British Educational Research Journal最新文献

This article sets out and critically analyses the state of current knowledge on Widening Participation at higher education institutions in Scotland and sets forth avenues for further research. Through a semi-systematic review of the literature, six discrete but overlapping themes relating to Widening Participation are identified, namely, (1) factors affecting the decision to apply to university, (2) the transition from high school or further education into university, (3) contextualised admissions, (4) completion and level of attainment, (5) economic, social and cultural capital and (6) equality, diversity and inclusion. The study finds that while clear progress has been made by higher education institutionstowards achieving quantitative government targets for student recruitment from underrepresented groups, there is an absence of studies and knowledge about the qualitative lived experiences of students as they transition through university, how students negotiate a sense of fit with institutional systems, and what targeted supports they may require to succeed. Avenues for further research which addresses these gaps in the knowledge base are put forward, namely, (1) broaden the academic base and interdisciplinarity of Widening Participation research, (2) reform and extend measures of success beyond admissions and attainment, (3) evolve institutional level support for transition into higher education, (4) develop more nuanced understandings of contextualised admissions and (5) investigate and gain deeper understandings of how the lived experiences of Widening Participation students shape and inform their journey through, experience of and attainment at university.

One main argument for inclusion refers to the social benefits that students with SEN might have from being in contact with typically developing classmates. Students' sense of belonging to the classroom is also a relevant dimension of inclusion, given its importance for positive emotional and social development and academic motivation. Yet, studies specifically focused on students with SEN show mixed results regarding their sense of belonging. While some studies have highlighted the effect of classroom social networks on peer-related social experiences, to our knowledge no study has examined its effect on the sense of belonging. Thus, the goal of the current study is to examine the associations between the structure of classroom social networks, peer-related social experiences in the classroom and the sense of belonging of students with and without SEN. The participants were 914 students (56% boys, 10% SEN, average age 12.68) attending Portuguese schools. Contrary to what was expected, although students with SEN were, on average, more rejected and less accepted by the peer group than students without SEN, they did not differ in their levels of sense of belonging. In addition, the structure of classroom social networks was associated with students' belonging in unexpected ways. Results point to the importance of creating social conditions in the classroom to facilitate positive peer interactions and relationships, and the need for teachers to pay attention to the social structure of the classroom in order to create a positive atmosphere where all students feel accepted, respected, valued and a part of the classroom.

School absences can negatively impact a child's schooling, including the loss of teacher-led lessons, peer interactions, and, ultimately, academic achievement. However, little is known about the long-term consequences of school absences for overall educational attainment and labour market outcomes. In this paper, we used data from the 1970 British Cohort Study to examine long-term associations between school absences in late childhood and individuals’ educational attainment, social class, unemployment and earnings at age 42 while adjusting for a comprehensive set of confounders. Our findings show that school absences are associated with lower educational attainment but are not associated with social class destination except for increasing the likelihood of being out of the labour force after adjusting for confounders. Individuals who missed five days of school at age 10 were 5.2% more likely to have obtained no qualifications and 4.1% more likely to be out of the labour force. However, we did not find a significant association between school absences and individuals’ earnings or duration of unemployment. Our findings suggest that the detrimental consequences of school absences persist beyond schooling into adulthood. Overall, this study highlights the importance of addressing school absenteeism to promote educational and labour market participation over the life course.

Although present in large numbers, Black refugee students do not necessarily feel welcome in Canadian public schools. In fact, research has long demonstrated that they face all sorts of oppressions from peers and educators, despite the abundance of seemingly welcoming discourses in educational policies and guidelines. Through a critical analysis of six curriculum documents published by the Government of Manitoba, and in light of the tenets of the ethic of hospitality and critical race theory, in this paper I discuss the role played by educational policies and guidelines in (un)welcoming Black refugee students. In the pursuit of ‘hospitable education’, I explore the strengths and weaknesses found in those documents while observing areas for improvement—with major roadblocks being linked to the pervasiveness of (White) assumptions and expectations as well as a lack of critical self-reflexivity.

This paper presents an overview of the arts-based methodology used in a research project that aimed to explore the impact of the lived experiences of racism on 10- and 11-year-old children in the United Kingdom. The research responds to the relative lack of literature concerning the racialised experiences of young children. We discuss how we developed the arts-based method of body mapping as an ethical approach to foregrounding the children's voices. We consider that this approach contributes to knowledge and understanding about exploring the nuanced and complex relationship between the children's external worlds and their internal feelings, and supporting them to process and communicate this. We suggest that the method presented is transferable, and present our ethically engaged, arts-based planning framework that can be used if others wish to adopt this way of working.

While transition from primary to secondary school is a positive experience for many young people, for others, it may be a difficult period of adjustment. Socioeconomic status (SES) may influence the likelihood of a positive or negative transition experience owing to differences in psychosocial (self-esteem, self-efficacy, social support) and flexible (cultural capital, financial support, power) resources to respond to the challenges presented by a new school environment. Welsh all-age schools do not have a typical primary to secondary school transition and offer an opportunity for comparative analysis to explore the impact of transition on young people. This analysis used multilevel and structural equation modelling to assess differences in mental health and bullying outcomes in year 7 (first year of secondary education) in young people in all-age schools compared with those in secondary schools. It also considered whether school connectedness might explain these differences. It found that school type did not significantly predict outcomes at a population level; however, there was evidence of an interaction between SES and school attended for some outcomes. Peer problems, conduct problems and bullying victimisation were lower for children with low SES when attending all-age schools. For children with high SES, the same outcomes tended to be more positive if the children attended secondary schools. There was no evidence that school connectedness mediated the relationship between school type and mental health or bullying outcomes. Findings provide tentative evidence that all-age schools may act to reduce health inequalities caused by SES.

Academic integrity is part of the process that explains the communication of information in an ethical manner. Although the prevalence of dishonest acts at university has been noted, it is an aim of the educational system to analyse what motivates them from an age prior to their incorporation into university studies. The aim of this work is to collect the visual-narrative representation of academic plagiarism made by secondary school and university students, as well as to analyse their perception of it and discover the keys that explain this malpractice. A participatory study was carried out, in which two high school students took on the role of co-researchers in training. Information is collected from 178 students from three schools in Spain and Portugal through participatory photography or Photovoice. It is analysed with Maxqda22 software in two stages: (1) deductive analysis of the narratives, identifying categories and thematic codes, in a participatory way with the trainee researchers; and (2) inductive analysis of images and metaphorical expressions. The results allow us to outline three representations of the action of copying: as a punishable act, as a picaresque act and as a quick and easy opportunity for the student. This classification reveals the issues that dominate the discourse of the participants, suggesting the effects and causes that aggravate the commission of plagiarism: the simplicity of the process and the possibility of not being detected.

The ‘virtual school’ is an approach to supporting care-experienced children and young people in education. The Virtual School Head (VSH) has been a statutory role within the education landscape in England since 2014. In Scotland, where the education, social care and legal systems are distinct from those in England, there has been a recent increase in the number of local authorities utilising this concept. This research aimed to explore the role and remit of Virtual School Head Teachers (VSHTs) in Scotland, and to identify similarities and differences with those of VSHs in England, to uncover learning about the emergence of this concept and role in a new context. We conducted semi-structured interviews with relevant post-holders in Scotland, using key concepts from the published literature on virtual schools in England, and analysed these qualitatively to identify themes. We discuss some of the similarities and differences we identified, noting that while the purpose of the role, and the means by which it functions, were largely common to both countries, there were also nuanced differences. Key similarities included the importance of positioning within the local authority, and the development of relationships with social work. Differences were largely underpinned by the educational and legal contexts in which the post-holders operated, and included control of budgets and specificity of remit. This research contributes to our understanding of the role of the VSHT in Scotland, and identifies some emerging features as the virtual school concept is translated to a new context.