Foundation Degree Research Articles

Designing a curriculum for the assistant practitioner of the future: Ensuring interprofessional care aspects and other stakeholder requirements are met

The role of the Assistant Practitioner in radiography has been established for over 10 years. Wakefield, Spilsbury, Atkin and McKenna13 (2009) describe how the role was originally introduced to overcome a shortage of registered staff at that time. Whilst there are clear overarching descriptions of what the role of the Assistant Practitioner is, Wakefield et al. concluded that there are many interpretations of the role and that there are inconsistencies between employers and subsequent uncertainty in workforce planners. Stewart-Lord, McLaren and Ballinger18 (2011) also found that there were a variety of roles and responsibilities undertaken by Assistant Practitioners in the field of radiography.This article outlines the curriculum design process for a foundation degree to develop Assistant Practitioners in diagnostic imaging and the associated challenges faced.

ПРОГНОЗУВАННЯ РОЗВИТКУ ТРАНСПОРТНОЇ ІНФРАСТРУКТУРИ РЕГІОНУ

The methods of economic forecast are investigated in the article. Their classification according to a complexity of an economic predicted process is given; the foundation degree; by reception of the forecasting information. According to the foundation degree forecasting methods can be divided into intuitive and founded. By their feature “information basis of method” all methods are divided into factual, combined and expert. Belong to extrapolation, modeling, expert questionnaire to the basic methods of forecasting. Special attention should be drawn to the combined methods of forecasting, consisting of such methods with mixed information basis where factual, and as well as expert information is used primarily. The algorithm of carrying out the process of forecasting according to the revealed tendency of development of an infrastructure seen in the region is offered in the article. It is underlined that the application of only statistical methods in the not always the best way as they cannot predict all cases of changes in the research process. Therefore, the necessity of working out of a new type of methods based not only on statistical methods, but also on expert judgments is explained. It is proved thet the use of expert rating leads to increase of forecast accuracy. For working out of the objective forecast of development of a regional transport infrastructure. It is reasonable to use a scenery approach providing foundation of some scenery variants and their comparison. The procedure of forecasting a transport infrastructure of development is the basis for drawing up further programs and plans for development of their branches. It is the tool which allows to strengthen competitive advantages of the region and to conduct it on a newer level of it’s development

Framing pedagogic relations within the boundaries of Foundation Degree Sport and Coaching qualifications

ABSTRACTChanges to the relations between sport-education and employment labour markets have resulted in the increasing diversity of how academic and vocational skills, knowledge and practices are valued within the micro-level of qualifications. The implications of this are particularly felt by further education (FE) sport-lecturers in the UK, who are required to select, transform and transmit messages from both vocational education policy and the sport-industry sectors. To illustrate the implications of these changing relations, the paper offers insight into the experiences of one FE sport-lecturer, Janet (all names are pseudonyms), who, as part of her professional development, engaged within a process of reflective practice that focused on her pedagogic interactions within a Foundation Degree in Sport Coaching (FdSC). Drawing upon a Bernsteinian informed analysis we illustrate how Janet attempted to use a range of pedagogical strategies to frame the selection, transmission and evaluation of academic skills. This process supported students to begin recognising the value of academic skills and assimilate these with the more established vocational skills within the FdSC qualification. The experiences of Janet are then used as a starting point from which to discuss how the possibilities of change to pedagogic relations within the FdSC may be encouraged, developed and enacted across the vocational sport-education sector. We suggest that institutions and stakeholders responsible for shaping higher education sport-qualifications should consider how lecturers are supported in the framing of pedagogical relations that enable academic skills and practices to be integrated and valued within FdSC curricula.

The role of the practice trainer as an agent of co-configuration

Professional and vocational learning requires the sharing of expertise across physical, social and cultural boundaries in developing and delivering programmes of study. Contemporary understandings of workplace learning emphasise the criticality of contextualised learning which considers how learners and workplace environments are reciprocally shaped. This paper draws on the findings of a case study which utilised the tools of activity theory to develop insights into the complexities of bridging educational institutions and the workplace in support of learners in order to build capacity in healthcare. The case study centres on development of a new assistant professional (AP) role, underpinned by a two-year foundation degree qualification. During the programme learners are supported by a ‘practice trainer’ who has a dedicated role in supporting learning across academic and workplace environments. The study explores the role of practice trainers in promoting expansive learning which creates new solutions to meet emerging demands. It is set within an interpretivist research paradigm with data gathered through semi-structured interviews and a focus group with key members of the partnership. The findings reveal the centrality of practice trainers in aligning the educational programme to the needs of the emerging AP role. A similar, dedicated role is recommended in other professional and vocational programmes to foster conditions which enable a more contextualised learning experience.

Mature women and higher education: reconstructing identity and family relationships

Since Edwards’ influential study on mature women students and families in the 1990s, questions have been raised about the effects of Higher Education (HE) on family lives. Edwards maintained that relationships were at risk of breakdown due to the changing identity, increased self-esteem and enhanced confidence levels of women students. Men were perceived negatively as often being unsupportive of their wives’ return to HE, or threatened by the changes they observed in her. This paper is based on qualitative research methods focusing on whether HE changes a woman’s identity and reconstructs family relationships. A narrative line of inquiry was used to build detailed stories of a small group of women students and their husbands. The 11 women students were selected from one Foundation degree in Early Years programme at a further education institution. Data was constructed using mind mapping, focused interviews and a mosaic approach of participant-led research. Research findings showed that HE had the potential to transform a woman’s identity and position within her family relationships. The results also demonstrated that family capital, in the form of practical and emotional strategies of support from both husbands and children, played an instrumental part in the women’s success and participation in HE (though this aspect will be discussed in a subsequent paper).

Foundation Degree, a pathway to practice, 2/2: knowledge for successful practice

In part two of this analysis of the ‘foundation degree sciences’ (FdSc) in healthcare practice, a degree aimed at providing healthcare support workers (HCSWs) with an increased skill and knowledge base to practice at more advanced levels, an illustration will be made of some of the specific themes relating to the degree's content. The importance of solidifying existing clinical skills for HCSWs' present practice will be illustrated, as will their significance as a foundation to build upon for future advanced practice. Further, the non-clinical aspects of the degree will be presented, in particular, an emphasis upon the importance of taking into consideration social determinants of health and healthcare, along with the impact research has on practice.

Shaping the future assistant/associate practitioner workforce: a Hampshire case study

This case study looks at the two-year, full-time-equivalent foundation degree (science) in health and social care (FdScH&SC), initially developed in partnership between University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust and Southampton Solent University, Hampshire, UK. The aim of this collaborative initiative is to develop healthcare support workers to gain and apply the required knowledge, skills, values and behaviours to care for patients/families/other service users and relatives in complex clinical situations, within the emerging role descriptors of an assistant/associate practitioner (AP), often within a specialist/specified context. Since the initial cohort of students began in January 2012, the foundation degree now has over 100 students/healthcare support workers (HCSWs) across the two years and is being delivered in partnership with an increasing number of NHS trusts. This paper will discuss the innovative and unique features of this foundation degree in health and social care, including the collaborative model of its curriculum design, delivery and management.

The academic dental nurse

Kelly Henderson discusses the new Foundation Degree in Advanced Nursing, and the challenges and rewards that entering academia offers

Perceptions of the assistant theatre practitioner role: a view from my ivory tower.

At a recent AfPP event, during a debating session amongst fellow perioperative practitioners, the role and remit of assistant theatre practitioner (ATP) was raised. The debating panel's views were sought from several quarters and the subject seemed to spark discussion and much 'harrumphing' in the audience. A recently qualified ATP, who, having spent an intensive two years studying for a foundation degree, expressed his frustration about on-going role ambiguity and the struggle to have his newly acquired knowledge and skills recognised in practice. As a heated discussion went around the room, polarised views were emergent, in particular themed around concerns about delegation, accountability and scope of practice.

Teaching basic numeracy, predictive models and socioeconomics to marine ecologists through Bayesian belief networks

Teaching numeric disciplines to higher education students in many life sciences disciplines is highly challenging. In this study, we test whether an approach linking field observations with predictive models can be useful in allowing students to understand basic numeracy and probability, as well as developing skills in modelling, understanding species interactions and even community/ecosystem-service interactions. We presented a field-based lecture in a morning session (on rocky shore ecology), followed by an afternoon session parameterising a belief network using a simple, user-friendly interface. The study was conducted with students during their second week of a foundation degree, hence having little prior knowledge of these systems or models. All students could create realistic predictive models of competition, predation and grazing, although most initially failed to account for trophic cascade effects in parameterising their models of the rocky shore they had previously seen. The belief network was then modified to account for a marine ecosystem management approach, where fishing effort and economic benefit of fishing were linked to population abundance of different species, and management goals were included. Students had little difficultly in applying conceptual links between species and ecosystem services in the same manner as between species. Students evaluated their understanding of a range of variables from rocky shore knowledge to marine management as increasing over the session, but the role of the predictive modelling task was indicated as a major source of learning, even for topics we thought may be better learned in the field. The study adds evidence to the theories that students benefit from exposure to numeric topics, even very early in their degree programmes, but students grasp concepts better when applied to real world situations which they have experience of, or perceive as important.

Student paramedics' perceptions of action learning: a mixed-method study

Paramedic education programmes must draw upon a wide range of teaching, learning and assessment techniques in order to ensure that graduating students possess the necessary skills and qualities for their profession ( Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), 2013 ). Theory and practice must come together as part of a reflective learning process at a number of points within the education cycle, in order to identify crucial learning points, and areas for self-improvement from the practice setting. One way of achieving this is via action learning (AL). This small-scale study uses a mixed methods approach to investigate whether or not student paramedics from a UK university, as participants within action learning sets (ALS), felt that that they were a useful educational tool to use within a Foundation Degree in Paramedic Science. Students reported many benefits to their educational experience having participated in ALS, including developments in personal, academic and professional areas. The research also showed how the AL process could be improved in areas such as AL induction, providing AL members with team working skills as well as supporting students with communication and leadership challenges during ALS.

Reading lists – time for a reality check? An investigation into the use of reading lists as a pedagogical tool to support the development of information skills amongst Foundation Degree students

This article presents the results of an action research project exploring the use and value of reading lists for Foundation Degree students. The focus of the research was to look at the potential of reading lists to act as a pedagogical tool to support information skills development. The research methodology included focus groups with students, interviews with academic staff and reading list analysis. It was found that reading lists were being used by students to identify and find resources for their academic studies. Qualitative data from students and staff illustrate how reading lists are being used and the gaps between student and staff expectations of them. The article provides recommendations on how reading lists can be utilised to help students to develop their information skills.

Foundation degree, a pathway to practice, 1/2: mentors are magic

Influenced by various political and economic factors, one of the defining features of the NHS over the past decade has been the growth of the healthcare support worker (HCSW). However, it is the case that official HCSW training programmes are in their infancy. This two-part article, written from the perspective of three lecturers who teach on a foundation degree in Wales to train HCSWs, seeks to illustrate what is involved and what students may expect from their time of study on a bespoke training programme, and how their role complements those of registered professionals. In part one of this two-part article, the relationship students experience with their mentors will be explored, illustrating its significance during the training process. Following this, as the demographic evidence suggests that many HCSWs have not been in higher education previously, the nature of higher education will be illustrated, focusing specifically on those transferable skills that are relevant for both academic success and successful practice. Part two will build upon this, demonstrating some of the more content-specific knowledge associated with the course, enabling students to both enhance already existing knowledge and to acquire more academically orientated knowledge essential for future practice.

Student Satisfaction with Work-based Learning: Evaluation of a Foundation Degree Health & Social Care Programme

This paper presents findings from an evaluation of student satisfaction with work-based learning as experienced by 57 Foundation degree (Fd) Health & Social Care students. The study participants were all employed by the National Health Service (NHS) in a range of clinical settings in the English Midlands. Three cohorts of students completed a questionnaire which sought to uncover the individual circumstances, behaviour, attitudes and beliefs of work-based learners. Students undertaking the acute care, long-term conditions, children and mental health study pathways were supported by a workplace mentor and assessor, while students studying the diagnostic radiography, radiotherapy and mammography pathways had their work-based learning supported by a clinical learning facilitator (CLF). Most of the participants were undertaking the Fd to make the transition from radiography helper or healthcare assistant (HCA) to assistant practitioner (AP). The findings distinguish the individual circumstances of students in the context of their study pathways and on the basis of their contracted hours and the role that they hoped to fill on completion of the programme. Student behaviour was characterised by the regularity with which students worked with their mentors, assessors or CLFs and their engagement in a range of work-based learning activities including practice-based assessments, knowledge and skills acquisition and, with particular regard to radiography students, the learning of new procedures. Although the level of student satisfaction with work-based learning was high, several participants perceived that their colleagues seemed reluctant to recognise them as students in their own right and lacked an awareness of the role of the AP. Participants believed that their confidence had increased and that they were playing a greater role in their clinical teams as a result of gaining knowledge and skills that had helped them to engage in new ways of working.

'Distance travelled versus the 'distance' travelled': Enhancing the student learning experience using a creative and innovative approach to tutorial organisation

In an effort to remain both competitive and attractive to prospective and established students Higher Education institutions, both at a national and international level, are actively seeking innovative ways 'of improving the student experience and student progression/retention' (National Audit Office, 2002 in Stevenson, 2009, p. 117). This paper reports on an original approach to tutorial organisation to enhance the learning experience of undergraduate students on a practice based foundation degree at a UK university. Students' perceptions of tutorials prior to and post their active engagement with a Tutorial Stations system (TSS) within the classroom learning space will be shared and discussed. Whilst there is student calling to sustain usage of the system as part of other taught modules on the programme further research is needed to evaluate the impact of the system on improving student attainment.

Situated learning in practice: teaching assistants engaged with a work-based Foundation Degree in England

A qualitative case study was carried out in order to understand the enacted reality for three primary school teaching assistants of the notion of situated learning in relation to Lave and Wenger’s concept of communities of practice and their description of legitimate peripheral participation. The case study subjects were studying for a work-based Foundation Degree in Educational Studies at a UK higher education institution and took part in a longitudinal study that lasted the duration of their 2-year course. By viewing their experiences through the lens of Lave and Wenger’s work, new understandings have been developed of how useful and realistic their notion of situated learning and concepts of communities of practice and legitimate peripheral participation are in relation to learning on a work-based Foundation Degree.

Seeing the potential.

OVER THE past six years, Kaye Wilson has concentrated on ensuring that the members of the behavioural assessment and intervention team at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust receive plenty of education opportunities. The team, which has nine clinical staff, including Ms Wilson, and an administration clerk, has been through an intensive period of education to ensure that all members have the best skills for their patients. Ms Wilson, who worked in the kitchens of her organisation for seven years before deciding to train as a learning disability nurse, says: ‘As a team, we had a lot of experience, but not a lot of qualifications, or certified knowledge. I now manage many who are clinically more skilled than myself. ‘It is my job as a manager to make sure they have additional support in work time and supervision to make it possible for them to study.’ Extra education was undertaken by the team’s four registered learning disability nurses and four assistant practitioners, who are based in council offices in Spennymoor, County Durham. One nurse undertook a degree in behavioural science and intervention, and three took postgraduate diplomas in positive approaches to challenging behaviour. Two nurses are about to complete master’s degrees in autism, and a third took a master’s in intellectual disabilities and is working towards becoming a board-certified behaviour analyst. The non-registered staff also took courses, including foundation degrees, a level-four national vocational qualification and a teaching qualification. Most of the costs of the courses, as well as travel and accommodation, were supported by the trust, Ms Wilson says. She has also helped those who were studying, by reducing their caseloads. The team works in the community with adults who have moderate-to-severe learning disabilities and display challenging behaviour. Staff work intensively with the 35 people on the team’s caseload to identify reasons for the behaviour and ways to reduce it. Many of the patients have autism, or autistic traits, and many have communication difficulties and complex needs.

Horses for courses, or a grumble in the jungle? HE in FE student perceptions of the HE experience in a land-based college

This paper presents a summary of preliminary findings regarding the perceptions of the legitimacy and quality of the higher education (HE) student experience through the lens of those studying animal/equine studies foundation degrees and BSc degrees within a small, ostensibly further education (FE) land-based college setting. As part of a PhD study, research data was collected using two student focus groups. Empirical student perception data from animal/equine studies students gathered whilst discharging external examiner duties at six English FE land-based colleges from 2007 to 2013 was also included. Despite FE college claims regarding the ‘supportive environment’ and ‘small classes’ being the unique selling point for those studying HE in FE (as opposed to HE within the university sector), responses from animal/equine studies students reported dissatisfaction with regard to the predominating FE culture, as well as concerns surrounding their HE status and the perception of others, as being bona fide HE students. Drawing on Bourdieu’s conceptual framework of habitus and field and notions of an institutional habitus, the HE in FE student experience is contextualised, together with recommendations for enriching HE in FE from the student perspective.

E-journals: towards critical and independent reflective practice for students in higher education

Practitioners and students are increasingly asked to reflect upon practice within higher education (HE). Reflection is used in both formative and summative settings. Learning journals are recognised as a significant tool in promoting active learning and regularly used among students and teachers. Current research suggests that the effectiveness of journaling is inconsistent. In representing the use of journals as a process within reflective practice, the purposes of this study were to consider if journals were an effective way in which undergraduates could engage in reflection. This study adopted a constructivist interpretivist position and employed the action research approach. Participants (n = 3) were male, first-year undergraduates on a Foundation Degree in Sports Coaching at a college in the North West of England. Data collection was over a six-month period. At the end of each month, participants were required to submit their e-journals, consisting of five academic themes of their choosing. Summative feedback was offered to the students after each submission which identified their levels of reflection in relation to Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy. In total 43.09% of entries analysed were written in the lowest three levels of the taxonomy; 56.87% were written in the highest three levels, of which evaluation, the highest level, totalled 28.66%. Findings suggested that journals may be used effectively, with all students recording high levels of critical reflection throughout a six-month period. Students made remarkably quick progress in becoming critical in their reflections and Bloom’s Taxonomy provided a vigorous means for assessment. Strengths and limitations of the research process are discussed as are recommendations for future practice.

Building a community of enquiry with students on a foundation degree in early years

This article discusses a project designed to build a community of enquiry in the first year of a foundation degree in early years at an English university. Derived originally from Lipman’s ideas of Philosophy for Children, this approach became a regular part of the fortnightly session for these early childhood practitioners, in order to support them to apply criticality to their learning. The project was evaluated using an action research approach and participant comments suggested that the community of enquiry, though challenging, had several aspects which supported student learning. These are identified as relational pedagogy, enabling discussion and reflective practice. The article concludes that building a community of enquiry was beneficial not only in improving students’ learning but also in validating the foundation degree student profile as early years practitioners practising what Osgood calls ‘emotional professionalism’.