'I see managerialism as a virus'

'I see managerialism as a virus' | Society | SocietyGuardian.co.uk:

"I see managerialism as a virus which has as its main attribute the destruction of altruism and of individual clinical and scholarly activity. I think that is a bad thing, for it suppresses individual oddities like me.

Managerialism does not allow outliers, but it is from those outliers, those mavericks, those oddballs that innovation is spawned. And I know that if the managerial systems we now live under in universities and the NHS existed 25 years ago, we would not have been able to do what we did. We would not have been able to tear up the old beliefs and models of care, particularly for drinkers, and try something new. We would still be insisting on treating so-called alcoholics in residential facilities.

And now we are being told that what we do is not good enough. We are told there is cash for change, not for sustaining what we have already created. What changes, a return to a belief in the diseases of alcoholism and drug addiction with some kind of genetic or biochemical basis?

I have lived my life in a highly politicised domain of healthcare, where prejudices rather than evidence drive our actions. And it is getting worse. There is a preoccupation with so-called evidence based practice. Very often the evidence is collected from compliant subjects thousands of miles removed from the populations we attempt to care for.

What about practice-based evidence?"

Fantastically relevant article for Part 1 "The concept of evidence-based practice" and actually it contradicts some of the ideas proposed by Hargreaves (1996) in his comparison of the idealised evidence-based environment of medicine vs. the chaotic unprofessionalism found in education (paraphrased very badly no doubt!). Managerialism exists in many different professions and seems incompatible with providing evidence for good practice no matter what the profession's previous foundations. A thought-provoking article.

Reference:

Hargreaves, D. (1996) Teaching as a research-based profession: possibilities and prospects, The Teacher Training Agency Lecture 1996

PhD survival guide

Bet they don't cover this in E891 as part of the 'this will help prepare you for PhD-level study' bit. Lovingly reproduced from Patrick Tomlin's article in the Education Guardian...

PhD survival guide | comment | EducationGuardian.co.uk: So here is my 'PhD survival guide', the five essential things any new doctoral student needs to know:

1. Adopt the correct attitude towards undergraduates. This is a complicated mixture of pity, disdain, condescension, benevolent indulgence and complete indifference. Don't try to be like them, in any way. Don't attempt to talk to them about the new Arctic Killers or Snow Monkeys song. The main point is that, at all times, you should mask your seething envy of their youth, freedom, good looks and future options.

2. Make an effort to get to know the non-academic staff and existing doctoral students on your programme. They're the ones who know how things really work in the department.

3. Presumably, having got on to a PhD programme, you're pretty bright. Now, come on, don't be bashful, you are. But you have to get used to the fact that the other people around you now are likely to be as clever as, if not - gasp - cleverer than you. This realisation hit me about four weeks into term, during a seminar fairly closely related to my topic. Non-specialists who appeared to be about 12 were asking insightful and important questions. My sole contribution was to clarify whether something in the handout was a typo. It wasn't. Get over it. Get used to being a small fish and realise that being around so many other people interested in the same stuff as you, and at the same level, is a fantastic resource.

4. If you're moving somewhere where you don't know anyone, try to make friends with people other than those in your department. Never-ending talk about your area and thesis will drive you insane.

5. Try to treat the PhD as a job. Hopefully, that way you will get plenty done without letting your research pervade every aspect and minute of your life. There's no employer peeking over your shoulder or tapping a watch when you come in late, but you must develop an internal boss. If you struggle to do this, acquire a partner who can make a morning cup of tea both a gesture of love and a veiled threat. My steaming brew always seems to be saying to me: "I love you. Oh, and I'm getting up to go to work now, and I very strongly suggest you do the same."

'Now I see the teacher's point of view'

Article in today's Education Guardian which ties in nicely with some of the comments made by Hargreaves in Reading 2. Children learn by teaching = education researchers learning by teaching. The separation of practice from knowledge and the creation of experience and evidence exists for children, just as it does for those carrying out research into education. Separate one from the other and an opportunity for deepening understanding is missed. Anyway... the link to the article is below...

'Now I see the teacher's point of view' | News crumb | EducationGuardian.co.uk: "'Now I see the teacher's point of view' The best way to learn is by teaching, as some schoolchildren are finding out. Janet Murray reports"

May be worth coming back to...

Killer blogger

10 Ways to a Killer Blog

From: yizmo, 10 months ago





Presentation of Robert and Maryam Scoble about how to blog well. The Blog Business Summit 2006 is a conference and seminar series focused on business blogging.


Link: SlideShare Link

Assessing information

Safari: "Skills in Accessing, Finding, and Reviewing Information"



Really useful little site from the OU (you may need to log in to see it) which runs through a whole load of information evaluation skills, including the PROMPT checklist which is really handy in establishing reliability of material online.

Definitely worth a trot through or even just taking a look at the contents page and skipping straight to the relevant part.

Students' biggest concern is feedback | Students | EducationGuardian.co.uk

Students' biggest concern is feedback | Students | EducationGuardian.co.uk: "Students' biggest concern is feedback Anthea Lipsett Wednesday September 12, 2007 EducationGuardian.co.uk Universities will have to do more to influence student perceptions of good feedback, higher education officials said today, as they unveiled the results of the third national student survey (NSS). The survey asked final-year students about their experience of all aspects of university life including teaching, assessment and feedback, academic support, organisation and management, learning resources and personal development. Universities received the lowest score in the area of assessment and feedback, where 62% of students were satisfied. But Michael Arthur, chair of the NSS steering group and vice-chancellor of Leeds University, said students had concerns about feedback rather than assessment."

Possibly interesting article to note... how do students really feel about the feedback they give? Is it really more important in the long run than assessment - my instinct says that it is. An exam is good in the short run but it's the integral and longer term effect of feedback which lasts. I've just had my H807 result and have been ecstatic with it... but... was it a good learning experience overall? My honest answer is 'no'. No engagement student-to-student, tutor-to-student... and it's a hollow result. Had there been that all important quality feedback and a learning relationship established, then I might feel differently. A course which covers education theories and innovation - well, it ended up feeling like a sham because the reality didn't match up to the words which were headed our way.

Could be an interesting area for investigation. Particularly important in the area of elearning because if there is little face-to-face contact, then what is there left other than feedback to help the learner along? Well, probably other things exist to support learners too, but I'd still suggest that the right sort of feedback is critical. But what is that exactly??