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1 – 10 of 85Karen Pickett, Willeke Rietdijk, Jenny Byrne, Jonathan Shepherd, Paul Roderick and Marcus Grace
The purpose of this paper is to understand early career teachers’ perceptions of the impact of a pre-service health education programme on their health promotion practice in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand early career teachers’ perceptions of the impact of a pre-service health education programme on their health promotion practice in schools and the contextual factors that influence this.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 primary and secondary trainee and qualified teachers who had trained at a university in England. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Findings
The teachers found the training to be a useful introduction, particularly when it was relevant to their practice. They valued gaining practical skills at university, on placement and in school once qualified. They reported that witnessing pupils’ lives in school had increased their awareness that health education is important. Their personal qualities, life experience, the school’s ethos and competing pressures influenced their practice. Teachers considered that building relationships with colleagues, pupils and parents facilitated health promotion, and that health education needs to be relevant to pupils. Some teachers expressed that teaching about health could be a “minefield”. They also discussed whether schools or parents are responsible for educating pupils about health issues and the place of health promotion within education’s wider purpose.
Originality/value
Few studies have followed-up trainee teachers once they are in teaching posts to explore the longer-term perceived impact of pre-service health education training. The findings suggest that teachers’ development takes place via an interaction between training and practice, suggesting that training could particularly aim to provide teachers with a contextualised understanding of health issues and practical experience.
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Nita Muir and Jenny Byrne
The purpose of this paper is to discuss empirical findings from a study that investigated the work practices within an education network, with the aim of understanding the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss empirical findings from a study that investigated the work practices within an education network, with the aim of understanding the processes of knowledge development and learning process.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is interpretatively positioned through a qualitative case study methodology. This enabled a holistic portrait of the network activity using three different methods of data collection. These were a preliminary focus group, followed by documentary analysis of a significant number of artefacts/documents produced by the network which were triangulated with data from interviews using a cross-case analytical framework.
Findings
Empirical insights are provided into the practice of the network through a lens of social capital. It suggests that having a strong bonding social capital is an informal learning factor which develops the individual participants “skills and knowledge” within the framework of Boyers scholarly practice. The findings also indicate a “dark side” to this informal learning factor which impeded collective learning through exclusivity and a maintenance of the status quo within the network.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalisability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.
Practical implications
The paper considers social capital within a network and the implication that this has on learning and development.
Originality/value
This paper provides insight into informal learning factors employed within work-related learning and the duality of social capital. It also offers a novel approach in understanding how nurse academics frame work-related learning through scholarly practice.
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Saad Zafir Alshehri, Jenny Byrne and Marcus Grace
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how and why Saudi Arabian students engage in specific health risk behaviours (HRBs), and if there are gender differences.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how and why Saudi Arabian students engage in specific health risk behaviours (HRBs), and if there are gender differences.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to find out the situation regarding university students in Saudi Arabia, quantitative data were collected by administering questionnaires to 722 respondents, and qualitative data were collected using a series of interviews with 17 students.
Findings
The findings of this mixed methods sequential explanatory study suggest that lifestyle and personal factors, as well as economic, social, policy and other aspects of the environment played a significant role in influencing students’ HRBs. Recommendations for mitigating HRBs among these students and other youth in the Saudi Arabian context are provided.
Originality/value
This paper addresses an important gap in the research on HRBs among university students from the perspectives of students.
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This paper is based upon a small‐scale research project, which investigates the factors which primary‐aged schoolchildren perceive as causes of high and low self‐esteem. The…
Abstract
This paper is based upon a small‐scale research project, which investigates the factors which primary‐aged schoolchildren perceive as causes of high and low self‐esteem. The findings indicate that schools may need to emphasise factors other than academic performance in order to raise pupils’ self‐esteem. The research was undertaken in a class of 32 year‐five children using the Draw and Write technique. The findings show that the children perceive multiple factors affecting their self‐esteem. Health issues, especially aspects of mental health, were considered very important factors in determining levels of self‐esteem. The research also showed that children are affected by the desire to improve their social status and consider this a way of increasing their self‐esteem. Affluence and the acquisition of material possessions were considered important avenues for increasing social status.
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Viv Speller, Jenny Byrne, Sue Dewhirst, Palo Almond, Lisa Mohebati, Melanie Norman, Sarah Polack, Anjum Memon, Marcus Grace, Barrie Margetts and Paul Roderick
The purpose of this paper is to report the outcome of an education and public health collaboration investigating the impact of adapted training to enhance teachers' potential role…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report the outcome of an education and public health collaboration investigating the impact of adapted training to enhance teachers' potential role to promote child health and wellbeing.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted in three phases: a survey of the health education content in universities in initial teacher training courses; a longitudinal survey at the commencement and completion of courses to capture trainees' knowledge, skills and attitudes towards health and their role in health promotion; and mapping curriculum content against qualified teacher standards and public health competencies.
Findings
Training about health varies largely between institutions. Trainees' knowledge levels remained low after training; ranked importance of key health topics – nutrition, alcohol, smoking, – decreased significantly; a majority thought that teachers and schools play an important role in health promotion, but significant increases were also noted in the minority who thought health promotion is not part of their remit (Phase 2).
Originality/value
To the best of one's knowledge, similar work has not so far been reported. While teachers are in a prime position to influence child health, trainees require knowledge and skills to realise their public health potential.
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Jenny Byrne, Viv Speller, Sue Dewhirst, Paul Roderick, Palo Almond, Marcus Grace and Anjum Memon
The purpose of this paper is to discuss a curriculum change in the provision of health promotion in pre‐service teacher education in a one‐year postgraduate certificate in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss a curriculum change in the provision of health promotion in pre‐service teacher education in a one‐year postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) secondary course in one Higher Education Institution (HEI) in England.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes the iterative development process, from an initial survey and mapping of the existing pre‐service teacher training programme, which provided an evidence base for the piloting of a new health promotion component in the curriculum, and its subsequent evaluation. Changes to the health promotion element of the curriculum reflect the programme philosophy which balances the requirements of a competency based curriculum with a more liberal approach to education and training in which pre‐service teachers are expected to critically reflect on, and evaluate their practice. This work adopts a socio‐constructivist approach to teacher education, in which teachers develop their knowledge, skills and attitudes by interacting with others through dialogue, and learning from more knowledgeable others in a cooperative and scaffolded manner.
Findings
The paper presents the results of these changes and discusses implications for their sustainability. The changes made to the health promotion component of the programme and their implementation would not have been possible without the inter‐professional collaboration that took place over three years.
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge similar work involving a multi‐disciplinary collaborative approach to the development of a health education component of a pre‐service teacher education curriculum has not been employed or reported.
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Marcus Grace, Kathryn Woods‐Townsend, Janice Griffiths, Keith Godfrey, Mark Hanson, Ian Galloway, Marta Cristina Azaola, Kerry Harman, Jenny Byrne and Hazel Inskip
The purpose of this paper is to report the outcome of a city‐wide survey of teenagers’ views on their health, and compare this with the outcomes of a science‐oriented health…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report the outcome of a city‐wide survey of teenagers’ views on their health, and compare this with the outcomes of a science‐oriented health intervention called LifeLab, a hospital‐based classroom aimed at developing teenagers’ attitudes towards their health and that of their future children.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey of 597 14‐year olds across the city of Southampton was conducted to gauge their views and behaviour in relation to their own health. The views of 37 students who took part in innovative, hospital‐based, hands‐on LifeLab activities were compared with those of their peers six months after the intervention to analyse long‐term impacts of the experience. Interviews were carried out with ten LifeLab students to gain further insights.
Findings
The intervention created a wider appreciation among students that food they eat now could affect their long‐term health and the health of their future children. Students became significantly more interested in studying science beyond compulsory schooling, and in considering science and healthcare career options.
Research limitations/implications
Although results were statistically significant, the intervention sample was quite small, and further data collection is ongoing. The city‐wide student response rate of 29 per cent was fairly low.
Social implications
This study has shown that a carefully structured hospital‐based classroom visit, and associated science lessons can have a marked effect on student engagement with health‐related issues, and an impact on their consideration of their career choices.
Originality/value
The hospital‐based classroom is an innovative approach to improving teenagers’ knowledge and attitudes towards their health. The paper's findings should be of interest to a range of educational stakeholders including teachers, local education authorities and local politicians concerned with health education matters.
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Yue Zhao, Jenny M.Y. Huen and Michael Prosser
Hong Kong has undergone extensive curriculum reform and shifted from a three-year to a four-year university system. With a nuanced look at the impact of the curriculum reform, the…
Abstract
Purpose
Hong Kong has undergone extensive curriculum reform and shifted from a three-year to a four-year university system. With a nuanced look at the impact of the curriculum reform, the purpose of the present study was to compare two concurrent cohorts by examining the extent to which the students in each cohort perceived their learning environment and learning outcomes differently and to what extent their perceptions differed.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 3,102 first-year students enrolled at a Hong Kong university responded to the student learning experience questionnaire (SLEQ). The perceived learning experiences between the two cohorts were tapped through several latent factors and validated through tests of measurement invariance. Latent mean differences were then compared. A multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis approach was used.
Findings
The findings suggested that measurement invariance of the scales of the SLEQ was established and that the two cohorts of students perceived largely similar learning experiences. The latent mean differences were statistically significant on the scales of feedback from teacher, clear goals and standards, personal integrity and ethics, intercultural competence, global perspective and civic commitment.
Practical implications
The results facilitate the understanding of perceived student learning experiences with evidence-based implications for enhancing student learning experiences and refining the four-year curriculum under the new curriculum reform conditions.
Originality/value
This is the first institution-wide study that compares student learning experiences of two concurrent cohorts under curriculum reform initiatives of Hong Kong. It provides a meaningful and pertinent example for educators and researchers worldwide to analyze the impact of curriculum reform from the perspective of students’ perceived learning experiences. Similar studies adopting rigorous approaches in the measurement of students’ perceived learning experiences are relatively rare in higher education. Such efforts are encouraged for accountability and quality improvement purposes.
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Interrogating the networks in Ambridge can lead to a focus on kinship and familial relationships or various other forms of power and authority. This chapter focusses on the ways…
Abstract
Interrogating the networks in Ambridge can lead to a focus on kinship and familial relationships or various other forms of power and authority. This chapter focusses on the ways that civil society networks are mobilised in the village, exploring how far they are orientated towards social stability and maintenance of the status quo or towards social change. These motivations have been subjected through the collection of vignettes into an innovative social forces analysis through which the internal and external motivations of women in volunteer and informal roles are categorised as being characterised by, variously, self-reliance solidaristic activism as characterised by Lady Bountiful/NIMBYism and lastly benign (p)maternalism. These motivations are all seen in the high levels of subtly gendered activity undertaken in the informal realm (beyond the structures of family or contractual relationships) whereby community power can truly be viewed as a form of ‘women’s work’.
Caroline Essers, Maura McAdam and Carolin Ossenkop
This paper explores the ways women entrepreneurs in male-dominated industries do identity work in order to gain legitimacy. In particular, we consider such identity work as a…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the ways women entrepreneurs in male-dominated industries do identity work in order to gain legitimacy. In particular, we consider such identity work as a process being prompted by their direct environment, while demonstrating the gendered structural power relations in these women’s entrepreneurial contexts. We use a postfeminist lens to show how, in their quest for more legitimacy, they seem to be interpellated by postfeminist discourse.
Design/methodology/approach
We have used a narrative approach to show how women entrepreneurs in masculinised contexts do identity work to acquire legitimacy, and moreover use a postfeminist perspective to reflect on this identity work as to demonstrate how these Dutch businesswomen consider their agency in specific feminist terms within these men-dominated industry environments.
Findings
We present empirical data of ten women entrepreneurs in the Netherlands and how they discursively and subjectively make sense of their surrounding gendered contexts, in order to illustrate how local gender regimes and individual actions may conspire to constrain as well as stimulate these women’s entrepreneurship. By reflecting on three different ways of identity work through a postfeminist lens, we show how these women are interpellated by postfeminist discourses when trying to gain legitimacy.
Research limitations/implications
The rather small sample does not allow us to generalise our findings to the whole population of women entrepreneurs in men-dominated contexts, yet this was not our goal anyway.
Practical implications
Such a reflection might help policy makers and such women themselves realise how, after all, gender inequality is still persistant in the entrepreneurship field and drawing on postfeminism does not necessarily help to support these women entrepreneurs' work–life balance.
Social implications
Our findings underline the importance of a more gender inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem, in which women entrepreneurs in both masculinised ánd feminised sectors are seen and treated as legitimate entrepreneurs.
Originality/value
Postfeminism, to our knowledge, has hardly been applied to women entrepreneurs' experiences in men-dominated environments, and is in itself still a rather new field in entrepreneurship studies.
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