Not just Émile : exploring the education of new teachers through a Rousseauian lens

Barriers to conducting clinical research in reproductive medicine: Australia and the United Kingdom

In the early summer of 2022, the United Kingdom (UK) Government introduced the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill in the House of Commons. This Bill establishes a regulatory framework that is intended to enable the UK Government to breach its obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement and, more specifically, the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol (the Protocol). The UK Government contends that the Bill can, however, be justified under international law by reference to both article 16 of the Protocol and the plea of necessity under customary international law. This article examines the extent to which the UK Government’s position is valid.

This contribution discusses the United Kingdom (UK) government’s regulatory activities related to nanotechnological development. The central question is what other prudent public regulation can learn from the UK government’s regulatory strategy, its regulatory attitude and its large variety of regulatory measures. Other public regulators can learn from the interactive and integrative UK regulatory approach. They can also draw lessons from the critique on the UK government’s regulatory attitude and its problems to cope with specific nanotechnological challenges. These lessons are based on an evaluation of the UK government’s regulatory activities from the viewpoint of prudent regulation. The notion of responsive regulation, which provides basic ideas for the evaluation methodology, refers to a view on prudence that focuses on moral constitutional values. Interestingly, a similar view on prudence has been discussed in nanoethics.

This chapter examines the relationship between the two fields of science education and philosophy of education to inquire how philosophy could better contribute to improving science curriculum, teaching, and learning, especially science teacher education. An inspection of respective research journals exhibits an almost complete neglect of each field for the other (barring exceptions).While it can be admitted that philosophy has been an area of limited and scattered interest for science education researchers for some time, the subfield of philosophy of education has been little canvassed and remains an underdeveloped area. To help bring science education closer into the fold of educational philosophy and theorizing, the historical development of science education and philosophy of education are sketched to reveal their common roots, interests, and concerns. Thereto, the contours of a new philosophy of science education are presented (as an integration of three academic fields). Arguments are provided which seek to illustrate why philosophy in general and philosophy of education in particular can make positive contributions to teacher education and the research field together with suggesting future directions and possible reform contributions (scientific literacy, educational aims, educational theory, pedagogical content knowledge, science teacher, and curricular epistemologies).

Understanding the evidence base and identifying threats to the marine environment is critical to ensure cost-effective management and to identify priorities for future research. The United Kingdom (UK) government is responsible for approximately 2% of the world’s oceans, most of which belongs to its 14 Overseas Territories (UKOTs). Containing biodiversity of global significance, and far in excess of the UK mainland’s domestic species, there has recently been a strong desire from many of the UKOTs, the UK Government, and NGOs to improve marine management in these places. Implementing evidence-based marine policy is, however, challenged by the disparate nature of scientific research in the UKOTs and knowledge gaps about the threats they face. Here, we address these issues by systematically searching for scientific literature which has examined UKOT marine biodiversity and by exploring publicly available spatial threat data. We find that UKOT marine biodiversity has received consistent, but largely low, levels of scientific interest, and there is considerable geographical and subject bias in research effort. Of particular concern is the lack of research focus on management or threats to biodiversity. The extent and intensity of threats vary amongst and within the UKOTs but unsurprisingly, climate change associated threats affect them all and direct human stressors are more prevalent in those with higher human populations. To meet global goals for effective conservation and management, there is an urgent need for additional and continued investment in research and management in the Overseas Territories, particularly those that have been of lesser focus.

What role do individual member states play in the continuing development of European Union (EU) environmental policy? Are they capable of successful intervention in the process of joint rule making to maintain their preferred national policies? On the basis of a detailed analysis of EU environmental pollution control measures adopted in the period 1972-86, some observers have argued forcefully that the United Kingdom (UK) Government successfully defended its sovereignty by systematically manipulating national and European political arenas in order to maintain its pre-existing policies. However, when other aspects of EU environmental policy are analysed over the full policy cycle, the extent of national control appears much more circumscribed. A comparison of UK Government aims with long-term political outcomes in the sphere of EU biodiversity policy (c.1970-2000) reveals evidence of firm state control in the short-term, but significant unintended consequences in the medium to long-term. These findings raise doubts about the explanatory power of intergovernmental accounts of EU environmental policy making.

This study aimed to systematise the primary changes brought about by Brexit for the United Kingdom govern- ment, highlighting the main threats that Eurosceptics may face. The research was based on content analysis of media outlets and news agencies, including The Mirror, Reuters, and others. Additionally, a documentary analysis of official reports from the Office for Budget Responsibility and the Office for National Statistics under the United Kingdom govern- ment was conducted. The study’s results revealed that in 2018, the United Kingdom’s foreign trade turnover amounted to approximately 800 billion dollars, rising to nearly one trillion dollars by 2023. However, projections for the United Kingdom’s Gross Domestic Product growth are lower than those for 24 of the 27 European Union member states. It was found that relations between the United Kingdom and the EU are governed by the Withdrawal Agreement, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and the Northern Ireland Protocol. The latter remains a contentious issue, as evidenced by the widespread workers’ strike in early 2024. Since the onset of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation in 2022, the United Kingdom government has aligned its sanctions packages with its European counterparts. Additionally, British military personnel have joined the European Union’s Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) military mobility project. Although the rhetoric of British diplomacy has shifted post-Brexit, this is unlikely to be directly related to the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, as British diplomatic views have long aligned with the commonly accepted approach within democratic societies to addressing international challenges. The findings of this study indicate that the United Kingdom government still faces several unresolved issues following its withdrawal from the European Union, further complicated by the unstable geopolitical situation. Nevertheless, the United Kingdom’s status as one of the most influential global actors in international relations, coupled with the relative resilience of its economy, suggests, according to government forecasts, the potential for a swift adaptation to changes within the international community

Can research quality be measured meaningfully? Whether it can or not does not interfere with the desire to do so if the motivation is strong enough. This paper discusses the United Kingdom (U.K.) Government's approach to measuring research quality in U.K. universities, known in the U.K. as the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). The RAE is held at irregular intervals of time, the latest being held in 2008 (RAE 2008). The motivation is accountability of government spending, but in fact many different objectives are ascribed to the exercise. RAE 2008 is fully described so that it can be used to raise debating issues around the general issue of research quality, a subject that appears to be of universal interest in Information Systems. One major conclusion appears to be that journal rankings are not a good indicator of the quality of any paper published in that journal, nor necessarily of the combined quality of all the papers.

This article argues that South African teacher education and development policy lack an explicit philosophy of education and corresponding pedagogy that promote transformation and equality. After an analysis of some works by Paulo Freire, it is argued that it is in a Freirean philosophy of education and in a pedagogy of hope that the praxis of teacher education establishes the notion of teachers as unfinished beings and agents of hope. This article offers an opportunity to imagine what Freire’s Pedagogy of hope (FREIRE, 1994) could contribute to the dialogue regarding the policy, gazetted in 2011 and revised in 2015, on the minimum requirements for teacher education qualifications in South Africa. The fundamental role that teacher education institutions can play in contributing to the transformation of education is defended, particularly if the philosophy of Freirean education and a pedagogy of hope are compromised. The article concludes with an attempt at re-orientation of teacher education policy.

This study aimed to systematise the primary changes brought about by Brexit for the United Kingdom govern- ment, highlighting the main threats that Eurosceptics may face. The research was based on content analysis of media outlets and news agencies, including The Mirror, Reuters, and others. Additionally, a documentary analysis of official reports from the Office for Budget Responsibility and the Office for National Statistics under the United Kingdom govern- ment was conducted. The study’s results revealed that in 2018, the United Kingdom’s foreign trade turnover amounted to approximately 800 billion dollars, rising to nearly one trillion dollars by 2023. However, projections for the United Kingdom’s Gross Domestic Product growth are lower than those for 24 of the 27 European Union member states. It was found that relations between the United Kingdom and the EU are governed by the Withdrawal Agreement, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and the Northern Ireland Protocol. The latter remains a contentious issue, as evidenced by the widespread workers’ strike in early 2024. Since the onset of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation in 2022, the United Kingdom government has aligned its sanctions packages with its European counterparts. Additionally, British military personnel have joined the European Union’s Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) military mobility project. Although the rhetoric of British diplomacy has shifted post-Brexit, this is unlikely to be directly related to the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, as British diplomatic views have long aligned with the commonly accepted approach within democratic societies to addressing international challenges. The findings of this study indicate that the United Kingdom government still faces several unresolved issues following its withdrawal from the European Union, further complicated by the unstable geopolitical situation. Nevertheless, the United Kingdom’s status as one of the most influential global actors in international relations, coupled with the relative resilience of its economy, suggests, according to government forecasts, the potential for a swift adaptation to changes within the international community

On Thursday 12 February 2021, my mother died of Covid-19. The focus of this article are the days leading up to and after her death. Whilst deeply personal, it is intensely political. The article critiques the actions and inactions of the United Kingdom (UK) government’s handling of the pandemic. It is written in light of the Sue Gray Report (2022) and initial evidence from the ongoing UK Covid-19 Inquiry. In today’s ‘post-pandemic’ world, where there has been no public mourning or grieving, people are just expected to carry their grief and loss through time and space. Away from the officialdom and the Covid-19 death statistics, this article tells the real life-story of the complex interplay between politics, faith, illness, death, and grief. I adopt an auto/biographical approach to provide an intimate insight into how my mother and the family prepared for and understood her death. I explore how my mother’s faith enabled her to come to terms with her own mortality by, in part, ensuring that everything continued as she wanted it to. The article also discusses the challenges of completing ‘symbolic enactments’ that are integral to memorialisation, which were prohibited during the pandemic.

EC Directive 79/7' requires Member States to implement equal treatment between men and women in social security. It was adopted in 1978 and came into force in December 1984. The United Kingdom (UK) Government acted promptly to implement its provisions. Even before it was adopted, the Government requested a departmental team to investigate how it should be implemented. Most of the legislation the Government considered necessary to comply with the Directive was put in place in 1980. This was given effect by subordinate legislation in 1983. The Goverment's timing was therefore exemplary. Arguably, however, effective compliance requires more than punctuality and procedural propriety. It also requires certain standards to be achieved in the way a directive is implemented. This paper therefore looks at the way Directive 79/7 was implemented in order to assess whether quality of implementation was achieved. It concludes that the UK Government's performance was not quite so exemplary in this respect.

This chapter offers a qualitative and interpretive analysis of United Kingdom (UK) Government communications and imaginaries since the emergence of the Covid-19 virus as a public issue in the UK in January 2020 as the state seeks an exit strategy and heads towards a likely public inquiry. The UK Government did not want to go into lockdown, delayed the lockdown at the cost of thousands of unnecessary deaths and, once in lockdown, found it hard to exit while retaining the trust and confidence of the people following the lockdown breach by the Prime Minister's chief of staff, Dominic Cummings. Johnson's heroic leadership model, and its associated imagery, has been actively constructed through management of the Government's narrative, assisted by Conservative-supporting newspapers. The published evidence so far suggests that even when there was a commitment to a lockdown, it was intended that it would last for a maximum of three months.

This paper focused on the implication of Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) in the foundation of teacher education programme Nigeria. The teacher in training is required to be in constant search of up-to-date knowledge in various fields of endeavour in educational foundations. This knowledge is meant to equip him or her with the understanding of the principle, skills and technical methodology of education. The relevance of this paper. The historical approach is used for this paper. Findings revealed that philosophy of education, psychology of education, history of education and sociology of education are core components of teacher education programmes. The paper therefore recommended that the government should refocus and redouble her commitment towards the revitalization of teacher education programmes in Nigeria. The Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standard (CCMAS) should be reviewed to accommodate philosophy, psychology, history and sociology of education as core components and basic requirement for teacher education programmes. In Nigeria and all Nigerian universities and colleges of education should have the department of educational foundations where would be teachers will specialize in philosophy, psychology, history and or sociology of education among others.

This book presents a “philosophy of science education” as a research field as well as its value for curriculum, instruction and teacher pedagogy. It seeks to re-think science education as an educational endeavour by examining why past reform efforts have been only partially successful, including why the fundamental goal of achieving scientific literacy after several “reform waves” has proven to be so elusive. The identity of such a philosophy is first defined in relation to the fields of philosophy, philosophy of science, and philosophy of education. It argues that educational theory can support teacher’s pedagogical content knowledge and that history, philosophy and sociology of science should inform and influence pedagogy. Some case studies are provided which examine the nature of science and the nature of language to illustrate why and how a philosophy of science education contributes to science education reform. It seeks to contribute in general to the improvement of curriculum design and science teacher education. The perspective to be taken on board is that to teach science is to have a philosophical frame of mind—about the subject, about education, about one’s personal teacher identity.