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Presents a competency framework developed by London Borough of Croydon for the council′s employees, in an attempt to develop management skills and improve service quality. Describes the implementation of the framework and the positive use of appraisal as a development activity leading to training programmes and the creation of a learning environment. Concludes that training and development cannot be seen as separate from the process of change. Suggests that such training should, in fact, be given before implementing change so that employees are more able to cope.

The purpose of this article is to show that racism is not only a US problem. Rather, racism is endemic and pervasive in the UK context, manifesting at every level of policing. From stop and search, to deaths after police contact, the authors highlight long-standing and widespread racist disparities in UK policing. The authors therefore pierce through any delusions of UK “post-racialism” in order to show that, as protesters have reminded us, “the UK is not innocent”.

In this piece, the authors reflect on the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020. Whilst the catalyst was the death of George Floyd in the United States, the authors explore what the protests mean in the UK context. To do so, the authors draw upon recent high-profile examples of police racism, before situating those events within a wider landscape of racist policing.

Demonstrating that UK policing has to be understood as institutionally racist, the authors suggest that responses to police racism need to be radical and uncompromising – tweaks to the system are not enough. The authors therefore look towards defunding and abolition as ways in which one can begin to seek change.

The piece takes up the challenges set by this Black Lives Matter moment and offers a critical take on policing that seeks to push beyond reformism whilst also highlighting the realities of UK racism.

In this chapter, the process of doctoral research is discussed in relation to narrative inquiry. I was the doctoral supervisor for Cindy and Derek while they completed their PhDs. I examine in this chapter my experiences alongside Derek and Cindy. I consider the process of recruitment, field text collection and generation, the writing process, and considerations based on the methodology on narrative inquiry, with attention focused on the Deweyan ontology of experience, the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space, co-composition of research texts, narrative threads, living and telling narrative inquiries, and the relational quality of narrative inquiry. This chapter closes with thoughts about who we are in relationship with each other in the graduate process and the fluid nature of research.

Institutions are built upon language. Although we have a number of linguistic perspectives already in our arsenal, this chapter seeks to convince you of our need for just one more. The primary claim is that because the structure of arguments uniquely maps onto the latent structure of institutions, the use of arguments in institutional analysis may help us gain more traction on three important topics – the nature taken-for-grantedness, the macro-micro divide, and the political dynamics of institutions. This chapter thus offers a starting point for how to use an argumentation perspective when studying institutions.

In this chapter, we inquire into our ever-unfolding experiences as teachers and with teacher research participants in order to explore the complexities of curriculum making in teacher education. In doing so, we lay the foundation for understanding narrative inquiry as both theory and method as such, frame our work in this volume. Curriculum making, a term introduced by Joseph Schwab, reflects the dynamic process of learning in which the teacher, learner, subject matter, and milieu interact. Moreover, we think about the ways people make sense of themselves, identity-making, in the process of curriculum making. Through Derek’s experiences with Lee, a previous Grade five student, and Cindy’s work with Jesse, a research participant, we inquire into their curriculum making and identity-making. We argue that in schools, there are multiple curricula in the making, going beyond the formal notions of curriculum as grade-level standards or classroom objectives. In our inquiry process, we consider experiences in schools through Aoki’s understanding of curriculum-as-plan and lived curriculum. In his writing, Aoki noted that the lived experience of curriculum in schools is much more complex and varied than the planned curriculum that is meant for a generalized audience; students and teachers bring their lives with them into particular contexts that indelibly shape the ways that curriculum is lived out. As well, we think about the ways experiences and places shape teachers and researchers and the ways we see the world.

This chapter argues that Deliberative Dialogues (DDs) are a form of Education for Sustainable Development, whose design, process focus, wide-tent approach, and interdisciplinarity align with best democratic practices. DDs are an effective method for bridging seemingly opposing forces in academia and the larger society: Narrow expertise versus interdisciplinarity, individual orientation versus collaboration, polarization and prioritization of majority/privileged voice versus inclusivity and search for common ground. This chapter will define and describe deliberation and DDs as useful for a wide range of disciplines, offer models, explore basic components, and analyze the author’s participant researcher experience in crafting and facilitating DDs in 35 classes across multiple disciplines in a small private university. The chapter will look at the planning process, the logistics of running the DD, post-DD outcomes, and provide questions and suggestions for future enhancements. A particular kind of DD will be explored, the Syllabus Deliberation method (also known as the negotiated or process syllabus). Finally, the chapter will articulate findings related to the process of preparing for the deliberations, ways in which scaffolded activities improved, relationship between the dialogues and course curriculum, evolution of faculty and researcher-facilitator roles, challenges, and successes. Students’ and faculty’s perceptions of some outcomes are also included.

When Sir David Attenborough used this term, it conveyed a dramatic impression of animal life and its vitality in the desert which, to the uninitiated, could be considered as a wasteland. Equally dramatic is the variety and richness of plant life, evident occasionally and appearing as if by magic in response to a few drops of rain; but now in the days of intensive agriculture, the desert is producing richly, and to order, an abundance of crops. Has the technology bringing abundant water to areas which were arid for most of the year changed the eating habits of the Saudi? What are his traditional patterns of eating and would they be considered satisfactory both to prevent deficiency and to maintain harmony within a ‘NACNE’ style guideline? Have the traditional patterns of eating changed after the opening up of the country and, more recently, the development of intensive agriculture within the country? Derek H Shrimpton PhD provides some answers to these questions.

Purpose – This chapter explores the topic of free speech protections and social media use in academia through an examination of the current legal landscape as it applies to various stakeholders on university campuses in the United States. The authors focus this examination primarily on public universities. Methodology/Approach – Legal research methods were utilized, including an analysis of relevant United States federal and state laws, case law, and secondary sources such as law reviews. Non-legal sources, such as academic journals, were also reviewed, with particular emphasis on topics such as university policies, tenure protections, academic freedom, as well as current events. Findings – The law regarding personal social media communications in a university setting is a series of complex and interconnected legal questions. Courts are still flushing out how free speech protections, personal social media use, and other relevant legal protections (e.g., employment law) may interface in a university-related case. Outcomes of cases are highly fact driven, and legal precedent is still being established. Originality/Value – This chapter offers a comprehensive examination of the topic of free speech and social media use in United States academia by (1) examining legal protections as applied to various stakeholders on a college campus and (2) analyzing the current legal landscape of social media cases involving universities.