This exploratory study was commissioned by the Education Endowment Foundation (the EEF). The report presents findings on the challenges facing schools in disadvantaged circumstances (characterised by the EEF as 'Priority Schools'). Priority Schools, which include both primary and secondary schools, have a high proportion of pupils eligible for…

This report is based on evidence gathered during visits undertaken in November and December 2021. HM Inspectors (HMI) visited four stand-alone early learning and childcare (ELC) settings; 15 primary schools including 13 with nursery classes and one with Gaelic Medium Education; 13 secondary schools; three special schools; three community learning…

This study examined the performance of superintendents and leaders of the Arab education system in Israel in reducing achievement gaps and promoting curricula that empower and advance students. In-depth interviews were conducted with school governance officials in an attempt to address these key issues: (1) The steps administrators in the Arab…

What if disadvantage need not correlate with poor academic achievement? If instead of researching the 'underachieving' groups (minorities, children for whom English is not their home language, and children of families in poor socioeconomic circumstances) you look at what works in schools to raise the attainment of all these groups, the results are…

As an urban district reform for equity, the Model Schools for Inner Cities (MSIC) Program in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) was founded as a response to inequities in the city and opportunity gaps among groups of students. This study critically explores the equity discourses among various stakeholders in the MSIC Program between 2004-14,…

Cooperation and partnerships between schools and public organisations, private companies and non-profit organisations have become a common model as a form of governance for addressing social problems. The aim of this article is to explore the strategies used by professionals to counteract segregation at a school located in a multi-ethnic suburb,…

Aim: The development of a trauma-informed approach to closing the poverty-related attainment gap called Readiness for Learning (R4L). This is a project funded by the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC). This paper reports on a strand of the intervention that took place in two Primary One classrooms over the academic session 2017/18. Method: This…

This study reports on one school district's attempt to address reading gaps in boys, Aboriginal students, and special education students at 1st grade by implementing Peer Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) to supplement classroom reading instruction. Findings indicate that compared to previous years, when PALS was not used, students in this study…

The Education Reform -- Joint Agreement published in June 2018 sets out agreed principles and enablers and measures that will support and encourage the empowerment of schools in Scotland. These include the commitment that Education Scotland would carry out three inspections in the 2018-19 academic year looking at the following themes: Readiness…

This article analyses and critically discusses how context is relevant when constructing and upholding an equivalent education for all within the neo-liberal educational regime of marketisation and accountability. At the centre of the article is a study of national school inspection reports in four municipalities in Sweden, exploring performance…

Considering that achievement gaps have become a serious educational problem worldwide, the Ministry of Education in Taiwan has been addressing a series of policies to reduce achievement gaps, but the effect of these policies has not yet been carefully examined. Therefore, the present study investigated current educational policies, achievement gap…

Entitlement to education is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights acknowledges education as a fundamental right stating that everyone has the right to education. The question of financing this right mainly focuses on the "governmental" allocation of resources to the…

"Contextual value added" (CVA) scores have been used as a means of monitoring school performance in England since 2007. This article explains how these scores are calculated using biographical pupil data (including ethnicity, gender and Free School Meal status) in order to judge the impact of a school on pupils' attainment. This article…

Relatively little research has explored whether schools differ in their effectiveness for different group of pupils (e.g. by ethnicity, poverty or gender), for different curriculum subjects (e.g. English, mathematics or science) or over time (different cohorts). This paper uses multilevel modelling to analyse the national test results at age 7 and…

School systems are called not only to instruct and socialize students but also to differentiate among them. Although much research has investigated inequalities in educational outcomes associated with students' family background and other ascriptive traits, little research has examined cross-national differences in the total amount of…