The aims of this research were to explore the relationship between parents and the UK government within primary education and to critically analyse neo-liberal modes and technologies of governmentality within the testing regime. This article focuses on the Let Our Kids Be Kids campaign, which was an online protest by parents. The protest aimed to…

Some see research as an esoteric, other-worldly, practice only to be completed by those unable to do anything 'real'. Others--including some academics working in universities--see it as 'just another thing to do', a burden on already overworked staff, used as an excuse to set even more performance goals. Within initial teacher education, the…

This book identifies the cultural and moral foundations of country-specific educational governance and school leadership and presents the principles of justice and the diversity of common goods that guide leadership practices in schools. It contributes to an existing research field that studies diversity and ethical leadership in schools. The…

Purpose: This article integrates two distinct discourses to show how an Aristotelian account of character education can supply a valuable framework for developing a habit of social action. Approach: We use a review of relevant secondary literature, a documentary analysis of #iwill materials, and an Aristotelian conceptual framework to analyse the…

Performance-based funding (PBF) for public colleges and universities is increasingly prevalent worldwide, as a part of a broader pattern of marketisation in public education. This study focused on developing an empirical view of how, and in what contexts, policy makers use the concepts of neoliberal economics to design and support PerformanceBased…

Bringing philosophical work on friendship to bear on the growing body of critique about the state of the neoliberal academy, this paper defends academic friendship. Initially a vignette illustrates the key features of academic friendship and the multiple demands on academics to account for themselves in the neoliberal university. We locate…

Drawing on Foucault's elaboration of neoliberalism as a positive form of state power, the ascendancy of neoliberalism in higher education in Britain is examined in terms of the displacement of public good models of governance, and their replacement with individualised incentives and performance targets, heralding new and more stringent conceptions…

Competence frameworks and standards are increasingly used by professions in the UK, driven by pressures for professional accountability, and particularly by the trend towards assessing practice before fully-qualified status is granted. A review of 40 UK frameworks indicated that most are concerned primarily with the ability to undertake work…

This literature review begins by considering the concept of autonomy. The focus narrows to teacher autonomy specifically and a range of conceptualisations are summarised. Its influences and impact are discussed and the role which teacher autonomy plays in the wider issue of teacher professionalism is addressed. Central influences, including the UK…

In this paper we report the outcomes of a national survey of academic development staff in a range of UK HE Institutions to consider the approaches adopted to evaluate teaching-related continual professional development (CPD). Despite the increasing drive towards accountability, the majority of respondents undertook no benchmarking to establish…

The education of children in public, or Local Authority (LA), care, known in the United Kingdom (UK) as looked-after children (LAC), is supported by government initiatives to reduce the attainment gap that exists between LAC and their non-LAC peers. These children often find remaining in education a challenge, are twice as likely to be permanently…

In the field of education, evidence means an objective ground for setting or judging an educational policy, plan or method, as an effective means to attain a given political end or educational objective. Evidence-based education has been regarded as a decisive device to pursue the accountability and improve the quality of education by connecting…

Corruption and malpractices in higher education are today a major concern in nearly all higher education systems worldwide. It is a multifaceted phenomenon and has become particularly visible in the academic domain. This paper represents an exploration of the possible role that quality assurance can play in addressing corruption and malpractices.…

This paper provides an overview of recent research on the factors that drive the performance of registered training organisations (RTOs), with a view to identifying areas for future research. Initially it explores the drivers of RTO performance; then discusses findings from available literature from Australia and from overseas, and discusses some…

This article draws on findings from the first cross-national study of school exclusions in the four jurisdictions of the UK. It sketches factors associated with the past research with reductions in exclusions. It then reports interview data gathered in England in 2018 from five specialist officers working in two Local Authorities and a senior…