South West LSRN Annual Conference 2008 - Call for Papers
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The South West Learning & Skills Research Network in partnership
with the SWitch & Peninsula Centres for Excellence in Teacher
Training (CETTs) is holding the 2008 Annual Conference on
Changing Identities & “Dual Professionalism”
in the Learning & Skills Sector
Thursday 10 July 2008 at The Exchange, Bridgwater
We are delighted to be able to welcome Dr Ann Hodgson and Dr Ken Spours from the Institute of Education London, who will be our Keynote Speakers. Their ground breaking work on policy and practice in the learning and skills sector will provide a stimulating and challenging backdrop to the day.
Call for Papers
The identity of the learning and skills sector is changing, although some of the paradoxes for staff and students in the sector are long standing. Ask a group of practitioners in the learning and skills sector if they are primarily teachers or specialists in their own subject area and you will see the fragile foundation of their identity and the dual professionalism that shapes and forms part of their identities.
The following statements and questions provide an indication of the sorts of issues this conference aims to explore:
• In the current context of change, new funding arrangements, self-regulation, and rigorous auditing, what factors affect the identities of staff and students and students and how does this mean that providers can or should respond to meet the needs of learners?
• How do the identities of teachers change as they become mentors, managers, or researchers?
• In the Skills for Life context the challenges are especially stark. “Would you expect a maths teacher to teach plastering?” This comment from an NDRC report encapsulates the dual nature of demands made of staff teaching in the sector.
• Do apprentices see themselves as ‘students’ or as ‘employees’ learning their profession? What part does learning play in their lives?
• Does the shift to demand-led funding mean we are all entrepreneurs? What effects does this have upon the identities of staff, and indeed of students, in the post-16 sector?
• What impact will the registration of teachers in the sector have upon their work, and on the learning of their students?
The Keynote Speakers will be followed by a series of Workshops and Seminars from people across the South West Region. Presentations by people new to research as well as those with experience are welcome. The Conference also aims to provide a series of workshops lead by participants from the South West CETTs.
The deadline for submissions to present papers and/or facilitate workshops is Friday 9 May 2008.
Application Form for Papers
Please feel free to spread the word and we look forward to hearing from you.
Paula Jones, SWitch CETT Manager at Learning South West
on behalf of Peninsula CETT and the South West Learning and Skills Research Network Conference Planning Group
The South West Learning and Skills Research Network (LSRN) aims to support research by and for practitioners in the learning and skills sector. It provides an opportunity for researchers and those interested in research to share ideas, develop contacts, and set up collaborations. It is open to people regardless of their context, and membership includes independent consultants, researchers from private training providers, colleges, universities and government agencies. The Network covers the whole of the South West Region of England and includes the West Country Learning and Skills Research Network.