Background: Recognizing the declining interest of school students in Physics, this study sought to explore the situation in England, Hong Kong and Singapore. Purpose: To ascertain students' views about various aspects of physics. Sample: A total of 2719 students participated in this study. Design and methods: A survey approach was used to…

Practical work is widely seen as an integral part of school science. Research and teacher guidance have tended to consider practical work in science, rather than in individual science subjects or topics. This study used a questionnaire of selected- and open-response items to probe the views and reasoning of a sample of 43 pre-service teachers in…

This study focuses on the current situation regarding children working creatively in schools. With two colleagues, I used a form of action research called Appreciative Inquiry, working in collaboration with teachers. Though it took courage for the teachers to plan and implement activities in which children worked creatively, they valued this work…

In light of growing evidence that many parents are deeply concerned about their young children's increasing technology use, in this paper we report on aspects of a study funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council, where we sought to understand parents' views on children's digital book reading. We introduced seven families to four…

Intentional approaches to designing and structuring learning environments apply outdoors as well as indoors, but the value of freedom and unrestricted play outside is well known. However, several factors influence teachers' provision of freedom within outdoor activities, and it is important to reflect on these variables and appropriate degrees of…

This paper examines four interviews with student survivors about their experiences of reporting sexual harassment and violence to universities in the United States and England, and their experiences of how their universities protected the perpetrators. Interview participants revealed that their assailants were not held accountable because the…

The roles universities are seen to play have changed significantly over the last 25 years. The concept of higher education has, and, continues to morph from a distanced, unengaged ivory tower to a highly engaged community-based concept. Yet there is little in the literature about how universities viewed as 'anchor institutions' support…

Many of the universities in England publicise statements of their values, separately from other mission statements, aims or goals. This paper compares universities whose value statements contain direct references to diversity, inclusion or equality, with those that do not and seeks to explore whether such values are reflected in these…

Institutions, organisations, and policymakers use open educational resources (OERs) to promote student equity and social inclusion. The global COVID-19 crisis highlighted the need for lifelong learning and underscored the importance of the higher education system in this endeavour. This study describes informal learning among adults through OERs,…

Despite girls enjoying and being good at physics, the proportion of girls studying physics and going into physics related careers still lags behind that of boys. A large volume of research exists on the factors related to the uptake of girls into physics, however little research looks at the link between parents and their child's physics uptake.…

Academic staff perceptions of the value and purpose of service user and carer (SUAC) involvement within a health and social work faculty in an English university were explored in this co-produced qualitative study. Relevant research findings over the past two decades were reviewed and two SUAC researchers, plus an academic member of staff,…

This paper explores the factors that influence attendance to taught sessions in higher education. Absenteeism is approached as a complex phenomenon that is problematic when considering how students, lecturers and universities relate to it. Our study is conducted as a case study based on a large post-92 university in England, focusing on the…

This article reports the findings of a pre-pandemic national survey of English primary schools (n=621) examining how Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is prioritised and practiced in school. Perceived benefits and prioritisation of SEL, barriers and facilitators in supporting implementation, and the nature and extent to which whole school…

This study set out to assess a new instrument designed to measure the perceived frequency that teachers use fear appeals (communicated value messages that focus on avoiding failure) prior to a high-stakes examination and their appraisal as a challenge or a threat. Data were collected from two samples of students preparing for their high-stakes…

This is the third special issue of "Primary Science," and it is one that offers primary school teachers an insight into an initiative that does wonders for primary science leadership, learning, and teaching -- the Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM). In this article, Elizabeth Nally shares her PSQM experience and what it has done for her…