Bribery and Scandals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bribery and Scandals - Essay Example This is because when bribery is used as a mean, it gives one part unfair advantage over the other and hence kills the spirit and the very meaning of unfair play. Salt Lake City won the bid for hosting Winter Olympics 2002 and this meant commercial business worth $2.8 billion. The City had already once lost the bid to Nagano and was simply not willing to take no for an answer when bidding began in 1995. The decision had definitely created huge excited and enthusiasm and every thing looked good till an ugly bribery scandal was unearthed in 1998 and 1999. "The actions of Salt Lake bid committee members were a reaction to the 1991 loss to Nagano. Salt Lake bid officials believed their bid was technically superior to other cities in the competition, but they felt the city lost because Nagano bid officials had done more to appeal to individual IOC members. The Japanese bid was believed to have won support among IOC members when, for example, a substantial contribution was made by a Japanese business to the Olympic museum in Switzerland, a pet project of IOC President Samaranch." (Burbank) Someone this gave the Salt City officials the idea that in order to win the bid, it was best to have personal close relationships with members of the International Organizing Committee. And this idea gave birth to a series of bribes made to a number of major officials in the shape of extensive gifts, scholarships and vacations. They were even provided with "special" favors and comforts during their hotel stay. "In January, when the scandal broke, it looked like SLOC had paid off 13 of the 114 IOC members with $393,000, mostly in "scholarships and stipends" for family members. By the end of the month, the figure had risen to $800,000, with real cash bribes, and U.S. Olympic Committee member Alfredo La Mont had resigned amid allegations he took "consulting" fees to clue SLOC in on which IOC people were buyable. By early February, we were at $1.3 million for 24 members-a fifth of the IOC." (Mintz) It was an ugly episode in the history of Salt City and came to light when in November 1998, one television reporter got hold of a letter that was written by SLOC to the daughter of one of the IOC officials stating that her tuition assistance was being cancelled. This opened a Pandora box but initially the repercussions were quite muted. It was after the publication of a report by the ethics committee, that two main persons at the center of the scandal resigned and Governor Leavitt commented on the issue: "It must be made absolutely clear that the actions of a few do not reflect the values, moral expectations, or standards of behavior of this community and state. We deplore it, and revolt at being associated with them . The Olympics have been a shining light, but there is a sinister and dark corner of corruption. This culture of corruption has taken root because of a lack of accountability . This corner of Olympic corruption did not begin in Salt Lake City. But let it end here". (Leavitt 1999) The statement issued by the Governor showed that while he resented the actions, he did not blame his people for starting it. He gave the impression that it has been an on going practice. Whether he was right or not requires further investigation. We can only say that all in all, Salt Lake City scandal was indeed a scandal of bribery. The expensive gifts given to

Social Work Practice: Values and Ethics

Social Work Practice: Values and Ethics Introduction At its most basic social work is a consistent and organised approach to the social problems of families and individuals. It is an approach that focuses on helping people to help themselves (Moore, 2002).[1]Most practitioners enter social work because of a commitment to social justice, or at the very least a desire to help others and to see improvement and positive change in people’s lives. Modern social work, along with other public services, is being increasingly run along business lines and market principles. Today’s social worker therefore is confronted with the managerial approach, performance indicators, care managers and care packages. Given the current state of things where everything is guided by budgets and the need to satisfy those in charge by processing a case as quickly as possible one wonders whether a social worker has time to be guided by general ethical principles, let alone a specific code of practice. In the current climate it is easy to forget that s ocial workers are committed to the view of the intrinsic human worth of each individual, and the concomitant view that each person deserves the best care and advice possible. In 1948 the Universal Declarati[2]on of Human Rights came into being. The declaration encapsulates a view of the inherent worth and dignity of the human person. The declaration espouses the notion of individual freedom on the basis that such freedom did not infringe the rights of others, these are the rights on which much of social work practice is based. This paper will begin with a general definition of ethics. It will then look at the ethics and values which underpin social work practice. There will be an assessment of social work values and of their relevance to anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice. Ethics Ethics are general moral principles that are intended to inform the governing of human behaviour. Thus, most people would hold to the view that some things such as cruelty and murder are always wrong, or unethical. Ethical codes, however, may be based on moral principles, but are not as generalisable or universally applicable. This is because they refer to particular professions and the way in which professional behaviour is governed. Such ethical codes cannot be said to be neutral or value free because they are contextual. They arise within a certain context and are applied to a particular purpose as such, ethical codes are influenced by the ideologies held in that context (Butler, 2000). The context being examined here, is that of social work practice. Codes of practice and ethics are often idealistic, because they may be seen as providing a blueprint for how a social worker should act when it is impossible to legislate for every situation, and this may result in a false sense of s ecurity (Banks, 2003). Social workers therefore, need to be able to recognise when the code of practice within which they are required to work, does not operate within a framework that is informed by human rights and social justice (Husband, 1995). The Client’s Needs Shon (1991) has argued that: Professionals claim to contribute to social well-being, put their clients’ needs ahead of their own, and hold themselves accountable to standards of competence and morality. (Schon, 1991:11-12). Some critics maintain that the way in which social services often operates is self-serving rather than serving the needs of the clients, yet social workers do police themselves and their profession. The way in which they do this is to think critically about what they are doing, why they are doing it, and what moral implications this may have. Certainly social work ethics should not lead anyone to believe that the social work profession should serve itself, rather the needs of the client should be most important. One of the ways this is achieved is by establishing clear relationship boundaries early on. This is because involvement with a client that is too personal is contrary to what the BASW has to say about social work ethics and values. The social work profession promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilising theories of human behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work (BASW,2001). [3] Social work practice, in order to be ethical practice must be centred on the needs of service users Social workers of necessity intervene in people’s lives and have an influence on situations, ethical decision making is therefore a vital component of social work practice (Osmo and Landau, 2001). The Association is there to give advice to social workers on what constitutes ethical decision making in different contexts. Ethical Decision Making Decision making has to be grounded in the values and ethics of social work. Some of the issues that social workers have to deal with and that involve them in ethical decision making centre around balancing the rights of one individual against others, around public welfare and issues of institutional and structural oppression. This can make life difficult because the social worker has then to identify when institutions and structures are being oppressive and how the values of social work may be used to combat this. Decision making is also problematic because social workers are committed to confidentiality with respect to the people they work with. Sometimes a social worker is faced with a situation where he or she may, for the greater good, be forced to break the ethic of confidentiality because the client may be a danger to themselves of someone else. This causes a conflict of values and the social worker has, with the help of his/her supervisor, to balance the needs of the individua l against the needs of the greater good. At the very least social work should begin with a clear commitment to social justice which seeks to challenge poverty and discrimination in all its forms because social work has its roots in the nineteenth century moves to eradicate poverty and unemployment. Everyone has the right to be protected from abuse and to be treated with respect. This is not easy when Government discourses express concern for inclusion and equality e.g. for those with mental health problems, then employ discourses which ignore factors such as race, gender and class and social circumstances, that are pertinent to any proper understanding of a person’s condition. The Human Rights Act of 1998 makes it mandatory for local authorities to act in ways that are conversant with the Act. Social workers help with the problems faced by people with disabilities. Social workers have a duty to be conversant with the Human Rights Act and the Community Care Act of 1990. Social workers are faced with making decisions concerning what defines a person with disabilities and also how to assess their needs. If the wrong form of care is prescribed, e.g. detainment under the Mental Health Act for a person who does not fulfil the specified criteria, then this could be an infringem ent of human rights. Social workers are duty bound to base their practice on concepts of human rights and social justice but at the same time they need to be more aware of how the inequalities that they see in society might affect their practice (Cemlyn and Briskman 2003). Society does not always operate in the best interests of the individual person, furthermore, the introduction of market principles into social care can mean that the legal framework within which a social worker has to act may also (however much it is unintended) work against individual rights. Some commentators e.g. Challis (1990) maintain that prior to market principles and managerialism being introduced into social care, social workers operated with a much greater degree of freedom. It is arguably the case that the social worker is duty bound to act in accordance with a process that is informed by the valuing of the human person and the concept of human rights, and may, therefore, need to be prepared to work outside of a framework th at (albeit unintended) prevents them from working according to this ethic (Cemlyn and Briskman, 2003). Wolff (2002) speaks of virtue ethics being the root of social work practice because of its concern with a just society and justice for individuals. Bearing this in mind social workers seek to engage in anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice in all that they do. Anti-discriminatory and Anti-oppressive Practice An emancipatory and anti-oppressive attitude is a critical component of ethical social work, social workers should be people enablers, enabling people to stand up for their rights and giving them a voice. Horton and Pattapen (2004) argue that in contemporary society individuals are often disempowered in numbers of ways and feel unable to cope with the rules that guide their lives. Social workers deal with the distress that results from this and in their practice should question social systems wherein an increasing number of people suffer from injustice, oppression, and exclusion from mainstream society. Anti-discriminatory practice means taking account of structural disadvantages i.e. how the structures of society often work against certain groups e.g. those with disabilities, women, and ethnic minorities. It also means that the social worker takes care not to use discriminatory language and to do their best to promote the dignity and self-worth of service users. The ethos of the worth of individual human persons is often counteracted by current social work practice. Under the guidelines for social care social workers help individuals to choose what is best for them, in practice however, care managers are the people who hold the budgets and budgetary concerns can often be discriminatory disenfranchising the person that the social worker is trying to help (Postle, 2000). Social workers try to avoid this happening but they work in a state institution that often inadvertently works against the best interests of service users. This is why social workers need to be trained to view the world from the perspective of others so that they more easily recognise how the system oppresses (Moore, 2002).. Conclusion The ethics and values that underpin social work practice are dedicated to social justice and recognition of the inherent worth of each and every individual. Social workers do their best to work in partnership with service users and to do this in a way that includes and empowers people. Social workers are dedicated to help people move forward and take control of their lives, the idea is to shift the power balance away from the social worker and towards the person that needs help. The structures of society are, in some ways, discriminatory and oppressive and social workers recognise that white masculine values disadvantage people and they are therefore committed to anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice in their work. Bibliography Banks, S. 2003 From oaths to rulebooks: a critical examination of codes of ethics for the social professions European journal of Social Work Volume 6 No. 2 July 2003 p. 133-144 British Association of Social Workers (2002) The Code of Ethics for Social Work.http://www.basw.co.uk/. Butler, I 2000. A Code of Ethics for Social Work and Social Work Research http://www.elsc.org.uk/socialcareresource/tswr/seminar6/butler.htm Cremlyn, S and Briskman L. 2003 â€Å"Asylum, Children’s Rights and Social Work† Child and Family Social Work 8 (3) pp. 163-178 Husband, C. (1995) The morally active practitioner and the ethics of anti-racist social work. In: Ethical Issues in Social Work (eds R. Hugman D. Smith), pp. 84–103. Routledge, London Ife, J. (2001) Human Rights Social Work: Towards Rights-Based Practice. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Postle, F. (2000) The social work side is disappearing. I guess it started with us being called care managers, Practice, 13(2), pp. 13-27. Ring, C. 2001 â€Å"Quality assurance in mental-health care: A case study from social work† Health and Social Care in the Community 9(6) 2001 pp. 383-390 Schà ¶n, D. A. (1991) The Reflective Turn: Case Studies In and On Educational Practice, New York: Teachers Press, Columbia University Slote, Michael. From Morality to Virtue. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992 Wolff, J. 2002 â€Å"Contractualism and the virtues† Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy Volume 5 No. 2 June 2002 p. 120-132 1 Footnotes [1] See p.179 [2] [3] http://www.basw.co.uk/articles.php?articleId=2page=2

The Plot of Hypertexts :: Internet Technology Essays

The Plot of Hypertexts It is quite possible that hypertext is the new literate medium of the future, arguably the present. Unlike its bound counterpart, hypertexts nonlinear. They do not follow a simply straight path from beginning to end, rather the audience is able to choose the information necessary to them and move on. According to Janet H. Murray, author of Hamlet on the Holodeck, â€Å"if we give the interactor complete freedom to improvise, we lose track of the plot,† (Murray, 196). This concept is something completely new to literature, for never before had we have such medium with the reader having most of the control. Hypertexts are defined as, â€Å"a set of documents of any kind, (images, text, charts, tables, video clips, etc.,) connected to one another by links,† (Murray, 55). They have sparked interest in this new relationship between writer and audience. The plot is controlled/achieved by the reader, unlike in linear text where the writer controls the story’s destiny. The Victorian Web is such a hypertext. A project that began in 1987, The Victorian Web can be compared to a journal of interested readers contributing to the idea. It is a project of multiple writers, a feat nonlinear text can achieve with out a problem. With such possibilities, are hypertexts the new ideal medium? Careful critiquing of a hypertext is necessary when beginning to understand the new medium. The Victorian Web has numerous links on the home page alone, each link leading to a different path of interest. From there, the topics provide are broken down into more specific topics, each with a link of their own. Articles are provided for these topics of interest, catering to the need of the present reader at the time. Through my personal exploration of The Victorian Web, I was able to take separate paths on separate topics. The home page of the Victorian Web has 20 links on topics on the era, along with links for the function of the site itself.

Individual Behavior (Organizations) Essay

Individual behavior is considered as one of the main determinants of the productivity of a given organization. The said relationship is believed to be very important that an entire academic discipline was created to focus on its study. Organizational behavior is a field of study that concentrates on describing, understanding, predicting and controlling human behavior in an organizational setting. It is divided into four sub-fields – individual behavior, group behavior, organizational structure and organizational processes. These allow organizational behavior to study a wide range of topics, such as personality, job satisfaction, leadership, group dynamics and the impact of stress on work (Answers, 2008). Basic Elements of Individual Behavior in Organizations It is true that human behavior varies from one person to another due to their individual differences. However, organizational behavior scientists argued that individual behavior is made up of the same elements. These elements must be identified in order to establish predictability in the study of human behavior. The consistency of these elements result in the development of reasonably accurate predictions of individual behavior (NEU-CBA, n. d. ). Understanding Individuals in Organization Organizational behavior scientists use the psychological contract in their study in order to understand the members of a particular organization. Psychological contract refers to a member’s expectations based on his or her contributions and the organization’s inducements. Contributions are what the member provides to the organization. Inducements, on the other hand, are what the organization will provide the member in exchange for the latter’s contributions (Abelson, 2006). Personality and Individual Behavior In sharp contrast to psychological contract, the element of personality and individual behavior assert that individual behavior within an organization is determined by â€Å"the relatively permanent set of psychological and behavioral attributes that distinguish one person from another† (Abelson, 2006). One of the most popular personality frameworks is the â€Å"Big Five† Personality Traits. It is composed of the following: a) Agreeableness – A person’s ability to establish good relationships with others b) Conscientiousness – The number of goals of which a person strives hard to achieve c) Negative emotionality – The extent to which an individual can remain poised, calm, resilient and secure d) Extraversion – The level of comfort a person has with interpersonal relationships e) Openness – An individual’s flexibility in terms of beliefs and interests (Abelson, 2006) Attitudes and Individual Behavior Attitudes are the beliefs and feelings that people have regarding certain ideas, situations or other people. Cognitive dissonance occurs when an individuals encounters other people who does not share his or her attitudes. The element of attitudes and individual behavior believe that members of an organization behave the way they do because it is their means of dealing with people who possess attitudes that are different from theirs. For an organization to be productive, its member must learn how to respect each other’s differences and work as a team despite their diversity in beliefs, attitudes and values (Abelson, 2006). Work-related Attitudes It must be noted, however, that individual behavior in an organization can also be influenced by attitudes that were developed in the workplace. Some examples of work-related attitudes are the following: a) Job Satisfaction or Dissatisfaction – An attitude that reflects the amount of pleasure or fulfillment that an individual achieves from his or her work b) Organizational Commitment – An attitude that measures a person’s degree of affinity with the organization itself c) Affect and Mood in Organizations i. Positive Affectivity – A tendency to exhibit an overall sense of optimism and well-being; sees things in a positive light ii. Negative affectivity – A tendency to exhibit an overall sense of pessimism and gloom; sees things negatively (Abelson, 2006). Perception and Individual Behavior This element defines a person’s behavior as a result of his or her perception, or the set of processes by which he or she becomes aware of his or her environment and starts to interpret information about it. One of the most detrimental forms of perception is selective perception, or the practice of disregarding information that a person feels uncomfortable with or goes against his or her own beliefs. Selective perception may lead to stereotyping or the usage of a single attribute to categorize or label other people. Selective perception may also result in scapegoating or making other people take responsibility for one’s own faults and shortcomings (Abelson, 2006). Stress and Individual Behavior Stress is â€Å"an individual’s response to a strong stimulus,† called a stressor (Ableson, 2006). The general cycle of the human body experiencing and recovering from stress is the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). Often caused by task, physical, role and interpersonal demands, one of the major effects of stress is burnout, or the feeling of exhaustion produced by undergoing stress for prolonged periods of time (Abelson, 2006). Experts categorized people into two types, depending on how much they can endure stress. â€Å"Type A† people were those who are very competitive, hardworking and are extremely particular when it comes to time. â€Å"Type B† people, on the other hand, were those who were not as hardworking, dilligent and time-conscious. It was said that â€Å"Type A† people were more likely to experience burnout than â€Å"Type B† individuals (Abelson, 2006). Creativity in Organizations This element stresses the importance of an organization’s creativity in affecting the behavior of its members. An organization that is always able to come up with new ideas or new perspectives that will improve existing ideas have a greater chance of improving productivity among its members than an organization who strictly adheres to convention and does not welcome innovation. Types of Workplace Behavior The effectiveness of an organization is very much affected by workplace behavior, or the pattern of action exhibited by its members while working. Workplace behavior is categorized into four types: a) Performance Behaviors – The â€Å"total set of work-related behaviors that the organization expects the individual to display† (Abelson, 2006). An organization’s performance behaviors is usually indicated in its manual for its members. Performance behaviors are one of the organization’s ways of communicating to its members what are its objectives and how will these be attained. b) Withdrawal Behaviors – Characterized by the absence of an organization’s members i. Absenteeism – When people develop a habitual pattern of not showing up for work ii. Turnover – When people resign from their jobs c) Organizational Citizenship – When people display behavior that contributes positively and immensely to their organization. d) Dysfunctional Behaviors – Behaviors that are detrimental to organizational performance (e. g. stealing office property, fighting in the office premises, reporting to work in improper attire, etc. ) When a person shows dysfunctional behavior, he or she is sending the message that he or she does not belong to the organization that he or she joined and that he or she has contempt for those who do. In addition, the person who exhibits dysfunctional behavior also has contempt for the organization itself, as well as for its objectives (Abelson, 2006). Conclusion An organization is composed of individual members who have different backgrounds, beliefs, values and principles. Hence, it is very crucial to train them how to work harmoniously with one another despite their differences. By identifying the elements of individual behavior in an organization, employers can establish standards and rules that are firm but at the same time considerate towards the workers’ needs. Not only will the company prosper; the employees will also become better workers and persons as well. References Abelson, M. (2006). Chapter 15 – Basic Elements of Individual Behavior in Organizations. PDF File. Retrieved June 2, 2008, from http://wehner. tamu. edu/mgmt. www/mgmt. 363/non-business_363/Chapter%2015%20%20-%20Griffin%208th%20Edition. pdf. Answers. com. (2008). Organizational Behavior. Retrieved June 2, 2008, from http://www. answers. com/topic/organizational-behavior? cat=biz-fin Northeastern University – College of Business Administration (NEU-CBA). (n. d. ). Human Behavior in Organizations: An Introduction. Retrieved June 2, 2008, from http://web. cba. neu. edu/~ewertheim/introd/introd. htm

The Benefits and Hinderance of Assessments

Appraisal in primary instruction involves geting information and doing formal or informal opinions about kids ‘s advancement and attainments, including countries for farther development. The chief facets that are normally assessed in kids ‘s larning include: cognition, apprehension, accomplishments, behavior, attitudes and values in relation to the National Curriculum ( Wragg, 2001 ) . Assessment is indispensable as it can unearth of import information. For illustration, it can ; place spreads in kids ‘s acquisition and where support may be required, supply information that can be shared with parents, inform instructor ‘s planning and teaching method and bespeak the effectivity of schools. However, this is non an inclusive list and there are other indispensable grounds why appraisal is required, which shall be reinforced throughout this treatment. We shall concentrate on appraisal schemes and how this information is utilized ; in peculiar this will be cross referenced with my experience in school. We will get down by researching summational appraisal schemes. This is besides known as ‘Assessment of Learning ‘ ( AOL ) and is an analysis of the appraisal to day of the month, which occurs at the terminal of the twelvemonth or block of survey. Examples of summational appraisals include: the Foundation Stage Profile ( FSP ) , Standards Assessment Tests ( SATS ) and formal instructor appraisals. The empirical grounds collated from this is used to look into the advancement or attainment of the scholar in relation to countries of the National Curriculum. The cardinal intent of this type of appraisal is to supply informations for national and local benchmarking intents. Using this information is indispensable as it enables schools to infer whether kids are run intoing the age-related outlooks. If they have deviated, marks are reviewed and the necessary commissariats or intercessions are implemented. This is to guarantee kids remain on path to run into the national outlooks of doing at least two National Curriculum degrees advancement over each cardinal phase. In my base-school at Robin Hood Primary, information analysis is of import to inform their tracking systems so that they can take action and measure kids ‘s advancement and attainment. The anterior attainment informations is besides used at the start of term to put marks and inform average term planning. This is a cardinal focal point for learning and acquisition. The Contextual Value-Added ( CVA ) theoretical account is a national step which quantifies schools public presentation compared to others with similar features. This theoretical account considers a scope of factors such as ; anterior attainment, Particular Educational Needs ( SEN ) and Free School Meals that can impact kids ‘s public presentation ; therefore provides a flat playing field. The school ‘s CVA tonss are presented on RAISEonline, which is of import in puting the model for schools and bespeaking its accomplishment and attainment ( Weston, 2007 ) . This information enables Local Educational Authorities and schools to: place tendencies, underachieving groups, set realistic marks, and reexamine overall effectivity and criterions. This is peculiarly of import sing the: ‘breaking the nexus between disadvantage and low attainment ‘ certification. This is an enterprise to extenuate under-performance issues in disadvantaged communities. But it should be not ed that the recent White Paper: importance of instruction has indicated a reform into assessment coverage. In peculiar, the CVA theoretical account will discontinue and the hereafter reformed course of study will move as a benchmark for all schools, with a focal point on ‘pupils ‘ premium ‘ to raise accomplishment. There has been negativity towards external summational appraisals in footings of their dependability and whether it benefits the kid ‘s acquisition and advancement. SATS are classed as ‘high bets ‘ , which can ensue in ‘teaching to the trials ‘ and rote instead than deep larning being assessed ( James and Gipps 1998 ) . Hall ( 2010 ) noted that instructors can besides be inclined to follow ‘transmission manners ‘ of instruction, which reduces creativeness in the course of study ; and could finally impact kids ‘s acquisition. SATS are undertaken at Robin Hood Primary along with instructor appraisals. They continue to advance a originative course of study as they recognise the importance of making rich acquisition experiences and orienting kids ‘s demands. This is so they can bask larning and develop new accomplishments whilst still fixing kids for SATS in an effectual mode. In footings of my pattern, I will necessitate to use simil ar teaching methods to run into the larning demands of kids ( Q28 ) . The instructor appraisals officially consider kids ‘s public presentation in each country of acquisition ; and provides them a National Curriculum degree that ‘best-fits ‘ the kid. These have proved to be more popular than SATS in footings of their dependability. To some extent this can be used formatively to inform the teaching method of the schoolroom ( Hall, 2003 ) . The advantage is that the whole- course of study can be assessed in footings of the attainment marks instead than the specific focal point on nucleus topics. More significantly, learning is non specifically geared toward trials but can be adapted by prosecuting larning ends that meet kids ‘s demands ( Alexander, 2010 ) . Robin Hood Primary uses a assortment of grounds from different contexts to measure students as they recognise that kids learn in different ways. This is of import if we consider Gardner ‘s theory of multiple intelligences, where different instruction contexts leverage the ir strengths. The school ethos is a collaborative planning attack. This enables twelvemonth group instructors to discourse their appraisal attacks, what they are measuring in relation to their programmes of work and whether there is a common apprehension of the degree descriptions for moderateness intents. Hall and Harding ( 2002 ) noted that teacher appraisals can be enhanced if a ‘collaborative attack ‘ is envisioned. This is where an ‘assessment community ‘ is created affecting staff, students and even parents. In footings of my ain pattern, it will be indispensable that I discuss instructors ‘ appraisals with experient co-workers to guarantee that kids ‘s advancement and attainments are moderated ( Q11 ) . This information would besides be of import to inform planning and personalise acquisition to assist raise degree of accomplishments ; and contract any attainment spreads ( Q13, Q19 ) . This besides highlights how of import appraisal informations is to supervise kids ‘s advancement and raise attainment degrees. Now that we have discussed summational appraisal schemes, it is of import to research the normally preferable attack ; formative appraisal. Appraisal for Learning ( AFL ) and Assessment as Learning ( AAL ) are formative attacks and is a cardinal portion of the instruction, larning and be aftering procedure. It is a uninterrupted procedure of placing and reacting to kids ‘s acquisition in order for them to do effectual advancement. Therefore it enables instructors to reevaluate their teaching method and planning in visible radiation of whether the intended acquisition results have been achieved. In comparing to summational attacks, AFL recognises the importance of the scholar being included in the appraisal procedure. Hall ( 2003 ) reinforced this impression: ‘†¦ Just as acquisition is a societal procedure, so excessively assessment is a societal procedure. The manner the learner interprets the acquisition context is vitally of import to their success in that context ‘ . ( Hall, 2003, p. 12 ) Black and William ‘s ( 1998 ) research have proven that AFL does raise criterions of attainment. In peculiar, easing the lower abilities more than others, which minimises the spread of attainment. This links with the Assessment Reform Group ‘s ( 2002 ) research of AFL patterns. They highlighted 10 rules to maneuver instructors in implementing this in their schoolroom to advance effectual instruction and acquisition. The cardinal intent of AFL is to raise accomplishment. It involves kids to develop their ain acquisition, which makes them active agents in the appraisal procedure. Planning is critical to its success to guarantee that relevant information is collated to heighten kids ‘s advancement. Alexander ( 2010 ) emphasised that AFL lucifers modern positions of how kids learn as they actively construct their acquisition and take ownership. Key characteristics associated with AFL ( but non inclusive ) include: sharing the acquisition aims and success standards, supplying feedback, effectual inquiring, affecting kids in equal and self-assessment, and Assessing Pupils Progress ( APP ) . Robin Hood Primary extremely respects AFL as a mechanism to supervise kids ‘s advancement and attainment so that any barriers can be lifted to guarantee that they all reach their possible. This is reinforced by their purpose: ‘†¦Raise criterions of attainment and accomplishment by holding high outlooks of the instruction and larning ‘ . ( Robin Hood Primary School ‘s Policy, 2010 ) AFL is embedded within their school civilization to gain this purpose. The celebrated formative illustrations are some which are used within the school and shall now be discussed. Sharing larning aims is a whole-school attack and is made visually and verbally explicit to the kids in all topics. The kids besides write the acquisition aims in their work to reenforce outlooks. This pattern enables kids to be clear on the purpose of the lesson and more significantly what they need to make to be successful, which is the success standard. This so promotes self-assessment, which links to an of import impression made by Black and William ( 1998b ) : ‘†¦When scholars do come to a sense of how their work is judged they are far more effectual and committed as scholars. They can self-evaluate ‘ . ( Cited in Hall and Burke, 2003, p. 55 ) Sharing the success standard is every bit of import as the acquisition aims. Children recognize what the instructor ‘s outlooks are in footings of judging attainment and they can supervise their advancement towards these ends. At Robin Hood Primary, they normally make this visually explicit such as on the Interactive Whiteboard and is besides reinforced verbally throughout the lesson to do outlooks clear. In add-on, I have observed the instructor to underscore the intent of what they are making, which is of import if we consider the cognitive behavior attack to larning. This theory states that scholars actively construct their acquisition. By supplying a intent they are motivated to larn, which interlinks with the ‘what ‘s in it for me ‘ construct ( Hughes 2010 ) . In footings of pattern, it will be of import for me to go on to portion the acquisition aims and success standards with the category, by guaranting that it is besides expressed suitably to those with SEN and EAL needs. This would enable all kids to be engaged with the undertaking and basically their ain appraisal. It would besides allow me to concentrate on the acquisition results and therefore quality instead than merely acquiring the activities complete ( Q10, Q12, Q26b ) . Self-assessment is an built-in portion of the acquisition aims and success standards. This can merely be successful if kids assess and reflect on their ain ability and understand what they need to make to better instead than merely being told what to make. From my experience, oppugning throughout and during plenaries are utile manners to measure whether acquisition has taken topographic point. It besides enables kids ‘s to reflect whether they have fulfilled the success standards and larning aims. Robin Hood Primary considers effectual oppugning in self-assessment to be of import to get an penetration into kids ‘s acquisition. Open-ended inquiries are important to guarantee that it is inclusive of all scholars. Hall ( 2010 ) emphasised that kids need clip to believe to develop higher order believing accomplishments. From my experience, I have noticed the instructor to utilize ‘positive linguistic communication ‘ in the schoolroom if kids experience troubles or misconceptions, particularly in numeracy. The civilization is to handle errors as chances. I think this is an of import scheme to use so that kids are non de-motivated and increases their self-esteem ; but basically influences their acquisition positively. The school besides uses peer-assessment, which is more than marker trials and can reenforce self-assessment. For illustration, during certain speech production and listening group exercisings, the kids had to explicate inquiries sing a book, which was so discussed and evaluated as a category. This can be effectual as kids can get confidence in making their ain inquiries and sing a scope of differing responses. It besides enables them to develop an penetration into their ain public presentation and what they need to make to better by measuring the work of others. Clarke ( 2001 ) besides reinforced the importance of these appraisals as it raises their self-esteem as they are in control of their acquisition. It should be noted that there can be disadvantages with this type of appraisal in footings of sensitiveness or kids ‘s fight, but if used in the right context if can be powerful. In footings of my pattern, I will necessitate to guarantee that I present self and peer appraisal chances, in concurrence with effectual inquiring and feedback. This is so kids can reflect on their ain acquisition and be motivated to come on. This will besides supply me an penetration into their acquisition, which so informs short-tem planning in footings of the learning sequence of lessons ( Q29 ) . In relation to this, understanding the kids will be indispensable to provide for their demands efficaciously. This reinforces how these elements are closely interlinked with appraisal ( Q25a, Q25c, Q26a, Q27, Q28 ) . From the above treatment, we can see how formative appraisal schemes are more child-centred compared to summational attacks. This enables them to see how good they are making and more significantly for instructors to put marks. As mentioned earlier, Robin Hood Primary has pupil tracking systems, which enables them to measure whether kids are run intoing the age- related outlooks. These tracking systems consist of the National Curriculum degrees the kids obtained in the old old ages based on the SATS, instructor appraisals, APP informations and their anticipations for the terminal of the twelvemonth. The instructors besides have review meetings with the Head Teacher to look into that the students are on path. It enables instructors to put marks and commissariats to ease kids to do the 2 sub-level betterments within the twelvemonth. It besides deduces whether any intercessions are required to shut attainment spreads. This reinforces the importance of appraisal as pupil- degree informat ions is of import to inform acquisition, learning and be aftering so that attainment degrees can be raised. The ‘breaking the nexus between disadvantage and low attainment ‘ certification high spots that using informations can extenuate these links and encourages personalised learning commissariats. In footings of my pattern, it will be critical that this information is used for these intents so that kids can accomplish their possible ( Q10, Q13, Q19, Q25b, vitamin D, Q26b, Q29 ) . Robin Hood Primary besides have qualitative marks in literacy and numeracy, which are explicitly shared with the kids so they know how good they are making and what they need to make to better. This is of import so they can take ownership for their propensity. They have a mark sheet ( see appendix 1a and B ) in their numeracy and literacy books, which translate into ‘I can ‘ statements ; and are more child-friendly. This is a mechanism to portion marks with the kids so they know what they need to make to come on to their expected National Curriculum degrees by the terminal of the twelvemonth. The marks for EAL kids normally differ in literacy ( and other topics ) to guarantee they come on within their capablenesss. Children in Key Stage 1 and 2 besides complete an assessed piece of composing known as the ‘Big Write ‘ ; this is portion of the current school ‘s betterment program which places an accent on composing. This is normally undertaken at the termi nal of stage results to supervise kids in these specific countries of larning. Equally good as composing marks in their book, they are visually placed on their tabular arraies as a reminder. There are besides ocular shows such as ‘VCOP ‘ pyramids to foreground what they need to make to obtain a peculiar degree, which reinforces the criterions to take for. In footings of reading, the kids are informed of their degree at the beginning of the twelvemonth and where they are expected to be at the terminal of the twelvemonth. This is tracked by the instructor and instructor helper who monitor advancement. In footings of tracking other topics, the instructors provide feedback through constructive marker and general observations in the schoolroom. This is besides built-in to the self-assessment procedure so kids know how to bridge the spreads in their acquisition. Feedback is of import so instructors can assist scaffold their acquisition to shut the spread between what they know and need to cognize ( Clarke, 2003 ) . The instructor besides acquires feedback from the learning helpers as a manner of monitoring advancement. This besides demonstrates the importance of working closely with the support staff ( Q30 ) . I will necessitate to guarantee that I give constructive feedback to ease acquisition, particularly by associating their acquisition to prior experiences to do this meaningful. Feedback will besides enable me to set and inform hereafter planning and instruction ; which reinforces the appraisal, planning, learning rhythm and the importance of planning and monitoring kids ‘s advancement. ( Q12, Q27 ) The appraisal schemes across the age ranges are similar for Key Stage 1 and 2. However, in Key Stage 1 they have a phonics tracker to supervise advancement and inform ability groups. They besides use the ‘bubble and block ‘ attack, which specifies the positive component of their work and marks for betterment. There is besides the FSP which is a summational attack used in the Foundation Stage. This assesses kids ‘s patterned advance and the degree of attainment achieved in each of the six countries of larning. There are13 appraisal graduated tables covering these countries, which promotes instructors to used focused observations as a agency of the documented accomplishments ( DCFS, 2008 ) . This leads to a summational record at the terminal of the Foundation Stage. The FSP is used by the Key Stage 1 instructors to enable them to inform their hereafter planning. This reinforces the importance of appraisal informations in easing acquisition and raising attainment degre es. In footings of supervising the advancement and attainment of SEN kids ( or those working below the National Curriculum degrees ) , Robin Hood Primary uses p- degree informations and PIVATS in appraisal. These kids and those with learning troubles are still expected to do a similar rate of advancement compared to national outlooks of other kids. The school recognises that high outlooks, quality foremost learning ( as in all categories ) is important to raise their attainment degrees. The p-level information is used to set up good advancement for these scholars below the age-related outlooks. The information from these appraisal tools are used to inform Individual Education Plan marks ( for some kids ) and foregrounding their strengths excessively. Working with the SENCO will be of import to personalize and supervise the acquisition of these kids in footings of my pattern ( Q19 ) . APP is a mechanism they use to track single advancement, which is portion of AFL. By making so, they can place where kids are in their acquisition and set marks for patterned advance. It besides informs instructors ‘ capable cognition to infer what gaps they need to make full to enable kids to accomplish the expected degree. The school uses a representative sample in APP as it would be inefficient to supervise the advancement of each kid. For illustration, in my base-class they track a sum of six kids from the higher, middle and lower ability group for literacy ( excepting composing ) and numeracy. The school uses the APP appraisal guidelines from the Primary Nation Strategy certification to supervise kids ‘s advancement, although in some cases they use their ain stuffs. To measure reading, the kids are grouped harmonizing to ability for guided reading Sessionss. This enables the instructor to choose appropriate reading stuff and measure their word acknowledgment and comp rehension accomplishments. Targets are shared with the kids so they know what they have to make to come on to the following reading degree. More significantly, it facilitates instructors to reexamine planning, larning aims and place which group would profit from accelerated acquisition to acquire them on the right flight. APP will be indispensable to utilize in my pattern to inform planning to bridge any learning spreads and to personalize larning excessively ( Q19, Q22 ) . Thus It reinforces how AFL is of import is to pull off and be after the instruction and acquisition to acquire kids to where they need to be. Overall, we can see how appraisal is of import and an built-in portion of the planning and learning rhythm to raise attainment degrees. Assessment is of import to infer whether kids are run intoing the intended acquisition results or experience troubles ; which later inform be aftering. Planing and the sequence of lessons may so necessitate accommodations such by revisiting the larning aims or traveling in front based on the kids ‘s advancement. In bend, this informs the instructor ‘s teaching method as techniques may necessitate to be adapted or larning personalised to get the better of barriers. This may affect alterations in the distinction schemes to orient kids ‘s demands in the given context. Teaching besides enables appraisals to be made of the category, which informs planning ; hence this demonstrates how these elements are built-in. In footings of my pattern, I will necessitate to utilize appraisal to inform my planning and present high quality instruction. But most significantly, I will necessitate to cognize my category good and have high outlooks to raise attainment degrees so that they can all make their possible.Word Count: 3,312