Research in the School of Education

spring 2012

iNSiDEp7 Researcher Profi le Estelle Tarry a senior lecturer

and researcher in education

p8 News & Events Research updates from

the School of Education

p14 PhD News Updates from our

PhD Students

The School of EducationResearch EventsResearch Forum

The School of Education Research Forum is open to all members of academic and research staff within the school, as well as the school’s Visiting Professors and PhD students.

The remaining event for this year will take place on the following date:

20th June 2012

School of Education Research & Enterprise Committee

In line with changes at the University, the School of Education has a newly constituted Research and Enterprise Committee. This is chaired by Professor Richard Rose and has representatives from researchers and students within the School. The Committee meets regularly and the forthcoming dates are:

2nd May 2012 at 3pm

13th June 2012 at 3pm

PhD training days

The School runs PhD training days for students, potential students and supervisors. The days take place termly and provide:

• A platform for students to disseminate their work and receive feedback in a supportive environment

• An opportunity for students to exchange information

• The chance for students to hear from established researchers on matters of interest or concern to them

• An opportunity for potential students to fi nd out what it is like to study for a PhD

The next PhD training session will take place on:

3rd & 4th May 2012 @ School of Education Research Student Conference

PhD student support group meetings

The monthly supervisor and PhD student group meetings continue to provide a forum for discussion of methodological matters related to individual projects. These meetings are informal and relaxed but provide opportunities for critical discussion and refl ection around the PhD process. Forthcoming meetings will be held on:

17th May 2012

14th June 2012

12th July 2012

13th September 2012

18th October 2012

15th November 2012

13th December 2012

All meetings are from 4.30-6pm

WELCOMEA characteristic of research activity in the School of Education is its diversity. Our work encompasses a wide range of topics, addressing issues of critical importance to children, young people and those who work with them. It is undertaken by a wide range of people:

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@SoEUniNorthants

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Diversity is also refl ected in the settings in which research is being undertaken. This ranges from Early Years settings to mainstream primary and secondary schools, to specialist settings which address particular educational needs. Our focus is sometimes directed to policy issues at a regional or national level. Moreover, research takes place in our locality, across the East Midlands (this helping to enhance the important role of the University in a regional context), at national level for governments, and, charities and at international level.

The content of this issue of RISE refl ects the variety of characteristics that I have summarised above. It demonstrates, above all, that the School of Education is proactive in seizing opportunities to explore key issues in education, and to do so in ways which are both principled and inclusive and which also result in useable outputs for teachers and others working with children and young people.

• Our professors lead a number of major international and national initiatives;

• Our Doctoral students are increasingly active as their research gathers pace;

• Our academic staff, industriously balance a substantial teaching load with an ever-expanding set of research projects;

• Our students (both Masters and undergraduate level) are enthusiastically involved in their own dissertations;

• And our associates – at a varietyof levels – continue to demonstrate their value to the School’s research effort by their inputs to many ofour activities.

2 | cONteNts www.northampton.ac.uk/education ReseaRch Updates | 3

TILE is a 24 month international project funded by the European Commission, led by universities and colleges from Finland, Estonia and the Czech Republic. The University of Northampton and OCVC (Oxford and Cherwell Valley College of Further Education) are the English partners. The project’s purpose is: To develop and pilot a ‘Roadmap for the Inclusion of students with SEN for professionals in VET learning environments’. The tool being developed will be a set of indicators for inclusion of students with SEN and disability in VET, which will be translated into 3 other languages and disseminated in a variety of ways, including a website which will allow countries across Europe to access adapt and use the tool.

Sheena and Andy have so far been involved leading the development of a dissemination plan, gathering baseline data about SEN in VET in England, and adapting and piloting the Policies’ Indicators of the Roadmap with our partner college.

At the end of November, two of our partners from OCVC joined us in Finland, along with representatives from the three other countries. We received a warm welcome in a chilly Jyväskylä for our fi rst meeting. We were welcomed by Maija Hirvonen from JAMK, the University of Applied Sciences and other members of the support team from the university. Partners from the Vocational College in Kokkola in Finland were also in attendance, as were partners from the University of Tartu and Tartu Vocational Training Centre in Estonia, and The University of Masaryk in the Czech Republic. We took part in a series of workshops and discussions over four days, and continued to collaborate on indicators for inclusive policies which Finnish colleges had been preparing and which have been piloted in January within our partner institutions. Despite all the intensive work, we managed to spend some time getting to know each other, including a wonderful dinner and sauna at a traditional Finnish venue by a lake.

There will be a workshop in June at The University of Northampton in which partners from all countries will participate, and this will include a Dissemination Event: anyone who is interested in attending should contact Sheena (sheena.bell@northampton.ac.uk) or Andy (andy.smith@northampton.ac.uk) forfurther details

TilE - Towards inclusive learning Environments in Vocational Education and Training (VET)

Sheena Bell and Andrew Smith from CeSNER are taking part in an exciting European project to promote inclusion in further education and vocational training in England and across Europe.

CONTENTS

3 Research updates

7 Researcher Profi le

Follow us

8 News & Events

12 Research Publications

14 PhD News

The impact of training on Teaching AssistantsÕ professional development: Opportunities, impact, barriers and future strategy

Promoting the conditions for positive behaviour: A research report for the National College

The School of EducationÕ s Cristina Devecchi and Julian Brown are now putting the last touches to a report on training opportunities for teaching assistants. The research was supported by colleagues Paul Sedgwick and Mary Doveston, who aided the initial planning of the project and Ken Bland, who acted as critical reviewer of the study.

The objectives of the study, commissioned by Leicester City Council, were:

• To identify which training and professional development TAs received;

• To identify barriers which might prevent some TAs from taking training opportunities;

• To inform future strategy for the content and delivery of continuing professional development for TAs.

• Consequently, the study asked the following questions:

• Which training opportunities do TAs take and are available to them?

• What impact do TAs and line managers think training has on TAs and pupil underachievement?

• What barriers prevent TAs in taking up training opportunities?

The study applied a two-phased mixed method approach which included an online and postal survey sent to every TA (1,600ca) and CPD manager (173) in the local authority, and semi-structured interviews with TAs and CPD managers. A mixed method approach was chosen because it seemed to be the most appropriate to acknowledge both general practices shared across all schools and the unique characteristics of each school and individual TA’s experience (Greene, 2005, p. 209).

So far the evidence of the training provided to TAs confirms that training is varied, localised and dependent on in school factors as much as national policy. The preliminary findings from the survey raise a number of questions as to the nature, impact and quality of the training provided for TAs. They also raise questions as to the way schools made, and will make, decisions, as to whether to train TAs, and if so, in which way.

Despite the fact that ‘ the work of support staff is becoming more varied and demanding’ (TDA, 2005, p. 3), the evidence shows that training seems to have the greatest impact on the personal sense of achievement of TAs, but little or no impact on their career progression. With regard to impact on children’s learning, TAs and CPD managers perceive that training has had an impact, but only the analysis of the interviews with TAs and members of the senior leadership team can shed light on this aspect. Yet, we believe more research is needed to understand the pedagogical nature of TAs’ support

This study provides a series of commentaries on existing research and ground-level knowledge regarding pupil behaviour, with a particular emphasis on the role of school leaders in the promotion of positive behaviour in schools. Four leadership-related issues are explored during the project:

• School cultures, relationships and behaviour

• Partnerships and communities

• Professional characteristics and behaviour

• Promoting inclusion, limiting exclusion.

Each of these themes is highlighted in the report, and a set of case-studies of schools have also been completed. These use the commentaries of school leaders (occupying different roles within schools and services) to indicate approaches which have been successful in addressing behaviour challenges.

It is hoped that the case-studies, which were filmed, will be used as part of the NCSL’s Middle Leadership professional development initiative. Links to this will also subsequently appear on the University’s own Behaviour2Learn website (www.behaviour2learn.co.uk).

The study identifies the importance of the use of key individual professional characteristics on the part of school leaders:

• Motivation;

• Use of positive affirmations;

• Modelling positive behaviour;

• Recognition of personal strengths and capabilities.

It also signals that there are certain institutional leadership characteristics which affect pupil behaviour:

• Distribution of Leadership;

• Promotion of professional learning;

• Encouraging calculated risk-taking;

• Redefining pupil ‘behaviour’.

Professor Garner has already presented the findings of the study at the British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society National Conference (Cambridge), the Teacher Education Policy in Europe (TEPE) Annual Conference in Vienna, and, to the Universities Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) Annual Conference. In addition, papers are also being prepared for a range of professional and academic journals

ReseaRch Updates | 54 | ReseaRch Updates www.northampton.ac.uk/education

the National college for school Leadership has recently published the report of the research undertaken by professor philip Garner. the study examined

the views of school-leaders regarding their role in promoting the conditions for positive behaviour in order that Ô every child can succeedÕ .

DR ESTEllE TARRY RESEARCHER PROFILE:

Estelle has been working as a Senior lecturer at The university of Northampton for the past 6 years. initially she taught on the BA (Hons) learning and Teaching degree (BAlT), working with Teaching Assistants aspiring to gain Qualifi ed Teacher Status (QTS), and was the Course leader from 2008-2011.

Presently Estelle is developing the Certifi cate for Teaching Assistants in an International Context (CTAIC). This has involved working with the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) and researching into the deployment of Teaching Assistants in British International Schools. This has drawn on Estelle’s 7 years international experience as a Head of School of a variety of international schools in Thailand, Netherlands and Sri Lanka, working with both the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) and National Curriculum of England and Wales.

Estelle completed her Doctorate in Education (EdD) at the University of Bath in 2008, which involved researching international schools, international education and international students. Whilst being amember of the Council of International Schools (CIS), she was partof an accreditation team in Melbourne, Australia.

Estelle, along with Dr. Anna Cox, has just completed research into the parental expectations of Primary schooling and the support provided by schools to a single Indian community in the Midlands. Estelle has also visited South Africa and has investigated Democracy and Citizenship;post apartheid, with Tide-Global Learning.

Estelle also teaches on the MA in Education programme and is a PhD Supervisor, supporting both full and part-time students, specialising in aspects of education in the United Kingdom and other countries, such as Ghana and Zimbabwe. Estelle is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the National Academy of Higher Education

Recent publications

Tarry, E. (2011), British international schools: The deployment and training of teaching

assistants, in the Journal of Research in International

Education, Volume 10 Issue 3 pp. 293 - 302.

Tarry, E. (2011), ‘Is West really best? Social and cultural

tensions: international students experience having

studied at British universities’, in Journal of Further and

Higher Education, Vol. 35, No.1, p.p-69-87.

Cox, A., Jament, J. and Tarry E., (2011), ‘An

investigation into parental expectations of Primary

schooling and the support provided by schools to a

single Keralite community in an English county’ in

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences on

ScienceDirect, Volume 15, Pages 66-71.

6 | ReseaRch Updates www.northampton.ac.uk/education ReseaRcheR pROFILe | 7

Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP):

School of Education and the National Association of Independent Schools and Non-maintained Special Schools (NASS)

Developing awareness of mental health concerns in children and young people with complex special educational needs

ReferencesFergusson, A., Howley, M. & Rose, R. (2008) ‘Responding to the Mental Health Needs of Young People with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities and Autistic Spectrum Disorders.’ 5, 240-251

Rose, R., Howley, M., Fergusson, A. and Jament, J. (2009) Mental health and special educational needs: exploring a complex relationship. British Journal of Special Education 36 (1) 3 - 8

This 2 year KTP evolved from previous research commissioned by NASS which identifi ed particular worries amongst school staff in relation to overlaps between an individual’s usual behavior, which may be characteristic of their primary area of need or diagnosis, and, behaviours which may indicate a mental health need (Fergusson, Howley & Rose, 2008; Rose, Howley, Fergusson & Jament, 2009). As a result of this research, a KTP was established with the aim of producing an e-learning training resource, currently being developed by the KTP Associate, Rachel Allan, and supervised by the School of Education’s Marie Howley and Ann Fergusson.

The resource is intended to: • Promote greater staff confi dence

in identifi cation of mental health concerns;

• Develop tools to observe, monitor and record those concerns systematically;

• Provide guidance on signposting concerns to appropriate colleagues both within and external to the school.

This KTP is a good example of outcomes which are a direct result of research carried out in the School of Education. The resource will be launched at the annual NASS conference in October 2012

Early Years Sector Endorsed Foundation Degree (EYFD): Student trip to Hungarian Kindergartens, March 2012

Internationalisation of Research on Special Education

A one day seminar was held on January 18th in Rome, at the Universita’ del Foro Italico, on the topic of the internationalisation of research on the inclusion of children with special educational needs.

The seminar, hosted by the Dean of the Faculty of Education, Prof. Lucia de Anna, included a meeting with PhD students and an afternoon session in which academics from Italy, England and Spain discussed the practice of inclusion in their countries.

The School of Education’s Cristina Devecchi was invited to speak about her research on the deployment and training of teaching assistants. Cristina’s input drew from:

the research carried out with colleagues Mary Doveston, Paul Sedgwick and Johnson Jament (2010) on the impact of gaining HLTAs status on the deployment and use of HLTAs;

on recent research on the training of TAs and the impact of training on children’s achievement carried out with colleague Julian Brown and with input from Paul Sedgwick and Mary Doveston;

a comparative paper co-authored with Dr Filippo Dettori (2012), Universita’ di Sassari, on the role of TAs and support teachers in England and Italy.

The presentation was well received and raised interest on the nature and features of TAs in English schools, since this form of support is not present in Italian schools. It is hoped that this exchange of ideas is the start of a future collaboration between Italy and England on topics which are of common interest.

All the students who went on this trip are second year students studying for their Foundation Degree in Early Years. This is a work-based course; students work in their early years’ setting for most of the week and then attend University one day a week. They are all experienced practitioners who may have experience of state run nurseries (3-5 years); schools (4-5 years); private nurseries (0-5 years); preschools (3-5 years) or children’s centres (0-5 years).

On this trip, the students were expected to observe the sessions, as well as the overall setting, and record their observations. They will use their observations to make comparisons and analyse differences, to inform their understanding of the different ways in which children’s development can be supported.

They will focus on:

• The environment and how children use the environments available

• How the child is viewed • How children learn• The role of the adult• Approaches to physical

development• Risk taking • Relationships.

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THE SCHOOl OF EDuCATiON RESEARCH FORuM

The School of Education Research Forum is open to all members of academic and research staff within the school, as well as the school’s Visiting Professors and PhD students.

The purpose of the forum, which is a working meeting, is to raise the profile of research within the school, increasing bidding activity, supporting colleagues in submission of work for publication, and, increasing research capacity. The aim is to give colleagues an opportunity to present aspects of their research, and to come together for practical writing and bidding activities.

Last year’s Research Forums were very well received by staff and students. The remaining event for this year will take place on the 20th June 2012.

Please contact Pam Cormack (pam.cormack@northampton.ac.uk) if you would like to attend; she will be sending around an internal invitation to staff and students nearer to the time.

RESEARCH SEMiNARS AND DROP-iN luNCH MEETiNgS

News & eveNts | 11

Individual Education Plans in Ireland, an Emerging SystemIn the latest of a series of regular drop-in lunchtime research seminars for School of Education staff and students, Richard Rose reported on an aspect of Project IRIS from Ireland. The focus was on the emergence of individual education planning in a country where at present this is not a requirement. Data was presented from more than 400 research interviews to form the basis of discussion around school control of developing support agendas and its potential for shaping national legislation.

Other lunchtime drop-in sessions which have taken place recently have been:

MAW-MAW: was a lunch time research opportunity which explored the potential for bidding for European funds (on a topic relating to student marginalisation in HE) and was very well attended by tutors, doctoral students, MA students and administrators. It was also an opportunity to see the open spaces of the new Sulgrave used.

Disability, Capability and Education – Research SeminarCristina Devecchi, in collaboration with Sue Ralph, the editor of JORSEN and visiting Professor at The University of Northampton, and Nidhi Singal from the University of Cambridge, organised a seminar titled ‘Disability, capability and education’ on Friday 16th March. The seminar, hosted at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, was sponsored by Nasen, the Education, Equality and Development research group in Cambridge, and The University of Northampton.

The seminar provided a forum for national and international speakers who are working with the capability approach in relation to issues of

disability, special educational needs and education. The seminar, the first of its kind, was well attended, including by members of staff and PhD students from Northampton. The proceedings of the seminar were video recorded and further publications of the papers presented will be available by contacting Cristina (cristina.devecchi@northampton.ac.uk). If you would like more information about the capability approach, or about the themes and issues discussed during the seminar, please contact Cristina for more information.

This research seminar was conducted by Dr Bénédicte Halba, Institute for Research and Information on Volunteering (iriv), Paris, and was called ‘Breaking the waves – Preparing students for tomorrow’s challenges - the Lifelong learning perspective’.

Dr Bénédicte Halba is the President of the Institute for Research and Information on Volunteering (iriv, www.iriv.net ). She presented her doctoral thesis on Economics of sport in Europe (University Paris Sorbonne, 1996), published in 1997 (Economica, Paris). She has worked for the Ministry for Youth and Sports (1991–1994) and was in charge of a study on the Economic impact of sport in 12 European countries (published at Dalloz editors, Paris, 1995).

Dr Halba has been an expert for the Council of Europe in two workforces: “Economic impact of sport” and “Volunteering” (1992-1994). In 1997, she founded the Institute for Research and Information on Volunteering (iriv) with the aim of improving knowledge and practice within the nonprofit sector. She is responsible for the implementation of the research and studies of the Institute, for the updating of its website, and, for training programmes and conferences.

Dr Halba is also the director of its Newsletter les rives de l’Iriv (www.benevolat.net). She initiated and directed the pilot project Leonardo da Vinci (2003-2006), Assessing a Voluntary Experience

(www.eEuropeassociations.net) and received an award for excellent practice in addressing the priorities of the Copenhagen process and promoting an enhanced European cooperation in vocational education and training in Helsinki, in December 2006.

Dr Halba has been a lecturer at the University of Evry-Val d’Essonne, in France and Vienna University, Austria, since 2000. She is currently working on the European All-in-HE project in partnership with colleagues from several countries, including Emma Sims, Anita Devi and Richard Rose from The University of Northampton, and is working on further research bids with colleagues from within the School of Education

10 | News & eveNts

12 | ReseaRch pUBLIcatIONs www.northampton.ac.uk/education ReseaRch pUBLIcatIONs | 13

Philip Garner has presented a keynote paper, entitled “Partnership, innovation and research to improve practice” to the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers on 15th March at the University of Cumbria in Lancaster.

The Northampton Centre for Learning Behaviour (NCfLB) took part in a 60 minute video conference with Programme Heads from UNICEF in New York in March. Philip Garner & Chris Gittins (an NCfLB colleague) reported on and discussed the results of a literature review and guidance notes for Country Offi ces, based on their study of School-based Violence in 22 low/middle Income countries. They said that this was:

“Possibly the fi rst time that The University of Northampton’s logo has been displayed in a seminar room of the United Nations building!”

Chris went on to say “The University’s video-conferencing facilities and support are brilliant - I encourage colleagues to explore the full potential of this medium”.

The School of Education’s Eunice Lumsden has delivered papers at the following conferences:• TACTYCT Conference, York. Paper

- Complementary but Essentially Different: The Early Years Professional and the Early Years Teacher, 11th-12th November 2011.

• BECERA British Conference, Birmingham. Paper - Individual and Collective Perspectives on Early Years Professional Status Converged, 15-16th February 2012.

• Global Conference on Childhood, Washington D C. Paper - The Early Years Professional in England, 28th -31st March 2012.

Marie Howley, also from The School of Education, delivered a keynote conference presentation recently:

Howley, M. (2011) ‘Using TEACCH Structured Teaching to Promote Curriculum Access for Learners onthe Autism Spectrum,’ at the SEGUNDO CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL DE AUTISMO, November 2011, Murcia, Spain.

Judy Sayers, also from The School of Education, was invited to attend and speak at a new conference which focused on: A Mathematics Education Perspective on early Mathematics Learning between the Poles of Instruction and Construction (POEM) which took place at Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, from 27th-29th February 2012, an invitation-only event.

She presented a paper drawing from her PhD together with a colleague, Patti Barber, from the Institute of Education, UCL. The paper was entitled: It is quite confusing isn’t it?

Abstract:The focus of this paper was to identify and discuss the ways in which a specialist mathematics teacher, considered locally to be an ambassador for the subject, presented key conceptual knowledge about partitioning to young children (5-6 years old) during a whole class activity. The case study reported here examined observation and interview data to identify the teacher’s rationale for her strategies, methods and resources used to support her teaching objectives. When analysing the data unexpected pedagogical questions arose regarding the teacher’s choice of resources and use of language to support children’s mathematical thinking and learning.The structure of the session was very confusing to the learning.

The conference paper can be found online at: http://cermat.org/poem2012/

The paper is under revision for inclusion in a book (published by Springer) relating to early mathematics learning, to be published next year.

Books

The School’s Marie Howley has also had a book published recently:

Mesibov, G. and Howley, M. (2011) EL ACCESO AL CURRICULO POR ALUMNOS CON TRASTORNOS DEL ESPECTRO DEL AUTISMO: uso del Programa TEACCH para favorecer la inclusion. Autismo Avila

The School’s Denise Hevey, has just had a book published:

Miller, L., & Hevey, D. 2012 Policy issues in the early years (Critical issues in the early years). London: Sage Publications Ltd

Taken from Amazon.co.uk:Providing a unique and critical insight into some of the most signifi cant issues affecting Early Years Policy, this book has chapters from leading authorities and researchers in the fi eld and draws on current research, addresses key debates and considers international perspectives.

Topics covered include:• Policy making• Poverty, disadvantage and

social exclusion• Promoting infant mental health• Safeguarding and well-being• Enhancing children’s potential• Parenting policies and skills• National strategies versus

professional autonomy• The marketisation of Early

Years provisionDemocracy as a fundamentalvalue in Early Years.

Articles

The School of Education’s Steve Cullingford-Agnew has reported that he has just had an article published in the latest edition of Education Today. This is issue 62.1 (Spring 2012).

This paper was presented at (the) ECER (European Conference on Educational Research), September 2011, and is entitled ‘Preparing student teachers to use ICT tosupport pupils with SpecialLearning Diffi culties’.

Estelle Tarry, also from The School of Education, had an article published in December 2011:

Tarry, E. (2011), British international schools: The deployment and training of teaching assistants,in the Journal of Research in International Education, Volume10 Issue 3 pp. 293 - 302

The research which informed this article was carried out on behalf of the Council of British International Schools (COBIS), and investigatesthe role of Teaching Assistants in international schools and their training needs.

Latest conference papers Latest books & articles

The School of Education’s Paul Bracey was invited to take part in a Symposium - Commemorating 1916, the Battle of the Somme and World War 1: Questions for Education, atBelvedere House, St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, Dublin 9, 29th-30th March 2012

The panel discussion will be:‘How should Education respond to the issues arising from the forthcoming commemorations?’ The panel comprised:Paul Bracey (University of Northampton)Carmel Gallagher (University of Ulster/ QUB) Mike Cronin (Boston College) Brian Crowley (Pearse Museum) Chair: Daire Keogh (St Patrick’s College).

Children with SEN making the Transition from Primary to Secondary SchoolBY PHil EllENDER

phil ellender joined the school of education as a Research degree student, having previously worked as a principal educational psychologist during a period of huge changes in the educational experiences of children with seN, with increased emphasis on inclusive approaches to meeting their needs. This has been reflected in international agreements and also in UK Government legislation and reports during this period.

Pupils face increased demands as they move from spending most of the day with a single class

teacher in their primary school to the organisational and relationship complexities of needing to work with several different adults during the week in the secondary setting.

Phil’s research investigates the experiences of children with SEN statements as they make this potentially difficult transition from mainstream primary to mainstream secondary school. It explores those social, academic and personal organisation matters which are often mentioned by children as of concern to them at time of transition. He is using mixed methods research involving qualitative (interview and focus group) and quantitative (questionnaire) elements. His research explores the views of children, parents and school staff about this process, and the approaches taken by mainstream

schools in an English Local Authority to improve the transition experience for children.

During the previous academic year, Phil worked with three secondary schools who were expecting to include children with SEN statements in their 2011 intake. This gave rise to a list of 20 primary schools, from which 8 children and their parents agreed to be involved. These pupils, their parents and school staff were interviewed about their expectations during and after the transition process. What has emerged so far is that the children interviewed looked forward with a mixture of excitement and concern.

Most optimism was expressed about the prospect of enhanced opportunities for sport, science and school lunch! There were three broad areas of concern:

• Social concerns ranging from making new friendships to fear of bullying;

• Academic concerns relating to the anticipated increased amount/complexity of the work and decreased support for their specific difficulties;

• Worries about personal organisation in a larger school with different subjects each requiring specific materials.

The eight primary and three secondary schools visited during this research all make arrangements to introduce children to their new school in advance of transfer, with additional activities for children with SEN.

Ongoing research will involve post-transition interviews with the same participants, to investigate the extent to which reality differs from expectation, and to identify those features which participants felt were most effective in facilitating transition. It is intended that the outcome of this study will include published information for pupils, parents and schools

14 | phd News www.northampton.ac.uk/education phd News | 15

In October 2011, The School of Education’s Cristina Devecchi suggested a Phd Reading group which would focus on the philosophical ideas found in some journal articles. It provides the opportunity to engage in debates about ideas not directly connected with our PhD topic. As a supervisor, Cristina wants to enable students to become fully fledged members of the academic community, defending and formulating their own ideas and critiquing those of others.

To develop critical thinking, the person presenting the paper will summarise it, put forward their own arguments assessing the paper, and suggesting questions for discussion. To further broaden horizons, attendees are encouraged to bring a fellow PhD student from another discipline to cross-fertilise ideas and develop our thinking. The group may also be an excellent way of developing the skills that will be useful at viva. Further details about the next meeting are available from Pam Cormack (pam.cormack@northampton.ac.uk).

As you are no doubt aware, the 3rd annual School of Education PhD conference is now only a few short months away. However, it may surprise you to know that the conference organisers, better known as SCOG, started their planning months ago. Utilising the available empirical evidence we drew up a list of positives from the last conference to build upon. These included:• Quality of presentations• Delegate packs, and, of course,• Lunch/ catering...and one or two areas for development.

The data suggested that the two day format was positive, however, anecdotally, we felt that the format of the afternoon sessions

might be improved to allow for more interaction and discussion. Consequently, this year’s conference features interactive afternoon workshop sessions.

To ensure we maintained the high quality of our keynote speakers, we sent out invitations early and are very pleased to have on board Michael Shevin, Lani Florian, Wendy Messenger, Jane Tarr and Nick Clough as our guests. As you can imagine, with such a well planned event, spaces at this year’s conference will be in high demand, so please do book yours early, and, if you are still looking to present a paper or poster, please contact Pam Cormack to check availability (pam.cormack@northampton.ac.uk).

The School of Education PhD Student Conference 3rd & 4th May 2012 Ð planningBY MEANu BAJwA-PATEl

PHD READiNg gROuPBY CARMEl CAPEwEll