This paper presents the experiences of mature students at a satellite campus of an English higher education institution. Twenty students over age 25 who fit various widening participation criteria were interviewed at four points during their first two years of bachelor's level study at a higher education (HE) centre in an area underserved by HE.…

Introduction: Research has shown a positive relationship between practice leadership (frontline management focused upon supporting staff to work better) and better staff experiences of working with people with learning disabilities who may show challenging behaviours. However, little is known regarding the impact of frequency and accessibility of…

In the past 20 years, the landscape of Higher Education in the United Kingdom has changed considerably. With the prospect of tuition fees spiralling above £9,000 per year, per student, it is important to explore the impact this has upon the student experience. In spite of the vast financial investment current students make towards their education,…

Background: Dedifferentiation refers to the trend of positioning people with intellectual disabilities together with other disabled individuals for political purposes, to act as a counter to differentiated approaches. This article explores the influence of dedifferentiation in professional support settings through the lived experiences of people…

Whilst most social and educational research on friendship focuses on children at school, it remains a crucially important factor for students in higher education -- and can play a key role in the maintenance, exacerbation or subversion of dominant forms of social inequalities. This paper explores the complexities of such dynamics in relation to…

This research was commissioned as part of Inclusive Britain, the government response to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED). The research sought to answer three main questions: (1) Where schools and trusts have closed attainment gaps between pupils from different ethnic groups, has this been the result of a deliberate strategy…

This paper critically explores how survey and routinely collected data could aid in assessing the generalisability of public health evidence. We propose developing approaches that could be employed in understanding the relevance of public health evidence, and investigate ways of producing meta-analytic estimates tailored to reflect local…

Much research in teacher education explores the nature of subject knowledge (what?) and its importance for teachers and teaching. Other research focuses on the people, processes and contextual factors that influence the development of teacher knowledge (how?). Fewer studies focus on the link between the two. This paper explores the interconnection…

The "Learning through Disruption" research project ran between May-August 2021, with funding from the Economic and Social Research Council. The project was based at UCL Institute of Education (IOE) and data collection began in May 2021, shortly after primary schools in England had emerged from the spring 2021 national lockdown, and were…

Psychology is a valuable Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) discipline, but one which could do far more at communicating its value to the wider public. This paper discusses how popular initiatives, such as "The University of Northampton's STEM Champions" programme, enhance psychology's STEM membership, while…

Long established in the United Kingdom, Black supplementary schools are valued by Black parents for their ability to nurture the academic potential of Black students and achieve positive educational outcomes where mainstream schools sometimes fail. Through exploratory qualitative interviews conducted with a small group of African-Caribbean…

Recent changes to English national assessment policy have resulted in primary school leaders adopting new frameworks to evaluate pupil progress. This study examines the role of expansive workplace characteristics and staff meetings to support teachers to change their assessment practice at a schoolwide level, following engagement with a new…

This study reviewed perceived changes to planning and management of transitions to adulthood for young people with special educational needs and disabilities in three local authorities in England, following implementation of the Children and Families Act (2014). Wenger's 'community of practice' theoretical framework was used to examine how groups…

This article investigates Brown's assertion that students today exhibit an unwillingness/inability to engage in critical thinking (CT). He describes this as a 'critical thinking deficit'. The question of whether CT can be taught or whether we can only create the conditions in which CT can thrive and develop is explored through analysis of data…

This article introduces the concept of "co-impact" to characterise the complex and dynamic process of social and economic change generated by participatory action research (PAR). It argues that dominant models of research impact tend to see it as a linear process, based on a donor-recipient model, occurring at the end of a project…