Outdoor education continues to play an important role in helping to deliver the school curriculum. Recent UK government initiatives have encouraged schools to deliver more of the curriculum outside the classroom. However, teacher confidence in taking pupils outside has been negatively affected by many factors in recent years. The Hampshire…

This paper explores themes associated with teacher research and its role in enhancing and more deeply emancipating practice. Wider themes underpin how research might be understood which entails one in acknowledging political and epistemological controversies about the concept of evidence and its use in defining professionalism. Evidence-based…

The elements of global education should be at the heart of all learning and teaching. In ITE we often protect "our subject" in the belief that it should have more prominence in the curriculum and more teaching time in school. In this article a group of ITE tutors comment on their learning about global education and its inclusion in their subject…

People are more likely to associate Einstein with complex scientific theories and mathematical calculations than with education theory. In fact, Einstein's own experiences of schooling and his reflections on the meaning of life and the significance of education are profound and oddly relevant to the situation that pertains in England today. It is…

This paper is based on the experience of working alongside new practitioners with the role of learning mentor as they engage in a national training programme. It considers the issues raised by evaluation at a range of times within and beyond the training. The main factors that emerge from the data focus on the role of inspiration, creativity,…

The Government's recent Creative Partnerships initiative in England represents part of the resurgence of interest in creativity which was stimulated by the NACCCE's 1999 "All our futures" report. However, many questions remain about the impact and processes of creative partnerships. The field of creativity research has been dominated by two key…

This article reports a small-scale study into the functions of the plenary session. It offers information about the ways that plenary sessions are being understood and implemented in one school, and offers an example of the usefulness of small-scale, school-based projects for enhancing reflectiveness and sharing perspectives among a staff group.…

Although there is a debate about the importance of self-esteem in education, many primary teachers wish to help children who suffer from low self-esteem. However, in order to do this, we first have to identify such children. It is almost taken for granted that we can make quite accurate judgements based on the knowledge built up through day-to-day…

This paper considers the experiences of teachers in a "progressive" English independent school, in particular with respect to what might loosely be termed job satisfaction. The paper suggests that these teachers have ideals and aspirations in common with many of their colleagues who teach in the state sector. The writers suggest that teachers in…

This research examined concerns that primary teachers had in challenging gifted pupils in a normal classroom setting. Research findings in England indicated that children with high ability do not always attain highly, and within the context of primary science education underachievement was often linked to lack of appropriate challenge. The…

This article reports on the grouping practices used by a cohort of 10 newly qualified primary teachers for teaching mathematics in different English primary schools. It examines the factors that influence why these teachers group as they do. All the teachers grouped their pupils on the basis of achievement or perceived ability for mathematics. It…

The ways in which teachers and head teachers integrate external summative testing and formative assessment practices were explored by means of a questionnaire survey and a small number of case studies. A clear distinction was found between end of key stage tests and optional tests in the extent to which they could be used directly to support…

The National College for School Leadership (NCSL) was launched in 2000 with a remit to supervise and further enhance educational leadership development initiatives in England and Wales and now supervises the delivery of a wide range of programmes for school leadership development for teachers at various stages in their career development. Small…

This article reports on a study that was funded by the National College for School Leadership in order to explore practices, drivers and barriers to leadership talent identification, leadership development, leadership succession planning and leadership retention within a group of contextually different schools. The article offers two narratives…

Key Stage 2/3 trainees undertake their second school placement in secondary schools having completed a placement in a primary school in the first year of their training. While trainees will have been prepared at their higher education institution, the experience itself can be daunting for reasons other than the fact that this is their first…