Endorsed and Applied Rules of Relationships Reported by Teachers

Recent academic debates on the geography curriculum for schools have highlighted the need for more focus on how knowledge is socially produced. While this may help to bridge the gap between the school curriculum and epistemological developments in academia, it is unclear how such theoretical frameworks can improve pupils' learning about the world. In this paper theoretical approaches to knowledge are challenged by considering, from an alternative viewpoint, how pupils themselves act as knowledge producers. Drawing on the holistic educational philosophy informing the Steiner-Waldorf approach to curriculum knowledge and pedagogy, it is argued that subject knowledge needs to suit the way pupils' thinking naturally evolves, giving particular attention to the role that imagination and sense of wonder play in both the cognitive process and pupil engagement. The epistemological status of the pupil in geography education can therefore be enhanced by considering approaches to education that operate outside normal scientific and rational paradigms. This has relevance for the wider debate on more flexible, post-industrial forms of learning.     

Pre‐adolescents' Perceptions of Competence,Motivation and Engagement in Art Activities

This article presents the findings from a small scale qualitative study which focused on pupils' perceptions of competence and motivation towards art experienced in school. These are considered as very important in shaping learning and teaching processes. In particular, the article focuses on the role that perceptions of competence play on pupils' quality of involvement and achievement in art. Participants were chosen based on age, gender and their stated perceptions of competence. Sixteen 11‐12 year olds were interviewed in groups and individually. Pupils' perceptions of competence are identified as a key factor in determining pupils' initial engagement and level of engagement with art activities. Moreover they are thought to be important in shaping their learning preferences at an age when pupils' uncertainty about their abilities in art making is getting stronger. The results are situated within the framework of achievement goal theory and have implications for teaching strategies and for ways of responding to pupils' learning preferences.     

‘Becoming our own experts’: lessons from the past

This article reports on a local curriculum development project from the 1970s that shared many of the features of action research, though it was not thought of as such. Teacher control, the bridging of the theory–practice divide, the centrality of practitioner classroom research, and the quality of pupils' learning were all features of the project. The article also discusses the problematics of outsider involvement, of contributions to knowledge, and of authenticity.     

Defining professional needs in early childhood education

This article describes a research project, ‘Improving Learning: The Pupils' Agenda’ (supported by the Nuffield Foundation) in which a team of researchers from Homerton College, Cambridge and the University of Keele, investigated how schools were listening and responding to pupils' perspectives on effective teaching and learning. An account of the project is presented, outlining how the team carried out the investigation and the three themes on which was based. The article goes on to look at the strategies being developed in primary schools, using extracts from the data to illustrate the impact of these strategies in schools. In conclusion it is suggested that the answer to the question posed in the title — can listening and responding to pupils' views give new directions for school improvement — is clearly ‘yes’ and that the advantage of taking this approach lies principally in its potential for improving pupils' attitudes to learning.     

Researching the influence of teaching assistants on the learning of pupils identified with special educational needs in mainstream primary schools: exploring social inclusion

As a result of their high contact time with children, particularly children identified with special educational needs, it is widely acknowledged that teaching assistants (TAs) have great influence on pupils' education (Balshaw). However, recent research into the impact of TAs on pupils' learning has questioned TAs' usefulness in improving pupils' learning (Blatchford, Bassett and Brown; Higgins). This paper argues that TAs' influence on pupils' education has not yet been researched effectively. Previous research has primarily focused on determining TAs' influence on pupils' achievement in terms of academic outcomes and has neglected to explore social outcomes. Two interconnected literature bases are reviewed in this paper; the current research exploring TAs' role and influence on pupils' learning is first explored, followed by a critical discussion of the literature regarding the process of social inclusion in mainstream primary schools. This paper concludes that for TAs' influence on pupils' learning to be effectively researched, TAs' influence on the process of social inclusion must be researched within mainstream primary schools.     

Can the Process of Transition for Incoming Secondary Pupils be Supported through a Creative Art Project?

Children's learning involves, in the simplest terms, assimilating knowledge and understanding and acquiring skills though being, doing and feeling. This requires a connection at a personal level. Furthermore, learning is given to fluctuation determined by the needs of the individual and the requirements of the educational system. This research project is concerned with the specific needs of pupils in the UK who undergo the process of transition between primary (Key Stage 2, age 7–11) and secondary schooling (Key Stage 3, age 11–16). It is at a time when there are reported increases of anxiety that affect pupils' self‐esteem where perhaps a different kind of learning is required. The project suggests that a modified curriculum will support the pupils' transformation, through a visual arts creative learning framework.     

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.     

Alternative Frameworks and the Concept of Task. Cognitive Constraints in Pupils' Interpretations of Teachers' Assignments

Halldén, O. 1988. Alternative Frameworks and the Concept of Task. Cognitive Constraints in Pupils' Interpretations of Teachers' Assignments. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 32, 123‐140. If we are to understand a learning outcome, we have to take into consideration the learner's conception of the learning task. Task is here defined as the means a teacher utilizes when trying to communicate an assignment to a pupil. The pupil's interpretation of such a task is called a problem or a project. It is the pupil's attempts to solve such problems or to complete such projects that account for the learning that takes place. Two qualitatively different types of problem are identified: procedural and content‐related. Factors influencing pupils' task interpretation are discussed and implications for research on pupils' alternative frameworks are considered. One such implication is the identification of two different levels of alternative frameworks.     

Positioning Stakeholders in Curriculum Leadership: How can teacher educators work with teachers to discover and create their place?

This article draws from research in an Australian Research Council (ARC) Collaborative Research Project involving personnel from Queensland University of Technology and Education Queensland. The focus was on theorising curriculum leadership for effective learning and teaching. As the project proceeded, it became evident that there are certain factors which contribute to curriculum leadership as a shared phenomenon at teaching/learning sites; and that among these factors, personal factors were important in shaping teachers' perceptions of their readiness to engage in curriculum leadership. This article also draws on some recent exploratory research which resulted from the project. In this research, the emphasis was on how space might be discovered and created for the voices of significant stakeholders in curriculum leadership. Both pieces of research raise a number of interesting questions about supporting and sustaining teachers in their engagement in curriculum leadership. These questions are explored within the context of the question posed in the article's title.     

Are small classes better? Understanding relationships between class size,classroom processes and pupils' learning

Twelve years ago Blatchford and Mortimore's authoritative review of class size research appeared in this journal. They concluded that a major problem with class size research was the lack of detailed studies of complex classroom processes that might mediate class size effects on pupils' learning. This article reviews two UK class size reviews and quantitative, qualitative and mixed method class size research. Evidence from research, and insights from 30 years of classroom‐based inquiry, form the basis for the development of theoretical models of relationships between class size, classroom processes and pupils' learning. Recent research evidence from secondary school classrooms calls into question simple one‐way relationships between class size and pupils' learning. Politicians are challenged to face up to the complexities involved and to be open to more flexible approaches to reforming the organisation of teaching and learning in schools that go beyond expensive programmes of crude across‐the‐board class size reductions. Further class size research is recommended that incorporates sophisticated qualitative methods in order to adequately understand and represent the kinds of teacher and pupil expertise involved in promoting and maximising opportunities for high quality learning in different large and small class contexts in primary and secondary schools.     

A narrative exploration of how curricula for children with profound and multiple learning difficulties shape and are shaped by the practices of their teachers

This article presents the findings of a study that asked teachers to narrate their interactions with learners from the perspective of the curriculum that the school adopted. Thirteen female teachers, employed at eight special secondary schools for children with profound and multiple learning difficulties in England, participated in the research. They narrated their experiences, which were consequently subject to phenomenological hermeneutic analysis. All the teachers displayed a high degree of individuality and conceptualised their work not straightforwardly as teaching the espoused curriculum, but rather as they themselves being the ‘curriculum‐in‐action’, with their practice lying alongside and only obliquely cognisant of their school's explicit provision. The narratives disclosed ongoing conflict with school leaders being interpreted as a threat to their specific pedagogic practices as well as their professionalism. The research raises questions about the ability of the ‘special curriculum’ to be truly responsive to pupils' needs within this complex pedagogical environment.     

'Playing the Game called Writing': Children's Views and Voices

Teachers' perceptions of their changing practice in the context of the National Literacy Strategy have been well documented in recent years. However, few studies have collected pupils' views or voices. As part of a collaborative research and development project into the teaching and learning of writing, 390 primary pupils' views were collected. A marked difference in attitude to writing and self‐esteem as writers was found between Key Stages 1 and 2, as well as a degree of indifference and disengagement from in‐school writing for some KS2 writers. A strong desire for choice and greater autonomy as writers was expressed and a preference for narrative emerged. This part of the research project ‘We're Writers' has underlined the importance of listening to pupils’ views about literacy, in order to create a more open dialogue about language and learning, and to negotiate the content of the curriculum in response to their perspectives.     

Teaching probability

This article examines some of the difficulties associated with teaching probability. It is argued that a key difficulty is the lack of transferability of pupils' curriculum based knowledge.     

Exploring variations in teachers' work,lives and their effects on pupils: key findings and implications from a longitudinal mixed‐method study

This article outlines the research design of a large‐scale, longitudinal research study in England intended to describe and explore variations in teachers' work, lives and their effects on pupils' educational outcomes. The study, funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and incorporated into the Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) as an ‘Associate Project’, used an innovative mixed‐methods research design to create case studies of 300 teachers in Years 2, 6 and 9. The research was conducted over three consecutive academic years and collected a wide range of data through interviews, questionnaire surveys of teachers' and pupils' views and assessment data on pupils' attainments in English and mathematics. The text summarises the main findings from the research in relation to four interconnected themes of the study: Professional Life Phases; Professional Identity; Relative Effectiveness; and Resilience and Commitment. The influence of school context, in terms of level of social disadvantage of pupil intake, is also investigated. Key findings and their implications for policy and practice are highlighted.     

From nationwide standardized testing to school‐based alternative embedded assessment in Israel: Students' performance in the matriculation 2000 project

Matriculation 2000 was a 5‐year project aimed at moving from the nationwide traditional examination system in Israel to a school‐based alternative embedded assessment. Encompassing 22 high schools from various communities in the country, the Project aimed at fostering deep understanding, higher‐order thinking skills, and students' engagement in learning through alternative teaching and embedded assessment methods. This article describes research conducted during the fifth year of the Project at 2 experimental and 2 control schools. The research objective was to investigate students' learning outcomes in chemistry and biology in the Matriculation 2000 Project. The assumption was that alternative embedded assessment has some effect on students' performance. The experimental students scored significantly higher than their control group peers on low‐level assignments and more so on assignments that required higher‐order thinking skills. The findings indicate that given adequate support and teachers' consent and collaboration, schools can transfer from nationwide or statewide standardized testing to school‐based alter‐native embedded assessment. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 34–52, 2003     

Boys into Modern Languages: An investigation of the discrepancy in attitudes and performance between boys and girls in modern languages

It is widely acknowledged that girls outperform boys across the curriculum in the GCSE examinations which are taken at the end of five years' compulsory secondary education. However, the gap in performance between boys and girls in modern languages is very marked and may suggest a need to reassess patterns of teaching and learning. This paper examines the differences in attitudes between boys and girls in modern languages after five years' study in an attempt to give some explanation for the considerable discrepancy in performance. Although previous research findings relating to boys' and girls' attitudes to their studies were confirmed, the significance of teacher personality and classroom practices emerged clearly from pupil interviews with both sexes. The article recognises the changes in the nature of the modern languages curriculum brought about by the introduction of GCSE and the on-going implementation of the National Curriculum, but points to the limitations and frustrations posed by these new agendas. Drawing extensively on pupil interviews, factors are highlighted which significantly affect pupils' perspectives and attitudes towards modern languages, and tentative suggestions are made which could help to improve the performance of both boys and girls in this traditionally 'female' subject.     

Achieving High Grades at 'A' Level English Literature: An Investigation into Factors that Contribute to Schools' Successes

This article is drawn from a report produced for Suffolk schools concerning the factors that seem to underlie success at A level English Literature by able students. The report followed a small-scale survey in six schools which regularly do well in the proportion of high grades achieved, conducted as part of the ongoing monitoring of teaching and learning in English in the county. Through lesson observation, interview and the scrutiny of written work, a large number of possible factors explaining the success of these departments were considered. The factors of greatest significance included the subject expertise and commitment of staff, the balance of teaching methods used and pupils' experience of a challenging English curriculum at KS4. The report's conclusions and recommendations are of general interest to English departments and INSET providers nationally.     

Changing primary education in Palestine: Pulling in several directions at once

This article uses concepts from Bernstein's theory of curriculum and pedagogic practice (1971, 1977, 1990, 1996) in order to understand the micro-processes of schooling and, in particular, to locate and understand the type of pedagogy proposed for Palestinian schools by the Integrated Learning Project (ILP) whose introduction and trajectory in the wider social context is located, adopting Bernstein's model of cultural reproduction (1990). Three means were employed for data collection: non-participant classroom observation; informal and semi-structured interviews; and interrogation of secondary sources, relying heavily on official and school documents. A conversational modality of interview with key persons responsible for planning, training and monitoring of the ILP was also used in order to provide contextual data about policy processes. What was revealed suggested that even though there were some changes in particular areas in school practice, it does not seem that they can be regarded as amounting a child-centred pedagogy. There was little evidence to show that teachers in general were working effectively toward meeting pupils' different needs.     

Teaching of Mandarin in an English Comprehensive School: A case study

A group of English children in a rural comprehensive are learning Mandarin, taught by a Chinese teacher. This article describes the background to this development and follows three cohorts of students, giving the pupils' views about learning Chinese and why they chose it. As a psychologist who has interests in education and who is also a part-time student of Chinese, the author welcomed the chance to share the pupils' experience. In the final cohort, sensation-seeking tendencies and intellectual achievement responsibility were investigated as personality traits which may influence a child's choice of foreign language study.     

Portfolios as ‘learning companions’ for children and a means to support and assess language learning in the primary school

This article explores the idea of portfolios as a way to collect evidence of pupils' learning and achievement in their language learning in the primary school. The emphasis is on portfolio work as an active and reflective process to underpin and support learning and to show evidence of achievement and progression. Pupil choice and reflexivity are essential in the process. The process can encourage learners to draw on their learning experiences across the curriculum. Whilst a means of providing evidence of learning, and for showcasing work pupils are proud of, portfolios are seen as central to and embedded in the day-to-day learning and underpinned by the principles of formative assessment. Designed to be used with other modes of assessment including the European Languages Portfolio, portfolios are in essence flexible, inclusive and a dynamic record of learning, achievement and potential for every learner. In this article, the use of portfolios from an early age as a means to promote development and learning and a way of assessing learning are inextricably linked. Teachers working to develop portfolio work, and some of their pupils, add their voices to the discussion of portfolio development towards an enhanced dialogic assessment culture.