Acknowledgements

There is no adequate way in a ‘selected works’ to acknowledge all the hundreds, indeed thousands, of people who have contributed both to my thinking and writing, and to my general wellbeing, over the course of a career. There are my academic colleagues to thank, of course, but also all the students, parents, teachers, advisers and policymakers who have allowed me to research their practice and have provided insightful feedback on my interpretations. I hope I have been able to contribute something positive to their work. I also want to remember the armies of administrative and support staff in schools, universities and local and national government departments who have made my tasks so much easier. Sylvia’s cakes will be particularly remembered for sustaining us through long meetings of the Learning How to Learn Project team.

I do however want to name a few of my colleagues to whom I am particularly indebted because they have worked with me closely on substantial joint projects and publications. I know that it is the effort to design projects, to make sense of data, and the act of writing, that really gets me thinking. Working with others to find the right words is the source of most of the new ideas that I can ever claim to have. Thus I want to thank especially Paul Black, Patricia Broadfoot, Patrick Carmichael, Colin Conner, the late Michael Craft, Richard Daugherty, Miriam David, Dave Ebbutt, John Elliott, Caroline Gipps, John Gardner, David Hargreaves, Wynne Harlen, Bob McCormick, Colleen McLaughlin, the late Desmond Nuttall, David Pedder, Andrew Pollard, Judy Sebba, Barry Stierer and all the rest of the Assessment Reform Group. All of these have been brilliant colleagues and wonderful friends.