School Effectiveness and Value Added Measures

The theory that schools can promote the progress of pupils so as to overcome the influence of family, community and individual attributes, underpins British studies of school effectiveness. Measures of value added have been developed as sophisticated ways of analysing potential school effects. Desmond Nuttall played a key role in adapting the statistical technique of multilevel modelling to the issue of value added. In this paper we provide a general introduction to three topics and describe three, as yet, unresolved issues: whether value added results are stable over time; whether schools have differential results for different pupil groups; and whether the contextual features of a school exert a powerful influence on its performance.     

‘I know what you are about to enter’: lived experiences as the curricular foundation for teaching citizenship

ABSTRACT

This qualitative multiple case study documents how two African American women social studies teachers utilise their lived experiences as the curricular foundation for teaching differing notions of citizenship to African-American students. Particular events, experiences, and relationships helped shape their perception of their roles as teachers and how they approached crafting a curriculum that was representative of their lived experiences as well as those of their students and community. This study hopes to shed light on how experiences may be used as valuable sources of knowledge in creating a more inclusive curriculum that mirrors the diversity seen in classrooms.     

Learning from curriculum materials: Scaffolds for new teachers?

This article explores how beginning teachers use and learn from curriculum materials. As part of a longitudinal study of beginning English teachers who teach in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, the researchers tracked teachers’ responses to and use of materials over time, and how these materials shaped their classroom practice. The authors found that the teachers spent an enormous amount of time searching out curriculum materials for their classes and that the curriculum materials they encountered did, indeed, powerfully shape their ideas about teaching language arts as well as their classroom practice. Based on their findings, the authors propose a trajectory for the teachers’ use of the curriculum materials. New teachers begin by sticking close to the materials they have at hand. Then, over time, as they learn more about both students and curriculum, they adapt and adjust their use of the materials. The authors argue that new and aspiring teachers need opportunities to analyze and critique curriculum materials, beginning during teacher education and continuing in the company of their more experienced colleagues.     

Constructive Copying: Exploring the Vocabulary

Increasingly, concerns are being expressed about the negative effects of digital copying in both industry and higher education. A project was formulated to investigate the use of paper‐based drawing methods for copying from visual source material in varied and structured ways and, thereby, to mitigate the adverse effects of design student dependency on screen‐based copying. A Copying Vocabulary Matrix was formulated based on findings accrued through a practice‐based enquiry where methods of copying were explored and a terminology of copying identified by the authors. A Constructive Copying Workshop was then devised for integration into an existing printed textile design course. Students were asked to respond to the words in the matrix through copying from the same visual source and were limited to pencils and paper. They were also encouraged to keep a reflective journal to record their thoughts as they worked. Their views were monitored during and after the workshop, and the drawings produced were then reviewed and analysed. It was found that a wide variety of images were produced based on either experimentation or strategic rationale by the students and that their visual literacy, analytical skills and understanding of textile design were enhanced, leading to the conclusion that similar teaching interventions into the design drawing curricula could benefit the student learning experience.     

The Changing World of Home Technology: A Microsoft Case Study

We have entered the “digital decade,” when advances in technology will become deeply woven into home life. But how will technology evolve from an experience that is technologically challenging to an experience that is intuitive and fun? This article reviews new technologies and related possibilities that Microsoft is envisioning in the context of home life. As a specific example of the impact of home technology, we review lessons learned from the adoption and integration of a home Internet device from a user experience perspective. Looking ahead to the next decade, we then take a look at Microsoft's vision for the home of the future, examining new directions.     

Structured cognitive discussions in senior high school physics: Student and teacher perceptions

Concern with the quality of student engagement and learning in senior high school physics has been evident for many years. In this study we have focussed on student engagement. Three tasks that utilised a structured discussion, approach to learning concepts in mechanics were developed in collaborative work with two Year 11 physics teachers. These tasks demanded an initial individual response from each student, then a single response from groups of three, and then a whole class interpretive dicussion led by the teacher and based on the group responses. We report the detail of reactions of students and teachers to these tasks in the two classes taught by the teachers involved in the development of the tasks, and more general reactions from a further seven Year 11 physics classes.     

Portraits of the Able Child: highlights of case study research

Achievement and underachievement in able children were investigated in three schools in the South of England. Phenomenological techniques were used to explore teachers', parents' and pupils' behaviour and perspectives. Models of achievers and underachievers which arose out of this research were compared with the literature. Particularly important factors which contributed to the children's achievement were supportive parents and teachers who acted in cooperation, although the child also had to have good skills of concentration and presentation, task commitment, high self-esteem and the ability to relate well to peers. In contrast, achievement was demonstrated to be limited when various combinations of these factors were missing. Sample vignettes of participant children are provided to illustrate these points.     

Schools as (Dis)Organisations: the ‘breakdown of the culture of learning and teaching’ in South African schools

A prominent and problematical legacy of apartheid education, which requires transformation, is the poor functioning of a large number of previously black schools (commonly termed ‘the breakdown of the culture of teaching and learning'). While the causes of breakdown may be traced back to the years of opposition to apartheid and the resistance struggle waged within schooling from 1976 onwards, it is less clear what may be done to remedy the situation. This article explores particular organisational dimensions of school failure with a view to understanding how they have affected the operation of schools, why schools have broken down and what interventions may remedy this breakdown. It moves beyond rational theories of organisation to argue that perspectives derived from psychoanalytical approaches to organisation may be useful in planning strategies for intervention to transform teaching and learning in these schools.