as an occupation does however differ from traditional professions. Teachers are subject to more organisational control than both lawyers and doctors and although the responsibility of education is vast it could be argued that it is not as large as those of liberty and health.

When considering my own sense of professionalism from a traditional perspective, I also question if there is a further distinction between modern teaching and the traditional view of professionalism.

Traditional professions afford a significant amount of distance between the client and the practitioner. Within teaching, due to the regular interaction between client and practitioner and the nature of the relationships that are formed this metaphorical distance is not so extensive. This idea leads me to consider the changes that may have occurred to teacher professionalism as the role of teacher has altered over the past century. Teachers are expected to be more than imparters of knowledge and as the emphasis on their role has shifted so too has the potential for teachers to be considered alongside doctors and lawyers as traditional professionals. From a personal perspective I find it hard to align my own feelings of professionalism with the traditional view that would separate teaching as a high status profession from other occupations. As much of a teachers work is conducted through direct client interaction and the relationship that is formed is an essential part of successful practice, much like nurses and social workers, this consigns teaching to remain quasi professional and for me to not consider myself a teacher in the fully traditional sense.

Conflict Theory

Another view point on the nature of the professional can be gained from Conflict Theory. Conflict Theory originates from Marxist thought. Macdonald (1995) suggests that from a Marxist standpoint it is not the knowledge that makes a professional high status but the value of this knowledge to the capitalist system. Therefore the professionals maintain structures in society by ensuring that positions are monopolised. Conflict Theory proposes that the social relationships of differing groups are built upon power and exploitation. Thus it is suggested that in effect the education system is organised to ensure that power is exercised and different groups within society exploited.

Ozga (1987) defines teacher professionalism as a form of state control with teachers being subject to ‘direct’ or ‘indirect rule’ by the state as political, economic, social and cultural circumstances determined. This suggests that the state is using professionalism as a means to gain desired outcomes.

“When we hear from all sides the demand for an introduction of regular curricula and special examinations the reason behind it is, of course, not a suddenly awakened ‘thirst for knowledge’ but the desire for restricting the supply of these positions and their monopolization by the owners of educational certificates”

(Weber, cited in Gerth and Wright Mills 1946, pp 242)

Analysing the arguments made by conflict theory about the role of professionals in society fills me with personal disquiet and apprehension. Conflict Theory suggests a role of the professional that significantly differs from my own feelings of morality, integrity and service. I believe that I entered the teaching profession to be of value. I see the role of a teacher as potentially immense in individual lives. Teachers have the opportunity to develop the academic ability and achievement of their students but also to have influence on their development as people. To suggest that part of the role of professionals, and therefore teachers, is to ensure that groups within society are restricted and that the structure of society maintained is, for me, and I would suggest many others within teaching, unpalatable.

This does not however mean that this is an incorrect standpoint. It would be hard to argue that the teachers professionalism has been used by the state to manipulate the profession into certain modes of behaviour. The teachers standards (2011) indeed define the behaviour and attitudes which set the required standard for conduct throughout a teacher’s career.

I find it difficult to square this particular circle. I see no problem with the statements made within the Teachers Standards but there still remains a discordancy between this view of an imposed professionalism and my own feelings of myself as a professional. Whatever the larger political structures that we live and work under this does not mean we have to fulfil the role suggested.

Evans (2008) sees professionalism more as a sum of individuals ‘professionality orientation’. The plural of how a group of individuals perceive their own professionalism. Professionalism is co constructed by the actions and beliefs on individuals who make up the profession. I believe strongly in the role of teachers to break norms in society and enable those that are less fortunate to succeed. Conflict Theory may suggest that systems would make this difficult however I do not feel that this in any way defines myself as a professional. Conflict Theory suggests a view of teachers as an occupational group with a professionalism defined by the state. Is the individual sense of ‘professionality orientation’ as outlined by Evans not a better measure of an individual’s professionalism? Or as Gewirtz stated

“.. teachers are not the passive dupes of classical Marxism, unwittingly co-opted as agents of the state: they are active agents resisting state control strategies and forcing their employers to refine and rework those strategies.” (Gewirtz, cited in Hextall et al 2007, pp39)

Considering all of the points above I do not feel that the conclusions from Conflict Theory help to define an individual teacher as a professional. I certainly do not feel that they help to define me as a professional. A sense of professionalism seems more personal than that which can be provided by broad statements defined by the state.

Neo-Liberal

We live in an age of high levels of external accountability. Ofsted, School league tables, the National Curriculum and performance related pay are just some of the high stake measures which have been introduced over the past thirty years.

Gewirtz (2002) argues that the restructuring of the education system has been part of the dismantling of welfarism whilst introducing managerialist forms of control and increased centralisation. This is seen as part of a Neo-Liberal approach to create competition and markets where previously there were none. This Neo-Liberal agenda has significantly shifted the role of the professional.

“The preferred strategy of the neo-liberal marketisers has been deregulation of the profession..” (Gleeson & Husbands, 2001, pp287)

Dale (1989) describes a shift in the mode of state regulation of teacher professionalism. Regulation has altered professionalism from a licenced form of autonomy to a more tightly controlled ‘regulated’ autonomy. These views do not agree with assumptions that teachers have been moving towards a professional status parallel to that which has been attained by the traditional professions of Medicine and Law.

The march of the Neo-Liberal agenda has resulted in a ‘struggle over the teachers sole’ (Ball 2003 pp 217). Ball suggests that the introduction of such performativity has led to an erosion of the traditional professional values, a shift in professional identity and the meaning of ‘professional’ for teachers. This has led to the emergence of a new kind of professional with differing professional values.

I can identify with some of the ‘new professional’ values that Ball (2003) identifies. The increased levels of performativity have altered the way the profession as a whole behaves and I think individual views of their own professionalism. I can identify with some of the traits Ball attributes to the new managers.

‘Thus the work of the manager, the new hero of educational reform, involves instilling the attitude and culture within which workers feel themselves accountable and at the same time committed or personally invested in the organisation’ (Ball, 2003, pp219)

Whilst recognising the negative spin that Ball is placing on this role I also would suggest that the new managers have helped improve the education system thought accountability and investment measures. I do see these attributes as part of my own professional identify.

However Ball continues by suggesting that part of the manager role is to create a docile (and capable) workforce. I do not see this as something that is part of my professional identify. I feel that we should be developing teachers who are able to question and drive the profession forward. Who have ‘extended professionality‘ (Hoyle, 1975, pp 318), an ability to have a much wider view of what education involves.

Whilst Ball is strongly questioning the use of performativity and the values of the new professionalism that has arisen from its use I find that some, but not all, of these values do align with my own feelings of professionalism.

Critical Perspectives.

More recent perspectives on professionalism suggest that we might rethink professionalism to be about how we do what we do, rather than an acquired status. Whitty (2008) moves beyond the notion of educational reforms being used to de-professionalise teachers but instead for these to be an attempt at re-professionalisation. There is acknowledgement that educational reform has brought about changes in professionalism but that this may be constructing a new type of professional potentially more appropriate to contemporary needs.

Hargreaves (2000) identified four ages of professionalism: the pre-professional age, the age of the autonomous professional, the age of the collegial professional and post-professional or postmodern. The fourth age, post-professional or postmodern, which Hargreaves believes the profession is moving into (or has already entered) is characterised by a struggle between groups or forces which are trying to de-professionalise the work of teaching and groups or forces who are trying to redefine teacher professionalism.

‘One possible outcome of these processes is a new, postmodern professionalism that is broader, more flexible and more democratically inclusive of groups outside teaching and their concerns than its predecessors.’ (Hargreaves, 2000, pp167).

These are some of the attributes that would be clear in postmodern professionalism.

Whitty (2008) categorises the teachers into two distinct groups. The ‘new entrepreneurs’ and the ‘old collectivists’. Both Whitty and Hargreaves are suggesting we are at time of change in teacher professionalism. But unlike the ‘new managers’ defined by Ball (2003) the new entrepreneurs who have embraced the changing educational agenda have gained more potential status and rewards, including broader training opportunities and a limited degree of autonomy. So rather than managing the line of performativity the new entrepreneurs have the opportunity to help re define teacher postmodern professionalism.

It does feel that the work of teachers has altered even within my own professional life. I would suggest that the critical perspective lens allows for potentially the greatest reflection into my own thoughts of professionalism. As previously mentioned I can identify with some of the traits Ball (2003) attributes to the new managers. When these professional attributes are considered from a critical perspective lens I begin to feel that I can form some stronger opinions as to my own professional identity.

The traditional professional has some features that are in common with my own professional identify. However, the client-professional relationship that is formed within the work of teachers leads me to believe that I cannot align my own professionalism with these traditional beliefs. Whist Conflict Theory and a Neo-Liberal analysis allow us to consider the role that the state has, and is, playing on teacher professionalism I do feel that that the role the state is playing defines me as a professional.

Evans (2008) proposes that professionalism is not something that is an idealised concept. Professionalism has to be something that people actually ‘do’ not something that government or any other agency thrusts upon them. Therefore professionalism has a very personal context. I believe that I hold some of the professional attributes that would be associated with the new managers described by Ball (2003) and the ‘new entrepreneurs’ described by Whitty (2008). I believe that systems of accountability and investment within the organisation are part of my own feeling of professionalism. These are about increasing teacher performance but for the benefit of the young people who have one chance of succeeding within the education system. However I also feel that there are areas of my own professionality that are not discussed in these roles. The concept of ‘extended professionality‘ (Hoyle, 1975) is something that is deep within my own feelings of professionalism . It is a teachers duty to continually improve, to value the underlying pedagogy, to have a much wider view of what education involves and to adopt generally a more critical approach to the job. (Evans, 2008). Hence, I would suggest that I am potentially a new professional, one who has accepted the changes of performativity but trying to see the benefits such performativity can bring as well as ensuring that the main focus does not stray from what is best for the young people in our care.

Bibliography

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I applied to tutor MT118 – IT Skills & Software Tools for Managers, to first year business undergraduate students in DCU as I would like to lecture in the future and this fits with my PDP. Additionally, I want to improve my presentation skills and presenting to a large group on a weekly basis in beneficial.

Mark Woods, a teaching assistant at DCU interviewed me to assess my suitability for this position. I had to prove I was competent in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel and sign a signatory code. The weekly laboratory sessions covered file management, spreadsheets, document and presentation preparation and visualisation tools.

I was provided with access to a shared folder on Google Drive containing a list of students, module objectives and lab sheets for each weekly session. I was required to take attendance and update the teaching assistants if there were any issues in my weekly sessions or if there were students constantly missing class.

Each week I prepared by going through the lab sheet for that week and making notes to ensure we moved through the material in a timely manner. I also completed the tasks that students would be required to complete in the class to ensure I could deal with any student issues that many arise in class. This also enabled me to show students what the finished work should look like.

I was very anxious before the first tutorial as I had no experience in teaching such large numbers before. I also get very anxious when speaking in front of large groups. I struggled to get my head around the fact that not so long ago I was the student sitting watching the screen and trying to follow, I overcame this very quickly.

I chose to take part in this activity as it links directly to my PDP, in that I hope to lecture at some point in the future. The experience gained will help me to achieve this ambition. It also links to the presenting skills and time management competencies as it requires me to present a substantial amount of information and to help students complete the weekly class exercises in a short space of time. Each week in preparation for the class I would complete the class exercise and time myself, noting how long each exercise took and I maintained that pace in class to ensure I had enough time to help students if required.

3.1 Week 1

Week 1 was an introduction to Microsoft Word. The day before I was due to present I did a technology check in the lab to ensure my laptop was compatible with the overhead connections. I also spent some time the night before preparing an introductory presentation for the class and also ran through all the exercises as I was a little anxious about giving my first tutorial.

First impressions last and I was aware that the first few minutes of my initial tutorial was extremely important. I made sure I was on time (to set up and start) and to put myself at ease, I dressed appropriately and endeavoured to be as open and confident as possible given my anxiousness.

The Centre for Teaching and Learning (2014) says first lectures are important. Students should be welcomed, lecturers should clearly introduce themselves, the module and their expectations of students. To promote engagement in students, lecturers should appear enthusiastic and interested in the module and in the students. They should also ensure that they are organised and in control of the technology.

I learned that presenting for an hour isn’t as difficult as I had imagined. Before this the longest I had presented for was 15 minutes, my voice always cracked and I let my nerves get the better of me, however, after the initial nervousness settled down I found myself enjoying the experience. The students were all engaged and I answered any questions they had with ease. I gave them hints and tips I had picked up during my own studies and explained how important well formatted documents are and how they can be used to create a good first impression with lecturers during and professionals in the future. I feel it’s important to link class material to something students can see benefitting them now and in the future.

“Students should see the value of your module in how you set the context using a relevant problem or example and possibly link the content to a personal research/interests/news story etc.” (McGrath, 2014).

3.2 Week 2

This week’s tutorial focused on PowerPoint, again, I spent some time the night before preparing the required material and completing the exercises to enable me to show students how they should look when complete. I presented two contrasting sets of slides to show students how much more effective a well-structured and thought out presentation looks and to demonstrate the effects of colour in presentations.

3.3 Week 3

This week we moved onto Excel with an introduction to the basics.A I was aware that students may not have used a software application like Excel in the past and this might be a little more challenging than the previous two week’s material. I explained that most of the formatting functions were the same as those used in Word and Excel and went through some basic formulas and formatting exercises.

I learned the benefit of having a teaching persona this week. I had a meeting with one of my course lecturers during the week and we discussed my participation in the tutorial POD and his advice to me was to ‘act like a lecturer’. Further research has shown that the persona you choose should be related to the event and speech purpose. In creating your public persona, you should consider the speed at which you speak, it should vary to fit your message. Vocal variety in terms of tone, rate and pauses should also be considered as should voice projection, eye contact and gestures (Alberts, 2010).

I also assessed my ability to present knowledge this week. Teaching is characterised by descriptions that focus on presentation, in addition to background emphasis on covering the work on schedule, with the purpose of teaching seen as presenting or conveying knowledge. Thinking back to my undergraduate studies in modules similar to the one I’m instructing on my motivation was at times driven by the lecturer’s instructional ability. I felt I was improving and students appeared to be engaged and had no issues asking questions. I also adopted a practice of walking around the room when students were completing class exercises, this enabled me to see how students were progressing and offer help if needed.

3.4 Week 4

This week we moved onto medium level exercises and it was by far the most challenging week, not least because the lab sheets had indicated that students had access to spreadsheets that formed the basis of the exercises on Loop, which they didn’t. This meant students had to copy the exercise from the overhead and this severely impacted my ability to move through the required material and help those struggling with any aspect of the material, of which there were a few. Some students didn’t get to finish their exercises and I was conscious that they may not have fully understood the concepts, I emailed the entire class the files that should have been on Loop and my finished exercises asked them to run through them in their own time and let me know if there was anything they needed me to go over when we next met. I also emailed the teaching assistants and asked them to ensure students had access to the required files in advance for classes in the future.

3.5 Week 5

I was absent for this class as it was my graduation. I informed the teaching assistants well in advance to ensure they had time to arrange someone to cover and passed on my class attendance list to enable them to take attendance.

3.6 Week 6

This week had been set aside for revision and to enable students to ask questions in relation to any material covered in the previous weeks and get help with their continuous assessment work for the module. I took this opportunity to recap the material from week 4 and week 5 to ensure students had grasped the material covered. I learned that my work over the previous weeks had been understood and applied to student’s continuous assessment pieces. It also provided me with an opportunity to show students how to add some finesse to projects.

As stated in my PDP, presentation skills are a core competency within the management consultancy field. A clear and logical structure is critical to the effectiveness of your presentation. Not only do you need to walk someone from point A to point B but, along the way, you need to convince them with a data-backed argument (Skills You Need, n.d.). Taking part in this POD has enabled me to develop my presentation skills on a weekly basis and improve my delivery, in addition to helping me overcome presentation anxiety.

Jaj Modi (2009), a management consultant with over 15 years’ experience in the industry lists the following as essential skills:

Analytical and syntheses skills (e.g. the ability to delve into deep data analysis and then synthesise the key messages / “so whats”)
Excellent written communication (to produce Word and PowerPoint reports)
Strong PowerPoint presentation creation (essential for developing client presentation packs)
Commitment to delivering excellent client service (i.e. the desire to put in the long hours when you have to ensure a quality deliverable for the client)
Excellent verbal communication skills (e.g. being able to communicate in a structured manner during internal and external meetings)
Excellent team skills- successful consultants can work in diverse teams, under tight deadlines, to deliver quality work for clients
Highly organised – days may include various activities. The ability to schedule and follow through with these activities is vital

Participation in this POD has helped me develop and hone many of these skills. In particular, my PowerPoint creation and verbal communication skills. It was Seneca a Roman philosopher that said “While we teach, we learn” and in teaching this module I feel I have further enhanced my PowerPoint skills. Having to stand in front of a large group on a weekly basis has greatly improved my ability to communicate in a structured manner.

When I applied to be a tutor for this POD, I didn’t realise how important leadership would be to my role. Most successful tasks require leadership. Within this role, I was both a leader and follower. I learned from the teaching assistants, whilst also working to motivate and help the students. In the past I have studied contingency and relationship leadership theories to enable me to become a successful leader. Throughout the semester, I found myself relying on the behavioural and situational theories in addition to those previously mentioned.

Bass’ (1985) transformational leadership theory focuses on the idea that leaders motivate and inspire by helping group members see the importance and higher good of the task. His work is an extension Burns (1978) transforming leadership theory, Bass explained the psychological mechanisms that underlie transforming and transactional leadership. He also explained how transformational leadership could be measured, in addition to, how it impacts follower motivation and performance.

I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with the students over the six weeks. I endeavoured to link class material to their assignments and future careers. I also sent out emails to remind students about weekly CA’s and for larger assignments. I always included reasons as to why these assignments are important. For example, I reminded the students that the weekly quizzes individually amounted to a few small marks that may seem insignificant but when they are graded collectively they can increase or decrease overall grades significantly. I am of the opinion that giving students an understanding of how important their individual pieces of work is to their overall grade will help them motivate them to do their assignments.

I would consider emotional and intellectual fulfilment to be two very important factors for me in a career and this was shown to be true in the personality tests undertaken for a previous NGM assignment. Having had the opportunity to tutor a class I can see that it is about much more than showing up and completing a series of tasks. You get the opportunity to make a difference in a student’s life. Unlike my previous career in hospitality where you cater to the needs of customers who don’t necessarily appreciate the work you are doing.

Each week I left the class with a huge sense of personal pride, satisfaction and increasing confidence. The role also requires you to remain knowledgeable and academically inclined – it is intellectually and mentally stimulating.

It was an interesting experience to be on the “other” side of a class, it has definitely made me appreciate the work that goes into putting together a large lecture hall style class.

In this case, it will be both action and application. The experience gained through this POD has already enabled me to get paid tutoring in another academic institution. I am also currently waiting to hear back from DCU regarding paid tutoring on another undergraduate course. I might not have had the confidence of experience required to secure paid work from this but for my participation. My self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectations have definitely improved over the last five months.

I am also hoping to build on my presentation skills over the coming months. The weekly presentations helped build my confidence and I am currently considering Toastmasters to help me maintain this confidence.

References

Alberts, J.K. (2010) Communication in Society: Communication, Written communication. Available at: https://catalogue.pearsoned.co.uk/assets/hip/gb/hip_gb_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/0205627870.pdf (Accessed: 24 January 2017).

Bass, B.M. (1985) Leadership and performance beyond expectations. Available at: http://web.a.ebscohost.com.dcu.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=6dcc4b97-dc83-43f9-89d5-b93a62e9eff2%40sessionmgr4010&vid=1&hid=4206 (Accessed: 24 January 2017).

Burns, J.M. (1978) ‘Leadership’, Leadership, 1(1), pp. 11-12. doi: 10.1177/1742715005049347.

Linder, C. and Kung, R.L. (2010) ‘An exploratory study into the complexity of relations between physics lecturers” crafting of practice and students” expectations of quality teaching’, Instructional Science, 39(4), pp. 513-526. doi: 10.1007/s11251-010-9136-3.

McGrath, K. (2014) Guidelines for engaging students. Available at: http://www3.ul.ie/ctl/sites/default/files/Guidelines%20for%20Engaging%20Students_0.pdf (Accessed: 24 January 2017).

Modi, R. (2009) Develop essential Skillset for strategy consulting – strategic support for investors, businesses and entrepreneurs. Available at: http://www.strategyexpert.com/categories/consultingskills (Accessed: 24 January 2017).

Skills You Need (2011) Commercial awareness. Available at: http://www.skillsyouneed.com/general/commercial-awareness.html (Accessed: 24 January 2017).