This article opens a window on the world of chaplains supporting seafarers, which has largely been neglected by the literature. Shipping happens in ports, which are often far away from urban centres. It is thus removed from everyday experience making seafarers an invisible population and, with them, the chaplains who assist them. The article…

In this paper we argue that education--particularly higher education (HE)--has the potential to offer socially, economically and culturally transformative learning opportunities. Yet, for prisoners, the opportunity to engage in HE as active social citizens are often limited. Using a Freirean model of democratic, pedagogic participatory dialogue,…

International students' identities are complex and so are their needs. Semi-structured interviews with 13 of the lead researcher's former students from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, who are multi-national, multi-lingual and pursuing degrees in law, business, economics, medicine, education, art and media, in the United States, United Kingdom and…

The article elaborates on the recollections of schooling under the communist rule in Poland as presented in biographical interviews with contemporary Polish migrants living in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Norway. An analysis of childhood and schooling nexus is elicited on two platforms, specifically as (1) interviewees' first-hand experiences…

The present study aimed at investigating the influence of social power, as a social hierarchy, on perception of speech act of apology by 40 Jordanian second language speakers (JL2Ss) compared to that of 40 Jordanian non-English speakers, those whose English proficiency is low (JNESs) and 40 English native speakers (ENSs). Discourse Completion Test…

This article begins from the premise that it is important to explore how people unlearn, as well as learn, specifically in terms of extremist or violent attitudes. It shows the implications of two aspects of complexity theory--turbulence and self-organisation--for educational practice and the fostering of a complex adaptive school, which can aid…

Although international students are an important source of income to universities in the UK, the emotional impact of their experiences may be ignored and unacknowledged. This study explored the personal experiences of international students studying for an undergraduate degree in the UK. Semi-structured interviews with five participants were…

Labels are firmly rejected by the disability rights movement, yet the complex effects of labeling on lay beliefs are poorly understood. This study examined the effects of labeling on the general public's reactions to people with intellectual disabilities. A sample of 1,233 adult members of the UK general population were randomly presented with…

This paper reports the results of research into parental experiences of the Somerset (UK) "Time Together" home visiting intervention, with regards to its impact on the parent-child relationship. The research was carried out using an Attachment Theory lens in order to understand the qualitative experiences of seven parents of children in…

The study analyses teenagers' e-mail requests during academic cyber-consultation, exploring how the performance of request modifiers is influenced by participants' perceptions of the degree of imposition of the speech act and social distance with the recipient. A total of 295 e-mail requests, 145 produced by British English speakers (BES) and 150…

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression and general learning disabilities (LD) are common difficulties for British primary school children. It has been found that characteristics associated with these difficulties can result in negative attitudes and stigma from other children, causing problems with peer relationships.…

The disturbances that took place across English towns and cities in 2011 raised significant debate and discussion about their causes and the motivations of the "rioters". Media and official explanations citing criminality and opportunism, repeated the now familiar narratives of cultural deficit, blaming absent fathers, poor parenting and…

Based on extracts from an ethnography produced during the ESRC 2009-10 research project, ""Preparedness Pedagogies" and Race: An Interdisciplinary Approach," this article explores the racialized culture of civil defence in the UK whilst also critiquing the world of higher education. The ethnographic artefacts of interviews,…

Strengthening the home-school partnership is a strategy to raise achievement levels and to engage "hard-to-reach" parents with education in the UK, however this political ideal has been critiqued as exclusive and based on a white, middle class model. This article explores how six asylum-seeking mothers manage their children's early years…