This paper draws on data from a broader study, the central object of which was to explore the place of sport and physical activity in young people's lives. More particularly, the paper reports the findings of 24 focus groups conducted with 153 15-16 year olds in north-west England and north-east Wales in order to examine young people's views…

There is a resurgence of interest in the powerful concept of emotion in current educational policy and practice. This article calls for the recognition and conceptualisation of a triadic schema for theorising the location of emotion within a creative educational experience. The schema represents emotion within three domains within current…

In spite of the introduction of a National Curriculum in UK schools and the improved progression and continuity that it promised, pupils still have problems with learning when they transfer from primary to secondary school. These problems are particularly acute in science. One approach is to provide a programme of "bridging work", focused on…

The guiding principles and procedures for pupil assessment in Portuguese compulsory education were established by the Implementing Order No. 1/2005, 5th January, with amendments introduced by the Implementing Orders No. 18/2006, 14th March and No. 5/2007, 10th January, and apply to the learning objectives and competencies defined for the various…

A team of secondary school language teachers and a teacher trainer developed a new method for Dutch writing instruction. The principles underlying the method were derived from insights regarding activating instruction and self-directed student learning. The development entailed two phases. In the first phase, the exploration of actual problems in…

School music has a comparatively low take-up rate as a qualification among English secondary school pupils. Existing research on the issue has proffered possible reasons for this phenomenon but has generally been piecemeal and undertheorised. This paper sets out a fresh theoretical perspective capable of providing a basis for systematic empirical…

This cross-sectional study aimed to assess smoking prevention and cessation education delivered as part of the UK National Curriculum and to evaluate the relative effectiveness of health, social influence and other/non-health components. In all, 1789 students aged 11-15 from 12 secondary schools completed online surveys assessing smoking status,…

The purpose of this study is to identify how upper secondary school French students (Grade 10-12) interpret chemical transformation with regards to the changes within molecules and atoms, and in terms of intramolecular and/or intermolecular bond breaking. In order to identify and describe the students' assimilated knowledge, four questions were…

In this article, the authors begin with a look back at the emergence of English education in the social and political context of the United States as a nation, situating the development of the research-practice divide narrative in debates concerning the nature and purpose of English as secondary-school subject in changing times. The authors turn…

This is a challenging time for sectors traditionally associated with modem foreign languages (MFL) education. MFL departments in secondary schools are striving to encourage their able linguists to continue with their language studies at Key Stage 4 (KS4); further education colleges are trying to make their numbers viable to run AS and A2 courses;…

A novel "Whiteheadean" science program was initiated in England and Wales in September 2006. Following a critical House of Commons report in 2002, the government altered the National Curriculum targets and thus forced the Examination Boards to alter their specifications in order to come in line. Assessment at GCSE level (i.e., the 14-16…

Interaction between science and design and technology (D&T) in schools is seen by many educationalists and industrialists as being desirable. During the period 1970 to 1990 progress was made in the UK, however the advent of the national curriculum compartmentalised subjects thus hindering further progress. Bodies in the UK such as the Office…

The subject of geography is declining in popularity at secondary school level and recent developments following the "cultural turn" in Higher Education have had little impact in revitalising it. In this paper I explore the question: is there a problem with the school geography curriculum policy? After briefly sketching the history of the…

Drawing on data from a broader study which investigated the place of sport and physical activity in the lives of 15-16 year olds in England and Wales, this paper examines a relatively neglected dimension of research in physical education, namely, young people's participation in sport and physical activity through National Curriculum Physical…

Over the last 20 years policy makers have introduced a number of measures intended to improve the quality of education provided by state secondary schools in England. The survey reported here, undertaken at the request of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), offers an insight into geography education in such schools with particular…