Maintaining Standards:Promoting Equality

The DRC looked at the situation inEngland, Scotland and Wales. Whilstthere are variations in legislation andprocedures between the three, theDRC is critical of the opportunities forand treatment of disabled peopleseeking employment in the teachingprofession.

The DRC study covered theperiod 2006-2007 and lookedat the difficulties posed by thestatutory regulation of health in thethree professions. As the DRCargues: ‘there should no longer be‘no go’ areas for disabled people in21st century Britain’. However formany disabled people this is thesituation they find when seekingemployment within many parts of thepublic sector.

In its recently published report, Maintaining Standards: Promoting Equality1 the Disability RightsCommission (DRC) has taken a close look at the barriers that disabled people (including peoplewith long-term health conditions) face when entering teaching, nursing, and social work.

Tech Dis 4

FACE conference 6

Distance learning 10

Early career academics 12

Sustainable development 16

The Green Village Project 19

Initial Teacher Education 22

TLRP Fellowship Scheme 23

What’s new in Accessible Teaching for 2007-08?

Bill Rammell’s speech

A study tour in New South Wales

A collaborative UK/Canadian project

Towards a greener future

A University-community partnership

A review from the University of Cumbria

Announcing the fourth round of the scheme

events 24Internal and External events

newsESC

ala

teIssue 9 - Autumn 2007

1 DRC report available at:http://www.drc-gb.org/maintainingstandards/files/Full%20report%20_%20final.pdf

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

The study identified more thanseventy separate pieces of legislationand statutory guidance aboutrequirements for “good health” or“physical and mental fitness” acrossteaching, nursing and social work. Many were vague requirements andsome were more restrictive fortrainees than for trained practitioners.The DRC argues that therequirements and regulations have adeterrent effect on disabled people,discouraging them from seeking tojoin or remaining in these professions.

We have found a culture in

which disabled people are

more likely to be asked

“what’s wrong with you?”

than “what can you

contribute?”

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The newsletter of the Education Subject Centre - advancing learning and teaching in education

ESCalate news is a termly publication.

The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of theeditor nor of the partner organisations. The editors reserve the right toedit, amend or abbreviate copy without notice.

ESCalate (Education Subject Centre)Part of the Higher Education Academy Subject Centre NetworkUniversity of BristolGraduate School of Education35 Berkeley SquareBristolBS8 1JA

Tel: 0117 331 4291Fax: 0117 925 1537Email: heacademy-escalate@bristol.ac.ukwww.escalate.ac.uk

An electronic version of this newsletter is available on theESCalate website.

This newsletter is available free of charge. If you do not currently receivea copy and wish to do so in the future please contact heacademy-escalate@bristol.ac.uk. Your details will only be used for keeping youinformed of ESCalate activity and will not be made available to outsideorganisations.

If you have any ideas or copy that you would like to see included in afuture newsletter please get in touch.

We are especially interested in items which:• Show innovative practice in your Education Department;• Celebrate National Teaching Fellows and other awards for

teaching and learning;• Showcase student achievement.

The next copy deadline is 8th January 2008,please email: heacademy-escalate@bristol.ac.uk

Editorial Team:Dr Tony BrownDr Julie AndersonLiz HankinsonTeresa Nurser

Associate Site Details:ESCalate @ CumbriaProfessor Sue BloxhamDr Sam TwiseltonDr Alison Jackson

Partner Site Details:ESCalate @ StirlingProfessor John FieldProfessor Mike OsborneGinny SaichDr Jane McKieDr Derek Young

Get involved withESCalate, It’s easy.

Please look at ourwebsite for opportunities.

www.escalate.ac.uk

Many of those with disability hidethemselves away, are reluctant totalk about their disability and do notreceive the support to which theyare entitled. The support that theyshould get is often exactly what theyneed to ensure they can practisesafely and effectively.

The DRC regards protection of thepublic as of the highest importance.However, instead of providingprotection to the public, as many ofthe existing regulations set out todo, they do little more than providea false sense of security. As a resultof the study the DRC recommendsthat legislation, regulations andstatutory guidance for good healthor fitness of professionals isrevoked, because of the negativeeffect on disabled people and thelack of public protection theyactually offer.

The DRC report argues thatdisabled people have an importantrole to play in teaching and in thepublic services generally.

People who are disabled or havelong-term health conditions have awealth of skills and personalexperiences that can enrich thework of the public services. Aframework of professionalstandards of competence andconduct, coupled with effectivemanagement and rigorousmonitoring of practice, is the bestway to balance the aspirations ofdisabled people to make theircontribution to British life and theprotection of the public.

What most concerned the DRC intheir study was that ten years onfrom the passing of the DisabilityDiscrimination Act 1995 (DDA), a lotof the legislation and guidancecontrolling access to teachinghealth and social work still fails toreflect the vision of DDA and oftenruns contrary to the requirementsfor disability equality.

Standards for ‘good health’ or‘fitness’ determine who can enterand work within these professions.Some of these standards areexplicitly set out in legislation, whileothers are found within guidancegoverning entry to education oremployment. With the exception ofsocial work and teaching inScotland, there are generalisedhealth standards in teaching, socialwork, nursing and other healthprofessions across Great Britain.The conclusion of our investigationis that these standards have anegative impact upon disabledpeople’s access to theseprofessions; they are often inconflict with the DDA (as amendedin 2005); they lead to discrimination;and they deter and exclude disabledpeople from entry and from beingretained. We therefore recommendthat they are revoked.

Copies of the Report are available from:Disability RightsCommission HelplineFREEPOSTMID 02164Stratford upon AvonCV37 9BR

www.drc-gb.org/maintainingstandards/files/Full%20report%20_%20final.pdf

ESCalatenews 3

ReferencesMaintaining Standards: PromotingEquality Professional regulationwithin nursing, teaching and socialwork and disabled people’saccess to these professions,(2007) Disability RightsCommission

Research undertaken by theDRC for the studyDavid Ruebain, Jo Honigmann,Helen Mountfield and CamillaParker (2006) Analysis of thestatutory and regulatoryframeworks and cases relating tofitness standards in nursing,teaching and social work.

Jane Wray, Helen Gibson, andJo Aspland (2007) Research intoassessments and decisionsrelating to ‘fitness’ in training,qualifying, and working withinTeaching, Nursing and SocialWork.

Janice Fong, Chih Hoong Sin,with Jane Wray, Helen Gibson,Jo Aspland and Data Captain Ltd.(2007) Assessments anddecisions relating to ‘fitness’ foremployment within teaching,nursing and social work: A surveyof employers.

Nicky Stanley, Julie Ridley,Jill Manthorpe, Jessica Harris andAlan Hurst (2007) DisclosingDisability: Disabled students andpractitioners in social work,nursing and teaching.

Chih Hoong Sin, Janice Fong,Abul Momin and Victoria Forbes(2007) The Disability RightsCommission’s formal investigationinto fitness standards in the socialwork, nursing and teachingprofessions: Report on the call forevidence.

Maintaining Standards:Promoting Equality

Editorial continued from front page

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4 ESCalatenews

• Using video camera technology toallow students to record feedbackand reflection from placements,enabling them to record theirfeelings more ‘freely’ than in textform, and providing a resource fornext year’s placement students toprepare them for the experience(Hellawell and Priestley,University of Bradford).

What’s New in Accessible Teaching for 2007-08?

• Adapting Flash-basedanimations for use with aniPod or Creative Zen MP3player. Some studentsreported a benefit from thenew mobility of the learningobject, others found the lackof functionality of theanimation frustratingcompared to the original PC-based version (Gkatzidou,Pearson and Bailey,University of Teesside).

The second in a series of articles written for ESCalate, giving practical advice onhow to improve aspects of your practice to benefit all learners.

An iPod showing theadapted Flash-basedmaterials from a projectby Gkatzidou, Pearsonand Bailey at theUniversity of Teesside

A tutorial sessionwith students usingthe Nintendo DSLite to improvearithmetic skills in aproject by Pulmanat BournemouthUniversity.

TechDis

A still from a student's'mini documentary'from the project byHellawell and Priestleyat the University ofBradford.

IntroductionThe mission of TechDis is to support the education sectorin achieving greater accessibility and inclusion bystimulating innovation and providing expert advice andguidance on disability and technology. One of the principalways we do this is by working with the Higher EducationAcademy Subject Network to identify and explorediscipline-specific aspects of accessibility and inclusion, inaddition to providing more generic advice and guidance.

The HEAT SchemeIn order to uncover and develop good or innovativeinclusive teaching practice in disciplines across HE,TechDis has developed the Higher Education Assistive

Technology (HEAT) Scheme. Jointly funded by TechDis andthe Higher Education Academy, the scheme is designed toallow members of teaching or support staff to apply fortechnology that will allow them to explore an aspect ofinclusive teaching. The use of the phrase ‘AssistiveTechnology’ is kept deliberately broad, meaning ‘anytechnology that broadens the range of learning experiencesoffered to students’, as TechDis believe that focusing onlyupon students who have declared a specific disability is lesshelpful than improving practice that will aid all learners tovarying degrees, depending upon their needs and preferredlearning styles. Some of the findings from Round 1 of theHEAT Scheme (further details of all projects can be found atwww.techdis.ac.uk/getheatscheme) include:

• Providing podcasts as a recording of lectures (Gresty, University ofPlymouth), a reinforcement of issues students had previously struggledwith (Hindley, Nottingham Trent University) or a means to apply currentnews items to theory introduced in lectures (Leng, Bath Spa University).

• Improving the basic numeracyof students returning to studyafter a prolonged break byusing Nintendo DS Lites with‘Dr Kawashima’s BrainTraining Software’ in tutorialsessions (Pulman,Bournemouth University).

• Using a Talking Tactile Tablet tocreate tactile diagrams supportedby audio files at key touch-points,thereby providing a rich alternativeto an otherwise inherently visualconcept (Chevins, KeeleUniversity).

ScreenRuler softwareapplied to an ITtutorial, from theproject by McCreadyat the University ofNewcastle.

A cutaway diagramof a TransmissionElectronMicroscope for usewith a TalkingTactile Tablet inthe project byChevins at theUniversity of Keele.

ESCalatenews 5

• Utilising ScreenRuler (software thathighlights and magnifies a stripacross the screen) to compare itsvalue to dyslexic and non-dyslexicstudents. Both groups reportedbenefits including ‘stops you gettinglost’ and making reading from thescreen easier (McCready, Universityof Newcastle).

Accessibility EssentialsTechDis has produced step-by-step guides to making youreveryday practice more accessible.A fourth guide on making the mostof PDFs is due for publication in theautumn term, but three guides arealready available:

• Accessibility Essentials 1:Making Electronic DocumentsMore Readable• Practical step-by-step

information, to enable anyonereading material to amend itslook and feel into a style whichsuits them. These hints and tipswill not only be of great use topeople who read documentson-screen, but also to thosepresenting material (forexample, via a data projector) indifferent lighting conditions, orthose who work in differinglevels of light (for example, whileworking on a train).

• Accessibility Essentials 2:Writing Accessible ElectronicDocuments• This document is designed to

outline the techniques peopleneed to ensure the writing ofaccessible electronicinformation. This documentconcentrates on guidance forMicrosoft® Word. Whenproducing electronic informationthe biggest accessibility gain is

• Employing mind mapping toolsas an aid to essay planning andwriting (Romer, University ofYork) and adding images to mindmaps to provide better recall ofcontent (Brown, University ofNewcastle).

Essay planning techniques using mind mappingsoftware, from the project by Romer at theUniversity of York.

Round 2 of the HEAT scheme is nowunderway, and we will bring you some ofthe findings in later editions of theESCalate newsletter. Further details of thescheme and the Round 1 projects can befound at www.techdis.ac.uk/getheatscheme.

Further InformationTechDis can provide advice andguidance on any aspect ofaccessibility and technology.See our website atwww.techdis.ac.uk or email anyquestions to our helpdesk athelpdesk@techdis.ac.uk

Dr. Simon Ball Senior AdvisorJISCTechDis Service

ensuring the user can amend thelook and feel in a way that suitsthem. However, there are anumber of font and structuretechniques that can increase thereadability for a larger number ofpeople.

• Accessibility Essentials 3:Creating Accessible Presentations• This document provides

information on the creation ofaccessible presentations, both forprojection and wider use (forexample, when a presentation ismade available online) along withhints and tips on how to presentto an audience in an accessiblemanner. This documentconcentrates on the use ofMicrosoft® PowerPoint.

A conference title of “social justiceand lifelong learning” is music to myears – because I am determined thateveryone should have theopportunity to benefit from learning,no matter what their background.

And I am equally determined thatthe benefits of lifelong learning andthe opportunities to participate inhigher education should be widelybroadcast – so that people whomight never have considered thatthey could extend their educationand consequently their life chancesare encouraged to do so.

So I’m delighted to support thisevent and to have the chance to saya big thank you to all of you and yourcolleagues who are playing such avital role in making lifelong learning areality.

I welcome the aims of FACE: “tosupport and encourage a sociallyinclusive framework for lifelonglearning, challenging exclusion andfostering full participation”.

Over the next two or three daysyou’re going to be thinking aboutdiversity, globalization, andtransformation in the context ofsocial justice and lifelong learning.I’d like to focus on diversity. Diversityof the student population, diversityof routes into higher education, anddiversity of curriculum and delivery oflearning.

I was pleased to hear that theUniversity of East London ran aworkshop this morning for theEnglish partners of the England-Africa Partnerships scheme. TheDepartment for Education and Skillshas invested £3 million to supporthigher education partnershipsbetween England and Sub-SaharanAfrica. This is an excellentopportunity for HE Institutions inEngland to engage in internationalpartnerships and alliances whichcontribute to the capacity buildingand development of highereducation in Sub-Saharan Africa.

HE Institutions in England have agreat deal of expertise to share.They also have a great deal to gainand learn from this type ofcollaboration.

You’ll be discussing this andother international issues during thisconference. The benefits of

international students coming to theUK, and the diversity of the studentpopulation that this creates, areenormous. Not only the additionalgeneration of fee income for HEInstitutions, but also the importantcontribution of international studentsto the UK’s knowledge economy,the enrichment of our society bydeepening our awareness andunderstanding of other cultures, andthe long-lasting relationships that wedevelop, providing potential forgreater educational, cultural andscientific exchange, as well asgreater trade, investment andpolitical influence.

UK students studying abroadcan benefit enormously from anunderstanding of the culture of othercountries and the ability to speakanother language. Increasingly,employers are telling us thatlanguage capability can make thedifference in securing contractsoverseas.

As globalization increases, ourstudents will find that a period ofstudy or work abroad is a valuableexperience, allowing them to gainunderstanding of their cultures andproviding them with transferableskills, enhancing their employability.Increasing student mobility is key if

6 ESCalatenews

‘‘1 Forum for Access and Continuing Education

Speech by Bill Rammell MP, Minister of State for Lifelong Learning,Department of Children, Schools and Families.

UEL, July 2-4 2007ConferenceWhen he prepared his speech for the FACE Conference, Bill Rammell was Minister of Stateat the Department for Education and Skills. The day he was meant to speak to us, he wascalled away to his new post with responsibility for Lifelong Learning.

FACE1

our students are to be able tocompete in the global market.Schemes like ERASMUS and theChinese Summer schoolprogramme help provideopportunities for our students togain those skills.

The make-up of the UK studentpopulation is, I’m pleased to say,becoming more diverse. The HEperformance indicators that arepublished annually tell us that thenumber of students from poorerbackgrounds going to university hasrisen steadily. But progress is slow.Last July the performance indicatorsshowed a disappointing levelling-offof progress. That tells us that weneed to do more.

And the review of wideningparticipation activities that I askedHEFCE to carry out last yearshowed that, whilst real progress isbeing made in embedding wideningparticipation in all HE institutions,there were steps that could be takento maximise the impact of outreachactivities.

I value enormously thecontribution of the Aimhigherprogramme and the hard work oflocal Aimhigher partnerships, andhave said so many times. I stillmaintain, though, that we need todo more. We need to do more tomaximise the results of theGovernment’s investment – over£550 million over the last six yearson widening participation activities.And we need to do more to increaseeven further the successes ofAimhigher partnerships.

That’s why HEFCE publishedguidance in May about effectiveways to target outreach activity atpeople from backgrounds currentlyunder-represented in highereducation. The guidance refines thedefinition of the target cohort forAimhigher and other outreach

activity; describes how the targetingprocess might be made moreeffective; and provides a steer onhow to measure the effectiveness oftargeting.

I hope that will result in wideningand increasing participation evenfurther by young people from sociallydeprived areas or from lower socio-economic backgrounds. The latestUCAS figures again showed a rise inthe proportion of applicants fromEngland who are from the bottomfour socio-economic groups. That’sgood news. I hope we will see asimilar picture when this year’sperformance indicators arepublished, later this month.

Access to higher educationopens up a world of possibilities. Tohelp everyone achieve their potentialwe must increase – and diversify –access routes to HE for everyone –so that they are not only open to 18year olds leaving school or collegewith A levels, but so that there are

clear pathways too for people whomay be attracted to applied or non-traditional learning routes, for peoplein work and for those who may bereturning to learning some time aftercompleting their compulsoryeducation.

This is where the contribution ofLifelong Learning Networks is critical– enabling colleges, HE Institutionsand others to work together todevelop, promote and manage arange of non-traditional routesinto HE. We want Lifelong Learning Networksto • provide support for learners on

vocational pathways;• help develop the curriculum to

facilitate progression; • ensure learners have access to a

range of progression opportunities,so that they can move betweendifferent kinds of learningprogrammes as their interests,needs and abilities develop.

ESCalatenews 7

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8 ESCalatenews

The Government’s 14-19reforms are about ensuring thateducation and training provisionprepares all young people for life andwork. This provision will motivateand engage young people,preparing them for life by givingthem the knowledge, skills andattitudes they need to succeed.

The reforms are designed toencourage more young people totake the learning and developmentpath that is right for them – learningfor longer and gaining thequalifications they need to progressinto higher education, furthereducation, or employment.

By extending the range oflearning opportunities available toyoung people, the reforms offer theopportunity to choose a mix of

learning styles and content that isright for them.

The new Diplomas are a powerfulmix of practical and theoreticallearning. They will appeal as much tostudents preparing to enter theworkforce at 18, as to thoseplanning to continue their studies atuniversity or who are uninspired by asolely academic curriculum.

Support from the FE sector interms of delivering this and otherreforms at the ground-level is key;but no one institution will be able todeliver the reforms on its own.Colleges, schools and localproviders must work together toensure their success.

And it’s crucial that HigherEducation Institutions continue tobecome involved and able to play

their part in influencing thedevelopment of the Diplomas.

This will ensure that studentswanting to enter HE with this newqualification have the knowledgeand skills required for higher-levelstudy; that HEIs are aware of theimpact Diplomas will have on theirown programmes and are able toadapt their curricula as needed; thatHEIs will be willing to accept thenew qualifications and that this isreflected in their entry requirements.

And we are determined toincrease the numbers of peoplequalified to at least Level 3, includingthose who didn’t achieve this levelduring their compulsory education.

From August this year we’ll beintroducing a new entitlement to freetuition for 19 to 25 year olds takingtheir first full Level 3 qualification. Weanticipate that the new entitlementwill benefit around 60,000 learnersin 2007/08. And we are extendingthe Adult Learning Grant to fullnational coverage from Septemberto help eligible adults who are on alow income to meet the additionalcosts of learning.

I was pleased to attend thelaunch of the Quality AssuranceAgency’s new Access to HigherEducation Diploma last month.Access courses make an importantcontribution to lifelong learning andto our drive to widen participation inhigher education. They offer aninvaluable second chance forpeople who may have thought theyhad lost their opportunity.

And I hope that the work that theJoint Forum for Higher Levels isdoing to develop a commonapproach to credit in Further andHigher Education will come to

The 2007 FACE conference organised by Continuum at theUniversity of East London took place from the 2nd to the 4thJuly; ESCalate was one of the conference partners.

The event attracted some 220 delegates from as far away as The Republic of the

Marshall Islands, South Africa, Australia, USA, Canada and mainland Europe as well

as from all parts of the UK. The conference, entitled Social Justice and Lifelong

Learning: Diversity, Globalisation, Transformation attracted a record number of very

high quality workshops, the papers from which will form the basis of the conference

publication.

Bill Rammell’s keynote speech reproduced on these pages highlights major policy

areas around the conference title indicating the progress made, particularly in relation

the conference theme of diversity. Alan Tuckett, Director of NIACE and Nicola

Dandridge, Director of the Equality Challenge Unit, both contributed major keynote

speeches as did Professor Roy du Pre, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Vaal University of

Technology, South Africa.

In addition to the excellent workshops and keynotes there were also three Roundtable

Sessions which focused on Aimhigher, Lifelong Learning Networks and International

Developments in Access and Lifelong Learning. To complement the serious

conference business there was a vibrant social programme providing lots of

networking opportunities.

The 2008 FACE conference 2-4 July with the title Challenging Isolation:

the role of lifelong learning is being hosted by York St John University.

Further details at www.yorksj.ac.uk/face2008

Professor John Storan, Director of Continuum and Chair of FACE.

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fruition. I think it is vital that we alignthe approaches of higher and furthereducation to credit, to help learnersto progress from further to highereducation, and to enable them to doso as smoothly as possible.

I’ve talked about just a few of themeasures that we’re taking toencourage lifelong learning, to raiseattainment levels, and to createalternative pathways into highereducation.

As a result of these measuresand the hard work of all of you andyour colleagues, we are seeing achanging student population. Morepeople from backgrounds with notradition of HE; increasing numbersof students with part-time jobs orcaring responsibilities; andincreasing numbers of part-timestudents who also have busy, full-time jobs.

That’s very encouraging. But itmeans that Higher EducationInstitutions need to offer moreflexible and diverse learningpatterns.

Let me stress my appreciation ofthe overwhelmingly high quality andstandards of higher education in theUK. It’s an international successstory and that internationalrecognition is supported bygenerally good ratings from UKstudents in the National StudentSurvey – over 80% satisfied or verysatisfied with their own HEexperience.

However, and at risk of making asweeping generalisation, I wouldassert that HEIs have not – on thewhole – really changed their productto suit a more diverse range ofcustomers. I’d like to borrow ananalogy from Baroness Deech, wholikened an HEI to a gym

• which needs to provide the bestpossible facilities, making themavailable how, where and whenthey are needed;

• which needs to provide goodtraining and support from wellqualified instructors;

• which needs commitment and theinput of active participants;

• where participants will only learnand improve if they make the bestuse of the facilities and input of thetrainers; and

• where a good relationshipbetween participants and trainersis essential.

Good mentoring and support forstudents is becoming even moreimportant given the busy lives ofmany students and an increasinglydiverse student population. It’simportant to ensure that studentsget the maximum benefit from theirHE experience, so that their ownlifelong learning continues throughand beyond HE – and also so thatthey can recommend highereducation to their families andfriends, helping to raise aspirationsespecially amongst those who mightnot otherwise consider HE as anoption.

We are also going to be lookingfor increased, effective use of newtechnology for blended learning,flexibility in start dates and duration,provision outside “nine to five”, newlocations, outside the main campusand physically nearer to students insome areas, and excitement andinnovation to capture theimagination of students.

Of course change takes time.But we’re already seeing innovativedelivery – the success of FoundationDegrees showed that HEIs can workdirectly with employer organisations

ESCalatenews 9

Bill Rammell MPMinister of State forLifelong Learning,Department of Children,Schools and Families

’’

and deliver a quality HE productwith employer input; provision ofHE in FE can be very beneficial tothose moving on from FE ratherthan school and who prefer to liveat home; and HEFCE is fundingflexibility projects to explore twoyear degrees and changes toacademic years.

Increasingly I’m sure we willsee real partnership between HEIsand students – as well asemployers. We’ll see moreresponsiveness and innovation inHE while maintaining highstandards and good qualityproducts for learners. We’ll seelearners being properly supportedso that they can make best use oftheir HE experience and maximisetheir potential. And more peoplewill be encouraged to follow thoselearners and extend their ownlifelong learning.

I am grateful to you all for yourcontributions towards achievingsocial justice through lifelonglearning and opening up HE tothose for whom its doors havebeen closed in the past.

I hope that the rest of yourconference goes well.

A study tour in New South WalesKeith Webb is Director of the FDTL 51 Project, “Associate Online”, and is based in theSchool of Education and Professional Development at the University of Huddersfield.Earlier this year Keith was funded by an Escalate Development Grant to undertake a studytour of New South Wales, Australia, designed to inform further development of the project.

Distant Learning:

Being a relatively compact anddensely populated country, ourexperience of distance learning inEngland is limited. Even so, studentscan feel isolated for reasons besidesgeography and this applies to part-time, in-service trainee teachers inthe post-16 sector. When comparedto the national curriculum in schools,the range of specialisms that aretaught in the Learning and SkillsSector is great, and this means thatthere are few chances for thesetrainee teachers to engage withothers who share their specialism.

Often, such trainees are the onlyteacher of their specialism on theirPGCE/Cert Ed course and/or in theplace where they work – whetherthat specialism is plumbing,philosophy, photography, pottery,politics, or whatever. They aregeographically dispersed andprofessionally isolated – although

new technologies now hold out theprospect for them to joincommunities of practice that willeffectively support their professionaldevelopment.

As Director of a projectconcerned with making suchcommunities available, I have beenkeen to learn of relateddevelopments in comparablecontexts. “Associate Online” is acollaborative initiative involving fourEnglish HEIs with 6,000 traineesbetween them. Funding from FDTL5 has allowed the development of48 specialism-based onlinecommunities that will be operationalfrom September 2007. These willsupport trainees through• facilities that range from “Ask-an-

expert” and “FAQs on Pedagogy”to “Virtual Moderation” and a“Collaborative ResourcesGenerator”;

• links to specialism-specificresource-banks, practitionernetworks, “video master-classes”and the like. As this initial phase draws to a

close, further development of thesecommunities is in prospect. However,we have found no equivalentinitiatives in UK to learn from, and wehave therefore looked further afield forpractice that could serve as a modelfor the next phase of development.On four grounds, it appeared that wecould learn a lot from New SouthWales, Australia. Although the furthestaway in distance, it appeared to bethe closest to our needs in terms ofrelevant experience and expertise. • Charles Sturt University equates

with the University of Huddersfieldin UK in terms of its scale, its natureand its focus on training teachersfor “TAFE” (Technical and FurtherEducation);

10 ESCalatenews

1 The Fund for Development of Teaching and Learning is a HEFCE initiative funded through the Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund set up following the Dearing Report into HE

• there is much experience ofworking with dispersed andisolated students. Somestudents I met have to drive forfive hours to get to their nearesttown. Further, the process ofsupporting them through newtechnologies has been quiteextensively researched (e.g. viathe TAFE Stage 2 onlineinitiative);

• the University of Wollongong(UoW) has a pioneeringdevelopment unit (CEDIR) thatexplores and exploits newtechnologies for supportingteaching and learning in HE.

• UoW was the host of the sixth(2007) International EducationalLeadership Conference on“Leading Learning Communities:Strategies, Action andReflection”.Such factors combined to make

a unique opportunity to inform thestrategic development plan forAssociate Online, and to preparefor the post-FDTL phase that is tostart in January 2008. Fortunately,making such preparations alsoappeared to fall within thepurposes of Escalate DevelopmentGrants and an application forsponsorship of a study tour wasapproved. As a result, I was able tospend a hectic, but most valuable,week in NSW in mid-February,2007.

Among the principal outcomes ofthe tour were:• Formulation of research-based

means of promoting effectivepedagogic practice through onlinedelivery. That process is now verymuch reflected in AssociateOnline developments – such asincorporation of a cross-institutional and collaborativeassessment task that all partnerswill implement in 2007/8.

• Encouragement for an approachthat goes beyond limitedconceptions of online learning andprofessional developmentcommunities. In UK, these notionsseem too often to be restricted toprocesses of co-operating (e.g.via a discussion board), ratherthan collaborating (e.g. via wikis).By contrast, in NSW, “learningcommunities” in general, andprofessional learning communitiesin particular, occupy a morecentral place in practice.Engagement with suchcommunities is deep,collaborative, active and ongoingand, among other things, successis characterised by sharedprofessional identity, by interactivepeer-to-peer support and bycreative and innovative teamworking. Most important, though, was the

insight that the study tour providedinto processes that will have to

ESCalatenews 11

Keith Webb,Director of theFDTL 5 Project“Associate Online”

Useful Web Resourceshttp://associate.hud.ac.uk

www.ncver.edu.au

www.ncver.edu.au/teaching/publications/965.html

http://toolboxes.flexiblelearning.net.au

http://learnscope.flexiblelearning.net.au/learnscope/go

http://www.csu.edu.au/faculty/educat/edu/vetfolder/research

http://www.uow.edu.au/cedir

http://cedir.uow.edu.au/edustream

http://www.icvet.tafensw.edu.au

underlie the “Phase 2” StrategicDevelopment Plan for AssociateOnline. My expectations had beenthat NSW practitioners would assigna more significant role than wasevident to technology in the shapingof developments. Instead, theevidence-led approaches tocultivating successful onlinecommunities of professional practicein NSW primarily addresspedagogical and organisationalconcerns.

It was a long way to go to learnsuch a lesson, but it was well worthit in terms of ensuring a productivedirection for future developments.And after all, that is the purpose of astudy tour. If you knew what youwould learn before you set out on it,what would be the point of going?

a collaborative UK/Canadian projectDr Lisa Lucas and Nancy Turner were successful project partners in our October 2005Development Grant funding round. The support they received helped them to carry out thisresearch and the project is now near to completion. If you would like to know more aboutESCalate funding opportunities visit http://escalate.ac.uk/projects.

Early Career Academicsand their Experiences of LinkingResearch and Teaching:

IntroductionThe significance of the link betweenresearch and teaching has becomeincreasingly important withindebates on higher education in theUK, Canada, Australia and manyother western countries. The HigherEducation Research Forum, chairedby Sir Graeme Davies, hashighlighted the need for bothresearch intensive and non-researchintensive institutions to maximise thepotential of students’ learning aboutresearch ‘ranging from vicariousexposure to the current research oftheir teachers through to theimmediate impact of beingresearchers’ (HERF, 2004).

There is clear evidence thatfunding and evaluation policies in theUK and elsewhere have served tofragment academic work anddifferentiate between ‘researchers’and ‘teachers’ whilst underminingthe teaching work being done assignificantly less important thanresearch (McNay, 1997; McNay,

2003; Lucas, 2006; Sikes, 2006;Young, 2006). There is a growingbody of literature that exploresissues of academic identitydevelopment and academic work lifebalance issues (Robertson andBond, 2003; Colbeck, 1998; Deemand Lucas, 2007). Early careeracademics in particular may strugglewith the tension between thedemands of teaching and ofresearch so this is an importantgroup to look at in order to betterunderstand the ways in whichfurther integration of these roles candevelop. It is also feasible that earlycareer academics will bringinnovatory and exciting ideas to thedevelopment of teaching andresearch links, which may help torejuvenate practices withindepartments.

There is very little known aboutthe extent to which, and the waysthat, UK AdvancedCertificate/Diploma programmes forteaching in higher education

encourage academics to focus onthe integration of their research andteaching roles, and how best toimplement and maximise thepotential of their researchexperience within the curriculum.Particularly for early careeracademics, this is perhaps animportant forum for exploring thisissue and the possibilities forintegrating their research andteaching experience.

This article reports on anESCalate funded internationalcollaborative UK/Canadian project,which explores the experiences ofearly career academics in threedifferent universities in terms of theirexperiences of teaching andresearch and possibilities forintegrating these activities. Theprimary focus is with theexperiences of these early careeracademics in terms of theirconceptions and experiences oftheir research and teaching roles,their participation in the teaching

12 ESCalatenews

and learning programmes and theirdeveloping ideas around thepossible way in which their researchand teaching are linked in thecontext of their department anddisciplinary cultures. The key aims of the project wereto:• explore the ways in which new

academics perceive the teachingand research relationship andthe extent to which they canarticulate and demonstrate waysin which they link these twoactivities within their work;

• investigate the possibilities thatnew lecturers have to explore thelink through their participation in

institutional Teaching andLearning programmes in the UKand Canada and to gather theirideas for how they could bebetter supported in this throughthese programmes;

• develop materials and activities,and collect best practiceexamples, that will allow newacademics to explore the linkbetween research and teachingin their work that can be utilisedwithin institutional Teaching andLearning programmes in the UK,Canada and elsewhere. The userpotential of these materials willbe enhanced by developingonline access.

ESCalatenews 13

Nancy Turner,Director ofProfessionalDevelopment at theUniversity of the Arts,London

Dr Lisa Lucas is author of TheResearch Game in AcademicLife published bySRHE/McGraw Hill in 2006,which looks at the impacts ofthe Research AssessmentExercise on universitydepartments and academicwork. She has also beenresearching extensively in thearea of linking research andteaching within academicwork focusing on issues ofacademic identity anddepartmental and disciplinarycultures.

Dr Lisa Lucas,Senior Lecturer,Graduate Schoolof Education,University of Bristol

Nancy Turner has beeninvolved in research projectsinvestigating internationalcomparisons of studentexperiences of research andnew lecturers’ perceptions ofresearch and teaching as part oftheir academic role. As a keypart of her work, Nancyoversees the delivery ofPostgraduate Programmes inTeaching and Learning.

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Project Design andImplementationThe project design began with areview of nine Teaching andLearning programmes being run inuniversities in the UK and Canada inorder to find out the extent to whichthey directly address linkingresearch and teaching. This wasfollowed by semi-structuredinterviews with a small group of earlycareer academics from a variety ofdisciplines at the three case studyinstitutions to explore their existingconceptions of the link betweenteaching and research andstrategies for the integration ofteaching and research. Finallyrunning workshops with 10-15 earlycareer academic staff at each of thethree institutions to pilot andevaluate the materials, activities, andexamples of best practice.

Key Themes from Interviewsand WorkshopsUtilising a communities of practicemodel (Wenger, 2000), the interviewdata was explored in relation to theenculturation of early careeracademics within communities ofpractice, their negotiation ofboundaries and developingacademic identities utilised inprevious research (Lucas, 2007).This approach fits with a desire tomove to a more socially situatedunderstanding of the developmentof conceptions of teaching and ofresearch that take into account thesocio-cultural and also the socio-political context of these withininstitutions (Akerlind, 2003;Pickering 2006; Trowler & Wareham,2007; Deem & Lucas, forthcoming).

• Backgrounds of participants:there was immense variety in thebackgrounds of participants witha majority entering through atraditional academic route ofcompleting a first degree,Masters, PhD and enteringresearch posts before taking up alectureship. Interestingperspectives were also gleanedfrom academics entering fromprofessional disciplines, wheretheir professional roles hadshaped their early careers andoften still continued to be part oftheir working lives.

• Teaching, Research andAdministrative Roles: this wasalso highly varied with somemembers of staff feeling fairlyoverwhelmed with teaching rolesand others being given fairly lightteaching loads and expected toconcentrate on their research.

“I spent 75% of my time doingteaching and even more, probablythe two previous terms it was evenmore… certainly in the first term itwas a real struggle to get anyresearch done really, and it felt likeI was losing touch with a researchproject that I was involved with.We had a research assistant andso it sort of felt like I was ending upleaving it to her and my colleague,so it’s hard trying to do research atthe same time isn’t it really?”(Marie1 , Law)

The perceptions of these varyingroles and the impact this experiencehad on their identity was quitevaried.

“I mean everybody in thisdepartment knows that I view myselfas a researcher first and the rest of itis what I do to pay the bills.” (Jim,Health Sciences)

• Experiences on Teaching andLearning Programmes: mixedpositive and negative responses onthese programmes were reported,in keeping with other researchstudies (Kahn et al, 2006; Prosseret al, 2006). Few programmesshowed evidence of emphasis onlinking research and teaching.

“Yes, I would say that when I firststarted teaching my style was more– I would kind of write a long scriptand then agonise over kind ofremembering it and saying it asthough I wasn’t reading it…but Ithink that (participation in theteaching and learning programme)has kind of suggested ways that itcan be more interactive, forexample, brainstorming at thebeginning… and then studentfeedback has told me “I reallyenjoyed that bit and it woke me up”.(Rachel, Health Sciences)

• Development of ideas of linkingteaching and research: there wassignificant endorsement of the ideaof linking teaching and research butthe ways in which it was conceivedvaried significantly amongparticipants. The link was mostlyconceived as the use of contentand did not extend to process ofresearch. It was also perceived asbeing more difficult to achieve at theundergraduate level and easier withpostgraduate provision.

14 ESCalatenews

1 Marie and all other names are pseudonyms

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“…that seems to me to be anideal way of, actually teachingand research should beinterconnected…we shouldn’t havethis dry set of things we’re trying toteach students which isn’t connectedto what we are coming across whenwe’re doing our research…”(Marie, Law)

• Perceptions of Departmental andDisciplinary Cultures: this washighly influential to the experiences ofthe participants and to theirdeveloping academic roles andidentities. Many reported that thecultures in which they worked werenot conducive to development andinnovation in teaching, however thiswas not always the case.

“You know having a meeting withyour mentor and discussing issues asthey come up, that’s helpful, youknow, having a mentor critique you,that’s great.” (Jim, Health Sciences)

Ways ForwardWorkshop materials that weredeveloped as part of the project areavailable on our ESCalate projectwebsite. These materials are freelyavailable to be used andmodified/adapted for use withinInstitutional Teaching and Learningprogrammes. A workshop will also berun for staff involved in deliveringTeaching and Learning Programmes toshare experiences and to explore bestpractice for enabling academics tobetter integrate their research andteaching work. Further details on theproject and the upcoming workshopcan be found on our project websitehttp://escalate.ac.uk/1979

ESCalatenews 15

ReferencesAkerlind, G. S. (2003) Growing and Developing as a UniversityTeacher: variation in meaning, Studies in Higher Education, 28 (4),375-390

Brew, A. (2006) Research and Teaching: beyond the divide,Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Colbeck, C. (1998) Merging in a Seamless Blend - how facultyintegrate teaching and research, Journal of Higher Education, 69:6.

Deem, R. and Lucas, L. (2007) Research and Teaching Cultures intwo contrasting UK policy locations: academic life in Educationdepartments in five English and Scottish universities, HigherEducation 54: 115-133

Higher Education Research Forum, DFES, accessed at:http://www.dfes.gov.uk/hegateway/hereform/index.cfm

Lucas, L. (2006) The Research Game in Academic Life,Maidenhead: SRHE/Open University Press.

Lucas, L. (2007) Research and Teaching Work within UniversityEducation Departments: fragmentation or integration? Journal ofFurther and Higher Education, 31 (1): 17-29.

McNay, I. (1997). The Impact of the 1992 Research AssessmentExercise on Individual and Institutional Behaviour in English HigherEducation. Chelmsford, Anglia Polytechnic University.

McNay, I. (2003). “Assessing the Assessment: an analysis of the UKResearch Assessment Exercise, 2001, and its outcomes, withspecial reference to research in education.” Science and PublicPolicy 30(1): 1-8.

Pickering, A. (2006) Learning about university teaching: reflectionson a research study investigating influences for change, Teaching inHigher Education, 11, 3: 319-335

Prosser, M., Rickinson, M., Bence, V., Hanbury, A., Kulej, M. (2006)Formative Evaluations of Accredited Programmes. Final Report.Higher Education Academy

Robertson, J. & Bond, C. (2003) The Research/Teaching Relation:variation in communities of inquiry, SRHE Annual Conference,Royal Holloway, University of London, 16-18 December 2003

Sikes, P. (2006) Working in a ‘new’ university: in the shadow of theResearch Assessment Exercise? Studies in Higher Education 31(5):555-568

Wenger, E. (2000) Communities of Practice and Social LearningSystems, Organization 7(2): 225-246

Young, P. (2006) Out of balance: lecturers’ perceptions of differentialstatus and rewards in relation to teaching and research, Teaching inHigher Education 11(2): 191-202

Henry Liebling works as an Academic Consultant for ESCalate, helping to gatherresources and advising on the coordination of our activities through 2007-08. Here,Henry outlines what needs to be done to engage effectively with ESD and how ESCalatewill respond to growing interest across the sector.

IntroductionHenry Liebling has agreed to act as aconsultant to support and directESCalate’s work in Education forSustainable Development (ESD).Over the next year, Henry will helpdevelop the ESCalate website toprovide annotated guidance on arange of resources. Henry is alsointerested in the theoretical andresearch issues that impact at HElevel. ESCalate has been working inthe area of ESD for two years, mainlyin collaboration with two groups; the

HE Academy’s ESD group led bySimon Smith (Associate Director ofthe Subject Centre for Philosophicaland Religious Studies), and theCentre for Sustainable Futures,based at University of Plymouth.

In this article Henry spells out somecore challenges for education ingeneral before taking a look at whatstudents and tutors working onprimary Initial Teacher Education(ITE) programmes can do to developESD.

The background to the currentinterest in ESD includes the RioSummit of 1992, the UNcomprehensive plan of action,Agenda 211, the Kyoto Protocol2 of1997, the Millennium DevelopmentGoals3, Sustainable Schools4 by2020, and the UN Decade ofEducation for SustainableDevelopment5 2005-2014. With allthis international attention, it’s easyfor a lack of clarity to develop overwhat the issues are for education inparticular.

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1 Agenda 21 www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21 2 UN Convention on Climate Change http://unfccc.int/2860.php 3 UN Millennium Development Goals http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/4 http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk/ 5 http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=27234&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Education for Sustainable Development

What is ESD?Education for sustainabledevelopment enables people todevelop the knowledge, values andskills to participate in decisionsabout the way we do thingsindividually and collectively, bothlocally and globally, that will improvethe quality of life now withoutdamaging the planet for the future.(National Curriculum 2000)

What is SustainableDevelopment?Sustainable development is a way ofthinking about how we organise ourlives and work –including oureducation system– so that we don’tdestroy our most precious resource,the planet.

From over-fishing to global warming,our way of life is placing anincreasing burden on the planet,which cannot be sustained. Thingswhich were once taken for grantedsuch as a secure supply of energy ora stable climate do not look sopermanent now.We need to help people in all partsof the world to find solutions thatimprove their quality of life withoutstoring up problems for the future, orimpacting unfairly on other people’slives.

Sustainable development meansmuch more than recycling bottles orgiving money to charity. It is aboutthinking and working in a profoundlydifferent way. (National Framework for SustainableSchools accessed 12 July 2007,Teachernet 20076)

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6 http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/sustainableschools/framework/framework_detail.cfm

7 www.friendsprovident.com/common/layouts/subSectionLayout.jhtml?pageId=fpcouk%2FSitePageSimple%3ASRI+CSR

8 http://observer.guardian.co.uk/ethicalawards

education is to retain its distinctivecharacter, it needs to maintain anenthusiastic but critical stance. Allthat looks green isn’t ESD and auniversity education should at leastprovide the skills and knowledge tochallenge the unscrupulous and themisinformed. For those working inteacher education, there is a doubleresponsibility to provide high qualityeducation to others, in schools andcolleges. Can we become moreaware? Can ESD help us in thisendeavour?

Dennis Meadows (2004) in a 30-yearupdate of his earlier groundbreakingwork, reminds us of two propertiesof complex systems germane tosustainability:• Information is the key to

transformation• Systems strongly resist changes

in their information flows,especially in their rules and goals

Meadows also identifies someessential characteristics for anysociety that hopes to survive overthe long term: visioning; networking;truth-telling; learning; loving,(compassion?).

Why this? Why now?Across ESD there is a co-operativemood to generate and shareapproaches and materials.Nationally there is a ubiquitoussense of ‘greening’, with a range ofmotives, from diverse contexts suchas Socially Responsible Investmentand Ethical Awards78 . There aregovernment eco-initiatives in allareas as well as some big businessgroups moving towards zero carbonand carbon neutral policies,conscience-salving carbon off-setting with uncertain but potentialbenefits, organic ‘Fairtrade’ ownbrand goods in supermarkets,Triodos and Co-operative Bankoffering greener financial services,and numerous NGOs linkingtogether for G8 interventions andJubilee Debt Relief. In short there isa growing feeling ofinterconnectedness and comingtogether in a way which could onlybe dreamt about thirty years ago.

All the great issues of today areinterconnected. An improved qualityof life for all could mean a reducedstandard of living for the mostvoracious consumers. How couldthat be managed and what partshould education play? HigherEducation needs to engage withthese changes. Many students andtutors are personally committed andwant to work in organisations whichrecognise this shift. Individual HEorganisations cannot afford to belabelled as lacking green credentials.For those involved in teachereducation and in research there aretwo challenges. If university

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Changes toESCalate website

In order to effect transformationthrough information, we propose todevelop an open access alternativeportal for and with students, tutors,teachers and pupils working onEducation for SustainableDevelopment. We wish to involveand network with partners in HE andboth government9 and NGOs10. Theinitial work will be in the area ofPrimary ITE in HE in the UK.

We will start to select some hardand soft resources to complementthe government’s NationalFramework for Sustainable SchoolsEight Doorways site. These links,annotated lists of books, resources,organisations and websites shouldbe up and running on the ESCalatesite by the end of 2007. We intendto add links, references, reviews andprovide downloads (mainly pdf) ofresources. We need to workcollaboratively and hope you willoffer, recommend and reviewresources.

We will try to find and make links tomaterials you request, if we can.This system of ‘Offers andRequests’ can change the flow ofinformation and can work well insuch a dynamic and fast movingarea as ESD in HE.

ESD is not new and lineage can befound in both EnvironmentalEducation11 and DevelopmentEducation12 over the past 50years. There is also a vast legacy ofknowledge and understandingfrom the earliest human thoughtsabout survival, what matters to usand our relationship witheverything that surrounds us,through the development ofreligious, philosophical andscientific thought and systems ofeducation by many varied societiesover the whole planet. Currently weare dominated by a reductionistparadigm which is now failing us.We expect a logical, rationalexplanation for all things, but ourblame culture increasinglyproduces uncertainty, chaos andextreme weather. We rarely if everconsider the consequences of ouractions on seven generations ofour descendants let alone one!

We envisage offering and inviting: • Links to websites such as

Training and DevelopmentAgency for Schools (TDA),Teacher Training Resource Bank(TTRB), Teachernet, Eco-schools, Oxfam’s Cool Planet,WWF, FoE, Practical Action,Treehugger, Teach Global,Educating for a SustainableFuture, and Global Dimension

9 www.direct.gov.uk 10 www.globaldimension.org.uk 11 www.naee.org.uk 12 www.dep.org.uk

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ReferencesMeadows D. et al (2004)The Limits to Growth,Chelsea Green Publishing

Henry Liebling,ESCalate AcademicConsultant

• We will be enhancing our annotatedcommentary and reviews ofmaterials such asbooks, software and websites

• We will gather news and otherinformation

• Resources to go on theESCalate website

Many people welcome gettingstarted with ESD through soft entrypoints e.g. WWF posters.

For students working in ITE we willdevelop links to resources includingexamples from work in school;materials for subject specialists andstudents following Education Studiesprogrammes. Resources are likely tooverlap with Social work, Health &Early Years.

Look out for the inclusion of specificESD resources on the ESCalate siteand please respond with commentsand additional links, resources andideas.

a university-community partnershipThe University of Plymouth made a successful bid to HEFCE for a Centre for Excellence inSustainability. The Centre for Sustainable Futures committed itself to working across: curriculum,campus, community and culture. The Green Village project is part of the CSF engagement withsustainable change within communities.

The GreenVillage Project:

Olya Maiboroda, Colin Trier and James Gray-Donald, Centre for Sustainable Futures

AbstractThis paper reports on one significantproject which aimed to meet theCentre for Sustainable Future’smandate to build university-community partnerships, to researchhow such partnerships work, and tomake recommendations for futurepartnerships in order to play anactive role in promoting thesustainability of communities in theregion. The Green Village projectchallenged a community to answerwhat it means for a rural communityto become more sustainable.

BackgroundThe Centre for Sustainable Futures(CSF) is funded for five years topromote education for sustainabledevelopment within its hostinstitution, the University ofPlymouth. CSF takes a holistic viewof education for sustainabledevelopment and has a model ofinstitutional change that includescurriculum, campus, community andcultural change1. The Centre hosteda five day residential think-tank aboutuniversity-community relations atSchumacher College beginning

November 20th 20052.Representatives from communitygroups, charities, non-governmentalorganizations, HE Academy SubjectCentres, and regional and localgovernment officials interacted withthe seven full-time CSF staff andmany of the 22 lecturers at theUniversity of Plymouth who workclosely with CSF. One outcome ofthe think-tank is a community forumhosted every two months by CSF atthe University to keep the dialogueabout university-communityrelationships active.

ESCalatenews 19

In January 2006, Westden3 (oneof the charities participating in thethink-tank) approached CSF witha request to join a newly formedone year long Green Villageinitiative. Westden and the CSFformulated a partnershipagreement to clarify the roles ofthe key players: Westden as afacilitator and coordinator of theprocess, the villagers as the keyowners and decision-makers inthe process, and the CSFmonitoring and contributing to theprocess through providing asound research element and, asneeded, relevant academicexpertise to the project.

Following a presentation byWestden a vote was taken at theBelstone Parish annual meeting,and the village of Belstonestrongly agreed to be selected asthe site for the Green Villageproject. Belstone is a picturesquevillage of 120 homes and on thenorthern edge of DartmoorNational Park, Devon, UnitedKingdom. Belstone was a miningand cattle farming town which haschanged with the times tobecome a conservative, well-conserved village with highproperty prices and a significantnumber of people commuting towork in nearby cities.

The Green Village process wasorganised and sustained throughmonthly meetings of a steeringgroup composed of eightmembers of Belstone village, oneperson representing Westden,one researcher from CSF and onesenior lecturer in environmentalscience from the University ofPlymouth.

Research agendaA research agenda was set at thebeginning of the project, though theresearch was iterative in the way thatit adapted to the needs of the projectand the knowledge gained so far.Principles of action research4 wereclosely followed and two academicpapers have been submitted to apeer-reviewed journal. Researchincluded:• Early in the project a questionnaire

survey of all the households in thevillage.

• Two rounds of interviews with all ofthe members of the steering groupwhich were transcribed.

• Focus groups with the youth,village members not in the steeringgroup, and the steering group.

The researcher also took extensiveobservational notes and reflectionsthroughout the project.

List of action projectsThe research played an importantrole in helping identify projects to goforward during the one year longGreen Village project. While all of theaction projects were decided uponby the steering group, they werereceptive to advice from Westden,the academic and the researcher.The list of projects includes:• Awareness raising events. These

were well attended and revolvedaround shared food followed by apresentation or film. Eventsincluded:- Talks about Recycling, Personal

Sustainability, Alternative EnergySchemes, the impact of climatechange on wildlife, anintroduction to the Green VillageProject, a low carbon footprintcommunity project in Somerset5.

- A screening of the film The Endof Suburbia6.

- A whole day focusing on localfood with demonstrations andtasting.

- A visit to a permaculture forestgarden on the Dartington HallEstate7 (one hour drive fromBelstone).

- An event for representatives ofnine neighbouring communitiesto learn first-hand about theGreen Village project from itssteering group.

• A biodiversity study sponsored byDevon County Council.

• Household energy surveys for tenhomes conducted by the DevonAssociation for Renewable Energy.

• A sustainability survey indicatedthat most of the youth were goingbeyond the village boundaries formany of their social activities. Inresponse a Belstone Youth Groupwas formed which meets regularlyand has 18 members.

• Funding was provided to conducta feasibility study to install a localsmall-scale hydro-electricityscheme which indicated a highpotential. The study is ongoing.

• Though not a project in itself, therewas clear evidence of behaviourchange of those active in theGreen Village process to reducetheir individual and collectiveecological footprints and also toincrease the social networks andresiliency especially for the youth.

Partnership lessonsThe research clearly pointed out thatthe process of university-communityinvolvement proved to be deeplymeaningful and rewarding for all.Perhaps, the main reason why thispartnership worked well was that itwas not dominated by any singlepartner. Westden initiated theprocess, but entered into it with

20 ESCalatenews

openness, flexibility and an attitudeof seeing the villagers as owners ofthe process and therefore enablingthem to create their own process.When after several months into theproject, it became clear that theoriginal timetable drawn by Westdenwas not reflecting the process thatwas emerging there was no doubtabout following the process and notthe timetable.

Another reason for thepartnership working well is that allknowledge brought into the processwas considered of equal value.Although Westden and the Universityhad specific expertise to offer, thosewere not viewed above the localknowledge possessed by thevillagers. There was a sharedunderstanding that everybody wasan expert in his or her own right and,at the same time, a learner. It mustbe noted, however, that all thevillagers on the steering group wereerudite and articulate, and in mostcases, came from a professionalbackground following universityeducation.

Personal qualities of openness,candour, good humour, positivespiritedness and a can-do attitudethat people brought into thispartnership were just as important astheir professional credentials.

Perhaps, the Green Village was‘lucky’ in that the people on thesteering group possessed qualitiesthat were largely complementary.There was a real sense ofcommitment from all partnersinvolved, which was the basis fordeveloping trust:

I drew up our partnership agreement,so that there are nomisunderstandings what theobjectives are. We haven’t referredto it yet, and I am not sure that we’llneed to. I think that so much comesdown to personal trust. I think thatwe just happen to be fellow humanbeings working for differentorganisations, motivated towardsvery similar ends. - Oz Osborne,Westden.

An interesting and valuable reflectionon the roles of the “external” partnerswas offered by one of the villagers onthe steering group, who wrote:

One of the most significant thingsabout the ‘partnership’ is that theinvolvement of the CSF andWestden has provided (along withmany other things) an element ofindependent arbitration andmoderation. I get the feeling that thislatter role may have been played at

ESCalatenews 21

1 Dyer, A., Selby, D. and Chalkley, B. 2006. A centre for excellence in education for sustainable development.Journal of Geography in Higher Education, Vol. 30, pp. 307-312.

2 The think-tank lasted three weeks in total, with the last week focusing on regional partnerships. The think-tankis currently being written into a book and should be published late 2007.

3 Westden are the West Devon Environmental Network. They have been a charity since 1994 with the vision “tocreate sustainable rural communities in Devon.” www.westden.co.uk/about.htm

4 as described in Greenwood, D.J., and Levin, M. (1998). Introduction to Action Research: Social Research forSocial Change. London: SAGE Publications.

5 The project is called Go Zero. “Go Zero is a community project based in Chew Magna that raises awarenessof the environmental and social impact of our everyday actions and provides suggestions for change towardsa zero waste society.” www.gozero.org.uk/

6 The full title is “The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of The American Dream” and is writtenand directed by Greg Greene and Gregory Greene. It was released in 2004 by The Electric Wallpaper Co.

7 Dartington Hall Estate is managed by the Dartington Hall Trust which is “a charitable company based nearTotnes in South Devon” www.dartington.org/pages/about_us/introduction.html

8 Name changed to protect anonymity.9 The student stated that she gained a lot from the experience and that she used her report to help gain access

to further education.

Colin can give a presentationto your university of communitygroupc.trier@plymouth.ac.ukhttp://csf.plymouth.ac.uk

Colin TrierSenior Lecturer,School of Earth Oceanand EnvironmentalSciences

least partly unwittingly. While at theoutset there was some emphasison how the Green Village initiativewas to be owned by Belstone etcetc., the simple fact is that in manyrespects it is the “external”partners who have effectivelyplayed the role to be expectedfrom a beneficent Chair. - Richard8

In the case of the University (CSF),the level of its involvement isatypical in these kinds of projects,and was only possible because ofadditional external (to theuniversity) funding. Most UKuniversities are under increasingpressure to account for all stafftime and cannot easily afford toparticipate in community projects,other than student research. TheGreen Village projectdemonstrates the value ofuniversity engagement to the localcommunity. At the same time, theuniversity benefited through astudent placement on the projectoffered by Westden9 , a seminargiven by members of the GreenVillage steering group at theuniversity, the likelihood of two orthree publications and helping tobuild a reputation for not being anisolated ivory tower in theSouthwest.

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ESCalate Initial Teacher Education willpresent a new face to the world fromAugust 1st 2007 as St. Martin’s Collegeamalgamates with Cumbria Institute ofthe Arts, and the Cumbrian campusesof the University of Central Lancashire tocreate the University of Cumbria. Theseare exciting times as we look forward tocontinuing our support for the ITEcommunity from the new university,retaining what we know is successfuland useful, and developing newinitiatives to further benefit the sector.

This year all our activities havecontributed to a service which has beenappreciated by the ITE community. Wehave presented our third annualconference at St. Martin’s College,Lancaster and seminars on Masterslevel PGCE in the University ofGloucestershire and Liverpool JohnMoores University. A seminar on thenew (QTS – Qualified Teacher Status)standards for classroom teachers tookplace at the University of East London.Workshops on Every Child Matters tookplace in a wide range of institutions:Sunderland University, the OpenUniversity in Milton Keynes, theUniversity of Gloucestershire, Universityof Wales Newport, the University of East

A message fromESCalate to theInitial TeacherEducationcommunity

Lookingback,lookingforward

London, Bishop Grosseteste UniversityCollege Lincoln, the University of EastAnglia, the University of Wolverhamptonand the Swansea Institute of Education.We had workshops on four yeardegrees with contributions fromScotland and Northern Ireland andcontinued the expansion of the websitethrough the Help Directory(www.escalate.ac.uk/ite/help). Thankyou to all our hosts and contributors.

It has been evident throughout the yearhow much valuable work is being doneacross the sector and we are delightedto meet such a wide range of colleaguesfrom so many far flung institutions. Theannual conference, for example, owesmuch of its success to the highlyprofessional delivery of symposia andworkshops by a large number ofcolleagues. Work done in theworkshops has been posted on thewebsite and formed a valuable resourcefrom colleagues’ hard work on the day.Our workplans for 2007-8 build onmany links made during the course ofthe year and continue the work oninterprofessional working, thetransforming schools agenda and othernational policy initiatives whilst, at thesame time, seeking opportunities to gobeyond the political agenda andexamine teacher education in depth andbreadth, drawing on the experiences ofEngland, Scotland, Wales and NorthernIreland and beyond.

Here are some of our plans, butremember that we are responsive to thesector and our workplans are not set instone. If you feel there is a burning issuewhich we need to address, we need tohear from you. Write toescalate@cumbria.ac.uk

Pete Boyd’s tool-kit on induction andtransition needs of new teachers isavailable on-line atwww.escalate.ac.uk/3662. Pete hopesto be out and about next year sharingthis important work in workshops. Likethis year we are looking to takeworkshops and seminars around theUK. If you would like us to present an

event at your institution, please contactus – we want to enable as many teachereducators as possible to work with usand do not want to be overly restrictedby geography. We are working onseminar possibilities of developingassessment for teacher educators,using e-portfolios with staff, creativity,looking at subject knowledge, and, ofcourse, always a watchful eye oninterprofessional working. If you haveany ideas or would like to contribute,please contact us. It will soon be timefor the call for papers for our fourthannual conference, so watch forinformation on this in September.

We intend to continue to develop oursection of the website this year under itsnew identity of ESCalate at theUniversity of Cumbria. The website is foryou and mostly made by you, so pleasecontinue to contribute your ideashowever great or small. Leading fromour two successful seminars in 2007,we are hoping to begin a researchproject into M level PGCE. This is a jointESCalate/University of Cumbria/UCETinitiative and has the intention oftracking the progress and effect of Mlevel PGCE provision in England fromSeptember 2007 with the intention ofinvestigating the value-added it bringsto the teaching profession. We want toinclude as many providers as possible inthis research and, particularly, to benefitfrom examples of M level provision fromthe rest of the UK. The scale of thisresearch is potentially huge, so we arestarting small, within the bounds ofavailable resources and welcome anyhelp.

We have a busy year ahead with noshortage of possibilities to improve ourservice to the community. Thank you foryour support this year and we willendeavour to do our best for you in2007-8.

Dr AlisonJackson(ESCalate ITE Leader)University of Cumbria

The funding is aimed at UKeducational researchers who arealready established in the field withhigh quality publications but are yetto become Principal Investigators(or equivalent) in their own right.

Modest funding (based on traveland subsistence expenses) isprovided for a targeted mentoringprogramme with a moreexperienced colleague working toenhance the applicant's ability tosecure research funding andpublish their work.

The Scheme’s purpose is toenhance UK-wide research capacityby helping the next generation ofresearch leaders' progress. Fundinghas been allocated for up to 30Fellowships in the period up toDecember 2008.

Andrew Pollard, TLRP’s Director,said: “This scheme supports theexchange of expertise across theUK educational researchcommunity. It is a wonderfulopportunity for the next generationof leading researchers to accesspractical support from seniorcolleagues. The last round even

spread this internationally, toinclude Etienne Wenger! So thepoint to new researchers is simple –if you really want to get started withserious funding and publications,get on your email, pick up thephone and take the initiative!Meetings of Minds is there to help.”

The first round of the Scheme wasannounced in May 2006 and thethird round has just closed with fournew fellows being added to make atotal of 19. Fellows and theirmentors are based across the UK inover 20 different institutions andinitial feedback shows thatfellowships are providing a fruitfulway for researchers to set asidetime for developing proposals andpublications. The Scheme stipulatesthat the Fellow's academicinstitution must make acommitment to allow significanttime to work on outcomes resultingfrom the Fellowship.

Each applicant is asked to producea short report detailing theoutcomes of their experiences whenthe Fellowship comes to an end.The first round of these areexpected imminently.

Full details of the Scheme andan application form can be foundon the TLRP website herewww.tlrp.org/manage/fund.htmland more information on theScheme including a full list ofFellows is available herewww.tlrp.org/capacity/fellowships.html

If you would like any furtherinformation please contacttlrp@ioe.ac.uk

TLRP is the Economic and SocialResearch Council's largestinvestment in education research.It was initiated in 2000 and isexpected to end in 2011. Theprogramme incorporates 700researchers in 70 projects, whichcover all education sectors – fromEarly Years to Higher Educationand Workplace Learning. TLRPresearchers work closely inpartnership with practitioners toensure the application offindings to policy andpractice.

ESCalatenews 23

TLRP Fellowship Scheme The Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) is pleased to announcethe fourth round of its Meetings of Minds Fellowship Scheme.

Meeting of Minds

James O’TooleTLRP at theInstitute of Education

eventsDate(s) Details Venue

Enhancing the Quality and Outcomes of Disabled Students’ Learning inHigher Education Conference Presents the key findings that come from the ESRC TLRP Phase III research projectFor more information visit:http://www.glos.ac.uk/faculties/ehs/education/tlrp/conferenceoct07.cfm

Management, Leadership and Influence - a leadership development eventOrganised by: SWAP in conjunction with Health Sciences and Practice andMedicine, Dentistry and Veterinary MedicineFormore informationvisit: www.swap.ac.uk/events/workshop.asp?ref=1459

Professional Wisdom and Responsible Decision Making in EducationA series of workshops exploring the theme of ethical decision makingFor more information visit: http://escalate.ac.uk/3943

University life uncovered - how are students’ experiences outside theclassroom impacting their learning? A national one-day research conference For more information visit: http://escalate.ac.uk/3927

UCET Annual Conference 2007 Universities Council for the Education of Teachers Annual ConferenceFor more information visit: http://www.ucet.ac.uk/ac07.html

Becoming a Lecturer in Initial Teacher EducationA one day practical workshop for new teacher educatorsFor more information visit: http://escalate.ac.uk/3947

The Higher Education Role in Integrated Children’s Services: PreparingTomorrow’s ProfessionalsThis conference is for educators and training providers in Higher Education, togetherwith their partners (practitioners, employers and service users) who are developingand delivering programmes to meet the needs of Integrated Children’s Services.For more information visit: http://escalate.ac.uk/3959

The Practice of Academic Writing This event will focus on an overview of writing for publication in academic journals,books and also for funding bids. The keynote speaker is Professor Miriam Zukas,University of Leeds, editor of the journal Studies in the Education of Adults.For more information visit: http://www.f-a-c-e.org.uk/seminars.htm

The Assessment of Professional Learning; Theory and Practice1st International ConferenceContact: Mike Radford email: m.radford@canterbury.ac.uk

The Professional DoctorateAn EdD conference on research degrees in Education including the QAA andEuropean perspectives - current issues and debatesFor more information visit: http://escalate.ac.uk/3963

Challenging the orthodoxies: alternative approaches for research into HE3rd Annual ConferenceContact: Michelle Haynes email: m.haynes@mdx.ac.uk

Advance notification of Events for 2008

4th Annual ESCalate ITE Conference - Innovation and Development inInitial Teacher Education Call for papers – The deadline for submissions is Monday 21st January 2008For more information visit: http://escalate.ac.uk/3915

The Teaching-Research Interface: Implications for Practice in HE and FEA collaborative conference with CRLL For further information contact escalate@stir.ac.uk

Wed 24 October 2007

Thu 1-Fri 2 November 2007

Thu 8-Fri 9 November 2007

Fri 9 November 2007

Fri 9-Sat 10th November 2007

Thurs 22 November 2007

Mon 26 November 2007

Wed 28 November 2007

Wed 28-Fri 30 November 2007

Wed 5 December 2007

Thu 6 December 2007

Fri 16 May 2008

Wed 29-30 April 2008

Godfrey Thomson Hall,Moray House Schoolof Education,University of Edinburgh

National College forSchool Leadership,Nottingham

University ofNewport

ManchesterMetropolitanUniversity

Staverton ParkConference Centre,Daventry, Northants

University ofBirminghamConference Park

ManchesterConference Centre,University ofManchester

Staffordshire University

University of Rouen

RoehamptonUniversity, London

Mary Ward House,Tavistock Place,London WC1H 9SN

University of Cumbria,Carlisle

University of Stirling

If you would like to find out more, express an interestor to register for any ESCalate event please visitwww.escalate.ac.uk/events