This paper examined whether a younger starting age of formal instruction on a foreign language is beneficial in expanding circle countries. An experimental study was designed to examine to what extent the five varieties of English language teachers are intelligible to Japanese- (JSLs) and Korean-speaking language learners (KSLs), who have…

This article highlights antiblackness pervading English higher education. This antiblackness is attributed to a majoritarian view, which not only upholds the view that education is value-neutral, meritocratic, colour-blind, but also has a cultural disregard for those racialized as Black Minority Ethnic (BME). There has been considerable attention…

This paper asks why spatially separated school departments might exhibit, in different ways, very similar practices. Data from an ethnographic study of three secondary school geography departments in England are discussed through a concept of "isomorphism" (homogenising forces), drawn from neo-institutional theory. Similarities across…

If a child asks a friend to play football and the friend replies, 'I have a cough', the requesting child must make a 'relevance inference' to determine the communicative intent. Relevance inferencing is a key component of pragmatics, that is, the ability to integrate social context into language interpretation and use. We tested which cognitive…

Background: The Incredible Years® (IY) Teacher Classroom Management (TCM) programme may reduce disruptive behaviour in the classroom and improve child and teacher mental health; however, few studies have considered how acceptable TCM is to teachers or what facilitators and barriers there are to its implementation. Aims: In this paper we examine…

The communicative potential of young children's drawings was explored through case studies of 14 children aged four - six (eight girls, six boys) at a rural English school. Informed by socio-cultural theories, the research queried "what" and "how" the children communicated through drawing, as well as "influences" on…

Inspired by Audrey Osler's call for the development of novel approaches to intersectionality in human rights education praxis, this article presents an undergraduate module on Children's Rights, examining processes of teaching and learning about rights through the topic of Relationships and Sex Education (RSE). The module, designed for future…

Based on a three year self- study (S-STEP) into interrupting heteronormativity on youth and community work courses at a higher education institution, this article explores the reaction to the interruption of heteronormativity on youth and community work courses in a range of HEI institutions. Reactions were nuanced and contextual but concurred…

This paper reports a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) exploring the nature, causes and epistemic effects of knowledge recontextualization in the 'official' Key Stage Five History curriculum in England. "Recontextualization" refers to inevitable changes that occur to knowledge as it is 'pedagogized', due to the value-laden practices and…

The work of Bruno Bettelheim presents a range of challenges, in respect of its meaning, relevance and, not least, its overall credibility. These have long been apparent in the early years education. Adopting an English perspective, the paper explores a thesis that Bettelheim's work, although fragile in its scientific grounding, has nevertheless…

Purpose: The research demonstrates the role of activity systems based in Cultural Historical Activity Theory as a means of analysing characteristics and efficacy of specific provisions of coaching in education. Design/methodology/approach: Three examples of coaching in education were selected, involving 51 schools in England. The three examples…

A new qualification benchmark, the Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF) Diploma Level 6 in Career Guidance and Development was established in the UK in 2011. This study was conducted to ascertain whether a theoretical nexus is necessary for practice and how this could contribute to the professionalisation of the adult careers sector in…

The collection of papers presented in this issue of Critical Studies in Education adds to the expansive body of work on teachers and teaching. Collectively, the papers draw our attention to new ways the field is problematising the emerging and evolving conditions that shape the work, lives and identities of teachers. With this editorial…

Early childhood education settings can be understood as public forums where adults and children engage together in the implementation of national policy. The authors reflect on ethical dilemmas for leaders in early childhood education arising from the implementation of national policy. Dilemmas can be problematic in the sense that they are…

This paper considers how governors in the English "Further Education and Skills" (FE) sector examined their practice as ethnographers. The paper locates both FE governance and ethnography within the challenges of the performative and Panoptic environments facing English education. In doing so, the paper explores how the informants'…