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The high achievement of British Chinese students in the British education system is established in the official literature and has recently been subject to increased attention and comment; albeit it remains the case that few studies have asked students or their families about the factors contributing to their success. This paper revisits findings from an earlier research project that investigated the extent to which British Chinese students and their parents value education (and their rationales), their experiences of British education, and the construction of British Chinese students by their teachers. The study revealed the ‘hidden racisms’ experienced by British Chinese students, the problematisation of their perceived approaches to learning by British teachers in spite of their high attainment, and the benefits, costs, and consequences of their valuing of education. This article contextualises these prior findings within more recent discourses and debates around ‘Chinese success’, precipitated by increased policy attention to the educational attainment of different groups of students, especially from low socio-economic backgrounds. It argues that these discourses on one hand elevate Chinese successes and teaching methods (in contrast to prior narratives), but on the other they continue to exoticise and ‘Other’ the British Chinese, misrecognising educational practices common among White middle-class parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the model of professional doctorate (D.Prof) as a route for those immersed in professional practice but who wish to undertake research at the doctoral level. One definition of the professional doctorate given by the United Kingdom Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE) describes it as 'a programme of advanced study and research which, whilst satisfying the university criteria for the award of a doctorate, is designed to meet the specific needs of a professional group external to the university'. Central to the heart of the D.Prof is professional practice. It has been described as developing 'researching professionals' rather than 'professional researchers', and as part of the move towards the knowledge economy in higher education, can be seen as part of the transformation from 'autonomous scholar' into 'enterprising self'. This paper explores my choice of a professional doctorate over a traditional PhD, and the role that reflection and reflexivity have in informing the research focus, methodology and practice development aspects of my study. It is argued that as social work is a practice based discipline, and one in which research is aimed at providing practice improvement, models of doctoral study which have at their heart the centrality of professional practice are more appropriate vehicles for those practitioners who wish to become 'scholarly professionals'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social mobility has been a central tenet of UK Government public policy, viewed as a silver bullet to creating a socially just and ‘fair’ society as well as an economically successful one. Within policy discourse young people's aspirations are deemed of critical importance to achieving educational success and in turn social mobility. However, within both popular and policy rhetoric ‘place attachment’ is routinely posited as a serious hindrance to successful realisation of aspiration, putatively because it embeds young people in ‘place’ (e.g. a particular community or geographical location) and prevents them from accessing employment in national labour markets. This paper, however, problematises the notion that ‘place attachment’ and ‘spatial mobility’ are necessarily mutually exclusive. Calling on data from a qualitative study of young people's aspirations in two distinctive regions of South Wales, UK, the analyses reveal that despite the largely localised ‘imagined futures’ of these young people they held very ‘high’ aspirations for professional forms of employment, which for some young people meant moving away from home and locality in order to achieve. The paper calls for a rethinking of how young people's aspirations are conceptualised both in government policy and academic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical Religious Education (CRE) is a contemporary pedagogy of religious education developed by Andrew Wright and various colleagues over the past two decades. There has been widespread academic discourse about the pedagogy in theory but increasingly commentators have called for examples of it in practice. Over the past seven years a writing group associated with The Forum of Religious and Spiritual Education at King’s College London have been developing practical materials aimed at supporting teachers in embedding the pedagogy in practice. Of particular relevance to this paper is the development of an introductory scheme of work, aimed at year 7 students, which has been trialled in a number of schools in and around London. In 2013, focus group interviews took place in four of these schools in order to ascertain the reception that the materials had received. The data suggests a very positive response to the introductory scheme of work and the CRE approach in general, partially dispelling some criticisms levelled at it in academic discourse. The author has thus suggested that the approach and the work of the writing group need further exposure, especially in schools, at conferences and on initial teacher education programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, we examine the trajectories of initially higher- and lower-achieving children from lower and higher socio-economic status families from primary school through to university in England for the first time. We also explore what explains these trajectories. This enables us to provide new insights into when and why the performance of children with similar initial achievement diverges on the basis of their socio-economic background. Our results indicate that pupils from poor backgrounds who are higher achievers in primary school fall behind their better-off but lower-achieving peers during secondary school. This suggests that secondary school may be a critical period to intervene to prevent poor children from falling behind their richer peers. Our analysis suggests that there is less divergence in performance between pupils from different socio-economic backgrounds who attend the same schools. This result is particularly strong for children with low initial achievement. While we remain cautious about the implications of these findings, they provide suggestive evidence that schools (or the sorting of pupils into schools) play an important role in explaining why the test scores of richer and poorer children diverge over time. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Does the influence on academic progress, which a school exerts on its pupils' achievements in public examinations, differ for pupils of differing levels of ability? The study on which this paper is based used data from a number of English local education authorities (LEAs) and showed that, in general, when finely-differentiated measures of pupils' prior-attainment were employed, the rate of progress was uniform for most schools within the differing sets for which data were available, whilst the level varied substantially between schools. The analysis contrasts these findings with others where a grouped prior-attainment measure was used, and evidence for ‘differential effectiveness’ was detected; the paper seeks to account for the substantially different conclusions to which the work leads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of ‘competitive excellence’ is an enduring cornerstone of UK educational policy. Most recently, expanding and adapting New Labour’s Academy project with the introduction of free schools, the Coalition’s approach advances and embeds competitive market-based forms of community engagement in education. Responding to this policy paradigm, this paper draws upon history in order to open up the notion of excellence. Through examining alternative practices of achievement and success in histories of community education, I aim to disturb the unquestioned attachment of educational excellence to the ideals of competitive meritocracy. Comparing across two community educational movements – Socialist Sunday Schools (established 1892) and Black Saturday Schools (established 1968) – I explore how achievement and excellence have been mobilised to very different educational aims. In distinct times and circumstances, both of these community initiatives practiced versions of educational achievement that challenged dominant knowledge hierarchies and underlying assumptions of incapability. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trends in Mathematics and Science Study are two highly respected studies of school pupils' academic achievement. English policy-makers have been disappointed with school children's performance on these tests, particularly in comparison to the strong results of young people from East Asia. In this paper, we provide new insight into the England-East Asia gap in school children's mathematics skills. We do so by considering how cross-national differences in math test scores change between ages 10 and 16. Our results suggest that, although average math test scores are higher in East Asian countries, this achievement gap does not increase between ages 10 and 16. We thus conclude that reforming the secondary school system may not be the most effective way for England to 'catch up' with the East Asian nations in the PISA math rankings. Rather, earlier intervention, during pre-school and primary school, may be needed instead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are long-standing achievement gaps in England associated with socio-economic status (SES), ethnicity and gender, but relatively little research has evaluated interactions between these variables or explored school effects on such gaps. This paper analyses the national test results at age 7 and age 11 of 2,836 pupils attending 68 mainstream primary schools in an ethnically diverse inner London borough. The groups with the lowest educational achievement and poorest progress were both Black Caribbean and White British low SES pupils. White British middle and high SES pupils made substantially more progress than White British low SES pupils, significantly increasing the SES gap over time. However low and high SES Black pupils made equally poor progress age 7–11. School effects on pupil progress were large, but there was no evidence of differential school effectiveness in relation to SES, ethnicity or gender. Low SES pupils in the more effective schools performed significantly better than high SES pupils in the less effective schools, but all pupils (both low and high SES) benefit from attending the more effective schools and so these schools do not eliminate the SES gap. The limits to change that may be achieved by schools alone are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nursing profession has experienced significant change over the last 100 years. Consequently, the work-force of the 21st century is a diverse entity that is edging toward the specialization of nurses in a specific clinical setting. In such an environment, a common knowledge base is demanded of nurses - a factor that has affected the development of second level, or enrolled nurses (ENs). The forces at play raise questions about nursing roles and scopes of practice. The establishment of education pathways that promote career development has been the stimulus for conversations about the effectiveness of the transition of EN to registered nurse (RN). This paper presents a review of the literature that identifies and explores common emerging themes (making the move from EN; adapting to Bachelor of Nursing; transitioning to RN) associated with this transition through the process of undertaking baccalaureate studies in nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

British Muslim women lag far behind other sections of the British society in educational achievement, particularly in higher education. This paper examines the conservative culture of first-generation Muslim immigrants that discourages social interaction and learning in a liberal Western setting. It surveys the underlying theological aspects of Islam to show that no racial, cultural or gender bias is promoted when it comes to who should learn and pursue knowledge; on the contrary, learning in Islam is an obligation for all. It then explores two of the critical factors that influence British Muslim women's participation in education namely, the issue of arranged marriages and the wearing of modest dressing and veils. These issues have become somewhat of obstacles to Muslim women in their participation in educational institutions and career progression in Britain. Do these factors necessarily hinder Muslim women? What other aspects of British life contribute to their lack of academic achievement? If so, what is the way forward? The paper attempts to answer some of these issues in an exposition limited by both length and time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article responds to recent UK proposals on measuring and recording student achievement (Universities UK 2007) to highlight issues that are relevant across different higher education contexts, which are increasingly intertwined through the expansion of the Bologna process. Drawing from wide-ranging literature on assessment and sociology, this paper argues that the introduction of new assessment technologies cannot be seen from a purely technical perspective but instead requires a deeper appreciation of assessment as a social practice, which contributes powerfully to the construction of learner subjectivities in ways that are not necessarily benign. Although not suggesting this leads to any easy solutions, the concept of 'meta-social' awareness may be useful in better supporting a diverse student body in confronting the complexities of the twenty-first century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the educational experiences of a group of African Caribbean and mixed ‘race’ young people from the perspectives of their parents. The discussion is set within a national context where children of African Caribbean origin are one of the lowest achieving minority ethnic groups in the UK and are disproportionately one of the highest ethnic groups of children excluded from school. The parents recount a pattern of cumulative negative experiences which for many of the children results in academic underachievement and becoming demotivated to learn, by a system that they feel has rejected them, or imposed exclusion. The story is hardly new but it provides important further evidence that schools need to tackle head-on factors such as low teacher expectations and negative stereotyping of young black people and their contribution to black underachievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present new evidence on the pandemic's effects on youth, for the first time focusing on perceived effects on the learning of job skills, as well as on education. The context is post-Brexit Britain. We find that 47% of young people in a representative sample perceive a loss of learning of job skills, while a sizeable minority (17%) judge that the pandemic improved matters. The perception of skill loss is worse among those encountering Covid directly, and far worse among those in school, college or university than among those in employment. Among those in education, loss of learning of job skills is higher among those experiencing only online learning, but lower for those who have had some work experience. Among those in employment, loss of learning is mitigated by training, which dropped sharply at the start of the pandemic but recovered and thereafter deviated little from its long-term trend. Neither the average amount of training, nor the perception of loss of learning, were affected by being placed on 'furlough' leave. Finally, perceptions of loss of learning of job skills were greater for women than for men, and greater in Wales and Scotland than in England and Northern Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing the 'the social class attainment gap' in education has become a government priority in England. Despite multiple initiatives, however, little has effectively addressed the underachievement of working-class pupils within the classroom. In order to develop clearer understandings of working-class underachievement at this level, this small research study focused on local social processes by exploring how secondary school teachers identified and addressed underachievement in their classrooms. Our analysis shows how teachers' identifications of underachieving pupils overlapped with, and were informed by, their tacit understanding of pupils' social class position. While many teachers resisted the influence of social class, they used stereotypes to justify their practice and expectations, positioning pupils within educational and occupational hierarchies. This, we conclude, suggests the need for more systematic attention to the micro-social processes that provide the conditions through which working-class underachievement is produced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on individuals' personality in relation to the achievement or progress in university training for professional academic qualifications in Town and Country Planning in Great Britain. Research reveals implications on problems in teaching methodology, examining techniques, and student counseling in higher education. As noted in the study, a person who lacks character stability and self-control, poor self-esteem and self-respect possesses inter-personal problems. It further asserts that producing successful Town and Country Planners stems from individuals who are open to criticism and receive various aspects of vocational training. Findings in the study traced the significant relationships between personality characteristics and vocational training achievements.

Background: In the UK an estimated one in ten primary school pupils have diagnosable mental health problems which may impact their education. Aims/context: This study examined a primary-school-based art therapy service for children experiencing social, emotional and mental health difficulties to assess the intervention's acceptability and possible changes in classroom learning. Methods: A mixed methods before-and-after study was conducted with 25 children in art therapy and a comparison group of 25 children per subject for reading, writing and maths attainment. A focus group with 10 teachers and interviews with 37 children were used to examine perceptions of art therapy and classroom learning. Results: Academic attainment was similar between the art therapy and comparison children. Both groups' learning rate resembled that of national minimum expectations. Children and teachers perceived art therapy to be helpful for engagement with classroom learning, relationships with teachers and peers, and learning time. Conclusions: Further research is needed to develop this primary-school-based art therapy programme, assess transferability, and examine wider educational outcomes. Implications for practice: Primary-school-based art therapy may be particularly helpful when it is perceived as: a safe place, sessions being social and fun, facilitates coping strategies, expressing, thinking and talking, as well as making artwork. Plain-language summary In the UK an estimated one in ten primary school pupils suffer from mental health problems, and this can affect their educational attainment. Thus, it is important that therapies help children to gain positive outcomes both in mental health and educationally. We looked at one art therapy service, which specifically focuses on helping children to understand their own and others' minds (metallization), within one primary school in London. Thirty-seven children referred to art therapy with social, emotional and mental health difficulties were included. Ten class teachers participated. The aims were to see if the children, and their teachers, found the approach acceptable and if there were any indications of changes in classroom learning. There were no differences in reading, writing and maths scores between children attending art therapy and comparison children receiving usual education support. However, all the children learned at the same rate as the national minimum expectation. Art therapy may have prevented the increasing educational attainment gap that social, emotional and mental health difficulties can bring. We held a focus group with the class teachers and interviewed the children and both reported experiencing art therapy as helpful for engagement with classroom learning, relationships with teachers and peers, and learning time. Specific aspects of art therapy which they considered helpful were: art therapy being a safe place; learning coping strategies; expressing, thinking and talking in art therapy; making artwork; and sessions being social and fun. The teachers also appreciated: advocating and sharing information; psychoeducation and collaborative work; reflecting on actions; encouraging independence; framing school as a positive place with trusted adults; working with transitions and endings. We recommend further research, including more art therapists, schools, teachers, parents and children, to further develop and assess this approach to art therapy in primary schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summarizes several articles on education in Great Britain. Analysis of the results of voluntary tests to determine academic achievement; Opposition experienced by comprehensive selective schools from both the Conservative and Labour governments; Support of the Scottish government to comprehensive schools; Investigation on the Education Action Zones established by the Labour government in the late 1990s.

Popular television drama is an important discursive site engaging the public with debates about schooling and professional identity. Between 1999 and 2011, external discourses of ‘crisis’ (of academic achievement or students’ mental and emotional health) were mediated as alternative discourses of ‘crisis, failure, and salvation’ in which a Standards agenda predominated, or that of the school as a ‘caring community’.Genreanalysis reveals how ‘school’ dramas exploited distinctive narrative types to privilege a particular discourse. Adapting Schatz's (1981) scheme of Hollywoodgenretypes, these dramas are characterised by a narrative strategy of ‘restoration’ of the ‘failing’ secondary (high) school to its public function of raising achievement, or after 2007 of ‘integration’ more concerned with assimilating ‘troubled’ students into the school community. This shift in representation is consistent with, and contributes towards, the ‘rise of therapeutic education’ where the Head Teacher and teacher are portrayed more as counsellor than educator. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Selective and comprehensive school systems vary in both the degree and timing of selection. To study the consequences of such variation, cross-national comparisons are usually undertaken. Given that cultural differences between countries affect pathways and outcomes, apportioning causal influence in such studies can be difficult. In 1970s Britain, selective and comprehensive systems coexisted. This enables us to compare the influences of organisational arrangements without the complication of national cultural differences. We analyse, for children of various abilities, while taking account of gender and class, the effect on achievement of experiencing comprehensive or selective schooling. Assuming that contextual and individual factors work conjuncturally in producing outcomes, we employ Ragin’s configurational Qualitative Comparative Analysis. By treating cases in the National Child Development Study as configurations of factors, we are able to analyse the sufficient and necessary conditions for achievement. We find that system differences affect only some high-ability children’s educational outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Refugee1 young people are an educationally diverse group. However, unlike groups such as Gypsy/Roma and Travellers, in the UK they do not attract targeted educational funding. In addition, neither the UK integration or refugee educational strategies nor the Higher Education Funding Council for England's strategic plan refer to higher education as a progression route for young refugees, as distinct from other minority ethnic young people. Our research with young refugees has shown that many have specific issues affecting their educational achievements, including interrupted education, experience of trauma, concerns about status and English language difficulties. Our findings also show that that despite these multiple disadvantages many view higher education as a route out of poverty and discrimination and are highly aspirational and motivated. We argue that homogenizing the support needs of young refugees along with those of other minority ethnic students is both inappropriate and insufficient and the continued failure to focus on them as a specific widening participation group will perpetuate their continued absence from the UK higher education system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following is a list of selected statutory instruments which concern the Education Service. The instruments are listed in numerical order, with a brief explanation of the key contents of each instrument. The Editors gratefully acknowledge Crown copyright. Readers are reminded that the full list of SIs can be viewed at www.hmso.gov.uk/si2003 : given the ever-increasing volume of SIs and the limited space within the journal, the only SIs reported here are those significantly impacting upon the key policy areas of governance, curriculum, funding, teacher employment, health and safety in schools, SEN, pupil admissions/exclusions (rather than, say, the provision of school meals, the creation of EAZs, travel expenses for governors, etc.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifies the main motivational dimensions in educational contexts in Great Britain. Description of distinctive motivational styles that have important implications for teachers and parents; Correlation of motivation to academic performance at universities; Relation between motivation and personality across a wide age-range in several Eastern European countries.

The article focuses on the decision of the Great Britain government to implement a policy of secondary education which is influenced by the needs of students who plan to go on to higher education. The introduction of secondary education raised the school leaving age to 15, with the proviso that it establish a break at the age of eleven between primary and secondary education.

Background: Many junior doctors from around the world come to the UK to train and attend professional examinations. Aim: This study summarises the performance of graduates by country of primary medical qualification in part one of the UK Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCA) examination from 1999 to 2008. Methods: Data were collated from RCA spreadsheets for each attempt of the primary examination from June 1999 to May 2008 from the main RCA trainee database. Candidates were ranked into groups according to the country of primary medical qualification for the overall final percentage mark of the multiple choice question section of the Primary Fellowship of the Royal College of Anaesthetists examination. Results: Candidates from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the UK performed significantly better than the mean for the group and candidates from Egypt, Iraq, Ireland and Pakistan performed significantly worse. Conclusion: Some graduates who sit UK postgraduate exams may require additional support prior to taking these examinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a response to an article by Stephen Gorard in a previous issue of the journal. It addresses the issue of how achievement gaps in educational performance between ethnic and other groups, and changes in these, can best be measured. The approach recommended by Gorard is compared with that of the authors he criticises. The conclusion reached is that both approaches are of value: that they provide different kinds of information. Which is the most useful on any occasion depends on the purpose guiding the inquiry, and on the assumptions that can be made about the social processes being modelled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]