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1 – 10 of 209This chapter describes the evaluation of a large complex social change programme in England, UK. During implementation, the programme experienced a series of changes to its form…
Abstract
This chapter describes the evaluation of a large complex social change programme in England, UK. During implementation, the programme experienced a series of changes to its form, function and governance, which in turn had impacts upon the practice of evaluation itself. These changes also raised questions about the place of evaluation within a policy context that increasingly focuses upon indicators and outcomes of effectiveness and other features and tensions that characterise the New Public Management. This chapter outlines the programme and its evaluation in this context, in order to be able to explore these impacts and raise questions about how we learn from social change programmes.
To set the context for this edited collection by situating the discussion within both a global setting as well as examining the development and framing of processes, initiatives…
Abstract
Purpose
To set the context for this edited collection by situating the discussion within both a global setting as well as examining the development and framing of processes, initiatives, policy paradigms and theoretical models which have shaped contemporary discourse and practice.
Design/Method
To draw on extant and current academic literature, contemporary thinking derived from policy organisations, think tanks and governmental institutions but also draw on the experience and insights provided by the contributors.
Findings
There are three core findings drawn prior to March 2022. Firstly, that the overall impact of the Global Financial Crash of 2008 and COVID-19 marks a new paradigm shift that will, more likely, shape thinking over the next decade; secondly, global attention to the climate emergency and sustainability agendas suggest that new forms of locally led responses will be necessary; and thirdly, the perceived political uncertainty of the institutions of the European Union and the USA make the stability of the policy making process and its responses to COVID-19 or the Climate Emergency much less predictable over the next 5–10 years.
Originality
This series of essays reflects the work undertaken by each of those contributing to the collection. Each author was invited to start with their primary research focus and to take their ideas and thinking for a ‘walk’ in order to stimulate discussion, novel thinking and different approaches to policy dilemmas.
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What makes a child vulnerable to harm? What is it about how we conceptualise vulnerability that draws us to thinking about individual traits and characteristics rather than…
Abstract
What makes a child vulnerable to harm? What is it about how we conceptualise vulnerability that draws us to thinking about individual traits and characteristics rather than broader systems and structures of power? In this chapter, we consider these questions by exploring student experiences of vulnerability in schools. Drawing on a case study of two student experiences of harmful sexual behaviour, we explore harm, abuse and vulnerability as spatial. In doing so, we present school responses to forms of harm, drawing a division between responses which focus on vulnerable individuals and the potential of responses which target the systemic, spatial and contextual causes of harm. We conclude by offering Contextual Safeguarding as an approach for addressing the social conditions of harm.
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Timothy R. N. Murphy, Jon E. C. Tan, Esther Luna, Pilar Folgueiras Bertomeu, Andrew Furco, Colin L. Harrison, Peter Laurence, Doug Martin and Gary Walker
This chapter documents an innovative pedagogical application of a service-learning oriented approach, pioneered by academics at a University in the North of England (UNEUK)…
Abstract
This chapter documents an innovative pedagogical application of a service-learning oriented approach, pioneered by academics at a University in the North of England (UNEUK). Referred to as directed experiential learning, the core ethos of this approach connected forms of close-to-practice research, critical reflection, and community engagement and as such brought about a radical reworking of the final year of study for an existing undergraduate program – a BA (Hons) Education Studies. Responding to a broadening professional context within UK schools, this program prepared nascent professional educators and through their studies, invited them to engage in university–community partnerships where their learning and contributions to practice were inextricably conjoined.
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The landscape of the Probation Service in England and Wales continues to be challenged by issues of priorities, workload, and lack of meaningful relationships between offenders…
Abstract
The landscape of the Probation Service in England and Wales continues to be challenged by issues of priorities, workload, and lack of meaningful relationships between offenders and practitioners. In this climate of uncertainty and ‘transformation’, vulnerable offenders on probation become the ones mostly affected due to management plans and license conditions that do not respond to the variability of their needs. This chapter explores the older individuals on probation and uses the framework of Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) to examine the extent to which it may accommodate the needs of this group of offenders in an otherwise risk-based context. This study draws ideas from previous research of the author and aims to develop the existing limited academic attention that older offenders supervised under specialised probation contexts have received. The structure of the chapter remains doctrinal in nature as a response to the need for a more comprehensive and inclusive perception of the risk of reoffending later in life and its implications for bespoke community reintegration strategies. This approach also allows for theorisation of MAPPA’s multi-agency structure and its prospects for the rehabilitation of older offenders. This study finds that as MAPPA only manages violent and sexual offenders, the ‘older MAPPA offender’ becomes a special category for probation that may exhibit a variety of needs and life circumstances. It thereby becomes even more important for these offenders that a constructive working relationship between them and the probation officer is in place. This supports the latter in appreciating what factors lead the individual to offending later in life, and what interventions may be most effective to address their risk of reoffending as well as their needs in the community.
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This chapter reviews the interaction between local authority services and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) community with a primary focus on Elective Home Education (EHE). A…
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This chapter reviews the interaction between local authority services and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) community with a primary focus on Elective Home Education (EHE). A small-scale case study is presented, based around semi-structured interviews with members of the GRT community and educational professionals in order to identify factors influencing the uptake of EHE within the GRT community. Analysis of the primary qualitative and secondary quantitative data suggests that Learning Mentors have had some impact upon the uptake of education and there appears to have been fewer referrals to the Children Missing Education (CME) team. However, the GRT community seems entrenched in its view of not accepting formal school education as appropriate for its teenage members, particularly young women. The GRT community is considered a patriarchal society, with women having culturally defined roles from an early age. The cultural value placed upon education often limits access to educational opportunities for most secondary aged GRT young people and this historical attitude is likely to continue through future generations.
This study indicates the need for further research in several areas; alternative educational provision for GRT young people, the need for a more flexible approach to education by schools, the inclusion of GRT parents in their children's education and the involvement of more agencies to offer support to the GRT community.
Alex Morfaki, Helen Bovill and Nicola Bowden-Clissold
Despite the rhetoric emphasising partnership working, there has been a dearth of research related to the educational practices that reify interprofessional partnerships for young…
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Despite the rhetoric emphasising partnership working, there has been a dearth of research related to the educational practices that reify interprofessional partnerships for young children with special educational needs. This doctoral study examined the subtle power shifts in the interactions between early years educators and other professionals against the backdrop of deficit policy discourses and institutional challenges. This research adopted a case study approach and utilised methodological triangulation to unveil educators' phronetic knowledge. The findings point to power differentials and partnership inequities which affect the roles and identities of early years educators. Participants assumed emergent leadership roles that encompassed elements of social pedagogy and pedagogical eclecticism which eschewed medicalised interventions in favour of intuitive pedagogical approaches centred on the child and family.
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Peter Murphy, Katarzyna Lakoma, Peter Eckersley and Russ Glennon
The UK has been a pioneer and international leader in the development of fire and rescue services and this has been based on a long attachment and strong adherence to empirical…
Abstract
The UK has been a pioneer and international leader in the development of fire and rescue services and this has been based on a long attachment and strong adherence to empirical evidence at both the local and national levels. Policy makers, in close collaboration with practitioners, have also developed standards and practices and any changes have traditionally needed robust justification. Yet the evidence base and the tools and techniques for investigating and interrogating the evidence base have been significantly deteriorating over the last 10 years. This chapter sets out what is inadequate, what is missing and suggests what needs to be done about it.