Abstract Adolescence is an important period of identity development, and fiction books offer a range of opportunities for young people to see aspects of their lives and experiences represented. This article shares insights from individual interviews with 37 young people (aged 12-14) in Scotland, summarising the different ways in which young people ‘see themselves’ reflected in the fiction books they read, for example, through similarity in dispositions, experiences, or emotions with fictional characters. It also highlights the importance of representation for those from minority groups, and the benefits young people say they gain from representation in fiction, including improved self-awareness and understanding, sense of belonging, and greater story immersion. The implications for secondary school teachers and librarians are discussed, including the importance of diverse book provision, adolescents’ input into new book purchases, and sufficient opportunities for adolescents to access and explore personally meaningful content within books.
A children’s rights-based approach to participatory research was used to explore the perceptions of children and young people in Scotland (1043 participants, aged 8–14) of science experiences beyond the teacher-led. Data was collected to understand how science experiences beyond the teacher-led can help children and young people learn and enjoy science more. This paper explores what has emerged from the data and considers who benefits from science experiences beyond the teacher-led. In particular, the data offers insight into the differences in experiences of children and young people, depending on whether they like or do not like learning science in school, and on their perceptions of their science abilities. This paper presents important considerations for policy makers and funders and for those working to encourage more children and young people to be involved in science, to improve scientific literacy and to encourage consideration of science-based careers.
Education system reforms are underway in numerous countries in response to globalisation, with professional standards being one device used to (re)professionalise teachers. This research focuses on the enactment of teacher professional standards in Scotland and argues that how teachers use professional standards in practice aligns with different models of professionalism. This research was underpinned by three theoretical frameworks: firstly, Evetts’s (2013) theoretical principles of organisational and occupational professionalism, secondly, Ball’s (1994, 1997, 2008) Theory of Enactment, and thirdly, Positioning Theory (Davies & Harré, 1990). The findings suggest that teachers enact professional standards, either as a policy of accountability or as a policy to support professional growth. The interpretations and themes elicited from this study contribute to an expanding body of work on the enactment of policy and the enactment of professional standards, supporting an understanding of the different stances of professionalism taken by teachers in local, national, and international contexts.
The Anthropocene has become a significant framework for understanding the scale and impacts of human activity on Earth (Crutzen, 2002; Steffen et al., 2007). Whether or not it is officially recognised as a geological epoch, the term denotes a planetary state in which human actions destabilise climate systems, cause biodiversity loss, and raise urgent questions of justice, responsibility, and care (Haraway, 2016). This article, adapted from a keynote delivered at the Scottish Educational Research Association ( sera ) conference in Dundee in December 2024, examines how education can respond to socio-ecological change in this context. Focusing on environmental pedagogy (or ecopedagogy), it argues that effective educational responses to the Anthropocene must move beyond the transmission of information to cultivate systemic literacy, ecological responsibility, and justice-oriented practice. These orientations are framed as conditions of learning in the Anthropocene, shaping how learners and communities engage with uncertainty, interdependence, and uneven geographies of power. Drawing on the Natural Environment Research Council ( nerc )-funded gallant (Glasgow as a Living Laboratory for Accelerating Novel Transformation) project, the article explores how place-based, participatory approaches can support learning that connects knowledge-making with action and advocacy. The paper argues that while education cannot resolve the challenges of the Anthropocene, it can equip learners and communities to navigate systemic crises and to build capacities for resilience, care, and solidarity in the face of planetary change.
This article argues that Europe is currently facing a fundamental crisis in education, closely linked to the rise of a multipolar world order. It questions whether foundational philosophical ideas that have historically shaped European education, such as ‘universalism’ and ‘democracy,’ are becoming increasingly counterproductive in engaging with the non-European Other. From a postcolonial perspective, it is argued that rich European traditions of education and Bildung risk becoming provincialized if they fail to engage on more equal terms with other global traditions and cosmologies, viewing them as one set of particularist traditions among many. The article traces the roots of Eurocentrism and its consequences, while exploring the potential for engaging with Indian, Chinese, and Africana philosophy from a postcolonial standpoint. It is argued that such engagement could play a crucial role in revitalizing Europe’s educational traditions and their philosophical foundations, making Europe better equipped for the challenges of a multipolar world.
