This article centres on the recent Higher Education and Research Act 2017 in England and the consultation documents leading to the legislation. I will start by arguing that the reform promotes consumerist understanding of students. Guided by Fairclough's critical discourse analysis, I will further explore the ways in which five students' unions…

Student consumerism in the Higher Education (HE) sector continues to stimulate critical academic commentary about the consequences of marketisation. Although much of the debate focuses on the effects that consumerism has on student achievement, little empirical research has analysed the effect that consumerism has on teaching and associated…

The author argues that a Higher Education Bill will be lacking in the future, as promised in the 2011 White Paper on HE; and hence the regulatory framework for English HE will, for the immediate future at least, have to evolve within the law as it is rather than via new legal powers. The essential issue is how to extract the benefits of market…

This paper explores the complex ways in which the marketisation of education and the associated publication of performance data have contributed to the emergence of a new politics of recognition which has paradoxically served further to naturalise educational inequalities. Of all the reforms associated with subjecting education to market forces,…

In the UK, the vocabulary of public services is becoming infused with the prefixes "inter"-, "multi-" and "co-". Public-sector agencies are being encouraged to adopt"'multi"- or "inter-agency" configurations; "workforce reform" seeks to dissolve once-impermeable professional boundaries;…

This paper uses evidence from focus groups with consumers in England to consider how consumers understand and evaluate a range of proxies or intermediary organisations that offer assurance about food and consumer products, particularly voluntary certification schemes. This addresses the current concern in developed economies about providing…

Financial literacy refers to the ability to make informed judgements and to take effective decisions regarding the use and management of money. A baseline survey carried out by the Financial Services Agency (FSA) in 2006 highlighted many issues: (1) 29% of 16-4-year-olds said they would not know how to prepare and manage a weekly budget; (2) 19%…

This publication contains a series of sessions developed and used by Newcastle City Council Family Learning Service and now published to share practice. The sessions were developed specifically to support "Skills for Life" tutors to deliver the adult literacy and numeracy curricula but can also be used by other practitioners. There are…

The potential benefits of teacher fellowships are discussed. One such Fellowship consisted of research into the teaching of low attainers in secondary schools, and resulting units on money management are briefly described. (MNS)

Analyzes the mass media's role in creating a more competitive environment for schools following England's Education Reform Act. The media were supposed to help increase parental expectations and disseminate consumer information. Commercial motivations proved equally important. Schools received unprecedented attention, and the media became an…

Discusses an inservice program for teachers during which participants explore ways to use a busy shopping area as a stimulus for learning activities. Recounts examples of interactions between teachers and shopkeepers which resulted in new learning experiences for young children. (TW)

"Pots of Gold" is a family finance research project delivered within Sure Start Children's Centre areas across Newcastle. It is funded by the DfES through the Basic Skills Agency and managed by Newcastle Family Learning Service. This project has been delivered in two phases, running from October 2005 to December 2006. Phase 1 ran from…

This policy discussion paper is intended to stimulate debate about how to develop more and better opportunities for formal and nonformal environmental education for British adults. A summary found at the beginning of the paper lists its implications for the government, all providers of adult education, all providers of work-related training,…

Recommends that the study of trade unions be included in the school curriculum. Argues that learning about relationships between unions and management through interviews, observations, and simulations can enhance the overall approach to teaching about controversial topics. Gives examples of some attempts to do this in schools. (TW)

This paper details the impact of New Labour's neo-liberal social and educational policies on disadvantaged groups in the district of Thanet. It notes that the post-welfare policy responses to social and educational problems reinforce both the disadvantages of deprived groups and the gradient of popularity among secondary schools within the…