The change in science language as a result of transition from primary to secondary school

Spotlight on language and literacy

When students move from primary to secondary school, one of the numerous challenges that they encounter is language. The language of school academic activity is importantly different from the...

Language trends Northern Ireland 2021

Spotlight on language and literacy

Speaking an international language is crucial to understanding another culture and for long-term growth and prosperity (British Academy et al., 2020). So, no matter how many people around the...

Exploring gender representations in English language textbooks: A systematic review (2000 to 2022)

Research on English language teacher training, digital literacies and gender equality in low-and-middle-income countries (LMIC) is a strategic priority according to UN Sustainable Development Goal...

Science and religious education teachers’ perspectives on the purpose of RE on the secondary school curriculum in England

It is important that secondary school teachers know about the other subjects that are taught in their schools in order to provide a coherent curriculum experience for students. Over the past...

Teacher agency in the reform of universal primary education in Uganda

Uganda launched universal primary education (UPE) in 1997 in line with Education for All’s reform programme for basic education (Penny et al., 2008). Introducing a system of universal,...

Design research: A ‘tomorrow’ approach that needs consideration ‘today’?

Design research (or design-based research) is a methodological framework that focuses on the ‘tomorrow’; that is, the design of education as it could or should be (Bakker, 2018). Informed by a...

If maths anxiety could talk: What do maths-anxious ex-pupils want to say to the teaching profession?

Having recently completed a small exploratory study (124 respondents) of the way that maths-anxious undergraduates in the UK make sense of their maths anxiety (MA), I was prompted to consider: had...

Diversifying our curriculum: Rediscovering the power of our narrative voices

BCF Curriculum Investigation Grant Research Reports

Funded by the 2021–2022 British Curriculum Forum Curriculum Investigation Grant, this project aimed to investigate the degree to which a secondary school in England included a multitude of...

Can a whole-school curriculum focus on celebrating diversity reduce the volume of racist incidents?

BCF Curriculum Investigation Grant Research Reports

This project, funded by the 2021–2022 British Curriculum Forum (BCF) Curriculum Investigation Grant, involved finding ways to celebrate diversity within a Welsh school and its school curriculum....

Sounding right, sounding white: Interrogating language, race and curriculum in secondary education

BCF Curriculum Investigation Grant Research Reports

Funded by the British Curriculum Forum Curriculum Investigation Grant 2021–2022, this project explored the impact of offering lower KS3 pupils a curriculum that contrasted significantly with the...

An empirical evaluation of ‘big questions’ as an organisational framework for interdisciplinary social studies in a Scottish high school

BCF Curriculum Investigation Grant Research Reports

This research project assessed the impact on pupils and staff of a school-designed integrated social studies curriculum, aiming to apply insights from Big History and Big Questions to offer pupils...

Who is your teacher and why does it matter? The lived experiences of history and citizenship teachers in Northern Ireland

Education research: Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, as in other divided and conflict-affected societies, the contribution of education and, particularly, the school curriculum in aiding social cohesion has long been recognised...