Despite 50 years and more of "progressive education" in the United Kingdom, classed patterns of educational success and failure stubbornly prevail. So how, where and when does it all go wrong for the many children who continue to fail or underachieve? Drawing on the work of Basil Bernstein, this article centres processes within early…

Purpose: Despite general recognition of the benefits of talking openly about sexuality with children, parents encounter and/or create barriers to such communication. One of the key barriers is a desire to protect childhood innocence. The purpose of this paper is to explore parental interpretations of childhood innocence and the influence this has…

The provision of Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) for school pupils considering their next move after compulsory schooling is of great importance to them and their families. This study focused on three schools in a region in England that has suffered economic deprivation and low educational attainment. It sought to uncover how factors such…

Whilst international policymakers have reached consensus on the importance of investing in early childhood development and increasingly monitor that investment using standardized measurement, the nature and rationale of early childhood education and care (ECEC) provision remain diverse. In the context of that disparity, this article explores an…

This article draws on a study of black male teachers who teach in primary schools, and aims to contribute to studies of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) teachers. Interviews with 10 participants examine the nexus of professional and social identities and how these are (re)constructed in or by schools. The teachers' agentic actions provide…

Based on Eccles' expectancy-value model of achievement motivation this study used questionnaires to explore the relationships between expectations, task values and A-level achievement in 930 students from 12 Oxfordshire schools. Understanding the relationship between these variables is important given the significance of these qualifications for…

Female students are much less likely than their male counterparts to take A levels in certain STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects. This is problematic for gender equality but also limits the country's capacity to address the growing national STEM skills shortage. This research was commissioned to design and test the…

As older people are increasingly involved in Computer Mediated Communication (CMC), there are concerns about staying connected. In building and maintaining relationships online, self-disclosure and identity presentation are key social functions. Studying the perceived relevance and dynamics of online-enabled identity formation among older people…

This paper explores students' non-economic motives for attending university. Drawing on the results of a tri-national survey involving online questionnaires and email interviews with education students at English, German and Portuguese universities, it compares and discusses the extent to which the participants are motivated by a number of…

The current research explores young adults' beliefs, awareness and understanding surrounding help-seeking behaviour in relation to barriers preventing access to counselling support. The literature suggests that several barriers, such as a lack of awareness, stigma and gender roles, will have a negative influence on help-seeking. To complement and…

Background: For over four decades, there have been calls for physical education (PE) and physical education teacher education (PETE) to address social inequality and foster social justice. Yet, as numerous studies demonstrate, attempts to educate for social justice in PETE are infrequent and rarely comprehensive. This raises the question why it…

Informal Science Learning (ISL) is a policy narrative of interest in the United Kingdom and abroad. This paper explores how a group of English secondary school science teachers, enacted ISL science clubs through employing the Periodic Table of Videos. It examines how these teachers "battled" to enact ISL policy in performative conditions…

This article reports on a study conducted to investigate the development of abstract thinking in preschool children (ages from three years to four years old) in a nursery school in England. Adopting a social influence approach, the researcher engaged in "close listening" to document children's ideas expressed in various representations…

The reasons why students from lower socio-economic groups are under-represented at high status universities are not yet entirely understood, but evidence suggests that part of the gap may be a consequence of differential choice of A-levels by social background. The Russell Group of universities has since 2011 published guidance on A-level subject…

Thomas S. Henricks is the J. Earl Danieley Professor of Sociology and Distinguished University Professor at Elon University. Since receiving his doctorate in sociology at the University of Chicago, Henricks has investigated the sociology of sports from the fandom of modern American professional wrestling to the relationship between sports and…