"Improving Mathematics in the Early Years and Key Stage 1" reviews the best available evidence to offer five recommendations for developing the maths skills of 3-7-year olds. Recommendations include integrating maths into different activities throughout the day -- for example, at registration and snack time -- to familiarise children…

From September 2012 universities and other higher education institutions (HEIs) in England have been able to charge up to £9,000 per year in tuition fees, which had previously been capped at £3,375 per year. Against this backdrop, this report explores the relative importance of tuition fees on the choices made between universities by students, and…

This policy profile on education in the United Kingdom (UK) is part of the new "Education Policy Outlook series," which presents comparative analysis of education policies and reforms across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Building on the substantial comparative and sectorial policy knowledge…

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) in the UK publishes subject benchmark statements that higher education institutions are expected to consult when designing, delivering and reviewing programmes. Within a context for higher education that is considered by some to be unacceptably bureaucratic, this paper reflects on the value…

As part of the revised method for quality assurance in higher education in England, a Task Group was established to identify the categories of data, information, and judgments about quality and standards of teaching and learning that should be available within higher education institutions (HEIs), and those that should be published. The Task Group…

Potential benefits for learning that the outdoors may hold have been brought into increased focus in the UK by the recent introduction of a manifesto for learning outside the classroom (DfES, "Learning outside the classroom: manifesto"; Nottingham, Department for Education and Skills, 2006). This article draws on two recent studies of…

This paper addresses issues generated by the British government's decision to abolish the binary division between university institutions of higher education and other postsecondary institutions. Sectoralization of British higher education in a post-binary system has created some problematics, two of which appear especially noteworthy: (1) student…

This document explains the Higher Education Funding Council for England's (HEFCE) policy on sustaining and promoting diversity in higher education (HE), defining diversity, discussing current dimensions of diversity in England's HE, and noting areas where diversity perhaps should not be encouraged. It also discusses what is being done to encourage…

Discusses importance of symbolic value in teaching. States that students will value something if they perceive the institution values it through a serious commitment of time and resources. Supports the Personal, Social, and Moral Education (PSME) programs in English schools. Focuses on the concept of citizenship by teaching critical thinking. (NL)

This paper provides an introduction to a particular systems-theoretical approach to problem-solving in the management of education usually referred to as soft-systems methodology (SSM), developed by Peter Checkland in the 1970s. SSM should provide a powerful tool for managers in education at any level who have a strategic role because it can be…

The Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit (ALBSU) is committed to improving the quality of basic skills provision in England and Wales. It has encouraged the development of quality assurance in basic skills so that potential and existing students know what they should be entitled to expect. ALBSU's Good Practice documents published since 1984 have…

This book brings together essays written by higher education professionals that provide practical and theoretical advice on the academic, financial, administrative, legal, personnel, and student aspects of college mergers. Together, the contributors set forth an action plan for those involved in planning and implementing such mergers, and outline…

This paper describes a study undertaken to determine quality and needs in work-related nonadvanced further education (NAFE) in England. The descriptive paper is organized in nine sections. The first section introduces the project, which focused on a description of issues of quality in respect to content, structure, and delivery of curricula for…

Questions major participants in England's school system about the problem of increasing class size. Assesses several broad areas affected by class size, including children as learners, management of resources, decision making, and teachers' classroom practices. Discovers a general consensus of concern over increasing class size. (MJP)

The use of target setting in conjunction with good information systems in colleges and work-based learning (WBL) providers can lead to improved service provisions across the sector in the United Kingdom. Target setting must be carried out in a systematic way in which providers must develop target- setting processes with a focus on learner success;…