Strengthening ‘the foundations’ of the primary school curriculum

The low status of the foundation subjects (e.g. Music and Physical Education (PE)) in English primary schools is well documented. Using PE as an illustrative example, a thematic analysis of 51 PE trainee students’ assignments, based on their perceptions of a two-week experience in a primary school, highlighted a number of areas of concern (e.g. limited/inadequate preparation; insufficient teacher knowledge/confidence; variable/limited subject leadership and non-qualified teachers delivering the curriculum). The possibility of teachers, coaches and other external specialists learning collaboratively with and from each other within a community of practice/learning is proposed as one way of strengthening the foundation subjects within the primary school curriculum.     

Becoming literate in Chinese: a comparison of native‐speaking and non‐native‐speaking children

How do native Chinese‐speaking (CS) and non‐Chinese‐speaking (NCS) children learn to read and write in Chinese? In the present study, 29 CS and 34 NCS second and third graders aged 76 to 122 months (M = 93.65) participated in an experiment where they were taught 16 new Chinese characters in one of four conditions – copy, radical, phonological and look–say. Results showed that the copying condition best facilitated writing of Chinese characters for both groups, whereas radical knowledge facilitated only CS children's writing. NCS children benefited more from the phonological condition than from the look–say condition in learning to read Chinese. These results highlight the effectiveness of copying practice for all children learning to write Chinese. However, approaches to reading and writing Chinese may differ somewhat depending on the Chinese background knowledge of the children as well. Teaching children Chinese should be geared towards the strengths of different groups for learning.     

Some recent Unesco publications

Notes and Reviews

Some recent Unesco publications     

The education of academically gifted students in South Korea: Innovative approaches in shadow education

Shadow education contributes to the learning and academic careers of Korean students. It benefits, in particular, gifted students who are strongly motivated and who outperform their peers academically. In this study, we explored the innovative characteristics of shadow education curricula for gifted students in terms of curricular programmes, methods, and teaching-learning materials. Also, we explored how shadow education practices meet the academic abilities and needs of students. Informed by a literature review and qualitative research methods, the results reveal how common shadow education is; effects of shadow education; and innovative elements used in shadow education for gifted students in Korea. Overall, we found that shadow education plays a crucial role in gifted education; it is a necessary component for understanding academic excellence among students in Korea. The findings are helpful for teachers, curriculum developers, and policymakers as they explore how public schooling can help to support strongly motivated and academically advanced students.     

The effectiveness of a special school experience for improving preservice teachers’ efficacy to teach children with special educational needs and disabilities

Increasingly, preservice teachers are required to demonstrate their ability to effectively cater for the needs of a diverse range of learners, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Higher education institutions (HEI) delivering teacher education programmes are responsible for promoting the development of inclusive practices. This multi-method study assessed the effectiveness of a special school experience for preservice teachers at one HEI in England. A total population sample of 48 preservice teachers completed self-efficacy questionnaires at three time points during their training; and 13 took part in qualitative semi-structured interviews towards the end of the study. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) findings from the questionnaire data showed that the experience had a significant positive impact on preservice teachers’ self-efficacy, improving knowledge, understanding and confidence to teach inclusively. A thematic analysis of the qualitative findings revealed that the experience challenged preservice teacher expectations about learners with SEND, developing understanding about learner needs and effective differentiation. This article concludes with recommendations for effective inclusion training for preservice teachers.