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This paper reports the use of a systematic review to explore the impact of daily mathematics lessons in England on enhancing pupil confidence and competence in early mathematics. The review process identified 18 key papers. An in-depth analysis of these indicated that there was some evidence that the introduction of daily mathematics lessons, as part of the National Numeracy Strategy in England, has led to some improvement in pupil confidence and competence in early mathematics. However, the analysis also highlighted some shortcomings in the way this approach has impacted on classroom practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the two annual conferences related to education. The annual conference for 1978 was held in King's College, London, England, on 15 December 1978. Registrations for the Conference had numbered 84 and among those attending the larger sub-groups were from Universities and Colleges of Education or Colleges and Institutes of Higher Education . Discussion group activity continued after lunch but participants met again for a plenary session in the latter part of the afternoon, not to receive conventional reports of discussions but to develop the points of special interest which had been raised and to exchange views more widely. The Standing Conference on Studies in Education will hold its annual conference on 14 December 1979 at King's College, London, England. The theme will be Individuality in Education. Circulars concerning participation in the conference will be sent to members of the Standing Conference on Studies in Education in the autumn but non-members who would like to take part in the conference should get in touch with James Scotland, Secretary, Aberdeen College of Education, Hilton Place, Aberdeen, Scotland.

The paper reports a study of children's attitudes to school based on a questionnaire survey of 845 pupils in their first year of secondary school in England, together with interviews with a sample of the children. A clearly structured set of attitudes emerged from a factor analysis which showed a distinction between instrumental and affective aspects of attitudes but also dimensions within these, including a sense of teacher commitment and school as a difficult environment. Virtually all children had a strong sense of the importance of doing well at school. However, a substantial minority were not sure that they would stay on after 16. There were few differences between boys and girls or between children from different socio-economic backgrounds but children planning to leave at 16 enjoyed school less and were less sure that it had anything to offer them. There was an almost universal commitment to the value of education but, for a minority, an ambivalence about the experience and relevance of schooling for them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper considers apprenticeship as a model of education that both teaches technical skills and provides the grounding for personal formation. The research presented is based on long-term anthropological fieldwork with minaret builders in Yemen, mud masons in Mali and fine-woodwork trainees in London. These case studies of on-site learning and practice support an expanded notion of knowledge that exceeds propositional thinking and language and centrally includes the body and skilled performance. Crafts – like sport, dance and other skilled physical activities – are largely communicated, understood and negotiated between practitioners without words, and learning is achieved through observation, mimesis and repeated exercise. The need for an interdisciplinary study of communication and understanding from the body is therefore underlined, and the paper suggests a way forward drawing on linguistic theory and recent neurological findings. It is argued that the validation and promotion of skilled practice as ‘intelligent’ is necessary for raising the status and credibility of apprentice-style learning within our Western systems of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on school choice and the extent to which admissions to publicly-funded secondary schools in England address issues of equity and social justice. It argues that schools with responsibility for their own admissions are more likely than others to act in their own self interest by ‘selecting in’ or ‘creaming’ particular pupils and ‘selecting out’ others. Given this, it is argued that individual schools should not be responsible for admissions. Instead, admissions should be the responsibility of a local authority (or non-partisan body); this body should make decisions about who should be allocated to which school on the basis of the expressed wishes of the parents, and the admissions criteria of the school in question. Admissions criteria should be objective, clear and fair and the admissions system itself should address issues of equity and social justice. It is argued that systems where there are some ‘controls’ on the choice process should be facilitated to address equity and social justice considerations which can benefit individuals and communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the system of banding used in England by the former Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) in order to seek to obtain an intake to secondary schools that was balanced in terms of ability. The first part of the paper provides a brief history of the system of banding, how it was informed by verbal reasoning testing and how it was subsequently based on the results of a specially constructed reading test. The second part of the paper examines the extent of banding after the abolition of the ILEA. Whilst LEA-wide banding is currently only used by three LEAs, many schools in inner London that are responsible for their own admissions (i.e. voluntary-aided and foundation schools) have introduced banding. The problems associated with banding at a school level are discussed and it is argued that banding at the level of the LEA is likely to be more equitable, more transparent and more likely to reduce social segregation; in addition, there is some evidence to suggest that the ILEA banding system resulted in a higher percentage of parents achieving their stated first preference school than more recent admissions policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the reforms made to the quasi-market in school-based education in England that occurred between May 1997 and May 2001. It discusses the changes that have taken place in relation to parental choice, admissions to schools, school diversity, funding and examination 'league tables'. The Labour Government can be seen as having embraced the quasi-market with a similar enthusiasm to that of its Conservative predecessors although it has tended to emphasise social inclusion as opposed to competition. While it has attempted to soften the edges of the quasi-market it has not tackled some of its major deficiencies such as the power that schools that are their own admission authorities have to distort the admissions process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the period since 1944 English primary education has been subject to recurring criticism. Official enquiries, surveys of attainment, individual causes-célèbres and the pronouncements of pundits have drawn attention to purported ‘rises’ The paper discusses the background, procedures and findings of the earliest of the post-war official enquiries – an unpublished and previously uncited investigation by the Central Advisory Council for Education (England). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the validity of National Curriculum assessment in England. It works with the concept of ‘consequential validity’ (Messick, 1989) which incorporates both conventional ‘reliability’issues and the use to which any assessment is put. The review uses the eight stage ‘threats to validity’model developed by Crooks, Kane and Cohen (1996). The complexity of National Curriculum assessment makes evaluation difficult. These assessments are used for a variety of purposes so that the ‘consequential’aspects are compounded. National Curriculum assessment also involves both Teacher Assessment and tests – each of which has strengths and limitations in relation to validity. The main finding is that the validity of National Curriculum assessment hinges on the balance between Teacher Assessment and testing. Between them they can meet Crooks et al.' s requirements of a valid assessment system. The current emphasis on the use of test results for school accountability and as a measure of national standards has undermined Teacher Assessment to a point at which the validity of the system is in question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper problematises the official discourse of economic competitiveness and social inclusion used by the 2007 Education and Skills Bill to justify the proposal to extend compulsory participation in education and training in England to the age of 18. Comparisons are drawn between this attempt to raise the age of compulsion and previous attempts, which took place in a significantly different socio-economic context. It is argued that the needs of those most likely to be affected by the current proposal – young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) – are subordinated to the needs of an English economy that is increasingly based upon low-skill, low-pay work relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the findings from a survey of over 400 young people in metropolitan areas in the Netherlands and England concerning their views on identity and school history. The research explored pupils’ ideas about which facets of history were of interest to them, what history they believed should be taught in schools, and their views on the purposes of school history and history in general. The coding of the data made it possible to delineate between those from different ethnic minority backgrounds, boys and girls, age and level of education and first or second generation of migration. The study revealed significant differences between young people's ideas about history and identity, and those advanced by politicians and policy makers in the Netherlands, England and elsewhere. The concluding section of the paper considers the implications of the findings for policy makers in the field of history education in schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the incidence of the diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) among White and Asian children with reference to data obtained from thirteen local education authorities (LEAs) in England. It begins by outlining some of the theoretical debates associated with the definition, diagnosis and prevalence of ASD. The empirical component underpinning this work uses logistic modelling to ascertain whether the proportion of children with a statement of special educational need (SEN) for ASD is different for Asian and for White children and whether the proportion of children with a statement of SEN for ASD varies between LEAs. The discussion speculates as to possible reasons for the differences found and identifies areas for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights the annual SCSE conference held on December 16, 1983 at the King's College in London, England. Theme adopted for the event; Number of people present; Attendance of people concerned with higher education and educational studies.

Highlights the annual conference of the Standing Conference on Studies in Education in London, England. Theme of the event; Programs and activities; Attendees.

Highlights the annual Standing Conference on Studies in Education conference held at King's College in Strand, London, England on December 14, 1984. Programs, discussions and announcements; Attendees, members and participants; Topics of the discussions; Theme of the conference; Opening speaker.

The article previews the 1980 conference titled "Standing Conference on Studies in Education (SCSE)" held on December 12, 1980 in King's College, London, England. In the conference the topic for discussion was" The Impact of Research on Educational Studies." The chairman of SCSE, Keith Thompson welcomed the participants in the conference. Then Prof. Sutherland chaired the opening plenary session, addressed by Prof. Sixten Marklund of the University of Stockholm. Dealing with the era of comprehensivization, Prof. Marklund traced in a wide and impressive survey the way in which, in very different educational systems, the United States, England, France and Sweden, the stages of enunciation of principles, legislative implementation, and formal reorganization of schools had followed each other. He noted the common trends in comprehensivization including raising the upper limit of compulsory education, delaying differentiation within schools, new types of school programmes introducing links between school and society and industry, and an increased enrolment at upper secondary level within and across the systems.

Highlights the annual conference of the Standing Conference on Studies in Education held on December 16, 1983 at King's College in Strand, London, England. Theme of the meeting that caters to the social and educational effects of technological change; Opening address given by Geoffrey Hubbard, Council for Educational Technology; Circulation of background papers in advance.

Highlights the annual conference of 1982 in King's College in London, England. Identification of conference theme of quality in education; Profusion of seminar and other background papers; Keynote address by Peter Renshaw, Headmaster of the Yehudi Menuhin School, on the conference theme of Quality in Education.

In 2004, the Department for Education and Skills in England published its Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners (DfES, 2004). It was preceded by Excellence and Enjoyment: a strategy for primary schools (DfES, 2003). ‘Excellence and enjoyment’ seems to constitute an ambiguity, even a contradiction. The government's view is otherwise. It states that enjoyment (for pupils) is a consequence of excellent teaching. In turn, excellent teaching is said to be more assured if it is personalised and creative. This official logic is questionable. A different interpretation is offered. Global capitalism is placing fiscal pressures on the public expenditure of the nation-state, and new accommodations and justifications have to be made by government as it continues to re-focus the education system towards an economic purpose. In this endeavour it must gain public and professional assent. Informed by critical theorists, it is argued here that ‘excellence’ associates with a producer ethic; ‘enjoyment’ with a consumer ethic. The former enables the capital accumulation process within a social-democratic welfare state; the latter justifies the policies of accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the impact of recent policy on the nature of competition within English higher education (HE) for students. Revisions made to the method of allocating Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) teaching funds and the introduction of performance monitoring and targeted recruitment premiums have changed the incentives facing higher education institutions (HEI)s when designing recruitment strategies. We consider the extent to which the experience of similar market-based reforms on the English secondary schooling system is being replicated in HE. Promoting increased competition by comparison was advocated as a means of stimulating greater allocative, technical and dynamic efficiency in both schools and universities. Similarly, relaxing institutions’ capacity constraints and introducing targeted financial incentives have been touted as effective mech-anisms to assist the attainment of policy objectives. However, the experience of market-based reforms of state secondary schooling indicates that dysfunctional responses occur and that the overall impact on market behaviour is more complex than anticipated. We consider whether similar processes are evolving in HE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a response to an article written by Charles Batteson, which focused on the 1976 Ruskin College Speech, delivered by James Callaghan, which was regarded as the moment of British politics of 1976. Contention that the New Right Speech was instrumental in pivoting the direction of Labour policies for school reform; Origin of the Ruskin Speech; Significance of the Ruskin Speech to New Right education policies.

Reports developments involving the Standing Conference on Studies in Education (SCSE) in London, England as of October 1985. Annual conference of the organization held at King's College; Progress of the Selection Committee's selection of books to be awarded the SCSE Book Prizes for books published in 1984; Other special events of the organization.

Opinion. Looks at a study of comprehensive schools in English local education authority while discussing the educational status of two Catholic Schools. Information on the perceptions of Catholic Schools; Exploration of some possible casual relationships; Background factors associated with this study.

Focuses on the concerned with the nature of English subject philosophies and with the need to work towards a more explicitly articulated the account in the context of initial teacher training in England. Process of outlining a number of different views of the subject; Discussions of English in official publications or in the writing of leading specialists dealing with the teaching of English in schools; Indication of cultural analysis.

Looks into the controversy engulfing the Education Act of 1902 in England. Provisions of the act; Reason why the legislation offended progressive educationists; Stand of the Church of England concerning the issue.

Highlights the conference of SCSE at King's College in London, England. Winners of the prices for books published in 1985; Numbers of members attended; Theme of the conference.

Highlights the conference for the education sector held in King's College in London, England. Theme; Organizers; Programs and activities.

Highlights the annual conference of the Standing Conference on Studies in Education at King's College in London, England on December 19, 1981. Names of lecturers; Discussion on the impact of politics on education; Evaluation of the conditions and attitudes of teachers.

The article presents information on the Standing Conference on Studies in Education which was organized in University of London from December 12-13, 1974. Lecturer L.Perry especially stressed the tension between the need to measure and the aim of educating, measuring the comparative achievement of individuals is not the same as discovering how educated they are. In considering measurement devices, one must consider how far they are educationally valuable, one must not simply accept some devices because they are tidier and easier to use than others. It must be remembered that teaching at any level remains a personal relationship and this relationship may become impossible when assessment enters in.

Announces the SCSE conference in King's College, London. Schedule of the convention; Topic of the conference: List of participants.

This article investigates the experience of individual learners who have been allocated learning support in the further education system in England. The particular focus is on interviewees’ constructions of their emotional and psychic experiences. Through the adoption of a psycho-social perspective, learners’ tendency to ‘idealise’ their learning support workers is understood as a strategy for coping with the anxiety generated by a range of previous experiences. The implications for policy-makers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although church-related universities in England gradually became more secular throughout the twentieth century, a group of nine teacher education colleges with church foundations have recently developed into full fledged universities. This article draws upon documentary and site-based research to evaluate the relevance of the Christian identity for these institutions in light of recent scholarship on the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports research in three Nottingham schools, concerned with (1) ‘The school as fertile ground: how the ethos of a school enables everyone in it to benefit from the presence of artists in class’; (2) ‘Children on the edge: how the arts reach those children who otherwise exclude themselves from class activities, for any reason’ and (3) ‘Children's voices and choices: how even very young children can learn to express their wishes, and then have them realised through arts projects’. The research methodology was rooted in two modes of inquiry, philosophical investigation and action research. The article draws on this research to argue that arts-based work in school has helped disadvantaged and/or disaffected children to engage in activities (both arts-based and others), and to be able to lay the groundwork for exercising voice and agency as they did so. If social justice is to flourish there is a need for particular kinds of public spaces and a need to create conditions such that children can learn to participate in those spaces, whether or not they are comfortable with the usual settings for ‘rational argument’ or ‘deliberative democracy’. It is suggested that arts-based education, in some forms, is one good way of creating these conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We suggest that there is a need for those who seek to explore issues associated with the implementation of citizenship education in England to clarify its specific nature. This can be done, at least in part, through a process of comparison. To that end we review some of the connections and disjunctions between ‘character education’ and ‘citizenship education’. We argue, drawing from US and UK literature but focusing our attention on contexts and issues in England, that there are indeed some broad areas of overlap between these two fields. Citizens should be of ‘good’ character and the educational initiatives that we consider both emerge from a concern about current trends in society. However, we suggest that the overlaps with citizenship education principally apply when character education is drawn very broadly. When we examine a particular approach to character education that is often US-based, and titled as ‘citizenship’, we note many contrasts with citizenship education as formulated in the National Curriculum for England. We suggest that citizenship educators in England need to interpret claims about the similarity between these two fields with caution, or meanings that apply to both character education and citizenship education will be distorted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyses of market-based reforms of state schooling have occasionally acknowledged positional elements in parental demand, but none has fully examined their nature and implications. Contrary to the normal predictions of orthodox economic analysis, competition in positional markets can result in inefficient outcomes. Predominantly relying upon recent British experience, we examine the extent to which compulsory schooling can be viewed as a positional good and explore its implications for policy. In particular, we consider whether policies targeting increases in parental choice assist a rise in the overall level of educational attainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A case study of the changing geography curriculum illuminates the continuing struggles over subject knowledge at national level, and highlights more general issues about ideology and the politics of curriculum change 1991-2000. The investigation focuses on the processes and impacts of two National Curriculum Reviews and the changing policy trends and structures becoming apparent under New Labour. Three phrases of curriculum policy-making are tentatively recognised, raising questions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights the conference that will be held at King's College in London, England on December 12, 1986. Theme of the conference; Speakers of the conference; Topics that will be tackled in the conference.

Highlights the annual conference of the Standing Conference on Studies in Education held on December 18, 1981 at the King's College in London, England. Theme adopted for the event; Appearance of Norman Lindop and Paul Hirst to give the opening addresses; Significance of the conference on the planning of the educational system of the country.

Highlights the annual conference of the Standing Conference on Studies in Education held on December 12, 1980 at King's College in London, England. Attendees; Theme of the event; Activities and programs; Keynote speakers; Contact information.

Examines the education of Jewish children in late 19th century England. Impact of the social and economic restrictions on the education of Jewish children during the period; Factors that contributed to the success of the elementary education provided for both immigrant Jews and those born to immigrant parents in the country; Teachers' expectations towards Jewish children in the country; Ways by which attitudes towards Jewish parents affect the performance of their children.

Focuses on personal effectiveness and autonomy as an integrating theme in post-16 education in England. Major implications for all aspects of education; Factors that are the consequences for education of post-16; Requirements of an effective systems of tutorial support.

Examines whether in education, the prima facie benefit of more choice and power for the consumer is sufficient to secure justified assent to policy change, or whether that benefit is merely an element in a complex equation in England. Series of possible responses to proposed change; Requirements on the rights if individuals; Basis for proposing policy change.

Focuses on the present image and future of comprehensive schooling in England. Implications on the failure of the comprehensive school movement; Importance on the promotion and maintenance of a positive image for a comprehensive schools; Indication on the introduction of market principles in education.

Examines a case study on the implementation of sex equality in physical education for equal curricular opportunity in England. History of the explicit recognition by official agencies of sex discrimination in schools; Exploration of the difficulties of policy implementation; Assessment on how far the notion of sex equality has become implanted in an area of the school curriculum typically neglected by curriculum theorists, the physical education.

Discusses the revision of London School Boards for 1989 for politics and education according to District Auditor T. Carclay Cockerton in England. Celebration in legal struggles in the development of English education; Domination of educational administrators and policy-makers in schooling; Identification of spending money on science and art subjects.

Examines the value of learning theories and educational research when applied to the complexities of student learning. Association of students' approach to reading with general approach to studying; Influence of cognition on academic performance; Development of deep-level reasoning through interconnection between ideas.

Examines the problems with combining different disciplines in the production of a course about the theory of curriculum design at the Open University in Milton Keynes, England. Arousal of barriers-between-disciplines in the teaching strategies; Relationship between autonomy and needs-analysis; Importance of considering factors to promote cooperation between interdisciplinary teams.

There is a popular romantic image of the small school set deep in the countryside, where a handful of children work harmoniously under the direction of a dedicated and resourceful teacher. A teacher's account of her years as headmistress of a one teacher school in Cambridgeshire, England illustrates how effectively such a school can respond to the emotional and intellectual needs of its individual pupils. The official view of the small school is much less rosy. Considering the future of education in rural Wales the Central Advisory Council for Education suggested that schools with fewer than 20 pupils should be amalgamated to form three-teacher schools of 40-50 pupils. The Council felt that standards of attainment were generally low in very small schools and that provision for music, drama and games was particularly difficult to organize. Although the report recognized the importance of the individual attention children receive in small schools and valued the 'pleasant intimacy of relationship between teacher and young child' their overall assessment of these schools was unfavourable and amalgamation was recommended even though it might mean in some cases a journey to school of up to 45 minutes each way.

When the 1902 Education Act abolished the school board system in Great Britain and transferred its schools to the new local councils' education committees, it ended a period of Victorian history noted for religious controversy. The most important single controversy in the period was that over the issue, in 1894, of a circular to its teachers by the London, England School Board regarding religious instruction, and the election debate which followed. One Nonconformist leader, John Clifford, described the debate thus, "indeed in this century of religious, political and social warfare, there has not been a controversy in which such momentous interests have been imperilled or such bewildering and confusing issues raised. He who can enter such a war with a light heart must surely want a well-trained head."

This article focuses on the social conditions of miners in Cornwall and their initiatives in adult education. The miner's poor living and working conditions were a source of concern, and he often found his only outlets in debauchery and drunkenness. His earnings, varied from pitch to pitch in the same mine, but they climbed appreciably in the early nineteenth century. The author observes that the roots of the miner's social improvement might be sought in the late eighteenth century, when Wesleyan Methodism promoted a moral reformation, and inculcated a desire to succeed, besides supplying some inexpensive literature. Much remained to be done, however, before the working miner could benefit directly from an education related to his trade, or indeed, before there was a broad consensus of opinion accepting the value of such an education. The institutions that were to make some contribution to its development, a number were to be involved in wider aspects of adult education, rather than being specific mining schools, and the education they dispensed was more general than properly scientific or technical.