Look out for the latest edition of Oideas in your mail. The current issue (number 47) is being distributed to schools and educational institutions even as you cast your eyes over this column.

It includes six papers on a variety of themes. According to the editorial "each stands alone in eloquent testimony to a vibrant research community that has grown systematically over the last 20 years."

Among the subjects dealt with are teacher appraisal, by Catherine Furlong; women in educational management, by Eileen O'Connor and Leonie Warren; and ethos and the Catholic school, by James Norman.