British Educational Research Journal最新文献

{"title":"Employability Programmes in higher education: Supporting students through tangible, transitional and transformational approaches","authors":"Michael Maher,&nbsp;Ecem Karlidag-Dennis,&nbsp;Richard Hazenberg,&nbsp;David Conway","doi":"10.1002/berj.70051","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.70051","url":null,"abstract":"<p>As the UK higher education sector becomes increasingly market-driven and focused on preparing students for the graduate labour market, universities must define and contextualise employability and their role in supporting students beyond academia. Social Cognitive Theory highlights the critical importance of self-efficacy in enhancing employability and educational attainment, and links it to graduate success. This research introduces a new employability typology, grounded in Social Cognitive Theory, structured around three key areas: ‘Tangible, Transitional, and Transformational’. This typology was developed from discussions with students, staff and employers at an English university. The ‘Tangible’ aspect focuses on student and institutional exchange to support labour market integration, delivered through courses, qualifications and other resources. The ‘Transitional’ element addresses the support students need as they move into post-graduate life and can be upwardly mobile in an organisation. Finally, the ‘Transformational’ aspect encourages institutions to view employability beyond a transactional lens, considering the students' personal growth, ability to make meaningful choices and other intangible benefits, reflecting universities' growing role as civil actors. In addition to Social Cognitive Theory, this research uses Bourdieu's concept of cultural and social capital to reflect on students' employability and transition into the labour market. This framework provides a deeper exploration of the hidden barriers impacting student success, allowing stakeholders to design effective employability interventions that strengthen students' paths to becoming successful graduates. The research highlights key employability characteristics, stakeholder perspectives and hidden barriers, contributing to the employability paradigm.</p>","PeriodicalId":51410,"journal":{"name":"British Educational Research Journal","volume":"52 2","pages":"1057-1075"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/berj.70051","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148039842","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Thinking skills and creativity in second language acquisition: Insights from an action research study","authors":"Muhlise Coşgun Ögeyik","doi":"10.1002/berj.70053","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.70053","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study explored how structured interventions in teacher education could raise student teachers' awareness of thinking skills and creativity, enabling them to implement these competencies in their own instructional practices in second/foreign language classrooms. A mixed-methods approach of statistical analysis and thematic analysis <b>was</b> used to analyse the data sets collected by means of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Thirty upper intermediate-level student teachers of English were trained on the key domains of thinking skills and creativity including fluency, originality, elaboration, flexibility, problem-solving and critical thinking in an 8-week action research framework. The study findings highlighted the effectiveness of the structured weekly interventions in enhancing the student teachers' instructional competence to foster critical thinking and creativity across all measured domains in second language instructional contexts. While originality, elaboration, critical thinking and problem-solving emerged as strong domains, some challenges in fluency and flexibility underscored the need for more targeted strategies. The results not only validated the effectiveness of the interventions but also contributed significant insights into the development of thinking skills and creativity in second language acquisition contexts. The study findings may also support a pedagogical paradigm shift in second language acquisition by offering a replicable framework for integrating higher order thinking and creative skills into teacher training programmes.</p>","PeriodicalId":51410,"journal":{"name":"British Educational Research Journal","volume":"52 2","pages":"1178-1195"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148039925","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Emotional experiences and stigma among families benefiting from Barcelona's shock plan against school segregation and for inclusion and equal opportunities and educational success","authors":"Andrea Jover,&nbsp;Martí Manzano,&nbsp;Berta Llos,&nbsp;Andreu Termes","doi":"10.1002/berj.70054","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.70054","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article examines the emotional experiences and processes of stigmatisation encountered by families benefiting from the <i>Shock Plan Against Segregation and for Inclusion, Equal Opportunities and Educational Success</i> (SP), implemented in Barcelona. Drawing on 67 in-depth interviews, the study explores the contexts in which stigma-related emotions are intensified, and how these emotions are shaped by key variables such as migrant background, school type and institutional practices. The findings reveal a complex and ambivalent emotional landscape among beneficiary families, marked by a coexistence of relief and gratitude alongside feelings of shame, guilt and distress. These experiences are especially pronounced among migrant mothers whose children are enrolled in private subsidised schools or in schools with medium-to-high socio-economic compositions. Stigmatisation is intensified in educational settings that lack inclusive practices and that reproduce exclusionary dynamics, thereby generating environments of symbolic violence. While the SP seeks to ensure a more equitable distribution of students across schools, the study finds that, in the absence of deliberate inclusion strategies, such policies may inadvertently reinforce exclusion and stigmatisation. The article calls for a shift from structural diversity (<i>social mix</i>) to meaningful interaction (<i>social mixing</i>), arguing that emotional dynamics are central for understanding the success or failure of such policies in advancing equity and inclusion within the education system.</p>","PeriodicalId":51410,"journal":{"name":"British Educational Research Journal","volume":"52 2","pages":"1159-1177"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/berj.70054","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148039801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"To protect and preserve? Explaining the gap between structural and superficial racial equality regimes in North Atlantic Rim universities","authors":"David Roberts","doi":"10.1002/berj.70045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.70045","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article examines how UK and US universities manage racial equality regimes through governance structures that prioritise institutional reputation over substantive racial justice reform. Drawing on Bourdieu's field, habitus and capital theory, the study demonstrates how universities neutralise racial justice efforts through bureaucratic inertia, funding control and managerial containment. The analysis is based on qualitative data from 138 university employees across 88 institutions, revealing that racial justice work is systematically depoliticised to align with institutional branding rather than structural transformation. The study introduces the <i>colour–power matrix</i>, a diagnostic model that maps how power and capital are distributed within universities to maintain racial hierarchies while outwardly promoting diversity. It highlights the role of HR and University Senior Management Teams (USMTs) in shaping racial equality initiatives as non-performative, ensuring they pose no real challenge to institutional structures. Policy recommendations include redistributing decision-making power to subaltern-led governance bodies, reforming HR accountability structures and creating independent racial justice oversight panels. The findings contribute to critical policy studies, decolonial education research and institutional sociology, offering insights into how universities can move beyond symbolic inclusion towards genuine structural change in racial justice work.</p>","PeriodicalId":51410,"journal":{"name":"British Educational Research Journal","volume":"52 2","pages":"952-974"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/berj.70045","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148039805","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Practicing the art of noticing in physical education","authors":"Corina van Doodewaard,&nbsp;Annelies Knoppers,&nbsp;Ramón Spaaij","doi":"10.1002/berj.70048","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.70048","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Education, including physical education (PE), is a realm where practices of inclusion matter daily. These practices aim to contribute to equality in the classroom/gym and the wellbeing and future prosperity of students. However, they can alienate some students and lead to new forms of isolation. This paper explores how exclusion can persist in practices that are meant to include. We apply a composting narrative approach to open up the messy practices in which Dutch PE teachers are entangled. The paper explores how an exploration of inclusive teaching practices can reveal underlying mechanisms of exclusion in PE, and how the art of noticing could help to imagine new practices. The first part of the paper examines current perspectives on inclusion in PE and how teachers navigate and are shaped by discursive practices that inform their practices of inclusion. The second part focuses on dilemmas teachers face in their practices of inclusion. Viewing dilemmas as ‘ruins’ opens possibilities for imagining new beginnings. Teachers are encouraged to practice the art of reflexive noticing to discover different ways of questioning, navigating and wondering in PE practices. This approach allows teachers and students to collaboratively transform PE lessons into joyful learning spaces for all.</p>","PeriodicalId":51410,"journal":{"name":"British Educational Research Journal","volume":"52 2","pages":"995-1011"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148039829","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51410,"journal":{"name":"British Educational Research Journal","volume":"52 2","pages":"837-838"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148022682","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How can welfare regime and production regime theories explain differences in schools’ ability grouping policies? A comparative study using the PISA school survey","authors":"Monica Reichenberg,&nbsp;Girma Berhanu,&nbsp;Lena Fridlund","doi":"10.1002/berj.70037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.70037","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Research evidence is mixed on the consequences of ability grouping policies, but most research has found an overrepresentation of disadvantaged social demographics in low-ability groups. However, researchers have neglected to explain why ability grouping policies vary between countries. Departing from welfare regime theory, our study aimed to explain schools’ ability grouping polices. For data, we used the principal survey from PISA 2022 sampling approximately 9000 schools in 34 countries. As the explanatory variable, we used welfare regimes, and as the outcome, we analysed schools’ ability grouping policy (a) within the school or (b) within the class. For analysis, we reported descriptive statistics, correspondence analysis and multilevel ordinal regression (adjusting for school demographics). In support of our predictions, we found large differences in ability grouping policies within school between welfare regimes (social democratic welfare regime vs. liberal regime). For ability grouping within the class, we found only meagre differences between social democratic regime compared with conservative regime. In contrast to our predictions, ability grouping within the class seems to be driven by school demographics rather than welfare regimes. As a sensitivity check, we compared welfare regimes with production regimes as in Varieties of Capitalism (VoC or production regime theory; Liberal vs. Coordinated Market Economy). The result suggests that VoC offers an alternative explanation that supplements that of welfare regimes. We conclude that our study both agrees and disagrees with the theory of welfare regime and its alternative (i.e. VoC). Finally, we discuss the wider implications of our findings for educational research.</p>","PeriodicalId":51410,"journal":{"name":"British Educational Research Journal","volume":"52 2","pages":"839-863"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/berj.70037","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148039745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Self- and peer-assessment in upper secondary schools. A quasi-experimental study to investigate the educational effectiveness of formative assessment","authors":"Davide Parmigiani,&nbsp;Elisabetta Nicchia,&nbsp;Myrna Pario,&nbsp;Emiliana Murgia,&nbsp;Slaviša Radović,&nbsp;Marcea Ingersoll","doi":"10.1002/berj.70056","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.70056","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The assessment of student learning represents a key component of daily instructional practice. Formative assessment strategies are associated with the development and reinforcement of a series of skills linked to cognitive, metacognitive, behavioural and affective areas. This study investigated the effectiveness of formative assessment strategies in supporting the development of students' emotional and motivational capacities, resilience, self-efficacy, self-reflection, metacognitive awareness and self-regulation. Specifically, it examined whether formative assessment strategies could enhance these skills and improve students' academic preparation for a summative mid-term test. This quasi-experimental study involved 581 students from 37 Italian upper secondary school classes in an investigation that tested the use of self- and peer-assessment to support students' improvements in study organisation and effective summative test preparation. Findings indicate that formative assessment activities supported student preparation for a mid-term summative test. Specifically, improvements in emotional attitudes, self-efficacy, metacognitive awareness and aspects of self-regulation related to rehearsal, elaboration and organisation of learning materials were reported. The data indicate that this skill development was attributed mainly to the implementation of a peer-assessment strategy.</p>","PeriodicalId":51410,"journal":{"name":"British Educational Research Journal","volume":"52 2","pages":"1134-1158"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/berj.70056","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148039888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"RETRACTED: Story-driven learning and holistic development: Effects on concept mastery, creativity and empathy in EFL learners","authors":"Ehsan Namaziandost,&nbsp;Haoran Xie,&nbsp;Alaa Abdullah Alsaleem","doi":"10.1002/berj.70014","DOIUrl":"10.1002/berj.70014","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Although narrative-based pedagogy is increasingly recognised in the field of language education, there remains a limited understanding of how story-driven learning (SDL) influences both cognitive and emotional development. Much of the existing literature emphasises storytelling's benefits for specific linguistic skills but falls short in examining its integrated impact on concept mastery, creative thinking and empathetic development within English as a foreign language (EFL) settings. This study aims to address this gap by investigating the effects of SDL on intermediate EFL learners' abilities in these three domains. To achieve this objective, a mixed-methods research design was employed, involving 113 female EFL learners in Iran who were divided into an experimental group (EG) (<i>N</i> = 59) and a control group (CG) (<i>N</i> = 54). The EG received instruction based on SDL principles, whereas the CG followed a conventional curriculum. Quantitative data were gathered through three validated questionnaires and analysed using non-parametric statistical methods, specifically the Mann–Whitney U test and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. In addition, open-ended survey responses from the EG participants provided qualitative insights into their experiences with SDL. The findings revealed statistically significant improvements in the EG across all measured areas: concept mastery, creativity and empathy. Qualitative analysis further indicated that SDL enhanced EFL learners' emotional engagement with the content, contributing to a more profound comprehension of the material. These results suggest that incorporating narrative-based strategies into EFL instruction can lead to a more holistic educational experience, supporting not only cognitive growth but also vital socio-emotional competencies. By doing so, this study adds to the expanding body of scholarship on narrative pedagogy and provides actionable insights for educators aiming to nurture linguistically proficient, empathetic and creatively active learners.</p>","PeriodicalId":51410,"journal":{"name":"British Educational Research Journal","volume":"52 1","pages":"403-425"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147653186","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Understanding inclusion from the inside out: How inclusive education fulfilment, perceptions and agency shape teacher competence","authors":"Mahmoud Emam,&nbsp;Laila Z. Al-Salmi,&nbsp;Adel Hemdan,&nbsp;Mohamed Eid Hamid Ammar","doi":"10.1002/berj.70008","DOIUrl":"10.1002/berj.70008","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study examined the extent to which inclusive education fulfilment (IEF) at the school level influences teachers' professional skills for inclusive practices (PSIP) in Oman, and whether this relationship is mediated by teachers' perceptions of inclusive education (PIE) and teacher agency for inclusive practices (TAIP). A total of 298 elementary and middle school teachers participated in the study. Data were collected using Arabic versions of validated instruments and analysed using structural equation modelling. The final model showed that IEF had a significant direct effect on PSIP, and that this relationship was partially mediated by PIE and TAIP. Specifically, IEF significantly predicted PIE and TAIP; both PIE and TAIP, in turn, significantly predicted PSIP. A serial mediation path from IEF through PIE and TAIP to PSIP was also significant. The total indirect effect accounted for a substantial proportion of the total effect of IEF on PSIP. Multigroup analysis revealed no significant gender-based differences across most model paths, except for the pathway from PIE to TAIP. These findings underscore the dual role of institutional efforts and teacher-level psychological constructs in shaping inclusive professional practice and offer insights for policy and practice in inclusive education within the Omani context.</p>","PeriodicalId":51410,"journal":{"name":"British Educational Research Journal","volume":"52 1","pages":"360-378"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147653286","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}