Drawing digital pictures: An investigation of primary pupils’ representations of ICT and schools

The relatively restricted nature of children's use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) inside the school setting has long been noted by researchers. With this in mind, this article offers a grounded analysis of drawings collected from 355 primary pupils (years three to six) from five English primary schools depicting desired future forms of school ICT provision. The article contends that the nature and content of these future orientated pictures reflect many of the tensions underlying children's current engagements with ICTs in school. Specifically the article discusses how the drawings offer valuable insights into the issues underlying pupils’ understandings of ICT and schools, not least: the restrictions of the school as organisation; the oppositional relationship between the ‘work’ of learning in school and the ‘play’ of using digital media at home; the unequal power relations that exist between pupils, schools and teachers. The article concludes that rather than accede to demands for free and unfettered use of game consoles and portable devices in the classroom, schools should instead concentrate on fostering informed dialogues with young people about the potential educational benefits of school ICT use.     

Reconstructing Local Knowledge

Building on the idea that "discourse does ideological work" (Wodak, 1996), this article examines how school leaders use metaphors that convey as well as construct concepts of diversity, intergroup relations, and equity. The author draws on data from interviews with school leaders in the United States who were focusing on improving race relations in their schools. An analysis of metaphors in these interviews reveals differing ideologies of equity and intergroup relations. Based on this analysis, the author suggests that professional development programs for school leaders ought to include a critical approach to language to enhance leaders' awareness of the way discourse creates and reinforces ideologies, and to enable them to use language strategically to support equity-based reforms.     

Mixed schools versus single-sex schools: are there differences in the academic results for boys and girls in Catalonia?

This study carries out a comparative analysis of achievement according to gender between mixed and single-sex schools in the region of Catalonia, Spain, for the subjects of Spanish, Catalan, English and Mathematics. After a brief contextualisation, a review of the main findings from international studies on differences in results for mixed schools and single-sex schools is then presented. We then outline our methodology and research-analysis plan. The study has been developed around a specific use of results obtained by students over the last year of primary school (12 years old) and over the last year of obligatory secondary education (16 years). For this comparison, the statistical technique of Propensity Score Matching was used. All segregated schools in Catalonia were chosen, representing a total of 15, of which 9 are girls-only and 6 are boys-only (with a total of 1503 students); additionally, a sample was used of 10 mixed schools, similar in terms of social make-up, that is, middle- and upper-class students (with a total of 1217 students). In general, the results corroborate international research. Results indicate that differences in achievement depending on gender in segregated or mixed schools are not related to factors of school organisation. We also come to conclusions with respect to the limitations arising from circumscribing school performance in curricular subjects, and to the need to consider further indicators within the teaching-and-learning process in terms of gender and emotional development; student attitudes and behaviour; self-concept and – most especially – teacher expectations, their teaching practices and the effects of these on self-concept and single-sex school performance.     

Developing the spoken language skills of reception class children in two multicultural,inner‐city primary schools

This article describes a small‐scale study which emanated from the concern of the head teachers and staff of two primary schools serving deprived, multicultural areas of an inner city. The concern of the staff related to the level of their pupils' spoken language skills through the schools and the perceived impact that this has on pupils learning more widely. The article explores the nature and importance of oral language development in the early years and describes an intervention designed to enhance the spoken language skills of the reception children. The pre‐intervention scores of the children at school entry indicated that the language skills of the children were less well developed than those of the general population. The findings suggest that the intervention had a positive effect on the speaking and listening skills of the reception children and that the teachers' involvement in the research contributed to their professional development.     

Language Policy and Identity: the case of Catalonia

ABSTRACT

Language is a crucial feature of national and personal identity. Where Nationality is contested or controlled a particular language may be promoted or prohibited and the language of instruction is often informed by a ‘national’ political agenda. In Spain Franco attempted the suppression of Catalan identity prohibiting the public use of Catalan, schooling was conducted in Castilian. After Franco, in 1975 the new constitution promoted autonomy and self government for Catalonia. The regional government developed an educational policy, teaching Catalan to all children and using Catalan as the vehicular language in schools. The present population of Catalonia is approximately six million, over four million speak Catalan as their first language but there is significant population whose first language is Castilian. The article moves from a discussion of identity and nationalism, to an account of the dynamics of language in Catalonia and the development of Catalan education policy and its implications for questions of identity, nationality, education and language.     

Using value-added data for school self-evaluation: a case study of practice in inner-city schools

This study demonstrates how value-added research undertaken at the local education authority (LEA) is used directly by heads and teachers in their efforts to raise standards in schools. It draws on a decade of experience of supporting schools in the effective use of performance data for school self-improvement. The article highlights the various approaches of feeding back research findings to schools, including illustrations of contextual and value-added information, and examples of working with schools to support school self-evaluation. This is followed by detailed discussions of key issues raised during the training sessions on the use of performance data and analysis of the views of headteachers, teachers and governors about the performance data feedback to schools. The main findings from this research suggest that schools use performance data and research findings effectively for school improvement purposes. Reasons for this success story in the LEA's schools are critically discussed. The article concludes that research which addresses headteachers, classroom teachers, governors and policy makers' concerns, as is the case with this study, is likely to attract their attention and be used for raising standards.     

Language,Mathematics and Educational Television in Infants' Schools

Educational Television language series are used extensively by infants' schools teachers, but there is insufficient evidence to suggest that they are incorporated into the curriculum or that their use abides by a school's language policy. A survey of over 400 teachers indicates that the teachers' criterion for usefulness seems to be the scope which a programme offers for follow‐up, particularly for discussion and phonic training in the teaching of reading. Similarly, there is little evidence of effective use of mathematics series; follow‐up and children's enjoyment of broadcasts seem to be the emphasis. Many teachers feel that it is difficult to present aspects of mathematics on television when children vary widely in their levels of mathematical development. Others teachers follow a mathematics scheme, in which television is irrelevant. The habit of whole classes of infants' school children watching language and mathematics broadcasts is not in keeping with primary school principles. Most infants' schoolteachers appear to use the programmes as a means of direct teaching to the class at the expense of children's real life experiences. Neither do the series in their present forms appear to be flexible enough to cater for the individuality of young children. Although these factors relate to educational television, they reveal a lack of flexibility in much infants' school practice, a charge which is not often levelled at infants' schools in this country.     

Oral English language proficiency and reading mastery: The role of home language and school supports

The analysis of 21,409 participants of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten cohort focused on home and school factors sought to understand the level of reading mastery that children experienced throughout elementary school and Grade 8 by relating home language use, timing of oral English language proficiency, and the provision of school-based English language learner services to reading mastery. Results confirm that non-English language use at home is associated with a decreased reading mastery at higher levels of proficiency in Grades 1 and 3, and is reduced to nonsignificance in Grades 5 and 8 with the inclusion of teacher and school factors. Also, the negative association between timing of oral English language proficiency and reading mastery is partially explained by teacher and school factors, particularly children's receipt of English language learner services. The findings provide support for policies that provide language services for language minority children and families during the transition to school and through the elementary school years.     

Teaching quality: relationships between passion,deep strategy to learn,and epistemic curiosity

The current study examines the impact of alternative education on children's early school engagement in terms of school enjoyment and independent participation. A sample of 2,776 children from traditional (e.g., mainstream) and alternative (Freinet and Waldorf) Flemish schools was followed from their 3rd year of kindergarten until 3rd grade. The present study does not evidence a positive effect of alternative education on school engagement. In contrast, it was found that in alternative education children acted less independent compared to traditional schools. Furthermore, differential effects in terms of children's socioeconomic status and initial language achievement are explored. In alternative schools, children's initial level of language achievement tends to be less determinative for their school engagement compared to traditional schools.     

Tools for talking: the purposeful and inventive use of languages by bilingual children in primary classrooms

This article is based on a number of observations of bilingual children in an East London primary school, and some work carried out for a doctoral study. The article explores children’s views and perspectives on their use of first and second languages at home and at school. The kernel of the investigation is that language use is dependent on purpose. Bilingual children’s use of their first and second language depends on which language best serves a particular function. Often children who speak two or more languages on a regular basis combine these to create a new language. Schools therefore need to review their language policies and practices in relation to their pupil intake, taking into account the contribution of bilingual experience to children’s overall linguistic development. Teachers also need to understand parents’ views on their children’s language and literacy education. These issues are of vital importance if schools are to provide an inclusive curriculum.     

Building on similarity: a whole class use for simplified language materials

This article examines how the recommended pedagogy for people with Down syndrome may be of use to a wide range of other individuals within a mainstream school setting. Drawing on current practices within English education, it describes the evidence behind the current advice about the language to be used in materials for people with Down syndrome, and then examines why similar language forms have been devalued as teaching tools in relation to people who are learning English as an additional language. The article then describes the use of differentiated materials in a secondary school and the problems that this both highlights and generates. Drawing on these three strands, as well as current best practice and research into comprehension and simple English, this article then proposes a possible usage for simplified language materials (SLMs) at transition points of lessons. It suggests that if SLMs are used at these specific moments within lessons they could be of value to the whole class, and serve as a useful inclusive pedagogy. The article highlights the need for further research into the possible use of SLMs within mainstream schools.     

澳大利亚汉语教学质量提高与本土汉语教师培训

澳大利亚作为一个多元文化移民国家,政府鼓励学校开设多种语言课程,并为学生的语言文化学习提供各种鼓励机制。华人移居澳洲最早可追述于19世纪中期,并在近年来增长更为明显。随着华人社区的扩大,中国国际地位的提升,以及中澳两国紧密的合作关系,越来越多的澳洲中小学开设汉语课程。2014年即将颁布的新的全国汉语教学大纲更成为汉语作为澳洲学校科目发展史上的重要里程碑。然而,透过汉语教学欣欣向荣的表面冷观其实践,汉语教学在澳洲学校的进展却差强人意。具体表现在学习汉语学生的人数随着年级的升高而逐渐减少,高年级汉语学生多为母语留学生,汉语非母语学生语言学习效果不佳因而缺乏成就感,等等。这样的现状和汉语学习本身的难度以及学校课程设置的合理性有关,但同时也与汉语教学的整体质量紧密相关。笔者认为,提高澳大利亚学校汉语教学的整体水准从而鼓励更多的学生学习并喜爱汉语所需采取的关键措施之一是加强对汉语教师的专业培训。本文旨在阐述和分析当前澳洲本土对汉语教师的职前教育和在职培训,从而为其进一步提高提供借鉴。     

SATurated models of pupildom: Assessment and inclusion/exclusion

Adopting a sociocultural theoretical framework and based on ethnographic data from two primary schools, this article seeks to answer the question: what meanings about inclusion and exclusion are encoded in school and classroom practices? It documents the (inclusionary and) exclusionary pedagogic processes that influence learning and children's participation in the learning opportunities on offer to them. From their analysis of observational, interview and documentary data, externally‐imposed and monitored regimes of assessment are what really matters in the school lives of the year six children in the authors' fieldwork schools. Assessment, narrowed to testing, defines the school day, the curriculum, the teacher's responsibilities, the pupil's worth, the ideal parent, and what counts as ability; it pushes towards a particular type of learning at the expense of other types. The article begins with a brief theoretical and methodological account of the study and a note on each participating school. It then suggests and discusses models of ‘SATurated pupildom' that are supported by the data. Versions of learning and ability as well as teacher subject positions that variously fit with the demands of summative assessments for accountability purposes, but that do not square with valuing diversity, are also discussed. The conclusion briefly considers the findings in the context of a macro‐culture that circumscribes what schools and teachers must value most and in relation to tensions within New Labour's push for standardisation on the one hand and inclusion and social justice on the other.     

School choice in the stratilingual city of Vancouver

This paper examines the links between language, social difference and political domination in the practices of parental school choice at the heart of a global city, Vancouver. Vancouver is a highly diverse city, especially in terms of language. Its inner city is replete with multiple languages whose exchange values are not equal. In this context, our case study of two elementary schools observes that white middle‐class parents choose a predominantly white school – whose students are non‐ESL and have a second language choice of French – in a socially and ethnically mixed inner city neighbourhood, creating a stark imbalance in the student population of local neighbourhood schools. This paper examines parents' accounts of their choices, which they rationalise on the basis of linguistic competency and differentiation from multilingual others. We draw from Pierre Bourdieu's theory of language and symbolic power and Ghassan Hage's spatial theory of nationalist practice to understand the linguistic dimension of school choice rationalisation made by white middle‐class parents. In the context of these insights, we argue that the way anglophone white middle‐class parents choose their children's schools is intricately linked to active processes of reproducing a stratilingual society in Canada.     

Interrupting Discourses Around Gender Through Collective Memory Work and Collaborative Curriculum Research in Middle School

Many schools in recent years have implemented curricular projects to 'deal with' homophobia and sexism as problems that affect adolescent students and make schools unsafe. The ways in which we, as teachers and researchers, confront such problems, however, depends upon how we view their power within schools. When viewed as discursive elements of a generally heteronormative school environment, gender and sexuality norms become more complicated and subtle, as they are a part of systems of language, actions, and expectations that can be difficult to problematize with students and teachers. Drawing on feminist post-structuralist theory related to normativity and discourse analysis, our research looks at two middle-school projects aimed at interrupting heteronormative thinking by including students in the process of analyzing and re-creating school discourse. In one project, a whole class looks at gender identity formation through analyzing collective memory works collaboratively with the teacher. In the second project, a smaller group of girls works to re-think ways that the science/math curriculum could be more responsive to girls, in the end also analyzing the work that comes out of the collaboration. Together, the projects raise important questions about the effectiveness of such curricular projects, the power of school language around 'adolescence', and the potential for addressing gender normativity on the level of discourse, especially in the face of such powerful ideas of gender/sexuality in the middle grades.     

L'usage de la radio dans l'enseignement secondaire à Montréal, 1920–1970

The use of radio for educational purposes in high schools expanded considerably between 1920 and 1970. Education scholars generally qualify radio for schools as a failure. This conclusion is based on the accessibility of radio sets in schools, the interest of teachers in radio for schools, and the budgets allocated for the purchase of radio sets. A wider investigation shows that educational radio resulted from collaboration among school personnel, radio broadcasters and the political authorities. We agree with communication scholars that using a means of communication for educational purposes involves many spheres of society. An examination of the origins, development and decline of radio broadcasting for schools also reveals that this was a technical substitution phenomenon; one means of communication was replaced by another. The use of radio in schools gradually declined, following the introduction of television in schools during the 1960s. Taking all these aspects into account, our study identifies the social mechanisms whereby radio was used for teaching in high schools. This clearly illustrates on a more general level the change in use of audiovisual tools in schools. The Montreal Catholic School Board (CECM) — the largest French‐language school board in Canada — is an institution of particular interest for the study of radio broadcasting for schools. Because of it size, the CECM had sufficient resources and personnel to be a pioneer in education. From 1931, CECM personnel went on the air on CKAC radio to popularize instruction in music, literature and language. Members of Montreal's educational community, parents and students alike, and listeners interested in learning, began to view radio as a means of conveying knowledge. In 1936, Société Radio‐Canada (SRC), the French‐language section of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, appeared on the Quebec radio scene, and educational radio gradually became more clearly defined. The programs that were aired, of which the best known was Radio‐Collège, gave the green light to educational radio in francophone Quebec. Before emulating SRC initiatives, the CECM used radio as a tool for social communication. In the early 1950s, the school board used radio mainly as a forum for explaining educational issues to the public; for example, teachers' salary negotiations. From autumn 1950, the CECM School and Family Committee aired a series of ten programs about the role of the school in society. Post‐war Montreal society was in a state of flux. Urbanisation and the emergence of mass communication and consumption were transforming the entire social structure. The francophone elite was starting to question traditional values taught by the Church, and religious practice was declining. Reacting to these new realities, the CECM appealed to parents for their help to ensure that together, family and school would succeed in the task of educating children. The board also used CKAC to discuss the shortage of schools. When parents demanded schools for their children, speakers from the School and Family Committee explained how the problem would be solved. As these examples show, Montreal schools initially made use of radio for social communication.

In 1954, following the third congress on the French language in Canada (Troisième congrès de la langue française au Canada), the CECM devised a wide‐ranging campaign to improve the spoken language of students. This was the beginning of educational radio. With the help of executives at CKAC radio, the board created school broadcasting designed to improve everyday language in students from grades 1 to 12. After the first series of programs proved a success, the board repeated the project the following year, broadcasting twice as many lessons. The glory years of Améliorons notre langue parlée would follow, with the series airing continuously from 1954 to 1963. As a result of this enduring venture, the government extended teaching by radio to other school boards across the province of Quebec. This marked the institutionalization of school radio broadcasting. Transistor radios, the democratisation of high school teaching and active pedagogy were all elements that boosted the use of radio in schools. Radio was now present in every classroom, but television was also being introduced. Radio had earned pride of place but was gradually superseded by television. The range of academic subjects widened, and the numbers of hours set aside for television broadcasting increased. Meanwhile, the use of school radio broadcasts gradually diminished. We therefore attribute the decline in radio broadcasting for schools to the emergence of television for schools, in other words, a phenomenon of technical substitution.

Finally, our research shows that the contribution by social agents incidental to schools and the influence of various factors external to schools are of major importance in explaining the mechanisms whereby educational radio became part of school life. It shows that radio changed in status from a public communication tool in the 1930s, to a pedagogic tool supporting the teaching of French twenty years later. Our study also shows that radio for schools was created not only by school‐related actors and institutions but also by the mass media and government. Far from being a failure, as education scholars maintain, educational radio was a success, but was replaced by television in the late 1960s.     

NAECTE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE FEBRUARY 1999

Children whose native language is one other than English face formidable challenges when they enter English-dominant schools. The task of learning English, progressing in one's native language, and acculturating to the school environment is a complicated one that requires the child to develop many new skills. In the past, children who were English Language Learners (ELLs) encountered a school system that offered little support. New teachers who enter the workforce must now know how to help these children move successfully into the school setting and learn English at the same time. The purpose of this article is to describe the process of change that occurred during the first year of a professional development grant aimed at infusing English Language Learner (ELL) competencies within an early childhood higher education teacher preparation program. A process is described that helped the faculty move from an awareness level to one that embraced a system to integrate ELL skill development within their coursework.     

Creating contexts for talk: the influence of school-based creative arts projects on children's language

This article draws on data from two recent research studies of children's language and literacy development in the context of their work in school‐based creative arts projects. Using observations of children (ages 3 to 11) and teachers at work, the article examines the ways in which the activities in such projects open up opportunities for children to talk with each other and with adults by generating a ‘workshop’ atmosphere. Children's authentic and wide‐ranging talk in creative arts projects encompasses personal, social, imaginary and real‐world themes which, we argue, is rare in other curriculum contexts. As schools are encouraged to develop ‘creative partnerships’ with artists and arts organisations, the article highlights the role of the teacher in observing and promoting these experiences as occasions for children's language development.     

Inequality in language achievement growth? An investigation into the impact of pupil socio‐ethnic background and school socio‐ethnic composition

This paper investigates how pupils' growth trajectories in three language domains (reading fluency, spelling, and reading comprehension) are related to their own socioeconomic and ethnic background and to the socioeconomic and ethnic composition of their primary school. Using multilevel piecewise growth curve analysis, the growth trajectories of approximately 5000 pupils from 170 primary schools were estimated. The results indicate that a pupil's socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds have the largest impact on achievement and growth in reading comprehension and the smallest impact on reading fluency. Furthermore, school ethnic composition—but not socioeconomic composition—was related to pupils' achievement in all three language domains at the first measurement occasion, though none of the types of school composition was related to growth. The research findings therefore imply that to combat the deficits in language proficiency often found in ethnic minority pupils, priority should be given to investments in individual intervention programmes over policy plans to desegregate schools. Moreover, our study identifies the specific points in time during primary school at which intervention programmes are needed the most.     

Differing expectations: an account of home and school factors affecting EAL learners from Arabic-speaking backgrounds

This article considers research from a preliminary study of Libyan children's accounts of their experience learning English as an additional language (EAL) within mainstream schools in the LJK. The analysis of interviews and classroom observations suggests that for equal opportunity to take place, local education authorities need to place greater emphasis on language and educational provision for newcomers to UK primary schools. In addition, there is still a communication barrier as well as a language barrier between home and school which needs to be addressed in order for children to adjust to and meet school requirements. In a similar way, parents of newly arrived children need to have clear expectations. The implications of this piece of research are extremely relevant for additional language acquisition in British schools and, in particular, for the education of newcomers whose circumstances are similar to those of the children in this study. This research also enables the voice of Arab children, as learners of the English language, to reach educators and policy makers, and empower them further in the research processes which inform British education policy.