Preschool affects longer term literacy and numeracy: results from a general population longitudinal study in Northern Ireland

The Effective Pre-school Provision in Northern Ireland (EPPNI) project is a longitudinal study of child development from 3 to 11 years. It is one of the first large-scale UK projects to investigate the effects of different kinds of preschool provision, and to relate experience in preschool to child development. In EPPNI, 683 children were randomly selected from 80 preschools, and 151 children were recruited without preschool experience. Progress was then followed from age 3 to age 11. Preschool experience was related to age 11 performance in English and mathematics. High-quality preschools show consistent effects that are reflected not only in improved attainment in Key Stage 2 English and mathematics but also in improved progress in mathematics over primary school. Children who attended high-quality preschools were 2.4 times more likely in English, and 3.4 times more likely in mathematics, to attain Level 5 than children without preschool experience.     

Communities of practice in inclusive education

The data in this paper represent the experiences and perspectives of parents and teachers who worked as communities of practice, designing support plans for the inclusion of three students with intellectual disabilities in general education classrooms. Their reflections, obtained through interviews and questionnaires, show how they constructed relevant knowledge to support these children with special educational needs in their class. The findings show the potential benefits of partnerships and local knowledge in addressing the educational challenge of inclusion.     

'Well,I've Not Done Any Work Today. I Don't Know Why I Came to School'. Perceptions of Play in the Reception Class

The place of play in the education of young children has been the focus of much interest in the past. But the findings from this research project demonstrate that there remains a significant amount of confusion about the role that play has in young children's education. In particular we found that there is a clear distinction between the rhetoric and reality of play in the reception class. Further, there was evidence of real anguish for some early years workers who were failing to offer the play activities that they knew should be provided. These findings are particularly interesting at present, since the debate on the role of play has once again emerged as fundamental in the attempt to define a curriculum appropriate to the needs of the 3-6 year olds who, from the year 2000, will be required to work within the highly contentious Foundation Stage of the National Curriculum.     

Editorial

As the incoming editorial team we would like to introduce ourselves to our readers. We are looking forward to doing all we can to further the high standard of the journal and its relevance as an international forum for sharing research and scholarship on teaching, learning and curriculum, and the conditions and policy environment of higher education that impinge on academic work. In an effort to ensure that our processes are efficient and transparent, we have revised the Notes to Contributors, which you will find on the back page. Next year the journal goes to four issues which will together form a somewhat larger volume, but will mean that each issue is smaller. The intent is to publish more frequently so that relevance and currency is enhanced. For this reason we will need to put more stress on observing the general rule that papers are to be 5000–7000 words in length. We are also committed to a more rapid turnaround time for submitted papers and have been working to streamline our management systems with the help of our able administrator, Karen Sanecki.     

ePortfolios beyond pre-service teacher education: a new dawn?

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the efficacy of using ePortfolios to enhance career skills for newly qualified teachers (NQTs). The context is the final phase of a longitudinal action research project investigating whether an ePortfolio, created as a pre-service teacher to evidence a digital story of developing professional identity, could transition into employability, i.e. the first year as an NQT. Thus, this paper focuses on a new area of ePortfolio-related research in teacher education; the transition from university into employment. The research findings indicate a changing purpose of the ePortfolio from training to the workplace, an increasing strength of ownership as part of the transition, and empowerment in becoming a teacher. Secondary findings demonstrate an increasing acceptance amongst head teachers regarding the usefulness of the ePortfolio in pre-service teacher education and in the continuing professional development of qualified teachers. Key outcomes are discussed and arguments are presented for an ePortfolio to support professional development from university to employment.