Time engaged in reading. A critical factor in reading achievement.

The reading achievement of deaf children may be low not only as a result of factors related to the hearing loss, such as a lag in language development. Environmental factors such as the quantity and quality of reading instruction, for example, may also cause low reading achievement. This study looked at the amount of time spent reading and the types of teacher interactions during reading instruction in classrooms at a school for deaf children and associated satellite classes in New Zealand. It was found that the deaf children spent very low levels of time engaged in reading and were subjected to teacher interactions that may inhibit the development of meaning-based reading skills. The quantity and quality of reading instruction for deaf children may differ from that experienced by most hearing children in New Zealand.     

Rows versus Tables. II. The Effects of Two Classroom Seating Arrangements on Classroom Disruption Rate,On‐task Behaviour and Teacher Behaviour in Three Special School Classes

Summary Seating arrangements in which children sat in rows and around tables were compared experimentally in three classes in a special school for behaviourally troublesome children with moderate learning difficulties. Children were observed daily in four two week phases: seated around tables, then in rows, again around tables, and finally again in rows. Percentage on‐task behaviour was recorded along with rate of pupil disruption and rates of teacher approval and disapproval. In all three classes on‐task behaviour doubled from around 35% to 70% as the conditions changed from tables to rows. Moreover, rate of disruption was three times higher in tables conditions. Teacher behaviour was also affected; positive comments increasing during rows whilst negative comments decreased. It is argued that these studies support the results of previous studies regarding the importance of ecological variables, such as seating, on classroom behaviour.     

Nonverbal and Verbal Performance on a Number Conservation Problem and a Proposal about the Determinants of Nonconservation

This study compared the ease of verbal and nonverbal versions of a number conservation problem for 4and S‐year‐old children. The nonverbal task employed a ‘train‐transfer’ procedure in which children were first trained to a criterial level to make one response to stimulus pairs that contained two rows of the same number in one‐to‐one correspondence and a different response to stimulus pairs in which one of the rows was of greater or of lesser number than the other. Conservation performance was maintaining the learned response to the identical pair after one of its rows had been deformed. Taking both ages together the nonverbal task was the easier. However, children's justifications showed that verbal processes may have been responsible for both correct and incorrect performance in many cases. The data are interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that children interpret conservation terms perceptually when used by others in certain contexts in spite of what they know about the underlying fact of conservation.     

The effect of teacher intervention on object manipulation in young children

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of limited oral and physical teacher intervention on object manipulation by preschool and early elementary children. The population consisting of 70 children, three, four, five, and six years old from two preschools and two kindergarten classes were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. Children were observed as they manipulated magnets in classroom settings. Experimental students had the objects placed in their hands and were orally invited to explore. Results showed that there were significant differences between the groups in total time spent with the objects, number of activities performed, and cognitive level of operation. No significant differences were found in the number of contacts or in the interactive effects of treatment and testing day. The findings suggest that teacher roles may have an effect on student exploration and quality of interaction with unfamiliar objects.     

Home and Parental Influences on the Achievement of Lower Primary School Children in Singapore

This study investigated the effects of home environment and parental involvement in the achievement of pupils in the lower primary classes in nine schools found in four zones in Singapore. In total, 3,759 pupils and their parents participated in the study. The study was designed to answer four main questions relating to the effects of the home environment (SES, time engaged in television viewing, reading, school work and ethnicity of parents) and parental involvement in the children's school work and in other school matters. The findings indicated that significant differences in achievement were found for all combinations of SES categories and between most ethnic groups. A higher percentage of high-achieving pupils spent more time on television viewing, reading and school work. Parents of high-achieving children were more anxious about maximising every opportunity for their children including those not directly related to school work.     

上海市智障、脑瘫儿童康复工作现状调查研究

该研究的调查对象主要是上海市17个区招收智障、脑瘫儿童的幼儿园特教班、辅读学校以及康复机构的有关人员,采用自编问卷与访谈相结合的方式,对智障、脑瘫儿童的康复训练情况进行了调查研究。调查发现,上海市智障、脑瘫儿童的康复训练工作已受到各有关方面重视,能充分利用各种渠道为两类儿童进行康复训练,并取得一定成效,初步形成了比较完善的康复训练体系;但是在专业人员队伍建设(数量和专业水平)、经费投入、康复设施与设备等方面仍存在不少问题;文中最后对两类儿童的康复训练工作提出了一些建议。     

Pre‐schoolers,print and storybooks: an observational study using eye movement analysis

This study used eye‐gaze analysis to determine the extent to which pre‐school children visually attended to print when looking at two storybooks, to contrast visual attention to print for a print‐salient versus a picture‐salient storybook, and to study individual differences in pre‐schoolers' visual preferences. Results indicated that pre‐school children infrequently attended to print: in a traditional picture‐salient storybook, 2.7% of their fixations focused on print and 2.5% of their time was spent looking in regions of print. The children fixated more frequently on print and spent more time looking in print regions when reading a print‐salient storybook, within which 7% of fixations focused on print and 6% of time was spent in print zones. Effect size estimates showed this difference to be consistent with a very large effect. Little variation in visual attention to print was observed across the ten children, and children's alphabet knowledge was not associated with the variance in children's visual attention to print. Educational implications are discussed.     

CURRICULUM RESEARCH IN SWEDEN II‐‐MATHEMATICS AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

In Study 1, eight‐ and 11‐year‐old children's participation in playground activities was examined by means of direct observations. At both ages, the two most common categories of behaviour engaged in were sociable activities and rule games. The older children spent significantly more time in rule games and significantly less time alone than the younger children. Girls spent significantly more time in sociable activities and significantly less time alone than boys. The proportion of time spent in these and other categories of behaviour was not found to differ from the beginning to the end of playtime. A more detailed analysis revealed the proportion of time spent in some more specific games and activities, as well as other age and sex differences. Many activities were found to be typically single sex and/or single age affairs, although others were more often played in mixed sex and/or mixed age groups. Some of the reasons for why this was the case were explored in Study 2, along with the children's feelings at being excluded by other groups. It appeared that the older boys were largely responsible for the lack of mixed age and mixed sex play on the playground.     

Experimental Alterations in Playroom Layout and their Effect on Staff and Child Behaviour

The influence of short‐term alterations in the visual and acoustic characteristics of a preschool playroom on the behaviour of children and staff was observed. Daily changes were made on a random schedule between four conditions; screens only, carpets only, screen and carpets and bare room without either screens or carpets. The aim was to see whether the alterations affected the time children and staff spent in a range of behaviours whose educational value could be assessed from previous studies. A scan method of observation was used. Both screens and carpeting were expected to increase educationally valuable behaviour by staff and children. Staff produced significantly more educational and social talk to children in the carpeted conditions. Staff and children spent more time in adult‐child social and educational groups in the carpets and screens condition. Screens discouraged some ‘medium involvement’ educational activities and encouraged ‘miscellaneous’ non‐educational activities. Though these differences were statistically significant, their absolute sizes were small. This appears to be due to the child‐centred orientation of preschool staff, who aimed to provide a stable environment with free choice of activities under all conditions.     

The Ethnic Composition of Nursery Classes and its Effect on Children's Adjustment to Nursery

Teachers’ perceptions of how children had adjusted to school were collected from two groups of classes; one group had a 100% British White population, the other was made up of 26% British White, 54% British Asian, 15% British Afro‐Caribbean and 5% from other groupings. Results showed that the children in the multi‐ethnic classes, the girls and morning attenders were rated by the teachers as having settled significantly better than the British White sample, the boys and afternoon attenders. Possible causes for these findings could lie in the school induction policies, the social makeup of the groups, the teacher subjectivity in completing the schedule or the mix of children from different backgrounds on the one hand compared to the more monoethnic makeup on the other.     

An appropriate curriculum for 4–5‐year‐old children in Northern Ireland: comparing play‐based and formal approaches

This paper reports on an investigation into the quality of the learning experiences for 4–5‐year‐old children in Northern Ireland schools in the context of the debate about play‐based and formal approaches to learning and teaching. Detailed observations were carried out in 70 Year 1 classes: 38 in traditional Year 1 classes where the Northern Ireland National Curriculum is being delivered, and 32 in Enriched Curriculum classes, where a more developmentally appropriate, play‐based and child‐centred curriculum is being piloted. The quality of the learning experience in each class was assessed using a structured observation schedule, i.e. Walsh and Gardner's Quality learning instrument. Overall the Enriched Curriculum appears to be providing 4–5‐year‐old children in Northern Ireland with a higher‐quality learning experience. The children are given more opportunities to act independently, are engaged in more challenging activities and are more learning disposed, and they show higher levels of emotional, social and physical well‐being. The findings are discussed in terms of what constitutes an appropriate curriculum for this age group.     

Comparability of Self‐concept among Normal Achievers,Low Achievers and Children with Learning Difficulties

Self‐concept ratings of normally and low achieving students in regular classes were compared with those of children facing academic difficulties and attending special education classes. Children's perceptions of scholastic competence and feelings of global self‐worth were measured using the Perceived Competence Scale for Children (Harter, 1982). Participants in the study were 424 children enrolled in the third to sixth primary school grades. Results indicated that special class children rated themselves more negatively than their normally achieving peers on both academic self‐concept and global self‐worth. They also rated themselves more negatively than their low achieving peers on academic self‐concept; no differences existed between these two groups on global self‐worth. The results are discussed in the light of the nature of the Greed educational system and the pressure put on children for academic excellence.     

Classroom organisation and interactions of pupils with moderate learning difficulties in mainstream and special schools

Abstract

This paper reports a research study which used the technique of systematic classroom observation to describe pupil behaviour and pupil‐teacher and pupil‐pupil interaction in four classrooms in schools for children with moderate learning difficulties. The results are compared with those of a previously published study in mainstream junior‐age classrooms. The results show that a predominantly individualised mode of working with children prevails both in the mainstream and the special school classrooms and also that, despite the smaller class sizes, teachers in the special school classes are even less likely to use whole‐class approaches than those in the mainstream. Conversly they are more likely to use group work. Children in the special school classes receive considerably more individual attention from the teacher than those in the mainstream. Overall levels of pupil‐pupil interaction are similar but in special school classrooms this is less likely to involve more than two children at once.     

The contribution of group work programmes to early intervention and improving children’s emotional well‐being

Recent government policy has emphasised links between the acquisition of social skills by children and young people and their educational attainment. This study aims to fill a gap in the literature about the contribution of school‐based group work programmes to developing children’s social skills. National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) Children’s Services Practitioners ran four groups for a total of 38 Year Seven children from mixed ethnic backgrounds in two high schools in the North of England between 2004 and 2007, designed to improve children’s self‐esteem, social skills and behaviour. Parents were involved in identifying objectives and evaluating outcomes. The NSPCC’s aim was to deliver programmes jointly with non‐teaching staff and to train them to take responsibility for delivering future programmes. Pre‐intervention and post‐intervention Behaviour Rating Index for Children questionnaires identified small but significant improvements in teachers’ and parents’ assessments of children’s behaviour. Qualitative data referred to improvements in children’s self‐esteem. However, evaluation data showed that the groups struggled to cope with children with very disruptive behaviour, for whom a wider range of interventions and continuing support were required. Key variables included the quality of liaison between the NSPCC and school staff and the provision of suitable venues. Challenges included harmonising education and social work perspectives and expectations, and avoiding disruption to school curricula.     

Some ‘Spill‐over’ Effects of a Home‐based Reinforcement Programme in a Secondary School

Abstract A home‐based reinforcement (H‐BR) programme was carried out in a secondary school to increase rule‐following and work completed by two groups of disruptive students. Of particular interest was whether the positive effects of the programme on target students would ‘spill‐over’ to equally disruptive control students in the same classes. The results showed highly significant improvements in the work and behaviour of both sets of target students but positive ‘spill‐over’ effects on controls were only apparent in one of the classes. Possible explanations for this are discussed. It is concluded that the already considerable value of H‐BR programmes in secondary schools as minimal intervention techniques would be enhanced even more if ‘spill‐over’ effects on non‐targeted, classroom sub‐groups could be planned for, rather than hoped for.     

Motivation and Meaning in Contemporary Art: From Tate Modern to the Primary School Classroom

‘Art Now in the Classroom’, was a joint venture between Goldsmiths College Education Department, Tate Modern and six Primary Schools in and around the London area (Sandhurst, Pilgrim's Way, Hawesdown, Hawkesmoore, Lauriston and Myatt Garden.) It ran from September to November 2000, beginning initially with the placement of two Goldsmiths students at each school then continuing with school visits to Tate Modern, and four Fridays spent working in the classroom, culminating in an exhibition at Tate Modern where the children from all six primary schools got to see their own work publicly displayed. This paper is an account of the work produced by the children from Sandhurst Primary School and an assessment of both the educational opportunities it provided for the primary classes involved and for the Goldsmiths students involved. The aims of the project were to demonstrate effective ways to work collaboratively with contemporary art, to support the development of teaching strategies at KS2 and KS3 and to offer possible approaches for working with contemporary material in the classroom.     

Developmental outcomes of children in classes for special educational needs: results from a longitudinal study

This longitudinal study investigates the differences in cognitive and socio‐emotional development and academic achievement between children educated in special education classes (N = 37) and regular classes (N = 37). The study is retrospective. The first measurement point was while children were attending play‐oriented kindergarten and no decision about their education had yet been made. The second measurement point followed after 2 years of schooling. Comparing carefully matched groups, no differences in executive functions (EFs) were found before beginning school. Children assigned to special education had poorer language, fine motor skills and a lower pre‐academic self‐concept, self‐regulatory skills and social integration. Notably, every fourth child in special education was an immigrant, 9% of whom later attended regular classes. After 2 years of schooling in either setting, the groups differed significantly in academic achievement, EFs, fine motor skills and cognitive self‐regulatory skills. However, it was not – as school officials had intended – that children in special education classes had caught up, except in regard to their academic self‐concept and social integration.     

Using a games console in the primary classroom: Effects of ‘Brain Training’ programme on computation and self‐esteem

It is known that computer games are motivating for children, but there is limited direct evidence of their effects on classroom learning. The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate the effects of a commercial off‐the‐shelf computer game on children's mental computation skills and on aspects of self‐perceptions. A pre–post design was employed. The participants were 71 primary school children (10–11 years old) from three classes. In School 1, a class of 21 children used a games console for 20 minutes each day, running a ‘brain training’ game. Two comparison groups were used. In School 2, 31 children used ‘Brain Gym’ techniques in their class over the treatment period. In school three, a class of 19 children acted as no‐treatment controls. The treatment period was 10 weeks. Significant pre–post gains were found in the games console group for both accuracy and speed of calculations, while results for the two comparison groups were mixed. The games console group showed significant gains in global self‐esteem, but not in other aspects of self‐concept. The comparison groups showed no significant gains in any area of self‐perceptions. There is a need now for upscaling to investigate generalisability.     

A review of a reading class placement for children with dyslexia,focusing on literacy attainment and pupil perspectives

This research investigated a special reading class placement for children with dyslexia in the Republic of Ireland. The study compared the literacy attainments of children before and after their reading class placement, and determined in particular children’s views regarding the placement. Participants included 16 children with dyslexia who had completed at least two years or maximum three years in a reading class for children with dyslexia, as well as 14 reading class and mainstream teachers. A case study was utilised to examine the three reading classes using a variety of data collection procedures including standardised assessment results, focus group and group interviews over a sustained period of time. Results indicated that children and teachers were very positive about the placement for children with dyslexia, with both children and teachers reporting academic, social, emotional, behavioural and attitudinal gains for the children in these classes. Findings from quantitative data demonstrated that children made progress in the areas of reading accuracy, comprehension and spelling, during their placement. Interestingly, findings from this study confirm that children who spent three years in the reading class made greater progress in the areas of reading accuracy and reading comprehension than children who spent two years in the reading class. However, there was no significant difference in the spelling achievement gains for children who attended the reading class placement for either two or three years. The qualitative findings revealed children’s increased positive disposition towards their own learning experiences during the special reading class placement and this was reported by both children and teachers alike. However, issues regarding lack of collaborative opportunities between mainstream and reading class teachers, and differentiation of curriculum content in the mainstream classroom remained throughout the placement period.     

A Dynamic Approach to Giftedness: theory and practice

The aims of this research were to investigate the possibilities of developing the cognitive and creative abilities of recognised gifted children, and also of raising the development of “ordinary” children up to a level of giftedness. This experimental work, based on Vygot‐sky's Dynamic Theory of Giftedness, involved special procedures and an experimental curriculum designed to overcome children's psychological barriers to learning. Five school classes were involved: three experimental classes, two of these gifted and one of average‐ability children. Two further control classes were taught by conventional methods. Comparative assessments were made for 6 years between all the children, regarding cognitive development, creativity and social giftedness, revealing considerable undeveloped potential of “ordinary” children. Major factor influencing IQ changes included the differences in psychological mechanisms to overcome barriers to learning. Due to the experimental psychological curriculum, not only did all the children's cognitive abilities increase, but also their creativity. Hence, these new diagnostic and developmental procedures were found to be effective, demonstrating the high practical value of the Dynamic Theory of Giftedness.