THE ATTITUDE OF PART‐TIME DAY. RELEASE STUDENTS

Matched groups of pupils from consecutive intakes of a recently opened boys’ grammar school were compared as to academic performance at GCE ‘O’ level and as to attitude to school, while the school, which began by being rigidly streamed, was gradually being unstreamed. The main conclusion has been that significantly more boys have done well at GCE ‘O’ level (gaining five or more passes) as a result of less streaming but slightly at the expense of the brightest pupils, not as to the number of passes these boys have obtained but as to the quality of those passes. There has also been social gain under conditions of less streaming: the behaviour of the boys has improved in general, although the overall attitude to school, as measured by analysis of questionnaires, has not altered.     

School type and academic culture: evidence for the differentiation–polarization theory

Several decades ago it was shown that the differentiation of pupils into tracks and streams led to a polarization into ‘anti‐school’ and ‘pro‐school’ cultures. Support for this differentiation–polarization theory is mainly based on case studies. This paper presents findings of a quantitative study in Belgium (Flanders). Attention is given to the conceptualization of the polarization component of the differentiation–polarization theory. The findings suggest that the culture of pupils is less study‐oriented in technical/vocational schools than in general (grammar) schools. The differentiation–polarization theory also applies to school staffs: the staff culture is less academically‐oriented in technical/vocational schools than in general schools. Moreover, staffs' attitudes towards pupils—their judgements on the teachability of pupils and the trust they place in pupils—are different.     

History as performance: pupil perspectives on history in the age of ‘pressure to perform’

The development a standard-based curriculum in History can be related to the school reforms where ‘performance’ are crucial principles. The aim is to analyse pupils’ perspectives on the relation between their views on historical knowledge and the national test in History and grading. When the pupils in this study – directly after taking a national test in History – were asked to reason about what historical knowledge is, another subject emerged: a collective memory subject. History as ‘performance’ emerges clearly in connection with the pupils’ discourse on grades and History, which has an emphasis on ‘working’, ‘writing’, and ‘doing homework’ to get a better grade in History. The disciplinary knowledge content specified in the curricula does not correspond to pupils’ experiences of what the central historical knowledge is in national tests and grading. It is apparent that disciplinary knowledge content is ‘under pressure’ in the age of performance.     

The effect of language on the performance of second‐language students in science examinations

It has been established by previous researchers that changes in the wording of multiple‐choice examination questions can significantly affect pupil performance. In this study recent ‘home’ General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and ‘overseas’ General Certificate of Education (GCE) papers were examined for questions in which the language could be simplified, and modified questions were prepared. When performance on the original and modified forms of the questions was compared for a sample of British school pupils, no statistically significant difference emerged. When performance on the same questions was examined for a sample of pupils for whom English was the second (or third) language, there were significant differences in their performance on modified and unmodified versions of the questions.     

Social capital in the classroom: a study of in-class social capital and school adjustment

Social capital is generally considered beneficial for students’ school adjustment. This paper argues that social relationships among pupils generate social capital at both the individual and the class levels, and that each has its unique effect on pupils’ performance and well-being. The sample in this study consists of 1036 children in 60 first-grade classes in 46 Dutch elementary schools. Multilevel regression results show that a substantial proportion of the variance in school adjustment can be attributed to the class level and that both individual-level and classroom-level social capital have substantial effects on school adjustment. At the individual level, the size of one’s network is more important than its structure. At the collective level, social capital also has a ‘dark side’ because it can have negative effects on adjustment, lowering the academic performance in a class.     

How can we evaluate the effectiveness of grammar schools in England? A regression discontinuity approach

Previous research evaluating grammar school effectiveness has generally relied on snapshot or longitudinal regression models to deal with pre-existing differences between grammar school pupils and those in non-selective schools. These passive designs are based on correlations, and cannot demonstrate clear positive causal relationships between grammar school attendance and subsequent attainment. After accounting for the variables available for the analysis, pupils in different schools might still have distinct and unmeasured characteristics which threaten the validity of any conclusions drawn. Given that a randomised trial is not feasible under current conditions, this study addresses the limitations of previous research, using a regression discontinuity design (RDD) approach. This is the first use of RDD to attempt to make a robust causal inference about the effectiveness of grammar schools in one local authority in England. However, the authority, the Department for Education and the schools would not provide the individual data on pupils’ 11+ entry test scores, and the scores obtained could not be uniquely matched to Key Stage 4 outcomes. While the model presented suggests that there is an advantage to grammar school attendance, the incomplete data means that the study is more a feasibility trial of this strong design than any kind of definitive test intended to settle the debate on grammar school effectiveness. Conducting this design with national data on grammar school selection would create the most powerful evidence so far. To promote an effective and equitable education system for generations to come, those advocating the expansion of grammar schools should make the responsible decision to disclose all grammar school selection data for the purposes of research.     

‘The Rag-bag of All the Subjects’: English in a London Grammar School, 1945–1963

Evidence from a recent study of English teaching in three London schools in the post-war era suggests that changes to curriculum and pedagogy, commonly attributed by historians to the 1960s, were well underway in the 1950s. Major changes associated with ‘New English’ occurred when teachers began taking the lives and experiences of their pupils as material for English lessons. However, changes in an all-boys grammar school followed a different path. Using oral history methods combined with mixed documentary evidence (including teachers’ records and pupils’ work), we reconstruct the experience – the aims and beliefs – of a left-wing grammar school teacher, and we show how, under the influence of F. R. Leavis and the Scrutiny movement, he made response to literature a central activity at a moment when the place of English was uncertain, and the subject lacked academic prestige.     

The construction of the ‘ideal pupil’ and pupils’ perceptions of ‘misbehaviour’ and discipline: contrasting experiences from a low‐socio‐economic and a high‐socio‐economic primary school

This paper examines the effect of school social class composition on pupil learner identities in British primary schools. In the current British education system, high‐stakes testing has a pervasive effect on the pedagogical relationship between teachers and pupils. The data in this paper, from ethnographic research in a working‐class school and a middle‐class school, indicate that the effect of the ‘testing culture’ is much greater in the working‐class school. Using Bernsteinian theory and the concept of the ‘ideal pupil’, it is shown that these pupils’ learner identities are more passive and dominated by issues of discipline and behaviour rather than academic performance, in contrast to those in the middle‐class school. While this study includes only two schools, it indicates a potentially significant issue for neo‐liberal education policy where education is marketised and characterised by high‐stakes testing, and schools are polarised in terms of social class.     

Teaching Grammar and Testing Grammar in the English Primary School: The Impact on Teachers and their Teaching of the Grammar Element of the Statutory Test in Spelling,Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG)

The research examined the impact on teachers of the grammar element of a new statutory test in Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG) in primary schools in England. The research aimed to evaluate the nature and the extent of changes to the teaching of grammar and to wider literacy teaching since the introduction of the test in 2013. The research explored teachers’ responses to teaching grammar to a statutory test format, and how teachers implemented rapid curriculum change in their classrooms. The research sought to learn the perspectives of teachers as they adjusted to new English assessments and new expectations for children’s language in the primary school. This paper draws on teacher interviews (n = 16) and an online survey of teaching staff (n = 170). Teachers discuss their knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of grammar at their own level, and their skills for teaching pupils; they also discuss their observations of how pupils have responded to explicit grammar teaching and the grammar test. The data give some insights into the processes for teachers of applying new requirements for teaching and testing grammar, and how teachers strive to make grammar accessible to children. The findings discussed in this paper are: (1) since the introduction of the statutory SPaG test in primary schools, time spent teaching decontextualised and contextualised grammar has increased significantly; (2) grammar is now taught explicitly and formally as a classroom literacy routine; (3) the test format influences grammar teaching content and approaches; (4) teachers observe that pupils enjoy learning grammar and taking the test; (5) teachers disagree about the extent to which explicit grammar teaching and testing have a positive impact on pupils’ language and literacy skills; (6) teachers feel more confident about teaching grammar.     

The Private Sector of Education in Britain: a review of past research and recommendations for future work

The paper reviews research and debate on the private sector of education in Britain. Research undertaken to date is described as having taken place at three main levels, referred to as the ‘political’, ‘outcomes’ and ‘individual‐psychological’ levels. Following the review of research at these three levels, a number of neglected areas are identified, the investigation of which would contribute significantly to a greater understanding of the private/ state school debate. These areas are: a focus on girls and young women in private schools; the experiences of Assisted Place Scheme pupils; the study of the attitudes and values of private school pupils; the investigation of private school ethos and culture; exploring how private school pupils gain the ‘edge’ over state school pupils; and the isolation of school effects from social class and family background effects.     

The evolution of school league tables in England 1992–2016: ‘Contextual value‐added’, ‘expected progress’ and ‘progress 8’

Since 1992, the UK Government has published so‐called ‘school league tables’ summarising the average General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) ‘attainment’ and ‘progress’ made by pupils in each state‐funded secondary school in England. While the headline measure of school attainment has remained the percentage of pupils achieving five or more good GCSEs, the headline measure of school progress has changed from ‘value‐added’ (2002–2005) to ‘contextual value‐added’ (2006–2010) to ‘expected progress’ (2011–2015) to ‘progress 8’ (2016–). This paper charts this evolution with a critical eye. First, we describe the headline measures of school progress. Second, we question the Government's justifications for scrapping contextual value‐added. Third, we argue that the current expected progress measure suffers from fundamental design flaws. Fourth, we examine the stability of school rankings across contextual value‐added and expected progress. Fifth, we discuss the extent to which progress 8 will address the weaknesses of expected progress. We conclude that all these progress measures and school league tables more generally should be viewed with far more scepticism and interpreted far more cautiously than they have often been to date.     

Effect of single‐sex education on progress in GCSE

Multilevel modelling was carried out on national value‐added data to study the effects of single‐sex education on the progress of pupils from 2002 Key Stage 3 to 2004 GCSE. The analysis suggests that pupils in a selective environment achieve higher progress in single‐sex schools; however, the advantage of single‐sex schooling seems to decrease with increasing pupils' prior attainment (for girls) or with increasing school ‘selectiveness’ (for boys). These phenomena might be a result of a ceiling effect, as pupils with high prior attainment at Key Stage 3 cannot improve as much as pupils with lower initial attainment. There was also strong evidence suggesting that pupils achieve higher progress in the independent sector compared to grammar education. On the other hand, in a non‐selective environment only pupils with lower prior attainment and those attending schools with a full range of abilities seem to benefit from single‐sex education.     

‘We are trying to make them good citizens’: The utilisation of SEAL to develop ‘appropriate’ social,emotional and behavioural skills amongst pupils attending disadvantaged primary schools

This paper focuses on primary school staff members’ interpretations of the UK social and emotional learning initiative: SEAL. The data, collected through group and individual interviews with a range of staff members working in schools located in deprived areas, illustrate how the scheme has been used to encourage various behaviours. This utilisation of SEAL was influenced by staff members’ perceptions of the pupils’ parents, and particularly their in/ability to develop ‘appropriate’ social, emotional and behavioural skills. Staff members identified a range of objectionable behaviours, exhibited by the pupils, which were perceived to have been encouraged in the home. In response, schools operationalised SEAL to endorse alternative behaviours deemed ‘appropriate’. Implications of the findings, in terms of marginalising the values and ‘othering’ the practices of specific sections of society, are discussed, and recommendations are made for a more democratic approach to schooling which prioritises a mutual exchange of knowledge between school and home.     

‘What do you call the dull words?’ Primary school children using corpus‐based approaches to learn about language

This article reports on a study in progress which is exploring the potential for teaching Key Stage 2 pupils about the grammar and vocabulary of English with materials based on an electronically stored corpus of texts and associated software. It includes examples of the teaching activities used and extracts of discussions between the researcher and two groups of pupils. It illustrates children beginning to explore the distinction between ‘open’ and ‘closed’ classes of words.     

SWIMMING PERFORMANCE IN A COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

This research note reports an investigation into the relationship between date of birth and early performance at school and especially into whether there were more ‘poor achievers’ born during the summer months than in other months. A sample of ‘poor achievers’ was compared with a number of ‘average’ pupils, all selected on the basis of teacher reports. Contrary to previous research evidence, there was not a significantly greater number of poor‐achieving children born between May and August. The influence of one starting date for school entrance is discussed and implications for other school systems are raised.     

Young people and school General Certificate of Secondary Education attainment: looking for the ‘missing middle’

In Britain, educational qualifications gained at school continue to play an important and central role in young people’s educational and employment pathways. Recently there has been growing interest in documenting the lives of ‘ordinary’ young people. In this paper we analyse the Youth Cohort Study of England and Wales in order to better document the experiences of those with ‘middle’ levels of school General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) attainment. The overall pattern of school GCSE attainment is one of increasing levels of performance. GCSE attainment is still highly stratified. Girls performed better than boys, and there were some marked differences in attainment for pupils from the main minority ethnic groups. Most notably, parental socio-economic positions are the most important factor. The analyses fail to persuade us that there are clear boundaries that demark a ‘middle’ category of school GCSE attainment. We conclude that sociologists should study ‘ordinary’ young people; however, school GCSE attainment is best understood as a continuum, and measures such as the number of GCSEs or point scores are preferable.     

Drawing digital pictures: An investigation of primary pupils’ representations of ICT and schools

The relatively restricted nature of children's use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) inside the school setting has long been noted by researchers. With this in mind, this article offers a grounded analysis of drawings collected from 355 primary pupils (years three to six) from five English primary schools depicting desired future forms of school ICT provision. The article contends that the nature and content of these future orientated pictures reflect many of the tensions underlying children's current engagements with ICTs in school. Specifically the article discusses how the drawings offer valuable insights into the issues underlying pupils’ understandings of ICT and schools, not least: the restrictions of the school as organisation; the oppositional relationship between the ‘work’ of learning in school and the ‘play’ of using digital media at home; the unequal power relations that exist between pupils, schools and teachers. The article concludes that rather than accede to demands for free and unfettered use of game consoles and portable devices in the classroom, schools should instead concentrate on fostering informed dialogues with young people about the potential educational benefits of school ICT use.     

Voices and perspectives in Norwegian pupils’ work on religions and world views: a diachronic study applying sociocultural learning theory

This article researches work by four pupils in a diachronic collection of Norwegian primary school workbooks. Given signs of a variety of voices and perspectives in chosen representations of central tenets and/or practices in religions and philosophical traditions, how can an analysis and discussion of a few chosen texts shed light on their authors’, i.e. the pupils’, (self-) formative modes of encountering the diverse voices and perspectives? The pupils’ expressions are discussed by staging an interaction between inductively analysed elements in the source material and theoretical points from sociocultural learning theory. The theoretical concepts of ‘mediated action’, ‘voice’, ‘multivoicedness’, ‘dialogicality’, ‘speech genre’ and ‘privileging’ are particularly suitable. Interpretive results: Two pupils, working in the 1980s and early 1990s, have been engaged in inner dialogue with authoritative texts and voices, including teachers’ decisions for the learning situations. One pupil’s work (the mid 1990s) shows grappling with the many diverse insider voices in her textbook. Another pupil’s work (2008/2009) has traces of a structural privileging of the perspective of the ‘objective outsider’ while also signalling inner dialogic reflection.     

Can learning beyond the classroom impact on social responsibility and academic attainment? An evaluation of the Children’s University youth social action programme

Disadvantaged pupils in England tend to have lower average attainment than their peers. They are also less likely to be involved in wider learning and opportunities for experience beyond the classroom walls. Approaches which support learning activities beyond the traditional classroom might assist in overcoming the persistent achievement gap of disadvantaged pupils, as well being valuable in their own right. This paper presents impact evidence of a school programme called Children’s University (CU) for pupils in primary schools which combines outdoor learning activities, after-school clubs and community social action. The evaluation funded involved 1840 year 5 pupils in 68 primary schools, randomised into treatment and waiting-list control (business-as-usual) groups. The programme was delivered for two consecutive years after which the academic and non-cognitive outcomes were re-assessed. The findings suggest that after two years of opportunity to participate in out-of-school hour activities and social action there is a link to slight progress in pupils’ reading and maths performance (‘effect’ sizes of 0.12 and 0.15). A smaller improvement in non-cognitive outcomes of ‘teamwork’ and ‘social responsibility’ was also found (‘effect’ sizes of 0.02 and 0.07). The gains in teamwork and social responsibility results for disadvantaged pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) were better than the overall figures, suggesting that this intervention may have a role to play in reducing the poverty gradient in such social ‘skills’. It is only fair that wider opportunities at school are made easier for disadvantaged pupils, they may have others benefits. However, if changes in attainment alone are the primary goal, these relatively small effect sizes suggest that there will be more cost-effective routes than the one described in this paper.