This paper examines an initiative promoting collaboration between schools located in a city setting in Northern Ireland, which is broadly divided along ethnic and political lines. The schools involved, like the vast majority of schools in Northern Ireland, educate Protestant and Catholic children separately. This presents particular challenges for…

International surveys indicate that the prevalence of private tutoring in England is relatively low but as few national surveys have been undertaken, there is little detailed evidence available. The aim of this research is to provide a systematic description of the nature and extent of private tutoring at three points of transition in the English…

The last few years have seen the implementation of fundamental structural and curricular policy initiatives affecting the teaching of languages in schools in England. Several policy initiatives have been introduced by the government affecting the position and status of languages in schools, such as the development of foreign language teaching in…

The importance of school transitions for pupil adjustment, particularly their impact on later well-being and attainment, remains contested. This paper draws on data from a longitudinal, school-based study of over 2000 Scottish pupils, first surveyed in 135 primary schools (age 11) in 1994, and followed up in 43 secondary schools (age 13 and 15)…

While the recent emergence of private schooling targeting socially and economically disadvantaged groups in India has been noted, the broader educational discourse in India conceptualises what have been termed here "low-fee private" (LFP) schools, as a loose collection of independent "teaching shops". Combining theoretical concepts from new…

Knowledge use and production is complex and so also are attempts to judge its quality. Research synthesis is a set of formal processes to determine what is known from research in relation to different research questions and this process requires judgements of the quality and relevance of the research evidence considered. Such judgement can be…

Reviews research on performance-based pay in England and Wales, examining: its effects on teacher behavior; its benefits and disadvantages; and performance-based pay in the United States, and noting studies of the conditions under which performance-based pay succeeds. The paper concludes that performance-based pay works best in situations that…

Examined Israeli students' concerns and expectations about their transition to junior high school. Survey data indicated that students in the city where the junior high school system was new, expressed significantly more negative feelings and concerns regarding their anticipated adjustment than did students from the city with a veteran junior high…

Synthesizes recent research on bullying in school, showing the multifaceted coercive behaviors of bullying, demonstrating short- and long-term consequences for both victims and bullies, and outlining characteristics of victims, bullies, and bystanders. The paper discusses social tolerance of bullying and provides theoretical bases for explaining…

Quantitative algebraic and qualitative topological models can be used in the quest for simple explanations in the field of teaching and learning. The examples described cover such diverse topics as teacher anxiety and classroom control, process-product studies, aptitude-treatment interactions, the pace of instruction, the size of classes, and…

Examined determinants of socioeconomic segregation between schools in England and Wales since 1988, using school data on family income and special educational needs. Results indicate that segregation has declined since 1988, with variations in segregation and changes in segregation between regions. Results suggest that whatever is driving the…

Critiques the methodology used by Gorard and Fitz in their work on changing levels of social segregation between schools, arguing that their index of segregation does not reveal how patterns of school enrollment have changed over time, challenging their dismissal of the polarization hypothesis, and concluding that notwithstanding Gorard and Fitz's…

Responds to a critique of the author's work on the changing social composition of schools in England and Wales since 1988, discussing the critique's three criticisms of the original study, examining some minor points, and concluding that the original study is the fullest examination of the polarization thesis to date, with no really good evidence…

Examined how English special schools, which had been inspected, judged inadequate, and put under special measures, made progress. Data from documentary analysis and case studies in special schools indicated that progress related to the conduct of certain planning-related activities following inspection. Whether these activities happened depended…

Used computer-mediated communication (CMC) to support postgraduate students in distance-education contexts, examining how CMC could reduce transactional distance and noting the construction of learning communities within an online environment and the socioacademic nature of such communities. Results indicate that CMC can support the construction…