Embracing ‘questions and doubts’ … taking soft steps into locked rooms

Posted: 10 January 2025 Author: Carol Thompson

When Carl Rogers (1961: 8) describes his experience as a student, he does so with some frustration: ‘A group of us felt that ideas were being fed to us, whereas we wished primarily to explore our own questions and doubts, and find out where they led.’ This quote is from 1961 and yet it seems very familiar territory, particularly when it comes to how we support teachers as a result of recently introduced training framework, and, subsequently, how they enact their roles once in post.

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The Cass Review: Misreadings and Misuses*

Posted: 2 July 2024 Author: Oli Belas

Despite its overwhelmingly positive reception by the press, the so-called Cass Review is a problematic document bearing witness to a problematic research process. The methodological, ethical, and epistemic flaws of the Review will be taken up in a future post (or series of posts). The aim of this piece is to bring to the fore the wilful misreading of the Review which, its flaws notwithstanding, does not say what many anti-trans voices think or would have us believe it does.

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Is Identity a Story?

Posted: 7 July 2024 Author: Carol Thompson & Neil Hopkins

Have you ever done a roadmap activity? It is a tool for exploring experiences and feelings using the metaphor of a journey.  Sometimes it provides a focus for reflection, sometimes it is a way of planning future progress, occasionally it can be both.  To see an example, take a look at figure 1 which represents one of our roadmaps on the journey to publication. This type of activity provides a vehicle for examining our experience and (if we choose to share it), is a way of telling our ‘story’ to others...

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