Academies are funded directly by central government, directly accountable to the Department for Education, and outside local authority control. They have greater financial freedoms than maintained schools. By September 2012 the number of open academies had increased tenfold, from 203 to 2,309. Academies are the Department's chosen vehicle for school reform, but increasing schools' autonomy and removing them from local authority control gives the Department responsibility for ensuring value for money. The Department has incurred significant costs from the complex and inefficient system it has used for funding the Academies Programme and its oversight of academies has had to play catch-up with the rapid growth in academy numbers. In the two years from April 2010 to March 2012, the Department spent £8.3 billion on Academies; £1 billion of this was an additional cost to the Department not originally budgeted for this purpose, some of which was not recovered from local authorities. The Department must improve the efficiency of its funding mechanisms and stop the growth in other costs. Furthermore, the Department has yet to establish effective school-level financial accountability for academies operating within chains. What will determine whether the Department ultimately achieves value for money is academies' impact on educational performance relative to the investment from the taxpayer. If the Department is to be held properly to account for its spending on academies, it must insist that every Academy Trust provides it with data showing school-level expenditure, including per-pupil costs, and with a level of detail comparable to that available for maintained schools.

Research Methods for Education, Second Edition takes the student by the hand and guides them through the complex subject of research methods in an engaging, witty and clear way. The book covers the philosophical approaches and epistemology, as well as the practical aspects of research, such as designing questionnaires and presenting conclusions. Each chapter is split into 'Context' and 'Practice' and both sections are packed with exercises, examples and comparative international material from other educational contexts, Peter Newby's book is the student-friendly text which demystifies the research process with clarity and verve. Key features: -written in a clear and friendly manner to help students feel more confident dealing with the complexities of research and particularly useful for those new to research or less confident with numbers -a mixed methods approach, which doesn't simply prioritise quantitative or qualitative methods, allowing for greatest possible coverage contains guidance on analytic procedures that require more advanced tools such as SPSS and Minitab -many excellent international examples and case studies specifically from education, which breaks away from a parochial focus on UK education system.

"This book is designed to be a platform for the most significant educational achievements by teachers, school administrators, and local associations that have worked together in public institutions that range from primary school to the university level"--Provided by publisher.

This book constitutes revised selected papers from the following SEFM 2012 satellite events: InSuEdu, the First International Symposium on Innovation and Sustainability in Education; MokMaSD, the First International Symposium on Modelling and Knowledge Management for Sustainable Development and Open Cert, the 6th International Workshop on Foundations and Techniques for Open Source Software Certification, held in Thessaloniki, Greece, in October 2012. The total of 14 regular papers and 7 short papers included in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 35 submissions. The papers cover the topics related to the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Open Source Software (OSS) as tools to foster and support Education, Innovation and Sustainability.

The growing importance of knowledge, research, innovation and evolving perspectives on expertise with the usage of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) are changing the sociology of knowledge in the globalized world. Universities are the major institutions involved in the production and dissemination of knowledge. This book looks at ICT for education initiatives taken up towards building a Knowledge Society as emphasized in national education policy regimes for encouraging knowledge generation, knowledge acquisition, knowledge diffusion and the exploitation of knowledge. The research examines the present practice of ICT adoption in an existing framework of University of Hyderabad (UOH) and Tezpur University (TZU) through intensive case study. The research attempts to analyze issues of knowledge, governance and access using ICT; the application of communication technologies in Higher Education Sector that helps in fulfilling the goal of a Knowledge Society; the communication process and strategies in the networking of higher education into a Knowledge Society; existing ‘digital divide’ and the implications. The Stakeholder’s perspective further highlights the advantages and the challenges faced in the actual implementation of ICT4E. Based on the study, the research offers recommendations for management, human resources, processes and institutional culture in ICT4E implementation.

This work provides an overview of the progress that has characterized the field of research and policy in art education. It profiles and integrates history, policy, learning, curriculum and instruction, assessment, and competing perspectives.

Education is of relevance to everyone but it involves a specialized vocabulary and terminology which may be opaque or unfamiliar to those new to the field. This UK-focused Dictionary of Education provides clear and concise definitions for over 1,100 terms, from A* to zero tolerance, that anyone studying education or working in the field is likely to encounter. Coverage includes all sectors of education: pre-school, primary, secondary, further and higher education, special needs, adult and continuing education, and work-based learning. It also includes major legislation, key figures and organizations, and national curriculum and assessment terminology. This second edition covers all the contemporary reforms being introduced to revise the school examinations system and to reform the process of initial teacher training in England and Wales. Coverage of the vocabulary of education has also been increased, and longer and more detailed entries are included for terms relating to disability and inclusive practice, such as autistic spectrum disorder, attention deficit, and dyslexia, and to professional development, such as mentor. Entries regarding projects and initiatives that are now obsolete have been deleted. The dictionary features entry-level web links, accessible and kept up to date via the Dictionary of Education companion website. Detailed appendices include a timeline summary of landmark educational legislation since 1945 and a glossary of acronyms. In addition, there is a useful, fully cross-referenced section of comparative terms used in the US, Canada, Australia, and South Africa. This concise yet authoritative dictionary is essential for all students of education, teachers, and lecturers on development programmes, and it is strongly recommended for governors, classroom assistants, and parents.

The market leading text for beginning teachers on all undergraduate, postgraduate and school-based routes to QTS, this is an essential introduction to the key skills and knowledge needed to become a successful teacher. Offering advice on all aspects of teaching and learning, this ninth edition has been thoroughly updated to reflect changes in the field and covers key new topics, including the science of learning, online pedagogies and working with your mentor. There are also expanded units on diversity and inclusion and teacher wellbeing. The text includes a wealth of examples and tasks to support you in successfully applying theory to practice, and in critically reflecting on and analysing your practice to maximise pupil learning. The wide range of pedagogical features supports both school- and university-based work up to Masters level. Written by experts in the field, the 41 concise units are underpinned by evidence-informed practice and focus on what you need to know to thrive in the classroom, including: lesson planning; curriculum; managing behaviour; online lessons and digital resources; effective communication with pupils; how pupils learn; assessment, marking and feedback; diversity and inclusion; special educational needs and disabilities (SEND); managing stress, workload and time; applying for jobs, developing as a professional and networking. The book is extended and enhanced through a companion website that includes: Animated explainer videos, to introduce and summarise key topics; A selection of downloadable and editable tables and figures from the book, so that the most practical elements can be taken out of study and into practice; Additional material and interactive features to support selected units, such as focus questions for lesson observations, and flashcards to help analyse student behaviour; Bonus content, including ‘Starting to Teach’ chapters and a mapping document, supporting you to make links between the ninth edition chapters and key teaching standards. Supported by the subject-specific titles in the Learning to Teach Subjects in the Secondary School and A Practical Guide to Teaching Subjects in the Secondary School Series, it is an essential purchase for every aspiring secondary school teacher.

Teaching Physical Education Creatively provides knowledge and understanding in order to engage creatively with the primary Physical Education curriculum for both trainee teachers and qualified teachers. It is full of ideas for developing the teaching of dance, games, gymnastics and outdoor and adventurous activities in an innovative and engaging manner. With an emphasis on developing creative teaching processes by building from children’s curiosity, imagination and need to explore and move, it forges clear links between research and practice, and offers suggestions for developing exciting, engaging new approaches to teaching physical education. Key topics explored include: Physical Competence and Physical Literacy Creative ways to develop the teaching of dance, games, gymnastics and outdoor and adventurous activities Developing understanding of space, speed and dynamics Creative lesson planning Inclusive approaches and aspects of differentiation Teaching Physical Education Creatively presents the theory and background necessary to develop a comprehensive understanding of creative teaching and children’s learning. Packed with practical guidance and inspiration for lively, enjoyable physical education, it is an invaluable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students in initial teacher training, practicing teachers, and undergraduate students of physical education.

The whole landscape of space use is undergoing a radical transformation. In the workplace a period of unprecedented change has created a mix of responses with one overriding outcome observable worldwide: the rise of distributed space. In the learning environment the social, political, economic and technological changes responsible for this shift have been further compounded by constantly developing theories of learning and teaching, and a wide acceptance of the importance of learning as the core of the community, resulting in the blending of all aspects of learning into one seamless experience. This book attempts to look at all the forces driving the provision and pedagogic performance of the many spaces, real and virtual, that now accommodate the experience of learning and provide pointers towards the creation and design of learning-centred communities. Part 1 looks at the entire learning universe as it now stands, tracks the way in which its constituent parts came to occupy their role, assesses how they have responded to a complex of drivers and gauges their success in dealing with renewed pressures to perform. It shows that what is required is innovation within the spaces and integration between them. Part 2 finds many examples of innovation in evidence across the world – in schools, the higher and further education campus and in business and cultural spaces – but an almost total absence of integration. Part 3 offers a model that redefines the learning landscape in terms of learning outcomes, mapping spatial requirements and activities into a detailed mechanism that will achieve the best outcome at the most appropriate scale. By encouraging stakeholders to creating an events-based rather than space-based identity, the book hopes to point the way to a fully-integrated learning landscape: a learning community.