Abstracts - Earli

authenticity and complexity in the methods of assessment; advocate a sparing use of summativeassessment and increased provision of formative assessment; aim to build students’ confidence andsense of autonomy; and promote informal feedback and peer interaction. The research programmeinvestigates AfL practice in real-world settings within higher education. A case study design isused with multiple methods of data collection, and a fine-grained, interpretive approach. Initialanalysis is at the case level to generate holistic interpretations, taking into account a range ofperspectives. Cross-case analysis identifies key themes and illuminates theoretical constructs.Findings identify ways in which perceptions of students, teachers and others are crucial to theexperience and outcomes of AfL. In the English Literature case study, students perceivesignificant value in peer feedback and discussions but the research also reveals the fragile sense ofself amongst students and identifies circumstances in which students feel silenced within the peerdiscourse. The fine-grained detail of students’ observed learning behaviour provides essentialcontextualisation and moves away from generic findings about the student group. One example isvariation in students’ discernment of principles and concepts within English Literature. Students’approaches to writing assignments showed some recognising a ‘pattern’ between the texts theywere analysing and the ideas and perspectives of the course, whilst others concentrated on the taskthey had been set, ‘checking off’ the elements achieved, but failing to address wider issues andconcepts. We also highlight AfL as an evolving process, influenced by teacher reflection-in-action,student responses and a wide range of contextual factors, many of which are unpredictable.Choosing teaching as a second career among menIlana Avissar, The Kibbutzim College of Education, IsraelNurit Dvir, The Kibbutzim College of Education, IsraelThis research examined men, in contrast to women, who decided to retrain as teachers for a secondcareer. The research goals were to examine the motives provided by these men for their choice andto analyze their perceptions regarding family, career, gender-roles and the teaching profession. Theresearch employed a mixed-methods research design and was conducted in a large, centrallylocatedteacher-college in Israel. As part of the qualitative research, open-ended interviews,seeking participants’ life-stories, were conducted with 14 men studying to become teachers. Aspart of the quantitative research, a self-report questionnaire was filled-in by 30 men and 21womenretraining as teachers. Findings indicated that the primary motives for both groups in choosing ateaching career were internal. Men, as opposed to women, received higher levels of appreciationfrom their immediate social circle regarding their choice. Their decision was perceived as morecourageous, different and challenging of societal norms. Both the men and the women consideredthe teaching profession to be appropriate for men, and expressed innovative attitudes regardingfamily, gender-roles, career and teaching. The innovative aspect was expressed in the priority theygave to the choice of a profession that enabled them to fulfil their familial and parental roles over aprofession that was prestigious and high-paying. The findings indicated that these men perceivedthemselves as having ‘feminine’ qualities such as sensitivity, compassion, empathy and gentleness.Men were more open to experiencing a variety of roles that are free of a gender-label. Publicizingthe phenomenon of men choosing teaching as a second career may encourage more men to seekemployment in other helping-professions and in doing so to improve their public image. This maysignal a conceptual change that could paint women’s professions in new colors and breach theexisting binary nature of perceptions about men and women’s professions.– 225 –