Search results
1 – 2 of 2Sonal Nakar and Richard G. Bagnall
Vocational education and training (VET) in Australia has for some time been driven by an agenda of “reasonable adjustment”, in which practices are modified to ensure equitable…
Abstract
Purpose
Vocational education and training (VET) in Australia has for some time been driven by an agenda of “reasonable adjustment”, in which practices are modified to ensure equitable access and participation by disadvantaged students. However, the growing marketization of VET has instead encouraged the use of more flexible approaches to attract and retain students from diverse backgrounds. They have thus paralleled and confounded reasonable adjustment practices for inclusive development. This study sought to identify the moral dilemmas experienced by VET teachers arising from implementing reasonable adjustment practices.
Design/methodology/approach
This phenomenological research project used in-depth conversational interviews with 19 experienced VET teachers from a diversity of teaching fields to identify moral dilemmas experienced as arising from changes in their workplace contexts.
Findings
One of the identified dilemmas was responding flexibly to heightened student diversity, to which study participants largely responded by prioritising the economic imperative over social inclusion. Well-intended actions thus led to unintentionally damaging outcomes, raising important ethical questions about the relative value of economic and social development outcomes and the role of reasonable adjustment in their attainment. The study also highlights the lack of appropriate VET teacher training in managing ethical conflicts to minimise risks to themselves and their employing organizations.
Originality/value
As a case study of inclusive development policies in practice, this research may be seen as a cautionary tale for inclusive development policies in other countries with similarly strong VET economic and socially inclusive development policies for sustainability. The paper thus opens a dialogue for critical reflection on the current problems in a reasonable development approach in the field of comparative and international education. Those two parallel agendas have presented VET teachers and trainers with ethically challenging situations in which the economic and social development imperatives are experienced as being conflict with each other.
Details
Keywords
Olivia Aubrey, Katy A. Jones and Elizabeth Paddock
The societal, economic and personal costs of aggression are indisputable. Impulsivity and childhood trauma (CT) play a role in aggression but less is known about the potential…
Abstract
Purpose
The societal, economic and personal costs of aggression are indisputable. Impulsivity and childhood trauma (CT) play a role in aggression but less is known about the potential mechanisms underlying these associations. This study aimed to investigate the influence of CTs and impulsivity on aggression in the general population.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 178 participants (aged 18–86, M = 30.93, SD = 14.50) including 65 men (36.5%), 110 women (61.8%), 3 participants self-identified (1.7%)(n = 2 nonbinary, n = 1 gender fluid) of the UK adult population completed an online survey. Questionnaires measured impulsivity (Short UPPS-P), adverse childhood experiences (CT Questionnaire) and aggression (Buss and Perry Aggression Questionnaire).
Findings
Emotional neglect and abuse were the most endorsed CTs (abuse and neglect). As predicted, results showed the impulsivity facet “negative urgency” was associated with the behaviour, emotions and cognitions of aggression. Findings showed a distinct effect of both impulsivity and emotional abuse on physical aggression, which may reflect a pathway in which impulsivity influences adverse childhood experiences and future violence. Types of aggression may have potentially distinct pathways. This study discusses the reasons for these observed results and future research.
Originality/value
The originality/value of the paper lies in the acknowledgement of the role of negative and positive urgency in behaviours related to emotional dysregulation. It also highlighted the importance of examining different types of aggression. There was a distinct effect of both impulsivity and CTs on physical aggression and hostility. Further research in larger samples should examine pathways in which impulsivity mediates the effects of adverse childhood experiences and adulthood aggression. These collective insights can help further our understanding of the role adverse and traumatic events in childhood and impulsivity has on aggression and may be relevant to tailored support and intervention strategies for individuals expressing aggressive behaviours.
Details