In recent years, there has been growing interest in the role of affect within education. Within this paper, the authors make a distinction between affective pedagogy, which they refer to as ways of teaching that are designed to evoke particular emotional states, and affective knowledge, which they refer to as aspects of knowledge or knowing which…

This paper reports an analysis of the website of an education authority in the state of Queensland, Australia during the changeover from a state-based curriculum to a national curriculum. The paper's value lies in the capture of an exact moment of change. Kress and van Leeuwen's grammar of visual design is employed to analyse the changes to the…

The ability to express oneself clearly in both a mother tongue and a foreign language is a foundation principle of the new national curriculum in Estonia. Therefore, research was conducted to determine whether there was a possible relationship between English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' perceptions of effective teaching and the…

The poverty-related attainment gap is an internationally recognised problem. It resides within a culture of performativity in which international comparators, underpinned by neo-liberal ideology, drive national policy. This conceptual paper interrogates the relationship between poverty, attainment and children's mental health and wellbeing to…

This article considers the role of constructions of creativity in the classroom and their consequences for learning and, in particular, for the assessment of creativity. Definitions of creativity are examined to identify key implications for supporting the development of children's creativity within the classroom. The implications of assessing…

While universal human rights frameworks and democratic models of government have gained global support and even adherence, they often exist in tension with local cultural and religious practices. In Kuwait, tensions arise between its constitution, legal system and Islam, with several groups consequently marginalised. These tensions extend into the…

Since 1999, the devolution of aspects of domestic policy formulation from the UK Government in London to a Welsh Assembly Government based in Cardiff has affected the way in which such policies are initiated, developed and implemented. A consistent feature of the stance taken by Ministers in this new policy environment in Wales has been that…

A systematic review was undertaken in 2006 to answer the question "What is the evidence for successful practice in teaching and learning with regard to non-fiction writing (specifically argumentational writing) for 7- to 14-year-olds?", using EPPI-Centre methodology. Results showed that certain conditions have to be in place. These…

The value of any subject on a crowded, contested and compulsory curriculum is, or at least should be, open to debate. More importantly, when different subjects are prioritized over others, the justification for the ranking of such subjects should also be submitted to sustained enquiry. Mathematics enjoys a prestigious place in the English National…

This article considers the issue of global education in schools by focusing upon the case of one particular English secondary school and exploring the pedagogic and curricular perspectives of its staff and students. It recognizes the strong normative and holistic dimension to global education and the challenges it faces in, and presents to…

Can education for sustainable development (ESD) policies help to create a more sustainable society? In the article I argue that contemporary secondary school curriculum policies relating to ESD are rhetorical devices that will achieve little towards resolving global problems. I suggest that the conceptualization of SD is itself fundamentally…

Compares music and science education to argue that students of science in the United Kingdom are given inadequate opportunity to both critically appraise competing theories and imaginatively construct their own. The parallels of the two show ways that music can inform changes to science in the National Curriculum. (CMK)

The place of economics in the curriculum in England and Wales provides a lens through which we may view the ways in which the curriculum as a whole is fought over and remains shifting terrain. Conceived of as social movements, school subject communities are made up of competing factions giving rise to contest and conflict both within themselves…

Reviews the history of oracy in the United Kingdom over the past decade, as articulated in significant national curriculum developments. Identifies conflicting models of oracy embedded in these programs, noting erosion of the cross-curricular function of oracy in favor of a centralized oracy, controlled by the teacher and related to literacy. (BT)

Presents an overview of problems associated with assessment of practical work in science. Identifies two theoretical positions that present teaching and assessment flow. Examines some available evidence on possible assessment methods that articulate with these two positions. Considers a position adopted by the United Kingdom National Curriculum in…