Dave Baker

Introducing Literacy to Four Year Olds: Creating Classroom Cultures in Three Schools

A principal aim of the National Curriculum in England was to ensure equality of opportunity for all children, regardless of race or social class. This aim was strengthened through the introduction of the National Literacy Strategy 10 years later which set out to standardize not just the literacy curriculum itself but also the materials and methods used to teach it. But are children living in very different economic circumstances really given equal access to literacyduring their first year in school? This article first uses insights from the work of Bourdieu on the economic, social and cultural capital or resources possessed by families and Bernstein on different curricula and pedagogic discourse to explain why some children are likely to have more success than others in making sense of classroom learning. It then goes on to argue that neither theory can fully account for children’s progress and shows how one teacher creates a particular culture with her class that defies existing paradigms of social class, capital and early school success.

Navigating Schooled Numeracies: Explanations for Low Achievement, in Mathematics of UK Children From Low SES Background

The intention of the research reported here was to seek explanations for low achievement in school mathematics, as conventionally assessed, that derive from broad understandings of mathematics as social. Such a broad social perspective can provide explanations for low achievement, which could lead to different understandings and hence to different teaching approaches. This study centered on 5- to 8-year-old children from a White working-class area in England. Data were collected during visits to the children in school, in their homes, and in the broader community over a 3-year period. Parents, teachers, and other professionals in the broad school context were interviewed, and data were also collected from school documents and policy statements. Interpretations of these data in terms of ways of understanding childrens achievements in school mathematics are put forward. The potential effects of these factors on low schooled numeracy attainment are discussed, together with some possible strategic implications for practice and policy.