Civilization is always a work in progress. Every civilization is an experiment in how far people can shift themselves from the evolutionary norm of the small, kinship-integrated tribal society governed by ritual and custom to any kind of society either more complex in structure or less tribal in foundation. People assume that given intelligence…

The "Revised Prevent Duty Guidance for England and Wales" presents statutory guidance under section 29 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015. This guidance states that "Schools should be safe spaces in which children and young people can understand and discuss sensitive topics, including terrorism and the extremist ideas…

Pastoral care in education may take many forms but increasing emphasis on education for sustainable development (ESD) and concern about children's disconnection from nature suggests that our understanding of care should perhaps encompass the more than human world. The study described in this article examines longer term perspectives on well-being…

The imperative of continuous improvement has now become normative in education policy discourse, typically framed as setting "aspirational" targets for pupil performance as a prerequisite for gaining competitive advantage in the global economy. In this context, teachers, leaders, teacher assistants and other practitioners working in…

The early 21st century has seen a period of extreme turbulence in education at all levels in the UK. Although education policy was administrated on a territorial basis before 1999, the 1998-1999 devolution settlement has amplified the complexity of education policy and practice across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Through a…

Purpose: This paper introduces Stroud's 'Linguistic Citizenship', a concept committed to democratic participation, to voice, to the heterogeneity of linguistic resources and to the political value of sociolinguistic understanding. Approach: It first outlines Linguistic Citizenship's links with the ethnographic sociolinguistics inspired by Hymes,…

There has been a major shift in educational learning goals--as seen most recently by Goal 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals--focused on global citizenship education and education for sustainable development. The shift concerns recognition of the need for education systems to equip learners with competencies such as problem solving,…

Recent enlargement of the European Union (EU) has created debate as to the suitability of current structures and policies for effectively engaging citizens and developing social cohesion. Education and specifically modern foreign language (MFL) teaching are argued by the literature to play a key role in equipping young people to interact and…

This paper examines the promises made in education policy regarding people's future education, employment and social mobility. Specifically, the paper analyses how the term "potential" functions in education policy texts and discourses to make tacit promises at an affective level. Contemporary education policies often invoke the need to…

Based upon the findings of a national survey of school coordinators and leaders on citizenship and community cohesion, this research indicates that teachers perceive their students to feel a sense of belonging to multiple communities, each with their own required actions for effective participation. There appears to be wide variation in the…

Citizenship education typically focuses on the nation and citizens' supposed natural affinity to the nation-state. In this global age, this is challenged by cosmopolitans who propose a form of education which encourages a primary commitment to fellow humanity and/or the planet Earth. However, citizenship education has been re-emphasized by those…

Student teachers and staff from three universities in Turkey and from Leicester University, England took part in an exchange programme in Turkey and Britain in 2008-2009. Funding for this from the European Union (EU) and Turkey was in part related to Turkey's application for EU membership and currently contested discourses about the nature of…

What is meant by fundamental British values? How are they constructed and can they be taught in schools? In trying to address these questions, this paper revisits a small-scale research study commissioned by the UK's previous New Labour government. The research was concerned to understand the extent to which schools delivered a diverse curriculum…

The issue of inclusive practice, particularly as it pertains to how school staff address antisocial behavior to improve learning and life outcomes for children has become a primary topic of discussion among educational stakeholders. Within an action research framework, this investigation used a mixed-method multiple case study approach to…

Numerous studies have identified the nature and effect of the various versions of the national curriculum for citizenship education in state schools in England. However, considerably less attention has been given to independent schools in England, even though they do not have to follow the national curriculum and their pupils will go on to play…