Neville Bennett

Changing theories, changing practice: exploring early childhood teachers’ professional learning

Abstract In a period of radical educational reform, improving understanding of teachers’ professional learning is important for those who seek to make changes in classroom practice. Research-based enquiry is seen as the foundation of reflective practice, enabling teachers to generate pedagogical knowledge. However, teachers’ professional learning is inadequately theorized, and there is a lack of clarity about the type of theoretical framework to guide their development. This article gives insights into how teachers change their theories and practice. The data are drawn from a research study carried out in England which examined nine early childhood teachers’ theories of play and their relationship to practice. As an unintended outcome of their close involvement in the data collection and analysis, all of the teachers changed their theories, or practice, or both. The contexts which stimulated these changes and the learning processes which the teachers experienced are described and analyzed. On the basis of these data, a three-stage model of change is proposed and explicated, based on Fenstermachers theory of professional learning. The conclusions indicate a need for a theoretical underpinning for teachers’ professional development which might also inform the design of teacher education courses.

The Effects of Group Composition on Group Interactive Processes and Pupil Understanding

Previous research has demonstrated the cognitive and affective benefits to be accrued from co‐operative group work. However this body of research has largely been limited to consideration of group products rather than group processes and as such has failed to provide explanations of how, or why, improved outcomes occur. This study focused on group processes in order to throw light on the relationship between group composition, interactive processes and pupil understanding on a cooperative decision‐making task. More specifically it reports on the nature and type of talk in homogeneous, heterogeneous and mixed attaining groups, and their relationships to pupil retention and understanding.

The nature and quality of talk in co-operative classroom groups

Abstract The main aim of the study was to investigate the impact of changing classroom grouping practices from those requiring individual, to those requiring co-operative, outcomes. The particular focus is on the nature and quality of talk in co-operative groups, and the extent to which talk varied in relation to the content and demand in the tasks, the curriculum area, and type of co-operative group implemented. Task related talk was classified in several ways, focussing particularly on modes of conversations derived from a model stressing action and abstract talk. Examples of conversational mode are provided, and implications for teachers and curriculum developers considered.

Class Size in Primary Schools: perceptions of headteachers, chairs of governors, teachers and parents

Abstract Class sizes in primary schools have continued to rise throughout the last decade, in contrast to those in secondary schools. The response of central government has been that there is no evidence linking class size and pupil outcomes in Britain, and that class size is an issue to be resolved by schools and local government. This study was designed to assess the experiences, attitudes and perceptions of the major participants and users of statutory primary schooling‐‐headteachers, chairs of governors, teachers and parents‐‐in three broad areas: the current situation in their school and the importance of class size in the present educational context; how class size affects children as learners, and teachers classroom practices; and the management of resources and decision‐making at school level in relation to class size. The findings of a national survey are presented together with a consideration of their implications for action at school and governmental level.

Mentoring Processes in School‐based Training

Abstract Previous research on mentoring in school‐based training has indicated that although this is a very influential role it is often poorly conceived and prepared for. Dialogues appear to be characterised by a lack of challenge and reflection, knowledge bases for teaching are treated in very different ways, and roles, responsibilities and expectations are often unclear. The main aim of this study therefore was to gain a greater understanding of mentoring processes in pre‐service training, through analyses of the perspectives of, and dialogues between, student‐teachers and all those involved in their mentoring in one institution and its partner schools. Analyses of data focused on differences in the nature and content of discussions and conferences of student‐teachers with class teachers, co‐tutors and university supervisors. These analyses revealed large differences consistent with the mentoring model used, but provided little support for previous empirical claims.

The Effective Primary School Teacher: The Search for a Theory of Pedagogy.

Abstract Research on teaching-learning processes in classrooms has increased markedly over the last decade or more. Although the principle long-term aim of these studies has been the improvement of practice, they have been undertaken from different theoretical perspectives, utilizing differing assumptions, foci, and methods. The aim of this article is to analyse this theoretical development and assess the extent to which understandings and explanations of classroom processes and outcomes have been enhanced, and where future developments might lie.

Pedometer-assessed physical (ambulatory) activity in Cypriot children.

This study examined gender, seasonal and school versus after-school timedifferences in physical activity levels assessed by pedometer. Year 6 primary school children (n= 256) wore pedometers for five days in winterand for the same period of time in the summer. Two-way analysis of varianceshowed that boys acquired significantly higher mean daily step counts than girls in winter (15,480 ± 4153 vs 11,160 ± 2694), and summer (17,624 ± 5035 vs 13,607 ± 4396). Children’s mean dailystep counts were significantly higher in summer than in winter. Children attained significantly higher mean step counts during after-school time than during school time. No significant differences could be found between activity levels on school days or on Sundays. Expected daily step counts are utilized to describe the physical activity levels of the children.

Higher education: core skills in a learning society

This paper is based on the initial findings of the ESRC study on the acquisition and development of core skills in higher education and employment. The context for the study is provided by contested notions of a learning society apparent in the mismatch between the skills and knowledge that universities currently provide and what employers state that they want. The paper takes the form of a series of propositions and questions relating to the perspectives of those in higher education. It discusses the multiple interpretations, and lack of clarity, of the vocabulary of skills, and the difficulties for higher education in meeting the demands of a learning society. It is suggested that changes must be grounded in a more developed approach to the conceptualization of student provision and an enhanced understanding of how students learn.

Progression and Continuity in Early Childhood Education: Tensions and contradictions

Abstract This article focuses on the current policy context in early childhood education in England and Wales. The provision of high quality preschool education is regarded internationally as a significant factor in raising educational standards. Such aspirations are dependent on achieving effective patterns of continuity and progression from preschool to school. Despite the centrality of these terms in policy rhetoric progression and continuity are disputed and under‐conceptualized concepts. Furthermore, there is a dearth of empirical studies that explore the relationships between progression in learning and progression in the curriculum. The central aim of this article is to clarify some of the tensions and contradictions inherent in current conceptions of progression and continuity, drawing on perspectives from theory, policy and practice. These perspectives suggest that achieving progression and continuity through curricula which secure high quality outcomes is a difficult and, potentially, elusive as...

Annotation: Class Size and the Quality of Educational Outcomes

There has, over the last few years, been a keen and contentious debate surrounding the interpretation and implications of an inexorably upward trend in class sizes in Britain, focusing particularly on the primary sector. This has been played out against a backcloth of such diverse influences as the continued diminution in public sector spending, low teacher morale, changes in school management and budgeting incorporating a market approach to school enrolment, the enhanced role of parents in school governance, the publication of league tables, and disputes about differential funding of schools. Day, Tolley, Hadfield, Parkin, and Watling (1996) characterise the resultant polarisation of view as being between education pressure groups on the one hand and the government on the other, i.e. the “critical” versus the “official” view. However, this is probably too narrow a characterisation because all parties with a legitimate interest in education have been involved, from parents and teachers through to national pressure groups such as teacher unions and the National Commission on Education. Several independent surveys have been undertaken, which show both the wide consensus about the effect of increasing class sizes among these groups, and the strength with which they hold their views.