Growing numbers of trans children are being supported by their families in childhood, including support for a pre-pubertal social transition. Existing literature provides limited insights into how parents reflect upon and evaluate their experience of supporting a trans child's social transition. This article draws upon qualitative semi-structured…

School closures due to COVID-19 have been predicted to have a large impact on pupils' learning and wellbeing. Systematic evidence about teachers' perceptions of what challenges their pupils have faced, and how they have been addressing these challenges, will be important for post-pandemic planning. We interviewed 24 teachers from English state…

Background: This article reports on the perspectives of fathers with a learning disability in England about being fathers and the support they have received. Although there is an established literature that considers parenting with a learning disability, few studies have focused on the perspectives of fathers. Method: We adopted a qualitative…

Puberty can be a particularly challenging time for adolescents who are transgender. Access to puberty blocking medication, commonly called 'puberty blockers', is considered an integral component of gender affirmative healthcare. Existing literature provides little insight into how parents of trans children entering into early adolescence navigate…

This study interviewed fathers of young infants to explore their experiences and understandings of their parental roles; comparing these with observations of them interacting with their baby, using an attachment lens. Analysis of interviews revealed key themes about fathers' experiences of being parented and in their turn, parenting, which linked…

Assessment of deaf children has found that their early understanding in science is behind that of their hearing peers. Research shows that parental attitudes and behaviours can affect educational outcomes but few studies have considered the effects of attitudes towards science on parent/child interactions in the home and thus, the effects on…

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for social research. However, little is known about the impact of social distancing measures on research with hard-to-reach populations. This paper provides methodological reflections on the efficacy of socially distanced recruitment and interviewing methods for research with disabled…

The closure of school buildings due to COVID-19 created a challenge for parents and teachers supporting children's remote learning. This paper presents findings of a study that explored whether parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) experienced an unusually challenging period and what obstacles they faced. An…

This study examines teachers' views about and practices in homework in primary schools, based on questionnaire data from 235 primary teachers and 19 in-depth interviews. Findings suggest that teachers prioritise contradictory goals and act in ways that support only some of these. Reading with parents is a universal form of homework and other…

The argument for the importance of a parent's engagement with their child's learning over parental involvement with their child's school has been shown to be valuable in research literature. This study, conducted in England prior to the global COVID-19 pandemic, therefore aimed to understand how school leaders and their staff understand parental…

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of the parent as a supporter of practice during a whole-class beginner violin programme and whether it is considered most beneficial for practice to be undertaken at home, at school or in no formal manner. This mixed-methods research project involved a year-group of 31 pupils aged 6-7 years from a…

This paper presents an exploratory study of English and Swedish teachers' perspectives on the role of homework in year-one children's learning of number. In order to ensure cultural integrity, data were analysed independently by two colleagues in each context. Analyses yielded three broad but cross-culturally common themes reflecting culturally…

Early language is important because it provides the foundations for reading, for writing, for social development-- for learning in every subject. Increasingly, research makes the link between early oral language skills and future education progress. Therefore, the growing challenge of children starting school unable to speak in sentences could not…

Aims: This paper presents a critically discursive analysis of young people's talk and drawings about mothers' roles in their support network, contrasted with careers advisors, prior to the school to work transition. Method: Thirteen young people aged 16--19 years, opting to go into work or apprenticeships following completion of compulsory…

Musical cultures in primary schools are influenced by motivators which include intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Whole Class Ensemble Teaching (WCET) as realised through provision from Music Education Hubs in England is an extrinsic factor which has been widely influential. This article explores the dynamics in play in parental engagement in music…