Since post-war II, music education has advocated its presumed aesthetic benefits. "Aesthetic advocacy" became instituted through the abundance of publications by Bennett Reimer (e.g., 1970, 1989, 1995, 2003). That aesthetic meme is still influential. The debate about "Music Education as Aesthetic Education" MEAE may be…

Impressions are influential. Through more than 40,000 interviews of people aged 25 and over in the European Union (EU), Norway and Iceland, this survey explores people's impressions about adult learning and continuing vocational education and training (CVET), which are central to enabling adults acquire the knowledge, skills and competences they…

Mediated learning experience (MLE) stresses that the quality of interaction between the child and the environment via a human mediator plays a pivotal role in the cognitive development of the individual. Feuerstein's theory of structural cognitive modifiability posited that humans have the propensity to change the structure of their cognitive…

The purpose of this article is to carry out a philosophical enquiry into the affective nature of creative and innovative processes. Recent studies on future employment suggest that we are at an inflection point whereby any job is in principle at risk of being taken over by computers and robots in the near future. The jobs least at risk, it is…

This is the opening paper in a "Scottish Educational Review" collection on "Making Space for Play in Scottish Education." It is acknowledged that, historically, a perception of divergent purpose enabled education both to enlist play and to curb play to achieve desired educational outcomes. However, a new understanding of play…

Recent policy discourse suggests that arts and humanities research is seen as being less useful to society than other disciplines, notably in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The paper explores how this assumption's construction has been built and whether it is based upon an unfair prejudice: we argue for a prima facie case…

Educators often ask how to motivate PhD students. Before addressing how to motivate students, we should know what motivates prospective doctoral students. Motivational support has been shown to lead to overall satisfaction with the educational process, better engagement, and persistence. Using the interdisciplinary field of library and information…

Arts and humanities research appears to have a problem when it comes to making an argument that it matters to society. Despite widespread efforts within and beyond the field to document how arts and humanities research creates social value, these arguments have had little traction within public policy debates. The paper argues that other…

This paper discusses the role of the lecture in contemporary higher education. Moving beyond the polarised perspectives that characterise recent debates on the subject, it considers both the potential problems and possible pedagogical, practical and social benefits of the lecture as a mode of teaching and learning. Through an examination of…

Student's underachieving in reading comprehension has become chronic, habitual, and a well-documented characteristic of public education. Schools' lack of success in this core academic competency is especially alarming in light of a decades-long growth of investment in reading comprehension research and instruction. The article highlights the…

The aim of the OECD Career Readiness project is to identify patterns of teenage attitudes and activities that are associated with better transitions into employment by analysing multiple national longitudinal datasets. This paper looks for further evidence of the link between teenage activities, experiences and career-related thinking and adult…

Measurable targets, key performance indicators, value for money--whatever we may think of the "impact agenda," it looks like it is here to stay. Are we trapped in a positivist, new managerialist spiral of demonstrating the value of our work, or can we take the lead in reframing the discourse on how educational development proves its…

Current definitions of creativity almost universally include "value" or a close cognate as one of the criteria. This article discusses two problems that arise as the result of the inclusion of value in those definitions. First, there is a conflict between the researchers' definition of the relevant phenomena and that used in the ordinary…

This article intends to raise a number of issues regarding teaching public administration in the higher education sector and the value it has for individuals and society. The article explores the issue of value with reference to the teaching and learning of Public Administration as a discipline in the wider societal context. The article argues…

The Economic Actions in Education training module (EAE) teaches how to handle, use and judge external standardized tests in schools. The EAE programme was implemented in teacher training at the University of Kiel, because teachers are increasingly under external scrutiny and are being held accountable for student and school achievements. The EAE…