Beyond Educational Disadvantage

Governments, local authorities, school leaders, and teachers all over the world want to improve the educational attainment and participation of all students, and to minimise any systematic differences in outcomes for social and economic groups. A particular concern is for those students from backgrounds that may objectively disadvantage them at school and beyond. However, considerable effort and money is currently being wasted on policies, practices and interventions that have very little hope of success, and that may indeed endanger the progress that is being made otherwise. The poor quality of much education research evidence, coupled with an unwillingness among users of evidence to discriminate appropriately between what we know and do not know, means that opportunities are being missed. At a time of reduced public spending it is important that proposed interventions are both effective and efficient. Overcoming Disadvantage in Education is unique in the way that it: Shows where the solutions to underachievement and poverty lie combines primary(new), secondary (official) and published (review) evidence distinguishes between those possible causes of underachievement that are largely fixed for individuals, and those that are modifiable. There are evidence-informed ways forward in handling under-achievement and increasing social justice in education. This book shows which the more likely approaches are, and where further work could yield further benefits. This book will be a key text for students, developing academic researchers and supervisors in the social sciences, and for those research users charged with improving educational outcomes.

The New Labour Government puts Education, Education, Education at the heart of its agenda but is it doing enough to combat educational disadvantage? Combating Educational Disadvantage sets the discussion of educational disadvantage within the socio-political context of the 1980s and 1990s, with its market philosophy in education and brings together the contributions of leading writers and researchers of international standing.

The Handbook of Bullying in Schools provides a comprehensive review and analysis of what is known about the worldwide bullying phenomena. It is the first volume to systematically review and integrate what is known about how cultural and regional issues affect bullying behaviour and its prevention. Key features include the following: Comprehensive – forty-one chapters bring together conceptual, methodological, and preventive findings from this loosely coupled field of study, thereby providing a long-needed centerpiece around which the field can continue to grow in an organized and interdisciplinary manner. International Focus – approximately forty-percent of the chapters deal with bullying assessment, prevention, and intervention efforts outside the USA. Chapter Structure – to provide continuity, chapter authors follow a common chapter structure: overview, conceptual foundations, specific issues or programs, and a review of current research and future research needs. Implications for Practice – a critical component of each chapter is a summary table outlining practical applications of the foregoing research. Expertise – the editors and contributors include leading researchers, teachers, and authors in the bullying field, most of whom are deeply connected to organizations studying bullying around the world.

Developing a theme in dialogue with Maxine Greene's philosophy, this book introduces the reader to what animates Greene's passionate work: the self and the imaginary. It illuminates how Greene empowers us all as learners of the possible, by identifying learning with the power of the imagination. Greene's work promises hope beyond the impasse that often occurs when learning is reified by educational systems. Education Beyond Education illustrates how Greene redefines the notion of the imaginary - and with it, that of the imagination - as that which expands the possibilities of learning beyond the boundaries by which education is often narrowly defined and practiced. Tracing Greene's key arguments, Education Beyond Education offers a strikingly original and empowering way to see and re-position education beyond its customary limits.

Recognition of disadvantage is seen as crucial in preparing socially just teachers who can recognize and address inequities, and this engaging guide provides innovative strategies to reflect on disadvantage. Coupled with its discursive partners, inclusion and diversity, trainee teachers are asked to engage with theories of disadvantage, and advised to recognize, support and lead change for students who historically experience high levels of exclusion and marginalization. But what does disadvantaged mean? In this book, the authors draw together international perspectives to explore the subtle and complex differences produced by the keyword disadvantage in different geo-political contexts, and look at the political, historical, social, and cultural significance of the word. They showcase narratives from the subjects of disadvantage, including indigenous perspectives. They include standpoints from immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees and consider the intersectional nature of disadvantage, for instance, the experiences of LGBTQI+ groups who are living in poverty.