This paper examines the reasons why long-serving teachers remain in the teaching profession. Interest in teacher retention has grown in recent years, both in the UK and internationally, due to concerns over teacher shortage. However, most research on retention has focused on why teachers leave; this paper aims to fill the gap in our understanding…

The role and function of the mathematics textbook has been widely discussed since its inclusion in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science study (TIMSS) in the late nineties. It is a common feature in many classrooms worldwide and has been identified as an important vehicle for the promotion of curricula. However, there has also been…

This study took place within an environment of educational change in teaching and assessment in the UK, where the National Curriculum (NC) and National External Examination syllabi undertook significant revision. Science education specifically, has seen aspiration raised to allow pupils to achieve a greater depth of understanding at Key Stage 4…

The planned removal of "tiering" from the Geography examinations, which mark the end of compulsory schooling at age 16 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, means that students of all abilities will be expected to sit the same examination with the same content. However, the learning and preparation process will not necessarily be the…

This paper reports a survey of primary school teachers' beliefs about working with poor readers. The primary research question was "does the way difficulties with reading are labelled affect the teachers' beliefs about their ability to intervene effectively?" An opportunity sample of teachers was surveyed using 2 questionnaires. One…

Drawing on Vygotsky's notion, developed by Bruner, of learners growing into "the intellectual life of those around them", this paper reports on a small-scale questionnaire survey of teachers' thinking about poetry writing and their instructional practices of teaching it. Thirty-three teachers, with a range of teaching experience and…

Proposals made by the European Commission in 2007 led to the Education Council adopting, for the first time, a European agenda for improving the quality of teaching and teacher education. This article reports on a small-scale longitudinal interview-based study with teachers in England, Norway and Germany demonstrating that while opportunities for…

This article reports an investigation of trainee teachers' experience of reflection whilst undertaking a teaching qualification for the post-compulsory sector. The study used a sequential, mixed-methods design, employing a structured questionnaire and a semi-structured interview; 127 individuals completed the questionnaire about their experience…

The purpose of this research is to measure the teachers' awareness of, and attitudes towards children with Asperger's Syndrome (AS, hereafter). The main intention was to sample primary school teachers; however time constraints dictated that the 30 teachers (male and female), who participated in this study, were postgraduate students and teaching…

This paper presents findings from a survey of pre-service teacher training institutions in England with regard to the provision of health and well-being education. It examines factors affecting the inclusion of health and well-being, and explores educational implications in light of the changing landscape of pre-service teacher education in…

Background: Contemporary British educational guidelines, such as the National Curriculum (NC) have adopted inclusivity in the way children with special educational needs (SEN) are taught. Therefore, inclusion has risen up the political agenda, resulting in more children with SEN being taught in mainstream environments. Empirical research has…

This article examines the cognitive appraisals associated with the emotion of anger based on interviews with teachers. An analysis of these appraisals demonstrated that teachers experienced different forms of anger depending on whether they were relating to other adults or their pupils. Anger in relation to children was based on persistent goal…

This article examines some issues surrounding transition to higher education. It is based on the case study of a cohort of Year 1 students in a modern university in England. The purpose of the study was to ascertain any potential transitional issues and therefore any areas for development in our Year 1 programmes to aid student progress. Data were…

This article discusses the evaluation of a unique university-based early professional development (EPD) programme in England that enabled newly and recently qualified teachers to have continued contact with their initial teacher preparation provider. The programme was designed to enhance the induction, EPD and retention of beginning teachers of…

In this article we explore the level of job satisfaction and the sources of job dissatisfaction for 210 secondary school teachers in southwest England and compare our results with the results from a similar study published in 1962. Using anonymous questionnaires, we asked 210 secondary teachers in southwest England (63% female) to rate their level…