This article tracks the life-histories of 23 British schoolchildren aged from seven to 12 who were designated as 'lower-attaining' at age seven. Drawing on Self Determination Theory's mini-theory of Causality Orientations, the authors explored whether/how children with a Controlled or Impersonal Orientation approached creative learning differently…

This paper reports a study of permanent secretaries who served at the Department for Education (DfE) from 1975 to 2011. Located within a context of theories that explain how government bureaucracies operate, it focuses on Michael Bichard. Appointed in July 1995 when attempts were being made to open Whitehall to non-career civil servants, he…

Within discourses on education and transnationalism, much importance has been given to language, both for the educational success of migrants and their transition into the labor market. Among the many perspectives on multilingualism, there is a growing body of research on language brokering. In contrast to professional interpreting, this is often…

This study focuses on life histories collected from Moroccan Dutch youth in Amsterdam and Rotterdam and describes their experiences in diverse programs of the Dutch secondary education system. The study questions whether the present Dutch educational system facilitates the 'gaining of place' for the youth within Dutch society or whether it…

The Bologna Process, recently implemented in Portugal, has brought many changes to higher education institutions. One of these changes refers to a law that enables mature students (23 years and older) to gain special access to higher education, taking into account their professional experience and other biographical elements. The numbers of…

This article is based upon two studies applying a life history approach, letting 15- to 16-year-olds reconstruct their own childhood in preschool and school, to see what meaning and importance children's experiences have in forming their self-concepts and philosophy of life. A combination of methods was used: written life stories, round tours in…

This article deals with informal networks and their role in young people's strategies of coping with the uncertainties of transitions to work. The underlying hypothesis is that informal networks have a high potential in this regard that, however, is strongly differentiated according to class and education. Drawing on West German data from the…