A right to be heard: learning from learners with additional needs in literacy

This study aimed to explore the consultation experiences of pupils who have additional needs in literacy. An opportunistic sample of eight schools – four in Northern Ireland and four in the Republic of Ireland – were chosen by the researchers; selected pupils were receiving additional literacy support. Focus group discussions and arts‐based creative methodologies were used through which visual and verbal stimuli supported and extended the narratives of the children. The findings showed that pupils have a capacity for self‐reflection and metacognitive talk around literacy. They had a keen awareness of their specific difficulties and the reading strategies they use. However, they wished for greater choice in how literacy support is organised and for more information about individual reading targets and scores. There was a great desire among pupils for consultation at meetings concerning their progress. Involving pupils in planning and evaluating their literacy learning needs as a fundamental right raises questions about teachers’ current protectiveness of pupils with additional needs.     

THE ROLE AND FUNCTION OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH‐‐II

Recent work aimed at involving parents more in the teaching of reading by encouraging parents to hear their children read school reading books at home has created a great deal of interest. But to what extent does it depart from normal school practice?

Little is known about schools’ attitudes to parental involvement in home‐based, as opposed to school‐based, educational activities. Therefore a study was made of a sample of 16 infant and first schools. Interviews were carried out with head teachers, all teachers of seven‐year‐olds, and some of their pupils. It was found that whilst there was general support for the idea of parental involvement in the teaching of reading this stopped short of helping parents hear their own children read at home. An examination of the schools’ practice suggested that at present comparatively few children regularly take school reading books to read at home.     

Is the sustainability of reduction in bullying related to follow‐up procedures?

This paper investigates changes in bullying behaviour among pupils in 72 Norwegian compulsory schools two years after the schools completed an anti‐bullying program. A sample of 22 schools received eight lesson plans with material for staff to use to focus on the challenges of anti‐bullying during this period of two years. Another sample of 22 schools received the same lessons, and also received regular phone calls from a researcher between the lessons. A sample of 28 schools received no other attention than the surveys. We assumed that bullying would be lower in the schools which received follow‐up procedures than in the control schools. Results showed no overall change in mean victimisation scores (i.e., being the victim of bullying), although there was a slight but significant overall decrease in bullying scores (i.e., bullying others) (F = 12.58, p < .001). Our predictions of differences between the samples were not supported. One possible conclusion is that the follow‐up procedures offered were not sufficient to decrease bullying any further. Further research is needed to determine whether the lack of effect is due to the type of follow‐up measure or to implementation within schools.     

Performance in solving arithmetic problems: a comparison of children with different levels of achievement in mathematics and reading

The aim of the present study was to investigate the performance in arithmetic related to achievement levels in reading and mathematics. Basic arithmetical facts and multi‐step calculations were examined. The participants were 941 pupils aged 8 (N = 415), 10 (N = 274) and 13 (N = 252) years. The pupils were divided into four groups by standardized achievement tests. One group showed low achievement in both mathematics and reading (MLRL), a second group showed low achievement in mathematics only (ML‐only), a third group in reading only (RL‐only) and a fourth group showed normal achievement in both mathematics and reading (NA). The ML‐only and the MLRL groups did not differ significantly in basic arithmetical facts at any age level, but both groups performed below the RL‐only and NA groups. The two latter groups also performed similarly at all year levels. In multi‐step calculation all groups differed significantly at the lowest age level, with the NA as the group with the best achievement, followed by RL‐only, ML‐only and the MLRL group. At the two highest age levels the relations between the groups, in multi‐step calculation, were in accordance with the results regarding basic facts. The findings indicate, for both normal and low general mathematical ability, that low achievement in reading to a small extent interferes with the pupils’ development of arithmetic performance     

THE MEASUREMENT OF PERSONALITY‐‐III

During 1963, arrangements were made by the then Ministry of Education for a national experiment in foreign‐language teaching to be carried out in selected primary schools in England and Wales. The main purpose of the experiment, which came to be known as the Pilot Scheme for the teaching of French in primary schools, was to discover whether it would be both feasible and educationally desirable to extend the teaching of a foreign language to pupils who represented a wider range of age and ability than those to whom foreign languages had traditionally been taught. Under the Pilot Scheme, French was to be introduced into the primary school curriculum on an experimental basis from September 1964 onwards. The choice of French as the language to be taught was virtually inevitable, since it would have been impossible to provide an adequate teaching force for the implementation of the experiment if any language other than French had been chosen. In most of the schools taking part in the Pilot Scheme, French was to be taught throughout the primary stage of the experiment by class teachers who had received special in‐service training, rather than by specialist teachers of French. Arrangements were made to provide continuity of teaching at the secondary stage, so that all the pupils taking part in the experiment would be able to continue learning French without interruption for at least five years.

Once the experiment had been set up, it was agreed that its effects should be evaluated over a period of years by the NFER. In the event, the NFER evaluation spanned the period 1964‐1974, taking the form of a longitudinal study of three age‐groups or ‘cohorts’ of pupils attending the schools taking part in the experiment. The sole criterion on which pupils were chosen for inclusion in one of the experimental cohorts was their date of birth. In the first instance, French was to be taught to all eight‐year‐old pupils in the selected primary schools from September 1964 onwards; thereafter, the teaching of French was to be extended to a further year‐group each autumn, until it involved all pupils in the 8‐11 age‐range. Thus, the first cohort to come under study was composed of all pupils in the large primary schools taking part in the experiment who fell within the age‐range 8‐0‐8#lb11 on 1st September 1964 and all pupils in the small primary schools who fell within the age‐range 8#lb0‐9#lb11 on that date: this provided a sample of approximately 5.700 pupils. (A wider age‐range was sampled in the small primary schools, to avoid the creation of unworkably small groups.) The second cohort was composed of all pupils in the large primary schools in the sample who fell within the age‐range 8#lb0‐8#lb11 on 1st September 1965: this provided a sample of approximately 5,300 pupils. Pupils in the small primary schools were not represented in the second cohort, since most children of an appropriate age had already been included in the French classes set up for the first cohort.

Originally, the NFER evaluation was to have been based entirely on a longitudinal study of the pupils forming the first two experimental cohorts. It was hoped that the results of this study would provide sufficient information to enable valid conclusions to be drawn regarding the feasibility and advisability of teaching French at the primary level. As the experiment progressed however, it became clear that the pioneer status of the first cohort had entailed an atypical introduction to French. During the first year of the Pilot Scheme, for instance, difficult staffing problems were encountered which had not always been foreseen: in some primary schools, French teachers were absent without replacement for a whole term in order to attend intensive language courses in France; in others, no trained staff were available to teach French during the first term of the experiment, with the result that the first cohort pupils in these schools started to learn French one term later than the others in their age‐group. The first year of the experiment could therefore be regarded with some justification as an essentially exploratory period, calling into question the validity of using the results obtained from the study of the first cohort as a basis for future comparison. In view of these circumstances, it was considered advisable to extend the evaluation to a third cohort of pupils: those who would begin their study of French in September 1968. The third and final cohort to come under study was thus composed of all pupils in the large primary schools still taking part in the experiment who fell within the age‐range 8#lb0‐8#lb11 on 1st September 1968 and all pupils in the small primary schools who fell within the age‐range 8#lb0‐9#lb11 on the same date: this provided a sample of approximately 6,000 pupils. Inclusion in the experimental sample was again determined solely by the age of the pupil. This meant that the sample was drawn from all the socioeconomic strata normally represented within the national educational system and, in consequence, was characterized by a wide range of ability.

The time‐span of the evaluation did not allow all the pupils taking part in the experiment to be studied for an equal period of time. The pupils in the first and third cohorts were under study for a total of five years: three years in the primary school and two years in the secondary school. The pupils in the second cohort were under study for a longer period: three years in the primary school and five years in the secondary school. During the ten‐year period of the evaluation, the main aims of the study were: (i) to investigate the long‐term development of pupils’ attitudes towards foreign‐language learning; (ii) to discover whether pupils’ levels of achievement in French were related to their attitudes towards foreign‐language learning; (iii) to examine the effect of certain pupil variables (such as age, sex, socio‐economic status, perception of parental encouragement, employment expectations, contact with France, etc) on level of achievement in French and attitude towards foreign language learning; (iv) to investigate whether teachers’ attitudes and expectations significantly affected the attitudes and achievement of their pupils; (v) to investigate whether the early introduction of French had a significant effect on achievement in other areas of the primary school curriculum.

The main findings to emerge during the earlier years of the evaluation were published in two interim reports (Burstall, 1968, 1970); the recent publication of the final report (Burstall et al., 1974) brought together both the earlier and the later findings and provided an overall view of the effects of the experiment during both its primary and secondary stages. What follows is an attempt to review briefly the research evidence presented in the final report, but it must be borne in mind that limitations of space will inevitably impose a certain selectivity on this review.

     

‘I hope someone castrates you,you perverted bastard’: Martin Cole's sex education film,Growing Up

This paper concerns the response to the sex education film Growing Up, made in 1971 by Dr Martin Cole, which used a combination of animation and live action to offer a frank and uncompromising account of sexual reproduction. As part of this, both male and female masturbation and an unsimulated act of male–female coitus featured in the film. Cole was widely denounced both by religious conservatives including the members of the Nationwide Festival of Light and by others involved in sex education. The former objected to what they took to be his promotion of precocious and promiscuous sex, and the latter charged him with setting back the cause of ‘responsible’ sex education by years or decades. However, evidence from various schools in which Growing Up was seen suggests that it was apparently well received by pupils. But an ad hoc alliance of religious conservatives and ‘responsible’ sex educators ensured that Growing Up was not widely distributed, and a tactic agreement of sorts has arisen that such explicit sexual imagery will not be featured in school sex education materials in the United Kingdom. Sources include selected media reports/discussions, parliamentary debates, letters sent to Cole, teachers' comments and an interview conducted in 2007.     

Attitudes to reading at ages nine and eleven

A survey was conducted with the aim of identifying attitudes towards reading amongst upper primary pupils, and establishing whether these attitudes had changed over the five‐year period from 1998 to 2003. A sample of 5076 pupils in Years 4 and 6 completed questionnaires. Attitudes were generally positive, but declined somewhat between the younger and older of these age groups. A sub‐sample of 2364 of these pupils were in the same schools where the same questionnaire had been completed in 1998. Enjoyment of reading had significantly fallen over the five years, whilst confidence as readers had significantly increased over the same period. The changes may be related to the introduction of the National Literacy Strategy, but other explanations are also possible.     

What makes the difference? An analysis of a reading intervention programme implemented in rural schools in Cambodia

This article compares the existing single-strategy approach towards the teaching of early literacy in schools in rural Cambodia with a multiple-strategy approach introduced as part of a reading intervention programme. Classroom observations, questionnaires and in-depth interviews with teachers were used to explore teachers’ practices and attitudes. Research was also conducted into the nature of the Khmer language. These preparations informed the design of the programme implemented in 127 rural schools. The success of the intervention was evaluated through classroom observations and a survey of teachers. Pupils’ reading was assessed in a sample of the intervention schools and compared with a sample of pupils in schools without the intervention. Results showed that most teachers in Cambodia use a one-strategy approach to teaching reading but that reading competence remains poor. In comparison, the assessment of pupils following the training of teachers in a multiple-strategy approach showed a marked improvement in their reading.     

Academic self‐concept,reading attitudes and approaches to learning of children with dyslexia: do they differ from their peers?

This research aimed at exploring the motivation for reading of pupils with dyslexia, and to investigate whether they differ from their peers. A total of 32 pupils formed the LD group (22 boys and 10 girls, 5th‐ and 6th‐graders) who were diagnosed with dyslexia. A comparison group was formed of pupils who attended the same classes (N = 210), and these were divided into two groups (average/low performance, N = 115; high performance, N = 95), according to teachers’ ratings of pupils’ performance on reading. Self‐report measures were used to assess perceptions of academic ability, reading attitudes and approaches to learning. The results revealed that dyslexic pupils displayed lower academic self‐concept than the low/average and high performance groups on all domains, except Practical ability. Moreover, dyslexic pupils perceived reading less as a function of personal development, both enjoyment and utilitarian, as compared to their peers. Finally, the dyslexic group adopted the surface approach to learning, indicating an external motive, similarly to the average/low group, and adopted the deep approach to learning less as compared to their high achieving peers. The implications of these findings are discussed at pupil, teacher and classroom level.     

Reading Intervention for Poor Readers at the Transition to Secondary School

This study evaluated two 20-week reading interventions for pupils entering secondary school with reading difficulties. The interventions were delivered by trained teaching assistants (three 35-min sessions per week). 287 pupils (ages 11–13) from 27 schools were randomly allocated to three groups: reading intervention (targeting word recognition and decoding skills), reading intervention plus comprehension, or a waiting list control group. Neither intervention produced statistically significant gains in word reading but the reading intervention plus comprehension intervention produced significant gains in reading comprehension (d = 0.29) and vocabulary (d = 0.34). Further evaluations of methods to improve word reading in this population are needed.     

Effects of single‐sex versus co‐educational classes and schools on gender differences in progress in language and mathematics achievement

In this study, the effects of single‐sex versus co‐educational classes and schools on the progress in language and mathematics of boys and girls at the end of the second year of secondary education are investigated. Data from the Longitudinaal Onderzoek Secundair Onderwijs project are used. Multilevel analyses were carried out on a sample of approximately 4000 pupils, 330 classes (190 single‐sex), 180 teachers and 50 schools (20 single‐sex). The results indicate that for boys the gender composition of the classes has more impact than the gender composition of the schools, whereas for girls the gender composition of the schools is more important. Boys make more progress for language (and not for mathematics) in co‐educational classes even after we have taken into account the selective nature of the classes. Girls, on the other hand, make more progress for mathematics (but not for language) in single‐sex than in co‐educational schools.     

Effective Schooling: Research,Theory and Practice

ABSTRACT

Does the influence on academic progress, which a school exerts on its pupils’ achievements in public examinations, differ for pupils of differing levels of ability? The study on which this paper is based used data from a number of English local education authorities (LEAs) and showed that, in general, when finely‐differentiated measures of pupils’ prior‐attainment were employed, the rate of progress was uniform for most schools within the differing sets for which data were available, whilst the level varied substantially between schools. The analysis contrasts these findings with others where a grouped prior‐attainment measure was used, and evidence for ‘differential effectiveness’ was detected; the paper seeks to account for the substantially different conclusions to which the work leads.     

How can children with mild literacy difficulties be supported at the transition to secondary school? A small‐scale quasi‐experimental study

There is evidence that pupils with weak literacy skills struggle on transition to secondary school. Many experience a drop in attainment in the summer break between the two. A British government‐funded programme of rigorously designed research on boosting literacy at transition had (by 2015) found only four of 15 interventions evaluated had positive effects. This small‐scale quasi‐experimental study investigated the effectiveness of support for pupils with mild literacy difficulties on transition to secondary school. Thirty‐two pupils in three schools were involved; half received the programme. Pairs were matched on reading, spelling, age and gender. Intervention was designed around the individual needs of each pupil, focusing variously on language skills, writing, reading and spelling. The group receiving the programme made modest gains in spelling, reading efficiency and single word reading. The comparison group lost ground, relatively, in all three areas. The results suggest a promising line for more rigorous investigation.     

School effects and ethnic,gender and socio-economic gaps in educational achievement at age 11

There are long-standing achievement gaps in England associated with socio-economic status (SES), ethnicity and gender, but relatively little research has evaluated interactions between these variables or explored school effects on such gaps. This paper analyses the national test results at age 7 and age 11 of 2,836 pupils attending 68 mainstream primary schools in an ethnically diverse inner London borough. The groups with the lowest educational achievement and poorest progress were both Black Caribbean and White British low SES pupils. White British middle and high SES pupils made substantially more progress than White British low SES pupils, significantly increasing the SES gap over time. However low and high SES Black pupils made equally poor progress age 7–11. School effects on pupil progress were large, but there was no evidence of differential school effectiveness in relation to SES, ethnicity or gender. Low SES pupils in the more effective schools performed significantly better than high SES pupils in the less effective schools, but all pupils (both low and high SES) benefit from attending the more effective schools and so these schools do not eliminate the SES gap. The limits to change that may be achieved by schools alone are discussed.     

Computerised formative assessment of reading comprehension: field trials in the UK

Increased curriculum time allocated to reading might not be effective in raising achievement. Teachers need to closely monitor and manage both the quality and quantity of individualised reading of all their pupils for optimal effectiveness. ‘Learning information systems’ (LIS) for reading such as the ‘Accelerated Reader’ (AR) enable this through individualised computerised assessment of pupil comprehension of ‘real books’, with feedback to both pupil and teacher. This study explored the impact of AR on reading achievement in 13 schools of different types spread across the UK, the majority socio‐economically disadvantaged. Participating pupils were aged 7–14 years. Pre‐post norm‐referenced gains in reading achievement were measured by group paper‐reading tests and a computer‐based adaptive reading test. The implementation integrity of AR was assessed by direct observation by researchers and through data generated by the programme itself. On both paper and computer‐based reading tests, on aggregate pupils in the 13 schools gained in reading at abnormally high and statistically significant rates. Boys tended to show larger gains than girls on the paper test. However, implementation integrity was very variable. In particular, some teachers failed to intervene in response to AR data indicating that pupils were reading ineffectively. AR appears to have potential for raising reading achievement, but only if implemented appropriately.     

Faith schools and pupils' progress through primary education

The impact of faith schools on the performance and progress of their pupils has been studied using data from the National Pupil Database (NPD). The value‐added analysis was carried out using multilevel modelling, controlling for prior attainment as well as a range of background variables, including ethnicity, sex, eligibility for free school meals (FSM), alternative measures of deprivation based on census information, special educational needs (SEN) and English as an additional language (EAL). The analysis confirmed that all faith schools, in particular, Roman Catholic and Church of England schools, made slightly more progress with their pupils than non‐faith schools. It also showed that pupils with SEN attending faith schools performed better at key stage 2 than pupils with SEN in non‐faith schools.     

Reading for pleasure in paradise: paired reading in Antigua and Barbuda

Reading for pleasure is essential in the development of literacy. This paper reports on findings from a paired reading strategy introduced into primary schools in Antigua and Barbuda in order to foster children's pleasure in reading. This programme of cross‐age peer tutoring intervention began with the training of teachers in a small group of seven schools and was extended to all the schools on the islands in the following year. Qualitative research data from children and teachers showed that children were enthusiastic about the experience, with some evidence to show that their wider interest in reading was stimulated. Although for the pupils, particularly the younger ones, the main benefit of shared reading was perceived to be an improvement in reading skills, for teachers, it was the increase in children's confidence in reading that was cited as the most positive outcome. Although resource constraints in some schools did limit the scope of the programme, the paper argues that it boosted the reading development of a number of children and may have acted as a catalyst for stimulating a lasting pleasure and joy in reading.     

Attitudes to Reading in English Primary Schools

This article reports on a two‐year research project investigating attitudes to reading held by teachers and pupils in a sample of English primary schools. The project draws on international and national surveys of reading engagement and the findings of previous research, but seeks to provide more detailed data relating to the attitudes of individual children and the strategies used by individual schools and teachers whose pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to reading. Results are related to previous research literature on reading motivation and attainment, and to motivational theory. In conclusion, it is argued that strategies which promote positive attitudes to reading need to be used alongside the teaching of reading skills in any effort to raise attainment.     

Behavioural Peer Tutoring: training 16‐year‐old tutors to employ the ‘pause,prompt and praise’ method with 12‐year‐old remedial readers

Abstract Eight 16‐year‐old, low achieving pupils were trained to tutor reading using the ‘Pause, Prompt and Praise’ method. The effectiveness of training such tutors was investigated through a tutorial programme in which these eight older pupils tutored eight 12‐year‐old remedial children who were retarded in reading. The programme consisted of 24 tutorial sessions conducted over eight weeks. Two matched control groups of remedial readers were also included in the experiment. One consisted of eight pupils tutored by a group of eight untrained tutors who tutored during the same sessions using the same materials. The second control group consisted of a third group of remedial readers who read silently, without a tutor. The experimental group of tutees, who had a mean pre‐test reading age of 8 years 4 months, made a mean gain of 6 months in reading accuracy by the end of the programme. The tutees of control group I who had received tutoring from untrained tutors made a mean gain of 2.4 months. The pupils of control group II who read silently without a tutor made a mean gain of 1.8 months. Analysis of covariance showed the gains of the experimental group to be statistically significantly different from the gains of the two control groups.