Raising the achievement of Portuguese pupils in British schools: a case study of good practice

The aim of the research was to study the experiences of Portuguese heritage pupils in British schools. The main findings from empirical data suggest Portuguese children are underachieving at the end of primary education but the case study confirms that in good schools Portuguese pupils do well and have made huge improvements over the periods. The findings show that the case study schools have adopted a number of strategies to overcome some of the barriers to achievement including parental engagement, effective use of a more diverse workforce, developing an inclusive ethos and curriculum, effective English language support for Portuguese pupils, monitoring performance of Portuguese pupils and good and well‐coordinated targeted support through extensive use of teachers, teaching assistants, learning mentors and Portuguese classes. The study argues that the worryingly low‐achievement levels of many Portuguese pupils in British schools have been masked by Government statistics that fail to distinguish between European ethnic groups. Policy implications for all concerned with school improvement are highlighted in the final section.     

Raising achievement of black Caribbean pupils: good practice for developing leadership capacity and workforce diversity in schools

This research aims to examine the success factors behind raising the achievement of Black Caribbean pupils with focus on leadership and work force diversity factors. Drawing on case studies and focus group methodological approaches of research the study findings identified a number of success factors including the strong leadership of the Headteacher, effective use of a diverse multi-ethnic workforce, valuing and celebrating cultural diversity, providing an inclusive curriculum that adds to gives pride in being Black Caribbean. What is particularly special about the case study schools is that the leadership of the schools are strong on equality and diversity issues and there are also plenty of opportunities for teachers and school staff to celebrate cultural diversity and reflect on the achievement of Black Caribbean pupils. Overall the study suggests that Black Caribbean pupils do well in multicultural schools with a strong school leadership on diversity and equality issues. Policy implications for developing leadership capacity and workforce diversity are discussed in the final section.     

Continuous improvement in schools: Understanding the practice

This article investigates conceptually and practically what it means for schools to engage in the practice of continuous improvement. The analysis draws upon prior research and discussion to predict core elements of the practice of continuous improvement in schools. The predictions are then applied to a case study of continuous improvement efforts in a Pakistani secondary school that was involved in a 10-year school–university school improvement partnership. The article concludes with a set of eight empirically based propositions about the practice of continuous improvement schools.     

Achievement of Black Caribbean pupils: good practice in Lambeth schools

The aim of this research article is to investigate how pupils from Black Caribbean backgrounds are helped to achieve high standards in British schools and to identify a number of significant common themes for success in raising the achievement. It draws evidence of good practice from 13 case study schools in the local education authority (LEA). The main findings of the research carried out show that Key Stage 2 (KS2) and General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) results have improved significantly in the case study schools in the last seven years and all schools are performing above national average with Black Caribbean pupils. The study has also identified a number of good practices in successful schools. Among the key features that contribute to the success in the case study schools for raising the achievement of Black Caribbean are: strong leadership with emphasis on raising expectations for all pupils and teachers; the use of performance data for school self‐evaluation and tracking pupils' performance; a commitment to creating a mesmerising curriculum where teachers use their creative intuition to deepen the quality of pupils' learning; a highly inclusive curriculum that meets the needs of Black Caribbean pupils; a strong link with the community and a clear commitment to parents' involvement; good and well coordinated support to Black Caribbean pupils through extensive use of learning mentors and role models; an inclusive curriculum and a strong commitment to equal opportunities with a clear stand on racism. This article discusses in detail these good practices and pattern of KS2 and GCSE performance by ethnicity to illustrate difference in attainment. Overall, the finding of this case study LEA confirms that in good schools Black Caribbean pupils do well and buck the national trend against all odds. The reasons for this success story are all to do with education provided in the LEA and schools. The implications of the research for all concerned with school improvement receive much attention.     

The impact of placing pupils with special educational needs in mainstream schools on the achievement of their peers

Background Over the past 20 years or so policy and practice on the education of children with special educational needs (SEN) has been aimed at placing increasing numbers of children in a mainstream school environment. Although this policy has been supported in principle by many teachers, parents and local authority officers, there has been much less agreement about whether this principle can be realized in practice, and even if it can, about what the impacts might be on the achievements of pupils with SEN in mainstream schools and, in particular, on their peers.

Purpose This paper discusses the key findings from a systematic review of the literature carried out by the Inclusion Review Group, on behalf of the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information (EPPI)-Centre, the purpose of which was to review research evidence on whether the placement of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) within mainstream schools has an impact on academic and social outcomes for pupils without SEN.

Design and methods The methodology followed the procedures adopted by the EPPI-Centre. Having agreed on the inclusion and exclusion criteria for studies that could be included in the review, an initial pool of 7137 papers were identified through electronic databases. After having screened all their titles and/or abstracts and having marked out possible papers to be included in the review, 119 paper copies were obtained—all of which were read by one or more of the authors of this paper. This led to a further reduction to 26 studies that were subjected to the EPPI data extraction process and synthesis.

Conclusions Overall, the findings suggest that there are no adverse effects on pupils without SEN of including pupils with special needs in mainstream schools, with 81% of the outcomes reporting positive or neutral effects. Despite concerns about the quality of some of the studies that were reviewed and the fact that the great majority were carried out in the USA, these findings should bring some comfort to headteachers, parents and local authority officers around the world at a time when concerns have been raised about the problems that schools face in responding to the twin agenda of becoming more inclusive and, at the same time, raising the achievements of all their pupils.     

Design as a social practice: the design of new build schools

In this paper we present the findings of an investigation into the ways in which the discourses and practices of school design produce educational spaces which influence the discourses and practices of teaching and learning when the building is occupied. It expands notions of post occupancy evaluation (POE) research by exploring how the objects/motives of an educational vision which informed an initial school design, those of the final build, and those of the people who occupy that building interact in a way which influences experiences of the end users. Crucially we looked at the social interactions that arose within a building as it was used over time. The focus is on the changing relationships between design and practice through time.     

Comparing opportunity to learn and student achievement gains in southern African primary schools: A new approach

A popular explanation for low student achievement in many developing countries’ primary schools is that students have relatively little opportunity to learn (OTL) the skills needed for academic success. However logical this explanation may be, surprisingly little empirical evidence has been presented to support it. In this paper we address this gap by estimating the effect of OTL on students’ academic performance using rich data we gathered on the teaching process in a large number of South African and Botswana Grade 6 classrooms. We use an innovative classroom fixed effects approach to estimate the impact of OTL on students’ mathematics achievement gains. We found statistically significant but very different results for our South Africa and Botswana samples. The discussion of those results in the context of differences in the two school systems gives us insights into the importance and limits of OTL as an explainer of student learning in low achievement schools.     

The influence of classroom disciplinary climate of schools on reading achievement: a cross-country comparative study

Despite considerable interest in research and practice in the effect of classroom disciplinary climate of schools on academic achievement, little is known about the generalizability of this effect over countries. Using hierarchical linear analyses, the present study reveals that a better classroom disciplinary climate in a school is significantly associated with better school reading performance in 53 of the 65 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009 participant countries. The classroom disciplinary climate of schools can explain 11% of the between-school differences in reading achievement over countries. Controlling for economic, social, and cultural variables and student gender-related variables at student and school levels, the between-country differences in the effect of classroom disciplinary climate of schools shrank by three quarters. These findings can inform countries that face educational inequality issues (e.g., Argentina) and gender gap issues (e.g., Trinidad and Tobago), suggesting the possibility of tackling these issues via intervening on classroom disciplinary climate of schools.     

Academic achievement despite child maltreatment: a longitudinal study

Purpose

Although researchers have concluded that child maltreatment has a negative effect on children's learning and academic achievement, not all children are negatively affected by maltreatment, and some children seem to succeed academically despite being maltreated. Drawing on risk and resilience theory, we examined a broad range of potential risk, promotive, and protective factors within children and their environments along with characteristics of the maltreatment to account for variability in test scores.

Methods

A national longitudinal probability sample of 702 maltreated school-aged children, ages 6-10, and their caregivers was used to predict reading and math scores among maltreated children over three years.

Results

We found that chronic maltreatment, poorer daily living skills, and lower intelligence explained a substantial proportion of the variance in maltreated children's math scores (39%), whereas type of maltreatment, poorer daily living skills and lower intelligence explained a substantial proportion of the variance in reading scores (54%) over time. Contrary to our prediction, having a behavior problem seemed to protect chronically maltreated children from poorer performance in math over time.

Conclusions

To increase academic achievement among maltreated children, it is imperative that we prevent chronic maltreatment and help children increase their competency on daily living skills.     

The role of schools in bridging within-school achievement gaps based on socioeconomic status: a cross-national comparative study

Since the publication of the Coleman report in 1966, research on the role of schools in influencing student achievement relative to the role of family background has generated considerable interest and controversy. A large volume of international and comparative research has also been devoted to studying school effects on student achievement. Relatively few studies have examined international differences in the importance of schools in bridging achievement gaps based on socioeconomic status (SES). Using PISA 2012 data, this study examines the role of schools in bridging within-school SES gaps in achievement and compares findings across 61 countries. Contrary to prior research, we find that schools may have limited ability in bridging SES gaps that exist within schools. We also find that across all countries included in the study, specific factors such as the school’s learning environment and school context are not systematically associated with within-school SES gaps.     

Home-based family involvement and academic achievement: a case study in primary education

Does home-based family involvement influence academic performance? To answer this question, a case study research was carried out with 96 children from all six levels of primary education at a public school, and their families. Data regarding home-based family involvement were collected using a questionnaire. Academic achievement was measured from school marks. The results reveal that, apart from two of the factors considered, home–family involvement as a whole is not significantly related to academic achievement. These two factors are access to informal education resources and parents’ employment. Family involvement related to the access of children to informal education resources is significantly related to a better academic achievement. Those students with both parents working perform best, and those with none working, worst. Although gender does not appear to significantly influence academic achievement and family involvement, the results show that girls attain better school performance and receive more family attention than boys.     

Pedagogies of experience: a case of the African American male teacher

Numerous scholars have illustrated how African American teachers’ past experiences provide them a philosophical vision committed to teaching for social and educational change for African American students. This article draws from this body of work by looking at the diverse ways five African American male teachers used their past experiences to shape their vision for working with African American male students. However, this article also extends this body of work by illustrating that while the teachers in this study had similar commitments to working with African American males, their varied life experiences and social locations provided them different sources of practical and philosophical knowledge. These findings illustrate the diversity of experiences these teachers drew from, thus troubling the common sense discourses that essentialize African American male teachers as one-dimensional monolithic role models.     

White working class achievement: an ethnographic study of barriers to learning in schools

This study aims to examine the key barriers to learning to raise achievement of White British pupils with low‐income backgrounds. The main findings suggest that the worryingly low‐achievement levels of many White working class pupils have been masked by the middle class success in the English school system and government statistics that fail to distinguish the White British ethnic group by social background. The empirical data confirm that one of the biggest groups of underachievers is the White British working class and their outcomes at each key stage are considerably below those achieved by all other ethnic groups. One of the main reasons for pupil underachievement, identified in the case study schools and focus groups, is parental low aspirations of their children’s education and social deprivation. It is also perpetuated by factors such as low‐literacy levels, feelings of marginalisation within the community exacerbated by housing allocation, a lack of community and school engagement, low levels of parental engagement and lack of targeted support to break the cycle of poverty and disadvantage, a legacy of low aspiration that prevents pupils from fulfilling their potential across a range of areas. The study concludes that the main obstacle in raising achievement is the government’s failure to recognise that this group has particular needs that are not being met by the school system. The government needs to recognise that the underachievement of White British working class pupils is not only a problem facing educational services but profoundly a serious challenge. Policy implications and recommendations are discussed in the final section.     

Dynamics of community participation,student achievement and school management: the case of primary schools in a rural area of Malawi

School management in many sub-Saharan African countries has been enhanced through community participation in an attempt to improve education quality. This study uses field research in a rural district of Malawi to assess how community and parent participation differs between schools, the intentions of communities and parents when carrying out activities in schools, and the mechanism promoting active participation in schools. In high-achieving schools, but not in low-achieving schools, communities and parents were actively involved in events aimed at improving student achievement. Communities and parents considered most highly prioritised activities that directly influenced student achievement, including hiring volunteer teachers, arranging extra classes and holding mock examinations. Community participation did not directly improve student achievement. Instead, when communities and parents actively participated in a school, school management improved, ensuring better student achievement. The implications of this finding are discussed in relation to community participation.     

Professional development,changes in teacher practice and improvements in Indigenous students’ educational performance: A case study from New Zealand

This paper considers the relationship between a professional development programme designed to bring about changes in teacher practice through iterative cycles of implementation and evaluation and associated changes in Indigenous students’ educational performance. The paper does this by documenting the outcomes of the implementation of the Te Kotahitanga research and development project between 2007 and 2009 in schools in the third and fourth phases of the project. Evidence shows that the professional development programme of Te Kotahitanga has been implemented consistently in Phase 3 schools since 2004 and in Phase 4 schools since 2007. Changes in teacher practice and associated improvements in Māori student outcomes were seen in Phase 3 schools between 2004 and 2006. The first question is, therefore, have these changes been maintained during the period 2007–9, that is, during the fourth to seventh years of the project’s implementation in these schools. If so, then what implications does this maintenance of practice have for sustainability? The second question is, have the changes that were seen in the Phase 3 schools in the first three years of the project’s implementation, 2004–2006, been replicated in the Phase 4 schools in their first three years of the project. If so, what implications does this have for determining the strength of the association between improved student performance and the implementation of the professional development programme. In other words does a repeated measure over two different groups of schools at different times indicate that changes in Māori student outcomes are strongly associated with changes in teacher practice, even if we cannot demonstrate a direct cause–effect relationship.     

The delivery of business courses via the African Virtual University: a case study

In this case study the delivery of business courses as a result of the partnership between the African Virtual University (AVU) and Curtin University in Western Australia is described. From 2004 to 2008, degree and diploma business courses were delivered using WebCT in the four AVU partner locations: Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia), Kigali Institute of Science & Technology (Rwanda), Kenyatta University (Kenya) and University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). In spite of significant hurdles that made delivery of the business courses challenging, 188 students graduated as a result of this initiative. This case study is significant because it describes the outcomes of an AVU Phase 2 initiative.     

Learning social responsibility in schools: a restorative practice

Vygotsky regarded the site of learning to be within a matrix of relational action. From this perspective, learning social responsibility will involve a focus on the learning environments that are made available in schools. Adapting the concept of restorative justice to a school context, restorative practice offers a range of relevant learning opportunities. These learning opportunities relate to episodes of wrong‐doing, and to actions that reflect the values and principles of a socially responsible school culture. The importance of dialogue, respect for “the other” and social collaboration will be evident in school‐based restorative practices.     

Investigation of the science achievement models for low and high achieving schools and gender differences in Turkey

A science achievement model was separately investigated for students in low and high achieving schools (LAS and HAS) in Turkey. Then, gender differences based on variables that significantly contributed to each achievement model were investigated. The student-level variables that were under investigation for multiple regression analyses include attitudes toward science, epistemological beliefs, metacognition, views on science teaching, and socioeconomic status (SES). The science achievement scores of students on a nationwide exam were used to measure science achievement. Both for LAS and HAS, two schools were selected. Results were reported for 241 and 320 students in LAS and HAS, respectively. According to the results, self-concept in science, knowledge of cognition, SES, importance of science, gradual learning, and views on lab work significantly contributed to the science achievement model in LAS. On the other hand, self-concept in science, SES, gradual learning, studying, and learning science in school significantly contributed to the science achievement model in HAS. Results also revealed that girls outperformed boys on knowledge of cognition and importance of science in LAS. Moreover, girls scored higher than boys on gradual learning and studying in HAS. According to these findings, implications for science education were discussed.     

Examining school leadership effects on student achievement: the role of contextual challenges and constraints

The present study examined indirect effects of principal leadership on the mathematics achievement of 254,475 15-year-old students from 10,313 schools in 32 OECD economies. Results showed that the students could be divided into three categories (Disadvantaged, Average, and Privileged) differing in levels of student SES and prior achievement, parental academic expectations, and access to school resources. Results also showed that principal leadership effects accounted for a greater proportion of between-school achievement variance for Disadvantaged vis-à-vis Privileged or Average students. In particular, instructional leadership had the largest positive effect on Disadvantaged vis-à-vis other students’ achievement via the mediating variables of teacher autonomy and morale. Distributed leadership negatively affected the achievement of Disadvantaged but not other students. The negative effects of principal goal-setting were the largest while those of principal problem-solving were the smallest for Disadvantaged students. The study contributes to the literature by examining contextual influences on the leadership–achievement relationship.