In this article I consider changes in the remit and interpretation of the role of Ofsted since its inception in 1992, with particular reference to early years inspections.

This paper considers issues around identity for teaching assistants (TAs) in mainstream English primary schools. We discuss the concomitant problems TAs experience around role definition and role-creep as well as the challenges inherent in equivocally defining their evolving and flexible role. We used key themes drawn from the literature…

The call for more males to work with children in their formative years remains prevalent in education discourse across the globe. Assertions that these men will positively address boys' poor behaviour and underachievement, as well as serving as father figures and role models for boys, continue to fuel international policy making and shape media…

This paper presents the findings of a multi-site case study focused on the role of mid-day supervisors in English primary schools. Ethnographic approaches were employed to gain an understanding of the role and how this is experienced by those who undertake it. This included a fully participatory phase where the researcher inhabited the role of a…

The digitalisation and datafication of education has raised profound questions about the changing role of teachers' educational expertise and agency, as automated processes, data-driven analytics and accountability regimes produce new forms of knowledge and governance. Increasingly, research is paying greater attention to the significant role of…

In England, schools are required to have a named and trained "Special Educational Needs Coordinator" or SENCo. The difficulties of operationalising the role of the SENCo are well documented, as is the inconsistent allocation of status and time for the role. Drawing on the results of data derived from 88 SENCos, we examine the…

Teacher educators are an occupational group who appear to suffer from an identity crisis. They do not seem to be able to agree on what their role or professional learning needs are. This situation has dire consequences for the next generation of teacher educators who enter the field in the same rather haphazard and ad hoc way as the ones before.…

Despite literature supporting the need for educational psychologists (EPs) to work with families as central to good practice, there is limited evidence of the ways in which EPs involve families within their practice. This paper discusses a small-scale study which explored EP practice in relation to work with families. Nine EPs from four English…

The marketization of higher education and focus on graduate employability and earnings data has raised questions about how students perceive their roles and responsibilities while studying for their degree. Of particular concern is the extent to which students identify themselves as consumers of their higher education, for example, whether they…

Findings from interviews with mid-career academics in English and Australian universities elucidate how academics interpret and navigate complex institutional contexts in shaping academic jobs. The paper argues that how they do this is a function of what they notice and respond to as well as the mode of reflexivity they employ. Three core areas…

The impact of COVID-19 placed Higher Education leadership in a state of crisis management, where decision making had to be swift and impactful. This research draws on ethea of mindfulness, actor training techniques, referencing high-reliability organisations (HRO). Interviews conducted by the author with three leaders of actor training…

Open-ended investigative work is important for science at the high school level because it provides students with experiences approaching the authentic practice of scientists. In England context, some teachers provide opportunities for open-ended investigation, even though at post-16 (pre-university) A-Level they are no longer required to do so.…

Background: Many countries around the world imposed nationwide school closures to manage the spread of COVID-19. England closed its schools for most pupils in March 2020 and prepared to reopen schools to certain year groups in June 2020. Understanding teachers' lived experiences at this time of educational disruption is important, shedding light…

Teaching assistants (TAs) in the United Kingdom typically work with students with additional and special needs, including the most challenging and vulnerable pupils, in low paid, precarious roles. However, no research has examined how organisational factors such as job demand, control, and support can influence TAs' wellbeing, despite recent…

This article explores the effects on former principals who have undergone involuntary job dissolution. It draws upon a study of 10 former principals who have experienced involuntary job dissolution in England and Australia; however, none of the participants were dismissed. Hour-long, one-to-one interviews were conducted with each participant and…