Since its launch just over a year ago, our popular series What's in a Word? has explored how the language of education is never neutral, but a series of choices that shape policy decisions, perceptions, and how practice operates. Its purpose is not to prescribe, standardise, or police language. Rather, it seeks to encourage reflection on the different forms of utility of different choices in language. Terms that feel familiar or self-evident often carry divergent meanings or implicit and unexamined assumptions – and this means the way we use them can have unintended consequences. The language we use in education policy and research matters. By questioning our choices and vocabularies. This series hopes to foster clarity and the capacity for a productive dialogue across research, policy, and practice.
Previous contributors have approached this task from a range of perspectives. Tom Ravenscroft, Skills Builder Partnership, argues that the proliferation of different words around what soft skills are belies general agreement around their content and importance, but crowd out efforts to consider how learners develop them.Author and teacher Sammy Wright argues that while knowledge rich highlights important considerations about the relationship between knowledge and enabling success, it was freighted with political baggage about how education should be delivered which has been profoundly alienating. Professor Leesa Wheelahan's contribution on skill challenged the tendency to treat skills as discrete, measurable units, arguing instead that skilled performance depends upon knowledge, context, social relationships and human agency.
These and other contributions from a wide range of perspectives have made visible and accessible the values and histories of the choices of language and provide us with ways of rethinking our conversations about education and skills. Building on these contributions, we are now inviting proposals for the next series of What's in a Word? If there is a word, phrase or concept from your area of expertise that shapes education policy or practice and deserves closer examination, we'd like to hear from you.’
We are inviting suggestions for future entries in the series for publication from autumn 2026.
What we are looking for
We welcome proposals from researchers, practitioners, policymakers and others with expertise or experience relevant to education, skills and workforce development. If you’d like to submit a proposal, this is what we’d like to see:
- A proposed headword (for example, a term, phrase or concept commonly used in education policy or research).
- A short outline of no more than 200 words explaining your proposed contribution and the perspective you would bring.
- Your name, affiliation (if relevant), and contact email address.
We are particularly interested in proposals that challenge assumptions, clarify contested terminology, or offer fresh perspectives on familiar concepts.
Deadline
Please send your proposal by Friday 14 August 2026.
How to submit
Please email your proposal to jpatel@edge.co.uk with the subject line: What's in a Word? Proposal – [Headword]
Written by
Dr Josh Patel, Education and Policy Senior Researcher, Edge Foundation
If you have any questions about What's in a Word or the call for contributions please contact Josh. We look forward to hearing your ideas and continuing the conversation about the words that shape education policy and research.