Scaling Within Rather Than Scaling Up: Implications from Students' Experiences in Reforming Urban Middle Schools

This article uses urban middle school student's interviews to describe the instructional differences they faced each day and the effects of these differences on what they learned. Data from a cohort of nearly 200 students over two years revealed common definitions of how they wanted their teachers to act and the kinds of classroom activities they wanted to be engaged in. But more important, their observations revealed stark differences in their actual experiences. Too few students experienced the quality instruction they desired. Students praised teachers who were willing to help, were strict but nice, and were able to explain. They also wanted instructional settings where they were challenged by meaningful projects and experiments, worked more interdependently with their peers, and combined work with fun. We conclude from these student observations that reform efforts will be more successful in settings that nurture, maintain, and reinforce classrooms like those so aptly described by students and promote the spread of these classrooms by taking advantage of the talents of exemplary staff within buildings (i.e., scaling within).     

Race and sex: teachers' views on who gets ahead in schools?

The research reported here was part of a large study of the impact of age, disability, race and sex on the teaching profession in England. The basic question asked in this research was how do these factors interact with career aspirations and achievements of classteachers, promoted teachers and headteachers? There were three different data sources: a large postal survey drawn from diverse geographic regions across England with over 2000 respondents; face‐to‐face individual interviews with over 100 teachers in 18 case study schools from across all of the main regions of England; discussions with special interest groups of teachers. Not surprisingly, the answer to the above question was complex. Nonetheless, the paper's conclusion highlights some of the noteworthy themes across this broad sample of teachers from primary, secondary and special schools.

Les travaux de recherche décris dans cet article ont fait partie d'une large étude sur l'impact de l'age, des handicaps, de l'origine ethnique et du genre sur les professions de l'enseignement. L'une des questions abordées dans cette recherche était de savoir comment ces facteurs interagissaient avec les aspirations professionnelles et les carrières des enseignants, administratifs et chefs d'établissement. Trois principales sources d'information ont été utilisées: un sondage par courrier de plus de 2000 personnes, couvrant différentes régions géographiques de l'Angleterre; des entretiens individuels avec une centaine d'enseignants de 18 écoles cibles, reparties sur les principales régions de l'Angleterre; des discussions avec des groupes de travail d'enseignants. De manière non surprenante, la réponse à la question ci‐dessus s'est avérée complexe. Néanmoins, cet article met en évidence un ensemble de thèmes significatifs à travers ce large groupe d'enseignants issus du primaire, du secondaire et d'institutions spécialisées.

La investigación que se presenta aquí formó parte de un largo estudio sobre el impacto que tenía la edad, discapacidad, diferencias de etnia y género en la profesión de maestro en Inglaterra. Una de las principales cuestiones a contestar en la presente investigación fue cómo estos factores interactúan en las aspiraciones profesionales de maestros, jefes del departamento y directores, se presentan en este artículo. Hubo tres principales fuentes de datos. Estas incluían: una amplia encuesta por correo la cual tuvo en cuenta diversas regiones de la geografía de Inglaterra, con cerca de unas 2000 personas encuestadas; entrevistas individuales cara a cara a unos 100 maestros en 18 estudios de casos de escuelas a través de todas las principales regiones de Inglaterra; y discusiones con grupos interesantes de maestros. No nos debe sorprender que las respuestas a las preguntas comentadas anteriormente fueran complejas de resolver. De todas formas las conclusiones del artículo dan luz a algunos de los temas significativos a través de la amplia muestra de maestros de escuelas de primaria, secundaria y escuelas especiales.

Die hier präsentierte Forschungsarbeit war Teil einer umfassenden Studie, die sich mit der Auswirkung von Alter, Behinderung, ethnischer Herkunft und Geschlecht auf den Lehrberuf in England auseinandersetzt. Die wesentliche Frage, die in dieser Forschungsarbeit gestellt wurde, lautete wie folgt: wie wirken sich genannte Faktoren auf Karriereaspirationen und Leistungen von Klassenlehrern, beförderten Lehrern und Schulleitern aus? Die Daten wurden aus drei Hauptquellen bezogen; dazu gehören: eine umfassende, geographisch breitgefächerte Postumfrage in England, auf die über 2000 Befragte antworteten; persönliche Gespräche mit über 100 Lehrern aus 18 zu Fallstudien herangezogenen Schulen in den Haupregionen Englands; und Diskussionen mit Lehrern, die bestimmte Interessengruppen vertreten. Die Antwort zu der oben genannten Frage war erwartungsgemäss komplex. Nichtsdestoweniger werden in dieser Arbeit einige der Themen hervorgehoben, die Lehrer aus dem Primär‐, Sekundär‐ und Sonderschulbereich für besonders erwähnenswert hielten.     

THE DEVELOPMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF PERSONAL TRANSFERABLE SKILLS DURING WORK‐BASED PLACEMENTS

The article focuses on the development and assessment of skills during the work‐based placements of business studies sandwich degree students. A total of forty‐two skills are identified and these have been subsumed within two distinct frameworks according to their general or vocational nature. The importance of the work‐based placement In acquiring these skills is borne out when this is compared against a variety of other methods.

Aggregated students’ ratings have been compared with those of employers. Whilst there appears to be some agreement about development having occurred during the placement for virtually all skills, the research highlights major inconsistencies between employers and students in their ratings of the actual level of proficiency finally achieved. This discrepancy between student and employer assessments suggests that a more comprehensive and systematic approach to assessment is required if formal credit is to be given for work‐based learning within degree programmes. This could involve techniques such as triangulation, contract learning or the assessment of competencies, but the difficulty of ensuring a common frame of reference between the parties involved, and across the methods of assessment employed, is likely to remain a major issue, particularly among those advocating formal credit towards degree classifications.     

The Racial Politics of Imitation in the Nineteenth Century

This essay examines the ways in which imitation, as a concept and as a practice, was caught up in the nineteenth century's racial politics. Theoretically, it argues that the interpretation of mimêsis labels the imitator and either sustains or reconstitutes power relations within the context of mimetic performance. Historically, the essay contends that during the nineteenth century, and especially after the Civil War, black imitation threatened the dominant systems of white power. European Americans interpreted black mimêsis as a primitive instinct, the sign of an inferior "other." Conversely, African Americans used imitation to exercise their liberty and pursue civil rights. Frederick Douglass viewed imitation as a progressive force in public life, and his conceptualization represents an alternative to the reductive construct that existed at the beginning of the twentieth century and continues today.     

Academic progress in the 16–19 curriculum: some senior staff perceptions of current monitoring systems and operational procedures

In outlining its programme of target-setting for post-16 provision in 1997, the DfEE sought to promote the monitoring of academic progress in order to raise achievement both at institutional level and also at the individual student level. This article, based on research conducted in schools and colleges in North and West Yorkshire, focuses on the latter and examines senior staff perceptions of current monitoring systems and operational procedures. The article gives an overview of the main systems used and how these are adapted to suit the circumstances of a particular institution. The authors suggest that in general the implementation of target-setting has been viewed positively, largely due to the current flexibility for senior staff to adapt whatever system best suits their needs. It recommends that this should be seen as a strength of the current situation and that the introduction of more uniform systems should be avoided if it is at the expense of meaningful procedures adapted to local requirements.     

Developing critical professional judgement: the efficacy of a self-managed reflective process

This study investigated the efficacy of a reflective process designed to enhance novice professionals’ capacity to critically reflect on their practice. One hundred and eighteen (118) final-year behavioural science students participated in an action learning based subject that simulated the roles (e.g. client–consultant) and demands of professional practice. Student consultants completed, and evaluated the effectiveness of, a self-managed reflective workbook process designed to scaffold their critical reflection on a self-nominated critical incident. Findings suggest that the process facilitated metacognitive learning and that students experienced all stages of the structured process as personally and professionally valuable and psychologically safe. Students reported the greatest value from the aspects of the process that linked insights from the critical incident to wider patterns of behaviour.     

Assessing wellbeing at school entry using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: professional perspectives

Emotional and behavioural disorders in early childhood are related to poorer academic attainment and school engagement, and difficulties already evident at the point of starting school can affect a child’s later social and academic development. Successful transfer from pre-school settings to primary education is helped by communication between pre-school staff and primary school teachers. Typically, in Scotland, pre-school establishments prepare individual profiles of children before they start school around the age of five years, highlighting their strengths and development needs, for transfer to primary schools. There is, however, no consistent approach to the identification of potential social, emotional and behavioural problems. In 2010, in one local authority area in Scotland, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was introduced for children about to start school as a routine, structured, component of the transition process to help teachers plan support arrangements for classes and individual children. The SDQ assesses emotional, conduct, hyperactivity/ inattention and peer-relationship problems as well as pro-social behaviour. In order to be an effective means of communicating social and emotional functioning, the use of instruments such as the SDQ needs to be practicable. Finding out the views of pre-school education staff with experience of assessing children using the SDQ was, therefore, essential to establish its future utility.

Aim

The purpose of this study was to explore the views of pre-school education staff about assessing social and emotional wellbeing of children at school entry using the SDQ. The objectives were to examine the opinions of pre-school workers about completing the SDQ and to elicit their thoughts on the value of doing this and their perceptions of the usefulness of the information collected.

Method

Pre-school establishments were approached using a purposive sampling strategy in order to achieve a mix of local authority (n=14) and ‘partnership’ establishments (n=8) as well as different socio-economic areas. Semi-structured interviews (n=25) were conducted with pre-school head teachers (n=14) and child development officers (n=11) in order to explore the process of completing the SDQ along with perceptions of its value. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically.

Results

In general, staff in pre-school establishments viewed the use of the SDQ positively. It was seen as a chance to highlight the social and emotional development of children rather than just their academic or educational ability. Most felt that the SDQ had not identified anything they did not already know about a child. A minority, nevertheless, suggested that a previously unrecognised potential difficulty was brought to light, most commonly emotional problems. Completing the SDQ was felt to be relatively straightforward even though the staff felt under pressure from competing priorities. Concerns were, however, raised about the potential of labelling a child at an early stage of formal education.

Conclusion

The findings from this small scale study suggest that, from the point of view of pre-school education staff, it is feasible to assess children systematically for social and behavioural problems as part of the routine transition process at school entry.