The nature of literacy is an issue of global debate. When the National Literacy Strategy NLS] was introduced into UK schools it was arguably the most ambitious educational reform programme in the world, and the controversy necessarily intensified. How can the impact of such reforms be assessed?

In its ten year history the NLS affected every primary and secondary teacher in the country and, therefore, every child. The initiative provoked a widespread recognition of the importance of literacy for all children and attracted the attention of many other governments. This book is the...

Debate on the effects of class on educational attainment is well documented and typically centres on the reproductive nature of class whilst studies of the effect of class on educational aspirations also predict outcomes that see education reinforcing and reproducing a student's class background.

Despite a number of government initiatives to help raise higher education participation to 50% by 2010, for the working class numbers have altered little. Using data from an ethnographic case study of a low-achieving girls school the author explores aspirations and argues that whilst class...

In many Western societies there is concern that children from less advantaged social backgrounds have limited aspirations, and are disproportionately unlikely to go to university. Children's Lives, Children's Futures explores how children in their first year of secondary school feel about school, its place in their lives and its role in their futures. The authors use child voice to look at the ways in which children are active constructors of their lives, and the implications this has for the alignment between education and ambition.

The authors explore the nature of...

Expert Teachers is a compelling book which explores issues surrounding the concept of the expert teacher from a truly international perspective. Expert teaching, a global phenomenon which exerts significant influence on education policy and practice, has developed rapidly since the 1980s and significantly impacted many teachers careers. As a result, this book poses pertinent and important questions scrutinising the topic as well as considering possibilities for future models. The book reviews and expands upon issues such as:

• What does it mean to be an expert...

Expert Teachers is a compelling book that explores issues surrounding the concept of the expert teacher from a truly international perspective. Expert teaching, a global phenomenon that exerts significant influence on education policy and practice, has developed rapidly since the 1980s and significantly impacted many teachers careers. As a result, this book poses pertinent and important questions scrutinising the topic as well as considering possibilities for future models. The book reviews and expands upon issues such as:

• What does it mean to be an expert...