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Increasingly, punitive policies on ‘poblematic’ pupils are implemented in poor‐performing UK urban state schools. While some are permanently excluded and referred to local authority educational alternatives, others are unofficially ‘excluded’ and referred to other forms of off‐site educational centres, where pupils receive a significantly reduced timetable, undertake unchallenging courses and are unlikely to return to school. Based on an ethnographic research project with 20 excluded young people in one south London borough, this paper will discuss what happens to these young people after their ‘exclusion’ from school. I will suggest that this form of unofficial ‘exclusion’ has significant life implications for these young people, contributing not only to their social exclusion, but also to their increased exposure to crime and victimisation. Moreover, their life options are truncated despite the efforts that they may make otherwise.

This report is the result of a five‐month survey of information provision in the London Borough of Islington. It looks at information on learning opportunities for adults and complements Brenda Neale's survey of adult learner needs which identified a lack of accessible information as a major barrier for adults in the Borough wishing to return to learning.

The Faculty of Information Technology at QUT does not formally carry out distance education for any of its courses. However, it has pursued a number of initiatives that have made it possible for students to carry out an increasing proportion of their coursework off‐site. These initiatives include computer‐managed learning, World Wide Web and CD‐ROM delivery of administrative and educational materials, and most recently the development of an integrated learning environment (ILE) for electronic delivery. These developments have been complemented and supported by the QUT library by means of different avenues of access to CD‐ROMs, a regional electronic document delivery service (REDD), and an electronic reserve (E‐Reserve) service. Issues associated with the operation and evaluation of such facilities are described, and the future library role in educational delivery is discussed.

This article is based on a study commissioned by the British Library Research & Development Department to consider the feasibility of setting up a national distance learning scheme for information and library studies in the United Kingdom. It reviews recent developments internationally in the field of distance learning and provides an assessment of the enabling technologies. A number of models for future action are proposed.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of the current provision for school leadership in Kenya, the extent to which they have an impact on student outcomes and the return on school leadership preparation and development investment.

The paper draws from educational leadership, management and administration courses delivered by universities and other institutions to aspiring and practising educational leaders in Kenya. It employs a method for evaluating return on leadership development investment first articulated by Eacott (2013).

While there is growth in provision, consistent with international trends, this provision is more recognised for its standardisation than points of distinction; there is minimal attention to identified dimensions of leadership leading to higher student outcomes which raises questions regarding the universality of school leadership preparation and development curriculum; and the high course costs of current provision is an inhibiting factor in assessing the return on investment in school leadership preparation and development.

The study was limited to publicly available documents from a limited sample of institutions. There is a need for more studies in the area.

Institutions seeking to offer school leadership development have grounds on which to make decision about what programs their school leaders should undertake in terms of cost and quality. The study provides institution offering school leadership development courses evidence on which to base future policy direction.

The findings provide a case for investing in school leadership development given the impact courses may have on student outcomes.

The paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current provision on school leadership preparation and development in Kenya. It contributes to its understanding in Africa in terms of quality, performance impact and return on investment.

The paper reports on a research project undertaken for the North West Tourism Skills Network.

The project explored the provision of information technology within hospitality and tourism programmes in educational institutions in the region. Researchers conducted telephone interviews with key specialist staff in 80 per cent of the schools, colleges and universities delivering programmes for introductory, operational and managerial programmes.

Findings suggest that IT provision occurs in all programmes and can now be considered as a core basic skill along with literacy and numeracy. Provision was generally applied to the industry and the specific requirements of the programme. There were several examples of excellent educational practice. However, some smaller colleges and sixth‐form college providers found the high purchase price of industry software a barrier to on‐site resources. That said, many ensured familiarity with industry software through industry partnerships and industrial visits.

While research gathered responses from 85 per cent of hospitality and tourism providers in the North West region, the study needs to be replicated nationally because these interviews suggest that information technology skill development is a key requirement for those destined to work in hospitality and tourism occupations.

Highlights the importance of information technology in the curriculum.

To detail a user's experiences of the digital archive project of the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) (RGS‐IBG). The “Unlocking the Archives” project has five facets: construction and conservation at its London archives; an online catalogue of its collections; digitisation of images and maps; provision of online fact sheets such as historical time‐lines; and an educational programme that conforms to the UK's national curriculum for secondary schools.

The paper explains how the RGS‐IBG project has changed the way in which the study of the earth, the earth's history, and its historical sources, are selected, created, researched, taught, written, presented, and used. Emphasis is placed on two parts of the digitised archives: Mount Everest and its ascent, and encounters: images of empire.

The two digitised archives described are not only innovative archival releases for worldwide dissemination but are also the basis for important educational projects. The RGS‐IBG is the first UK learned society to provide digital availability and access for research, writing, and teaching.

A very useful source of information and impartial advice for those planning to use digital archives or to digitise their own archives.

This paper fulfils an identified information/resources need and offers a case study description of the Royal Geographical Society's “Unlocking the Archive” project.

The research demonstrates the role of activity systems based in Cultural Historical Activity Theory as a means of analysing characteristics and efficacy of specific provisions of coaching in education.

Three examples of coaching in education were selected, involving 51 schools in England. The three examples were re-analysed using activity systems. This drew on existing evaluation evidence, gathered through interviews, questionnaires, focus groups and recordings of coaching.

In each example, the object of the coaching was to address a specific challenge to secure the desired quality of education. Using activity systems it is possible to demonstrate that coaching has a range of functions (both intended and consequential). The individual examples illustrate the potential of coaching to support change in complex and diverse education settings.

The use of existing data from evaluations means that direct comparisons between examples are not made. While data were collected throughout the duration of each coaching programme no follow-up data was available.

The analysis of the examples of coaching using activity systems provides evidence of the efficacy of specific coaching provision in achieving individually defined objectives related to sustaining and improving specific educational practices.

The research offers insights into how coaching in education might be better tuned to the specific needs of contexts and the challenges experienced by the individuals working in them. In addition, it demonstrates the value of activity systems as an analytical tool to make sense of coaching efficacy.

Appraises the scope for cost‐effective government intervention into the mobilization of resources for training, examining measures catalytic in nature as well as direct interventions. Asserts that economic recession and shrinking government revenues have led to a reconsideration of the role played by the state in training provision and to a growing acknowledgement and appreciation of the role of the private sector. Suggests that although the documentation is incomplete, the government is, and has always been, the junior partner. Discusses how training is financed by the private sector. Analyses situations where privately financed training provision may be sub‐optimal in scale and where there are grounds for government intervention. Addresses the issues of how best to provide financial incentives and mobilize the resources required for financial intervention.