The production of education fiction fosters social inquiry to imagine more equitable and socially just education futures. To support these claims, we reflect on our work developing character-based stories representing aspects of what it might mean to become an academic of working-class heritage and propose a design heuristic for creators and analysts of education fiction.…

Young people's aspirations have been the focus of many educational, sociological and psychological studies. This paper argues, firstly, that the concept of aspirations holds greater generative potential than suggested by the policy-oriented ‘aspiration discourse’. Secondly, drawing on a sociocultural perspective, it is suggested that the processes of imagination and semiotic mediation are key aspects of aspiration articulation and instantiation,…

The transition from primary to secondary school is widely viewed as the most demanding in a child's educational journey. Despite a wealth of research on this transition, little is known about the children's ‘lived experience’ of it across different contexts. We target this research void by drawing on semi-structured individual interview data gathered from 24…

Children's school readiness is widely recognized as a critical foundation for successful school adjustment. However, there has been considerable debate about what abilities are most influential and how they interact. To address this, the present study explored six domains of school readiness, including self-regulation (SR), social emotions (SE), mathematics, teacher–child relationships, approaches to learning, and…

Graphic novels are increasingly used in ethics education for their ability to convey complex issues through visual storytelling. This scoping review explores how graphic novels, manga, and comics are applied in ethics education, identifying key themes, teaching strategies, pedagogical impact, and research gaps. (pdf)

This study set out to examine the extent to which family background affected grades in physical education and health (PEH) among students in Sweden between 2000 and 2017, comparing PEH grades with overall academic achievement measured by merit value.

School health educational content often entails different subject areas and a variety of topics that students are supposed to learn, and when taught in diverse classrooms, potentially positions students as at-risk. Using vignettes in interviews with migrant students in Sweden, the study focuses on views of the content of health education in relation to different…

Different educational systems, especially in highly accountable and so-called soft accountability systems place varying expectations on teachers. This study examines how different approaches to school accountability shape perceived roles and responsibilities by teachers. The study was conducted using the discursive dislocation method whereby four English and four Finnish teachers observed each other’s work in authentic…

This article focuses on the role of the principal in facilitating inclusive education policies in Sweden and Finland since 1990. It does so by analysing education union journals in both countries. (pdf)

This qualitative small-scale study aimed to better understand practitioner perspectives and experiences relating to barriers, guidance and support systems associated with children and young people's mental health within the primary classroom. (pdf)

Transitions between stages of schooling present well-known challenges for children with special educational needs and disabilities, including navigating new sites, people, practices, timetables and expectations. Site visits are often recommended for helping with transition, and yet such visits can be difficult to achieve for practical and logistical reasons. This study piloted the development of virtual…

The article describes a process where neurodivergent learners in a hostile environment learn to regulate and restrict their own behaviours, often without the provision noticing their distress and continuing to deliver inappropriate support, while misattributing blame to parents. (pdf)