The Cognitive Acceleration (or Let's Think) approach to mathematics teaching is a Piagetian programme drawing on Vygotsky's research, developed at King's College London over 30 years ago, along with its associated professional development (PD) programme. This project sought to replicate the original studies conducted 10-15 years earlier and before…

The purpose of this study is to explore how best to enact recovery in British schools impacted by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic; and the significance of well-being. Specifically, this research investigates 'How do we improve children's mathematics, reading and writing through the promotion of wellbeing?' Within the constructionist paradigm,…

In the new Curriculum for Wales ("Cwricwlwm i Gymru") which is phasing in from September 2022, the concept of 'cynefin' ('the place where we feel we belong') is core to developing children's understandings of place and identity. While cynefin has long been considered in a wider cultural and heritage context in Wales, it is not yet…

The research here presented discusses teacher professional learning (PL) policy in Scotland and in particular the recently introduced Professional Update (PU). From 2001, there have been significant policy reforms in relation to PL in Scotland including a new Standard for Career Long Professional Learning (SCLPL) and PU. The research identified…

Education in Wales is undergoing an unprecedentedly ambitious period of reform with the introduction of a new curriculum and assessment arrangements for pupils aged 3-16. Education reform enables the potential for innovation and progression, yet it can also be fraught with complexity around the facilitation of change processes into practice. This…

This qualitative study aims to uncover the characteristics of teacher professional development (TPD) among professional groups of Vietnamese primary schools in the context of educational reform in the light of a sociocultural perspective. Data were collected from 12 participants from four primary schools in Central Vietnam using in-depth…

How the humanities subjects are represented in primary schools in Wales has been influenced by curriculum developments including Curriculum Cymraeg, the Skills Framework and the Foundation Phase. A central tenet of Welsh Government policy has been to actively encourage schools to promote a sense of "Welshness" through curriculum content,…

This study presents an examination of the enactment of moderation in a Scottish primary school. The study investigated how an individual school made sense of moderation. Documentary evidence was gathered providing an in-depth understanding of both moderation and the wider context of the school. Audio recordings of three moderation meetings…

Data from English primary school teachers in 1995 and 2017 illustrate the sustained value they place on outdoor learning in a period of curriculum and governance reform. With emphasis on a prescribed curriculum, metrics and performativity, and decreased expertise, these data show the strength of teachers' aspirations and values for developing…

This paper focuses on the positive outcomes and the challenges that teachers experienced after the introduction of the English primary curriculum reform of grades 3 and 4 in Omani state schools. Three focus group interviews were conducted with English teachers (n = 15) in three regions (Muscat, AL Sharqia South and AL Dahira regions). Although the…

Education researchers, policy-makers and practitioners in the UK have debated the question of what, and how much, schools can do to mitigate the effects of parental background on educational outcomes over the last half a century. A range of programmes, strategies and interventions have been implemented, and continue to be implemented in an effort…

In this paper, we present the curriculum development process as a complex, iterative and integrated phenomenon. Building on the early work of Stenhouse [1975, "An Introduction to Curriculum Research and Development". London: Heinemann Educational], we position the teacher at the heart of this process and extend his ideas by exploring how…

This paper presents reflections from recent research on the opportunities and barriers for education in Nepal in the context of federalisation. Public administration of services including education is subject to major reorganisation as a national priority. By 2019, new structures of local governance will be established, presenting an opportunity…

The social pedagogic tradition has been integral to the culture of early childhood education including School Age Childcare (SAC) in Denmark for decades. Drawing upon interviews with multiple stakeholders: lecturers, representatives of an Education Research Institute, union activists an SAC provider and a policy maker, in Copenhagen, Denmark, this…

Engel, S. [2011. "Children's Need to Know: Curiosity in Schools." "Harvard Educational Review" 81 (4): 625-645] stated that curiosity should be cultivated in our schools as it is intrinsic to children's development. However, this is often absent from classrooms. In this paper we aim to explore some of the factors that have led…