The under-attainment of ethnic minority students in UK higher education: what we know and what we don’t know

In UK higher education, ethnic differences in academic attainment are ubiquitous and have persisted for many years. They are only partly explained by ethnic differences in entry qualifications. They vary from one institution to another and from one subject area to another. This suggests that they result in part from teaching and assessment practices in different institutions and subjects. We do not really know whether ethnic differences in attainment are reflected in variations in the student experience. We do not know what factors are responsible for the ethnic differences in attainment that remain when differences in entry qualifications have been taken into account. Finally, we do not know what aspects of teaching and assessment practices are responsible for variations in the attainment gap.     

Knowing what we don’t know: cognitive correlates of early spelling of different target types

Reading and Writing - Although research on cognitive correlates of spelling has been conducted, these studies generally do not distinguish between different types of targets that need to be...     

‘It's who you know not what’: migrants' encounters with regimes of skills as misrecognition

This article analyses qualitative narratives from skilled migrants using Bourdieu's concepts of misrecognition, symbolic and social capital to understand the uneven effects of migration transitions on employment outcomes among migrant groups. Transnational skilled migration is increasing to unprecedented levels, especially from non-OECD countries to OECD countries, where inward migration is a strategy to increase the skill level of workforces. Drawing on a qualitative case study of skilled migration to a regional non-metropolitan area of Australia, the article discusses the key finding that ‘It's who you know, not what you know’ which enabled both skilled migrants and their partners to secure employment commensurate with their qualifications and previous employment histories. Building the ‘right’ social networks post-migration were the gateways to securing employment. A ‘regime of skills’ was used by employers, employment agencies and educational providers who acted as gatekeepers to employment opening up opportunities for some or closing down that for others through processes of misrecognition of the migrants' experiences and skills and the prioritising of localised knowledge and native-like English accents. Through this process of misrecognition, the doxa of who should be employed and in what capacity was sustained.     

When judging what you know changes what you really know: Soliciting metamemory judgments reactively enhances children’s learning

Recent studies established that making concurrent judgments of learning (JOLs) can significantly alter (typically enhance) memory itself—a reactivity effect. The current study recruited 190 Chinese children (M_age = 8.68 years; 101 female) in 2020 and 2021 to explore the reactivity effect on children's learning, its developmental trajectory and associated metacognitive awareness. The results showed that making JOLs significantly enhanced retention for students in Grades 1, 3, and 5, with Cohen's ds ranging from 0.40 to 1.33. Grade 5 students exhibited a larger reactivity effect than Grade 1 and 3 students. Children's metacognitive appreciation of the effect was weak. Firsthand experience of the reactivity effect, induced by taking a memory test, enhanced their awareness and calibrated their judgment accuracy.     

‘Boys don’t rule us’: exploring Rwandan girls with disabilities’ resistance to masculine dominance in school

Although a great deal of previous literature has explored the ways in which social class affects parental engagement in educational processes, there has been surprisingly little discussion of the way in which social class shapes the parent–professional interaction that occurs in school exclusion processes specifically. School exclusion processes are complex and those parents who become involved in them have to negotiate not only the formal processes that surround the use of permanent and fixed-term exclusion but also the less well-regulated and increasingly favoured processes that are associated with the use of alternatives to exclusion from school. This paper draws on the perspectives of professionals working in a wide variety of roles and contexts in one local authority in England and on those of a small number of mothers of children with longer and more complex histories of involvement in school exclusion processes. It argues for greater recognition of the impact of social class on parent–professional interaction in school exclusion processes because of the way in which it helps to perpetuate an intergenerational cycle of social and educational disadvantage.     

‘I know what you are about to enter’: lived experiences as the curricular foundation for teaching citizenship

ABSTRACT

This qualitative multiple case study documents how two African American women social studies teachers utilise their lived experiences as the curricular foundation for teaching differing notions of citizenship to African-American students. Particular events, experiences, and relationships helped shape their perception of their roles as teachers and how they approached crafting a curriculum that was representative of their lived experiences as well as those of their students and community. This study hopes to shed light on how experiences may be used as valuable sources of knowledge in creating a more inclusive curriculum that mirrors the diversity seen in classrooms.     

“I don’t think that word means what you think it means”: A proposed framework for defining learning communities

In this paper we address the obfuscation surrounding the concept of learning communities by operationalizing community according to four characteristics that serve as boundaries for defining a community: access, relationships, vision, and function. Although these community boundaries sometimes overlap, they represent distinctive features of possible community structures. In addition to defining and discussing learning community boundaries, we share insights for researching learning communities. We believe a clearer understanding of how to define learning communities can assist scholars and practitioners in cultivating and studying these communities.     

So what exactly do you want? What principals mean when they say ‘male role model’

The need for more male role models in young boys’ lives is one of the main reasons underpinning the call for more male teachers in primary schools. However, the exact responsibilities and attributes associated with the term ‘male role model’ have yet to be clearly established. The purpose of this survey of 250 New Zealand primary school principals was to investigate the views of one major group of stakeholders to determine how principals defined male role models and what they considered the specific attributes of that role. The study found that the principals favoured men who exhibit a hegemonic masculinity couched in heterosexual, rugby‐playing, ‘real men’ attributes.     

‘If you’re wrong for the place you just don’t survive’: examining the work of early career teachers in context

ABSTRACT

This article presents evidence from across the segregated secondary school system in NSW, Australia, through the close analysis of three cases of teachers’ work in contrasting schooling contexts. Through this comparative approach, the relationship between school context and the work of the early career teacher is foregrounded, troubling views of teaching as reflecting a certain kind of life cycle in which early career teachers in particular are seen to be subject to pressures such as stress and burnout. In contrast, I argue that specificities of context, exacerbated by a market-based policy approach which has driven greater levels of differentiation between schools, have particular consequences for teachers, both in the nature and scale of the challenges with which they are faced. In demonstrating how teachers’ work is affected by context, I also speak back against recent, often ill-defined discourses of ‘classroom readiness’ and ‘teacher quality’, which emphasise the roles of teachers and teacher educators rather the systems within which they work.     

“You get what you need” : A study of students’ attitudes towards using Wikipedia when doing school assignments

In traditional classrooms, a textbook was often the only source of knowledge available; in stark contrast, today's classrooms have an infinite number of knowledge sources available through the Internet. Nevertheless, a range of studies suggest that students systematically favor Wikipedia in their school-related literacy practices. The present study investigates this tendency among students in upper-secondary school, using a survey with multiple choice and open-ended questions. The main finding suggests that students favor Wikipedia because the site provides them with what they need, being fast, flexible, and easy to use. At the same time, students are aware of credibility issues associated with Wikipedia. A discrepancy between students’ positive attitudes to including Wikipedia in their school-related literacy practices and their teachers’ lack of approval of this knowledge source is discussed.     

A questionnaire for listening to students’ voices in the assessment of teaching quality in a classical medical school

The purpose of this study was to develop a teaching quality assessment questionnaire and assess its reliability by using it with a sample of first‐year medical students. Principal components analysis with varimax orthogonal rotation resulted in the development of a 12‐item, two‐component tool, adequate for use in lectures and small‐group sessions. The two components were named ‘curriculum’ and ‘relationship’. The Cronbach coefficient alpha values indicated high reliability and internal consistency. According to the results obtained this teaching quality scale is a reliable measure and may be useful in identifying themes in disciplines and among teachers that may benefit from some professional development. Amongst its advantages is that it can be used with an optical reading tool.     

Fifteen pupils’ positive approach to primary school science: when does it decline?

The decline in secondary school pupils’ attitudes towards science is well documented. However, recent research has shown that pupils’ attitudes to science appear to become fixed during their primary school years. This study investigated end of Key Stage 1 (Yr 2 (ages six to seven years)) and end of Key Stage 2 (Yr 6 (ages 10–11 years)) pupils’ attitudes to science, using Klopfer’s themes (1971 Klopfer, L.E. 1971. “Evaluation of learning in science”. In Handbook on summative and formative evaluation of student learning, Edited by: Bloom, B.S., Hastings, J.T. and Madaus, G.F. 559–641. New York: McGraw‐Hill.  [Google Scholar]), through a paired activity and interview for Yr 2 pupils and a pre‐ and post‐Test of Science‐Related Attitudes questionnaire (adapted) for Yr 6 pupils. The questionnaire was analysed using the mean and chi square values and Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to test reliability. The results revealed that while Yr 2 pupils exhibit a thirst for knowledge and enthusiasm for science, Yr 6 pupils’ attitudes over the period of one academic year did not change: their attitude towards science was fixed. This insight raises some implications and responsibilities for primary school teachers.     

‘Support our networking and help us belong!’: listening to beginning secondary school science teachers

This study, drawing on the voice of beginning teachers, seeks to illuminate their experiences of building professional relationships as they become part of the teaching profession. A networking perspective was taken to expose and explore the use of others during the first three years of a teacher’s workplace experience. Three case studies, set within a wider sample of 11 secondary school science teachers leaving one UK university’s PostGraduate Certificate in Education, were studied. The project set out to determine the nature of the networks used by teachers in terms of both how they were being used for their own professional development and perceptions of how they were being used by others in school. Affordances and barriers to networking were explored using notions of identity formation through social participation. The focus of the paper is on how the teachers used others to help shape their sense of belonging to this, their new workplace. The paper develops ideas from network theories to argue that membership of the communities are a subset of the professional inter‐relationships teachers utilise for their professional development. During their first year of teaching, eight teachers were interviewed, completing 13 semi‐structured interviews. This was supplemented in Year 2 by a questionnaire survey of their experiences. In the third year of the programme, 11 teachers (including the original sample of eight) were surveyed using a network mapping tool in which they represented their communications with people, groups and resources. Finally, three of the teachers (common to both samples) were then interviewed specifically about their networking practices and experiences using the generation of their network map as a stimulated recall focus. The implications of the analysis of these accounts are that these beginning teachers did not perceive of themselves wholly as novices and that their personal aspirations to increase participation in practical science, develop a career or work for pupils holistically did not always sit comfortably with the school communities into which they were being accommodated. While highlighting the importance of trust and respect in establishing relationships, these teachers’ accounts highlight the importance of finding ‘peers’ from whom they can find support and with whom they can reflect and potentially collaborate towards developing practice. They also raise questions about who these ‘peers’ might be and where they might be found.     

‘It’s a big ask when your job is to teach children to read,write and to count’: the experiences of school staff in early help and child protection

Considers the experiences of designated safeguarding staff in primary aged schools (4–11 years). The study used semi-structured interviews to explore with professionals their experiences of multi-agency working to safeguard children, of factors in making decisions around reporting concerns to statutory social work services and their role in delivering early help services in one region of the U.K. Professionals raised concerns about their understanding of decisions made by social workers, but nevertheless said that these decisions affected their future reporting of safeguarding concerns. Professionals raised concern about how current safeguarding processes triage concerns around neglect, and as the effect was cumulative, felt that it could be minimised or overlooked.     

‘Ready for big school’: making the transition to primary school – a Jamaican perspective

The aim of this small-scale, qualitative study is to understand the perspective of varying stakeholders responsible for student transitions from pre-primary to primary school in the Jamaican context. The questions that guided the research are: What factors affect student transitions to primary school? What skills do children need in order to successfully transition? and Who/what is responsible for preparing students to transition from pre-primary to primary school? To answer these questions a representative from the Early Childhood Commission, 13 parents and 16 Grade 1 teachers from 12 schools across the island of Jamaica were interviewed. Findings reveal that student transitions from pre-primary to primary school need systematic attention particularly in light of how this impacts on student success, not only in primary school, but in their secondary years as well. The data also reveal that a major issue affecting student transitions is the quality of pre-primary education and parenting practices in the early years. Also highlighted are the differing perspectives of teachers and parents on the skills needed for success in primary school. Parenting programmes and professional development for both parents and teachers, respectively, are critical if strides are to be made.     

Dutch adolescents’ narratives about democracy: ‘I know what democracy means,but not what it means to me’

In the last decade, educational scholars have studied various aspects of adolescents’ citizenship narratives. This paper reports on a qualitative study into the narratives about democracy of 27 adolescents from an urban area in the Netherlands. The aim of the study was to gain an insight into the type of democratic engagement that Dutch adolescents develop. Fourteen vocational and 13 pre-university students were selected. Each student was interviewed twice. Narrative thematic data analysis revealed that only five students had developed a strong conception of democracy. Our findings suggest that few students had spent time developing and challenging their narratives about democracy, and that few students have developed a greater sense of democratic engagement. Our paper concludes with several suggestions for furthering the study and practice of democratic citizenship education.     

The second-year slump – now you see it,now you don’t: using DREEM-S to monitor changes in student perception of their educational environment

Recent studies have indicated that the ‘sophomore slump’ (dissatisfaction and disengagement of second year students in the US) may also be observed in other countries, including the UK. However, no studies have reported on the effects of support interventions on student perceptions. This study used the DREEM-S survey, a modification of the validated Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure, to monitor changes in student perceptions of their educational environment over a three-year period for 690 students in a large UK faculty. While the initial survey detected decreased satisfaction in all areas of their educational environment amongst second-year students, the follow-up study, after the introduction of additional support resources, no longer showed this decrease. Other changes in student perception, notably increased stress and tiredness reported by first-year students, were also observed during this time period. Other areas of concern, particularly the factual content of programmes and the ability of students to memorise all that they need, were identified as issues to be addressed. While this study may indicate the effectiveness of introducing on-line support resources to help students adapt to the increased requirements of second-year study, further studies are needed to determine whether the ‘second-year slump’ is as persistent a feature of UK higher education as it is in the US. This study highlights the value of educational environment surveys in identifying areas of educational practice that would benefit from closer attention, as well as the changes in student perceptions across and between years.     

A closer look at social skills and school performance: students’ peer relations skills and assertion skills as predictors for their written and oral performances

Students’ individual learning is supposed to be based on cognitive and social processes. Therefore, students’ social skills are assumed to play an important role for school performance. This study set out to investigate the links between students’ peer relations skills and assertion skills and their grades for written performances and oral performances. In the middle of the school year, 94 ninth-grade students of a German secondary school reported on their peer relations skills and assertion skills. Additionally, at this point of measurement, students’ initial school performance in German and mathematics was measured by standardized academic achievement tests. In these two subjects, students’ grades in in-class tests and for oral participation were collected during the following 5 months. These grades were given by the students’ respective subject teachers. Path analysis revealed that students’ peer relations skills were positively associated with their grades in in-class tests, but they were not linked to their grades for oral participation. In contrast, students’ assertion skills were positively related to their grades for oral participation, whereas no correlation was found between students’ assertion skills and their grades in in-class tests. These results are discussed with respect to the role of peer relations skills and assertion skills for students’ academic learning and the fostering of these skills in the classroom.