Cluster Randomized Trial (CRT) designs are inherently multilevel and reflect the hierarchical structure of schools and the wider education system. To capture this multilevel nature, CRTs are commonly analysed using multilevel (or hierarchical) linear models. It is fairly common for CRT designs and analyses to include school and individual/pupil…

This article analyses the flow-line around the methodology used inside an educational research process that was originally established to examine the expansion of the International Baccalaureate's Diploma Programme (IBDP) in England. This article analyses the research question, then assesses the research focus, aims and objectives. The article…

This project was a qualitative longitudinal research study into cultural and structural change in an English secondary school. The schools' consistent underperformance led to its conversion to "academy" status as part of a development under the Labour administration of 1997-2010. The Labour policy for academization was designed, first,…

The Teacher Assessment in Primary Science project is funded by the Primary Science Teaching Trust and based at Bath Spa University. The study aims to develop a whole-school model of valid, reliable and manageable teacher assessment to inform practice and make a positive impact on primary-aged children's learning in science. The model is based on a…

The determinants of sentencing are of much interest in criminal justice and legal research. Understanding the determinants of sentencing decisions is important for ensuring transparent, consistent, and justifiable sentencing practice that adheres to the goals of sentencing, such as the punishment, rehabilitation, deterrence, and incapacitation of…

This paper adopts a sociocultural perspective to provide a critical consideration of participatory approaches to research with young children. The particular focus is on the use of pedagogical documentation and learning stories as "participatory" tools to elicit children's perspectives for research. The paper will argue that, despite the…

There have been an increasing number of research studies using participatory, visual methods with young children. This article will explore the possibilities and challenges of extending these methods as tools for listening to early childhood practitioners as well as to young children. This research is based on a longitudinal study carried out…

In this paper we present our experiences of conducting focus groups with young people as part of a participatory approach to research design and participant recruitment. The research is a prospective, 10-year, qualitative, longitudinal project investigating young people's daily lives, relationships, and identities, and the ways these change over…

This article introduces the "Schools and Continuing Professional Development State of the Nation" study (SoNS). Discussion of English policy together with an account of the study's aims and research design provide a context for the other articles included in this special issue. A key assumption behind the research, and the prevailing CPD…

Using the British "Index to Theses", we found forty-seven Ph.D.s relating to second and foreign language learning and/or teaching defended in English universities in 2006. Objective criteria led us to fourteen theses which had investigated both teaching and learning. Over half of these adopted a process-product research design with the…

This article feeds into debate about the feasibility and usefulness of educational experiments by discussing methodological issues arising out of a study which sought causal links between teaching and learning of one aspect of French as a foreign language. The study involved two small-scale experiments which tested a hypothesis regarding the…

Draws on studies of child carers and the impact of the Child Support Act 1991 to examine the methodological, ethical, theoretical, and practical implications of researching children's views. Identifies social, political, and legal trends which form a background to growing interest in children as potential and actual participants in the research…

Discussion of different types of methodological approaches, and description of the research methods used to study an innovative secondary school in England, make clear why the case study was chosen as the method to employ. The methodological approaches considered included the positivist or scientific method, involving external observation and the…

Describes a research project on mainstream versus segregated education for special needs students, exploring whether research with children necessarily raises unique questions about ethics and methods. Claims that main complications arise not from children's inabilities but from the position ascribed them in society, and gives reasons for…

Uses an exploratory study, "Children, Parents and Risk," to examine some ethical and methodological issues specific to child-focused research. Focuses on gatekeepers who control access to parents and children, and on the interview process, asserting that the research process itself constitutes an important source of data on models of…