The governing bodies of publicly funded schools in England are currently facing a number of substantive challenges of various kinds. Many of the challenges are long-standing, while others relate to the current context for governing wrought by recent education policy developments initiated by central government. A number of the challenges are…

In 2008 it was agreed by the Australian Education Ministers that a national curriculum be implemented with the rationale that it would help to ensure high quality education for all young Australians (ACARA, 2012b). One reason for the shift to a standardised national curriculum is so that "School and curriculum authorities can collaborate to…

In an attempt to address the low levels of engagement in post-16 education and training in the UK amongst some groups at the beginning of the twenty-first century, and to enhance the skills of the future labour force, the UK government instituted an agenda of reform for the post-14 curriculum. Part of these reforms was the introduction in England,…

In this article, the authors describe a research project designed to explore the effects of science testing in Year 6 (age 11) in England and implications of the abolition of testing in Wales since 2004. The research was commissioned by the Welcome Trust in association with the ASE to inform representation to the House of Commons Select Committee…

Some methodological issues are discussed that arise from our comparative research conducted since the early 1990s into primary schooling in Finland and England. This research has been identified as part of a "new" comparative education that uses qualitative research strategies and which prioritises sensitivity to cultural context in data…

Examines academic middle managers' monitoring role in British secondary schools since implementation of the 1988 Education Reform Act, drawing on a large-scale postal survey of middle managers in three local authorities and three case-study schools. Participants acknowledge the need for monitoring colleagues' teaching, but experience departmental…

The provision for schools to waive local education authority control and become self-governing was the most radical element of Britain's 1988 Education Reform Act. A survey of five opted-out primary schools shows that larger schools succeed better at self-governance because of economies of scale; clustering smaller schools into groups with single…

Ninety-five teachers in Key Stage 1 in England and Wales completed a questionnaire and records of time spent on work over a period of 14 consecutive days, resulting in detailed records of 1,330 days of teachers' time. The data are analyzed in terms of overall time spent on work; time distribution; and time spent specifically on teaching,…

The first of two follow-up studies, involving 53 infant teachers in England and Wales, was conducted to monitor changes in the workloads of teachers as the national curriculum and assessment were brought in following ministerial promises to reduce the burdens imposed on teachers by the implementation of the national curriculum. Data were collected…

A sample of 348 secondary teachers in England and Wales kept a week's record of their work and completed a questionnaire on time usage. The survey indicated that the total mean time spent on work and work-related activities was 54.4 hours per week. Of this, teachers spent 16.9 hours on teaching, 12.9 hours on preparation, 18.1 hours in…