This paper presents the findings of a multi-site case study focused on the role of mid-day supervisors in English primary schools. Ethnographic approaches were employed to gain an understanding of the role and how this is experienced by those who undertake it. This included a fully participatory phase where the researcher inhabited the role of a…

This paper analyses the experiences of English primary school leaders who perform critical roles in interpreting government policy and navigating the landscape to design relationship and sex education (RSE) for their pupils. It considers schools as sites of political contestation and educators as policy actors, the voices of whom are often absent…

The objective of the research was to analyze the scientific production regarding accident prevention in early child rearing institutions. An integrative literature review, referring to the years between 2011 and 2021, whose research was carried out in May 2021 in seven information resources, raised the following issue: it was found that not all…

This paper considers issues around identity for teaching assistants (TAs) in mainstream English primary schools. We discuss the concomitant problems TAs experience around role definition and role-creep as well as the challenges inherent in equivocally defining their evolving and flexible role. We used key themes drawn from the literature…

The rapid expansion of neo-liberal regimes has effectively transformed how students -- their role and purpose -- are understood in society. Scholars, especially in the Anglophone North, have shown how dominant policy narratives tend to position students as consumers. More recent studies have begun to explore students' views of this construction.…

Teaching assistants (TAs) are crucial to the work of schools and colleges across England. Their contributions are invaluable, particularly for those pupils most in need of additional support. The TA role is broad, changeable and context specific. Duties can include supporting pupils' readiness for learning, access to learning and recap of…

The aim of this article is to investigate the pastoral work carried out by Course Leaders of College-Based Higher Education (CBHE), asking the question of how does the pastoral work of Course Leaders for CBHE happen? Taking the standpoint of Course Leaders for CBHE and using the work of Dorothy E. Smith, I adopted an institutional ethnographic…

It is a university's responsibility to ensure their autistic students are supported academically. While current research gives us an indication of how universities provide this support, it reveals very little about the experiences that autistic students themselves have with such support. In this research, we took a participatory approach, via a…

This study aimed to explore gender stereotypes and their impact upon perceived roles and practice of in-service physical education teachers. Twenty-one qualified PE teachers completed an online story completion method and results were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Comparisons were generated between the two-story stems: between male…

There is increasing concern about the ways in which neoliberalism is impacting Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), particularly in relation to infants and toddlers. The neoliberal agenda positions the outdoors as risky and a place to be physically active, potentially excluding the youngest children from these spaces. Drawing upon case study…

The return to school following the significant disruption to education during the COVID-19 pandemic presents challenges for students, teachers, and parents. In the English context, education leaders have expressed serious concerns about the significantly increased levels of anxiety and school absenteeism among students of all ages, particularly…

This small-scale piece of research listened to the stories, experiences and perceptions of teaching assistants to hear their lived experiences of the role of teaching assistant. To hear how expectations have altered with/without legislative and framework guidance and consideration of the individuals who take up teaching assistant roles, in a…

Medicine has long been recognised as one of the most difficult and competitive professions to access, particularly for those from the lowest socio-economic backgrounds. As the Government looks to train more doctors through the "NHS Long Term Workforce Plan," the report "Unequal Treatment?" looks at access to medical school…

Young people's perspectives on the potentialities of and problems with Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) in England are well documented. This article shares insights from a co-design project conducted with young people and third-sector experts during 2020/21 which sought to identify and develop recommendations for schools regarding the design…

In this article we develop the notion of 'organising around ideas'. We highlight the ways in which education debate in England has narrowed as traditional spaces for discussion and debate have been closed down. The state now has extraordinary power to shape discourses and frame narratives about the purposes of schooling. Here we argue that we must…