Government interventions to address inequalities in education are common in the United Kingdom and internationally. Whilst there is a tendency for policy discourse to focus on benchmarks and indicators as measures of educational success, the inclusiveness and effectiveness of government interventions in education has been questioned. This paper…

This paper explores the critical role that safe spaces, or 'Pride Groups', can play in developing ontological security and allyship within schools. Drawing on data collected from eight UK secondary schools and one college, the research evaluates the impact of these groups, using an innovative theoretical framework combining Meyer's minority stress…

Athena Swan was established in 2005 with the goal of advancing the careers of women in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine) subjects in higher education. Since then, it has expanded its remit in various ways and has generated some controversy. This paper explains how Athena Swan operates as a policy-scoring scheme,…

One argument for early intervention for reading difficulties is that it can sustainably improve children's reading competence trajectory (the 'inoculation model'), but there are virtually no studies on sustained effects at the end of compulsory schooling. This study reports on a 10-year follow-up of a widely used early literacy intervention,…

This study aimed to examine the mediating role of metacognitive writing strategies in the relationship between middle school students' self-regulation skills in the writing process and their writing anxiety. Using structural equation modelling, the data collected from 513 middle school students were analysed with advanced statistical techniques…

This study investigates the nature, effectiveness and implications of fee-based private tutoring among primary school students (age 11-12) in rural Kazakhstan, an underexamined context in shadow education research. Grounded in Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory and the 'new sociology of childhood', the study employs a mixed-methods approach,…

This case study explores the transformation process and educational outcomes of a small rural public elementary school in Taiwan as it transitioned from a traditional school into a Montessori experimental school. Faced with challenges such as low student motivation and limited resources, the school adopted a bottom-up trial strategy to introduce…

Despite national policies, de facto school segregation for racial/ethnic minority students in the West and East has continued to deepen. In Hong Kong, the segregated school system was abolished in 2013, while from 2004 reformed School Places Allocation Systems encouraged minority students to choose mainstream primary and secondary schools.…

Meta-analysis is the synthesis of findings from research projects, which enables an estimate of the average or pooled effect across various studies. This study presents findings from the intention to treat analysis for a series of educational evaluations in England using a two-stage meta-analysis with standardised outcome data and individual…

Young people growing up in England from a poorer background are less likely to progress into higher education compared to their better off counterparts. This is especially true with respect to more selective universities. This study used government administrative data to gauge the effectiveness of the 'Realising Opportunities' programme, which…

Abstract Households with children eligible for Free School Meals are at risk of food insecurity. This paper reports on a rapid-response study that investigated the impact of the school food voucher scheme during the COVID-19 crisis on young people, families and schools. It pays close attention to the reliance of the state on the goodwill of…

Domestic abuse prevention education programmes have been found to be effective in bringing about attitudinal and behavioural change. However, there is limited research on theatre-based interventions developed in the UK. This study aimed to assess pupils' responses to a theatre production called 'Love Hurts'. A mixed-methods approach, which…

Educational inequalities persist between students of low socioeconomic status and their more affluent peers. At the same time, there is evidence of positive relations between student engagement and achievement. This multiple case study investigates a national project aimed at increasing student engagement and achievement through post-COVID-19…

Child mental health is a growing concern for policymakers across the global north. Schools have become a key site for mental health interventions, with new programmes aimed at promoting 'resilience', through which children may maintain or regain mental health during adversity. As one of the first studies to explore the early impact of intensive…

Evaluating the impact of widening participation interventions can be challenging. This article discusses some of the difficulties in "attributing" change to complex widening participation interventions and suggests that the Theory of Change (ToC) approach can address some of these challenges by evidencing the "contribution"…