This paper addresses the troubled, problematic and contested field of inclusive education, characterised by antagonisms between so-called inclusionists and special educationists; frustration, particularly among disability activists caused by the abstraction of the social model of disability and the expansion of the special educational needs…

This article considers the pedagogical implications of the idea that the ethical imperative to include others in education does not descend upon us in the form of rules or codes that must be followed, but originates in a perfectionist moment or responsibility that precedes all readily available answers to moral difficulties. By reminding us that…

Policy and practice responses to diversity and difference in pupil populations continue to challenge education systems around the world. This paper considers how teachers' understandings of diversity and difference and their pedagogical responses at the local level are influenced by, and can be reconciled with, policy at the general level with its…

Analysis of the impact of professional learning and development (PLD) programmes for educators is complex. This article presents an analysis of a PLD initiative in which classroom teachers learned to use narrative assessment for students with "high" and "very high" learning needs. Using Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), the analysis…

Citizenship education, defined as learning to live together, requires agreement on certain common principles. One central purpose of a state education system is the transmission of common normative standards such as the human rights and fundamental freedoms that underpin liberal democratic societies. The paper identifies the conceptual roots of…

This article attempts a contrast to the contribution by Hugh Starkey. Rather than his account of the inexorable rise of human rights discourse, and of the implementation of human rights standards, human rights are here presented as always and necessarily scandalous and highly contested. First, I explain why the UK has lagged so far behind its…

The disproportionately high rates of school exclusion and lower levels of academic achievement of students from particular minority ethnic groups have been a focus of investigation in educational research across the world for some time. This articles uses a communities of practice framework to examine how restorative practice can draw on family…

The education Millennium Development Goals have been highly influential on the priorities for education and concentrated policy efforts on numbers of girls enrolled in public sector schools offering basic education. This focus has been justified by human capital calculations of the social rates of return to basic schooling. This concern with…

The Capabilities Approach places dignity at its core, emphasising people as ends not means who should be enabled to achieve the plans and goals they have reason to value. Focussed on the entitlement of all people to flourish and to be treated with equal respect, we argue here that this approach lends itself to a consideration of ethical issues…

This article describes how Critical Communicative Methodology (CCM) has been used successfully to analyse educational inequalities in ways that generate real transformation towards social justice. We begin by arguing that educational research today should employ new methodological approaches that can ensure the inclusion of different voices in…

Studies of primary education within the UK have shown that small groups can feature within classrooms; however, equivalent research within secondary education remains scarce. Research has established effective group work approaches, yet secondary teachers may encounter difficulties employing approaches tied to parameters embedded within primary…

This paper brings to the forefront students' views on one of the most significant aspects of educational reform in the 14-19 phase in England, specifically qualifications, examinations and assessment reform. In this respect, the paper foregrounds students as "policy actors", they are significant players in the mediation of national qualification…

Aspiration for higher education (HE) is no longer a matter solely for students and their families. With OECD nations seeking to position themselves more competitively in the global knowledge economy, the need for more knowledge workers has led to plans to expand their HE systems to near universal levels. In Australia, this has required the…

In this article we examine the financial, cultural and governmental structures that frame international education as an important part of Appudurai's ethnoscapes of globalization. Developing the idea of affective eduscapes we analyse the lived experiences of Indian students. Drawing on interview material, we deconstruct the idea of "the Indian…

Strategies to enhance socio-economic equity in higher education embody one or both of two objectives. The first strategy is to advance "fairness" by changing the composition of participation, bringing higher education into line with the ideal model of a socially representative system. The second strategy advances "inclusion" by broadening the…