This article focuses on the role of training managers (TMs) in UK participation in WorldSkills Competitions (WSC). The TM role is outlined, according to the perceptions of the TMs, and there is analysis of the benefits to them of participation, as well as the barriers they face, and the benefits and barriers available to participating further…

To what extent and why do social origins matter for access to higher education, including access to elite universities? What is the role of private and selective schooling? This paper uses the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) to analyse the trajectories of a generation currently in early middle age. We find that the influence of social origins,…

Previous research has suggested a positive intergenerational relationship between a parent's childhood cognitive skill level and their own children's skill levels. Yet we also know that individuals' skill levels change during childhood and into adulthood, not least as a result of their education, training and work experience. Thus parents' adult…

This paper investigates the experiences of a group of mature students as they move from a Foundation degree in Teaching and Learning Support to a progression route, the BA (Honours) in Teaching Learning and Mentoring. This piece of action research employs student narratives as a means of gaining some understanding of individual and specific…

This article reports on the grouping practices used by a cohort of 10 newly qualified primary teachers for teaching mathematics in different English primary schools. It examines the factors that influence why these teachers group as they do. All the teachers grouped their pupils on the basis of achievement or perceived ability for mathematics. It…

The education policies of governments have become increasingly directed towards economic ends, including the development of workforce skills. UK governments have been particularly committed to such policies and have adopted some quite distinctive tools, relying heavily on targets and emphasizing certificated rather than uncertificated learning.…