Tag: ECRG

All-Party Parliamentary Group for Schools, Learning and Assessment: Curriculum and Assessment Review Update

Author Education and Childhood Research Group | Posted on

Schools, Learning and Assessment APPG meeting with Becky Francis, February 2025.
Source: X @Appg_Schools

By Professor Alpesh Maisuria

Speaker: Professor Becky Francis CBE, Chair of the Curriculum and Assessment Review

Discussant: Sarah Kilpatrick, National Education Union President

APPG Chair: Peter Swallow MP

Date: 25 February 2025

Today, I attended the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Schools, Learning and Assessment. Professor Becky Francis CBE was invited to provide an update on her Curriculum Review ahead of the initial findings to be published in Spring. Sarah Kilpatrick, NEU President, was the discussant for this event, which followed the previous meeting where Daniel Kebede, NEU General Secretary, was invited to speak about Teacher Workload, Recruitment, and Retention. At that meeting, a key theme emerged – the lack of flexibility in the curriculum, which left teachers with little professional autonomy over curriculum and assessment design.

Above: Schools, Learning and Assessment APPG meeting with Daniel Kebede, January 2025.
Source: X @Appg_Schools

I have been attending these APPG meetings as the ECRG Leader. In this capacity, I submitted evidence to the Curriculum and Assessment Review consultation, which closed in November after two months. The consultation elicited 7,000 responses. Today’s event attracted the largest audience I have seen in three years of attending. The majority seemed to be members of the House of Lords, including key figures such as Lord Knight, who chaired the influential Beyond Ofsted inquiry.

This blog is a summary of today’s meeting.

Professor Francis opened with a brief introduction, reiterating the principles that guide the review:

“The review will ensure that the curriculum appropriately balances ambition, excellence, relevance, flexibility, and inclusivity for all children and young people.”

More specifically, these principles are:

  • “The Review will be rigorously evidence and data-informed. The Review will not be distracted by myths, assumed ‘truths,’ or behaviors in other national systems without evidence of need and/or benefit.
  • The Review will seek evolution, not revolution. The Review will recognize the hard work and successes of those working in education. The Review will build on the existing relative strengths of a system with finite resources and will not seek to fix things that are not broken.
  • The Review will be alive to trade-offs, with attention paid to the practicalities of implementation and to the avoidance of unintended consequences and additional workload for education staff.
  • The Review will seek to identify and focus on addressing the most significant and pressing issues facing curriculum and assessment without destabilizing the system. The Review will recognize that reforms to curriculum and assessment necessarily impact the education sector and, if undertaken in an unfocused manner, risk creating significant additional work for education staff and incurring high opportunity costs. The Review will recognize that it is unable to address every issue facing the education system and that changes to the curriculum and assessment system cannot address every issue facing children and young people, or wider society.
  • The Review will maintain our country’s longstanding commitment to a high-quality comprehensive curriculum for all to 16.
  • The Review will identify those elements of our existing system that can lead to barriers to accessing quality provision and/or to particular pathways. The Review will identify these and develop solutions.
  • The Review will be undertaken in close consultation with education professionals and other experts, parents, children and young people, and stakeholders such as employers, colleges, universities, and trade unions.”

This introduction to this meeting was followed with a brief statement by Kilpatrick, followed by Q&A. Questions with the following themes were raised:

  • The need for a revolution in the curriculum given the problems that are linked.
  • The benefits of arts education, music, SEND, classics, languages, D&T, and PHSE.
  • Problematic performance measures and exam obsession.
  • Assessment at primary schooling.
  • Reliability of qualifications.
  • Misinformation and critical skills education.
  • SEND.
  • The “missing third” [approximately one-third of students who do not achieve at least a pass in GCSE English and Maths].

The reply to each of these questions was broadly that there are good things happening, and so a revolution was not needed. In any case, the terms of reference for the Review meant that the scope and focus was limited. Furthermore, the Review has not been tasked to deal with wider problems in the system. Francis highlighted the following problems:

Francis referred to the uptake of subjects as an indicator of success. A specific example was vocational qualifications, noting that 44% of young people select these qualifications. There was also a theme of international comparisons (for UK comparisons, see this briefing). For example, we are an international “outlier” with our focus on “comprehensive” education and “inclusion.” Francis noted that only Canada and the Scandinavian countries had these focuses for the curriculum and assessment. This is positive, and the review will build on these strengths.

Francis reiterated that this review would involve “trade-offs”. If more creative subjects are to be offered/emphasised, then something would need to be removed given the fullness of the curriculum. She was clear that finding the balance between these tensions would be very challenging and would take time – this Review was just the beginning of the process.

Francis mentioned the terms of reference and the imminent publication of the preliminary findings. She stated that nationally administered examinations would be maintained because they are fairer than teacher assessments, as demonstrated during the pandemic. It is noteworthy that Francis specialises in educational inequalities.

Sarah Kilpatrick provided a strident response, albeit briefly given the many questions allowed by the Chair. Among other things, Kilpatrick noted:

  • We need a revolution, not evolution, to address deep problems.
  • The “obsession” with accountability needs to change.
  • Progress 8 is problematic.
  • There is not enough time for children to develop critical skills, such as identifying misinformation.
  • Everything is done to prepare for OFSTED, which has been “weaponised” as part of the Academies program [this point is timely given the changes proposed in the Children’s Welfare and Schools Bill and changes to School Inspection].
  • Significant underfunding cannot be ignored.
  • There needs to be caution in using data because it is not consistently reliable. An example given was children being taken out of class to do other subjects.

Kilpatrick concluded by emphasising that the curriculum’s focus on testing is detrimental to fun, enjoyment, and joy.

In summary, Becky Francis provided an honest update framed by a strategy to manage expectations. The key messages were that the Curriculum Review’s principles gave it a limited scope and focus, and there would have to be trade-offs. Additionally, Francis was slightly cagey as the preliminary findings are to be published imminently, and there would be no leaking revelations before then. I have been acquainted with Francis since 2009 (she presented me with my PhD certificate in her role as Director of the UCL Institute of Education in 2015), on this occasion, she seemed frustrated and challenged. As one Peer half-jokingly remarked in this meeting, the Curriculum and Assessment Chair role is a poisoned chalice!

The full report of the Review is due to be published in Autumn 2025. 

Successful launch of the ‘Tolerance’ children’s exhibition at Bristol Cathedral

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By Dr Jane Carter and Dr Sarah Whitehouse

Thursday 16 January 2025 saw the successful launch of a children’s exhibition at Bristol Cathedral, funded by a Higher Education Impact Fund (HEIF) bid and also the Early Childhood Research Group (ECRG), who funded the event’s refreshments, with a focus on the understanding of the value of tolerance and how this could be applied to a significant Bristol event, the toppling of the Colston statue.

We began the project with the European organisation, Children’s Identity and Citizenship Education (CiCe) network. CiCe had secured funding from the European Union to focus on citizenship education with a focus on the stated European values. We led the working group researching the value of tolerance from differing perspectives and applying the value to a range of sensitive and often controversial historical issues in each country of the working group. We worked with colleagues from Belgium, Romania, Greece, Estonia and Scotland to create a book for teachers to support the teaching of tolerance. The project was aligned and promoted by the Childhood, Children and Young People and Equity in Education strands of the ECRG.

Tolerance is a British Value (DfE, 2012) and also a European Value (European Commission, 2024). However, it is an underdeveloped aspect of the curriculum, in part because it is a contested, complex and so problematic area for teachers to navigate. Research by Whitehouse (2024) and Kitson and McCully (2016) has highlighted that many teachers actively avoid the teaching of controversial issues in relation to tolerance. Pettigine, Whitehouse and Carter (2024) brought together a set of distinctive perspectives on the issue – philosophical, theoretical and pedagogical. This approach enabled the development of a unique scheme of work that supports teachers to negotiate this area.

With HEIF funding, we recruited five Bristol schools to trial the lessons and to collaborate on developing the activities to match the specific contexts of each school. Whitehouse’s (2024) work on teaching controversial issues also informed the development of the project. Activities included: exploring a definition of tolerance as well as looking at definitions created by UNESCO, diamond nine discussions, drama, photo elicitation activities as well as teacher subject knowledge support to ensure children’s debates were supported by teachers planned interjections. Children were encouraged to analyse sources and consider viewpoints on the creation of the Colston statue, the work of Colston and the toppling of the statue. This work resulted in the children discussing and debating different perspectives and the impact of the Bristol Slave Trade and its legacy. Children produced writing, drawings, card sorts and discussion pieces, all of which were displayed at the cathedral.

The launch event included a talk by Jen Reid, a leading member of Bristol’s anti-racist movement, who engaged children in reflecting on their learning and on the legacy of the slave trade and current anti-racism approaches. Robert Short performed a number of spirituals that reflected the resistance of slaves.

Jen Reid, activist, with children from Ashton Gate Primary at the launch of the ‘Tolerance’ exhibition at Bristol Cathedral

Teachers and children said how inspiring the work had been and also have maturely children had managed to debate the issues, respectfully listening to the differing viewpoints expressed. The collaboration with the Cathedral has been a foundation of the launch event, with schools now coming to the Cathedral for workshops with the Cathedral Education Officer, Rebekah Guy.

Dialogue in times of war: The School for Peace method and social justice pedagogy in education

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On 15 January 2025, ECRG hosted Dr Roi Silberberg, Director of School for Peace – Wahat al-Salom – Neve Shalom, for a research seminar. In the seminar, he explained the School for Peace (SFP) approach to fostering dialogue between Jews and Palestinians during conflict. Rooted in social justice pedagogy, this method emphasizes identity exploration, power dynamics, and critical thinking to build understanding and inspire action.

Highlighting wartime initiatives, Dr Silberberg demonstrated how education is challenging structural inequities, understanding “the other,” and promote reconciliation. Through real-world examples and practical strategies, he offered insights into applying dialogic frameworks in education to address global conflicts and foster sustainable peace. 

Watch the recording of the online ECRG research seminar, ‘Dialogue in times of war: The School for Peace method and social justice pedagogy in education’, 15 January 2025.

Here is an e-dialogue between Dr Silberberg and ECRG’s Professor Alpesh Maisuria.

Alpesh: How and why did the School for Peace begin? How has it changed during its existence?

Roi: The School for Peace began in the 1970s on a barren hill granted by the Latrun Monastery. It originated from a vision of interfaith dialogue by Bruno Hussar, an Egyptian monk born Jewish. However, the young people who gathered there found a deeper connection in discussing national identity rather than religion, leading to the establishment of Palestinian-Jewish dialogue groups. As a few families settled on the hill, the intentional community of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam was born. Over time, the School for Peace expanded its reach, training over 60,000 participants, including youth and adult change agents, to foster mutual understanding and tackle shared challenges.  

Alpesh: Can you give an example what topics you cover in the workshops?

Roi: Discussions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict often evoke intense emotions, making the topic both deeply significant and highly sensitive. In many contexts, these conversations are fraught with tension, as individuals fear using the wrong words, offending others, or being misunderstood. Recognizing these challenges, the School for Peace (SFP) has developed a pioneering Terminology Workshop to help participants navigate this complex terrain with confidence and sensitivity. The workshop focuses on how language shapes our understanding and framing of the conflict. Participants explore a curated list of terms such as “occupation,” “conflict,” “apartheid,” and “colonization.” These words are examined for their power dynamics, historical and legal connotations, and the contexts in which they are used. Attendees engage in structured dialogue to consider how and why they might choose certain terms, gaining insight into the underlying narratives and tensions these words evoke. The aim is to create spaces where participants can articulate their views in a way that fosters dialogue rather than division.

Alpesh: What influence do you think the school can have on the current conflict last year?

Roi: The current war underscores the necessity of SFP’s mission. By fostering dialogue and addressing structural inequalities, the SFP creates spaces where both Jews and Palestinians can process their pain and work collaboratively. Recent wartime initiatives involved facilitating communication in polarized institutions and addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza through partnerships. SFP’s approach, rooted in tackling oppression and enabling dialogue even in times of heightened tension, positions it as a unique player in promoting long-term coexistence and understanding.  

Alpesh: Does the school have any external influences – pedagogical or political?

Roi: The School for Peace draws inspiration from global peace education theories and the works of critical pedagogists like Paulo Freire and Bell Hooks, emphasizing empowerment, transformation, and critical thinking. These approaches include a sensitivity to gender dynamics, addressing how intersecting identities influence dialogue and conflict resolution. Politically, while the school operates independently, it inevitably engages with the realities of inequality and systemic discrimination central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Its partnerships with international and local organizations further integrate diverse perspectives, from environmental justice to social equity.  

Alpesh: How is the school supported financially?

Roi: The School for Peace is supported through a combination of funding sources, including Friends Associations of Wahat al-Salam/Neve Shalom, which operate worldwide, with an active branch in the UK. It also receives contributions from international foundations and generates income by offering facilitation services and consultations to other organizations and institutions. Grants, donations, and partnerships with educational and civic bodies further bolster its financial sustainability. Socially, the school benefits from the Neve Shalom community, which provides steadfast support and embodies the values of coexistence. The alumni network extends its influence, as graduates often continue peacebuilding in their respective fields. However, the polarized political climate can challenge the school’s bi-national framework and mission. 

Alpesh: Thank you and the very of best of luck in your honourable mission to bring justice, peace and equality in the country and the region.

Roi: Thank you Alpesh, and please let others know about our work. 

More information

  • Wahat al-Salam – Neve Shalom (pronounced “waaḥat’ as-salaam/nevei shalom”), Arabic and Hebrew for Oasis of Peace, is an intentional community of Palestinian and Jewish citizens of Israel ded­icated to justice, peace and equality in the country and the region.
  • The Neve Shalom Educational Institutions were founded by community members in 1984. These institutions, based on the village’s ideals, work to create the conditions for positive social change.
  • For more information, visit the SFP website.

Montpelier High student group, Tackling Diversity in Teaching, give PGCE Secondary students a masterclass on diversity and oracy in the classroom

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By Terra Glowach, PGCE Tutor and Co-Programme Lead for Secondary PGCE; Senior Lecturer in Education

On 14 October 2024, the Secondary PGCE Programme launched a week of university-school partnership activities focused on oracy: how to promote oracy skills among teachers and young people, and how to use pedagogy which generates rich classroom talk. This week of lectures, reading, discussions, observations and cooperative learning tasks coincides with the release of the Oracy Commission Report (PDF), which aims to centralise oracy education ‘to serve our communities and employers in helping to develop young people with the critical knowledge and skills, the sense of civic empowerment, that will prove beneficial for them and for social cohesion.’

The highlight of the week was a session led on campus by the Montpelier High student group, Tackling Diversity in Teaching (TDT), supported by teachers Amy Mayne and Jessica Bray.

Students Adama, Danitor, Sasha-Kay, Cymora, Fiza, Grace, Denecka, Ayesha, and Alexia gave a short talk on the history of TDT and the importance of promoting diversity and oracy in schools, then facilitated group discussions among trainee Secondary teachers about how they might champion diverse voices in the curriculum and the classroom.

TDT started with four members having conversations about inclusivity and how they were unrepresented in school: “It was to channel our frustrations in a positive way and somehow finding solutions for them like talking to teachers in our and other schools about our experiences as young women of colour.” Since then, they have organised and run school activities and workshops for university students training to become teachers across Bristol and the Southwest.

In terms of oracy, the members of TDT say that this experience has “been really valuable in building our teamwork and commitment. It’s of course led us to be far more confident as we have got used to speaking in public, to big audiences. Our trips to universities have been amazing in building aspiration and making us think about what we want from our education and futures. Having a group like this has emphasised how important our voices are and that we have the power to make a difference – we have now spoken in front of about 700 people – we have shaped the teaching of so many people!”

Each member of TDT took turns advising the PGCE students about how to embed diversity and oracy in their specific subjects:

“English is a great subject to promote diversity and oracy. This could be through reading aloud and discussing books. However, English can bring up sensitive subjects and teachers should be mindful of this. Setting ground rules, such as never reading racial slurs, even when they’re in a text, is really important for students to feel safe.”

Maths: “Encourage students to explain their workings out. Talking it through builds confidence in their approaches, and helps others learn too.”

“Last year during Science week, we had a school wide treasure hunt. Every teacher had a scientist’s name and biography attached to their lanyard, and to complete the treasure hunt we had to speak to every teacher and ask about the scientist. This was a great way to promote oracy in conversation and social skills.”

PE: “There are so many incredible athletes, and one look at Team GB demonstrates our diverse, vibrant and multi-cultural society. Getting students to research and give presentations on their favourite sports figures, or even allocating different athletes to broaden our knowledge, is a great way to introduce oracy. Furthermore, students could be encouraged to lead warmups and training sessions, creating opportunities for public speaking in lessons. Another nice idea could be to encourage sportspeople to come in and give talks. This also models good oracy for students, as well as aspiration in sport.”

The TDT group gave a masterclass on the value of oracy and how to create a culture of oracy across the curriculum. Not only have they imparted concrete and useful suggestions to teachers which will help them act upon the recommendations in the Oracy Commission Report, but they have modelled the potential impact of acting on these suggestions: young adults with the confidence, eloquence and agency to change their world for the better.

Tackling Diversity in Teaching (TDT) encompasses the following ECRG strands of research: Equity in Education; Pedagogy; and Childhood, Children and Young People. 

ECRG Pedagogy Strand: Showcase ‘In conversation with Professor Gert Biesta’, 13 November 2024

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Once in a while, an opportunity presents itself to spend a few hours in the company of someone inspiring. For many in education and academia, Gert Biesta is one such individual. I’m pretty sure he would fit Malcolm Gladwell’s criteria for an ‘Outlier’, having definitely clocked up more than ‘ten thousand hours’ of practice in his specialist area, having authored and contributed to more than twenty books, edited multiple international journals, advised governments on education policy and held professorships at multiple universities around the world. But it isn’t just these achievements which set him apart. For me and many others, it’s the poignancy, challenge, clarity and hint of mischief in his ideas which make him a thought-leader in education, and someone worth listening to.

So, it was a great pleasure for the ECRG Pedagogy Strand to host Gert for an ‘in conversation with…’ event last Wednesday evening, to invite him to share his thoughts about the nature of teaching and to delve into these in conversation. Around one hundred teachers, school leaders and academics were treated to Gert’s headline ideas and emergent thinking in a short presentation titled ‘What teaching is, what it is for, how it works and why it requires artistry’. This talk was based on a paper of the same title which he wrote in 2023.

The key takeaways from this were that, whether we like it or not, teaching operates in uncertainty. It is complex, subtle and nuanced. It requires judgement and intuition and its qualities (or it’s quality – whatever that is?) cannot be easily captured or measured using the logic of technical rationalism. This of course resonates closely with my own work and calls to mind that line from Hargreaves and Fullan (2012, p.107) that ‘uncertainty is the parent of professionalism […]’. Uncertainty is inescapably baked-into teaching.

An idea hovering conspicuously throughout Gert’s address, and our conversation, was that, despite its ubiquity in influencing policy, the explanatory and inquiry-based logic of the medical profession (which leads organisations to rank order interventions in terms of cost effectiveness), is not well suited to education. Gert took aim at this approach to judging teaching ‘quality’ because of its tendency to frame pupils similarly to patients, and ‘teaching’ somewhat like a cure. He talked a lot about the artistry of teaching and it is clear that art and artistry are important topics for Gert.

In our conversation, I invited him to put himself in the shoes of a headteacher whose pupils are soon to take exams, the outcomes of which will determine their next steps and for which he will be judged. I asked, “Do you want artistry from your teachers, or outcomes?’ and his response was short and unequivocal: Teaching requires artistry whatever the headteacher wants. That is the nature of teaching.

Read more about Gert’s work and works on his website, gertbiesta.com, and you may like to follow him on social media:

The 2024 International Conference on Critical Education (ICCE): connecting with global struggles for education

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By Stephen Beresford and Anna Burchfiel, PhD candidates and members of ECRG

In July 2024, we were lucky enough, alongside the ECRG Lead and our PhD supervisor, Alpesh Maisuria, to have the opportunity to attend the International Conference of Critical Education (ICCE)at Ankara University in Türkiye. In its 13th year, the conference is an opportunity for ‘critically-minded’ scholars from across the globe to meet and share their education research; this year’s edition centred around the theme of revitalising the work of critical educationalists in a world fraught with crises.

The conference kicked off with a keynote speech by Alpesh who demonstrated the efficacy of critical realist philosophy, especially when twinned with Marxist social science, for producing research that can powerfully explain, and at once critique, dominant educational agendas. It was argued that this framework provides theoretical tools to understand the historical specificity, and thus mutability, of current, neoliberal education policy settlements; this view thus gestures towards the possibility and feasibility of alternative societal arrangements geared toward ‘human flourishing’.

Other notable talks grappled with the issue of religion and education under Türkiye’s repressive right-wing administration, the devastating effects that Israel’s imperialist apartheid and genocide in Gaza has had on Palestinians’ access to education, and a panel of Arizona-based researchers investigating the prevalence of book bans in the United States and the neoliberal classroom in higher education. Away from the main hall, there were a range of talks on an astoundingly wide panoply of issues: from prisoner education to the pedagogy of Bertolt Brecht, to creative, drama-based methods that teach about capitalist fiscal policy, to name but a few.

We were fortunate enough to contribute to these sessions ourselves; Anna gave a talk about the cracks in the neoliberal university system of England through the lens of funding and selection mechanisms, whilst Stephen presented a talk about the theoretical and political ramifications of the differences between the Bourdieuian and Marxist conceptions of class reproduction in education research.

The conference provides a great opportunity for scholars of all stages to get the chance to present their ideas to a supportive academic community; for example, Stephen was able to present for the very first time, and Anna had the chance to demonstrate the progress her research has made from her first presentation at the 2023 ICCE in Malta.

Above: Anna Burchfiel

Beyond the conference itself, there was ample time to socialise with other attendees, see the local sights, and sample the local food and drink; this proved a great chance to meet like-minded scholars, building connections, potential collaborations, and bonds of solidarity.

What struck us as relative academic conference novices was the agreement that there are very few, if any, conferences like ICCE; its environment of genuine intellectual curiosity, innovation and rigour coupled with strong moral and political commitments makes it an academic space that critical educators must cherish and defend. The conference correctly places the struggle for education in the context of wider struggles against an ever crisis-ridden global capitalism. Attending ICCE thus provided us an opportunity to key into global struggles for genuine democratic, and fulsome education that recognises the political and moral urgency required in a current conjuncture marked by rampant inequality, imperialist violence and increasing oppression and state repression.


Above: Stephen Beresford

Returning from the conference we felt a strong sense of energy and urgency impelled by the knowledge gleaned from the research other like-minded scholars are working on and the insights gained by connecting with ‘critical’ international academics involved in education. Attending ICCE provides a stark and inspiring reminder that the question of education must always be understood as an eminently international, and inherently political, struggle; coming away from the conference you are left in no doubt that this urgent insight must always be at the heart of education research. For those who believe in the power and moral worth of education, it is therefore a must-attend. We look forward to attending in 2025 to meet with new and returning friends and update the international community on our research.

Postscript (Alpesh Maisuria):

It’s moments like this International Conference on Critical Education (ICCE), where I witnessed the brilliant contributions from Anna and Stephen, that make higher education a fantastic field to work in.

This was the 12th ICCE, and it was particularly poignant that it was held in Turkey, where critical educators are at personal and professional risk.

The conference brings together a global community consisting of teachers, students, professors, and activists – inclusivity is a key principle for the event organisers. ICCE is the antithesis of a commercial conference. Conference fees are minimal to keep the event accessible for people in lower income countries and those on minimum/no wage. The fees cover only the costs, there is no commercial backing, and the event is facilitated by volunteers.

ICCE has a significant a social aspect and delegates are encouraged to talk, eat, and socialise together, which creates many wholesome experiences beyond academic benefits for delegates. I’m delighted that Anna and Stephen were able to experience all this and keen to continue the dialogues.

If you’re interested in knowing more, please do get in contact: alpesh.maisuria@uwe.ac.uk

Reflecting on a Successful First Postgraduate Research Conference

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Doctorate in Education (EdD) student Ronnie Houselander reflects on her experience of presenting at the recent Education and Childhood Postgraduate Researcher (PGR) Conference, which was supported by the Education and Childhood Research Group (ECRG)

On Friday 12th and Saturday 13th of July, the School of Education and Childhood hosted its first PGR Conference. EdD and PhD students came together at UWE to share our research and practice, with various contributions to explore, from posters to presentations. The event launched with an activity where we had five minutes to summarise and share our research with a new person. This unexpected exercise was a fantastic way to break the ice, helping me get to know others before presenting.

At the conference, I submitted a poster and delivered a talk that explored the opportunities of using arts-based research (ABR) and zines. Zines can be handmade, non-commercial, irregularly issued, small-run paper publications. Zines are circulated by individuals participating in special interest communities (Radway, 2011).

My project adopts an arts-based approach and aims to explore the community in which I practice. The project is titled “All Bugs Are Insects, But Not All Insects Are Bugs: Magnifying the Motivations and Experiences of Artist-Teachers in Further Education”. I applied to present because I am immersed in my research, and I am always eager to find opportunities that deepen my understanding of my subject. This conference provided a valuable platform to refine my presentation skills and enhance my ability to articulate key areas of interest. It was motivating to share aspects of my work with a new audience who are outside of my regular network.

Zines and ABR are important elements of my study and having a platform to share these ideas was insightful and has given me new perspectives to take forward into my project. You can find my presentation here.

This was the first time presenting my research project publicly and it felt like a supportive environment where I could confidently express my interests and ideas to a room full of people who wanted to support each other.

I was also fortunate to present my project not only to new peers but also to my supervisors, Tim Clark and Jane Andrews. Having UWE colleagues that I’ve met on my EdD journey at the conference was affirming for my doctoral journey, and it was great to see familiar faces in a new context.

At the conference, I also met the international EdD students who were visiting England to advance their studies. Connecting with these students, who I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet otherwise, was truly special. We shared our diverse interests and approaches to study and now support each other through email.

Overall, I had a fantastic time listening, learning, and meeting new people. I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and the enthusiasm of fellow students who are on a similar path. I hope it happens again next year! Thank you to Tim Clark, Jane Andrews, Sarah Whitehouse and Richard Waller who made this event possible.

Dr Verity Jones reflects on how children’s experiences of racism and their desire to have their voices heard is being realised in Bristol.

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By Dr Verity Jones (verity6.jones@uwe.ac.uk)

On the afternoon of 25 April 2024, just as children piled out of school, the RESPECT project team were putting their final touches to a billboard in Bristol that in invited people to think about what life would be like without racism.

The new billboard aims to amplify children’s voice and start conversations on this important topic. It features an illustration from the book that was co-authored with children from the project and invites people to think about what a world without racism might be like – giving us space to think about what changes need to be made.  

The ‘If Racism Vanished for a Day’ book co-authored was developed following research about 10 and 11-years olds in Bristol. This billboard is in response to the children demanding that anti racist education not be condemned to tokenistic celebrations of what it is to be Black during Black History Month or in response to a racist attack when it hits the media. Instead, children want to have opportunities to discuss these important issues through the year.

The children said: “…racism is not okay, and we want people to understand the way it affects us.”

A visit to the billboard in St Werburghs can hopefully provide an opportunity to start a conversation with children about these important issues and get children’s voices heard.

The team continues to work with schools across the UK and  through this work we often hear adults say that children don’t understand what racism is, or that they don’t or can’t recognise it. We can confidently say they do and they want change. The RESPECT project offers free resources to teachers on how to discuss racism and its impact on young people.

The ‘If Racism Vanished for a Day’ book is available in print or as a free e-book and is available here:

Big thanks: to all of the children who so generously shared their experiences; funders – UWE Bristol and UKRI – and installers Adblock Bristol.

RESPECT Team: Verity Jones, Luci Gorell Barnes, Tessa Podpadec, Chris Pawson, Sarah Whitehouse, Malcolm Richards, Justin Vafadari.

Towards a Network for Black Studies in Education at UWE ECRG 

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Malcolm Richards, Senior Lecturer in Education, Malcolm.Richards@uwe.ac.uk

Black studies is an interdisciplinary academic field that primarily focuses on the study of the history, culture, and politics of the peoples of the African diaspora and Africa and extends knowledge and experiences to include contributions as dynamic as ancient African histories to world civilisations. There remains growing frustration over the absence of black studies across the UK higher education sector, citing significant concerns that broader range of knowledges is excluded from the academy, which counters initiatives which respond to the disproportionate outcomes for marginalised student and staff communities.  

Led by Malcolm Richards (Senior Lecturer in Education) and facilitated through UWE New Starter Research Scheme (2023-2026), this project seeks to establish a Network for Black Studies in Education research across Britain with UWE. This exciting project brings together ongoing and new interdisciplinary projects across UWE ECRG (Education and Childhood Research Group), alongside the Equity in Education strand, principal partners, and wider educational communities to foster deeper understanding around research which focuses upon philosophical, intellectual, pedagogical, creative, and transformational experiences of peoples of African descent in education across Britain.   

The aim to establish a globally recognised Network for Black Studies in Education research at UWE. This project brings together ongoing and new interdisciplinary projects at UWE and with principal partners and wider educational communities to foster deeper understanding around the broad range of research which focuses upon philosophical, intellectual, pedagogical, creative, and transformational experiences of peoples of African descent in education across Britain, to better understanding and connect universities to the communities they serve.   

Project priorities: 

  1. Identify, examine, and strengthen valuing of theories, research, and pedagogical practices from Black Studies in Education scholarship.  
  1. Contribute to collaborative production and advancement of Black Studies in Education scholarship in the areas of research and pedagogy, curriculum development. 
  1. Engage UWE staff and students, research partners and local-global educational communities by sustaining accessible and inclusive spaces for critical dialogue surrounding issues of race, racism, identity, culture, indigeneity, social justice, and more. 
  1. Facilitate and encourage networking and collaboration with study programs, UWE staff and students, research partners and community organizations to better understand the field of Black Studies in Education, research, pedagogy, and practice. 
  1. Curate and archive local-global knowledge production and exchange and active research partnerships on issues of importance across the field of Black Studies in Education in Bristol, and beyond.  

Through the development of a virtual campus (site in development), we will engage audiences inside and outside the academia through a diverse programme of collaborative research activities, including publications, online symposiums, digital reading groups, exhibitions, and collaborations with our principal partners and wider local-global communities. We hope such activities can generate significant impact in other areas of strategic importance, including educational policy, sustainable education, health, and wellbeing, and support future research and funding opportunities.  

For more information about the Towards a Network for Black Studies in Education at UWE ECRG project, please can contact Malcolm Richards malcolm.richards@uwe.ac.uk directly. The project’s virtual campus launches in early 2024. 

Photo © Malcolm Richards 2023.  

References 

  • Alklimat. A. (2021). The History of Black Studies. Pluto. 
  • Andrews, K. and Palmer, L. (2016). Blackness in Britain. Routledge London. 
  • Bryan, B., Dadzie, S., and Scafe, S. (1985/2018). The Heart of The Matter: Black Women’s Lives in Britain. Verso. 
  • Callender, C. (1997). Education for Empowerment: Practice and Philosophies of Black Teachers. Trentham Books. 
  • hooks, b. (1994). Teaching To Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom (Harvest in Translation). Routledge. 
  • Sobers, S. (2023). Black Everyday Lives, material culture and narrative: Tings in de House, Routledge. 
  • Waters, R. Thinking Black: Britain, 1964-1985 (2019). University of California Press. 

Research in Further Education: The pathway towards continual professional development and the reflection and application of outstanding Teaching and Learning practices.

Author Education and Childhood Research Group | Posted on

Education and Childhood Research Group (ECRG), School of Education and Childhood, College of Health, Science and Society, UWE Bristol

In this blog, Gemma Lyons, a current EdD student at UWE and a Teaching and Learning Lead at Richard Huish College in Somerset, discusses the benefits of further education staff being ‘researchers’, as part of the delivery of outstanding teaching and learning practices.

The blog explores how action research has supported the development and refining of effective Teaching and Learning practices.

Earlier this year, the Department for Education (DFE) released its policy for Teacher development. Delivering world – class Teacher development (March 2022). Rationale, following the pandemic, levelling up is now the foci of the agenda. The ‘Schools White Paper, Opportunity for All’, sets out plans to make sure every child can reach the full height of their potential (Department for Education, White Paper, March 2022).  

Have educators been blinkered in our previous visions?
Most educators work with the premise of making a difference; creating environments in which all students can be provided with the opportunity to grow, bloom and flourish.

Teachers are the foundation of the education system – ‘there are no great schools without great teachers’ (Department for Education, 2022). This vision is reflected as baseline culture at Huish and is undercurrent throughout day-to-day activities. ‘ The vision for Huish is delivering exceptional education and delivering exceptional education requires exceptional people who are both reflective and engage in their own professional development and continuous improvement’ (Huish policy and procedure, 2021).

The Huish vision acted as the foundation, which the Teaching and Learning team built upon in 2020. In January 2020, as a teaching and learning team, we launched our first action research project. The aim of doing so, was to encourage staff to be inquisitive, considerate, and reflective about their and their learner’s learning environment and to be able to convert the findings in to beneficial ‘action’, to enable further success in an area or to enable adaptation to enhance outcomes.

When carrying out the action research, members of staff worked together in course teams to co-construct research activity. The Teaching and Learning team, directed the process, by providing the focus of formative assessment, as an area for investigation. Wiliam & Leahy’s Five Formative Assessment Strategies in Action by Kate Jones was explored. This focus was selected as it aligned with our college priorities at the time.

As a team, we facilitated teachers carrying out the research, by providing literature support and segmenting existing knowledge. Time was allocated on staff development days to aid completion . Staff gathered data during their normal day to day work and interactions. Staff members arranged lesson swaps and observations of one another, to support their investigations. Allocating space for thought and time for action, as well as having a flexible approach, were key to this project’s success.

The outcome was that during summer 2022, our first Huish action research book was published, containing research from the differing course teams on the investigative focus of formative assessment. Some examples included ‘engineering effective classroom discussion, peer- to peer learning and feedback strategies.’ We celebrated, by sharing best practices. Staff had the opportunity to showcase and discuss findings with each other. Our very own peer-peer learning!

Back to business in September, after summer break, we are now into action research projects round 2! This time staff can choose a theme or topic that they want to grapple with, alongside the focus being interlinked with the College or Course quality improvement targets, student feedback or being data based driven. So far, we have projects looking at classroom-based themes, such as flipped learning, positive psychology and independent learning, as well as research focused on pastoral and wellbeing aspects, such as retention, motivation and mental health, just to name a few. Academic, pastoral and well being staff are all involved in the process .

In the summer term last academic year, we were lucky enough to have Ofsted on site . From our visit, our final report found:

‘Learners develop an excellent attitude to their studies. This is demonstrated through their commitment to purposeful independent study. This commitment is not achieved by accident. It is the result of teachers using evidence-based methodologies to teach learners the benefits of independent study and instilling the attitudes and behaviours learners need to be successful students of their subject.’

(Extracts from Richard Huish Ofsted 2022 report)

We might be Ofsted outstanding, but that doesn’t mean we can take our feet off the gas! Our ultimate goal of improving the quality of teaching and learning provision for our learners remains.

To continue to develop best practices, we are striving for networking and partnership working opportunities. To get the ball rolling, we aim to begin partnership working with the Education department at UWE as of 2023. Aligning research that compliments both UWE’S 2030 strategic vision and Huish’s quality improvement priorities.

If you would like to discuss partnership opportunities, please make contact. We can offer an ‘on the ground’ approach to learning from research.


Contact email address: gemmal@richuish.ac.uk – Gemma Lyons- Teaching and Learning lead for school of Humanities and Social science at Richard Huish College. Taunton.

The Teaching and Learning Team at Richard Huish College, who have been involved in overseeing the process; Emma Fielding, Saffron Lee, Sarah Marshall, Toby Eveleigh, and Gemma Lyons (top to bottom).

Not to forget the wider College body of Academic, Pastoral, Wellbeing, and Support staff, who without them, we would have no research to discuss.

References

Department for Education (2022) Delivering world- class teacher Development, Policy paper, Crown copyright.  

Department for Education (March 2022) Schools White Paper, Opportunity for All, sets out plans to make sure every child can reach the full height of their potential. Policy paper, Crown copyright.  

Ofsted Inspection of Richard Huish College (2022) Further Education and Skills inspection report. Available at http://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/.

Richard Huish College (2022) Action research projects, formative assessment.

Richard Huish College (2021) Policy and Procedure, Continuous Professional Development and Appraisal.

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