Prior research suggests that boundary objects gain meaning through group interaction. Drawing from the literature on strategic ambiguity, we explore the possibility that individuals strategically create potential boundary objects in an attempt to shape the meanings that groups develop. From ethnographic observations of automotive engineers, we…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the extent to which forum theatre interventions can support non-hierarchical approaches to learning, development and change management initiatives in organisations. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with theatre consultancies, actors/facilitators,…

While policy-makers in Britain can justifiably lay claim to creating the term NEET to define young people who do not engage in formal learning, training or employment, the high number who fall into, and remain in, this category continues to challenge them. This, in part, is attributable to the extended use of the term NEET to capture all young…

This research partially replicated Nilsson and Anderson's "Professional Psychology: Research and Practice" (2004) study on training and supervising international students. It investigated the relationships among international counseling students' training level, acculturation, supervisory working alliance (SWA), counseling self-efficacy (COSE),…

Although students make some epistemological progress during college, most graduate without developing meaning-making strategies that reflect an understanding that knowledge is socially constructed. Using a pre-test-post-test design and a within-subjects 2 × 2 mixed-design ANOVA, this study reports on empirical findings which support the Socratic…

Learning a new language is akin to exploring an unknown land as ambiguous situations are prevalent in language learning. Ambiguity tolerance, which can hinder or facilitate language learning, is considered as an important learning style. The purpose of the present study was to understand how tolerant/intolerant EFL learners are of foreign language…

Beyond the standard definitions found in the dictionary, words commonly used in the recreation field have subtle, yet powerful connotations of which senders and receivers of information may not be consciously aware. These words elicit different conscious and subconscious reactions that likely bear significant consequences for recreation agencies…

Over the past decade, a wealth of UK government initiatives have provided opportunities for higher education institutions to increase student numbers by engaging more with defined groups of students who do not traditionally participate in post compulsory education. Within the creative arts subjects, the success of these politically sensitive…

This mixed methods dissertation examines the relationships between role conflict and job satisfaction, role ambiguity and job satisfaction, and role conflict and job satisfaction within a convenience sample of American instructional coaches (n = 46). Theoretically, this analysis is formed by Merton's idea of role-sets and how instructional…

The paper is based on an analysis of interviews with individuals engaged in systemic reform of higher education (HE) in Poland. The reform is perceived as controversial: it is supported by the media and claimed to be in line with the expectations of external stakeholders of HE, as well as being congruent with Poland's international commitments; at…

The influence of technology in today's classroom is undeniably ubiquitous and scattered, and though the practice of conceptualizing technological application emerges from within an already contested and highly politicized field of human relations, when approached in the context of curriculum, this contestation takes on new significance. In this…

The higher skills policy of the UK New Labour Government emerged from the recommendations of the Leitch Review of Skills, and was implemented in England between 2007 and 2010. The policy aimed to encourage higher education (HE) institutions to engage with employers and employer representative bodies to design and deliver HE provision that…

This article presents research to delineate the construct of instructor strategic ambiguity (ISA) and develop a measure. The first study analyzed instructor uses of ambiguity, identified 18 strategies, and classified them into four categories. The second study developed an Instructor Strategic Ambiguity Measure (ISAM) for the college classroom.…

Decentralization of educational governance is characterized by the recent education reform in Korea. With the election of progressive superintendents and local council members, educational policy conflicts have often occurred and deepened in the process of decision-making and implementation of policies such as School Violence Prevention, National…

Students' satisfaction with feedback and assessment has historically been low. This is confirmed by the most recent National Student Survey where feedback and assessment still remain the area of least satisfaction. Such projects as Transforming the Experience of Students through Assessment (TESTA) attempt to tackle the issue by providing a channel…