An increasing body of literature continues to highlight the relationship between our connection with nature and the positive effects on our physical health and psychological well-being as well as enhancing our motivations and engagements within learning contexts. However, with more time being spent indoors and free time increasingly structured by…

School can be challenging for autistic girls who are at risk of internalised anxiety which can ultimately lead to school avoidance. Low attendance is acknowledged as negatively impacting educational attainment and exacerbating mental health difficulties. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three autistic girls aged 13-15 years from…

In the context of high-stakes qualifications, teachers may warn students of the negative consequences of failure as a tactic designed to increase engagement and, ultimately, achievement. Previous studies have shown that these types of messages, namely fear appeals, are indirectly related to engagement and achievement in different ways, depending…

Emotions and the intellect interact and affect the quality of learning significantly, for better or for worse. This is often ignored or seen as irrelevant for teaching practices. A training package for teachers of older students was constructed to support kinds of practice which took emotions into account in planning and the classroom. In the…

A new film explores the UK's most radical state secondary school. XP school in Doncaster, a disadvantaged area of England, is putting kindness at the heart of its school culture, and reaping outstanding student engagement, attainment, attendance and behaviour. Its approach is in marked contrast to a recent tendency in UK schools to focus on tough…

Independent work and silent classrooms appear to be part of a wider discourse adopted by some schools across England and promoted as good practice by England's Education Secretary. This paper explores the effect of grouped and individual seating on the engagement of four boys in small group sessions teaching the English Language GCSE. Observations…

A new form of narrative counselling for adolescents at risk of exclusion was piloted in 3 schools with 11 students between the ages of 13-14 years over a 6-7-week period. The intervention took into consideration that compared to adults, adolescents are more susceptible to being influenced by their immediate surroundings of home and school. A…

In order to expand previous intraindividual studies of student engagement we investigated students' observed engagement (i.e., on- and off-task behaviour), instructional activities (i.e., teacher-led whole class, individual work, pair-work, student-teacher interaction, assessment, and "other"), and self-reported learning experiences…

This exploratory study employed mixed-methods to investigate outcomes associated with an online self-determination theory (SDT) based teacher professional development (PD) intervention, and explored teachers' perspectives about re-engaging students following COVID-19. Participants were 33 secondary school teachers from across England and Wales.…

Based on fieldwork conducted in five alternative provision schools across three large cities in England, this article explores the relationship between young people's involvement in urban street gangs and their attitudes and behaviour in school. By applying and developing a lens of social field theory, the article highlights the ways in which…

This paper examines how young children experience the moral and bodily discipline of the modern English 'on-task' primary classroom, in which they are expected to sit quietly and still for long periods on the classroom carpet, listening to what teachers know. It details the conditions of the classrooms, a performance-focused environment centred on…

Aim: The use of alternative provision for pupils identified as having challenging behaviour and social, emotional and mental health difficulties is widespread across the UK and the majority of these young people do not access a school whilst attending alternative provision. However, many pupils receive provision through a shared placement between…

Aim: To evaluate the impact and process of introducing Circle Solutions (Circles) in six primary schools. Rationale: Many frameworks for social and emotional learning (SEL) aim to develop individual skills. Circle Solutions is based on a collective approach with a specific pedagogy. This paper explores the impact that Circle Solutions have on…

Objectives: It has been suggested that students are healthier in schools where more students are committed to school. Previous research has examined this only using a proxy measure of value-added education (a measure of whether school-level attendance and attainment are higher than predicted by students' social profile), finding associations with…

Since the outbreak of Coronavirus, many education and employment programmes have switched to online delivery. As we look to a future where many such programmes will retain at least some element of online or hybrid delivery, we need to consider the impacts on different groups, address the challenges, and identify what works. In October 2020, EY…