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Contrary to common assumptions, the vast majority of the world's refugees reside in neighbouring countries in the Global South. This paper explores the complex interaction of global vocational education policies with the local realities of five communities within the under-researched yet highly relevant refugee context of India, across three major cities. It examines whether the stated policy purpose of VET addresses the practical requirements and aspirations of refugees. Drawing on interviews, focus groups, and participatory drawing with 66 respondents from Afghan, Rohingya, Somali, Chin, and Tibetan communities, and staff members from refugee organisations, this paper argues for a move away from the unidimensional goal of economic self-reliance for refugees. By bridging the capabilities approach with intersectionality, the paper calls attention to, and draws policy suggestions for, increment and diversification of VET opportunities to address multiple facets of refugees' lives, and their inclusion in national VET institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2014, the OECD-PISA's Governing Board approved the addition of a set of global competence measures to its Programme of Student Assessment. In our paper, we explore whether and how there are discursive shifts between the two framing papers (2016/2018) and what the outcomes are for policy-shaping. To this end, we employ Network Text Analysis to map shifting semantic configurations. We show that (i) the concept of 'global competence' is radically redefined through the simplification and polarisation of the semantic universe surrounding it, (ii) that the concept 'global' becomes a shifting signifier which enables the establishment of an equivalence between the two studied documents, and that (iii) in this process, concepts such as 'culture' are now erased in the 2018 text. Our findings show the dramatic change of approach between the two documents reinforces a narrative that is familiar to the OECD around knowledge economy proxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new visualisation of tensions in developing and delivering undergraduate higher education. It links qualitative research on academics' perceptions of education in one English research-intensive university to known models of knowledge, curricula, pedagogies, student engagement and identities to propose a new conceptual framework. Reworking the 1980s Clark triangle, with its apices of academic oligarchy, state authority and market denoting system tensions, a common apex now merges state and market agendas, and societal pulls are introduced at the third. The paper acknowledges today's complex higher education environment and responds to critiques about the original triangle's static nature, recognising oscillation within the space and adding a fourth apex representing students' identities. The adapted model, supported through academics' lived experiences, makes explicit the spectrum of choices and desired educational outcomes. It offers an important aid to debates on the purpose of higher education and learning and teaching policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes a discursive perspective on how academics employ self-deprecating humour and laughter to talk about and construct the struggles they faced in academia. Underpinned by ethnomethodological approaches to studying spoken interactions, the paper argues that just as utterances accomplish social actions, academic struggles are discursively constructed. The data came from 30 qualitative interviews with academics working in applied linguistics and related fields in the UK. They ranged from early career researchers to professor emeritus. Drawing insights from higher education studies, pragmatics and interactional linguistics, the paper examines how speakers employed self-deprecating humour and laughter as interactional resources and pragmatic strategies to co-construct understanding, negotiate positioning and enact certain identities in an interview. It also adds a new dimension to higher education studies; in particular, how academics construct their identities through the ways they talked about academic work-related struggles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the findings of a systematic review of qualitative research exploring the views and experiences of pupils moving from primary to secondary school in England. The concept of transition is explored before a brief discussion of the policy and legislation surrounding educational transition. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework was used to ensure a systematic search, following which seven papers were identified. These were reviewed and appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist. Analysis of the literature using thematic synthesis identified key concerns for children who had undergone transition from primary to secondary school and factors that supported this. A key theme highlighted was that of relationships, suggesting this as an area that would benefit from further support. Additional factors including emotions, identity, environment and strategies/recommendations were explored. This review is relevant for professionals working with children who will, or have, undergone the transition from primary to secondary school, and explores recommendations to support this transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the use of creative techniques in a study of the experiences of Russian-speaking linguistic-minority migrant children in English state-funded primary schools at Key Stage Two (7-11 years old). The methodology is based on an interpretative paradigm using a qualitative research approach: a longitudinal multiple-case study with four embedded cases (each case representing one pupil). Focusing on specific examples from the research, the paper considers the benefits of using creative techniques within interviews to generate unique data with linguistic-minority pupils, the constraints of the techniques, and possible solutions for these. The cyclic (i.e. rounds of repeated interviews) research design, which focused on the processes of change, called for systematic alternation of the techniques. I demonstrate the unique integration of board games (the 'interview-through-game') and the 'filling-in exercise' in the interviews. This enabled a continuous adjustment of the techniques by me and by the children, retaining both the systematicity and flexibility (or constraint and emergence) of the creative techniques' development and application. This design helped to reveal the experiences/issues of the participating children, which would otherwise be challenging to explore using other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of schools in developing a sense of common British identity has taken centre stage in the face of 'racialised' accounts of violence during the twenty first century. In this paper, we argue that certain British education policy documents can be understood as hegemonic interventions seeking to resolve ambiguities surrounding constructions of British identity. We do so by examining the Department for Education (DfE) 'Fundamental British Values' (FBV) guidance within the context of its relationship to the Prevent Duty anti-terrorism programme as well as the 'Political impartiality in schools' guidance released by the DfE in 2022. Utilising Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and applying Laclau and Mouffe (2014/1985) conception of hegemony with Hall's (2021/2000) claim that 'Britishness' is an empty signifier, this paper argues that the ambiguities of 'Britishness' present a number of opportunities for power to be exercised and consolidated. Finally, we explore the possible implications for demands to 'decolonise the curriculum' within schools' existing duties and propose possible structural limits placed upon these demands by said duties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We reconceptualize co-teaching in higher education to be more than a method for professional development or adapting to student preferences. Instead, co-teaching offers community and collaboration that can sustain the holistic well-being of professors, especially marginalized faculty who navigate high service loads and extra scrutiny from students. Drawing upon our Chicana/Latina feminist onto-epistemologies, we leveraged embodied pedagogies of care and plática to self reflect and critically analyze our particular approach to co-teaching–what we term 'comadre co-teaching.' This paper demonstrates how co-teaching meets institutionalized expectations for teaching excellence, but most importantly, serves to sustain us as faculty of color and mothers. We present brief narratives of our co-teaching experiences as examples of what it looks and feels like to have support in navigating the chaos of teaching during a pandemic. We also offer lessons learned of what it takes to create and sustain a support network among historically marginalized faculty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak forced universities to immediately shift to online teaching, and the transition presented unprecedented challenges. This paper reports our findings from a collaborative autoethnography study with a special focus on the challenges we encountered and our agentive responses in teaching online. Data reveal four major challenges (1) unpredictable situations, (2) shifting teacher roles in online context, (3) issues on course design, expectations, grading, and feedback, and (4) technology issues. Also, we reported four agentive responses (1) adopting a positive attitude, (2) reexamining our teaching practices and educational goals, (3) exploring alternative pedagogical approaches, and (4) strategically implementing technology to enhance teaching and learning. These intentional reflections became opportunities for us to revisit our positionality, analyze our teaching experiences, and transform them into tools in supporting students. This study calls for more resources for professional development, as well as further conversations and collaborations among teachers and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant proportion of the teaching and learning in PhD programs is conducted independently by the candidate under the supervision of one or more supervisors. Supervisors and students are usually expected to meet regularly to ensure that students are on track to produce a dissertation as independent researchers. Yet few studies to date examine how teaching and learning within supervision meetings is interactionally achieved. In this paper we use a conversation analysis approach to study how supervisors formulate their student-solicited feedback. Specifically, we show that equivocation in giving feedback serves a pedagogical purpose that balances competition between the institutional goals of teaching with the expectations that PhD students should already be competent researchers. While supervisors provided equivocal feedback in both early and late stages of candidature, we show here how the nature of this feedback changes, showing the sensitivities of supervisors to the developing capacities of their supervisees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explicates the codes that prescribe and shape the marine engineer student in times of massification and high attrition rates in Danish non-university higher education. In a case study of a Danish school of marine engineering, the Bernsteinian concept of knowledge structures and Legitimation Code Theory support analysing the official curriculum along with teacher and student interviews to determine what is considered knowledge and whose knowledge is deemed important. We find that teachers' pedagogical decisions are embedded in the epistemological and social conventions of their individual educational backgrounds. Their struggles on content and pedagogic approach make it difficult for students to understand what is legitimate knowledge and who can claim to be a legitimate knower. To offer more students epistemic access to non-university academic study and increase student success, the epistemic and evaluative logics of the pedagogic discourses to which students are exposed must be clarified and made explicit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Authentic learning is gaining popularity in higher education, particularly for courses related to research skills, where authentic assessments can overcome trepidation from both students and faculty. Prior literature has demonstrated the potential value of authentic client-based projects (CBPs) in such settings. However, questions remain about how best to scale authentic learning across different student cohorts, including both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. This paper explores two case studies of authentic learning applied across undergraduate and postgraduate research courses. We explore the impact of different forms of authentic learning, ranging from in-class activities to fully authentic client-based projects, on both student satisfaction and success rates. The results suggest that client-based projects represent a trade-off between satisfaction and learning at the undergraduate level but can be highly successful at postgraduate level if implemented effectively. We provide practical tips for how faculty may scale authentic learning and assessments across undergraduate and postgraduate courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates practitioners' perspectives on the Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) and its use for looked after children (LAC) in England. The paper considers what practitioners in one Local Authority (LA) think now that the funding has passed its infancy. Specifically, does EYPP funding help 'close the gap' for LAC? Q-methodology was used to investigate 19 practitioners' perspectives; all were owners or managers in 19 different settings. This approach was complemented with a questionnaire survey and focus groups held with 14 practitioners in 13 different settings in the same LA. The findings revealed that practitioners consistently focused on whether all LAC should be eligible for this funding and/or whether the funding is able to 'close the gap' between them and their peers. It concludes that EYPP funding can support 'closing the gap' for LAC with developmental delay, but its purpose needs to be clarified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores curiosity of Further Education (FE) lecturers in the United Kingdom through personal narratives and focused group discussions. The paper identifies how curiosity is viewed by FE lecturers as a positive trait for learners to possess, yet when discussing their own curiosities, views changed. Narratives emerge of curiosity being more of a problematic trait to possess whilst lecturing within the business-like structures and an outcome driven environment of FE. The lack of space for lecturer's curiosity was viewed not as a specific institutions problem, but as a system wide problem across the culture of FE. Lecturers felt that creating curiosity, created more work for themselves and was neither celebrated nor embraced within their FE settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The well-established yet under-theorised body of 'Traditional International Schools' warrant much greater sociological analysis and inquiry as 'elite' educational institutions. This paper uses Basil Bernstein's Sociology of the School to discuss the 'expressive culture' of such schools, representing an idealised model of conduct, character and manner. The role of rituals in transmitting this culture is discussed by applying Randall Collins' Interaction Ritual Chain Theory showing how every-day festivals and fundraising events (commonly conceptualised as forming the 'Five Fs') can help build up positive emotional energy, which can be used to facilitate action, and embed the expressive culture. Maurice Halbwachs' concept of Collective Memory is then used to show how interaction rituals can deliver a permanent group recollection, essential for enduring class solidarity and cohesion. Overall, an introductory and coherent theoretical framework for identifying a Sociology of International Schoolingis presented, focusing on what aspects of the schooling experience makmakes it an attractive and elite, privileged one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent decades have seen the evolution of UK business schools into international mass education providers. This transformation has developed against a background of institutional changes that jeopardise work conditions in academia. As few studies have examined the relationships between organisational, social and psychological aspects of academic work life, this paper employs the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model to explore empirically the interplay between business school workplace conditions, burnout and retention rates, based on a national sample. We show that higher demands and lower resources are significant in increasing burnout and turnover, whereas the 'metrics' culture has done much to increase workloads and reduce academic freedom and workplace support. These negative impacts can be offset by creating a collegiate and engaged work environment that promotes greater skills utilisation, autonomy and recognition. Such findings are reported for the first time in the literature with important implications for higher education and the academic community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the historical relationship between the expansion of the UK HE system through sectorial diversification, processes of differentiation/convergence and (in)equalities since the 1960s. It examines the extent to which the connections and tensions between three stories of resource, mission and social differentiations might be influenced (alongside other forces) by the emergence and crisis of successive socio-economic regimes. The empirical analysis of the three types of differentiation compares and contrasts new historical data on funding, enrolment and qualifications for the whole system and its institutional segments. The analysis shows that the ongoing tensions between resource, mission and social differentiations were exacerbated by the effect of the crises of 1973 and 2008 which provoked their misalignment and the destabilisation of the phases of expansion started in the 1960s and the 1990s. This pleads for a new social compromise to overcome the 2008 crisis to which a new HE expansion based on a realignment of, rather than a trade-off between the three dimensions of differentiation might contribute. This realignment requires a reversal of the public/private substitution of funding ensuring that a less unequal resource differentiation reflects and drives fairer processes of mission differentiation or convergence rather than stratifying social inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst the importance of engaging with children's voices is now more widely recognized, there is still a dearth of representation of younger children's voices specifically. Visual methodological tools, such as photo-elicitation and photo-voice are used in research; however, there remains a lack of clarity about what they mean, how they are used, and whether they are effective in providing valuable insights into younger children's everyday worlds. This paper draws on the findings of two research projects utilizing the tools to engage with the voices of 56 children aged four to five years, in the classes of three schools in the UK. It identifies the differences between photo-elicitation and photo-voice and appraises their advantages and limitations when engaging with child voice. It explores whether through careful, critical and conscientious application, these tools might advance understandings of younger children's perceptions of matters affecting them. The definition of photo-elicitation is the insertion of a photograph by the researcher into a research interview to evoke information, feelings, and memories due to the photograph's particular form of representation; photo-voice is defined as a technique that enables people to record their own photographs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, the engineering landscape is continually changing, and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have a responsibility to design curricula that address the growing demands of various industry sectors. Likewise, the roles and responsibilities of an engineer are evolving; requiring a further broadening of the current engineering curriculum. As a profession, engineering draws upon broad interdisciplinary knowledge, and when training twenty-first-century engineers, universities should follow a more comprehensive teaching and learning approach, with a focus on both technical and soft skills including the integration of leadership into engineering curricula. However, the spectrum of engineering leadership is not well-defined. Leadership is one of the most widely sought-after skills in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) industries; it is, therefore, clear that more investigation needs to be carried out into this area of engineering pedagogy. One of the most distinct gaps in the literature is that there is little or no consensus on what approaches should be undertaken to integrate leadership in engineering courses by those in academia. This paper seeks to shed light on some of these gaps, with the primary objective of the evaluation of the current state of leadership education using a nation-wide sample of BEng1 Electronic Engineering course structures and contents at Russell Group2 universities in the UK. It highlights the case study of the University of York, where there is a strong emphasis on the integration of engineering leadership and management skills within the current BEng Electronic Engineering course structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the use of Lesson Study in primary schools in England as a powerful tool for developing teachers' pedagogical knowledge, and for shaping teaching practices that encourage children's engagement. Through Lesson Study, a critical space for dialogic engagement is generated, wherein children contribute to, and shape, teaching and teacher learning. Teachers' perspectives of using Lesson Study were captured using 26 semi-structured interviews and Bourdieu's notion of capital was used to conceptualise and analyse the impact on children. It is proposed that Lesson Study generates opportunities for teachers to explore relations of power through dialogue between teacher and child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on the findings of two studies one completed in 2010 and another in 2019, which employed Q-methodology and post Q-sort semi-structured interviews to an investigation of teachers', in the West Midlands, perspectives of the inclusion agenda. The findings of the 2019 study, demonstrate commonality of findings with that carried out in 2010. The findings reveal that teachers in both studies employed integration and inclusion interchangeably in their attempts to define and operationalise inclusive education. Second, the findings of both studies demonstrate that teachers support inclusion at a theoretical level but in practice find it a difficult concept to operationalise. The 2019 study, though, denotes that a significant barrier to inclusion is whether children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) should or should not be included in SATs. The article details and reflects on the findings of both studies and concludes that the continuous use of SATs needs to be reconceptualise especially in how they enable the inclusion of all children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school principals' instructional leadership and collaborative culture in schools. The study was conducted using a cross-sectional survey with a sample of 382 teachers. The data were collected through the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) and the School Culture Survey. Multiple regression analysis was used to estimate relationships among the variables. The study findings indicate that instructional leadership practices were significantly and positively related to collaborative culture in schools. The findings are discussed according to the related literature, and suggestions are made for policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At all ages, a child who can sustain attention, regulate emotions, inhibit impulsive behaviour, and relate appropriately to adults and peers is able to take advantage of learning opportunities in the classroom, and beyond. This study assesses differences in children's socio-emotional development according to family background, and whether early gaps in these skills widen across childhood in a contemporary UK cohort. Applying models replicating a much-discussed investigation of cognitive trajectories, it finds that large gaps in early childhood persist through school, and that children with similar initial skills diverge over time according to family background. The transition to secondary school is identified as a crucial time when disadvantaged children fall behind, and a priority for future intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quotation in the title from a college leader is a stark reflection of the experience of the Further Education (FE) Sector during the COVID pandemic (2020–21). Traditionally regarded as a poor relation of the English education system, evidence from Sector sources suggest that the five COVID harms identified through a scoping review of the latest research closely mirror the main social and educational features of English general FE colleges. The pandemic has led to longer-term harms on vocational learning, with major disruptions to college-based courses and to apprenticeships, a stagnation situation captured in the metaphor 'educational long-COVID'. The analysis conceptualises the impact of the pandemic on FE provision and learners as leading to a 'COVID learning and skills equilibrium'; whereas effective mitigations are conceptualised through the idea of 'COVID recovery ecosystems'. Rapid review evidence suggests that the most effective way of addressing system-wide disruption is the development of integrated, strategic actions at local and regional levels to address vocational learning losses, facilitate greater entry-to-employment and to create more job opportunities for young people. Without these longer-term measures it is likely that the negative effects of the pandemic on the FE Sector could become further entrenched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking recent public concerns from historians about 'decolonising the curriculum' as its starting point, the article explores how grief over empire - and the inability to recognise and comprehend its impact - is shaping every aspect of the English education system. Moving across events at Pimlico Academy, Highgate School and larger institutions such as the Historical Association and the police, it suggests that a possible way forward is to accept that educators and education are, regardless of the political positions taken, deeply implicated in perpetuating inequalities. By accepting this implication, and understanding the role of grief in this dynamic, the piece argues that individuals and institutions might then establish a new foundation to reason on a more open intellectual and social terrain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores student voice practice from a student's viewpoint. Within England, United Kingdom (UK) student voice initiatives can manifest themselves in many ways, for example: surveys, councils, governors, representative groups, committees and student bodies such as the National Union of Students. The young people that took part in this study were between 16 and 20 years old. In total, 57 students took part in the research: 22 females and 35 males. The students were from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds. The setting was a Further Education College in an urban area of Central England, which serves students from areas of social and economic disadvantage. The project employed a mixed methods research design, with Bourdieu's notions of social capital applied to the analysis. Students took part in focus groups and auto-driven photo-elicitation, followed by semi-structured interviews. The data was analysed thematically utilising an interpretivist approach. The themes demonstrated a student body that was largely dismissive of formal channels of student voice practice, preferring different modes of interaction with their teachers. The findings have implications for student voice practice across England and offer insight into how young people may better be enabled to shape their educational experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article compares policy aims with experiences following the introduction of a new model for STEM apprenticeships in the UK. Degree apprentices work while studying for a degree, undertaking work-based learning and attending on-campus classes. Specifically, this study explores an implementation in Scotland, where computing degrees are designed and delivered through partnerships between employers, universities, and the Scottish Government's skills agency, Skills Development Scotland. This collaboration is designed to bridge employer-reported skills gaps and to bring about an increase in highly-skilled workers. To examine the policy implementation behind the new degrees, a review was conducted of the policy documents that framed their introduction, including texts from university and employer websites promoting apprenticeships. The apprentices' perspectives, barely addressed in the policy documents, were examined through surveys and narrative interviews. The policy documents positioned the new degrees as a 'win-win' opportunity for employer-led higher education, and the apprentices recognised and valued the opportunity to undertake a work-based degree. However, underneath the superficial win-win narrative a complex implementation landscape was observed for employers, apprentices, and universities. Understanding these stakeholder contexts is essential for the longer term sustainability of degree apprenticeships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching assistants (TAs) in the United Kingdom typically work with students with additional and special needs, including the most challenging and vulnerable pupils, in low paid, precarious roles. However, no research has examined how organisational factors such as job demand, control, and support can influence TAs' wellbeing, despite recent evidence demonstrating the importance of organisational factors to teacher wellbeing. Using a large-scale questionnaire approach, data from 2,957 UK TAs investigated the extent to which job demands, control, role clarity, peer- and management-support, organisational change, relationship quality, and student and parental behaviour contribute to perceived stress. Results show that job demands and control consistently contribute to increased perceived stress in TAs regardless of the phase of school in which they are based. There is also some evidence that TAs experience aggression from pupils and parents. For primary-based TAs, a broader range of factors contribute to stress, including levels of support and negative pupil behaviour. Implications are subsequently discussed, with reference to the TAs themselves and the culture of schools in which they work, as are suggestions of the implications for the children in their care. Suggestions for future research and intervention are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I explore a disposition towards a critique of 'reductionism' and 'determinism' that seems to me to be very much prevalent within British sociology. I take a qualitative educational sociology that uses Bourdieusian concepts as one body of research where this disposition is expressed with particular fervour. A close examination of this work reveals its tacit acceptance of the limits of specific, and mostly statistical, classifications. It also reveals a distorted approach to reflexivity and the view of rival approaches and critiques. This points towards a specific and systematic disposition that, through the abundant warnings of 'reductionism' and 'determinism', itself reduces the development of a particular theory to a specific epistemology, thereby endangering the potential of rupture and epistemological break advocated by Bourdieu. This prompts us to pose fresh Bourdieusian questions about the state and practice of Bourdieusian reflexivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study offers an interpretative phenomenological analysis of the intersectional experiences of two 'black or minority ethnic', female dyslexic students as they navigate university spaces within white-male dominated disciplines. The participants kept reflective journals for three weeks after which they took part in a one-to-one interview discussion structured around their journal entries. Following multi-level analysis using IPA (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis), the participants' experiences are discussed under two themes: why does that happen? and should I be here? Following each themed discussion, the authors present their personal reflections upon the emotions and tensions they experienced as part of a black researcher, white-researcher partnership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many national education systems incorporate a central inspectorate tasked with visiting, evaluating and reporting on the performance of schools. The judgements produced by inspectors often play a part in the way that schools are held to account and constitute an important source of data in their own right. Inspection reports are therefore of great interest to researchers. However, the sheer quantity of inspection reports produced by national school inspectorates creates challenges for analysts. We demonstrate the use of text mining – automated processing and analysis of unstructured textual data – to analyse the complete corpus of school inspection reports released by the English national schools inspectorate since the turn of the century. More precisely, we report the results of a sentiment analysis, comparing the tone of inspection reports across the different grades awarded in each inspection and across different Chief Inspectors. In doing so, we hope to demonstrate the efficiency with which text mining approaches can provide representative analysis of very large volumes of inspection reports, making them a useful complement to smaller-scale, manual analyses. Resources and references are provided for researchers looking to use text mining techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surfacing student voices is of utmost importance in higher education institutions. However, the use of large-scale student surveys may not represent the most effective method of eliciting meaningful student perspectives. Focus groups have the potential to elicit a more authentic student voice through greater engagement with students. Furthermore, activities incorporated into these discussions may be beneficial in the higher education context. The aim of this article is to explore the use of activities in focus group discussions within a project focussed on students' use of feedback. We draw on focus group discussion transcripts, debrief transcripts, field notes and activity artefacts to demonstrate how activities can be incorporated into focus group discussions. The findings indicate several benefits to using activities in higher education focus group discussions. As such, a framework to guide the use of activities, based on the purpose of the focus groups, is provided within the context of higher education research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent recommendations have been made to ensure that assessments are aligned with prescribed learning objectives. However, little is known about their usefulness to student and academic groups. Focus groups were conducted with students and academics who studied or taught on a UK undergraduate psychology degree; participants were asked about their perspectives on the purposes of assessments, whether they test the skills they think students should be gaining, and how they use learning objectives in relation to this. Participants were also asked to complete a task matching assessment types to common learning objectives. Results suggested that despite best intentions, both groups still perceive traditional examinations as a test of memory, and students use surface and strategic learning approaches in response. Furthermore, whilst academics use learning objectives to structure teaching, students incorporate learning objectives into strategic and surface level assessment preparations. Results from the matching task suggested that a high proportion of learning objective verbs could cover both surface and deep learning approaches. Consequently, it is argued that students may use learning objectives to develop strategic approaches to learning and assessment preparation, leading to a mismatch between the academic's intended learning approach and the student's used learning approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This critical, ethnographic action research project presents the heavily gendered playground interactions between 14 girls and 16 boys at a state funded, mixed-sex, multicultural primary school in the heart of London. Through casting a critical eye on the notion of spatiality and human territoriality and the role in which schools play when creating prescriptive socialising spaces, I aim to transform social possibilities for the majority of girls and some boys in my sample size of 30. I construct an immersive, age-appropriate, fairytale-inspired experience that seeks to subvert the 'typical' gender binary and attain social justice for those who feel ostracised in this communal socialising space on account of biological sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]