Raymond Williams was a literary critic, sociologist, novelist, and political activist but above all a teacher, with a theory of education as a societal process running through his work. He styled the UK's educational establishment of the 1960s 'Old Humanists'; guardians of a dominant elite culture who were losing their influence to the new…

Links between mathematical attainment and economic performance, coupled with England's poor showing in international comparisons of skills, have focussed attention on post-16 mathematics education, for example, in the UK Government's 2017 Industrial Strategy. Whilst high-stakes academic qualifications at 16 (GCSE) and 18 (A-level) have stood the…

Vocational education and training (VET) can play a transformative role in reducing CO[subscript 2] emissions and improving the energy efficiency of buildings across Europe. Nearly zero energy building (NZEB) requires an energy literate workforce, with broader and deeper theoretical knowledge, higher technical and precision skills,…

More than a quarter of all trainees in Germany's dual vocational training system have the Abitur -- the German school-leaving qualification that entitles them to go to university. Some go to university after completing their apprenticeship, but others move straight into full-time employment. There is currently very little reliable empirical data…

Teachers in England are under pressure to maximise their pupils' examination results, both to improve pupils' life chances and to ensure their school performs well on government accountability measures. This article reports the findings of an anonymous, online, voluntary survey of 548 teachers from secondary schools and colleges. The survey asked…

There has been a period of intense policy change involving GCSE examinations in England, proposed partly in response to schools using tactics to maximise performance against accountability measures. The reforms included a change to linear rather than modular entry, removing partial re-sits, and limiting early and multiple entry to examinations by…

The outcomes of national assessments in many countries provide "qualifications" or "credentials" that may be used to define the levels of students' knowledge and skills, for their own use and that of employers, higher education institutions and others. Qualification users, such as students, parents and teachers, arguably need…

In May 2008, Ofqual established a two-year programme of research to investigate the nature and extent of (un)reliability within the qualifications, examinations and assessments that it regulated. It was particularly concerned to improve understanding of, and confidence in, this technically complex and politically sensitive phenomenon. The…

Since its inception in 1992 Ofsted (The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills) has inspected schools under Section 9 of the Education (Schools) Act 1992; Section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996; and Section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Pressure on England to improve its system of education has not only emerged…

The article investigates unequal admissions patterns at the University of Oxford. Statistical work shows differences in admission rates by social class, ethnicity, gender, qualification status and secondary schooling. In-depth interviews with admissions tutors, college and university officials and observations of eight admissions meetings provide…

Heated discussions about the comparability of standards between examination subjects have kept Qualification Authorities, Testing Services, independent researchers and academics around the world busy for many years. As a result, many countries have adopted statistical techniques which aspire to make aggregated scores based on different subjects…

In Germany, a remarkable number of young people leave school with the qualification required for entrance to higher education ("Abitur") but do not actually go on to university. Instead, these young people--known in German as "Abiturienten"--start an apprenticeship within what is known in Germany as the "Dual-System".…