In the present study we compared comprehensive education systems and education systems using between-school tracking with regard to disparities in the quality of student-teacher relations between low and high achieving students, between students with different socioeconomic backgrounds, and between schools with different achievement and social…

Newly available survey data allow the investigation of the educational and employment opportunities open to Roman Catholics in Scotland in the mid-20th century. Previous research has shown that Catholic disadvantage in education and the labour market in the early 20th century had weakened or vanished by the end of the century, and that the main…

Given the disadvantaged position of working-class children in the education system, it is important to understand how parents and families might support their children to succeed academically. This paper reports on 35 case studies that were conducted as part of the Effective Provision of Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Education (EPPSE 3-16)…

This paper presents findings from two studies of publication patterns in leading English, German, European and US journals of education. The studies were funded by the German Research Association and conducted by an international team of researchers. All papers published in 14 selected journals between 2001 and 2010 were analysed in terms of their…

This paper presents a review of the family services that were offered by a sample of 121 English Sure Start Children's Centres in 2011 and 2012. Children's Centres are community based facilities that aim to improve outcomes for at-risk families and children through the delivery of a range of services largely aimed at families with young…

Since the Dakar Framework for Action, governments around the world, especially in Western societies, have reaffirmed their commitment to a quality education for all in an inclusive environment. The purpose of this paper is to understand the barriers that prevent an education system from guaranteeing an inclusive education for all and for children…

Schools' socioeconomic status (SES) has been claimed as an important influence on student performance and there are calls for a policy response. However, there is an extensive literature which for various reasons casts doubt on the veracity of school-SES effects. This paper investigates school-SES effects with population data from a…

This paper uses John Furlong's analysis of student disaffection written over 20 years ago as a basis for building new analyses in changing contexts for schooling. Specifically, Furlong's observation of the dominance of psychological based explanations for student disruption and disengagement in education policy making holds--albeit an…

This paper traces long-standing philosophical, sociological and political tensions that have been at the core of narratives about state-funded teacher education, since its inception in England. These tensions are still visible today in debates around the professional knowledge of teachers, such as those described in Furlong (2013).…

The close study of classroom talk has been an active field of research since the 1970s, when John Furlong made his significant contribution. Focusing particularly on research into teacher-student interactions, we will review the development of this field from the 1970s until the present, considering what has been learned and the educational…

The work of John Furlong on school and classroom ethnography is located in its context and its achievements celebrated. The paper focuses on class, ethnicity and gender issues as it explores the changes and continuities in the ethnography of education over the 66-year period covered. The qualities of a good ethnographer are playfully compared to…

This paper discusses one of Furlong's major areas of work, the theory and practice of teacher education. Taking up where our joint publication "Teacher Education in Transition: Re-Forming Professionalism?" (Open University Press 2000) left off, it examines how accelerated moves towards school-based teacher education, as well as…

Like many senior teacher-educators and educational researchers, John Furlong has faced in several directions throughout his career, sometimes simultaneously. He has clearly not lost his enthusiasm for what happens in the classroom: he strongly appreciates those magical moments which can happen at any time, and which keep teachers going. He loves…

During the past 15 years of his career, John Furlong's research and writing has focused--in part--on digital technologies and people's everyday experiences of education. While hardly a technology expert, his work has shown an acute awareness of the significance of computers, the internet and mobile telephony in making sociological sense…

This paper investigates degree classification outcomes for students with SQA Higher qualifications at an elite Scottish university. Students are characterised according to a new indicator based on their secondary school's academic performance relative to the national (Scottish) average. The results show that our school context indicator…