Multi-racial schooling: parents' and teachers' views

The Framework for Teaching of the National Literacy Strategy (DfEE 1998) includes a set of teaching strategies for classroom implementation. This paper reports on a longitudinal study of the development of children as writers, set in two primary classrooms. In terms of their teaching strategies the two teachers studied were similar in many respects. Both used a writing process approach, based on Graves' (1983) guidance, that conformed to the requirements of the National Curriculum Programme of Study for writing. However, significant differences were found in the two sets of children in terms of their achievements as writers and their attitudes to writing. These were linked to differences in the two classroom cultures, and in the teachers' perceptions of their role. The conclusion is drawn that the implementation of a prescribed set of teaching strategies cannot ensure that children develop into effective and enthusiastic writers.