This article introduces a range of ways to engage students in microscopy, from investigating water droplet lenses to using low-cost, highly adaptable instruments that can be extremely effective inside and outside the classroom.

Though teachers in schools are increasingly being asked to take responsibility for the education and training of prospective and practicing teachers, little empirical research has been undertaken into the support that they require to perform their duties effectively. This study provides an international needs analysis of the professional learning…

Walking-creating was adopted to probe orientations towards communities, while early career teachers were on clinical placement in the remote South West Peninsular of England. The aim of carrying out walking-creating events was to elicit whether and if so, the extent to which, early career teachers were sensitive to the communities where they had…

Purpose: Greener on the Outside for Prisons (GOOP) is a therapeutic horticulture programme targeting the high levels of complex health and social care needs in prisons in England. The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns led to unprecedented disruption in prisons in England. This paper examines the experiences of prisoners both during and…

In this commentary, we reflect critically on the experience of delivering community-based sexual pleasure workshops for self-defining women in order to share lessons from our practice with others working in sex and sexualities education in higher education or in practice settings. Our discussion about facilitating these workshops in informal…

This research sought to generate large-scale yet sophisticated data relating to ability grouping practices in physical education (PE) in secondary schools in England, with the intent of extending knowledge of the various ability grouping practices being adopted within and across schools. The prevalence of particular ability grouping practices,…

Spatial thinking predicts Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics achievement, yet is often absent from educational "policy." We provide benchmarks of teachers' usage and perceptions of spatial activities "in practice" in the reception classroom (first year of primary school). In this questionnaire study of…

The article analyses in detail two lessons that were part of a larger research project on English teaching in Canada, England and Scotland. It considers whether the two English lessons are by their nature both dialogic and formative in practice. The research undertaken was carried out using arts-based criticism. It found that Eaglestone's notion…

Value co-creation unfolds as a system of interactions in which the user and service provider play an active role in collaboratively creating values that go beyond economical and financial worth. Value co-creation is a growing trend in museums; however, little is known about how it can enhance educational activities, especially concerning digital…

Since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, schools across the world closed, either periodically or over a considerable time. The OECD reports that during this period, globally, over 1.2 billion children were out of the classroom. As a result, schools moved part or all of their curriculum online, teaching remotely via digital platforms. Evidence suggests…

The study sought to understand how three multilingual Romanian Roma learners approached and made sense of literacy-related activities in an English primary school so that this can illuminate classroom practice to ensure more inclusive forms of literacy education. The following research questions were addressed: (1) What are learners' linguistic…

This study focuses on the current situation regarding children working creatively in schools. With two colleagues, I used a form of action research called Appreciative Inquiry, working in collaboration with teachers. Though it took courage for the teachers to plan and implement activities in which children worked creatively, they valued this work…

This paper shares methodological insights from our research which sought to centre children in the production of knowledge during the 2020 global pandemic to consider how this can inform research with children beyond the crisis. Drawing on our longitudinal participatory arts-based research with 30 children aged 9-12 during 2020-22, the paper…

The focus on curriculum in the new inspection framework in England has increased the likelihood of detailed scrutiny of both science and design and technology (D&T), and with all other subjects also coming into the spotlight and timetables stretched, cross-curricular linking is a popular way to accomplish curricular goals. However, solutions…

An educational escape activity was developed, embedding elements of both augmented and immersive virtual reality technologies, in an active learning environment. The mental visualization of abstract concepts can be difficult for students, inhibiting their ability to reason cogently regarding important topics of stereochemistry. Consequently, an…