Edmond Holmes was His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Elementary Schools from 1905 to 1910. No full biography of Holmes has been published nor any detailed critique of his contribution to the theory and practice of education. Yet his post-retirement observations on education were widely quoted and, in some quarters, very influential. They remain…

The Secretary of State for Education's recent announcement of an English Baccalaureate at 16+ has opened up a debate about the nature of general education in the English upper secondary system. Drawing on evidence from national and local studies, we argue that it is important to see general education in England, not only in terms of the…

This article describes and critically analyzes how educational sociologists in the Netherlands have studied the relationship between race/ethnicity and educational inequality between 1980 and 2008. Five major research traditions are identified: (1) political arithmetic; (2) racism and ethnic discrimination; (3) school characteristics; (4) school…

The policy environment for universities in England has changed significantly over the past few years. This can be seen most obviously in relation to the funding of undergraduate education, but other changes will come to be seen as equally influential in the long term. One example is the change to the policy on controlling student numbers, which is…

In this article has been extracted from a longer paper by the same name that came about in response to the Badman Review of Elective Home Education (Badman 2009). The first part briefly discusses the Badman Review. The next looks at the misunderstandings that can occur once concerns are raised in home education. Finally there are case studies…

In this article, it is argued that Kurt Hahn felt that it was important for children to experience 'failure' at times and to learn how to cope with it. If this is no longer desirable in the classroom, it ought to be possible to encourage children to be adventurous and "take risks" in a wide range of Outward Bound activities.

In this article, written by Phil Reed and Lisa Osborne, both from Swansea University, the impact of severity of autism, and the time-input of the treatment programme, on the outcome effectiveness for four early interventions for individuals on the autism spectrum was explored. The four interventions studied were applied behaviour analysis (ABA),…

Students entering engineering programmes are typically expected to be competent in mathematics and science. Design competencies are seldom required. This research focuses on mathematics and investigates how concepts of mathematics may affect perceptions of design. Case studies, consisting of interviews and web-based material, reveal a range of…

This case study examines the impacts on student learning, achievement and satisfaction when year 13 (final year) students at a large UK sixth-form college take a GCE A level in one year instead of the usual two years. Data relating to the entry qualifications and final A level grades achieved by 879 students on both accelerated and non-accelerated…

This article reviews the current state of education reform in the United Kingdom and uses the BBC film "The Choir to explore alternative ways of improving the quality of learning and teaching in schools.

The paper argues that: (1) the demise of "occupational" and "internal" and the spread of "external" labour markets in growth areas of UK economy such as the creative and cultural sector, coupled with the massification of higher education which has created a new type of post-degree "vocational need", means…

The levels of drug use amongst school-aged young people have risen over the past decade. Prevention initiatives have been developed using empirical evidence obtained from school-based surveys. The empirical evidence base of drug use amongst young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) attending special education…

This article explores the theme of the "two faces of education" by reviewing new policy directives in the United Kingdom to strengthen community cohesion in schools and their communities. These directives have resulted from growing disaffection with the aims and outcomes of multiculturalism. This article will investigate the ways in…

The aim of this paper is to articulate a new "post-liberal" paradigm for religious education in Britain. As criticisms of British religious education have mounted over the last few decades, it is becoming increasingly obvious that familiar inherited ways of conceptualising the nature and practice of religious education in schools are…

The paper will argue that adopting a learning design methodology may provide a vehicle for enabling better design and reuse of Open Educational Resources (OERs). It will describe a learning design methodology, which is being developed and implemented at the Open University in the UK. The aim is to develop a "pick and mix" learning design…