Effects of cooperation and feedback by fellow-pupils on spelling-achievement

In a field experiment among third grade pupils from 15 primary schools, three instruction methods were compared. At five schools (control condition) pupils did spelling exercises as usual, i. e. individually; at five other schools the pupils also worked individually, but checked each other’s work after which they had the opportunity to correct their own mistakes. At another five schools pupils worked in pairs. Each pupil had to check the other pupil’s work and discuss the mistakes. For the low achievers cooperation led to higher achievement than the individual working method. Pupils who checked each other’s work but did not cooperate did not show any more improvement than pupils who worked individually.     

Learning barriers among Grade 6 pupils attending rural schools in Uganda: implications to policy and practice

The paper uses multilevel analysis procedures to examine individual- and group-level learning barriers that have the greatest impact on pupil achievement in Uganda. The data for this study were collected in 2014 among 2711 Grade 6 pupils attending 82 schools in two rural districts of Iganga and Mayuge in Uganda. Data used in this paper are part of a larger study which sought to examine the schooling patterns, as well as the quality of education received by children living in rural settlements in Uganda. Among the learning barriers with the greatest impact on pupil achievement at the individual-level were lack of parental involvement, lack of pre-primary school attendance, grade repetition, and lack of basic learning resources such as writing materials. At the school-level, the barriers with the most impact on pupil achievement were lack of teacher lesson preparedness, lack of teacher-classroom support by subject advisors, distance between school and teachers’ place of residence, lack of basic classroom resources, and whether or not the teacher kept pupil learning progress records. Implications of the findings for policy and practice are outlined.     

Antecedents affecting science achievement scores in classrooms in Trinidad and Tobago

This paper initially notes the role of scientific education in a developing country and the need to enhance scientific education among the school population. Enhancement of science education for all pupils is dependent on the distribution of schools, quality of schools and pupil participation in any country. To understand how science education is advanced in a developing country it is also important to know who is currently succeeding in science education in schools and to understand how this success is distributed amongst the school population. Thus, this paper questions whether school-based science achievement may be predetermined by antecedent factors or whether there is an equal opportunity of success amongst all pupil participants. A review of the literature has found that many antecedent factors affect school and science achievement, and these factors may be more important than within-school processes thought to enhance science education. The antecedent factors refer to: social/home background; age, religion and sex of the pupil; school class level and size; type of school attended and its locality.This study assesses how antecedent factors affect science performance in a representative sample of pupils in primary and secondary schools throughout Trinidad and Tobago. The representative sample totalled 1998 children, aged 6–10 years. Pupils were selected from a geographic transect of Trinidad and Tobago, which fulfilled demographic criteria. Once pupils were selected, biographic data were obtained for each child. Science achievement was measured by an end-of-term science examination designed for each class by the class teacher and graded on a 100% scale (within each class). Within class pupil scores were ‘standardized’ for comparisons between classes, schools, etc. Results from the analyses are summarized as: science achievement scores decrease as pupils increase in age. Girls perform consistently better than boys, with a slight variation in the sex by religion by school level interaction. Pupils in private schools score higher than pupils in similar levels of state schools. Pupils from a middle class background perform better than pupils from a working class background. Differences in performance relate to the religion of the child, with Muslim pupils scoring higher than Hindu or Christian pupils. Pupils in single-sex schools perform at higher levels than pupils in co-educational schools, and this is true for girls-only and boys-only schools. At the secondary school level the type of school attended is related to science achievement performance with pupils in prestige (usually church controlled) schools performing better than pupils in the comprehensive (state controlled) schools.The results support, develop and refine the previous literature on school and science achievement. Unusually, girls are at the forefront of science achievement in both primary and secondary schools. Also, traditional prejudices of social class, school status and location are confirmed within the school system in Trinidad and Tobago. A number of directions for future research and classroom action studies are indicated which focus on the existence of these inequalities.     

Teachers on perceived traits and academic achievements of regular pupils and pupils with special needs in mainstream primary schools

When looking for answers to the question of academic (non)achievement of regular pupils and pupils with special needs, it is necessary to take into account the extraordinary complexity of factors, ranging from psychological across instructional to home environment variables. The academic achievement is not only a reflection of the pupil’s knowledge, but is also influenced by the pupil’s behaviour, the teacher’s expectations and finally the relationship established between the teacher and the pupil. This paper contributes answers to the question which of the traits, perceived by teachers, explain the academic achievements of regular pupils and pupils with special needs. Our analysis shows that perceived traits that explain the academic achievement of regular pupils refer to academic as well as social behaviour, disruptive behaviour and self-regulatory behaviour; therefore, they cover all areas of perceived traits we studied. In pupils with special needs as a whole and in particular groups of pupils with special needs, the factor which presents disruptive social behaviour proved as insignificant, which consequently means that the academic achievement of pupils with special needs depends more on academic and self-regulatory behaviour, task activity and social inclusion.     

Entrepreneurship education: motivation and effort for pupils with special needs in Norwegian compulsory school*

Pupil enterprises are a widespread type of entrepreneurship education. In this working method, pupils start up, manage and close a business over short period of time. National and international policy documents claim that practical working methods through the use of pupil enterprises are beneficial to increase motivation by being a realistic and cross-curricular approach. This paper investigates whether this is the case for pupils who receive special education. No previous research has focused on the situation for this group of pupils when working with pupil enterprises. The data are collected from a survey with the participation of 1880 pupils in the 10th grade. Our econometric results indicate that participation in pupil enterprises has no particular impact on motivation or effort for pupils receiving special needs education. Even though there are many positive features with pupil enterprises and they offer a practical and realistic way of learning, we do not find evidence to support that pupil enterprises also have a positive effect on the general school motivation and effort. Thus, the political claim of the practical dimension as a solution to increase motivation for learning in school is not supported by our findings.     

Examining the effect of class size on classroom engagement and teacher–pupil interaction: Differences in relation to pupil prior attainment and primary vs. secondary schools

It is widely recognized that we need to know more about effects of class size on classroom interactions and pupil behavior. This paper extends research by comparing effects on pupil classroom engagement and teacher–pupil interaction, and examining if effects vary by pupil attainment level and between primary and secondary schools. Systematic observations were carried out on 686 pupils in 49 schools. Multilevel regression methods were used to examine relationships between class size and observation measures, controlling for potentially confounding factors like pupil attainment. At primary and secondary levels smaller classes led to pupils receiving more individual attention from teachers, and having more active interactions with them. Classroom engagement decreased in larger classes, but, contrary to expectation, this was particularly marked for lower attaining pupils at secondary level. Low attaining pupils can therefore benefit from smaller classes at secondary level in terms of more individual attention and facilitating engagement in learning.     

Does Environmental Education have ‘Street Credibility’ and the Potential to Reduce Pupil Disaffection Within and Beyond their School Curriculum?

Pupils express their disaffection with the school curriculum through their disruptive behaviour, disengagement from the learning process and through under‐achievement in their work. Given that the majority of pupils are in school, in body if not always in mind, then does learning about the environment switch pupils on to learning? This paper considers pupils’ and teachers’ perceptions of the effect that environmental education has on pupils’ attitudes to learning, on their ability to demonstrate positive achievement, on their involvement and cooperation in lessons, on their behaviour and their attitude to school, their community and the world outside school.     

Teacher stress and pupil behaviour explored through a rational-emotive behaviour therapy framework

Using the psychological framework of rational-emotive behaviour therapy, the principal aim of this study was to establish whether irrational beliefs, self-efficacy or pupil behaviour predicted teacher reports of stress. A secondary aim was to establish whether these variables, in addition to teachers’ verbal feedback to pupils in class, predicted on-task pupil behaviour. Participants consisted of 58 teachers from five secondary schools, who completed three self-report questionnaires examining teacher stress, self-efficacy and irrational beliefs. In addition, both teachers and pupils were systematically observed in class using a structured schedule. The results indicated that high self-reported irrational beliefs and low self-efficacy predicted high levels of teacher stress. In addition, high self-efficacy and low levels of negative comments directed at pupils’ social behaviour and academic work in the classroom predicted high levels of on-task pupil behaviour. The implications for supporting teachers in these areas are discussed.     

The effectiveness of the use of learning support assistants in improving the mathematics achievement of low achieving pupils in primary school

The use of learning support assistants in schools has become increasingly common in England, partly as a result of government support for this strategy. One suggested advantage of the deployment of learning support assistants is to provide additional support to low achieving pupils. However, so far research on the effects of this strategy is very limited. In this study the effect of using trained learning support assistants to help pupils underachieving in mathematics is examined using a quasi-experimental design whereby pupils receiving support were matched to those not receiving support on prior achievement and pupil background factors.     

Pupils and ‘Race’: integration and disintegration in primary schools

Following the Swann Report of 1985 and its recommendation of ‘Education for All’, the need for multicultural education in all areas was generally recognized. School‐based attempts to respond have been little researched, as has minority ethnic pupil development from the pupil's point of view. Eighteen months’ ethnographic work in six main primary schools revealed a number of predominant themes, including that reported here of ‘integration and disintegration’. Their nature, the implications for pupil learning, and the conditions attending them are explored in relation to adapting to school in the early years; transfer between schools at ages seven and nine; relationships among pupils; and pupils’ experience of the curriculum. Integration and disintegration were found to be associated with certain factors at general societal and governmental, community, institutional and individual levels. Integrational features appear to promote pupil learning and development, disintegrational to obstruct and disrupt. The analysis appears to support, amongst other things, democratic, participatory procedures in schools and collaborative learning in its widest sense involving teachers, pupils and parents.     

Social and Cognitive Outcomes: A Comparison of Contexts of Learning

This study determines effects of social learning contexts (classroom, school and boards) on social and cognitive outcomes of primary school pupils. Central to this research are the differential effects of attending private and public schools for pupils' math achievement and sense of well-being at school. The relationship between pupil backgrounds, sector, characteristics of classrooms, schools and governing bodies on the one hand and pupil outcomes, on the other, have been analyzed using multilevel analysis (VARCL). The sample consisted of 103 schools and 2023 pupils (grade 8, age 11). After controlling for socioeconomic backgrounds, the results show that indicators of cognitive and social effectiveness are mainly climate factors. Basic elements of cognitive school effectiveness (math) seem counter-productive with respect to pupils' sense of well-being at school.     

‘If there's a dead rat,don't leave it’. Young children's understanding of their citizenship rights and responsibilities

Concerns about pupil disengagement from school and society have led to compulsory citizenship education in state schools in England. However, there is little evidence that the new citizenship education is meeting its goals. The research described here assesses a new approach to citizenship education that appears to overcome some of the identified obstacles in current practices. Hampshire's ‘Rights, respect and responsibility’ initiative is a rights‐based whole school reform of school policies and practices. Under this initiative the contemporaneous citizenship status of pupils is respected, pupils are taught about their rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and democratic participation is made meaningful in classroom and school functioning. Of particular interest is that the initiative starts in infant schools. This research indicates that young children can understand their rights and responsibilities in ways that are meaningful to their everyday behaviour and that rights‐based whole school reform has the capacity to improve pupil learning and citizenship behaviours.     

Pupil mobility and educational achievement in schools: an empirical analysis

One of the problems facing education policy-makers is how to raise achievement in schools. Improving schools and raising achievement requires, at the very least, an understanding of the factors influencing performance in schools. Previous research has looked at a number of factors, including quality of teaching and learning, patterns of resource use, gender, ethnicity, social class and socio-economic background in schools, but there has been little empirical research into the effect of pupil mobility on school performance. Pupil mobility in schools also has implications for many important policy areas, such as school funding, target-setting and league tables, and yet it is only just beginning to be recognized as an important policy issue. This paper examines the relationship between pupil mobility and educational achievement in an inner city LEA. The performance of three cohorts of pupils at key stages 2 and 3 and GCSE are analysed by the mobility factor to illustrate the effect of pupil mobility on educational attainment. This is followed by a discussion of the causes of pupil mobility in schools and strategies adopted by schools to address mobility problems. The final section of the paper addresses the implications of the empirical evidence for school improvement strategies and funding allocations.     

A national evaluation of the impact of the secondary social and emotional aspects of learning (SEAL) programme

In recent years, the English education system has reflected a worldwide interest in social and emotional learning (SEL), as evidenced by the national launch of the secondary social and emotional aspects of learning (SEAL) programme in 2007. SEAL is a whole-school approach designed to positively influence a range of pupil outcomes, including increased social and emotional skills, better behaviour and reduced mental health difficulties. The aim of the current study was to examine the impact of SEAL on such outcomes. The study utilised a quantitative, quasi-experimental design with a sample of 22 schools (approximately 2360 pupils) implementing the SEAL programme, and 19 ‘matched comparison’ schools (approximately 1991 pupils), selected on the basis of similar school-level characteristics. A cohort of pupils in these schools completed annual self-rated assessments of their social and emotional skills (using the Emotional Literacy Assessment and Intervention instrument), mental health difficulties and pro-social behaviour (using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) over a two-year period. After controlling for a range of school- and pupil-level characteristics, analysis using multi-level modelling indicated marginal, non-significant effects of the SEAL programme on pupils’ social and emotional skills and mental health difficulties, and no significant effect on their pro-social behaviour. The study findings are discussed in relation to existing evidence about the effectiveness of the SEAL programme and the broader SEL evidence base.     

Young children working together. Cooperative learning effects on group work of children in Grade 1 of primary education

It was examined whether cooperative learning within the Success for All (SfA) program led to improved group work behaviour of Grade 1 pupils. 168 pupils of six SfA schools and 144 pupils of four control schools participated. Positive and negative group work behaviour was observed during a group task, taking into account socioemotional ethos, group participation, and type of dialogue. Longitudinal multilevel analysis was used for the sequence of observed 20-s time intervals. SfA groups showed more positive and less negative group work behaviour compared to control groups, whilst controlling for several group characteristics. Results suggest that negative group work behaviour increased gradually during the whole task in control groups, while in SfA groups it increased only towards the end of the task. The findings indicate that cooperative learning may lead to improved group work behaviour of young pupils (6–7 years old).     

Associations between socio‐economic status (including school‐ and pupil‐level interactions) and student perceptions of school environment and health in English secondary schools

This article examines interactions between school‐level and pupil‐level measures of socio‐economic status for pupil reports of the school environment and a range of risk behaviours and health outcomes. The baseline survey for the INCLUSIVE trial provided data on pupil affluence and pupil reports of the school environment, smoking, drinking, anti‐social behaviour at school, quality of life and psychological wellbeing for over 6,000 pupils (aged 11–12 years) in 40 schools within a 1‐hour train journey from central London. The level of socio‐economic disadvantage of the school was measured using the percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals. Multilevel regression models examined the association between pupil affluence, the socio‐economic composition of the school and the interaction between these with the school environment, risk behaviours and health outcomes. Our findings provide some evidence for interactions, suggesting that less affluent pupils reported lower psychological wellbeing and quality of life in schools with more socio‐economically advantaged intakes. There appears to be a complex relationship for anti‐social behaviour. Where pupil affluence and school socio‐economic composition were discordant, pupils reported a higher number of anti‐social behaviours. This article provides further evidence that less affluent pupils are more likely to engage in a variety of risk behaviours and experience worse health outcomes when they attend schools with more socio‐economically advantaged intakes, supporting some of the mechanisms described in the theory of human functioning and school organisation.     

Do troublesome pupils impact teacher perception of the behaviour of their classmates?

The widely supported wish for more inclusive education places ever greater expectations on teachers’ abilities to teach all children, including those with special needs and challenging behaviours. The present study aimed at the question whether teachers judge pupil behaviour more negatively if there are more children with difficult behaviour in class. The teachers of 184 classes in 31 regular primary schools were asked to complete the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-L) for 3649 pupils. Six linear mixed models were carried out with as independent variable the number of pupils that teachers perceived to have ‘abnormal behaviour’, and the class mean without these pupils as the dependent variable. For all SDQ-L subscales – emotional problems, behavioural problems, problems with hyperactivity, problems with peers, poor prosocial behaviour and total problems – the number of pupils perceived as problematic was associated with less favourable teacher perceptions of the rest of the class. The results of this study are a plea for a contextual perspective on pupil behaviour in class, both where teachers are asked to report on individual pupils, as well as where interventions are done on emotional and behavioural problems in class.     

Pupils,the forgotten partners in education action zones

Education action zones (EAZs) involving local partnerships are one of the government's policies set up to help raise standards in pupils' performance and behaviour in areas of economic and social disadvantage. This article explores the nature of these partnerships and the fact that pupils are excluded. It reviews literature on student voice and describes interviews with 139 Year 8 pupils in two inner city zone schools to gain an insight into their perceptions about their learning. The data highlights some differences by gender and ethnicity and also the steps pupils believe are necessary if improvements are to be made. If zone schools are to live up to the promise of ‘empowering people and communities’, the paper argues pupils need to be included as stakeholders who shape the implementation of policy and become part of the solution to the difficulties EAZs are charged to address. The paper concludes by suggesting this will require a shift in the dominant epistemology to recognize pupils as co‐constructors of learning and a shift towards more democratic forms of relations in order to encourage pupil participation and enable their voices to be heard.