Debate continues about the relationship between schools divided on ethno-religious lines and their implications for social cohesion. One argument against the existence of separate schools is that they limit opportunities for children from different groups to engage with each other, promoting intergroup suspicion and sectarianism. Using intergroup…

Since its inception in 1992 Ofsted (The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills) has inspected schools under Section 9 of the Education (Schools) Act 1992; Section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996; and Section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Pressure on England to improve its system of education has not only…

Drawing on research conducted at National University of Ireland, Galway, this paper explores how senior managers at an Irish university are seeking to measure and facilitate academic performance in the context of national and global competitiveness and a higher education landscape that appears firmly inflected by neoliberal ideas of rankings,…

My aim in this paper is to raise the question of educational authority in terms of a philosophical and historical understanding in the context of a democratic polity. In particular, I wish to advance the view that educational authority in England is not well-founded since it resides increasingly with the Secretary of State for Education. This…

Since 1998 all maintained schools, academies and city technology colleges in England and Wales have been required to publish a home-school agreement. This documents the school's responsibilities and the obligations of parents, and itemises the behaviour expected of pupils. Most of the parties sign it, from as young as four, although there is…

A Chinese translation of the 100-item Inventory of Learning Styles (ILS) is shortened as a 60-item instrument (which comprises 20 three-item scales) by removal of items that make the least contribution to the ILS scales from both alpha value and factor loading perspectives. The reliability and validation for administering the resultant 60-item ILS…

This article discusses the principles developed to assure the quality of international ranking practices for higher education, the so-called Berlin Principles, and the role given to them in the higher education community. While the principles are generally regarded as proper quality assurance principles, they are problematic both in their content…

Much has been written about psychological contracts in organisational contexts but very little in educational settings, especially within higher education. Using an exploratory single case study this article provides qualitative empirical evidence about the ways in which the psychological contract is perceived by a group of postgraduate students…

Critical Race Theory (CRT) has become a centered conceptual framework to understand American education and reform (Ladson-Billings and Tate 1995; Solorzano and Yosso; 2001; Decuir and Dixon 2004). Indeed, educational leadership scholars have not been far behind in recognizing the explicative and powerful role of CRT studies in their work (Lopez…

Given the increasing competition faced by higher education institutions when it comes to attracting postgraduate students, and the implications of the global financial crisis, technology can play a critical role in not only promoting courses, but also enhancing the student recruitment experience, especially for international students. This article…

Learning through inquiry is a widely advocated pedagogical approach. However, there is currently little systematic knowledge about the practice of inquiry-based learning (IBL) in higher education. This study examined descriptions of learning tasks that were put forward as examples of IBL by 224 university teachers from various disciplines in three…

Contemporary changes in higher education in Sweden are characterised by two educational discourses: marketisation and academisation. Demands to meet market requirements, as well as to make education more scientific, have created tensions between and within institutional cultures. Using interviews with 16 heads of departments, the authors…

Student engagement has become a key feature of UK higher education policy and analysis. At the core of this is a notion of engagement characterised by dialogue and joint venture. The article explores this by considering the role of student representation in university governance. It focuses on the system of course representation that is a feature…

This article responds to Aitchson's observation that development of new pedagogic practices for teaching writing is inhibited by lack of research into how such pedagogies work in practice. The article refers to research into the introduction of a module, "Writing as Professional Development", on a part-time master's-level…

A historically informed analysis of the academic board or senate in Australian universities, and in the wider higher education environment, particularly the UK, indicates that the role and function of academic boards has fundamentally changed in the past 30 years. Within the context of universities being repositioned to serve global knowledge…