The English Geography National Curriculum encourages primary teachers to focus on similarities and differences when teaching distant places. The issues this raises are particularly acute when teaching geography in the context of the Global South. In this article I argue that comparisons based on object-based thinking can lead to views of the…

In a previous paper (Loizou, F. 2011. How Cypriot primary school teachers promote their professional development through reflective practice. "Education 3-13" 39, no. 3: 233--247.) I explored the concept of theories-in-use within a qualitative research study in order to analyse the role of reflection in bringing about change in the…

This article discusses the risks and possibilities of communicating and educating the child's emotional self in a formal classroom environment. Through designing and implementing an expressive arts curricular intervention in a Scottish primary school classroom, my research produces an example of how therapeutic notions focused upon health and…

This article presents the author's response to R.J. Campbell's critique of the "Cambridge Primary Review," which was published in the autumn of 2009. The author argues that Campbell's description of the "Review's" central proposals on curriculum and pedagogy as "backward-looking and inadequately theorised" is so misjudged as to call for a…

Creativity is seen as important to society by the current Prime Minister and the Department for Education and Skills and is present in curriculum documents applying from birth to 16 years old but with various shades of meaning. Unfortunately, the term creativity is used in English education and the larger society without a clear definition. The…

The notion of learning styles, and the multiple intelligence theory from which some of this derives, has come to be one of the dominant themes in the discourse on learning and teaching. This article argues that much of the language associated with this recent educational phenomenon is misleading for teachers. The author argues that instead of…

Teachers are under scrutiny as never before. Politicians, parents and pupils invest a great deal of capital in teachers' ability to deliver the goods, notably in terms of national test results. In this essay I challenge the view that a teacher's role and value should be defined solely with respect to measurable outcomes, and argue that the…

This article looks at the educational implications of the declining birth rate in England and Wales. It outlines the major issues which arise (school reorganizations, pupil/teacher ratios, teacher redeployment, and grade organization), considers the factors affecting these issues, and examines the sources of decision-making power on each. (SJL)

In describing the primary school reorganization controversy in Gwynedd, Wales, the author emphasizes the ideological positions of the opposing groups: the rural contingent favored small village schools closely tied to the community and to Welsh culture; the urban-based, technocratically-minded group preferred cost-effective consolidated schools.…

The author examines the background and aftermath of the government's 1977 Green Paper, "Education in Schools: A Consultative Document." In particular, he discusses the possibilities of government interference in curricular decision making at the local level. (Editor/SJL)

The author is concerned with politics in a wider sense--providing children with an individual and collective sense of identity in time and space, giving them opportunities for the exploration of shared experience, making them aware of the responsibilities and privileges of community. (Editor)

The author examines claims that progressive teaching methods are one cause of declining standards and looks at national monitoring systems developed as a political and administrative response to this issue. Finding these bureaucratic procedures inconsistent with the ideals of progressive education, he proposes an alternative school-based…

The author outlines reading experiences appropriate to students in the middle grades, including reading strategies, study skills, comprehension development, and experiences with literature. Provision of these experiences in the middle school curriculum, through both formal instruction and integration into other curriculum areas, is discussed. (SJL)

In the primary grades, pupil teacher interaction is paramount. Basic subjects are important, but not as important as happiness, fulfillment, caring relationships, and conviviality. Skills must be improved but not at the expense of these higher goals of education. (Author/SJL)

To remove the adversary emphasis from pupil-teacher interactions, the author presents a simple model, showing how an intervention can potentially make a situation better, worse, or unchanged for the pupil and the teacher. A sample scenario is provided of two teachers dealing with a misbehaving child. (SJL)