Showing papers on "Primary education published in 2010"

On education

Abstract: in learning, and the critical ingredients seem to translate to a strong pedagogy of education. These ingredients include primary and generative research, active participation, critique and coaching, and the ability to take risks (and potentially be wrong) without negative consequences. The similarities between the process of design and the process of learning in Littky's school are striking, and he's not alone in pursuing a new, designerly approach. His educational model is one of several, which may form a zeitgeist: We may, in fact, be perched on the brink of an educational revolution. And so, I offer a series of predictive recommendations about the evolving nature of education and how to best structure both pedagogy and content to succeed in the coming educational shift: 1. Assume that anything is possible. As an educator you quickly become aware of the relative boundaries of your students, and it's easy to set expectations based on these perceived limitations. Traditional teaching models are quick to group students by these segments—usually defined by socioeconomic boundaries—and these segments have unusual staying power. The educational revolution to come will operate with the assumption of adequation, where students are empowered to try. 2. Understand the \" whole student. \" At all levels of education, the homogenous body of knowledge that is taught en masse has come to mirror the assembly line, with teachers focused on their own tasks with no awareness of the larger context. The educational revolution will empower teachers to support a whole student, realizing that any factual content needs to be positioned in a much larger and broader context. 3. Leverage the content democratization afforded by technology. It's almost colloquial to espouse the rich benefits of Internet content, yet in many educational settings, this repository is ignored. Traditional, and highly conservative, textbooks are used, which are neither engaging nor as broad in focus. During the educational revolu-Recently, an article by Anya Kamenetz, author of DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education, in which she paints a picture of how much education has changed, was featured on the cover of Fast Company. First graders use proprietary software and hardware; curricula self-adjust to the pace of the students; and the massive amounts of content presented on the Internet have democra-tized—at least on the surface—the challenge of access. Large companies like HP are offering integrated packages like TeachNOW (designed in cooperation with frog design), which …

Early childhood matters: evidence from the effective pre-school and primary education project

Abstract: Book synopsis: Early Childhood Matters documents the rapid development of early years education and care from the late 1990s into the new millennium. It chronicles the unique contribution of the EPPE research to our understanding of the importance of pre-school. The Effective Pre-school and Primary Education (EPPE) project is the largest European study of the impact of early years education and care on children’s developmental outcomes. Through this ground-breaking project a team of internationally-recognised experts provide insights into how home learning environments interact with pre-school and primary school experiences to shape children’s progress. The findings of this fascinating project: - provide new evidence of the importance of early childhood experiences - show how these experiences influence children’s cognitive, social and behavioural development - give new insights on the importance of early years education - will be relevant to a wide audience who are interested in policy development, early years education and care, and ‘effectiveness’ research - examine how the combined effects of pre-school, primary school and the family interact to shape children’s educational outcomes. This insightful book is essential reading for all those interested in innovative research methodology and policy development in early childhood education and care. It provides new evidence on good practice in early years settings and will have a wide appeal for students and those engaged in providing accredited courses of study at a range of levels in early childhood.

Creativity and Education.

Abstract: This paper starts with a brief background of the link between creativity and education, including the beginning of the most recent interest in the two. There is a short summary of the reasons for this renewed interest. This is followed by a discussion into the dissatisfactions over current education and its changing role in the light of increasing importance being accorded to creativity. Lastly, evidence in educational policy documents from around the world is presented to show the steps being taken for implementation of creativity in education.

Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read: Kindergarten Through Grade 3

Abstract: conceptual and editorial contributions The teacher collaborative groups across the United States that provided valuable feedback The National Institute for Literacy (NIFL), an independent federal organization, supports the development of high-quality state, regional, and national literacy services so that all Americans can develop the literacy skills they need to succeed at work, at home, and in the community. research available to educators, parents, policy-makers, and others with an interest in helping all people learn to read well. The findings and conclusions in this publication were

Nutrition education in U.S. medical schools: latest update of a national survey

Abstract: Purpose To quantify the number of required hours of nutrition education at U.S. medical schools and the types of courses in which the instruction was offered, and to compare these results with results from previous surveys.

Social Participation of Students with Special Needs in Regular Primary Education in the Netherlands

Abstract: This study addresses the social participation of young students (Grades One to Three) with special needs in regular Dutch primary schools. More specifically, the focus lies on four key themes related to social participation: friendships/relationships, contacts/interactions, students’ social self‐perception, and acceptance by classmates. The outcomes of the study revealed that the majority of students with special needs have a satisfactory degree of social participation. However, compared with students without special needs, a relatively large portion of the students with special needs experience difficulties in their social participation. In general, students with special needs have a significantly lower number of friends and are members of a cohesive subgroup less often than their typical peers. In addition, students with special needs have fewer interactions with classmates, have more interactions with the teacher, and are less accepted than students without special needs. The social self‐perception of ...

Teacher Effects on Social and Behavioral Skills in Early Elementary School.

Abstract: Although many recognize that social and behavioral skills play an important role in educational stratification, no studies have attempted to estimate teachers’ effects on these outcomes. Using data...

From the Ballot to the Blackboard: The Redistributive Political Economy of Education

Abstract: 1 The redistributive political economy of education 2 The expansion of education - theory and data 3 The expansion of education - historical evidence 4 The partisan politics of education 5 High politics in higher education 6 Conclusion

Meta-analysis of acquisition and fluency math interventions with instructional and frustration level skills: Evidence for a skill-by-treatment interaction

Abstract: Implementation of effective interventions relies on the use of assessment data to adequately describe the learning problem and offer potential solutions. The use of curriculum-based assessment and ...

Deconstructing and reconstructing: Transforming primary science learning via a mobilized curriculum

Abstract: The history of science education reform has been fundamentally centered around science curriculum development and implementation. The advent of mobile technologies has necessitated a re-examination of how students could better learn science through these 21st century tools. Conventional teaching materials may not prepare students to learn the inquiry way and to become self-directed and social learners who could learn ''everywhere and all the time (seamlessly)'' using mobile technologies. This paper is based on our first year of work in our mobile learning research project in transforming primary three science lessons into a ''mobilized'' curriculum for a classroom context in which students routinely use mobile technologies. Using an exemplar fungi topic, we discuss our approach as well as experiences in deconstructing and reconstructing an existing curriculum through a co-design approach with teachers in a Singapore local school. In doing so, we make a contribution to the methodology for developing mobilized science curricula for in-class learning that also extends to out-of-class learning.

The e-capacity of primary schools: Development of a conceptual model and scale construction from a school improvement perspective

Abstract: In the search for factors affecting the use of ICT in educational settings, several authors have presented holistic conceptual frameworks. In this study, we argue that while these models are valuable sources for conducting qualitative research, they are less useful for quantitative research since few measurement scales have been created. We present an empirically tested conceptual framework to further examine the complex process of integrating ICT for instructional purposes. This model has been developed from a school improvement perspective and considers the e-capacity of a school as an overarching concept. E-capacity refers to the schools' ability to create and optimise sustainable school level and teacher level conditions to bring about effective ICT change. The conditions identified are based on a literature review in the change and school improvement literature and the ICT integration literature. All conditions have been translated into reliable measurement scales. Questionnaire data were collected from a representative teacher sample (N = 471) in 62 primary school in Belgium (Flanders). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted indicating good goodness of fit estimates and good internal consistency.

Reviewing the relations between teachers' knowledge and pupils' attitude in the field of primary technology education

Abstract: This literature review reports on the assumed relations between primary school teachers’ knowledge of technology and pupils’ attitude towards technology. In order to find relevant aspects of technology-specific teacher knowledge, scientific literature in the field of primary technology education was searched. It is found that teacher knowledge is essential for stimulating a positive attitude towards technology in pupils. Particularly, teachers’ enhanced Pedagogical Content Knowledge is found to be related to pupils’ increased learning and interest in technology. Six aspects of technology-specific teacher knowledge that are likely to play a role in affecting pupils’ attitude are identified and schematically presented in a hypothetical diagram. It is concluded that more empirical evidence on the influence of technology-specific teacher knowledge on pupils’ attitude is needed. The hypothetical diagram will serve as a helpful tool to investigate the assumed relations between teacher knowledge and pupils’ attitude empirically.

Cross-Language Nonword Repetition by Bilingual and Monolingual Children

Abstract: Purpose Identifying children with primary or specific language impairment (LI) in languages other than English continues to present a diagnostic challenge. This study examined the utility of Englis...

Technology to support parental engagement in elementary education: Lessons learned from the UK

Abstract: This paper compares and contrasts two projects in order to better understand the complex issues surrounding the use of technology to support parental involvement with schools and their children's learning. The Becta-funded ICT Test Bed evaluation (2002-2006) had the intention of saturating schools (in three areas of social deprivation) with a range of technologies, including 23 elementary schools. The ESRC/EPSRC/DTI-funded Homework project (2003-2006) used participatory design methods to develop and evaluate technology to link home and school in a elementary school in the South East. Both projects shared a common theoretical foundation, that of socio-cultural theory. The theory influenced the evaluation methodology employed in both projects and in the Homework project it additionally influenced the design of the technology intervention. Findings suggest that technologies with readily accessible and interactive resources that are flexible can help develop parental engagement. However, simpler and less resource hungry solutions such as the use of websites and email can provide opportunities for quick wins. In relation to transporting technology between home and school, there are issues for both staff and parents. Without purposeful use, these challenges act as a barrier once they outweigh the novelty effect. We conclude that parental needs are complex and that engagement needs to be sensitively scaffolded rather than focussing on the technology. Participatory design offers an effective means of addressing this and should be the starting point. The technology should facilitate independence and mediate access to a shared space for collaborative activity. The content and guidance needs to be purposeful and relevant, offering a means to integrate learning across the learner's broader context, including school and home seamlessly.

Do Differing Types of Field Experiences Make a Difference in Teacher Candidates' Perceived Level of Competence?

Abstract: A ubiquitous national call for the reform of teacher education is of principle importance to university and college-based teacher educators. For decades, individuals such as Dewey (1965) and Barth (2001), and professional groups such as the Carnegie Forum on Education (1986) and The Holmes Group (1986) have advocated for the essential role of field experiences in the preparation of teachers. Generally speaking, field experiences are defined as a variety of early and systematic P-12 classroom-based opportunities in which teacher candidates (TCs) may observe, assist, tutor, instruct, and/or conduct research. While field experiences generally occur in schools they may also take place in other settings such as community based agencies (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, 2002). Field experiences and "practice teaching" have been recognized traditions of teacher-training programs dating back to the times of the American Normal School, one should not assume that all field experiences will actually help bridge the theory-practice gap and that merely requiring more field experience is necessarily better (Allsopp, DeMarie, Alvarez-McHatton, & Doone, 2006; Korthagen, Loughran, & Russell, 2006; Zeichner, 1980). With this important point in mind, our study was designed to determine the effect of differentiated field experiences upon the perceived level of competence of TCs completing three different types of field-based experiences within the same teacher preparation program. These differing placements and experiences represent the continuum from basic coordination between cooperating teachers in partner schools and university professors (Control) to in-depth communication, coordination, and collaboration between and among all stakeholders in a Professional Development School (PDS) to the same in depth collaborations and experiences plus a required action research component built into the PDS setting (Inquiry) all situated within the same lower SES, rural/suburban environment. The existing research base regarding field experience appears to be somewhat equivocal as the learning that occurs during field experiences is highly contextualized and uneven (Ritter, Powell, & Hawley, 2007; Tellez, 2008), and empirical data on the effects of differing types of field experiences has been characterized as sparse and inconclusive (Bischoff, Farris, & Henninger, 1988; Henry, 1983; Shanahan, 2008; Wilson, Floden, & Ferrini-Mundy, 2002). Bridging the gap between theory and practice does not automatically occur simply as a result of participating in field experiences (Barksdale-Ladd & Rose, 1997). Sometimes incongruence between theory and practice may become more evident as a result of field experiences reflecting the "two-worlds pitfall" (Feiman-Nemser & Buchmann, 1985) which provide an exposure to procedures and instructional practices such as transmissive teaching that may conflict with more learner-centered instruction promoted in university-based coursework causing novice teachers to gravitate toward the practices and values of the P-12 classroom while dismissing those espoused in university courses as being too theoretical. Along these lines, several studies have reported the apparent regression of novice teachers as they become more rigid, bureaucratic, and custodial; conforming to existing school practices, procedural concerns, and routine tasks (Beyer, 1984; Grisham, 2000; Grossman, 2005; McBee, 1998; Moore, 2003; Silvernail & Costello, 1983; Zeichner & Tabachnick, 1981; Zeichner & Teitelbaum, 1982). Gless and Barron (1992) argued that new teachers typically transition through five distinct phases during their first year of teaching. The transition to teaching begins with the anticipation phase where the new teacher often romanticizes the new role. Then the new teacher immediately enters the survival and disillusionment phase where they realize they have a great deal to learn about school and district procedures, their peers, and communicating with parents. …

Truancy in Late Elementary and Early Secondary Education: The Influence of Social Bonds and Self-Control--The TRAILS Study.

Abstract: Some pupils already show unexcused, illegal, surreptitious absences in elementary education or the first years of secondary education. Are weak social bonds (see also Hirschi, 1969) and a lack of self-control (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990) indicative of truancy at an early age? Of the children in our sample, 5% were persistent truants in late elementary education and early secondary education. Using multivariate analyses the influence of various predictors on persistent truancy was examined. Lack of attachment to norm-relevant significant others (parents and teachers) and lack of prosocial orientation were indicative of truancy. Social bonds with classmates had no effect on truancy. Other risk factors for truancy were: being a boy, early pubertal development, family breakup, and low socio-economic status. The effect of self-control on truancy was partially mediated by social bonds. The impact of social bonds to norm-relevant significant others suggests that early truancy can partly be prevented by focusing on children's relations with parents at home and with teachers at school. Prevention of truancy is desirable because the likelihood of involvement in other deviant behavior increases for truants.

Socioeconomic differences in elementary students' ICT beliefs and out-of-school experiences

Abstract: The purpose of the study was to explore possible links between student socioeconomic status (SES), beliefs about information and communication technologies (ICTs), and out-of-school learning resources Grades 5 and 6 students (N=345) who were enrolled in one private and six public elementary schools in Greece, located in areas with different demographic characteristics, responded to a questionnaire addressing their ICT self-efficacy and value beliefs, out-of-school ICT access and activities, perceived parental support and regulation of home ICT activities, and access to sources of technological support beyond the family Findings showed that students from all SES family backgrounds tended to have positive views about the value of ICTs, but students from low-SES families expressed lower confidence in their ICT skills Parents from all SES backgrounds appeared to view equally favorably their children's engagement with ICTs, and perceived parental support correlated highly with students' ICT value beliefs However, students from low-SES families appeared to have fewer opportunities to develop ICT competencies, which may explain why they expressed less positive self-efficacy beliefs Findings stress the need for school ICT integration efforts to take into account student differences in prior experiences and to be coordinated with students' home computer use

Young Children and the Environment: Early Education for Sustainability

Abstract: Young Children and the Environment tackles one of the biggest contemporary issues of our times - the changing environment - and demonstrates how early education can contribute to sustainable living. An essential text for students in early childhood education and a practical resource for child care practitioners and primary school teachers, it is designed to promote education for sustainability from birth to 8 years. The text refers to national and international initiatives such as ‘Sustainable Schools’, ‘Child Friendly Cities’, and ‘Health Promoting Schools’ and explores their existing and potential links with early childhood education. Groundbreaking content draws on recent literature in the areas of organisational, educational and cultural change and environmental sustainability. Early childhood case studies and vignettes exemplify leadership in practice, and ‘Provocations’ are integrated throughout to inspire new ways of thinking about the environment, the wider world, young children and the transformative power of early education.

Educational Inequality under China's Rural–Urban Divide: The Hukou System and Return to Education:

Abstract: We use microsample data from the 2005 (1%) National Population Sample Survey in southeast China and examine the relationship between the effect of hukou status on income and return to education under China's rural–urban divide. For labor-market return we find that: (1) the influence of hukou status is deeply rooted in an indivdual's other key features (occupation, years of schooling, and working location) in the labor market, and (2) hukou status affects labor-market return primarily through its influence on people's return to education. Assisted by spline regression models, we find that the gap of return to education among people with different hukou status increases as years of schooling decrease, and reaches its peak in primary education. The data overwhelmingly suggest that individuals' human capital was largely determined by the place (rural versus urban) where they were born and received their compulsory education, which highlights the role of China's rural–urban divide in shaping people's labor-mar...

The design of pre-service inclusive education courses and their effects on self-efficacy: a comparative study

Abstract: This study compared two versions of a 13-week mandatory undergraduate inclusive education course to determine their effects on the self-efficacy of pre-service elementary education teachers. For the purposes of the research, the self-efficacy construct was applied specifically to working with students who have inclusive educational needs. The study sought to determine whether there were differential effects of the two approaches – one based on a field-based placement and the other employing a course design approach derived from complex adaptive systems. The results showed statistically significant gains in self-efficacy for both approaches, although there were no statistically significant differences between versions of the course. The implications of the findings are discussed for the design of mandatory inclusive education courses.

The Ecology of Cooperative Learning in Elementary Physical Education Classes

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to describe and interpret the instructional ecology of Cooperative Learning in elementary physical education classes. Data collection included a modified version of the task structure system (Siedentop, 1994), interviews, field notes, and a teacher’s journal. T-tests of the quantitative data revealed that instruction time, management time, transitions, and wait time decreased significantly during the units and refining, extending, and applying tasks increased significantly. Cognitive/social tasks were observed consistently in every lesson and contributed to student learning. Inductive analysis and constant comparison were used to analyze the qualitative data (Patton, 1990). The researchers identified four main categories from this data: organization and management of students, roles, skill development, and strategizing. To promote individual accountability the teacher used task sheets, assigned Cooperative Learning roles, kept group sizes small, randomly chose students to dem...

Advocacy networks, choice and private schooling of the poor in India

Abstract: This article is about the flows of rhetorics and discourses, particularly those that advocate choice and private schooling, and the role that transnational advocacy networks played in managing and driving these flows. We explore a set of network relations between advocacy groups in the UK and the USA and local 'choice' advocates in India, and some of the emerging impacts of local and transnational advocacy on the politics of education and education policy in India. The network advocates school choice and private schooling as solutions to the problem of achieving universal, high-quality primary education. Individual policy entrepreneurs are active in making these connections and circulating ideas. A complex of funding, exchange, cross-referencing, dissemination and mutual sponsorship links the Indian choice and privatization advocacy network, and connects it to a global network for neoliberalism organizations in other countries.

For sale – primary physical education. £20 per hour or nearest offer

Abstract: With the pressures of time and finance schools find themselves under, such as the need to meet ever-increasing Public Service Agreement targets for pupil participation in physical education (PE) and school sport, the need to provide extended school hours and the need to cover planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) time, sports coaches are being increasingly used in primary schools to fill the void. How exactly this current situation has emerged remains unclear. In order to shed light on this issue, sports coaches (n = 23) returned self-completion questionnaires before engaging in follow-up interviews, semi-structured in nature. The paper discusses key themes emerging from the data including a lack of teacher engagement in extra-curricular provision, the cost of covering PPA time, a willingness of teachers to ‘give up’ the teaching of PE and the apparent confidence exuded by sports coaches.