An analysis was conducted of contemporary notions of inclusion and their provenance in developing thought about difference in education, with a particular focus on the role of community in promoting and enabling inclusion. Being informed by (i) an international group of advisers, and (ii) a national group of informants and commentators, a review was conducted of the theoretical and practical analysis of the issue. Conclusions were drawn about consequences deriving from intersectional thought about inclusion, which suggest that more attention should be paid, especially in a world of increasing diversity and 'superdiversity', to the kinds of groupings encouraged and facilitated by schools. A framing device is advanced for explicating kinds of community in schools, which draws on a range of theorists and particularly on the distinction between bonding and bridging made by Robert Putnam. An analysis of bridging proffers a range of means for brokering and cultivating groupings in schools and between schools and the communities in their localities.

Radical political activism in the 1970s and 1980s had a huge impact on documentary photography in Britain. Community organisations and photography collectives emerged and endeavoured to democratise the arts for those who would not otherwise have come into contact with them. Community photography used the technology to break down the barriers between artist and audience. It involved participation in the production of ideas and meanings, the active transference of skills and the acquisition of technical and aesthetic skills within communities in the hope that arts techniques/activity would become an integral part of everyday lives. For many of the projects the central objective was about learning – enabling an understanding of how events, ideas, and social relations are made meaningful through the promotion of visual literacy. This paper will document the emergence of the community photography movement in 1970s and ’80s Britain, the learning strategies developed and the arguments around the fragmenting of alternative photographic practice in the 1980s with the movement away from putting cameras into people’s hands towards greater engagement with cultural theory and the politics of representation.

In this article the authors use two EERA networks as a case for a discussion on the development of research networks within the European Educational Research Association (EERA). They contend that EERA networks through their way of working create a European research space. As their case shows, the development of networks is diverse. The emergence of networks and the current group of thirty-one networks do not display a coherent and unified system. Thus they argue that EERA networks have to be studied as an open complex system in order to comprehend the multiplicity and creative and innovative space that these networks represent. They create a space for knowledge production in a European context, enabling educational researchers to see and experience their research in a more diverse setting.

Over the past two decades there has been a growing interest in the exploration of “transnational history”. This work has focused in general on understanding the “movement, ebb and circulation” of i...

Evaluating the connections between the appraisal, or performance management, of different professional groups, and their subsequent uptake of continuing professional development (CPD), is valuable for both employees and managers. The linking of appraisal systems with professional/personal development plans amongst health professionals is now fairly commonplace, although less so amongst dental practitioners. Within teaching, shifts away from appraisal towards performance management have changed the ways in which teachers now regard their professional development. This paper focuses on the introduction of a pilot appraisal scheme for general dental practitioners (GDPs) (n = 20) in a West Midlands Primary Care Trust, comparing findings with existing practices of professional review amongst teachers (n = 28) in the same region. It is apparent that for many professional groups the outcomes of appraisal/performance management meetings now have significant implications, not least through their connection to CPD and subsequent career progression. GDPs experience CPD as a formal component of their ongoing professional regulation and revalidation, whilst teachers (as yet) do not. The voluntary nature of participation in the GDP appraisals reported here encouraged appraisers and appraisees to form cooperative pairings. However, there was cautiousness amongst both GDPs and teachers about the gathering and use of appraisal information, particularly when it was assumed that this would be for managerial purposes. By pursuing a comparative analysis of these professional groups, the connections between appraisal and CPD become clearer - particularly when situated within a theoretical framework that helps to identify the controlling influence of CPD content and mode.

This article examines the changing material world of the visually impaired child and the ways in which this has been viewed and understood by scholars, philosophers, educators and other commentators over time. It describes and analyses tactile encounters as they have been planned for by educators, museum curators and others, from the Age of the Enlightenment until the present day. It takes as its starting point a recent blog that appeared online in 2011, which posted images from handling sessions for the visually impaired child, organized by John Alfred Charlton Deas from Sunderland Museum, England, between 1913-1926. It traces the provenance and development of ideas around 'seeing through touch', from the embossed books and maps and the printing machines for systems such as Braille in the nineteenth century to the theoretical and pedagogical developments which began to occur at the start of the twentieth century.

This study focuses on the leadership engagement of children, young people (CYP) and their families in six school-based extended services (ES) clusters in a single, large, urban local authority in England. Empirical research was carried out in two strands of activity that focused on outcomes and experiences for CYP and leaders and leadership. Document analysis of annual reports and action plans, observations of activities for CYP, a survey of CYP views, interviews and/or focus groups with parents and interviews with local authority leaders, cluster coordinators, school leaders and agency representatives was undertaken. Analysis of the data was carried out using the components of activity theory. Findings show four distinct roles for ES clusters as: (1) coordinator of resources; (2) conduit for communication; (3) hub for socially inclusive activity; and (4) mechanism of school/ES leadership accountability. The extent of CYP and parental engagement was dependent on the commitment of professionals to socially inclusive leadership and the meso- and macro-level organizational context where ES clusters could or could not access already existing partnerships. This research has implications for the implementation of the Coalition government's Big Society' approach to service provision.

Previous research set out to identify and examine practice and provision for young people exhibiting behaviour problems who may have been placed in colleges of further education for a variety of reasons. In this paper, Natasha Macnab, John Visser and Harry Daniels explore some of the implications faced by college staff and examine some of the key themes that emerged from this previous study. The first of these themes concerns 'college culture', which is seen as being ' adult orientated' and therefore more likely to appeal to young people who are tired of school. Indeed, college staff suspect at times that schools are using the transition to college as an alternative to exclusion for some young people. This form of 'managed transfer' raises real issues in colleges, especially when some members of college staff do not yet appreciate the 'appeal of teaching young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD)', regarding them as 'disaffected' and 'switched off' from education. The authors of this article note the need for 'skilled and committed adults' to build relationships with these young people in order to promote their social inclusion. They argue that this work will require professional development for staff but will have real benefits for the young people concerned.

This paper explores challenges arising from research (Daniels & Macnab, 2004), which sought to identify young people aged 14–16 years who were emotionally vulnerable and not in receipt of educational provision within two local UK authorities. Two particular challenges are identified in this research. The first was the challenge of defining the term used to identify the young people. Second, the research faced an almost insurmountable challenge in finding and obtaining data on a sample for which the outcomes of the research may pose a threat to those holding the data. Discussion focuses upon possible ways in which research can address these issues.

In this study we report some of the outcomes of a study of professional learning that took place in cross school partnerships as they worked towards promoting creativity in schools. The methodology developed by Engestrom and his colleagues at The Centre for Developmental Work Research in Helsinki was adopted. This form of intervention involves the preparation and facilitation of workshops in which the underlying structural contradictions that are in play in emergent activities are highlighted and articulated in such a way that participants may engage with what may otherwise remain hidden and unexamined tensions. This approach is based on the writings of the early 20thcentury Russian school of social scientists-Vygotsky, Luria and Leontiev. A principal claim is that the development of creativity requires tools and contexts for such innovatory forms of practice. This study suggests that this claim is a partial representation of the development of creative activity.

This chapter contains sections titled: Abstract Introduction Social Exclusion and Inclusion in Education Understandings and Definitions of Inclusion and Exclusion Disciplinary Exclusion Young People not Attending School Social Exclusion within Schools Social Exclusion and Particular Groups of Learners Conclusions References

Calls for the quality of educational research to be monitored more carefully are examined in the context of the most widely used and trusted form of quality screening, namely, that afforded by peer review. The serious limitations of peer review for this purpose, especially in education, are outlined before discussing the place of peer review publication in the construction of a vigorously critical community of researchers and scholars. It is concluded that quality is both constructed and checked by this community and that there are indications that the scholarly community in education may be less instinctively critical than that in other academic domains. Recommendations for the improvement of quality in educational research centre on placing less emphasis on criteria for the assessment of individual pieces of research and more on the forms of discourse operating in the peer review publication community.

In this study we report some of the outcomes of a study of professional learning that took place in cross school partnerships as they worked towards promoting creativity in schools. The methodology developed by Engestrom and his colleagues at The Centre for Developmental Work Research in Helsinki was adopted. This form of intervention involves the preparation and facilitation of workshops in which the underlying structural contradictions that are in play in emergent activities are highlighted and articulated in such a way that participants may engage with what may otherwise remain hidden and unexamined tensions. This approach is based on the writings of the early 20th-century Russian school of social scientists-Vygotsky, Luria and Leontiev. A principal claim is that the development of creativity requires tools and contexts for such innovatory forms of practice. This study suggests that this claim is a partial representation of the development of creative activity.

What might family support services look like in the reconfigured children and family services after the Children Act? This is the question this article attempts to explore by drawing on evidence from the National Evaluation of the Children's Fund in England. The article describes common features in two case-study sites that might indicate the direction in which some school-based family support work is going. In particular, the article explores the concepts of “supportive signposting” and “professional friends”. By examining the characteristics of real family support services, the article attempts to gain insight into the way “need”, “prevention” and “support” are defined in the constrained context of practice. By looking at the way local initiatives attempt to give meaning to these concepts in practice may also provide insights into the emergent integrated approach to children's services.

This article explores the issue of missing from and missing out on education. It argues that too little is known with regard to the characteristics of children and young people missing from schooling. It postulates that many of these pupils will have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties which are largely unrecognized and thus not provided for. The number of missing children and young people is estimated at 100,000 and evidence is provided to support this. Literature is drawn upon which illustrates ways in which it is possible to go missing despite recent attempts by agencies to tighten recording systems. The cost to society from having pupils missing from education is briefly explored. The article concludes that the notion of a 'knot worker' is one that should be pursued if the number of missing pupils is to be effectively reduced.

This article explores the issue of missing from and missing out on education. It argues that too little is known with regard to the characteristics of children and young people missing from schooling. It postulates that many of these pupils will have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties which are largely unrecognized and thus not provided for. The number of missing children and young people is estimated at 100,000 and evidence is provided to support this. Literature is drawn upon which illustrates ways in which it is possible to go missing despite recent attempts by agencies to tighten recording systems. The cost to society from having pupils missing from education is briefly explored. The article concludes that the notion of a 'knot worker' is one that should be pursued if the number of missing pupils is to be effectively reduced.