This article responds to Henry Tam's article in this issue of FORUM by exploring opportunities for co-operative problem-solving for staff and students of the Royal Docks Community School in the London Borough of Newham. Becoming a co-operative trust helped the school move out of special measures and develop a strategy of participation and…

Monolingual speakers of a national language continue to be the ideal figures on which national identities and senses of community are built. Yet this longstanding equation between nation and language is being contested by other ideologies. Alternatives are emerging from such disparate social locations as the European Union, now advocating for…

As a result of inter- and intranational migrations, urban schools in early 21st-century Western nations serve more ethnoculturally diverse populations than ever before. The impact of global events resonates in these schools at the local community level. In this article I argue for the administrative fusion of local and global perspectives, a…

Scholars of educational change agree that leaders need to develop a vision, build capacity and ensure ownership of change by staff. We argue that understanding the actual work that leaders must do in order to convert these categories into action, requires a social practice approach. Taking the notion of sense-making as a social practice, drawn…

This article presents the authors' response to the Comment by Gerald Grace on their paper "Religious schools in London: school admissions, religious composition and selectivity". The Comment is a useful contribution to the academic and policy debates about religious schools and the role that empirical research can play. The authors are…

This paper reflects on experiences of working with schools in urban contexts as they have attempted to improve the quality of learning. Set within the context of the English education system during a period of intense national pressure to "raise standards", these experiences have been focused around issues of performance and leadership…

This paper is a reflection upon the research findings of Rebecca Allen and Anne West in relation to religious schools in London. While welcoming this contribution to the systematic study of faith schools (a neglected area of empirical inquiry), the paper argues that the use of "religious schools" as a unitary category is problematic for…

The National Challenge, whereby all secondary schools had to attain 5 A*--Cs by 2011, was launched in June 2008. In this article, Richard Riddell outlines the main provisions of the National Challenge, which he characterizes as shallow, mechanistic and playing an old "performativity" tune. Although the new benchmark will be achieved by…

This article, which forms part of the policy booklet "Lessons from the Front" written by participants and Ambassadors of the Teach First scheme, argues that educational outcomes are often adversely affected by the size and structure of many urban complex schools. Rather than multiplying the efforts of teachers, too often the…

John Marlowe, currently working with the Binational Fulbright Commission in Egypt, highlights the lessons about education that he has learned in Cairo. Closer to home, Judie Glave describes how love and discipline are the hallmarks of the Children's Storefront School in Harlem, New York. Its pupils come from homes scarred by drugs and violence.…

A visiting Fulbright scholar/principal from Capetown, South Africa, spent a semester observing elementary, middle, and high school classes in the eastern United States. His observations about student absenteeism, school counselors, discipline, inclusive programs, transportation modes, and library facilities evoke contrasting images of daily school…

Provides necessary background for understanding the following article (pp.334-348) "Creative Curriculum for an Inner City: A Case Study of Alex Taylor Community School." Introduces Dr. Steve Ramsankar, who appeared on a Canadian program called "School as a Loving Place." Ramsankar taught the author to reexamine the small…

Examines allegations of discrimination (against Jews), bias (against rural students), and corruption (favoring the rich and well-connected) in the admissions practices of Soviet universities. (CMG)

Describes travel experiences in foreign cities to illustrate the authors' contention that cities provide an ideal context for developing critical thinking in students. Argues that schools should exploit urban resources to relate students' learning experiences to their everyday lives. (Author/JM)

Reviews educational concerns in Sri Lanka, including the dropout rate, children who have never enrolled in schools, inequalities between urban and rural schools, the elitist nature of university education, and higher education's affirmative action area quota system for the ethnic majority. (CMG)