This research seminar will draw on Marion’s doctoral transitions study which explored Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence, the ‘early level’ which was intentionally created to avoid a ‘fresh start’ approach for children starting school. Children transitioning to school have traditionally been expected to be ‘school ready’; preparing them for a culture where play has yet to be consistently and universally embraced as pedagogy.

Differences in culture, environments, and pedagogies between the two sectors of education: the early learning and childcare sector and the primary school sector prompted the title and focus of this IJELT article, ‘how ready or not are Scottish primary teachers to adopt a pedagogy of play for children starting school?

Marion found that realising a play-based curriculum while consistent with pedagogical practice in the two early learning and childcare settings, was not yet common practice in the three Primary 1 classes that were part of the original study.

Implications for policy makers and others, include empowering teachers to embrace playful pedagogy through cross sectoral collaboration, so that children starting school can benefit from a continuous play-based curriculum experience.

Biography

Dr Marion Burns HMI completed her doctoral degree at Strathclyde University in 2019, where her main research focus was children’s transitions to school.  Marion has travelled to New South Wales, New Zealand and Iceland to participate in a range of professional learning activities as part of the Pedagogies of Educational Transitions (POET) work package.  She is a co-author of the national guidance for early years in Scotland, Realising the Ambition: Being me. She is a member of the IJELT editorial board and is the non-executive chairperson of Early Years Scotland. Marion retired from Education Scotland in 2021.

Related publication

Burns, M. (2022). Ready or Not to Adopt a Pedagogy of Play for Children Starting School in Scottish Primary Schools: Is this a Major Transition for Teachers? International Journal of Educational and Life Transitions, 1(1): 5, pp. 1–16. 

A free talk in the D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum

The Fragmented World of the Mongoose Lemur is the story of a critically endangered species, fractured ecosystems and the global war on nature. The mongoose lemur is endemic to NW Madagascar where it is found in scattered fragments of habitable forest. As an introduced, naturalised species on Anjouan in the Comoros Islands, it has survived by becoming something else: an adaptable, urbanised mammal. The captive population numbers less than 100 and, disappointingly, it has performed inconsistently over several decades.

In this presentation, local writer Michael Stephen Clark shows how fragmentation is a fact of life for the mongoose lemur; just one of the many species around the world suffering similarly from disturbance, displacement, and/or destruction. In common with the majority of lemurs on Madagascar, it will only survive the anthropogenically driven “sixth great extinction” through positive action and a creative approach to nature conservation.

About Michael Stephen Clark

Michael is an independent writer, author, illustrator, communicator, and publisher. His CV encompasses scientific reports, press and PR communications, web content and journalism. He worked for many years in zoological gardens in Britain and Europe, and undertook field trips to Madagascar and the Comoros Islands. He has also lectured at Oxford-Brooks University on the subject of primates in captivity.

As a writer, his most recent book, The Fragmented World of the Mongoose Lemur, is a modern natural history of a critically endangered species. Other non-fiction includes a detailed account of the Scottish Herring Fishery in the 19th Century entitled Mr Buckland, Mr Walpole, and Mr Young: Around Scotland with the Fisheries Men.

Please enter the Carnelley Building via the main front entrance (the big wooden door) where someone will meet you and direct you to the museum. For security reasons we have to keep the door locked so anyone arriving after 6.05pm will not be able to gain admittance.

Due to unavoidable circumstances, we are having to cancel this session. It will be rescheduled and we will be in touch with a date.

For this session we will hear from Professor Jonathan Glazzard, Edgehill University, who will explore his own educational, professional and life transitions using an LGBTQ+ lens using an autobiographical approach. Jonathan will draw on psychological, philosophical and sociological perspectives to explore transitions, sexuality and discourses around disability. Within his academic role, Jonathan will explore how his own transitions have impacted on the transitions of others, drawing on Multiple and Multi-dimensional Transitions theory. Themes will include agency, resilience and dis/empowerment will be explored.

Professor Divya Jindal-Snape, University of Dundee, will be in conversation with Jonathan. Divya, who undertakes educational and life transitions research, has worked with Jonathan as his doctoral supervisor and has had (some) similar conversations with him in the past.

Exhibition opening times
16 June – 1 July 2023
Monday – Saturday, 12–5pm

In June Art Night comes to Dundee and Cooper Gallery are delighted to be a partner.

We're excited to present Dream Land, an exhibition of new moving image work for Art Night by Turner Prize nominated artist Heather Phillipson.

Dream Land is a new commission by Heather Phillipson which incorporates archival BBC wildlife footage, recast as hallucination. Opening with its bug protagonist sucked through a vacuum cleaner nozzle, the film lands us in an alternative world which resembles our own but as if broadcast from another dimension. Remixing and revoicing remarkable scenes from innovative 1980s nature documentaries Supersense and Life Sense, Dream Land presents earthly life as a dream, accessed via the bizarre and precious lives by which we’re surrounded. Its leading characters shape shift between species and environments, reprogrammed to form an alternative narrative. Creatures appear as interlocutors, harbingers and guides. In parallel, it is scored with a soundscape, composed by the artist, that samples the crackles of wildlife into a strange new music. 

Co-commissioned by Art Night and the Art Fund as part of their Wild Escape programme, Dream Land will be exhibited at Cooper Gallery supported by Art Fund. Art Night will then gift the film to The McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery & Museum’s permanent collection. 

Hear from Heather as she talks about the process of making the film in this video.
 

Events

Exhibition Preview
Friday 16 June, 6–8pm

A first look at the major new commission by artist Heather Phillipson with a drinks reception by 71 Brewing serving alcoholic draft beers. Non alcoholic options will also be available. 
 

Art Night Dundee
Saturday 24 June, 12noon–Midnight
Mourning Ritual: 8.30pm & 9.30pm

The exhibition will be open throughout the evening of Art Night and punctuated by Mourning Ritual, a new audiovisual event in which the artist speaks live over sampled musical refrains, acapella vocals and the calls of critically endangered UK birds. Mourning Ritual has been composed by Phillipson as a 'sonic summons' - an attempt to communicate with the spirits of departed animals. Mourning Ritual is co-commissioned with Art Night and Cooper Gallery and supported by the DJCAD Centenary Trust.
 

 My Eyes Become Ears | Drawing Workshop
Thursday 29 June, 6-7.30pm

A participatory drawing workshop designed by DJCAD MFA Drawing students open to all ages. Engaging with drawing in a way that incorporates all of our senses, the workshop invites participants to question the strange ways we move through and interact with the world. How can the process of creating drawing emulate the ways in which all living things move, grow, and transform? 

All events are free, open to all and unticketed.

This presentation will focus on our study about the transitions of neurodiverse students from Access to level 1 study. The aim of this study was to generate a deep understanding of their experiences.

Whilst the initial focus was on student support, through this research numerous challenges these students face have been raised in relation to their transition, such as, changing expectations, student support, finding their own way, and the complexity of discipline specific language.

The presentation is based on our latest publication.

Bhandari, R., & Rainford, J. (2023). Exploring the Transitions of Neurodivergent Access Students to Level One Study: Narratives of Study Skills and Support. International Journal of Educational and Life Transitions, 2(1): 5, pp. 1–19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/ ijelt.38

Dr Renu Bhandari (Ph.D., FHEA, CPsychol) is a staff tutor in the Centre for Access, Open and Cross-curricular Innovation, PVC Students. She has been an associate lecturer and consultant with the Open University (OU) for the last fifteen years. Her specialisations include counselling psychology, organisational behaviour, and developmental psychology. You can access a detailed biography of Dr Renu Bhandari and Dr Renu Bhandari's publications.

Dr Jon Rainford is a Staff Tutor in Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport at The Open University, UK. He is also a Visiting Research Fellow in Education at The University of Bath, UK and is a Senior Fellow of the HEA. His research focuses upon widening access to higher education, young people’s identities and student transitions. You can access a detailed biography of Dr Jon Rainford and Dr Rainford's publications.

Read about the accessibility of this location on AccessAble

Scrymgeour Building

University of Dundee

Park Place

Dundee

DD1 4HW