To grade or not to grade: balancing formative and summative assessment in post-16 teacher trainee observations

The issue of whether trainee teachers in the post-16 sector should have their classroom practice graded has been debated for a number of years. The case for training courses retaining an emphasis on written and verbal ‘developmental’ feedback at the expense of ‘judgements’ appears to be lost. This article is set within the context of an ever-growing culture of performativity in English further education colleges, where grading is regarded as an essential requirement to ensure high quality teaching. Tensions are explored between stakeholders who call for graded observations of trainees’ classroom performance (e.g. Ofsted and FEC quality assurance managers), and classroom-based trainers and researchers who argue that grading is too judgemental and compromises the formative and developmental progress of trainees. The rationale for trainee teachers to have their classroom practice graded is contrasted with evidence that highlights the negative results of grading. This article reports findings from the evaluation of an innovative, alternative strategy that addresses Ofsted’s central requirement for trainees to know ‘where they are’ in their development by offering a middle way between grading and not grading trainees’ classroom performance

"Aye, but it were wasted on thee": Cricket, British Asians, ethnic identities, and the 'magical recovery of community'

People in sport tend to possess rather jaded perceptions of its colour-blindness and thus, they are reluctant to confront the fact that, quite often racism is endemic. Yorkshire cricket in particular, has faced frequent accusations from minority ethnic communities of inveterate and institutionalised racism and territorial defensiveness. Drawing upon semi-structured interviews conducted with amateur white and British Asian cricketers, this paper examines the construction of regional identities in Yorkshire at a time when traditional myths and invented traditions of Yorkshire and 'Yorkshireness' are being deconstructed. This is conceptualised through a reading of John Clarke's 'magical recovery of community'. Although cricket has been multiracial for decades, I argue that some people's position as insiders is more straightforward than others. I present evidence to suggest that, regardless of being committed to Yorkshire and their 'Yorkshireness', white Yorkshire people may never fully accept British Asians as 'one of us'. Ideologically and practically, white Yorkshire people are engaged in constructing British Asians as anathema to Yorkshire culture. The paper concludes by advocating that, for sports cultures to be truly egalitarian, the ideology of sport itself has to change. True equality will only ever be achieved within a deracialised discourse that not only accepts difference, but embraces it

Use of standardized body composition measurements and malnutrition screening tools to detect malnutrition risk and predict clinical outcomes in children with chronic conditions

Background: Better tools are needed to diagnose and identify children at risk of clinical malnutrition. / Objectives: We aimed to compare body composition (BC) and malnutrition screening tools (MSTs) for detecting malnutrition on admission; and examine their ability to predict adverse clinical outcomes [increased length of stay (LOS) and complications] in complex pediatric patients. / Methods: This was a prospective study in children 5–18 y old admitted to a tertiary pediatric hospital (n = 152). MSTs [Pediatric Yorkhill Malnutrition Score (PYMS), Screening Tool for the Assessment of Malnutrition in Pediatrics (STAMP), and Screening Tool for Risk of Impaired Nutritional Status and Growth (STRONGkids)] were completed on admission. Weight, height, and BC [fat mass (FM) and lean mass (LM) by DXA] were measured (n = 118). Anthropometry/BC and MSTs were compared with each other and with clinical outcomes. / Results: Subjects were significantly shorter with low LM compared to reference data. Depending on the diagnostic criteria used, 3%–17% were classified as malnourished. Agreement between BC/anthropometric parameters and MSTs was poor. STAMP and STRONGkids identified children with low weight, LM, and height. PYMS, and to a lesser degree STRONGkids, identified children with increased LOS, as did LM compared with weight or height. Patients with complications had lower mean ± SD LM SD scores (−1.38 ± 1.03 compared with −0.74 ± 1.40, P < 0.05). In multivariable models, PYMS high risk and low LM were independent predictors of increased LOS (OR: 3.76; 95% CI: 1.36, 10.35 and OR: 3.69; 95% CI: 1.24, 10.98, respectively). BMI did not predict increased LOS or complications. / Conclusions: LM appears better than weight and height for predicting adverse clinical outcomes in this population. BMI was a poor diagnostic parameter. MSTs performed differently in associations to BC/anthropometry and clinical outcomes. PYMS and LM provided complementary information regarding LOS. Studies on specific patient populations may further clarify the use of these tools and measurements

Technological frames and the politics of automated electric light rail rapid transit in Poland and the United Kingdom

Light Rapid Transit (LRT) systems are often backed not only because they satisfy basic mobility functions, but because they can revitalize urban centers, affirm the legitimacy of state planners, support innovation and even cultivate an image of a city or region as progressive and modern. In this study, we argue that electrified, automated LRT systems can fulfill private functional frames, private symbolic frames, societal functional frames, and societal symbolic frames. In particular, we argue that light rail can fulfill private functional frames (making passengers feel safe, offering a cheap and efficient mode of transport), private symbolic frames (signifying political identity or exclusionary planning), societal functional frames (environmental stewardship), and societal symbolic frames (such as modernism or innovativeness). Essentially, these frames encompass not only what light rail is and does, but what it means and represents, and even some of its failures and challenges. The article then identifies ten specific frames associated with two case studies of automated light rail systems, the established Docklands Light Rail (DLR) in the United Kingdom, and the emerging Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) in Poland. We find that the DLR is not only a vital part of meeting (functional) demand for mobility, it is innovative and exciting to ride, legitimation of a conservative approach to project development, a social injustice (to some), an environmentally friendly alternative to cars, and a perceived magnet for global investment into the greater Docklands area. Similarly, the PRT is not only a reliable and safe mode of transit, but also a technical marvel, a monopoly breaking symbol, a clean and sustainable form of mobility, and a reflection of progressive Polish innovation and entrepreneurship (or enduring failure)

Book Reviews

Obra ressenyada: Laurie TAYLOR, Thinking Allowed [Internet], BBC Radio 4