This paper brings together two studies which examine the nature of professionalism in education by focusing on the perspectives of two under-researched groups namely ‘teaching assistants’(TAs) and teacher educators (TEs) working ‘either side’ of the school teacher . The projects were conducted in, and framed by, the UK policy context of public sector modernization and austerity and drew upon different approaches including auto-ethnography, life history and discourse analysis. The authors examine the formation and representation of professional identity in education through TAs’ and TEs’ discourses of ‘professionalism’ in education. Three themes in the accounts are discussed; TA to teacher and teacher to TE as ‘non-standard’ professional progressions, role ambiguity, and the role of classroom experience and HE learning in the professional identities of TAs and TEs. We comment on the importance of capturing alternatives to the discourse of imposed policy, emergent in practitioners’ voices, and reflect upon the ways in which these voices contribute to the wider international debate on professionalism in education

Rapid change in higher education (HE) has led to a reappraisal and debate about the role and ‘mission’ of the university and the university teacher. In the diversification of the HE sector, it is possible to see a shift away from the ‘advancement of knowledge’ as the primary purpose of the HE sector as a whole. This article focuses on a particular dimension of this change referred to as the ‘vocationalisation’ of HE and evident in the growing role of work-based learning (WBL) in the academy. In particular, foundation degrees provide a context for examining the role of WBL and the university in professional development. Analysis of interviews with 19 students on, or progressing from a foundation degree for teaching assistants reveals how they construct their learning and the relationship between work-based and academic learning. The author concludes that notions of ‘equivalence’ between work-based and academic learning are flawed and fail to recognise HE’s distinctive contribution to professional learning, and argues for recognition of the distinctive contributions that both WBL and ‘academic’ learning make to professional development

No abstract

Aim To explore the role of prisoner caregivers in providing peer social care to older prisoners and to identify methodological information and challenges to conducting research in prisons, to inform future research in this setting. Method The literature review was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, a systematic literature review was undertaken to retrieve articles related to prisoner caregiving. The main themes from these articles were identified. In the second stage, a narrative literature review was undertaken to provide contextual and methodological information about research, which may support future research in prisons. Findings The main themes identified in the systematic literature review were: the benefits of prisoner caregiving; training needs; and the organisational implications of implementing prisoner caregiving. The narrative literature review identified a range of methodological approaches used to undertake research in prisons. Challenges to undertaking research in prisons included practical issues, the influence of power on relationships and the difficulty for researchers not to take the side of either the prisoners or prison staff. Conclusion The role of prisoner caregiver is increasingly recognised as important, and is associated with several benefits to individual prisoners and the prison community. However, further training is required for prisoner caregivers, and there is a need for further research into the prisoner caregiving role, using a methodology that is suitable for the prison setting.

No abstract