Any policy reform in education is highly effective when it is planned and implemented ‘holistically’ and yet, it is the most challenging way forward. Many countries in Asia have reformed their English language policies and syllabi in the last two decades due to the increasing value of the language worldwide. Motivated by a ‘communicative approach’ to English language teaching, Bangladesh was one of the countries that launched such a reform in the 1990s. However, this reform has been criticised for imposing the changes on teachers without preparing them sufficiently. More importantly, there is limited evidence as to how much the secondary English language assessment system is aligned with the changes introduced in the curriculum. In order to explore this gap, a medium‐scale study was conducted in 38 secondary schools in Bangladesh, following a mixed methods approach. The findings highlighted a ‘mismatch’ between the intended English language learning outcomes and current assessment practices, including the resulting challenges faced by the teachers. This paper argues that language education reform is likely to fail if the assessment system is not aligned with the curriculum.

This study was conceived as an opportunity to reflect on the place of action-research in the contested landscape of educational change in the UK where increasing emphasis has been put on the use of evidence to drive reform. In the context of a government-sponsored project in Scotland, this study looked at the impact of a scholarship initiative supporting classroom teachers to undertake action-research projects on a topic of their own choice with the assistance of a mentor. Data collected from interviews with teachers and analysis of teacher action-research reports pointed to a multi-faceted concept of practice unfolding from individual inquiry and dialogical conversations with colleagues and university mentors. The study argues for further analysis of the use of action-research as a means to develop teachers' knowledge and to recover the value of collective and creative engagements in education to guide reform.

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Background: Corona virus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). On 11th March; the WHO announced this disease as a global pandemic. Individuals’ knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) towards preventive and precautionary measures of COVID-19 are essential to control the spread of the disease. The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of frontline workers towards the pandemic.Methods: Descriptive survey research design was used. Sample comprised of 100 frontline workers who are working in different government sector during this pandemic situation and involved in election duty. Non-probability purposive sampling technique was used. Demographic data sheet, semi structured knowledge questionnaire, attitude scale, practice questionnaire was used to collect data. Tool was pretested before final data collection. Institutional Ethics committee approval was taken for the study.Results: Study findings show that 56% participants had good knowledge and 44% had poor knowledge regarding COVID-19. 70% participants had positive attitude and 30% had negative attitude regarding COVID-19. 85% participants followed good practice and 15% followed poor practice regarding COVID-19. There was a positive correlation between knowledge and attitude score (r=0.54) and positive correlation between knowledge and practice score (r=0.73). There was also a positive correlation between practice and attitude score (r=0.48).Conclusions: This study also found a significant association between knowledge score and demographic variables like education level and job status and also an association between practice score and job status. So, the study results can be used for enhancing KAP to combat this pandemic situation.

Introduction Pragmatic trials in comparative effectiveness research assess the effects of different treatment, therapeutic, or healthcare options in clinical practice. They are characterized by broad eligibility criteria and large sample sizes, which can lead to an unmanageable number of participants, increasing the risk of bias and affecting the integrity of the trial. We describe the development of a sampling strategy tool and its use in the PREPARE trial to circumvent the challenge of unmanageable work flow. Methods Given the broad eligibility criteria and high fracture volume at participating clinical sites in the PREPARE trial, a pragmatic sampling strategy was needed. Using data from PREPARE, descriptive statistics were used to describe the use of the sampling strategy across clinical sites. A Chi-square test was performed to explore whether use of the sampling strategy was associated with a reduction in the number of missed eligible patients. Results 7 of 20 clinical sites (35%) elected to adopt a sampling strategy. There were 1539 patients excluded due to the use of the sampling strategy, which represents 30% of all excluded patients and 20% of all patients screened for participation. Use of the sampling strategy was associated with lower odds of missed eligible patients (297/4545 (6.5%) versus 341/3200 (10.7%) p < 0.001). Conclusions Implementing a sampling strategy in the PREPARE trial has helped to limit the number of missed eligible patients. This sampling strategy represents a simple, easy to use tool for managing work flow at clinical sites and maintaining the integrity of a large trial.