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Showing papers on "Primary education published in 2009"


Book
25 Aug 2009
TL;DR: The Social Construction of Physical Education: Present, Past, and Future as discussed by the authors defines Physical Education and the Possibility of the Id2 3. Futures Talk in Physical Education 4. Continuity and Discontinuity: The Residue of the Past in the Present 6. Four Relational Issues and the Bigger Picture 7. Physical Education Futures? 8. Securing the Conditions for Radical Reform
Abstract: 1. The Social Construction of Physical Education: Present, Past and Future 2. Defining Physical Education and the Possibility of the Id2 3. Futures Talk in Physical Education 4. The Id2 of Physical Education-as-Sport-Techniques 5. Continuity and Discontinuity: The Residue of the Past in the Present 6. Four Relational Issues and the Bigger Picture 7. Physical Education Futures? 8. Securing the Conditions for Radical Reform

484 citations


01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: Since the first edition in 1987, NAEYC's book Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs has been an essential resource for the early child care field and comes with a supplementary CD containing readings on key topics, plus video examples showing developmentally appropriate practice in action.

426 citations


Book
26 Oct 2009
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a review of the role of primary education in children's development and learning and their role in the development of children's lives outside of primary school.
Abstract: 1. Introduction Part I: Contexts 2. The Review and Other Discourses 3. Policies and Legacies Part II: Children and Childhood 4. Childhood Today 5. Children's Lives Outside School 6. Parenting, Caring and Educating 7. Children's Development and Learning 8. Children, Diversity and Equity 9. Children with Special Needs 10. Children's Voices Part III: The Experience of Primary Education 11. Foundations 12. What is Primary Education for? 13. Curriculum Past and Present 14. Towards a New Curriculum 15. Pedagogy 16. Assessment, Learning and Accountability 17. Attainment, Standards and Quality 18. Schools and Communities Part IV: The System of Primary Education 19. Structures and Transitions 20. Schools, Local Authorities and Other Agencies 21. Teachers 22. Professional Leadership and Workforce Reform 23. The Context and Impact of Policy Part V: Conclusions and Recommendations 24. Conclusions and Recommendations

350 citations


Posted Content
TL;DR: In this paper, the main preconditions for the transition to sustainable national programs are mainstreaming school feeding in national policies and plans, especially education sector plans; identifying national sources of financing; and expanding national implementation capacity.
Abstract: This review highlights three main findings. First, school feeding programs in low-income countries exhibit large variation in cost, with concomitant opportunities for cost containment. Second, as countries get richer, school feeding costs become a much smaller proportion of the investment in education. For example, in Zambia the cost of school feeding is about 50 percent of annual per capita costs for primary education; in Ireland it is only 10 percent. Further analysis is required to define these relationships, but supporting countries to maintain an investment in school feeding through this transition may emerge as a key role for development partners. Third, the main preconditions for the transition to sustainable national programs are mainstreaming school feeding in national policies and plans, especially education sector plans; identifying national sources of financing; and expanding national implementation capacity. Mainstreaming a development policy for school feeding into national education sector plans offers the added advantage of aligning support for school feeding with the processes already established to harmonize development partner support for the education for all-fast track initiative.

291 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Three types of parent involvement—communicating, volunteering at school, and learning at home—were explored in two cultures within the United States, demonstrating that parents who used formal, structured methods at Time 1 continued to do two and four years later.

256 citations


Book
02 Jun 2009
TL;DR: In this article, the main preconditions for the transition to sustainable national programs are mainstreaming school feeding in national policies and plans, especially education sector plans; identifying national sources of financing; and expanding national implementation capacity.
Abstract: This review highlights three main findings. First, school feeding programs in low-income countries exhibit large variation in cost, with concomitant opportunities for cost containment. Second, as countries get richer, school feeding costs become a much smaller proportion of the investment in education. For example, in Zambia the cost of school feeding is about 50 percent of annual per capita costs for primary education; in Ireland it is only 10 percent. Further analysis is required to define these relationships, but supporting countries to maintain an investment in school feeding through this transition may emerge as a key role for development partners. Third, the main preconditions for the transition to sustainable national programs are mainstreaming school feeding in national policies and plans, especially education sector plans; identifying national sources of financing; and expanding national implementation capacity. Mainstreaming a development policy for school feeding into national education sector plans offers the added advantage of aligning support for school feeding with the processes already established to harmonize development partner support for the education for all-fast track initiative.

219 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the relationship between school resources, teacher self-efficacy, potential multi-level stressors and teacher burnout using structural equation modelling and found that external (school support resources) and internal coping resources have a negative and significant effect on job stressors.
Abstract: This study examines the relationship between school resources, teacher self‐efficacy, potential multi‐level stressors and teacher burnout using structural equation modelling. The causal structure for primary and secondary school teachers was also examined. The sample was composed of 724 primary and secondary Spanish school teachers. The changes occurring in the Spanish teacher role in the last decade were taken into account to select job stressors. The results obtained revealed that external (school support resources) and internal (management classroom self‐efficacy and instructional self‐efficacy) coping resources have a negative and significant effect on job stressors. In turn, job stressors have a positive and significant effect on teachers’ burnout considering it as both a unidimensional and multidimensional construct. Furthermore, the hypothesised structure of burnout dimensions revealed that emotional exhaustion plays a key role in explaining Spanish school teachers’ burnout. Practical implications ...

217 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe research on dialogue between teachers and pupils during primary school science lessons, using talk from two classrooms to provide their examples, and they consider whether teachers use dialogue to make education a cumulative, continuing process for guiding the development of children's understanding.
Abstract: This paper describes research on dialogue between teachers and pupils during primary school science lessons, using talk from two classrooms to provide our examples. We consider whether teachers use dialogue to make education a cumulative, continuing process for guiding the development of children's understanding. Case studies of two teachers, using observational data taken from a larger data set, are used to illustrate their use of talk as a pedagogic tool. We also consider the differing extent to which the two teachers highlight for pupils the educational value of talk, and the extent to which they attempt to guide pupils' own effective use of talk for learning. Implications are drawn for evaluating the ways teachers use dialogue, and for professional development. An example is provided of an activity which has been found to help teachers implement dialogic teaching, and which illustrates how such an approach involves organising the structural variety of talk.

199 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article revisited Ghana's Free and Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) policy for clues as to why it did not achieve the target goal and especially why poorest households seem to have benefited least from it.
Abstract: When Ghana became independent in 1957 it had one of the most developed education systems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Over the next forty years its education system expanded to provide places for most, but not all, of its children. Since the education reforms of the late 1980s enrolments have grown steadily; this contrasts with some SSA countries with universal free primary education policies, which have experienced short periods of rapid growth. Education reforms in Ghana, however, have fallen below expectations. The Free and Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) programme introduced in 1995 promised universal education by 2005. This paper revisits Ghana's FCUBE policy for clues as to why it did not achieve the target goal and especially why poorest households seem to have benefited least from it. One disappointment with FCUBE is that its input did not go far enough to offset the opportunity costs of schooling for the poorest households by abolishing all forms of fees and reducing significantly the indirect costs associated with attending school. The incidence of late entry, overage attendance and poor households' need for child labour also posed a further threat to the benefits FCUBE promised. 2009 Taylor & Francis.

196 citations


BookDOI
TL;DR: Overall, the program Computers for Education seems to have had little effect on students' test scores and other outcomes, and results are consistent across grade levels, subjects, and gender.
Abstract: This paper presents the evaluation of the program Computers for Education. The program aims to integrate computers, donated by the private sector, into the teaching of language in public schools. The authors conduct a two-year randomized evaluation of the program using a sample of 97 schools and 5,201 children. Overall, the program seems to have had little effect on students' test scores and other outcomes. These results are consistent across grade levels, subjects, and gender. The main reason for these results seems to be the failure to incorporate the computers into the educational process. Although the program increased the number of computers in the treatment schools and provided training to the teachers on how to use the computers in their classrooms, surveys of both teachers and students suggest that teachers did not incorporate the computers into their curriculum.

191 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore sustainability as an emerging paradigm for preservice preparation of teachers and explore nine themes that occur frequently in the sustainability discourse as the basis for sustainability literacy, a complex construct validated through collection of multiple sources of evidence.
Abstract: Background/Context: This article explores sustainability as an emerging paradigm for preservice preparation of teachers. Sustainability education, which is rooted in Deweyan ideas about the fundamental social purposes of schooling, attends to the tensions created by the interconnectedness of environmental, economic, and social equity systems. Sustainability education extends but does not replace environmental education or education for sustainable development, although the latter is considered a problematic idea. Purpose/ Focus of Study: Nine themes that occur frequently in the sustainability discourse are explored as the basis for sustainability literacy, a complex construct validated through collection of multiple sources of evidence. Specific strategies for integrating sustainability education into the preservice preparation of teachers are linked to a framework for teacher learning that addresses curricular vision, understandings about teaching, dispositions, and professional practices. Research Design: The article is an analytic essay that examines existing literature in the area of sustainability education and maps this work onto current research pertaining to the preparation of beginning teachers. Conclusions: Sustainability education represents a new paradigm for the preparation of teachers. It can help new teachers develop a curricular vision that addresses the fundamental social purposes of education in the context of an uncertain 21st century. Sustainability education also can stimulate a conversation about the role of teacher education in the creation and solution of global environmental and social justice challenges.


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a self-report questionnaire was used as an instrument to gather qualitative and quantitative data from 132 Greek in-service and prospective teachers, and the authors concluded that further research is needed in order to reveal more on teachers' conceptions on creativity and understand and classify teachers' particular needs to facilitate the creative potential of primary school students.


01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: The Boston Foundation's Understandings Boston series as discussed by the authors is a series of forums, educational events, and research sponsored by the Boston Foundation to provide information and insight into issues affecting Boston, its neighborhoods, and the region.
Abstract: The Boston Foundation, Greater Boston's community foundation, is one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the nation. In 2008, the Foundation and its donors made close to $79 million in grants to nonprofit organizations and received gifts of $113 million, bringing its assets to more than $838 million. The Foundation is made up of some 900 separate charitable funds established by donors either for the general benefit of the community or for special purposes. The Boston Foundation also serves as a major civic leader, provider of information, convener, and sponsor of special initiatives designed to address the community's and region's most pressing challenges. For more information about the Boston Foundation, visit www.tbf.org or call 617-338-1700. UNDERSTANDING BOSTON is a series of forums, educational events, and research sponsored by the Boston Foundation to provide information and insight into issues affecting Boston, its neighborhoods, and the region. By working in collaboration with a wide range of partners, the Boston Foundation provides opportunities for people to come together to explore challenges facing our constantly changing community and to develop an informed civic agenda. Our goal as a Commonwealth is to increase student performance to a higher level than ever before, and to do that we need to develop strategies to reconfigure the business of public education. The promise of Charter and Pilot Schools is that their increased flexibility and autonomy may represent the structural breakthrough we need to achieve our ambitious goal. This study helps us to examine whether these structural differences matter for student outcomes, and to quantify that impact for both Charter and Pilot schools. The results of this study are both statistically significant and educationally important. But they also open many further questions. What is causing the differences in performance we see between Charters and Pilots? What is it about Charter Schools that allows them to achieve such strong results, and how can their effective practices be more widely disseminated? How can Pilot Schools take better advantage of the autonomy they already have to produce improved outcomes? When is more autonomy a good solution for improving student performance, and when might other strategies make more sense? With Governor Patrick's recent proposal for Readiness Schools on the table, this is an opportune time for the state to try to answer these questions, and the results of this study are a first step on this path. I look forward to …

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Although the effects varied by gender, the classroom-centered intervention was associated with higher scores on standardized achievement tests, greater odds of high school graduation and college attendance, and reduced odds of special education service use.
Abstract: This study examined the longitudinal effects of 2 first-grade universal preventive interventions on academic outcomes (e.g., achievement, special education service use, graduation, postsecondary education) through age 19 in a sample of 678 urban, primarily African American children. The classroom-centered intervention combined the Good Behavior Game (H. H. Barrish, Saunders, & Wolfe, 1969) with an enhanced academic curriculum, whereas a second intervention, the Family-School Partnership, focused on promoting parental involvement in educational activities and bolstering parents' behavior management strategies. Both programs aimed to address the proximal targets of aggressive behavior and poor academic achievement. Although the effects varied by gender, the classroom-centered intervention was associated with higher scores on standardized achievement tests, greater odds of high school graduation and college attendance, and reduced odds of special education service use. The intervention effects of the Family-School Partnership were in the expected direction; however, only 1 effect reached statistical significance. The findings of this randomized controlled trial illustrate the long-term educational impact of preventive interventions in early elementary school.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors studied the development of system thinking skills at the elementary school level and found that despite the students' minimal initial system thinking abilities, most of them made significant progress with their ability to analyze the hydrological earth system to its components and processes.
Abstract: This study deals with the development of system thinking skills at the elementary school level. It addresses the question of whether elementary school students can deal with complex systems. The sample included 40 4th grade students from one school in a small town in Israel. The students studied an inquiry-based earth systems curriculum that focuses on the hydro-cycle. The program involved lab simulations and experiments, direct interaction with components and processes of the water cycle in the outdoor learning environment and knowledge integration activities. Despite the students' minimal initial system thinking abilities, most of them made significant progress with their ability to analyze the hydrological earth system to its components and processes. As a result, they recognized interconnections between components of a system. Some of the students reached higher system thinking abilities, such as identifying interrelationships among several earth systems and identifying hidden parts of the hydrological system. The direct contact with real phenomena and processes in small scale scenarios enabled these students to create a concrete local water cycle, which could later be expanded into large scale abstract global cycles. The incorporation of outdoor inquiry-based learning with lab inquiry-based activities and knowledge integration assignments contributed to the 4th grade students' capacity to develop basic system thinking abilities at their young age. This suggests that although system thinking is regarded as a high order thinking skill, it can be developed to a certain extent in elementary school. With a proper long-term curriculum, these abilities can serve as the basis for the development of higher stages of system thinking at the junior–high/middle school level. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47: 540–563, 2010

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a study was conducted with 1540 primary school teachers using Knowledge, Use and Attitude Scales of ICT, and the results showed that the most commonly used and well-known ICT types among teachers are the Internet, e-mail and word processing.

Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 2009

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A prevalencia de dor musculoesqueletica associou-se as seguintes variaveis ocupacionais: tempo de trabalho superior a cinco anos na escola estudada, elevado esforco fisico, outra atividade remunerada nao docente e calor em sala de aula.
Abstract: The article describes the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain according to socio-demographic and occupational variables among elementary school teachers. A cross-sectional study included all 4,496 school teachers of the municipal elementary education network of Salvador, Bahia, Bra-zil. There was a high prevalence of muscu-loskeletal pain in lower limbs (41.1%), upper limbs (23.7%) and back (41.1%). The overall prevalence of musculoskeletal pain related to any of the three body segments was 55%. Musculoskeletal pain was more prevalent in the three body segments investigated: among women, the elderly, those with high-level school education, married, with three or more children, and who had worked over fourteen years as teachers. The prevalence of musculoskeletal pain was associated with the following occupational variables: working over five years at the school, high level of physical exertion, not having a paid activity other than teaching, and reporting heat in the classroom. The findings draw attention toward the need to adopt public policies to improve the working conditions of teachers.


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Feb 2009-Quest
TL;DR: The SPARK (Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids) programs for elementary and middle schools (1989-2000) and the ensuing efforts to disseminate those programs nationally (1994-present) are described in this paper.
Abstract: School physical education plays an important role in public health. Nonetheless, there are few evidence-based, health-related, physical education programs and very little is known about how to disseminate them for widespread use. This article (a) presents background information and a review of the completed research on the SPARK (Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids) programs for elementary and middle schools (1989–2000) and (b) describes the ensuing efforts to disseminate those programs nationally (1994–present). The programs have three important features: an active curriculum, staff development, and follow-up support. Efforts to disseminate the programs nationally have required substantial collaboration among university, public school, and private sector personnel. Procedures used in SPARK may serve as models for others interested in researching and disseminating physical education curricula through staff development.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate teachers' perspectives regarding the implementation of Life Orientation (LO) in Grades R to 11 in South Africa and find that the attitude of school principals is not conducive to the successful implementation of LO.
Abstract: Educational transformation in South Africa not only brought about Outcomesbased Education and Curriculum 2005 but also a new Learning Area/Subject, called Life Orientation (LO). A major challenge for LO as a new Learning Area/Subject is the preconceptions that exist about it, and the fact that the attitude of school principals is not conducive to the successful implementation of LO. Against this background it was deemed necessary to investigate teachers' perspectives regarding the implementation of LO in Grades R to 11. For the survey 248 schools (124 primary, 124 secondary) were randomly selected, of which 157 returned questionnaires. Summary statistics were done using frequency tables and histograms. Comparisons of ordinal variables were performed using one-way analysis of variance and the Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test. For the majority of the schools the learning outcomes, related to the movement component of LO in the General and Further Education and Training bands, are presented. The fact that most of the schools do not have qualified Physical Education teachers holds certain implications for the status of LO in general and more specifically for the growth and development of the learners. To address this situation it is recommended that in-service and preservice education and training of teachers commences immediately and that Higher Education Institutions become more involved in different forms of training initiatives than currently the practice. Keywords : Curriculum 2005; Further Education and Training Band; General Education and Training Band; Life Orientation; National Curriculum Statement; outcomes-based education; physical education; teacher training; teachers' perspectives. South African Journal of Education Vol. 29 (1) 2009: pp. 127-145

Journal ArticleDOI
12 Mar 2009-Compare
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined whether the recent growth in low-fee private schools is able to promote Education for All by being accessible to the poor and found that LFP school costs are unaffordable for over half of the sampled children, including the majority of low caste and Muslim families.
Abstract: This paper examines whether the recent growth in ‘low‐fee private’ (LFP) schools is able to promote Education for All by being accessible to the poor. Based primarily on a 13‐village survey of 250 households and visits to 26 private and government schools in rural Uttar Pradesh, India, this paper explores who ‘chooses’ private schooling, in the light of the well‐documented failure of the government school system. In particular, the paper explores the issue of whether private provision is affordable and accessible to poor rural parents. It finds that LFP school costs are unaffordable for over half of the sampled children, including the majority of low caste and Muslim families. It also finds that while LFPs are greatly preferred under current conditions, what parents actually want is a well‐functioning government school system.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a survey of 527 teachers in 68 primary schools in Flanders (Belgium) was conducted that focused on teacher perceptions about structural and cultural school characteristics and their use of ICT in the classroom.
Abstract: This study builds on the idea that school characteristics affect educational change, such as ICT integration. The goal of this inquiry is to explore both structural school characteristics (i.e. infrastructure, planning and support) and cultural school characteristics (i.e. leadership, goal orientedness and innovativeness) and how they contribute to ICT integration in the classroom. A survey of 527 teachers in 68 primary schools in Flanders (Belgium) was conducted that focused on teacher perceptions about structural and cultural school characteristics and their use of ICT in the classroom. In order to study the variables at school level, teacher responses were aggregated. The next step was to delineate school profiles originating from structural and cultural school characteristics by using a cluster analysis. Finally, the relationship between these school profiles and ICT integration was studied. The results suggest that (1) structural and cultural school characteristics fit together and (2) are relevant c...


BookDOI
01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on providing high-quality education for an increasingly diverse school population coming from different racial, ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds and varying socio-economic status.
Abstract: This chapter of Becoming a teacher educator focuses on providing high-quality education for an increasingly diverse school population coming from different racial, ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds and varying socio-economic status.

BookDOI
TL;DR: This article found that large, young male population bulges are more likely to increase the risk of conflict in societies where male secondary education is low, and the effect on conflict risk by low education and large youth populations is particularly strong in low and middle-income countries.
Abstract: Much of the developing world has experienced a decline in mortality, while fertility often has remained high. This has produced youthful populations in many countries, generally referred to as"youth bulges."Recent empirical research suggests that youth bulges may be associated with increased risks of political violence and conflict. This paper addresses ways that education may serve as a strategy to reduce the risk of political violence, particularly in the context of large cohorts of young males. The authors use a new education dataset measuring educational attainment. The dataset is constructed using demographic back-projection techniques, and offers uninterrupted time-series data for 120 countries. The empirical analysis finds evidence that large, young male population bulges are more likely to increase the risk of conflict in societies where male secondary education is low. The effect on conflict risk by low education and large youth populations is particularly strong in low and middle-income countries. This is especially challenging for Sub-Saharan Africa, the region facing the youngest age structure and the lowest educational attainment levels. Although quantitative studies generally find a strong relationship between indicators of development and conflict risk, the results suggest that poor countries do have some leverage over reducing conflict potential through increased educational opportunities for young people. There is further evidence that the interaction of large youth cohorts and low education levels may be mediated by structural economic factors. The study supports broad policy interventions in education by relaxing concerns about the consequences of rapid educational expansion.

01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: Boston College is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer and its employment practices are guided by the law.
Abstract: Boston College is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Students' learning results show that it is possible to teach Web literacy skills in the context of collaborative inquiry activities, and teachers' teaching styles are challenged to deal with the paradox that they want their students to be active knowledge builders with help of the Web, whereas the Web seems to inviteStudents to be more or less passive searchers.
Abstract: Although many children are technically skilled in using the Web, their competences to use it in a critical and meaningful way are usually less well developed. In this article, we report on a multiple case study focusing on the possibilities and limitations of collaborative inquiry activities as an appropriate context to acquire Web literacy skills in primary education. Four 5th grade school teachers and their students worked with collaborative inquiry activities on the subject of 'healthy food'. The project was aimed at both the development of Web literacy skills and content knowledge building. Data from a variety of sources were collected: videotaped and written lesson observations, interviews with teachers and students, teacher diaries, student questionnaires, and student assignments. The teachers appeared to be able to carry out the program to varying degrees. Contextual factors that influenced the realization of the project's goals and results were the adequacy of the research questions formulated by students, students' inquiry skills, and the teachers' teaching styles. Students' learning results show that it is possible to teach Web literacy skills in the context of collaborative inquiry activities. All classes show knowledge gain with regard to the subject healthy food and all classes but one show knowledge gain with regard to Web literacy skills. Although many students show adequate use of particular Web searching, reading and evaluating skills after the project, inconsistency, impulsiveness and impatience are also typical of their Web behaviour. In the context of collaborative inquiry activities teachers are challenged to deal with the paradox that they want their students to be active knowledge builders with help of the Web, whereas the Web seems to invite students to be more or less passive searchers.