Implementing a play‐based and developmentally appropriate curriculum in Northern Ireland primary schools: what lessons have we learned?

In the United Kingdom tensions have existed for many years between the pedagogical traditions of pre‐school, which tend to adopt developmentally oriented practices, and the more formal or subject‐oriented curriculum framework of primary school. These tensions have been particularly acute in the context of Northern Ireland, which has the earliest school starting age throughout Europe. In response to international research evidence and practice, a play‐based and developmentally appropriate curriculum, known as the Enriched Curriculum (EC), was introduced as a pilot in Year 1 and 2 classes in over 100 primary schools in Northern Ireland between 2000 and 2002 and continued until the Foundation Stage became statutory for all primary schools in 2007. This paper outlines four key lessons that have been learned from the first four years of the evaluation of this experience. These include the value and the meaning of a play‐based curriculum; the importance of teachers’ confidence and knowledge; teaching reading in a play‐based curriculum; and easing transitions in a play‐based curriculum.     

The Issue at a Glance

THE ISSUE AT A GLANCE

The Issue at a Glance     

Prospects and pitfalls: A review of post‐apartheid education policy research and analysis in South Africa

The 10‐year anniversary of the first democratic elections in South Africa in 2004 provoked much reflection and fuelled new policy debates on both the progress and failures of educational reform. While a myriad of achievements have been touted and are well‐known to international audiences, a swelling critique from inside South Africa shows that much work remains to be done. By glancing backward as a way to understand how to move forward, we review several important recently published books on post‐apartheid education policy to learn how policies were conceived, what went well and what went seriously wrong. In engaging this extended analysis we provide a glimpse into the unique set of circumstances and challenges faced by the South African government over the last 15 years (namely the tensions between equity and redress and global competitiveness), while offering a sustained critique of the resulting policy outcomes through a social justice lens.     

Improving fine motor skills in young children: an intervention study

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the Primary Movement programme on the fine motor skills of children in an early years setting in an area of high social disadvantage. Primary Movement is a programme which can be used as an early intervention technique to help children inhibit persistent primary reflexes that have been shown to adversely affect motor and cognitive development. Previous research has found that the programme can have significant effects in increasing the motor and academic attainments of children, aged 8–11 years. A repeated measures design was used to evaluate the impact of the Primary Movement intervention, in comparison to a control intervention, on the fine motor skills of 65 Reception children, aged four to five years. The results from this study provide evidence that the Primary Movement programme had a significant effect on improving the fine motor skills of the children. This research provides further evidence to support the use of the programme within the Early Years curriculum.     

In-season changes in ventricular morphology and systolic function in adolescent female athletes

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of physical maturity on the changes in ventricular morphology and function with sport training in female youth athletes.

Methods: Thirty-two female athletes (age 13–18 years) underwent height and weight measurement and 2-D echocardiographic evaluation immediately prior to, and following, a 20-week soccer season. Pre- and post-season left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), ejection fraction (LVEF), stroke volume (LVSV), mass (LVM), and posterior wall thickness (LVPWT), right ventricular end-diastolic diameter (RVEDD), end-diastolic area (RVEDA), and fractional area change (RVFAC), and interventricular septal thickness (IVST) were compared. In-season change in each variable was compared across pre-season hours of vigorous physical activity (0–1, 2–3, >3 hours).

Results: Significant increases were identified in LVEDV (51.3?±?10.4?v 56.4?±?9.6?ml/m², p?=?0.001) and RVEDA (10.5?±?1.9?v 11.3?±?2.5?cm²/m², p?=?0.040), but not LVEDD, LVM, LVPWT, LVSV, RVEDD, RVEDA, RVFAC, or IVST (p?>?0.05 for all). In-season changes in echocardiographic variables did not differ across hours of pre-season vigorous physical activity (p?>?0.05 for all).

Conclusion: Among female adolescent soccer players, in-season training elicits changes in resting ventricular volume, but not wall thickness or systolic function. These adaptations do not appear to be influenced by pre-season physical activity level.     

An Analysis of an Interactive Videodisc System for Teaching Language Skills to Deaf Students

An interactive videodisc system designed to teach language concepts to deaf students was evaluated in a classroom trial. An experimental group of 18 students spent 60 twenty‐minute sessions over a five‐month period learning language concepts by interacting with the system while a control group of 16 students learned the same concepts in their regular classroom setting. Both groups made significant progress from pre‐ to post‐test on two criterion‐referenced testsdeveloped by project staff. Experimental students were enthusiastic about the videodisc, felt that their language skills had improved, and were anxious to continue working with the system.     

Community and Collectivism: the role of parents’ organisations in the education system

This paper outlines the theoretical and empirical starting‐points for a research project addressing the role of parents’ organisations in the education system. It argues that a study of relationships conducted between homes, schools and parents’ groups and organisations has the potential to illuminate key concepts in education, considering as examples ‘citizenship’ and ‘community’. The paper is divided into three main sections. The first briefly describes the study's background, its scope and methodology. The second section considers the use of some of Antonio Gramsci's work in providing a theoretical starting‐point with which to explore the construction and maintenance of hegemonic discourses surrounding parenting. The concluding section of the paper widens the discussion to consider two key concepts, community and citizenship. It is argued that the discursive positioning of these concepts, in other words, how they are understood and defined, influences the ways in which relationships between parents and the education system are perceived and construed. This is illustrated with reference to readings of'citizenship’ and ‘community’ which emphasise, not consensus and homogeneity as in traditional definitions, but conflict, difference and multiplicity. The paper concludes that there is a continued need for empirical data focusing on everyday citizen and citizen‐state interactions which reveal how individuals live within, and understand and experience these relationships.     

Concerns of teachers about technology integration in the USA

This study was designed to examine the current trend and pattern of teachers' concerns about technology integration. Eighty‐six in‐service teachers in a graduate course participated in the study at a midwestern state university during the summer semester of 2002. The Stages of Concerns (SoC) Questionnaire was used to assess teachers' seven stages of concern: awareness, informational, personal, management, consequence, collaboration and refocusing. This study found that: (1) teachers' concerns as a whole were very intense in these stages informational, personal and refocusing; (2) there were significant statistical differences in teachers' concerns in most stages of concern among teachers with three levels of perception of their implementation status; (3) the concern profile for each of the three subgroups supported the hypothesis of Hall, George & Rutherford (1977) regarding the development of stages of concern for the three different user groups: inexperienced, experienced and renewing. International implications for teacher technology integration are proposed.

Cette étude a été conçue pour examiner la tendance courante et le modèle suivi par les professeurs qui s'intéressent à l'intégration de la technologie. Quatre‐vingt‐cinq professeurs d'un cours universitaire ont participé à cette étude provenant d'une université d'un état du midwest pendant le semestre d'été de 2002. Les Étapes du Questionnaire des Préoccupations (Hall, George, & Rutherford, 1977) ont été utilisées pour évaluer les 7 étapes: prise de conscience, informelle, personnelle, gestion, conséquence, collaboration et concentration. Cette étude a conclut que: (1) l'intérêt des professeurs dans son ensemble était très intense pendant les étapes suivantes, information, personnelle et concentration; (2) il existe des différences statistiques considérables dans la plupart des étapes parmi les professeurs des trois niveaux de perception de leur situation; et (3) le profil de préoccupation pour chacun des trois sous‐groupes supporte l'hypothèse d'Hall concernant le développement d'étapes de préoccupation pour les trois utilisateurs des différents groupes–inexpérimenté, expérimenté et en renouvellement. Des implications internationales pour les professeurs qui s'occupent de l'intégration de la technologie sont proposées.

Diese Studie wurde entworfen, um die gegenwärtigen Trends und das Profil der Lehrermeinungen zu Technologieintegration zu untersuchen. Im Sommer Semester 2004 nahmen fünfundachtzig Lehrer an einer Studie in einem fortgeschrittenen Kurs an einer staatlichen Universität im Mittelwesten der USA teil. Die Stufen des Besorgtheitsfragebogen (Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoC)) wurde verwendet, um die 7 Stufen der Lehrerbedenken festzustellen: Bewusstheit, informatorisch, persönlich, Management, Konsquenz, Zusammenarabeit. und Wiederfokusieren. Die Ergebnisse waren: (1) In den Stufen informatorisch, persönlich, und Widerfokusieren, waren die Lehrerbedenken sehr intensiv; (2) Unter Lehrern mit drei Stufen der Perzeption ihrer Implementationsstatus gab es significkante statistische Unterschiede in fast allen Stufen der Besorgtheit der Lehrer in fast allen Stufen der Besorgtheit; und (3) Die Besorgtheitsprofil für jede der drei Untergruppen unterstützte Hall et al's Hypothese hinsichtlich der Entwicklung der Besorgtheitsstufen für die drei verschiedenen Verbrauchergruppen--unerfahren, erfahren, und immer Erneuernde. Internationale Implikationen für die Integration der Lehrer bezogenen Technologie werden angeboten.

Este estudio fue diseñado para examinar la tendencia actual y el modelo de los maestros involucrados en la integración de la tecnología. Ochenta y cinco maestros de un curso graduado participaron en este estudio en una universidad de un estado del midwest durante el semestre del verano de 2002. Las Fases de la Encuesta de Preocupaciones (Hall, George, & Rutherford, 1977 Hall GE George AA Rutherford WL 1977 Measuring stages of concern about the innovation: a manual for use of the SoC questionnaire Austin TX Southwest Educational Development Laboratory  [Google Scholar]) fueron usadas para evaluar las 7 fases de preocupación de los maestros: conocimiento, informativo, personal, gestión, consecuencia, colaboración y enfoque. Este estudio concluyó en lo siguiente: (1) los maestros en conjunto estaban involucrados intensamente en las fases siguientes: informativo, personal y enfoque; (2) había diferencias estadísticas significativas en la mayoría de las fases de preocupación entre los maestros con tres niveles de percepción de su situación; y (3) el perfil de preocupación para cada uno de los tres subgrupos corroboró la hipótesis de Hall con respecto al desarrollo de las fases de preocupación para los tres usuarios diferentes–inexperto, experimentado y renovado. Conclusiones internacionales para los maestros que se interesan en la integración de la tecnología han sido propuestas.