This thesis explores the relatively under-theorised relationship between wisdom and adult teaching and learning. Whilst studies of wisdom are usually couched within a psychological framework, and/or one related to gerontology, this work poses key questions about what wisdom means, whether it can be taught, and the extent to which its elusive and allusive character has rendered it marginal to the design and delivery of adult and lifelong learning. Using autoethnography as both method and methodology, and by drawing on a diverse range of sources, including six interviews, this pursuit of wisdom is anchored in the reflexive relationship between the author and her subject of study. Key ontological and epistemological questions are posed as I seek meaning in relation to my lifeworld and lifespan. I also examine autoethnography’s efficacy whilst acknowledging criticisms within the academy, including accusations of narcissistic irrelevance. This study also incorporates the use of ‘writing as inquiry’ by way of offering a further challenge to the more traditional bounds of the social sciences. The interview material is couched within a fictionalised framework, and the whole thesis unfolds, conterminously, as both analysis and quest. In keeping with the methodological approach, the thesis concludes by offering a synthesis of certain of its propositions, rather than resolution. By adopting Sophia, the ancient goddess of wisdom, as metaphorical guide, the basic proposition that is shared across the text is the epistemologically fragmented nature of our understanding of wisdom and her relegation in a frenetic world which can be obsessed with the measurable as against the deepening of understanding. Yet the paradoxical nature of wisdom’s manifestations might also offer a degree of hope, should we heed her call…I argue that she is intimately intertwined with learning itself and with the potential for heartfelt and imaginative openness to the wisdom of ‘unknowing’ and the possibility of transcendence. However, Sophia demands our imaginative, authentic, loving and courageous attention in the process: in writing; in the classroom; in understanding the play of history, culture and the self. This autoethnographic inquiry is my response to that demand.

Qualified nurses require equitable access to continuing professional education (CPE) that is responsive to the needs of learners, employers and most importantly clients. There is scant attention paid to the CPE custom of community nurses, with research in the experience of island-based nurses mainly limited to the Mediterranean and under-developed islands, or of nurses working in the Scottish Isles. The community nurses in question are employed by a charity working outside the National Health Service (NHS), based on an island with a unique model of healthcare that is more medicalised and institutionalised than the United Kingdom NHS. Semi-structured, one-to-one interviews were conducted with sixteen community nurses, and two focus groups undertaken, one with nurse managers and the other with qualified nurses. Interview data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, a method new to education research, and not yet recorded in relation to nurse education. Findings indicated an ageing workforce, with ageism hindering access to CPE. Geographical isolation coupled with a lack of access to tertiary education dictated CPE to fulfil professional development. Charitable status and limited CPE funding resulted in a third of nurses applying for sponsorship via local or national agencies, this was not found elsewhere in the current literature. This research contributes to the knowledge relating to nurse CPE, confirming the transferability of existing literature relating to geographical remoteness, barriers and outcomes of formal study to community nurses. It advances the current knowledge base with regard to small island infrastructure effecting access to CPE, funding formal education for nurses working outside the NHS, and silo working within the community setting. Further research is required to explore the experience of community nurses under the age of 30 years not represented within this study, who will be the future workforce when older nurses retire. These findings are of particular significance to the Jersey Health and Social Services Department who are currently redesigning the future health and social care system on the island based on a community model, nurse educators, the charity and its qualified nurse employees, and finally the island population.

Thesis (MTech. degree in Education) / Investigates the challenges faced by colleges of further education and training in merging the previously segregrated colleges.

This thesis considers questioning of rigid conceptions of identity with regards the parallel and integrated contexts of the Canadian Arctic and academia. The text has been written as a conversation between texts written by Inuit (the source literature) and non-Inuit. I have searched and analyzed these sources on the broad themes of research, colonization and pedagogy. The theme of research is a guide for the first section of this thesis where I locate the research by detailing my rationales and methodologies. My objective to conduct this research ethically, responsible to writings by Inuit and others represented within this thesis, led me to use a literary approach considered by some as non-standard within the social sciences. Drawing only on secondary texts for this research, reading and writing are my methodologies and I utilize intertextuality as a theoretical and methodological guide. The theme of colonization in the Canadian Arctic provides a main focus for the second and third sections of the thesis. I review perspectives both on colonization in the Canadian Arctic, and contemporary social health challenges, and consider these in relation to the educational sphere most specifically. Colonization is discussed as something that has incurred trauma for Inuit, and as something that Inuit seek to be resilient to, but I emphasize a need to recognize diversities within the colonization and contemporary experiences of Inuit. I discuss that narratives can be misleading and potentially harmful, particularly when there is an overreliance on rigid externally-defined narratives which conflict with internal conceptions of identity. And I discuss how narratives can also be affirming, particularly when an individual has agency over the construction and the sharing processes. I consider the writings within the source literature as enactments of resilience through inherent questioning of hegemonic ‘truths’. Pedagogy is a thematic guide for the fourth section of the thesis. I suggest that under the intangible terminologies of ‘overcoming trauma’ or ‘resilience over colonization’ sit pedagogies that Inuit discuss whereby such ideals may be pursued. Learning theorists focussed more broadly promote critiques of mainstream pedagogies and ideal pedagogies similar to those discussed by Inuit. Considering these connections leads to an articulation of five characteristics of ideal pedagogies for coming to new understandings on difference: 1) a need to revalue diversities and ‘soft’ skills such as imagination; 2) a tolerance of an individual’s need for freedom to define one’s own identity; 3) a conceptualization of pedagogy as a contextualized way of living rather than a decontextualized activity; 4) the importance of a dialogic pedagogy and humility of both teacher/learner; and 5) the promotion of a cognizance, through pedagogy, that essentialisms are necessary but also potentially misleading and damaging. Such an articulation of ideal pedagogies has also guided my own learning within this research.

China's 'Modern Distance Education' is a government-led initiative prompted by the need to widen access to higher education and by the opportunities offered by the development of a widespread infrastructure of information and communications technologies. Distance education using television, radio and other technologies has a long history in China, but the advent of computer communications opened new possibilities for promoting educational development and the policy goal of modernisation. Distance education in China now involves online learning, to various degrees. However, the effectiveness of online courses depends on learners accessing them and using the resources provided. Does this happen? How well do learners manage their online learning? What barriers do they encounter? This thesis examines these questions through a study of adult distance learners based on analysis of a survey of 2931 learners and in-depth interviews with 21 learners and distance education experts in several locations. I find that: (1) The barriers to online learning faced by the sample learners are of seven types: communication and interaction; teaching and courses; learning resources; learning support services; external support and economic burdens; computer and network operation skills; and conditions for accessing the Internet. (2) Among the seven types of barrier, the 'communication and interaction' barrier is not only acting as the most important one faced by these learners, but also exists as a markedly independent one. (3) Improvements in 'communication and interaction' are the most effective in overcoming the other barriers and also contribute to increasing the learners' learning efficiency. This leads to the perception that working on 'communication and interaction' is very likely to be the best starting point for tackling barriers to online learning. According to these findings, I believe that if the situation of 'communication and interaction' in online learning can be improved for online learners to meet their desire for 'sociability', and once they can thus establish their own 'learning communities' and form relatively stable 'student-to-student' relationships, and 'student-to-teacher' relationships, other learning barriers will be reduced as well. Hence, I argue that we should always pay attention to making 'communication and interaction' occur effectively for online learners in the learning process. We should consider the matter of 'interaction' not only in the delivery process of teaching and tutoring as well as in learning activities, but also in the production of teaching materials and in the provision of learning materials, as well as in the building of learning environments. In a word, it is necessary to put the whole matter of 'interaction' at the core of the instructional system design for online learning.

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Nursing in Advanced Practice

<p> Community college graduation rates are low, and community colleges have been tasked with producing more graduates to meet workforce needs. Research has determined that engaged students remain at their institutions and complete their degrees. Service learning has been identified as a high-impact practice that engages students with their learning and builds connections between students and campus personnel. The majority of service-learning research, having been conducted with 4-year colleges and universities, may have limited applicability to the community college population. This qualitative descriptive case study describes how institutionalized service learning on 1 community college campus is structured, supported, and operated. The study used the framework of student success, service learning, and institutionalization to determine how the college provided resources and opportunities for service learning. Participants for the study were selected using mixed purposeful sampling to identify individuals recently involved with service learning at the college; data came from document reviews, campus and Internet observations, college staff interviews, and student group online discussions. Data were collected and analyzed using a spiraling technique. Findings indicated that the college's curricular and cocurricular service-learning activities were integrated throughout the campus in many departments and with different groups. While the service-learning coordinators made distinctions between curricular and cocurricular service learning, student participants did not make such distinctions. Students in this study were engaged with their service learning. These findings have applicability for all community college educators, demonstrating that institutionalized community college service learning might lead to greater retention through graduation.</p>

<p> In learning to be a yoga teacher, the focus is largely on <i>what </i> is being taught, in other words, the physical techniques such as <i> asana</i> (posture) and <i>pranayama</i> (breath). There is substantially less focus on who teachers are as individuals despite research from neuroscience which suggests that <i>who</i> teachers are may be far more important to students' learning than what they are teaching. This thesis dives into the question of who yoga teachers are as individuals through the lens of authenticity. Drawing on transformative learning theory, Jung's theory of individuation, and the stories of eight teachers who have wrestled deeply with this question, this thesis explores the process of developing authenticity in the context of teaching yoga. This study finds that authenticity results from one's journey of individuation, which although personal in nature is supported by relationship to self, Self and other (mentor, teacher, therapist). </p>

<p> Teachers are critical to student learning in the classroom, and just like students, teachers perform better when they are able to make choices based on what is relevant to them. Action research is a way for teachers to systematically inquire and reflect to make necessary improvements in practice for student learning. This study involved teachers who had conducted action research as a component of their Master's in Curriculum and Instruction program at one Midwest college. It examined teachers' perceived lasting benefits of conducting action research, the elements they continue to implement, and the supports of and limitations to continuation of the practice. </p><p> As part of a mixed-method study, a researcher-developed survey was first used. Seventy-seven teachers provided responses to the online survey. Fifteen survey participants volunteered to offer narrative elaboration of their responses in a follow-up telephone interview. </p><p> The compiled data included totals and percentages from the survey and themes and quotations from the teachers' narrative responses. Together, the findings revealed that 98% of the teachers felt they benefited from conducting action research. They perceived the greatest professional benefits of conducting action research to be thinking more reflectively, positively impacting student learning, and inquiring more about their practice. </p><p> Teachers were continuing to conduct action research based on the impact they perceived the practice had on their students' success in the classroom. The elements they continued most often were identifying a focus, collecting and analyzing data, and reflecting on the process. This practice allowed them to learn from evaluating the effectiveness of their implementations and realize there was rigor and relevance to what they were doing. </p><p> With 92% of participants desiring to continue action research, two major factors were given as greatest support for continuation. Teachers desired a combination of collaboration with peers on issues that mattered to them and time in the school day to collaborate and conduct action research.</p>