Women,Citizenship, and the Social Studies

With work currently being undertaken on formulating Australia's first national curriculum, now seems an opportune time to review the current state of play with regard to how well inclusivity is being represented in the developing documentation. An accurate understanding of “what is” is often the first step in preparing for “what may be” on a much broader scale. Accordingly, this essay addresses three matters, and does so by way of engaging in interpretive documentary analysis. First, the notion of inclusivity in education per se is introduced, and the concept itself defined. Second, an examination is undertaken of how the various state jurisdictions currently interpret the notion of inclusivity. Third, consideration is given to the work presently being undertaken on inclusivity as it relates to the national curriculum.     

Exploring the views of parents of high ability children living in relative poverty

Background: This study is located in the general context of recent research on family life in England, ‘gifted and talented’ education policy and the significance of parental engagement. There is strong evidence that parental involvement has a significant and positive effect on children’s development and achievement. Although a great deal of work has been done on identifying general patterns of good practice, there is a gap in the literature regarding the support needs of parents of gifted and talented children from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Purpose: The aim of this UK-based study was to explore what support such parents had received and what support they felt they needed to better promote their children’s development and achievement.

Sample: An opportunity sample of 21 parents with youngsters aged 14–16 identified as ‘gifted and talented’ by their schools, as part of UK government policy, took part in the study. The students attended a university-based intervention programme, which was designed to raise the students’ aspirations and achievement. The students were from schools within areas of relative social deprivation and, most qualified for free school meals.

Design and Methods: In-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out to capture the authentic voice of the parents. Data was analysed using both pre-determined and emerging codes.

Results: Sixteen of 21 of the parents had good, supportive relationships with their children and 15 of 21 had high aspirations for them. However, 18 of 21 of the parents felt unable to engage with their child’s learning in the home. They also felt inadequate in their knowledge and experience to help their children with subject choices and advise on matters relating to Higher Education. Parents did not perceive their wider family or the wider community as supportive, nor did they expect them to be. Peer groups were seen as threats to their children’s well-being and advancement. Schools were highly rated for relationships but offered no specific support to these parents.

Conclusions: We conclude that although parental involvement is acknowledged in defining children’s life chances, parents in our sample, nonetheless, seemed to be being forced to ‘go it alone’. Within the limitations imposed by our small sample, we raise questions about the implications of the study.     

Costing part‐time provision

This article examines the varied approaches which have been adopted to the costing of part‐time higher education, and considers the consequences of these alternative models both for the providers themselves and for national policy. Though the analysis concentrates on face‐to‐face provision in universities, polytechnics and colleges, a series of comparisons are made with the Open University. It is hoped that it will assist in understanding the likely impact of proposed changes in funding where such changes encounter established arrangements. This is especially so in the PCFC sector where a new methodology is proposed for 1990‐91. The research reported here forms part of a larger study supported by the CNAA and Middlesex Polytechnic and shortly to be published under the title: Other Routes. The authors are both members of the Centre for Community Studies at Middlesex Polytechnic.     

Religious Segregation and the Emergence of Integrated Schools in Northern Ireland

A distinctive characteristic of the education system in Northern Ireland is that most Protestant and Catholic children attend separate schools. Following the partition of Ireland the Protestant Churches transferred their schools to the new state in return for full funding and representation in the management of state controlled schools and non-denominational religious instruction was given a statutory place within such schools. The Catholic Church retained control over its own system of voluntary maintained schools, initially receiving only 65% of capital funding; however all grant-aided schools in Northern Ireland are now eligible for full funding of running costs and capital development. This paper highlights the emergence of a small number of integrated schools since the 1980s. Catholic and Protestant parents have come together as the impetus for these schools and this presents an implicit challenge to the status quo of church involvement in the management and control of schools. In practical terms the integrated schools have had to develop more inclusive arrangements for religious education, and legislation that permits existing schools to 'transform' into integrated schools also presents new challenges for the society as a whole.     

School grades,school context and university degree performance: evidence from an elite Scottish institution

This paper investigates degree classification outcomes for students with SQA Higher qualifications at an elite Scottish university. Students are characterised according to a new indicator based on their secondary school’s academic performance relative to the national (Scottish) average. The results show that our school context indicator provides valuable information for interpreting school qualifications with respect to a student’s potential to benefit from their university studies. If school context is ignored, raw school grades alone may be an incomplete measure of academic ability and the probability of success at university.     

Irish primary school children's definitions of ‘geography’

This research reviews a sample of fifth-class children's definitions of geography. It was carried out after the publication of the Revised Primary School Curriculum (1999) but before any staff development had taken place for the implementation of this curriculum. Since the data was collected, staff development for the 1999 curriculum in geography has been timetabled for the 2005–2006 school year.

The data collected revealed most children had a clear idea what geography was, with the majority of children (97.3%) referring to one or more aspects of geography. Over half the children defined geography as being about themes and places. A clear emphasis on the learning of place names and fact learning came through in definitions. There were limited references to learning key ideas or concepts. Skills, with the exception of ‘maps’, were mentioned by few children. No child mentioned fieldwork. The definitions written by the children tended to reflect geography topics they had covered in school textbooks. The findings suggest areas of the 1999 curriculum that will be new to teachers and children and point to the challenges for the implementation of the curriculum.