This collection of short essays presents and examines six vignettes of organisational change in British, New Zealand and European universities. Drawing on the social studies of economisation literature, formal research projects and auto-ethnographic insights, the authors detail profound changes in how knowledge is produced in universities. They…

I opened an antique chest inherited from my great-great uncle and unravelled the strands of his life as an evangelical minister in late 19th-century Italy, unpacking the cover-ups in Britain's history of Empire and bringing to light the ingenious but ordinary ways in which a handful of families, even today, shore up their wealth. At the heart of…

This article provides an insight into the relationship between applied theatre, COVID-19, and UK Government policy in British care homes. This reflection draws upon the experiences of an applied theatre practitioner, who worked in a care home during the height of COVID-19 in 2020. The author shares the impact of COVID-19 government policy, her…

Using a decolonial and Black-feminist-inspired analytical lens, this paper explores the dilemmas and challenges that Black academics face in trying to bring about change in universities within the British higher education system. Higher education-focused campaigns such as "Why Isn't My Professor Black?" "Why Is My Curriculum…

In this paper, problems with the philosophy and research relating to various interpretations of 'closing the gap' are used to open up a discussion of, and illustrate, the process whereby a narrow interpretation of 'science' and neglect of systems thinking result in the generation of huge amounts of dangerous and misleading misinformation and…

In his inaugural Presidential Address, given to the BERA Conference 2013 at the University of Sussex, Ian Menter addresses a number of issues concerning educational policy and the contributions that educational research might make to policy development. As BERA approaches its fortieth anniversary, he also sets out some of the responsibilities that…

In response to the subjection of universities in Britain and elsewhere to 'free market' ideology and the resulting narrow concern with claimed economic effects and benefits, this essay explores some of the processes of persuasion and justification as they are employed in debate and in resistance to this damaging orthodoxy. First, the short-term…

Since its Foundation in 1901, the Rhodes Scholarships scheme has been held up as the archetype of a programme designed to foster imperial citizens. However, though impressive in scale, Cecil Rhodes's foundation was not the first to bring colonial students to Britain. Over the course of the previous half-century, governments, universities and…

Here we draw on recent research and on earlier contributions on convergence and divergence across Great Britain to consider possible future trajectories for 14-19 education and training in England. We use a UK-wide lens to reflect on 14-19 strategies in England by showing how common issues can be tackled in different ways in Scotland, Wales and…

On July 26-27, 2008, FPRI's Wachman Center hosted 37 teachers from across the country for a weekend of discussion on teaching U.S. Military history. Sessions included: (1) The Revolutionary War and Early American Military History (Kyle Zelner); (2) The Mexican-American War (Paul Springer); (3) The Civil War (Mark Grimsley); (4) The Frontier Years…

This article draws a comparison between the Portuguese in relation to British and French discourses on overseas educational policies at the turn of the nineteenth to the twentieth century until the 1930s. It focuses on three main colonial educational dynamics: school expansion (comparing the public and private sectors); State-Church relations…

Draws on an ongoing project on "Elites in Policy-making," aimed at critically examining the postwar "partnership" between LEAs, teachers, and the Ministry of Education. Challenges pluralism as the dominant theoretical approach to the study of education policymaking in the United Kingdom and argues for a more state-centered,…

British government policies affecting education are in four categories: deliberate party policies for education; as part of a tradition of consensual policymaking; forced on government by external constraints; and deriving from other areas such as public expenditure or central-local government relations. Few are found in the first category. (MSE)

Describes legislation in Great Britain designed to reform university policies by abolishing security of tenure and forming the University Funding Council replacing the University Grants Committee. Discusses the background of these events and possible implications for university research and teaching. (CW)

A recently completed major study into the future of British higher education is an impressive analytical effort but may be criticized for its openness to bargaining and policy advocacy and for neglecting to outline a range of available options and to clearly spell out major value tradeoffs involved in the options. (MSE)