Education

The Role and Purposes of Educational Research

Educational research potentially has a range of different roles and purposes. It may for example:
• aspire to use the findings from controlled experimentation to ‘guide’ policy and practice;
• enter into the ‘policy cycle’ at a number of points - as part of policy planning; in policy development and as part of evaluation;
• be used as part of professional development through practitioner or action research;
• have a key role in the maintenance and development of higher education.


Prof. John Furlong, Oxford University, Dept of Education, www.edstud.ox.ac.uk









.........In the first, an educational production function links measurable teacher characteristics to pupil achievement, controlling for student characteristics. The methodologies adopted in this approach vary, from IV approaches (Hoxby, 1996; Kingdon and Teal, 2007; Sprietsma and Waltenberg, 2005) to panel data studies (Clotfelter, Ladd and Vigdor, 2006; Hanushek, 2005), to randomized experiment studies
(Lavy, 2002; Glewwe and Kremer, 2006). The consensus from this wide array of studies is that many of the standard teacher characteristics such as certification, training and experience do not matter to pupil achievement (Hanushek and Rivkin, 2006). As these resumè characteristics often underpin teacher compensation policies, these findings are controversial and widely debated. A second approach calculates ‘teacher quality’ as a teacher fixed effect in an equation of student achievement gain where different groups of students (in a given year or over time) are taught by the same teacher. The resulting ‘total teacher effect’ enables the researcher to define a good teacher as one who consistently produces high achievement growth for pupils. This approach, in estimating total teacher effects, does not require identification of specific teacher characteristics that generate student learning. A number of studies have used this approach (Aaronson, Barrow and Sander, 2003; Rockoff,2004; Rivkin, Hanushek and Kain, 2005; and Hanushek, Kain, O’ Brien and Rivkin, 2005) and they conclude that teacher quality matters substantially to pupil achievement. However, when they regress this teacher fixed effect on teachers’ observed characteristics, their findings are consistent with those from the more direct achievement production function approach: observable characteristics such as certification and training explain little of the variation in teacher quality.

What can Teachers do to Raise Pupil Achievement?
M. Aslam and G. Kingdon, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, June 2007





Policies

.....This modern decentralisation agenda is key to achieving social and environmental progress in the twenty-first century. We will never win the fight to make British poverty history as long as we rely on top-down, centralised state mechanisms. We will only achieve our green objectives - whether improving the quality of life in our neighbourhoods or reducing carbon emissions - by empowering individuals and communities.

One particularly exciting aspect of this decentralisation agenda is that it is shared by other parties. Last year, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats worked together to pass the Sustainable Communities Bill, a measure which will see a major transfer of power from Westminster and Whitehall to local communities. This follows our success in working together to put pressure on the Government to introduce a Climate Change Bill. I believe the Green Party also shares our commitment to decentralise political power in Britain, and our commitment to social justice and environmental progress.

David Cameron, Dec. 2007
www.conservatives.com


Michael Gove, the Shadow Children's Secretary, pointed the finger at Labour for forcing teachers out of the profession:

"I fear that a combination of classroom bureaucracy, Government micromanagement and poor discipline in too many schools has encouraged a drift away from teaching."



Modern Britian

How come modern Britain seems incapable of dealing with these teenage gangsters? And how come they are spreading apprehension - the fear of crime, if not crime itself - into areas that are demonstrably safe?

Boris Johnson




Apologies for the length of this note, but the subject does interest me.

Kids Company does sound like a good thing (and Camila Batmanghelidjh needs all the support she can get). Kids with problems become so isolated that they need people who will listen to them. More counsellors/psychologists in schools working alongside teachers wouldn't be a bad idea, either.

(And incidentally, Merry Christmas to you, too, and all the people involved in this list.)

But like before on a similar occasion, I have to say - Boris, if you really, really want to change things, you HAVE to tackle the plight of those teachers in 'challenging' schools. School is where youngsters spend most of their time.

In France, teachers are only expected to do 18 hours of classroom teaching per week. The rest of the full-time quota is given over to marking and preparation - incredibly time-consuming activities - and all those extras that teachers have to do, like parents' evenings, project work, detentions, etc. But it's a civilized job, leaving them with time to pay individual attention to those who need it.

Over here, many teachers are expected to do up to 25 hours of teaching per week and, on top of this workload, have to cover absence/sickness. Sometimes, they may not get a break all day because they're asked to cover break/lunch-time duties, yet may then have to spend evenings/weekends doing marking and preparation.

The net result is that teachers are exhausted, with very little time to recover or regenerate from week to week, let alone build up the necessary resources to deal with difficult kids.

In addition to ALL this, they are bullied and browbeaten and pushed around by a punitive government that seems to have absolutely no idea of what the process of education entails - constant change, for instance, is destabilizing and destructive - and whose educationalists have probably never set foot in a classroom or, if they have, couldn't cope and got out of there fast (and probably into OFSTED).

It is a punishing regime - most people want to make a good job of earning a living, but they also want to get on with their lives! Why does work in some sectors have to be turned into such an ordeal? (And I would include the NHS in the list, but that's yet another matter...)

I would like to say - get rid of government interference - but that's probably unrealistic. However, EMPOWERING the teachers could build a real foundation for improvement in schools.

If kids see teachers being pushed around - an adult form of bullying on the part of our government - then it follows that they will imitate that behaviour. So teachers have to work twice as hard in 'difficult' schools.

Incidentally, in a moment of madness, I enrolled on a teaching course - and even stuck it out despite its resemblance to a crash-course in character-building. So at least I do know what it's like to be faced with a teenager who tells you to "f... off", a class that sabotages everything you try and do and the difficulty in dealing with a bunch of confused and slightly crazed boys taller than myself. Theories go out the window! (What a shame the 'students' don't follow...)

I also experienced teaching in a good school, where there were few discipline problems. Why? Because, amongst other reasons, the teachers were fully supported (and there were many of them), there were definite discipline rules and problem areas were tackled intelligently by the head and staff alike (without blame falling continually on teachers). There was also money, of course, for good facilities. It was a happy school.

source: www.boris-johnson.com

angela king said:
December 26, 2007 2:15 PM | permalink

I know that everyone ridiculed David Cameron for his "hug a hoddie" attitude (although actually he never said that) but I have always thought he had the right idea. Psychologists agree with him and say he is right. Teenagers that turn to crime have never had boundaries set, nor the loving discipline they need and have never had a chance in life. It is too easy an answer to chuck them into jail. A lot of the kids turning to crime are very intelligent, but have never had any encouragement. Young kids need goals, support and the inspiration to learn. Could more organised community service be brought in for young offenders, before things get too far and they are turning to violence? Also someone to inspire kids to learn and to see how worthwhile education is, would be fantastic. This is why I so support Mr. Johnson. He has the gift of reaching out to people through his humour, he is highly educated, but not intimidating with his knowledge. Development of culture is part of the Lord Mayor's task. I so hope he will produce incentives for youngsters to learn and to make learning fun, because so much darkness and sadness and negativity is portrayed on our tv. screens ( did you SEE the Christmas soaps!) - it would be so great to counteract that. It is inspiring to lose yourself in a book and let your imagination run free, it is inspiring to paint a picture, or knit a scarf making up your own pattern. London is rich in culture, from Doris Salcedo to Banksie to our theatres. You can get books for a few quid on the internet. It is all there, we need someone who is approachable, affable, not patronising, to turn things in a more positive direction.

source: www.boris-johnson.com



Literacy

The yobs pretend not to care about language but they do. they actually choose to speak it badly. It is a late 20th century phenomenon. Many of them were brought up to use perfectly good English but decided some where along the road to develop what they would probably call street cred. Out went their carefully knotted ties and in came their Estuary English and 'y' knows and 'like'...... It's a while since they called themselves society gels.

The era of miss Smyth with her sensible tweed skirt are gone. She taught. You listened.

But it is easy to choose to dumb down when you are suitably equipped with all the skills and tools you need to navigate your way around the language. What tends to be forgotten is that those who are dumbed down to, have no choice but to take the education menu that is offered to them. They will never hope to achieve the literacy skills that their dumbing down masters already possess.

A student once said to me, 'I want to know what you know.'


John Humphrys and John wakefield; Lost for Words; 2005, Hodder