Education Action Zones (EAZs) have formed one of the key elements of government policy in trying to drive up standards and disseminate best practice. However, the initiative has been subject to a sustained critique and questions have remained as to the efficacy of such networks of schools. This article reports on study of one EAZ in the north-west…

The "Making it Work" book is for practitioners and managers working with people with learning difficulties in FE colleges, adult and community learning services, work-based learning and voluntary sector organisations. This book was produced as a result of a two-year project funded by the Department of Health. It provides information…

Since the election of the Labour government in 1997, England has seen policy changes leading to increased rights for students with special educational needs (SEN), including those with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD), to be educated in mainstream schools. The present paper reports on the findings of a small-scale study…

The schools' inspection regime in England has shifted in recent decades from a focus on external assessment of practice to a scrutiny of external data and schools' self-evaluation, culminating in a normative system based on self-surveillance by school senior managers. This model of inspection (characteristic of the performative approach to public…

This article explores the school coordinator role in initial teacher training (ITT) in England. Recognising that mentoring is fully embedded and highly researched in ITT, it argues the role of the coordinator, while integral to partnerships, is far less researched. This paper investigates tensions in the role, between managing programme-wide…

This article explores the process and practice of knowledge creation within development and research (D and R) networks. It focuses upon D and R networks in England that are currently engaged in collaboration and innovation. Early evaluative evidence suggests that D and R school networks offer "spaces" for collaborative working, mutual…

As of April 2006 all local authorities were required to prepare and publish a Children and Young People's Plan (CYPP) that will be reviewed annually. In 2006, EMIE (formerly Education Management Information Exchange) at National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) collected all the CYPPs and made them available on the EMIE website. NFER…

Workforce planning is essential to ensure sufficient numbers of well-qualified teachers and leaders to meet the emerging needs of schools in the 21st century. Given the current ageing workforce profile in Australia, there are concerns about teacher shortage, especially in some specialist subject areas, in rural and remote locations and in…

The Mobile Learning Network (MoLeNET) is a unique collaborative approach to encouraging, supporting, expanding and promoting mobile learning, primarily in English post-14 education and training, via supported shared cost mobile learning projects. Collaboration at national level involves participating institutions and the Learning and Skills…

This article discusses the evaluation of a unique university-based early professional development (EPD) programme in England that enabled newly and recently qualified teachers to have continued contact with their initial teacher preparation provider. The programme was designed to enhance the induction, EPD and retention of beginning teachers of…

Policy debates on employability, lifelong learning and competence-based approaches suggest a convergence of VET approaches across European countries. Against the background of the creation of a European Qualifications Framework, this paper compares the VET systems of England, Germany and The Netherlands. The analysis reveals the distinct…

This article reports on a small-scale study focusing on the nature and complexity of the role of the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) coordinator in schools in England. Data collection involved a review of the relevant course documentation of the four main Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) working in one region, a postal questionnaire to 113…

This paper briefly explores the experience of three schools working together as part of a Leading Edge Partnership with a sharp focus on the factors that appeared to help and hinder their collaborative working. The paper draws on an evaluation of the first year of the partnership undertaken by colleagues at the University of Leicester, in which…

Since 2003, a collaborative teaching project 'The Multicultural Society in the Netherlands' has been running with increasing levels of success. This project links Dutch Studies students at Sheffield with students at University College London to pursue a collaborative inquiry into issues of migration and multiculturalism. Cross-institutional…

This study examines the different types, and effectiveness, of collaboration used by providers to widen participation in further education and training in England between 2001 and 2003. The first section, an introduction, sets a scene for the study and definitions are offered for the main terminology--collaboration and widening participation. The…