This study is part of a larger initiative toward understanding the acculturation of immigrant adolescents using the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England 2004-2010 database. A necessary step in using a database for cross-ethnic comparisons is first to verify whether its items and scales are equivalent. I examined item- and scale-level…

This report evaluates wellbeing in children and young people, including: (1) statistics on the wellbeing of children and young people in England; (2) wider indicators on their happiness with their relationships, self-reported health and experiences with school; and (3) an in-depth analysis of psychological wellbeing in teenage girls.

This article examines how exploratory factor analysis and Bourdieu's concept of the "illusio" were applied to a study of an English secondary school in a disadvantaged area of the West Midlands. It examined the attitudes of the school's entire cohort of 156 students during their first year at the school. By comparing the students'…

Considering data from a research project with two Gypsy communities (2010-2012) in South West England, this article explores issues of education and identity. The two communities have contrasting experiences within the education system. Informed by inter-disciplinary perspectives on identity and assimilation theories, the article explores these…

Parental choice of secondary schools is central to the Labour Government's education agenda. This article draws on work from an Economic and Social Research Council funded study considering teachers' and students' perspectives and experiences of choice in two locales. Two distinct ways in which choice operates are identified: overt choice, which…

There are large disparities between the achievements, behaviour and aspirations of children growing up in different neighbourhoods. This has contributed to the view that neighbourhoods can determine individuals' outcomes. Notably, in the long run these effects could lead to larger social inequality and reduce social mobility, which is why they…

The Centre for the Economics of Education was asked to investigate the factors that influence a range of children's academic and non-academic outcomes, including their enjoyment of school, whether they take unauthorised absence from school and whether they feel they are bullied. The study also investigated whether schools can influence these…

Background: Supplementary schooling broadly refers to extra schooling organized by and for particular ethnic groups outside of mainstream provision. Purpose: This is the first study to systematically explore the attitudes of pupils attending supplementary schools in England and the largest ever UK study of supplementary schools and their pupils.…

What do students in England think about school? This article examines the findings of educational research in England on the aspirations and expectations of young people themselves, and how well these are met through schooling. It focuses on the following issues: liking for school; attitudes towards schoolwork; disaffected pupils; attitudes…

In this paper, we present findings from the second stage of a three year longitudinal study involving 3,570 students aged 13-18 in a London Borough looking at the impact of Widening Participation (WP) on the attitudes of students. We outline findings from a previous stage and then focus specifically on two cohorts of Year 10 students (aged 14-15)…

This document summarizes research to demonstrate the difference that Building Schools for the Future (BSF) schools are making to young people's attitudes towards education and learning, as measured by their levels of engagement and enthusiasm for school. The key research objective was further broken down into a number of research questions: (1)…

In England the government's specialist schools initiative is transforming the nature of secondary education. A three-year longitudinal case study tracked the effects of specialist performing arts college status on two schools. The sites were a mainstream school drawing pupils from an area of high social deprivation and disadvantage, and a special…

Examined attitudes regarding school exclusion of 22 primary-age students from 20 different schools in England who had been suspended or expelled. Found that children viewed exclusion as a significant and negative event but were optimistic about returning to school. Students were aware of appropriate and inappropriate school behavior. Incidents…

Interviews with 27 Japanese children living in Scotland and England explored the notion of cultural dissonance in four areas: talk and silence in class, academic knowledge versus skills, achievement expectations and aspirations, and cultural identity. Current teaching practices apparently do not take cultural differences into account. (SK)