The valorization of skills in English higher education policy-making is a long-standing refrain, informing both rhetoric and investment from government and shaping university behaviour. Critiques of the 'skills agenda' are equally established, on grounds of its contested evidence base, manner of implementation and even its very definition. This…

Inflation is projected to be much higher than expected at the time of the 2021 Spending Review. This could wipe out up to £850 million of the value of skills funding in England over the next three years, leading to either fewer adults accessing learning or risks to the quality of learning. This Briefing Note addresses what the 2021 Spending Review…

This article analyses the activities and early outcomes of an ongoing co-designed and co-delivered research impact project entitled "Decolonising the English Literature A-Level". It draws on examples from three case studies, classroom experiences, and student and teacher feedback to show how efforts to support the decolonisation of…

Longitudinal research is crucial to fully assess the putative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children with an intellectual disability in special school settings--ideally drawing on data pre-pandemic to be able to evaluate later impact. Data on challenging behaviour and adaptive skills were collected annually for 348 students in one special…

Due to its haptic and interactive nature, virtual anatomy provides an opportunity for small-group learning, enabling students to develop their group work skills before they graduate. However, there is currently little practical guidance supported by pedagogic principles detailing how to incorporate it into curricula. Anatomy educators at the…

Little is known about the parenting experiences of autistic mothers, yet there is reason to believe that autistic mothers of non-autistic daughters have a unique set of experiences, especially during their daughters' adolescence. Seven autistic mothers of adolescent (n = 5) and adult (n = 2) non-autistic daughters were interviewed about their…

In this paper, I explore preservice science teachers' (science PSTs') reflective practice (RP) during a 1-year Postgraduate Certificate in Education programme in England. Previous research suggests that science PSTs are not very reflective, and I hypothesised that lack of reflectivity is related to their difficulty in learning to teach. Science…

This paper is a systematic literature review of works focused on user-centred design practices and their potential application in pedagogical contexts in design and technology (D&T) education. It is a response to the increasingly complex demand of allowing students to develop so-called 21st-century skills within a D&T curriculum, which is…

The St Martin's Group commissioned Learning and Work Institute to explore the barriers apprenticeship employers face, what employers can do to help apprentices complete their programmes, and ultimately how 'best outcomes' of apprenticeships are defined by different parties across the system. More than 800 apprenticeship employers were surveyed to…

This article builds on Yuval-Davis's (2006, 2007, 2011) theories of belonging, in order to relay how practitioners can support unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASCs) in developing a positive sense of belonging in educational spaces in England. To do so, the article synthesises literature surrounding theories of belonging, UASCs' educational…

Today, the engineering landscape is continually changing, and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have a responsibility to design curricula that address the growing demands of various industry sectors. Likewise, the roles and responsibilities of an engineer are evolving; requiring a further broadening of the current engineering curriculum. As a…

21st Century Skills encompass life capabilities for individuals to work and prosper in complex environments. Resilience encapsulates positive behavioural adaptations acquired through optimised exposure to outdoor adventure education (OAE). This study examined the efficacy of one-week OAE residentials upon young people's resilience, psychological…

Background: Higher education institutions and universities aim to provide students with a range of transferable skills that enable them to become more thoughtful and effective employees, citizens, and consumers. One of these skills is critical thinking. Objective: The aim of the present research was to examine whether taking a psychology degree is…

This study employed a concurrent embedded design to compare the accounting curricula of selected universities in Africa, America, Asia, and Europe, guided by International Education Standards (IES) 2, 3, 4, and 5. Fourteen universities from different continents were conveniently selected, and a descriptive content analysis was conducted to analyse…

The Thinking Folk project introduced Socratic dialogues as a pedagogical construct to develop critical thinking skills by drawing on the lived experiences of learners in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes. The resulting conversations were soon described as "real" talk by learners, which, in a process that not only…