Thesis by Jaswinder Dhillon
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This thesis examines the concept and practice of partnership in the context of post-16 learning. ... more This thesis examines the concept and practice of partnership in the context of post-16 learning. The study explores the process of partnership working through a qualitative case study of a sub-regional partnership that aims to widen participation in post-16 learning through its collaborative activities. The investigation seeks to learn about the basis of partnership and to identify characteristics that contribute to continued and effective partnership working. Drawing on understandings of partnership in policy, theory and in practice, I develop a more detailed conceptualisation of partnership than is currently available in the field of post-16 learning. The history, development and work of the case study partnership were investigated through a combination of methods including observations of partnership meetings, documentary evidence of partnership working and semi-structured interviews with participants in the case study. The interviews with senior managers of institutions and organisations that provide education, training and guidance for post-16 learners in the Black Country, a sub-region of the Midlands in England, focused on the reasons for participation in a partnership and the aspects of partnership working that contribute to sustainability in partnerships. The findings give a rich insight into the practicalities of working in partnership with individuals and organisations and provide a basis for theorising partnership as a heterogeneous concept and practice rather than a homogenous entity. The case study reveals both the potential of partnership and the challenges to partnership working, such as resource and power differentials. It also shows how social capital can provide the basis for sustained partnership and function as a resource that can be used in similar ways to other forms of capital. This insight is used together with characteristics drawn from the partnership literature to theorise partnership as a continuum of weak to strong forms of partnership, which function on the basis of different types and levels of trust, the operation of formal and informal networks and shared norms and values amongst actors.
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Papers by Jaswinder Dhillon
The article published in the Times Educational Supplement (TES) features research by Professor Dh... more The article published in the Times Educational Supplement (TES) features research by Professor Dhillon from the University of Worcester.
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This chapter focuses on systems, policies and processes for supporting vocational and technical l... more This chapter focuses on systems, policies and processes for supporting vocational and technical learning in post-16 education in England. In England, this sector of education consists of a range of levels and types of provision in both public and private providers of further, adult and continuing vocational and skills based learning. The analysis considers expectations, challenges and responses at the education system level, at institutional level and at practitioner level in the context of shifting government policies. At the system level, the analysis considers societal perceptions of academic and vocational learning and the provision and quality of training and continuing professional learning for VET teachers. At the institutional level, policies and support systems developed by VET providers to support students in colleges and workplaces in partnership with employers on different forms of college and work-based training, including apprenticeships, are considered. At practitioner level, the chapter examines teaching, learning and assessment strategies used by VET teachers to enable vocational learning in different settings, from classrooms, workshops and laboratories in colleges and simulated learning environments to work placements in real working businesses. To support the highest standards of vocational and technical learning, colleges, VET teachers and employers have to work in sustained partnerships to provide inspirational teaching in innovative learning environments, both college based and in workplaces.
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Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, 2020
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Inspiring learners and raising aspirations lies at the heart of vocational education and training... more Inspiring learners and raising aspirations lies at the heart of vocational education and training, and is central to the professional practice of teachers,work-based mentors and assessors.Raising aspirations is a complex challenge for the further education and training sector due to the range and diversity of provision and changes imposed by successive governments.In this changing policy and educational context, it is the professional practice of all those who work in the sector that enables vocational learners to achieve their ambitions.This article aims to contribute to existing professional practice by using evidence from educational research and theories of teaching, learning and assessment to suggest practical strategies for inspiring and motivating learners on vocational programmes.The strategies and examples of what works come from vocational and lifelong provision in colleges,independent training providers,workplaces and community settings.The content of this article links to standard 3 in the Professional Standards for Teachers and Trainers in Education and Training framework (inspire, motivate and raise aspirations of learners through your enthusiasm and knowledge) and to standard 13 (motivate and inspire learners to promote achievement and develop their skills to enable progression).
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Handbook of Vocational Education and Training, 2018
This chapter focuses on systems, policies and processes for supporting vocational and technical l... more This chapter focuses on systems, policies and processes for supporting vocational and technical learning in post-16 education in England. In England, this sector of education consists of a range of levels and types of provision in both public and private providers of further, adult and continuing vocational and skills based learning. The analysis considers expectations, challenges and responses at the education system level, at institutional level and at practitioner level in the context of shifting government policies. At the system level, the analysis considers societal perceptions of academic and vocational learning and the provision and quality of training and continuing professional learning for VET teachers. At the institutional level, policies and support systems developed by VET providers to support students in colleges and workplaces in partnership with employers on different forms of college and work-based training, including apprenticeships, are considered. At practitioner level, the chapter examines teaching, learning and assessment strategies used by VET teachers to enable vocational learning in different settings, from classrooms, workshops and laboratories in colleges and simulated learning environments to work placements in real working businesses. To support the highest standards of vocational and technical learning, colleges, VET teachers and employers have to work in sustained partnerships to provide inspirational teaching in innovative learning environments, both college based and in workplaces.
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The newsletter provides a brief report on characteristics of outstanding leadership in education ... more The newsletter provides a brief report on characteristics of outstanding leadership in education based on the findings of a funded research project. The project used Q-methodology to sample the perceptions of school and college leaders, governors and academics with experience of leadership in different types of schools and colleges and in urban and rural locations.
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Higher Education Academy, 2012
This intervention provides insights into the student learning experience largely through the unfi... more This intervention provides insights into the student learning experience largely through the unfiltered lens of the students’ own words. Authentic qualitative data captured through one-to-one recorded telephone conversations with an independent researcher, enabled students to speak openly about their experiences of assignments, learning and achievement to date. A small, representative group of students within the School for Education Futures took part in these telephone conversations over a 3-month period during the summer vacation. Despite the small sample size of seven students the data presents a broad spread of viewpoints and experiences. It reveals that early in their academic journeys (from year 1), students are able to articulate that the greater the clarity and structure around academic tasks, language and expectations, the more confidently and capably they are likely to achieve. Student comments suggest that contextual knowledge - ‘knowing the rules’ - positively impacts on student transition, identity and progression as HE learners
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Studies in the Education of Adults, 2016
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Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Social Capital
This chapter focuses on the use of social capital as a construct to examine and explain the forma... more This chapter focuses on the use of social capital as a construct to examine and explain the formation and operation of inter-organizational partnerships. In particular it shows how social capital contributes to the sustainability of a public sector partnership. In this research context social capital is defined as the networks, trust, norms and values that enable individuals and organizations to achieve mutual goals through collaboration. This definition draws upon the author’s empirical research on partnerships and partnership working in the field of post-compulsory education and her practical experience of establishing, managing and leading international partnerships for teaching and research in teacher education. The emphasis is on the practical application of social capital to qualitative data and on identifying sources of evidence, including research literature from different disciplines in the social sciences to interpret and theorize primary data. The first section of the chapter considers the complexities of defining social capital in the context of rival theoretical and political perspectives and leads to a discussion of the dimensions of social capital that are found in effective and sustained partnerships.
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Sikh Formations, Nov 29, 2017
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International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 2018
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Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 2016
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This paper focuses on meanings and levels of ‘engagement’ with a minority ethnic group in Britain... more This paper focuses on meanings and levels of ‘engagement’ with a minority ethnic group in Britain. It uses examples from a study of Sikh families that have successfully combined different forms of capital to achieve quite phenomenal material success since they arrived as economic migrants in the 1960s. Sikhs are a very visible and successful minority ethnic group in Britain but research which analyses and documents the conditions and characteristics that have contributed to their socio-economic success is limited. Studies of Sikhs have focused on the Sikh religion rather than on social and cultural aspects of family and community life and presented a male perspective. This ethnographic study is led by a female researcher who shares the trajectories of families who came to settle in Britain in the 1960s. The fieldwork is being undertaken by three researchers who represent a continuum of insider and outsider perspectives: one researcher is a second generation Sikh, one is Indian but n...
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Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 2013
Formal and informal partnerships have become key features of education policy and practice in man... more Formal and informal partnerships have become key features of education policy and practice in many countries and managing such collaborative arrangements is an important dimension of the role(s) of leaders of educational organizations. Recent research has shown both the tensions and conflict that can develop in partnerships as well as the opportunities and benefits of partnership working for organizations and individuals. This article focuses on the characteristics of partnerships that contribute to their effectiveness, sustainability and success, filling a gap in the literature on educational partnerships. The research data emanate from a qualitative study of partnership working in England. The study used a grounded approach and inductively linked characteristics of partnerships found in the partnership literature with empirical data from a case study of a sub-regional partnership of education and training organizations. This combined evidence is used to conceptualize partnership a...
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British Educational Research Journal, 2009
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Thesis by Jaswinder Dhillon
Papers by Jaswinder Dhillon
Creating courses for adults: Design for learning, by Ralf St. Clair, San Francisco, USA, Jossey-Bass, 2015, 212 pp., £25.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781118438978
The key idea of the book is that courses for adults need to be designed and not just put together haphazardly without careful thought and planning. This central argument is reflected in the title of the book, which uses ‘creating’ and ‘design for learning’ as core ideas and permeates the thinking and framework offered as a template for designing learning. For me, this reflects the balance between flexibility and structure
that is needed for designing and teaching courses for adults in a variety of contexts.