Schools Research News: September 2009

This newsletter is produced by the Chief Adviser on School Standards Unit at the Department for Children, Schools and Families, and is intended to help keep policy and field staff, practitioners, teacher educators and others with an interest in education up to date with recently published research and opportunities to get involved in research. If you would like to be added to, or removed from, the circulation list please email research.summaries@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk

Contents

1. Recently published schools research

School workforce remodelling – strategies used and impact on standards
National survey of school staff and case study visits to 19 schools

Deployment and impact of support staff in schools
18 case study schools in England and Wales and surveys of schools

Characteristics, working conditions and job satisfaction of support staff in schools
Large scale national surveys over time

Parent Support Advisers – impact and effectiveness
Findings from an evaluation in 20 LAs

Perceptions of the education system – views of young people, parents and the general public
Final report from three year customer tracking study

Engaging young people in Chemistry 
Evaluation report for Chemistry For Our Future programme

Young people’s decision making in 14-19 education
Summary of recent studies by the National Foundation for Educational Research

Improving economy and efficiency in schools
Report from the Audit Commission

Secondary pupils’ attitudes towards higher education and information on private tuition
Survey of 2,477 pupils in state schools in England and Wales

Impact of fathers’ involvement in their children’s literacy development
International review of research
 
Citizenship and citizenship education – perceptions of young people and adults
Workshops, focus groups and written accounts

Progress in implementing 14-19 reforms including Diplomas
Inspection report

Use of digital games to support education in schools
Review of research and survey of 528 teachers in Europe

Effective characteristics of out-of-school education programmes
Review of high quality evaluations in the US

Improving 10-18 year olds’ writing skills
Review of writing intervention studies

2. Research resources for practitioners working in schools and initial teacher education

New research digests for teachers include:

Differentiating learning in the literacy classroom

Training parents to help their children read

The impact of enquiry-based science teaching on students’ attitudes and achievement 

3. Places to find research

Websites and databases to look for research including digests for practitioners

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1. Recently published schools research

Aspects of school workforce remodelling  – strategies used and impact on workload and standards (London Metropolitan University, BMRB Social Research) DCSF research brief 153

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This research explored the different strategies used by schools to implement the specific aspects of the National Agreement (Raising Standards and Tackling Workload) and the impact of these changes on standards and workload.

A national survey was undertaken of headteachers, teachers and support staff in primary, secondary and special schools. Qualitative case studies were carried out in 19 schools selected from the survey responses to illustrate a variety of practice. In each case study, the headteacher, teachers, support staff who took responsibility for whole classes and administrative support staff were interviewed.

Key findings from the report:

Most headteachers agreed that their schools had implemented all aspects of the workforce remodeling agenda.

Their detailed reports showed that in the vast majority of schools, planning preparation and assessment (PPA) time, limits on cover and leadership and management time (LMT) were in place. However, in many schools, teachers and/or leadership team members continued to invigilate. Almost all primary teachers and/or headteachers invigilated national Key Stage 2 tests, largely because they believed that it was part of their professional duty. In a third of secondary schools, some teachers and/or leadership team members were present in the room throughout external examinations, generally because their presence was considered to be necessary to reinforce discipline.

Schools generally used multiple strategies in relation to each aspect of remodelling; thus it was difficult to assess which strategies were considered to have the greatest impacts on standards and workload.

There had been no overall reduction in teachers’ workloads; teachers reported that this was because any reduction brought about by remodelling had been countered by other initiatives which had added to workload. However, headteachers, and to a lesser extent, teachers themselves, suggested that workforce remodelling had made it more possible for them to focus on teaching and learning, and has reduced stress.

There had been a substantial increase in the workload of many administrative and teaching and learning support staff. Many administrative staff, and those support staff who sometimes took whole classes, reported working substantial periods of unpaid overtime.

Around three-quarters of headteachers, half of primary and special school teachers and 40 percent of secondary teachers said that standards had improved as result of teachers having PPA time, and half the headteachers and a third of teachers said that standards had improved as a result of teachers having LMT.

Many of the schools with a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals, and schools in London, had remodelled less extensively. The headteachers reported that was because they were unable to recruit support staff with the necessary skills and experience to manage their pupils, and they preferred to use teachers to cover, to invigilate, and in primary schools, to take classes while class teachers had PPA time.

Deployment and impact of support staff in schools  – impact of support staff in schools – (Institute of Education, London) DCSF research report 148

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Two studies are published this month from the Deployment and impact of support staff in schools (DISS) project.

This report assessed the impact or effect of support staff on teaching and learning and management and administration in schools and how this changes over time.

A case study approach in 18 English and Welsh schools illustrated deployment practice, and preparedness, of support staff and their impact on teachers and teaching. Data from a survey of teachers and one completed by school staff on pupils and Key Stage data was analysed to show the impact of support staff on pupils and teachers.

Key findings from the study:

Just over half of teachers had judged that support staff had led to a decrease in their workload and allowed more time for teaching and learning. Support staff had a positive effect on teachers’ level of job satisfaction, mainly because they felt more of their pupils’ needs were being met and their learning and achievement was enhanced, and improvements in teaching time and quality. Teachers identified a positive effect of support staff on their stress, and the ways in which they affected teaching were through bringing specialist help and allowing more teaching.

Teachers felt that support staff had impacted positively on pupils and learning mainly through working with specific pupils; bringing specialist help; allowing individualisation or differentiation; and improving pupils’ attitudes and motivation to work.

However, statistical analysis revealed a consistent negative relationship between the amount of time a pupil was supported by a member of support staff and their attainment progress.

In secondary schools a positive effect on pupils’ approaches to learning was found but this was not evident in primary schools.

The impact on SEN and non-SEN pupils was broadly similar. Teaching Assistants (TAs) were the principal means by which low ability / SEN pupils received differentiated input. Some aspects of support staff deployment and practice related to this potentially resulted in pupil separation from the teacher, peers and the lesson and dependency on the TA. 

Support staff felt, and were found to be, inadequately prepared to work most effectively with pupils in lessons – a lack of planning time and post-lesson feedback with teachers contributed to this. 

Deployment and impact of support staff in schools – characteristics, working conditions and job satisfaction of support staff in schools – (Institute of Education, London) DCSF research report 154

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Two studies are published this month from the Deployment and impact of support staff in schools (DISS) project.

This report sought to provide an accurate, systematic and representative description of the types of support staff in school, and their characteristics and deployment in schools, and how these change over time.

Large scale national surveys in England and Wales of schools, support staff and teachers in primary, secondary and special schools took place in three waves (2004, 2006 and 2008). These gathered data on support staff characteristics and posts; changes in numbers; vacancies, turnover and recruitment; working practices; management; training; satisfaction; and work with teachers.

Key findings from the study:

The main reasons given by schools for the significant increase in support staff numbers were the number of SEN pupils, new initiatives in the school, change in overall school budget and implementation of PPA (planning, preparation and assessment) time. There was an increase in vacancies, recruitment problems and turnover across the three waves.

Over a third of support staff had qualifications above GCSE level and the majority had experienced training of some kind in their role. The majority of teachers had not had training to help them work with support staff in classrooms, while the number of teachers involved in training support staff had increased at each wave.

Over four in five support staff at Wave 3 worked part-time (less than 35 hours), and at Waves 2 and 3 a third of all support staff said they would like to work more hours. In comparison, over two thirds worked more hours than their contract specified; of these the majority worked extra hours voluntarily.

The majority of support staff held a job description and there was a significant increase in appraisals over the three waves. The majority of staff were satisfied with their level of job satisfaction, their contracts and conditions of employment, working arrangements, training and development opportunities and received; less than half were satisfied with their pay at Wave 3.

Overall, teachers had experienced much more contact with support staff in Wave 3 compared to Wave 1.

Headteachers felt that although the National Agreement and remodelling had led to a reduction in the workload for teachers in their schools, they also felt that it had resulted in increases in workloads for headteachers themselves, the leadership team and support staff.

Parent Support Adviser evaluation – final report – (University of Warwick and Kings College, London) DCSF research report 151

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The evaluation of the parent support advisor (PSA) pilot examined the effectiveness, impact and cost effectiveness of implementing PSAs to work with parents in order to help improve pupil outcomes. The pilot was over 2 years involved 20 LAs and ran from September 2006 to August 2008.  The final report focused on evidence collected during the last phase of the evaluation (but also draws upon the earlier reports in 2007 and 2008) and comprised in depth interviews with LA strategic leads, PSA Co-ordinators and parents. A survey of all the schools involved was undertaken together with analysis of data on all parents supported by PSAs and an assessment of the impact of the advisors on children’s outcomes.

Key findings from the report:

The pilot represented a successful collaboration between the DCSF and the TDA introducing a new professional, the Parent Support Adviser (PSA) into the workforce.

The grant available to the 20 local authorities supported the recruitment and employment of 717 PSAs providing support to parents of children in 1167 schools.

The PSAs developed a range of practices that provided support primarily to parents, with some support also directed at children.

Budget holding was a successful arrangement allowing PSAs to provide small amounts of money to support parents.

Impact was judged as positive by over eight out of ten line managers for a range of outcomes including the improvement of parents’ engagement with their child’s learning, improved relationships between parents and the school and improved pupil attendance.

Over nine out of ten parents rated their PSAs highly in terms of different aspects of their support style – they felt respected, listened to and understood – and in helping them to feel more confident to tackle problems and feel better about themselves.

The proportion of persistent absentees decreased by almost a quarter in secondary schools with a PSA

It was not possible to state how many parents were supported during the pilot because PSA practices varied and much work was either with groups of parents or not formally recorded, but the numbers were substantial – over 20,000 were formally recorded by 18 LAs and the researchers estimated support was also provided to several times as many parents overall.

The report concluded that the evidence from the pilot was very encouraging and supported a government policy of funding the PSA role across all LAs.

Customer perception tracking research –public, parents and young people’s surveys  -  (BMRB) DCSF research reports 155, 156 and157

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In 2006, the Department commissioned a 3 year Customer Perception Tracking study on the state of the education system of three key audiences: the general public; parents of children and young people aged up to 19; and young people aged 11-19 themselves.  Wave 3 interviews were conducted by telephone in December 2008 and January 2009 amongst; 1005 young people, 1016 parents of children and young people aged up to 19 and 1000 general public respondents. Wave 2 interviews were conducted in June and July 2008 and Wave 1 interviews were conducted in December 2007 and January 2008. The questions in each survey remained constant across each wave in order to track perceptions over time.

Key findings from the surveys:

91 percent of young people (in December 2008-January 2009) agree that England is a good country for children to grow up in. This represented a significant improvement on wave 2 when 84 percent agreed this was the case, taking the proportion back up to the wave 1 level when 90 percent agreed.

88 percent of young people in learning felt they had enough choice of which educational institution they would attend. Compared with wave 1 of the study this represented a significant improvement, when the proportion who felt they had enough choice was just 83 percent.

Primary schools continued to be highest rated amongst all publicly funded educational institutions, particularly by young people (97 percent rating the current quality of primary education positively).

92 percent of parents were satisfied with their child’s place of education, compared with fewer in wave 2 (87 percent) and wave 1 (89 percent).. The proportion of parents who were very satisfied had also improved significantly, from 57 percent in wave 1 and 55 percent in wave 2, up to 63 percent in wave 3.

88 percent of young people rated secondary schools as very / quite good. This differed from the general public’s (66 percent) and parents’ (75 percent) ratings of secondary schools. 

80 percent of the general public felt that bullying was a very big or quite a big problem in schools in England today, compared to 16 percent of young people and 20 percent of parents.  More than half of parents (56 percent) feel that the problem of bullying in their child’s school / college is not changing.

84 percent of young people were more likely to feel that staff at their school or college were effective at dealing with bullying compared to 74 percent of parents and 49 percent of the general public. 

Nearly a quarter of the general public (23 percent) perceive pupil behaviour at their local schools/ colleges as poor. This is a higher proportion than amongst the young people themselves (11 percent) while parents are least likely to express this view (6 percent).

An evaluation of Chemistry For Our Future – (NFER)

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The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) funded the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) to deliver Chemistry for our Future (CFOF), a £5.25 million three year pilot programme (2006-2009) designed to enhance young people’s experiences of chemistry both in and out of school.  The objectives of the programme included: promoting chemical sciences as a career route; improving liaison between different phases of chemistry teaching including primary, secondary and HE; and encouraging pupils to study chemistry.  The RSC commissioned the NFER to evaluate the CFOF programme, and the latest report focused on the last year of the programme (2008 – 2009). This involved a survey of 153 participating pupils, and interviews with programme leaders and participating heads of science and chemistry teachers. It also included an analysis of over 7000 feedback forms from pupils taking part in Chemistry: The Next Generation (CTNG) events, which were small scale activities such as visiting university laboratories to promote engagement in chemistry.

Key findings from the report:

Over 256 schools took part in Chemistry: The Next Generation activities, involving over 24,000 young people. Approximately 75 percent of the schools were Aimhigher schools.

CTNG events provided pupils with the information and experiences to make informed choices, which were thought to be more helpful than the information and advice they gained through careers advice in schools.

Chemistry A-level intake increased in participating schools according to teachers and regional coordinators. Teachers had anecdotal evidence of this particularly for individual pupils whom they knew had participated in CTNG activities.  However, teachers felt that impacts in terms of taking chemistry further were on certain young people only, e.g. those who are more able and keen on chemistry already.

Teachers tended to feel that whilst one-off CTNG activities provided ‘a spark’, more sustained activity was needed to boost impacts and make a difference. However, providing repeat interventions for the same pupils was not always possible, for schools which wanted to ensure that such opportunities were shared out fairly across pupils and cohorts.

To make a difference, some schools used large-scale widening participation activities (e.g. for a whole year group) to raise young people’s aspirations around university, and to broaden their enthusiasm for chemistry more generally. Alongside this, they provided more targeted interventions for selected pupils who showed an aptitude and keenness for chemistry study and careers.

Teachers reported ‘knock on’ effects on younger pupils in their schools. On seeing the opportunities that their older peers had, younger pupils (KS2 and KS3) became enthused about chemistry and their aspirations are raised.

Pupils gained practical skills and opportunities to develop more detailed and complex experiments during university laboratory experiences. Such experiences tended to develop and extend the opportunities for practical learning and skills available in school, given the restrictions of hourly lesson periods and limited resources.

Widening 14-19 choices: support for young people making informed decisions  – (NFER)

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This report brought together key findings from NFER’s recent studies relating to 14– 19 education in order to understand better how young people of this age group are navigating their way through complex choices of qualifications and locations of study.

Key findings from the report:

Schools and their staff were found to be able to make a difference to young people’s choices. When curriculum management, pupil support and school leadership are effective, and staff have high expectations of pupils, schools can ensure that the choices that young people make are well-thought-out and rational, and that the young people remain happy with these choices.

Developing effective relationships between all parties involved in a programme (such as schools, colleges and training providers) and building shared aims and objectives was found to be important in supporting young people’s decision making. Printed and online literature, such as area prospectuses set out a clear picture to young people of what provision is available in their area. It was also important for teachers and others who offer advice to have up-to-date knowledge of relevant careers.

Young people tended to differ in who they sought advice from, and whose advice they valued most. Whilst many young people appreciated the impartial advice that they received from Connexions personal advisors, others valued the support they got from teachers who knew them well.

The research suggested that young people who pursued applied qualifications at Key Stage 4 were more likely to have a preference for practical learning, and to want to learn outside the classroom, than their peers. However, they were also similar to other pupils in the considerations that informed their choices. For example, they had career plans to which the qualification directly contributed or would support, or they wanted to keep their options open.

Young people’s applied choices at 14 did not appear to constrain their choices at 16 to the same applied subject area. While some continue within the same subject area, many others do not.

Young people studying for non-traditional courses tended to drop out more frequently at particular points, such as the beginning and end of terms. Pupils who dropped out from courses were morel likely to have particular characteristics (such as being eligible for free school meals, or being on the Special Educational Needs register), which suggested that those involved in the delivery of programmes could target extra support at pupils with these characteristics to minimise the risk of them dropping out.

Research indicated that attending a college course pre-16 could help young people to make more informed choices at post-16 level. As an example, the majority of young people participating in the first cohort of the Young Apprenticeship Programme felt that their participation had influenced their choice of post-16 destination: in particular by increasing their awareness of opportunities that were available to them after year 11, and helping them to decide which route to take post-16.

Valuable lessons – improving economy and efficiency in schools – (Audit Commission)

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This report by the Audit Commission explored how to improve the economy and efficiency of spending in schools. The research was based on: a literature review of research evidence and recent government policy on value for money in schools; documentary analysis, data collection and semi-structured interviews in a sample of 23 case study schools, in seven council areas; and interviews with 60 individuals (including head teachers, governors and others with responsibilities for finance) in schools and 24 officers in councils. Although not representative, councils were selected to reflect different types of authority in different parts of the country. Case study schools were selected in each council based on a range of Ofsted value for money assessment scores.

Key findings from the report:

The report suggested that the case study schools’ accountability for spending was too weak; and they do not have to report efficiency savings.  

The financial management standard in schools was seen to focus on processes rather than the real achievement of economy and efficiency, while councils also focused on processes and helping schools in difficulty.

While governors could challenge schools to improve economy and efficiency, this challenge was not always strong enough.

Schools’ spending on goods and services increased by 40 percent over eight years to £6.8 billion in 2007/08. 

The report suggested that the great variation between schools’ spending on standard items showed scope for large savings.  The report recommended that schools should subject suppliers of goods and services, including councils’ traded services (services such as catering and school transport that schools can purchase from councils), to competition, and use professional buying organisations to reap economies of scale. 

School balances were said to increase from £680 million in 1999/2000 to more than £1.76 billion in 2007/08.

Around 40 percent of schools were considered to have excessive balances. The report suggested that if all primary schools with excessive balances reduced their balances to 8 per cent of total revenue income, £270 million could be released. Similarly, if all secondary schools with excessive balances reduced them to 5 per cent of total revenue income, it would free up £260 million.

The report identified different ways schools could save money without adversely affecting children’s education. These included using the national schools’ benchmarking tool to identify high costs; improving school development planning to include the costs of the workforce and link financial and performance information; collaboration with other schools to share both teaching and support staff; procure jointly; and share market intelligence.

Young people omnibus 2009  – (Ipsos MORI)

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This annual survey commissioned by the Sutton Trust aims to gather secondary school pupils’ attitudes towards higher education. The 2009 report was based on a survey of 2,477 11 – 16 year olds attending middle and secondary state schools in England and Wales.

Key findings from the survey:

The proportion of pupils who said they were likely to go into higher education was at its highest level since the survey began in 2003. Overall, the majority of young people (77%) said they were likely to go into higher education, which is an increase of five percentage points since 2008.

The proportion of pupils who said they were not likely to go into higher education remained low and unchanged since 2008 (10%).

Although girls continued to be more likely than boys to say they were likely to go into higher education, there had been an increase since 2008 in the proportion of boys who reported they were likely to go into higher education (75% compared with 67%) meaning the gap between boys and girls had narrowed and now stood at just four percentage points (compared with seven points last year).

The most common reasons for young people saying they were unlikely to go into higher education were the same as in 2008, the top reason being they wanted to do something more practical rather than studying from books (36%) followed by the desire to start earning money as soon as possible (34%). However, the proportion of young people who give these reasons had fallen considerably since last year (by 19 percentage points in both cases).

Pupils from black or ethnic minority backgrounds were more likely to say they would go into higher education than those from white backgrounds (83% compared with 76% respectively). This difference was partly due to the particularly high proportion of Asian students (88%) who reported that they were likely to go into higher education, as was found in 2008. Since 2008, the proportion of pupils from black or ethnic minority backgrounds who said they were very likely to go into higher education had increased significantly (58% compared with 46% in 2008), and remained higher than among white pupils (40%), a figure unchanged since 2008.

Around one in five (22%) pupils said they have received private or home tuition, an increase of four percentage points since 2005 (18%). However, the proportion of pupils who had never received private or home tuition had fallen slightly by four percentage points from 82% in 2005 to 78% in 2009. Pupils in London were significantly more likely than average to receive private or home tutoring (43% compared with 22% overall).

As in 2005, the subject that young people were most likely to receive tuition in was maths (77%), followed by English (55%) and science (30%). Since 2005, the proportion of pupils who had had science tuition had decreased by 10 percentage points, and the proportion of young people who had received maths tuition had fallen by six percentage points.

As was the case in 2005, pupils most commonly receive tuition for help with a specific exam (49%), closely followed by receiving help with their school work in general (47%).

Why fathers matter to their children’s literacy – (National Literacy Trust)

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This international review of the literature looked at the impact of fathers’ involvement in their children’s education and children’s outcomes. It focused particularly on the issue of children’s literacy practices.

Key findings from the report:

The report found that the relationship between fathers’ involvement and children’s literacy outcomes was a poorly researched area, and suggested this was because studies which have looked at the importance of families being involved in their children’s literacy, have tended to focus on mother-child Interactions.

However, the report found evidence that fathers’ reading habits could have a substantial influence on their children’s ability to read, their levels of interest and their reading choices.  A recent NLT study for example showed that children and young people indicated that fathers were the second most important person to inspire reading, second only to mothers.

A lack of male role models involved in reading and other literacy-related activities during children’s early years was considered to be one of the possible causes for the underperformance of boys in literacy compared to girls.

Whilst mothers and fathers were generally found to communicate with their children in similar ways to influence their children, there was also evidence to show that mother-child and father-child language interactions showed differences including fathers’ use of more challenging vocabulary such as abstract words.

Youth Engagement – Deliberative Research – (2CV)

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This study examined young people’s and adults’ perceptions of citizenship including citizenship education in schools.  The study was commissioned by the Citizenship Commission and involved 90 young people (age 13 – 25) and 90 adults including parents and teachers of citizenship education in the UK. The research included a series of focus group discussions and workshops. In addition, pupils and teachers from schools in England also recorded in writing their perceptions of Citizenship education prior to the group discussions.

Key findings from the study:

Citizenship was considered both a complex and abstract concept for the majority of adults and young people who took part in the research who tended to consider the term ‘alien’ and somewhat ‘old-fashioned’, and a concept that appeared removed from modern life and common discourse.

However, for those young people in formalised Citizenship education in schools (particularly pupils in England where Citizenship classes were statutory), there was a more well formed understanding of the concept and term. Pupils in English secondary schools also tended to have a clearer understanding of Citizenship being about active involvement in society, including local community, and that formal political engagement was a part of this.

Despite the apparent conceptual understanding of those engaged in Citizenship education, there was less evidence of young people understanding how to translate their learning outside of the classroom and little evidence of Citizenship education being consciously applied outside of lessons.

Teachers and pupils reported a range of teaching approaches within Citizenship lessons that they felt increased the overall engagement with the subject. These included: visiting outside speakers (community leaders, local business owners) who were felt to bring a real world perspective to engaging with the local community or volunteering organisations; opportunities to apply learning in the community (for example, getting involved in community projects outside of school); and more informal ‘debating’ classroom styles (debating politics and current affairs).

On commenting on citizenship education, young people reported that there tended to be a stronger focus on the theory of Citizenship and the role of formal politics over and above the application of Citizenship in the ‘real world’. As a result young people tended to struggle to directly relate what they learnt in Citizenship lessons to their everyday lives. Moreover, positive examples of Citizenship education tended to be cited when the subject had been applied in ‘real’ terms, e.g. more interactive classroom debates or field trips into the community

While there was a strong desire among adults and young people for politics to be taught as an integrated element of Citizenship, deliberation suggested that mandatory politics lessons (separate from Citizenship) would also be a necessary. In these separate politics lessons, there was a desire for young people to learn about issues such as the principles of democracy and differences between political parties, all set within a relevant and current context.

 

Implementation of 14–19 reforms, including the introduction of Diplomas – (Ofsted)

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This was Ofsted’s second report evaluating the progress made in implementing 14–19 reforms. It followed up some of the key strategic issues of the first report, in 2008, and focused particularly on the introduction of the new 14–19 Diplomas. The report was based on visits to 23 14–19 consortia between September 2008 and March 2009. This was out of a total of 146 consortia involved in this first phase of introduction of the Diplomas. The consortia varied in size from those made up of several schools and a local further education college to others that included all the schools and colleges in a local authority. The consortia were in a variety of urban, suburban and rural areas. 

Key findings from the report:

Progress in implementing the full range of 14–19 reforms was at least good in the large majority of the partnerships visited. Collaborative provision had continued to widen the range of options available to all 14–19-year-olds and, increasingly, was meeting the needs of young people whose circumstances made them vulnerable, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

The flexible application of a variety of strategies by 14–19 partnership organisations was successful in reducing the number of young people not in education, employment or training in the large majority of the areas visited.

The overall quality of information, advice and guidance for young people was good in around two thirds of the consortia visited. However, progress in introducing the new National Standards had been relatively slow and, in more than half the areas, the 14–19 web-based prospectuses were not being used effectively as part of a coherent approach to providing advice and guidance for young people.

Progress in introducing the principal subject learning in the Diplomas was good in more than half the consortia visited, and it was satisfactory in all the others. The standard of students’ work in the ‘principal learning’ (largest component) within the Diplomas was at least satisfactory, with many examples that were good.

Pupils in almost all the consortia visited were well motivated by the applied nature of their learning and the opportunity to work in realistic vocational contexts. However, most of them did not fully appreciate the composite nature of the qualification, or how the other elements linked to their principal learning.

Two thirds of the main subject teaching on the Diploma courses was good; much of it benefited from productive collaboration by staff from partner institutions, who were able to plan together and share good practice.

At the time of the survey, almost half the consortia visited had not established an effective, coordinated approach to teaching functional skills and, as a result, the quality of teaching and learning varied considerably.

Recruitment to many Diploma courses, particularly at foundation and advanced levels, was lower than anticipated. Many young people had chosen Diploma subjects along traditional gender lines.

How are digital games used in schools?  – (European Schoolnet)

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This European study investigated teachers’ use of electronic games in schools including the kinds of games they choose and how they integrate electronic games into the curriculum. The project was commissioned by the Interactive Software Federation of Europe and included a review of research, and 528 teachers responding to an online survey. Countries taking part in the study included: the UK, France, Austria, Denmark, The Netherlands, Spain, Lithuania and Italy. 

Key findings from the study:

Of the survey respondents 70 percent rated themselves as “good” or “moderate” in ICT skills, and 23 percent considered themselves to be “expert” users. About half of the respondents said they used ICT most days of the week in the classroom; and another quarter about once a week.

70 percent of respondents said they already used digital games in their classrooms, and of these over 80 percent said that digital games have a place in schools.. A similar percentage of respondents also said they would like to make more use of digital games.

Of those teachers who currently used digital games in the classroom 15 percent described themselves as games experts, compared to 57 percent who had moderate levels of expertise and 30 percent who described themselves as beginners.

29 percent of respondents said they did not use digital games. Of these, 15 percent considered that digital games had no place in schools. Whilst, more than 50 percent said they were interested and would like to use them.

Of those teachers who said they used digital games in their teaching, 40 percent worked in primary schools, 60 percent worked in secondary schools, and 58 percent of teachers who used digital games were women. The most common age category of teachers who reported using digital games was 20-35 years (37 percent), followed by age groups 36-45 (30 percent) and 46-55 (26 percent).

Teachers said they used digital games to motivate their pupils, while contributing to the educational goals in terms of content, skills especially social skills and values. Digital games were also used to reward learning.

Respondents said the qualities of their “ideal” games included the ability to use it in a flexible way, the fact that it contained valid content and information, and was easy to use and understand, and pedagogically well structured.

Language lessons (both mother tongue and foreign languages) were the subjects most often selected for digital games. History, geography and maths were also often mentioned. In addition, games were more often used to develop teamwork and intellectual skills.

The obstacles that teachers encounter in integrating games into the teaching process are varied, and their relative importance depends on the context. Difficulty in matching the game to the syllabus, lack of available computers, the organisation of teaching time, the attitude of the school and parents towards games, and the cost of games and licences were often cited.

Structuring out-of-school time to improve academic achievement  – (What Works Clearninghouse, US)

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This report reviewed the characteristics of effective out-of-school time (OST) education programmes aimed at improving academic achievement. The study was commissioned by the US Department of Education and focused on high quality US intervention studies with measurable outcomes.  The programmes included in the review focused on: after-school, summer and weekend schools, and especially programmes targeting disadvantaged pupils.

Key findings from the review:

There was evidence to suggest that OST programmes would be more effective in improving academic performance if they aligned their academic programmes with the school day. An OST programme coordinator was thought to be beneficial to ensure alignment through regular communication with school staff. Schools could assist with the co-ordination process by designating a school-based coordinator to work with the OST coordinator. This sort of cooperation was considered to be helpful to OST programmes to evaluate their pupils’ needs and provide the best teaching and services.

There was evidence to suggest that effective OST programmes which attracted and retained participants aimed to determine which factors prevented pupils from participating in the programme and then worked with schools and parents to ensure that the programme was addressing those factors. Working with parents was seen as critical to this process because they were usually involved in making decisions   about pupils’ participation in OST programmes. Important factors which affected decisions about joining a programme included its location, transportation, timing, length, and programme content.

OST programmes provided an opportunity to supplement learning from the school day and to provide targeted support to low attaining pupils.

Closely aligning the content and pacing of teaching with pupils’ needs resulted in better pupil performance.  Determining the right level of difficulty and pace and the most appropriate skills to teach was seen as critical to effectively tailoring teaching, but was challenging to implement in practice.

The study suggested that effective OST activities were: interactive, hands on, learner focused, and related to the real world, while remaining grounded in academic learning goals.

Evidence-based writing practices: drawing recommendations from multiple sources (Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, USA) article published in Teaching and learning writing, BJEP Monograph series volume 11, number 6, The British Psychological Society 2009.

http://www.bpsjournals.co.uk/journals/bjep/monographs/bjep-monograph-number-6/bjep-monograph-number-6_home.cfm

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This US study reviewed the evidence from intervention programmes aimed at improving 10 – 18 year old pupils’ writing skills.  All the studies included in the review had a control group where the average performance of a group of pupils taking part in a particular teaching and learning programme was compared to a similar group of pupils not taking part in the programme.

Key findings from the study:

Teaching pupils strategies for planning, revising and editing their writing had a significant positive impact on the quality of their writing.  Writing strategies ranged from processes such as brainstorming which could be applied across different genres to strategies designed for specific genres such as writing a persuasive essay.

Other factors which had positive impacts on pupils’ writing skills though less than the above included:

• setting clear and specific goals for what pupils should accomplish with their writing product;
• teaching pupils how to write more sophisticated sentences such as sentencing combining;
• engaging pupils in pre-writing activities such as generating lists of ideas for writing, gathering possible information for a paper, or the use of graphic organisers e.g. a semantic web which pupils use to list and group major and subordinate ideas for their writing composition.  

2. Resources for education practitioners working in schools and initial teacher education

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New research digests for teachers on the TRIPS site this month include the following:

Differentiating Learning in the Literacy Classroom – (title goes through to the full article)

This Canadian study looked at effective methods of personalising learning and offering choice, to deliver literacy learning to pupils with different levels of ability, leading to all learners working towards a common purpose.

The researchers observed 10 teachers in an initial study, and selected two for in depth analysis because they differentiated effectively in line with methods other studies suggested were effective. The study findings may be of interest to primary teachers trying to support struggling pupils with literacy, such as those from a disadvantaged background, those learning English as an additional language, or those with learning disabilities

Training parents to help their children read – (title goes through to the full article)

This UK study reported on an innovative parent training programme which set out to tackle both children’s behaviour and literacy problems. The literacy aspect included two elements; supporting parents in the ‘pause, prompt, praise’ approach to reading and a whole language approach (responding to the story). The programme combined activities in a learning centre with home support.

Practitioners may be interested in the programme which was successful in increasing children’s reading and writing skills. The improvement in the children’s literacy skills was accompanied by a reduction in behaviour problems. It was also successful in changing the strategies parents used with their children.

The impact of enquiry-based science teaching on students’ attitudes and achievement – (title goes through to the full article)

Enquiry based teaching is often seen as a way of engaging pupils in the learning process through group work and hands-on activities, and by challenging them to support conclusions with evidence and observations.

The researchers in this project introduced small-scale enquiry into teaching science and evaluated the effectiveness of the method in terms of the pupils’ attitudes towards science, their achievement and their perceptions of the learning environment in the classroom. To compare enquiry and non-enquiry teaching, 165 Grade 7 (12-13 year old) students from eight classes participated in the action research project which ran for eight weeks.

This use of small-scale enquiry was linked to positive impact on the learning environment in the classroom and some improvement in students’ achievement in science. Students from enquiry classes explored a wider range of materials during their laboratory experiments and discussed the science concepts in more depth, compared with their peers from non-enquiry classes. The effects of the enquiry-based teaching were different for boys and girls and the digest looks at the differences.

Research Bites

Research Bites are 90-second presentations (ppt) with summaries of key research for practitioners to share among colleagues and at staff meetings. They focus on practical classroom issues.  Topics include supporting classroom talk, teaching and learning in maths, pupil voice.

You can access the bank of research bites here

3. Places to find research

Websites and databases to look for research – including digests for practitioners.

The following websites provide summaries of research written specifically for stakeholder groups:

The Research Informed Practice Site  – www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/research

Sponsored by the DCSF, this site provides a searchable database of summaries of research written for practitioners. The digests cover a wide range of topics including: mathematics, English, behaviour, inclusion and thinking skills.  The site offers a range of facilities including the ability to send digests to a friend option.

Research for Teachers http://www.gtce.org.uk/teachers/rft/

Formerly known as Research Of the Month, these articles are summaries of full length research studies written specifically for school staff. They include case study examples of how the research works in practice and a list of where to find out more information. RfT is sponsored by the General Teaching Council for England.

Teaching Training Resource Bank –  www.ttrb.ac.uk 

The TTRB acts as a portal for a wide range of research on topics of relevance to teacher educators, practitioners and student teachers.  All materials on the site are quality assured through a process of academic scrutiny and monitoring is undertaken by a team of teacher educators from across the UK. TTRB also provides a free e-librarian service for teacher educators, practitioners and field staff who are looking for specific education research.  TTRB also provides specific advice on research on behaviour, diversity and Special Educational Needs through its specialist networks with Higher Education Institutes. More about these networks can be found on the main site.

National Teacher Research Panel – www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/ntrp

The National Teacher Research Panel website provides resources for practitioners interested in undertaking research in their own schools and class rooms.  These include summaries of practitioner research and guidelines for using research as part of CPD activities.

Eurydice - www.eurydice.org

Eurydice is the information network on education in Europe.  The Network provides comparable information on education systems and policies throughout Europe.

National Centre for the Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics - www.ncetm.org.uk

The National Centre for the Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics is funded by the DCSF and provides a range of resources and research evidence to support teaching and learning in mathematics.

Educational evidence portal (EEP) – www.eep.ac.uk

The Educational Evidence Portal (www.eep.ac.uk) brings together research and evidence for educational professionals in one place. Documents from leading education organisations have been collated in one, easily accessible, searchable site, making information and evidence on a wide and ever-growing range of topics freely available. As well as education, the site is developing to include relevant aspects of children’s services research too.

Practical Research for Education (PRE) – www.preonline.co.uk

PRE Online provides research articles written with school staff in mind and focuses on practical applications from research.  It is a priced publication but each issue includes a free article to download. The free article focuses on pupils’ attitudes towards reading in Years 4 and 6.