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Since the turn of the century, there have been frequent expressions of concern about a perceived lack of creativity in UK schools, in both curriculum content and in teaching. Recently, as the emphasis on mathematics, science and technology has strengthened, serious concerns have also been expressed about the marginalisation of the arts and creativity in schools. In the light of these concerns, this paper reports in-depth, qualitative research into the pedagogies of practising artists experienced in working with young people and highly valued by the schools that employ them. We use the notion of "signature pedagogies" to argue that the artist-teachers adopted a particular stance and set of pedagogic practices that are coherent and distinctively different to those that are currently officially promoted in UK schools, and that this distinctive pedagogy enhanced both creative practice and engagement in the arts in the schools in which the artists worked. In this paper, we identify the signature pedagogies of the artists, theorise their stance and argue that the findings of our study provide a heuristic which can be valuable to all teachers who are interested in expanding their teaching repertoires and fostering students' creativity.

Educational researchers, like other academic investigators, are expected to carry out research in an ethical manner. This paper draws on the author's experience of conducting a research study related to social justice, which examines intergenerational dynamics and education amongst British Asian families. It discusses the importance of ethical considerations, and the need for reflexivity, throughout the research project. It highlights the problems of access and the ways in which they are overcome. Significantly the paper notes how researchers, who are ostensibly knowledgeable about the ways of life of the research participants, can still go into the research field with preconceived notions about these groups or individuals. Further, it shows how these researchers can be proved wrong, and can hone their research skills by learning from these experiences.

This paper makes the claim that student teachers' learning depends a great deal on the individual school department where they are working, its social practices and the relationships of the teachers involved in initial teacher education (ITE). The paper considers how using a Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) lens to view data generated on school ITE activity helps to focus vital social, cultural and historical dimensions of practice. The research uses an activity system as a descriptive heuristic to explore whether understandings of the object and tools of school-based ITE activity systems are shared. The findings illustrate differences in the kinds of teacher learning possible, afforded in relation to the ways in which the object of the ITE activity system was constructed, and the tensions that emerged in interaction with other related activity systems. The necessity of negotiating and renegotiating the system's object regularly is emphasised in order for collaborative work in ITE to be successful in helping create opportunities that develop teachers through expansive learning. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

As a way to raise attainment, schools are encouraged to form ability groups across classes for particular subjects. There is limited evidence however about the relationship between setting and primary school children's characteristics and how teachers perceive them. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between set positioning for English and Maths and teachers' perceptions about 11-year-olds' behaviour and school attitudes and future education goals, and children's psychosocial and cognitive characteristics and background through secondary data analyses of the fifth sweep of the Millennium Cohort Study. The study employed binary logistic regression analyses and revealed strong associations between set positioning and teacher perceptions of 11-year-olds' behaviour and attitudes and future education goals. Associations between set position and teacher perceptions of children's identity as learners were stronger than those for children's self- reported attitudes and behaviour. Also, family income and gender emerged as strong predictors of children's position in sets. Set positioning is not a neutral act; it has implications about children's personal agency and their identity as learners.

In the last ten years teacher education in the further education (FE) sector has witnessed a substantial reform of teacher training with the introduction of qualifications designed to meet the professional needs of people in different teaching or training situations across the sector. The assumption of the new system is that workforce issues and problems can be resolved through the regulation and control of teacher performance using documented "standards" and with subject-specific mentoring. Using data from a research study, the authors argue against the performative nature of the reformed system and in favour of pedagogical mentoring to support professional formation and development throughout the sector. The aim of the paper is both to exemplify the performative shift in the FE sector as part of a broader move in the sector towards increased control, surveillance and accountability as well as to demonstrate opportunities within the reformed structure for a new and critical engagement in policy and practice. (Contains 1 table and 5 notes.)

This paper reports how students talk about their aspirations in regard to higher education (HE) and their mathematics, what "repertoires" they use to mediate this discourse, and how students' predominant "repertoire style" relates to their cultural background. Our analyses draw on an interview sample (n=40) of students selected because they are "on the cusp" of participation or non-participation in mathematically demanding programmes in further and higher education. The interviews explored the students' aspirations for their future in general and HE in particular, influences on these choices, and the place of mathematics in these. Thematic analysis revealed four interpretative repertoires commonly in use, which we call "becoming successful", "personal satisfaction", "vocational", and "idealist" repertoires. Most of the sample was found to use a single, predominant repertoire, which we call their repertoire "style": what is more, this style is found to be strongly related to background factors independently obtained. The implications for policy and practice are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)

This article explores the recent policy concerning the education of disabled children and young people, and the debate of special education versus mainstream inclusion propelled by Warnock. It argues that the formal and informal practices, designed by non-disabled adults, to facilitate the inclusion of disabled students in mainstream schools may be very similar to those which disabled students perceive as barriers to their full participation in mainstream education. This article presents empirical evidence, divided into three themes, to emphasise disabled children's individual perceptions and experiences of mainstream and special school, as well as their preferences towards both. In so doing, it suggests that disabled children are not a homogeneous group and constructing them as such often overlooks the diversity and richness of their everyday lives. Further, it highlights the importance of including disabled children and young people in developing policy that impacts their lives.

School absenteeism and particularly unauthorized absenteeism or truancy has been the focus of a number of, so far largely unsuccessful, recent policy initiatives. The paper draws upon two sources of data, the British Household Panel Survey and detailed interviews with a group of persistent truants, to consider the extent, consequences and explanations for truancy from secondary schools. Truancy increases steadily across the years of secondary school and, especially in the later years of compulsory schooling there is evidence that patterns of truancy established in one year carry on into the next. Truancy is strongly associated with negative outcomes in terms of not staying in education post-16, GCSE results and becoming unemployed. Coming from families of low socio-economic status, parents not monitoring homework, negative attitudes towards teachers and the value of education are all associated with higher levels of truancy. However, the majority of young people in these situations do not truant and there are many truants who do not have these characteristics. A major explanation given by young people themselves for their non-attendance is poor relationships with teachers, including teachers failing to match their expectations. Other factors mentioned by young people include bullying but also a more general dislike of the atmosphere of the school, sometimes associated with a change of school. There was little evidence of negative responses to the curriculum leading to truancy. It is suggested that we can distinguish between socio-economic and attitudinal factors which make young people vulnerable to truancy and precipitating events or processes which result in truanting behaviour. (Contains 5 tables and 4 notes.)

The 2010 Academies Act was significant in introducing Free Schools to the English education system. Opening up funding to new, non-profit entrants on the basis of demand, the policy has aroused support and controversy on political, philosophical and practical educational grounds with implications for social justice in terms of equity and freedom. Given the ostensible quality and empowerment goals of the enacted new (limited) freedoms, the extent of activity towards them is evaluated alongside the Department for Education application procedure's fitness for purpose. Opinions and experiences of free school proposers were gathered through four in-depth interviews and a wider questionnaire yielding data from 19 of 55 successful proposers opening schools in September 2012. Wider policy issues are considered, notably concerning concepts of social justice. While successful applicants appeared to meet the policy's demand and educational quality prerequisites, procedural uncertainties and inefficiencies hampered their progress. Furthermore, political and philosophical opposition and practical limits to time, expertise and resources have constrained the policy's systemic impact. Regarding social justice, whether Free Schools enhance choice or reduce equity remains largely a moot point given the obstacles to system-wide change.

This article reports on an ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) doctoral study which investigated how teachers consulted pupils about teaching and learning in classrooms. Interest in consulting pupils has increased over the last decade; existing research suggests pupils have valuable perspectives on teaching and learning which teachers can usefully draw upon to inform thinking and planning. However, little research investigates the process and impact of consultation by teachers in their classrooms. This study sought further understanding in this area by exploring the consultation practices and responses of four teachers with Year 8 classes in a school with a history of consulting pupils. How would teachers consult pupils within the complexities and constraints of their "normal" teaching routines and responsibilities? Qualitative case studies of two science and two English teachers were carried out over one academic year. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews (with teachers, pupils and school management), document analysis and lesson observation. Data analysis was guided by a systematic inductive approach aided by QSR NVivo. The article focuses on selected findings of the study related to how teachers were able to consult and respond to their pupils in varying degrees depending on contextual factors. It concludes by suggesting issues to be reviewed by school management and policy-makers if significant benefit is to be realised from teachers consulting pupils on classroom teaching and learning. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)

It has long been established that marking accuracy in public examinations varies considerably among subjects and markers. This is unsurprising, given the diverse cognitive strategies that the marking process can entail, but what makes some questions harder to mark accurately than others? Are there distinct but subtle features of questions and their mark schemes that can affect accuracy? Such features could potentially contribute to a broad rationale for designating questions to markers according to personal expertise. The aim of this study was to identify question features that can distinguish those questions that are marked highly accurately from those that are marked less accurately. The study comprised an exploration of maths and physics questions from past GCSE examinations, which were marked in an experimental setting by groups of markers and yielded differing marking accuracies. The questions also varied in their difficulty for GCSE candidates, and in the cognitive strategies needed to mark them. Kelly's Repertory Grid technique and semi-structured interview schedules were used in meetings with highly experienced principal examiners, who had led the experimental marking of the questions. The data generated comprised ratings for each question on a number of question features (constructs). The ratings were analysed together with the marking accuracy data, enabling an investigation of possible relationships between each question feature and (i) marking accuracy, (ii) question difficulty for the candidate, and (iii) apparent cognitive marking strategy usage. For both subjects, marking accuracy was found to be related to various subject-specific question features, some of which were also related to question difficulty (for the candidate) and/or apparent marking strategy complexity. For both maths and physics, several other subject-specific question features were found to be unrelated to accuracy. Overall, the findings have potential implications for the management of markers and for question design. (Contains 53 tables and 2 notes.)

The article considers young people's occupational choices at the age of 15 in relation to their educational attainment, the occupations of their parents and their actual occupations when they are in their early 20s. It uses data from the British Household Panel Survey over periods of between five and ten years. The young people in the survey are occupationally ambitious: many more aspire to professional, managerial and technical jobs than the likely availability of these occupations. In general ambitions and educational attainment and intentions are well aligned but there are also many instances of misalignment; either people wanting jobs which their educational attainments and intentions will not prepare them for, or people with less ambitious aspirations than their educational performance would justify. Children from more occupationally advantaged families are more ambitious, achieve better educationally and have better occupational outcomes than other children. However, where young people are both ambitious and educationally successful the occupational outcomes are as good for those from disadvantaged as advantaged families. In contrast, where young people are neither ambitious nor educationally successful, the outcomes for those from disadvantaged homes are very much poorer than for other young people. The article suggests that while choice is real it is also heavily constrained for many people. A possible educational implication of the study is that career interventions could be directed at under-ambitious but academically capable young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. (Contains 12 tables and 6 notes.)

Educational and psychological research suggests that gender and musical genre can influence musical learning and the development of musical identities, particularly during adolescence. However, there is a relative paucity of educational studies in higher education (HE) concerning the possible impact on musical learning of gender and musical genre, either individually or collectively. As part of a two-year comparative study funded under the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)'s Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) that is focused on musical learning in HE, we investigated the effect of musicians' gender and chosen musical performance genre (embracing Western classical, jazz, popular, and Scottish traditional music) on undergraduate and postgraduate (career-based) learning. Data were gathered through a web-based survey of participants (n=244) drawn from four HE institutions (HEIs) in Glasgow, York, Leeds and London and the wider workplace, supplemented by semi-structured case study interview data from a sub-set (n=27) of these participants. Statistical and qualitative analyses indicate that gender and genre can impact individually on some aspects of participants' psychological and socio-psychological make-up and in their attitudes to learning. However, there was no evidence statistically or qualitatively of any major interaction between the variables of genre and gender in the data from the chosen measures. Furthermore, irrespective of musical genre, skilled musicians had many aspects in common in terms of their core musical identities and behaviours, implying that the requirements for highly skilled musical performance can transcend particular group characteristics. (Contains 2 tables, 4 figures and 3 notes.)

A "mapping task" was used to explore the networks available to head teachers, school coordinators and local authority staff. Beginning from an ego-centred perspective on networks, we illustrate a number of key analytic categories, including brokerage, formality, and strength and weakness of links with reference to a single UK primary school. We describe how teachers differentiate between the strength of network links and their value, which is characteristically related to their potential impact on classroom practice. (Contains 7 figures and 1 endnote.)