Advancing equity is a major challenge facing education systems globally. This creates an imperative for researchers to work with policymakers and practitioners to affect change. There have been many attempts to do this using various forms of action-oriented research and a considerable body of knowledge exists about their strengths and limitations.…

GeoCapabilities is a distinctive approach to teacher professional development which foregrounds the educational potential of geographical knowledge. This paper examines the effect of GeoCapabilities on geography teachers' expertise. First, the paper explores a problem of teacher training which privileges technique for classroom effectiveness over…

This article explores the outcomes of a school leadership study visit to India. The research critiques the competency-based frameworks common in English leadership development programmes, and argues instead for an approach that challenges assumptions in a fresh context for learning and considers leadership as a process of humanisation. Using…

This paper advances the theoretical and applied connection between education policy and community development. We call this community-aware education policy, and it is based on Dean's (2012) conception of human need that is thick (i.e., accounts for a relational context), rather than relying solely on a thin conception (i.e., instrumental view…

An adult ego development (AED) perspective accepts that the way adults interpret and interact in the social world can change during their life-span. This article seeks to analyse the validity and potential of AED for enhancing understandings of educational leadership practice and development. We analysed the AED literature and interviewed 16…

Despite substantial investments in digital technology in schools the impact has been less than advocates anticipated. This raises issues about the effectiveness of past approaches to the continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers. Vital was a £9.4million programme, funded by English governments between 2009 and 2013, to enhance the use…

Evidence is growing that the quality of teachers and teaching are significant factors in enhancing student learning, so research into teacher education could make a major contribution to preparing our future teachers. Post-compulsory teacher education research lacks recognition almost to the point of invisibility. Post-Compulsory Education (PCE)…

This article presents the findings of a pilot professional development programme designed to support police community support officers (PCSOs) to become effective school link officers (SLOs) within urban secondary schools in the English West Midlands. Findings are presented via perceptions of key stakeholders: SLOs themselves; school-based mentors…

The current theories relating to international student transition have largely tended to concentrate on "what is" to be adapted. This research contributes to the pedagogic literature examining "how" the transition is made by international postgraduate students. Using data from 20 qualitative in-depth interviews in conjunction…

The aim of this paper is to report on an experiment in the School of Management at the University of Surrey whereby the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning is being promoted through an approach which is organic in nature. The paper argues that the nature of such scholarship means that its promotion is more likely to be successful when the…

GeoCapabilities is a transatlantic collaborative project for researching the purposes and values of geography education through a "capabilities approach." Inspired by the writings of philosopher Amartya Sen and economist Martha Nussbaum, the capabilities approach provides a normative framework for understanding the broader aims of…

This article aims to interpret how different policies of priority education deal with the notions of "educational needs" and "educational inequalities." Indeed, it is the processes and mechanisms embedded in the deployment of such policies that ultimately model a category of educational need that goes beyond the…

The strengths and weaknesses of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) are described with reference to its origins, previous research and comments from critics and supporters. A case is made for this allegedly theoretical approach to provide the kind of outcomes focused intervention that psychology and psychologists can offer to schools. In…

The question of student teachers connecting what is learned at university and within school sites has always been considered problematic. At the University of New England (UNE), in New South Wales, Australia, this issue is addressed through an action research project undertaken by fourth year Bachelor of Education (BEd) primary students during…