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"learning"

Distance education is a growing area of interest in the academic literature. An explosion of articles has appeared in recent years documenting this trend at postsecondary institutions. The topics addressed in the literature include the demand for distance education, its acceptance by students and instructors, the quality of distance learning, the methods of delivery, the economic impact of providing distance education, and the technological requirements necessary for the delivery of online courses. This bibliography focuses on the academic literature of the last decade and provides an overview for planners and policymakers in their attempt to develop quality distance education programs.

Background. The literature review presented here was conducted as part of an English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting funded project to evaluate the use of portfolios in the assessment of learning and competence. Initial consideration of the topic revealed the need to clarify the terminology and approaches used to assess competence using portfolios, and therefore the literature review was conducted to inform the study. Aims. To clarify definitions, theoretical bases and approaches to competence and the use of portfolios in the assessment of learning and competence in nursing education. Methods. A comprehensive literature review was conducted using the CINAHL and MEDLINE databases and the keywords competenc*, portfolios and nursing. Articles published in the period 1989-2001 in English were obtained and their reference lists scrutinized to identify additional references. Twenty articles were found using a combination of the keywords competenc* and portfolios, and 52 using the combination portfolios and nurse education. Articles were included in the review if they focused on the use of portfolios in nursing, and those concerned with professional or transitional portfolios were excluded. This article will analyse definitions of and approaches to competence and its measurement and to portfolios and their use as discussed in the articles identified. Results. Three approaches to competence were identified, each with its appropriate forms of assessment. With regard to portfolios, a number of definitions were again found, but there was a consensus that the theoretical basis of their use is theories of adult learning. A number of reasons for and advantages and disadvantages of their use were found, as well as varying ideas about what a portfolios should consist of and how it should be assessed. Conclusions. A holistic approach to competence seems to be compatible with the use of portfolios to assess competence in nursing students, but the concept and its implementation is still evolving. A variety of assessment methods are needed for assessment and portfolios appear to have the potential to integrate these. Reflection is an essential component of a portfolio, as are the student-teacher relationship and explicit guidelines for constructing the portfolio. Issues of rigour in assessment of portfolios need to be addressed, but the assessor's professional judgement will inevitably enter into this assessment.

This article investigates the experiences and training needs of student teachers as they learn to teach post-16 English on a secondary Post Graduate Certificate in Education. A case-study was conducted on a sample of Open University PGCE English students and mentors over a six-month period. Five research instruments were developed and used iteratively to generate qualitative data. The study reveals significant problems, resulting in students feeling underprepared at the end of their 11–18 PGCE for the demands of post-16 English teaching. The results illuminate the need for more effective models of learning to teach post-16 English. © 2003, Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

This article investigates the needs and experiences of student teachers in England and Wales as they learn to teach post-16 on an 11-18 Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). A different curriculum and assessment framework is in place post-16, offering much with which mentors might engage in their training role. However, mentoring in relation to post-16 teaching is reported as inconsistent. As a consequence, students feel underprepared at the end of their training for the demands of post-16 teaching. Students and mentors describe the demands of learning to teach post-16 differently to pre-16, particularly the need to differentiate subject knowledge. Yet little attention is given to effective post-16 teaching strategies in the literature, so students possess a false preconception of post-16 teaching, which mentors have not always been able to challenge. The research was organised as a case study of post-16 teaching and was conducted on a sample of Open University PGCE English students and mentors. Five research instruments were developed and used iteratively to generate qualitative data revealing student perceptions and mentor responses. The study reveals significant problems for student teachers as they learn to teach post-16, which were confirmed by mentors. The results illuminate the specific need for more effective models of post-16 mentoring in initial teacher training (ITT). Mentors need more effective training in the breadth of their role, and the ITT Standards need to ‘mainstream’ competence in post-16 teaching more explicitly. The results also exemplify the relative invisibility of the emerging 14-19 debate as it might affect ITT. The study concludes that post-16 teaching in schools is likely to continue to be on the margins of ITT, and might be better supported in a newly qualified teacher’s induction year. © 2003 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

This article explores perceptions of barriers to the take-up of higher level NVQs (levels 4/5). The literature on higher NVQ adoption is reviewed together with uptake statistics. Research involving interviews and case studies showed that the most successful higher NVQs are linked to professional qualifying routes, have generic application across a range of sectors or fill gaps where qualifications were not previously established. Higher NVQs suffer from credibility problems and variable delivery quality partly accounts for a tarnished image. Support for occupational standards is strong, but their design is not generally suited to higher qualifications. Awarding bodies need to assess the learning experience on award programmes more closely. Funding mechanisms disadvantage higher NVQs particularly in the university sector. NVQs are perceived to be relatively costly; however, there is little data available to enable objective comparison. Suggestions for overcoming these barriers are offered. © 2003 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Using a stimulated recall technique, eight apprentices were interviewed to identify the detailed learning strategies they used while constructing knowledge from flexible learning packages designed to develop workplace skills. The research shows that in their use of metacognitive, cognitive and social/affective learning strategies the apprentices in the sample made greatest use of those strategies that assisted them to construct knowledge as it was structured and presented by the learning package or by their instructors, trainers or supervisors. Little use was made of strategies that would indicate self-directed learning, working outside the structure provided, or learning independently of a sociocultural and hands-on context comprising their peers and their instructors. At the level of detail of learning strategies these results provide support for the larger scale quantitative research that has been previously conducted with apprentice learning preferences. © 2003 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

The paper provides the outcomes of two small-scale sets of interviews carried out in the Netherlands and in England on views about and interpretations of the work-based route for young people. In the light of current revival of interest in work-based learning for young people, and in particular the apprenticeship model in England, I was particularly interested in the issue of parity of esteem between the work-based route and other routes. Whereas in the Netherlands the focus for the development of Vocational Education and Training (VET) is on the full-time vocational route, which has a reasonably high status, England has opted for the apprenticeship route to be the development tool for high quality VET. The paper explores what we can learn about our own experiences in England in the light of what is happening elsewhere (Raffe, 1998; Raffe et al., 1999). It becomes clear from the data obtained that policy development in the Netherlands aims to increase the status of work-based learning through incorporating the route into the full-time route and providing end qualifications that can be achieved through either a full-time college-based route or through a work-based learning route. The modern apprenticeship route or work-based learning route as such has not a high status, contrary to what is sometimes claimed to be the case. In England, the aim of policymakers is to create a work-based learning route, which is considered to be a high quality route, and is comparable to the general/academic route. The paper shows that there are various reasons as to why this attempt might fail. Both countries aim to provide a 'ladder' or 'column' of opportunities in VET. The research shows that very few young people in fact move up a ladder, but rather move into work-based learning or apprenticeships at certain points on the continuum, and subsequently move sideways into general or theoretical provision in order to be able to progress higher up. Target groups for work-based learning are different at the lower end from those at levels 3, 4 and 5. Very few participants in either country move from level 1 up to level 4 through participation in a work-based route, and it may therefore be appropriate to talk about the provision of a climbing framework, where young people move backwards and forwards and sideways, rather than about a ladder of opportunities. © 2003, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

The pragmatist model of experiential learning in the form of work placements in industry provides opportunities for tertiary institutions to produce well-rounded graduates, possessing knowledge of workplace culture and values along with technical competencies. Work-based learning programmes provide graduates and leaders of tomorrow for a variety of business in the manufacturing sectors; such graduates are reported to rapidly advance in companies, and assume middle and senior management roles. Here, the authors propose that such employees need to develop an understanding of sustainability and suggest that work-based learning could act as a vehicle for delivering education for sustainability (EfS). This article begins with a description of the principles that underpin concepts for sustainability and EfS, and examines three models as to how work-based learning programmes could act as a vehicle for delivering EfS. © 2003 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

A participant observation study, located in central Scotland, was carried out to observe the process of skill acquisition among informally trained auto mechanics in the workplace. As well as noting processes of workplace learning, the benefits/limitations of this type of learning was noted and suggestions made as to how this information may be of benefit to the development of vocational education programmes for mechanics. lthough it is accepted that workplace learning by itself does not create an adequate formal training programme, it is an important constituent of most training regimes and, as such, the processes of skill acquisition should be of interest to those involved in the development or presentation of such programmes. © 2003 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

The article puts forward a case for broadening the curriculum within Higher Education to incorporate and encourage group work-based learning (GWBL) experiences for students. Two case studies are described within two universities in terms of organising, monitoring and assessing group-based work. It is argued that being a part of a 'consultancy team' and responding to 'real clients' enables students not only to enhance their skills base but also provides them with opportunities for personal and social development both within and outside the world of work. The debate centres upon the concept that work-based learning (WBL) should be more than just 'economistic' in the way that emphasis is placed primarily on 'training for employment'. This central tenet of government policy is considered to be a necessary but not a sufficient condition for providing for group work-based learning experiences for students. The concept of 'social capital' is explained in terms of how group participation can bring about moral, cognitive and social benefits to its members and to the wider community. © 2003, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.