This paper presents findings from a year-long network ethnography into the strategies, networks, and outcomes of More Than a Score (MTAS)--a campaign against standardised testing in UK primary schools. Focusing specifically on the parent-based groups of the organisation, we use theorisations of symbolic capital to challenge traditional…

Home-school partnership has often been lauded as a key contributor in raising educational attainment. However, the level of partnership experienced by parents who use English as an Additional Language (EAL) can be limited by poor English-language proficiency and other unique challenges. This paper is concerned with a systematic review and analysis…

Parental involvement in education has taken on a new importance in contemporary society as a result of the rise of ideas associated with 'parental determinism', the desire of neoliberal states to shift responsibility for educational outcomes onto families, and the increasing salience of educational qualifications in processes of social…

Emotionally based school non-attendance (EBSNA) needs are complex, with a distinctive combination of risk factors affecting each individual. This study presents an exploration of the perceived facilitators to successful returns to school for two primary-aged children who had previously experienced anxiety around school attendance. The perspectives…

Homeification refers to the intensification of the home environment through the accelerated lifestyle changes triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes resulted in blurred and altered boundaries between places and new relations with spaces, things, and technologies. Drawing on multi-modal creative research with UK undergraduate students,…

Selective mutism (SM) and autism frequently co-occur together, exacerbating social communication deficits and associated anxiety. However, professionals have lacked a readiness to diagnose SM and autism together, making the need to understand parental experiences of caring for a child with SM and autism crucial. The current study utilised…

This report is the result of the participation of hundreds of students, families, school educators, and researchers who dedicated their time and energy to investigating the critical role that families and communities play in ensuring students and schools can flourish. It is a culmination of over two years of collaborative research and hundreds of…

This article explores the experiences of a group of established academic staff in New Zealand and the UK, as they undertake a doctorate in their home institutions. Our interest is in how individuals negotiate this dual status from a cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) stance that explores how rules, tools, community and divisions of labour,…

Research on the ethics of the home-school partnerships in secondary education is scarce. This paper uses data from three case studies to argue: students have a right to privacy which home-school partnerships can circumvent, parents can be used as a resource to leverage compliance from students which undermines young people's privacy, and…

In this paper we 'plug in' ideas from post-qualitative thinking to read empirical material from Erasmus+ project, "Open School Doors," and mobilise new ways of conceptualising teachers' work with newly arrived families. Driven by commitments to inclusion and social justice teacher participants described tacit, in-the-moment,…

The concept of Funds of Identity (FOI) comes from a theory of learning that emphasizes the importance of recognizing and using students' cultural, linguistic, and personal backgrounds to enhance their educational experiences. FOI is like a "toolbox" of resources that people gather over time. These resources are shaped by historical,…

Few children with mental health problems access evidence-based interventions. Primary schools may be an ideal setting to improve access to treatment through screening and intervention programmes, but some families' circumstances and experiences may increase barriers to benefiting from this approach. Interviews were carried out with parents of…

This paper presents a novel conceptualisation of the school context by examining the 'personal' (emotional wellbeing), the 'political' (everyday political actions and power relations) and the 'Political' (the Political system, including electoral politics and governmental policy) and how these interrelate. Informed by literatures from a range of…

This essay investigates the classroom talk and reflections of a Year 5 lesson on reading and writing beyond Standard English. Its title refers to 'Reflecting Realities', the CLPE survey of ethnic diversity in UK children's books. In changing 'reflecting' to 'representing' I seek to move beyond concern with sourcing representative texts to the work…

This article builds on the seminal work of Paulo Freire, whose critique of the "banking model" of education has inspired educators to look beyond mechanistic, didactic means of teaching, toward more constructivist, engaging methods. In this article, I argue that, although the teaching of children has changed as a result of work such as…