Decolonising curriculum knowledge: A scholarly journey from the local, to national and international perspectives

I began decolonising curriculum knowledge 25 years ago. The tragic murder of the Black British teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993 was the catalyst of my activism in education, research, teaching...

Editorial: Education research: Northern Ireland

Education research: Northern Ireland

Education in Northern Ireland (NI) is characterised by segregation along religious/sectarian lines underpinned by a long history of religious tensions and fractured politics. Ninety-three per...

A new agenda for teacher education research in Northern Ireland

Education research: Northern Ireland

The importance of teachers has long been recognised as central not only to the educational and personal development of children but also to societal wellbeing and economic growth (OECD, 2018)....

Education research: Northern Ireland

Education in Northern Ireland (NI) is characterised by segregation along religious/sectarian lines underpinned by a long history of religious tensions and fractured politics. Ninety-three per...

A closer look at the Future Schools Toolkit

Education research: Northern Ireland

The proliferation of schools, management bodies and sectoral support organisations reflects the socio-cultural and political history of division in Northern Irish society. However, as recognised...

Learning from Covid-19 research in Northern Ireland: Resetting expectations for school–home–community partnerships

Education research: Northern Ireland

The impact of Covid-19 on learning experiences has dominated educational discourse over the past two years. Education practitioners and policymakers now have at their disposal a rich evidence base...

Inequalities in language learning: What are they and how can we fix them?

Education research: Northern Ireland

Young people in the UK are less likely to study a language in upper secondary school than their European peers, and not just because they already speak English (European Commission, 2017). In...

The ‘impractical wisdom’ of the Early Career Framework

In 2019, in response to concerns in England regarding teacher recruitment and retention, the Education Secretary announced a two-year centrally funded Early Career Framework (ECF), designed to...

Ethnicity and the early years workforce in maintained nursery schools across England

In this blog post, Mona Sakr and Shaddai Tembo recap key points from their recent BERA event on race and ethnicity in the early years workforce in maintained nursery schools in England. As part...

‘Talking back’ to the securitisation of higher education classrooms

The alignment of education with actions to prevent radicalisation of young people is a global phenomenon and is reflected in the plethora of initiatives emerging from trans-European networks such...

Bringing educational isolation into focus: Identifying non-urban schools and targeting resources to improve educational outcomes

Imagine you’re a student in an isolated secondary school in a rural, coastal or former industrial area of England. You look and sound like all your classmates; there’s very little diversity....

Can we really trust socioeconomic measures used in PISA tests?

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) conducts the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study of 15-year-old students’ academic achievement. In order...