Towards good teaching by correspondence

The work of tutors, in receiving, considering, teaching, assessing and returning the written work of students is exceptionally important in the Open University. Teaching by correspondence is central and personal in Open University teaching. Haifa million assignments are exchanged between students and tutors every year. Apart from a small number of introductory training documents, the latest of which is Teaching for the Open University, little has been written and made nationally available on this essential element of Open University pedagogy. This paper is drafted by two Tutors and a Staff Tutor in the East Midlands, Sue Cole, Maggie Coats and Helen Lentell respectively..     

‘Granny Comes to Holyport’: the use of an educational adventure game with children with severe learning difficulties

Abstract

This paper describes the use of the educational adventure game ‘Granny's Garden’ with a group of children with severe learning difficulties in a special school in Berkshire, England. Strategies used to introduce the package into one classroom are described. The outcomes and effectiveness of these strategies are outlined. It is argued that the use of such materials (already well documented in mainstream education) within the developmental curriculum appears to be validated. It is suggested that the use of mainstream software may help children with learning difficulties by replacing teacher expectations associated with ‘handicap’ with expectations relating to ‘normality’. Some curricular and wider issues are discussed.     

Pupils' views of the role and value of the science curriculum: A focus-group study

Pupils' perceptions of their experience of school science have rarely been investigated. The aim of the research reported in this paper, therefore, was to document the range of views that pupils held about the school science curriculum, the aspects they found either interesting and/or valuable, and their views about its future content. As such, the research aimed to articulate their views as a contribution to the debate about the future form and function of the school science curriculum. The method adopted to elicit their views was to use focus groups-a methodology that has not been extensively used in the science education research. Reported here are the findings from 20 focus groups conducted with 144 16-year-old pupils in London, Leeds and Birmingham, split both by gender and whether the pupils intended to continue, or not, with the study of science post-16. The findings of this research offer a window into pupils' perspective of school science revealing both their discontents and satisfaction with the existing curriculum. On the negative side, many pupils perceived school science to be a subject dominated by content with too much repetition and too little challenge. From a more positive perspective, pupils saw the study of science as important and were engaged by topics where they could perceive an immediate relevance, practical work, material that was challenging and high-quality teaching. The implications of these findings and the insights they provide for curriculum policy and school science curricula are discussed.     

The politics are personal: The Australian vs the Australian curriculum in history

This article reviews the relationship between the conservative newspaper The Australian and the development of a national history curriculum in Australia. The lead author surveyed the major Australian press in the five-year period between 2007 and 2012 and found clear patterns of difference between The Australian and other press outlets in relation to education in general and history curriculum in particular. Using Jonathan Haidt's five-point model of moral values, the article analyses the behaviour of the press in Australia in relation to history education as a feature of moral preferences. Extending from this analysis, it then highlights a number of cases of press campaigns in The Australian targeted against individuals including one academic involved in the development of a national curriculum. The article demonstrates that a culture of aggressive conservatism exercised in this Murdoch press outlet reaches beyond the field of conventional political debate to constitute a serious and concerning influence in the dynamics of curriculum policy development.     

Using working agreements in participatory action research: working through moral problems with Malaysian students

In this paper we propose that taking time before the work begins to develop agreements about how to work together in participatory action research enables researchers to directly address several ethical issues that can be problematic in this type of research: gaining fully informed consent; in-group confidentiality; cultural misconceptions; and protecting participants from risky self-disclosures. We begin by discussing some of these ethical challenges that can arise in participatory work, especially with young people. We argue that these issues are magnified and politicised in certain politico-cultural settings, and therefore are all the more important when working cross-culturally. Drawing on the findings of the lead writer’s doctoral thesis, which sought to find a more relevant way of teaching moral education in a Malaysian setting by including the voices of young people, we show how participants responded to attempts to address these issues by creating a safe space in which to discuss sensitive topics through the use of a working agreement. Responses indicate that when such an agreement was in place, the young people in this Malaysian study experienced a greater sense of safety, greater encouragement to participate, and were more confident in their ability to solve ethical problems than in situations where there was no working agreement. Furthermore, the agreement enabled the researcher to be more aware of, and responsive to, the cultural context of the participants.     

Rethinking role play in the Reception class

How to monitor and raise standards of educational attainment generally were issues addressed by the British Government in 1988 when the National Curriculum was introduced into all state‐funded primary schools in England and Wales: ‘There is every reason for optimism that in providing a sound, sufficiently detailed framework over the next decade the National Curriculum will give children and teachers much needed help in achieving higher standards.’ This paper assesses the value of looking closely at successive reading scores of cohorts of children in order to monitor reading attainments over time. The reading attainments of seven cohorts of Year 2 children from five randomly selected primary schools within one local education authority (LEA) (N = 1,329) are analysed to see if standards of literacy have changed since the introduction of the National Curriculum in 1989. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection were used in this cross‐sectional study. The reading attainments of each of the seven cohorts of Year 2 children, as measured by the are presented. Headteacher perceptions of the effects of the National Curriculum on the teaching and learning of reading in their schools were collected through interviews. Examination of the means of the standardized comprehension scores for each cohort reveals no statistically significant differences in attainment between any two cohorts. It was noted that the distribution of the reading scores was skewed towards underachievement in all seven cohorts. The relative stability in reading attainments contrasts with the aspiration that the introduction of the National Curriculum would raise standards. Headteachers saw this stability as the result of key stage 1 teachers working at an intense rate to safeguard the teaching and learning of reading against the pressures exerted by the introduction of the National Curriculum and assessment procedures.     

An essentialist methodology in education-related research using in-depth interviews

This paper introduces a methodological approach in in-depth interview projects with adult subjects which (1) attempts to see the nature and essence of the phenomenon under study appearing in the experience and consciousness of each participant, and then (2) endeavours to obtain more general insights regarding the phenomenon by trying to see an essence when looking across cases. The approach uses microanalysis of and identification with prosodic and other dynamic features of discourse, and empathy with and compassion for the object of study (the person interviewed, his or her experience, and the overall story in relation to the problem). In addition, considerable effort is spent to shape what is felt to be 'the essence of the phenomenon' in a particular individual or case (or 'the essence of the phenomenon in that case'), and to use literary devices to communicate this essence to a reader in a portrait.     

Labourers’ letters from Wellington to Surrey, 1840–1845: Lefebvre,Bernstein and pedagogies of appropriation

Henri Lefebvre suggested that social researchers engage in ‘the concrete analysis of rhythms’ in order to reveal the ‘pedagogy of appropriation (the appropriation of the body, as of spatial practice)’. Lefebvre’s spatial analysis has influenced educational researchers, while the idea of ‘pedagogy’ has travelled beyond education. This interdisciplinary paper combines Lefebvre’s analytical trilogy of perceived, conceived and lived spaces with Bernstein’s ‘pedagogical device’ in an interrogation of historical documents. It engages in a ‘rhythm analysis’ of the New Zealand Company’s ‘pedagogical appropriation’ of a group of agricultural labourers into its ‘systematic colonisation scheme’. The temporal‐spatial rhythms of the labourers’ lives are accessible in nine surviving letters they wrote in Wellington and sent to Surrey between 1841 and 1844. By revealing how their bodies were ‘traversed by rhythms rather as the “ether” is traversed by waves’, we gain insight how bodies, space and the self are mutually constitutive and constituted.     

Mapping two new points on the tennis expertise continuum: Tactical skills of adult advanced beginners and entry-level professionals during competition

Abstract

Research examining problem representations of individuals during task performance is advancing our understanding of information processing and expertise in a variety of sports. However, few studies using similar methodology have been conducted on individuals of various competitive standards in one domain in similar contexts. This study examined problem representations of adult advanced beginners and entry-level professionals accessed during singles tennis competition (n = 12). These groups were selected to represent players with performance skills that were different from those studied previously (i.e. adult beginners and varsity players). Immediate recall and planning interviews were conducted between points during singles tennis competition. Players competed within their respective expertise groups. Verbal reports were transcribed verbatim and concepts were scored according to a model of protocol structure. Several multivariate analyses of variance were conducted on rank scores for measures of concept content and structure using the L-statistic. Entry-level professionals exhibited more advanced problem representations than advanced beginners regardless of interview type. These findings together with those of previous research suggest adaptations in long-term memory profiles with increases in performance skills. For example, beginners lacked action plan and current event profiles because they generated goals and reiterated game events during both interviews. Advanced beginners, who had better performance skills than beginners, exhibited rudimentary action plan profiles and deficient current event profiles because they generated and monitored several detailed actions related to the current context during recall interviews and generated only a few goals during planning interviews. In contrast, varsity players and professionals processed tactical information in the current context and beyond denoting the existence of both action plan and current event profiles. Varsity players, with inferior performance skills than professionals, exhibited fewer and less associated tactical concepts than professionals during both interviews.