Showing papers in "British Educational Research Journal in 2008"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the lived experience of practising academics as part of an inquiry into the vexed question of "academic identities" and find that participants in all roles were able to maintain highly distinctive, strongly framed academic identities.
Abstract: This article focuses on the lived experience of practising academics as part of an inquiry into the vexed question of ‘academic identities’. Identity is understood not as a fixed property, but as part of the lived complexity of a person's project. The article reports on data from a small study in one university. The data suggest that academic identity is complex and that, moreover, it cannot be read off from descriptions of teaching, research, or management roles. Respondents in all roles were able to maintain highly distinctive, strongly framed academic identities. Experiences of class, gender and the significance of family are reported as having continued salience in respondents' lives. Moreover, despite all the pressure of performativity, individuals created spaces for the exercise of principled personal autonomy and agency. The article concludes that paying detailed attention to how changes are being experienced is an important element in theorising trends in the sector.
487 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the concept of relational equity is proposed to describe equitable relations in classrooms; relations that include students treating each other with respect and responsibility, and the results of a four-year study of different mathematics teaching approaches, conducted in three Californian high schools.
Abstract: Equity is a concept that is often measured in terms of test scores, with educators looking for equal test scores among students of different cultural groups, social classes or sexes. In this article the term ‘relational equity’ is proposed to describe equitable relations in classrooms; relations that include students treating each other with respect and responsibility. This concept will be illustrated through the results of a four‐year study of different mathematics teaching approaches, conducted in three Californian high schools. In one of the schools—a diverse, urban high school—students achieved at higher levels, learned good behaviour, and learned to respect students from different cultural groups, social classes, ability levels and sexes. In addition, differences in attainment between different cultural groups were eliminated in some cases and reduced in all others. Importantly, the goals of high achievement and equity were achieved in tandem through a mixed‐ability mathematics approach that is not u...
368 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored the relationship between ontological assumptions and studies of educational dialogue through a focus on Bakhtin's "dialogic" and found that Vygotsky's theory of education is dialectic, not dialogic, due to the implicit assumption that meaning is ultimately grounded on identity rather than upon difference.
Abstract: This article explores the relationship between ontological assumptions and studies of educational dialogue through a focus on Bakhtin's ‘dialogic’. The term dialogic is frequently appropriated to a modernist framework of assumptions, in particular the neo‐Vygotskian or sociocultural tradition. However, Vygotsky's theory of education is dialectic, not dialogic. From a dialogic perspective the difference between voices in dialogue is constitutive of meaning in such a way that it makes no sense to imagine ‘overcoming’ this difference. By contrast, due to the implicit assumption that meaning is ultimately grounded on identity rather than upon difference, the dialectic perspective applied by Vygotsky interprets differences as ‘contradictions’ that need to be overcome or transcended. A case study of research on exploratory talk is used to illustrate the potential for a fruitful relationship between ‘high level’ theory and research that is relevant to classroom practice.
243 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined quantitative data to test the hypothesis that male teachers produce more positive attitudes amongst boys and female teachers amongst girls using data from the Performance Indicators in Primary Schools (PIPS) Project.
Abstract: A number of countries are running role model recruitment drives under the assumption that like is good for like: ethnic minority teachers should teach ethnic minority children, women should teach girls, and so on. The empirical basis for this would appear to be case study and personal reflection. This article will examine quantitative data to test the hypothesis that male teachers produce more positive attitudes amongst boys and female teachers amongst girls. Using data from the Performance Indicators in Primary Schools (PIPS) Project, information from 413 separate classes for 11 year-olds (in England) was examined. One hundred and thirteen were taught by males and 300 by females. All the pupils completed questionnaires that were designed to measure attitude to school, reading, mathematics and science. In addition, background data on those pupils were collected, including cognitive measures, attainment scores, ability measures and home background measures. The data were examined to look at attitudes using multilevel models controlling for background factors. The analysis concentrated on interaction effects between the gender of the teacher and the gender of the pupil and the results gave little support for those who advocate recruitment drives with role models in mind.
233 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse the available empirical evidence in English, and show instead that the data support approaches based on systematic tuition in phonics, and also evidence that contextualised systematic phonics instruction is effective.
Abstract: A review of the teaching of early reading in England commissioned by the UK Government recommended that synthetic phonics should be the preferred approach for young English learners. In response, all English schools have been told to put in place a discrete synthetic phonics programme as the key means for teaching high-quality phonic work. In this paper we analyse the evidence presented by the review to support the change to synthetic phonics. We show that the review provided no reliable empirical evidence that synthetic phonics offers the vast majority of beginners the best route to becoming skilled readers. We analyse the available empirical evidence in English, and show instead that the data support approaches based on systematic tuition in phonics. There is also evidence that contextualised systematic phonics instruction is effective. However, more research is needed, particularly with typically developing readers, in order to determine whether contextualised systematic phonics is more effective than discrete systematic phonics.
146 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the complex interplay of power between performativity and creativity in British and Australian education and propose a "rebalancing" where pedagogy transforms from a site of struggle for control, to one where a higher trust is placed in teacher professionalism.
Abstract: This article explores the complex interplay of power between performativity and creativity agendas—a mutual tension that resides in British and Australian education. Accountability constraints and conflicting policy debates are problematised against the wider imperatives of similar government agendas. This ‘counterpoint’ of freedom and control has significant implications for pedagogy and, through accommodating performativity, teacher agency and professionalism are under threat. The authors propose a ‘rebalancing’ where pedagogy transforms from a site of struggle for control, to one where a higher trust is placed in teacher professionalism. The idea of ‘rebalancing pedagogy’ offers a way for teachers to navigate and be supported through the opposing demands of performativity and creativity. It acknowledges the importance of teacher agency and where teaching is judged against the characteristics of a systemic approach that facilitates the building of creative learning communities capable of supporting any ...
144 citations
TL;DR: This paper found that students with a mastery goal were more likely to look forward to the course and this also contributed to positive course evaluations, but the effect was small, while grades and course difficulty did have a small influence on end-of-semester course ratings.
Abstract: There has been considerable debate as to whether course evaluations are valid measures of teaching quality, or whether students instead reward tutors who give them high grades and assign low levels of work. To assess the factors that influence course evaluations, we measured university students' achievement goals and expectations at the beginning of the semester and also obtained information on grades and workload. Although grades and course difficulty did have a small influence on end-of-semester course ratings, structural modelling revealed that ratings were largely determined by how much students enjoyed or felt stimulated by the course content, which in turn depended on the perceived quality of teaching. Students with a mastery goal were more likely to look forward to the course, and this also contributed to positive course evaluations, but the effect was small. Overall, the results suggested that by far the largest determinant of student evaluation of courses is the quality of the teaching.
132 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of an extension of physical education and motor training on motor skills, attention and cognition during a period of three years were studied in Swedish primary and secondary schools.
Abstract: The aim was to study effects of an extension of physical education and motor training on motor skills, attention and cognition during a period of three years. The study has two intervention groups (n = 152) that have physical activity and motor training one lesson every school day and one control group (n = 99) that has the school's ordinary physical education two lessons per week. The method is hypothetic‐deductive. The results confirm the hypothesis that children's motor skills improve with extended physical activity and motor training. The hypothesis that children's attention will improve cannot be confirmed. Although pupils in intervention groups have better attention in school year 2 than pupils in the control group, the differences do not remain in school year 3. The third hypothesis concerning academic achievements is confirmed by several results in Swedish and mathematics. The MUGI observation programme was found to be useful both as a screening and as a pedagogic instrument.
123 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the usefulness of a hierarchical model for the evaluation of CPD for teachers was examined, with participant satisfaction being the most commonly evaluated outcome while participants' use of new skills and student outcomes were the least likely to be evaluated, together with value for money according to teachers.
Abstract: Continuing professional development (CPD) is increasingly becoming recognised as important for all professionals in order to maintain and develop their competence. Many professions, especially in the health field, require evidence of CPD in order for professionals to be granted continuing registration as practitioners. Given its accreditation as well as developmental uses, it is important that CPD is evaluated. The present study examines the usefulness of a hierarchical model for the evaluation of CPD for teachers. The data were derived from a sample of 223 CPD coordinators and 416 teachers from a randomly selected sample of 1000 schools in England. Questionnaire data were analysed using Rasch modelling. The results suggest a reasonable fit with the model, with participant satisfaction being the most commonly evaluated outcome while participants' use of new skills and student outcomes were the least likely to be evaluated, together with value for money according to teachers only. The implications for teachers' CPD are discussed.
122 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors mapped changes in primary teachers' identity, commitment, and perspectives and subjective experiences of occupational career in the context of performative primary school cultures and found that teachers who had an initial vocational commitment and strong service ethic were the older teachers.
Abstract: The research reported here maps changes in primary teachers' identity, commitment and perspectives and subjective experiences of occupational career in the context of performative primary school cultures. The research aimed to provide in‐depth knowledge of performative school culture and teachers' subjective experiences in their work of teaching. Themes in the data reveal changed commitments and professional identities. The teachers who had an initial vocational commitment and strong service ethic were the older teachers in the sample. While some of the younger teachers expressed vocationalism in the form of wanting ‘to make a difference’, they also stressed the importance of time compatibility for family‐friendly work and child care. In the ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ of school life a number of factors supported some of the teachers' initial commitments, thus, providing ‘satisfiers’ in their work. However, some factors impacted negatively on teacher commitment. The psychic rewards of teaching provided the main ba...
121 citations
TL;DR: The ACES model as discussed by the authors is defined by 10 characteristics, detailed in this article, which can orientate a diagnosis of the level of curriculum greening and the design and application of the strategies and actions in order to facilitate incorporating the sustainability dimension in higher education.
Abstract: A decisive factor for achieving a culture of sustainability is university training for future professionals. The aim of this article is to bring new elements to the process of reorienting university studies towards sustainability. Presented here is the ACES model (Curriculum Greening of Higher Education, acronym in Spanish), which is the result of a project involving a network of 11 European and Latin American universities. The methodology of the project is based on participatory action research. The ACES model is defined by 10 characteristics, detailed in this article, which can orientate a diagnosis of the level of curriculum greening and the design and application of the strategies and actions in order to facilitate incorporating the sustainability dimension in higher education. The potentialities and limitations found are also discussed. The ACES model has started a process for reorienting higher education studies towards sustainability.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that creativity is not garnish to the roast of industry or of education, but a powerful economic driver, not simply the province of the arts and the hobbyist.
Abstract: This article sets out reasons for arguing that creativity is not garnish to the roast of industry or of education—i.e. the reasoning behind Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi's insistence that creativity is not only about elites but involves everyone. This article investigates three key domains—scholarship, commerce and learning—to argue the importance of moving creativity from the margins of formal education to its centre. First, the article elaborates the scholarly work being done to bring definitional clarity to the concept of creativity, moving it from the realm of mystery, serendipity and individual genius to a definitional field that is more amenable to analysis. It then provides evidence about the extent to which creative capacity is being understood to be a powerful economic driver, not simply the province of the arts and the hobbyist. Finally, it examines new learning theory and its implications for formal education, noting both the possibilities and pitfalls in preparing young people for creative workforc...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify the nature and influence of school-based factors in the choices of young people about their post-16 education, training and career pathways, and identify implications for the development of careers education and guidance and decision-making awareness amongst pupils and students in schools.
Abstract: The primary aim of this study, funded by the Department for Education and Skills, was to identify the nature and influence of school‐based factors in the choices of young people about their post‐16 education, training and career pathways The study also contributes to the wider understanding of ‘choice’, and identifies implications for the development of careers education and guidance and decision‐making awareness amongst pupils and students in schools It also further enhances the modelling of pupil decision making in education and training markets, and in labour markets The research is based on a series of qualitative interviews in 24 schools across nine local education authorities Focus groups were undertaken with young people in years 10, 11 and 12 Interviews were also conducted with head teachers, heads of year and heads of careers A postal survey of parents was also undertaken Four key school‐based factors were found to have a very strong influence in the choices and decisions of young people a
TL;DR: In the last 20 years, creativity in education has been recognized as increasingly significant by policy makers as mentioned in this paper, from early years through to higher education (e.g., QCA, 2005, 2008 in En...
Abstract: Creativity in education has been recognized as increasingly significant by policy makers in the last 20 years. These policies, from early years through to higher education (eg QCA, 2005, 2008 in En...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate how the expectations of a knowledge economy relating to the body and health enter the school system through two forms of P/policy: (1) formal, state-sanctioned, usually legislated education Policy; (2) informal, mainly medical and health institution-based, state 'approved' but non-legisla...
Abstract: Schools within a ‘knowledge economy’ nurture and endorse particular ‘corporeal orientations’, that is to say, ascribe value, meaning and potential to ‘the body’ (particular bodies) in time, place and space. Such processes reflect wider (national and global) socio‐economic trends. In contemporary culture, these processes increasingly celebrate particular virtues—‘flexible identities’, the manifest aspects of ‘performance’ and ‘corporeal perfection’ (usually defined as ‘the slender ideal’). Calling on the voices of a number of young women (aged 11–18) the article illustrates how these processes can intersect to seriously damage some people's health, perhaps especially those of young women and girls. The analyses suggest that the expectations of a ‘knowledge economy’ relating to the body and health enter the school system through two forms of P/policy: ‘formal’, state‐sanctioned, usually legislated education Policy; and ‘informal’, mainly medical and health institution‐based, state ‘approved’ but non‐legisla...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an outline of guided interaction and this is used as a case for illustrating these principles in the context of young children, technology and adults in pre-school settings.
Abstract: Researchers who use video to record interactions usually need to translate the video data into another medium at some stage in order to facilitate its analysis and dissemination. This article considers some methodological issues that arise in this process by examining transcripts, diagrams and pictures as examples of different techniques for representing interaction. These examples are used to identify some general principles for the representation of data where video is the source material. The article presents an outline of guided interaction and this is used as a case for illustrating these principles in the context of young children, technology and adults in pre‐school settings. Although the article focuses on a specific study and solution, the principles are applicable in all cases where video is used as a source of data for the representation of interaction, whether or not it is technologically mediated.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the circumstances affecting creative teaching and learning within the specific context of English further education (FE), a sector which has proved to be particularly fertile ground for performativity.
Abstract: This article examines the circumstances affecting creative teaching and learning within the specific context of English further education (FE)—a sector which has proved to be particularly fertile ground for performativity. Beginning with an analysis of notions of creativity in education and a description of the peculiar history and policy context of FE, the article problematises the relationship between representations of creativity and the current situation of teachers and learners. Drawing on a range of empirical studies and policy analyses, it is argued that FE is increasingly positioned at the ‘lower end’ of a largely class‐based division of post‐compulsory education in England. In such a division, the authors argue, meaningful creativity is difficult to achieve. Within the performative context of FE, attempts to interpret official discourse on creativity may only serve to reproduce and exacerbate existing inequalities in education.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present evidence from a one-year study of absence in seven local authorities in England, funded by the Department for Education and Skills, and explore some issues from existing literature on pupil nonattendance, and present evidence to show the impact that absence from school has on other pupils and teachers.
Abstract: There is widespread interest in the impact of unauthorised absence on pupil attainment, links with disaffection, exclusion from school and criminality. However, little is heard about what those who take unauthorised absence from school think that the effect has been on them; nor do we hear the voices of other pupils and their teachers. This article presents evidence from a one‐year study of absence in seven local authorities in England funded by the Department for Education and Skills. It defines ‘truancy’, explores some issues from existing literature on pupil non‐attendance, and presents evidence to show the impact that absence from school has on truants, other pupils and teachers. Finally, it suggests that although the greatest impact is on the academic and socio‐psychological development of persistent absentees, the attitudes and learning of other pupils and the workload and morale of teachers are also affected.
TL;DR: This article explored whether different balances of fiction/non-fiction reading and challenge might help explain differences in reading achievement between genders, data on 45,670 pupils who independently read over 3 million books were analysed.
Abstract: To explore whether different balances of fiction/non‐fiction reading and challenge might help explain differences in reading achievement between genders, data on 45,670 pupils who independently read over 3 million books were analysed. Moderate (rather than high or low) levels of challenge were positively associated with achievement gain, but non‐fiction read was generally more challenging than fiction. Non‐fiction reading was negatively correlated with successful comprehension and reading achievement gain. Overall, boys appeared to read less than girls, and proportionately more non‐fiction, but this less carefully—especially in the higher grades—and had lower reading achievement. Differences between classrooms in promoting successful comprehension of non‐fiction were evident, suggesting intervention could improve achievement. Implications for research and practice are explored.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors presented the results of an evaluation study in physical education (PE) in which 23 schools, 49 classes and 1142 year 4 Cypriot students participated.
Abstract: This article presents the results of an evaluation study in Physical Education (PE) in which 23 schools, 49 classes and 1142 year 4 Cypriot students participated. This study attempted to identify the extent to which a theoretical framework of educational effectiveness research based on Creemers' model can be developed. The relationship between generic and differentiated effectiveness was also examined. Most of the variables in Creemers' model showed the expected effects, irrespective of the criterion used to measure effectiveness in PE. The great majority of teachers were found to be equally effective in achieving different aims of PE. There was some variability in the effectiveness status of most teachers who were expected to teach PE in classrooms of different schools. Implications of findings for the development of generic and differentiated models of educational effectiveness are drawn.
TL;DR: This article argued that there is a pressing need in the UK to build educational research capacity at system level and to do so collaboratively, arguing that the increasing concentration of research resources, the dangers of increasing separation of research and initial teacher education, and the complexity of the links between research, policy and practice.
Abstract: This presidential address argues that there is a pressing need in the UK to build educational research capacity at system level and to do so collaboratively. It advances three main arguments for doing so. These are (i) the increasing concentration of research resources; (ii) the dangers of increasing separation of research and initial teacher education; and (iii) the complexity of the links between research, policy and practice. Drawing on evidence about research quality and on demographic trends of academic staff in education departments, it illustrates one approach to collaborative capacity building in Scotland, the Applied Educational Research Scheme. It concludes by drawing attention to the nascent Strategic Forum for Research in Education as an important forum for monitoring the health of educational research. †. Presidential address at BERA Annual Conference, 5–8 September 2007, University of London, London.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify four ways of understanding learning to teach: cascading expertise, enabling students' individual growth as a teacher, developing student teaching, and student as teacher and learner.
Abstract: This study aims to provide some clarity about how learning to teach is understood by university teacher educators, mentors and students. Initial teacher education (ITE) in England is subject to central government legislation but without prescription for local implementation. Semi‐structured interview data was collected from key partners in a local university–schools partnership working within this central framework. Four ways of understanding learning to teach were identified, labelled: Cascading Expertise; Enabling Students' Individual Growth as a Teacher; Developing Student Teaching; and Student as Teacher and Learner. Each is characterised by an internal relationship between how teaching, student learning and partnership are understood, and relate across the groups, and not between the groups of the key partners. Each of these ways of understanding is discussed in relation to teaching, student learning and partnership development within a centrally imposed model. The possibility of a hierarchical relat...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored six arguments commonly used to critique the relevance of ICT for development, encompassing technical, cost, philosophical, cultural and pedagogic issues.
Abstract: Many commentators have suggested that the use of new information and communications technologies (ICTs) has significant potential in providing access to, and improving the quality of, teacher education. Such an idea is particularly relevant for the Global South, it is argued, where tens of thousands more qualified teachers are required if universal primary education (UPE) is to be achieved. This article explores six arguments commonly used to critique the relevance of ICT for development, encompassing technical, cost, philosophical, cultural and pedagogic issues. The arguments are categorised as the ‘technological’ view; the ‘donor’ view; the ‘anthropological’ view; the ‘standard’ view; the ‘individual’ view; and the ‘transmissional’ view. Drawing on empirical research into ICT and teacher education in sub‐Saharan Africa, including the work of the Digital Education Enhancement Project, six responses are used to review these arguments (‘developmental’, ‘democratic’, ‘cultural’, ‘deep’, ‘community’ and ‘ped...
TL;DR: This paper investigated the cognitive strategies used when marking GCSEs and interpreted them within the context of psychological theories of human judgement, using a semi-structured interview schedule, the examiners were then questioned retrospectively.
Abstract: The process of examination marking is complex, requiring examiners to engage in a variety of cognitive operations. While consideration has been given to marking practices in a few specific contexts, those of General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examiners have yet to receive serious attention. This study's aims, therefore, were: first, to investigate the cognitive strategies used when marking GCSEs; and second, to interpret them within the context of psychological theories of human judgement. Two contrasting GCSE examination papers were considered: Mathematics used a ‘points‐based’ marking scheme, while Business Studies relied on a ‘levels‐based’ scheme. Small groups of experienced examiners marked script samples, and using a concurrent ‘think aloud’ method, verbal protocols were obtained. Using a semi‐structured interview schedule, the examiners were then questioned retrospectively. Qualitative data analysis supported a model of five distinct cognitive marking strategies, which can be interpr...
TL;DR: In this article, the impact of young people's low levels of educational attainment on their later life chances, especially on labour market participation, has been investigated using data from a nationally representative survey of Scottish school leavers.
Abstract: A common concern among policy makers in Europe is the low level of qualifications of some school leavers and the possible consequences of this for their life chances and for countries' economic prosperity. This article considers the impact of young people's low levels of educational attainment on their later life chances, especially on labour market participation. It identifies the long‐term negative effects of low attainment and explores the extent to which family background also continues to influence young people's outcomes. It examines the outcomes of low attainment among young men and women and considers whether low attainment has a different impact on the prospects of young men and women. The article also investigates whether staying on at school improves longer‐term chances and opportunities for low attainers. These questions have strong policy relevance, and are explored using data from a nationally representative survey of Scottish school leavers.
TL;DR: The authors explore the views of a generality of pupils and suggest the need to challenge many of the most powerful assumptions about issues of exclusion, nonattendance and disruption in schools but also give grounds for new hope.
Abstract: Indiscipline in schools in the UK continues to be the subject of fierce debate. The views of young people as pupils in these schools continue to be marginalised despite their centrality to this debate and their ability to offer a unique set of perspectives. An exploration of the views of a generality of pupils suggests the need to challenge many of the most powerful assumptions about issues of exclusion, non‐attendance and disruption in schools but, significantly, also gives grounds for new hope.
TL;DR: In this article, teachers of design and technology (D&T) at secondary level (11-16 years) describe how they struggled to implement both strategies, but the pressure to be seen to be performing and getting favourable positions in school league tables and Ofsted inspections, all of which are used to measure or judge the value or worth of a school or individual teacher.
Abstract: Education reform in England has seen many policies and initiatives introduced by central government. This article discusses two such policies, performativity and creativity. Performativity has been central to the government's agenda of raising standards and includes monitoring mechanisms such as Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) inspections, performance management and school league tables, all of which are used to measure or judge the value or worth of a school or individual teacher. At the same time as policies on performativity have been implemented, policy makers have introduced a number of policies to encourage creativity in education. This article foregrounds teachers of design and technology (D&T) at secondary level (11–16 years), describing how they struggled to implement both strategies. Teachers valued creativity and thought it was an important part of the subject, but the pressure to be seen to be performing and getting favourable positions in school league tables and Ofsted inspections...
TL;DR: Furlong and Oancea's influential framework for assessing the products of applied and practice-based educational inquiry raises some important issues about the criteria by which research should be judged as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Furlong and Oancea's influential framework for assessing the products of applied and practice‐based educational inquiry raises some important issues about the criteria by which research should be judged. They begin by outlining the current significance of the issue, and some of the uncertainties surrounding the definition of applied and practice‐based inquiry. They then present four sets of criteria by which such research can be assessed, covering, in shorthand terms, epistemic, technical, practical and economic dimensions. The issue of assessment criteria has recently been highlighted by public criticism of the quality of educational research, by attempts to incorporate qualitative work into systematic reviews, as well as by the continuing disputes generated by major methodological divisions among qualitative researchers. In this article, several aspects of the framework offered by Furlong and Oancea are examined. To start with, there is a discussion of the mode of argument they employ, and of how they d...
TL;DR: In this paper, a case study of four women, two nursery nurses and two teaching assistants, from an infants school in a suburb of Bristol, was conducted to examine their changing roles, responsibilities and professional identities.
Abstract: This article explores some of the issues around the agenda for workforce reform as it applies to professionals who work in early years classrooms (4–7 year olds), who work alongside class teachers in supporting learning. Their changing roles, responsibilities and professional identities are examined through a small scale case study of four women, two nursery nurses and two teaching assistants, from an infants school in a suburb of Bristol. Their close professional and personal relationships with the six female class teachers with whom thery work are considered. Their stories are analysed for their significance as women whose levels of skill and dedication are undervalued in terms of career structure, salary and job security. Whilst contributing to the debates around the changing roles and the valuable work of teaching assistants, this research endorses the view that these professionals' voices are too often silenced in educational debates and in strategic decision making.
TL;DR: This paper conducted a textual analysis of samples of the ways in which blogging and bloggers are represented in the media and contrasted these discourses with the production, dissemination and use of blogs created by two young people.
Abstract: Discussions of text and the literate practices of the young have always taken place against larger backdrops painted in particular historical, cultural and ideological patterns. In the contemporary era, the emergence of weblogs (blogs) and their rapid uptake by young people all over the world provides an interesting insight into the tensions that emerge as views of children, technology and textual practice intersect in a particular historical, cultural and ideological moment. This article suggests that the emergence of new technologies and new textual practices poses a significant challenge to traditional views of literacy and childhood. It undertakes a textual analysis of samples of the ways in which blogging and bloggers are represented in the media and contrasts these discourses with the production, dissemination and use of blogs created by two young people. This small slice across blogging serves to highlight the deeply rooted tensions between some models of childhood and some contemporary practices around text, technology and information.