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This is the unspecified version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link Abstract BackgroundThe Speech and Language Therapy/Pathology (SLT/SLP) profession is characterised by extreme 'occupational sex segregation', a term used to refer to persistently male or femaledominated professions. Men make up only 2.5% of all SLTs in the UK, and similar imbalance is found in other countries. Despite calls to increase diversity in the allied health professions more generally, research into the reasons for occupational sex segregation and gender as a potential key factor remains scarce. Aims This study aims to explore the potential role of gender/ gendered discourses in people's decision to pursue a career in SLT/SLP. It seeks to illustrate how gendered assumptions/ expectations/ discourses continue to construct SLT as a 'gendered' profession, and to make some recommendations in this area for SLT recruitment and practice. Methods & ProcedureThe study adopted a qualitative design which elicited research participants' views, knowledge and experiences (in their own words) in relation to the research questions. Data collection involved two iterative phases: preliminary data phase -which involved semistructured interviews with newly qualified SLT graduates and practising SLTs, and completion of questionnaires by undergraduate SLTs -and main/ focus group phase. In the focus group phase, reported in this paper, six focus groups in total were held with SLTs, teachers of speech and language therapy, and careers advisors in London, UK. The data were analysed qualitatively using grounded theory principles, thematic analysis, and discourse analysis. Outcomes & ResultsThe findings extend our knowledge and understanding of gender as a parameter of people's motivations and perceptions, which can influence their choice of career (e.g. as regards, pay and flexibility). The findings also show that discourses around women as carers, nurturers, and communicators constitute key ways through which the SLT profession continues to be constructed as 'women's work'. The topic of structural gender inequalities in the profession was also discussed in the data. Some recommendations for change, with implications for SLT recruitment and practice, were made by the participants themselves. Conclusions & ImplicationsGender imbalance in SLT needs to be researched further, in order to help address inequalities, re-evaluate professional practices, and develop service delivery in the profession. This area also needs to be researched via analysis that goes beyond gender distribution in numerical terms, to consider the complex perceptions or discourses around gender and work. Cross-disciplinary and comparative perspectives in future research would also be fruitful. 2Key words: speech and language therapy, gendered discourses, focus groups, career choice What this paper addsA massive gender imbalance exists in speech and language therapy/ pathology where men make up only 2.5% of all speech...

Argumentation skills of secondary school students were evaluated in Finland (n = 290), France (n = 54), and England (n = 41). The data were collected from 4 tasks comprising 7 variables. The results indicated that most of the students had correctly justified arguments and conclusions, and composed clear claims and relevant arguments. However, many students had difficulties in recognising the main claim and arguments for it in an expository text, and in commenting analytically on an argumentative text. Thus the students possessed the prerequisites for argumentative reasoning and writing but need further practice in analytical and critical reading.

In this chapter we look at the use of both interviews and focus groups within social science and linguistics research. Working on the basis that they are closely related methods, we begin by examining the arguments, put forward by a number of critical commentators, that they are fundamentally flawed in offering up artificial or contaminated data. In line with those criticisms, we agree that there are some serious problems involved where they are deployed and understoodin traditional terms -as means of mining particular 'nuggets of truth'. Rather, following a more constructionist stance, we recommend that interviews and focus groups are treated as collaborative or interactional events in which the interviewer or moderator plays an important, participative role. So conceived, we argue that there is still a legitimate case for employing either of these research methodsand we end by providing a critical review of what are widely considered to be their primary strengths and weaknesses.

This paper presents a structured environment for Computer-Supported Collaborative Argumentation, which we call the Argumentative Learning Experience (ALEX). The system aims to improve understanding of argumentation and to widen and deepen the space of debate among 16-18-year-old students. To use ALEX users make arguments by selecting and completing partial sentences. An automatically created visual representation of the argument is displayed and personalised advice on the argumentation is provided to each user.