This paper draws on findings from a study of 'inspiring' teachers in order to illustrate the way in which the chosen mixed methods design contributed to the success of the research in addressing its research aims. The study investigated the concept of 'inspiring' and 'inspirational' teaching through recruiting a purposive sample of 17 primary and…

This paper is based on the data collected from a longitudinal study of seven maintained, secondary schools in England that have adopted Musical Futures as an approach to teaching music. The research had a particular focus on key stage 3 (11-14). For the purposes of this paper, data gained from 18 music staff and 325 student interview…

The contemporary school environment in England has been identified as stressful for both staff and pupils. School-based interventions aimed at improving well-being and mental health have shown mixed results. The Principle Based Model (PBM) of Mind, Consciousness, and Thought is an untried intervention in English schools and as a working model…

Homewood School & Sixth Form Centre is a secondary day school academy in rural Kent. A New Philanthropy Capital's well-being survey in March 2014 highlighted questions about the well-being of high-attaining boys and, in particular, their satisfaction with their friendships. This longitudinal case study reports the use of both qualitative and…

This paper presents the findings of a two-phase mixed methods research study that explores the link between experiences of school science of post-16 students and their decisions to take up science for their higher studies. In the first phase, students aged 16-17 (n = 569) reflected on the past five years of their school science experience in a…

Confidence assessment (CA), in which students state alongside each of their answers a confidence level expressing how certain they are, has been employed successfully within higher education. However, it has not been widely explored with school pupils. This study examined how school mathematics pupils (N?=?345) in five different secondary schools…

This paper presents the findings of a study concerned with student teachers' perceptions of their role as civic educators. Focusing on student teachers undertaking one-year, pre-service programmes within the secondary age range (11- to 18-years-old) at a large higher education institution in the south of England, the study adopted a mixed methods…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the distribution of leadership practices in Sixth Form Colleges (SFCs). This is an area where very little research has been undertaken and the intention was to investigate the topic from a critical perspective using social constructionist methodology. Design/methodology/approach: The research…

This article presents the findings of a pilot professional development programme designed to support police community support officers (PCSOs) to become effective school link officers (SLOs) within urban secondary schools in the English West Midlands. Findings are presented via perceptions of key stakeholders: SLOs themselves; school-based mentors…

Based on the experience of evaluating 2 cross-age peer-tutoring interventions, we argue that researchers need to pay greater attention to causal mechanisms within the context of school-based randomised controlled trials. Without studying mechanisms, researchers are less able to explain the underlying causal processes that give rise to results from…

This article explores the place of discourse about religions in education by comparing two very different schools. It initially outlines some of the current debates around religious discourse, notably in dialogue. A theoretical frame for analysing religious discourse in schools is proposed, combining a theorisation of three levels of dialogue with…

Students have been reported to have stereotypical views of scientists as middle-aged white men in lab coats. We argue that a way to provide students with a more realistic view of scientists and their work is to provide them with the opportunity to interact with scientists during short, discussion-based sessions. For that reason, 20 scientists from…

For three years from 2008 every school in England had a designated school improvement partner (SIP), portrayed as a critical friend, whose role was to support and challenge the headteacher. A mixed-methods study involving a national survey and face-to-face interviews evaluated the enactment of the national policy from the perspective of the direct…

There are growing expectations on schools to promote health and physical activity and helping schools to effectively do so is considered a priority. This paper reports on selected findings from a research project that was concerned with supporting secondary schools in the effective promotion of physical activity and establishing their needs in…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine instructional leadership (IL) in outstanding secondary schools within a centralised (Greece) and a partially decentralised (England) education context. Design/methodology/approach: Since the purpose of the study is exploratory, the researchers adopt a qualitative approach, employing a series of four…