Prevalence of streaming in UK primary schools: evidence from the Millennium Cohort Study

The adoption of streaming in the primary school (where children are placed in a class on the basis of measures of attainment and remain in that class all of the time) was commonplace when the 11 plus examination was used to select children for grammar school places. During the 1950s and 1960s the practice died out with most children being taught in mixed ability classes with some in‐class grouping. During the 1990s successive governments indicated that some form of ability grouping should be introduced in primary schools, setting (children placed in ability groups for some subjects and taught in mixed groups for the remainder of the time) being preferred, however, streaming was introduced in some schools despite evidence that movement between structured ability groups is infrequent and that children tend to remain in the same groups throughout their school careers limiting their educational opportunities. Recent research based on 8875 children, in the Millennium Cohort Study showed that 16.4% of children in Year 2 were in streamed classes. Logistic regression analysis showed that the best predictors of being in the top stream were whether the child was born in autumn or winter 2000, parents owning their own home, and the child's cognitive ability score. The measures predicting being in the bottom stream were being a boy, being born in the spring/summer of 2001, having a behaviour problem, being born into a lone parent family, and cognitive ability score.     

PARENTING PROGRAMMES: Do generalist parenting programmes improve children's behaviour and attendance at school? The parents’ perspective

Previous research has demonstrated that parenting programmes can be an effective intervention in changing behaviour and parent/child interactions. However, less attention has been given to the impact of these programmes in relation to improving attendance and behaviour at school. Lynne Rogers, lecturer in teacher education specialising in the post-14 sector, Susan Hallam, Professor of Education and Dean of the Faculty of Policy and Society, and Jacquelene Shaw, educational psychologist, all working in the University of London, set their debate in this article in the context of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 and the Respect Action Plan 2006. These authors use their article in order to describe parents' perceptions of the impact of parenting programmes on their own and their children's behaviour, with particular reference to behaviour at home and at school. The perceptions reported here, and enlivened with direct quotes from parents, are based on questionnaire data from 142 parents and interviews with a sample of parents and teachers. Parents were broadly positive about the benefits of parenting programmes. However, where the child's problem was rooted in school-related issues, some concerns about behaviour and attendance remained. Lynne Rogers, Susan Hallam and Jacquelene Shaw close their article with a call for parenting programmes to be more closely aligned with activities in school and with educational processes.     

Implementation and Evaluation of an Early Foreign Language Learning Project in Kindergarten

The purpose of present paper was twofold. Firstly, it aimed at outlining the rationale for and the process of introducing an English language learning intervention to kindergarten children in a playful and supportive environment. It focused on developing children’s oral skills through participating in creative child-appropriate activities and interacting in small groups. The intervention, extended in a period of an academic year, was coordinated in two phases; in the first, ‘warm-up’ phase, a visual approach was followed and in the second one, the basic phase of the intervention, 12 sessions of relevant topics were included, each one carried out in four steps. On the other hand, it aimed at investigating the degree to which ‘rule play’ could contribute to oral skills acquisition and vocabulary development. For this purpose, an effectiveness study was conducted which revealed the positive effects of the intervention on early foreign language learning.     

An Analysis of the Presentation of Art in the British Primary School Curriculum and its Implications for Teaching

This article presents an analysis of the way art is conceptualised in the British primary school curriculum and provides an historical framework that maps an evolution of ideas that have shaped the way art is presented in the modern day primary curriculum. In order to achieve this a Foucauldian style genealogical analysis is utilised to trace the discourses (systems of meaning) surrounding the nature of children's artistic development and how these discourses are used in the present day British primary curriculum to construe art in different ways. The analysis in this article is threefold. It explores the presentation of art in the curriculum as (1) an expressive subject, (2) a skills based subject, (3) a subject which focuses on art history and art appreciation. Second, the teaching positions associated with each approach are identified as follows (a) the facilitator, (b) the expert and (c) the philosopher; as well as the issues teachers face when adopting these positions. Third, attention is given to how these theoretical principles might be linked to practice. In so doing this article contributes to the debate surrounding the value of art in the primary curriculum and the way in which the curriculum serves to shape teaching practice.     

The usefulness of the verbal receptivity construct in instructional communication research

Perceptions of verbal receptivity of dyadic partners have recently been incorporated into interpersonal research. Receptivity of a teacher appears likely to be associated with student learning. However, it was suspected that perceptions of teacher responsiveness, a factor found very important in previous research, might overlap with perceptions of receptivity to the point that the latter construct would not be useful for predicting additional variability in student learning.

While both verbal receptivity and responsiveness were found to be significantly correlated with both affective and cognitive learning, the data indicated that measures of verbal receptivity and responsiveness were highly correlated. Analyses of variance found that verbal receptivity contributed significantly to cognitive learning but non‐significantly to affective learning (except affect for instructor) when the effects of responsiveness were accounted for. Receptivity probably would be best considered as a subset of the larger responsiveness construct in future work in the instructional arena.     

Revolution,evolution or a Trojan horse? Piloting assessment for learning in some Scottish primary schools

This article analyses some of the findings of an evaluation of Project One of the ‘Assessment is for Learning’ Development Programme in 16 Scottish primary schools and two junior high schools in which teachers developed formative assessment strategies aimed at improving teaching and learning. Drawing on data from pupils, teachers and parents, the use of such strategies is examined. The study provides some evidence that the use of formative assessment led to pupils taking more responsibility for their learning, contributing to improved motivation, confidence and classroom achievement, especially for lower attainers. Employing such strategies also developed teachers' conceptual understanding of formative assessment, moving some from a teacher‐centred pedagogy to one which placed pupils and their learning needs at the heart of teaching. The article concludes by discussing the implications of the project for teachers' professional development and the constraints faced by teachers in sustaining and embedding such practices.     

Ability Grouping in English Secondary Schools: Effects on Attainment in English,Mathematics and Science

The impact of ability grouping on attainment is examined in a cohort of year-9 pupils in 45 mixed secondary comprehensive schools, representing a variety of grouping practices. Analyses using multilevel models reveal an effect of the extent of setting experienced by pupils on progress in mathematics, but not in English or science. In mathematics, pupils attaining higher levels at the end of year 6 make more progress in sets, whereas pupils attaining lower levels make more progress in mixed ability classes. Placement in a high, middle or low set also has a significant effect on mathematics attainment. Possible explanations are discussed and educational implications considered.     

Developing academic talent as a practicing school psychologist: From potential to expertise

In this article, we explore how school psychologists who adopt a talent development perspective can play a larger role in cultivating the talent of academically gifted students. Utilizing the talent development megamodel and Ackerman's model of expertise, we outline how school psychologists can consult with school administrators, teachers, and parents to meet the general and domain-specific academic needs of academically gifted students at home and in school. In addition, we discuss how school psychologists can leverage systems of assessment (e.g., universal screening, continued assessment) to identify academically gifted students across academic talent trajectories as well as provide students with multiple opportunities to exhibit their academic talents. We conclude by highlighting some diversity and multi-cultural considerations that school psychologists should keep in mind while developing academic talent, as well as a policy implication of school psychologists adopting a talent development approach to their work.     

Combined fluency and cognitive strategies instruction improves mathematics achievement in early elementary school

One hundred and seventy-eight second grade students from two states (Georgia and Massachusetts) participated in an experiment in which they were randomly assigned to either (1) a computer program designed to increase fluency in addition and subtraction, (2) a program designed to improve cognitive strategy use for addition and subtraction, (3) a program that combined the fluency and cognitive strategy instruction programs or (4) a control condition. The intervention consisted of 40 half-hour sessions (2 sessions per week for 20 weeks). Prior to the intervention, and immediately following the intervention, the participants were tested on fluency, cognitive strategy use, and mathematics achievement. ANCOVAs indicated that children in the combined fluency and cognitive strategy use condition significantly improved their mathematics achievement in comparison to the control group. When we examined the impact of the intervention as a function of gender, boys appeared to benefit from the intervention, but girls did not.