In the United Kingdom, although one in four adults reportedly experienced mental health difficulties within a one-year period, only 25% of them received treatment for their condition. Moreover, this group of adults are underrepresented in full-time employment and education and so to discover ways which may help to counteract this imbalance, an…

Couple-based interventions that address domestic abuse are an emerging area of practice within the UK. These interventions require a detailed assessment process that can clarify risk and needs and screen out couples for whom such intervention is unsuitable. Steps to Safety is a new intervention, grounded in attachment and trauma theory, for…

This research review provides a synthesis of articles that analyse the impact of the educational system on families with special needs children and the potential ways that these families can be empowered and equipped. The articles selected focus on research participants and schools found in North America and Great Britain, in order to give the…

This article invokes the spirit of "Sophia" as metaphorical guide for an ongoing reclamation of wisdom spaces and describes a path for educators and practitioners that can assist in the recovery of wisdom in the face of increasing pressures of measurable outcomes within the field of lifelong learning. The authors first examine wisdom…

We propose Lifelong Learning Organisers (LLOs) as tools to support the capturing, organisation and retrieval of personal learning experiences, resources and notes, over a range of learning topics, at different times and places. The paper discusses general requirements for the design of LLOs based on findings from a diary-based study of everyday…

Worldwide, science education reform movements are stressing the need to promote "scientific literacy" among young people. Increasingly, this is taken to include empowering students to engage critically with science-related news reporting. Despite this requirement now featuring in statutory curricula throughout the UK, there has, to date,…

The lay-led, community-based Supporting Parents Programme (SPP) aims to assist parents caring for children with long-term or life-limiting conditions through support and cognitive behavioral techniques. The value of the SPP from the perspectives of parent participants and tutors was examined in focus groups and telephone interviews. Data were…

Purpose: The use of e-portfolios in recognition of prior learning (RPL) processes in workplace and professional practice contexts has attracted little attention in the literature due to its emergent nature. This study seeks to explore the growing incidence of e-portfolio-based RPL (e-RPL) and professional recognition (e-PR) processes in Australia…

Can the development, both clinical and managerial, of practitioners involved in healthcare be enriched by connecting action learning principles and practice with research on "tempered radicals"? Might such connection also assist the efforts of patients and their advocates to create more holistic approaches to patient care? This paper…

Purpose: This study aims to highlight the value of stressful and challenging environments as a strategy to enhance learning and to provide an inventory of strategies for use in cases where participants experience anxiety-related blockages to learning. Design/methodology/approach: This article adopted a qualitative research strategy which consisted…

This article reports on outcomes from a study funded by the National College for School Leadership designed to explore the factors that assist in the leadership development of teachers at a number of stages of their career development. More specifically, the study sought to identify issues associated with leadership talent identification,…

This paper describes the construction and testing of a model designed to inform contributors to online collaborative dialogues about the nature of their contribution, and to guide the input from tutors who facilitate these dialogues. In particular, the model was designed to assist reflection on learning behaviours in online dialogues by…

Self-assessment is an integral component in the life of any education and training organisation so as to ensure quality improvement. This publication illustrates an individual self-assessment tool developed by the Learning and Skills Network (LSN) which gives feedback and support to assist staff to enhance their teaching and learning through the…

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to examine the influences of certain factors that helped determine students assessments of the usefulness of a higher education orientation unit (HEOU) in a large post-1992 university. Design/methodology/approach: All students in a university business studies department who had completed or were near to…

"Adult Language Learners: Context and Innovation" presents instructional practices that are particularly successful with adults. Adult language learners are goal oriented and direct their learning to fulfill particular needs or demands: to advance their studies, to progress up the career ladder, to follow business opportunities, to pass…