Students' attitudes can be influential in the emotions experienced in mathematics learning and achievement at school. Two important judgements, according to Control-Value Theory are degree of control a student has over, and the value attached to, learning activities or outcomes. Appraisals of control and value are believed to play a central role…

In this short reflective piece, we first outline how feelings and emotions (or 'affections') are understood in psychodynamic approaches, and briefly discuss how these may be controlled or 'contained' in organisational contexts. We then reflect on the recent experiences of one of us (Rachael) as a school leader seeking to contain feelings and…

Promoting engagement is crucial for encouraging student participation, interest, and learning in mathematics. Student engagement has been conceptualized as interrelated types comprising behavioural, emotional, and cognitive characteristics. Cognitive engagement, our focus in this paper, relates to students' psychological investment in learning and…

Irregular words cannot be read correctly by decoding letters into sounds using the most common letter-sound mapping relations. They are difficult to read and learn. Cognitive models of word reading and development as well as empirical data suggest that inhibitory control might be important for irregular word reading and its development. The…

This article considers the presentation of self-efficacy in the OFSTED 2021 Curriculum Research Review for languages (OCRR). It begins by elucidating how self-efficacy is defined in the work of Albert Bandura and within social cognitive theory more broadly; its position in relation to theories of motivation and models of self-regulation; and what,…

This paper, co-authored between three adults and five children aged 8-11, adopts a 'collaborative writing as inquiry' approach to examine and discuss the authors' experiences of a participatory research project through the lens of critical dialectical pluralism. In the original project, children formed two 'young advisory panels', one online,…

Character education has enjoyed renewed interest both in the United Kingdom and in other parts of the world. However, to date, few studies have examined how character education is enacted 'in situ'. Drawing on data from a study in three English secondary schools, this paper traces how political and scientific discourses on character are mobilised…

Test anxiety has become a widespread issue in many contemporary societies, having a significant detrimental effect on the attainment, health and well-being of many young people. This paper evaluates a school-based, multimodal test anxiety intervention framework, 'Every Little Helps' (ELH), developed by educational psychologists and delivered to…

Little research has focused on the implementation of iPad practices in real contexts and the identification of relevant challenges and enablers. This work explored practices relating to using iPads for autistic pupils' social communication (SC) and emotional regulation (ER) based on key stakeholders' perspectives. It employed two case studies…

Care-experienced children and young people are likely to experience early adversities that place them at increased risk of developing physical and mental health difficulties. Physical activity can help address the varied needs and interests of care-experienced children and young people and become a tool to manage mental health and well-being…

The secondary school transition is considered a critical life event by practitioners and researchers alike, and the challenges presented by the pupils during this transition continues to be high-profile in educational, social and political contexts. This study focused on Year 7 pupils aged 11 to 12 years old in their first year of secondary…

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder estimated to have elevated prevalence in forensic populations (approximately 4.5%). It has been suggested that offenders with autism spectrum disorder engage more frequently in crimes against the person and sexual offences than other types of offences such as property, driving and drug…

'Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements' are characterised as core features in the diagnosis of autism, yet many autistic adults (and the neurodiversity movement) have reclaimed them as 'stimming'. Supported by a growing body of scientific research, autistic adults argue that these behaviours may serve as useful coping mechanisms, yet little…

This article reports on the differential impact of a curriculum intervention on students' understanding and practice of virtue. The research is germane given Ofsted's new requirement that its inspectors should assess how the curriculum in all schools in England and Wales supports students' character development. Results are reported here for a…

This study explores primary school aged children's perspectives and experiences of their Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) support. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 12 Key Stage 2 participants, who had had a minimum of one month's ongoing ELSA support. Four core themes were…