Volume 3 (2016): Issue 2 (December 2016)

The traditional ‘leaky pipeline’ plots are widely used to inform gender equality policy and practice. Herein, we demonstrate how a statistical phenomenon known as Simpson’s paradox can obscure trends in gender ‘leaky pipeline’ plots. Our approach has been to use Excel spreadsheets to generate hypothetical ‘leaky pipeline’ plots of gender inequality within an organisation. The principal factors, which make up these hypothetical plots, can be input into the model so that a range of potential situations can be modelled. How the individual principal factors are then reflected in ‘leaky pipeline’ plots is shown. We find that the effect of Simpson’s paradox on leaky pipeline plots can be simply and clearly illustrated with the use of hypothetical modelling and our study augments the findings in other statistical reports of Simpson’s paradox in clinical trial data and in gender inequality data. The findings in this paper, however, are presented in a way, which makes the paradox accessible to a wide range of people.

Preparing and teaching subjects in the Higher Education environment has been attracting much attention over the past decade as the sector diversifies and adds online instruction to its on campus delivery to cater to the increased demand for flexibility and choice from students. University lecturers are now required to assume greater responsibility to develop the subject content and teaching structure for their subjects and it is the latter where lecturers don’t necessarily have formal qualifications or experience. This paper describes the implementation of the Confluence of Learning framework at one university together with a style guide and a mobile app. The subsequent trial with 20 participants illustrated that a framework developed in the lecturers own context can generate a change in practice. The lecturers’ comments were thematically analysed and demonstrated that an unambiguous but well structured framework will motivate and empower lecturers with their subject design resulting in a positive impact on students studying their subjects.

My participation in a 12-step addiction program based on the principles and traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has been critical for my leadership development. As I worked to refrain from addictive behaviors and practiced 12-step principles, I experienced a shift from individualistic, self-centered leadership towards a servant leader orientation. I thus consider the 12-step recovery process, which commenced in 2001, a leadership formative experience (LFE) as it had the greatest influence on my subsequent development. My experience of thinking about and rethinking my life in reference to leadership and followership lends itself to a personal inquiry. It draws on work on the12 steps; self-assessments and personal journal entries; and memory of life events. I aim to contribute to the leadership development literature by exploring the influence of participation in a 12-step recovery program and posing it as an LFE, subjects that have received little attention.

It is my privilege to work as a tertiary learning advisor (TLA). Through my role I have had the opportunity to form unique relationships with students during individual consultations. This has enabled me to observe student behaviour, and the metacognitive strategies students use to negotiate the myriad challenges of tertiary study. I noticed trends in student behaviour that did not fit current literature on teaching and learning, and identified possible links between the observed student feelings of overwhelm, and sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) and highly sensitive people (HSP), the term used to describe humans with SPS. This paper examines the transformative journey I took in identifying the key indicators of SPS, firstly in myself, and then in my students. My burgeoning knowledge and reflection on and in my own practice provided self-scaffolding that enabled me to recognise and share the markers of SPS. My study ‘Does an understanding of HSP help students who identify as Highly Sensitive People (HSP) to manage their learning?’ found that HSP students unanimously rate the knowledge of SPS to be life-changing and empowering in managing life and study. All participants also believed that information about SPS should be made available to all in-coming students, and that tutors should be given training and resources in order to better support HSP students. Of significance, it also found that tertiary students with SPS have often already developed useful metacognitive strategies for independent and life-long learning by the time they reach tertiary level education.

The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is an Irish amateur sporting and cultural organisation. It represents in excess of 20,000 teams nationwide and is committed to supporting the development of players and coaches through its Coach Education Programme (CEP). A strategic goal of the CEP is to supplement the traditional field based coach education model with a blended learning approach using online multimedia resources. Two eLearning professionals employed by the GAA are seeking to develop online resources to enhance the knowledge and skills of coaches nationwide. Whilst both professionals possess the expertise and relevant technical skills to create high quality resources, their participation in a Masters in Education and Training Management (eLearning) programme in the Institute of Education, Dublin City University (DCU) is ensuring that the multimedia resources will be based on solid pedagogical insights in order to facilitate the organisation’s move to online learning.