Gale Macleod
Biographic Data
| ID | 5239833 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gale Macleod |
| GIVEN NAMES | Gale |
| FAMILY NAME | Macleod |
| SIGNATURE | MACLEOD G |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Edinburgh |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4738-5772 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 32 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Realist triadic interviews: Enhancing narrative co-construction in educational research
This article introduces a novel methodological approach termed ‘realist triadic interviews’ which was used to explore pupils’ experiences during COVID-19. Unlike traditional methods that treat multiple accounts separately, this approach incorporates pupils, parents and teachers in a single interview, facilitating real-time co-construction of narratives. This article examines how power dynamics and pre-existing relationships within these triads in…
Challenging Times: Markets and Emotions as Modes of Governance in the University
This article describes setting up a University of Edinburgh Challenge Course called ‘Wicked Problems: Reason and Rhetoric’, and some resistance to it. The course aims to help students understand the nature of argument and disagreement, and how to engage in these productively in their university work and beyond. The article then explores the culture of modern universities, seeing them as shaped by processes of neoliberal marketisation, and discurs…
Young people's networked constructions of nature: Evidence from a qualitative multiple case study in the United Kingdom
How young people interpret and engage with nature is an important consideration within our current biodiversity and climate crises. What remains less clear are the ways in which online, networked, spaces underpin young people's relationships with nature, and what consequences these spaces may have for in‐person nature interactions. Given the ubiquitousness of networked spaces in society, it has been argued that day‐to‐day life is increasingly ‘po…
Using concept maps as an assessment task for international taught postgraduate students: Is it a ‘helpful bridge’ or ‘blunt instrument’
Students on one-year full-time Master’s programmes, particularly those studying in English for the first time, or after a break from studies, can struggle with the demands of an academic essay. This study reports the evaluation of the introduction of the use of concept maps as a learning and assessment tool, designed to support students’ transition into postgraduate taught study at a UK university. The mixed methods case study draws on interviews…
Identifying a research agenda for postgraduate taught education in the UK: Lessons from a machine learning facilitated systematic scoping review
This research aimed to describe and evaluate research on the Postgraduate Taught (PGT) sector in the UK from January 2008 to October 2019. The focus on PGT allowed a detailed analysis of an often overlooked part of the HE sector. Methodologically, the research is original in its use of an innovative machine learning approach to a systematic scoping review. The review scrutinised subject areas, topics studied and methodological approaches taken. I…
She just got me’: Supporting care experienced young people negotiating relationships and identities at school
In this article we examine the complex relationship between care experience, mental health and exclusion from school and how young people (YP) negotiate these different experiences and identities. The study is a secondary analysis, informed by symbolic interactionist theory, of interviews conducted with 19 care experienced YP in Scotland. Not all of the YP were excluded and not all had a formal mental health diagnosis, as such our study design al…
Enacting home–school partnerships: The roles of headteachers, family-learning practitioners and parents
Engaging parents and children in family learning generates collaborative partnerships and can increase children’s attainment, but headteachers’ (HTs) views affect the nature of these Home–School Partnership (HSPs). This study into family-learning programmes (FLPs) in socio-economically disadvantaged areas in one Scottish city investigates what leads to more inclusive HSPs. Interviews were conducted in 2017 with 5 HTs, 7 family-learning practition…
Balancing supportive relationships and developing independence: An activity theory approach to understanding feedback in context for master’s students
Master’s students are expected to be self-regulating and independent learners. Dialogic feedback has been identified as one way of promoting such independence. There continues to be concern about the extent to which master’s students are achieving this level of functioning. This study aimed to identify feedback practices and contexts which facilitated student engagement and independence. Working with students as co-researchers, interviews were co…
I had some additional angel wings’: Parents positioned as experts in their children’s education
This article provides evidence of the ways in which Family Learning (FL) has offered opportunities for the negotiation of a culturally responsive pedagogy that positions parents as experts. Although our study is small (ten parents and six FL practitioners) its significance lies in its longitudinal perspective and in-depth analysis, which demonstrate that the benefits of learning are dynamic and can transfer across domains (education, family, comm…
Philosophy in Scotland and Scottish education
In this paper, we consider how philosophy in Scotland has shaped beliefs about Scottish education. We begin by charting Macmurray’s views on education generally and Scottish education specifically. We thereafter examine the nature of ‘Scottish philosophy’ and explore continuities and discrepancies in the thought of Hume, Reid, Davie, MacIntyre, Graham and Macmurray. We suggest that while Davie thought Scottish education should remain true to the …
Searching for excellence in education: Knowledge, virtue and presence
This article addresses two main questions: (1) what is excellence and (2) should epistemic excellence be the main purpose of education? Though references to excellence have become increasingly frequent in the UK education policy, these questions are perhaps especially important in Scotland where the curriculum is explicitly for excellence. Following Hirst and Peters, it is hypothesised that if the term ‘education' implies possession of a certain …
A comparison of staff perceptions of behaviour in Scottish schools in 2009 and 2006
Behaviour in schools is an enduring public policy concern not only within the UK, but internationally also. Current concern should come as no surprise as behaviour is intimately connected with policy priorities for schools, namely raising standards of attainment and promoting social cohesion. Clearly, standards are threatened where disruptive behaviour takes place and teacher time is spent on maintaining an orderly classroom rather than on the fo…
Take more time to actually listen’: Students' reflections on participation and negotiation in school
Behaviour in schools is an emotive topic and one of enduring political interest and sensitivity. The media often portrays schools as violent and dangerous places and young people as ever more unruly. This paper explores findings from a recent large‐scale national study on behaviour and focuses on the data from primary and secondary school students within this study. The comments and suggestions offered by students move beyond a discussion of beha…
Taking flight: Trust, ethics and the comfort of strangers
This article explores the themes of trust and ethical conduct in social research, with particular attention to the trust that can develop between the members of a research team as well as between researchers and the researched. The authors draw upon a three-year empirical study of destinations and outcomes for young people excluded from alternative educational provision. They also make reference to a contemporary exposition of Aristotle's writing…
What happens to pupils permanently excluded from special schools and pupil referral units in England
There is widespread consensus in the research and policy‐related literature over the last decade that young people who have been permanently excluded from school are at a far greater risk of a variety of negative outcomes than young people who have not had this experience. These negative outcomes include prolonged periods out of education and/or employment; poor mental and physical health; involvement in crime; and homelessness. This article pres…
Tripping, slipping and losing the way: Moving beyond methodological difficulties in social research
This article is intended as a contribution to the debate on the epistemology of educational research. It is as much concerned with research as a social process as it is with the process of social research. The authors draw upon ways of walking, discussions of embodiment, place and materiality, and their analogues in relation to the processes of social research in order to explore alternative ways of knowing, and to explore what happens when accou…
Travels with a Donkey: Further Adventures in Social Research
This article is intended as a contribution to the debate on the epistemology of educational research. The latter is construed as an ethical project that brings with it a distinctive set of power relations, and entails a degree of self-effacement on the part of the researcher, a subordination of the self to the internal logic of the task in hand. The conditions within the academy that inhibit the development of these qualities are briefly outlined…
Personal Narratives and Policy: Never the Twain
In this article the extent to which stories and personal narratives can and should be used to inform education policy is examined. A range of studies describable as story or personal narrative is investigated. They include life-studies, life-writing, life history, narrative analysis, and the representation of lives. We use ‘auto/biography’ as a convenient way of grouping this range under one term. It points to the many and varied ways that accoun…
Take more time to actually listen’: Students' reflections on participation and negotiation in school
Behaviour in schools is an emotive topic and one of enduring political interest and sensitivity. The media often portrays schools as violent and dangerous places and young people as ever more unruly. This paper explores findings from a recent large‐scale national study on behaviour and focuses on the data from primary and secondary school students within this study. The comments and suggestions offered by students move beyond a discussion of beha…
What happens to pupils permanently excluded from special schools and pupil referral units in England
There is widespread consensus in the research and policy‐related literature over the last decade that young people who have been permanently excluded from school are at a far greater risk of a variety of negative outcomes than young people who have not had this experience. These negative outcomes include prolonged periods out of education and/or employment; poor mental and physical health; involvement in crime; and homelessness. This article pres…
Personal Narratives and Policy: Never the Twain
In this article the extent to which stories and personal narratives can and should be used to inform education policy is examined. A range of studies describable as story or personal narrative is investigated. They include life-studies, life-writing, life history, narrative analysis, and the representation of lives. We use ‘auto/biography’ as a convenient way of grouping this range under one term. It points to the many and varied ways that accoun…
I had some additional angel wings’: Parents positioned as experts in their children’s education
This article provides evidence of the ways in which Family Learning (FL) has offered opportunities for the negotiation of a culturally responsive pedagogy that positions parents as experts. Although our study is small (ten parents and six FL practitioners) its significance lies in its longitudinal perspective and in-depth analysis, which demonstrate that the benefits of learning are dynamic and can transfer across domains (education, family, comm…
Tripping, slipping and losing the way: Moving beyond methodological difficulties in social research
This article is intended as a contribution to the debate on the epistemology of educational research. It is as much concerned with research as a social process as it is with the process of social research. The authors draw upon ways of walking, discussions of embodiment, place and materiality, and their analogues in relation to the processes of social research in order to explore alternative ways of knowing, and to explore what happens when accou…
Personal Narratives and Policy: Never the Twain
In this article the extent to which stories and personal narratives can and should be used to inform education policy is examined. A range of studies describable as story or personal narrative is investigated. They include life-studies, life-writing, life history, narrative analysis, and the representation of lives. We use ‘auto/biography’ as a convenient way of grouping this range under one term. It points to the many and varied ways that accoun…
Travels with a Donkey: Further Adventures in Social Research
This article is intended as a contribution to the debate on the epistemology of educational research. The latter is construed as an ethical project that brings with it a distinctive set of power relations, and entails a degree of self-effacement on the part of the researcher, a subordination of the self to the internal logic of the task in hand. The conditions within the academy that inhibit the development of these qualities are briefly outlined…
Tripping, slipping and losing the way: Moving beyond methodological difficulties in social research
This article is intended as a contribution to the debate on the epistemology of educational research. It is as much concerned with research as a social process as it is with the process of social research. The authors draw upon ways of walking, discussions of embodiment, place and materiality, and their analogues in relation to the processes of social research in order to explore alternative ways of knowing, and to explore what happens when accou…
What happens to pupils permanently excluded from special schools and pupil referral units in England
There is widespread consensus in the research and policy‐related literature over the last decade that young people who have been permanently excluded from school are at a far greater risk of a variety of negative outcomes than young people who have not had this experience. These negative outcomes include prolonged periods out of education and/or employment; poor mental and physical health; involvement in crime; and homelessness. This article pres…
Taking flight: Trust, ethics and the comfort of strangers
This article explores the themes of trust and ethical conduct in social research, with particular attention to the trust that can develop between the members of a research team as well as between researchers and the researched. The authors draw upon a three-year empirical study of destinations and outcomes for young people excluded from alternative educational provision. They also make reference to a contemporary exposition of Aristotle's writing…
Searching for excellence in education: Knowledge, virtue and presence
This article addresses two main questions: (1) what is excellence and (2) should epistemic excellence be the main purpose of education? Though references to excellence have become increasingly frequent in the UK education policy, these questions are perhaps especially important in Scotland where the curriculum is explicitly for excellence. Following Hirst and Peters, it is hypothesised that if the term ‘education' implies possession of a certain …
A comparison of staff perceptions of behaviour in Scottish schools in 2009 and 2006
Behaviour in schools is an enduring public policy concern not only within the UK, but internationally also. Current concern should come as no surprise as behaviour is intimately connected with policy priorities for schools, namely raising standards of attainment and promoting social cohesion. Clearly, standards are threatened where disruptive behaviour takes place and teacher time is spent on maintaining an orderly classroom rather than on the fo…
Take more time to actually listen’: Students' reflections on participation and negotiation in school
Behaviour in schools is an emotive topic and one of enduring political interest and sensitivity. The media often portrays schools as violent and dangerous places and young people as ever more unruly. This paper explores findings from a recent large‐scale national study on behaviour and focuses on the data from primary and secondary school students within this study. The comments and suggestions offered by students move beyond a discussion of beha…
Philosophy in Scotland and Scottish education
In this paper, we consider how philosophy in Scotland has shaped beliefs about Scottish education. We begin by charting Macmurray’s views on education generally and Scottish education specifically. We thereafter examine the nature of ‘Scottish philosophy’ and explore continuities and discrepancies in the thought of Hume, Reid, Davie, MacIntyre, Graham and Macmurray. We suggest that while Davie thought Scottish education should remain true to the …
I had some additional angel wings’: Parents positioned as experts in their children’s education
This article provides evidence of the ways in which Family Learning (FL) has offered opportunities for the negotiation of a culturally responsive pedagogy that positions parents as experts. Although our study is small (ten parents and six FL practitioners) its significance lies in its longitudinal perspective and in-depth analysis, which demonstrate that the benefits of learning are dynamic and can transfer across domains (education, family, comm…
Enacting home–school partnerships: The roles of headteachers, family-learning practitioners and parents
Engaging parents and children in family learning generates collaborative partnerships and can increase children’s attainment, but headteachers’ (HTs) views affect the nature of these Home–School Partnership (HSPs). This study into family-learning programmes (FLPs) in socio-economically disadvantaged areas in one Scottish city investigates what leads to more inclusive HSPs. Interviews were conducted in 2017 with 5 HTs, 7 family-learning practition…
Balancing supportive relationships and developing independence: An activity theory approach to understanding feedback in context for master’s students
Master’s students are expected to be self-regulating and independent learners. Dialogic feedback has been identified as one way of promoting such independence. There continues to be concern about the extent to which master’s students are achieving this level of functioning. This study aimed to identify feedback practices and contexts which facilitated student engagement and independence. Working with students as co-researchers, interviews were co…
She just got me’: Supporting care experienced young people negotiating relationships and identities at school
In this article we examine the complex relationship between care experience, mental health and exclusion from school and how young people (YP) negotiate these different experiences and identities. The study is a secondary analysis, informed by symbolic interactionist theory, of interviews conducted with 19 care experienced YP in Scotland. Not all of the YP were excluded and not all had a formal mental health diagnosis, as such our study design al…
Identifying a research agenda for postgraduate taught education in the UK: Lessons from a machine learning facilitated systematic scoping review
This research aimed to describe and evaluate research on the Postgraduate Taught (PGT) sector in the UK from January 2008 to October 2019. The focus on PGT allowed a detailed analysis of an often overlooked part of the HE sector. Methodologically, the research is original in its use of an innovative machine learning approach to a systematic scoping review. The review scrutinised subject areas, topics studied and methodological approaches taken. I…
Young people's networked constructions of nature: Evidence from a qualitative multiple case study in the United Kingdom
How young people interpret and engage with nature is an important consideration within our current biodiversity and climate crises. What remains less clear are the ways in which online, networked, spaces underpin young people's relationships with nature, and what consequences these spaces may have for in‐person nature interactions. Given the ubiquitousness of networked spaces in society, it has been argued that day‐to‐day life is increasingly ‘po…
Using concept maps as an assessment task for international taught postgraduate students: Is it a ‘helpful bridge’ or ‘blunt instrument’
Students on one-year full-time Master’s programmes, particularly those studying in English for the first time, or after a break from studies, can struggle with the demands of an academic essay. This study reports the evaluation of the introduction of the use of concept maps as a learning and assessment tool, designed to support students’ transition into postgraduate taught study at a UK university. The mixed methods case study draws on interviews…
Realist triadic interviews: Enhancing narrative co-construction in educational research
This article introduces a novel methodological approach termed ‘realist triadic interviews’ which was used to explore pupils’ experiences during COVID-19. Unlike traditional methods that treat multiple accounts separately, this approach incorporates pupils, parents and teachers in a single interview, facilitating real-time co-construction of narratives. This article examines how power dynamics and pre-existing relationships within these triads in…
Challenging Times: Markets and Emotions as Modes of Governance in the University
This article describes setting up a University of Edinburgh Challenge Course called ‘Wicked Problems: Reason and Rhetoric’, and some resistance to it. The course aims to help students understand the nature of argument and disagreement, and how to engage in these productively in their university work and beyond. The article then explores the culture of modern universities, seeing them as shaped by processes of neoliberal marketisation, and discurs…
Sociology (14 works) · Psychology (11 works) · Pedagogy (10 works) · Political science (8 works) · Social Psychology (7 works) · Epistemology (6 works) · Social science (6 works) · Children's Rights and Participation (4 works) · Engineering (4 works) · Philosophy (4 works)