In recent years, the concept of Assessment for Learning (AfL) has travelled across countries, giving rise to a range of educational policy initiatives and school development projects. While researchers have focused on issues such as how formative assessment can support student learning and lead to more efficient classroom practices, less attention…

With the increasing number of teaching and classroom assistants across the UK there is now much debate about what their role should be. In particular concerns have arisen about the extent to which they overstep the boundary from supporting teaching and learning into teaching pupils. This study assesses this issue within Scotland. It draws on a…

Although many studies have focused on the importance of school composition for student achievement, there is still no consensus on "whether" school composition matters to student achievement, and, if so, "why". Therefore, the present study investigates the association between school composition and mathematics achievement at…

In the context of the international problem of "early school leaving", this paper explores the issue of sustained participation in upper secondary education in England. It focuses in particular on the position of middle attainers, who constitute a large proportion of the cohort and whose progress will be vital in realising the…

This paper uses data from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) to examine house moves that take place in the pre-school years, focusing on families who move for the education of their children. We present results showing that education- related house moves do indeed occur in the pre-school years with particular types of parents making these…

This study, building on previous studies stressing the bond between positive sense of ethnic identity and school belonging, puts at its center the very process of ethnic identity construction. Thus, identity is viewed as co-constructed, within a social-constructionist perspective on learning. The study is two-folded. It starts out by describing…

This paper is set against a backdrop of contemporary concerns about Britishness. It explores the dominant view that unprecedented levels of cultural diversity within western contexts such as the UK are undermining social cohesion and are attributable to minority groups' failure to connect or assimilate with mainstream "British"…

This article deconstructs the language of the 2010 UK Coalition Government's White Paper, "The Importance of Teaching". It uses analytical frameworks related to rhetoric established by Aristotle and Cicero. It explores the mechanisms of language using both critical discourse analysis and content analysis, offering quantitative data…

Education policy in England has explicitly aimed to remodel state schools in the image of independent, private, schools. However, the body of research evidence on the operation of private schools is very small. Critics have frequently argued that, in contrast to state schools, private schools use resources efficiently because their autonomy gives…

This paper draws on the concept of parental involvement, popular among educators and policy-makers, in investigating differences in level of attained education by family background. The question is if parental involvement in children's schooling at age 14 acts as a mediator between family resources and mid-life level of attained education.…

This article is based on an exploratory study that examines factors which predict children's performance on the numeracy component of the Australian National Assessment Program--Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). Utilizing an ecological theoretical model, this study examines child, home and school variables which may enable or constrain NAPLAN…

Increasing post-compulsory participation in science and science-related subjects is seen as a key education policy priority in England and more widely. This paper uses descriptive analysis of national data to investigate the effects of science attainment at 16, gender, socio-economic status, and school science pathway on progression into post-16…

Given the frequent critiques of elite universities for admitting low numbers of state school graduates and, more recently, British Afro-Caribbean students, how do students attending those universities make meaning of the admissions process? Through an analysis of 46 one-on-one in-depth interviews with undergraduates attending Oxford University, we…

This paper examines the degree to which British adults participating in workplace literacy courses improved their reading comprehension skills, using longitudinal data which cover the period from enrolment until between two and three years later. Learners were tested using an instrument designed explicitly for adults, with two parallel forms. For…

This paper presents a research-based, theoretically-informed contribution to the debate on "impact" in educational research, and specifically a response to Gardner's 2011 presidential address to the British Educational Research Association. It begins by discussing the development of the research "impact" agenda as a global…