The introduction of the Foundation Stage and its associated legislation has constituted a radical innovation that is transforming early childhood education. In this paper we show how the Effective Provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE) research programme continues to contribute towards achieving these improvements in practice. In focusing upon…

The analysis presented in this paper offers different examples of how timing issues have adversely affected a series of innovations in education and training. The term "'temporal discontinuity" is used since the problems cannot simply be characterised as "'undue rushing" or "impatience on the part of policy makers." Whilst over-hasty scheduling of…

There is a growing literature examining the impact of research on informing policy, and of research and policy on practice. Research and policy do not have the same types of impact on practice but can be evaluated using similar approaches. Sometimes the literature provides a platform for methodological debate but mostly it is concerned with how…

This paper reviews the intentions and strategies adopted by the UK's Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) in its attempts to maximise the impact of its research portfolio. The Programme's early commitment to user engagement and to an 'interactive, iterative, constructive, distributed and transformative' impact strategy is described. The…

Much of the discussion of research-informed practice in education has centred on two perspectives: the rational-linear and interactive perspectives on research use. This paper examines two initiatives aimed at delivering research-informed practice in schools that appear to represent these two perspectives, Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies and the…

This article explores issues raised in knowledge transformation processes through three separate, but related lenses. It starts with a discussion of the relationship between knowledge transformation and research outputs. In so doing, it encompasses both direct research outputs, that is research reports and papers in journals, and indirect outputs,…

Since 1999, the devolution of aspects of domestic policy formulation from the UK Government in London to a Welsh Assembly Government based in Cardiff has affected the way in which such policies are initiated, developed and implemented. A consistent feature of the stance taken by Ministers in this new policy environment in Wales has been that…

This paper explores three psychological theories of self--Kenneth Gergen's theory of the crystallised self, Carol Dweck's theory of the incremental self and William Swann's theory of the homeostatic self--for their ability to account for personal change in general, and radical self-change in particular. Special attention is paid to their…

This paper explores definitions and understandings of restorative practices in education. It offers a critique of current theoretical models of restorative justice originally derived from the criminal justice system and now becoming popular in educational settings. It questions the appropriateness of these concepts as they are being introduced to…

Since the early 1980s educators have argued that reflection is an essential dimension of good pedagogical practice. This discussion of my attempt to support a constructivist approach to learning for three different groups of learners illustrates one effort to engage in such reflection. I analyze several assignments I have designed for differently…

Despite the abundant literature on educational measurement there has been relatively little work investigating the psychological processes underpinning marking. This research investigated the processes involved when examiners mark examination responses. Scripts from two geography A-level examinations were used: one requiring short and medium…

Classroom observations are an important source of information about teaching and about the practice of particular teachers. The paper considers the value placed on talk as opposed to silence in this context and suggests that a cultural bias towards talk means that silence is commonly perceived negatively. The paper is based on a qualitative…

In 2005 the Dutch Minister of Education proposed making it compulsory for all schools in The Netherlands to stimulate active citizenship and social integration. Teachers must give these educational goals a tangible form in their practice. What are the teachers' views on citizenship education? Concepts of citizenship education and the teacher's…

Exploring how the transformative intentions within the mandated citizenship curriculum framework for English schools demand a particular kind of citizenship teacher--one who "acts against the grain" of the inequities and injustices of the social world--this paper presents Mr C's story. Mr C is a secondary teacher at an Upper School located north…

The purpose of this paper is to compare the approach to promoting positive relationships between Catholics and Protestants in two types of integrated primary school in Northern Ireland. Drawing on qualitative interviews with teachers, governors and parents in one transforming school and one grant maintained integrated school, i.e. one…