When your pupils use terms such as 'king' and 'Parliament,' what image do they have in their head? Do they know what they are talking about at all? Do they have a nuanced, period-specific vision of what these terms mean in the context of their current historical studies, and of how these substantive concepts might have shifted in meaning? This is…

Designs combining different types of data are increasingly used in educational evaluation, to provide both evidence of impact and an explanation of the processes by which impacts are created. Logic models are visual representations of how an intervention leads via a set of steps from resources and inputs to outputs and then sets of outcomes. Their…

Recent changes to the law in England require all primary schools to teach Relationships Education and all secondary schools to teach Relationships and Sex Education (RSE). Our focus in this article is on the voices of teachers and other educational professionals in relation to this change. Discussion in three focus groups held with 16 educational…

This study analyses the effect of a change of focus in a traditional mission (teaching) of higher education institutions (HEIs) on the variety and intensity of knowledge exchange (KE) activities. In doing so, it bridges two partially disconnected streams of the literature in science and innovation focusing on HEI missions and heterogeneity in HEI…

This study explored influences, views and practices associated with life skills education for children with autism within schools in two cities in England and in Turkey of similar socio-economic status and size. Data was collected via interviews with staff and observations in mainstream and special schools. Life skills were taught to children with…

This article describes the development of a questionnaire to discover primary school students' perceptions of science, religion and the relationships between them on a range of topics that are known as Big Questions. The questionnaire was administered in 16 primary schools in England with over 750 students aged 10-11. The findings indicate that…

In this essay David Bridges argues that since most families choose to realize their responsibility for the major part of their children's education through state schools, then the way in which the state constructs parents' relation with these schools is one of its primary levers on parenting itself. Bridges then examines the way in which…

In this article, we argue that although mathematics educators are concerned about social issues, minimal attention has been paid to student-student interactions outside the classroom. We discuss social network analysis as a methodology for studying such interactions in the context of an undergraduate course. We present results on the questions:…

The article is a reflection on the use of an oral diary as a qualitative research tool, the role that it played during fieldwork and the methodological issues that emerged. It draws on a small-scale empirical study into primary school teachers' use of group discussion, during which oral diaries were used to explore and document teacher reflective…

There are two major myths concerning A level exam standards in England. First, the Ancient Myth, which insists that standards were norm-referenced until the 1980s, when they transitioned to being criterion-referenced. Second, the Modern Myth, which insists that standards transitioned again, during the 2010s, to being based upon the comparable…

The UK construction sector is not diverse and is reputed to be dangerous, dirty, physically demanding and non-professional. Young people often regard construction jobs as a last resort. Yet there is a growing skills shortage that needs to attract greater diversity of applicants. The aim of the BRIDGE (Building Routes Into Degrees with Greater…

This article examines the role of research and development within England's school system. From a range of literature past and present we argue that six features (three dimensions) should form the focus for action at the institutional, systemic and policy levels. Applying these stress tests to the current system, we suggest that an effective…

This paper explores how the twin processes of neoliberalism and neoconservatism work together on, and through, curricula and their associated pedagogies. It bridges the gap between policy and classroom practice, focusing on the particular example of the school subject of mathematics and the notion of mastery, operationalised in the English…

This paper reports on an exploratory study, which gathered LGBT+ young people's (aged 15--22) experiences and perceptions of hate crime. Two design-led workshops were conducted in the North East of England, with the aim of identifying the reporting needs of LGBT+ young people. Participants in the first workshop were asked what types of 'hate'…

Child participation currently holds a high profile within the field of educational psychology and has been the subject of increasing interest and research. The aim of this paper is to consider the potential merit in orienting the focus beyond participation in planning and decision-making and towards self-advocacy. Self-advocacy is an essential…