Search

This paper is a reflection upon the research findings of Rebecca Allen and Anne West in relation to religious schools in London. While welcoming this contribution to the systematic study of faith schools (a neglected area of empirical inquiry), the paper argues that the use of 'religious schools' as a unitary category is problematic for the analysis. It also suggests that certain historical and cultural contextual knowledge is required when analysing the characteristics of different categories of religious schools. This response is intended to be helpful for future researchers into the different types of faith school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve education performance at home, countries cross nationally policy-borrow from jurisdictions ranked highly in international league tables. This paper examines a practical example of one such instance of policy borrowing, Teaching for Mastery (TfM). Over a six year period, interviews were conducted with teachers working in primary schools in the East Midlands region of England. The focus of these interviews was to explore informants' experiences of enacting TfM and their analysis of the UK government's motives for undertaking this borrowing. Applying Baudrillard's ideas around hyperreality and image to these data indicated two key themes: 1) TfM discourses masked crucial aspects of the original policy, with the result that 2) TfM became non-relational to the original and thus hyperreal. The paper suggests strategies that might mitigate against policy becoming hyperreal and concludes that government must carefully consider its motives for engaging in the borrowing process from the outset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we deploy data collected through a Q study with educators in south-west England. The mixed methodology involved the two stages of forced choice statement sorting by educator participants and subsequent factor analysis. Through abductive analyses, four views regarding aspirations and young people in peripheral communities are identified. Of these, only one viewpoint, named 'acknowledge the barriers to finding employment', aligns with taken for granted narratives on encouraging school students to pursue careers in the knowledge economy, with transition to higher education being the acknowledged pathway to flourishing futures. Three further viewpoints are identified and discussed. The paper contributes new insights to understanding educational landscapes in peripheral places through employing a novel approach, that of Q method, to illuminate educators' lived experiences in such communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the challenges facing a national evaluation of an early years intervention programme, Sure Start Children's Centres (SSCCs), that was implemented across England in the first decade of the 21st century. The paper describes the rationale for the evaluation's mixed methods research design and the ecological theoretical approach adopted. It investigates the SSCC policy aim of combatting the 'impact' of multiple disadvantage on outcomes for families, parents and children. Based on a clustered sample (2,600 families) it provides evidence of statistical effects for different user groups, including non-users. It points to the complexities in evaluation in non-experimental interventions where there was an emphasis on services to meet local needs and where families could choose which services to access and change patterns of service use over time. The paper synthesises findings and considers how complex, volatile and uncertain environments affected SSCC provision, particularly linked to a change of government and austerity policies after 2010. The paper identifies lessons learned, explores implications for future early years interventions in uncertain times, and proposes alternative approaches to evaluation (a realist approach based on mixed methods and theoretically driven models) where randomised experimental designs are inappropriate for the evaluation of certain complex policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In England, Pupil Premium Plus is additional funding to help address the educational attainment gap experienced by looked after children. This paper explores the experiences of virtual school heads and designated teachers (n = 140) as they access Pupil Premium Plus-related information, guidance and training to support their practice; navigate the complexities of the Personal Education Plan (PEP) process; and measure the impact of Pupil Premium Plus-funded interventions. We explain professionals' experiences using insights from social practice theories, and argue that the process of supporting the educational outcomes of looked after children via Pupil Premium Plus is made up of context- and audience-dependent 'social practices'. When the social practices are aligned, virtual school heads and designated teachers may be effectively able to support looked after children, whereas barriers may emerge when social practices become disjointed. We conclude this paper by arguing that for Pupil Premium Plus to support educational outcomes of looked after children effectively, professionals need to reflect on their own cultures and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of threats to their financial sustainability, this paper uses Resource Dependency Theory to explore the challenges being faced by a sample of 10 small new public universities in England. It discusses the responses being taken and prospects for the future in this segment of the sector. It concludes that some of the most important elements of income and expenditure are also areas where institutions have amongst the lowest levels of autonomy, including tuition fees, staff salaries and pension costs. It suggests that institutions are proactively seeking ways to both adapt their strategy and influence the environment in which they operate, including the introduction of new organisational forms, models for employing staff, the diversification into new programmes and markets, and greater use of domestic and international partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around 28 per cent of state primary school children attend 'faith' establishments in England, the majority in Catholic or Church of England schools. Research suggests 'faith' schools tend to educate proportionally fewer children from low-income families (proxied by eligibility for Free School Meals [FSM]). This paper examines whether they also under-admit children 'disadvantaged' according to another key dimension: having special educational needs and/or disability (SEND). Descriptive statistics and modelling use the National Pupil Database census and span 2010–2020. Across years, 'faith' primary schools are less likely to include children with SEND, and less likely to admit children with SEND to the first (Reception) year. Accounting for area-level factors, indications of under-admission to Catholic schools become more pronounced. Some disproportionality for Church of England schools is explained by confounders – but even after attenuation, they remain less likely to serve children with SEND than non-'faith' schools. Together, FSM and SEND predict a substantively meaningful lowered likelihood of children attending 'faith' schools, so these schools, at the national level, seem to have become hubs of relative 'advantage'. Findings therefore demand interrogation of whose interests these institutions serve, and of their part within the current English system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the English government’s vision for how research is proposed to lead to improvements in the system in the context of a school-led, self-improving system and rapid and sweeping legislative reforms. The debate about the role of research in the teaching profession has been sharpened by a large consultation effort in the academic community. The BERA-RSA inquiry suggests an empowering vision for teachers where research engagement informs practice and a role for schools in providing a ‘research-rich environment’. However, the government’s proposals offer a rather less empowering vision. The author of the paper contrasts a version of research-informed teaching and leadership with one where teachers are supposed to follow and be led by the evidence. The government’s education policy, especially as set out in the 2016 White Paper ‘Educational Excellence Everywhere’ is analysed in relation to this position. Analysis of statements from the document are shown in the paper, and contextualised with examples from the English school system. The extent to which teacher agency is promoted through research evidence is explored. The article concludes that the government’s over emphasis on a ‘what works’/‘evidence-based practice’ model is unhelpful in achieving an improved education system. Suggestions for the role of universities and the College of Teaching in promoting research-informed practice are given. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Covid-19 pandemic suspended established practices that, in normal times, are seen as central to the functioning of education systems. For example, in England, school closures led to the cancellation of national examinations in 2020, and their attempted replacement with an algorithmic model. Following public outcry about what were seen as the unjust effects of the application of that model, there was a very public policy reversal, and examination grades were awarded on the basis of moderated teacher assessments or Centre Assessed Grades, resulting in substantial grade inflation. This paper draws on research that investigated the actors involved in examinations policy in this period and focuses especially on the sources of expertise and the kinds of knowledge that were mobilised - or not - in the decision to cancel examinations, to develop the algorithm and to revert to Centre Assessed Grades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides the first quantitative analysis on 'first in family' (FiF) university graduates in the UK. Using a nationally representative dataset that covers a recent cohort in England, we identify the proportion of FiF young people at age 25 as 18%, comprising nearly two-thirds of university graduates. Comparing groups with no parental higher education we find that ethnic minorities and those with higher levels of prior attainment are more likely to become a FiF, while those who are FiF are more likely to study Law, Economics and Management and less likely to study other Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities than students whose parents are graduated. We also find evidence that FiF students are less likely to graduate from elite universities and are at greater risk of dropout in general, even after prior educational attainment and socioeconomic status are taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Countries around the world are striving to improve their educational systems with a view to improving their economy and society. In this global competition, national and international test results are of considerable interest. In this paper, we show that national testing in England and the USA have shown little or no improvement over the years. This finding is not isolated; it appears to be a global phenomenon. Data from large-scale international assessments such as PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS are remarkably stable over time. This paper reviews the trends from country-specific and international data and explores some of the reasons which have been offered for such stability. We argue that these explanations are insufficient and ways forward are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With approximately three times the resources per pupil in private compared with state schools, Britain's private sector presents an interesting case of what could be expected from schools that are extremely well resourced. This paper studies the links between private schooling and educational performance in upper secondary school, as measured through their performance in 'A level', the main school-leaving assessment which determines access to universities. Using an English longitudinal study, we find evidence that, compared with otherwise observably similar state school students in upper secondary education and controlling for prior attainment, those at private school study more 'facilitating' subjects, which are known to be favoured by high-status universities; they are placed 8 percentage points higher in the A level rankings and 11 percentage points higher in the rankings for 'facilitating' A levels. We find evidence of a private school advantage for participating in undergraduate study, net of socioeconomic status, subjects selected and number of A levels but there is no private school advantage for attending an elite university, controlling for the same characteristics. Taken together with other studies, our findings mean that private schooling in England is associated with cumulative moderate advantages at every stage of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on life history interviews, this paper seeks to explore the lives of a group of eight teachers, all with working experience in England, who self-identify as committed to a more socially just education system. Drawing on Levitas' Utopia as method, this article examines these teachers' perspectives on and practices around social justice in education, such as aiming to eradicate exclusion policies and processes, and organising with like-minded colleagues. We also explore the significant professional and emotional labour that goes into such kinds of work towards a socially just education system, and the satisfaction that comes from 'making a difference'. Their perspectives also provide insight into what a vision of socially just education might look like for those in the teaching profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the changes in educational policy in England regarding the implementing of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (henceforth IBDP) into post-16 (sixth form) education. The aim is to illustrate the unique trajectory of the IBDP in England: from its adoption in schools and colleges across the country, to its removal, due largely to a combination of specific changes, such as government funding criteria inside state education, and the tariff system for university entry that is deployed for qualifications at 18. This paper explores this combination of changes using interview data with 28 senior leaders from eight schools and colleges that have introduced the IBDP, including state centres that have subsequently had to remove it from their curriculum. Employing the idea of a neo-liberal social imaginary, this paper analyses the resulting level of social exclusion inside the English post-16 curriculum created by the educational policies adopted by successive governments since the 2008 economic recession. The paper argues that the rise and decline of the IBDP in England has resulted in a significant level of socially differentiated take up, largely in independent schools, and in state schools in London and the South-East of the country. This paper concludes that access to the IBDP is restricted with regard to both geographical and social mobility and that current access to the IBDP in England is helping to sustain a ‘globally mobile transnational elite group’, thus reinforcing the connection established between the IBDP’s wider curriculum and global capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reports findings from a study of the work of ‘external mentors’ associated with three programmes of support for the professional learning and development (PLD) of secondary science teachers in England. Focusing on outcomes from analyses of data derived from interviews with 47 mentees and 19 mentors, the paper supports and extends existing research on the construction and maintenance of fabrications in schools, and identifies omissions in the evidence base relating to teacher PLD. It is argued that the kinds of fabrications revealed by the teachers interviewed for this research present a serious impediment to their opportunities for school-based PLD, and that the deployment of external mentors (i.e. those not based in the same schools as the teachers they support) can provide a potentially powerful antidote to this. A number of implications for policy and practice in teacher professional learning and development are discussed. Amongst these, it is argued that more teachers should have the opportunity to access external support for their PLD, and that policy makers and head teachers should seek to reduce the degree to which teachers’ ‘performance’ is observed, inspected and assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ways in which examination standards are conceptualised and operationalised differently across nations has not been given sufficient attention. The international literature on standard-setting has been dominated by the psychometrics tradition. Broader conceptualisations of examination standards have been discussed in the literature in England, which has curriculum-related examinations at the end of schooling. There has, however, been little analysis of conceptualisations of examination standards in Scotland. Different education systems and examinations operate in Scotland and England, and the stated value positions and processes relating to examination standards differ markedly. This paper critically examines policy positions on assessment standards in Scotland and England through the lens of recent theories of standard-setting. By analysing public statements on standards, the paper illuminates similarities and differences in conceptual bases and operational approaches, and examines the effects of these on outcomes for candidates. We conclude that both systems are operationalising attainment-referencing, but with different processes in Scotland and England and these practices do not fit within previous examination standards classifications. As such, the paper moves examination standards theory forward by concluding that there is at least one superordinate definitional category that draws upon more than one definitional stance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The three main programmes of the Geneva-registered International Baccalaureate (IB) have grown substantially worldwide over the past decade, although the programmes have found a natural ‘home’ in the United States. This paper charts the growth of the IB in the United Kingdom (UK) revealing that involvement there, mainly in England and mainly with the original pre-university Diploma Programme (IBDP), peaked at about 230 schools in 2010, but since then the IBDP has begun suddenly to decline. Yet, in no other country has there been a fall in IBDP provision. This paper offers some key explanations for this phenomenon, where a lack of funding and continued lack of university recognition in the face of Advanced Level (A-Level) reform and numerous ‘baccalaureate’ developments has led to many state-funded schools in particular dropping the IBDP. Thirdly, this paper discusses a number of implications, both for the IB itself and education in the UK in general. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A much larger proportion of English 14-year-olds expect to apply to university than ultimately make an application by age 21, but the proportion expecting to apply falls from age 14 onwards. In order to assess the role of socioeconomic status in explaining changes in expectations, this paper applies duration modelling techniques to the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England, analysing transitions in young people’s expectations both from being ‘likely to apply’ to being ‘unlikely to apply’ and vice versa. Young people’s socioeconomic background has a significant association with changes in expectations, even after controlling for prior academic attainment and other potentially confounding factors; in addition, young people’s backgrounds affect their responsiveness to new evidence on academic attainment at age 16. This suggests more could usefully be done to maintain the educational expectations of academically able young people from less advantaged families, especially providing guidance on how to view new academic results. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The outcomes of national assessments in many countries provide ‘qualifications’ or ‘credentials’ that may be used to define the levels of students’ knowledge and skills, for their own use and that of employers, higher education institutions and others. Qualification users, such as students, parents and teachers, arguably need to have an understanding of some basic principles of educational assessment in order to make informed judgements about the reliability of assessment outcomes, and to develop realistic expectations of what assessment systems can deliver. The goal of achieving this has gathered pace recently with the completion of a two-year research programme in England that explored concerns around technical aspects of assessment and current levels of public understanding of assessment. One of the recommendations of the programme was that qualification awarding bodies should collect and make available information relating to the reliability of outcomes for various types of qualification. Further consideration is required, however, to determine what, and how much, assessment information would be useful to qualification users, and how it might best be presented and disseminated. As a contribution to this process, this paper discusses the communication strategies employed in other fields for the purpose of sharing important messages with the public. Three recommendations are offered for overcoming some of the challenges inherent in improving communication and understanding of assessment. The paper concludes that enhancing qualification users’ understanding of assessment may be achieved by focusing on the presentation of applied, interpretive information and dissemination through influential peers from various stakeholder groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the public debate surrounding assessment in English education and presents evidence of the misuse of public data from national tests. Statistics generated by pupil assessments in schools and colleges in England are argued to be subject to misinterpretation by the media and policy makers. The discourse tends either to be sensationalist—for example, raising public anxiety by claiming falling standards—or politically charged—for example, where the incumbent government is criticised by its political enemies for pursuing failing policies—rather than being framed by objective and purposeful interpretations. Examples are provided to illustrate how interpretations by the media and policy-makers can be strikingly at odds with how the figures should properly be read. The paper analyses the propriety of these interpretations and makes suggestions as to how a more cautious approach to the use of results in the public sphere can be promoted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over recent years, the credibility of public examinations in England has increasingly come to the fore. Government agencies have invested time and money into researching public perceptions of the reliability and validity of examinations. Whilst such research overlaps into the conceptual domain of trust, trust in examinations remains an elusive concept. Little is known about what itmeansto trust in examinations and on what individuals base their trust judgments. This paper reports the findings of research into key stakeholders’ perceptions of trust in the English A-level examination system through a series of focus groups comprising (separately) of examination board staff, students, higher education admissions tutors, teachers and the general public. Analysis of the data revealed a number of factors that are integral to the concept of trust in A-levels, including examination standards, the marking of examination papers, the syllabus, communication and provision of information, whether A-levels are fit for purpose and the mode of assessment. The fact stakeholders have different expectations and requirements of the A-level system, which are subject to change, means that it is difficult for the A-level system to engender the trust of all of its users all of the time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students in Further Education colleges in England read and write in many different kinds of ways in different areas of their everyday lives. As part of their participation in Further Education, these students face a multitude of literacy demands: through the bureaucracies of the college, the pedagogic content of their courses, the textual nature of assessment, and the development of new practices of reading and writing relating to their intended workplaces. Drawing upon evidence from research with students and staff at four FE colleges in England and Scotland, this paper presents the argument that students actively participate within this textual world. They elect to engage with some texts and to ignore others, depending upon the value they judge the text to have, the relevance they think it holds to their lives or courses, and the extent to which they are able to access the text and its meanings. This challenges a popular deficit discourse which assumes FE students' lack of literacy: rather than seeing the student as the 'problem' behind the lack of engagement with some texts, the text can be seen as the 'problem' if it has failed to engage the student. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a multilevel modelling approach to the analysis of social segregation in schools. Using data on free school meal eligibility it shows that the underlying variation between schools for the period 1994-1999 has increased. It also shows that the change is greater for selective than non-selective local education authorities (LEAs). It is suggested that the approach of this paper can be applied generally to the modelling of social segregation at institution level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research-based paper attempts to describe a continuum of delivery choices available to school and college managers by which Key Skills can be introduced as part of Curriculum 2000. It describes the pressure to integrate, the illusion of contextualisation and the consequent pre-eminence of staff competence as a determining influence on the effectiveness of the delivery structure. It describes some problems associated with integration and the relative efficiency and effectiveness of discrete and integrated delivery. The paper goes on to define a continuous array of mixed modes of delivery, the levels of support required to underpin them, the external influences that impinge on the process of their selection and the effectiveness of monitoring and tracking systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since devolution in the late 1990s, education policy in England has diverged further from that in Scotland and also from policy in Wales and Northern Ireland. In this paper we review the roots and trajectory of the English education reforms over the past two decades. Our focus is the schools sector, though we also touch on adjoining reforms to early years and further and higher education. In so doing, we engage with various themes, including marketisation, institutional autonomy and accountability. Changes in governance arrangements for schools have been a defining feature of education reforms since devolution. This has been set against an evolution in national performance indicators that has put government priorities into ever sharper relief. In theorising the changes, we pay particular attention to the suggestion that the English education system now epitomises the concept of ‘network governance’, which has also been applied to education in a global context. We question the extent to which policies have in practice moved beyond the well-established mechanisms of ‘steering at a distance’ and undermined the very notion of an education system in England. We conclude by considering possible futures for education policy and how they may position England in relation to other parts of the UK and the wider world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Although the 'Third World' is not a formal subject and plays a minimal role in the National Curriculum Orders for England, this paper argues that in its constructions of 'self, 'world' and 'other' it is a potent element of the English school curriculum. Using ethnographic data from two schools and theoretical insights from post-colonialism, development studies and social theory, the paper conceptualises its communication in terms of debates around difference. Three perspectives are identified through which the 'Third World' is communicated in the curriculum--development, charity and multiculturalism. These are analysed in relation to their constructions of difference. The paper suggests that contradictions between and within them reflect a process of change in which a more critical knowledge of the 'Third World' in the curriculum is emerging. The paper concludes with some observations on the factors constraining this process and some recommendations for policy and further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational use of the Internet forms one of the cornerstones of Labour government policy, primarily via the construction of the 'National Grid for Learning' which aims to connect every school in the UK to the Internet by 2002. In this paper we report on the extent to which schools are already buying into information and communications technology (ICT) and in particular the Internet, effectively examining the foundations upon which the Learning Grid is being constructed. Via an empirical study of 150 current school websites we will argue that schools adopt a variety of approaches to the Internet and Worldwide Web depending upon the technological and institutional capital of the school, and that far from being utilised solely for educational purposes, the Internet provides an additional tool through which schools seek to reaffirm or reconstruct their existing institutional identities with varying levels of success. The paper concludes by adopting a semiotic framework for analysing the differential use of the Internet by educational institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The right to education for all children, including asylum-seeking children, is enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, there is little research available to describe the educational provision provided to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) in England. Crucially, it is not known whether the educational needs are met by the provision available to UASC. In the most recent figures, the number of UASC in England has risen by 130% since 2013, to 4,480. Schools, 'virtual schools' responsible for children in care, social workers, and policymakers wish to know how this population is currently being served and how they might better serve them. This paper presents the findings from a mapping exercise on education available to UASC in England including 12 semi-structured interviews with virtual school heads, teachers, social workers, and charity education providers; document analysis; a workshop at the Department of Education with key stakeholders; and summary statistics. It highlights gaps in data and provision; conceptualises types of provision into bespoke, mainstream, and English language; and analyses how provision interacts with assessment and support needs. What emerges is a framing of provision through an integration lens and an agenda for future research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the impact of the Beacon schools initiative on the social and academic characteristics of secondary schools in England. The Beacon schools programme ran from 1998 to 2004 and epitomised the (then) Labour government’s focus on school improvement through diversity, collaboration and partnership. This paper looks at variation in the academic and social characteristics of the 322 secondary Beacon schools over a nine-year period. The findings show that Beacon schools were among the most advantaged state schools in England and while they continue to outperform the general school population, the data suggest that the performance gap has decreased and there is little evidence that Beacon status conferred an advantage on schools, in terms of standard measures of academic success. The Beacon school initiative exemplifies some of the key issues with policy based education reform. First, its emphasis on collaboration provokes tensions between schools that are increasingly in competition with each other. Secondly, clearly defined and measurable medium and long term outcomes for the initiative were not prescribed, thus making it difficult to determine the efficacy of the intervention. Finally, that the initiative did not appear to have any appreciable effect on the social and academic characteristics of the Beacon schools raises issues about the usefulness of externally prescribed interventions and the potential that they have to make a real difference to educational equity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since its inception in 1992 Ofsted (The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills) has inspected schools under Section 9 of the Education (Schools) Act 1992; Section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996; and Section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Pressure on England to improve its system of education has not only emerged from the national need for all schools to serve their pupils well, but has also been prompted by an increasing emphasis on international league tables such as that produced by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development). In tables such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), England is viewed as underperforming against comparable countries. As a result, Ofsted has introduced what the agency terms to be one of the most stringent and demanding inspection frameworks since its inception. This framework reduces the previous 29 inspection judgements to just four, purportedly placing a far greater emphasis on the professional judgement of the inspector and representing a major departure from the ‘tick box’ approach which characterised previous frameworks. This paper examines the paradoxical fate of inspector professional judgement and concludes that whilst this may appear to signal a rapprochement between inspectors and teaching profession, there are considerable tensions when professional judgement is considered alongside quality control within a highly complex system. The study concludes that in order that inspection attains credibility as a method by which to govern education, this shift requires a more considered approach to ways in which this professional judgement can be effective within the challenging environment of the English education system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I examine ethnic inequalities in educational attainment in England and Wales. I focus on the two main educational transitions in England and Wales: the transition at age 16, from compulsory to post-compulsory education, and the transition at age 18, from school to university. I take into account the distinction made by Boudon (1974) between ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ effects, and ask how far overall ethnic inequalities in educational attainment can be attributed to primary or secondary effects. The paper first assesses the extent of gross ethnic inequalities in the chances of making each transition, before asking how far the picture is altered by controlling for social class background. I then determine the relative importance of primary and secondary effects in creating ethnic inequalities in educational attainment. Results show that both primary and secondary effects are operating to produce ethnic inequalities in educational attainment. In general, where ethnic groups are disadvantaged relative to the white majority, this is due to their lower average levels of performance. But conditional on their performance, ethnic minority students are much more likely to choose to make educational transitions, suggesting that if performance effects were eliminated, all ethnic minority groups would be advantaged relative to the white majority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to bring critical attention to the ways in which notions of 'success' and 'failure' are applied to teaching and learning in schools in England and Wales. The main philosophical text that guides the discussion is Derrida's 'Signature event context', which contains a reading of J.L. Austin's theory of the performative utterance. Derrida finds much to admire in Austin's philosophising. However, he argues that Austin's treatment of context misses something important about how things are done with words. Derrida maintains that, having shown how truth claims are bound up with performative concerns, Austin takes a step backwards by fixating on external contextual factors that must be in place for the performative utterance to be happy-for it to 'succeed' in doing what the speaker intends it to do. This ignores the iterability of language and the ways in which words are ultimately bound neither by the intentions of the speaker, nor by any other aspect of the environment in which the utterance takes place. The current thinking in regards to successful teaching and learning invites a comparison with Austin's treatment of context-for a lesson to be successful, a set of contextual factors must be put in place. In this paper, I argue that treating teaching and learning in these terms represents an overdetermined understanding of 'success' and 'failure' that sees language as something to be tamed by context. Once we recognise that words cannot always or necessarily be brought under control then this will open the door to creative ways of thinking about teaching and language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1997, England has seen massive changes in the Early Years including the introduction of an early childhood curriculum, free pre-school education for three-year-olds and local programmes for disadvantaged communities. Many of these initiatives took time to introduce and become established. Beginning in 2001, and each year thereafter until 2008, the authors collected consistent data from thousands of children when they started school at the age of four on a range of variables, chosen because they are good predictors of later success. These included vocabulary, early reading and early mathematics. Children from the same set of 472 state primary schools in England were assessed each year. This paper contributes to the existing studies of educational trends over time by examining the extent to which children's scores on these measures changed over that period; in general, they were found to have remained stable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The data discussed in this paper derive from post-lesson and end-of-year interviews with 17 teachers in their second year of teaching. They form part of a longitudinal study which first tracked these teachers through their initial postgraduate teacher education programme and induction year. In the light of earlier analysis, which had highlighted both the enduring importance of individuals' dispositions towards their own learning and the profound sense of professional isolation that some teachers experience once the support of their induction year is withdrawn, this paper focuses specifically on the interplay between teachers' orientations towards their own professional learning and the nature of the learning environments in which they are working. The complex interrelationships between these two dimensions are illuminated by six case studies, which offer strong support to those who have challenged exclusive conceptualisations of 'learning' as either 'construction' or 'participation'. The findings have important implications for all those responsible for the professional education of beginning and early career teachers, especially as they respond to the government launch in England of a new 'national framework' intended (eventually) to offer opportunities for Masters level professional learning to all newly qualified teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects upon the nature of a target-setting and mentoring scheme in an 11-16 school in England, through a series of retrospective interviews with students who continued into further education. It considers the extent to which the initiative impacted both upon students' formal academic achievement at 16+ and upon the subsequent longer-term aspirations of these students. Interviews with students who achieved considerable 'value-added' in their GCSE examinations suggested that the impact of mentoring was strongest amongst those students who came from homes where there was less expectation of them participating in further and higher education, and that this effect was not differentiated according to gender. The paper suggests that longer-term transformation of students' aspirations, and the challenging of gendered course and career stereotypes, will only be achieved if schools adopt a more holistic and proactive approach to careers education and to widening participation for their students, and that the absence of such proactivity will limit the longer-term gains initiated by successful mentoring activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many western countries, government statements about the need to recruit more men to primary teaching are frequently supported by references to the importance of male teachers as role models for boys. The suggestion is that boys will both achieve better and behave better when taught by male teachers, because they will identify with them and want to emulate their behaviour. However, this has not been supported by research evidence. This paper draws on data from an ESRC-funded project involving interviews with 307 7-8 year old children in England (half taught by male and half by female teachers). Focusing on gender, it analyses children's responses about their relationships with their teachers and about figures that they would like to emulate (both in school and outside). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines trends in social class inequalities in young people's educational attainment and HE entry between the mid-1980s and the end of the 1990s in England and Scotland. Using time-series data derived from the Scottish School Leavers Surveys and the England (and Wales) Youth Cohort Study, changes in both absolute and relative social class differences within and across the two countries were analysed through the use of a series of ordered logits. The results show that Scotland has higher educational attainment rates but also higher social class inequalities than England. Moreover, while in England social class inequalities at upper-secondary and tertiary level have declined over time, in Scotland no evidence of such trend has been found. The conclusions highlight that possible explanations for these patterns reside in the different features of the two education systems and in the remarkable educational success of the Scottish middle class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proposed development of extended schools in England is part of an international movement towards community-oriented schooling, particularly in areas of disadvantage. Although on the face of it this movement seems like a common-sense approach to self-evident needs, the evaluation evidence on such schools is inconclusive. In order to assess the likelihood that community-oriented schooling will have a significant impact on disadvantage, therefore, this paper analyses the rationale on which this approach to schooling appears to be based. It argues that community-oriented schools as currently conceptualised have a focus on 'proximal' rather than 'distal' factors in disadvantage, underpinned by a model of social in/exclusion which draws attention away from underlying causes. They are, therefore, likely to have only small-scale, local impacts. The paper suggests that a more wide-ranging strategy is needed in which educational reform is linked to other forms of social and economic reform and considers the conditions which would be necessary for the emergence of such a strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The English Learning and Skills Sector (LSS) contains a highly diverse range of learners and covers all aspects of post-16 learning with the exception of higher education. In the research on which this paper is based we are concerned with the effects of policy on three types of learners - unemployed adults attempting to improve their basic skills in community learning settings, younger learners on Level 1 and 2 courses in further education colleges, and employees in basic skills provision in the workplace. What is distinctive about all three groups is that they have historically failed in, or been failed by, compulsory education. What is interesting is that they are constructed as 'problem learners' in learning and skills sector policy documents. We use data from 194 learner interviews, conducted during 2004/5, in 24 learning sites in London and the North East of England, to argue that government policy assumptions about these learners may only be 'half right'. We argue that such assumptions might be leading to half-right policy based on incomplete understandings or surface views of learner needs that are more politically constructed than real. We suggest that policy-makers should focus more on systemic problems in the learning and skills sector and less on problematising groups of learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A. H. Halsey has been a professorial fellow (now emeritus) at Nuffield College in Oxford University since his appointment in 1962 as Director of Oxford’s Department of Social and Administrative Studies. This paper explores his contribution to education throughout his career, as an academic and as a national and international policy advisor, and the interface between these two. Halsey worked in what he termed the ‘political arithmetic’ tradition throughout his career, with the dual tasks of documenting the state of society, and addressing social and political issues through ‘experimental social administration’, that is the field testing of social innovation and social policy in advance of national implementation. The paper focuses on Halsey’s ‘activist’ role in policy development in the UK and internationally, through his work on educational reform at the OECD and as research advisor to Crosland at the DES with the introduction of comprehensive schooling in the UK and in particular the Educational Priority Areas (EPA) programme, and traces through the impact of his work. His major contribution as one of the leading sociologists of education in the second half of the 20 th century is also discussed, but the wider impact of this aspect of his work requires a much more extensive assessment than is possible in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study considers the influence on British education (particularly schools) of Alan Bullock, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University from 1969 to 1973 and distinguished contemporary historian. It quotes extensively from Bullock’s own writings, including his developing personal views on education, and reflections on his own experiences. Following a brief biographical section, the paper reviews his work as chair of Government committees and advisory bodies, notably the Schools Council and the eponymous ‘Bullock Committee’ to consider all aspects of the teaching of English. These experiences contributed to his increasing disillusion with formal political power structures as a means of bringing about social change. I examine Bullock’s long period as a dominant figure in the administration of the University, and the consequences for schools of the changes which occurred over that time, especially the move towards admissions policies based almost entirely upon academic merit, and towards becoming a leading scientific university. St Catherine’s College, which he founded, played a significant part in these changes. Bullock’s personal views on the need to offer in schools a broader education, which would be attractive to young people searching for values of their own, were developed in his later writings and are briefly summarised. The paper speculates that he would not have been happy with the competitive and measurement-oriented system of today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One way to manage marking error, in a large-scale educational testing context, is to establish a mechanism through which appeals can be lodged. While, at one level, this seems to offer a straightforward technical solution to the problem of marking error, it can also result in unintended consequences, with political, social or educational ramifications. It is therefore important to monitor the operation of any appeal system, to determine how effectively it meets its objectives. The present paper was based on an evaluation of the system which operates for National Curriculum testing in England. Four underlying objectives were identified: the measurement objective, the political objective, the educational objective and the psychological objective. Although there is reason to believe that such goals can be achieved through appeal systems, there are major threats to achieving them, many of which appear to be inevitable. These threats are examined within the paper and implications for policy and practice are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This brief paper is a commentary on a piece of work recently published in the Oxford Review of Education (Goldstein & Noden, 2003) which purports to create a multi-level model of the social segregation between schools in England 1994-1999. Segregation, as a measure of the (un)evenness of the distribution of disadvantaged students between schools, is an important characteristic of the school system, related to social cohesion and school effects (Gorard a at, 2003). Probably the first thing to note about the `new' approach by Goldstein and Noden to measuring such segregation is that, if we accept the findings at face value, then it produces results that have already been published (e.g. Gorard, 2000). Their substantive findings are that segregation between schools in England rose slightly from 1994 to 1999, and that areas with academic selection or a high proportion of schools with control over their own admissions tend to have higher and rising levels of social segregation. As is so often the case in practice (Gorard, 2003a), the use of multi-level modelling (MLM) in this instance tells us nothing new. MLM here appears to confirm results obtained using the far simpler approach of analysing segregation at varying levels of aggregation. In fact, this appearance is deceptive because Goldstein and Noden were not measuring segregation at all.

Developing learning programmes to enhance the formation of generic skills is an international concern in education and training policy. This paper provides a broad survey of the development of generic skills policy in England from 1975 to 2002, drawing on both the economic and educational literature. It demonstrates that, despite an evident demand for generic skills in the English economy, successive waves of education and training policy intended to stimulate the supply of such skills have failed to deliver the desired results. Such failure is accounted for using a policy instruments and institutions framework. This suggests that the failure of generic skills policy can be attributed to a combination of weak policy design, the interaction of generic skills policy with other market-led reforms of education and training in England, and broader exogenous socio-economic trends. The paper concludes that current initiatives to develop key skills for all 16-19 learners in England are unlikely to succeed without substantial changes in the current education policy environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the impact of the transition into higher education upon facets of students' academic self-concept. Drawing upon data collected from undergraduate students at three universities in the north of England it considers the question: does moving from a relatively small pond (sixth form or college) where many students are likely to feel like fairly 'big fish', to a larger pond (university) where most students are likely to feel like much 'smaller fish', affect academic self-concepts? Results suggest that self-concept changes are gender-specific. Overall, female students displayed a significant decline in academic self-concepts in some domains over the transition into higher education, whilst the self-concept levels of the men did not change significantly. A number of possibilities are explored to explain the gendered nature of this finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coming of LEAs in 20th-century England presented an administrative challenge and an information explosion as the local state worked to meet both local and national educational policy demands. This paper will analyse the ways in which the organisation of knowledge was enlisted into the service of local education policy-making. It will argue that the collection of data by the local state involved both the construction of knowledge and its ordering. These processes in turn involved the creation of an 'education archive', an archive in which ideas about pupils and communities were embedded and genealogies of identity created. The paper will be illustrated through a case study of Birmingham LEA. In particular, use will be made of the Education Census, 1907-1970. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Poetry Research Project 1998 continues work begun in 1982 which analysed the practice of secondary school teachers when teaching poetry and their attitudes towards it. Then some 170 teachers in a single Local Education Authority (LEA) completed a lengthy questionnaire and a number were interviewed. The information gained by this means highlighted both good practice and a number of problem areas which teachers encountered. Sixteen years after that first survey, and following considerable change in the teaching of English and of poetry as a result of such initiatives as the National Curriculum, the survey was repeated with a group of over one hundred teachers from the same LEA. This, the first of two papers, reports mainly on teachers' attitudes to poetry, particularly the reading, writing and discussion of poetry and upon their concerns. The second paper, to be published in the Oxford Review of Education, March 2000, considers the effects of the National Curriculum, of SATs and of changes in examinations at 16+. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number and range of school types in England is increasing rapidly in response to a neoliberal policy agenda aiming to expand choice of provision as a mechanism for raising educational standards. In this paper, I seek to undertake a mapping of these school types in order to describe and explain what is happening. I capture this busy terrain from different perspectives: legal status; curricular specialism; pupil selection; types of academy; and school groupings. The mapping highlights the intersections between the current reform agenda and the historical diversity within the English school system to show the dialogue between past and present. Borrowing the geological metaphors of faulting and folding, I argue that long-established school types are not buried under sedimentary layers of reform, but are thrust into the present where they are discursively re-imagined through neoliberalism. Finally, I conceptualise the landscape holistically through the lenses of locus of legitimacy and branding, where I argue that current structural diversification policies enable the enactment of interests other than educational through transferring responsibility for education and related assets away from public and towards corporatised or religious actors and institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since coming to power in 2010, the UK Coalition government in power has implemented a range of reforms in relation to assessment at all stages of education in England. This paper focuses on two assessment reforms relating to children aged five and six years old, and considers their evolution from manifesto commitments to practice in classrooms. These reforms are the introduction of the Phonics Screening Check at age six, and the revised Early Years Foundation Stage Profile at age five. The main focus is on the coherence of these policies, both over time and as part of an overall government strategy on assessment in early years and primary education. It is argued that, despite claims of reducing bureaucracy, these assessment policies are driven by an agenda of increasing accountability in the first years of primary school. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper investigates the relationship between stream placement and the academic progress made by children in England in Year 2 of primary school, drawing on data from the longitudinal Millennium Cohort Study (MCS). The MCS is a sample of 19,000 children born across the UK around the turn of the century and their families. Academic progress was compared between children in England in the ‘top’, ‘middle’ or ‘bottom’ streams, and among the majority of non-streamed children. Multiple regressions took into account child, family and school characteristics and showed that stream placement significantly impacted on the academic progress made by children. Children in the ‘top’ stream achieved more and made significantly more academic progress than children attending schools that did not stream, while children in the ‘middle’ or ‘bottom’ streams achieved less and made significantly less academic progress. The reasons for this and the educational implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]