Known as College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences until 2024/25 http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/32831 2026-04-18T02:37:01Z 2026-04-18T02:37:01Z Soma, Bhavisha Rupa http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33164 2026-04-18T02:00:27Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: High-stakes? 10-11-year-old children’s stories of primary school assessment Authors: Soma, Bhavisha Rupa Abstract: ‘HELP. I’m a failure. I can’t do this.’ (words within a picture by Anay, aged 10) ‘Tests are a great way of helping children know what they need help on. They help teachers to be able to help students…’ (words within a picture by Jayesh, aged 10) My interest lies in children’s perceived experiences of educational assessment in primary schools in England. I track back in time to track the journey of where we are today – arguably a high-stakes system of assessment that has led to the datafication of teaching (Stevenson, 2017) and of children. Children are seemingly being trained to pass tests – primarily in English and Maths – at the expense of other curriculum subjects, learning outcomes and their mental health and well-being. My research explores the stories (Clandinin and Connelly, 2000) of primary-aged children in relation to assessment using an experiential narrative inquiry approach (Andrews, Squire and Tambouku, 2008) and multiple methods: questionnaire; pictures and/or free-writing; and semi-structured group interviews. Through this research, I reveal a unique insight and interpretation of primary-aged children’s stories through their own spoken and written words and pictures. Description: This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Fontana, I Rosina, M Samuk, S http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33161 2026-04-18T02:00:25Z 2026-02-16T00:00:00Z

Title: The External Dimension of Italian Migration Policy (DEPMI): a mapping of the tools to manage migratory flows with countries of origin and transit Authors: Fontana, I; Rosina, M; Samuk, S Abstract: Recent shifts in migration governance – especially the externalization of border control and the strategic use of migration cooperation – demand systematic analyses of how states manage migration beyond their borders. Italy has emerged as a key actor in this domain, yet its external migration policies remain understudied. The DEPMI project addresses this gap by mapping and analysing Italy’s bilateral migration engagement with 28 countries across North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East, and Asia between 2000 and 2024. It sheds light on the objectives, tools, and evolution of Italy’s external migration governance through two original datasets of over 140 bilateral instruments and 1,800 migration-related development cooperation pro- jects. Complemented by 28 country profiles and an interactive map, DEPMI provides a robust framework for comparative analysis and policy reflection. This article outlines the project’s aims and methodology, while pre- senting key research findings from the Sub-Saharan African context. It shows how the region, once peripheral, has become central to Italy’s migration diplomacy, with a strong emphasis on containment, returns, and the stra- tegic use of legal migration as diplomatic leverage.

2026-02-16T00:00:00Z Erlichman, C Simonetti, F http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33158 2026-04-17T02:00:24Z 2026-04-14T00:00:00Z

Title: From liberation to occupation: rethinking Allied rule in Italy Authors: Erlichman, C; Simonetti, F Abstract: This introduction situates the Allied occupation of Italy as a distinctive yet comparatively underexplored case within the broader history of mid-twentieth-century military occupations. It traces the origins, peculiarities, and contradictions of Allied rule, foregrounding the tension between liberation and occupation that shaped both contemporary experiences and subsequent historiography. After outlining the fragmented development of the field and the long predominance of liberation-centred narratives, it calls for recontextualising the occupation of Italy within wider transnational and comparative frameworks. Rather than examining the Italian case solely through an exploration of its domestic impact, the article proposes treating it as an early laboratory for Allied ruling practices that were later applied elsewhere. In addition, it suggests exploring the Italian case through a set of research themes that have emerged from the new comparative field of Occupation Studies. The special issue advances this agenda by combining attention to hitherto marginalised aspects of the era with critical reflection on established subjects, thereby contributing to a reassessment of Italy’s place within the history of Allied rule in mid-twentieth-century Europe. Description: Italian summary: Questa introduzione si propone di trattare l’occupazione alleata dell’Italia come un caso distintivo ma relativamente poco esplorato nella storia più ampia delle occupazioni militari della metà del Novecento. Ne ricostruisce le origini, le peculiarità e le contraddizioni, mettendo in primo piano la tensione tra liberazione e occupazione che ha plasmato sia le esperienze contemporanee sia la successiva storiografia. Dopo aver delineato lo sviluppo frammentario della relativa storiografia e il lungo predominio di narrazioni incentrate sul concetto di liberazione, questo saggio invita a ricontestualizzare l’occupazione alleata dell’Italia all’interno di cornici transnazionali e comparative più ampie. Piuttosto che esaminare il caso italiano esclusivamente in termini di impatto nazionale, l’articolo propone di considerarlo un primo laboratorio di pratiche di governo alleate, successivamente applicate altrove. Inoltre, suggerisce di analizzare l’esperienza italiana attraverso una serie di temi di ricerca emersi nel nuovo settore degli Occupation Studies. Questo special issue porta avanti tale prospettiva combinando l’attenzione su aspetti finora marginalizzati con riflessioni su temi consolidati, contribuendo così a una rivalutazione del ruolo del caso italiano all’interno della più ampia storia delle pratiche di governo alleato nell’Europa della metà del Novecento.

2026-04-14T00:00:00Z Giles, C Ang, Y http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33153 2026-04-16T02:00:31Z 2024-04-10T00:00:00Z

Title: Qualifying an LLB: Elective Module Provision and LLB Curriculum Design Authors: Giles, C; Ang, Y Abstract: Historically, the structure of LLBs in England and Wales has been described as ‘fairly uniform’ focusing on a specific range of “core” subjects: with a significant proportion of undergraduate law degrees being predetermined—in recent years—by the requirements of Qualifying Law Degree (QLD) status. The recent demise of QLD status as a requirement of qualification as a Solicitor and the curtailed involvement of the professional regulators in shaping the content of the undergraduate curriculum has not, or not yet, been met with a widespread ‘radical curriculum remodelling’. Yet, there is already a degree of diversity within contemporary curricula. In this paper, we explore the provision of elective modules at providers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We argue that the traditional QLD subjects continue to play a significant role, not just in terms of the “core” undergraduate curriculum but also the wider elective curriculum. However, there is also a broader range of subjects beyond those seen in past curriculums—requiring us to question what qualifies as a “law” degree in 2024—which creates additional complexities for providers (re-)designing curricula to facilitate these broader electives and considering these subjects’ significance in shaping the future of legal education. Description: Presented at Association of Law Teachers Annual Conference, Swansea University, 10-12 April 2024. Parallel Session 2 - Session B.

2024-04-10T00:00:00Z