Education Commons^™

An Examination Of Ethical Issues Pertaining To Educational Research, Greg Gallagher

Level 3

The social sciences in general and educational researchers in particular have become more and more conscious of ethical propriety and the need for universally acceptable codes of ethical conduct in recent years. This newfound interest stems in part from criticisms of innovative contemporary research methodologies, and the fear that they may be at odds with certain fundamental ethical principles. This, in turn, has resulted in the integrity and validity of some of these new contemporary styles of research being held up to scrutiny and debated by adherents to the more conventional research methodologies.

This paper begins by tracing back to …

Where Does Ap(E)L Fit In Higher Education, Anne Murphy

Level 3

On an EU policy level the paper acknowledges the impact on thinking about AP(E)L as a result of the agreement of common European principles for validation of non-formal and in-formal learning in 2004 at the Dublin Conference during Ireland’s presidency of the EU (note 1).This conference also addressed the possible areas of agreement across vocational education and training (VET) and higher education (HE) on contiguous issues such as a common European Qualification Framework, common arrangements for credit transfer and common arrangements for quality assurance. Additionally, the paper is written contemporaneously with the introduction of such mechanisms as the …

Learning Theories And Higher Education, Francis Ashworth, Gabriel Brennan, Kathy Egan, Ron Hamilton, Olalla Sáenz

Level 3

This paper offers a number of materials and resources which may be used as teaching aids for introduction-level courses in learning theories, especially those in higher education. The materials were developed during our participation in a postgraduate diploma module on the psychology of learning and learning theories in 2004, as part of the diploma in third-level learning and teaching at the DIT Learning and Teaching Centre.

The materials include:

• three timeline diagrams illustrating the development of learning theories which locate key thinkers and key ideas in their historic and socio-political contexts
• three summary diagrams of behaviourist, humanist and social learning …

Staff Mentoring At Dit: A Review Of Four Programmes, Leslie Shoemaker

Level 3

Staff Mentoring at the Dublin Institute of Technology is quite ambiguous in terms of its definition and purpose, as well as the impact it has with retention issues. The purpose of this paper is to provide a research review regarding the profile of the typical first-year student as well as to compare four current staff-mentoring programmes in DIT Kevin Street.

Information-Literacy Programmes And Course Curricula: The Case For Integration, Anne Ambrose, Brian Gillespie

Level 3

"Our ability to think, and to select and use the information at our disposal will be the critical determinant of the future success of the Information Society in Ireland."

(Information Society Commission 2000: 118)

The quotation above acknowledges the critical importance of information skills, and suggests that the very success of the concept of an 'information society' relies upon an information-literate population. Surveys of employers show an increasing demand for 'graduates with an ability to analyse, evaluate and process information effectively' (Big Blue, 2002: 4). Such skills are directly related to the aims and processes of …