This paper outlines the change context in which teachers are working in Northern Ireland. These c... more This paper outlines the change context in which teachers are working in Northern Ireland. These changes are summarized under the headings: System Review, Curriculum Review, Teacher Competences, Managed Learning Environment, Teachers' Health and Well-being and General Teaching Council. The backgrounds and implications of the changes are identified and the responses to them are discussed in relation to teachers' needs.
The Consulting Pupils on the Assessment of their Learning (CPAL) project comprises three interrel... more The Consulting Pupils on the Assessment of their Learning (CPAL) project comprises three interrelated studies focusing on (1) the development of Annual Pupil profiles in NI in the context of giving pupils 'a voice' (Lundy, 2007); (2) students' perceptions of 'AfL classrooms'; and (3) teachers' and parents' perceptions of pupils increasing participation in assessment. This paper presents the main findings and educational implications of studies 2 and 3 which consulted pupils at key stage 3 (11-14 years). It identifies teachers', parents' and students' perceptions of the increasing pupil participation in the assessment of their own classroom learning. Preliminary findings of this twenty-one month study, completed at the end of February 2007, were presented in this ECER Children's Rights Network last year (see Leitch et al. 2006). This presentation updates some of the main findings for Key stage 3 pupils. The samples included approximately 200 students and a sample of their parents (n=180) from six post-primary schools in Northern Ireland (NI), as well as 11 teachers of different subjects (i.e. Arts, Maths, English, Geography and Science). All teachers were engaged in an in-service course to help them embed Assessment for Learning (AfL)-a pedagogical approach that emphasizes the use of formative assessment to help students take control of their own learning by being aware of where they are, 'where they need to go to improve, and how best to get there' (Gardner, 2006). It establishes that, where principles of AfL are embedded in practice, pupils can experience high levels of participation in their learning and assessment. However, the relationship between consultation and participation requires further clarification and there is a need is to promote greater consistency amongst teachers in understanding what consultation means from a rights-based perspective.
This project examined pupils' participation in their own assessment from a children's rights pers... more This project examined pupils' participation in their own assessment from a children's rights perspective, based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It demonstrated that when genuine opportunities for participating in and understanding assessment are presented, pupils engage in the outcomes of their learning and focus on their progress. Children show the motivation and capacity to be involved in decision-making processes where policy makers use child-centred methods to consult children directly.
This paper presents a palimpsest of ways in which self-study draws upon arts-based methods not ju... more This paper presents a palimpsest of ways in which self-study draws upon arts-based methods not just as processes towards teacher development, but also as means to problematize and inquire into conceptualizations of the self. It focuses on the creation of individual self-boxes that mediate teachers’ dynamic narratives of identity. Concepts of the unitary self, the decentred self and the relationship between inner and outer experience are challenged and illustrated through two interlapping stories made manifest through the creation of self-boxes.
Adopting a perspective as both participant and spectator in UK research capacity-building, this p... more Adopting a perspective as both participant and spectator in UK research capacity-building, this paper provides a brief commentary from both 'insider' and 'outsider' perspectives on the research capacity building initiatives across the UK which are reported within this symposium. Taking these perspectives raises points of critical debate on wider political issues related to knowledge generation and management in Education. As participant in various UK research capacity-building fora, my perspectives are informed by being involved at local (university and the Northern Ireland Education Research Forum), national (ESRC/TLRP initiatives and the Strategic Forum for Research in Education) and international levels (All-Ireland Capacity building in arts-based educational research, and the International Institution of Qualitative Methods (IIQM) based at Urbana Champaign, USA).
This paper examines the phenomena of shame and shaming from both psychological and sociocultural ... more This paper examines the phenomena of shame and shaming from both psychological and sociocultural perspectives. Shame is generally viewed as a private, self-conscious experience in which individuals feel that a weakness or vulnerability has been exposed not only to others but also to themselves leaving them feeling deficient and humiliated. Shaming is considered to be the social process by which shame is induced intentionally or unintentionally in others. Although not all shame experiences are induced by others nor indeed are public, it is argued that social institutions such as schools play a role in perpetuating and condoning shaming rituals justified as encouraging self-conscious moral attributes in individuals. What remains unexplored are the unconscious dynamics of shaming experiences both at an individual and collective level and how these interrelate. This paper explores some preliminary case study data on teachers' experiences of shame and shaming in educational practice....
... Mullen, CA 2003. ... The six teacher participants ranged in age from early 30s to mid‐50s and... more ... Mullen, CA 2003. ... The six teacher participants ranged in age from early 30s to mid‐50s and they taught in primary (Kathy and Carly) and post‐primary (Daisy, Fionnuala and Tricia) educational settings, including a youth work context (Andrea) (pseudonyms are used throughout ...
... Ruth Leitch a * ... Three teachers' performative self‐studies (Frankie, Ellie‐May an... more ... Ruth Leitch a * ... Three teachers' performative self‐studies (Frankie, Ellie‐May and Terry) from earlymid career phases were selected to form the basis of this presentation, since they met the criteria of falling within the first three professional life phases (03, 47 and 815). ...
Springer International Handbooks of Education, 2007
... TDA) funded pro-fessional development for teachers must be evaluated for its impact on pupils... more ... TDA) funded pro-fessional development for teachers must be evaluated for its impact on pupils in ... of evalua-tion to unpick the relationship between investment in CPD, the quality ... and create a consistent cross-European curriculum for Initial Teacher Education (Bologna Process ...
This paper outlines the change context in which teachers are working in Northern Ireland. These c... more This paper outlines the change context in which teachers are working in Northern Ireland. These changes are summarized under the headings: System Review, Curriculum Review, Teacher Competences, Managed Learning Environment, Teachers' Health and Well-being and General Teaching Council. The backgrounds and implications of the changes are identified and the responses to them are discussed in relation to teachers' needs.
The Consulting Pupils on the Assessment of their Learning (CPAL) project comprises three interrel... more The Consulting Pupils on the Assessment of their Learning (CPAL) project comprises three interrelated studies focusing on (1) the development of Annual Pupil profiles in NI in the context of giving pupils 'a voice' (Lundy, 2007); (2) students' perceptions of 'AfL classrooms'; and (3) teachers' and parents' perceptions of pupils increasing participation in assessment. This paper presents the main findings and educational implications of studies 2 and 3 which consulted pupils at key stage 3 (11-14 years). It identifies teachers', parents' and students' perceptions of the increasing pupil participation in the assessment of their own classroom learning. Preliminary findings of this twenty-one month study, completed at the end of February 2007, were presented in this ECER Children's Rights Network last year (see Leitch et al. 2006). This presentation updates some of the main findings for Key stage 3 pupils. The samples included approximately 200 students and a sample of their parents (n=180) from six post-primary schools in Northern Ireland (NI), as well as 11 teachers of different subjects (i.e. Arts, Maths, English, Geography and Science). All teachers were engaged in an in-service course to help them embed Assessment for Learning (AfL)-a pedagogical approach that emphasizes the use of formative assessment to help students take control of their own learning by being aware of where they are, 'where they need to go to improve, and how best to get there' (Gardner, 2006). It establishes that, where principles of AfL are embedded in practice, pupils can experience high levels of participation in their learning and assessment. However, the relationship between consultation and participation requires further clarification and there is a need is to promote greater consistency amongst teachers in understanding what consultation means from a rights-based perspective.
This project examined pupils' participation in their own assessment from a children's rights pers... more This project examined pupils' participation in their own assessment from a children's rights perspective, based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It demonstrated that when genuine opportunities for participating in and understanding assessment are presented, pupils engage in the outcomes of their learning and focus on their progress. Children show the motivation and capacity to be involved in decision-making processes where policy makers use child-centred methods to consult children directly.
This paper presents a palimpsest of ways in which self-study draws upon arts-based methods not ju... more This paper presents a palimpsest of ways in which self-study draws upon arts-based methods not just as processes towards teacher development, but also as means to problematize and inquire into conceptualizations of the self. It focuses on the creation of individual self-boxes that mediate teachers’ dynamic narratives of identity. Concepts of the unitary self, the decentred self and the relationship between inner and outer experience are challenged and illustrated through two interlapping stories made manifest through the creation of self-boxes.
Adopting a perspective as both participant and spectator in UK research capacity-building, this p... more Adopting a perspective as both participant and spectator in UK research capacity-building, this paper provides a brief commentary from both 'insider' and 'outsider' perspectives on the research capacity building initiatives across the UK which are reported within this symposium. Taking these perspectives raises points of critical debate on wider political issues related to knowledge generation and management in Education. As participant in various UK research capacity-building fora, my perspectives are informed by being involved at local (university and the Northern Ireland Education Research Forum), national (ESRC/TLRP initiatives and the Strategic Forum for Research in Education) and international levels (All-Ireland Capacity building in arts-based educational research, and the International Institution of Qualitative Methods (IIQM) based at Urbana Champaign, USA).
This paper examines the phenomena of shame and shaming from both psychological and sociocultural ... more This paper examines the phenomena of shame and shaming from both psychological and sociocultural perspectives. Shame is generally viewed as a private, self-conscious experience in which individuals feel that a weakness or vulnerability has been exposed not only to others but also to themselves leaving them feeling deficient and humiliated. Shaming is considered to be the social process by which shame is induced intentionally or unintentionally in others. Although not all shame experiences are induced by others nor indeed are public, it is argued that social institutions such as schools play a role in perpetuating and condoning shaming rituals justified as encouraging self-conscious moral attributes in individuals. What remains unexplored are the unconscious dynamics of shaming experiences both at an individual and collective level and how these interrelate. This paper explores some preliminary case study data on teachers' experiences of shame and shaming in educational practice....
... Mullen, CA 2003. ... The six teacher participants ranged in age from early 30s to mid‐50s and... more ... Mullen, CA 2003. ... The six teacher participants ranged in age from early 30s to mid‐50s and they taught in primary (Kathy and Carly) and post‐primary (Daisy, Fionnuala and Tricia) educational settings, including a youth work context (Andrea) (pseudonyms are used throughout ...
... Ruth Leitch a * ... Three teachers' performative self‐studies (Frankie, Ellie‐May an... more ... Ruth Leitch a * ... Three teachers' performative self‐studies (Frankie, Ellie‐May and Terry) from earlymid career phases were selected to form the basis of this presentation, since they met the criteria of falling within the first three professional life phases (03, 47 and 815). ...
Springer International Handbooks of Education, 2007
... TDA) funded pro-fessional development for teachers must be evaluated for its impact on pupils... more ... TDA) funded pro-fessional development for teachers must be evaluated for its impact on pupils in ... of evalua-tion to unpick the relationship between investment in CPD, the quality ... and create a consistent cross-European curriculum for Initial Teacher Education (Bologna Process ...
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Papers by Ruth Leitch