On the Relations Between Parents' Ideals and Children's Autonomy

In this article Doret J. de Ruyter and Anders Schinkel argue that parents' ideals can enhance children's autonomy, but that they may also have a detrimental effect on the development of children's autonomy. After describing the concept of ideals and elucidating a systems theoretical conception of autonomy, de Ruyter and Schinkel explore the ways in which the ideals of parents may play a role in the development of their children's autonomy. They show that abstract and complex ideals of parents (be it ideals for their children, ideals with regard to their parenthood, or their personal ideals) are most likely to enhance their children's autonomy. They also explain that an authoritative parenting style is most conducive to autonomy, although whether or not it does benefit children's autonomy also depends on the types of ideals pursued by parents.     

Children's participation in school grounds developments: creating a place for education that promotes children's social inclusion

This paper advances the idea that ‘education for the social inclusion of children’ is similar but different to ‘inclusive education’ as it has come to be understood and used by some authors and UK government documents. ‘Inclusive education’ tends to carry an inward emphasis on the participation of children in the education system (with discussions on school culture, transitions, truancy, exclusion rates, underachievement, and school leaving age). In contrast, education for the promotion of children's social inclusion requires an outward emphasis on children's participation in ‘mainstream’ society while they are still children. The latter emphasis is seen to be lacking in educational policy discourse in Scotland though a recent shift in policy towards education for active citizenship is noted. Examples are provided to show how many policy statements enact a limitation on the scope for education to promote children's social inclusion by emphasizing children's deficits as social actors and focussing on the ‘condition’ of social exclusion. The paper draws on an empirical study of children's participation in changing school grounds in Scotland. The analysis shows how the enclosure of learning in books, classrooms and normative curricula was challenged. Learning from school grounds developments was constructed relationally and spatially, but the scope of what was to be learned was often delineated by adults. The paper closes with a discussion of how education that promotes the social inclusion of children will benefit from seeing both children and adults as current though partial citizens and using socio-spatial opportunities for the generation of uncertain curricula through their shared and/or differentiated participation.     

Fairy Stories and Children's Developing Theories of Mind

Traditional fairy tales are still popular stories for young children. This paper examines the social cognitive content of two well known fairy stories: ‘Rumpelstilt‐skin’ and ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, Analysis focuses on the internal state vocabulary contained in these stories, i.e., language which refers to intentions, cognitions and feeling states (Bretherton and Beeghly, 1981) and the demands that they place on children's ability to attribute psychological states. These two aspects are discussed within the context of what we know about children's developing ‘theories of mind’.     

Children's views of Teaching Assistants in primary schools

This study reports primary children's perceptions of the role of the Teaching Assistant (TA) in three state primary schools in South West England. Through the use of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, an exploration was made of how children view TAs, who are commonly found delivering the curriculum alongside the teacher in the classroom. A simple questionnaire was completed by 419 junior children and 86 infant and junior pupils were interviewed, giving children a ‘voice’ about an environment which they inhabit for a substantial proportion of their lives. The results show that children between the ages of 5–11 perceive the role of the TA to be of value and their work to be useful and helpful. Their accounts of the TAs' work in general and in relation to themselves, in particular, were clear and insightful. They distinguish between teacher and TA in terms of training, vocation and responsibility. Most children consider themselves to be confident and willing to ask for help but a significant minority reported that they preferred not to ask for help. The implications of the findings for further research on children's views and for educational practice are discussed.     

Children's Views on Quality Standards for Children's Television Programs

Extending a recent study of the standards mothers apply in evaluating the quality of children's programs (Nikken et al., 1996), this study investigated the standards children between 9 and 12 years of age (N = 427) use to evaluate the quality of four types of children's programs: children's news programs, educational programs for children, dramatic programs for children, and cartoons. Data were collected by means of questionnaires. A factor analysis resulted in a list of nine types of quality standards. The two quality standards children considered most important were: (a) comprehensibility, and (b) aesthetic quality. Additional standards were: (c) entertainment, (d) involvement, (e) credibility, (f) innocuousness, (g) restfulness, (h) thought provocation, and (i) presence of role models. The importance children attached to the nine quality standards varied with both program type and child characteristics. Seven of the quality standards found in the present study are similar to the maternal quality standards observed in Nikken et al. ‘s study. The children in the present study generally viewed these seven quality standards as less important than the mothers in Nikken et al.’s study. However, the relative importance children and mothers attached to these quality standards showed similarity, especially in the case of cartoons, and to a lesser extent for children's news programs and dramatic programs.     

Autonomy,beliefs and the learning of elementary mathematics teachers

Seven elementary teachers participated in a project designed to help them learn to teach mathematics according to reform recommendations. Teachers were provided opportunities to learn through both private reflection and public inquiry about their teaching and children's learning. The teachers’ instruction, reflection, and beliefs were studied. All of the teachers adopted some reform-based procedures including having children report problem-solving strategies. However, only three of them developed more complex practice in which children were involved in inquiry into one another's strategies. The groups had different beliefs about the autonomy of children to construct mathematics and their own autonomy to make instructional decisions.     

Involving parents through school letters: mothers,fathers and teachers negotiating children's education and rearing

The present article explores home–school relations by analyzing how Swedish teachers and parents negotiate responsibility for children's education and rearing through school letters. It draws on participant observations using a video camera in families, interviews with parents, and analysis of school letters written by teachers to parents. The division of public and private responsibility for children is negotiated in terms of expertise. Teachers position themselves as ‘educational experts’, and are able to prescribe how parents are supposed to be involved in children's education. Teachers construct parents as ‘rearing experts’, and ask them to take responsibility for their children's behavior in school by disciplining them at home. The prescribed parental subject is adopted by parents, particularly mothers, as they position themselves as involved parents.     

Young Children's Ideas about the Earth in Space

Children's ideas about the Earth in space, at least in terms of its shape and gravitational attraction, have been of interest to science education researchers and cognitive psychologists for some time. Focusing on shape and gravity alone, however, may have resulted in an underestimation of children's other abilities and learning potential in this field. Details from a recent survey of children's ideas arc presented which suggest that this might be the case. The findings highlight a need for care at a time when classroom expectations are increasingly driven and constrained by ‘educational guidelines’ and ‘science curricula’ which remain to be fully informed.     

Freedom as Non‐Domination,Standards and the Negotiated Curriculum

This article investigates the application of Philip Pettit's concept of freedom as non‐domination to the issues of educational standards and the negotiated curriculum. The article will argue that freedom as non‐domination (and the connected concept of debating contestations as part of a legitimate democratic state) shines a critical light on governmental practice in England over the past two decades. Joshua Cohen's proposal of an ideal deliberative procedure is offered as a potential mechanism for the facilitation of debating contestations between stakeholders over the curriculum. Cohen places particular importance on the participants being ‘formally and substantively equal’ in the proceedings and being able to ‘recognize one another as having deliberative capacities’. It will be argued that formal and substantive equality between children and responsible adults is highly problematic due to the ‘considerable interference’ (Pettit) teachers and adults have to make in children's lives. However, the article does offer examples of children's deliberative capacities on the issue of the curriculum (in response to Cohen).     

Middle School Children's Responses to Enid Blyton in ‘The Bradford Book Flood Experiment’

During‘The Bradford Book Flood Experiment’(1976–80), a longitudinal record was kept of the reading of one year-group of children in each of four middle schools in predominantly working-class areas. The children's choices of, and responses to, books were recorded on reading record forms, questionnaires which were completed by the children each time they read a book. Subsequently, it was possible to isolate responses to books written by Enid Blyton and compare responses to these books with responses to all the other authors together (i.e., to an‘average’other author). The chi-square test of significance was applied throughout. It was found that children responded more favourably to Enid Blyton in response to every question, the differences being statistically significant in every instance. Children's reasons for choice of books by Enid Blyton are quoted and categorized. An attempt is made to analyse the reasons for Enid Blyton's popularity.     

Intention and Meaning in Young Children's Drawing

In this article I present some ideas, based on qualitative research into young children's drawing, related to the developing discourse on young children's thinking and meaning making. I question the relationship between perception and conception and the nature of representation, challenging traditional ideas around stage theory and shifting the focus from the drawings themselves to the process of drawing, and thus to the children's own purposes. I analyse examples of my observations (made in naturalistic settings within a nursery classroom) to reveal the range of representational purposes and meaning in children's drawing activity. My analysis shows that, rather than being developmentally determined, the way children configure their drawings is purposeful; children can recognise the power of drawing to represent, and that they themselves can be in control of this. I explore aspects of the process, including transformation and talk to show the importance of understanding drawing in its specific contexts. I show how children's drawing activity is illuminated by the way in which it occurs and the other activities linked to it, presenting drawing as part of children's broader, intentional, meaning‐making activity. As an aspect of the interactive, communicative practices through which children's thinking develops, representation is a constructive, self‐directed, intentional process of thinking in action, through which children bring shape and order to their experience, rather than a developing ability to make visual reference to objects in the world. I suggest that in playing with the process, children are actively defining reality rather than passively reflecting a given reality.     

A Review of Children's,Teachers' and Parents' Influences on Children's Drawing Experience

In this article we argue that research into children's drawings should consider the context in which drawing occurs and that it is crucial to investigate the attitudes and practices of teachers, parents and children themselves that shape children's drawing experience and the drawings which they produce. We review the findings of seven empirical studies reporting data collected through direct observations, interviews and questionnaires from the three main players (teachers, parents and children) on the attitudes and practices shaping children's drawing. Issues covered include teachers' perceptions of the purposes and importance of drawing, support offered by teachers, parents and children for children's drawing endeavours, and possible factors that may lead to an age‐related decline in the amount of drawing children choose to do. We end the review by reporting some preliminary findings from our own large‐scale interview and survey study of 270 5–14 year old children, their parents and teachers, that provides a comprehensive assessment of attitudes and practices influencing children's drawing experience at home and at school. The findings provide further insight into the aforementioned issues, particularly children's, teachers' and parent's explanations of why children's drawing behaviour might decline with age. It is hoped that by reporting these preliminary findings some additional understanding of the context in which children produce their drawings can be gained and new areas for debate opened up.     

Children's attitudes towards ADHD,depression and learning disabilities

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression and general learning disabilities (LD) are common difficulties for British primary school children. It has been found that characteristics associated with these difficulties can result in negative attitudes and stigma from other children, causing problems with peer relationships. Furthermore, problematic peer relations can intensify the difficulties associated with these disorders. Packages such as ‘Tackling Stigma: A Practical Toolkit’ aim to combat stigma in schools. However, these packages have not been based on evidence regarding children's attitudes towards different disorders. This study aims to explore children's attitudes towards ADHD, depression and LD from a conative (measure of social distance) and cognitive (measure of positive or negative attributes ascribed to a person) perspective. Participants were 273 children (M= 9.2 years). Vignettes were used to describe a child with ADHD, depression, or LD or a ‘normal’ child. The Shared Activities Questionnaire was utilised to assess conative attitudes, and the Adjective Checklist was utilised to assess cognitive attitudes. Results showed that children generally displayed more negative attitudes to vignettes describing mental health difficulties (MHD) (ADHD and depression) than LD. Children had more negative attitudes towards the ADHD (externalising disorder) vignette than the depression vignette (internalising disorder). Younger children had more positive conative attitudes than older children. Those who had previous contact with children with ADHD, depression and LD had more positive attitudes. These findings can enhance current stigma reduction interventions through contributing a deeper understanding of children's attitudes towards the most common MHD and LD in childhood.     

‘We are like dictionaries,Miss, you can look things up in us’: evaluating child-centred research methods

Research concerning children is often presented with only a brief comment on the research methods adopted. This paper takes a ‘behind the scenes’ view and I discuss my adoption of a non-hierarchical ‘least adult role’ adapted from Mandell's work in 1991 to undertake qualitative research in the sensitive area of children's multicultural awareness in two high-proportion minority ethnic schools and two schools with a predominantly white intake. I discuss my approach as a ‘traveller’ rather than a ‘miner’ and the use of jelly beans and Bean Sheet to gauge the children's perceptions of their multicultural awareness. The value placed on the role of the child in the research design and implementation is examined, and I evaluate the advantages and limitations of adopting such child-centred approaches for the teacher researcher.     

Reading-Writing Connections: the Importance of Interactive Discourse

Margaret Meek (1988) has described how children borrow ideas from literature through ‘unteachable’ lessons. In this article, I examine how children's written work is enhanced through ‘teachable’ lessons, where the teacher draws attention explicitly to aspects of literary texts and where children explore and evaluate literature through group reading and discussion. The ways in which children transfer the knowledge of literary devices, gained through group discussion, to their own writing are examined. The relationship between group evaluations of texts and children's writing development is explored with reference to the work of Year 6 children. This illustrates how critical reading and group discussion can raise primary children's metalinguistic awareness and develop their understanding of the stylistic features of narrative texts.     

Jean‐Jacques Rousseau,the Mechanised Clock and Children's Time

This article explores a perplexing line from Rousseau's Emile: his suggestion that the ‘most important rule’ for the educator is ‘not to gain time but to lose it’. An analysis of what Rousseau meant by this line, the article argues, shows that Rousseau provides the philosophical groundwork for a radical critique of the contemporary cultural framework that supports homework, standardised testing, and the competitive extracurricular activities that consume children's time. He offers important insights to contemporary parents and educators wishing to reimagine an educational system that is currently fuelled more by familial and international amour propre than by children's interests and needs. Not the least of these is his recognition that to reimagine children's education would require a new configuration of the very terms of modern life. Problematically, however, Rousseau's alternative to mechanised clock‐time depends on the labour of Sophie, whose time is also reconfigured. For the next generation of children to be educated according to natural time, Sophie's labour needs to be off the clock too, which is just as much a linchpin of her removal from the public sphere of citizenship and the paid workforce as it is of Emile's education for public life, or so the final section of this paper argues.     

‘Interactive’ teaching in numeracy lessons: what do children have to say?

This article reports on the English National Numeracy Strategy (NNS) and, in particular, on the way in which children aged from 8‐ to 11‐years‐old view ‘interactive whole class teaching’. A qualitative, grounded study of both teachers' and children's perceptions of interactive teaching was undertaken, making use of ‘video stimulated reflective dialogue’. The focus here is on children's views about the roles of talking and of listening. Hearing what children have to say in this respect helps to illuminate the norms, expectations and practices of classroom discourse, and its implications for teaching. I argue that there is often a lack of any coherent theoretical basis for teachers' practices in relation to whole class interaction and that this can lead to a tension in which talking and listening become less effective as a vehicle for learning than they might otherwise be.     

Knowledge and Appearance in Children's Pictorial Representation

Seven and nine year olds were asked to draw two three‐dimensional objects (a cube and a wedge). When there was disjunction between their knowledge of the object's structure and its appearance (cube), they depicted the invariant rather than the variant features and produced rectangular solutions. When differences between the structure and the appearance of the object were minimised (wedge) most children drew a converging form. They could also accurately copy a two‐dimensional converging form. However, the children's knowledge of what the line drawing was supposed to represent did have an effect: in particular, they drew fewer converging obliques when the same line drawing was called a ‘building block’ (a rectangular object) than when it was called a ‘shape’ or a ‘house’ (an object known to contain obliques). A similar pattern of results was observed in a second experiment in which a selection task was used.     

Opportunities missed and/or thwarted? ‘Funds of knowledge’ meet the English national curriculum

North American curriculum theorists Gonzales and Moll and their colleagues have argued that working with children's ‘funds of knowledge’ allows teachers to build on what children already know in order to meet the mandated outcomes. The approach also has the potential to change the knowledges that are valued and which advantage some children over others. In this article we examine three instances in which children's ‘funds of knowledge’ leaked into English classrooms: these were not fully taken up. We suggest that these instances represent opportunities wasted, but that they offer some insight into the challenges of introducing a ‘funds of knowledge’ approach into the English ‘curriculum space’, as well as some of the possibilities. We suggest that while there are current initiatives which do work with children's peer and family knowledges, these are isolated and that coordinated debate is required about the potentials of such an approach in the English context.     

Disintegrate the unit!

Margaret Meek (1988) has described how children borrow ideas from literature through ‘unteachable’ lessons. In this article I explore how children's written work might be enhanced through ‘teachable’ lessons, where the teacher draws attention explicitly to aspects of literature and the literary devices used by authors, and where children explore and evaluate literature through group reading and discussion. The interrelationship between children's knowledge and understanding of literature and their writing development is examined. The way that critical reading and group discussion can develop children's metalanguage and metacognitive understanding is illustrated.