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Papers by Piers von Berg

This article presents a new research design for pedagogical research at university. The design de... more This article presents a new research design for pedagogical research at university. The design demonstrates how personal and cultural citizenship education can be a form of transformative human rights education by nurturing citizens who challenge patterns of exclusion. It draws on shared traditions of citizenship and human rights education that have focused on lived experiences of injustice and uses spaces that mitigate prevailing power structures. These ideas have shaped a new pedagogical action research design that uses theories and practices of transformational learning, authentic reflection, and participatory theatre to stimulate 'becomings' in civic identity and agency. 'Becoming' is a form of dialogical knowledge arising from profound moments of empathy and solidarity. In these moments participants recognise the human dignity of excluded others and share experiences of injustice, which expands their sense of community and agency. The research design is a potential alternative to more market-driven global citizenship education at university.

Critical Studies in Teaching and Learning

This study uncovers a previously underappreciated role of the social experience of university in ... more This study uncovers a previously underappreciated role of the social experience of university in shaping undergraduates' civic identities. A multidisciplinary theoretical approach to citizenship is used to understand an individual's attempts to negotiate meaning along with a qualitative methodology that allowed students a voice in the data collection and analysis. The findings show that some of the most formative experiences in a student's civic identity is their interaction with peers and friends in a diverse student community. There is also a strong influence of a culture of performativity and credentialism on students' attitudes to learning about citizenship. Both combine in a 'synthetic civic identity' shaped by a mixed environment of more open-minded civic norms and an instrumental and individualist outlook towards studies. There were varying degrees of critical awareness or reflexivity around these processes. This hybrid form of civic identity stimulates and challenges current narratives of tension in higher education.

Youth Justice, Aug 1, 2019

During the last 30 years, the way in which children give evidence in the criminal justice system ... more During the last 30 years, the way in which children give evidence in the criminal justice system in England and Wales has been radically transformed. These reforms have, however, neglected child suspects in the police station. Recent piecemeal reforms to the statutory regime for children in police detention have overlooked a critical stage of the criminal justice process: the police interview. This article critically analyses the policy, practice and law surrounding police questioning of child suspects. It demonstrates that the absence of child-specific guidance when interviewing child suspects, is not only out of step with wider reforms, but carries real risks regarding the effective communication and participation of child suspects.

The next 20 minutes… • The problems with PACE 1984 (and the implications) • The challenges of vul... more The next 20 minutes… • The problems with PACE 1984 (and the implications) • The challenges of vulnerable suspects • The merits of a 'fair trial' approach and what it requires • Reflections on dynamics of change and obstacles

The questioning of child suspects is an underdeveloped area compared with the care and protection... more The questioning of child suspects is an underdeveloped area compared with the care and protection given to children who are witness, victims and even defendants. For example, substantial guidance in questioning vulnerable witnesses has been developed in the Achieving Best Evidence Guidance (ABE). In order to rectify this lack of attention, a symposium was held at the University of Plymouth on 30 November 2018 to investigate what the obstacles were to obtaining reliable evidence from child suspects and what opportunities existed to tackle them (please see agenda of the event at the end of this document). It was organised by Piers von Berg of the School of Law at the University of Plymouth. The symposium brought together a wide variety of professionals including, lawyers, police officers, academics, psychologists and other youth justice professionals. Several notable experts attended including Professor Ray Bull and Professor Becky Milne, who helped develop the investigative interview model used by UK police. They agreed that there was a need to reform policy for interviewing child suspects due to a number of specific issues relating to inadequate assessment of children, insufficient training of interviewers and unsatisfactory legal safeguards. As there is comparably little work in this field, it was thought necessary to preserve in a report the issues they raised and the potential solutions they suggested so that it may stimulate and assist others who work in this area.

Many universities in the UK declare they cultivate citizenship among their graduates. This has no... more Many universities in the UK declare they cultivate citizenship among their graduates. This has not gone hand in hand with the introduction of citizenship courses. It raises the question of what students are learning about citizenship, if at all, and how. This pilot study used a sociological approach to citizenship as a lived experience in order to uncover the meaning citizenship had for undergraduate students. It reveals that much of the students’ understanding is gleaned from interactions with peers in a highly diverse student community. Their understanding of citizenship education was strongly influenced by a culture of performativity and neoliberal values emanating from the institution. The resulting combination was a “synthetic citizenship” or civic identity comprised of more open-minded civic norms and an instrumental and individualist outlook towards studies.

An anomaly in the law concerning judicial review in criminal matters was revealed in a recent cas... more An anomaly in the law concerning judicial review in criminal matters was revealed in a recent case in the High Court: R (Imbeah) v Willesden Magistrates' Court and Another. 2 The facts were commonplace: it concerned a challenge to a decision of a District Judge to proceed with a trial without disclosure by the prosecution of CCTV evidence of the custody suite, which had been marked as disclosable on the unused schedule. The claimant had been convicted of driving with excess alcohol. The issue raised by the defence was that the breath-testing machine was at fault and that a statutory warning was not given before the test was taken.

This short article considers the impact of two new EU Directives on how children give evidence in... more This short article considers the impact of two new EU Directives on how children give evidence in a criminal court in the UK. In summary, the argument is that the Directives reiterate the need to implement measures to allow pre-trial recording of cross-examination to avoid the deleterious effects of delay and attendance at court on child witnesses. Without this implementation child complainants and witnesses cannot exercise their right to be heard and be afforded special protection.

This paper discusses an experimental program on civic education created and implemented by the au... more This paper discusses an experimental program on civic education created and implemented by the author as a Civic Education Project Visiting Faculty Fellow (Baku, Azerbaijan 2001-2003).

This program concentrated on students gaining academic and professional skills while studying themes that had direct meaning and relevance to their everyday lives. The essay then tries to explain how this experiment can be useful and relevant to other students and teachers working in higher education in the Caucasus.

Conference Presentations by Piers von Berg

Society for Research into Higher Education Newer Researchers Conference, 2019

Citizenship is often learned not taught at university by absorbing norms from scholarly study (Wa... more Citizenship is often learned not taught at university by absorbing norms from scholarly study (Watson 2014) and organised extracurricular activities (McFarland and Thomas 2006). This is under threat from a pervasive culture of performativity and credentialism, with its emphasis on the market value of studies and interests, that constricts the time and space available for development of civic identities (von Berg under review). This raises an interesting question as to whether academics can assist students to explore and develop their civic identities and agency, and if so, what this might tell us about the largely neglected civic role of academics in the changing environment of higher education (Macfarlane 2005).

The author explored this question in an action research project at his institution. The project examined the impact of using pedagogies such as critical reflection (Boud et al 1985), transformative learning (Mezirow 1990) and forum theatre (Boal 2002). Respectively these helped students to question assumptions behind beliefs, encounter new experiences outside of university and rehearse and critique behaviour as citizens. Data was generated by observing and talking to students engaging in these activities and considering my own experience as a reflective practitioner (Ashwin et al 2015). The initial findings suggest that issues the students choose to explore such as loneliness, powerlessness and bureaucratic arbitrariness are ones that academics can relate to. It is suggested that one role of academic citizens is to work in partnership with students to explore common concerns to nurture the civic identities and agency of both. This allows both student and teacher to retain control and agency over their own self-formation in higher education (Marginson 2017).

Many universities in the UK declare they cultivate citizenship among their graduates. This has no... more Many universities in the UK declare they cultivate citizenship among their graduates. This has not gone hand in hand with the introduction of citizenship courses. It raises the question of what students are learning about citizenship, if at all, and how. This pilot study used a sociological approach to citizenship as a lived experience in order to uncover the meaning citizenship had for undergraduate students. It reveals that much of the students’ understanding is gleaned from interactions with peers in a highly diverse student community. Their understanding of citizenship education was strongly influenced by a culture of performativity and neoliberal values emanating from the institution. The resulting combination was a “synthetic citizenship” or civic identity comprised of more open-minded civic norms and an instrumental and individualist outlook towards studies.

Over 90,000 children are arrested in the UK every year and most are interviewed by the police. Th... more Over 90,000 children are arrested in the UK every year and most are interviewed by the police. Their responses can play a significant part in life-changing decisions to release them, divert them out of the criminal justice system or prosecute. Very little attention has been paid to how police interview such children despite huge efforts to reform the questioning of child witnesses and defendants. This presentation addresses this gap by critically analysing police policy and the law surrounding police questioning of child suspects. It shows that there is an absence of any national guidance for interviewing child suspects. Data from Freedom of Information requests show that most police forces in England and Wales rely on scant and vague statutory codes of practice and do not refer to best practice for interviewing children. Crucially, there is no relationship between the level of expertise of the interviewer and the abilities of the child interviewee; instead, interviewers are allocated according to the seriousness of the allegations. The legal safeguards under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 do not offset this problem because courts still apply outdated principles of questioning to suspects and often lack an independent assessment of a defendant. Therefore, current policy and practice increases the likelihood of unlawful cautions and unsafe convictions.

Books by Piers von Berg

Drafts by Piers von Berg

Critical Studies in Teaching and Learning, 2019

Many universities in the United Kingdom (U.K.) declare that they cultivate forms of citizenship a... more Many universities in the United Kingdom (U.K.) declare that they cultivate forms of citizenship among their students. This has not gone hand in hand with the introduction of citizenship courses. This leads to the question of whether the experience at university cultivates any forms of citizenship, and if so how. This study uncovers a previously underappreciated role of the social experience of university in shaping undergraduates’ civic identities. It uses a multidisciplinary theoretical approach to citizenship to understand an individual’s attempts to negotiate meaning in social and cultural context. This is combined with a partly participatory methodology to allow students a voice in the findings. This revealed that some of the most formative experiences on a student’s civic identity is interacting with peers and friends in a diverse student community. It also uncovered a strong influence of a culture of performativity and credentialism emanating from the institution on their attitudes to learning about citizenship. The resulting combination was a “synthetic civic identity” grown in a mixed environment comprised of more open-minded civic norms and an instrumental and individualist outlook towards studies. Interestingly, there appeared to be varying degrees of critical awareness or reflexivity around these processes. This hybrid form of civic identity stimulates and challenges current narratives of tension in higher education.

This article presents a new research design for pedagogical research at university. The design de... more This article presents a new research design for pedagogical research at university. The design demonstrates how personal and cultural citizenship education can be a form of transformative human rights education by nurturing citizens who challenge patterns of exclusion. It draws on shared traditions of citizenship and human rights education that have focused on lived experiences of injustice and uses spaces that mitigate prevailing power structures. These ideas have shaped a new pedagogical action research design that uses theories and practices of transformational learning, authentic reflection, and participatory theatre to stimulate 'becomings' in civic identity and agency. 'Becoming' is a form of dialogical knowledge arising from profound moments of empathy and solidarity. In these moments participants recognise the human dignity of excluded others and share experiences of injustice, which expands their sense of community and agency. The research design is a potential alternative to more market-driven global citizenship education at university.

Critical Studies in Teaching and Learning

This study uncovers a previously underappreciated role of the social experience of university in ... more This study uncovers a previously underappreciated role of the social experience of university in shaping undergraduates' civic identities. A multidisciplinary theoretical approach to citizenship is used to understand an individual's attempts to negotiate meaning along with a qualitative methodology that allowed students a voice in the data collection and analysis. The findings show that some of the most formative experiences in a student's civic identity is their interaction with peers and friends in a diverse student community. There is also a strong influence of a culture of performativity and credentialism on students' attitudes to learning about citizenship. Both combine in a 'synthetic civic identity' shaped by a mixed environment of more open-minded civic norms and an instrumental and individualist outlook towards studies. There were varying degrees of critical awareness or reflexivity around these processes. This hybrid form of civic identity stimulates and challenges current narratives of tension in higher education.

Youth Justice, Aug 1, 2019

During the last 30 years, the way in which children give evidence in the criminal justice system ... more During the last 30 years, the way in which children give evidence in the criminal justice system in England and Wales has been radically transformed. These reforms have, however, neglected child suspects in the police station. Recent piecemeal reforms to the statutory regime for children in police detention have overlooked a critical stage of the criminal justice process: the police interview. This article critically analyses the policy, practice and law surrounding police questioning of child suspects. It demonstrates that the absence of child-specific guidance when interviewing child suspects, is not only out of step with wider reforms, but carries real risks regarding the effective communication and participation of child suspects.

The next 20 minutes… • The problems with PACE 1984 (and the implications) • The challenges of vul... more The next 20 minutes… • The problems with PACE 1984 (and the implications) • The challenges of vulnerable suspects • The merits of a 'fair trial' approach and what it requires • Reflections on dynamics of change and obstacles

The questioning of child suspects is an underdeveloped area compared with the care and protection... more The questioning of child suspects is an underdeveloped area compared with the care and protection given to children who are witness, victims and even defendants. For example, substantial guidance in questioning vulnerable witnesses has been developed in the Achieving Best Evidence Guidance (ABE). In order to rectify this lack of attention, a symposium was held at the University of Plymouth on 30 November 2018 to investigate what the obstacles were to obtaining reliable evidence from child suspects and what opportunities existed to tackle them (please see agenda of the event at the end of this document). It was organised by Piers von Berg of the School of Law at the University of Plymouth. The symposium brought together a wide variety of professionals including, lawyers, police officers, academics, psychologists and other youth justice professionals. Several notable experts attended including Professor Ray Bull and Professor Becky Milne, who helped develop the investigative interview model used by UK police. They agreed that there was a need to reform policy for interviewing child suspects due to a number of specific issues relating to inadequate assessment of children, insufficient training of interviewers and unsatisfactory legal safeguards. As there is comparably little work in this field, it was thought necessary to preserve in a report the issues they raised and the potential solutions they suggested so that it may stimulate and assist others who work in this area.

Many universities in the UK declare they cultivate citizenship among their graduates. This has no... more Many universities in the UK declare they cultivate citizenship among their graduates. This has not gone hand in hand with the introduction of citizenship courses. It raises the question of what students are learning about citizenship, if at all, and how. This pilot study used a sociological approach to citizenship as a lived experience in order to uncover the meaning citizenship had for undergraduate students. It reveals that much of the students’ understanding is gleaned from interactions with peers in a highly diverse student community. Their understanding of citizenship education was strongly influenced by a culture of performativity and neoliberal values emanating from the institution. The resulting combination was a “synthetic citizenship” or civic identity comprised of more open-minded civic norms and an instrumental and individualist outlook towards studies.

An anomaly in the law concerning judicial review in criminal matters was revealed in a recent cas... more An anomaly in the law concerning judicial review in criminal matters was revealed in a recent case in the High Court: R (Imbeah) v Willesden Magistrates' Court and Another. 2 The facts were commonplace: it concerned a challenge to a decision of a District Judge to proceed with a trial without disclosure by the prosecution of CCTV evidence of the custody suite, which had been marked as disclosable on the unused schedule. The claimant had been convicted of driving with excess alcohol. The issue raised by the defence was that the breath-testing machine was at fault and that a statutory warning was not given before the test was taken.

This short article considers the impact of two new EU Directives on how children give evidence in... more This short article considers the impact of two new EU Directives on how children give evidence in a criminal court in the UK. In summary, the argument is that the Directives reiterate the need to implement measures to allow pre-trial recording of cross-examination to avoid the deleterious effects of delay and attendance at court on child witnesses. Without this implementation child complainants and witnesses cannot exercise their right to be heard and be afforded special protection.

This paper discusses an experimental program on civic education created and implemented by the au... more This paper discusses an experimental program on civic education created and implemented by the author as a Civic Education Project Visiting Faculty Fellow (Baku, Azerbaijan 2001-2003).

This program concentrated on students gaining academic and professional skills while studying themes that had direct meaning and relevance to their everyday lives. The essay then tries to explain how this experiment can be useful and relevant to other students and teachers working in higher education in the Caucasus.

Society for Research into Higher Education Newer Researchers Conference, 2019

Citizenship is often learned not taught at university by absorbing norms from scholarly study (Wa... more Citizenship is often learned not taught at university by absorbing norms from scholarly study (Watson 2014) and organised extracurricular activities (McFarland and Thomas 2006). This is under threat from a pervasive culture of performativity and credentialism, with its emphasis on the market value of studies and interests, that constricts the time and space available for development of civic identities (von Berg under review). This raises an interesting question as to whether academics can assist students to explore and develop their civic identities and agency, and if so, what this might tell us about the largely neglected civic role of academics in the changing environment of higher education (Macfarlane 2005).

The author explored this question in an action research project at his institution. The project examined the impact of using pedagogies such as critical reflection (Boud et al 1985), transformative learning (Mezirow 1990) and forum theatre (Boal 2002). Respectively these helped students to question assumptions behind beliefs, encounter new experiences outside of university and rehearse and critique behaviour as citizens. Data was generated by observing and talking to students engaging in these activities and considering my own experience as a reflective practitioner (Ashwin et al 2015). The initial findings suggest that issues the students choose to explore such as loneliness, powerlessness and bureaucratic arbitrariness are ones that academics can relate to. It is suggested that one role of academic citizens is to work in partnership with students to explore common concerns to nurture the civic identities and agency of both. This allows both student and teacher to retain control and agency over their own self-formation in higher education (Marginson 2017).

Many universities in the UK declare they cultivate citizenship among their graduates. This has no... more Many universities in the UK declare they cultivate citizenship among their graduates. This has not gone hand in hand with the introduction of citizenship courses. It raises the question of what students are learning about citizenship, if at all, and how. This pilot study used a sociological approach to citizenship as a lived experience in order to uncover the meaning citizenship had for undergraduate students. It reveals that much of the students’ understanding is gleaned from interactions with peers in a highly diverse student community. Their understanding of citizenship education was strongly influenced by a culture of performativity and neoliberal values emanating from the institution. The resulting combination was a “synthetic citizenship” or civic identity comprised of more open-minded civic norms and an instrumental and individualist outlook towards studies.

Over 90,000 children are arrested in the UK every year and most are interviewed by the police. Th... more Over 90,000 children are arrested in the UK every year and most are interviewed by the police. Their responses can play a significant part in life-changing decisions to release them, divert them out of the criminal justice system or prosecute. Very little attention has been paid to how police interview such children despite huge efforts to reform the questioning of child witnesses and defendants. This presentation addresses this gap by critically analysing police policy and the law surrounding police questioning of child suspects. It shows that there is an absence of any national guidance for interviewing child suspects. Data from Freedom of Information requests show that most police forces in England and Wales rely on scant and vague statutory codes of practice and do not refer to best practice for interviewing children. Crucially, there is no relationship between the level of expertise of the interviewer and the abilities of the child interviewee; instead, interviewers are allocated according to the seriousness of the allegations. The legal safeguards under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 do not offset this problem because courts still apply outdated principles of questioning to suspects and often lack an independent assessment of a defendant. Therefore, current policy and practice increases the likelihood of unlawful cautions and unsafe convictions.

Critical Studies in Teaching and Learning, 2019

Many universities in the United Kingdom (U.K.) declare that they cultivate forms of citizenship a... more Many universities in the United Kingdom (U.K.) declare that they cultivate forms of citizenship among their students. This has not gone hand in hand with the introduction of citizenship courses. This leads to the question of whether the experience at university cultivates any forms of citizenship, and if so how. This study uncovers a previously underappreciated role of the social experience of university in shaping undergraduates’ civic identities. It uses a multidisciplinary theoretical approach to citizenship to understand an individual’s attempts to negotiate meaning in social and cultural context. This is combined with a partly participatory methodology to allow students a voice in the findings. This revealed that some of the most formative experiences on a student’s civic identity is interacting with peers and friends in a diverse student community. It also uncovered a strong influence of a culture of performativity and credentialism emanating from the institution on their attitudes to learning about citizenship. The resulting combination was a “synthetic civic identity” grown in a mixed environment comprised of more open-minded civic norms and an instrumental and individualist outlook towards studies. Interestingly, there appeared to be varying degrees of critical awareness or reflexivity around these processes. This hybrid form of civic identity stimulates and challenges current narratives of tension in higher education.