Standardized testing is an integral part of the English and American education systems. However, the use of high-stakes testing has unintended consequences, one of which is test anxiety. Over the last 50 years, increased attention has been directed to developing tools to identify students experiencing test anxiety. However, many test anxiety…

Whilst new friendships and an active social life are commonly discussed features of 'being a student', there is limited empirical research that has quantitatively studied the contribution that social factors play in students' university experience. Research that has been conducted shows that belonging and social integration are important factors…

Developing student's confidence with qualitative research methods presents a challenge to many educators and is even more of a challenge when the 'educator' themselves are unfamiliar with such methods. This paper offers a three-way reflective account of bringing one such colleague 'into the fold'; their journey to the 'dark side.' It documents the…

Are intra-national student flows driven by the same forces as international student mobility? This paper addresses this question by analysing cross-border student mobility in the UK. The paper identifies four principles that one might expect to drive the destination choices of students from Scotland enrolling in English universities. Following a…

School inspections are a common feature of many education systems. These may be informed by quantitative background data about schools. It is recognised that there are pros and cons of using such quantitative information as part of the inspection process, though these have rarely been succinctly set out. This paper seeks to fill this gap by…

A great deal of bullying behavior takes place at school, however, existing literature has predominantly focused on individual characteristics of children associated with bullying with less attention on school-level factors. The current study, comprising 23,215 children (51% boys) recruited from Year 4 or Year 5 (M = 9.06 years, SD = 0.56 years)…

International students at universities away from their home context experience a significant change to the way they engage with the world, as they think, reflect and act in response to the new context. Drawing on Archer's concept of reflexivity (2003; 2007; 2012), this paper demonstrates that international students are compelled into reflexive…

This paper explores the student experience of multidisciplinarity within the undergraduate Geography curriculum. It considers the drivers that have underpinned this development before considering the findings of research into student experiences in two universities in the south of England. The results suggest that most students view this…

Currently, in England, there is widespread concern that careers education (information, advice and guidance) is relatively poorly resourced in schools and there is much debate about its current effectiveness. In this paper, we investigate students' views on careers education provision and their satisfaction with this provision. The work draws on…

Background: Bullying remains a persistent phenomenon in schools, but the extent to which day-to-day policies and practices relate to bullying prevalence has not been widely studied. In this study, we use an educational effectiveness framework to interrogate this relationship. Aims: The aim was to study the relationship between school factors and…

Mental toughness can be conceptualised as a set of attributes that allow people to deal effectively with challenges, stressors and pressure. Recent work has suggested that it may be a valuable construct to consider within educational settings. The current studies explored the associations between mental toughness and educational transitions. Study…

The present study examined the validity of a newly developed instrument, the Mental Toughness Scale for Adolescents, which examines the attributes of challenge, commitment, confidence (abilities and interpersonal), and control (life and emotion). The six-factor model was supported using exploratory factor analysis (n = 373) and confirmatory factor…

In England, there is a growing need to improve the attainment in, and attitudes towards, science among disadvantaged secondary school pupils. This project was designed to support disadvantaged year 11 pupils (age 15-16) by pairing them with an undergraduate STEM student mentor throughout the final year of their compulsory science General…

Students studying at universities in England have been defined as customers by the government since the introduction of student tuition fees. Although this approach has been rejected by educators, there is a lack of empirical evidence about the extent to which students express a consumer orientation and its effects on academic performance. These…

Positive attribution style, negative attribution style, and generalized peer trust beliefs were examined as mediators in the relationship between adolescents' peer victimization experiences and psychosocial and school adjustment. A total of 280 (150 female and 130 males, M[subscript age] = 13 years 4 months, SD[subscript age] = 1 year 1 month)…