Search

Since 2010, government policy in England has positioned further education almost exclusively as employment-orientated training for school leavers whilst also imposing severe budget cuts. During this period, values-based pedagogies that foreground social justice for students, many of whom come from low-income households, have been undermined. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, there is evidence that the mental health and well-being of further education students has suffered but little is known about the pandemic's effects on teachers.This paper presents analysis of primary research data drawn from interviews with a small sample of further education teachers and managers in the English West Midlands about their mental health and well-being during the pandemic. The paper frames the research data by acknowledging that both mental health nursing and further education teaching are currently riven by contradictions with an epistemological basis anchored in meritocratic and neoliberal policy. Using Lefebvrian theory, our analysis suggests that for further education staff, the pandemic has sharpened the tensions experienced in an already precarious professional role. Key findings were that the further education funding regime drove a 'business as usual' management attitude during the pandemic, and an intensification of work and the erosion of pedagogical practice negatively affected staff's mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the global neo-liberal reform movement in education continues to evolve, so does the simultaneous transfiguration of the profile and status of primary school teachers in England. Reform continues to delineate the aims and purpose of primary education in increasingly essentialist terms. This paper explores English primary school teachers' perceptions and experiences of teaching, and of being a teacher, in a period of considerable change. Extending the existing research literature about primary school teachers, it explores the progressively strategic nature of policy enactment and the tactics employed by teachers to manage conflicting demands. The paper draws upon rich qualitative data from two sets of interviews with 22 primary teachers employed in the South-East of England. Thematic analysis facilitated findings about teachers' encounters with, and responses to, neo-liberal policy reform, notably in relation to accountability and managerialism. The view that 'nothing is ever good enough' reflects recurrent data affirming the relationship between school leadership and teachers' demoralisation, as well as perceived reputational decline more broadly. Findings highlight the emergence of the primary practitioner as 'tactician', and of a particular brand of survivalism necessary for a context that acts to pedagogically and philosophically constrain the purpose of primary education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pupil Premium funding has been provided to schools in England since 2011, to help overcome socio-economic segregation between schools, and reduce the poverty attainment gap. Yet there is little evidence such an approach is effective. Some important stakeholders are considering whether Pupil Premium should stop or be re-routed. It is therefore essential to know whether the policy has helped in the eight years since its inception. Evaluating the impact of such a funding policy is fraught with difficulties because of changes over time in the economy, legal definitions, prevalence of disadvantage, and metrics used. Previous research has generally ignored these, and the role of length and depth of disadvantage. Hence, previous estimates of the attainment gap are insecure. This paper introduces a new analysis, based on the National Pupil Database that considers changes in the prevalence of FSM-eligibility, private school attendance, GDP and the duration of individual poverty. Net of such factors, the results show that segregation has declined unexpectedly since 2011, suggesting that the Pupil Premium may be working. The policy should continue, while research looks at the long-term impact on the poverty gap. Meanwhile, the funding could be re-calibrated to be fairer to areas with longer-term disadvantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws upon questionnaire data from 126 mature, female alumni students and interviews with a subset of 20 participants who completed education foundation degrees in three English universities in the South West. Three illustrative cases from interviews are chosen representing three models of progression: 'success', 'version of success', and 'still struggling to get on'. This paper uses three dimensions of agency: iterational, projective, and practical-evaluative within an ecological model exploring the interplay of agency, structure and context. Figured worlds theory helps in understanding the impact of actor's histories upon projections and practical actions. Teacher shortages and the potential-untapped resource of teaching assistants is explored. Pathways toward teaching can act as affordances or constraints in teaching assistants' trajectories. Affordances are identified as open, transparent, accessible routes to teaching, and under and post-graduate provision, which provides conducive circumstances through reflective engagement. This may interrupt habitual ways of thinking and risk aversion leading to expansive future projections and expectation maintenance. Ecological agency allows clearer understandings that activation of agency not only resides in individuals but in the context and circumstances they experience. Figured worlds give insight into recruitment and entry into emerging social spaces and the importance of recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing and diversifying participation in science remains a key educational policy concern for governments across the world. Science capital has been proposed as a useful theoretical lens that can explain patterns in science aspirations among young people aged 11-16 – but to date it has not been explored in relation to educational outcomes among older age groups. This paper reports findings from a new survey of 7,013 17/18 year old English secondary school students. It replicates and extends previous findings, showing that among older students, levels of science capital remain patterned by gender, ethnicity, cultural capital and science set. Comparison of effect sizes with previous findings from a younger cohort also reveal that, overall, levels of science capital seem to decrease with age. However, the proportion of students with 'high' science capital remained stable while the proportion of those with 'low' science capital increased. Analysis also revealed a small but significant increase in the proportion of boys with high science capital. Findings confirm that science capital relates to outcomes at age 17/18, with high science capital students being relatively more likely to be pursuing post-compulsory STEM qualifications and routes. Implications for educational policy and practice are identified, particularly with regard to goals of diversifying and increasing science participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, in England, there is widespread concern that careers education (information, advice and guidance) is relatively poorly resourced in schools and there is much debate about its current effectiveness. In this paper, we investigate students' views on careers education provision and their satisfaction with this provision. The work draws on data collected via a national survey of over 13,000 Year 11 students aged 15/16 years and in-depth longitudinal interviews conducted with 70 students from this cohort (aged from 10 to 16 years). Our findings show that there is clear student demand for 'more and better' careers education and we conclude that some schools may not be meeting the statutory requirement to provide impartial careers support for all students. Moreover, our quantitative analyses indicate that provision of careers education in England is currently patterned in ways that may be working to promote inequalities relating to gender, ethnicity and social class. Findings from our interview data offer insight into possible influencing factors and suggest that the majority of careers support is provided via a 'self-referral' system, which disadvantages those who, arguably, might benefit most. We conclude by discussing the implications of these patterns and suggest some potential, more equitable, ways forward for schools and teachers. Specifically, we recommend that targeted resourcing is needed for schools and teachers to engage and support disadvantaged students, and suggest greater monitoring of participation (not just provision). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes how item response theory (IRT) methods of test-equating could be applied to the maintenance of public examination standards in England. IRT methods of test-equating have been sparingly applied to the main public examinations in England, namely the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), the equivalent of a school leaving examination, taken at age 16, and A-levels, taken at age 18 prior to university entrance. The lack of application of test-equating may be because such methods are thought to be irrelevant or surplus to requirements or because the IRT models that were originally considered in this context were simple and based on rigid assumptions that would not hold in the case of the GCSE and A-level. This paper illustrates that current methods used for the maintenance of standards lack any reliable measure of performance standard, and explores some developments in modern IRT methods that seek to overcome the restrictions of early IRT models and equating designs. Specifically, it reports on a post-equating study that attempts to link performance standards between a January and a June GCSE test session. The linking is done in a Bayesian IRT framework as well as a marginal maximal likelihood framework using the one parameter logistic model. Results from various equating methods and IRT models are discussed and compared to the results derived from the standard methods used in England. It concludes that test-equating studies can be used to derive fairly accurate estimations of performance standards that are only crudely available from other indicators currently used in the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I will consider the lessons that can be learnt about literacy policy and its role in large-scale education reform programmes, with particular reference to policy-making in England since the election of New Labour in 1997. New Labour's promise to the electorate in 1997 was that state-funded education could be fixed and turned into a high-quality delivery system from which all would benefit. It could be fixed by direct intervention from politicians committed to overhauling the public sector and applying new principles which would see standards rise. The National Literacy Strategy (NLS) was the main vehicle for change, whilst the target for achievement in literacy became one of the most public and obvious measures of the government's success in reforming education. Over the decade that followed New Labour's election, early optimism about what government could achieve has been tempered by the twists and turn of events, which saw the education performance data plateau just short of the government's targets, and the NLS morph into the Primary National Strategy as it gradually moved from the centre of political action to a more peripheral position. Within government itself the NLS's progress has acted as an important catalyst for reflection on what works in public sector reform more generally and the challenges those running such programmes face. This paper takes as its central points of analysis the evolution of literacy policy within the policy cycle. The paper reflects on the array of actors within government and beyond who have been involved in trying to make that policy work, or who may have acted as (dis)interested bystanders commenting from the sidelines. What are the lessons that can be learnt which might contribute to the development of literacy policy elsewhere? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a series of recent papers, Dylan Wiliam has criticized national curriculum testing in England, on grounds of validity and reliability, and has expressed concern that formative assessment aims have been seriously neglected. He has argued that these problems can be overcome, but only through an alternative model in which the summative function is radically reconceived and divorced from the evaluative function. Wiliam's model is reviewed and evaluated and implications for further research and debate are drawn out; alternative approaches are also suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to contribute to the growing research base about the extent and significance of ‘shadow education’ through drawing on data from a national survey of over 1000 key stage 2, 3 and 4 pupils in Wales and over 200 of their parents. Wales provides an important lens to look at shadow education because of the political commitment by the Welsh Government to universal public education and equality of outcomes. Our data indicate that the incidence of private tutoring is both like and unlike that found in England. In terms of individuals, the patterns of uptake are similar, with private tutoring being an investment made largely by more educated and advantaged parents. However, there are interesting differences at the institutional and national level which may reflect the distinctive features and priorities of the Welsh education system. These findings underscore the importance of examining the growing phenomenon of private tutoring as a system effect as much as an individual decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of globalising higher education (HE) policies, there is an increasing interest among scholars in detecting patterns of policy change, including the rate and magnitude of policy change and the direction of change (convergence or divergence) This paper adds to that literature by comparing the pattern of policy change and by providing theory-based explanations for HE policy change. The national quality assurance (QA) policies for universities in England and the Netherlands were compared (1985–2005) based on an analytical framework drawing on new institutionalism. Key findings were that both QA systems moved in the direction of an extrinsic QA orientation, but the differences between the two systems were larger in 2005 and in 1985. The degree of policy change in England was more incremental, the Dutch case showing rather radical change in 2002. These dissimilarities can be ascribed to the different policy change mechanism: bricolage and translation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents the findings of a study designed to explore qualification users’ perceptions and experiences of reliability in the context of national assessment outcomes in England. The study consisted of 17 focus groups conducted across six sectors of qualification users: students, teachers, trainee teachers, job-seekers, employers and employees. Each qualification user group discussed a series of issues concerned with the reliability of grades awarded at the completion of compulsory (age 16) and post-compulsory (age 18) education. Findings suggested that there were some notable differences between the participating groups in relation to their experiences of assessment reliability and their inclinations to trust the reliability of assessment outcomes. For example, teachers shared a number of experiences of suspected and actual error in the production of students’ grades, and of securing subsequent grade changes for their students. In the light of these experiences, teachers were disinclined to accept at face value the reliability of assessment outcomes. Among other groups, assessment outcomes were generally regarded as trustworthy and reliable measures of academic ability. However, without access to information about assessment reliability, participants were unaware that reliability can be undermined by random measurement error. Participants discussed measurement errors in relation to student well-being, facets of the test and the test situation and environment, but such errors were deemed to be an inevitable part of test-taking and as having limited impact on the reliability of assessment outcomes. It is concluded that efforts to enhance public understanding of assessment reliability, therefore, may be complicated by tensions between traditional, specialist conceptions of assessment reliability and what is perceived as relevant and useful by qualification users. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The accuracy of the results of the national tests in English, mathematics and science taken by 11-year olds in England has been a matter of much debate since their introduction in 1994, with estimates of the proportion of students incorrectly classified varying from 10 to 30%. Using live data from the 2009 and 2010 administration of the national tests, this paper uses a number of models, drawing on both classical and modern test theories, to explore the relationship between test reliability, and the extent of misclassification when a student’s test score is reported in terms of one of a small number of discrete levels of achievement. The results indicate that across the two cohorts (2009 and 2010) and six models, the averages of classification accuracy of the tests were about 85%, 90% and 87% in English, mathematics and science, respectively. Moreover, the different models yielded very similar results; the standard deviations of the values of classification accuracy generated were 1.9% for English, 1.0% for mathematics and 1.3% for science. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper discusses the issues involved in calculating indices of composite reliability for ‘modular’ or ‘unitised’ assessments of the kind used in GCSEs, AS and A level examinations in England. The increasingly widespread use of on-screen marking has meant that the item-level data required for calculating indices of reliability is now routinely available for most (but not all) units of unitised assessments. Whilst it is relatively straightforward to obtain indices of reliability at unit level, it is far more complex to obtain indices at overall assessment level because of problems created by: (i) the number of different possible ‘routes’ to the final assessment; (ii) the different knowledge, skills and understanding assessed in different units; (iii) the wide variety in item type and size within and across units; (iv) the fact that the item-level data required for calculating reliability indices is not available (or does not exist) for certain units and (v) the different intended weighting of different units in the composite total and the possible distortion of these weights by use of the Uniform Mark Scale. We derive and compare several indices of composite reliability for, as an example, a three-unit assessment using both classical test theory and item response theory. We conclude that while it is desirable to derive and report indices of reliability at unit level, it is less appropriate at the level of the whole assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores the evidence relating to how primary schools are responding to the ‘gifted and talented’ initiative in England and Wales. A questionnaire survey which invited both closed and open-ended responses was carried out with a national sample of primary schools. The survey indicated an increasing proportion of coordinators, compared with a survey carried out in 1996, were identifying their gifted and talented children as well as having associated school policies. However, the survey also highlighted a number of issues which need addressing if the initiative is to achieve its objective of providing the best possible educational opportunities for children. For example, it was found that a significant number of practitioners were not aware of the existence of the National Quality Standards for gifted and talented education, provided by the UK government in 2007, and the subject-specific criteria provided by the UK’s Curriculum Authority for identification and provision have been largely ignored. The process of identifying children to be placed on the ‘gifted and talented’ register seems haphazard and based on pragmatic reasons. Analysis of teachers’ responses also revealed a range of views and theoretical positioning held by them, which have implications for classroom practice. As the ‘gifted and talented’ initiative in the UK is entering a second decade, and yet more significant changes in policy are introduced, pertinent questions need to be raised and given consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fun and enjoyment are recurring themes in physical education literature, although there has been some debate concerning the distinction between the two concepts. Whereas enjoyment is generally regarded as helpful in fostering positive attitudes towards physical education, fun has not always been considered an appropriate outcome of physical education. This paper seeks to explore further the meanings young people give to the terms fun and enjoyment and how this relates to their attitudes towards physical education. The data reported in this paper are drawn from a study carried out over a three-year period that investigated the attitudes of children towards physical education during the transition between Key Stage 2 (KS2; 7- to 11-years old) and Key Stage 3 (KS3; 11- to 14-years old). Information was collected using a questionnaire, focus groups and interviews in one borough in England. Analysis revealed that fun and enjoyment featured prominently in reports on attitudes towards physical education, but that the meaning attributed to these concepts appeared to change as they progressed to KS3. Fun was found to be the single most frequently expressed reason for positive feelings associated with physical education at KS2. As such, fun appeared to be a critical factor for making physical education enjoyable. However, following transition, many children began to describe fun in terms of learning challenge rather than in relation to the hedonic response to playing games. This shift in the ways that the participants valued physical education at KS3 appears to indicate a more sophisticated approach to their learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last few years have seen the implementation of fundamental structural and curricular policy initiatives affecting the teaching of languages in schools in England. Several policy initiatives have been introduced by the government affecting the position and status of languages in schools, such as the development of foreign language teaching in primary schools, the growth of specialist language colleges and the introduction of the Key Stage 3 (KS3) Framework for modern foreign languages (MFL) in 2003. With the lifting of compulsory provision of languages at KS4, the three years of language study at KS3 currently constitute for the majority of pupils in England the only period of exposure to instructed foreign language study. Research into the provision and practice of language teaching in this key stage is therefore urgently needed. This paper examines the impact of centralised curricular policy, in the form of the KS3 Framework for MFL, on language teaching and learning in schools. The analysis is situated within the theoretical framework of process-oriented foreign language education planning. The paper draws on empirical evidence of the impact of the KS3 MFL Framework gathered in a recently completed longitudinal study funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, using survey and case study methodologies during a two-year period (2006-2008). Findings indicate that there is significant impact of the framework on patterns of classroom language teaching as well as on the thinking of language teachers and pupils about language pedagogy and learning. This impact, however, takes different forms and is heavily influenced by processes of mediation and appropriation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports some of the findings from a four-year funded comparative research project into state policy on separate schools for religious minorities in England and the Netherlands. The project focuses on two religious groups—evangelical Christians and Muslims. In both countries there has been a recent growth in the number of schools run by both religious groups. In the Netherlands there are now more than 30 Muslim schools fully-funded by the state, while in England there is a larger number, but only four are state-funded. The majority are fee paying private schools. Similarly, in both countries there has been a recent growth in the number of schools run by evangelical Christians. In the Netherlands these schools are again fully funded by the state while, in England, none of about 60 evangelical Christian schools is funded. This paper presents a framework for the comparison and evaluation of policies on separate religious schools, and discusses some of the wider implications of the differences between the policies of the two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the name of curriculum breadth and raising standards, recent government policy in England has removed a large number of non-academic qualifications from the list of those that secondary schools can count in league tables, discouraging their use. Most of these were vocational qualifications, but they also include skills-led qualifications. This paper reports mixed methods research investigating the relationship between mainstream secondary school qualifications in England and a specific, widely used skills-led qualification: the Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE). Neither academic nor vocational, CoPE requires learners to assemble a portfolio of evidence in response to ‘challenges’ negotiated with the teacher. It is designed to promote a reflective learning orientation and to develop (and assess) skills that underpin learning and future employability. We use a combination of regression analysis, pseudo-experiment and qualitative case study. Our research shows that CoPE is associated with improved outcomes in the ‘mainstream’ academic qualifications often regarded as the benchmark for the quality of schools and much of what goes on in them. Thus, we argue that certain reforms designed to raise standards are likely to depress attainment in the very qualifications deemed as core indicators of educational standards. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Academies (and free schools) in England and independent grant-aided schools,fristående skolor(orfriskolor), in Sweden have been the subject of much academic debate, but there is a paucity of comparative research relating to policy development or outcomes. This paper adopts a comparative perspective, outlining the historical context, then comparing the policy goals and development of the two programmes from their inception. It is argued that the policy goals of the two programmes are underpinned by similar ideologies, but the policy outcomes have differed in terms of the extent and type of ‘privatisation’. Two broad themes related to equality of opportunity are then explored: access to schools, and school composition and segregation. It is argued that the extent to which differential school access and segregation can be attributed to the introduction of independent schools in Sweden and academies in England, is far from clear; it would be wrong to assume that there is a single, simple explanation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Beliefs influence how learners construe what they experience in the classroom and their learning behaviour. Understanding the nature of such beliefs is therefore important if teaching is to be as effective and responsive as possible. This paper reports the representations of young learners’ beliefs about foreign language learning as identified through their choice of metaphor. The study’s setting was the German classroom in a secondary comprehensive (all ability) school in England and the 59 participants constituted two classes of 12–13-year-old beginner learners. The metaphorical representations of the two classes are analysed at two points nine months apart, after only one class took part in a pedagogical intervention where their metaphors from round one were discussed explicitly in the classroom. The learners chose a range of imaginative metaphors, which were categorised into a number of statements of belief using thematic interpretation. Comparison of the categories that emerged in round one with those in round two suggests that a number of learners’ beliefs had shifted. This was more perceptible in the class that took part in the intervention, where more pupils chose metaphors representing beliefs that could be said to be conducive to language learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review examined a range of approaches internationally to the reporting of assessment results for individual students, with a particular focus on how results are represented, the level of detail reported and the steps taken to quantify, report and explain error and uncertainty in the results’ reports or certificates given to students in a range of countries. The review focused specifically on high-stakes assessments taken towards the end of schooling with the purpose of providing certification for employment or further study. Outside the USA, there were few examples of the inclusion of information on error or uncertainty in students’ individual results. The paper discusses the possibilities for including such information in a way which will be understood by a non-technical audience and will not be misinterpreted by test users. The balance required between ensuring that there are high standards of information for individuals and the dangers of damaging public confidence in the assessment system is considered. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recent dominant models of student teacher learning include apprenticeship and reflective practice, but these are now being challenged, extended and enriched by broader sociocultural models of learning. These new models direct attention to how learning is shaped by an interplay between the characteristics of the student teachers, their lecturers and their teacher mentors, and the characteristics of the university, schools and societal contexts within which these students, lecturers and mentors work. Sociocultural theories also reveal the importance of how learning is transferred and transformed as the student teacher moves between different contexts (e.g. between university and school, or between one school and another). In the context of teacher education in England, this paper explores the nature of student teachers’ thinking at the end of their initial teacher education (ITE) programme, and questions how the student teachers learnt to think about teaching in these ways – in particular what they felt they learnt in the university and school contexts, and how they dealt with differences between the ideas which were valued in those different contexts. Data were collected by questionnaire from a volunteer sample of student teachers of science and mathematics close to the end of their ITE course. Questions generally called for free response answers which were transcribed, coded and then related to a framework of ideas derived from our synthesis of sociocultural theories of learning. From the insights gained, we develop a theoretical understanding of the emerging aspects of student teachers’ thinking and learning which we summarise under the term ‘progressive filtering’. We discuss the relationship of this idea to the classical literature on socialisation of teachers and on ‘reality shock’, and also relate this idea to activity theory. We illustrate how this theoretical framework offers insights that could enable ITE to address issues which have remained problematic for some time. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reports on a national study, involving a mixed-method research design comprising a randomised controlled trial (RCT), text analysis, student and teacher interviews and lesson observations. It set out to investigate whether contextualised teaching of grammar, linked to the teaching of writing, would improve student outcomes in writing and in metalinguistic understanding. The RCT involved 744 students in 31 schools in the south-west and the Midlands of England, and was a blind randomisation study. Classes were randomly allocated to either a comparison or intervention group, after the sample had been matched for teacher linguistic subject knowledge (LSK). The statistical data were complemented by three interviews per teacher and three interviews with a focus student in each class, plus three lesson observations in each class, giving a data-set of 93 teacher interviews, 93 student interviews and 93 lesson observations. In addition, the final pieces of writing produced for each scheme of work were collected. The statistical results indicate a significant positive effect for the intervention, but they also indicate that this benefit was experienced more strongly by the more able writers in the sample. The regression modelling also indicates that teacher LSK was a significant mediating factor in the success of the intervention. The qualitative data provide further evidence of the impact of teacher knowledge on how the intervention was implemented and on students’ metalinguistic learning. It also reveals that teachers found the explicitness, the use of discussion and the emphasis on playful experimentation to be the most salient features of the intervention. The study is significant in providing robust evidence for the first time of a positive benefit derived from the teaching of grammar, and signals the potential of a pedagogy for a writing which includes a theorised role for grammar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The view that vocational education and training is central to economic prosperity and social well‐being is one that is widely held by policy‐makers in many countries. Delivering this agenda requires skilled and professional teachers. Ensuring that vocational teachers are able to maintain and develop both their ‘craft’ skills and pedagogy, through continuing professional development (CPD), is, therefore, a growing area of policy concern. While research has revealed that models for the regulation and organisation of CPD for vocational teachers vary across countries, their relative effectiveness has rarely been considered. This paper seeks to address this gap by comparing the approaches currently being adopted in three countries – England, Wales and Norway. Focusing specifically on teachers of hairdressing, it explores the opportunities for CPD and considers the constraints on teachers’ ability to reflect and improve on their practice. The research draws mainly on interviews with teachers of hairdressing in two English and two Welsh further education colleges and three Norwegian upper‐secondary schools. The findings suggest that while hairdressing lecturers in England and Wales have more opportunities to keep up to date with their ‘craft’, those in Norway find it easier to access pedagogic education and inhabit an institutional environment that affords more time and space to share ideas and collectively improve their practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There has, for some years, been a growing concern about participation in university-entrance level mathematics in England and across the developed world. Extensive statistical analyses present the decline but offer little to help us understand the causes. In this paper we explore a concern which cannot be explored through national data-sets, namely the retention of mathematics students on Advanced level (A-level) mathematics courses. Drawing on survey data from 15 secondary schools in the Midlands of England, we examine subject differences in decisions to study, withdraw from, and continue in a range of A-level subjects. Not only is the rate of attrition from mathematics higher than most other subjects, but there are substantial differences between schools. In order to explore this high rate of attrition further we consider one school (Queensbury Park) in which a large proportion of students decided not to continue with their study of mathematics from Year 12 to Year 13. Drawing on performance data and focus group interviews we explore some of the reasons for the students’ decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Accurate marking is crucial to the reliability and validity of public examinations, in England and internationally. Factors contributing to accuracy have been conceptualised as affecting either marking task demands or markers' personal expertise. The aim of this empirical study was to develop this conceptualisation through investigating the relative effects on accuracy of some key contributory factors. This was done in the context of an international biology examination designed for 16-year-olds. Forty-two markers participated, comprising five groups: (1) experienced examiners, (2) biology teachers, (3) graduates in biology, (4) graduates in other subjects, and (5) non-graduates. The design enabled the relative effects on accuracy of the following factors to be elicited: marking experience, teaching experience, highest education in a relevant subject, highest education in any subject and gender. The significance of markers' accuracy on standardisation samples was also investigated. Twenty-three examination questions were explored, varying in format, number of marks, difficulty for candidates and cognitive marking strategy complexity. All markers marked identical response samples for each question. The data were modelled with logistic regression and AN(C)OVA, generating a refined model of marking accuracy. This may prove useful for evidence-based decisions surrounding marker selection and training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on some of the findings from a research study which examined the current structure of assessment for citizenship in secondary education in England and considers the rationale for the assessment of citizenship. The research included an empirical evaluation of citizenship assessment from the perspective of the key user groups, teachers and pupils and comprised a mixed-method approach. A questionnaire survey was sent to teachers and pupils in secondary schools across England and interviews were conducted with pupils (Years 9-11) and teachers in 18 schools around England. The data were analysed using both quantitative (descriptive and univariate statistics) and qualitative methodologies. The findings suggest that the way in which citizenship is delivered has an effect upon the means by which it is assessed and has some impact upon the way that the subject is valued. Some teachers were reluctant to use unfamiliar modes of assessment, particularly formative methods which did not result in a grade, because pupils were sceptical of the value of any subject which does not provide a 'final' mark. The creation of ideal-type teachers facilitated a deeper investigation of the way in which teachers assess citizenship and how they perceive their pupils' attitudes towards the subject. Teachers and pupils demonstrated generally positive attitudes towards citizenship education. However, their responses suggest a pervading educational ethos which values only the things that can be measured and some reluctance to believe that it is worthwhile to develop skills or abilities which do not generate a 'grade'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past 60 years there have been considerable developments in the policy and politics of schooling for disabled children, including a shift of rhetorical emphasis from more segregated to more inclusive approaches. Previous research with disabled children in England has raised questions about the educational and social impact of segregated educational provision, and about the role of special schools in an inclusive society. Specific concerns have also been raised about the social implications of policies and institutions that require some disabled children to live away from their families. Yet analysis of disabled people's own accounts of special schooling has focused primarily on the educational experience rather than on the implications for family life and friendships. This paper combines critical policy analysis with examples of qualitative life history data to examine how segregated educational provision has affected disabled children's family lives and relationships in England since the 1940s. In this way, it also demonstrates the potential for connecting public and private accounts of disability by linking macro and micro levels of analysis over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we adopt Bernstein's notion of the pedagogic device to serve as a framework for explaining conflict and change in the field of literacy education across the past few decades, particularly in England, the USA and Australia. Following an overview of the pedagogic device and related constructs, we examine the relationship between the field of knowledge production and how this has been recontextualised into curriculum policy, firstly in the period when 'progressivist' pedagogy was in the ascendant, exemplified by the whole language movement, and then when a more 'skills' orientation took sway, with phonics as its touchstone. We argue that the pedagogic device provides a useful context for exploring how ideology operates both within fields and at the interfaces between fields. In particular, the sets of binary oppositions proposed by Bernstein can be used in crude form to describe the entrenched polarisations experienced in the field of literacy education - or they can be used in a more nuanced way to open up new possibilities for change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the methods and findings of the Study of Primary Interactive Teaching (SPRINT) project carried out in English primary schools, which set out to determine teachers' understanding and use of 'interactive teaching' as a characteristic of 'successful teaching' in the National Literacy Strategy (NLS). Thirty teachers of children aged five to 11 years became either 'focus' teachers or 'comparison' teachers and were videoed twice over a six to eight month period doing 'interactive teaching' during the daily Literacy Hour as part of the NLS. The focus teachers were videoed doing interactive teaching in a different curriculum area and they participated in a process of video stimulated reflective dialogue (VSRD) with a higher education based research partner. Semi-structured interviews, held with every teacher before and after the fieldwork period, were analyzed to show teachers' changing conceptualizations of interactive teaching. In addition the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) was used to measure teachers' concerns about interactive teaching, and systematic observations were made of the video data. The results revealed few differences between the focus and comparison groups but provide significant evidence that whilst teachers have increased levels of interactivity dramatically by increasing the frequency of their questions, they still spent over half the time giving information and telling children what to do. Cognitive challenge was significantly higher in the literacy hour but lower in other curriculum areas for children aged eight to 11 years, whereas children aged five to seven years lower levels of cognitive challenge were experienced in literacy than in other curriculum areas. Finally, a major shift away from teachers asking children about how they might do their work compared with pre-NLS levels, suggests that literacy hour teaching is more likely to engender learned helplessness than independent learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a series of papers over the last ten years, I have outlined various problems affecting the assessment of the national curriculum in England which are the subject of a critique by Paul Newton (this issue). In responding to this critique, I acknowledge that his summary of my position is fair, and agree that, by the standards of analytic rationality, the evidence for some of the problems I identify is not compelling. However, in response I argue that by standards of reasonableness (e.g. on the balance of probabilities) the evidence is sufficiently serious to warrant a re-examination of national curriculum assessment, and the alternatives. In particular, I argue that the current system provides assessments that are not sufficiently reliable for the inferences that are made on the basis of the results and has also caused a narrowing of the curriculum. I propose that the first of these weaknesses can be addressed through the increased use of teacher assessment, and the second by increasing the range of the curriculum tested through testing a greater proportion of the curriculum. In order to effect these changes without increasing the burden on students and teachers, I propose that these two changes are combined in the form of a light sampling scheme which would increase both the reliability and minimize the curricular backwash, although the price paid for this would be the lack of a direct, transparent and objective link between the results achieved by individual students on tests and the reported levels of a school's performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on research carried out with pupils in five English schools to establish their understandings of effective school discipline. It formed part of a broader research project to identify strategies which schools and local education authorities have adopted to minimize the use of exclusion from school as a disciplinary measure. Pupils were asked about relationships in school; systems of rewards and sanctions; specific problems which they faced and ways in which these might be effectively resolved. They were also invited to comment on the mechanisms within their school for raising concerns and for participating in decision-making. The perceptions of the pupils and those of their teachers are used as a basis for a broader discussion about pupil behaviour and school discipline, setting these issues within a framework of children's rights and responsibilities as outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. From this discussion the paper seeks to identify practices and principles which schools might adopt to promote good discipline and guarantee the rights and responsibilities of pupils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The publication of schools' examination results in England has reopened in sharper form the old debate about whether single-sex or co-educational schooling is better for secondary education. This paper considers both the claimed academic and social advantages. Performance at GCSE and A level has been analysed for boys and girls separately in singlesex and co-educational schools using national data supplied by the Department for Education and Employment. OFSTED and the Independent Schools Information Service, School experiences and ease of adjustment to university have been explored through in-depth interviews with a sample of l00 students in their second term at university, balanced for sex and type of school. There is enough in the evidence to see how the various claims have arisen, but they are nevertheless caricatures of a complex reality. The outstanding performance of the single-sex schools in the examination league tables has much more to do with academic selection, socioeconomic background and the standing of the school itself than with the segregation of the sexes. When, as far as possible, like is compared with like, the apparent academic differences between single-sex and co-educational schools largely disappear. Similarly, while pupils from single-sex schools feared they would have more difficulty in adjusting to the mixed environment of the university, case of transition depended mainly on personality and other factors. Neither the claimed academic nor ease-of-transition advantages stood up to detailed scrutiny, but co-educational schools received the stronger support socially. Furthermore, nearly all those who had been to co-educational schools said they would also send their own children to co-educational schools, but only about a third of those who had been to single-sex schools said they would send their children to single-sex schools. It looks therefore as if the move away from single-sex education is set to continue. This... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 2006 the British government strongly favoured synthetic phonics as the principal approach for the teaching of initial literacy in state-funded primary schools in England, and since 2010 has made it mandatory. In 2007–2013 just over 100 commercially published phonics schemes were available, and in that same period the government maintained a system of quality assurance, in the form of two (successive and non-overlapping) panels of independent evaluators. Their task was to judge whether commercial publishers' self-evaluations of their phonics schemes and materials were correct, in the sense of justifying statements that they met the government's criteria for such schemes, etc. Of the schemes that were judged, just over half (54) were found to contain linguistic errors. In this article the errors are analysed in detail, and classified into three main categories: phonetic inaccuracies, phonic inaccuracies, and misguided pedagogies. The criteria for that classification are stated, and conclusions and recommendations drawn – the main recommendation being that existing schemes need to be scrutinised in detail to ensure that they are fit for purpose. And this would apply to all phonics schemes used anywhere in the English-speaking world, not just in England, even though the criteria for phonetic and phonic accuracy would necessarily differ across accents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Editorial. Comments on articles featured in the June 2003 issue of 'Research Papers in Education.' Debate about the effectiveness of curriculum assessment in England; Power of information and communication technology to improve education; Low achievement among pupils from a working class background.

There is evidence in recent Government policy in England of the emergence of a wider role for schools in relation to the neighbourhoods they serve. In particular, the National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal in England sets the work of schools within the context of an overarching regeneration strategy. The study reported here, sponsored by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, aimed to explore the ways in which schools were conceptualizing this new role and the contributions they were making to area regeneration. It did so through case studies of nine schools serving two disadvantaged housing estates in the North East of England. In each area, interviews were undertaken with head teachers, teachers, local authority and local education authority officers, councillors, representatives of community organizations, residents, parents and children. Access to school performance data and (some) neighbourhood statistics was negotiated and these were analysed for evidence of school impacts. Schools were found to be engaging in a wide range of community-oriented activity. Although this tended to lack coherence in any one school, it was possible to identify three analytical models of the role of schools in relation to area regeneration - the 'community resourcing', 'individual transformation' and 'contextual transformation' models. Evidence of impact suggested that each of these models had important small-scale and short-term impacts, but that none of them offered a means of addressing the underlying problems of disadvantaged areas. The paper argues, therefore, that the work of schools needs to be more coherent and better coordinated with other aspects of national and local policy which have a bearing on regeneration. There is also a need for research to test and elaborate the models developed here and to explore impacts more systematically than was possible in this study. This research will require education researchers to collaborate with their colleagues in other applied disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past 25 years have seen an accelerating erosion of the comprehensive 'ideal' in England and Wales. Parental choice has replaced centralized LEA allocation of pupils, systems for engineering a balanced social mix in schools have been largely abandoned, and the introduction of 'league tables' to measure the comparative effectiveness of individual schools has led to a polarization of secondary school intakes--the very opposite of what the original comprehensive system was intended to achieve. The current Labour government has created a range of differing 'types' of secondary schools, including 'beacon', 'specialist', and 'training' schools, as well as planning to increase the provision of 'faith' schools. Prominent government spokespersons have disparaged the 'bogstandard' comprehensive school, and called for an end to the 'one size fits all' rationale for secondary education. The paper examines the reasons behind the erosion of the comprehensive ideal in England and Wales. There is no simple party political division to explain the abandonment of the comprehensive school; no single vote, debate, or act of parliament to mark its end, and no commission of enquiry, report, or unequivocal body of research evidence to justify the policy moves away from 'the common school'. The study of the strange death of the comprehensive ideal in England and Wales provides interesting insights into the ways in which educational policy is made and unmade in modern democratic societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on Dylan William's response to remarks made on his article on England's national curriculum assessment. Proposed reliance on teacher assessment for summative purposes; Use of results from tests and tasks that generate data on school performance for evaluative purposes; Elements of evidence-based policy making; Points of principle and practice.

Explores the effects of the top-down initiative of the National Numeracy Strategy (NNS) on a group of primary trainee teachers in England. Teachers' attitudes toward externally imposed educational change; Attitude of student teachers toward the NNS; Ways in which the NNS has impacted on the trainees' understanding of their task as teachers of mathematics in a primary school.

Editorial. Discusses a research in school development planning in a primary sector in England. Empirical evidence about people's attitudes to the subject; Analysis of research data from a survey by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement; Aspects of education in Norway.

This article describes a qualitative study into the occurrence of the side effects of school inspection through in-depth interviews in five case schools. The study investigates the extent to which strategic activities, disturbing effects and emotional side effects occur in the case schools. The study also aims to understand features that may explain these side effects. Most research to date has been conducted in England, which is considered a ‘high-stakes’ inspection context whilst ‘low-stakes’ inspection contexts are generally regarded as causing fewer undesirable side effects. This hypothesis, however, is not confirmed by the results of this study. Although the Flemish education context provides a ‘low-stakes’ inspection context, schools in this study engage strongly in strategic activities to produce a better image of the school and school staff members suffer from severe emotional side effects due to the inspection. By contrast, only limited disturbing effects on normal school life were observed. These side effects are affected by principals’ attitude towards the inspection, by schools’ perception of inspectors’ behaviour and by the inspection judgement. The article includes a discussion of the impact on side effects of several particularities of the Flemish education context, such as the absence of central examinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attainment grouping is a prevalent yet controversial practice, used in most English schools and on the rise internationally, despite evidence that it is detrimental to the majority of pupils. In England, no data is routinely recorded regarding these practices, and most research on student outcomes depends on a simplistic dichotomy between pupils grouped and ungrouped by attainment. We present the findings of a survey of attainment grouping practices in English secondary schools, providing an updated picture of the profile of attainment grouping in English and mathematics for students aged 11–16. Grouping in sets is dominant for mathematics and, while variants on mixed attainment grouping are frequently used for students aged 11–14 in English, the frequency of setting increases as students progress through secondary school. Schools with disadvantaged intakes are more likely to group by attainment. We also find that grouping practices are much more complex and dynamic in enactment than is implied by much of the literature and that teachers report that many schools adapt grouping strategies to meet the perceived needs of different cohorts. We provide an updated conceptualisation of grouping practices as a continuum and discuss its implications for current and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our investigations into the politics of the Academies Programme in England have generated thinking that draws on data about the conversion process from two projects. We engage with an early City Academy that replaced two ‘failing’ schools, and a recent Academy that replaced a ‘successful’ high school. We deploy Hannah Arendt’s political tools of natality and pluralism to illuminate the depoliticisation of educational reform in England. We identify that, while claims are made about innovation and new opportunities, there is little evidence of natality due to the Academies Programme as a conservative and neoliberal restoration project. Integral to this is the urgency of reform based on deferential common sense notions that elite groups know best. The denial of a plurality of options, debates and interest groups in the conversion process is delivered by co-opted educational professionals as reform managers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In England, Free Schools were announced as a dramatic way in which government policy has changed such that it is now possible for groups of parents, organisations or charities to start their own schools. They are seen as an attempt to stimulate to ‘supply side’ of the quasi-market of schools, but they are not the first such initiatives. In the long period of Conservative Government from 1979 to 1987, there were two specific attempts to encourage new schools through City Technology Colleges and sponsored grant-maintained schools. Both of these initiatives stalled at just 15 schools, but it is argued that their significance was far greater than their numerical strength would indicate and that they can be seen as for-runners of the Academies and Free Schools. All of these schools can be seen as examples of increased privatisation and selection, and they thus exhibit their own embedded forms of social (in)justice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The assessment of vocational workplace-based qualifications in England relies on human assessors (raters). These assessors observe naturally occurring, non-standardised evidence, unique to each learner and evaluate the learner as competent/not yet competent against content standards. Whilst these are considered difficult to measure, this study aims to provide information on the operational reliability of assessor decisions for three workplace-based vocational qualifications in Hairdressing and Electrotechnical Engineering. It is shown how existing assessment records, typically generated locally by the training providers, were collected and used in a reliability study. A suitable methodology for estimating the inter-rater reliability and internal consistency was then used with this empirical data. In general, the reliability estimates measured may be considered high. This research study shows that it may be possible to measure reliability for these qualifications using commonly used measurement methods, although several characteristics of the assessment system should be considered in their interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Much has already been written on the controversies surrounding the use of different test theories in educational assessment. Other authors have noted the prevalence of classical test theory over item response theory in practice. This Special Issue draws together articles based upon work conducted on the Reliability Programme for England’s examinations regulator, Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. One strand of the work was methodological, in which we noted the advantages and assumptions of different approaches to investigating reliability of public examinations. A feature of the field that has not been well documented is why psychometrics in general does not always fit the educational, cultural and political priorities of public examinations. Psychometrics has implications for test design and reliability. Public examinations are: curriculum-embedded; it is desirable that the domain is transparent; there are many curriculum changes (which makes item banking more problematical and costly); curriculum exposure affects performance; public examination questions might need to be secure until the examination is released and then, made public; pre-testing is infrequent; there is non-random syllabus representation; item independence assumptions are often broken; score distribution might not be expected to be normal; complex assessment designs compose whole qualifications; a latent trait might not be assumed; unidimensionality might not be considered important; and there might be very weakly described constructs. Implications for measurement of reliability in this context in England include less concern for internal reliability or occasion-related factors and an emphasis upon standard-setting and inter-rater reliability. Psychometricians sometimes view this approach as technically weak and behind the times, but we raise the prospect that psychometrics could seem like an answer to somebody else’s problems if the curriculum, questions and washback upon learning are the main concern of the assessment designers. We agree with other authors that the field is currently under-theorised and raise the prospect that future theory needs to take account of the educational context of public examinations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Approximately 7 out of 10 pupils in England choose to exercise their right to drop history as a school subject as soon as they are able to do so (at the age of 13 or 14). However, this 30% overall take‐up rate conceals massive variations between schools, with over 80% of pupils continuing to study the subject in some schools, and under 5% in others. The study which was funded by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority sought to gain greater insight into the factors influencing post‐compulsory take‐up of history, with a complex range of factors emerging as influencing these figures. The findings should be of interest to those involved in history education in high schools and for those involved with other subjects that are similarly affected by the freeing up of the post‐14 curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

James and Pollard appropriately insist that the articulation of general, 'evidence-informed' pedagogical principles that can inform teacher judgments and policy-makers rather than detailed instructional prescriptions that tell teachers what to do is the most useful way to improve classroom practice at scale. This is surely right: teaching and learning are deeply contextual and highly contingent. Certainly, our experience in Singapore strongly supports this claim, particularly if backed up by appropriately designed in situ, iterative, authentic and extended professional learning experiences. Moreover, the specific generative principles that James and Pollard identify are substantial and important. However, I am not convinced, given my experience in Singapore and my understanding of research findings more generally, that the principles they isolate are either adequately specified or jointly sufficient to optimise improving the quality of teaching and learning in British schools. But certainly what James and Pollard, and the TLRP team more generally, have achieved makes a unique and significant contribution to that effort and to the broader international movement to design and deliver educational research that is rigorous, relevant and useful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International surveys indicate that the prevalence of private tutoring in England is relatively low but as few national surveys have been undertaken, there is little detailed evidence available. The aim of this research is to provide a systematic description of the nature and extent of private tutoring at three points of transition in the English education system and to explore students' and parents' views of the reasons for its use. Over 3000 students completed a questionnaire survey providing information on the extent of private tutoring in school curriculum subjects, reasons for the employment of tutors and demographic information. Over 1100 parents supplied information on their motivation for employing tutors. At the time of the survey, 7.6% of Year 6 pupils were in receipt of tutoring in mathematics, 8.1% English and 3.2% science. Comparable figures for Year 11 pupils were 7.9% mathematics, 2.6% English and 2.8% science. Overall, 27% of students reported that they had received tutoring at some stage during their school career and there were clear associations with family socio-economic status and cultural background. Parents employed tutors to increase their child's confidence, improve their understanding of the subject and to help them do well in tests and examinations. Most primary age children indicated that tutors were not needed as their teachers and families provided sufficient educational support. Some families appear to be making strategic use of tutors to help their children make successful transitions in the education system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]