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Fascinated by the diversity of composition in effective work groups in Further Education (FE) classrooms, I studied group formation and composition in level 3 Biology classes over an academic year. Using information from the class teacher, observers and students, the importance of effective work groups (defining effectiveness in terms of 'workability') in the life of the class became clear. As suggested in the literature, group composition was impatient of formulae, trial and error and an informed subjectivity was recommended. Relational issues were seen as key features in group composition by teachers and students alike. Students themselves, though seldom consulted, held distinct and often considered and mature views on effective work groups. The need to give work group composition a higher profile in classroom management, and for staff and students to acquire the skills needed to form and maintain effective work groups, should be reflected in both policy and practice.

Since 1985, the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans, through its Office of Community and Minority Health Education, has operated the Summer Science Program for Louisiana high school students from underrepresented minorities. The authors conducted a survey during the 1997-98 academic year of the 773 students who had participated in the summer program from 1985 to 1997. The goal was to learn what education and career paths these students had taken since leaving the program. A total of 665 students (89.4%) responded. Sixty-one were still in high school, 11 had not continued their education after completing high school, but 432 of the remaining 583 students had chosen education paths in medicine, another health profession, or science, and 31 were enrolled in or had graduated from medical school. These findings indicate that the majority of the summer program students had maintained the health and/or science career interests they had expressed during their time in the program. Future studies will use control groups to better ascertain how influential the summer program was in helping students choose and maintain science and health education and career paths.

No abstract

Although links between the affective domain in the classroom and a facilitative learning environment has been mooted in the literature, little research has focused on Further Education (FE). Accordingly, I sought the views of staff and students in a large FE College in the south of England from 100 returned questionnaires in the Spring of 2003. When compared, the data showed considerable agreement between staff and students on the presence, nature and causes of an affective domain in the classroom, although there were significant differences in focus between the two groups. In addition, both staff and students felt that relationships in the classroom directly affected the learning environment. Staff were seen as relational 'gatekeepers' in the classroom, and their need for interpersonal skills-although not necessarily skills training-was noted.