Teacher evaluation and teachers' professional learning are too often confined to separate areas of research and professional practice. Rather than approach evaluation and enquiry as distinct or irreconcilable, this paper applies the ideas of Stenhouse to explore new possibilities for the reappropriation of mandated appraisal in ways that support…

In current educational research communications, especially in English and increasingly also in German publications, the term "evidence" refers to international homogenizing gold standards and is often linked to European evidence policies, large scale assessments and justified and proven knowledge. Against the background of international…

The Careers Hubs pilot (2018-2020) tested a place-based network model designed to facilitate English schools and colleges delivering career guidance, measured primarily by adherence to eight benchmarks of good practice. Using a standardised measurement tool, career guidance in hub schools was observed to improve faster than a matched comparison…

Higher education quality and standards are rarely far from the headlines or ministerial speeches. This Policy Note considers the important -- and changing -- role of England's governing bodies in academic governance, as they are expected to provide increased assurance that standards are being maintained or enhanced. The author suggests some…

This article, as coruscating as it is well-grounded, sketches the appallingly unfair state of contemporary education in England. It outlines the historical and contemporary drivers of that unfairness and the consequences that ensue in the lives of young people. It calls for a renewed movement on the left to call out the education system's shocking…

In England, there is a National Curriculum in place which is intended to outline what will be taught and learned in each of the required subjects in state schools, music being one of these subjects. However, for some years, a right-wing conservative government has been working on systemic change, which removes many schools from state control and…

Objective: Most countries teach limited information about sex and reproductive health education, often concentrating on how not to get pregnant. In this study, we examine what 16- to 18-year-olds in England have learnt and their views about reproductive health education. Design: This is a mixed-methods study. An anonymous, online survey was…

This paper presents a summary of a three-year project funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) evaluating the Schools Partnership Programme (SPP). The SPP is a peer-led, collaborative school improvement model in England, developed by the Education Development Trust (EDT), where clusters of schools conduct peer reviews and support one…

In 2017 the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) identified stuck schools that have failed inspections continuously since 2005. Our study used quantitative methods to identify factors associated with improving or remaining stuck by analysing a sample of 580 primary and secondary stuck schools and their matched…

This paper draws on coupling and systems frameworks to investigate the relationships between two English Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) and their member schools in how decisions are made around budgeting, recruitment processes, and curriculum and assessment. Findings demonstrate when and under what conditions executive leaders and specifically CEOs,…

This case study focuses on researching the connections between policy and teaching practices in the context of English further education. It describes how an ethnographic approach was used to examine how teachers navigate policy directives in their day-to-day work, focusing particularly on quality improvement directives. It shows how two linked…

In recent years school-to-school collaboration in the English context has been promoted by a myriad of policy initiatives. Many of these initiatives have been directed at structural reforms seeking to facilitate a 'self-improving system' in which schools support one another to raise standards of teaching and learning and address educational…

The policy context for schools in England places great emphasis on leadership and autonomy as drivers of educational improvement. The purpose of this article is to explore how we can better understand, in this context, the challenges of leadership and autonomy and the conditions of leadership development that support or hinder the practice of…

England's schooling landscape is being remodelled and the move from hierarchical to heterarchical modes of governance has implications for systemic change strategies. Balancing local and networked autonomy with centralising policies complexifies choices for schools, creating tensions that this article explores through the context of curriculum…

Despite the pivotal role that science now plays in everyday life, and countless viable future career options for children, in many cases it is still considered less of a 'core subject' than its curriculum relatives -- namely English and maths. While this has been helped in recent years with a greater emphasis on STEM subjects, there is still some…