Making learning support contextually responsive

Abstract

Research indicates that the success of inclusive education lies within the provision of adequate support for learners who experience barriers to learning in mainstream schools as well as in the changing roles of teachers and support services staff. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) implemented a learning support model, designed to systemically deal with barriers to learning in some primary schools in the province. An evaluation of the WCED model established that this learning support model is not completely contextually responsive to the South African context with specific reference to resources, both human and physical. Although the WCED endeavours to distribute resources more even-handedly across schools in the Western Cape Province, there is still a general lack of resources and institutional capacity which hampers the successful implementation of inclusive education. This situation creates specific barriers that are responsible for the gap between current educational policies and the implementation thereof in schools.     

普通小学教师对学习障碍的认知情况的调查研究

采用自编《普校小学教师学习障碍认知情况调查问卷》,对251名接受过不同层次学习障碍培训的普通小学教师进行调查发现:普通小学教师对学习障碍认知的态度维度得分最高,知识维度次之,行为维度最低;普通小学语文学科教师对学习障碍认知的知识维度平均得分高于数学学科教师;普通小学不同教龄教师在学习障碍认知的行为维度得分上存在显著差异,从高到低依次为1-3年、4-6年、21年以上、11-20年;学习障碍专业培训对普通小学教师对学习障碍的态度、知识与行为均有明显影响。为此,可采取将学习障碍纳入我国教师教研或教师培训课程,为学习障碍学生创设良好的支持环境等措施,改善普通小学教师对学习障碍的认知情况。     

推进手机移动学习：中小学教师态度与需求

能否在中小学校普及手机移动学习,这是当前国际教育组织、教育行政部门和产业界共同关注的焦点问题。来自北京市4城区11所学校450名教师和管理者的调查数据表明,绝大多数教师都具有积极的技术产品教育应用意向,但反对中小学生持有手机和利用手机进行移动学习。不同学段的教师对推进手机移动学习的需求差异非常显著,小学教师最为积极,初中教师最不积极。在中小学校推进手机移动学习,应引导学校管理者、教师转变理念,客观认识学生手机,逐步认同手机移动学习;应加强宣传,推进本土实践,吸引学校管理者、教师乐于尝试手机移动学习;应增强手机移动学习产品、资源、服务与教育者、学习者、教学过程、学习过程的融合;在政策推广方面,可以先从小学进行试点推广,中学生手机移动学习可以走社会化推进、产业推动的道路。     

Suggestions for the ideal follow-up for bereaved students as seen by school personnel

Little is known about how teachers and head teachers (school personnel) attend to children experiencing grief. Our aim was to investigate what the school personnel perceive to be optimal help from the school in such situations. We conducted seven focus group interviews and one single interview among 17 teachers and 5 head teachers from primary and secondary schools. Although the school personnel obviously have high levels of empathy and commitment towards grieving students, they expressed limited knowledge about how child bereavement affects school performance, concentration, and learning, and how this restricted their own efforts to arrange for grieving children during the school day. They also signalled tensions created by the need to mediate too many tasks in the teacher’s role, school staff’s lack of grief knowledge, and guilt for not doing more for bereaved children at school. Despite the existence of solid theoretical and research base in the field of grief in children, opportunities for provision of evidence-validated intervention by teachers and other school personnel in response to grief, and prompt referral of bereaved children suffering more complex grief reactions, appear to be severely compromised. The school personnel pointed out the necessities for action plans and written routines, resources and clarifications of roles, and some basic help principles, key help measures, and improvements to improve the support for bereaved schoolchildren.     

Primary schools and the delivery of relationships and sexuality education: the experience of Queensland teachers

Primary school provides an appropriate opportunity for children to commence comprehensive relationships and sexuality education (RSE), yet many primary school teachers avoid teaching this subject area. In the absence of teacher confidence and competence, schools have often relied on health promotion professionals, external agencies and/or one-off issue-related presentations rather than cohesive, systematic and meaningful health education. This study examines the implementation of a 10-lesson pilot RSE unit of work and an accompanying assessment task in two primary schools in South-East Queensland, Australia. Drawing predominantly from qualitative data, the research explores the experiences of primary school teachers as they engage with RSE curriculum resources and content delivery. The results show the provision of a high-quality RSE curriculum resource grounded in contemporary educational principles and practices enables teachers to feel more confident to deliver RSE and minimises potential barriers such as parental objections and fear of mishandling sensitive content.     

Performativity pressures at urban high schools in Sweden and the USA

This article reveals how test-based performativity pressures interfere with the pedagogical approaches preferred by teachers of second-language learners. Our findings derive from ethnographic research conducted in two non-mainstream high schools: one in a US city and other one in a Swedish city. Both schools serve immigrant students who speak English/Swedish as a second language, the majority of whom are from low-income, non-mainstream backgrounds. Unlike many schools that serve low-income immigrants, both are fairly well-resourced schools; teachers at each school foster productive learning environments and pedagogical practices conducive to academic success. Yet these practices are eroded by a mode of regulation that is hyper-fixed on ‘performativity’ as discussed by Stephen J. Ball. Swedish teachers report less pressure than American teachers but teachers at both schools provide clear examples of the instances when performativity pressures intrude upon preferred pedagogical approaches.     

Strategies for and Successes with Promoting Social Integration in Primary Schools in Canada and China

This study examined social integration in 11 primary schools in Canada and 19 primary schools in China as reported by teachers in terms of the strategies employed to promote social integration and success in achieving social integration. Structured interviews were conducted with 64 Canadian and 52 Chinese general education teachers. The results showed that the strategies used to promote social integration were largely similar in both countries. Major strategies included the provision of a positive social environment, the promoting of positive attitudes toward individuals with disabilities, and the implementation of cooperative learning techniques. These teachers in the two nations differed mainly in the degree of emphasis on the strategies and the levels of success. The author suggests that future studies involve more nationally representative samples.     

Developing mainstream resource provision for pupils with autism spectrum disorder: staff perceptions and satisfaction

The majority of children and young people with autism spectrum disorder are educated in mainstream schools. The diverse needs of this group of pupils has led to a continuum of provision being promoted in the UK and other countries, and developed at a local level. This continuum includes mainstream schools with resource provision which can offer enhanced physical and staffing resources beyond those normally provided in mainstream schools. How teaching staff perceive such provisions and their development over time have not previously been investigated. The current study was designed to explore the perceptions of staff working in five primary and three secondary school resource provisions in one local authority throughout the first year of the provisions and at three-year follow-up.Sixty-six interviews with senior teachers, mainstream teachers and resource provision staff took place during the initial year, with 21 three-year follow-up interviews. Data were analysed using inductive and deductive thematic analysis. Data provide tentative support for Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecosystemic theory as a framework for representing the complex interactions within the resource provision schools, between systems and their development over time. Findings and implications are discussed in relation to theory and practice.     

The Benefits of Residential Fieldwork for School Science: Insights from a five-year initiative for inner-city students in the UK

There is considerable international interest in the value of residential fieldwork for school students. In the UK, pressures on curriculum time, rising costs and heightened concern over students' safety are curtailing residential experiences. Collaboration between several key fieldwork providers across the UK created an extensive programme of residential courses for 11–14-year-olds in London schools from 2004 to 2008. Some 33,000 students from 849 schools took part. This paper draws on the evaluation of the programme that gathered questionnaire, interview and observational data from 2,706 participating students, 70 teachers and 869 parents/carers from 46 schools, mainly in deprived areas of the city. Our findings revealed that students' collaborative skills improved and interpersonal relationships were strengthened and taken back to school. Gains were strongest in social and affective domains, together with behavioural improvements for some students. Individual cognitive gains were revealed more convincingly during face-to-face interviews, rather than through survey items. Students from socially deprived backgrounds benefitted from exposure to learning environments which promoted authentic practical inquiry. Over the 5-year programme, combined physical adventure and real-world experiences proved to be popular with students and their teachers, and opened up opportunities for learning and doing science in ways not often accessible in urban school environments. Further programmes have been implemented in other parts of the UK as a result of the London experience, which build upon the provision of mixed curriculum-adventure course design. The popularity and apparent success of these combination courses suggest that providers need to consider the value of developing similar programmes in the future.     

How young children view mathematical representations: a study using eye-tracking technology

This paper reports on a study which investigated the support needs of pupils in mainstream school with a chronic illness or physical disability. The research was carried out in three local education authorities covering both rural and urban areas. In-depth, qualitative data were collected from 33 pupils in secondary school; 58 parents of primary and secondary school pupils; and 34 primary and secondary school teachers. Overall, the data from young people suggest variability in the support offered to pupils by teachers, even by teachers within the same school, and highlights the importance of teachers' awareness and understanding of special health needs. A number of areas where young people need support from teachers were identified, including: dealing with school absence; taking part in school activities; peer relationships; explaining the condition to other pupils; and having someone to talk to about health-related worries. Data from teachers and parents indicate that school staff need assistance with obtaining health-related information; ensuring health-related information is passed between and within schools; providing emotional support; the provision of medical care; and coordinating support for this group of pupils. The implications of the findings for teachers, schools and educational policy are discussed.     

Beyond Changing Culture in Small High Schools: Reform Models and Changing Instruction With Project-Based Learning

This study describes the status of small school reforms in U.S. high schools and contemplates their future. It asks how cultural and instructional reforms differ across school reform types. Analyses focus on indicators of teacher and student culture as well as instructional reforms including project-based learning (PBL) and other inquiry-related practices. Findings are based on data from a national survey completed by 395 high school teachers who were responsible for and had used PBL in core academic subjects. Study participants taught in large, comprehensive high schools; in schools that had converted to small learning communities; and in newly created small school start-ups. Some of these small schools and conversions were based on a reform model, and others were not. Teachers in reform model schools reported the greatest number of cultural and instructional reforms, followed by teachers in other small schools. Reform models were particularly strong on instructional reforms and student culture. In general, start-up teachers reported more success implementing reforms than teachers in conversion schools, and teacher culture was reformed much more often than student culture and instruction. These findings help shed light on how widely practices and conditions have spread throughout the broader small schools movement, and which of these (including extensive PBL use) only seem to flourish in schools that subscribe to a holistic reform model.     

农村中小学现代远程教育工程中教师主导作用的发挥

在农远工程“三模式”环境下,中小学教师利用计算机教室系统、卫星接收系统和光盘播放系统开展教学活动,丰富了教学方式和教育资源。“三模式”环境下教师的主导作用主要体现在学习目标的引导、运用教育技术的指导、教学过程的疏导、自主学习方法的辅导四个方面。只有教师注重自身素质的提高,才能在农远工程中充分发挥主导作用。     

The struggle for legitimacy: language provision in two ‘residual’ comprehensive high schools in Australia

Despite the contemporary policy rhetoric of global citizenry and the importance of languages and intercultural capabilities, language learning in Australian schools struggles for recognition and support. The curriculum marginalisation of languages, however, is uneven, affecting some school sectors more than others. In this article, we examine the provision of languages in two government comprehensive high schools, both low socio-economic status, located in urban areas in New South Wales, Australia’s largest state. They are termed ‘residual’ high schools because they cater for the students remaining in the local schools while others attend either private or selective government high schools. We provide a qualitative picture of language provision in these two schools from the perspectives of key stakeholders – school principals, teachers, students and parents. We also draw on observational data of language classes. The aim is to provide, within a largely social class framework, an understanding of the state of language provision in these schools. We argue that currently students in these schools are experiencing unequal access to the linguistic and cultural capital associated with language learning relative to students in more privileged communities and schools.     

小学英语课程资源的开发与利用

积极开发与合理利用小学英语课程资源有助于促进小学英语教师的专业发展、激发学生的英语学习兴趣、满足不同学习者的英语学习需求。小学英语课程资源的开发与利用应遵循经济性原则、适用性原则和有效性原则;开发与利用的主要内容有教材资源、学校资源、网络资源和学生资源等;主要渠道有网络渠道、同事合作渠道、学生渠道等。     

Teachers learning how to learn

School pupils learning how to learn (LHTL), aimed at helping them develop learning autonomy, requires teachers to develop new classroom practices. Hence teachers LHTL is equally important. The TLRP ‘Learning How to Learn in Classrooms, Schools and Networks’ project researched how practices were developed by teachers in 40 primary and secondary schools in England. Quantitative data were collected using teacher and pupil questionnaires, and qualitative data came from interviews with head teachers, school project co-ordinators and a sub-sample of classroom teachers. Some teachers were also observed and video-recorded. External constraints made it difficult for teachers to promote pupils' learning autonomy, unless they fundamentally changed the nature of classroom tasks and climate. A key factor was teachers' own engagement in collaborative classroom-focused inquiry. However, to be successful, this needed to be supported by school management and leadership. There were strong statistical relationships between school policy, teachers' professional learning and their capacity to promote learning autonomy in their pupils. Teacher learning through networking within their schools, and with other teachers in other schools, was also shown to be important.     

Teachers and the Very Able: case studies of four Scottish schools

High ability in children is a contentious issue in the Scottish educational system, which promotes equity through equality of opportunity in a non‐selective system. The aim of this research was to establish an understanding of the extent of available provision for very able children in a limited number of schools, and to chart teachers’ perceptions of high ability. Four Scottish schools were studied: one comprehensive high school and three primary schools, involving 17 teachers (primary principal and head teachers), one learning support teacher and three educational psychologists. Semi‐structured interviews, supported by open‐ended questionnaires, were the means of data collection. The data were submitted to a straightforward and qualitative content analysis. Results show tentatively that recognition of high ability is generally scarce in Scotland, that highly able pupils are often subjected to several decategorisations and that there is no consensus amongst teachers of how to understand high ability. A subgroup of able pupils was identified also, termed fast finishers’ by the participants.     

Accessing mainstream: examining the struggle for parents of children who have learning difficulties

In the past decade Ireland has witnessed substantial changes in policy and provision for children with general learning difficulties as government policies and legislation increasingly underpin the move towards more inclusive provision. Despite this series of policy initiatives parents of children who experience Down syndrome and general learning difficulties can encounter serious obstacles in gaining access to mainstream education for their children.
This research project was a study of the experiences of a small sample of parents of children who experience Down syndrome and general learning difficulties in relation to their efforts to access appropriate education and education supports for their child in the mainstream school setting. These parents had to invest extraordinary levels of time, energy, and resources in their struggle to get these children into mainstream school and to support their progress there. At local school level these parents and children had positive experiences, but life has taught them that society offers acceptance as a favour, so they cannot confidently expect acceptance by schools and teachers as a right.     

Developing and sustaining provision for children with motor skills difficulties in schools: the role of educational psychologists

The current paper outlines a three-year action research project with 39 schools in one inner city local authority. A local need to improve provision for children with motor skills difficulties resulted in a team of educational psychologists (EPs) and specialist teachers developing the Manchester Motor Skills Intervention (MMSI), which is a flexible package of support for primary schools. Support provided ranged from staff training and resources aimed to improve universal provision through to motor skills groups for targeted children. A mixed method evaluation was undertaken which aimed to establish which aspects of the MMSI schools found most useful and whether the programme was sustainable. The evaluation involved interviews at the end of the two-year project and school provision audits one year after the project had ceased. Participants valued the contribution of the research team to the development of a targeted intervention programme and the provision of ongoing support, while evidence suggests that the whole-school element of the MMSI requires further development. Some barriers and facilitators to sustainability are identified and discussed.     

后疫情时期基于学科核心素养的小学语文在线学习活动设计

疫情期间,小学语文在线学习积累了诸多大量优秀成果,如何将这些成果转化为疫情后的信息化教育实践动力,值得思考。阅读以及以阅读为基础的语言实践活动是小学语文核心素养培养的关键路径,小学在线语文学习活动为精读、略读和整本书阅读的课外环节提供了有力支持。本研究以活动理论为依据,根据在线学习活动的构成要素和在线学习活动的设计原则,设计了小学语文精读、略读类在线学习活动和整本书阅读类在线学习活动,并对其实践应用提出了建议。     

全国十五个区域儿童学校生存状态调查分析

对全国十五个省、市、自治区3—8年级学生20804人的问卷调查表明:总体上小学生学校生存状态优于初中生,声誉较高的学校学生生存状态优于普通学校和乡镇学校;学习内在动机弱,功利性取向强;教育氛围呈现文化转型特点:权威型教师亲和性强,简单化的教育方式较强;班集体文化建设与学生学习状态、学习概念、师生关系等显著相关,但普遍薄弱。