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This paper presents a new methodological model termed Airbag Moderation: That the relationship between two variables varies as a function of a third, and that this third variable depends upon one of the others. Airbag Moderation extends and bridges a number of theories and it can be implemented using existing statistical models and software packages. Airbag Moderation is more suitable than Moderation for conceptualizing and testing a range of theories, interventions, and policies across educational, social, and behavioural research. An empirical example demonstrates the effectiveness of UK Sure Start Children's Centres as an intervention in the context of financial disadvantage and the internalizing behaviours of preschoolers. Parallel statistical implementation follows via two Structural Equation Models featuring either a statistical interaction term or a random coefficient. Both indicate that greater use of a Children's Centre is a significant Airbag Moderator of the relationship between financial disadvantage and internalizing behaviours in preschoolers.

Research and scholarship into educational effectiveness research (EER) is comprehensively reviewed from the UK, The Netherlands, the US, Cyprus, Belgium, Sweden, France, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, and other societies, dating from the field's origins in the 1970s. Issues include its history, methodological and theoretical advances, scientific properties of school effects, processes at school and classroom level behind these effects, the somewhat limited translation of findings into policy and practice across the world, and future directions for research and practice in EER and for all of the discipline more generally. Future research needs are argued to be a further concentration upon teaching/teachers, more longitudinal studies, more work on possible context specificity, exploration of the cross-level transactions between schools and their teachers/classrooms, the adoption of "efficiency" as well as "effectiveness" as outcome measures, and a renewed focus upon the education of the disadvantaged, the original focus of our discipline when it began.

Recent research and policy regarding the advantages of early years provision has focused largely on the enhancement and development of cognitive skills for preschoolers. This study, based in the United Kingdom, focuses on a range of cognitive and social skills and identifies beneficial characteristics of a government pilot scheme for 2-year-olds in areas of social disadvantage. Data were collected from nursery managers and parents across six early years settings using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods centred around in-depth observational techniques focused on children. Results indicate that in addition to the development of cognitive skills, children showed increased confidence and modes of communication and interaction and that these were associated with the varied activities and routines established within the early years settings. Some variations in terms of frequency and quality of interactions, activities and practice were identified in settings; however, interpersonal support for learning and development was consistent across settings.

The Effective Classroom Practice project aimed to identify key factors that contribute to effective teaching in primary and secondary phases of schooling in different socioeconomic contexts. This article addresses the ways in which qualitative and quantitative approaches were combined within an integrated design to provide a comprehensive methodology for the research purposes. Strategies for the study are discussed, followed by the challenges of combining complex statistics with individual stories, particularly in relation to the ongoing iteration between these different data sets, and issues of validity and reliability. The findings shed new light on the meanings and measurement of teachers' effective classroom practice and the complex nature of, and relationships with, professional life phase, teacher identities, and school context. (Contains 6 figures, 5 tables, and 5 notes.)

In studies of child development, the combined effect of multiple risks acting in unison has been represented in a variety of ways. This investigation builds upon this preceding work and presents a new procedure for capturing the combined effect of multiple risks. A representative sample of 2,899 British children had their cognitive development measured at 36 and 58 months of age along with 10 potential risks during this period of development. Comparing a cumulative index of these risks against the previously undocumented alternative of confirmatory factor analysis using formative measurement, this study found differences favouring the factor analysis. The factor analysis procedure demonstrated greater predictive power of children's cognitive development while it systematically tested two of the assumptions implicit in cumulative risk indices.

This paper explores the relationship between "process" quality characteristics in English pre-school centres and the developmental progress made by children between the ages of 3-5 years. A nationally representative sample of 141 English pre-schools participated in this study with longitudinal pre- and post-test measures taken from 2857 children at ages 3 and 5. Centre quality was assessed using two observational instruments, the revised version of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale [Harms, T., Clifford, M., & Cryer, D. (1998). "Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, Revised Edition (ECERS-R)". Vermont: Teachers College Press] and a new English curriculum extension to it [Sylva, K., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Taggart, B. (2003). "Assessing quality in the early years: Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Extension (ECERS-E): Four curricular subscales". Stoke-on Trent: Trentham Books]. This new instrument was developed specifically for assessing the curricular aspects of quality, including pedagogy, in pre-school centres subject to the English national Early Childhood Curriculum. Multi-level statistical analyses revealed that quality of centre-based provision as measured by the ECERS-E was a significant predictor of children's development at entry to school after controlling for pre-test, child characteristics and family background. This study demonstrated that the ECERS-E is a reliable instrument for assessing the educational aspects of process quality and is a significant predictor of children's cognitive/linguistic progress. In contrast, the ECERS-R had a stronger relationship with children's socio-behavioural progress in the pre-school period.

UK Sure Start Children's Centres (SSCCs) aim to lessen behavioural disorders yet we lack evidence concerning how this is achieved. This study evaluates one possible mechanism: improved home learning environments (HLEs). Data come from a longitudinal study of 2568 families and children recruited at a mean age of 14 months from 117 SSCCs in England in 2012. Behavioural disorders were measured at 38 months via the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. HLEs were measured at 14 and 38 months via parental interview. Families' use of SSCCs was measured via parental interview at 14, 22, and 38 months. This study suggests that the use of SSCCs is associated with fewer preschool behavioural disorders via intermediate changes to the quality of HLE's. Implications are discussed for social policies and for early years' professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates, from the perspective of senior and middle leaders, how secondary principals in England lead their schools to achieve sustainable performance despite policy shifts. Empirical data were drawn from structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses of a questionnaire survey from 309 effective and improved secondary schools in England and longitudinal interview data from a subsample of four case-study schools. The research suggests that what the principals were perceived to be doing successfully was to use policies as opportunities—purposefully, progressively, and strategically—to regenerate coherent cultures and conditions which support the staff to learn to renew their practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational and occupational aspirations have become an important reference point in policy debates about educational inequality. Low aspirations are presented as a major barrier to closing educational attainment gaps and increasing levels of social mobility. Our paper contributes to this on-going debate by presenting data on the educational aspirations of students from the Effective Provision of Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Education Project in England. We analyse factors that help predict students holding high aspirations. Our findings reveal generally high aspirations across all students but also differences by income group and other background factors. We evaluate the significance of these findings for the existing literature and public policy discussions about the importance of raising educational aspirations. In particular, we question the way in which low aspirations are framed by policy-makers as a major problem in debates around educational inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Educational effectiveness research (EER) has made a significant contribution to our understanding of the characteristics and processes associated with more and less effective schools in a diverse range of contexts. However, this remains a contested field of inquiry and has been subjected to significant critique. This paper examines the origins and development of EER and summarises the key critiques and defences of the field during the past 30 years. It then moves on to examine the recent critique of the field by Stephen Gorard in the UK and responds by highlighting statistical errors and simplistic claims made by Gorard about the field's involvement with the development of national value-added systems and interaction with policy-making in his recent papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the leadership of Tony Blair New Labour committed itself to raise standards, tackle educational failure and use education to combat disadvantage. This paper examines New Labour's approaches to school improvement, particularly the origins and enactment of 'zero tolerance' strategies, the different groups of schools identified as needing remedial action, different intervention strategies for poorly performing and failing schools including inspection, Fresh Start, Academies and the London Challenge. It explores evidence of their impact on school improvement, educational standards and equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article outlines the research design of a large-scale, longitudinal research study in England intended to describe and explore variations in teachers' work, lives and their effects on pupils' educational outcomes. The study, funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and incorporated into the Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) as an 'Associate Project', used an innovative mixed-methods research design to create case studies of 300 teachers in Years 2, 6 and 9. The research was conducted over three consecutive academic years and collected a wide range of data through interviews, questionnaire surveys of teachers' and pupils' views and assessment data on pupils' attainments in English and mathematics. The text summarises the main findings from the research in relation to four interconnected themes of the study: Professional Life Phases; Professional Identity; Relative Effectiveness; and Resilience and Commitment. The influence of school context, in terms of level of social disadvantage of pupil intake, is also investigated. Key findings and their implications for policy and practice are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution explores changes in the way that educational researchers engage with policy-makers in England. The traditional relationship between research and policy was linear, with funders supporting the efforts of researchers, who carried out research and then disseminated it to those responsible for shaping and implementing policy. This model of 'knowledge transfer' is fast being supplemented and sometimes replaced by one of 'knowledge exchange' as policy-makers participate in new forms of research. 'Knowledge exchange' consists of collaborative problem-solving between researchers and decision-makers that happens through linkage and exchange. This contribution uses one large-scale English study to illustrate the new relationship between research and policy. The Effective Pre-school and Primary Education (EPPE) project is a longitudinal study of the effects of pre- and primary school on the academic and social development of more than 3,000 children in England. The study's findings have been used as part of the 'evidence base' for UK policy on universal pre-school provision as well as targeted services in disadvantaged communities, for example, Sure Start and Children's Centres. From the earliest days of the study researchers worked in partnership with policy-makers. Although the overall design was agreed at contract-stage, major modifications to sampling, assessments, and analyses were made as the study progressed. The researcher/policy-maker engagement continued throughout the study and consisted of sustained interaction, shared decision-making and mutual respect. Supportive organisational structures allowed two-way exchange and decision-making. Although the researchers were responsible for scientific integrity in all phases, there was shared ownership of the findings with regular and collaborative review and amendment to suit emerging policy needs. The EPPE project was one of the first in the UK to work interactively with Government partners in the shaping of both 'research' and 'policy' outputs. This partnership enabled the research to have a significant impact on UK policy. The contribution concludes with discussion of how the Furlong and Oancea 'quality assessment framework' can be applied to research based on policy partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the impact of pre-school experience on young children's cognitive attainments at entry to primary school and analyses data collected as part of a wider longitudinal study, the Effective Provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE) project, which followed a large sample of young children attending 141 pre-school centres drawn from six types of provider in five English regions. The article compares the characteristics and attainments of the pre-school sample with those of an additional 'home' sample (children who had not attended pre-school) recruited at entry to reception. Multilevel analyses of relationships between child, parent and home environment characteristics and children's attainments in pre-reading, early number concepts and language skills are presented. Duration of time in pre-school is found to have a significant and positive impact on attainment over and above important influences such as family socio-economic status, income, mother's qualification level, ethnic and language background. The research also points to the separate and significant influence of the home learning environment. It is concluded that pre-school can play an important part in combating social exclusion by offering disadvantaged children, in particular, a better start to primary school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on teaching and learning processes in Year 2 classes of British children with special educational needs. Examination of teachers' aims and grouping strategies; Discussion of findings in terms of adequacy of provision for all children in inner city schools; Theoretical implications.

Discusses the major issues explored in studies done by teams participated in by Desmond Nuttall on school effectiveness and value added measures in Great Britain. Level of stability of results over time; Differential effects of schooling; Effects of context on student performance; Measures of value added; Statistical technique of multilevel modelling.

Investigates the issue of stability and consistency in secondary schools General Certificate in Secondary Education (GCSE) performance in Great Britain. Size of overall school effects versus departmental differences; Stability of school and departmental effects across three GCSE cohorts; Adaptation of the value added approach to GCSE.

This paper presents results from an LEA-commissioned value-added project conducted with 107 primary schools in Surrey. The project was designed to explore the use of baseline assessment at entry to reception classes to measure pupil progress across Key Stage 1 (KS1). Pupil performance in KS1 assessments of the core curriculum areas English (reading and writing), mathematics and science were analysed. The results of multi-level analyses, the impact of pupil background factors, the feedback of results to schools and the way Surrey Education Service and schools are using the information in school improvement activities are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article outlines the historical origins of research and practice in the fields of British school effectiveness and school improvement. The traditional hegemony of British educational research, which was orientated to psychological perspectives and their emphasis upon individuals and families as determinants of educational outcomes, created a professional educational research climate somewhat unfriendly to school effectiveness research. More recently, however, there has existed in the British educational research community a climate much more favorable to the endeavors of the school effectiveness community, a function in part of the greatly increased attention given to school functioning within the political sphere. The improvement paradigm of the 1980s that various British movements reflected celebrated a "bottom up" approach to school improvement, in which the improvement attempts were to be "owned" by those at the school level, although outside school consultants or experts could put their knowledge forward for possible utilization. The schools appear to be taking the opportunity of centrally imposed change to enhance student outcomes.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to an article about austerity cuts impacting disadvantaged families the most in the January 23, 2015 issue.