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This is the protocol for an evidence and gap map. The objective of this EGM is to identify and map all primary studies (including randomised and cluster randomised trials) and systematic reviews on universal, school-based social and emotional learning programmes for young children (3-11 years) to create a live, searchable, and publicly available evidence and gap map.

Despite extensive research on attainment grouping, the impact of attainment grouping on pupil attainment remains poorly understood and contested. This paper presents evidence from a study conducted with 2944 12-13 year olds, from 76 schools in England, who were allocated to between-class attainment groups ('setting') in English and mathematics over the first 2 years of secondary schooling. After controlling for prior attainment, pupils in the top set performed significantly better than pupils in the middle and bottom sets in both English and mathematics. The findings indicate a widening gap in attainment, especially in the case of English. Findings, especially in the case of mathematics, provide more evidence of a relative benefit for pupils placed in top sets than a relative detriment for those in bottom sets.

Background: Effective reading comprehension teaching is an aspiration of education systems across the world. Teaching incorporating reciprocal reading theory and evidence is an internationally popular approach for improving comprehension. Aims: This paper uses two large cluster randomized controlled trials of similar reciprocal reading interventions implemented in different ways to compare their effectiveness. Sample: The two interventions had the same teacher professional development, reciprocal reading activities and dosage/exposure, but varied in their implementation, with one delivered as a whole-class ('universal') version for pupils aged 8-9 years and the other a small group ('targeted') version for pupils aged 9-11 years with specific comprehension difficulties. Methods: Two large-scale cluster RCTs were conducted in 98 schools with N = 3699 pupils in the universal trial and N = 1523 in the targeted trial. Results: Multi-level models showed significant effects for the targeted version of the intervention on pupil reading comprehension (g = 0.18) and overall reading (g = 0.14). No significant effects were found for the whole class version. A sub-group analyses of disadvantaged pupils showed the targeted intervention's effects were even larger on reading comprehension (g = 0.25). Conclusions: The evidence suggested that this reciprocal reading intervention worked best when implemented in small groups and targeted for pupils with specific comprehension difficulties and particularly for pupils in disadvantaged circumstances. Comments: This evaluation shows that even if a reading comprehension intervention is underpinned by strong theory and evidence-based practice, its effectiveness can still depend on implementation choices.

Steroids can be used as biomarkers in clinical metabolomics and other fields related to human toxicology. This chemical group is known for its complexity, considering its number of isobaric compounds and the wide variety of phases I and II metabolic pathways that parent compounds can undergo. For a successful analysis of steroids in biological samples, liquid chromatography separation must be finely tuned. It is especially challenging for glucuronidated and sulfated steroids derivatives that bear polar heads and can be affected by non‐specific adsorption. The benefits of a biphenyl stationary phase chemistry for the selectivity of the separation of steroids and their phase II metabolites and the extent to which nonspecific adsorption phenomena could degrade chromatographic performance were investigated. Replacing a conventional hardware by a passivated hardware allowed to considerably reduce peaks width and asymmetry of sulfated species. The addition of weak ion pairing agents in the mobile phase could also help to reduce non‐specific adsorption but are detrimental to mass spectrometry detection. As confirmed by the successful detection of 52 steroids in plasma, the use of a biphenyl stationary phase complemented by a passivated column hardware is of great help for a successful biomedical analysis of steroids and their phase II metabolites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of self-fulfilling prophecy in education, and of attainment grouping on pupil self-perception, remain topics of longstanding debate, with important consequences for social in/justice. Focusing on self-confidence, this article draws on survey responses from 9,059 12-13 year olds who were tracked by subject ('setting'). They provided survey responses when placed in 'ability' sets at the start of their secondary schooling, and again late the following year; enabling analysis of impact over time. After controlling for prior attainment, the gap in general self-confidence between students in the top and bottom sets for mathematics is shown to widen over time, and high set students' self-confidence in English had also grown significantly; although there was not further widening in the cases of self-confidence in mathematics or in general self-confidence between students in the top and bottom sets for English. Implications of these findings for interventions directed at addressing educational disadvantage are discussed.

Drawing upon data gathered from 9301 Year 7 students (12-13 years old) from 46 secondary schools in England, this study represents the first larger-scale attempt to compare their actual set allocations in maths with the counterfactual position where their allocation to sets is based solely on their prior attainment at the end of primary school [using their Key Stage 2 (KS2) fine-grained scores in maths]. Through such an analysis, the study found that nearly a third of students (31.2%) had been misallocated to lower or higher sets than their KS2 results would have warranted. Beyond this, school setting practices were found to exacerbate differences in set allocation in relation to gender and ethnicity, but not socioeconomic background. The odds of girls being misallocated to lower sets in maths than their prior attainment would warrant was found to be 1.5 times higher than that for boys. Similarly, the odds of Black students being misallocated to lower sets was 2.4 times higher than for White students, whilst the odds of Asian students being misallocated to lower maths sets was 1.7 times higher than for White students. The article concludes by reflecting on the significant role that setting by attainment in secondary school can play in exacerbating already established patterns of educational inequalities in gender and ethnicity.

There are many possible mechanisms through which school collaborations may bring about change in educational and/or social outcomes. Schools collaborating to share professional expertise may improve teaching practice and in turn lead to better educational outcomes for pupils. Schools collaborating to share resources, be they equipment, staff or learning resources may also improve the standards of teaching and educational outcomes. This systematic review will seek to answer the following key questions: (1) do inter-school collaborations improve educational and social outcomes for students; (2) do different types of inter-school collaboration lead to different effects on educational and social outcomes for students; (3) for each type of inter-school collaboration, is it possible to identify whether there are key characteristics that optimise their effectiveness on educational and social outcomes for students; and (4) do inter-school collaborations have differing effects for students depending on their initial levels of attaining, their socio-economic backgrounds, their gender, their ethnicity and/or their minority status. If so, do these differential effects vary in relation to differing types of inter-school collaboration?

Background: The use of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in education has increased significantly over the last 15 years. However, their use has also been subject to sustained and rather trenchant criticism from significant sections of the education research community. Key criticisms have included the claims that: it is not possible to undertake RCTs in education; RCTs are blunt research designs that ignore context and experience; RCTs tend to generate simplistic universal laws of 'cause and effect'; and that they are inherently descriptive and contribute little to theory. Purpose: This article seeks to assess the above four criticisms of RCTs by considering the actual evidence in relation to the use of RCTs in education in practice. Design and methods: The article is based upon a systematic review that has sought to identify and describe all RCTs conducted in educational settings and including a focus on educational outcomes between 1980 and 2016. The search is limited to articles and reports published in English. Results: The systematic review found a total of 1017 unique RCTs that have been completed and reported between 1980 and 2016. Just over three quarters of these have been produced over the last 10 years, reflecting the significant increase in the use of RCTs in recent years. Overall, just over half of all RCTs identified were conducted in North America and a little under a third in Europe. The RCTs cover a wide range of educational settings and focus on an equally wide range of educational interventions and outcomes. The findings not only disprove the claim that it is not possible to do RCTs in education but also provide some supporting evidence to challenge the other three key criticisms outlined earlier. Conclusions: While providing evidence to counter the four criticisms outlined earlier, the article suggests that there remains significant progress to be made. The article concludes by outlining some key challenges for researchers undertaking RCTs in education.

This systematic review will focus on curriculum based social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions delivered in preschool or primary/elementary schools aimed at improving social and emotional skills among pupils. It will include any universal programme, delivered on a whole-class or school basis. The interventions' primary goal must be to improve social and emotional competence and be delivered in a pre-school/kindergarten or primary/elementary school setting as part of the normal school day. The objectives of the review are: (1) to identify, appraise and synthesise evidence from randomized and cluster randomized trials on the effectiveness of universal, school- based social and emotional learning programmes for young children age 3-11 as compared to no intervention or inactive control, for improving children's social and emotional skills and behavior; (2) to identify and classify the core components of programmes and to assess which of these components, if any, can be considered as 'active ingredients' in terms of their presence or absence being associated with differential programme effectiveness; (3) to ascertain whether fidelity of delivery and the stage of the programme's development are associated with programme effectiveness; (4) to assess if the programmes are differentially effective for different subgroups in relation to age, gender and socio-economic background; and (5) to develop a set of clear and specific recommendations, based on the evidence reviewed, to guide the further development and delivery of universal school-based social and emotional learning programmes.