Graham Tall

A pre-school training programme for children with poor phonological awareness: effects on reading and spelling

An earlier paper published in this journal described the pilot study and first two phases of a longitudinal study that examined the possibility of preventing the emergence of written language difficulties, by addressing the ability of pre-schoolers to make phonological judgements (Layton, Deeny, Upton and Tall, 1996). The literacy development of the children involved in the study was assessed when they had been in mainstream education for approximately two years. It was discovered that there were no significant differences, in terms of written language achievement, between the children who had received phonological training while in nursery school and their peers in a control group whose training programme had not featured phonological awareness activities. These findings challenge the view that training pre-schoolers to attend to the sound structure of words promotes later literacy development. The results are considered in the context of other research findings, and then the study is discussed in both quantitative and qualitative terms, with some comment on the feasibility of identifying pre-schoolers at risk for literacy failure on the basis of poor phonological awareness.

British Science Curriculum Projects‐‐How Have They Taken Root in Schools?

Summaries English. The major national curriculum development projects in the UK were produced between 1963 and 1973. Although funded by two differentnational organizations, there has been considerable co‐operation and overlap of project staff and ideas resulting in a continuousrefinement of the centre‐periphery model used. By the end of the 10‐year period the models defects had become clear and the continuing national projects considered it essential to request additional funds for further dissemination and after‐care. Subsequent projects have mostly been based on a local curriculum development model involving practising teachers to a much greater extent both in the curriculum development process and in the preparation of materials. It has become apparent that there is no single measure on which a project can be called successful or on which it can be determined that a project has ‘taken root’. Projects can fulfil their proposers’ wildest hopes and yet achieve little uptake; or, they can take root in the...

Quantitative and qualitative effects of dictionary use on written examination scores

The introduction of dictionaries into modern language GCSE written examinations raised a wide range of questions, not the least of which was the effect of dictionary use on examination scores. At both Foundation and Higher Tier, dictionaries enabled candidates to obtain higher marks. Although the difference between dictionaries was less marked with Foundation candidates, dictionary use had a direct bearing on the marks obtained on different types of questions in both Tiers. The way in which candidates used the dictionaries in both Tiers varied. Foundation candidates needed them primarily to understand the rubrics, Higher Tier candidates primarily to answer the questions. It is evident that candidates require far more training in using dictionaries since a large majority of candidates from all bands failed to use them for checking gender or spelling words. There was widespread ignorance of the differences between verbs and nouns, made worse in many cases by a lack of understanding of dictionary abbreviations for word categories. There were also several examples of a number of phrases being taken directly from the dictionary. Some candidates were evidently unable to find particular word meanings, probably due to their inability to recognise personal forms of verbs.

The impact on teachers of changing patterns of professional development

Abstract Changing patterns of professional development for teachers in England and Wales have evolved in response to changes in national and local funding for in-service training. This article reports an investigation of the impact of these changes on the experiences of a group of 72 students on a higher degree course. It investigates their reasons for studying, the ways in which studying affects their work, family and social life and the ways in which these factors may affect their studies. Difficulties faced by students concerning funding, travel and finding time for study are examined and implications for course provision are considered.