British Educational Research Journal最新文献

Permanent school exclusions continue to be a topic of keen interest to UK schools and policymakers. The debate over the practice has recently intensified owing to the perceived negative outcomes directly resulting from the exclusion event. Research has indeed shown that pupils who have been permanently excluded are at a greater risk for a variety of negative life outcomes when compared with their non-excluded peers. However, that disadvantaged groups are disproportionately represented among those excluded has not been accounted for in empirical testing. Accordingly, previous measures of the influence of permanent exclusion may have over-estimated its negative consequences because they have not controlled for disadvantageous pupil characteristics. This is a critical limitation of the research owing to the influence of confounding variables and sample selection bias. Using the National Pupil Database and a full cohort of UK pupils (N = 590,092), our analysis tracked a sample of 1490 pupils permanently excluded in year 11 of the English education system in 2018/2019. Using capped GCSE points as the academic attainment variable, we find that permanently excluded pupil scores were nearly 25 points lower than their non-permanently excluded peers. However, when controlling for disadvantageous pupil characteristics, this difference was cut roughly in half. As such, we conclude that permanent exclusion is neither the catalyst of disadvantage nor a continuation of disadvantage on the same trajectory, but rather an accentuation of existing disadvantage. In other words, the existing trajectory of disadvantage gets steeper following the permanent exclusion event. Therefore, considering that the GCSE attainment gap found is equally attributable to both permanent exclusion and disadvantageous pupil characteristics, policymakers should both limit permanent exclusion to being a last resort and provide additional support for pupils at risk of being permanently excluded. Including a permanently excluded pupil's GCSE attainment in their former school's academic league table data incentivises schools to act in the best interests of these highly disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils.

This study aimed to contribute to the substantial body of research on critical thinking (CT) interventions by determining whether the effectiveness of two CT interventions (generic and infusion) varied according to students' baseline CT levels. Using a quasi-experimental design, we collected data from two universities, with 167 participants from University A and 76 from University B. Students' CT skills were measured before and after the interventions using the National Assessment of Collegiate Capacity (NACC) CT assessment. The analysis employed paired t-tests to evaluate within-group changes and independent t-tests with moderation analysis to compare CT gains between experimental and control groups across different baseline CT performance levels. Results showed that infusion CT interventions, rather than generic CT interventions, had a beneficial effect on these students' CT. Notably, the effectiveness of these interventions depended on students' baseline level of CT skills, suggesting that, while CT interventions may not result in substantial improvements for students with high and low baseline levels of CT skills, those with moderate levels can benefit significantly from these interventions. This study contributes to research on the effectiveness of embedding CT within course contents and differentiation based on baseline skills in maximising the impact of CT interventions within an educational context.

Efforts to strengthen inclusive practice in education have been found to be underpinned by encounters with dilemmas. In particular, much has been written about the ‘dilemma of difference’, which is the perceived tension between wanting to provide for individual needs in education and wanting to avoid stigmatising individuals by treating them differently to others, in order to do this. This article outlines a research study that worked with 42 ‘dilemma stories’, from 19 experienced teachers. The majority of these stories (35) were crafted as part of a methodological approach which involved story-sharing dialogues with these teachers, transcription, and the (re)drafting of written narratives. Both phenomenography and hermeneutic phenomenology was applied to the analysis of the stories. This required an acceptance of the apparent ontological dissonance between the hermeneutic phenomenological preoccupation with the ‘pre-reflective’ and phenomenography's emphasis on conceptions. Through the analysis, a typology of ‘four dilemmas of inclusive practice’ was arrived at. This typology suggests that experienced teachers often look beyond the ‘dilemma of difference’ and find themselves in more nuanced predicaments, which are arguably less visible to policymakers and advisors.

The present paper aims to determine and compare religiosity levels in university students (n = 2098) from the United Kingdom (n = 1010) and Poland and to attempt an explanation of how nationality differences in the cultural context and affiliations with different religious traditions influence their religiosity. The current global trends regarding religiosity are marked by diversity, with an increasing polarisation between deeply religious and non-religious individuals. This phenomenon differs across cultural and national contexts, which makes its analysis crucial for the contemporary sociology of religion. ANOVA and multiple linear regression analysis were performed to determine the effect of sociodemographic factors on religiosity. The analysis revealed significant differences in religiosity level between national groups, with the highest religiosity level among students of nationalities other than British or Polish. Command of English, age, gender, religious development and academic performance influenced religiosity level. The results suggest that university students' religiosity is a complex phenomenon, shaped by numerous variables, including nationality, religious affiliation and personal and academic experience. The understanding of these relationships may contribute to a better understanding of the role of religion in the life of contemporary societies and help adjust educational and social policies to students' diverse religious needs.

This paper provides a critical and detailed study of what researchers in the fields of contemporary cognition and neuroscience have revealed about the blurred boundary between perception and cognition. We set out the arguments with a view to what researchers and teachers should now consider regarding the subtleties of their interrelationship in children's learning, and how individuals may be better helped to grasp difficult ideas. The analysis spotlights children's cosmologies in science education—their acquisition of ideas in basic astronomy concerning the Earth, Sun, Moon and so forth—and we use illustrative examples drawn from our own research to emphasise the implications of what perceiving and cognising actually mean. The role of carefully exercised Socratic dialogue as part of a constructivist approach to learning lies at the core of our deliberations.

Practice-based research (PBR) has emerged as a valuable alternative to traditional scientific methods by generating knowledge through practice and enhancing the relevance of research to practitioners. However, knowledge about PBR has largely been developed within disciplinary silos, leading to its limited cross-disciplinary understanding. This paper addresses this gap by analysing 116 PBR studies in Educational Research and Theatre, two fields with very active but separately analysed PBR traditions. Our analysis produces a framework that categorises PBR into four distinct types based on key dimensions: the ‘Aim of research’ and the ‘Model of practice involvement’. The framework reveals discipline-specific patterns, including divergent tendencies in how PBR is utilised across these fields: in Educational Research, PBR is often employed to improve professional practice, whereas in Theatre, it is central to exploring and theorising practice itself. The proposed framework holds potential for broader applicability across other fields, contributing to a more cohesive understanding of PBR as a versatile research strategy.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between technology-supported writing instruction at the K-12 level and deep learning approaches and to understand the trends in this field. In the study, 12 articles selected from Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC and EBSCO databases were systematically analysed. The findings reveal that the methods differed in teaching writing, with the use of educational technologies varying according to educational level. While authentic learning environments were created with SVVR technology in primary school, artificial intelligence (AI)-supported assessment systems were used in secondary school and AI literacy and interdisciplinary approaches gained importance in high school. The diversity of research methods and the use of multiple data collection tools show that educational technology research has become more in-depth and comprehensive. The effectiveness of technology-supported writing processes varies according to students' cognitive development levels: in primary school, virtual and augmented-reality technologies improve writing performance; while in secondary school, AI-supported systems improve analytical thinking skills. In high school, NLP technologies and interdisciplinary applications strengthen higher-order thinking skills and writing abilities. At all levels, peer collaboration and feedback stand out as critical elements that support deep learning. The selection and application of educational technologies in accordance with students' cognitive development levels play an important role in determining the success of writing processes.

Given the emergence of blended learning as the dominant mode of learning at university in a post-COVID-19 world, the need to examine students' perceptions of blended learning is increasingly becoming more important. This study examined the mediating role of student engagement in the relationship between the types of support (i.e., teacher, digital) and learner satisfaction in blended learning environments. A sample of 674 Year 1 and Year 2 students from a public university in Singapore participated in this study. Structural equation modelling showed that (1) teacher autonomy and digital relatedness support predicted agentic engagement, (2) digital competence and relatedness support predicted emotional engagement, (3) emotional engagement predicted all learner satisfaction facets except for learner–instructor interaction and (4) agentic engagement predicted all learner satisfaction facets except for learner–technology interaction. Of the four dimensions of student engagement, only emotional and agentic engagement mediated the relationships between various dimensions of support and learner satisfaction. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of emotionally engaging students and imbuing a sense of agency in them to enhance the relationships between the types of support and learner satisfaction.

Using multigroup structural equation modelling, this study investigated the relationships between paternalistic leadership, emotional labour and teacher efficacy, as well as the moderating roles of gender and region among a group of Chinese primary school teachers. The overall results revealed that both authoritarianism and benevolence dimensions of paternalistic leadership have positive impacts on teachers’ emotional labour, albeit with different strengths. Stronger connections were found between authoritarianism and surface acting, and between benevolence and deep acting/the expression of naturally felt emotions. Surface acting was found to have more negative effects, while deep acting and the expression of naturally felt emotions were more positively associated with teacher efficacy. The results of multigroup structural equation modelling supported the invariant measurement models across gender and region, revealing notable differences subgroups. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are also discussed.

Over the past decade, teacher autonomy has become increasingly significant due to its positive impact on educational outcomes. The study explores the mediating role of teachers' academic optimism in the relationship between school principals' empowering leadership and teacher autonomy. In this study, we proposed teachers' academic optimism as a mediator in the relationship between empowering leadership and teacher autonomy. Data obtained from a sample of 384 teachers in Türkiye were analysed according to structural equation modelling. The results showed that school principals' empowering leadership positively and directly predicted both teachers' autonomy and their academic optimism. The results also indicated that teachers' academic optimism positively and directly predicted teacher autonomy. In addition, academic optimism was found to significantly mediate the relationship between empowering leadership and teacher autonomy. The findings highlight the importance of empowering teachers and strengthening their academic optimism as a means to enhancing their independent actions and decision-making capabilities. Our findings provide practical recommendations for developing principals' empowering leadership behaviours and in the enhancement of their academic optimism.