Search results

This paper examines the role of Information Technology and pupil engagement in fostering learning outcomes in a non-reading culture context at foundation level of education.

The authors adopted a cross-sectional survey design with quantitative approaches. A sample of 412 was drawn from a population of 1,692 Primary Schools. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using the SPSS software.

Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) usage had positive and significant effects on pupil engagement and pupil learning outcomes. Pupil engagement moderated in the relationship between ICT usage and pupils' learning outcomes.

The cross-sectional design used in data collection may not monitor learning outcomes of the given samples over a longer period of time. Future studies should consider longitudinal research designs so that the behaviors of the learners can be observed over a long period of time.

Deliberate efforts to advocate for and promote the use of ICTs in primary schools are important if the schools are to foster pupils' engagements and register better learning outcomes.

The study confirms pupil engagement as a moderator in the relationship between ICT usage and learning outcomes at foundational levels of education in a resource poor country with a non-reading culture.

The purpose of this paper is to identify ways teachers might employ a robot to achieve learning objectives with pupils with intellectual disabilities and potential outcome measures.

A series of five case studies where teacher-pupil dyads were observed during five planned video-recorded sessions with a humanoid robot. Engagement was rated in a classroom setting and during the last session with the robot. Video recordings were analysed for duration of engagement, teacher assistance and number of goals achieved.

Teachers identified a wide range of learning objectives ranging from an appreciation of cause and effect to improving the pupil's sense of direction. The robot's role could be to reward behaviour, provide cues or provide an active element to learning. Rated engagement was significantly higher with the robot than in the classroom.

A robot with a range of functions that allowed it to be engaging and motivating for the wide range of pupils in special education would be expensive and require teachers to learn how to use it. The findings identify ways to provide evidence that this expenditure of time and money is worthwhile.

There is almost no research teachers can refer to on using robots to support learning in children with intellectual disabilities. This paper is therefore of value for researchers who wish to investigate using robots to educate children with intellectual disabilities, as it can provide vital information to aid study design.

Educational institutions are facing a growing number of challenges, which impair their ability to provide high quality and effective educational services. The involvement of pupils in co-creating learning experiences is a fundamental ingredient of the recipe for increased educational quality. Inter alia, the implementation of citizen science initiatives at schools allows pupils to be active co-producers of educational services. The purpose of this paper to shed light on the attributes of citizen science projects targeted at pupils (aged between six and ten) attending primary schools, in order to identify their potential implications in terms of educational services’ quality improvement.

Secondary data were collected from the Scistarter® web platform. Projects addressed to primary schools and provided with specific classroom materials were taken into consideration (n=65). A qualitative, comparative and bird’s eye analysis was performed: first, looking at the role and the tasks assigned to pupils, the projects were grouped in four categories; second, the potential implications of citizen science on educational services’ quality were investigated.

Citizen science at school paves the way for pupils’ empowerment and for their direct involvement in the co-production of educational services. Moreover, it enhances the relationship between teachers and pupils, engaging them in a co-creating partnership intended at addressing real scientific issues at school. However, citizen science is still poorly integrated into conventional educational curricula in primary schools.

From a management point of view, citizen science is thought to contribute to the improvement of educational services’ quality, stimulating pupils to partner with their peers and with teachers for the purpose of knowledge co-production; in addition, it allows for the enrichment of educational activities in primary schools. From a policy perspective, citizen science at school harmonizes with the democratization of scientific knowledge.

This is one of the first research papers to demonstrate the potential implications of citizen science on educational services’ quality and effectiveness in primary schools.

This chapter focusses on the complexity of observation, considering its role in lesson study, following a broader discussion of how observation is generally understood in teaching contexts. The authors argue that lesson study observation is formative and should not be performative in focus. In lesson study cycles, observation is a process conducted among peers ideally in a spirit of mutual support and collaborative inquiry, seeking to find answers to pedagogic challenges rather than measuring the effectiveness of individual teachers.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss a novel life cycle approach to education for sustainable development (ESD) where the students become “design thinkers”.

A case study on the creation, development and utilisation of educational games by university students is presented. The paper discusses the case study in the context of Kolb’s experiential learning and dynamic matching model, Perry’s stages of intellectual development and Beech and Macintosh’s processual learning model. The data used were from questionnaire feedback from the pupils who played the games and students who designed the games. Further qualitative feedback was collected from local schools involved in playing the games created by the students.

Overall, the students responded positively to the assessment and would like to see more of this type of assessment. They enjoyed the creativity involved and the process of developing the games. For the majority of the skill sets measured, most students found that their skills improved slightly. Many students felt that they had learnt a lot about effectively communicating science. The school children involved in playing the student-created games found them accessible with variable degrees of effectiveness as engaging learning tools dependent on the game.

This paper contributes a new approach to ESD which incorporates learner-centred arrangements within a full life cycle of game creation, delivery, playing and back to creation. The games can be used as a tool for enhancing knowledge and influencing behaviours in school children whilst enhancing ESD capacity in schools. The assessment also helps forge important links between the academic and local communities to enhance sustainable development.

The purpose of this paper is to develop bansho analysis as a research method to improve observation and analysis of instruction in lesson study, which could potentially visualise pupils’ thinking processes in a lesson.

The paper opted for a qualitative method of case study analysis. Data are drawn from a Year 6 Japanese Language lesson of a Japanese primary school. Data collection and data analysis are informed by transcript-based lesson analysis. The process of bansho formation is also reproduced based on video and audio data.

Bansho analysis illustrates three main patterns of pupils’ thinking processes, namely, variation of ideas, connection of ideas and attention to ideas. Pupils’ opinion sharing at the beginning of the lesson led to a variety of ideas and they were recorded as part of bansho. There, pupils proceeded to establish connection among ideas. Finally, pupils displayed attention to ideas which were recorded on bansho, by returning to ideas that intrigued them.

There is a need to investigate the teacher’s role in bansho formation processes in order to develop a more comprehensive bansho analysis method. Other teaching and learning materials such as lesson plans and pupils’ notes should also be included in the study of bansho to develop a more comprehensive bansho analysis.

Bansho analysis proposed in this paper allows educators and researchers to study bansho with visualisation of bansho-related data. It would serve as an invaluable source of evidence during the observation and reflection stage of lesson study cycle.

This chapter will take a case study approach to partnership in Higher Education (HE), highlighting good practice and showcasing FOCUS West as a model of innovative collaboration. FOCUS West is a government-funded, regional access organisation in the west of Scotland (http://www.focuswest.org.uk). The region comprises roughly 5,000 square miles with a population of around 2.2 million. Delivered by a partnership of the Universities of Glasgow, Strathclyde and the West of Scotland, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow School of Art and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) it works with schools and local education authorities to increase progression to HE from the 37 lowest progression secondary schools in the area. It delivers a programme of guidance and support to pupils from S3 to S6 (14–18 year olds), targeting activity to those young people who have potential to achieve HE entry. FOCUS West, as a partnership organisation, addresses vital issues of social mobility in Scotland, where progression to university and all of the attendant opportunities, remains stubbornly linked to socio-economic circumstances.

This article explores the relationship between teachers' perceptions of administrative practice in high schools and students' perceptions of the school, teachers and their own performance. It was found that where decision making is perceived by teachers as collegial, collaborative, co‐operative and consultative and providing adequate opportunities for participation it will be more likely to lead to positive student perceptions about their school and teachers, as well as perceptions about relationships and their own performance, than where decision making is more top‐down, executive or does not foster widespread involvement. Reinforcing these findings it was found that where teachers identify the main sources of stress in their schools as lack of support from management, poor leadership and ineffective decision‐making processes, students are much less favourably disposed towards their teachers or their own engagement and performance. Previously reported results have shown that such inclusive decision‐making practices may not be widespread in high schools.

It is now generally acknowledged that the quality of the learning environment created by schools depends on the existence of efficiently managed and accessible resource services. These services, concerned as they are to develop, mainatin and make available materials that are intended to enrich the learning process, have a key role to play in the enhancement of the educational experiences pupils encounter in schools. Clearly, however, the effectiveness of these resource services will depend on how well they can be exploited by teachers who have the primary responsibility for managing pupils' learning. It is appropriate, therefore, for an article that is concerned to offer a college of education perspective on the central theme of this issue, to consider how the programme of professional preparation for teachers enables them to come to terms with the role, function, and potentialities of resource services and to acquire the skills through which they will be able to exploit these services to best effect.

The purpose of this article is to critique the strengths and weaknesses of the National College for School Leadership (NCSL). The primary purpose of the NCSL is to improve student attainment levels through enhancement of leadership capacity within England's government schools. The critique aims to include the issues of strategic rethinking, definition of terms, leadership competencies, core competencies, selection criteria, and research needs.

This article provides a review of literature related to leadership capacity building and challenges to the NCSL enhancement of student attainment levels in England's government schools.

The article indicates that the NCSL had numerous strengths adequate for the initial core activities of headteacher development. Subsequent broadening of those responsibilities to include all leadership development in government schools is a challenging task. The continued increase in expectations necessitates a strategic rethinking of NCSL capability.

The number of potential school leaders warrants reflection on current practice. The “demographic time‐bomb” of the teaching profession has implications for succession planning and professional development. The NCSL has endeavoured to prepare additional school leaders. The increase in NCSL responsibilities regarding school leadership necessitates a sharing of responsibility with other providers.

The article is among the first to critique the NCSL and to identify lessons to be learned by educational leaders from the NCSL experience.