Since its beginnings in the late 1970s, punk culture has been associated with counter-mainstream ideology and anti-institutional antagonism. In particular, formal education has been criticised in punk for sustaining oppressive social and conceptual orders and associated behavioural norms. Drawing on literature and interviews, this paper focuses on…

This article considers how a contribution based on Rorty's philosophy can help in the understanding of quality and its assurance in higher education. The suggestion is that if quality has an edifying purpose, then it should be seen as an ongoing process and might be aptly judged as being just "good enough". This position is argued for it…

What I want to share in this contribution to education inquiry are some insights from my educational research programme between 1973-2010 about the kind of educational theories that can explain the educational influence of an individual in their own learning, in the learning of others, and in the learning of the social formations in which we live…

Risk has now become a feature of science curricula in many industrialized countries. While risk is conceptualized within a number of different theoretical frameworks, the predominant model used in examination specifications is a utility model in which risk calculations are deemed to be objective through technical expert assessment and where the…

This paper presents a study that used narrative inquiry to explore staff experiences of learning and teaching in immersive worlds. The findings introduced issues relating to identity play, the relationship between pedagogy and play and the ways in which learning, play and fun were managed (or not). At the same time there was a sense of imposed or…

Demonstrates how socioscientific material is marginalized through the structures and language of syllabus texts and through classroom practices using the example of Salters' Advanced Chemistry from the United Kingdom. Concludes that socioscientific content is gendered through association with social concerns and epistemological uncertainty, and…