There is increasing pressure on academic staff to enhance the graduate capabilities of students, rendering them employable as morally informed global citizens, in addition to enhancing their disciplinary knowledge, reflective practice and understanding. The BA Outdoor Adventure Education degree programme at Plymouth Marjon University, includes the…

The question "What does this have to do with everything else?" refers to ecological thinking. In this article, we use an ecological approach to explore the interrelationships between the incidence of the influenza pandemic of 1918-19, its trajectories and impacts on education. Our emphasis on children and their environment, as specific…

The exercise book has been a ubiquitous piece of school equipment since the advent of mass literacy. This case study explores three teenage boys' exercise books, my father's, mine and a Year 9 in my current school. One each from 1955, 1986 and 2016. It explores how the boys' writing within them was shaped and constructed, for what audience and for…

The teaching profession in England and Wales has been experiencing a steady decline in its workforce, with a significant number of teachers making the decision to move abroad and teach in international schools. Teachers cite working conditions, institutional pressures and pay and conditions at home as reasons to seek employment elsewhere.…

This paper offers an autoethnographic account of using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as a doctoral researcher to explore the career experiences of women deputy headteachers. IPA is a qualitative methodology which lends itself to a detailed exploration of the ways in which individuals make sense of their lived experiences. Despite…

Since the introduction of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) in England in 2008, assessment of children has taken a formal and standardized measurable approach. Such an approach goes against most findings of play-oriented research. Thus, the project reported here employed participatory action research with practitioners in order to identify…

This paper explores the value of writing journals for both students and teachers beyond English lessons and without insistence on evidencing writing progress. Keeping a journal or undertaking regular reflective writing is an unfamiliar experience for some students, and schools may offer limited privacy for writing. Used in a comprehensive school…

While there are numerous pedagogical innovations and varying forms of professional learning to support change, teachers rarely move beyond the initial implementation of new ideas and policies and few innovations reach the institutionalized stage. Building on both site ontologies and situated learning in communities of practice perspectives, this…

In higher education, doctoral training has been identified as a process of stewardship development whereby individuals learn the knowledge and skills required to advance their respective disciplines. Self-study of teacher education practices is one approach that has gained the interest of doctoral students to help them understand their own…

One of the key topics on any Modern Languages Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) course in the United Kingdom is the hotly debated issue of target language (TL) use. When and why do teachers use the TL in delivering lessons and when and why do they code switch into the learners' language? Does their practice change over time? Does it…

In this paper, I will reflect on the initial reconnaissance, action, and reflection cycle of my doctoral research, exploring Community Philosophy as a tool for critical parental engagement in a primary school (Elliot, 1991). I will examine how I reflexively engaged with my influence on participants, which then significantly influenced the framing…

This paper shares a health and wellbeing partnership, modelling implementation of physical education (PE) advocated by the United Nations (UN). The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) exemplifies global efforts towards equality, specifically Goal 3 and 4 address health and wellbeing. The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into cross…

Early intervention is key for children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), and therefore early assessment is crucial. Information from parents about children's current ability and their developmental history can make valid and useful contributions to developmental assessments. Parental input is also important in early education…

This article reports an investigation of trainee teachers' experience of reflection whilst undertaking a teaching qualification for the post-compulsory sector. The study used a sequential, mixed-methods design, employing a structured questionnaire and a semi-structured interview; 127 individuals completed the questionnaire about their experience…

In this writing it is my intention to show how using philosophy and creative thinking with junior school children has enabled me to identify gifts and talents of which I might otherwise have been unaware and to show the impact this has had on the children concerned in terms of their own awareness of themselves as learners. I will also question…