The mainstreaming of charities into schools

Abstract

This paper focuses on the ‘mainstreaming’ of charities into schools. There have been growing concerns about the permeation of business and business values in education, but relatively little attention has been paid to the ways in which schools are increasingly engaged in the ‘business’ of fundraising for charities. Drawing on survey data from the WISERDEducation Multi-Cohort Study (WMCS), the paper outlines young people’s relationship with charities. The data show that young people have a high degree of engagement with charities, in which schools play a significant part. There are likely to be many positive aspects to this engagement, inasmuch as it fosters and reflects young people’s sense of collective responsibility. However, there are also issues about the extent to which this high level of involvement marginalises other approaches to promote the social good and increases the permeation of business values and business into school. The paper concludes that the current mainstreaming of charities into schools is not necessarily a self-evident ‘good’ and that this under-researched phenomenon deserves greater critical attention within and outwith schools.     

Ethical and Supervision Issues in the Use of Counselling and Other Helping Skills with Children and Young People in School

This paper explores the use of counselling and other helping skills with young people in schools, focusing on how teachers, who may not be formally trained, work in this area. The author argues that counselling in schools may not be common but that teachers’ use of counselling skills and the involvement in intensive case work is much more so. The ethical issues in this work are identified. It is argued that schools should draw up their own ethical position statements and that staff who are involved in intensive support work with pupils should receive supervision.     

Examining some aspects of the worldview of students in Australian Catholic schools: some implications for religious education

Abstract

Religious education always takes place within a cultural context. In recent decades, this context has changed significantly and Catholic schools now engage with a world that is very different from the immediate post-Vatican 2 era. This changed cultural context shapes the views, beliefs and practices of students in Catholic schools. One way of exploring this contextualisation is to describe the worldviews of young people and to discuss some of the major features of these. This paper reports on an ongoing study of students in Catholic schools. It records how they see themselves, their involvement in Church and their religious expression. Results indicate nuanced responses that invite sophisticated analysis of young people and worldview. One clear trend to emerge is the changing perception of students as they progress through the school system. This finding is in accord with a view that describes religious engagement of young people reaching a plateau at a relatively early age. Some of the implications of this study for religious educators in Catholic schools will be drawn out and discussed with a number of recommendation made for practitioners.     

Schools reaching out: Comprehensive parent involvement in South African primary schools

Abstract

Legislation to reform schooling in a democratic South Africa has focused attention on the rights and responsibilities of parents as empowered stakeholders in education. However, it is argued that comprehensive parent involvement is a prerequisite for improving the culture of teaching and learning in schools. Against the background of a literature review which examines legislation affecting parents, this article draws on a qualitative inquiry of parent involvement in a small sample of public primary schools in South Africa selected by means of purposeful sampling. The findings indicated that the schools were doing more to involve parents than is legally required. Strong leadership from principals together with formal organisation of parent involvement has established parent-friendly schools, regular home-school communication and innovative parent volunteering. Certain reservations to parent involvement were detected in principals' attitudes. The study suggests that, together with enabling legislation, schools can develop valuable initiatives to make parents more active and equal partners.     

“The student drives the car,right?”: trans students and narratives of decision-making in schools

Abstract

With growing awareness of the negative school experiences of trans students, more schools in North America are working to support such students and create more inclusive educational environments. This paper analyses how 60 educators in British Columbia, Canada talked about the involvement of trans students in decision-making processes at their school. It focuses on a prominent narrative, the ‘student in charge’ narrative, which suggests that educators should follow the lead of the young trans person to best support them. By centering the expertise of trans student, this narrative has the potential to disrupt cisnormativity in schools and traditional understandings of youth as unreliable. However, educators have also to negotiate dominant discourses about undue adult influence, young age, safety and gender fluidity that tend to undermine their initial commitment to young trans people’s self-determination. This paper analyses the effects of these contradictions on how educators respond to demands for recognition by trans students, and discusses the limits of student-led change. It concludes by arguing for more systemic changes that do not require the presence of trans bodies and instead offer possibilities for educational spaces in which all students would experience fewer pressures of gender and sexual conformity.     

The role of schools in explaining individuals’ subject choices at age 14

Abstract

The subjects that young people study from age 14 onwards may have important consequences for their future academic and labour market outcomes. These decisions are shaped by the schools in which they find themselves. Schools also face constraints of their own. This paper explores the extent to which individuals’ decisions are affected by the school they attend and to what extent this is affected by the composition of schools in terms of academic attainment, gender, and socioeconomic background. We use multi-level variance decomposition models applied to administrative data on the subjects that young people in mainstream state-funded schools in England study between ages 14 and 16. Our results highlight the important role that constraints on schools play in subject choice decisions. We also note the particular role of attending a non-selective school within a selective schooling district.     

‘Snitches get stitches’: School-specific barriers to victim disclosure and peer reporting of sexual harm committed by young people in school contexts

BackgroundSchool based, peer-to-peer sexual harm is under-researched despite its prevalence and adverse effects on young people across the globe. Understanding barriers to victim disclosure and peer reporting might help towards the prevention and protection of young people.ObjectiveThis study explores dual perspectives of young people and educational staff about school-specific environmental barriers to 1) young people’s disclosure of sexual harm experienced, and 2) young people’s reporting of sexual harm on behalf of others.Participants and setting: Participants include 59 young people aged 13–21 and 58 educational staff, drawn from seven schools across four local authorities in England whom formed part of a wider study on harmful sexual behavior and safety in schools.MethodsFocus groups were carried out with young people and education staff. The sessions were thematically analysed and focused on barriers to disclosure within the school context.ResultsPeer groups set powerful ‘rules’ that influence the ability and willingness of young people to report sexual harm. Some school responses for addressing sexual harm are sub-optimal and sexual harm is not adequately prioritised. Some schools appear to struggle to manage more subtle forms of sexual harm compared with more recognized forms of violence and abuse. A significant proportion of sexual harm is so prevalent that it is ‘normalised’, and therefore under-reported. This resigned acceptance to sexual harm consequently shapes young people’s disclosures.ConclusionsSchool systems of responding to sexual harm require strengthening to increase feelings of safety and empowerment of young people.     

Policies Related to State Residential Schools of Mathematics and Science

Abstract

State residential schools specializing in mathematics and science are schools of choice for gifted young people who are interested in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Fourteen states have such schools supported by state funding. These schools offer educational opportunities for high school young people who are ready for more advanced learning opportunities than are available in their home high schools. These specialized schools provide learning environments for engaging in high-level study and research. This article highlights policies establishing these schools and that guided their implementation as schools of choice.     

Girls and science education in Mauritius: a study of science class practices and their effects on girls

Background: The population of Mauritius consists of 52% females and scientific literacy is seen to be of vital importance for all young people if they are to be sufficiently equipped to meet the challenges of a fast changing world. Previous research shows, however, that science is not popular among girls. This paper explores one of many reasons why few girls opt for science subjects after compulsory schooling.

Purpose: This study investigated the approaches to teaching in four science classrooms in Mauritius, with particular emphases on the preferences of girls as they learn science.

Sample: A total of 20 student interviews and 16 teacher interviews were conducted in four schools in Mauritius. The four mixed-faith schools comprised two all-girl schools (one state, one fee-paying), and two mixed-sex schools (one state, one fee-paying), within urban, suburban and rural situations.

Design and method: 80 non-participant lessons were observed, of which 60 were science lessons while the remaining 20 non-science lessons were in economics, accounts and commerce. Group interviews with five pupils in each of the four schools were conducted and 16 individual interviews with teachers in the four schools gave an insight into the pedagogic approaches used for the teaching and learning of science.

Results: Transmissive approaches to teaching, giving little opportunity for collaborative or activity-based learning, were found to be the most important factors in alienating the girls from science.

Conclusions: There need to be radical changes in approaches to teaching to retain young girls’ interest in the sciences.     

Collaborative Partisans in a World of Change and Uncertainties: Responses to Staff Support Developments in the Education of ‘Difficult-to-teach’ Pupils across Cultural Boundaries

The Family Service Units is a national charity working in some of the most deprived areas of the country. This paper is concerned with one part of its work, The Connections Project. This project aims to develop non-punitive anti-bullying partnerships between young people, schools, adults in the community and other agencies. This article focuses on a particular aspect of this project, the Support Code, which seeks to promote an ethos of proactive mutual support. The development is described and the teachers’ reactions are explored. Though this work is currently being undertaken in primary schools, much is applicable to the early years of secondary education too.     

How Schools Can Create a Moral Curriculum

Abstract

Against the background of public concern over the moral education of the young, the contemporary constructions imposed upon schools in England by politicians, the intellectual forces arising from post‐modernism and the pressures of a pluralistic society are examined. The deep structures and slow‐growing processes which can cultivate a sense of moral values in a human community are related to how some schools have successfully achieved a moral community, in which all are valued and can make a contribution. The personal vocation and professionalism of teachers is fundamental.     

Tracing the development of poor student motivation and performance in township secondary schools

Abstract

Unsatisfactory motivation levels related to learning and studying among students is a universal problem. Students represent a diverse collection of abilities, talents, personalities and aspirations and come from different social and political backgrounds which may affect their motivation to learn and study. Some students are taught in schools where there is an abundance of resources and facilities, whereas others are taught in schools with inadequate resources and facilities. Student motivation, however, is a prerequisite for academic performance. Consequently, students’ potential, qualified teachers and school resources and facilities count very little if students are not motivated. This article examines the development of the lack of student motivation and academic performance in township secondary schools. The study has found that the motivation of students in these schools has been eroded by the students’ and teachers’ protracted involvement in anti-academic activities which have disrupted the education process. Due to the poor motivation of students, academic performance has deteriorated markedly and this situation should be resolved.     

Re-engaged students’ perceptions of mainstream and flexible learning environments – a ‘semi-quantitative’ approach

ABSTRACT

Flexible Learning Options (FLOs) attempt to enable secondary school completion by young people for whom ‘mainstream’ schooling has not worked well. Despite their proliferation and the increased research attention to understanding the mechanisms at work within such programmes, quantitative methods have not been utilised to compare participants’ perceptions of the learning environments of FLOs and mainstream schools. This study describes the development and application of a quantitative instrument to assess re-engaged Australian students’ perceptions of an FLO relative to their previous (mainstream) schools. Findings indicate that, on average, young people rate the learning environment more highly at the FLO than at the mainstream school from which they disengaged, indicating that the learning environment of the FLO aligns more closely with the needs of its student cohort. However, bimodal results for some instrument items highlight that the learning environment is influential, but not necessarily a precondition of school disengagement or re-engagement. Implications of this study are considered, with attention to the complexities that mainstream schools and FLOs negotiate in creating effective learning environments for diverse young people.     

Working at a different level? Curriculum differentiation in Irish lower secondary education

Abstract

Young people in Irish schools are required to choose whether to sit secondary exam subjects at higher or ordinary level. This paper draws on a mixed methods longitudinal study of students in 12 case-study schools to trace the factors influencing take-up of higher level subjects within lower secondary education. School organisation and process are found to shape the extent to which young people actually have a ‘choice’. Streaming practices, which are more prevalent in schools serving socio-economically disadvantaged communities, constrain the degree of choice young people have over their subject levels, with those in lower stream classes usually allocated to ordinary level. Even where schools have mixed ability base classes, schools influence access to higher level subjects. In the middle-class and socially mixed schools, teachers are more likely to expect and encourage all students to take higher level. In contrast, in working-class schools there are sharp declines in the proportion taking higher level subjects as they approach the national exam taken at the end of lower secondary education. Early decisions about not pursuing higher level are found to have long-term consequences. The findings contribute to our understanding of how curriculum differentiation reinforces social class differences in educational pathways.     

The Principal's Role in Promoting School Development Activity in Norwegian Compulsory Schools

The focus of this article is to explore the role of the principal in promoting school development activity (SDA) in Norwegian compulsory schools. The sample included 81 schools from 42 randomly selected municipalities. Results suggest that the principal can promote SDA among the teaching staff by playing an active role in creating an innovative culture at school. Moreover, results suggest that the principal may have a more important role in promoting SDA in secondary than in primary schools. Finally, results indicate that support from local authorities was related to SDA involvement among secondary school principals, whereas it was unrelated to such involvement among primary school principals.     

School improvement in the context of the special school for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties

Abstract

This article examines the issues which are particular to the KEYWORDS development and improvement of schools for children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Key issues such as team formation and teamwork, cooperation, problem solving capabilities and the school’s capacity to take ownership of the change process are analysed against the background of a case study of one EBD school. The process of change in this school is tracked through the evolution of the ownership of change and the dynamics involved in that process.     

Swann: the implications for schools

The article attempts to provide a framework of future actions by schools and LEAs. It questions the basis on which certain of Swann's proposals were made and calls for a more open acceptance that what is envisaged is a form of bargain: a promise of change in schools in return for the confidence of the ethnic minorities. Areas of potential weakness are explored; in particular the role of the Churches as providers of education is examined in a way which looks forward towards partnership rather than in the negative and politically‐unrealistic context in which Swann views them.

The process of arriving at policy is seen as crucial. The prospect of policy statements without staff involvement in the processes of evaluation and development is viewed with scepticism. The major dilemma of the place of schools as organizations which operate with their own values in a situation where calls are made for a type of shared‐value context is addressed. The place of teaching styles within that debate is also discussed.     

How Good Are Our Schools

ABSTRACT

Research suggests a positive relationship between schools’ efforts to engage parents and parents’ involvement in their child's education. The authors investigated school socioeconomic status, school size, grade level, and student–teacher ratio as predictors of schools’ efforts to engage parents of students receiving special education services. The dependent variable was the Schools’ Efforts to Partner with Parents’ Scale, which has been validated for states’ use in their federal accountability systems. Mean school-level scores were calculated for 265 schools in a large southeastern state. Results indicated that student–teacher ratio was the strongest predictor of parents’ perceived school engagement efforts. Implications are drawn for ways in which all schools, including those with high student–teacher ratios, can improve their collaboration with parents of students receiving special education services.     

The effect of schools on school leavers’ university participation

ABSTRACT

This paper considers the role that schools have in determining whether school leavers participate in higher education or not. It examines the association between schools and university participation using a unique dataset of 3 cohorts of all young people leaving maintained schools in Wales. School “effects” are identified, even after controlling for individual-level factors, such as their prior attainment, socioeconomic circumstances, ethnicity, and special educational needs. Schools appear to have a particular “effect” on the likelihood that a young person enters an elite university. However, the findings suggest the concept of a school “effect” on higher education participation is not straightforward – schools appear to have different levels of effectiveness depending on the gender of the young people and the nature of their higher education participation. These findings are considered within the policy contexts of school effectiveness and widening access to higher education.     

The system of education in Sweden: An outline and review

Abstract

Part of the rationale for the use of ICT in schools is the need to ensure that some sectors of society are not placed at an advantage as a result of unequal access to ICT. Taking this rationale as its starting point, this paper examines the patterns of equipment, access and use of ICT in Irish schools. The paper draws on data from two census surveys of ICT in Irish schools, conducted in 1998 and 2000. Patterns emerging from the data suggest that the young people most at risk of falling on the wrong side of the digital divide may be in relatively well‐equipped schools. However, there remain patterns of access and type of use that give rise to cause for concern.