People have been raising the alarm about a language education crisis in the UK, particularly in England, for twenty years. Yet the crisis continues: the number of young people studying languages at school is low, especially in socioeconomically less-privileged areas. University programmes -- particularly in universities with below average entry…

This paper is a response to an earlier article in the "Journal of Education Policy," which calls for 'new ideas and constructive principles and practices for the provision of socially-just education'. We first discuss how an economistic approach to education entrenches socioeconomic disadvantage and argue that, in the light of evidence…

Background: School improvement initiatives in England have focused on urban areas, which have traditionally been home to larger numbers of poor and underperforming pupils. Previous research has found that rural regions of the country have had higher overall educational attainment due to their greater affluence. However, that broad picture could be…

This article reflects on some aspects of a doctoral ethnographic study of young people disaffected from schooling in a post-industrial space of ruin in a former coal-mining community in England. It considers how their experiences of resistance and refusal of schooling can, in the relational ethos of non-school support settings, come to speak back…

This book challenges taken for granted views of early childhood across the globe. It deepens and broadens our understanding of what it means to be a child today and of the challenges children face in different parts of the world. It will be essential reading for all who work with young children or are students of early years education and…

Oral history courses offered in the Cambridgeshire Fenland of England were designed to widen participation of isolated and disadvantaged adults and develop transferable skills in communication, information technology, and working together. The focus on these key skills was intended to raise self-esteem and increase self-assessment abilities. (SK)

A study of rural adult learners in northern England found that 96% had not been involved in learning in the past 5 years; transportation and child care difficulties hinder participation; a stigma is attached to participation in literacy programs; and inability to pay is a significant barrier. (SK)

This study represents an endeavor to point out facts and tendencies in higher education in Ireland and Wales by which American universities and colleges may profit. It complements similar studies in England and Scotland (see ED540852), and presupposes familiarity with the principal features and terminology of these studies. The compiler of this…