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Despite a long-standing concern within the sociology of education for ameliorating educational inequality, the challenge of improving educational opportunities for disadvantaged students remains deeply entrenched. While ‘macro’ issues such as segregation and systemic inequalities in school funding and access to qualified teachers must be addressed as matters of social and educational justice, Basil Bernstein's novel focus on ‘relations within’ education as the site of pedagogic discourse offers teachers and those working inside school systems a particularly powerful vision for promoting more equitable outcomes for students. This paper examines this assertion through a case study of the ‘mixed’ pedagogical practice of a successful teacher in a fifth-grade urban classroom in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper considers the possible impact of market forces on educational attainment in secondary schools in England and Wales. One of the main arguments made by market advocates in favour of extending programmes of school choice was that this would drive up standards. However, despite 12 years of relevant experience in the UK, it remains very difficult to test this claim. This paper examines some practical difficulties before presenting three possible models for considering changes in educational standards over time. The results are inconclusive, possibly even contradictory. The measures, such as GCSE and A levels, extending back to 1988 and beyond, have clearly increased in prevalence. In terms of these measures, students from state-funded education have also reduced the 'gap' relative to those from fee-paying institutions. However, it is not clear that either of these developments is market related. In addition, there is no evidence yet that these improvements indicate any breakage in the strong link between the socio-economic background of students and their school outcomes. [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]

The paper is part of a broader study which investigates the relation between differential patterns of achievement in the sciences at the secondary school level and social class, and in which a relation was found between the high level of conceptual demand of modern science courses and the underachievement of the working-class pupils Thu relation is mediated by a number of sociological factors, the teacher being one of them This study describes the assessment we made of teachers' pedagogic practice and its influence on pupils' achievement The evidence obtained shows that teachers differ greatly in the level of conceptual demand they make of their pupils and an their ability to enable pupils to attain that Level Both of these competencies of the teacher are strongly related to the social context of the school where he/she teaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper examines whether there is significant variation in schooling outcomes between Scottish secondary schools, and if so, how much is associated with pupil intake, and how much is associated with the schools they attend It also examines whether schools vary in their effectiveness for different types of pupils, and whether schools tend to be superior, or inferior, across three different outcome measures The study employed a subsample of data from the 1977 Scottish School Leavers Survey on over 700 pupils from 15 schools in one administrative division These data were linked to data on the verbal reasoning quotients of the pupils, derived from a test administered to them before they entered secondary school For each of the 15 schools we estimated the expected scores on measures of English, arithmetic and overall attainment for pupils with below average, average, and above average ability, controlling for pupils' verbal ability, gender, prestige of father's occupation, mother's education, and number of siblings The study shows there was wide variation in schooling outcomes between secondary schools in the division, even after controlling for family background characteristics and pupil ability prior to entering secondary school There were few schools that were particularly effective for low ability pupils, but not high ability pupils and vice versa Schools tended to be effective, or ineffective, across all three outcome measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]