EDUCATION / Educational Policy & Reform / General

Experts on learning for democracy come together to explore why and how the gap in civic competence should be bridged. They make the case for a more effective form of political education that can enable citizens to learn to exert their influence over their government in an informed and meaningful manner.

The role that nurseries play in supplementing family care is an important subject – but in the UK, there is currently little consensus about what nurseries should provide, how they should be run, and who should pay for them. In this book, Helen Penn asks: is there a more considered way ahead?

Based on the Transforming Lives research project, this book explores the transformative power of further education. Outlining a critical approach to educational research and practice, the book draws on the testimonies of students and teachers to construct a model of transformative teaching and learning.

Teacher education in times of change offers a critical examination of teacher education policy in the UK and Ireland over the past three decades. Written by a research group from five countries, it makes international comparisons, and covers broader developments in professional learning, to place these key issues and lessons in a wider context.

Teachers in the UK are now required to promote ‘British values’ in schools to all pupils. This book draws on observations and teachers’ views to discuss issues of citizenship, social class, ethnicity, religion, counter-extremism and community cohesion, and the implications of this policy for teachers, students and society.

How can we re-establish universities’ social purpose? The solution lies with asking not only ‘what are we good at?’, but also ‘what are we good for?’. Chris Brink shows how universities can – and should - promote positive social change.

Bringing concepts from critical transitional justice and critical peacebuilding into dialogue with education, this book examines the challenges faced by youth in the post-conflict settings of Bougainville and Solomon Islands, illustrating the vital importance of education in post-conflict recovery.

Informed by twenty years’ experience as a school governor, Jacqueline Baxter considers what implications the 2014 ‘Trojan Horse’ scandal has had for the future of a democratic system of education in England.

Reviewing diverse sites, including the US, Cambodia, Israel, Poland, Chile, Australia, and Brazil, this book considers how schooling systems are being influenced by the rise of external actors who increasingly determine the content, delivery, and governance of education.

Peter Scott examines the development of mass higher education and calls for robust action to secure fair access at all levels and changes in the governance and management at both system and institutional levels to ensure more democratic accountability.

Neoliberalism is having a detrimental impact on wider social and ethical goals in the field of education. Using an international range of contexts, this book provides practical examples that demonstrate how neoliberalism can be challenged and changed at the local, national and transnational level.