Publications by year
2020
Nottingham P, Bibila S (2020). Implementing Practitioner Research Projects. In (Ed)
The Work-Based Learning Student Handbook, Red Globe Press.
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Implementing Practitioner Research Projects
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Bibila S, Nottingham P (2020). Planning Practitioner Projects. In (Ed)
The Work-Based Learning Student Handbook, Red Globe Press.
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Planning Practitioner Projects
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Bibila S (2020). The peculiarities and challenges of integrating generic forms of knowledge into the upper-secondary curriculum: a Bernsteinian analysis of ‘Communication’ and ‘Application of Number’ in the Welsh Baccalaureate.
Curriculum Journal,
31(4), 626-647.
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The peculiarities and challenges of integrating generic forms of knowledge into the upper-secondary curriculum: a Bernsteinian analysis of ‘Communication’ and ‘Application of Number’ in the Welsh Baccalaureate
Throughout the past 40 years, a number of terms have been used in the UK to refer to competency-based pedagogies that focus on preparing students for everyday ‘life’ and employment. The evolution of these generic forms of knowledge in official curricula has been accompanied by harsh practical realities when it comes to teaching, assessing and certifying them. These practical realities counterbalance the strong support genericskillism enjoys in policy discourses that centre on employability and universalism in upper-secondary education. By drawing upon Bernstein's sociological insights and data collected and analysed as part of a study that sought to examine the compulsory integration of Communication and Application of Number into the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma (legacy qualification), this paper offers new empirical observations into the persistent peculiarities and challenges of teaching and assessing generic forms of pedagogised knowledge. The discussion takes into consideration practical and policy dimensions that extend beyond individual education sites in Wales and are also relevant to the 2017 review of the new Essential Skills Wales qualifications, ongoing developments following the 2018 review of the Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate, and the Council of the EU 2018 Recommendation of Key Competences for Lifelong Learning.
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2018
Denny E, Weckesser A, Jones G, Bibila S, Daniels J, Bhattacharya S, PRE-EMPT team (2018). Women's experiences of medical treatment for endometriosis and its impact on PRE-EMPT trial participation: a qualitative study.
Pilot Feasibility Stud,
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Women's experiences of medical treatment for endometriosis and its impact on PRE-EMPT trial participation: a qualitative study.
BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a common cause of chronic pelvic pain which can relapse after surgery, yet little research has been conducted on women's experience of medical treatments for prevention of recurrence and the influence of this on participation in clinical trials. METHODS: This study explored women's past experiences with medical treatments for endometriosis symptoms and the impact this has on their motivation to enter the pilot phase of a post-conservative surgery clinical trial, PRE-EMPT: Preventing Recurrence of Endometriosis by Means of long acting Progestogen Therapy. Qualitative methodology was adopted, involving semi-structured interviews in three UK cities, and one focus group was used to collect data from women with a diagnosis of endometriosis participating in the PRE-EMPT trial. RESULTS: Ten women were interviewed individually and four took part in the focus group discussion. Women's willingness to enter the PRE-EMPT trial was bound up with their previous experiences, present situation and future expectations of medication, as well as the control offered by flexible randomisation which allows the option to reject a particular treatment post-surgery. CONCLUSION: Women were strongly influenced by previous experience and personal circumstances in their decision to enter the PRE-EMPT trial. This decision was facilitated by the ability to 'opt out' of the treatment arm(s) they found unacceptable. This element of choice offered patients a sense of control in the randomisation process and has important implications for clinical trial design and recruitment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN97865475. EUDRACT number 2013-001984-21.
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2014
Denny E, Quinlan-Jones E, Bibila S, Kilby M (2014). The experience of pregnant women with a diagnosis of fetal lower urinary tract obstruction (LUTO).
Midwifery,
30(6), 636-642.
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The experience of pregnant women with a diagnosis of fetal lower urinary tract obstruction (LUTO).
OBJECTIVE: to gain insight into the experiences and perspectives of pregnant women diagnosed antenatally with fetal lower urinary tract obstruction (LUTO) participating in an interventional fetal medicine randomised controlled trial (RCT). DESIGN: a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. Interviews were analysed using Riessman's narrative analysis. SETTING: fetal medicine clinics within the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS). PARTICIPANTS: five pregnant women who were recruited as part of an RCT and two additional women who were recruited after the trial was terminated before completion. FINDINGS: three themes were identified and form the basis of this article: the use of technology in pregnancy, the loss of a normal pregnancy, and decision making in uncertainty. IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS: undertaking qualitative research within an RCT can illuminate the experience of the condition being studied. Women's experience of a pregnancy where LUTO was diagnosed in the fetus entailed an emotional journey following the visualisation of the abnormality through the use of routine ultrasound screening. Women tried to make sense of the diagnosis in order to make the best, albeit less than ideal, decisions for themselves, their baby, and their family. Midwives are in a good position to support women through the emotional distress of diagnosis and to help them negotiate the uncertain terrain in which they make decisions.
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Bibila S, Rabiee F (2014). Training the powerful: issues that emerged during the evaluation of a communication skills training programme for senior cancer care professionals.
Eur J Cancer Care (Engl),
23(4), 531-544.
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Training the powerful: issues that emerged during the evaluation of a communication skills training programme for senior cancer care professionals.
'Connected' is the name of the national advanced communication skills training programme developed in 2008 for cancer care professionals in the NHS. A 3-day training course combining didactic and experiential learning elements is run by two facilitators with course participants expected to engage fully in simulated consultations with trained actors. In 2011, and as a result of participant feedback on the length of the course and increasing pressures on budgets and clinical time, the Connected team developed and piloted an alternative 2-day training course. Before its roll-out in 2012, Birmingham City University was commissioned to evaluate the effectiveness and quality of the 2-day course vis-à-vis the 'traditional' 3-day one. This article is written by the two evaluators and it discusses some of the issues that emerged during the evaluation. We broadly grouped these issues into two overlapping categories: the mandatory nature of the course and the different professional background and seniority of participants. In our discussion we consider the implications these issues have for communication skills training policy and practice and put forward suggestions for further research.
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2012
Bibila S (2012). Knowledge of and attitudes to Occupational Health & Safety among tutors of a Vocational Training Institute (IIEK) in Greece: a pilot study.
International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health,
2(1), 15-25.
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Knowledge of and attitudes to Occupational Health & Safety among tutors of a Vocational Training Institute (IIEK) in Greece: a pilot study.
This study aimed to develop two instruments, one for measuring knowledge of Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) and one for measuring attitudes to OHS, to examine differences in knowledge and attitudes among tutors teaching at a private vocational training institute in Greece (IIEK) and to identify significant predictors of OHS knowledge.For the 9-item knowledge scale developed, a K–R 20 of 0.60 was generated while for the 9-item attitude scale a Cronbach’s alpha (α) of 0.71 was generated. A cross-sectional, comparative research design was followed and the population (N=71) was stratified into “vocational area of expertise” groups. A proportional stratified random sampling strategy was used. It was found that, for the sampled tutors (n=31), “hours of OHS training” was the sole significant predictor of OHS knowledge contributing for 76% of the explained variance. No significant contributions to OHS knowledge were made by “vocational area of expertise”, “years of teaching experience” and “attitudes to OHS”. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijosh.v2i1.5341 International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, Vol. 2 No. 1 (2012) 15-25
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2010
Bibila S (2010). Piloting a vocational e-course at a UK college: Developing strategies to support non-native english speaking learners to complete the essay-type questions of their assignments.
Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education,
11(2), 23-39.
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Piloting a vocational e-course at a UK college: Developing strategies to support non-native english speaking learners to complete the essay-type questions of their assignments
This paper presents a study of practice that was conducted during the piloting of a vocational (health care) e-course at the Distance Learning department of a College of Further and Higher Education in England. The purpose of the study was to establish a course of action aiming to support non-native English speaking learners to successfully complete the essay-type questions of the e-course assignments. The exploratory nature of the study means that in effect the study comprises of two distinct, yet interrelated parts, with the first one looking into how two (2) non-native English speaking learners (participants) used different e-course resources to help them compose their answers. Based on the findings, the second part examines the role of writing frameworks (in the form of email communication between the tutor and the participants) in helping the latter to compose answers that met the assessment criteria in terms of a) content (subject) accuracy, b) length and c) originality. Discussion of the findings includes implications for providing additional English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) support to distance learners, suggestions for further improvements to the e-course and recommendations for further research.
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