Teachers’ role in curriculum design in Portuguese schools

Teachers’ role in curriculum design is a broad question that inspires political educational reforms among European countries, a trend that even extends to higher education politics. The perspective on teachers’ role in curriculum, both at the level of the policies and of the practices, shapes recent educational reforms in Portugal. These are the concerns underlying our research that intends to substantiate school teachers’ involvement in curriculum development as it is experienced by them, and while comparing their views to the roles they are attributed in the political and academic dominant discourses. To reach teachers’ perceptions, we distributed questionnaires which were completed by 214 teachers in primary and secondary schools. We could conclude that the enactment of a professional identity on the basis of teacher assumption of their role as real curriculum designers is still far from being achieved.     

Access denied? Twenty-first-century technology in schools

This article considers how developments in technologies have transformed the kind of social interaction possible over the Internet, making it feasible to undertake discourse and dialogue without having to rely solely on text-based mediation. This represents a fundamental change to learning, shifting from passive acquisition of someone else’s ideas to active learning experiences that empower people to inquire, critique, create, collaborate, problem-solve and create understanding. Such technologies are also about the portability of mobile digital devices which now have the potential to allow any-time access for users either through Wi-Fi or mobile broadband providers and for those devices to become personal. The implications for education are enormous and the anticipated change probably ranks alongside the introduction of the printing press in terms of historical importance. This article considers those implications and draws on research recently conducted in schools and other educational settings in the United Kingdom. The authors conclude that the need to allow use of personal digital devices in schools seems inexorable, the further we go into the new millennium. This simple premise is fraught with many difficulties and challenges, however, which suggest that for many students the current situation is ‘Access denied’.     

The “books in schools” project in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, English is taught in the primary school, by language specialists, starting in Grade 3. During 1995, staff at the National Institute of Education investigated the impact of a “Book Flood” of 100 good quality English reading books per school, in 20 small disadvantaged schools, at Grades 4 and 5. Half the schools were urban and half were rural. The books were donated for the project by Wendy Pye, a New Zealand publisher. In preparation for the project, teachers were trained, in short workshops, to use the Shared Reading method, and to read stories to children. The books were used for 15–20 min daily during normal English periods. The achievement levels of the pupils were tested before and after the program, which continued from March 1995 until January 1996. In comparison with matched control groups, the project groups showed highly significant gains in reading achievement, approximately three times that of control groups, and substantial improvements in writing and listening skills. Apparently, the daily practice at reading and related activities contributed to a marked improvement in English literacy acquisition. The Ministry of Education recommended extension of the program to all schools, in English, Tamil and Sinhalese. Teachers in over 400 schools have now been trained in the approach.     

Experiencing multiculturalism in Greek‐Cypriot primary schools

Within the context of a monocultural and monolingual education system, this paper seeks to explore and compare the experiences of Cypriot and non‐Cypriot pupils in Greek‐Cypriot primary schools with culturally diverse pupil populations. The concept of multiculturalism has been introduced only very recently in Cyprus and there has been little research on pupils’ experience and understanding of multiculturalism. Using a narrative approach, this inquiry seeks to provide an understanding of the experience of studying in multicultural primary school classrooms. The pupils of two classrooms, aged between 10 and 12, describe their experience through terms such as new knowledge, religion, language, racism and stereotypes.     

Are boys discriminated in Swedish high schools?

Girls typically have higher grades than boys in school and recent research suggests that part of this gender difference may be due to discrimination of boys in grading. We rigorously test this in a field experiment where a random sample of the same tests in the Swedish language is subject to blind and non-blind grading. The non-blind test score is on average 15% lower for boys than for girls. Blind grading lowers the average grades with 13%, indicating that personal ties and/or grade inflation are important in non-blind grading. But we find no evidence of discrimination against boys in grading. The point estimate of the discrimination effect is close to zero with a 95% confidence interval of ±4.5% of the average non-blind grade.     

What predicts disaffection in Irish primary schools?

Internationally there is now a growing body of research on student school engagement. Much of this research highlights the association of school engagement with a range of social, behavioural and academic outcomes. Less attention is paid to factors predicting disaffection among young children across various dimensions using nationally representative data-sets. This paper addresses this gap in research by exploring factors that are related to school disaffection in Irish primary schools. Drawing on a nationally representative study of nine-year-olds, the multivariate analysis reveals that disaffection is associated with a number of personal and institutional factors. While the data relate to the Irish situation, the paper raises a number of issues also of interest to an international audience.     

Faith schools in the twenty‐first century

This article is intended as an initial investigation into the foundations of moral psychology. I primarily examine a recent work in moral education, Daniel Lapsley’s and Darcia Narvaez’s ‘Character education’, whose authors seem to assume at points that criteria for discerning moral actions and moral traits can be derived apart from ethics or moral philosophy. This assumption, which appears to stem from misconceptions about both the virtues traditionally understood and the non-empirical nature of moral-philosophical theorising, is problematic: (1) it courts moral relativism, which would preclude arguing for the superiority of any model of moral education, (2) deriving or validating a morality through empirical methods involves a self-undermining stance about the nature of empirical justification and (3) empirical criteria used to delineate morality are unavoidably arbitrary. After examining similarly problematic works by David Wong and Lawrence Kohlberg, I conclude that moral psychologists must wrestle with the problem of moral criteria through substantive engagement with moral philosophy.     

Teachers’ work and innovation in alternative schools

Toronto boasts a large and diverse system of public alternative schools: schools where democratic practices, student access and a commitment to public education are fundamental. There are academic schools; schools with thematically focused curricula; schools driven by social movement principles such as antiracism and global education; schools for students who do not thrive in mainstream schools; and schools with alternative scheduling and delivery practices for students who must work. The schools are small, supporting personalized relationships among teachers and students, with teacher-driven curricular programs that are responsive to student interests. Curricular innovation is made possible because alternative schools are only loosely coupled with the rest of the public education system, but they still must comply with school system regulations. This paper describes how teachers’ work and the structural elements of alternative schools support school-based innovation.     

Intergenerational learning practices—Digital leaders in schools

This paper explores the management and outcomes of a specific model of intergenerational learning, concerned with student digital leader support in a number of secondary schools in England. A local educational partnership set up a student digital leader project late in 2011, which aimed to develop a range of skills and outcomes for both the digital leaders themselves and for a potentially wider variety of personnel within the schools. Five schools were involved in the project. The student digital leaders shared their digital technology expertise with others with less developed skills, including teachers and managers in these schools. The study reported in this paper explored ways that the digital leader initiative was implemented, identifying and analysing outcomes and issues arising. Evidence from informants and from the analysis of benefits arising indicates that the student digital leader initiative led to a variety of positive outcomes. A key finding and conclusion is that this form of initiative has involved some students who tend not to be involved in other leadership or school-wide activities. The initiative enables these students to contribute to the community, rather than just receiving from it; students become active contributors to, as well as receivers from, the educational system.     

Respect in principal–teacher relations at primary schools in Turkey

Respect means consideration of actions and requests of others and confirmation of values of others. School is a social institution where students are equipped with knowledge and skills, as well as fundamental character attributes. Respect among students, teachers, administrators, parents, and other staff at schools is of importance. In this study, the focus group method, including 12 principals and 10 teachers at state primary schools, was employed to explore respect in principal–teacher relations. According to the findings, the participants generally developed professional respect understanding. The teachers presented different definitions of respect associated with hierarchical relations. The participants’ respect behaviors were commonly observed in positive communication and self-improvement. The principals displayed respect for teachers through some guarding behaviors, and the teachers displayed profession-related respect behaviors. The common respect expectations of the participants were as follows: self-improvement, establishment of positive social relations, and unbiased behavior. While the school principals expected obedience and complete fulfillment of assigned tasks from teachers, the teachers expected civility, justice, and guarding administration from principals. The participants regarded improper appearance, behaviors contradictory to rules of good manners and bad habits as disrespectfulness. The school principals regarded abuse of goodwill and false excuses by teachers as disrespectfulness; whereas the teachers regarded oral or behavioral insults by school principals and intervention in their private life as disrespectfulness.     

Effective and inclusive schools? Attention to diversity in highly effective schools in the Autonomous Region of the Basque Country

This paper forms part of a research project that aims to characterise best practices in highly effective schools in the Autonomous Region of the Basque Country (ARBC). The aim is for the best practices identified to serve as points of reference when designing improvement plans to be implemented in all schools in the ARBC, with the advice and support of the education inspectorate. Highly effective schools are identified through the results of the Diagnostic Assessments carried out by the Basque Institute for Research and Evaluation in Education (ISEI-IVEI) of all primary and secondary schools in the ARBC. Multilevel statistical modelling and Hierarchical Linear Models were used to select 32 highly effective schools, with highly effective being taken to mean any school with higher-than-expected student results after adjusting for the effect of contextual factors. Eighty-three interviews were conducted with management teams, educational advisors and inspectors at each of the selected schools. This paper presents the results obtained in relation to how attention to diversity is organised. The practices identified included, among others, inclusive actions such as support teaching in ordinary classrooms, the splitting up of classroom groups, the formation of heterogeneous groups and the conceptualisation of the support provided as a shared teaching responsibility.     

Teachers’ work in culturally and linguistically diverse schools

Teachers in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms work in highly charged contexts where policy, curriculum, student backgrounds, equity issues and pedagogical expertise provide both resources and constraints. Often, these classrooms are in underachieving schools in low socio-economic areas. This study investigated one school in Melbourne where teachers struggle to balance subject content and the language and literacy needs of their students. It addresses a serious gap in research on teachers in such schools by combining a theoretical model of job demand and control, and an explicit focus on teaching literacy in a culturally and linguistically diverse school. Using data from teacher focus groups and written reflections, the study illustrates the spectrum of conflicts teachers grapple with in their daily work, including issues of workload, time constraints, institutional practices and social and cultural practices which tend to isolate and disempower them. The findings support the need for a deeper differentiation of school contexts in language teacher research. The analysis also has implications for a range of strategies to build more autonomy into teacher work and to retain good teachers in schools where they are most needed.     

Variation in teachers’ conceptions of alternative assessment in Singapore primary schools

Alternative assessment is an increasingly common and popular discourse in education. The potential value and benefit of alternative assessment practices are premised on significant changes in assessment practices. Many alternative assessment practices seek and promise alternatives to tests and examinations. However, labelling a practice as ‘Alternative Assessment’ in itself is not a guarantee of meaningful departure from existing practice. Such alternative assessment practices risk retaining and perpetuating the same limitations and adverse consequences of tests and examinations they claim to avoid. Recent developments in the assessment system in Singapore have given rise to increased attention to alternative assessment as a means of alleviating negative effects of testing and high stakes examinations. The success or limitations of these attempts are helpful in understanding how alternative assessment can be understood and used in different ways, and how each way of experiencing alternative assessment may be more suited to supporting learning than others. In this article, the results of a phenomenographic study on teachers’ experiences of alternative assessment in Singapore are presented. Three conceptions of alternative assessment are identified, each depicting a particular way of understanding and using alternative assessment in schools. These findings are subsequently examined in terms of the potential for teachers to understand and use alternative assessment to enhance students learning in sustainable ways.     

mLearning in a Europe‐wide network of schools

This paper presents a European Community supported project which investigated whether the use of electronic and mobile technologies in the hands of young learners might engage them in learning activities and start to change their attitudes towards learning. The mLearning system was implemented in a Europe‐wide network of 14 schools with over 500 students and 46 teachers participating in the implementation. In the paper special focus is given to three different mLearning contexts/scenarios implemented within the setting of one of the Europe‐wide network of schools.

mLearning in einem Europaweiten Netz von Schulen

Dieses Papier präsentiert ein von der Europäische Gemeinschaft unterstütztes Projekt, das erforschen sollte, ob der Gebrauch von elektronischen und mobilen Technologien in den Händen von jungen Anfängern diese im Lernen von Aktivitäten anregen und dazu führen könnte, ihre Einstellungen zum Lernen zu ändern. Das mLearning System wurde in einem Europaweiten Netz von 14 Schulen mit mehr als 500 Schülern und 46 Lehrern durchgeführt. In diesem Papier wurde der besondere Schwerpunkt auf drei unterschiedliche mLearning Zusammenhänge/Drehbücher gelegt, die innerhalb eines der europaweiten Netze von Schulen angelegt sind.

Le mLearning dans un réseau d’écoles à l’échelle européenne

Cet article présente un projet soutenu par la Communauté Européenne qui a examiné si l’usage des technologies électroniques mobiles mises entre les mains de jeunes apprenants pourrait les amener à se lancer dans des activités d’apprentissage et commencer à changer leur attitude vis‐à‐vis de l’apprentissage. Ce système de m(obile)‐learning a été mis en place dans un réseau trans‐européen de 14 écoles avec une participation active de la part de plus de 500 élèves et de 46 professeurs. Dans l’article on met un accent particulier sur trois contextes/scénarios de m‐learning mis en route au sein d’un réseau transeuropéen d’écoles.

El mLearning dentro de una red paneuropea de escuelas

Este artículo presenta un proyecto apoyado por la Comunidad Europea en el cual se investigó si el uso de tecnologías electrónicas y móviles por parte de jóvenes alumnos pudiera conducirles a lanzarse a actividades de aprendizaje y empezar a cambiar su actitud con respecto al aprendizaje. Este sistema de m‐learning fue aplicado dentro de una red transeuropea que incluye 14 escuelas con más de de 500 alumnos y 46 profesores participando en la aplicación. El artículo hace hincapie en tres diferentes contextos/guiones de mLearning aplicados dentro de una de las redes transeuropeas de escuelas.     

Can virtual schools thrive in the real world?

Despite the relatively large number of students enrolled in Ohio’s virtual schools, it is unclear how virtual schools compare to their traditional school counterparts on measures of student achievement. To provide some insight, we compared the school performance from 2007-2011 at Ohio’s virtual and traditional schools. The results suggest that Ohio’s virtual schools have grown rapidly, but also have experienced much lower levels of school performance than traditional schools. In light of these findings, we discuss factors that may be contributing to the large number of low-performing virtual schools in Ohio. Considering the lack of sufficient evidence that Ohio’s virtual schools are effective, we conclude that the relentless pursuit to expand virtual schools is problematic.     

Understanding and enhancing pupils’ learning progress in schools in deprived communities

ABSTRACT

This paper draws on data from the ‘Raising Pupil Attainment in Key Stage 1 in Stoke-on-Trent’ research project. The particular focus is on how teachers, head teachers and teaching assistants (n?=?59) articulate pupils’ learning success in five highly achieving schools in deprived communities. Six key themes are highlighted which are identified by participants as influencing successful pupil learning and progress. These are analysed in relation to Biesta's theory on the parameters of ‘Good Education’ [Biesta, G. J. J. 2010. Good Education in an Age of Measurement. Boulder, CO: Paradigm] and within Bourdieu's understanding of ‘distinction’ [Bourdieu, P. 1998. Practical Reason: On the Theory of Action. Oxford: Polity Press]. The research reveals that issues related to socialisation and subjectivity are presented as critical and foundational for the more formal measures of success in pupil learning.     

Sustainability in Australian schools: A cross-curriculum priority?

PROSPECTS - In light of Australian policy and curriculum initiatives aimed to prioritize Education for Sustainability (EfS) practices, this article discusses a study that evaluated a smart meter...     

The danger of subverting students’ views in schools

This paper is firmly grounded in the position that engaging with students’ voices in schools is central to the development of inclusive practices. It explores the tensions that can be created when efforts are made to engage with students’ voices in relation to their experiences of learning and teaching. An example from a three-year research and development project, which worked alongside teachers to use students’ voices as a way of developing inclusive practices, is used to illustrate these tensions. This project, though showing that students’ voices can be a powerful means for understanding learning and teaching in schools, also encountered challenges with these processes. This paper focuses on the experiences of one secondary school which (possibly inadvertently) subverted and undermined students’ voice initiatives and explores the potential negative impacts of this on individual students, on students as a whole, and on teacher development. By doing this, suggestions as to how such tensions can be avoided in schools are offered, with the aim being to allow a genuine engagement with the views of students.     

Practising leadership in newly multi-ethnic schools: tensions in the field?

This paper explores the leadership practices of three principals following a period of intensive immigration in Ireland. Drawing on the work of Bourdieu, it conceptualises schools as structured social spaces and of their leadership work as a form of practising. This practising is an outcome of the intersection between deeply embedded subjectivities operating in diverse fields of action that shape, constrain and transform each principal’s practices. Presenting an analytical model that highlights the circular and capillary-like dimension to such practising, the paper explores how principals’ recognition of immigrant children (their recognitive practices) as well as investment in supporting their learning (distributive practices) are shaped by the logics of practice across different fields, as well as by their own evolving habitus and struggle to be authentic in a period of rapid social change. Practising effective leadership in newly multi-ethnic schools must be conceived as layered and multiple but must be underpinned by an ethic of justice, if the minoritised status of ‘ethnic’ others is to be challenged and overcome.