This article draws on data from an ethnographic account of the institutionalisation of 'the intercultural' within a large British university. The study finds that although the term 'intercultural' is frequently used in multiple forms, it is often aligned with the dominant discourses of the neoliberal university system in order to become an…

This paper reports on part of an on-going interview-based study of the eight permanent secretaries who served at the Department for Education from 1976 to 2012. Following a discussion of the relevance of biography to the study of public sector administrators, it presents a portrait of Sir Tim Lankester. Based on his own account and that of…

Between 2008 and 2012, teachers in the further education (FE) sector were required by legislation to engage with 30 hours (pro rata) of continued professional development (CPD), and this is reflective of the ways in which, historically, policy interest in FE teachers' professional development has waxed and waned. Situated within this historical…

This article reports on the preliminary findings from a national UK study of the life histories of 28 Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) educators who led schools across a 47-year period (1968-2015). BAME head teachers were grouped by generations (i.e. pioneer, experienced, and novice) and questioned about the critical life experiences that…

While it is generally acknowledged that being "historically informed" lies at the heart of critical accounts of education policy-making, the use of historically focused retrospective research methods within the field is rare. This paper makes the case for retrospective research at a time when some of the most significant episodes of…

This paper examines the emergence of schools "micro-computing" in the UK between 1977 and 1984--a period of significant educational, technological and political change. During this time, computing developed rapidly from a niche activity in a few select schools to the state subsidized purchasing of a "computer in every school"…

This article begins by outlining the historical and political context of "parent partnership" within the UK. It locates the perspectives of early years' practitioners within this context, drawing on data from an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded study of eighteen English early years settings, including interviews and…

In what ways do Jewish and Muslim faith schools in Britain play a role in promoting and contributing to community cohesion? What 21st-century skills around intercultural understanding do they foster? This book examines the nuances of faith in school settings and draws on a case study of Jewish and Muslim faith schools. The authors show how these…

This article begins by outlining the UK Government policy context, offering a brief critique before moving on to summarise recent research into "quality" in the early years. The main body of the article locates the perspectives of early years practitioners within this context, drawing on data from an Economic and Social Research…

Forest kindergartens are a new idea in the United States but have been around in Germany, Norway, and other European countries for decades. Forest "kindergartens" are preschools for children ages 3-6 and focus on being outdoors and learning through interacting with nature. Instead of building with blocks or doing puzzles at a table…

This paper focuses on a generational change taking place in the Polish academic profession: a change in behaviors and attitudes between two groups of academics. One was socialized to academia under the communist regime (1945-1989) and the other entered the profession in the post-1989 transition period. Academics of all age groups are beginning to…

This article has two main aims: to analyse relevant literature on the doctoral degree, and to assess whether recent funding changes in the UK have changed the nature of the PhD in the social sciences in a research-intensive and prestigious UK university. Data were collected at BlueSkies University where interviews with social sciences PhD…

The quest for integrity in practice and theory has been part of the evolution of student personnel work all the way back to the turn of the 20th century. This chapter seeks to take stock of the question of integrity in relation to one of the core knowledge bases used by those engaged in student affairs work today--student development. The authors…

In this paper data are used from the University of Winchester Alumni oral history project to suggest how the historic culture of the institution, as one of the original church training colleges, founded in the mid-nineteenth century, might have been transmitted to those who attended it as trainee teachers from the 1930s, the earliest data that are…

By means of documentary evidence and six in-depth interviews, this paper traces policy and practice relating to the education of visually impaired children with learning difficulties from 1900 to 1970. It reveals that if visually impaired children with learning difficulties were given an education at all, their needs were not usually met and they…