This seminar explores the process of formal and informal exclusion from the macro, meso and micro level to understand some of the complex interactions between policy, school and individual factors. Government statistics indicate that children and young people with special educational needs are five times more likely to be excluded from secondary schools, and account for just under half of excluded pupils. This seminar will explore the process of formal and informal exclusion from the macro, meso and micro level to understand some of the complex interactions between policy, school and individual factors. The significance of these on the lives of young people will be illustrated with reference to data drawn from the topical life histories of autistic girls. These portray the experience of having ones’ needs continually underestimated or misunderstood coupled with a lack of in-school support.

From Inclusion to Exclusion from School:  Transforming the lives of young people with special educational needs and disabilities? 

Combining legal analysis, theory, and evidence from practice, Lucinda Ferguson argues that the law is ill-equipped to support children at risk of permanent exclusion from school, particularly children with disabilities or other additional needs. The House of Commons’ Education Committee (2019) criticised the education system’s treatment of children with disabilities on the following terms:“[C]hildren and parents are not ‘in the know’ and for some the law may not even appear to exist. Parents currently need a combination of special knowledge and social capital to navigate the system, and even then are left exhausted by the experience. Those without significant social or personal capital therefore face significant disadvantage. For some, Parliament might as well not have bothered to legislate.”In this presentation, I combine legal analysis, theory, and evidence from practice to argue that the law is ill-equipped to support children at risk of permanent exclusion from school, particularly children with disabilities or other additional needs. I focus on the English experience, which is quite distinctive from that of other nations in the UK. I first outline the reality of permanent exclusion and introduce the legal framework.I then consider the extent to which children’s rights arguments might support improvements in practice for these vulnerable children. I proceed to argue that much of the difficulty lies in our current conceptions of the nature of childhood, how we regard children compared to other ‘minority’ groups, and the implications of this for the legal regulation of their lives. I consider whether an intersectional perspective might assist here, and offer some concluding thoughts on how to bring about the necessary cultural shift and make the law work for vulnerable children at risk of exclusion from school.

Combining legal analysis, theory, and evidence from practice, Lucinda Ferguson argues that the law is ill-equipped to support children at risk of permanent exclusion from school, particularly children with disabilities or other additional needs. The House of Commons’ Education Committee (2019) criticised the education system’s treatment of children with disabilities on the following terms: “[C]hildren and parents are not ‘in the know’ and for some the law may not even appear to exist. Parents currently need a combination of special knowledge and social capital to navigate the system, and even then are left exhausted by the experience. Those without significant social or personal capital therefore face significant disadvantage. For some, Parliament might as well not have bothered to legislate.” In this presentation, I combine legal analysis, theory, and evidence from practice to argue that the law is ill-equipped to support children at risk of permanent exclusion from school, particularly children with disabilities or other additional needs. I focus on the English experience, which is quite distinctive from that of other nations in the UK. I first outline the reality of permanent exclusion and introduce the legal framework. I then consider the extent to which children’s rights arguments might support improvements in practice for these vulnerable children. I proceed to argue that much of the difficulty lies in our current conceptions of the nature of childhood, how we regard children compared to other ‘minority’ groups, and the implications of this for the legal regulation of their lives. I consider whether an intersectional perspective might assist here, and offer some concluding thoughts on how to bring about the necessary cultural shift and make the law work for vulnerable children at risk of exclusion from school.

Law and Exclusion from School 

This talk discusses the latest understanding of mental health needs in adolescent populations in the UK and the potential role that mental health services in schools can play. This talk will discuss the latest understanding of mental health needs in adolescent populations in the UK and the potential role that mental health services in schools can play. An example of current research alongside clinical service development will be discussed. The opportunities and challenges of mental health services working in schools will be explored, including how to navigate some of the ethical complexities of working in this areas as well as some of the main unanswered research questions that can be addressed through schools-research. A particular focus will be on how this relates to excluded children- what we know about their mental health needs and the role of services.

Exclusion and Mental Health: Exploring the Role of Improved Provision in Schools 

This presentation will discuss the place of Alternative Provision (AP) in the process of exclusion in England, with a particular focus on issues related to social justice. This seminar is part of our public seminar series on ‘Exclusion from School and its Consequences’, led by the Department of Education and convened by Harry Daniels (Professor of Education) and Ian Thompson (Associate Professor of English Education &amp; Director of PGCE). This presentation will discuss the place of Alternative Provision (AP) in the process of exclusion in England, with a particular focus on issues related to social justice. Consideration will be given to some of the reasons why young people find themselves in AP. It will highlight the ways in which AP can serve to further marginalise young people who are already alienated by the education system. However, it will also draw on data from English AP sites to demonstrate how such sites can work to ensure that young people excluded from mainstream schools are retained in education. The choice is sometimes not between AP and the mainstream, but AP or no education. In some AP sites young people suggest that they are far happier than they were in the mainstream and, when it is provided can be engaged in meaningful learning. The presentation will consider why that it is and whether or not there are lessons to be learned from the AP sector which can help to make mainstream schools more inclusive. Throughout the presentation the voices of teachers and students in AP will be foregrounded. There will also be some discussion of international approaches to AP.

Alternative Provision and School Exclusions 

This seminar reports on the ongoing work of the multi-disciplinary and multi-site Excluded Lives Group whose work has led to the ESRC funds project The Political Economies of School Exclusion and their Consequences. There are great differences in the rates of permanent school exclusion in different parts of the UK with numbers rising rapidly in England but remaining relatively low or falling in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. For example, in the last available figures there were 7,900 permanent exclusions in England in 2017/18 compared to just three in Scotland in 2018/19. However, these figures do not account for many informal and illegal forms of exclusion. This seminar will report on the ongoing work of the multi-disciplinary (criminology, disability studies, economics, education, human geography, law, psychiatry, sociology) and multi-site (Oxford, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast, LSE) Excluded Lives group established in 2014. This work has led to the ESRC funded project The Political Economies of School Exclusion and their Consequences (PolESE). In this research, home international comparisons of historical and current policy, practice and legal frameworks relating to school exclusion will be conducted for the first time. Previous research and official statistics show that school exclusions are far more likely to affect pupils with special needs, from low income families, and particular ethnic backgrounds. Exclusions have long and short-term consequences in terms of academic achievement, well-being, mental health, and future economic and employment prospects. PolESE is designed to highlight ways in which fairer and more productive outcomes can be achieved for pupils, their families, and professionals by comparing the ways in which policy and practice around exclusions differ in the four jurisdictions.

Differences in rates of school exclusions in the four jurisdictions to the UK 

Released in May 2019, the Augar report was a result of a 6 person panel chaired by Philip Augar and was the first in England to have a remit for the whole of tertiary education. Parry argues whether its features are the nature of expert panels. The use of expert panels to advise governments is a favoured form of policy inquiry process. In higher education, especially in the UK, they have replaced committees of inquiry in the tradition of Robbins and Dearing. In further education, there were no such independent inquiries in the first place. Although sitting inside a government-led review and observing its no-go areas, the six-person panel chaired by Philip Augar (which reported in May) was the first, at least in England, to have a remit for the whole of tertiary education. In assessing the system of higher and further education in England, and making recommendations about how it might be strengthened, the panel needed to assemble and generate evidence on a wide front. The scope of the task was worthy of a larger and longer inquiry. The result was a report short on policy history and lesson-drawing but with data and analysis marshalled in support of its core contentions. Most of its recommendations were financial and regulatory. None were structural. The present architecture of tertiary education was deemed fit for purpose. Here also was an inquiry process aligned to existing government policy for a two-type system of academic and technical education. That policy was the creation of another government-convened panel (chaired by David Sainsbury). Two of its members subsequently served on the Augar team. Such features, it will be argued, are of the nature of expert panels. The work they accomplish should be judged accordingly.

Argument, Evidence and Continuity in the Augar Report 

Drawing upon three large studies in Australian higher education, this presentation sets out a case for the kinds of curriculum practices, as well as a range of pedagogic practices that can be enacted prior to, during and after students’ work placements. Increasingly, tertiary education institutions are providing workplace experiences for their students to achieve goals associated with occupational preparation and work readiness. However, without considering how best these experiences might be organised, enacted and augmented the full benefits of these learning experiences may not be fully realised. Drawing upon three large studies in Australian higher education, this presentation sets out a case for the kinds of curriculum practices (i.e. intended, enacted and experienced), as well as a range of pedagogic practices that can be enacted prior to, during and after students’ work placements, and the kinds of personal practices of students likely to support the effective integration and reconciliation of experiences in both the workplace and educational setting as directed towards developing robust occupational knowledge.

Integrating and AugmentingTertiary Education Students' Experiences in Workplace Settings 

This lecture explores the different types of artificial intelligence systems in common use in education, before relating this to the covert use of algorithms in influencing educational journeys. The introduction of artificial intelligence in schools is likely to have a profound impact on relationships between teachers and their students. This lecture explores the different types of artificial intelligence systems in common use in education, before relating this to the covert use of algorithms in influencing educational journeys. This in turn is used to highlight data privacy rights issues for children and young people, particularly in relation to the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) introduced in 2018. The lecture then analyses the uncritical adoption of artificial intelligence systems in schools, discussing how this might inform future education policies. Achieving a balance between individual pedagogic rights, data privacy rights and effective use of data is a difficult challenge, and one not easily supported by current regulation. The lecture concludes by proposing a new framework for artificial intelligence use in schools.

Artificial Intelligence and Social Relations in Schools: Who are the 'Digital winners'? 

With the rising interest in GCE, understanding the current research landscape could be useful for policy-makers, educators and scholars who seek to build upon the existing body of knowledge and develop it in new directions. The global increase of the incorporation of Global Citizenship Education (GCE) related contents in education systems in recent decades has generated a vast body of scholarship, both empirical and theoretical. An explanation for the rise in GCE internationally is often described as a response to economic, social and political changes that have made countries more interconnected through enhanced international mobility and financial interdependency. Globalization is claimed to lead to more diverse societies that require engagement with broader, more inclusive conceptions of citizenship, thus leading to the need of incorporation GCE into national curricula to various extents. As scholarship in this field had developed accordingly, there is a need for a systematic analysis of the topics and sub-fields that emerged and examined within this broad concept.We performed a systematic review of research dealing with Global Citizenship Education (GCE) between 2006-2017 using Natural Language Processing (NLP) followed by network analysis to record and interpret the development of this field of research and highlight the trajectories of the current academic scholarship within teachers’ education. The analysis showed how studies surrounding GCE being discussed in the scholarship, forming intricate, and encompassing distinct areas such as education for sustainable development and critical thinking. We also highlight some notable omissions in the contemporary research, topics that appear to be under-represented in the research on GCE. Considering the rising interest in GCE, understanding the current research landscape could be useful for policy-makers, educators and scholars who seek to build upon the existing body of knowledge and develop it in new directions.

With the rising interest in GCE, understanding the current research landscape could be useful for policy-makers, educators and scholars who seek to build upon the existing body of knowledge and develop it in new directions. The global increase of the incorporation of Global Citizenship Education (GCE) related contents in education systems in recent decades has generated a vast body of scholarship, both empirical and theoretical. An explanation for the rise in GCE internationally is often described as a response to economic, social and political changes that have made countries more interconnected through enhanced international mobility and financial interdependency. Globalization is claimed to lead to more diverse societies that require engagement with broader, more inclusive conceptions of citizenship, thus leading to the need of incorporation GCE into national curricula to various extents. As scholarship in this field had developed accordingly, there is a need for a systematic analysis of the topics and sub-fields that emerged and examined within this broad concept. We performed a systematic review of research dealing with Global Citizenship Education (GCE) between 2006-2017 using Natural Language Processing (NLP) followed by network analysis to record and interpret the development of this field of research and highlight the trajectories of the current academic scholarship within teachers’ education. The analysis showed how studies surrounding GCE being discussed in the scholarship, forming intricate, and encompassing distinct areas such as education for sustainable development and critical thinking. We also highlight some notable omissions in the contemporary research, topics that appear to be under-represented in the research on GCE. Considering the rising interest in GCE, understanding the current research landscape could be useful for policy-makers, educators and scholars who seek to build upon the existing body of knowledge and develop it in new directions.

Re and De-contextualizing global citizenship education – systematic analysis of the scholarship in the field 

Naomi Eisenstadt presents evidence that low income itself reduces the chances of good outcomes for children and causes stress in families which exacerbates the risk.  Much of the current discussion on children’s outcomes has focused on educational attainment, schools, and parental behaviours. This lecture will provide evidence that low income itself reduces the chances of good outcomes for children and that the stress caused in families by low income exacerbates the risk. While supportive and engaged parents, good early childhood education and good schools all reduce the risk of poor outcomes, money makes at least as much difference as parents and teachers.

Poverty Matters: Family income, parenting and child outcomes 

Public seminars from the Department of Education. Oxford has been making a major contribution to the field of education for over 100 years and today this Department has a world class reputation for research, for teacher education and for its Masters and doctoral programmes.Our aim is to provide an intellectually rich but supportive environment in which to study, to research and to teach and, through our work, to contribute to the improvement of all phases of public education, both in the UK and internationally.

Public seminars from the Department of Education. Oxford has been making a major contribution to the field of education for over 100 years and today this Department has a world class reputation for research, for teacher education and for its Masters and doctoral programmes. Our aim is to provide an intellectually rich but supportive environment in which to study, to research and to teach and, through our work, to contribute to the improvement of all phases of public education, both in the UK and internationally.

Department of Education Public Seminars

Professor Tony Gallagher, University of Belfast, gives a talk for the Department of Education Public Seminar Series on 24th October 2016. Mass education has traditionally been used as an integrating force, perhaps most notably in the role of the public school in the United States.In the latter part of the 20th century overt assimilation through education was increasingly critiqued and attention shifted towards the incorporation of various forms of multiculturalism in schools. In some societies separate schools operated in recognition of different identities: in some contexts separate schools were used to maintain patterns of domination­oppression, but in others it was an attempt to allow minorities to maintain their own identities.Northern Ireland has operated separate schools for over a century, and many pointed to this as a factor in social division and political violence: various interventions were applied during the years of the violence, but few showed evidence of creating positive systemic change. For the last decade a new approach, based on promoting collaborative networks of Protestant and Catholic schools, has been put in place. ‘Shared education’ seeks to create dialogic processes between communities, at all levels, by using network effects to change the nature of the relationship between schools and communities in local areas while focusing on social, educational and economic goals.This presentation outlines the background to the development of shared education in Northern Ireland and traces how it has developed. The paper also will examine briefly how the idea has been adopted in other contexts, most notably in Israel.

Professor Tony Gallagher, University of Belfast, gives a talk for the Department of Education Public Seminar Series on 24th October 2016. Mass education has traditionally been used as an integrating force, perhaps most notably in the role of the public school in the United States. In the latter part of the 20th century overt assimilation through education was increasingly critiqued and attention shifted towards the incorporation of various forms of multiculturalism in schools. In some societies separate schools operated in recognition of different identities: in some contexts separate schools were used to maintain patterns of domination­oppression, but in others it was an attempt to allow minorities to maintain their own identities. Northern Ireland has operated separate schools for over a century, and many pointed to this as a factor in social division and political violence: various interventions were applied during the years of the violence, but few showed evidence of creating positive systemic change. For the last decade a new approach, based on promoting collaborative networks of Protestant and Catholic schools, has been put in place. ‘Shared education’ seeks to create dialogic processes between communities, at all levels, by using network effects to change the nature of the relationship between schools and communities in local areas while focusing on social, educational and economic goals. This presentation outlines the background to the development of shared education in Northern Ireland and traces how it has developed. The paper also will examine briefly how the idea has been adopted in other contexts, most notably in Israel.

Education in divided societies: The role of school collaboration 

Daniel Muijs, Professor of Education at the University of Southampton, gives a talk for the Department of Education public seminar series.  While dealing with bullying when it occurs in schools is extremely important, we are increasingly finding that prevention is better than cure. Ensuring that schools create a culture in which all pupils develop empathy and social skills, especially among so-called ‘bystanders’ (those pupils who are neither the bully or the bullied but whose behaviour can strongly influence both) may therefore help to prevent future bullying behaviours.The Social and Emotional Early Development (SEED) programme was developed as an intervention to improve the social and emotional skills of primary school age children and build their resilience and empathy, resulting in more positive social interactions. The programme is based on principles of social and emotional learning, teaching thinking skills and gamification, and consists of ten discreet activities which encourage reflection through collaborative group work, prompted by a scenario depicted through a cartoon.In this presentation we will present the programme which was initially run in three local authorities in England, and look at its impact on pupils’ behaviours and personal and social development. To do this we used a quasi-experimental design in which schools were randomly assigned to receive the intervention at different times.

Daniel Muijs, Professor of Education at the University of Southampton, gives a talk for the Department of Education public seminar series. While dealing with bullying when it occurs in schools is extremely important, we are increasingly finding that prevention is better than cure. Ensuring that schools create a culture in which all pupils develop empathy and social skills, especially among so-called ‘bystanders’ (those pupils who are neither the bully or the bullied but whose behaviour can strongly influence both) may therefore help to prevent future bullying behaviours. The Social and Emotional Early Development (SEED) programme was developed as an intervention to improve the social and emotional skills of primary school age children and build their resilience and empathy, resulting in more positive social interactions. The programme is based on principles of social and emotional learning, teaching thinking skills and gamification, and consists of ten discreet activities which encourage reflection through collaborative group work, prompted by a scenario depicted through a cartoon. In this presentation we will present the programme which was initially run in three local authorities in England, and look at its impact on pupils’ behaviours and personal and social development. To do this we used a quasi-experimental design in which schools were randomly assigned to receive the intervention at different times.

Social and emotional early development: A programme to develop children’s social skills and help prevent bullying 

Professor Leonidas Kyriakides, Department of Education, University of Cyprus, gives a talk for the Department of Education public seminar series. This lecture refers to the dynamic approach to school improvement (DASI) which attempts to contribute to the merging of educational effectiveness research and school improvement. The main underlying assumptions and the implementation phases of DASI are presented. The recommended approach gives emphasis to school policies and actions taken to improve teaching and the school learning environment. Moreover, the importance of establishing school evaluation mechanisms and collecting data to identify improvement priorities is stressed. Furthermore, DASI emphasizes the use of the available knowledge base in relation to the main aims of the efforts made by schools to deal with the different challenges/problems being faced. Therefore, an advisory and research team is expected to support school stakeholders develop, implement, and evaluate their own school improvement strategies and action plans. Five group- randomization studies investigating the impact of DASI on promoting quality in education are also presented. These studies reveal the conditions in which DASI can promote student learning outcomes. Finally, suggestions for research, policy and practice are provided.

Promoting quality in education: A dynamic approach to school improvement 

Dr Heath Rose, Department of Education, Oxford, gives a talk for the Department of Education public seminar series. The spread of English from the language of an island nation to today’s global lingua franca has clear ramifications for society, and for English language education. This presentation aims to provide an overview of research emerging from the field of Global Englishes, which is a growing research paradigm that aims to embrace issues surrounding the diversification and use of the English language. Global Englishes incorporates World Englishes and English as a lingua franca research—both of which have implications for society and pedagogy. World Englishes research (e.g. Kachru et al. 2009), the study of variation in English in geographical regions around the world, has been instrumental in widening our understanding of variation and change in language and challenging the notion of ‘standard’ English. English as a lingua franca research (e.g. Seidlhofer 2011), which examines how English is used within and across linguistic communities, has been instrumental in showcasing current uses of English as a contact language in a range of fluid contexts. This presentation aims to first explore the impact on society of the spread of English as a global language. It will then outline the implications of this spread on societal attitudes towards variation in the English language. Finally, it will summarize recent proposals (e.g. Galloway &amp; Rose 2015) to make the English classroom more relevant to learners who are likely to use English in global contexts.

The sociolinguistic and pedagogic implications of the spread of English as global language 

This 2019 Oxford University Centre for Educational Assessment lecture is delivered by Professor Nancy Perry.  She is the Dorothy Lam Chair in Special Education and Professor of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada. The talk is followed by a discussion led by OUCEA Director Associate Professor Therese N. Hopfenbeck. Self-regulated Learning (SRL) describes proactive and productive approaches to learning that enable learners to respond flexibly and adaptively to meet personal and social learning goals. Efforts to support students' SRL pair well with 21st Century learning goals and 'assessment for learning' (AfL) goals. In this talk, Prof Perry describes research that both advances knowledge and improves practice concerning SRL. Specifically, she discusses collaborations with primary school teachers to design and implement curriculum-linked, formative assessments that prompt and assess children's use of SRL processes.

Using Formative Assessment to Catalyse Self-Regulated Learning 

Seminar 8 of 8 on teacher education reforms. Alis unpacks the notion of 'capacity' through a historiography of initiatives and a review of attempts at conceptual development. Much has been written about the alleged lack of integration between research and practice in teacher education and also about the perceived fragmentation of teacher education research. The answer to the conundrum is often 'building research capacity': the UK has a decades-long history of publicly-funded initiatives to build capacity to engage with and in research in initial and continuing teacher education and in teaching practice. But questions lurk behind the soundbite: what capacity, whose, and built how, by, and for whom? In this talk, Alis will aim to unpack the notion of 'capacity' through a historiography of initiatives and a review of attempts at conceptual development. She will then use insights from two recent national initiatives, in Wales (see Oancea, Childs, Fancourt, Robson and Thompson, 2018) and in Norway, to sketch out a framework and agenda for a more holistic, equitable, research-informed and practice-oriented notion of capacity building for research in teacher education.Alis Oancea is Professor of Philosophy of Education and Research Policy and Director of Research at the Department of Education. She specialises in studies of research policy and governance and in philosophy of research – including work on research assessment, impact and knowledge exchange, research funding, research quality, evaluation, open knowledge practices, research ethics, capacity, publication practices, and the cultural value of research in the arts and the humanities. This strand of work is complemented with a strong interest in teacher education research, innovation in teacher education policy and practice, knowledge and values in the teaching profession, and the role of research in teacher education. She has two PhDs, one in policy and governance for research (from the University of Oxford), and one in epistemology and research.

Seminar 8 of 8 on teacher education reforms. Alis unpacks the notion of 'capacity' through a historiography of initiatives and a review of attempts at conceptual development. Much has been written about the alleged lack of integration between research and practice in teacher education and also about the perceived fragmentation of teacher education research. The answer to the conundrum is often 'building research capacity': the UK has a decades-long history of publicly-funded initiatives to build capacity to engage with and in research in initial and continuing teacher education and in teaching practice. But questions lurk behind the soundbite: what capacity, whose, and built how, by, and for whom? In this talk, Alis will aim to unpack the notion of 'capacity' through a historiography of initiatives and a review of attempts at conceptual development. She will then use insights from two recent national initiatives, in Wales (see Oancea, Childs, Fancourt, Robson and Thompson, 2018) and in Norway, to sketch out a framework and agenda for a more holistic, equitable, research-informed and practice-oriented notion of capacity building for research in teacher education. Alis Oancea is Professor of Philosophy of Education and Research Policy and Director of Research at the Department of Education. She specialises in studies of research policy and governance and in philosophy of research – including work on research assessment, impact and knowledge exchange, research funding, research quality, evaluation, open knowledge practices, research ethics, capacity, publication practices, and the cultural value of research in the arts and the humanities. This strand of work is complemented with a strong interest in teacher education research, innovation in teacher education policy and practice, knowledge and values in the teaching profession, and the role of research in teacher education. She has two PhDs, one in policy and governance for research (from the University of Oxford), and one in epistemology and research.

Building Research Capacity in Teacher Education 

Professor Judit Kormos, Lancaster University, gives a talk for the Department of Education seminar series. Fluency is an important construct in the assessment of language proficiency and forms part of a large number of rating scales in various high stakes exams and in descriptors of levels of second language (L2) competence.From a pedagogical perspective, developing students’ fluency in another language is one of the most important aims of language teaching. Previous investigations have analyzed L2 fluency primarily with learners of English as a second language. While such research has contributed significantly to our understanding of fluency in L2 English, little is known about how fluency is perceived and evaluated in L2 French despite the fact that previous cross-linguistic research has uncovered important differences between fluency phenomena in French and English. In the first part of this talk I will present a series of studies in which we investigated perceptions of what constitutes fluent L2 French speech (Préfontaine, Kormos &amp; Johnson, 2015; Kormos &amp; Préfontaine, in press). Our results suggest that there are important differences in the factors that influence ratings and subjective perceptions of fluency in L2 French in comparison with L2 English. In the second part of the talk I present research evidence for how teachers can assist L2 learners in developing their fluency by means of massed task- repetition.

Professor Judit Kormos, Lancaster University, gives a talk for the Department of Education seminar series. Fluency is an important construct in the assessment of language proficiency and forms part of a large number of rating scales in various high stakes exams and in descriptors of levels of second language (L2) competence. From a pedagogical perspective, developing students’ fluency in another language is one of the most important aims of language teaching. Previous investigations have analyzed L2 fluency primarily with learners of English as a second language. While such research has contributed significantly to our understanding of fluency in L2 English, little is known about how fluency is perceived and evaluated in L2 French despite the fact that previous cross-linguistic research has uncovered important differences between fluency phenomena in French and English. In the first part of this talk I will present a series of studies in which we investigated perceptions of what constitutes fluent L2 French speech (Préfontaine, Kormos &amp; Johnson, 2015; Kormos &amp; Préfontaine, in press). Our results suggest that there are important differences in the factors that influence ratings and subjective perceptions of fluency in L2 French in comparison with L2 English. In the second part of the talk I present research evidence for how teachers can assist L2 learners in developing their fluency by means of massed task- repetition.

Measuring and developing second language fluency 

Dr Sonali Nag, Oxford Departmant of Education, gives a talk for the public seminar series hosted by the department's Families, Effecrive Learning and Literacy Research Group

Literacy and foundation learning in multilingual India 

Dr Ann Childs, Dr Nigel Fancourt, Dr Roger Firth, Professor Ian Menter and Dr Ian Thompson, Department of Education, Oxford, give a talk for the Department of Education Public Seminar series. Abstract:During 2012, the National College for Teaching and Leadership, working in collaboration with a number of partners, designed a major research and development initiative entitled Closing the Gap - Test and Learn. The contract to run the project was awarded to CfBT who worked in partnership with CUREE and the Universities of Durham and Oxford to deliver the scheme from 2012-2015.They invited lead teaching schools in teaching school alliances to apply to take part in a national trial of seven particular intervention programmes, each of which had been identified as having significant potential in 'closing the attainment gap'. That is, they were programmes designed to improve the attainment of children who were low achievers. A total of more than 700 Schools joined the programme in its first year and bid to work with one or more of the interventions. Half of the schools went into the trial group and commenced the programme during 2014. The other half of the schools went into a control group and waited until the next academic year to undertake the programme. In all schools, a sample of pupils was identified for participation in the scheme and were given pre- and post-tests before and at the end of the Year 1 trial period. The scheme was thus designated as a form of Randomised Control Trial.In this seminar the Oxford team offer an analysis of the project as a whole, drawing not only on data gathered during its implementation but also on additional data derived from interviews with a number of participants.In particular we look at:• the 'policy origins' of the entire scheme, the ways in which it emerged out of: the development of teaching schools, the 'closing the gap' objective of the Coalition government; the desire to increase research capacity within the teaching workforce; as well as other elements;• the extent to which the overall methodology can indeed be described as a Randomised Control Trial. Although this was a very large scale initiative, the actual interventions were each carried out with relatively small numbers of pupils in a very diverse range of contexts;• the extent to which evidence emerged from the project to suggest that teachers in schools were becoming increasingly research-literate and that the 'school-led system' was developing research capacity through engagement in a scheme such as this;• the research ethics issues raised by such a large scale randomised controlled trial, and in particular the decisions around which interventions to include and continue, which leads on to an argument for a principle of educational equipoise.

Dr Ann Childs, Dr Nigel Fancourt, Dr Roger Firth, Professor Ian Menter and Dr Ian Thompson, Department of Education, Oxford, give a talk for the Department of Education Public Seminar series. Abstract: During 2012, the National College for Teaching and Leadership, working in collaboration with a number of partners, designed a major research and development initiative entitled Closing the Gap - Test and Learn. The contract to run the project was awarded to CfBT who worked in partnership with CUREE and the Universities of Durham and Oxford to deliver the scheme from 2012-2015. They invited lead teaching schools in teaching school alliances to apply to take part in a national trial of seven particular intervention programmes, each of which had been identified as having significant potential in 'closing the attainment gap'. That is, they were programmes designed to improve the attainment of children who were low achievers. A total of more than 700 Schools joined the programme in its first year and bid to work with one or more of the interventions. Half of the schools went into the trial group and commenced the programme during 2014. The other half of the schools went into a control group and waited until the next academic year to undertake the programme. In all schools, a sample of pupils was identified for participation in the scheme and were given pre- and post-tests before and at the end of the Year 1 trial period. The scheme was thus designated as a form of Randomised Control Trial. In this seminar the Oxford team offer an analysis of the project as a whole, drawing not only on data gathered during its implementation but also on additional data derived from interviews with a number of participants. In particular we look at: • the 'policy origins' of the entire scheme, the ways in which it emerged out of: the development of teaching schools, the 'closing the gap' objective of the Coalition government; the desire to increase research capacity within the teaching workforce; as well as other elements; • the extent to which the overall methodology can indeed be described as a Randomised Control Trial. Although this was a very large scale initiative, the actual interventions were each carried out with relatively small numbers of pupils in a very diverse range of contexts; • the extent to which evidence emerged from the project to suggest that teachers in schools were becoming increasingly research-literate and that the 'school-led system' was developing research capacity through engagement in a scheme such as this; • the research ethics issues raised by such a large scale randomised controlled trial, and in particular the decisions around which interventions to include and continue, which leads on to an argument for a principle of educational equipoise.

Closing the Gap: Issues, challenges and impact of the implementation of a national experiment in educational research 

Benjamin Disraeli

Sue Maguire is Honorary Professor at the Institute for Policy Research, University of Bath, gives a talk for the public seminar series hosted by SKOPE, Department of Education.

If 'The Youth of the Country are the Trustees of Posterity' (Benjamin Disraeli, 1845), do we need to do more to support young people who are NEET in the UK? 

Dr Therese N Hopfenbeck, Department of Education, Oxford, gives a talk for the Department of Education Public Seminar Series on 17th October 2016. Co-written with Dr Jenny Lenkeit More information is available here;http://oucea.education.ox.ac.uk/research/recent-research-projects/pirls-for-teachers/There is a knowledge gap between information provided by international large-scale assessments (ILSA) such as PIRLS, PISA, and TIMSS, the publically available research results and what is of interest and use to teachers in England.Considering the public costs needed to participate in international studies, the link between this form of assessment and its impact on classroom pedagogy is alarmingly low and questions about the use of this data and related research grow more urgent. But, the understanding of how to engage the users of research is still developing and the use and impact of research on practice is as yet minimal. One reason for this is seen in excluding practitioners from research activities that concern their professional field.The PIRLS for Teachers project (ESRC IAA funded) first engaged with teachers to increase their knowledge about PIRLS and their capacity to use data and information provided by the survey. Second, it aimed to increase researchers’ understanding of the challenges teachers face in dealing with PIRLS findings and identifying their specific needs and interests. Third, teachers and researchers acted as co-producers of relevant new knowledge by jointly interpreting the PIRLS findings, addressing new research questions and finding ways in which results can be used to improve teaching practice.We will outline the rationale of our project, discuss the challenges for us as researchers and for the teachers, present the materials developed in collaboration with teachers and discuss the impact and dissemination strategy.We expect the outcomes of the project to enhance not only teachers’ professional learning about PIRLS and its use for improving classroom practice but also that of researchers about practitioners’ needs for understanding and using findings provided in ILSA. We also expect teachers to wrestle with the possible contradicting evidence from their own classrooms and from PIRLS. Overall, outcomes of this research will contribute to strengthening the link between ILSA, teachers’ understanding of its findings and the improvement of classroom practices, partly through possible new research collaborations.

Dr Therese N Hopfenbeck, Department of Education, Oxford, gives a talk for the Department of Education Public Seminar Series on 17th October 2016. Co-written with Dr Jenny Lenkeit More information is available here; <a href="http://oucea.education.ox.ac.uk/research/recent-research-projects/pirls-for-teachers/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://oucea.education.ox.ac.uk/research/recent-research-projects/pirls-for-teachers/</a> There is a knowledge gap between information provided by international large-scale assessments (ILSA) such as PIRLS, PISA, and TIMSS, the publically available research results and what is of interest and use to teachers in England. Considering the public costs needed to participate in international studies, the link between this form of assessment and its impact on classroom pedagogy is alarmingly low and questions about the use of this data and related research grow more urgent. But, the understanding of how to engage the users of research is still developing and the use and impact of research on practice is as yet minimal. One reason for this is seen in excluding practitioners from research activities that concern their professional field. The PIRLS for Teachers project (ESRC IAA funded) first engaged with teachers to increase their knowledge about PIRLS and their capacity to use data and information provided by the survey. Second, it aimed to increase researchers’ understanding of the challenges teachers face in dealing with PIRLS findings and identifying their specific needs and interests. Third, teachers and researchers acted as co-producers of relevant new knowledge by jointly interpreting the PIRLS findings, addressing new research questions and finding ways in which results can be used to improve teaching practice. We will outline the rationale of our project, discuss the challenges for us as researchers and for the teachers, present the materials developed in collaboration with teachers and discuss the impact and dissemination strategy. We expect the outcomes of the project to enhance not only teachers’ professional learning about PIRLS and its use for improving classroom practice but also that of researchers about practitioners’ needs for understanding and using findings provided in ILSA. We also expect teachers to wrestle with the possible contradicting evidence from their own classrooms and from PIRLS. Overall, outcomes of this research will contribute to strengthening the link between ILSA, teachers’ understanding of its findings and the improvement of classroom practices, partly through possible new research collaborations.

Making use of international large- scale assessment data in national contexts: PIRLS for Teachers 

This seminar examines the alignments and tensions between teacher education research, policy and practice. This is the sixth seminar in a series of eight public seminars on 'Future directions in teacher education research, practice and policy'. The seminar series is organised by the Department of Education.Diane will analyse the ways in which teacher education has been conceptualised at various points in time during the past 50 years highlighting the related knowledge bases for teaching and the policies driving accountability regimes during that time. Then she will go on to focus on the current policy moment which is positioning teacher education as a policy problem requiring a national solution and large-scale reform agendas. Diane will also consider future opportunities for teacher education researchers in terms of research in, on and for teacher education.

This seminar examines the alignments and tensions between teacher education research, policy and practice. This is the sixth seminar in a series of eight public seminars on 'Future directions in teacher education research, practice and policy'. The seminar series is organised by the Department of Education. Diane will analyse the ways in which teacher education has been conceptualised at various points in time during the past 50 years highlighting the related knowledge bases for teaching and the policies driving accountability regimes during that time. Then she will go on to focus on the current policy moment which is positioning teacher education as a policy problem requiring a national solution and large-scale reform agendas. Diane will also consider future opportunities for teacher education researchers in terms of research in, on and for teacher education.

The Connections and Disconnections in Teacher Education Policy, Research and Practice Future Research Directions 

This public seminar series considers teacher education reforms around the world in order to tease out future directions and possibilities for the relationships between teacher education policy, research and practice. The series marks 100 years since the passing of a statute creating what was known in 1919 as the University Department for the Training of Teachers. Join us this term as we mark the Oxford University Department of Education’s 100th anniversary through this series of public events that pay particular tribute to our contributions in the field of teacher education today.Teacher competencies have been discussed relatively extensively in the literature, often linked in educational policy discourses, teacher standards, or even intended outcomes of teacher education. But what do teacher competencies actually mean, how they are related to the core of teacher’s work, teacher knowledge and action, and teacher learning in teacher education. This presentation will elaborate teacher competencies by focusing on teaching as a thinking practice (cf. Lampert, 1998), and teacher knowledge, behavior, and agency. Through this, the aim is to understand the complexity of teacher competencies both theoretically and empirically. By leaning on the empirical evidence, the presentation will try to answer to the question: what kinds of characteristics of teacher education cultivate student teacher learning in becoming competent and agentic teachers? And why should we be interested in them?

This public seminar series considers teacher education reforms around the world in order to tease out future directions and possibilities for the relationships between teacher education policy, research and practice. The series marks 100 years since the passing of a statute creating what was known in 1919 as the University Department for the Training of Teachers. Join us this term as we mark the Oxford University Department of Education’s 100th anniversary through this series of public events that pay particular tribute to our contributions in the field of teacher education today. Teacher competencies have been discussed relatively extensively in the literature, often linked in educational policy discourses, teacher standards, or even intended outcomes of teacher education. But what do teacher competencies actually mean, how they are related to the core of teacher’s work, teacher knowledge and action, and teacher learning in teacher education. This presentation will elaborate teacher competencies by focusing on teaching as a thinking practice (cf. Lampert, 1998), and teacher knowledge, behavior, and agency. Through this, the aim is to understand the complexity of teacher competencies both theoretically and empirically. By leaning on the empirical evidence, the presentation will try to answer to the question: what kinds of characteristics of teacher education cultivate student teacher learning in becoming competent and agentic teachers? And why should we be interested in them?

What are Teachers' Professional Competencies? 

Professor Stephen G Parker, University of Worcester, gives a talk for the public seminar series hosted by Department of Education's Philosophy, Religion and Education Forum.

Mediatising religious education: BBC radio and television for children and schools, c.1920s-1970s 

Seminar five of eight in series "Future directions in teacher education research, practice and policy". The significance of teacher education has increased globally over recent decades.  From international reports through to political manifestoes in many countries, teacher education is seen as crucial in the development of successful education systems.  Within a globalized world, therefore, teacher education has become a key plank of economic and social development. The character and worth of teacher education nevertheless are contested in some contexts resulting in significant variations in how global influences have interacted with specific trajectories in different nation states. Comparative research on teacher education reveals important paradoxes. While the importance of preparing highly qualified teachers is widely recognized, lack of common definitions and prevailing assumptions about what it means to learn to teach affect in significant ways the structure, the curriculum and the pedagogy of teacher education globally. Views on the knowledge, skills and dispositions that teachers need to be effective and how to acquire them are highly variable and result in significant differences in their ability to teach an increasingly complex curriculum to diverse learners. As many nations attempt to increase the supply of qualified teachers as a prerequisite to accomplish UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goals, engagement in comparative education research may help to re-imagine the teacher education project and to reconstruct a fragmented professional field.

Comparative teacher education research: Global perspectives in teacher education past, present and future 

Professor Professor Courtenay Norbury, University College London, gives a talk for the public seminar series hosted by the Department of Education's Applied Linguistics Research Group.

Stability and change in developmental language disorders 

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