The challenges of evaluation: assessing Early Talk's impact on speech language and communication practice in children's centres

This paper describes the findings of a qualitative evaluation of an early years' intervention, I Can's Early Talk (ET) programme. ET was designed to improve speech, language and communication outcomes for children aged 0–5 by focusing on enhancing practitioners' knowledge and skills. The research focused on children aged 3–4 years and was conducted in 14 Sure Start Children's Centres across England, using a combination of observations and interviews with practitioners, centre managers and local authority staff, along with a questionnaire survey of parents. Findings revealed improvements in practitioners' confidence and practice as a result of participating in the programme. The results also suggest that participating practitioners felt their capacity to understand and reflect on how to support children's speech, language and communication improved, particularly in the children's centres which had been accredited for over six months. ET was also found to offer a balance of support and challenge which consolidated and extended good practice and identified areas for development where practice was less effective. In addition, some of the challenges, which characterised and ultimately enhanced the research process, are described.     

Reform,inequalities of process and the transformative potential of communities of practice in the pre-school sector of England

The integration of care and education across pre-school sectors of several European countries is currently a key policy priority. In England this necessitates reform aimed at re-modelling a traditionally hierarchical and divided workforce. Drawing on research with early years professionals, this article explores the micro-politics of reform with a focus on the extent to which workers in pre-school settings are engaging in new collaborative ways of working. In particular, the transformative potential of the communities of practice model in shaping changes to the early years workforce is discussed. Findings reveal the intersection of social class as labour-market position with several cross-cutting issues and their importance in perpetuating continuing inequalities of process. These present a challenge to the emergence of any new form of collaborative inter-professional working arrangements within the English early years context.     

The effect of the Horsham Greenpower Goblin Challenge on children's attitudes towards science,engineering and technology

This research examines the effects of the Horsham Greenpower Goblin Challenge (HGGC), a hands-on science, engineering and technology (SET) project, on the attitudes of Year 5, primary-school children towards SET. The data collection centred on pre- and post-HGGC questionnaires using Likert scales and picture/word images of scientists and engineers. It was found that the HGGC did not significantly alter children's attitudes to SET and did not dispel previous negative images and attitudes. It was concluded that a greater understanding and acknowledgement of children's existing attitudes was required when designing initiatives aimed at dispelling negative and promoting positive images of SET.     

The birth of university affiliated early childhood centres of excellence: investing in children,families and communities

ABSTRACT

The wellbeing of young children is of national and international concern. Urgent action is therefore required to address issues of children's wellbeing, and failure to do so will have adverse consequences for children today and in generations to come. This paper addresses issues arising from recently published literature in the areas of Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) within the global arena. It covers aspects such as policy implications, various theories and Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model of early childhood development (ECD) as the theoretical basis of the paper, education and inclusion, teachers and parents and, finally, ECD centres of excellence. Universities need to establish ECD centres that can operate as centres of excellence, which can assist neighbouring centres focussing on day-to-day operational and managerial issues; training teachers on the curriculum and pedagogical aspects of ECDE; and conducting research with a view to ensuring cutting-edge ECDE practices     

Creating the effective school : The role of evaluation

The concept of children's rights evolved during the 1980s giving prominence to the role of children as active participants in the construction of their lives. The rhetoric of children's rights has emerged as an important consideration in all policy and practice relating to children. Implementation of children's rights in practice is necessary to maximise their potential to improve the lives of children. This paper presents an argument for the importance of giving meaning to the implementation of children's rights in the Individual Education Plan (IEP) process for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) in Ireland. The study, on which this paper is based, was conducted in two stages using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The first stage focused on the development of a set of indicators for the IEP process based on a children's rights framework and informed by the perspectives of children, parents and teachers, alongside the literature on best practice on IEPs. In the second stage, a survey questionnaire was designed, based on the children's rights indicators, to evaluate current IEP practice in Ireland for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder. This article outlines the development of a set of indicators for the IEP process. It also presents findings of the survey which evaluates current practice in relation to the IEP process for pupils with ASD in Ireland. The article focuses specifically on Article 3(1) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) which stipulates that in all actions concerning children, ‘the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration’.     

The importance of teacher role in cooperative learning: the effects of high-stakes testing on pedagogical approaches of early career teachers in primary schools

Cooperative learning (CL) has a strong research base, but it is underutilised. This can be explained by teachers’ reluctance to experiment with pedagogies in an environment increasingly focused on high-stakes testing. Early career teachers (ECTs) need support to be innovative practitioners, particularly with such a complex one as CL. The teacher’s role is crucial in order to scaffold the students’ participation in the primary classroom in order to improve their learning and it is teachers’ pedagogical practices that help to develop these collaborative work habits. This paper explores ECTs responses relating to their role in CL instruction.     

The role of non-formal contexts in teacher education for STEM: the case of horno3 science and technology interactive centre

Abstract

Teacher education can benefit directly from experiences in non-formal settings. This article presents a research study with elementary teachers who were teaching in public schools in the state of Nuevo León, México, and participated in a STEM Continuous Professional Development (CPD) workshop. The workshop provided a platform for teachers to interact with scientists and disseminators of science, allowing the appropriation of scientific knowledge applied to everyday activities and settings. Participants improved the quality of their teaching practices in classrooms and gained a new understanding of STEM subjects, enabling them to promote inspiring learning experiences with their students, where dialogue, experimentation and elucidation became an important part of their lessons. The study was carried out using ethnographic tools for analysing recorded videos, 15 sets of field notes, and 49 questionnaires. The sequential analysis of talk and gestures in their participation in the CPD workshop demonstrated high levels of involvement, creativity, and collaborative solution of STEM problems.     

Primary initial teacher trainees' perceptions of and perspectives on the role of the teaching assistant in English primary contexts

This article focuses on exploring initial teacher trainees' experiences and perspectives on the role of the teaching assistant (TA) in mainstream primary contexts. A backdrop of shrinking school budgets coupled with a ‘mainstream for all’ political agenda is contributing to growing uncertainty about the role of TAs in education. This article presents the results of a small-scale empirical study, involving 75 initial teacher trainees at the University of Cambridge. Trainees' perspectives regarding the roles/responsibilities that TAs have been seen to undertake and perceptions regarding the impact of the TAs they worked with were ascertained, with the aim of exploring how well current ITT content prepares students for an effective teacher/TA working relationship. Concept modelling was used as an analysis tool, to present visual representations of these perceptions. Trainees emphasised the administrative, pedagogical and pastoral roles that TAs were perceived to undertake and specifically highlighted the perceived ability of TAs to support students displaying needs relating to social, emotional and mental health. The findings highlight that the vague nature of current ITT content in relation to the role of TAs continues to serve as a barrier to students building coherent and consistent understandings of the successful deployment of TAs in English primary contexts.     

The association between private tutoring and access to grammar schools: Voices of Year 6 pupils and teachers in south-east England

England has experienced recent growth in the prevalence of private tutoring (PT). The qualitative study reported in this article aims to explore the perceptions of 14 Year 6 pupils and their teachers from three state-maintained primary schools in East Kent on PT participation and its impact on grammar school admissions. Data were collected through individual and focus group interviews and pupils' drawings. The data revealed that teachers were not totally aware of the scale of PT in their classes and ascribed PT merely to parental decision to prepare their child to pass the 11-plus, grammar school entrance test. However, some pupils indicated that they shared in the decision to have PT, affirming that it was not only for 11-plus test familiarisation and practice. PT also contributed to greater pupil confidence, involvement and enthusiasm for learning, together with improvement in social interactive skills (i.e. intangible benefits). Both teachers and pupils also explained the disadvantages of PT, including the psychological and financial burdens on the whole family and changing the playing field level. Teachers proposed some solutions to help Year 6 pupils without PT. From this qualitative study, pedagogical implications as well as areas for ongoing research are suggested.     

The Revised SEND Code of Practice 0–25: effective practice in engaging children and young people in decision‐making about interventions for social,emotional and mental health needs

A key principle upon which the Revised Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice 0–25 (2015) is based is children's involvement in decision‐making that affects them, and a significant change is the removal of the term ‘behaviour’ and an emphasis on social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs. To ensure that child involvement is a practical reality for children with SEMH needs, staff in schools benefit from a range of evidence‐informed strategies for engagement and participation. This article describes an approach to the provision of learning mentor services for children with SEMH in a primary school based on partnerships between the children and staff in establishing and measuring change. Limitations are noted and suggestions for future developments are also made.     

Progress and Backlash in the Wake of Obergefell: Reaching Conservative Southern Teachers Through the Power of Literature

This paper uses a mixed narrative and quantitative analysis to examine how a graduate class of predominantly politically and religiously conservative (self-identified), elementary teachers in the South made discursive sense of gender and sexually diverse (GSD) young adult and children's literature in the context of concurrent, relevant national events, especially the U.S. Supreme Court's legalization of gay marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges. Using narrative data, supplemented with quantitative pre- and postsurveys, this study provides fruitful insights into conservative professionals' attitudes and practices regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth and adults. Our findings suggest effective ways to help prepare conservative professionals to sensitively address GSD issues in elementary school settings.     

Science,technology and the environment: the views of urban children and implications for science and environmental education in Korea

With science and technology playing profound roles in mediating human relationships with the environment, a key question concerns which expectations and views of science and technology have emerged and prevail in visions of the social and environmental development of contemporary societies. This study engages this question through examining children’s views of science and technology in South Korea. Eighty‐six sixth graders from Seoul, a highly urbanized city, were invited to share their views. A drawing and writing activity and an open‐ended questionnaire were administered for data collection. The study found that the children’s views are grounded in optimistic and positive expectations and visions of science and technology even as some of the children show awareness and concern about environmental destruction. They may also offer contradictory views toward social development and environmental destruction. The paper discusses these findings in light of the complex meanings of development in modern Korean society and the challenges teachers there may face in cultivating sustainable views and relations via science and environmental education.     

Railways,rebellions and Rage Against The Machine: adolescents' interests and meaning‐making in the creation of multimodal identity texts

This paper draws on a Canadian qualitative case study grounded in multiliteracies theory to describe the meaning‐making processes of four students aged 13‐14 years as they created history projects. Students were invited to explore curriculum content in self‐chosen ways and to produce presentations in a range of formats. The data we present and discuss were collected through participant observation and in‐situ interviews with four students who selected digital formats. We examine these data using multiliteracies concepts: specifically multimodality and identity texts. We argue that multimodal literacy practices have potential to bridge gaps between students' in‐school and out‐of‐school lives and underscore the importance of allowing students to draw on their out‐of‐school identities and interests to guide explorations of curriculum content.     

Supporting the inclusion of pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties in the primary school: the role of teaching assistants

During the past ten years in the UK there has been a considerable increase in the number of teaching assistants (TAs) appointed to work alongside teachers in schools. A significant number of these colleagues are appointed to support pupils with special educational needs (SEN), including those with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD). This paper reports on the ways in which the role of the teaching assistant in supporting pupils with SEBD has been developed in schools for pupils aged 7–11 years in one English Local Education Authority (LEA). It suggests that there are several models of support emerging and that the role of the teaching assistant is perceived as crucial to the effective inclusion of pupils with SEBD in mainstream classrooms.     

Towards a critical re-conceptualization of the purpose of higher education: the role of Ubuntu-Currere in re-imagining teaching and learning in South African higher education

ABSTRACT

The 2015–2016 South African higher education students’ movement proved historical for our country in bringing to our dinner tables: issues of higher education transformation and decolonisation; institutional culture(s); curriculum reform; the need to foreground and make inclusive assessment in education; the coloniality in our knowledge production, and more. Influenced by the emergence of the student movements and the critique they have brought to South African higher education, we bring to the fore the often silent critical reflections on the purposes of higher education in general, and in South Africa especially, as they relate to teaching and learning. We propose that the purposes of higher education in relation to teaching and learning ought to respond to (1) context, (2) democratic difference, and (3) cosmopolitan perspectives. We argue that discourses, phases and logics about South African higher education have tended to disregard and, at times, blur the context and differences as well as cosmopolitan perspectives. Using the notion of Ubuntu-Currere, we re-imagine how teaching and learning could respond to context, difference and cosmopolitanism with examples from the South African higher education experience.