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The launch of the Transactions in 1923, exclusively for the publication of original scientific work, consolidated the standing of the Journal of the Textile Institute as a scholarly periodical, although the timing was fortuitous, reflecting the needs of the industrial research associations, then newly established in the UK following the 'neglect of science' controversy in 1916. The burgeoning output of papers from this source in turn acted as a major competitive stimulus for the transformation of textile technology in higher education from craft-based empiricism to scientific discipline, albeit incrementally. In the background was the apparent dichotomy between the industrial practitioner and the academic scientist. Higher education sought to bridge this gap while simultaneously adopting the ethos and practices of the applied science model for textile technology, thereby creating tensions internally which took many years to resolve. The paper reviews the emergence of textile technology as a scientific discipline during the inter-war years and acknowledges the defining role of the Transactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article synthesizes ideas that emerged over the course of a 10-week symposium titled "Teaching Reproducible Research: Educational Outcomes" https://www.projecttier.org/fellowships-and-workshops/2021-spring-symposium that took place in the spring of 2021. The speakers included one linguist, three political scientists, seven psychologists, and three statisticians; about half of them were based in the United States and about half in the United Kingdom. The symposium focused on a particular form of reproducibility--namely computational reproducibility--and the paper begins with an exposition of what computational reproducibility is and how it can be achieved. Drawing on talks by the speakers and comments from participants, the paper then enumerates several reasons for which learning reproducible research methods enhance the education of college and university students; the benefits have partly to do with developing computational skills that prepare students for future education and employment, but they also have to do with their intellectual development more broadly. The article also distills insights from the symposium about practical strategies instructors can adopt to integrate reproducibility into their teaching, as well as to promote the practice among colleagues and throughout departmental curricula. The conceptual framework about the meaning and purposes of teaching reproducibility, and the practical guidance about how to get started, add up to an invitation to instructors to explore the potential for introducing reproducibility in their classes and research supervision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inclusion of the natural environment in the theory, education and practice of social work has increasingly become a matter of interest amongst scholars and social work educators. There is a large and increasing amount of literature on this topic. However, the inclusion of environmental issues in the curricula seems to be evolving very slowly to date. This paper examines 94 social work curricula in four European countries, and notes the presence of environmental issues in their content, by using term categories. Findings show that the natural environment is extremely under-represented in the education of social workers. The paper argues that social work curiccula need to undergo immediate reform on an international level. The discussion section includes suggestions on how the natural environment could be integrated into social work curricula. The first suggestion is to create new subjects with a direct reference to environmental issues and green social work. The second one is to include in existing subjects topics that will draw on environmental sociology and focus on the interconnections between social and environmental problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent movements to decolonise the university have challenged the ideological and political position of authority, reflecting the power relations between different societal groups. Framed by postcolonial and decolonial perspectives, this paper attempts to represent the experiences, values and viewpoints of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) students at an elite British university who speak for themselves about their lived realities at the institution. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with seven undergraduate and two postgraduate students explored their university experience, academic success, sense of belonging, discrimination and racism. The findings revealed that the students lacked a sense of belonging at the university. Among the factors that undermined this are the predominantly White faculty bodies, exclusive curriculum representation and inter-group interactions divided by racial groups. Cultivating an inclusive university experience will allow BME students to feel a sense of belonging and integrate the racial and ethnic cultural diversity that they represent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK higher education system has become increasingly competitive and stratified prompting calls for a reclaiming of the civic role of universities. This paper argues that, if HE is to reclaim its civic function then civic engagement needs to move beyond being a separate strand of activity for universities, instead becoming a guiding principle. This requires an institution-wide commitment. The paper describes a model developed by a Scottish university to support, recognise and embed civic engagement within the curriculum and wider student experience as part of its core mission. The design and delivery of this development are described and early indicators of its efficacy are provided. Findings indicate that it is possible for universities to operationalise a civic mission by focusing on the curriculum as the mechanism through which to highlight and embed common good attributes. The model described could be replicated in other higher education institutions nationally and internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decolonisation is a socio-political movement which challenges Eurocentrism and post-colonial notions of power. This has numerous implications for higher education institutions (HEIs), where the content and delivery of curricula may be seen as products of colonial legacy. The decolonisation agenda has increasing support from students, the academy, and regulatory bodies, which together are invoking HEIs to act. This paper reports on research undertaken within a UK HEI, which benchmarked the extent to which programmes followed characteristics of (de)colonised curricula. A survey, based on existing open access resources, was completed by 99 staff and 290 students across four schools. Findings suggest differences in how curricula are perceived by staff and students, and between white and minority ethnic student groups. Given growing global interest in decolonisation and associated social justice themes, this research has important applications for other HEIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper comprises findings from three parallel case studies within the broad framework of English for Academic Purposes (EAP). These provide results from classroom-based action research conducted over two years working with Semantics, Specialisation and axiological cosmologies from Legitimation Code Theory (LCT). Each author shares how one or both of these LCT dimensions have guided their practice in the teaching of English for academic writing and specifically, the development of their students' critical dispositions by teaching them how to apply lenses to analyse texts so that they may make informed judgements. Data from classroom interventions and student writing are provided. It is hoped that this paper elicits further discussion in the growing field of applying LCT and may draw attention to the role of the EAP teacher as expert in linguistics and the need to focus more on knowledge in EAP writing courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the author considers the contribution of creativity to pastoral care in education. Since its advent in English schools in the early 1970s, pastoral care has placed the affective realm and individual enrichment centre stage in both its curriculum aims and teaching approaches. These principles have, however, had much to contend with over the past 50 years; from the obtrusive effects of state intervention in schools, to the challenges confronting young people growing up in increasingly complex societies. For many teachers and practitioners, engaging young people in creative pursuits has come to be regarded as a necessary counterpoint to increasingly performative school cultures and an essential means to enabling vibrant forms of positive self-expression. The power of creative activities has received new impetus as a pastoral concern in light of two national trends. The first as creative arts provision in the curriculum in English state secondary schools declines as a consequence of Government qualification reforms, and second as an increasing number of young people are referred to Alternative Educational Provision with mental health issues. As a consequence, many pastoral educators have turned or, indeed, returned to creativity and creative practices as a primary means of supporting and enriching the lives of young people, particularly for those who now struggle in contemporary school environments. In light of these developments and drawing on research and practice in the field of creativity and pastoral care, this paper aims to cast further light on creativity in pastoral education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematics is a central part of school curricula around the world. There has been much interest in linguistic aspects of the teaching and learning of mathematics, both from mathematics educators and from applied linguists. This short paper introduces a set of five articles exploring the intersection between these two communities. The articles all discuss two texts: an extract from the guidance issued to primary school mathematics teachers in the UK; and an extract from a primary school mathematics lesson. This paper begins by summarising some of the research on language in the mathematics classroom, before introducing the two texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores notions of professionalism amongst vocational teachers in the United Kingdom and Australia, through an analysis of voluntarism/regulatory frameworks and professional body frameworks. In terms of empirical evidence, the paper reports on data drawn from a documentary analysis of government policy documents, standards for the education of teachers, and regulatory frameworks in both countries. It is located within a broad range of literature exploring contemporary concepts of professionalism amongst vocational teachers. Documentary analysis implies that whilst there is an expectation and assumption that vocational teachers are, and should be, professional, this is not necessarily translated through initial teacher training requirements, some of which fail to address concepts of professionalism at all. Further, it offers evidence to suggest that where notions of professionalism are addressed, the concept is described in largely reductive and utilitarian terms, and that this is the case in both countries. The paper considers the implications of this for teachers, students, and wider practice within the sector, arguing that meaningful understandings of the notion of professional, which are effectively applied in practice, are fundamental to broader understandings of key issues in further education, such as those associated with in/equalities and in/exclusion in education contexts. The paper concludes that such understandings are unlikely to be drawn from utilitarian, Competency Based Training (CBT) based teacher-training programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on an undergraduate project, Making:Archives — Narrative Artefact, as an exemplar of collaborative good practice, expanding on its case study in the National Archives and History UK's Guide to Collaboration for Archive and Higher Education. The paper examines the expected and unexpected impacts of the Making:Archives collaborative project for the stakeholders involved: the Institution, the Archive Service, its depositors, and in particular the students. Students have both struggled and excelled in the project, with the most engaged developing a range of creative and transferrable skills that have been repurposed in the creation of work beyond Making:Archives. The paper also reflects on the challenges faced, and numerous opportunities presented, during the co-creation, delivery and evaluation of the project, drawing extensive data gathered from student participants. The project is presented in the context of relevant literature from both the textile education, industry, and archive sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Framed as being in response to terrorist attacks and concerns about religious bias in some English schools, 'British Values' (BV) curriculum policy forms part of the British Government's Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, 2015. This includes a Duty on teachers in England to actively promote British Values to deter students from radicalisation. This paper, first, traces the history of Britishness in the curriculum to reveal a prevalence of nationalistic, colonial values. Next, an ensemble of recent policies and speeches focusing on British Values is analysed, using a psycho-political approach informed by anti-colonial scholarship. Finally, we interrogate two key critiques of the British Values curriculum discourse: the universality of British Values globally, and concerns over the securitisation of education. Findings indicate that the constitution of white British supremacist subjectivities operate through curriculum as a defence mechanism against perceived threats to white privilege, by normalising a racialised state-controlled social order. The focus is on 'British' values, but the analytic framework and findings have wider global significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inclusion of socioscientific issues (SSIs) in the science curriculum is a well-established trend internationally. Apart from claims about its innate value, one of the rationales for this approach is its potential for helping to counter declining interest and participation. SSIs involve the use of science and are of interest to society, also raising ethical and moral dilemmas. Introducing such problems presents a significant and usually cross-disciplinary challenge to curriculum developers and teachers. The aim of this paper is to examine how this challenge has been met when judged against contemporary views of the issues concerned. It first explores how SSIs have been interpreted in an important and innovative science course for students aged 14–16 in England, entitled Twenty First Century Science. This paper analyses the Twenty First Century Science textbooks, focusing in detail on two SSIs, reproductive genetic technology and climate change. For each of these issues, the key ideas present in the social science literature surrounding the problems are outlined. This review is then used as an analytical framework to examine how the issues are presented in the textbooks. It is argued in this paper that the perspectives the textbooks take on these issues largely do not include perspectives from social science disciplines. It goes on to suggest that the development of future SSI-based curricula needs to take account of these wider, often interdisciplinary, perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper uses Ball’s [1998. Big policies/small world: An introduction to international perspectives in education policy.Comparative Education, 34(2), 119–130] policy analysis and Bernstein’s [1990.The structuring of pedagogic discourse. Volume IV class, codes and control. London: Routledge; 2000,Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity. Theory, research, critique(Revised ed.). Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield] conceptualisation of boundaries as a basis for critically examining the notion of policy ‘problems’ and ‘solutions’ in contemporary physical education. The paper introduces the notions of policyscape and policy magic to explain ways in which thinking about both policy problems and solutions in education is discursively constrained. Analysis of boundaries is presented as a means of revealing and prospectively challenging such constraint. Research findings from projects spanning different international contexts and phases of education are analysed to illustrate complex inter-relationships between a series of knowledge boundaries that variously define the policy and pedagogical directions that can legitimately be pursued in physical education. The paper presents a case for further critical research and policy action in physical education that draws insight from education policy sociology and that examines ways in which equity in physical education is being (re-) framed by broader policy processes and contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Academic development has played a significant role in creating university 'learning and teaching' as an object of policy scrutiny and intervention. While academic development is a new field, its practices have been productive of new learning and teaching regimes in both the global 'north' and 'south'. This paper explores the emergence of academic development as a practice and the agentic understandings of its actors in creating the academic development project in the face of global unevenness. The paper offers a critical account of the emergence of academic development practice in both the global 'north', drawing on the intertwined histories of the UK and Australia, and in the global 'south', drawing on the example of South Africa. In looking at the ongoing debates about academic development the paper argues that in constituting teaching and learning as its object, other more radical, feminist and critical pedagogies, which are capable of dealing with the power and curricula, were marginalised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper hypothesises that student learning about sustainable development (SD) might usefully be configured within a broad framework combining formal, informal and campus curriculum. Student learning about sustainable development is a form of education for sustainable development (ESD), a term which has many definitions and interpretations. In this paper we refer to both student learning about SD (referring to multiple influences, actions and levels of engagement) and ESD as an overarching formal term (in our work based upon the UNESCO framework for ESD). The term campus sustainability is used when the focus of learning and engagement is based upon or designed around campus-focused projects and activities. We discuss why we believe our broad framework approach is useful and illustrate the practical development of some of these ideas through the early work of our institutional Ecoversity project. Our approach requires bringing together and meshing widely disparate institutional processes and drivers to support wide and multiple levels of student learning about SD. Such institution-wide engagement requires that a number of key 'enablers' are developed, including: academic policy of ESD and SD; academic school engagement with ESD and SD including staff development and training; strategically focused processes and projects around the informal curriculum; and campus management practises and processes that support open and transparent decision-making processes and treat all campus projects as educational opportunities. We describe some of the early achievements from our cross institutional ESD projects and reflect on some key learning points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematics is a core subject in the UK curriculum, with high standards achievement a policy of the UK government. Innovative approaches and strategies have been advocated to achieve these high standards. One approach that has been advocated is Precision Teaching, supported by its successful application in schools in the United States. For this study, a 12-week programme was devised to develop student fluency in the multiplication timetables. A key skill task was devised and scores compared before and after programme implementation. Pre-programme scores revealed poor student performance on this key skill. Post-programme results show an improvement for children using Precision Teaching, with some outperforming the average of their classmates. The paper endorses previous findings that fluency is important for student progress through the curriculum. It also endorses research findings that adding practice and timed assessment improve student performance levels. These results were achieved with minimal disruption and materials. The paper recommends educational practitioners to support further research into the practicalities and suggested benefits of fluency-orientated education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers are often portrayed as the recipients of information about widening access initiatives and cast in the role of encouraging their students to engage in these activities. However, recent research has corroborated what might constitute an expected association, given the time pupils spend at school: teachers can have a significant impact on the higher education [HE] intentions of young people. Yet, few studies have considered the classroom practices that may account for this. This study seeks to do this by drawing on the insights and experiences of students and teaching professionals based in two schools and a post-16 college. All three institutions have catchments that encompass educationally deprived neighbourhoods. What this investigation reveals is that certain practices can make a significant difference to educational ambitions. Prominent are those that nurture subject interest, link the school curriculum to HE options, and introduce learners to higher-level study skills. In turn, the effectiveness of these practices is influenced by the ability of teaching professionals to build rapport with their students, most prominently by sharing their own learner journeys. The paper concludes by arguing for the wider recognition of these practices since they have the potential to open up HE to more young people from backgrounds that are underrepresented in HE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student-led movements have called for the decolonization of the Higher Education (HE) system in the UK, as well as elsewhere. Much of the onus within British geography has been on decolonizing geographical knowledges, recognizing the role of the discipline in the colonial project. This paper expands on these literatures by examining how work on critical pedagogies can deepen the decolonizing agenda within geography. In other words, it is not only what we teach that matters, but how. Using the perspectives of undergraduate geography and international development students at the University of Sussex taking a module entitled "Decolonial Movements", I reflect on how to decolonize the way the subject is taught within the classroom. I make six tentative suggestions: ensuring a diversity of teaching staff, not just reading lists; enabling decolonial pedagogies; encouraging social justice, liberation and decolonization; using creative and innovative teaching tools; decolonizing assessment criteria; and embedding decolonization across the curriculum. To be clear, the aim is not to produce any kind of standardized curriculum but to spark debate over meaningful forms of decolonizing pedagogies in undergraduate geography, as well as to reflect on some of the challenges of implementing a decolonizing praxis within UK universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the mid-20thC., construction and engineering pedagogy and curricula have moved from long-held traditional experiential apprenticeship approaches to one ostensibly decoupling practice and theory. This paper traces this decoupling and explores modern-day opportunities and challenges for recoupling university education with industry practice. Within this context the UK Government funds Graduate Level Apprenticeships (GLA) and introduces the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), arguably signalling a desire to recouple. Nevertheless, many challenges from following previous UK Government policy prioritising research remain, particularly for post-1992 institutions. Arguably, Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) are at a pedagogical crossroads, considering whether to choose REF-ville, TEF-ville, and/or Apprentice Township. Do HEI’s continue their increasingly decontextualized theoretical approach, or re-embrace construction and engineering education’s experiential roots? We present and discuss opportunities and challenges currently facing HEI’s, aiming to help inform decisions regarding recoupling theory and practice in construction and engineering teaching and learning, but potentially also other fields. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper discusses some of the qualitative data obtained from a small number (23) of semi-structured interviews of academic staff who are involved in module design, and who are employed within one UK university. Analysing the interview transcripts produced eight main themes. One of these themes was the perceived pressures or constraints on design. Using verbatim responses given by the interviewees, a discussion of the data used to illustrate this theme compares the findings of this project with those from the existing literature. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores the responses of nearly 1200 children and young people in Wales who were asked to identify which three famous people they most admired and which three they most disliked. Analysis of these young people's responses reveals a number of sociological and educational issues. Their selections confirm other research which has highlighted the importance of celebrities in the lives of young people. Their ‘heroes’ and ‘villains’ are drawn mostly from the worlds of popular music and sport. Their choices are also highly gendered and ‘raced’. Of particular interest is the finding that someone's ‘villain’ is more than likely to be someone else's ‘hero’. Our young people's selection of heroes and villains reflects the broader landscape of celebrity culture, where female fame is as much about appearance as talent and Black and minority ethnic celebrities are to be found largely in the fields of sport or popular music. The paper concludes by discussing the chasm between our young people's ‘heroes’ and ‘villains’ and those which are ‘officially sanctioned’ within the school curriculum and considers what schools and teachers might do about it. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines New Right argument on educational provision, including the establishing of a voucher scheme and the introduction of elements of a 'free market' into public sector education. The paper examines the right-wing allegation that educationalists have 'captured' the school curriculum and the argument on the need for 'consumer capture' of education. It discusses the New right tactic of privatization by stealth, and the argument that gradualism provides the most effective means of securing educational reform. The paper discusses arguments put forward by the right on the idea of a General Teaching Council (GTC) and argument on the need for the development of a teacher labour market freed from national salary scales. It goes on to examine Mary Warnock's proposals for a GTC and her views of teacher education. The paper examines the likely effects of the implementation of right-wings education policy, concluding that the 1988 Education Reform Act will prepare the ground for the privatization of education and the development of a teacher labour market of the kind proposed by the New Right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent worldwide trends in curriculum policy have re-emphasised the role of teachers in school-based curriculum development. Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence is typical of these trends, stressing that teachers are agents of change. This paper draws upon empirical data to explore school-based curriculum development in response to Curriculum for Excellence. We focus on two case studies – secondary schools within a single Scottish local education authority. In the paper we argue that the nature and extent of innovation in schools is dependent upon teachers being able to make sense of often complex and confusing curriculum policy, including the articulation of a clear vision about what such policy means for education within each school. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article, the author discusses about principles of Lord Robbins, the chairperson of Great Britain's Committee on Higher Education on higher education (HE). It mentions that Robbins hoped that some day polytechnics will be permitted to call themselves as universities, but they should not try to remodel their curricula and shift of single honors degree. It informs that Robbins endorsed loans rather than subsidies for the fair and equitable funding of promoting HE.

This paper builds on two doctoral studies conducted as socio-historical analyses of the development of swimming in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Australia [Victoria] and England. Within each study the progress of swimming education was a particular focus and it is this aspect that will underpin the approach taken in this comparative analysis. The central purpose of the paper is to re-examine the historical findings from each study and to explore the similarities and differences in the rationale for swimming education, the availability and provision of swimming education in each location, and to present initial comparisons in the status and value placed on swimming during this period. This is a qualitative, historical study and data have been gathered from a variety of sources including government papers, curriculum and Board of Education documents, swimming governing body reports, newspaper articles and nineteenth-century texts and journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores substantive and methodological issues in relation to pupils' conceptions of geography. It draws on an in-depth qualitative study with 13-14-year-old pupils from three secondary schools. Selected pupils were interviewed numerous times about their geography classroom experiences and ideas about the subject in general. A detailed analysis revealed that these pupils' ideas are multifaceted in nature, often representing loose collections of context-dependent ideas rather than coherent or unified views. Substantive findings are discussed with specific reference to the themes of space and place. The paper argues in favour of research approaches that accommodate the complex nature of pupils' subject conceptions, and locate learners' ideas about particular concepts in the context of the wider range of ideas and opinions they have about the subjects they study. Suggestions for future research are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children and young people (C&YP) counselling training and art psychotherapy training lead to two distinctive psychological therapy approaches; one is informed by British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy's Competences for work with children and young people (4–18 years) [BACP. (2019a). Competences for work with children and young people (4–18 years). Retrieved from ], the other by Health and Care Professions Council's Standards of Proficiency for Arts Therapists [HCPC. (2013). Standards of proficiency - Arts therapists. Retrieved from ]. In this article we outline the training methods utilised on the Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling C&YP at a British University and share initial observations of how creative and arts-based therapeutic tools form an important part of the curriculum delivery. The aim of this paper is also to outline the role of intentionality application in the use of creative interventions in therapeutic practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking as its starting point a critique of policy for inclusion which I published 6 years ago after the publication of the Green Paper Excellence for All Children; Meeting Special Educational Needs (DfEE, 1997), the present paper presents a critical analysis of subsequent policy relating to the inclusion of children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in the mainstream of education which claims to secure for them a genuinely equitable educational experience. The results of this analysis suggest that far from ensuring full participation as a right, the policy for inclusion can be seen to have done little to increase genuine access to the mainstream for these pupils and may well have even increased exclusionary practices therein. The paper focuses particularly on the potential of current government strategy, presented in Removing Barriers to Achievement. The Government's Strategy for SEN (2004), to drive forward and realize the inclusion agenda. This examination reveals that, as in previous policy, there is a failure to recognize the complex and controversial nature of inclusion; no attempt is made to address the exclusiveness of the curriculum, assessment procedures, and practices of mainstream provision and that the strategy is founded on notions of normalization, compensation and deficit approaches to SEN. The paper argues that there is a need to recognize that as long as policy is founded on the idea that inclusion into the mainstream of schooling, as it is currently conceived, and achievement measured against a set of norm related standards is the route to good education children with SEN will continue to be disadvantaged and to receive an inferior educational opportunity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

UNESCO's challenge to Higher Education institutions to provide educational leadership in sustainable development, provides an impetus to develop innovative, interdisciplinary curricula and pedagogy. Whereas Higher Education curricula in sustainability and sustainable development have tended to come from the environmental sciences, recent studies have highlighted the need for more holistic, experiential, interdisciplinary approaches. As a pedagogical approach, outdoor learning may have something to offer since it lends itself to holistic and experiential learning and enables integration of knowledge and skills from a range of discipline areas. Outdoor and environmental education research suggests that educational experiences in outdoor settings can be significant in developing environmental sensitivity and knowledge. Such knowledge and attitudes are components of ecological literacy and, more recently, sustainability literacy. This paper considers how outdoor experiential pedagogy might contribute to the current sustainability education agenda. It focuses on Higher Education since this sector has the obligation and the capability of instigating a 'ripple' effect' in developing sustainability-literate citizens. It discusses possibilities and issues arising from a review of outdoor, environmental and sustainability education literature, particularly, but not exclusively, from the UK. The paper is a precursor to an empirical study into how outdoor learning might contribute to the development of sustainability-literate graduates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analysis of the ways in which UK higher education (HE) has become increasingly commercialised and commodified in the post-1980s. It critiques the strategies adopted by successive UK governments to reinvigorate the relationship between educational and economic life, and to facilitate a more corporate and entrepreneurial spirit within the academy in line with the pressures of a 'knowledge-based economy'. Arguing for a more critical exploration of teaching and learning within HE, the paper presents evidence from work carried out by the Reinvention Centre for Undergraduate Research, a Centre for Excellence in Teaching in Learning (CETL) which adopts a research-based learning approach to teaching and learning at undergraduate level.1 Within the context of ongoing debates surrounding the relationship between teaching, learning and research in UK HE, the paper advocates a reinvention of curriculum design through an engagement with the broader principles of critical pedagogy, and in so doing, presents a critical engagement with the commercialisation of HE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of computers within the school curriculum raises critical pedagogical issues. The Maddux (1991) classification of educational computer applications as Type I or Type II remains apposite. Type I applications simply reinforce existing teacher-learner paradigms, whereas Type II applications of ICT (Information and Communications Technology: the UK acronym for EdTech) transform teaching and learning. This paper examines United Kingdom case studies predicated on the Type II approach. The government has, since 1997, invested considerable resources in educational ICT through the provision of computers, teacher training, and broadband connectivity. Despite this considerable body of best practice, some schools and teachers still find it difficult to change their existing praxis. This paper examines ways in which some schools have changed course. In many ways schools are like supertankers: A change of direction requires a considerable amount of forward planning before it takes effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the part played by teaching assistants in the implementation of the National Literacy and National Numeracy Strategies, two widespread UK government reforms. Evidence from two sources of evaluation (the Ontario Institute in Canada and OfSTED, the school inspectorate for England) indicates that assistants are providing 'remedial' support for up to 25% of children in English primary schools. However, although the evaluators note this, they fail to truly acknowledge the important contribution of assistants to the functioning of the Strategies. The paper argues that the lack of acknowledgement arises from the evaluators' view of teaching assistants as 'peripheral' and teachers as 'core'. This does assistants a great disservice, but also masks the shortcomings of the Strategies, particularly with regard to the way in which a required pedagogy, linked to targets and tests, has created an exclusionary pressure leading to the separation of teaching by teachers and assistants, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of Intensive Interaction in interactive pedagogy for students with severe and complex learning difficulties. It begins with an overview of the theoretical context for interactive pedagogy and then goes on to describe how one particular approach, Intensive Interaction, can, within a flexible curriculum, support sociability and communication development for pupils who are hardest to reach because they have not yet learned the fundamentals of early communication. Findings from one case study are drawn upon to illustrate the efficacy of this and to discuss how teamwork can affect optimal outcomes. The paper argues for more pupil-centred, flexible curricula and the wider adoption of approaches such as Intensive Interaction in inclusive mainstream schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is part of a wider study into how women's studies was introduced in the academic curriculum in the United Kingdom, Canada and the USA. It looks at the sexual politics of the academy during the 1970s and 1980s, and at how they are now remembered. Women's studies was inextricably bound up in the politics of feminist activism in the period, including the ideal of working collectively in women-only groups. But the academy was male-dominated and the consent of male colleagues was indispensable. There was a further challenge to separatist practice if men wished to enroll as students. The paper starts by setting the research in the context of influential texts such as Kate Millett's Sexual politics (1972) and the framework of patriarchy. Using recorded interviews with key activists, the paper traces interaction with male colleagues. The second part reflects on how, thirty years later, the concept of patriarchy has been developed by intellectual work on gender, and by a more complex understanding of sexual identity and its interaction with sexual politics, now reflected in the curriculum, and in the re-naming of women's studies as gender studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent policy makers have sought to increase participation in full-time education beyond 16 and to broaden access among under-represented groups. Commentators on both sides of the border have drawn policy lessons from comparisons of the different UK systems, especially Scotland and England. This paper reviews the evidence on the level and distribution of participation in the four systems of the UK, using official statistics and survey data from the early 1990s. Participation has generally been highest in Northern Ireland and Scotland and lowest in England, but comparisons on a consistent age basis are less favourable to Scotland than those shown in official statistics. The average duration of participation is longest in Northern Ireland, whereas high Scottish participation at 16 is matched by a larger outflow at 17. Participation has risen throughout the UK since the 1980s but it has grown most steadily in Scotland, especially since the early 1990s. More females than males stay on beyond 16: the gender difference is largest in Northern Ireland and smallest in England. Throughout the UK higher attainers and youngsters from socially advantaged backgrounds are most likely to stay on, but these inequalities in participation are greatest in Scotland. School effects on participation are strongest in England and especially in Northern Ireland, where in addition to a selective-school effect there is most variability among schools of the same type. Participation varies locally but differences across the home countries cannot merely be attributed either to the social and educational composition of the age group or to the aggregate effects of local influences. The paper concludes that the benefits attributed to the flexibility of Scottish courses and qualifications need more critical scrutiny. There may be policy lessons from the apparently high participation rates in Northern Ireland, although better data are needed if such lessons are to be drawn with confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is pressure on academic staff to respond to changes produced by the increasing globalization of education markets, and the capacities of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to transform the ways education is delivered. This presents a serious challenge for many academics whose own formative educational experiences and professional orientations were shaped under different circumstances. This paper will focus on an innovative scheme designed to support university staff in their understanding and application of ICTs in student learning. The course was delivered to a small pilot group of experienced teaching staff who wished to explore the uses of ICTs. It aimed to provide an understanding of the available technologies, and how these might be utilized in the support of teaching, learning and assessment. Throughout the course's duration, one of the authors conducted an independent evaluative programme of research involving confidential questionnaires and observation sessions. The paper's two remaining authors have made further contributions as participant and course leader. Combining these sources of data, the paper reviews the course evaluation and discusses how staff approached the development and use of ICTs with varying levels of confidence, and with different practical issues and agendas concerning the incorporation of ICTs in teaching and learning. Placing the study's major themes within the changing contexts facing university staff, it concludes with a discussion of its wider implications for all practitioners involved in staff development that is both general and ICT-specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has long been recognized that accounting and finance students need multidisciplinary skills and most degree courses reflect this in the curriculum. In addition, the growth of business administration courses, with a high accounting and finance content, and the constant call for relevance and ‘real world’ application, has persuaded many academics that educational progress can be made by employing project-based group work to bring together diverse skills and disciplines. This paper endorses that view, but suggests that careful thought is required to match the aims of the project with the developing skills and experience of the student groups. It explores the role of project clients and student learning and also the level of faculty involvement necessary to fulfil learning objectives. These issues are explored within the context of a project on mergers and acquisitions, which combines strategy, economics, accounting and behavioural considerations and has been employed on full-time MBA courses at one UK university (disguised as ‘Utopia’ in the paper) for more than 20 years. Experience from the project suggests that renovation of old methods is often preferable to major innovations and that the involvement of outside clients needs to be thought through carefully. A semi-live close-bounded version of the project is shown to work better than an open-ended pure consultancy project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the controls and influences over geography teachers' curriculum making. A tension is identified between the teacher's agency to “make” a geography curriculum and a controlling social–economic climate of accountability, performance pressure and technological change which limits the teacher's agency. The paper argues that teachers are responding to this tension by the coping strategy of “banding together” both at the school level and in wider communities. The extent of teachers' reliance on other people in curriculum making is such that curriculum making can be described as becoming “hyper-socialised”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities of the Third Age (U3A), lifelong learning institutes, and "senior universities" are terms used to describe organizations that provide education for older adults, specifically for those who are retired or in the "third age" of life. The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive, historical overview of the evolution of these organizations across global settings. This article highlights the importance of older adult education while discussing U3A's structure and models. The article explores the origins and historical development of the U3A model and its influence on recent initiatives like the Age-Friendly Universities movement. It then focuses on the impact of French and British Models of U3A on providing older adult education. There is a general discussion of the expansion of these organizations in several countries and a comparison of each's curricular structure and approach. The article concludes with suggested future directions and potential areas of improvement (e.g. technology access, accessibility, and inclusion of older adult learners; diverse needs and interests) and ways these models can remain relevant to the ever-changing older adult learner population. Through this analysis, the article contributes to the understanding of U3A organizations and their role in promoting lifelong learning for older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that knowledge is not a passive product of learning that can be possessed, but rather that it represents an active engagement with ideas, arguments and the world in which they reside. This engagement requires a state of 'knowing' - a complex, integrative, reciprocal process that unites the knower with the to-be-known. Exploring the notion of knowledge, this paper considers the roles of truth and belief in knowledge production, the relationship between knowledge and the disciplines, and knowledge as a social and cultural product. These ideas are contextualized in higher education practice with an example of a course designed to help science and engineering students develop criticality and a sense of 'knowing' about the world. The students are challenged to consider what it requires to turn facts and information into knowledge, and to unite their knowing with their own personal experiences and ideas about the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a bilateral university project designed to promote intercultural citizenship and foreign language development simultaneously. It is concerned with developing active and responsible citizenship through content-language integrated learning within an ordinary foreign language classroom. The need and rationale for broadening the scope of language courses and combining them with intercultural citizenship or human rights education has been explained elsewhere and empirical studies reporting on classroom practice are recently available. These studies have connected both types of education (language and citizenship/human rights) and have demonstrated growth in self and intercultural awareness, in criticality and social justice responsibility, as well as the emergence of a sense of community of international peers during the projects. However, the concern remains as to whether this combination leads to language learning and this article addresses this issue. The article describes one transnational intercultural citizenship project in the foreign language classroom in Argentina and the UK and focuses on the research question: Does an intercultural citizenship project lead to language learning? Findings - taken from the Argentinean data - show that students developed procedural knowledge by using the foreign language with a genuine need, engaged in multiliteracies practices and developed their plurilingual competence within a translingual orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the development of an interactive creative writing website, developed after identifying the position of creative writing in mainstream education and exploring a spectrum of learning needs at primary and secondary school levels. The concept and website were developed by an author of children's fiction and uses interactive activities supported by a ‘virtual author’. It is designed to enhance creative writing skills for both pupils and teachers, thereby offering cross-curricular opportunities through the marrying of Literacy with Information Communication Technology (ICT). The paper further examines the place of authors in schools and their potential for impact on the emerging position of creative writing as an assessed subject. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper focuses on teacher education in the English further education sector, where the teaching of disciplinary and pedagogic knowledge is an issue. Using research findings, the paper advocates an approach based on collaboration and informed research to emphasize and integrate knowledge(s) in situated teaching contexts despite working in a climate of competition as advocated by the current neo-liberal government. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The UK has access to a wealth of high-quality social science data and resources, through the UK Data Service. These data have been well used in research, and attention is now increasingly turning to their inclusion in the undergraduate curriculum. This paper describes how the data can be used in the teaching of methods courses, as well as being integrated into substantive courses. The UK Data Service is described in brief, followed by an example firstly of quantitative, then qualitative, data resources in teaching and learning. The data and resources lend themselves to a huge variety of disciplines, including those involved in health and social care education. As the UK embraces the challenge to improve the student experience in the teaching of research methods, the UK Data Service is particularly well positioned to address this. This paper provides examples and pointers to work that is ongoing and being further developed through the UK Data Service. Engagement with teachers is critical to enable further work to be developed in this important area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the perceptions of international students studying in the UK regarding their transition from undergraduate to postgraduate study, the challenges they faced in the process and the factors that supported that transition. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 44 taught international postgraduate students at a UK university. It was found that students initially struggled with the academic demands of the course, particularly the ability to integrate critical thinking into written submissions. Consequently, students looked to develop peer support networks. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of the findings for universities, particularly concerning pre-course preparation and ongoing structured support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores teachers’ decision making by examining the topics that 11 history teachers from 10 schools in England chose to teach and how they approached teaching these topics. Data were gathered from curriculum documents and semi-structured interviews in which teachers’ topic choices and approaches to history were explored. Most teachers adopted a disciplinary approach to history teaching but one focused on analytical structures rather than processes. Additionally the findings suggest a large degree of uniformity in the topics chosen despite the freedom provided within the policy documents for history teaching in England. Few teachers had given much consideration to approaches that demonstrate the ‘usability’ of history for young people. This suggests a need to engage teachers more fully in robust curriculum debates given their central role in enacting curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers whether subject choice at 14–16 influences post-16 transitions, taking into account prior academic attainment and school characteristics, and if so, whether this accounts for socioeconomic, gender, and ethnic differences in access to post-16 education. We consider post-16 progression to full-time education, A-levels, and studying two or more facilitating subjects at A-level. We use ‘Next Steps’, a study of 16,000 people born in England in 1989–1990, linked to administrative education records (the National Pupil Database). We find that students pursuing an EBacc-eligible curriculum at 14–16 had a greater probability of progression to all post-16 educational outcomes, while the reverse was true for students taking an applied GCSE subject. Curriculum differences did not explain the social class differences in post-16 progression, but an academic curriculum was equally valuable for working-class as for middle-class pupils. Pursuing an EBacc-eligible curriculum particularly strongly increased the chances of girls and white young people staying in the educational pipeline, whereas applied subjects were particularly detrimental for girls. An EBacc-eligible curriculum at age 14–16 increased the chances of studying subjects preferred by Russell Group universities at A-level. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores the foundation of a joint research project between social work (SW) colleagues at Hope Africa University in Burundi, and Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom (UK). It considers the destructive impact of colonialism on indigenous SW practices in Burundi setting out an argument for decolonisation of the SW curriculum both in Burundi and the UK. Drawing on the work of Mbembe and the traditional concepts of Ikibiri and Ubuntu, the article sets out a framework for cross-cultural collaboration not dominated by western colonial ideas and works towards the Global Agenda for SW. Potential barriers, and solutions to collaborative working are identified and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary uses the lens of curricular implementation to consider issues and opportunities afforded by the papers in this special edition. While it is interesting to envision innovative approaches to physical education, actually implementing changes in the complex institutional school environment is exceptionally challenging. These authors have done an excellent job presenting viable solutions and fore grounding challenges. Yet, without a concerted effort to invite teachers to engage with us in this process, our implementation initiatives may not enhance the meaningful and educative process that these scholars envision for physical education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]