Rafael Mitchell
Biographic Data
| ID | 3696627 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Rafael Mitchell |
| GIVEN NAMES | Rafael |
| FAMILY NAME | Mitchell |
| SIGNATURE | MITCHELL R |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Bristol |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4553-2487 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 30 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 13 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Policy–research partnerships for post-war reconstruction of education in Tigray, Ethiopia
This article draws on the experiences of university-based researchers involved in the post-war reconstruction of education in Tigray, Ethiopia. Based on experiences following the 2020–2022 civil war, we consider the role of local researchers in supporting educational decision-making in line with democratic, human-rights-based principles and international commitments. This account is underpinned by conceptual work on the leadership of education pr…
Black teachers’ experiences of reporting racist incidents in English schools
In 2020, the Runnymede report Race and Racism in English Secondary Schools found that clear anti-racist policies were needed to address the institutional and systematic disadvantaging of racially minoritised staff and students. This article explores Black teachers’ experiences of reporting racist incidents in English schools as a basis for considering the ethical, legal and policy responsibilities of those in positions of senior leadership. Using…
Endogenous systems leadership of education provision during crises in low- and middle-income countries
This article advances the case for an ‘endogenous systems leadership’ approach to the provision of inclusive and equitable quality education for all in times of crisis. It draws on theoretical work which addresses complexity in education systems, systems leadership in education, coloniality within education, and international partnerships in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to propose an endogenous systems leadership framework. This is de…
Teaching comparative and international education (CIE) in UK universities
Lesson observations in sub-Saharan Africa
This article considers different approaches to lesson observation and their potential for understanding and evaluating classroom practice in sub-Saharan Africa. We start with a critical appraisal of Teach, a recent World Bank initiative. The evidence and assumptions underpinning this teacher-focused instrument are considered alongside its affordances and limitations. Following this, we review evidence from school-based research from the region to…
Doing harm
In spring 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, research projects funded by the UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) were subjected to budget cuts. The cuts were the result of UK government’s decision to reduce its Official Development Assistance (ODA), which had devastating effects for humanitarian, development and research work. This article draws on focus group discussions with project teams working on three large GCRF-funded projects to …
Peer support in sub-Saharan Africa
This paper concerns an aspect of schooling in sub-Saharan Africa which receives limited attention in official education discourse – namely, that students themselves often bear educational responsibilities for the access and learning of their peers. Informed by postcolonial and decolonial scholarship, this critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) of school-based research from the region provides a taxonomy of students’ roles and responsibilities with…
How Accessible are Journal Articles on Education Written by Sub-Saharan Africa-based Researchers
This article investigates the extent to which education publications authored by researchers based in sub-Saharan Africa are published as open access (OA). We draw on bibliometric analysis of 1,858 peer-reviewed articles over the period 2010-18, together with interviews with 31 academics based in the region. Overall, we find a steady increase in OA publishing in the region over this period, although the proportion of OA publications remains low. …
Education Research in Sub-Saharan Africa
This article combines large-scale bibliometric analysis of publications on education by researchers based in sub-Saharan Africa with researchers’ accounts of their priorities and practice. Patterns in the thematic foci of the research from 48 countries in the region are considered from the perspective of international policy statements (the Education Sustainable Development Goal and the African Union’s Agenda 2063), alongside analysis of funding,…
Promoting Meaningful and Equitable Relationships? Exploring the UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Funding Criteria from the Perspectives of African Partners
How equitable are South-North partnerships in education research? Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa
This article explores equity with respect to South-North partnerships in the context of education research involving scholars based in sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing on large-scale bibliometric analysis of over 1,000 publications published in English between 2010 and 2018, it finds that participation in such partnerships favours a relatively small number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. These collaborations appear to be reproducing gender imbalan…
Democracy or control? The participation of management, teachers, students and parents in school leadership in Tigray, Ethiopia
Radical student participation
Recent policies in Ethiopia put students at the heart of school improvement through structures for peer leadership and school-level consultation, evaluation and decision-making. This article draws on an ethnographic study of a government school in Tigray, Ethiopia, to explore how the participation and influence of students is achieved and mediated by structures and processes in school. Three key contexts of student participation are explored: pos…
Promoting Meaningful and Equitable Relationships? Exploring the UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Funding Criteria from the Perspectives of African Partners
How equitable are South-North partnerships in education research? Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa
This article explores equity with respect to South-North partnerships in the context of education research involving scholars based in sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing on large-scale bibliometric analysis of over 1,000 publications published in English between 2010 and 2018, it finds that participation in such partnerships favours a relatively small number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. These collaborations appear to be reproducing gender imbalan…
Radical student participation
Recent policies in Ethiopia put students at the heart of school improvement through structures for peer leadership and school-level consultation, evaluation and decision-making. This article draws on an ethnographic study of a government school in Tigray, Ethiopia, to explore how the participation and influence of students is achieved and mediated by structures and processes in school. Three key contexts of student participation are explored: pos…
Doing harm
In spring 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, research projects funded by the UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) were subjected to budget cuts. The cuts were the result of UK government’s decision to reduce its Official Development Assistance (ODA), which had devastating effects for humanitarian, development and research work. This article draws on focus group discussions with project teams working on three large GCRF-funded projects to …
Democracy or control? The participation of management, teachers, students and parents in school leadership in Tigray, Ethiopia
Peer support in sub-Saharan Africa
This paper concerns an aspect of schooling in sub-Saharan Africa which receives limited attention in official education discourse – namely, that students themselves often bear educational responsibilities for the access and learning of their peers. Informed by postcolonial and decolonial scholarship, this critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) of school-based research from the region provides a taxonomy of students’ roles and responsibilities with…
Democracy or control? The participation of management, teachers, students and parents in school leadership in Tigray, Ethiopia
Radical student participation
Recent policies in Ethiopia put students at the heart of school improvement through structures for peer leadership and school-level consultation, evaluation and decision-making. This article draws on an ethnographic study of a government school in Tigray, Ethiopia, to explore how the participation and influence of students is achieved and mediated by structures and processes in school. Three key contexts of student participation are explored: pos…
Education Research in Sub-Saharan Africa
This article combines large-scale bibliometric analysis of publications on education by researchers based in sub-Saharan Africa with researchers’ accounts of their priorities and practice. Patterns in the thematic foci of the research from 48 countries in the region are considered from the perspective of international policy statements (the Education Sustainable Development Goal and the African Union’s Agenda 2063), alongside analysis of funding,…
Promoting Meaningful and Equitable Relationships? Exploring the UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Funding Criteria from the Perspectives of African Partners
How equitable are South-North partnerships in education research? Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa
This article explores equity with respect to South-North partnerships in the context of education research involving scholars based in sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing on large-scale bibliometric analysis of over 1,000 publications published in English between 2010 and 2018, it finds that participation in such partnerships favours a relatively small number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. These collaborations appear to be reproducing gender imbalan…
How Accessible are Journal Articles on Education Written by Sub-Saharan Africa-based Researchers
This article investigates the extent to which education publications authored by researchers based in sub-Saharan Africa are published as open access (OA). We draw on bibliometric analysis of 1,858 peer-reviewed articles over the period 2010-18, together with interviews with 31 academics based in the region. Overall, we find a steady increase in OA publishing in the region over this period, although the proportion of OA publications remains low. …
Peer support in sub-Saharan Africa
This paper concerns an aspect of schooling in sub-Saharan Africa which receives limited attention in official education discourse – namely, that students themselves often bear educational responsibilities for the access and learning of their peers. Informed by postcolonial and decolonial scholarship, this critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) of school-based research from the region provides a taxonomy of students’ roles and responsibilities with…
Lesson observations in sub-Saharan Africa
This article considers different approaches to lesson observation and their potential for understanding and evaluating classroom practice in sub-Saharan Africa. We start with a critical appraisal of Teach, a recent World Bank initiative. The evidence and assumptions underpinning this teacher-focused instrument are considered alongside its affordances and limitations. Following this, we review evidence from school-based research from the region to…
Doing harm
In spring 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, research projects funded by the UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) were subjected to budget cuts. The cuts were the result of UK government’s decision to reduce its Official Development Assistance (ODA), which had devastating effects for humanitarian, development and research work. This article draws on focus group discussions with project teams working on three large GCRF-funded projects to …
Black teachers’ experiences of reporting racist incidents in English schools
In 2020, the Runnymede report Race and Racism in English Secondary Schools found that clear anti-racist policies were needed to address the institutional and systematic disadvantaging of racially minoritised staff and students. This article explores Black teachers’ experiences of reporting racist incidents in English schools as a basis for considering the ethical, legal and policy responsibilities of those in positions of senior leadership. Using…
Endogenous systems leadership of education provision during crises in low- and middle-income countries
This article advances the case for an ‘endogenous systems leadership’ approach to the provision of inclusive and equitable quality education for all in times of crisis. It draws on theoretical work which addresses complexity in education systems, systems leadership in education, coloniality within education, and international partnerships in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to propose an endogenous systems leadership framework. This is de…
Teaching comparative and international education (CIE) in UK universities
Policy–research partnerships for post-war reconstruction of education in Tigray, Ethiopia
This article draws on the experiences of university-based researchers involved in the post-war reconstruction of education in Tigray, Ethiopia. Based on experiences following the 2020–2022 civil war, we consider the role of local researchers in supporting educational decision-making in line with democratic, human-rights-based principles and international commitments. This account is underpinned by conceptual work on the leadership of education pr…
Political science (11 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Economics (7 works) · Global Educational Policies and Reforms (6 works) · Economic growth (5 works) · Public Administration (5 works) · Public relations (5 works) · Government (linguistics (4 works) · Pedagogy (4 works) · Psychology (4 works)