Marilyn Osborn

What Professional Responsibility Means to Teachers: national contexts and classroom constants

Summary This article discusses some of the findings pertaining to how teachers see their work which were produced by a comparative study of 360 French and 360 English primary school teachers. The sample was drawn from schools in four different types of matched catchment areas—rural, inner‐city, average suburban and affluent suburban— in Avon, UK and Bouches du Rhone, France. Four major dimensions of difference between the two national contexts are identified in terms of the range of professional activities undertaken; the ambiguity of the teachers task; the style of pedagogy and the relative importance to teachers of the process as against the products of learning. Against a background of contemporary policy changes which seem likely to render the teaching context increasingly similar in the two countries, the article argues that attempts to change teachers’ practice without due regard to those conceptions of professional responsibility which are deeply rooted in particular national traditions as well as...

New methodologies for comparative research? Establishing 'constants' and 'contexts' in educational experience

Drawing upon a programme of comparative studies in three European countries, England, France and Denmark, this paper discusses some of the particular issues and problems that can arise in comparative research. It outlines some ways in which the research has attempted to resolve these and to shed light on the complex interplay of factors—personal, social and structural—that influence young peoples engagement with learning. It argues that comparative approaches which combine careful measurement with ‘up‐close’, deep understanding of real‐world contexts, can be a very powerful mix. The paper proceeds to discuss some innovative features of comparative research design such as the use of student quotations from the three countries as a stimulus to group interviews with students and the employment of an ‘insider‐outsider’ perspective, both in the development of research instruments and in fieldwork, by collaborators from more than one country working together and writing up their observations of countries other...Drawing upon a programme of comparative studies in three European countries, England, France and Denmark, this paper discusses some of the particular issues and problems that can arise in comparative research. It outlines some ways in which the research has attempted to resolve these and to shed light on the complex interplay of factors—personal, social and structural—that influence young peoples engagement with learning. It argues that comparative approaches which combine careful measurement with ‘up‐close’, deep understanding of real‐world contexts, can be a very powerful mix. The paper proceeds to discuss some innovative features of comparative research design such as the use of student quotations from the three countries as a stimulus to group interviews with students and the employment of an ‘insider‐outsider’ perspective, both in the development of research instruments and in fieldwork, by collaborators from more than one country working together and writing up their observations of countries other than their own. It is argued that such an approach can give valuable insights to other comparative researchers who wish to acknowledge the importance of both structure and agency in order to illuminate the complexities of the interaction between culture, social structure and institutions and individual action.

A Lesson in Progress? Primary Classrooms Observed in England and France

Abstract As part of the Bristol‐Aix project, a comparative study of primary school teachers in England and France prior to the introduction of the National Curriculum, teachers in the two countries were ‘shadowed’ for a week at a time in order to focus in a detailed way on their classroom practice. Striking differences were observed in pedagogy, in classroom organisation, and in teacher‐pupil relations, which were far greater between the two countries than any of the differences observed within one country. The findings provide a basis for projecting some of the more likely results of current policy initiatives in England and Wales and contribute to an understanding of teachers’ responses to educational change.

Teachers and education policy: Roles and models

Abstract Four models are outlined for describing and analysing the role of teachers in the formulation of educational policy and the resulting processes of change. The model of teachers as partners in education policy making draws on a pluralist view of political processes and an assumption of a degree of autonomy for teachers and schools. A model of teachers as implementers of change draws a sharp distinction between the processes of policy making and policy execution and excludes teachers from an involvement in the former. A model of teachers as resisting change has been put forward both by those most opposed to and those most supportive of current educational policy developments. Finally, a model of teachers as policy makers in practice is proposed to describe the way in which the reality of teaching situations can lead to the independent actions of individual teachers having systematic policy effects. The applicability of these models is considered in the context of contemporary educational changes dr...

National Context, Educational Goals and Pupil Experience of Schooling and Learning in Three European Countries

Abstract The paper reports on the findings of a major research project which examines the relationship between the national context and national educational values as these are translated into the school context, teacher beliefs, classroom processes and pupil perspectives on learning and schooling. The theoretical rationale for such research is examined and evidence is drawn from questionnaires administered to approximately 1,800 pupils in secondary schools in England, France and Denmark, individual and group interviews with pupils, discussions with teachers and headteachers, and classroom observation. The paper explores the significance of the cultural context in which learning occurs by examining pupil perspectives on the purposes of schooling and on the teaching they receive. Our findings suggest that although pupils in different European countries share many common concerns, they also come to school with significantly different attitudes towards themselves as learners, towards school and towards achie...

The changing nature of assessment in English primary classrooms: Findings from the PACE project 1989–1997

The effective use of evaluation is currently hailed as the ultimate tool in raising standards and ensuring accountability for virtually all areas of life. Nowhere has this been more in evidence than in the area of schooling. This increasing emphasis on target setting and the raising of standards through summative assessment has brought with it major changes to the educative experience for both teachers and their pupils. The PACE Project, which began in 1989, was designed to track these changes as they impacted on a representative sample of teachers and their pupils as they progressed through primary schooling. This article highlights some of the major issues which have emerged from the study and goes on to discuss what implications these might have for future policy-making.

The Cultural Context of Teachers’ Work: Policy, Practice and Performance

The last decade of the 20th Century was a time of major policy change for schools and schooling. Teachers have found themselves at the centre of a generalised drive to increase the quality of education and improve outcomes for pupils in order to create a more skilled and educated workforce. Levin (1998) has referred to ‘a policy epidemic’ which is carried by agents such as the World Bank and the OECD to both developed and developing economies alike. As a result, a continuing de-regulation of commercial interests creating a global market for goods, services and labour has combined with increased technological solutions to the production and communication of knowledge, foregrounding education as the key ingredient in national economic development strategies

Assessment in French primary schools

ABSTRACT Despite its current high regard in parts of the English educational community, education in France has been as much the subject of public and political concern in recent years as it has in many other countries. One manifestation of this concern was the Loi Jospin of 1989, the aim of which was to continue to encourage the growth of diversity among schools as a response to local needs. Associated with this goal was that of making teachers more willing and able to respond to the increasingly diverse needs of their pupils. By so doing, it was hoped to raise the overall level of student success within the system. This paper looks at one aspect of teachers’ practice and the impact of current reforms on it–that of assessment. Having briefly described the provisions of the Jospin Law, it discusses how these are affecting teachers’ attitudes and practice, using data from the ESRC‐funded ‘Systems, Teachers and Educational Policy’ (STEP) project (ESRC Award No.: R 000 23 4673). Some tentative conclusions ab...

Teacher Professional Identity Under Conditions of Constraint

When we as researchers write about the impact of recent educational reform on teacher’s work and sense of professional identity we often seem to infer that the constraints which operate on teacher professional autonomy are relatively new. However, the struggle for control over teachers and teacher’s work is a long-term rather than a new phenomenon (Reynolds, 2005). Teachers have long worked under conditions of constraint and ‘have always been under structural controls’ (Reynolds and Smaller, 1997: 15) although there is a long history of teachers managing to mediate, accommodate and resist state incursions into teaching and learning. From at least the 1930s onwards many researchers and writers have argued that the affective and emotional dimensions of teaching are central, yet, in practice, teachers have often been besieged by external directives or controls which mitigate against these aspects of education. Waller (1932), for example, argued that human relationships were vital in schools, arguing, ‘let no one be deceived, the important things that happen in schools result from the interaction of personalities, a theme which was echoed in D.H. Lawrence’s portrayal of Ursula’s first experiences of teaching in ‘The Rainbow’. Yet both the fictional Ursula and the real teachers in Waller’s study often fought a real battle against implacable school authorities to keep these values alive. In the 1960s and 1970s the teachers studied by Lortie (1975) and Jackson (1968) accepted the legitimacy of the prescribed curriculum but saw their role as more than just implementing this. They were ‘moral agents’ as well, emphasising the social and personal development of children and the close connection between this and successful learning. For these teachers and those studied in the 1980s by Nias (1989), the main rewards in teaching came from the affective dimension of classroom events, from children responding well and from being influenced by their teaching. It is clear that these values have long been deeply held by teachers, particularly those working in primary education. Yet at a time when school systems are being restructured to meet ever-increasing demands for accountability, for greater rationality and for technical competencies in teaching, these sources of professional satisfaction are under threat as never before (Hoyle and John, 1995). In England, for example, with the introduction of the National Curriculum, national assessment, the literacy and numeracy hours, a system of performance

Review Symposium: Educational Research and Evidence-based Practice - Edited by Martyn Hammersley

Educational Research and Evidence-based Practice. Edited by Martyn Hammersley. Pp. 320. Los Angeles and London: Sage. 2007. £65.00 (hbk), £21.99 (pbk). ISBN 9781412945615(hbk), 9781412945622(pbk)