Linda Hargreaves

Group work and whole‐class teaching with 11‐ to 14‐year‐olds compared

This article compares the academic performance and classroom behaviour of pupils when taught new concepts or engaged in problem solving in sessions organised either as cooperative group work or whole class, teacher directed instruction. Comparisons of attainment were made in classes of pupils aged 11 to 14 years (Key Stage 3) in English, mathematics and science. Pupils were also observed, mainly during the introductory phase of the topic under investigation, using a specially designed structured observation schedule. The attainment results suggest that a grouping approach is as effective, and in some cases more effective, than when whole class teaching is used. Classroom observation indicated that there were more sustained, higher cognitive level interactions when pupils worked in groups than during whole class discussions. It is argued in conclusion that the group work results could be improved still further if teachers gave more attention to training pupils to work in groups and if more time was given to debriefing after group work.

Teachers’ conceptions of teacher professionalism in England in 2003 and 2006

Theoretical and political perspectives on the nature of professionalism in teaching are abundant, but little is known about the views of teachers themselves. We asked primary and secondary school teachers in England what teacher professionalism means to them. We explored what teachers think about professionalism, on what dimensions their thinking varies, and how much it varies. We researched how successful the government had already been, and how successful it would be in the future, in changing teachers’ conceptions of professionalism. Two large-scale national surveys were conducted, with a longitudinal element. We found that teachers’ thinking about their professionalism may be construed as consisting of an inner core of strong, shared beliefs and commitments; an intermediate set of coherent but contested components of professionalism; and an outer layer of disparate elements which are generally highly disputed and which remain unintegrated into broader ways of thinking.

Group work: still a neglected art?

The requirement that pupils should work in groups seems to have become a universal panacea among policy makers to solve the problems of globalization in the workplace. In what were once called the ‘tiger economies’, such as Singapore, the Prime Minister’s 2007 National Day speech urged schools to stress cooperation and to teach less and learn more in order that the economy would continue to thrive despite the rapid growth of Mainland China’s industrial power. This is despite Singapore’s favourable position at the top of the international league table of educational performance. In Hong Kong, too, another high-flyer in the international league tables, the revised curriculum, Learning to Learn, has also stressed the need to move away from teacher-directed approaches towards greater pupil participation through the use of group work. Yet, although in western and other developed countries, such as Australia, where working in groups has a longer pedigree, there are many studies that attest to the value of group working as an effective pedagogy, both in terms of improving pupil attainment and also attitudes, particularly racial ones, the fact remains that in many classrooms group work is still a neglected art. While pupils often sit in groups, presumably for social reasons, they rarely work together as a group. In England, research by Kutnick et al. (2007) has confirmed that teachers use groups relatively infrequently in subjects such as English, mathematics and science. When group work is undertaken it is usually for practical reasons, as in the science laboratory where the determining factor is often the availability of specialist equipment. In other cases the decision to move to group work is sometimes arbitrary. For example, in one instance reported in Kutnick et al. (2007) the rationale for changing from class to groups was ‘because children were becoming bored with the class work and I thought they needed a change’. Kutnick and his colleagues’ findings are similar to those from an earlier decade (Galton & Williamson, 1992). Hopefully, therefore, this special edition with all the articles devoted to the subject of group work has something to offer to researchers, policy makers and classroom practitioners from both east and west. Those researching in circumstances where teachers are just beginning to explore the implementation of a pedagogic approach based on the use of groups will find information and discussion about such matters as the structure and composition of groups, their dynamics, the importance of training pupils to be effective group members and the necessity of briefing and debriefing the class at the start and end of lessons. Those who have already moved beyond this stage and are concerned to improve both the processes taking place within the groups and the outcomes which result from these collaborative exchanges should also find plenty to stimulate their thinking. Thus the contribution from Australia and those from North America, where most of the research on group work has been undertaken, all address, in their different ways, the problems of improving the quality of the talk taking place within Cambridge Journal of Education Vol. 39, No. 1, March 2009, 1–6

Promoting group work at key stage 3: solving an attitudinal crisis among young adolescents?

The attitudes and behaviour of 1040 pupils aged 12–14 years have been measured at the beginning and end of the school year with a battery of attitude, motivation and personality tests in an investigation of the differential effects of group work compared to whole‐class learning. A total of 44 secondary teachers of English, mathematics and science and their classes have been studied over a two‐year period. While subject attitudes and motivation scores fell significantly during the year, attitudes to group working held steady. Extraversion has been found to have a significant association with a positive approach to group work in English and mathematics. Cluster analysis has been used to identify four broad types of pupils who respond to group work in characteristically different manners. Two of the types show contrasting personality profiles, but display the least positive attitudes to school and classroom work. In 13 of 40 classes, these rather negative pupils made up at least half the class. There is evidence from English that group work in an appropriate task can arrest attainment decline for these pupils. It is argued that a shift from achievement to mastery motivation in schools with a role for cooperative group working could deliver a more effective education for disaffected youth.

The Status and Prestige of Teachers and Teaching

Teachers are entrusted with the task of ensuring children’s intellectual growth and preparing each new generation to meet the challenge of the future. One might expect that such important work would enjoy high status and considerable respect and reward within any society, but as we shall see this is not always the case: while teachers in some countries enjoy high salaries and comfortable working conditions, elsewhere they may have to do two jobs in order to survive, or they may not have been paid for months. Fortunately, as Lortie (1975) pointed out, teachers tend to seek the ‘psychic’ rewards – the desire to give children a good start in life and the pleasure of seeing them learn – rather than material rewards for their work. Unfortunately, Hoyle (2001), noting the British Labour government’s determination to raise the image, morale and status of teachers [e.g., DfES (Department for Education and Skills), 1998] sees this vital relationship with children as ‘an intractable barrier’ to improved prestige for teachers. In this chapter we shall explore these matters further, beginning with definitions of status and prestige, moving on to consider the current status of teachers, the hypothetical determinants of teachers’ status, the impact of various policies and, finally, the consequences of the status of teaching for the profession.

Progress in the middle years of schooling: Continuities and discontinuities at transfer

Recent reviews of transfer have emphasised a need for schools to give greater emphasis to curriculum and pedagogic continuity. Evidence presented in this article suggests that schools have attempted to respond by shifting the focus of current activity in the desired direction. However, the attitudes of pupils have not improved as a result. It is suggested that these attitude dips can be accounted for in part by too rigid application of the Key Stage 2 and 3 teaching strategies and by the pressures of testing and inspection on the curriculum. As a result, classroom practice in Y6 is almost identical to that experienced by pupils in secondary school. We are producing a generation of students who do well academically but are being turned off learning.

Public perceptions of the teaching profession

Concerns about the recruitment and retention of teachers have prompted recent studies into the status of teaching in several different countries. This paper analyses the findings of a survey designed to investigate public perceptions of the teaching profession in the UK. It was undertaken as part of a broader DfES‐funded longitudinal project that has been using a mixed methodology to explore individual teachers’ perceptions of their status, and the status of teaching as viewed by education stakeholders and the general public. Whilst the survey confirmed many previous findings about the way in which teaching is viewed, it also produced some surprises. First, 50% of respondents deemed teaching to be an attractive career, a higher percentage than expected. Second, men, especially older men, were more likely than women to see teaching as an attractive career. Third, the survey found no obvious differences in the comparative status accorded to primary and secondary teachers. This is in sharp contrast to the views of many writers in this field who have argued that traditionally the younger the children taught, the lower the occupational status of their teachers. Overall, the findings suggest a positive change in the public perceptions of teaching particularly amongst the younger age‐range.

The Primary Curriculum - Learning from International Perspectives

Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors List of Figures and Tables List of Photographs Introduction Janet Moyles and Linda Hargreaves Part I - Primary Curricula: Origins and Influences 1. Historical and Philosophical Influences on the Primary Curriculum Mel Vlaeminke 2. The Concept of a Development Curriculum Geva Blenkin and Vic Kelly 3. The Primary National Curriculum in England: A Sociological Perspective Paul Ryan 4. Changing Primary/Elementary School Curricula: An Analysis of the English Experience Colin Richards 5. Making a Curriculum: Some Principles of Curriculum Building Maurice Galton Part II - Primary Curricula: International Contexts and Perspectives Introduction Janet Moyles and Linda Hargreaves 6. Primary Education for the Rural Black South African Child Anthony Pell 7. Primary Curriculum: The Japanese Perspective Hidenori Sugimine and Kazumi Yamamoto 8. Relationships and Tensions in the Primary Curriculum of the United States Glenn De Voogd 9. Primary Education: An Australian Perspective Les Regan 10. Primary Schooling in Hong Kong Paul Morris and Bob Adamson 11. Curriculum across Cultures: Contexts and Connections Martin Cortazzi Endpiece Linda Hargreaves and Janet Moyles

Emotional and Motivational Engagement at School Transition: A Qualitative Stage-Environment Fit Study.

Adolescents typically like school less after making age-graded school transitions. Stage-environment fit theory (Eccles & Midgley, 1989) attributes this to a mismatch between developmental needs and new school environments. Our in vivo study provides a basis for future quantitative designs by uncovering the most prevalent stage-environment interactions in adolescents’ descriptions about school. Across one school year, adolescents discussed their emotional and motivational engagement. Emotional engagement (i.e., liking) was mainly based on adolescents’ emotions interacting with their daily experiences of teachers, peers, and lessons. In comparison, motivational engagement (i.e., value) was attributed to distal interactions between the self-concept and school as a gateway to friendships and a career. Because unique stage-environment interactions occurred for each engagement type and adolescents felt simultaneously engaged and disengaged, we recommend finer grained analyses of measured engagement. Finally, we argue for discerning time periods of preparing for, encountering, and adapting to new environments in stage-environment fit models, in our proposed model of transition phase psychology.

Student teachers' distinctive contributions to research on primary school children's beliefs about knowledge and knowing

Student teachers’ research is usually valued more for its contribution to their professional learning than for its contribution to the research topic itself. This paper reports on a research collaboration with eight student primary teachers in England, intended to build on a previously established project investigating young children’s epistemological beliefs. Analysis of the students’ written reports leads to an elaborated conceptual framework that draws attention to the need for a dialogue with all children about the interfaces experienced within, between and beyond each school context. The conclusions point to the distinctive research position held by student teachers in crossing boundaries between school and university contexts, and the particular relevance of the research topic for illuminating the out-of-school knowledge integral to children’s sense of self and learning.