In recent years the taught masters course has become an even more important component of the curriculum portfolio for universities in the UK and elsewhere. In the spring of 2021, the Student Assessment and Classification Working Group (SACWG) surveyed a small number of English and Welsh universities to compare assessment regulations for taught…

Purpose: This paper aims to examine a co-produced initiative implemented at the University of the West of England, UWE (UWE) between September 2022 and April 2023. The student-led project (Climate, Conversations and Cake: The 3C's) addressed environmental and climate crisis awareness through monthly gatherings where, in partnership, students,…

The purpose of this narrative literature review is to provoke new ways of understanding the plethora of research around the role of the SENCo. Specifically, the aim is to use four themes as lenses to explore how SENCo identities are formed, and reformed, by intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. The four themes have been distilled from a list of…

The Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) is an evaluation of teaching quality at UK universities. The aim of the TEF is to raise esteem for teaching in line with research and recognise teaching excellence. In 2017 all universities who took part in the TEF exercise were awarded ratings of gold, silver or bronze for teaching quality. These awards…

There is great emphasis in contemporary higher education to address the seemingly consistent issue of what students perceive to be good assessment feedback practice. Improving this aspect of the student experience continues to elude higher education institutions, as reflected in the nationally lower than average scores in the United Kingdom's…

In March last year the authors was asked to take over as science coordinator in her primary school. The school had signed up for the Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM, www.psqm. org.uk) and the author attended the first PSQM meeting with very little idea of what it entailed. This turned out not to be a problem: her mentors were a huge source of…

In the changing context of universities, organisational structures for teaching and research problematise academic roles. This paper draws on a critical realist analysis of surveys and interviews with academics from universities in England and Australia. It identifies important academic work, not captured simply in descriptions of teaching or…

This article highlights the changing role of special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCos) in England. SENCos are now required to manage change strategically and deliver inclusive school cultures. A school-based evaluative study undertaken by a teacher who is studying for the postgraduate National Award for SEN Co-ordination (NASENCO) for…

Drawing on the concepts of mediatisation and celebrification, this paper analyses how the Nobel Prize is used as a proxy of excellence by the 'Big Three' university rankers and top-ranked universities. Ranking advisories, university leadership at top-ranked institutions, and Nobel Prize adjudication committees are overwhelming from the same…

The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) has been a successful and popular initial teacher education (ITE) programme since the 1950s, with the masters level PGCE being successfully embedded within universities in England since 2007 and having high levels of student satisfaction. Recent White Papers, policy and reviews have undermined the…

The Language Leader Award, created by Rachel Hawkes and run by Routes into Languages East "helps pupils learn to lead, using language teaching as the medium. Throughout the year-long programme they develop their leadership and [linguistic] skills, growing in confidence and enhancing their future careers" (Hawkes, n.d. c, p. 1). Some…

Career guidance describes activities that support individuals in learning about education and employment, and in planning for their future lives, learning, and work. These activities contribute to social mobility, which helps people discover and access opportunities that might exist outside of their immediate networks. Changes in funding and in…

Liz Lawrence has recently finished her term as Chair of Primary Science Committee (PSC). She is one of the 41 hub leaders who have led and mentored 192 schools across England and British Forces' schools in Germany, to achieve the first ever nationally recognised awards to celebrate excellence in primary science. In this article, the author writes…

This paper draws on research conducted across an English higher education partnership to investigate the ways in which student voice was engaged in further education colleges offering university awards through partnership arrangements. Such collaborations are characterised by the marginal presence of higher education students in an environment…

Donald Peterson Kent believed that gerontology would grow through innovative inquiry, effective teaching, and well-evaluated policies and programs that benefited the elderly people. Because advances in research, education, and practice sustain each other, Kent's tripartite agenda continues to be instructive as globalization presents fresh…