Aileen Ackland | University of Aberdeen (original) (raw)

Papers by Aileen Ackland

In the United Kingdom, partnership is increasingly a requirement of public sector funding. Such p... more In the United Kingdom, partnership is increasingly a requirement of public sector funding. Such partnerships, formed strategically to win government contracts, can prove brittle; collaboration is often superficial. This chapter explores how a consortium of Scottish higher, further and adult education institutions, assembled expediently to respond to a contract arising from a Scottish Government strategy for adult literacies, nevertheless became genuinely collaborative. In the course of a six-year project to develop new professional qualifications for adult literacies tutors, a core group within the consortium developed a resilient affiliation able to lever advantage within individual institutions from its association. Its intentionality and readiness to transgress boundaries in the face of institutional obstacles were grounded in a shared pedagogical perspective. We examine how common understandings and shared objectives were forged in a series of critical incidents. The territorial...

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education

Historically, the relationship between adult education and democracy has been one of mutual syner... more Historically, the relationship between adult education and democracy has been one of mutual synergy with education providing the context for thoughtful reflection and democratic action. The social purpose of adult education was precisely in its contribution to making the world a more socially just and more democratic place. However, this relationship has been eroded over the years as adult education and democratic life have become increasingly distanced from each other. Can this be repaired? This is the central theme of this entry, which is explored through trends relating to adult education, community, and democracy, and articulated through the particular experiences of the Scottish context we are familiar with. This article argues that adult education can enrich democratic culture and practice and that in turn democratic issues and debates can energize and stimulate adult education.While the Scottish lens is distinctive, our argument has a broader reference point, as the neolibera...

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 10494820903298258, Oct 15, 2009

ABSTRACT This article argues for a flexible model of learning for adults which allows them to mak... more ABSTRACT This article argues for a flexible model of learning for adults which allows them to make choices and contextualise their learning in a manner appropriate to their own professional practice whilst also developing as a member of a learning community. It presents a design based around online ‘learning activities’ which draws on ideas of constructivism, collaborative learning and reflective practice. The model was developed for adult learning in Higher Education, and has been adapted and extended to a number of different programmes. Implementation of the model for the Teaching Qualification (Further Education) has been the subject of an interpretative evaluation using a multiple methods approach. Learners' experiences of this programme together with issues associated with the application of the model to other programmes are discussed.

In this paper, we draw on Actor -Network Theories (ANT) to explore how material components functi... more In this paper, we draw on Actor -Network Theories (ANT) to explore how material components functioned to create gateways and barriers to a virtual learning network in the context of a professional development module in higher education. Students were practitioners engaged in family learning in different professional roles and contexts. The data comprised postings in the Google' community, email correspondence, meeting notes, feedback submitted at the final workshop and post-module evaluation forms. Our analysis revealed a complex set of interactions, and suggests multiple ways human actors story their encounters with non-human components and the effects these have on the learning experience. The aim of this paper is to contribute to a more holistic understanding of the components and dynamics of social learning networks in the virtual world and consider the implications for the design of online learning for continuous professional development (CPD).

This article demonstrates that the presence of radical discourse in an educational field is not n... more This article demonstrates that the presence of radical discourse in an educational field is not necessarily evidence of criticality in practice. Appropriated by policy and practitioners within a web of power relations, radical discourse may come to act on practice in ways which are antithetical to its theoretical origins. To illustrate this process of transformation and its effects, the paper explores the discourse of
the Scottish ‘social practice approach’ as an actant in the Scottish Adult Literacy and Numeracy (ALN) initiative 2000–2012. The argument uses ideas from actor-network theories, in particular the concept of ‘translation’, to make sense of the apparent contradictions in the Scottish context. Seemingly derived from the New Literacy Studies (NLS), the concept of ‘the social practice approach’ implies a critical
pedagogy. Its prominence in the discourses of ALN in Scotland might indicate critical practice. Despite Scottish practitioners’ claims to ‘do social practices’ there is, however, little evidence of such practice. Part of a larger study of the Scottish ALN reforms, this examination of the emergence and stabilisation of the ‘social practice’ discourse suggests that in translations the associations with NLS were betrayed through relationships with other powerful discourses. Ironically, the effect of the discourse of ‘the social practice approach’ may have been to contribute
to the effective mobilisation of Scottish practitioners to the role assigned to them in the government human capital project and to obviate resistance. The paper concludes with some thoughts about the potential for intervention to open up spaces in which alternative constructions of literacy and literacy education can be assembled.

Literacy and Numeracy Studies, 2013

The claim to be a profession traditionally assumes the need for a University level qualification.... more The claim to be a profession traditionally assumes the need for a University level qualification. In a previously unregulated area of practice, the development of a professional qualification is thus central to the professionalisation process. In Scotland, the development of a Teaching Qualification for Adult Literacies practitioners became the focal point for the tensions in the broader professionalisation project and a site of discursive contestation in an emergent field of practice. This paper explores the play of power and resistance, drawing primarily on two separate but related research studies – a policy analysis and an exploration of practitioners' conceptualisations of practice. Whilst the first study explicitly used the methodological framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 2003) and the second, Personal Construct Theory (Kelly, 1955), they are connected by their postmodern focus on language use and an interest in how practitioners are managed by and, in turn, manage and mediate managerial and professional forms of power; both aimed to examine 'how discourse figures in the processes of change' (Fairclough, 2003, p. 205). Brought into relationship with one another in the context of the nexus of power relations formed by the development of the new qualification, they illuminate the multiple 'projects' competing discursively in the space.

Interactive Learning Environments, 2011

This article argues for a flexible model of learning for adults which allows them to make choices... more This article argues for a flexible model of learning for adults which allows them to make choices and contextualise their learning in a manner appropriate to their own professional practice whilst also developing as a member of a learning community. It presents a design based around online ‘learning activities’ which draws on ideas of constructivism, collaborative learning and reflective practice. The model was developed for adult learning in Higher Education, and has been adapted and extended to a number of different programmes. Implementation of the model for the Teaching Qualification (Further Education) has been the subject of an interpretative evaluation using a multiple methods approach. Learners' experiences of this programme together with issues associated with the application of the model to other programmes are discussed.

Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 2007

... Consequential transitions: a developmental view of knowledge propagation through social organ... more ... Consequential transitions: a developmental view of knowledge propagation through social organisations, in: T. Tuomi-Gröhn & Y. Engeström (Eds) (2003) Between school and work: newperspectives on transfer and boundary-crossing (Oxford, Pergamon Elsevier Science). ...

In the United Kingdom, partnership is increasingly a requirement of public sector funding. Such p... more In the United Kingdom, partnership is increasingly a requirement of public sector funding. Such partnerships, formed strategically to win government contracts, can prove brittle; collaboration is often superficial. This chapter explores how a consortium of Scottish higher, further and adult education institutions, assembled expediently to respond to a contract arising from a Scottish Government strategy for adult literacies, nevertheless became genuinely collaborative. In the course of a six-year project to develop new professional qualifications for adult literacies tutors, a core group within the consortium developed a resilient affiliation able to lever advantage within individual institutions from its association. Its intentionality and readiness to transgress boundaries in the face of institutional obstacles were grounded in a shared pedagogical perspective. We examine how common understandings and shared objectives were forged in a series of critical incidents. The territorial...

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education

Historically, the relationship between adult education and democracy has been one of mutual syner... more Historically, the relationship between adult education and democracy has been one of mutual synergy with education providing the context for thoughtful reflection and democratic action. The social purpose of adult education was precisely in its contribution to making the world a more socially just and more democratic place. However, this relationship has been eroded over the years as adult education and democratic life have become increasingly distanced from each other. Can this be repaired? This is the central theme of this entry, which is explored through trends relating to adult education, community, and democracy, and articulated through the particular experiences of the Scottish context we are familiar with. This article argues that adult education can enrich democratic culture and practice and that in turn democratic issues and debates can energize and stimulate adult education.While the Scottish lens is distinctive, our argument has a broader reference point, as the neolibera...

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 10494820903298258, Oct 15, 2009

ABSTRACT This article argues for a flexible model of learning for adults which allows them to mak... more ABSTRACT This article argues for a flexible model of learning for adults which allows them to make choices and contextualise their learning in a manner appropriate to their own professional practice whilst also developing as a member of a learning community. It presents a design based around online ‘learning activities’ which draws on ideas of constructivism, collaborative learning and reflective practice. The model was developed for adult learning in Higher Education, and has been adapted and extended to a number of different programmes. Implementation of the model for the Teaching Qualification (Further Education) has been the subject of an interpretative evaluation using a multiple methods approach. Learners' experiences of this programme together with issues associated with the application of the model to other programmes are discussed.

In this paper, we draw on Actor -Network Theories (ANT) to explore how material components functi... more In this paper, we draw on Actor -Network Theories (ANT) to explore how material components functioned to create gateways and barriers to a virtual learning network in the context of a professional development module in higher education. Students were practitioners engaged in family learning in different professional roles and contexts. The data comprised postings in the Google' community, email correspondence, meeting notes, feedback submitted at the final workshop and post-module evaluation forms. Our analysis revealed a complex set of interactions, and suggests multiple ways human actors story their encounters with non-human components and the effects these have on the learning experience. The aim of this paper is to contribute to a more holistic understanding of the components and dynamics of social learning networks in the virtual world and consider the implications for the design of online learning for continuous professional development (CPD).

This article demonstrates that the presence of radical discourse in an educational field is not n... more This article demonstrates that the presence of radical discourse in an educational field is not necessarily evidence of criticality in practice. Appropriated by policy and practitioners within a web of power relations, radical discourse may come to act on practice in ways which are antithetical to its theoretical origins. To illustrate this process of transformation and its effects, the paper explores the discourse of
the Scottish ‘social practice approach’ as an actant in the Scottish Adult Literacy and Numeracy (ALN) initiative 2000–2012. The argument uses ideas from actor-network theories, in particular the concept of ‘translation’, to make sense of the apparent contradictions in the Scottish context. Seemingly derived from the New Literacy Studies (NLS), the concept of ‘the social practice approach’ implies a critical
pedagogy. Its prominence in the discourses of ALN in Scotland might indicate critical practice. Despite Scottish practitioners’ claims to ‘do social practices’ there is, however, little evidence of such practice. Part of a larger study of the Scottish ALN reforms, this examination of the emergence and stabilisation of the ‘social practice’ discourse suggests that in translations the associations with NLS were betrayed through relationships with other powerful discourses. Ironically, the effect of the discourse of ‘the social practice approach’ may have been to contribute
to the effective mobilisation of Scottish practitioners to the role assigned to them in the government human capital project and to obviate resistance. The paper concludes with some thoughts about the potential for intervention to open up spaces in which alternative constructions of literacy and literacy education can be assembled.

Literacy and Numeracy Studies, 2013

The claim to be a profession traditionally assumes the need for a University level qualification.... more The claim to be a profession traditionally assumes the need for a University level qualification. In a previously unregulated area of practice, the development of a professional qualification is thus central to the professionalisation process. In Scotland, the development of a Teaching Qualification for Adult Literacies practitioners became the focal point for the tensions in the broader professionalisation project and a site of discursive contestation in an emergent field of practice. This paper explores the play of power and resistance, drawing primarily on two separate but related research studies – a policy analysis and an exploration of practitioners' conceptualisations of practice. Whilst the first study explicitly used the methodological framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 2003) and the second, Personal Construct Theory (Kelly, 1955), they are connected by their postmodern focus on language use and an interest in how practitioners are managed by and, in turn, manage and mediate managerial and professional forms of power; both aimed to examine 'how discourse figures in the processes of change' (Fairclough, 2003, p. 205). Brought into relationship with one another in the context of the nexus of power relations formed by the development of the new qualification, they illuminate the multiple 'projects' competing discursively in the space.

Interactive Learning Environments, 2011

This article argues for a flexible model of learning for adults which allows them to make choices... more This article argues for a flexible model of learning for adults which allows them to make choices and contextualise their learning in a manner appropriate to their own professional practice whilst also developing as a member of a learning community. It presents a design based around online ‘learning activities’ which draws on ideas of constructivism, collaborative learning and reflective practice. The model was developed for adult learning in Higher Education, and has been adapted and extended to a number of different programmes. Implementation of the model for the Teaching Qualification (Further Education) has been the subject of an interpretative evaluation using a multiple methods approach. Learners' experiences of this programme together with issues associated with the application of the model to other programmes are discussed.

Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 2007

... Consequential transitions: a developmental view of knowledge propagation through social organ... more ... Consequential transitions: a developmental view of knowledge propagation through social organisations, in: T. Tuomi-Gröhn & Y. Engeström (Eds) (2003) Between school and work: newperspectives on transfer and boundary-crossing (Oxford, Pergamon Elsevier Science). ...