Daniel Muijs

Improving schools in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas? A review of research evidence

Schools in difficult and challenging circumstances have received increasing policy and to some extent research attention in recent years. Improving schools in these circumstances is likely to prove a difficult process. This literature review has attempted to collect research on improving schools in these areas. Themes emerging from the literature include: a focus on teaching and learning, leadership, creating an information-rich environment, creating a positive school culture, building a learning community, continuous professional development, involving parents, external support and resources. The crucial issue of sustaining improvement is also discussed.

Teacher Leadership in (In)action Three Case Studies of Contrasting Schools

Teacher leadership is a concept that is gaining increasing interest from both practitioners and researchers. This article presents findings from three case studies in the UK that can be characterized as exhibiting developed, emergent and restricted teacher leadership. Differences and similarities between the schools were examined, leading us to conclude that purposive action by the head, school culture and school structures were the key distinguishing factors. Teacher leadership requires active steps to be taken to constitute leadership teams and provide teachers with leadership roles. A culture of trust and collaboration is essential, as is a shared vision of where the school needs to go, clear line management structures and strong leadership development programmes. In the developed and emergent teacher leadership schools, barriers to teacher leadership were mainly external to the school. In the school we described as exhibiting restricted teacher leadership, internal factors were also key barriers.

Why network? Theoretical perspectives on networking

In recent years, networking and collaboration have become increasingly popular in education. However, there is at present a lack of attention to the theoretical basis of networking, which could illuminate when and when not to network and under what conditions networks are likely to be successful. In this paper, we will attempt to sketch the theoretical background to networking drawing on work in sociology, psychology, and business studies and looking at 4 main theoretical frameworks: constructivism, social capital theory, Durkheimian network theory, and the concept of New Social Movements. We will also explore differences between networks on a number of factors such as goals, activities, density, spread, and power relations.

Measuring teacher effectiveness: Some methodological reflections

Teacher effectiveness is an issue that has received increased attention in recent years, as researchers have become aware of limitations in models that see the school as the key arena for improving pupil learning outcomes. This renewed interest makes it timely to look again at the methods used in teacher effectiveness research. This article presents an overview of some key issues in researching teacher effectiveness from a process-product perspective. The choice of outcome measure is a first key area. Traditionally most teacher effectiveness research has utilised externally published standardised tests. However, it will be argued that this is too limited in the light of societal demands on education. Actually measuring teacher factors is an issue the difficulty of which has often been underestimated. Classroom observation, surveys of teachers and students, and qualitative methods such as interviews have been most frequently employed. The advantages and disadvantages of each are discussed. In the final section, the main analysis methods suitable for teacher effectiveness research are outlined.

Children and Computer Games A Profile of the Heavy User

The manifest popularity of computer games for many children has led to speculation about the meaning and effects of their use. However, research has yet to provide an adequate picture of the social characteristics of computer game players. This article, based on a large-scale study of Flemish 10- to 11-year-olds, is intended to sketch a profile of the computer game heavy user. The results indicate that heavy use of computer games is associated with negative rather than positive outcomes in terms of academic achievement, self-esteem and sociability. Finally, a LISREL model is tested which assesses the contribution which school-related factors, in interaction with gender and socioeconomic status, make in accounting for the varying amounts of time children spend playing computer games.

State of the art – teacher effectiveness and professional learning

One of the key findings from decades of educational effectiveness research is the importance of the classroom level as a predictor of pupil outcomes. In this review, we therefore look at synthesising our best evidence from research on effective teaching, and its corollary, teacher development. In the 1st section, we will look at key findings from 35 years of research on effective teaching using a process-product research that has led to the identification of a range of behaviours which are positively related to student achievement. A key limitation of this research, however, is its focus on basic skills in English and maths. Therefore, in the 2nd section we review research on “new learning” and teaching for metacognitive and thinking skills. While in these 2 sections we have discussed key findings from research on teaching, including emerging knowledge on metacognition, it is important to continue to take into account ongoing developments in theories of learning. In the 3rd section of this paper, we develop the argument that a major contributing factor to this situation is that “state-of-the-art” understandings about processes and conditions that promote student learning are typically not used to construct appropriate learning environments for their teachers.

How Do they Manage? A Review of the Research on Leadership in Early Childhood

This article presents the findings from a review of literature on leadership in early childhood (EC). It identifies a paucity of research, despite a high potential for leadership activity in the early childhood field. It concludes that there is a clear need to identify what effective leadership practice is in terms of processes and outcomes within this field. It also concludes that theoretically based studies that allow different models and characteristics to be empirically tested are long overdue. The serious lack of leadership training is also highlighted by the literature review, which means that many early childhood managers could be significantly under-prepared for their role.

The Effective Teaching of Mathematics: A review of research

An outline is given of three bodies of knowledge that are in general agreement about the characteristics of the effective teaching of mathematics, and which are reflected in the British Governments National Numeracy Strategy. A fourth body of knowledge related to the development of higher order skills is outlined, together with some further research needs.

Improving schools in challenging contexts: Exploring the possible

This article outlines the findings from a small-scale research study that explored how a group of secondary schools in challenging contexts had improved and raised attainment successively over a 5-year period. The study points to the importance of external factors and how they influence a schools ability to improve and to sustain improvement. The study also identified certain strategies for improvement that schools found to be successful in securing improved performance. The article argues that more highly differentiated improvement approaches to school improvement are needed for schools in such circumstances. It concludes by suggesting that while schools in challenging contexts can raise attainment and performance through their own efforts, the external environment remains an important influence upon a schools ability to improve.

The effectiveness of the use of learning support assistants in improving the mathematics achievement of low achieving pupils in primary school

The use of learning support assistants in schools has become increasingly common in England, partly as a result of government support for this strategy. One suggested advantage of the deployment of learning support assistants is to provide additional support to low achieving pupils. However, so far research on the effects of this strategy is very limited. In this study the effect of using trained learning support assistants to help pupils underachieving in mathematics is examined using a quasi-experimental design whereby pupils receiving support were matched to those not receiving support on prior achievement and pupil background factors.