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Dr Sacha Mason
Sacha is Head of Programmes for Education, Health and Lifelong Learning. The role includes the strategic leadership and management of programme development and delivery of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Early Childhood Studies, Education Studies, Professional Studies, and Special Educational Needs Disability and Inclusion, Psychology, Counselling, Health and Social Care and Sport within the Faculty. She is also Associate Dean for Research and Knowledge Exchange and a Senior Fellow of the HEA. Sacha is a Doctoral supervisor. -
Lecturer's new publication examines evolutionary factors in voting for Brexit and Trump
A new research paper by Dr Alyson Blanchard, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), examining voting behaviour in the EU Referendum and US Presidential Election of 2016 from an evolutionary perspective has been published in Evolutionary Psychological Science. As the paper explains, the year 2016 witnessed historic political change with the ascension to power of Donald Trump and the UK’s vote to leave the European Union (commonly referred to as Brexit). While research has sought to explain these once-deemed unlikely events, an evolutionary theoretical account had remained unexplored. Dr Blanchard’s work investigated whether people may have felt more fearful for their lives due to media coverage of the War in Syria between 2014 and 2016 that had led to a perceived increase in threat from terrorism and associated immigration issues. Evolutionary theory suggests that when environments seem dangerous and harsh that it is adaptive to make decisions that are optimal for the short-term. In this case, despite the long-term consequences for voting for Trump or Brexit – both campaigns promised immediate resolutions to existential threats caused by terrorism and immigration such as “Taking Back Control” and to “Make America Great Again”. The multi-study paper revealed that Trump and Brexit voters reported that they had experienced a perceived increase in existential threat in the time period 2014 and 2016, and feared terrorism and immigration respectively. Environmental factors such as social deprivation, ethnicity and education had a differential impact on vote choice, including votes for neither Trump, nor Hilary Clinton. Overall, the link between existential threats and voting is complex, but the paper affords new insight into voter psychology during the EU referendum and US presidential election.” You can find the full article in the Evolutionary Psychological Science Journal by clicking here. If you’d like to find more information our exciting and innovative doctoral and Psychology programmes vist our website or contact our Enquiries Team. -
Annual Mentor Conference Celebrates ‘Community of Learning’
Earlier this month members of the Secondary PGCE and School Direct team at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) held the first-ever fully remote Annual Mentor Conference titled 'In Changing Times, a Time to Change'. The impact of how training teachers within the COVID-19 pandemic is now shaping practices formed the inspiration for the event and throughout the four-hour conference, attended by delegates from across the partnership, presentations by leaders within the BGU Secondary team showcased the aspects of the Lockdown on professional training, and how BGU will be supporting all within continued restrictions. Professor Anna Lise Gordon (Institute of Education, Faculty of Education, Human and Social Sciences, St Mary’s University, Twickenham) gave the keynote lecture reflecting on her research-informed practices within Secondary teacher training and continued to reinforce the need for respect and relationships as the central development of contemporary resilient teachers. There were also insights by Senior leaders from partnership schools; Ms Marie Muir, Queen Elizabeth High School, Gainsborough and Mrs Jo Fieldsend, Director of Charter Teaching School Alliance, Horncastle shared their vision of how they will facilitate professional training programmes for BGU’s trainee teachers. The remote conference was created by Senior Lecturer Helen Bushell-Thornalley, who herself takes a leading role in Mentoring and Coaching for Secondary school professionals, with support from Mark Hall of BGU’s Centre for Enhancement in Learning and Teaching (CELT). Speaking after the conference Helen shared the events conclusions: “The conference’s conclusions were that BGU’s vision continues to be crafted through a community of learning. Mentoring for mentors alongside professionals in schools, for all of our teachers that we work with within our partnership schools. The recovery mentoring programme now more than ever requires a distributed community of practices.” You can find more information on the wide range of innovative PGCE courses offered by BGU on our website. Alternatively you can contact our Enquiries Team or join us on one our Open Days to find out how to begin your journey into teaching. -
LORIC Legacy Project celebrates its first anniversary
July 1st marks one year since the end of the initial ERDF funded Lincolnshire Open Research and Innovation project, which saw the renovation of a Grade II listed building on Newport in Lincoln into a multipurpose hub for researchers and Greater Lincolnshire SMEs. The project also involved supporting small and medium sized enterprises to implement data driven innovation in their businesses, and helped them to bring new products and services to market. Since the ERDF funding ended, the LORIC project has been developed by Bishop Grosseteste University into a commercial enterprise, with data consultancy available for all organisations in Greater Lincolnshire and beyond. Contracts Over the last year, LORIC has worked with a number of locally based organisations, including the Greater Lincolnshire LEP, Lincolnshire County Council and the NHS Neighbourhood Teams in order to work on varied research projects and to provide expertise on the use of Open Data. The team has also been successful securing a bid to lead on a project as part of Defra’s Future Farming Resilience Fund, which is researching the impact of Farmer Support Networks on the mental and physical well being of farmers and land managers. This project is due to continue until October 2020. A successful bid to Research England’s Strategic Priorities fund allowed the team to provide support to enable collaboration between researchers and policy makers and to host workshops on subjects such as GDPR and bid writing. LORIC are also delighted to announce the renewal of their ongoing relationship with the The National Centre for Rural Health and Care for 2020/2021, with LORIC staff supporting the Centre with its research and membership co-ordination, and the building itself playing host to the registered office of the Centre. LORIC Retainer Scheme As well as larger contracts, LORIC also launched its “retainer” scheme, whereby organisations can sign up to receive 2 days of data support, and then enjoy reduced rates on further days’ support, and on our other services, such as digitisation. In line with the ethos of the LORIC project to make services as affordable as possible, a staged scheme of membership is in place, with rates varying depending on the size of organisation supported. Staffing Over the last year we have said goodbye to our initial LORIC project co-ordinator, Laura Spencer, who has moved on to work on a project with the University of Lincoln. We have also supported a Lincoln College student to complete her extended work placement with us as part of the Extended Industry Placement Programme. We have welcomed to the team Carole Tondeur, our new project administrator and receptionist, and Eleanor Mould, a part-time data analyst. The last year has also seen Katya Bozukova, the LORIC Open Research Fellow awarded her PhD for her work on the role of trust and risk in social media, and data analyst, Kay Purle, embark on an MSc in Mental Health, Resilience and Wellbeing here at Bishop Grosseteste University. If you would like to discuss how we may be able to support the data needs of your business, we’d love to hear from you loric@bishopg.ac.uk -
The Greater Lincolnshire LEP Employment & Skills ESF Grant Programme
The Greater Lincolnshire LEP Employment & Skills ESF Grant Programme is funded by the European Social Fund and available to third sector and other small organisations who meet the eligibility criteria. Preference will be given to projects which support people who are long-term unemployed (although any length of unemployment is permitted) or who are distant from the labour market and face multiple disadvantages and profound barriers to work. Projects will help participants to move towards or into employment or into learning. Grants are available up to a maximum of £20,000 per project. -
Student Research Studies Form Part of New Oxford Press Collection
A new collection from Oxford Press, featuring original research studies from two Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) students and edited under the supervision of Dr. Maria Efstratopoulou, Senior Lecturer in Special Educational Needs at BGU has been released. The Collection, titled ‘Interdisciplinary Reflections and Socio-Cultural Issues in Education: Anthropological, Legal and Educational Views for Vulnerable Groups’, highlights the latest knowledge and new ideas as “food for thought”, which can be applied in peoples’ everyday life, and particularly in the everyday educational practice. The two BGU students, Sue Wood a Doctoral Candidate, EdD from BGU presenting a part of her Doctoral Thesis and Abigail MacDougall, a SENI graduate in 2019, have each submitted a chapter for the book under Dr Efstratopoulou’s supervision. Sue’s chapter explores ‘Assessment in Special Education: Improving professionals’ skills using video footage’ whilst Abigail’s investigates Parents’ perceptions of the impact of early stage exam tests on anxiety levels in young children with and without Autism. The full book presents current socio-cultural issues for discussion, trying to enhance the quality of teaching and increase students’ interest and inclusion. Its first part presents this new era with new needs that have arisen and the second one, ideas for practice and methodological issues. It refers to young and experienced teachers of all levels, psychologists, social workers and people who work in education and provides material for thought and reflection. The texts include current topics such as Education and Leading Strategies in Special Education as well as topics related to increasing motivation in the educational process. In addition, traveling through the pages of this book you can find out original research articles on innovative topics. You can purchase your copy of the full book here. Courses at BGU are packed with unique learning opportunities and led by academics with international expertise. To find out how you can become a part of the BGU community, visit our website or contact our Enquiries Team. -
Get Involved in Research into the Social Economy of Greater Lincolnshire
Bishop Grosseteste University are involved in a piece of work funded by Lincolnshire County Council and the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership to draw up a strategy for the social economy of Greater Lincolnshire.As a part of this work, the LORIC team would like to speak to representatives from a number of local social economy organisations to gather information on their organisations, and on their experiences of working in the social economy.Due to the varied nature of this sector, we are keen to speak to representatives from both formally constituted organisations, such as charities, mutuals and community interest companies, as well as more informal groups, such as time banks and other forms of exchange. This research will be conducted by telephone interview and each interview is expected to last between 45mins -1hour. If your organisation would be interested in participating, please email loric@bishopg.ac.uk and we will be in touch with you over the next few weeks with full details of the research project and to book an interview. -
BGU Master's Students Plan Expansion for Social Care Business
As the world continues to grapple with the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it is reassuring to note that despite so much uncertainty and bad news some businesses are not only surviving, but thriving.EarlyBird Lifestyle Support (EBLS), an award winning, friendly well-being service, has found the pandemic presented the opportunity to expand their workforce and move into a larger office space within BG Futures Business and Enterprise Centre at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU). Originally based in a smaller unit within the Centre, EBLS, created and run by BGU students Damian Taylor (MA Health and Social Care Leadership) and Neil Martin (MA Education with TESOL) prides itself on striving to empower the most vulnerable in society to lead the life of their choosing.Damian expands:“We support people throughout the city of Lincoln and surrounding areas with tasks such as cooking, cleaning, collecting prescriptions and medication, food shopping, trips out, escorting individuals to appointments and more.We work with many groups left most vulnerable due to COVID-19, primarily our older clients but also younger individuals suffering from mental health or other disability related problems.Ultimately our team works to promote independence for vulnerable people, allowing them to lead their choice of lifestyle. That choice can be so easily lost at times like this and I’m proud to think we’re helping them to keep some level of freedom.”Damian explains that the success of EBLS is owed to his dedicated team of support professionals:“I’d like to thank all our staff for their hard work during this time. Their enthusiasm and professionalism haven’t dropped once. They’re truly the backbone to the business, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without them.We are also delighted to announce the appointment of Alex Aslan, who has also completed the MA Health and Social Care Leadership, as our new Care and Services Manager who has a wealth of knowledge in this field. This means our service can grow even bigger and reach a larger demographic of people within Lincolnshire and also supports us to now enter the world of running regulated services.”On moving into a bigger office space, Damian hints at EBLS’s next venture: “A larger office will allow us to expand our workforce, provide more support in the community and presents the opportunity to increase revenue and to create stronger connections in the network. The larger space provides practical solutions to social distancing guidance, so we are able to hold inductions and training sessions in a safe environment to ensure our service runs safely.We are almost at the end of the registration period for the Care Quality Commission which means we will be able to include other vital services to our remit. We are currently recruiting for a new apprentice administrator and applications are still open for support worker roles.”Support from EarlyBird is available to anyone in Lincolnshire and the surrounding area, to find out how they can help you can visit their website, or get in contact via email or phone on 01522 424161.Damian added:“The team at the BG Futures Business & Enterprise Centre have been such a vital service & support network for us. They really did go above and beyond to help us in our start-up journey and the most exciting thing is that we have been able to support the centres vision by incorporating our business to widen the support to students. We have supported the BA Health and Social Care with work experience placements and offer voluntary opportunities to all students who would like to get involved, we are also happy to offer mentoring to students seeking an insight into business and would strongly welcome any students of the University to come and get involved in what we do. For example: be it students from drama who would like to put on a show for our vulnerable service users or those in the field of social sciences wanting to further understand mental health, disability or aged care, we really do welcome and encourage collaborative working”Damian and Neil are the one of the many success stories to emerge from the BG Futures Business and Enterprise Centre at Bishop Grosseteste University. If joining our community of start-up businesses appeals to you find out more on our website or contact the BG Futures team. -
Guidance for ECTs (Early Career Teachers) - Beyond ITE (BITE)
We recognise that your early career induction matters – as your professional development continues during this two- year period. This section of BGU’s website has been designed to support early career teachers. It offers guidance, together with useful links to sites and documents. Below are key sections to support your development as a teacher covering: Early Career Teacher Advice and SupportUseful Resources and WebsitesNational Teaching PrioritiesContinued Professional Development and Further Study As stressed in BGU teaching sessions, we are not qualified to support you with legal matters and would strongly advise that you join a Teachers’ Union. BGU is committed to supporting you as you transition to the school workplace; we want to continue to work with you during these formative years. Your school mentor and tutor will provide guidance and support, including coaching and mentoring, for your professional development. However, remember that as early career teachers, BGU is still here to support you with aspects of your teaching activity. For example, advice on behaviour management or subject knowledge and pedagogy. The recently developed Early Career Framework offers a structured programme of development, support, and professional dialogue. This programme provides a set of materials which cover the five core areas of the ECF. These are Behaviour Management, Pedagogy, Curriculum, Assessment and Professional Behaviours. Please email us at beyondite@bishopg.ac.uk. Your communication will be forwarded to the appropriate member of staff. -
History of German PoWs in Britain explored in new book by BGU Historian
Alan Malpass, recently appointed Lecturer in Military History at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), has had his book 'British Character and the Treatment of German Prisoners of War, 1939-48' published by Palgrave Macmillan. The book examines attitudes towards German prisoners of war held captive in Britain, drawing on original archival material including newspaper and newsreel content, diaries, sociological surveys and opinion polls, as well as official documentation and the archives of pressure groups and protest movements. Moving beyond conventional assessments of POW treatment which have focused on the development of policy, diplomatic relations, and the experience of the POWs themselves, this study refocuses the debate onto the attitude of the British public towards the standard of treatment of German POWs. In so doing, it reveals that the issue of POW treatment intersected with discussions of state power, human rights, gender relations, civility, and national character. Speaking following publication, Alan discussed what drew him to the study and how it feeds back into the Military History course at BGU: “Having been brought up watching films of British POWs in Germany and the Far East, the captivity of hundreds of thousands of German POWs in Britain instantly interested me when I was told of them having worked on the land collecting in the harvest. If asked about the fate of POWs during WWII, I think most people would immediately think of Steve McQueen attempting to jump the barbed-wire fence on his Triumph motorcycle in The Great Escape and Alex Guinness collapsing on the plunger at the end of The Bridge on the River Kwai. Certainly, I was very surprised when I first learned of the German military cemetery in Cannock Chase and that German POWs were held at a camp just down the road from my parents’ house in Staffordshire during the war. Hopefully the book will help shed further light on this marginalised episode in British memory of the conflict. Given the prominence of Colditz Castle and the Great Escapers in our popular understanding of the Second World War, I wanted to investigate the debates, concerns, and memories the British had concerning the enemy prisoners who were held across the UK in wartime and post-war Britain”. “Prisoners of war might be ‘out of the fight’ when captured, nevertheless their experiences and roles, especially as workers for their captors, are important to consider when studying war and warfare. The history of POWs is as long as that of warfare itself and the codification of international laws to help protect them from abuse is intricately bound up with the development of ethical thought towards conflict. While combat and the ‘face of battle’ are central elements in the study of warfare, our BA (Hons) Military History Course also emphasises the wider social, ethical, and cultural impacts of war and its aftermath”. The BA (Hons) Military History degree course at BGU explores the county’s rich aviation and military heritage, from the medieval period through to the present day, alongside a global coverage of the history of war and its broader impact. If you are interested in joining these discussions, visit our website or contact our Enquiries Team for more information. You can also connect directly with our Military History team on Twitter
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