The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the perceived ease of use and usefulness of an assistive robot educator tool. The theoretical foundation for this study was the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Service Robot Acceptance Model (sRAM), which explore perceptions around the utility of technological systems. The…

This paper considers issues around identity for teaching assistants (TAs) in mainstream English primary schools. We discuss the concomitant problems TAs experience around role definition and role-creep as well as the challenges inherent in equivocally defining their evolving and flexible role. We used key themes drawn from the literature…

The integration of education and robotics has emerged as a crucial development in the technological landscape. This study focuses on the use of a robot teaching assistant to enhance the learning efficiency of 8th-grade students in hands-on STEM activities centered around the theme of "Smart City." It explores the impact of educational…

This qualitative study explored Norwegian ECEC professionals' perceptions and reflections concerning the use of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) Pre-K and Toddler for professional development. Focus group interviews (n = 22), group interviews (n = 4), and in-depth interviews (n = 3) were conducted online. Conventional content…

This study examined the relationship between teachers' attitudes toward trauma-informed care and teachers' self-reported levels of secondary traumatic stress. Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory and Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory were used as frameworks for this study. A purposive sample of 132 early childhood and elementary education…

How have public sector austerity and the outsourcing of school provision under the Academies programme affected the state school workforce in England? Existing research claims that teachers are being substituted by cheaper support staff and that schools are becoming increasingly dominated by managers. However, these claims focus on the period…

The reliance on teaching assistants (TAs) for inclusion is discussed in relation to the quality of instructional support. Swiss policy stipulates two distinct models for TAs working in mainstream classes: they can either be employed to work with a particular pupil with special educational needs (SEN) or be employed as a general aide to provide…

The issue of 'holiday hunger' (i.e. food insecurity during school holidays) has received increased attention in recent years, though research in this area is limited. Through qualitative, semi-structured interviews, the current study investigated the views of 12 primary school staff on the existence, impacts and potential solutions to holiday…

This exploratory study reports on interviews carried out with 19 staff in UK schools during the early phase of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The focus of this qualitative study was to consider the impact of the pandemic on participants' mental health and wellbeing, and to identify buffering mechanisms which may have mitigated against adverse…

Research indicates that white middle-class families' engagement with urban schools in gentrifying localities is often characterised by strategies of dominance and control, which support claims of belonging and identity, as well as securing educational advantage for their children. This is referred as 'class colonisation' or 'school…

Biology graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are a critical instructional group in the successful implementation of classroom reform efforts in higher education. Despite this, little is known about effective Teaching Professional Development (TPD) of this largely novice instructor group. This Idea to explore article proposes that a comparison of…

The article highlights the models of inclusive education of Italy, Germany, Sweden, Norway, and Great Britain. Inclusion models can be classified into three basic ones, according to the ratio of the number of primary school-aged children at general and specialized schools, namely: full inclusion, partial inclusion with a predominance of pupils at…

This paper reports on results from a descriptive study of the nature and quality of the day-to-day educational experiences of 49 13-14 year olds with special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND). All pupils had either an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or a Statement, and attended in mainstream secondary school in England. Pupils…

Recent policy reforms in Scotland mean that all primary teachers are expected to teach a foreign language (FL) to children from age 5, introducing a second language around age 9. This small-scale research study aimed to ascertain 38 primary teachers' perceptions of their confidence to teach an FL to primary learners and what they felt would be…

School-university partnerships (SUPs) have been used for decades to address a variety of university and k-12 school needs, including teacher training and research (Allen et al., 2013; Bebas, 2016; Walsh & Backe, 2013). While beneficial, their use in other areas such as school-based mental health services have largely been neglected.…