1,721,007 research outputs found
The impact of the March 2020 Covid lockdown on parent-child relationships
No full textThe Covid pandemic had a profound impact on both family and school life, including the closure of educational settings and the transfer of children's education to a home setting ('home schooling'). This presentation formed part of a symposium at the BERA conference 2022 and shared the findings from a survey (n=3657) and interviews (n=11) of English participants conducted in summer 2020. The survey found a slim majority of parents felt that home schooling affected their parent-child relationship with reports of both increased tension and increased closeness. The interviews were analysed using Foucauldian Discourse Analysis to present three profiles: 'the interested parent'; 'the exasperated home worker'; and 'dealing with dualities'. Implications for parent-child relations were then considered
Using mixed methods to evaluate a mastery approach to teaching mathematics: considerations of quality and equity with regard to individual learning needs
No full textWe present results from a mixed-method evaluation of a mastery-oriented, Singapore-based mathematics textbook series and teaching approach in Year 1 classrooms in England (Hall, Lindorff, & Sammons, 2016), reanalysed with a focus on individual learning needs -- not a predefined focus, but one that emerged during fieldwork/analysis. The present objectives are: 1.To illustrate the potential of mixed methods to investigate of emergent findings beyond a priori aims; 2.To explore substantive findings regarding equity and quality of teaching/learning with a mastery orientation for diverse learning needs. This study was framed by Bloom’s mastery learning theory combined with a teacher effectiveness perspective. We used a mixed methods Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial (mmCRCT) design with a delayed treatment group. Data sources included pupil assessments and attitude questionnaires, lesson observations, and teacher interviews (all conducted in the first, second and third terms of 2015-16). Findings suggest implications for policy and practice based on a reconceptualization of “ability” and differentiation for mastery-oriented teaching and learning. Further, the study illustrates how mixed methods evaluation can facilitate understandings of educational interventions’ effects and implementation processes relevant to equity and quality issues, extending to emergent findings beyond predetermined aims. Hall, J., Lindorff, A., & Sammons, P. (2016). Evaluation of the Impact and Implementation of Inspire Maths in Year 1 Classrooms in England. Oxford: University of Oxford. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.23042.0736
Evaluation of Inspire Maths: an illustration of a mixed methods RCT in educational research
No full textEvaluation of the impact and implementation of Inspire Maths in year 1 classrooms in England
No full textInvestigating a Singapore-based mathematics textbook and teaching approach in classrooms in England
No full textThe high mathematics performance of pupils in Singapore on international assessments has prompted educational initiatives in other countries – such as the UK and the USA – to adopt Singapore-based approaches in an attempt to raise mathematics achievement. Empirical evidence to support the transferability of such approaches beyond the Singaporean context, however, is limited. This article reports findings from a mixed methods Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial (mmCRCT) evaluating the use of a primary mathematics textbook series and teaching approach in England based on a textbook and teaching approach from Singapore. Main features of the intervention included textbook use, mixed-ability groups, use of manipulatives, and emphasis on mastery (i.e. ensuring all pupils grasp core concepts before proceeding to new topics). A delayed treatment experimental design was used within the mmCRCT, with 12 schools randomly allocated into two groups. The experimental group used the textbooks and teaching approach from September 2015. The delayed treatment control group proceeded with “business as usual” until January 2016, then started using the textbooks and teaching approach. Data were collected (in the first, second and third terms of one school year) on pupils’ mathematics knowledge and skills, pupils’ attitudes towards mathematics, classroom practice (based on structured observation schedules and qualitative field notes), teacher perspectives (from semi-structured interviews), and intervention-specific professional development (in July 2015 for the experimental group, December 2015 for the delayed treatment control group, observed by researchers and followed by focus-group interviews). Results showed a small but significant positive effect by Term 3 of using the mastery-oriented materials and approach from September on pupils’ subsequent mathematics knowledge and skills, but no persistent difference between groups across terms on their attitudes. Differences in classroom practice between the two groups were observed in the first term but insignificant by the third term. Qualitative findings elaborate on and illustrate these first-term differences, teachers’ perspectives on their practice, variations in textbook use and teaching approach implementation, and considerations of fidelity to intervention. Implications are drawn for policy and practice in mathematics teaching and for research using mixed methods experimental designs to evaluate a combination of processes, perspectives and outcomes
Children’s transition to school: Relationships between preschool attendance, cortisol patterns, and effortful control
Full text linkThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from CUP via the DOI in this record.Aims: To determine whether distinct trends can exist in children’s diurnal cortisol slopes as they transition to school, and the extent to which these trends relate to preschool attendance and/or exerted effortful control. Method: A secondary analysis of the anonymized data gathered for the UK Transition to School Study was carried out. 105 children were studied over a twelve-month period during transition to school at mean age 55 months. Children’s diurnal cortisol slopes were measured as the difference between average Salivary Cortisol Concentrations (SCC) sampled at waking and early evening over two days at each of three measurement time points: 4 months before, 2 weeks after, and 6 months after school entry. Children’s effortful control was measured at 2 weeks after school entry using the parent-administered Child Behavior Questionnaire. Parental questionnaires recorded the duration children spent in preschool (months; days p/w; hours p/w), and four background characteristics: child gender, parental co-habitation, responding parent’s age, and responding parent’s level of education. Findings: Latent Class Growth Analysis suggested two distinct trends in diurnal cortisol slopes during children’s transition to school: Thirty-nine percent of children demonstrated flatter diurnal cortisol slopes. These children were likely to have spent fewer hours per week in preschool, and were likely to exert less effortful control two weeks after transitioning to school. These associations underscore the importance of continuity in children’s daily routines as they transition to school. Implications are discussed concerning school readiness and the effectiveness of early interventions
Negative capital: a generalised definition and application to educational effectiveness and equity
Full text linkThe concept of capital has risen in prominence within educational policy and practice in the UK since Ofsted introduced cultural capital into its inspection processes in 2019. At the same time, fractured discourses exist across different types of capital - one of which concerns capitals that are negative in constitution and/or impact. This paper addresses both through: • A systematic literature review of these negativities (in social, economic, and intellectual capital) and a thematic analysis of these papers, leading to the derivation of a definition of negative capital.• An evaluation of the merit of negative capital via its compatibility with Bourdieu’s concepts of social field, social field homology, habitus, and hysteresis.• The application of negative capital to a range of examples from educational practice and theory, including a challenge to Ofsted’s use of cultural capital
How can we best evaluate interventions that target? Why our use of the hypothesis of Moderation is inadequate and an introduction to a more appropriate alternative
No full textPurpose: first, to outline how our evaluation of targeting interventions is undermined by the lack of an appropriate descriptive hypothesis. Second, to describe and demonstrate how a newly developed hypothesis is appropriate for evaluating targeting interventions. Background: interventions that target are common in educational psychology. Examples include Nurture Groups and the various targeted interventions that are implemented for students with SEN. We also know how important it is for these interventions to be evidence-based and great emphasis is put on the evidence from formal evaluations. However, our current evaluation methods lack an adequate framework that describes the targeting that takes place in a targeted intervention.Methods: this paper first outlines why our current evaluation methods lack this adequate framework. This problem is an unintended side effect of evaluation methods frequently employing hypotheses of Moderation. Therefore, a replacement for Moderation is presented, termed ‘Airbag Moderation’, which allows evaluations to capture both parts of a targeting intervention. A demonstration follows that uses data from a national evaluation of 117 Sure Start Children’s Centres and 2608 families with preschoolers. First, the more socially disadvantaged a family, the greater their use of a Children’s Centre (effective targeting). Second, the greater the use of a Children's Centre, the less that social disadvantage was associated with internalising behaviours shown by preschoolers (effective intervention). Conclusions: moderation hypotheses are inadequate for evaluating interventions that target as they fail to describe targeting. Airbag Moderation is an alternative that does. Therefore, the uptake of Airbag Moderation is encouraged by educational psychologists, evaluators, and policy makers
Introduction
No full textThis book is about teachers, schools, school networks, and educational systems, how they influence the academic and socio-emotional outcomes of students, and the extent to which these impacts are equitable across different groups of students. The book presents a global perspective on this topic from leading academics working in the field of Educational Effectiveness Research (EER) - the field of science that studies variation, quality and equity in education across schools, teachers, networks and systems, attending not only to “what works” but also how, for whom, when, and why. It takes an explicitly international perspective reflecting the growth of EER over the last half century and recognising the increased impacts of globalisation in education policy and practice.</p
International perspectives in educational effectiveness research: a historical overview
Full text linkThis chapter provides a concise narrative overview of the development of international perspectives in Educational Effectiveness Research (EER), contextualised within shifts towards globalisation in education policy including the increased prominence of international large-scale educational assessments (ILSA) in shaping international policy discourse. We take into consideration the broad range of ways in which international perspectives have manifested within the EER field, ranging from published international comparative studies, diverse single-country studies, reviews and meta-analyses, to the “softer” but nonetheless influential intellectual interchange facilitated by the formation of an international community of researchers, policymakers and practitioners.We begin by reflecting on the earliest research in the field, which took place in a limited number of countries, but – we suggest – facilitated the emergence of a nascent international dialogue. The subsequent formation of international organisations – particularly the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI) – bringing together EER researchers, practitioners and policymakers, has given this dialogue a more concrete forum over the last 30 years. We document how the search for the “big picture” of educational effectiveness on an international scale has informed a more sophisticated and nuanced set of international perspectives in EER, via increasingly diverse single-country studies, reviews, meta-analyses, international comparative studies, and the development and empirical testing of EER theories. We note recent trends towards a combination of increased internationalisation, increased synergy with and reciprocal influence upon ILSA, and increased methodological diversity in EER. Finally, we offer some concluding reflections and recommendations for future investigations and further development of the field
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