redland papers - university of the west of england, bristol redland papers...pers (nrp). new redland...

REDLAND PAPERSN

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The Journal for Reflective Education Professionals

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EditorDr Martin Ashley

Editorial AssistantKathryn Last

Graphics and DesignStewart Gedge

Editorial BoardDr Gaynor AttwoodProfessor Jacky BrineDr Richard EkeDr Penelope HarnettDr David JamesElizabeth Newman

Subscription EnquiriesThe Research OfficeUWE Faculty of EducationS BlockFrenchay CampusColdharbour LaneBRISTOLBS16 1QY

Contents

Editorial Martin Ashley 5

Pace and the Management of School Knowledge in 8 Primary Classrooms Richard Eke & Lalit Kumar

National Strategies: Support or Straitjacket? 13 Jo Barkham and Ruth Sharpe, with Jo Miller

What’s happened to curriculum breadth and balance 21 in primary schools? Penelope Harnett with Elizabeth Newman

What Futures From Primary Education? Learning 30identities in the balance Alison Bailey & Steve Barnes

What Makes a Pedagogy Fit For Key Stage Two? 36 Martin Ashley & Mike Nicholson

Learning Development for Higher Education Students 48in a Further Education College: A case study Janet Brewer

Facing the Challenge, Meeting the Bright Future 57Reflection on the changes of the Chinese Education Policies in the Past 50 Years

Ma Liya

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Editorial

Martin Ashley

W elcome to issue 01 of the relaunched Red-land Papers, now named New Redland Pa-

pers (NRP). New Redland Papers has spent a long time in gestation. The brief at the outset of this pe-riod was to create a high quality “third way” jour-nal that offered a peer reviewed outlet for applied research in education. The original Redland Papers was conceived by Andrew Pollard as a journal that would nurture new academic colleagues into pub-lishing, but this concept was overtaken by a range of events and circumstances, not the least of which was that many colleagues were publishing elsewhere in established, peer reviewed journals. The idea of the “UWE academic” focused attention on two dif-ferent kinds of publication. On the one hand, there would be the traditional, peer reviewed academic publication in the ever proliferating range of jour-nals relevant to education. On the other hand, there would be publication in professional journals. With-out disparaging these (which are probably read by many more people than academic journals), few are peer reviewed, a factor that inevitably raises ques-tions of status, particularly with regard to the RAE (Research Assessment Exercise). So New Redland Papers is peer reviewed, and will become more rig-orously so in the future, as it seeks to promote parity of esteem for “analytic research into practice in the tradition of the reflective practitioner”.

If we are to understand this concept better, we need to have a firm grasp of the notion of a scholarly underpinning for professional practice. The challenge that is set for NRP contributors is to know the up-to-date scholarly literature that underpins contemporary professional practice. Without this grounding in literature, reflexivity is in danger of degenerating into anecdotalism and the notion of the reflective practitioner may become intellectually vacuous. This is the challenge that faces EdD students embarking on their thesis research. The EdD, like the PhD, is a research award but it is designed for “busy, experienced professionals who wish to lead and develop their practice through research at the highest level”. EdD students must

know thoroughly the scholarly literature that grounds their professional work. New Redland Papers must be a journal that all colleagues turn to for stimulating updates on the current scholarship that underpins their professional practice

The gestation period of New Redland Papers, however, has seen further major change. UWE has appointed a new Vice-Chancellor, Sir Howard Newby, and through this appointment, a new vision for the university has come to the fore. A key concept that New Redland Papers must increasingly embrace if it is to be at the forefront of the “third way” is that of knowledge exchange. In the past, universities undertook teaching and research. Now, the leading universities are involved in lifelong learning, research, knowledge transfer, social inclusion, local and regional regeneration and civil and cultural engagement. New Redland Papers must reflect all of these priorities. It must become renowned for making knowledge work across a spectrum of activity. The spectrum of activity that is education clearly includes all the above priorities, so New Redland Papers must reflect them adequately. Knowledge exchange is not knowledge transfer, so New Redland Papers cannot pontificate from an ivory tower. It must be at the cutting edge of a two way flow that is best facilitated, according to Sir Howard Newby, by effective staff and student work placements. That is surely at the heart of what is done on the EdD and can be at the heart of this new journal, if it is successful in stimulating scholarly reflection in the workplace.

New Redland Papers is not a house journal for the UWE’s (soon to amalgamate) Faculty of Education. Inevitably, the larger number of contributions will continue to be from Faculty members, whether staff or students. Knowledge exchange, however, will not be occurring through this journal if contributions from those in the workplace who engage with our staff and students are not included. This is a tall order when so many education professionals

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are burdened with bureaucracy and operate in survival mode with regard to constant political intervention. New Redland Papers must be bold in championing their cause. It must call for professionals to have the time to read the scholarly literature that underpins their practice, and to engage through this in well informed critique of what they are being asked to do. There must be time to read New Redland Papers and other journals as well as the national strategies. There must be a market place for knowledge exchange otherwise a folklore of what the strategies are assumed to say will stand in the way of vibrant interpretation by creative professionals. Such interpretation, constantly renewed, is necessary to turn any document into meaningful, living practice.

This issue is, perhaps, a modest start. It focuses on the primary phase and the majority of contributions are by members of the Faculty of Education’s Primary and Early Years School. The next issue will focus on the secondary and post-compulsory phase, with the majority of contributions by members of the Faculty’s Secondary and Post-Compulsory School. The third issue will contain a majority of contributions by members of the EdD community of practice, which will reflect the contribution of education across the whole range of public service professions.

In focusing on the primary phase, there is some inevitable questioning of the national strategies. Richard Eke and Lalit Kumar demonstrate admirably the principle of grounding reflection on professional practice in scholarship. For example, they remind us how the word “pace”, anecdotally attributed to OFSTED, actually derives from Bernstein’s writing. This (and what Bernstein actually said about “pace”) is essential professional knowledge for primary teachers. The focus of their article is on classroom talk and the control of this in the context of Excellence and Enjoyment. It challenges us to respond to Robin Alexander’s critique of this document, the whole notion of “no pedagogy in England”. This

is tackled by Mike Nicholson and myself in our comparative study that calls attention to the fact that there are alternatives to national strategies, both in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.

Jo Barkham, Ruth Sharpe and Jo Miller develop the theme of the child’s voice in their questioning of whether the national strategies have promoted a creative pedagogy or stifled professional thinking. Classroom talk is as important for them as it is for Eke & Kumar and concerns are again raised about “pace” and what happens when this becomes synonymous with “urgency”. They also draw attention to the importance of attitude and how this can be caught by the pupils sensing their teacher’s attitude. This concerns Nicholson and myself too as we discuss the treatment of subject knowledge in our pedagogical comparisons. For us, enthusiasm is an essential teacher quality, and this clearly resonates with what Barkham et al have to say about attitude.

Penelope Harnett and Elizabeth Newman give us a good illustration of knowledge exchange when they discuss the achievements of primary school children who have visited the Faculty, and of activities such as mask making by PGCE students for a production of Noye’s Fludde. Such contacts break down the ivory tower approach and are hugely welcome. Their exemplification is in the context of a broad and balanced curriculum and the element of scholarly grounding comes through in an historical overview of this most challenging of all topics. It is also evident in the essential task of problematisation and we are rightly guided away from anecdotal assumptions about what was worse or better in the past. In referring to their own research, Harnett & Newman echo Barkham et al in drawing attention to children’s attitudes. They are able to provide evidence. In the words of one child, “you learn more if you are enjoying it, you pay more attention”.

Alison Bailey and Steve Barnes are also concerned about the narrowing of the curriculum. They refer to OFSTED’s description of “the outstanding primary school” and it is noticeable

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that such a school might well be the product of the practices described by the authors who precede them in this journal. Again, we see knowledge exchange in action, this time through Bristol Cathedral’s well regarded education days for Y6.

Turning to the wider world, we are pleased to include a paper by Ma Liya, a visiting academic from China hosted by the Faculty of Education last year. Ma Liya’s paper is presented in the form it was submitted so English readers might find some of the descriptions a little hard to follow and there is not always a direct correspondence between the Chinese idea and the English cultural interpretation that might at first sight present itself. It is nevertheless an excellent example of a different kind of knowledge exchange and merits careful study. The content is intrinsically fascinating but the need for a global perspective on knowledge about education is clearly demonstrated.

Finally, we are pleased to include a paper by Janet Brewer which I know many of my colleagues teaching in FE and HE will find interesting. May I encourage others to follow Janet’s lead and submit material for future issues of New Redland Papers.

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Alexander (2000) suggests that pedagogy can be described as the science of the art

of teaching. As Alexander and others so clearly demonstrate the science is based in the theorised study of classrooms. Stenhouse (1984) reminds us that the legitimacy of such study rests on the intention to improve the quality of learning for those in classrooms. Clarity about what counts as improving the quality of learning requires clar-ity about links between learning and teaching. In making these connections we recognise that the study of primary pedagogy is a value-laden activity. Without exploring the values basis of our work in detail we can note questions of inclusion, gen-der appropriate education and the recognition of cultural diversity in making recommendations for primary practice based on research activity. This spectrum of commitments raises questions of how the learning of particular groups of children can enhance the learning of all children.

Debates to date have often been premised on psychological accounts of learning and now generally locate learning in a social context in which learning may be generated through the perturbation of a learner’s existing schema (wobbling their thinking) or through extending the learner’s zone of proximal development (showing and telling). In both of these accounts attention to the voices of the learners is seen as an essential for the study of teaching and for teaching itself. For many years classroom studies have shown the importance of the voice of the teacher in determining both the form and content of pupil talk. It is now a common place that the metaphors of scaffolding and handover (Bruner and Haste, 1987) are used to describe the ways in which teachers arrange for talk and activity in primary classrooms (eg. Tharp and Gallimore, 1988). The metaphor implies that children will make their own sense of learning and thus reinforces the importance of listening to the children’s voices in classrooms.

Alongside the study of pedagogy the question of what counts as worthwhile classroom knowledge has become the subject of a continuing range of policy initiatives. Policy agendas have led to the production of the National Curriculum requirements defining worthwhile classroom knowledge and the prioritisation of English and Mathematics and the related pedagogic strategies. The implementation of these strategies have provided a focus for the interrogation of classroom practice from a range of perspectives (Earl et al, 2003, Ofsted 2002, Lee and Eke 2004). The final report of the external evaluation of the National Literacy Strategy (NLS) (DfEE1997) and National Numeracy Strategy (NNS) in England asserted they were, with a few reservations, successful policy innovations (Earl et al 2003). An HMI overview (Ofsted 2002) reported reservations about the underachievement of pupils in just over half the schools in areas of social deprivation in which good progress was not made. The challenge and potential difficulties in reconciling the strategy with the requirements for children with special educational needs have been identified and in particular, the issue of including all children in the whole class interactive teaching (Wearmouth and Soler 2001). In this connection the Ofsted report commented favourably on subtle changes in pace employed by a teacher. Even so the strategy appears to leave unresolved the continuing difficulties of boys and pupils with special educational needs or in areas of social and economic deprivation. The operation of the NLS is one site where issues of the differentiation of pace through teaching can be observed.

Issues of the pace of teaching in NLS have concerned researchers with regard to the opportunities available for the development of critical language and reasoning capabilities (Riley, 2001). The analysis of English et al. (2002) concludes that pupil’s contributions were not extended, it was unlikely that the talk would begin to resemble discussion, and a central concern identified was

Pace and the Management of School Knowledge in Primary ClassroomsRichard Eke and Lalit Kumar

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that of pace (See also Mroz et al, 2000). A similar concern with pace is apparent in discussion of children’s understandings of the literacy hour (Hancock and Mansfield, 2002). It may be that pace is a central issue for our understanding of teaching and learning in literacy. Writing of the Reading Recovery Programme, Cazden (2000) observes strong pacing with little time for chat. Bernstein’s (1990) use of the term ‘pace’ would suggest both explanations and challenges for the classroom implementation of the NLS. Pacing is defined by Bernstein (1990) as the rate at which learning is expected to occur, the speed at which the sequencing rules are transmitted and acquired and thus ‘regulate the rhythm of the transmission’ (p. 76).

The NLS lists learning outcomes by term and by year and thus has strong pacing. Following Bernstein’s (1990) argument this has two consequences for the present discussion. Since time is at a premium what counts as appropriate talk, in both length and form, will reduce pupil speech and increase teacher talk. Disadvantaged children are doubly disadvantaged by these pacing rules and unless the pacing rules are modified they will need some form of remediation and/or, receive a diminished curriculum. While we are aware of NLS materials that are responsive to these agendas, the challenge of inclusive teaching in the introductory session remains.

Alexander’s (2000) analysis of pace argues that organisational pace refers to introductions, transitions and conclusions. His task pace is an indicator of the speed at which learning tasks are undertaken and corresponds with the number of learning outcomes visited and the length of speaker utterances. Interactive pace, the pace of exchanges, corresponds with utterance length. Alexander defines semantic or cognitive pace as the speed at which conceptual ground is covered and new or old learning outcomes are introduced.

This form of pace is adjacent to the way in which Bernstein (1990) uses the term and corresponds with learning outcomes and utterance length. Learning pace corresponds with the degree of on task talk and evidence of learning in the session. The speed at which learning is expected to occur seems to be directly related to the access to learning that different children have in the classroom and this is managed through the children’s and teachers’ talk. Children whose language is valued and replicated in the classroom will learn at a different rate to those whose talk is not, and this seems to be reflected in the findings of an Ofsted (2002) study. The pace at which classroom talk and activity have been arranged has consequences for pupil’s opportunity to make their own sense. This has impacts on children’s engagement with knowledge.

We have been involved in a detailed analysis of classroom talk in a range of primary classrooms (collated in Eke and Lee , 2006) and this work leads us to speculate that there are tensions between the idea of ‘well paced lessons’ and talking for learning. Our work suggests that when lesson pace prioritises the rapidity of verbal exchanges then talk will largely involve teachers testing pupil knowledge and their ability to best guess the teacher. The control of knowledge is tightly maintained by the teachers and largely the talk is directly related to a limited number of identifiable learning outcomes. We found aspects of a more open approach to classroom knowledge best reflected in teaching and learning in religious education (RE). Here the skilled teachers whose work we analysed asked few closed questions with the majority of their questions asking what pupils thought or felt. They were not afraid to allow the children to bring their common knowledge (Mercer eg. 1992) into play in the classroom and were prepared to follow the train of thinking emerging from the pupils’ talk, what Nystrand (1997) calls ‘uptake’. Although best illustrated in the teaching of RE this kind of teaching was not restricted to this subject area. In

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all the lessons we studied skilled teachers found space for children’s voices and opportunities to loosen their teacherly grip on what counted as classroom knowledge to allow pupils to use talk to assist their thinking. They also controlled who spoke through nomination of pupil speakers, often differentiating in terms of perceived pupil aptitude in a very sophisticated manner. So the teachers we studied were careful managers of classroom knowledge, maintaining a differentiated pace (through the questions they asked), an adaptable control over content (allowing pupils to find a voice for engaging with the subject content) and a careful distribution of talk (through nomination of the speaker). This agenda for classroom talk aligns closely with that recently advocated by Alexander (2004).

So far this discussion has prioritised talk. There is a cogent argument that the form of knowledge children are learning about has an impact on the talk and activities they engage with and this in turn impacts on what they learn. There is also a cogent argument that alongside the forms of knowledge children engage with consideration should also be given to the forms of representation (the means for representing meaning) children engage with (Eisner, 1996).

There is some recognition of the need to engage children’s voices, to engage them as active meaning makers using a diversity of means of representation in Excellence and Enjoyment (DFES, 2003), although Alexander (2003) questions whether this is more than gloss and capable of taking forward our grasp of the art of the science of teaching.

How teachers arrange classroom talk and activities has implications for the meanings they make, and the means they employ to represent their meanings, and thus for what children learn. How to pace this talk and activity so that it includes all learners and is relevant to them are central

professional issues. One way of exploring these issues is to look at the pedagogic activity and talk related to particular subjects in a range of contexts. Given the concerns with inclusion and equality raised above we have been involved in exploring practice in contexts where pupils learning is at risk in some way (eg. Eke and Lee 2006). From these contexts it is possible to identify pedagogic strategies that have the potential to include all learners. An alternative perspective, that can be explored in like contexts, is the commonality of an individual teacher’s strategies across a range of subjects and thus to ask questions about individual teaching styles.

In pursuing this agenda we will want to take cognisance of a range of issues involving the complex arrangements for activity based on national requirements and expectations. The endorsement of interactive teaching implicit in this discussion has been explored in some depth by Moyles et al (2003). They identify some deep features of interactive teaching that are employed by experienced teachers. Their list embraces:

• Assessing and extending pupil knowledge

• Reciprocity and meaning making

• Attention to thinking and learning skills

• Attention to pupils’ social and emotional needs/

skills (Moyles et al, 2003)

As well as addressing these issues skilled teachers also seem to be able to promote teaching and learning that involves a range of forms of representation (Eisner, 1996) and are aware of the dangers of over-reliance on one form. The forms of representation children have access to, the skills they use in representing their ideas and values, have implications for the kinds of opportunities we

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provide for pupils to raise issues and questions as well as responding to teachers’ agendas and thus for spaces we make for children to talk

In conclusion we want to suggest that engaging with these challenges will present a key dilemma to teachers who are concerned to engage all the learners they are responsible for in worthwhile activity. If the voice of the teacher is to become the inner voice of the learner then the teacher must first hear what learners have to say, perhaps through relaxing their control over classroom knowledge. If lessons are to be well focused with clear learning intentions this may be particularly difficult to achieve. Given the nature of school learning and its distribution through classroom talk success for all requires a response to the agenda set out by Tharp (2000).

References

Alexander, R. (2000) Culture and Pedagogy: International Comparisons in Primary Education, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing

Alexander, R. (2003) Still no Pedagogy? Principle, pragmatism and compliance in primary education, Cambridge: Cambridge University Faculty of Education

Alexander, R. (2004) Towards Dialogic Teaching. Rethinking Classroom Talk (2nd Edition), Cambridge: Dialogos

Bernstein, B. (1990) Class, Codes and Control. Vol IV The Structuring of Pedagogic Discourse. London: Routledge

Bruner, J. & Haste, H. (1987) Making Sense: The Child’s construction of the World, London: Methuen

Cazden, C.B. (2000) ‘An application of Basil Bernstein’s constructs of ‘visible and invisible pedagogies’ in Power, S., Aggleton , P., Brannen , J., Brown ,A. Chisholm, L. and Mace, J. A Tribute to Basil Bernstein 1924-2000. London: Institute of Education, University of London

DfEE (1997) National Literacy Strategy Framework for Teaching, London: DfEE

DFES (2003) Excellence and Enjoyment: A strategy for primary schools, DFES Publications: Nottingham

Earl, L., Watson, N., Levin, B., Leithwood, K., Fullan, M., and Torrance, N. with Jantzi, D., Mascall, B. and Volante, L. (2003) Watching and Learning 3 Final Report of the External Evaluation of the implementation of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies, London: DfES

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Eisner E (1996) Cognition and curriculum reconsidered. London: Chapman

Eke, R., Clough N., Lee, J. and Kumar, L. (2001) Children’s Concern for the Environment and Puzzling Questions, Religious Education, Environmental Education, Summer, 9-13

Eke, R. and Lee, J. (2006) Using Talk Effectively in the Primary Classroom, London:Taylor and Francis

English, E., Hargreaves, L., and Hislam, H., (2002) ‘Pedagogical Dilemmas in the National Literacy Strategy; primary teachers’ perceptions , reflections and classroom behaviour ‘Cambridge Journal of Education 32 (1) 9-26

Hancock, R. and Mansfield, M. (2002) The Literacy Hour; a case for listening to children’ The Curriculum Journal, 13 (2) 183- 200

Lee, J & Eke, R. (2004) The National Literacy Strategy and Pupils with special educational needs Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs 4 (1) 50-57

Mercer, N. (1992) Teacher talk and learning about the media, in Alverado, M, and Boyd-Barret O. (eds) Media Education: An introduction, London: British Film Institute

Moyles J, Hargreaves L, Merry R, Paterson F and Esarte-Sarries, V. (2003) Interactive Teaching in the Primary School, Maidenhead: Open University Press

Mroz, M., Smith, F. and Hardman, F. (2000) ‘The Discourse of the Literacy Hour’ Cambridge Journal of Education 30 (3) 379 - 390

Nystrand, M., Gamoran, A., Kachur, R., and Prendergasrt, C. (1997) Opening Dialogues, New York:Teachers College Press

Ofsted (2002) The National Literacy Strategy: the first four years 1998 - 2002, HMI (555) London: Ofsted

Riley, J. (2001) ‘The National Literacy strategy; success with literacy for all?’ The Curriculum Journal, 12 (1) 29- 52

Stenhouse, L. (1984) Authority. Education and Emancipation, London: Heinemann Educational

Tharp, R. (2000) Teaching transformed achieving excellence, fairness, inclusion, and harmony, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press

Tharp, R. and Gallimore, R. (1988) Rousing Minds to Life: Teaching, Learning and Schooling in Social Contexts, New York: Cambridge University Press

Wearmouth, J. and Soler, J. (2001) ‘How inclusive is the Literacy Hour?’ British Journal of Special Education, 28 (3) 113-119

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National Strategies: Support or Straitjacket?

Jo Barkham and Ruth Sharpe, with Jo Miller

Introduction

In this article we hope to challenge the ideas around the National Literacy Strategy (NLS) and National Numeracy Strategy (NNS) and ask in what ways these initiatives have supported professionals, or how they might have stifled their creativity or undermined their competence. We note that the voices of children are often silenced in the literature. We seek to question what might be of use as the strategies are incorporated into the heart of a Primary National Strategy (PNS), launched in 2003, and what might be discarded. Will another ‘lunchbox’ of training materials support an effective model of continuing professional development?

Overview

“The (Numeracy and Literacy) Strategies have influenced virtually all schools in England, moving literacy and numeracy to top priority in classrooms across the country” (OISE, 2001, p14)

There is no doubt that the National Literacy Strategy and National Numeracy Strategy have had a considerable impact on the learning and teaching of mathematics and English in primary schools in England and that most teachers have adopted (and possibly adapted) the “frameworks” for the teaching of these subjects. It is reasonable to suppose that the intense scrutiny of the implementation of the strategies and the desire to monitor their effectiveness by Ofsted and other government funded agencies is both a consequence of this widespread practice and an impetus for it.

The aims of the strategies according to the ‘critical friends’ of the strategies, the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, were to improve classroom practice and pupil learning in literacy and mathematics and provide clear direction and support for change (OISE, 2003).

Improvement in pupils’ learning was identified by an increase in the number of pupils meeting their “expected level” (i.e. level 4) in year 6 whilst (presumably) improvement in classroom practice was to be measured by the same outcome.

The aim here is to explore whether or not pupils’ learning in English and mathematics (however defined) is supported by the National Literacy/Numeracy Strategy (NLNS) or inhibited by it. The aim is also to examine the support offered by the NLNS for teacher development and to consider if this support is effective in improving practice or acts as a straitjacket.

Support for Successful Learning

Success as measured by test resultsThe successful raising of standards in pupils’

learning, according to the NLNS, is defined by the success rate in standardised testing - in particular Key Stage 2 Standard Assessments Tasks and Tests (SATs). There is a debate about whether or not this is a valid measure of pupils’ learning, but none the less it is the one employed by the OISE team in analysing the effects of the strategies in their final report. According to OISE (2003), it is difficult to draw conclusions about the effect of the strategies on pupils learning, but the Key Stage 2 SATs results between 1997 and 2000 showed substantial gains in the numbers of children reaching their expected level. OISE (2003) is rightly cautious about confusing causal factors with correlative ones and they argue that improvements in SATS results were most significant before the introduction of the strategies and that in the post implementation period the gains have levelled off. Ofsted (2003) echoes this view and suggests that standards were initially lifted but that “further improvements are proving increasingly difficult to achieve”(p.54)

Of more interest perhaps is the recent study by Machin and McNally (2004). The authors compared GCSE results for English between pupils who had

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been involved in the National Literacy Project (which was the precursor of the NLS) in Year 6 and those who had not. Their study corroborates the view that there was a significant rise in pupil attainment within the primary schools that took part in the project. It might be appropriate to exercise caution in identifying the NLS (in general) as a support for pupils learning in this instance, bearing in mind that the pilot schools chose to be involved and had a clear commitment to raising achievement. The apparent success as identified in the GCSE scores could be the product of this commitment and involvement rather than any specific innovation to teaching.

It could also be suggested that the research and scrutiny of the pilot cohorts could in itself induce the continued development and the later achievements. The new initiative might have enjoyed a measure of success because it is new, refreshing and energising practice: the ‘Hawthorne Effect’.

In conclusion, therefore, whilst there is some evidence that pupils’ performance as measured by formal assessments has shown some improvement, there is no clear evidence to suggest that the implementation of the strategies has been instrumental in supporting this. Despite this, there are (according to OISE, 2003) many teachers and head teachers who seem convinced that pupil learning has improved considerably following the introduction of the strategies.

Success as measured by other factorsIt was suggested that SATs may not be the

most appropriate means of measuring success in English and mathematics and that simplistic testing of knowledge and skills may inhibit our understanding of pupils’ cognitive development and how this is sustained over time. Further, there are some aspects of pupils’ learning that may be hard to measure through standardised testing, for example mathematical problem solving, creativity

in writing, and attitudes. Attitudes in particular may have greater significance for pupils’ learning and development than any aspects of a subject measured by SATs.

It is the intention here to discuss how the NLNS might support pupils’ learning in those areas that are less accessible to formal testing procedures and in this context discuss the role of the NLNS in developing cognitive understanding and the development of positive attitudes.

Cognitive development

It is not the purpose of this discussion to outline the reasons why the strategies were introduced, or the research evidence behind their pedagogies. The work of Beard (1999, 2000) and Harrison (2002) give comprehensive meta-analyses of the UK and international research background to the NLS. What is not disputed is that the strategies have imposed upon teachers a framework of progression. Whilst researchers such as Wyse (2001, 2003) critically analyse and question the NLNS frameworks for teaching, calling for the complete review of the structure, there is little question that they replace inconsistencies in different children’s literacy and mathematical experiences. The detailed objectives, crafted into expectations for year groups from Reception to Y6, are an attempt to give teachers a national structure from which to work, and this could be seen as solving difficulties for some children – for example, when transferring between schools. However, it could be argued that the National Curriculum had already provided this structure and that further “refinement” of progression might not only be unnecessary but counter-productive.

One question that needs to be asked is whether a linear view of progression is appropriate and whether this view of progression supports (or hinders) the cognitive development of the learner. In 1989 the national curriculum non-statutory guidance for mathematics stated that:


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“progression is to do with the ways in which teachers and pupils together explore, make sense of and construct pathways through the network of ideas, which is mathematics. Each person’s “map” of the network and of the pathways connecting different mathematical ideas is different, thus people understand mathematics in different ways. The “map” is also changing as the result of experiences and insights”

(National Curriculum Council, 1989: p C1-C2).

This view of learning (in this case in mathematics) is conspicuously at odds with the construction and teaching styles embedded in the Numeracy Strategy frameworks. The view here is that effective development starts with the child and is based on individual needs, experiences and existing knowledge rather than with a set of objectives attached to a nominal year group. Development is achieved through responsive teacher/pupil interaction and exploration. The framework for the strategies is essentially hierarchical, linear and largely inflexible. The same programme is presented to all children with extension materials or additional practice for the more and less able. Although the frameworks advocate group activities, this may be identified as an organisational strategy in order to teach the same topic to a ‘matched’ ability group rather than a means of identifying and working with individual development or a principle acknowledging ‘working together’ as a practice underwriting the curriculum. It is difficult to assess what effect this aspect of the strategies might have on children’s learning development but Ahmed (1987) stated, unequivocally, that:

“It is not possible to produce a definitive scheme of work which will apply to all pupils or situations, even within a specific ability range.” (p. 51)

There are further difficulties with an “objective” led framework. It can be argued that the framework for both strategies deconstructs the subject matter and compartmentalises it in discrete elements. In addition, both ‘literacy’ and ‘numeracy’ are treated as distinct curriculum ‘subjects’ decontextualised from other curriculum areas. The NLNS may have ensured that explicit teaching of literacy and numeracy happened daily in English schools. However, the very nature of the “hours” divorces the teaching of these subjects from the rest of the curriculum and makes it challenging for the uses and applications of English and mathematics to be integrated into contexts that give them sense and meaning. A purpose and context for example for writing and calculation can be found in any curriculum area, and often another curriculum area is more relevant, and more powerful, than within ‘English’ or within ‘numeracy’. There is evidence (Ofsted, 2002) to suggest that the clear connections with other subjects were neglected and that this was at the expense of both subjects and of children’s development.

Non-statutory guidance in the form of QCA schemes of work for subjects other than mathematics and English in the primary curriculum have been taken, adopted and adapted by schools. Cross-curricular links are clearly given on these documents, to support schools in their curriculum mapping and planning processes. The question has to be asked why is there no such QCA guidance for mathematics or English?

There are other acknowledged difficulties with the framework. OISE (2003) state that the NLS requires teachers to link objectives, some of which they find difficult to understand, so that ‘text’, ‘sentence’ and ‘word level work’ is taught in some contextualised whole. This has not always proved easy. As Medwell et al (1998) point out, effective teachers of literacy embedded attention to word and sentence level work within whole text activities

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that were purposeful and meaningful to children. Achieving this is one of the more challenging aspects of planning from the NLS Framework for Teaching.

The influential Ofsted report of 2002 ‘The Curriculum in Successful Primary Schools’ makes the very point that a broad, enriched, vibrant curriculum in such schools raises standards in literacy and numeracy. The Primary National Strategy was launched following this report and sets out a vision in its first publication ‘Excellence and Enjoyment’ (DfES, 2003) with its call for freedoms for schools to innovate and to enhance and raise standards in literacy and numeracy through a balanced and exciting curriculum.

Attitudes

In 1982, Cockcroft recognised the importance of attitudes in children’s learning, stating that in every mathematics lesson, children are developing both their understanding and their attitude towards the subject. Whilst positive attitudes support the learning of mathematics, negative ones can persist into adult life. A perception of mathematics as something which is supposed to lead to exact answers by the use of proper methods was found to be quite common, together with a sense of failure and dislike of the subject (Cockcroft, 1982, p.8).

Although this refers to mathematics, it is not unreasonable to suggest that dispositions are essential to all learning. Positive attitudes are essential if a literate primary pupil is to ‘have an interest in words and their meanings’ and ‘be interested in books, read with enjoyment and evaluate and justify their preferences’ (DfES, 2001, p.3).

There is evidence to suggest that mathematics in school has long been considered an unpopular subject and studies have proposed that negative

attitudes have not only inhibited pupils learning of the subject but have also inhibited post 16 continued study and choice of mathematics for university study. In English there is less evidence of such extreme attitudes expressed towards the subject but there are however aspects of the subject that may be considered unpopular (for example, writing - particularly grammar). In any event it is reasonable to suppose that negative attitudes towards any subject will inhibit learning and progress.

The question here then is does the NLNS contribute to the development of positive attitudes and consequent continued learning development? Evidence of attitudes to learning through the strategies is limited and largely anecdotal. Neither OISE (2001, 2003) nor Ofsted (2003, 2005) address pupils’ attitudes directly but some reference is made to teachers’ perceptions of pupils’ dispositions towards the strategies particularly in terms of motivation and engagement. Evidence here is mixed with some teachers indicating that the strategies are effective in raising motivation (e.g. “pupils really want to do the numeracy work” OISE, 2003 p. 86) whilst a head teacher stated “the downfall of the literacy strategy is that there is nothing on how to motivate children” (ibid, p.88). OISE (2003) goes on to suggest that consultants generally agreed that both strategies had been helpful in engaging unmotivated pupils. The implication, however, is that this was not necessarily a view shared by most teachers or head teachers. Nevertheless, what may be of significance in this context is the attitude of teachers themselves to the strategies. It is reasonable to assume that negative attitudes of teachers may well be unhelpful in supporting learning whilst enthusiasm and enjoyment on the part of the teacher is more likely to impart similar attitudes in their pupils.

Many teachers report that their own learning has been positively affected (OISE, 2003). Yet


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there are challenges noted, including an alarming statement that warns of a culture of dependence, complacency and reduced professional autonomy. Whilst, according to Ofsted, the strategies have been successful in introducing teachers to a broader range of teaching approaches, Ofsted (2003) also suggests that their newly acquired skills are often put into practice in a formulaic fashion that has been imposed as an algorithm for good practice. “Good” teachers will manage, “Weak” teaching may be masked with no incentive (or provision) for proper professional development.

All of this may be at the expense of teacher and pupil autonomy and may inhibit teachers from engaging in any real sense with children’s needs and interests. Ofsted (2003) criticise teachers in both English and mathematics lessons for allowing children to become too passive whilst teacher talk dominates. Collaboration, discussion and independent work is dominated by demonstration, instruction and explanation. This is at the expense of children’s learning.

The Voice of the Child

Within all this debate, it is often difficult to hear the views of children. It is important to question how children are acknowledged by the strategies. Relatively few studies have asked for children’s views of their literacy or mathematics lessons, although there are instances where exemplar videos include children talking about their excitement during lessons. Nevertheless, if the whole class teaching is, in reality, less than engaging and interactive, then a passive view of children as ‘empty vessels’ will be inevitable. Instead of a social constructivist model of peer support in group interaction in the independent part of the lesson, the reality is sometimes ‘death by worksheet’ as teachers find it difficult to organise the class in accordance with the suggested model. As Hancock and Mansfield (2002) conclude when they interviewed 48 children about the literacy

hour, the NLS views teachers and pupils as passive recipients of an outsider’s curriculum. They point out that learning is more effective when there is active participation between the two.

Support for Successful Teaching

The NLNS places an emphasis on whole class, ‘interactive’ teaching which is lively, well paced and engaging all learners. Schools have been given varying levels of support, targeted according to ‘need’, in developing pedagogies for achieving such an ideal. Again, OISE (2003) points out that the strategies need to support teachers in developing their understanding of pedagogy but the greater emphasis has been on subject knowledge. In their research into teachers’ perceptions about pedagogy, English et al (2002) argue that the NLS offers ‘contradictory pedagogical advice’ on interactive teaching. How can teaching be ‘well paced, with a sense of urgency’ at the same time as ensuring that classroom discourse allows time for children to engage and to articulate their thinking? The researchers conclude that the discourse within the literacy hour is quantitatively and qualitatively different from pre-NLS discourse. A not dissimilar tension is found in the oral/mental starter to the daily mathematics lesson, where fast-paced, rote learning may be privileged over giving opportunity to children to discover alternative ways of solving problems. The familiar initiation-response-feedback exchange that gives classroom talk such a distinctive form is often employed to satisfy this call for ‘urgency’. Yet, for deeper understanding, children need involvement in thoughtful and reasoned dialogue, in which conversational partners ‘model’ useful language strategies and in which they can practice using language to reason, reflect, enquire and explain their thinking to others (Mercer, 2003.)

How can this be done with a in a lesson where ‘well paced’ is also accompanied by ‘a sense of urgency’? In its focus on direct teaching, high quality

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‘interactive’ teaching is described by the Numeracy Strategy framework as a “two-way process” (DfES, 1999) in which pupils are expected to play an ‘active part’ by answering questions, contributing to discussion and by explaining and demonstrating their methods. However, of the eight elements that are described as being components of quality teaching a truly interactive element is sparse with teacher direction, instruction, demonstration and explanation dominating the recommended teaching styles. The comparison with the recommendations of the Cockcroft (1982) report suggesting discussion (including discussion between pupils), investigative work, practical activity and problem solving is striking. In one scenario, the teacher dominates the interactions to direct children’s thinking; in the other, it is the pupil’s voice that is heard. The passive role of the learner in the former may surely lead to boredom, frustration and detachment.

Many researchers have found significant evidence that pupils have little opportunity to question or explore ideas, particularly during whole class teaching in the literacy hour (Mroz et al, 2000, English et al, 2002). Further, with its emphasis on group work, perhaps five ability groups in each class, fixed for a period of time and even across subjects, the strategies may claim to be well-positioned to help teachers capitalise on opportunities for discussion. However, the suggestion that groups are formed by ability allows the likelihood that children will respond to the label that is attached to their group, or set. Labelling failure is powerfully negative.

Conclusion

Children’s learning, teachers’ learningAs the NLNS is now merged into the heart of

the Primary National Strategy, the outlook for learners and their teachers may, potentially, have become brighter. Influential reports such as Ofsted (2002, 2003, 2004) have underpinned changes in

the strategies. Those who have found the strategies to be a straitjacket rather than a support will be reassured that the PNS articulates its desire to build on early years principles, where starting with the child and using an active, play-based, first-hand curriculum, is paramount. Transition points, such as that from Foundation Stage into Key Stage 1 is an example of one of the foci of PNS attention. Speaking and Listening materials, published early in 2004, contain clear objectives to follow through primary year groups with useful video examples of group talk, drama and role play. In addition, the continuing professional development package (the ‘Learning and Teaching Framework’) was offered to all schools in September 2004. Assessment for Learning is one of six modules in this collection. In general, these materials focus on learners and learning rather than on teachers and pedagogy. They support teachers in taking leadership roles in continuing professional development and remind us, through sharing of good practice and using research based evidence to raise standards, that teaching is a research based activity. We must be mindful, however, that effective professional development does not simply come in another ‘lunch box’. However excellent the materials, they need teachers in school to engage with them and mediate them. The evidence from Ofsted (2005, p.5) is that few schools have taken steps to incorporate the effective development of speaking and listening as part of a whole school approach despite having accessed the training materials. Whilst most schools are aware of the Learning and Teaching materials, too few have accessed them or used them effectively to review their practice. Assessment for learning is still the least successful element of teaching. Ultimately, therefore, the success or otherwise of strategies, whether centrally or locally controlled, will depend upon the people who live with them and their sustained commitment to continued professional development. More attention needs to be paid to research and what we know about how children learn. More support is needed for teacher development and research for effective teaching.


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If the strategies can be a support or a scaffold or a flexible model, then they will be adopted and adapted. Riley’s optimistic statement in 2001 that teachers move forward ‘with considerably more insight and confidence than previously…. the future looks promising’ (Riley, 2001, p.54) may continue to give some reassurance. In 2006, the frameworks for literacy and numeracy are being reviewed and ‘refreshed’. They are web-based only and contain a wealth of links between year group objectives and, hopefully, useful links across the whole curriculum. Ultimately, however, if the strategies are inappropriate and stifle creativity and imagination as straitjackets tend to do, then they will be removed and discarded. It would be a pity, however, if the ever-practical teacher did not seek to extract the useful parts of these garments and recycle them into something useful before final disposal of the rubbish.

References

Ahmed, A. (1987) Better Mathematics: a curriculum development study based on the low attainers in mathematics project, London:HMSO

Beard, R. (1999) National Literacy Strategy: Review of Research and Other Related Evidence, London: DfEE

Beard, R. (2000) Long Overdue? Another look at the National Literacy Strategy, Journal of Research in Reading 23 (3) 245-255

Cockcroft, W.H. (1982) Mathematics Counts London: HMSO

DfES (1999 The National Numeracy Strategy: Framework for Teaching London: DfES

DfES, (2001) The National Literacy Strategy: Framework for Teaching London: DfES

DfES (2003) Excellence and Enjoyment: A strategy for primary schools London: DfES

English, E., Hargreaves, L. and Hislam, J. (2002) Pedagogical Dilemmas in the National Literacy Strategy: primary teachers’ perceptions, reflection and classroom behaviour, Cambridge Journal of Education 32 (1) 9-119

Hancock, R. and Mansfield, M (2002) The Literacy Hour: a case for listening to children The Curriculum Journal 13 (2) 183-200

Harrison (2002) Key Stage 3 English: Roots and Research, London: DfES available from www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/keystage3

Machin, S and McNally, S. (2004) Large Benefits, Low Cost (discussion paper) London: Centre for the Economics of Education

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Medwell, J., Wray, D., Poulson, L. and Fox, R. (1998) Effective Teachers of Literacy, Exeter: University of Exeter

Mercer, N (2003) The Education Value of ‘Dialogic Talk’ in ‘Whole-Class Dialogue in New Perspective on Spoken English in the Classroom: discussion papers, London: QCA

Mroz, M., Smith, F., and Hardman, F. (2000)The Discourse of the literacy Hour, Cambridge Journal of Education 30 (3) 379-390

National Curriculum Council (1989) Mathematics in the National Curriculum, London: HMSO

Ofsted (2002) The Curriculum in Successful Primary Schools available from www.ofsted.gov.uk

Ofsted (2003) The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies and the Primary Curriculum available from www.ofsted.gov.uk

Ofsted (2004) Transition from the Reception Year to Year 1: an evaluation by HMI available from www.ofsted.gov.uk

Ofsted (2005) Primary National Strategy: an evaluation of its impact in primary schools 2004/5 available from www.ofsted.gov.uk

OISE (2001) Watching and Learning 1: Evaluation of the Implementation of the NLNS, London: DfES

OISE (2003) Watching and Learning 3, London: DfES

Riley, J. (2001) The National Literacy Strategy: success with literacy for all? The Curriculum Journal 12 (1) 28-58

Wyse, D. (2001) Grammar for Writing? A critical review of empirical evidence British Journal of Educational Studies 49 (4) 411-427

Wyse, D. (2003) The National Literacy Strategy: a critical review of empirical evidence British Educational Research Journal 29 (6) 906-916


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Introduction

Curriculum breadth and balance became a statutory requirement within the 1988 Education Reform Act. Within the primary curriculum however, varying degrees of attention have been focused on these aspects of the curriculum as different governments have changed the scope of the curriculum within the last 14 years. What does a broad and balanced curriculum really look like and how is it influenced by changing government policy? In terms of implementation, how do teachers view the curriculum and plan for curriculum breadth? In what ways do children respond to and evaluate a broad range of experiences? These are questions which the article attempts to explore.

Background

The notion of curriculum breadth has its antecedents in the work of progressive educationalists in the early twentieth century who reacted against the utilitarian elementary school curriculum provided in the earlier stages of compulsory schooling. The limited opportunities afforded by such schooling were criticised and alternative views outlined in the Hadow Report (Board of Education, 1931). Children’s active involvement in their learning and the importance of a range of learning experiences were emphasised and the Report advocates, ’that schools needed, to broaden their aims until it might now be said that they have to teach children how to live’ (Board of Education 1931 p.92). Child centred theories of education continued to be influential in Britain after the second world war, and were enshrined within the Plowden Report. Its dictum, ‘at the heart of education lies the child’, foregrounded the needs and interests of children, ‘to be themselves and to develop in the way and at the pace appropriate to them’ (CACE, 1967 p.187), – a view which is still in evidence in the Framework for the Foundation Stage, where children’s active investigations of their world are valued (DfES, 2003).

However, this liberal tradition within primary education in particular, has had many critics. For example, Dearden (1968) questions whether children’s interactions are all educationally valuable? Are there some aspects of society/ learning which all children need to experience? The creation of a balance between the transmission of shared cultural heritages and children’s own independence and individual interpretations of their learning experiences were some of the tensions debated throughout the 1980s. HMI published a series of curriculum documents which attempted to draw together key issues within the debate. The Curriculum from 5-16 (DES, 1985) places emphasis on children’s active involvement in their learning – ‘the development of lively and enquiring minds’, but also draws attention to the need for an established core of worthwhile and educationally valuable experiences, which are described within areas of experience and elements of learning.

These core experiences were the basis for the National Curriculum established in the 1988 Education Reform Act. The preamble to the Act emphasises a broad and balanced curriculum to prepare children for adult life, which was translated into a range of curriculum subjects. Enshrined within the notion of a broad and balanced curriculum is the entitlement of all children to receive an education which is more extensive than the narrow skills based curriculum of early compulsory education.

Interpreting breadth and balance within the primary curriculum

The Education Reform Act linked curriculum breadth with a range of traditional subject areas which contrasts to the areas of experiences and elements of learning supported by HMI in their suggestions for Curriculum 5-16 (DES,1985). Within primary schools children have the statutory right to learn nine subjects (soon to become 10 when modern foreign languages are introduced

What’s happened to curriculum breadth and balance in primary schools?

Penelope Harnett and Elizabeth Newman

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in 2010). These subjects were created by subject working groups working independently of each other to translate key features of each subject within a curriculum.

In the early 1990s as primary schools strove to implement the statutory requirements to teach all nine subjects, it would appear that children did experience greater breadth in their experience of the curriculum. Despite the rhetoric of child centred theories of education, the curriculum in many schools had remained very narrow with an undue concentration on maths and English (DES, 1978). Prior to the National Curriculum learning in many other subjects had varied greatly. For example, children’s experience of history was very patchy: HMI conclude that history was underemphasised in 2 out of 3 infant classes and that it was underemphasised or not taught in half their sample of junior schools (DES, 1989). In this respect, the introduction of the National Curriculum did give children access to a broader range of curriculum subjects.

The imposition of a broad subject focused curriculum presented great challenges for teachers in their curriculum organisation. Fitting (or squeezing) everything in was a real concern (Campbell & Neill 1991, 1992, Webb 1993). At first primary teachers tried to map the new subjects onto the existing topics which they taught. Excessive content across a broad range of subject areas made this a very complex task, and HMI very shortly began to urge the need for careful curriculum planning (Ofsted 1993, 1995). Difficulties were acknowledged within the discussion paper, Curriculum Organisation and Classroom Practice in Primary Schools (Alexander, Rose & Woodhead 1992), which argues that, ‘there is clear evidence to show that much topic work has led to fragmentary and superficial teaching and learning (para. 3.4), and advocates the need for separate subject teaching to ensure all aspects of the curriculum are covered effectively’.

The extent and depth to which children were able to experience a broad curriculum was short-lived. Sir Ron Dearing in his curriculum review of the initial National Curriculum comments on the perceived problems in its design. ‘The architects of the first subject curricula designed what for them, as subject specialists for the most part, was an ideal and comprehensive curriculum for each subject. Not until this was put into practice in classrooms did it become obvious that the combined weight of all the subject curricula was simply too great to be manageable’ (SCAA, 1994). We have here the notion that some restrictions must be placed on breadth if the curriculum is to be successfully implemented.

The Dearing Review of the curriculum still maintained a commitment to a broad range of subjects, but reduced the content of different subject areas within their programmes of study. The commitment to curriculum breadth has also been retained in Curriculum 2000, which re-echoing the Education Reform Act, states within its values, aims and purposes that schools should provide, ‘ a balanced and broadly based curriculum that:

• promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society

• prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life’. (DfEE & QCA 1999 p.12).

More recently, the Primary Strategy (DfES, 2003) continues to promote the importance of a broad range of experiences for children.

However, whilst during the last decades there has remained a commitment to curriculum


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breadth, it might be argued that the curriculum has had varying degrees of balance. What does a balanced curriculum look like? Does it mean that all subjects should be given equal weighting in terms of curriculum time and the allocation of resources? What is the status of different curriculum areas within a balanced curriculum? Inevitably this raises questions of values: different subject leaders may have views on how balanced the curriculum is according to the priority relating to their own curriculum subject; others may evaluate balance in terms of SATs results – is there a balance between children’s (greater) experiences of the core and their (lesser) experiences of foundation subjects? Balance may be evaluated in terms of children’s attitudes, enjoyment and willingness to engage with different activities.

More recently, many primary teachers might argue that a balanced curriculum disappeared following the introduction of the Literacy and Numeracy strategies in 1997 and 1998 (DfEE, 1998, 1999) .With over half the timetable time being devoted to these strategies, the remaining foundation subjects were only able to be squeezed in. The status of the foundation subjects was further eroded between February 1998 and September 2000 with the suspension of the statutory requirements to teach them, and the relaxation of the requirements to inspect non core subjects.

The outcry from a wide range of the public highlights the extent to which the notion of a broad and balanced curriculum had embedded itself within the public domain. The Geographical Association complained that, ‘children’s entitlement to a full and rounded experience in schools has now been suspended’ (Geographical Association 1998). Sir Simon Rattle was roped in to support the Campaign for Music, and the Central Council for Physical Recreation campaigned for a two hour minimum per week of physical education on the timetable. The QCA fought back bravely

in its publication, ‘Maintaining Breadth and Balance’ (QCA, 1998) arguing that this may be achieved through combining, adapting or reducing curriculum content.

Curriculum 2000 restored the statutory obligation for all schools to teach the full range of the foundation subjects, but has balance really been achieved? Data from section 10 Ofsted reports reveal that in 2000 and 2001, problems of coverage were particularly marked in design technology, art, music, geography and religious education. Such views were endorsed by the external evaluation of the Strategies undertaken by the University of Toronto who report head teachers’ concerns about the Strategies squeezing out other, ‘crucial programmes of experience’ (OISE, 2001).

Lack of curriculum balance features in HMCI’s report in 2002 which records that the focus on raising standards in English and maths is exerting ‘considerable pressure on the teaching of other subjects’. However, HMCI also draws attention to the minority of schools which are still able to provide a broad curriculum and high standards and notes, ‘often, in such schools, high standards are achieved across the full curriculum’ (Ofsted, 2003).

The Primary Strategy (DfES, 2003) outlines a range of features of outstanding primary schools which include, the provision of a’ rich, broad and balanced curriculum’. The appearance of this new adjective to describe the curriculum may seem puzzling. What is the extra ingredient which ‘rich’ contributes to a broad and balanced curriculum? Maybe there is a clue to be found in the way in which the Strategy outlines teachers’ responsibilities to take control of their curriculum, and, ‘think actively about how they would like to develop and enrich the experience they offer their children.’

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Selection of the word, ‘experience’ encompasses a broader notion of learning than that included within terms such as subject or curriculum. This is further emphasised in the Strategy’s advice to schools to, ’provide a broad range of worthwhile curricular opportunities that caters for the interests, aptitudes and particular needs of all pupils’, and it is interesting to note here that the curriculum is now described in terms of opportunities rather than subject areas.

The Primary Strategy offers greater freedom for schools and teachers to determine their curriculum. However, there are concerns that many teachers are uncertain how to respond to this freedom. In his annual report for 2003-2004, HMCI comments that although the Primary Strategy has been regarded positively, schools ‘have been cautious in acting on it’, and that ‘few schools have made substantial changes to develop the distinctive character of their schools in response to Excellence and Enjoyment (Ofsted, 2005).

Teachers’ reluctance to embrace some of the new freedoms in curriculum decision making may stem from the continued demands for accountability and target setting which stifle creative approaches to planning and teaching. The formulaic pedagogy of the Strategies has also sapped teachers’ confidence in developing their own approaches to teaching. However, there is evidence to suggest that these fresh opportunities are more attuned to primary school teachers’ views on the curriculum and beliefs about primary education. As teachers gain greater confidence in their professional judgements, they will begin to plan more creatively to take into account their children’s individual needs and interests.

Teachers’ perceptions of breadth and balance

Research suggests that primary school teachers have a broad conception of their roles within

schools; they look beyond individual subject areas to consider children’s overall well being (Pollard et al.1994; Osborn et al.1997; Osborn et al. 2000). In a recent study which explored the aims of primary school teachers (Harnett & Newman, 2002), the highest percentage of responses from primary teachers was accorded to aims relating to help children fulfil their potential. Children’s potential is generally regarded as being beyond the narrow confines of academic potential and is often elaborated with comments from teachers such as;

“to fulfil their potential academically, socially and emotionally’”

“individual potential be it academic, artistic or practical”

“potential academically, socially, morally and culturally”

These statements reveal that teachers’ views of potential extend to cover a range of achievements, and this impacts on how they conceive their role. For example, one teacher explained that she, “strongly believed in developing the ‘whole child’ finding their own talents, even it it’s not numeracy or literacy!” Another teacher acknowledged, “it’s important that they have a rounded education, including both core and foundation subjects. As all children/people have their strengths and weaknesses in subjects and it’s important everyone finds something they’re good at.”

Teachers therefore do demonstrate some commitment to a broad curriculum and range of experiences. This has been a long standing aim of primary school teachers and there is some consistency of teachers’ beliefs over a long period of time. Ashton et al (1975) identifies teachers’ key priorities as children’s personal development, social and moral development and basic skills. Incorporated within personal development


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are children’s positive attitudes to school, self-confidence and the development of children’s individuality. Many teachers also refer to meeting the needs of the whole child, although Ashton foreshadows later developments in criticising this notion as lacking precision.

Teachers in Harnett and Newman’s research emphasise the importance of children’s happiness and enjoyment in learning. These factors are important in Ashton’s study and also emerge as important in other studies, although there is some evidence to suggest that teachers’ priorities for this area decline as children move higher up in Key Stage 2 (Osborn, 2000 p.110).

Harnett and Newman note that teachers are highly committed to the notion that the development of self-esteem and confidence is linked with children’s motivation to learn. Several teachers emphasise the importance of creating a safe and secure environment and ensuring that children were happy at school. ‘I try to enthuse the children and get them to be excited about their learning. I would like them to be active learners so I need to make them interested (a tricky task) at times.’

Teachers particularly value the social nature of learning. Fostering personal and social skills and positive classroom relationships all rank highly amongst their responses. Positive relationships embrace a number of aspects; the ability to relate to others, to work collaboratively and to respect different beliefs and values are all emphasised. ‘Social skills are something that also influence my teaching. Manners, respect for each other, being able to work collaboratively with others even if they’re not your best friend.’

‘I try to get the children to respect and value each other and listen to each other. Tolerance of others’ views, beliefs etc – very important.’

The above comments were made by teachers in 2001-2002 when evidence from both HMI and the evaluation of the strategies indicates that in many schools curricular opportunities were narrowing. Despite this, the research appears to suggest that teachers do look more broadly at the range of opportunities which they are able to offer children, although they might feel constrained in doing this. In this respect, the Primary Strategy may offer teachers greater scope to achieve this, although many teachers might need support in developing more creative approaches to the curriculum and to embracing experiences beyond the confines of different subject areas.

Achieving breadth and balance within schools

The following brief case studies illustrate how children’s learning may be enriched when opportunities are planned to provide children with broad educational experiences which might not necessarily relate to defined curriculum subject boundaries.

These photos reveal some of the special places created by nursery aged children when they visited the Faculty of Education at the University of the West of England. As children were building their special places, they demonstrated a range of knowledge about different places, climate and its effect on people and vegetation; building materials; different ways of life and recognition of what different people think is important or special. Here children were drawing on much of their existing knowledge and understanding of the world. Stories, trips to the shops and park, holidays, films and TV all contribute to children’s ideas of different places and a curriculum which ignores these experiences outside school provides limited opportunities for enriching children’s learning. In this respect, children’s learning in creating these special places provides examples of child centred

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traditions which can be traced back to the Hadow Report (Board of Education, 1931).

Whilst the photographs reveal the finished outcome of their work, it was the children’s engagement with the activity which provided much fruitful learning. Children became absorbed in different aspects of their building; they played together and alongside each other and the control which they exercised over their own play led to many unforeseen and exciting experiences. Children planned and communicated their ideas; they demonstrated remarkable skills and ingenuity in assembling different materials and joining them together.

This emphasis on children’s active learning has always been a feature of early years education, and it could be argued that this approach to learning should continue as children grow older. Concentration on external targets and SAT scores however, does limit the amount of time which many teachers feel they can permit to children’s own investigations and interests.

However, a curriculum which extends children’s experiences may also motivate and encourage learning as illustrated in this account of work with older primary school children who worked with trainee teachers to create a performance of Noyes Fludde by Benjamin Britton in Bristol Cathedral. Children made different animal masks at the university; they rehearsed their different parts at school and participated in a joint performance in the cathedral. Responses from children reveal that they do recognise the importance of such experiences. One child explained,

‘It’s fun. When things are fun you listen more – you learn more if you are enjoying it – you pay more attention.’


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This view was re-iterated by another, ‘when I am trying to learn, I don’t learn very well, but when I’m not, I learn better. What matters is that you want to do it….I wanted to do this…..’

When the children were asked what they felt they had learned, they identified many unexpected learning experiences;

‘I liked singing the second song, ‘Soon the evening shadows prevail’. I like the old words, how they sound, how they fit together like poetry.’

Another child commented,

‘I enjoy learning new languages. It is Greek…no Latin, it means peace be with you.’

Interest in language was also expressed by another child who described how much music they had learned – ‘high notes, low notes, beats when to come in, songs, how to come in. Kyrie – it’s a different language – it’s fun. Singing helps you learn language.’

These comments remind us of the impact of different experiences on individual learners, and that too great a focus on pre-specified learning objectives is not always helpful, since it is unlikely that teachers would have included all the items which these children felt they had learnt within their planning objectives Teachers may have identified the importance of singing within the activity, but would they necessarily have identified the different dimensions to singing which the children described?

Children’s comments emphasise the value which they attach to the learning processes itself. ‘We learned how to be brave – perform in front of thousands. At school you might learn to be brave. How to show off. Sometimes it’s a bad thing to show off, but in a play it’s not. The director wants

you to be a character, like the character of the animal. You have to use your imagination.’

The importance of gaining confidence was expressed in other children’s comments too. In these comments, children demonstrate that given the opportunity they are able to reflect on the learning experiences offered and to articulate clearly the learning involved and its value to them as individuals in very broad terms.

The examples described here do reveal the rich learning which may occur when children have a broad range of experiences. Planning for such a range of experiences within the curriculum will be a challenge for schools in the future.

The future of curriculum breadth and balance

In the nineteenth century a better educated workforce was valued for its contribution to the economy and this is still recognised by the government today. In 1998 David Blunkett as Secretary of State for Education commented that the best economic policy we have is education. Education however, has to respond to rapidly changing needs and flexible workforces. A narrow, restrictive curriculum might not be the best means to address unforeseen demands of the future. On the other hand, a broader curriculum which enthuses children for their learning and values the experience which they bring might serve as a stronger foundation, ‘for the responsibilities and experiences of adult life.’

The effectiveness of a restricted curriculum is possibly more easy to measure with simple tests constructed to test children’s learning and in a society obsessed with accountability and target setting this may seem attractive. Broader curriculum experiences however, are less easy to evaluate within instrumental testing, since they

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involve consideration of a whole range of learning processes, not all of which may be measured.

However, the comments from children above do reveal the very real need to take their perspectives and experiences into account. A broad curriculum provides opportunities for them to take ownership and make sense of their own learning and not remain passive receptors of the curriculum. The Primary Strategy enables teachers to build on experiences of preceding decades and to have the freedom to develop their own approaches towards curriculum breadth and balance which foregrounds the learner at the centre of the curriculum and also considers educational experiences beyond the confines of traditional subjects.

We may return to Plowden’s dictum with the rejoinder, at the heart of education lies the child, learning through a broadly based and balanced curriculum.

References

Alexander, R., Rose, J., & Woodhead, C. (1992) Curriculum Organisation and Classroom Practice in Primary Schools. A Discussion Paper. London: DES

Ashton, P., Kneen, P., and Holley, B, (1975) The Aims of Primary Education: a Study of Teachers’ Opinions. London: Macmillan Education.

Board of Education (1931) Report of the Consultative Committee on the Primary School. (Hadow Report). London: HMSO

CACE (1967) Children and their Primary Schools. (The Plowden Report). London: HMSO

Campbell, R., and Neill, S. (1991) Workloads, Achievement and Stress. Second Report on Research in the Use of Teacher Time. London, Assistant Masters and Mistresses Association

Campbell, R., & Neill, S. (1992) Teacher Time and Curriculum Manageability at Key stage 1. Third Report on research into the Use of Teacher Time. London: Assistant Masters and Mistresses Association

Dearden, R.F. (1968) Philosophy of Primary Education. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul

DES (1978) Primary Education in England. London: HMSO

DES (1985) The Curriculum from 5 -16. Curriculum Matters 2. (An HMI Series) London: HMSO

DES (1989) Aspects of Primary Education. The Teaching and Learning of History and Geography. London: HMSO.

DfEE(1998) The National Literacy Strategy, Framework for Teaching. London: DfEE.


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DfEE (1999) The National Numeracy Strategy. Framework for Teaching. London:DfEE.

DfEE & QCA (1999) The National Curriculum Handbook for Primary Teachers in England. London: DfEE

DfES (2003) Excellence and Enjoyment. A strategy for primary schools. London: DfES.

Geographical Association (1998) Curriculum U Turn Letter to the Secretary of State. January 13th.

Harnett, P., & Newman, E. (2002) Developing children’s potential. Primary school teachers’ views on their professional roles in the twenty first century. Paper presented at British Educational Research Association Conference. Exeter University.

OISE (2001) Watching and Learning 2: Evaluation of the Implementation of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. London: DfES

Ofsted (1993) History Key Stages 1, 2 and 3. Second Year 1992-93. London: HMSO.

Ofsted (1995) History. A Review of Inspection Findings. 1993-1994. London: HMSO

Ofsted (2003) Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector for Schools. 2001-2002. London: HMSO.

Ofsted (2005) Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector for Schools. 2003-2004. London: HMSO

Osborn, M., Croll, P., Broadfoot, P., Pollard, A., McNess, E., and Triggs, P. (1997) Policy into practice and practice into policy: creative mediation in the primary classroom, in Helsby, G. and McCulloch, G. (eds) Teachers and the National Curriculum. London, Cassell.

Osborn, M., McNess, E., Broadfoot, P., with Pollard, A., and Triggs, P. (2000) What Teachers Do. Changing Policy and Practice in Primary Education. London: Continuum.

Pollard, A., Broadfoot, P., Croll, P., Osborn, M., and Abbott, D. (1994) Changing English Primary Schools? The Impact of the Education Reform Act on Key Stage 1. London: Cassell

QCA (1998) Maintaining Breadth and Balance at Key Stages 1 and 2. London: QCA

SCAA (1994) Review of the National Curriculum. A Report on the 1994 Consultation. London: SCAA

Webb, R. (1993) Eating the Elephant Bit by Bit: the National Curriculum at Key Stage 2. Final Report of Research commissioned by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL). London: ATL Publishers

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seen as a major contributor to the development of the whole child. “The distinctive features of the humanities as an area of learning is that they enable young children to develop an understanding of their own place and identity within the world in which they are growing up.” Kimber et al (1995).

Teachers may wish to consider what ways their school’s planned curriculum matches the description of an ‘Outstanding Primary School’?

“In these schools children are engaged by learning that develops and stretches them and excites their imagination. They enjoy the richness of their learning – not just learning different things, but learning in many different ways: out-of-doors, through play, in small groups, through art, music and sport, from each other, from adults other than teachers, before school, after school, with their parents and grandparents, formally and informally, by listening, by watching and by doing. They develop socially and emotionally. They take pride in their learning and want to do well.”

DfES 2003 p. 9

The Citizenship programme of study encourages pupils “to take part in a wide range of activities and experiences across and beyond the curriculum, contributing fully to the life of their school and communities. In doing so, they learn to recognise their own worth, work well with others and become increasingly responsible for their own learning.” (DfEE 2000, p. 136) The choice for the future is quite clear; if policies persist in forcing schools to follow a narrow and parochial curriculum, then increasingly children will be turned off education, truancy rates will continue to rise and attainment levels will fall. Alternatively, by providing a broad, holistic and extended curriculum which allows for excitement and creativity, the learning needs and interests of all children and hence ‘all our futures’ may more readily be met.

Teachers and teacher educators have expressed concern over the past decade at the narrowing

subject base of the National Curriculum. Coupled with this view is the recognition of a need for more creativity in the curriculum. For example, Robinson (1999) calls for a major restructuring of the NC and urgent action to “remedy the decline in arts and humanities…”

The ‘Primary National Strategy: Excellence and Enjoyment’ (DfES 2003) begins to address these concerns, although an ambivalence still prevails about how serious the Government’s commitment to ‘breadth and balance’ really is. Alexander (2004), commenting on some of the inconsistencies and ‘non-sequiturs’ in the Primary Strategy, notes how it talks of “children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced set of learning experiences” while at the same time stipulates that at least 50% of teaching time is set aside for literacy and numeracy. This requirement, considered alongside the fact that the number of foundation subjects is actually increasing (with the addition of PSHE, citizenship and a modern foreign language), means that less and less time is available for each of the foundation subjects. With teaching time for the humanities being squeezed, teachers become less confident about using “enquiry-based teaching strategies”, (Catling et al, 2003, 15) an approach which has been shown to encourage high quality pupil learning. The reality is that Ofsted (2004) noted that schools with the best standards of literacy and numeracy achieved these through the wider curriculum, as children and teachers had a “meaningful context” for applying, reinforcing and extending the basics.

Recent research suggests that teachers, when planning the curriculum, must not only take into account the multiple intelligences of children and their individual learning identities, but should also give equal weighting to the cultural, social background and experiences which children bring to school. The humanities have long been

What futures from Primary Education? Learning identities in the balance.Alison Bailey and Steve Barnes

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Perceptions: children and teachers

To enable children to become participative, active and informed citizens of the future, we need to understand both their needs and their concerns. We must address the problems arising from the limitation of their perceptual and actual horizons. Through the Humanities we can develop an understanding of ‘place’ and give children the opportunity to study the ways in which other people live in a variety of environments. The opportunity for introducing children to real-world examples such as environmental issues and for developing thinking skills through the decision-making aspects of both geography and citizenship should not be missed.

We shall consider a range of activities, structures and processes which empower people to make a difference to the quality of their own lives and to the lives of others.

We will reflect upon some projects which attempt to extend and to enrich children’s understanding of the world in which they and others live, so broadening their horizons and extending their aspirations.

It is not only children, but adults also who can be constrained by their experiences and their socio-economic backgrounds and cultures. This study therefore also considers teachers’ perceptions and teachers’ horizons.

An understanding of place

As human beings our sense of our own worth and our security depend upon our knowledge and understanding of how we relate to other people and the places in which we and they live. The study of place therefore must be a central part of each child’s education.

Place is recognised as fundamental to the study of geography and is important from the Foundation Stage onwards. “The early years are an ideal time to build on children’s images of places, near and far, and to lay the foundations for their understanding of the world. In turn this will contribute to their development as global citizens.” (The Geographical Association 2003). Our understanding of place is always mediated by our perceptions of “the worthwhile” by which we mean the things that are valued from our cultural heritage. It is important therefore for children to recognise similarities and differences between places and peoples both within their home background setting and in more distant localities. Humanities and Citizenship have much in common and it is clear that the notion of “the citizen” must contain within it not only an understanding of mainstream values but also an understanding of alternative points of view and values. For example, the study of a distant locality should not simply be about children assimilating knowledge, more importantly it should allow children to develop a sense of what it might be like to live in that place so that they develop an understanding of, and empathy with, the lives of people within that place.

Bristol Cathedral Education Day

The theme for the Education Days for Year 6 children in June 2003 was “Hopes and Dreams”. In the Geography Workshop, the learning intentions were for children to develop knowledge and understanding of a locality in a less economically developed country and of the lives and activities of people living there (DfEE, NC 2000).

The children were asked what they would buy if they were given £15. As expected, CDs, computer games and sweets featured in the responses. This opening question immediately interested the children as they all had experience of making similar choices in their everyday lives.

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The children were then offered a drink of water. Clean water was poured from a bottle for the first few children, but when this bottle was used up, the next drink poured was murky, dirty water, clearly not to be drunk. After many ‘urghs’ and ‘that’s revoltings’ the point was made that in some parts of the world clean drinking water is not available and that £15 from each member of the community would ensure a clean, safe water supply. This practical activity brought home to the children the contrast between their everyday decisions and the kind of decisions which other children in other places are forced to make.

Moving on from this practical, kinaesthetic learning activity, the children then watched the Water Aid video, “Buckets of Water”. This is an excellent, visual and audio resource for helping children to develop an understanding of, and empathy with, the lives of children living in a rural part of Ghana. As most teachers are aware, it is important to avoid stereotyping and bias when studying any locality. Three different villages at different stages of development in terms of their water supply are illustrated. In one village, Christina spends her day walking miles to reach a dirty pool of water, from which she collects the family’s water and carries it back home again. In Akolgo’s village, a hand pump has been installed and he is able to collect the water quickly, allowing him to go to school and have time to play with his friends. In a third village, a well is nearly complete. The children are able to see how the participation and actions of individuals make a significant difference to the quality of life within the community.

After the video the children were given the opportunity to reflect on their hopes and dreams for Christina’s village. The posters they produced in groups reflected their developing understanding of the plight of Christina and the limited choices available to her. All children recognised the hard

work involved in getting the most basic of resources, water, and many appreciated how lucky they were to be able to attend school.

The workshop activities allowed for a range of learning styles (visual, auditory and kinaesthetic). It also drew upon children’s existing experience in order for them to empathise with the experience of others living in different circumstances.

Central to the notion of Citizenship is the ability of individuals to make informed choices. The culture and economic class from which we come will limit choices in one of the most important areas of our lives, namely in our employment. In the case study above, the children fully recognised that Christina did not have a choice; she had to spend the day collecting water for her own and her family’s survival.

Our choices in important areas of life may also be limited. Regardless of home background, the knowledge of possible jobs and professions open to us is often restricted to the knowledge of the jobs of our family and friends or from information gleaned from the media.. Whilst the academically bright child from a low income family may have little support to draw from when considering his/her future potential, the practically-inclined child from a white-collar professional home may have equal difficulty in finding information about (or approval of) employment which suits his/her potential and inclination. Cultural tunnel vision affects what we know and how we understand. It is a major factor in creating our individual set of values.

Children’s horizons

A survey of Year 6 children from a range of schools in inner city and suburban Bristol was undertaken to discover what their ambitions for employment were. The findings are summarised in Table 1.

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Of the 123 children interviewed 72 wanted either to be professional sports personalities, popstars, dancers, actors, or ‘to be rich and famous.’ Only 25 children (i.e. approximately one-fifth) aspired to a career involving professional training. Of these, 6 wanted to be a vet or veterinary nurse, some recognising the influence of television programmes such as ‘Animal Hospital’ and ‘Vets in Practice’.

Ambition No. of

Sport: e.g be a football player, rugby player, skateboarder.

43

Be rich and famous 8

Popstar, singer, dancer, actor/actress 21

Work with animals 8(6 vets)

Hairdresser 8

Mechanic, builder, carpenter 5

Gardener 1

Bank Cashier 1

Theme Park Designer 1

Artist 2

Car Designer 1

Teacher or Nursery Teacher 5

Police force or Fire Fighter 5

Nurse 2

Computer Programmer 2

Pilot 1

Site Engineer 1

Palaeontologist 1

Doctor 2

Lawyer 2Archaeologist 1

Architect 2

Total 123

This survey reflects the restricted range of career paths of children of this age and on which they may make decisions which could profoundly affect their future life chances. The next three case studies show one school’s attempt to broaden the horizons of its pupils and teachers.

The Dursley Primary School Futures Club

The school has a mixed catchment area. A large proportion of its pupils come from low income families. Dursley itself has a long history of manufacturing, ranging from the production of woollen goods to light engineering. Many children in the school come from families, generations of whom have been mill or factory workers. There have been periodic slumps in the town’s economic fortunes. Since the 1970s there has been a general depression in the town – factories closing and the slow process of realignment of commerce taking place. The town is about to undergo further significant changes and development which will change its character and the nature of employment.

Bill Church, the head teacher of the school, has long been concerned with extending the opportunities available to his pupils. When Polly Barnes, a teacher at the school, heard that another Gloucestershire school ran an after school club which looked at other people’s jobs, she and Bill Church discussed the possibility of setting up a similar club. The aims of the club are:

i) To give children a knowledge and taste of a wide range of employment opportunities outside their normal experience.

ii) To develop from this an understanding of the ways in which society works and the interdependence of different occupations and the decision-making process.

The club operates in two ways, firstly by inviting

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in speakers who not only describe their jobs but also try to convey to the children the ways in which aspects of their work impacts upon society and people. For example, a physiotherapist gave the children the opportunity to try to manage simple tasks whilst using Zimmer frames. By the end of the session the children’s questioning and responses clearly indicated a new found empathy with the disabled and elderly. Other visitors have ranged from Banking to Film Stunt Training, from Motor Journalism to Motor Bike Mechanic and from Industrial Sales to Nature Reserve Warden. Secondly, the children have visited a range of employment sites including a graphic design studio, a university and a fire station.

The club has now successfully run for two years and in March 2004 received the prestigious Gold Medal from the regional Pathways Education Industry Links. During the Gold Medal award ceremony a local mayor asked, “What does the Futures Club do?” Without any prompting or rehearsing, a child with some learning- difficulties responded,

“It gives us aspirations for when we grow up.”

Prior to her involvement in the Futures Club this child had a very limited view of the range of possible jobs open to her. The use of the word ‘aspirations’ in context clearly illustrates that this child is now more fully appreciating her own potential and is aware that she can set her sights higher than she had before.

Expanding teachers’ horizons

To complete the process of extending perspectives all teaching and learning support staff from Dursley School shadowed people in various jobs in industry. The intention was to broaden the experience of staff so that they become more aware of the range of future opportunities open to their pupils. It was also hoped that as a side benefit

the dialogue between educators and people in the ‘real world’ would establish much common ground, shared experience and an appreciation of each others’ skills and visions. Placements were arranged at the BBC, the local museum, banks, organic gardeners, a professional rugby club and with a number of other interesting employments.

In addition to broadening the knowledge base of the children and the staff, Dursley School, in line with many other schools, also sought to give the children a range of opportunities to engage in real decision-making through forming a School Council. This can be a useful forum for children to take part in active citizenship, making choices about real issues in a democratic setting. After a meeting of the School’s Council, one boy commented to Mrs. Barnes that, although he enjoyed taking part in the debates, he felt that it was a pity that only other children in the school could hear their points of view. Others agreed with him and an interesting discussion followed about empowerment and ways in which people could get their voices heard. Mrs. Barnes challenged the children to ‘get themselves published’ so that they could reach a wider audience. This led to the following project.

Let the children speak

During a literacy hour session, while studying journalistic reporting, Mrs. Barnes discussed with the children the various media outlets through which they could potentially publish their work and ideas. This fitted in with the broader intentions of the literacy hour and was also in line with the aims of the Futures Club namely to widen horizons and engage the pupils more fully as active citizens.

As a result, by September 2004, fifteen children had had work published in the Local Gazette and in various newspapers and journals. An anthology of children’s poetry, “Once upon a Rhyme” (2004) has

What futures from Primary Education?

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also been published and includes poems from the children in this school. Titles such as ‘Tomorrow’, ‘Team Spirit’, ‘The Way things always go’ and ‘I have freedom’ illustrate the liberating effect the Futures Club has had on many of the children. The following lines, written by an 11 year old girl, sum up the maturing awareness of the children:

“It feels like time is a dream, the freedom I have, the independence is the best thing about me. “

These examples from Dursley School illustrate how children’s knowledge and understanding can be broadened through working with others, both pupils and adults. They have developed and explored a range of skills and values within the school and the wider community. This has led them to a more secure and confident sense of self-worth. They are now far more enthusiastic about the range of life chances open to them.

Conclusion

These case studies represent ways in which some schools and educators are attempting to make a difference. The activities require imagination, effort and enthusiasm rather than expensive resources. Teaching must be seen as “an art of high ambition” Stenhouse (1978), opening doors for all pupils. We must be ambitious for their learning and for their futures. Since the Millennium the world has witnessed conflict on an appalling scale, conflict which largely has its base in ignorance of other places and other lives. In the intense, test-based schooling culture which has prevailed since 1988, it has often sadly been forgotten that there is a statutory requirement to deliver a broad and balanced curriculum. Broadening children’s horizons must surely be the foundation stone for a more harmonious future.

References

Alexander, R.J. (2004) Still no Pedagogy? Principle, pragmatism and compliance in Primary Education Cambridge, Journal of Education, 34 (1), 7-33

Catling, S., Bowles, R., Haloca, J., Martin, F. and Rawlinson, S. (2003) The State of Primary geography in England, Conference Paper, GA Annual conference, Derby

DfEE (2000) The National Curriculum: London: HMSO

DfES (2003) Excellence and Enjoyment: a strategy for Primary Schools, London: DfES

Geographical Association (2003) Making Connections: geography in the foundation stage, A position statement, Sheffied: GA

Kimber, D. et al (1995) Humanities in the Primary School, London: Fulton

Ofsted (2004) Subject Reports 2002/3, Geography in Primary Schools HMI (1998) London: Ofsted

Robinson, K. (1999) All our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education, London: DfES

Stenhouse, L. (1978) Curriculum research and the art of the teacher in Stenhouse, L. (Ed) Authority, Education and Emancipation, London: Heinemann

Young Writers (2004) Once Upon a Rhyme, Gloucester Edition

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What is distinctive about KS2?

In 1981, Brian Simon published a significant academic critique entitled ‘Why no pedagogy in England?’ (Simon, 1981). In 2003, Robin Alexander, inspired (if that is the right word) by the new primary strategy ‘Excellence and Enjoyment’ (DfES, 2003) was moved to publish a follow-up to Simon’s original entitled ‘Still no Pedagogy?’ (Alexander, 2004). Much of Alexander’s argument concerns the superficiality of the primary strategy, a document he sees as relying “heavily on large print, homely language, images of smiling children …” (p1) but deficient in exposition of pedagogy. So, after nearly a quarter of a century of strategic development that has seen the introduction of a National Curriculum and unprecedented levels of central government prescription of how to teach on the basis of “what works”, we have, apparently, still no pedagogy in England

In turning to Excellence and Enjoyment for an answer to the question “what makes a pedagogy fit for Key Stage Two?” we have found no alternative to reluctant agreement with Alexander’s position. ‘Excellence and Enjoyment’ cannot answer our question, because it contains nothing of intellectual substance about pedagogy. Alexander (2000) attributes this in part to the uniquely British trait of anti-intellectualism, which he links to a political conspiracy against the study of education as a university discipline. As university academics who earn our living from being intellectual about education, particularly education at KS2 and 3, we regard with some envy our colleagues in early years who seem to us heirs to a rich intellectual tradition of pedagogical study that allows, for example, critical comparison of Montessori principles with those of Froebel, or the comparison of the English Foundation Stage with Malaguzzi. Surely, we ask, the education of 8 – 11 year olds should inspire equal intellectual passion?

Alexander’s approach has been through comparative study. In this paper, ours will be too. There are two main sections to the paper. In the first, Mike Nicholson draws on his considerable experience of education in Denmark to summarise what is distinctive about Danish pedagogy. In the second, Martin Ashley draws on his experience of independent education in England. In both cases, the aim is to see whether a distinctive pedagogy for KS2 is available in England outside the maintained primary sector that might legitimately influence practice within it. Alexander’s view is that pedagogy comprises both a practice of teaching and a discourse of teaching. It is the latter that he sees as particularly lacking. We would like to encourage a discourse of teaching and we would like that discourse to take place in ordinary classrooms and between serving teachers as much as, if not more than, between academics or academics and teachers. We wonder whether such a discourse has ever really existed in England and by no means place the whole blame for the present situation on the National Primary Strategy.

Schools in Denmark

Although only a few hundred miles away from the eastern shores of England a rather different approach to raising children in schools exists in Denmark. Inevitably where you have children, teachers and school buildings the similarities of schooling in any country outweigh the differences, but it is those differences that reveal alternative starting points and procedures in what is a common task. It is fascinating that societies and cultures having so much in common can evolve such apparently distinct approaches to raising children in the formal community institutions we call schools. It should be remembered that the two countries share much of a common history and centuries of social, commercial and political interaction.

What Makes a Pedagogy fit for Key Stage Two?

Martin Ashley & Mike Nicholson

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To make the most sense of a curriculum experienced by children aged 7 years to 11 years we need to make a short summary of some of the key components of the Danish school system, the schools, the role of the teacher and the relationships between the school, the parents of the children and the community at large. The Danish school system is different from the English. In Denmark children do not attend formalised, compulsory schooling until the age of seven. Most attend kindergarten, but this is not a statutory obligation. At the age of seven they start their statutory schooling at the ‘Folkeskole’. The Folkeskole is a very different institution to both the state primary and secondary schools in England. The differences are many, but principally and most obviously they are as follows.

In the main children attend the Folkeskole from the age of seven until the age of sixteen. There is no phase change at the age of eleven. In Denmark primary education is the Folkeskole and secondary education is post-16 (but not higher education) education. As with many schools in England, the Folkeskolen are comprehensive and neighbourhood in that they draw in nearly all of the children from the local catchment area. The average roll for a Folkeskole is about 400 children and the average class size is about 19 children. In Denmark there is also an independent sector, about 15% of children attend these independent Frieskolen. These schools receive government funding that covers most of their costs and require the minimum of fees from parents. In effect parental income has no bearing on whether children attend the independent Frieskolen in Denmark.

There is a direct and linguistically correct translation of class teacher from English into Danish. However, a conceptual translation is something rather different. As described above the nature of Danish schools is somewhat different to English schools. A similar situation applies with the concept of what it is to be a class teacher or ‘klasselaerer’.

Danish teachers are trained as generalists who are qualified to teach all subjects to the first to seventh forms (six to thirteen years of age) and two main subjects to the eighth to tenth forms (fourteen to sixteen years of age) of the Folkeskole system. Their expertise is considered to be, in the main, in the teaching and developing of children. This, combined with the absence of streaming, means that it is usual for a class teacher to teach the same group of children most of the time throughout their school lives until they are sixteen years old (HMI, 1991). However, it should be noted that in the past four years student teachers in training have to have four subject specialisms.

In this way each pupil group in Denmark (average class size approximately nineteen pupils) has a teacher who has a long-term additional role as counsellor, encouraging maximum contact between the family and the school. Pupils and parents can relate to a teacher who is entirely responsible for the class’s social welfare. Class teachers are always the parents’ primary contact with the school and they are required by law to inform parents twice yearly about all aspects of the child’s life at school. These meetings are usually carried out with the children present and attendance among parents is said to be almost 100% (Bach & Christensen, 1992). The intimate knowledge which class teachers build up about children and their families fosters a great trust and confidence between them which may contribute to their relatively high status. Bell (1988) has suggested that, in working so closely with parents, Danish teachers have created an alternative view of that elusive, universal demand of teachers - to be regarded as “professionals”:

‘‘In fact what they (Danish teachers) were developing was a new concept of teacher professionalism that compared teachers not to doctors, with their assumed depths of secret incommunicable knowledge and authority, but to the equally respectable architects or lawyers who take their clients’ instructions, deploy their

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expertise to advise and caution but always, ultimately, place themselves at their clients’ disposal. They take the view that, whereas a hundred years ago parents needed to have things decided for them by teachers, after a century or more of universal education that should no longer be necessary.’

(Bell, 1988)

The long-term relationship developed because of the role of the klasselaerer gives perspectives not enjoyed by class teachers in England. In addition criteria for judging children’s progress are set entirely from within the school and are a private judgement made between the klasselaerer, the parents and the child. As with schools in England, children’s academic progress and intellectual development is assessed, but the thrust of this assessment is formative and focussed on a holistic approach. Great emphasis is placed on the children’s affective and social development, and the contribution they make to the class as a whole. This communitarian approach follows a key element in Danish society, the attempt to achieve consensus in all areas of public life. Every effort is made to achieve agreement in the Danish Parliament (Folketing) and the Ministry of Education with the teachers’ union, the municipal councils and the parents’ association (Bach & Christensen 1992).

Although the Folketing sets the general aims of the Folkeskole and the Minister of Education sets the objectives for individual subjects, it is up to the Municipal Councils and individual school boards to decide how these aims and objectives are to be achieved.

The porosity and interaction between the school and these groups is frequent, substantial and follows notions of equality and collaboration that would be seen as unusual in England.

All of the above then creates a curriculum, overt and covert, that gives the children at the equivalent of Key Stage Two an experience that is substantially different to that experienced by their counterparts in England

There is a common National Curriculum in Denmark. For children at aged 9 to 10 years and for each week the following is recommended

• 6 lessons of Danish

• 4 lessons of Mathematics

• 3 lessons of Physical Education and Sport

• 2 Lessons of English

• 2 lessons of Christian Studies

• 2 lessons of Creative Art

• 2 lessons of Music (whole class and whole school singing is an important part of the cultural life of Danish schools)

• 1 lesson of History

• 1 lesson of General Science

• 1 lesson of ‘Sloyd’ (loosely Design and Technology)

• 1 lesson of ‘Free Class Discussion’

(Denmark, 1996)

Each lesson is about one hour, and these would be spread over a 5 day week where the children start the day at 8 a.m. and finish at about 1.00 p.m. The details of the recommended content for each subject area for the whole of the Folkeskole years are contained in an A5 booklet of about 40 pages.


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In the above list is a lesson of ‘Free Class Discussion’. The presence of this time is enshrined in the statutory programme that the schools must follow and perhaps personifies much of the approach to schooling in Denmark. Even from the First Grade the children and the klasselaerer have to spend time discussing how to approach the forthcoming work of the class. These discussions would include methods of teaching and learning, issues of collaboration between the children and between the children and the klasselaerer, general school issues and relationships between children. The degree of sophistication of the discussion will depend on the age of the children, but at every grade the children are expected to take responsibility for their own contributions. This oral tradition lies at the heart of the drive toward consensus within Danish society and particularly in the school system.

So the life of the children in Danish schools is different from that experienced by their counterparts in England. The relatively light touch of external statutory direction into the school helps the klasselaerer to shape the learning of the children more to their individual needs, and without the obligation to make assessment public. Indeed assessment is first and foremost formative in its nature. The parents and the local community do not just have the opportunity to influence the work of the school, but also have a strong social obligation to do so. Finally, through the hour of class discussion and through the general tone and modus operandi of the school the children have a significant influence in the way in which their education progresses.

In Denmark, the devolved process of control over the processes of schooling from central government even as far as individual classes allows, in my view, the creation of a pedagogy that is more appropriate for the needs of individual children, their schools and the communities in which they

live. This persistent examination and adjustment of the learning milieu and, to a lesser extent, the instructional system (Parlett and Hamilton, 1977) gives a nimbleness and speed of response to contemporary needs that seems to be lacking in the model in England. The weaker drive for compliance with central directives in Denmark compared to England also allows for, no calls for, a professional commitment to a discourse about educational values by all of the stakeholders there. In England, in my experience there is more conversation about how to achieve compliance with central directives and approval from the inspectorate than about educational values (Nicholson, 2004). Moreover, these conversations almost always exclude parents, children and the community at large.

In my view this has a major impact on the development of a broadly agreed pedagogy in England. The power of centralised government policy making to promote measurements of success in education based almost exclusively on national testing regimes and proscriptive teaching programmes has restricted reflective development of pedagogical debate amongst pupils, students, teachers and even teacher educators. Using Alexander’s definition of pedagogy, the act of teaching together with its attendant discourse, (Alexander, 2004) the emphasis on act and the instructional system so constrains freedom to debate at all levels of the educational community in England that the development of discourse is both difficult, and at times dangerous.

The more broadly based and communitarian basis for policy making in the Danish tradition, in the main, still in keeping with the Grundtvigian ideal of popular enlightenment (folkeoplysning), requires much more reflection and responsibility from both the individual pupil, student, teacher and teacher educator. This is not without disadvantage (Winther-Jensen, 2001) and it does attract pressure to change. But from the author’s own research

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from some time ago, intellectual flexibility and nimbleness in the population and a willingness to continue to be educated brings economic advantage in a globalising financial climate. (Nicholson, 1990; Nicholson and Moss, 1990).

Independent Schools

For many, the term “independent school” in England conjures images of the playing fields of Eton. The term independent, however, can refer to any educational enterprise that is independent of direct control by the State. Thus A.S. Neill’s famous Summerhill school upholds its independence by asserting liberal democratic values that would be as much out of place in many traditional fee-paying schools as in aspirant maintained schools jostling for high league table positions. Summerhill’s radical values were apparently more than OFSTED could cope with, and the cherished principle of independence from direct political control was severely tested (Kushner, 2002). Bedales School in Hampshire maintained values that were contrary to the State’s in the nineteenth century when it espoused the radical and controversial principle of coeducation. Today, Bedales School continues to challenge the political orthodoxy that “what works” is pupils in uniforms. Not all independent school pupils wear Eton collars.

Nevertheless, independent education at KS2 is dominated by those schools that belong to IAPS (Incorporated Association of Preparatory Schools), popularly known as “prep schools”. It is undeniable that the majority of these schools are socially exclusive by virtue of the high fees charged. Unpalatable though this may be to some, this fact should not prevent us from undertaking a critical scrutiny of prep school pedagogy, because it offers a clear alternative to primary school practice. It is just possible that some learning of value to an education faculty could occur. Another alternative to prep schools are Steiner schools. Steiner

education is a world wide movement. In some countries it is generously state funded. In England it currently receives no state support, though there is a possibility that it may do as the present New Labour government has indicated a willingness to pursue this. Hitherto, however, English Steiner schools have struggled to exist through self-help adaptations of old buildings, the practical support of parents, and teachers prepared to work for less than the national pay scales. Fees are regarded as a necessary evil and kept to a minimum with payment according to means in some schools.

Not all prep school parents are fabulously wealthy. Some make considerable sacrifices to pay the fees. Steiner teachers generally earn significantly less than their counterparts in the maintained sector. These are powerful statements about value. The possibility that a passion about pedagogy underpins these values is the one I now pursue. I am helped in this by two research projects I am engaged in at the time of writing, a UWE funded “KS2 Pedagogy Project”, and a DfES funded “Steiner Schools in England” project. Many approaches are possible, but space is limited. I am going to concentrate on the role of the class teacher.

One of the most distinctive features of prep schools is that the transition from generalist to specialist teaching is made much earlier than in maintained schools. Prep schools vary, but it is not uncommon to find children being taught entirely by subject specialists from the age of 8 upwards. Specialist teaching is thus a principal characteristic of KS2 in prep schools. The generalist teacher is found only at KS1. A feature of Steiner schools that often attracts attention is the emphasis on a class teacher who stays with the same children for eight years. Reactions from teachers in the maintained system can range from the horrified to the incredulous at the thought of the same


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children for two or three years, let alone eight. A Steiner class teacher, however, is not the same as a primary generalist. Class teaching in Steiner schools focuses on the two hour “main lesson” that occurs each morning. At other times of the day, there is specialist teaching and the contact children have with other teachers increases gradually from Steiner Class 1 (Y2) upwards. This is quite a different system to the primary generalist who might be with the same class all the time for a whole year.

Behind this difference lies the degree of significance that is accorded to child developmentalism. A view of child development (Steiner’s) is at the heart of Steiner pedagogy and a short article such as this cannot even attempt to do justice to the importance and consequence of this. Child developmentalism as a component of KS2 pedagogy in maintained schools, however, occupies a much less central position and has had a more chequered history. There was a time when some significance was attached to the theories of Piaget, but these never had the fundamental pedagogical impact of Steiner’s theories, and little attention is now paid to them in the requirements for mainstream teacher training.

In Steiner schools, we find completely the opposite. Steiner education falls into three distinct phases based upon the growth of the child. The 7 – 14 years are the “class teacher years” and the children have the same teacher for eight years. There could hardly be a greater contrast. Reactions from primary school teachers tend to be either horror at the thought of having the same children for eight years in the case of Steiner, or something akin to wistfulness at the lack of opportunity to know and care for the “whole child” as a generalist teacher in the case of prep schools. Yet something must inspire the passions for alternatives.

Prep schools often market themselves through a discourse of “academic excellence” and “high standards”. Intellectually, though, this may be vacuous since the government also markets primary schools through a discourse of “excellence” (and enjoyment). Arguably “excellence” has become a debased and almost meaningless word in intelligent educational discourse. Behind the prep school notion of excellence, however, lies the indictment that primary schools are less than “excellent” because their generalist teachers lack subject knowledge. This is an uncomfortable possibility for KS2 pedagogy that was clearly identified in the “three wise men” report that was part of the political plotting of the final demise of topic work as the dominant ideology in primary schools (Alexander et al, 1992).

Yet how can this be reconciled with the Steiner ideal that the same teacher should teach the same children right through to the age of 14? The mere fact that it is possible to ask this question should alert us to the possibility that there isn’t a simple “right answer” to the issue of teachers’ subject knowledge. Pursuing this question with prep school heads has been both interesting and rewarding as it has resulted in much reflection on practice and values. There is no space to present the data here, but what has emerged is that the most desired quality of a teacher is not subject knowledge but subject enthusiasm. If the lesson, for example, is geography, then the teacher must be enthusiastic about geography. Such enthusiasm, for 9 – 13 year olds, can be very adequately cultivated without a geography degree. A number of prep school teachers (including myself, see Ashley 2004) have admitted to “vamping” this. What seems to count is a passion for the children to share the teacher’s passion for the subject.

This is difficult to conceptualise through the English language, but the Germans are closer to having a word for it in Fachdidaktik which roughly

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translates into “subject didactics”. In England, teacher training institutions were once populated by so-called “method lecturers” who were essentially subject specialists (ex teachers) concerned with the “method” of teaching their subject. The possibility that the characteristically English preoccupation with unstable swings of political fashion in education swept out any possibility of pedagogy with the purge of method is one that Simon urges us to consider (Simon, 1994). Didactics, in continental European usage, is concerned with methods of teaching subjects and the idea that different subjects have different didactics is thus preserved. An obvious example might be music. The successful teacher of music will, for example, employ didactics related to pitching and intonation that only a musician would use or appreciate. Primary generalists, struggling to teach music through a “scheme” without the benefit of any musical training, perhaps do little credit for English primary education, in the eyes of musicians at least. The comparison with the prep school practice of ensuring that there is a qualified musician on the staff who is able to employ Fachdidaktik would in many ways seem to be an unfavourable one.

A de facto solution to this problem has been to downplay the importance of music and other such “frills” in primary education. Indeed, in the government’s own words, the primary strategy will be used to “extend the sort of support provided by the Literacy and Numeracy Strategies to all of the foundation subjects” (DfES, 2003). Why it has taken until 2003 for the government to consider that primary education might progress beyond the principles of Lowe’s 1862 Revised Code is well beyond the scope of this paper, but the inequality of provision of the broader curriculum at KS2 through Fachdidaktik has been an enduring marker of difference between independent and maintained education for well over 100 years. Whilst the Plowden Report supposedly encouraged the freedom for primary schools to embrace what

were imagined to be the liberating principles of educational theory, it did little to populate primary schools with teachers firmly grounded in subject didactics.

A solution to the generalist/specialist conundrum that is sometimes offered by independent as well as maintained schools is that subjects such as music, art or PE require specialist skills, whereas the “core curriculum” of English and maths requires the constant ministration of the class teacher. This does not, however, wholly address the question of subject enthusiasm. The fundamental question to be asked here is that of whether a “scheme”, or indeed a national strategy, can give a non-mathematician subject enthusiasm. There is the further complication that science, a subject that requires significant levels of specialist knowledge as well as enthusiasm, has been tenuously bolted on to the “core curriculum” package created by the 1988 Act. I have the intuition that there exist a significant number of primary teachers who are not enthusiastic about science, though I have to admit that I have not tested this by proper research.

I would not rule out the possibility that it may be possible to a certain extent for strategies to raise enthusiasm. My own ongoing samplings of primary school children’s opinions indicate that the popularity of maths has improved quite a lot since the introduction of the Numeracy Strategy. This may be due to the replacement of dull schemes at which children worked in isolation by something that has, in the better examples, many or even all of the qualities of enthusiastic teaching. An intriguing question that the KS2 Pedagogy project is pursuing, however, is that of whether the calling of musician is more “special” than the calling of mathematician.

We cannot, at the moment, say from research whether KS2 children really do perform better at KS2 when taught by subject specialists. The suggestion on


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the IAPS website that subject teaching automatically leads to higher standards is unscientific and subject to a considerable number of complex interacting variables that are conveniently ignored. A final point that ought not to be overlooked though is that it is much easier to be enthusiastic in a classroom of 15 relatively well behaved children than in a classroom of 30+ where social problems dominate.

If subject enthusiasm, rather than subject knowledge, is to be a primary variable then the argument is headed in the direction of the personal qualities of the teacher. Hitherto, the Teacher Training Agency (TTA) have shied away from specifying enthusiasm as a required competency or “standard”. This is interesting because few of the children I have interviewed have had any difficulty in identifying enthusiasm as a pedagogical quality or in judging which teachers possess it. Indeed, there were high levels of agreement amongst the Y6 children who viewed the TTA’s training videos during the research for my co-authored book ‘Woman Teaching Boys’ regarding who “knew their subject” and “taught it enthusiastically” (Ashley & Lee, 2003).

Possibly the TTA’s cautious approach here is due to the fact that these were probably subjective judgements and as Elliot Eisner reminds us “personal judgement is equated with subjectivity and we want none of that” (Eisner, 2005). Eisner argues from the viewpoint that teaching is not a technology but an art and this sets him at odds with the prevailing view in both the US and the UK where it is currently held that pedagogy can be defined as a measurable set of technical actions. This technocratic approach shuns judgement in favour of assessment based on standardized measurable outcomes and demands conformity by both teachers and pupils to a uniform product quality. He argues that

Those of us who work in the field of education are neither bank tellers who have little discretion nor assembly line workers whose actions are largely repetitive; each child we teach is wonderfully unique and each requires us to use that most exquisite of human capacities, the ability to make judgments in the absence of rules. (Eisner, ibid.)

Sentiments such as these take us towards Steiner pedagogy. Apart from the principle of teaching the same class for seven years, Steiner pedagogy is remarkable for its opposition to the use of ICT during the 7 – 14 class teacher years. To those on the outside, this may seem an eccentric, Luddite position. The Steiner position, however, is rather more subtle than this. The computer is regarded as an adult tool. Steiner educated children can and do use ICT as competently as any others when the time comes. The production line uniformity of Clip Art and Powerpoint, however, have no place in the nurture of the unique, creative, wondering spirit of every child (Cordes & Miller, 2000). If a continuum were to be drawn from pedagogy as a technical craft through science to art, Steiner pedagogy might be found in the position furthest from teaching as a mechanistic act reducible to measurable technique. Steiner pedagogy might be an art, but it is also a spiritual act in which every transaction between teacher and child is, as Eisner puts it, “wonderfully unique”.

Avison (2004) makes the important statement that it is not what the teacher knows that educates the child but what the teacher is. There may be a perverse connection here between Steiner and prep school pedagogy. To be perceived as enthusiastic, the teacher clearly needs to be in a certain way. As far as subject knowledge is concerned, Eisner is in agreement with Alexander et al that one

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teacher can’t know enough to teach everything at KS2. There is no expectation in Steiner pedagogy that he or she will. The teacher grows with the children and prepares their subject knowledge as the children develop. This contrasts with the TTA’s notion of auditing which could encourage the dangerous illusion that, on the day of the audit, the teacher will know everything s/he needs to know and the matter ends there. Indeed the pressures of relentless external scrutiny of what can be recalled under test conditions may mitigate against the very kind of being that is at the essence of Steiner pedagogy

The Steiner teacher is (or is expected to be) a certain kind of person in relation to the class and is expected to exercise him or herself in this being. The principle of a class teacher for eight years is founded upon the need for intimate, spiritual knowledge of the class and the individuals within it. An enthusiasm for one’s pupils might indeed be part of a successful pedagogy, though it might not be something we would want to measure or rank in a league table. As one Steiner parent I interviewed put it “You don’t choose your mother”. The relationship has to work, and part of the pedagogy is the artistry and spirituality of making it work. The principle of no ICT is founded upon the need for the teacher to know the subject in an intimate way that is unique for the class. It is not just the computer that stands in the way of this, but before it the video, the film projector, the radio, the book. In the words of the same parent

Not through a book. It’s the actual adult that brings it to the child, human contact. Telling rather than reading stories. The teacher in preparing the lesson will read up, but bring it from human to human, adult to child. It’s not for the children to read straight from a book.

I continue to struggle with David Hay’s objections to individualism and, above all, to his

choice of literacy and the loss of oral culture as one of the three prominent reasons for the decline of spirituality in Western culture (Ashley and Hay, 2000). However, in the quotation above, I believe we may well have an example of the pedagogical implications of relational consciousness (Hay, 2000; Hay & Nye, 1998).

Teachers in Steiner schools are members of a teachers’ college which aspires to a flat management system. There is no head teacher, simply a teacher-manager who takes on some of the administrative tasks. This also connects with Eisner’s view that pedagogy should be a collegiate act in which members of a school’s staff know each other’s pedagogical business. In growing with the children, the Steiner class teacher will draw upon the support of the Teachers’ College in learning or re-learning the knowledge that is to be developed and he or she will learn it with enough intimacy to share it confidently with the children without the aid of the proliferation of mechanical devices of which printing was the first. This probably says a lot about subject knowledge.

It is also the case that specialists are used in Steiner schools alongside the class teacher. The main function of the class teacher is the two hour “main lesson” that takes place each morning. Specialists can be used for any of those subjects, such as music or the uniquely Steiner ‘eurhythmy’, which do seem to require their own Fachdidaktik. Interestingly, the main lesson continues in Steiner upper schools where it is taught in blocks by different specialists. Thus a maths specialist might teach maths in an applied cultural context to a class of fifteen year olds for a block of two hour “main lessons” in the morning and a more discrete form of maths as a subject specialism in the afternoon. This grounded mathematics seemed to attract the favourable comment from OFSTED (OFSTED, 2003)


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Steiner pedagogy and prep school pedagogy may not be so far apart if it is considered that immeasurable personal qualities of individual teachers are common to both. This is the difference between measurement and judgement. An impersonal, centralized bureaucratic system is likely to rely on performance management through easily measurable performance indicators and will distrust notions such as devolved and localized judgements. Perhaps the professional need is to demonstrate that judgement, as opposed to measurement, can work. The question that we need to be asking about KS2 pedagogy is that of how we produce a system run by professionals who can exercise judgement, and can be trusted to do so. Possibly there may be a link between this question and the question of subject enthusiasm that has emerged as important.

Conclusion

Does the existence of Steiner schools and IAPS schools mean that there is, after all, a pedagogy in England, and a distinctive pedagogy for KS2? Does the case study of Denmark indicate that there is a pedagogy in Denmark, and that the Danes have an answer to the question of whether there is a distinctive pedagogy for KS2? Probably not. Steiner and IAPS schools suggest that there are pedagogies in England, but not a pedagogy that we could call English KS2 pedagogy. There is a lesson here in that it appears that New Labour, confident that it has identified “what works”, are on dangerous territory in attempting to define and codify a uniform “best practice”. Steiner educators would never be tied to following a minutely prescribed curriculum that denies the artistry of the teacher and the uniqueness of the class. In this respect, they would appear similar to Danish educators. The level of didactic prescription in English maintained primary schools is also unknown in prep schools where a certain amount of trust is placed in each teacher to be an exponent of their subject in their own particular way.

Alexander reminds us that pedagogy is both the practice of teaching and the discourse of teaching. The National Primary Strategy certainly documents a practice of teaching, but its very certainties, expressed in pictures of smiling children and appeals to common sense preclude, almost by definition, a discourse of teaching. Perhaps, then, it is principally for a discourse of teaching that we should be looking. In the IAPS sector, we find practices such as the prioritization of subject knowledge, the assumption of Fachdidaktik and the valuing of enthusiasm. What evidence is there, though, of a discourse of teaching and where should we look for it? What evidence is there that the study of education itself, or the study of childhood and developmentalism are considered worthwhile in IAPS schools? Who carries out this discourse? Would it be teachers, researchers, politicians or other stakeholders? Would pupils ever be involved? Where is this discourse carried on? In school staff rooms, scholarly journals, the media, the dinner table?

Steiner schools have very clearly defined pedagogical principles that are founded upon child developmentalism, teacher artistry and a system of philosophical or “spiritual/scientific” beliefs. It would not be possible to do justice to the question of whether a discourse of teaching exists within Steiner schools in as short and diverse a paper as this. It would be fair, however, to ask the same questions about discourse of Steiner schools as might be asked of IAPS schools.

Danish schools share other things in common with English Steiner schools. For example, a later start of formal schooling at age 7 and most particularly a continuity from 7 - 16 in the same school. The Danes have a clear notion of the klasselaerer which is very similar to Steiner pedagogy in the stress it places on continuity and teaching the same group of children for most of their career at the school. Another important aspect of the klasselaerer is the

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expertise in child development which also aligns the Danish Folkeskole more with the English Steiner school than either the English prep school or primary school. Knowledge of child development seems to have been particularly marginalized in English primary schools since 1988. At the same time, the Danish teacher has two main subjects to teach the 14 - 16 age group, which would give him or her an area of Fachdidaktik and subject knowledge that would not be possessed by the English KS2 teacher. As Bourdieu (1984) is wont to remind us, this probably gives a higher professional status.

So we have made a comparison between three educational perspectives, and found some evidence of a thought-through pedagogy that is based on philosophical principles, scholarly investigation and, above all discourse. Perhaps a key component in locating pedagogy is the persistence of discourse. In the example from Denmark this is enshrined in both national culture and in statutory obligations. The sense of trust invested by central government in all of the stakeholders in the Danish education system to make sensible decisions about the nature of their own and others learning allows for attendant discourse to flourish. It seems to us that this is perhaps the key comparison with the situation in England, where trust is not only missing, but is actively mitigated against through a narrow concept of what counts as education and an aggressive inspection system to enforce compliance with these centralized concepts. Surely Alexander is right, without attendant discourse there can be no pedagogy only act. To paraphrase Bill Clinton ‘It’s the learning milieu stupid’.

References

Alexander, R., Rose, J. & Woodhead, C. (1992) Curriculum Organisation and Classroom Practice in Primary Schools: a discussion paper. London: DES.

Alexander, R. (2000). Culture and Pedagogy, international comparisons in primary education. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

Alexander, R. (2004) Still no pedagogy? Principle, pragmatism and compliance in primary education. Cambridge Journal of Education 34 (1) 7 - 33.

Ashley, M. and Hay, D. (2000) Alienation, Individualism and Relational Comsciousness, reflective digest of keynote address, Too Much Awe and Wonder? Proceedings of national consultative conference, St Mary Redcliffe Church, Bristol, 19th October.

Ashley, M. & Lee, J. (2003) Women Teaching Boys: caring and working in the primary school, Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham.

Ashley, M. (2004) Still Searching for a Pedagogy: a personal narrative, The Redland Papers, 11.

Avison, K. (2004) A Handbook for Waldorf Class Teachers, Forest Row: Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship.

Bach P. & Christensen C. (1992) From Despair to Optimism: the success story of Danish education, RSA Journal, June, 443 - 451. London: RSA.

Bell, R (1988) A Different Kind of Democracy. Times Educational Supplement (Scotland). January 22nd. London

Bourdieu, P. (1984) Distinction: a social critique of the judgment of taste, London: RKP


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Cordes, C. & Miller, E. (2000) Fool’s Gold: a critical look at computers in childhood, New York: Alliance for Childhood.

DfES (May 2003) Excellence and Enjoyment: a strategy for Primary Schools London: DfES

Eisner, E. (2005) Reimagining Schools: the selected works of Elliot W. Eisner, London: Routledge

Hay, D. (2000) Spirituality versus Individualism: why we should nurture relational consciousness, International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 2 (1) 38 – 48.

Hay, D & Nye, R. (1998) The Spirit of the Child, London: Harper-Collins

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (1991) Education In Denmark, London: HMS0.

Kushner, S. (2002) Eyes Wide Shut, The Redland Papers, 9, 6 – 16.

OFSTED, (2003) Inspection of Michael Hall School, London: Office for Standards in Education, Available on-line at http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/manreports/1422.htm

Nicholson, M. (1990). The views of five local industries on the curriculum of one secondary school. M Ed. Dissertation. Cardiff. The University of Wales. Unpublished

Nicholson, M. (2004). A Comparative Study of the Attitudes of Beginning Teachers to their Work in England and Denmark. Conference paper CESE Conference, Copenhagen. Unpublished

Nicholson, M. & Moss, D. (1990) ‘Matching the Curriculum to the Needs of Industry’, Education and Training. 32 (6). 3 - 8

Parlett, P. and Hamilton, D. (1977). Beyond the Numbers Game. Basingstoke: Macmillan.

Simon, B. (1981) Why no pedagogy in England? In B. Simon & W. Taylor (eds.) Education in the Eighties: the central issues, London: Batsford

Simon, B. (1994) The Study of Education as a University Subject in Britain. In B. Simon, The State and Educational Change: essays in the history of education and pedagogy. London: Lawrence & Wishart.

Simon, B. (1994) The State and Educational Change: essays in the history of education and pedagogy. London: Lawrence & Wishart.

Winther-Jensen, T. (2001). Changing Cultures and Schools In Denmark. In J. Cairns, D. Lawton & R. Gardner, (eds.). Values, Culture and Education. London: Kogan Page.

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Abstract

This case study examines the provision of learning development for higher education students in a large college of further education. It shows that the provision is being taken up by an increasing number of students and that some students report significant benefits, including the completion of programmes which they might otherwise have left. However, teaching staff take a variety of attitudes towards encouraging their students to take up the provision. The case study concludes with nine recommendations.

Introduction

This short case study was carried out between March and July 2004 in a large College of Further Education. Higher Education (HE) provision has been growing fast, and continues to grow. In the college and in 2004 HEFCE funding supported 858 HE students. The case study explores the benefits of providing access to learning development for HE students, and examines some strategies employed by staff to ensure that students are able and willing to access such support.

Rationale for the case study

Teaching staff at the college find that some HE students in further education (FE) come with relatively poor preparation for academic study. They may have low grades at A level, or they may have a level 3 vocational qualification which has not demanded critical reading or well structured written argument. Some students have no level 3 qualification at all, and this group includes some of the college teaching staff who have been recruited for their vocational expertise. It cannot be taken for granted that HE students come equipped with the ability to write a discursive essay or an appropriately phrased scientific or technical report.

The study was carried out at the request of the HE co-ordinator, who was concerned that all HE programme tutors should be aware of the potential of the college’s learning development service to support students through their time at college, and that tutors should be aware of its potential to reduce student drop-out.

The learning development service employs about 75 members of staff, who are mostly part-time and mainly graduate teachers. They work to support students to achieve their full potential and to develop their independence as learners. The service manager’s ideal would be to reach all students who desire to develop their learning skills; however, current government funding regulations require that the service identifies and serves only students with ‘significant need’.1 Support to HE students was offered one to one or in small groups.

Research questions

The project attempted to answer four questions:

• What is the extent of HE students' use of the learning development service offered by Learner Services?

• What benefits of learning development do students report?

• What are the views of the staff who teach HE programmes about learning development?

• Is there any relationship between learning development and student retention?

Learning development for higher education students in a Further Education College: a case study

Janet Brewer September 2004 (revised September 2005)

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Literature search

‘HE in FE’ has been rapidly growing. Its growth is not easily measured, as data comes from very varied sources. According to data gathered by Parry, Davies and Williams (2004 p5), FE institutions delivered around 12% of all HE provision in 2000/1 (i.e.150000 out of nearly 1.4 million higher education students)

There is a growing literature in the area of learning support generally, and there has been active debate since the mid-nineties on “academic literacies”. Various strands of the academic literacy debate address such questions as whether the assumptions which teachers make about their students’ literacy skills are adequately transparent, or consistent between teachers, and whether these assumptions are appropriate across curriculum areas. However it remains difficult to find studies which directly investigate the link between learning support and retention in HE.

Carnwell, Moreland and Helm (2001), in the course of investigating the needs of distance learners, reported “significant unmet learning needs” in the control group who were attending on-campus provision. They considered this likely to lead to unsatisfactory learning experiences and reduced achievements.

Sutherland (2003) shows that formal essays and exams both pose difficulties for first year students in HE; new school-leavers find more difficulty with assignments, and mature students with exams.

Blackie et al. (2003) show that in Higher Education today links between Student Services and academic support are increasing, and may include “study skills programmes, learning support centres, peer support and mentoring” (p13).

A recent report of interest comes from Avramidis and Skidmore (2004), reporting on the ‘Dyslexia and Learning Difficulties in Higher

Education project’ based at the University of Bath. The authors contend that there is a larger group of students in need of learning support than that recognised by the criteria for receiving the Disabled Students Allowance. They argue for locating ‘learning support’ within the mainstream teaching and learning debate, for provision of mainstream funding and for change in institutional values and practices.

Taken together, this literature indicates that it should be expected that today’s students in HE may have learning development needs, and that all staff teaching HE programmes need to consider how to help students access appropriate support.

Method

This case study employed a variety of methods to gather as much data as possible relating to the issue of learning support for HE students, and which could inform the future promotion of learning support.

Following discussions with the HE co-ordinator, the researcher:

• interviewed seven HE programme tutors using a semi structured interview schedule

• held a group interview with 12 HE students in one faculty

• held telephone interviews with 14 HE students from other faculties

• held discussions with three of the learning development staff

• observed one HE steering group meeting which addressed the issue of software for students with dyslexia

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• sought statistical data on retention and completion from college admin staff

• received data on the number of hours of support received by students on different HE programmes from the learning development team

A weakness of the method employed to date is that it does not capture the views of students who have not taken up learning support, but who might have benefited from it. A survey of all HE students might be considered for this purpose at a later date.

Findings

Extent of use of learning development by HE students The learner services staff provided the following data. There is a clear upward trend in the provision of learning development to HE students over the last five years.

Faculty No of HEFCE students supported by Learning Development

99/2000 2000/1 2001/2 2002/3 2003/4 A 4 4 4 8 11B 13 3 28 1 6C 0 6 2 4 18D 0 6 13 13 29E 0 0 4 7 3F 0 0 0 3 1G 0 1 0 3 4Total 17 20 51 36 �2

Data for the different faculties reflects a number of external and internal influences:

• in Faculty B, in 2002/3, an issue over external funding led to a drop in take-up in a faculty which had previously been able to encourage students to take up the service offered.

• in one programme in Faculty C, the arrival of a new teacher was said to have led to a rise in take-up of learning development

• in Faculty D, a steady increase over five years is observed; this is attributed by staff to their conscious decision to promote learning development as an entitlement for all students.

• figures for the latest year may have been increased by the separate funding budget made available for HE students, and the conscious efforts of the HE co-ordinator and learning development team to raise awareness of potential benefits.


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The percentage of students taking up learning development in 2003/4 is 8.4% of a total HEFCE enrolment of 858 students.

HE Students’ views of learning development

This section is focused on the views of the 14 students who were telephoned. Some points have been supplemented by comments from the group of 12 students in Faculty D.

Students who took up learning development thought that it was excellent.

Students were asked how they found the support they were offered. All except one described the support as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’. Students used such phrases as:

“Nothing was too much trouble for her”

“She’s a good teacher, very persistent”

“It was brilliant”.

“We didn’t know what to expect, but it was very helpful.”

Students found the staff skilled, professional and friendly

Students were asked why they found the support good. Some responded with evidence of the sorts of help they had received (e.g. help with grammar, sentence structure, calculus etc). They also responded by describing staff attributes. They said staff were:

• good teachers

• friendly

• non-judgmental

• professional

• they are almost like friends

They would advise students to ask to change tutor, if they did not have a good rapport.

The Importance of the support

Asked how important it had been, nine of the 14 students interviewed said it had been very important to them, the other five said it was quite important. Nine said that they had passed, or got better grades, as a result of the support received. Six of those (42% of the total) indicated that they would not have completed the programme without the support received, with comments such as:

“I would have failed my HNC without it.”

“At first I wasn’t passing assignments, then I was!”

Additionally, in the group interview, five of the 12 students said that their grades had improved, one of whom had previously been “constantly referred”, but who said that she now expected to complete the course. Another said:

“I got a new approach to learning. I don’t let it get me down.”

They would recommend it to other students.In answer to the question “What would you say

to other students if they asked you about getting learning development support?” all the 14 students were very positive. They would recommend the service highly.

“I’d tell them it was worth going and seeing for themselves.”

“Go for it - it was valuable for me!”

Two also added that they had already recommended it to other students.

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Attending learning development need not carry a stigma.

Some students felt that their peers could also be in need of some support, yet would not accept it. There was an issue of pride involved, or “male ego”. By contrast, the students in Faculty D stated that there was no stigma in their group, because they felt that learning development could be used to improve their grades “wherever they had started from”.

“... maybe it was the way (the tutors) put it across that it was for everyone.

All of us have been down (to the learning development centre) at some point, which makes it easier”.

Most of the students who were interviewed had heard about learning development in good time to attend.

Students had found out about the service from their tutor, or from Learner Services staff at induction. The majority had found out about it when they needed it, but a few would have liked to have found out about it sooner. They had had difficulties finding out what was available, and had needed to press for help. One person had not found out about learning development until she had completed her main written assignment for the year.

Most students had no difficulty in getting to planned sessions

Three students, all part-time, had experienced difficulty in accessing learning development. Their main problem was that work requirements took priority. One of these students said that she booked three weeks in advance for her sessions, to be sure of a particular time of day. The other two had had to miss planned sessions because they could not leave work.

Other comments

One student said that he was conscious of the open aspect of the learning development area in one of the learning resource centres. He thought that it might be off-putting to other students.

Staff views of learning development

Interviews with staff

Seven members of staff who taught HE programmes were interviewed. They came from six different faculties. Some of the tutors were suggested by the HE co-ordinator and others were chosen for the numbers of their students attending learning development. The majority of the students taught by these teachers were young (18 -21); a few were in their twenties; and in HNC groups, there were some older students in their 30s and 40s. Teachers’ comments therefore mainly relate to the younger students. Some staff stated that mature students would accept help more readily.

The staff recognised that many students were in need of learning development.

In six curriculum areas staff recognised that a number of their students needed support with writing skills, and in four that reading HE level texts presented some sort of difficulty. Numeracy was an area of need in two curriculum areas.

Staff in general expressed very positive views about the learning development offered by Learning Services.

One said:

“They do a tremendous job. Students are happy with the support they are getting.”


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This comment was typical of many. Others mentioned the new software introduced this year (e.g. ‘Inspiration’) which was found to be helpful. Another mentioned a learning development tutor who had written material for the internet, so that the faculty’s international students could access it anywhere in the world.

A small number of specific improvements to the service were suggested.

Some staff believe that learning development is a positive reason for students to choose college HE programmes

One tutor said that he mentions it at interview as a bonus of college life, along with the smaller numbers in class, as compared to a local university.

They would like more of the support to be contextualised.

Tutors appreciate the efforts which some of the learning development staff have put into understanding the curriculum, and into creating resources which are contextualised to the curriculum. The importance of this was referred from a variety of perspectives.

Screening instruments may need to be fine-tuned for different subjects.

In one HE programme for teachers, some of the student teachers preferred to work with a learning development tutor who also taught their own students and who understood the vocational curriculum.

They perceived that some students had emotional barriers to accepting support.

Some tutors perceived that students would have difficulty in accepting that they had a need for learning development. One went so far as to say:

“A student who turns up at Learning Development probably only has minor difficulties. Many students will have had experience of getting additional support in special classes or special units at school and of feeling there was stigma in this.”

Two believed that the visibility of the learning development area in one centre was a deterrent to some students. This was said to be the case for some - by no means all - of the students who are college staff taking teaching qualifications. They felt that being seen by their students could “undermine” them.

The extent of liaison with learning development staff varied considerably.

At one end of the spectrum, one HE programme team (in Faculty D) had quite extensive links with learning development staff. They:

• ensured that the learning development team were familiar with the syllabus and provided copies of assignments

• involved learning development staff with team meetings throughout the year

• they had set up a ‘reading group’ where a specialist tutor helped students (mainly known to be dyslexic) to explore meaning in academic texts

• they promoted learning development for all students. Learning development was not just for those who were struggling and being referred. Students who were passing their assignments

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were also encouraged to develop their skills in order to aim for merits or distinctions. Almost every student in one HE year group in this faculty had received support from the LD team, whether it was just one visit to work on time management, or regular visits throughout the year to improve grammar and spelling.

In other words, this faculty made use of the learning development service ethos that students should be supported to fulfil their potential.

In another faculty (C), one HE tutor said she used email to keep in touch with the Learning Development service. She ensured that the learning development specialist attended at induction, had a session with the students giving them useful handouts, and then was given the opportunity to have a coffee break with the students, without other staff being present. This format this helped to set up an excellent relationship with students.

At the other end of the spectrum, in two faculties tutors appeared to recognise that they might be able to improve links with the service, and to improve the way that learning development was introduced in induction week.

“It’s all very well me telling them, maybe someone from learning development should come up and explain in detail how the system works.”

Tutors seemed to accept that they should take further initiative for improving this liaison.

Some tutors felt that learning development was an integral part of their own job

Some tutors felt that the task of helping students to develop their skills in writing about the subject was one that needed to be addressed in tutorials or on faculty premises. Various reasons were given for this:

• Some students prefer to receive support in class. They like to draft their work and to receive feedback before completing it. (Though this presented a problem for the tutor in assessment. Whose work was being assessed?)

• Some students "had no time” to get to learning development sessions, as their time was taken up by part-time jobs/full-time work.

• Extra work on writing assignments would "slow up the process to the point where they couldn’t do it". (i.e. meet deadlines)

• Some students at one college centre faced both a physical and a time barrier. One teacher said:

“The problem is simple. They have 10 minutes break and 40 minutes lunch break. To move across college in the 40 minutes dinnertime – really and truthfully, I wouldn’t do it!”

(This teacher had set up ‘clubs’ where students stayed behind on one or more evenings a week to work on areas where further development was needed.)

Discussion

What is the extent of HE students’ use of the support offered by Learning Services?

We have seen that HE students are increasingly using the learning development service, and that in 2003-4 over 8% of our HEFCE funded students used the service. Take-up appears very varied between faculties. Some faculties promote learning development actively and in collaboration with the Learning Development team, whereas in other faculties there is a recognition that liaison with Learner Services might be improved. The faculties


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in this college are highly autonomous and have distinct teaching and learning cultures. It appears to me that HE programme teams in some faculties have a clear appreciation of the ethos of the service and the range of benefits that it can offer to their learners; in other faculties there may still be a view among teachers that learning development is restricted to supporting those with ‘significant needs’ e.g. students awarded Disabled Students Allowance.

The case study has not sought views from the HE student body as a whole, and has little data on whether there may be barriers to taking up learning development, or on how far there is further unmet need.

What benefits of learning development do students report?

Many students report significant improvement in their grades. Some attribute their ability to complete the course and to succeed in gaining the qualification to the skills and confidence acquired from their learning development sessions. (A wider survey among HE students would be useful to confirm the validity of this finding.)

Both staff and students saw the access to learning development as a significant bonus to the college offer.

What are the views of the staff teaching HE programmes about learning support?

Staff are aware of the value of the learning development service, and some attribute students’ ability to complete to this. However, staff also see it as part of their own professional role to develop students’ study skills. Others believe that their students do not have time to access the learning development service, or that learning services

staff would not be in such a good position to help students as their own teachers.

In staff requests for better contextualisation of learning development we can hear an echo of the “academic literacies” debate.

Is there any relationship between learning support and student retention?

Six of the fourteen students interviewed stated that support from the learning development staff had enabled them to keep going on their course.

While it is well established that student withdrawal is known to be affected by multiple and inter-related factors, learning development needs may be one of the factors which can be addressed by the college.

Recommendations

For the collegeThe college should consider recommending a

more consistent approach to learning development across the faculties. This approach might include the following features:

• face to face contact (perhaps quite informal) with learning development staff early in the students’ year

• raising awareness of the ‘open door’ - students can approach the service at any time

• to promote an ‘inclusive’ approach, i.e. all can benefit from learning development no matter what their starting point. Students can improve assignment grades, whether at the time they are being referred, just passing or getting merits.

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• To further develop the notion of ‘attached’ staff with special knowledge of the curriculum in different faculties

For faculty management and HE staffTo arrange closer liaison if appropriate with the

learning development staff.

For all HE staff to become familiar with the procedures for negotiating the Disabled Students Allowance and to support students in pursuing their entitlement.

For Learner ServicesTo continue to develop the team so that

‘attached’ staff become familiar with the curriculum of specific HE courses, and can continue to adapt their teaching and resources to the needs of students.

To explicitly promote learning development as a resource available to HE students. (e.g. Use vox pops from HE students on posters)

For the PrincipalshipTo consider how most effectively to finance the

learning development of HE students

To lobby funding agencies for dedicated resources for the learning development of all HE students.

For the HE co-ordinatorTo carry out a survey of first year HE students,

with the intention of:

• testing that student awareness of the service is satisfactory at the end of their first term

• establishing the views of a wider group of students about ease of access to the service

• testing the validity of the finding of the importance of learning development

To set up meetings between programme teams and learning development staff to explore whether Learning Development could be better contextualised to meet student needs.


References

Avramidis, E. and Skidmore, D. (2004) Reappraising Learning Support in Higher Education. Research in Post-Compulsory Education 9 (1), 63-82.

Blackie,P., Mosely, R., Thompson, J, and Weatherald C. (2003) Supporting higher education in further education colleges. A guide for tutors and lecturers. Bristol: HEFCE Good practice April 2003/15

Carnwell, R., Moreland, N. and Helm, R. (2001) Co-opting Learners: addressing their learning support needs through a learning support needs questionnaire. Part Two. A Comparison of the Learning Support Needs of Campus and Distance-based Community Nurse Students Research in Post-Compulsory Education 6 (1), 51-66

Parry, G., Davies, P. and Williams, J. (2004) Difference, diversity and distinctiveness Higher education in the learning and skills sector. LSDA, London

Sutherland P (2003) Case Studies of the Learning and Study Skills of First Year Students Research in Post-Compulsory Education 8 (3), 425-440.

(Footnotes)1 Following the completion of this report, a college fund to support the learning development of HE learners was established. The learning development service is therefore now (2005-6) funded to support the learning development of learners at level 2 and below, and at level 4 and above, but not at level 3 (e.g. A level).

Ever since the founding of the People’s Republic of China the Chinese education have

seen great changes in depth and width within the scope of the world. The Chinese education in the past 50 years can be divided into 3 periods: the first period is17years from 1949 to 1966; the second period is 10 years from 1966 to 1976; the third

period background education policy

1st period:

1949-1966:

1949-1956

1957-1966

17 years of socialist construction with political movement interruptions

economy restoration and construction and the General Policy of the time

comprehensive implementation of socialism

Soviet Union education system and Mao Zedong education ideas

the new democratic education policy - national, scientific, and mass education and Soviet Union education system

Mao Zedong education ideas(1) - education should be combined with production and labour

2nd period:

1966-1976:

1966-1969

1970-1973

1974-1976

ten years of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution

from the launch of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in 1966 to the Ninth National Party Conference

the Ninth National Party Conference in 1970 to the Tenth National Party Conference

from the Tenth National Party Conference to overthrow of the Gang of Four

Mao Zedong education ideas (2) Education was the tool for the proletarian dictatorship

The chaos of education - rebel was justifiable and revolution was meritorious

school was built as a tool for proletarian dictorship

Right deviation of reversing correct verdicts

Facing the Challenge, Meeting the Bright FutureReflection on the changes of the Chinese Education policies in the Past �0 Years

Ma Liya School of Foreign Languages Bohai University Liaoning China

period is nearly 30 years from 1976 up to now. The education policies vary from time to time to the political and economical developments. There-fore it has led to the changes in teaching contents, teaching curriculums, education managements, teaching methods and teaching criteria as well.

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3rd period:

1976- now

1976-1985

1985 to now

Opening up policy and reform in the new era

adjustments and reconstructions on the ruins and opening up policy and reform

socialist country construction with Chinese characteristics

Deng Xiaoping’s education policy “Three Fors”- education for the modernizations, world and future

Education System Adjustment and Reconstruction

Socialist education with Chinese characteristics

1�4�-1��: Soviet Union education system and Mao Zedong education ideas

1�4�-1�� the new democratic education policy - national, scientific, and mass education and Soviet Union education system

In the period of economy restoration and construction for the seven years after the founding of the P.R.C.under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and with its General Policy of the time - in the quite long period the government would gradually carry out the socialist reform in agriculture, handycraft industry and the capitalist industry and commerce- the Chinese people had the basic completion of the socialist reform of the privately owned production materials. Therefore the prime task for education was to act as a tool for consolidating the new regime and carrying out the new ideology and train proletarian intellectual resources by dominating and alterating education system.

In December1949 the first national education conference was held, in which the the current education policy was put forward that setting up the new democratic education should be on the bases of the education experiences from the old liberation areas, taking in the good part of the past education experience and learning from the Soviet Union.

The new democratic education policy - national, scientific, and mass education established in “Common Creed” in 1949. But soon it was overwhelmed by copying everything blindly from the Soviet Union. A large number of the education experts from the Soviet Union came to China helping with the reform of the new Chinese education system. The book “Pedagogy” by Kairov (1956) was the basic education theory learned instead of the theories by other western educators, taking the complete model from curriculum, to course books, even the 6+3+3+4 length of schooling adopted from U.S.A. model when the National

Facing the Challenge, Meeting the Bright Future

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Guomingdang Party was in power, which means primary education for 6 years, junior secondary education for 3 years, senior secondary education for 3 years and the higher education for 4 years, changed into 5+3+3+4 a model in which primary education lasted for 5 years for the purpose of giving the children of working class equal right for the primary education because they were needed badly for the family economic support.

The New higher education policy was adjusted to the economy reform on a large scale, which was to attach to the importance of the educating of outstanding intellectual resources for the industrial construction, the training of teachers, the developing of specialist institutions and adjusting and reinforcing the comprehensive universities. 1393 textbooks translated from Russian for higher education were published. The length of the higher education schooling lengthened from 4 years to 5 years. A large number of students were sent to the Soviet Union and eastern Europe among whom it was up to 90% to the Soviet Union. The foremost achievement was the adjustment of the departments within the universities. The adjustment policy was to train industry specialists and teachers in priority and develop colleges of specialeties. According to the Soviet Union’s model the colleges within the universities were abolished. They either became new self governed colleges or immerged into other specialist colleges. By the end of 1952, three quarters of the universities had completed this adjustment.

1��-1�� Mao Zedong education ideas (1) - education should be combined with production and labour.

In these ten years the Chinese people had the comprehensive implementation of socialism. In 1966 the industry products such as coal, the electricity quantum, crude oil, steel and machinery equipments rose to an enormous amount compared to that in 1956.

In 1958 at the 2nd Plenary Session of the Party’s 8th Conference the General Line of the socialism construction was put forward: Pulling all out and aiming at the top to produce more in a faster, better and less-cost way for the socialism construction.

While the Party correctly indicated a need for economic and cultural advancement its leaders neglected to take into account the economic developing rule and the Chinese existing economic patterns. In particular, Mao Zedong and other central and regional leaders had developed more egotistical and prideful behaviours, thus amplifying their own subjective demands and leadership. Without detailed and sensible analysis, the Party leaders hastily launched the “Great Leap Forward” and “Socialization of Farm workers” movements, resulting in a series of leftist errors. Furthermore, in 1959 in the Lusan Conference, Mao initiated the “Criticism of Peng Dehuai” triggering the development of an “anti-right” struggle. Soon all over the nation many proletariates and Party leaders were mistaken as the rightists. As a result of the mistakes of the“anti-right” struggle, “Great Leap Forward and “ Socialization of Farm workers” movements, together with natural disaster, the breaking-away from the Soviet Union and the debts-paying to the Soviet Union the Chinese economy struggled during 1959-1961, incurring great losses to the country and its people experienced the hardest time.

In the world a chains of events such as the 20th Conference of the Soviet Union and the students demonstration in Czechoslovakia and Hungary affected our relationship with the Soviet Union and the home political situation. Therefore arose the problem in education. What kind of people should be brought out came to the top of the list. In Febuary 1957 Mao Zedong advanced the education policy: the educatees were to be developed morally, mentally and physically so as to

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become a labourer with socialist consciousness and literacy. Mao laid emphasis on “ labourer” when he found some students confined themselves in the classroom without knowing anything happening in the outside world and they were not capable enough in dealing with the problems in their work. There went a saying that once they became a university students they were clodhoppers for the first year and the city dwellers the second year (there was a big difference in everything between urban areas and the rural areas) and they looked down upon the labourers even if they were their parents. They would feel humiliating to claim their parents in public who were labourers.

There were two education revolutions in this period.

The first occurred during the Great Lead Forward in 1958. In September 1958 the Party and the National Council proposed that the Party education policy should go with the Mao’s: Education must be in the service of the proletarian politics and in close connection with production and labour.

Any educational institution should be under the leadership of the Communist Party. One of the tasks was to unite, educate and reform the intellectuals who served in the institutions ruled by National Guomingdang Party. In order to give more people chances to be literate the first measurement was to open the evening schools in the factories. Workers could improve their education in their spare time. Secondly the government passed the law to have more layers of education administration. More schools in different types came out under the control of the different level administrations: central government, regional governments, factories of all kinds, enterprises and rural cooperations. More people were involved in managing education besides the authorities. Thirdly higher education

targets were set such as mass education in primary level in 3-5 years’ time and in higher level in 15 years’ time. Under the flag of the General Line and the influence of the Great Leap Forward education hastily originated schools in amazing numbers. The number of the schools of higher education increased to 719 in 1958 and 1289 in 1960 which was only 229 in 1956. The enrolment of the students rose from 106,000 to 265,000. The number of the pupils in primary and secondary education also doubled. Therefore it brought about the shortage of the teaching staff, which, together with the interference of the political movements, had the negative effect on the quality of the education.

The second education revolution accurred in 1960s. In order to correct the mistakes caused by the Great Leap Forward the Central Committee of the Party carried out the policy: to adjust, consolidate, enrich and enhance the existing schools. Two ways of development of education advocated that professional and vocational edcation was initiated to solve the problem between the workers and the advanced technology and develop the full time schools as planned. One of the main achievements of the revolution was to regulate the education rules. Some rules came out such as “60 rules for the higher education”, 50 rules for the secondary education” and “the 40 rules for the primary education”. The second achievement was to have a socialist education movement in which political course was emphasized which involved the current affairs and the class struggle. The third was to reform the length of schooling and delete some courses. In February 1964 Mao Zedong said that the length of the schooling should be shortened and the courses should be cut down to half and reform the examination which was carried out in the way to treat the enemy not students. The fourth was to have students participate in the labour in factories or on farms at least for


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one week once a term. The fifth was to work out a work-study programme for the workers and the farmers.

Owing to the leftists influence the education revolution was not successful in some ways especially in the overlooking of the book learning.

1��-1��: Mao Zedong education ideas (2) Education was the tool for the proletarian dictatorship.

From May, 1966- October, 1976 ten years of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution launched by Mao Zedong saw the greatest catastrophe to the Party, the nation and its people ever since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in every walk of life, education in particular. The ten years can be divided into 3 phases.

1��-1��: The chaos of education - rebel was justifiable and revolution was meritorious

The first phase was from the launch of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in 1966 to the Ninth National Party Conference in 1969. 1n May 1966 the Political Bureau of the Central Party Committee had an extended meeting, passing a “5. 16 Notice” and “On Proletarian Cultural Revolution” documents, which confirmed the the beginning of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution---criticised the so-called anti group led by Luo Ruiqing, Lu Dingyi and Yang Shangkun and the capitalist headquarters headed by Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping. Lin Biao, Jiang Qing, Kang Sheng and Zhang Chunqiao made good use of the membership of the Central Cultural Committee and deteriorated the situation. More great leaders were attacked by them. But when they stood up to say something for their own defence they were accused as February Reverse. The local governments were also affected by it, leaving the administration in a mess. Mao Zedong sent the

soldiers to control the situation which was called 3 supports (support the leftists, factory workers and farm workers) and 2 military affairs (military control and military training). The Ninth National Party Conference justified the erroneous theory and practice of the Great Cultural Revolution.

At the beginning of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution Jiang Qing and Lin Biao distorted the edcation and intellectuals policies and agitated students to fight against their teachers. The normal order of the school was disturbed. Students were organized to be the Red Guards to defend Chairman Mao. They were told that doing anything rebellious was justifiable and revolution was meritorious. The wall papers with acursed words to the teachers appeared everywhere in schools. Teachers were demonstrated in the streets with pointed high paper hats on their heads and boards with abuse words and pictures hanging with thin iron strings from their necks. Many teachers who could not stand the humiliation committed suicide and many were tortured to death. The chaos lasted until 1967 when Mao called on the students to go back to school to make the revolution and to resume the normal order of the primary and secondary education. Education was the tool of the proletarian dictatorship and it should serve the proletarian politics. Education should be under the leadership of the working class. Therefore the workers working teams and the soldiers working teams were sent to school to manage everything from the making of teaching curriculum to the teaching approaches. In secondary education the science subjects were classified into two - entitled as Basic Industrial Knowledge with physics and chemistry included and Basic Agricultural Knowledge with the farming knowledge and some biology included. The textbooks were recompiled to political situation. Here are the examples taken from the arithmetic textbook compiled by a group of experts (writers were considered a splurge to have their names written in the book at the time) for the year 6 pupils

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in Shanghai in 1967 and Chinese textbook compiled by a secondary school textbook compiling group from Congqing City Revolutionary Committee.

Example One

Unit 2 Chairman Mao instructs us

“ Learning Marxism is not only from the books but if only mainly by way of class struggle, working practice and getting closer to the workers and farmers can it be learned well.”

percentage

In the practice of the three revolutionary movements of the class struggle, production struggle and scientific experiments denominator is often to be 100.

1. Pioneer Engine Factory after the prolearates came to power, they are carrying out Chairman’s instruction resolutely “Making Revolution Promotes Production”, the total production value in the second season this year has increased 68 per cent more than that in the same period last year. The total value in June is 200 per cent as that in the same period last year.

2. In the East Red Spinnery the total output for the first half year this year has reached to 209.7 per cent.

3. Since the Proletarian Cultural Revolution in the rural areas everything has been carried out in a good situation. In the Brightness Brigade the total output of the summer harvest this year has increased 7.9 per cent more than that last year.

As said above one number which is another number’s percentage is called percentage. Percentage usually is written in a simple way, that

is, delete the fraction line and demoninator and add % to the numerator.

eg. 68 per cent - 68%; 200 per cent - 200%;

209.7 per cent - 209.7%; 107.9 per cent - 7.9%.

Example Two

Chinese Language knowledge (1)

The rhetoric devices are frequently used by the workers, farmers and soldiers: Chairman instructs us: “the people’s language is rich, vivid and lively expressing the real life.” In the drastic Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution thousands of workers, farmers and soldiers have written many poems and respectful telegrams with the nicest language, most perfect forms passing their best wishes and expressing their extreme love. Every word and every sentence accumulated the proletarian enthusiasm. The workers, farmers and soldiers language is the richest, the most vivid, the most proper and powerful one. In the past those capitalist grammer scholars boasted that the rhetoric was very mysterious. In reality they ” only have a few dead rules” and they know nothing about the language. Those who are good at using the language and rhetoric are the workers, farmers and the soldiers. The following is the introduction of a few rhetoric frequently used by the workers, farmers and soldiers:

1. The beloved Chairman Mao is the red sun in our hearts.

2. The steerman has come; The saviour has come; Our great Chairman Mao has come to Anyuan.

Workers, farmers and soldiers pay a tribute to Chairman and regard him as the red sun in our hearts and as the steerman in the sea navigation. This way of expression is called the figure of speech. (metaphor and simile).


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3. Beloved Chairman Mao, your revolutionary Line has never been understood so clearly in people’ hearts before like this today; your thought has never been so deeply rooted in people’s hearts before like this today; people’s mental state has never been so energetic before like this today; proletarian dictatorship has never been so fortified before like this today; industry and agriculture production has never been so flourishing before like this today;

To combine sentences with the same or similar patterns, expressing proletarian lofty love as much as one can like the above examples is called paralleled sentences.

4. Jinggang has lifted the red flag with its arm; Ganjiang has rushed for the good news.

Workers, farmers and soldiers use their imaginations, giving the mountain and the river proletarian sensation. This way of expression is called personification.…

The rhetoric devices talked above are used very often In the texts. We should profoundly feel the proletarian sensation of the the workers, farmers and soldiers when reading the texts. In the writings of the workers, farmers and soldiers there are a lot of vivid languages and various kinds of rhetoric devices. We should follow Chairman Mao’s instruction “to learn the languge from people” and work hard to learn the languge of the workers, farmers and soldiers. Therefore we can distribute Mao Zedong thought better and criticise the capitalism forcefully.

From the above examples we can see clearly how education served politics and connected closely with the industry and agriculture at the time of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

1��0-1��3: school was built as a tool for proletarian dictorship

The second phase was from the Ninth National Party Conference in 1970 to the Tenth National Party Conference in 1973. Between 1970-1971 appeared the event of the Death of Lin Biao which showed the consequence of the overthrow of the basic Party policies during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. The Gang of Four now was formed and became more and more powerful.

In 1971 the university resumed the recruitments which stopped for 6 years from the beginning of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution but the students would be recommended from the workers, farmers and soldiers without concern of the literacy and numeracy. On 30 June, 1973 when Deng Xiaoping was put in charge of edcation he started the entrance examination to high education. The first entrance one witnessed the appearance of a young man named Zhang Tiesheng who wrote a letter on the examination paper instead of answering the paper itself. He said he was working all day long in the firelds and hardly had any time to learn anything from the books. He begged the examiners to take this into consideration. Therefore it arosed the discussion of the qualifications of becoming a university students. For a time in China it was encouraged in the newspapers throughout the nation and there were films about the qualifications to be university students. In a film named “Challenge” a party leader put up a young man’s hands full of calluses and said they were the qualifications. It was the inclination of the education policy. The education policy led to a few things done in the period. First the workers leadership in education was established and the school was built as a tool for proletarian dictatorship. Secondly the length of the schooling at all levels was shortened: primary education from 6years to 5years; secondary education from 6years to 4years; the

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higher education from 4 years to 3 years. The total length of schooling was shortened from 17years to 12years from primary education to higher education. Thirdly class struggle, revolutionary criticism and learning Mao Zedong thought were taken now as the main courses for edcation contents. Fourthly all examanations were deleted from during the teaching process to the entrance examinations to all schools at all levels. Fifthly the subject education, theory education and basic education were greatly reduced but experimental education activities were increased. Pupils and students spent a lot of time in participating in the labour work learning from the workers and farmers and soldiers in factory and farm brigade and barrack. Sixthly the education administration was tranferred to a lower level---in the urban areas it was lowered to the district or even to the street community which is the lower division under the district and in the rural areas it was lowered to the farm brigade.

The whole nation was turned into a Mao Zedong thought School.

1��4-1��: Right deviation of reversing correct verdicts

The third phase was from the Tenth National Party Conference in 1974 to October 1976. In the early 1974 Jiang Qing and Wang Hongwen started a movement of the criticism of Lin Biao and Confucius. Mao Zedong saw through them and called them Gang of Four and had the suspicion that they attempted to form another government. It was in 1973 in the support of Chairman Mao Deng Xiaoping was restored to his post as Vice-Premier of the State Council and came to manage the routine work of the Central Committee, holding meetings and solving the problems rectifying in industry, agriculture, transportation, science and technology and education, which improved the situation. With his energy he set about restoring normal order to the chaos situation in education in order to

realize the four modernizations put forward by Premier Zhou Enlai in the Ninth Party conference. Within a short period of time noticeable results were achieved. Teaching qualities were stressed in schools. Teachers again pulled all their energy out to teaching.

But soon Mao Zedong did not allow Deng Xiaoping to correct all the errors in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Then he started another movement “right deviation of reversing correct verdicts” to criticise Deng. Then the whole nation got into the turmoil again. In January 1976 Deng Xiaoping was once again removed from his posts both inside and outside the Party. In January 1976 Premier Zhou Enlai passed away who worked hard to save a lot of great leaders in the Central Committee in the extremely difficult situation. The whole nation was suddenly put into a terrible grief when people got the news. In April they voluntarily went to Tian’anmen Square to mourn him. In fact it was the sign that people supported the leadership led by Deng Xiaoping, which lay a firm foundation of the overthrow of the Gang of Four. In September the same year Mao Zedong passed away and in October the Gang of Four was overthrown. Then the Great Cultural Revolution came to an end.

1976-up to now Deng Xiaoping’s education policy “Three Fors”- education for the modernizations, for the world and for the future

1��-1��: Education System Adjustment and Reconstruction

Soon after the overthrow of the Gang of Four adjustments and reconstructions on the ruins caused in the Great Proletarian Revolution began in an all–round way, particularly in education system.


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In July 1977 at the Third Plenary Session of the Tenth Central Party Committee Conference when Deng Xiaoping was reinstated as Vice-Chairman of the Central Committee, Vice-Premier of the State Council, Vice-Chairman of the Military Commission and Chief of the General Staff of the Liberation Army he took great efforts in correcting the mistakes in education and scientific technology. In August 1977 in the speech made in the Symposia of Science and Education work he laid stress on the education system and quality among which were the problems of education adjustment and reconstruction in priority to all was to smash the “Two Whatevers” ---- whatever said by Chairman Mao should be carried out to the letter and whatever authorized by Chairman Mao should be sticked to and to correct the “Two Estimates”left by Mao Zedong---to the effect that in the past 17years before the Great Proletarian Culturall Revolution it was the capitalists who dominated the proletariates and the outlook of most of the intellectuals were capitalist. These were the mental fetters to the intellectuals and the the biggest hindrance to the reform. On 8 August 1977 Deng Xioaping proclaimed publicly that most of the intellectuals either scientific workers or education workers were all voluntarily doing the hard work for the socialist country, which was the complete denial to the “Two Estimates”. He repudiated “Left” thinking and set things to rights and laid an ideological and theoretical foundation for the education restoration. In very short time thousands of injust and false cases of the intellectuals in education were turned over and they gained new political life. The education spring was approaching.

On 12 October 1977 the State Council passed “Suggestions of Higher Education Students Recruitments in 1977” proposed by Education Ministry in which the recruitment scope, the literacy standards and the recruitment number were specified. The measurements were the

matriculates should be considered in an all-round way morally, intellectually and physically to choose the better ones. The process was the way that the examinees had to register for the examination voluntarily and to be chosen by a uniform examination, local selection, university matriculation and province, city, and self governed region authorization.

In December 1977 and in July 1978 12,000,000 examinees took the university entrance examination, among whom 671,200 were taken in as students of the new era.

In March 1978 under the concern of Deng Xiaoping the textbook compile system and publish measures resumed. Education Ministry organized to compile the national current textbooks for the primary and secondary education and in September the same year they were in use in the new academic year, which guaranteed the stable teaching order and the quality of education.

In 1978 “ The Teaching Programme for Full Time Primary and Secondary Education” was issued in which the 10years schooling length was prescribed--- 5 years for primary education and 5 years for secondary education ( junior for 3 years and senior for 2 years). In 1980 it restored to 12 years schooling length the same as that before the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Up to the mid 1980s the education system restoration and reconstruction with Chinese characteristics was in the main completed to the new situation.

On December, 1978 the first group of Chinese students went to U.S.A. to study the advanced science and technology, which resumed after 10 years stop. Ever since China in the situation of reform and opening up policy began another climax of overseas study in the modern education history.

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In December,1978 at the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Communist Party Conference Deng Xiaoping delivered that “Science and technology modernization is the key to Four modernizations.” And “ Training the competent people is the basis of education.” Later on he made a series of speeches on the importance of education and called on “people in every walk of life to do something for education.”

In 1982 at the 12th Communist Party Conference education was for the first time put in the important strategic status as the guarrantee of carrying out double twice target of the national economy in the 20 years time.

In 1983 Deng Xiaoping envisioned that the new education should be for the modernization, for the world and for the future, which is often known as “The Three Fors”. What he suggested is in the modern century the Chinese education must fuel the drive toward modernizations which indicates that education is a process not a product, foster a view of the world which means education is rooted in a place and gear its citizens for the future which implies that education must be for a particular time.

1��-1��3: Socialist education with Chinese characteristics

The education reform was on in an all-round way. In 1985 the Central Party Committee passed “the Education System Reform Resolution”, in which the education reform policy defined the interdependent relationship between the education and the socialist construction: Education should serve the socialist construction and the socialist construction must be done on the basis of education. In February 1993 “the Summary of Chinese Education Reform and Development” said that “Education should be put in the priority of all”. In the 13th Communist Party Conference

education was stressed as a project of vital and lasting importance and in the 14th Communist Party Conference Education was given the highest priority to development in the strategic status. And all these and more documents passed in the Communist Party Committee have made a fine blue print for the development of the socialist education with Chineses characteristics. The main achievements can be seen as follows.

1. Sound education legislation establishment

Since 1985 the Chinese education has been on its way to running and managing education by law. There have released about 200 laws and ordinances: “The Compulsory Education Law”, “The Protection Law of the Children”, “Vocational Education Law” , ‘Higher Education Law, “ “Teachers Law”, “Academic Degree Law”, ”Ordinance of Higher Education Examination for independent learners”, Ordinance of Running Schools by the Social Resources” etc., which set up the basic frame for Chinese education legislative system.

2. Education management reform

In “the Education System Reform Resolution” the management of the schools was said to be done at all levels. As for the basic education the local charge and separate management were carried out, which means to hand out the management right to the local authorities but not as it was during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. As for the higher education under the guidance of the state education policy and curriculum the higher education institutions are encouraged to change the stereotype model that from the recruitments to the graduation assignment it was all set by the state as the result of the planning


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economy. Education system reform should go with the economic reform from the planning economy to the market economy. As for the recruitment there comes the joint model of the three together: the state plan recruitment, the recruitment of the employmet unit support and the recruitment of self reliance. As for the graduation assignment it also has three ways: state assignments, university recommendation and personal job hunting.

3. Education running system reform

Education investment was difficult for a state in economic restoration and reconstruction. Deng Xiaoping pointed out two ways of running higher education: state run education institution is one and the collective, social organization and private run education institution is another; formal education is one and informal education is another. Then have appeared radio and TV university, correspondence university, distance learning, evening university and independent learning examination. 61,200 privately run schools came up at all levels, in which the number of the students is up to 11,159,700. A lot more foreign institutions have invested in education in China. Education international collabration and exchange are in good extension, which becomes an important part of education in the past 20 years. There have been collaborations and exchanges with about 150 countries and regions and 300,000 scholars and students have been sent to study abroad in more than 100 countries and regions and about 250,000 students have been received from more than 150 countries and regions. More and more students and scholars have come back after they have finished their study in foreign countries.

4. Teaching and learning reform

Teaching for the test was the starting point for the prosperous economy of the nation in the transitional education period and now it has

gradually transferred to training competent people in an all–round way for the modern society. The way of passing knowledge, which has played an essential role in Chinese traditional teaching for thousands of years, now has moved to the way of fostering the creatve mind, but not giving up the former one completely. Both are considered as equal important in different stages of education, the former for the basic education and the latter for the higher education. Therefore the efficient teaching and learning methods have emerged in various forms. Process teaching method and action teaching research are popular in China. Various editions of textbooks are published to the different needs of the areas throughout the nation and they are renewed now and then to the fast development of the economy. The reform of the teaching management system as credits earning learning and elimination through examonations have been put in use for the higher education.

�. Teacher status great improvement

Deng Xiaoping stressed time and again that teachers are the key factors to the education reform. Therefore the teacher’s political and social status has been raised so that they are not only respected by the students but by all the people in the society. September 10 has been set as the National Teachers’ Day. The teachers income has been raised to the standards of that of the officials and they are encouraged to carry on their teachers career all their life. The professional title resumed at all levels after the 10 years stop. Teacher training are paid more attention than ever before. An increasing number of teachers continue their study in their post professional education training. The teachers’ qualifications have been improved greatly by the post teachers retraining and more people have joined the new recruitments from other resources of education rather than it was from the only resouce in normal schools and universities.

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Conclusion

After 20 years of education reform the Chinese education has taken a new look. But Chinese education still has a long way to go to keep up with world. The developed countries have come up to the mass education stage in higher education. Take USA for an example, the university students takes up 55% to the peer age groups and in Europe is 35-50%, but in China it is only 11%.

A new education reform is going on its way known as A New Curriculum in the basic education. Students should be guided to a more active participation, personal experience, independent thinking and cooperative study so as to get rid of the passive learning methods as remembrance, reception and imitation.

More attention should be paid on science learning for the national four modernizations. In many countries science education is considered higly important and even people from science and technology take up teaching reform.

Collaboration with high quality foreign universities will be given more support. Even they can have a branch to run in China in which the advantages are beyond the learning of the advanced education ideas and teachng methodology, having high quality textbooks and teaching in English so as to improve the students international cooperation. The Chinese universities can run a branch in the foreign countries as well to develop the foreign education market and distribute Chinese language and culture to every corner of the world.

In the years to come Chinese education will still follow Deng Xiaoping’s “Three Fors” education policy and keep pace with the world and face the challenge and meet the bright future. Chinese education policy continues to be to prosper nation by science and education which has been the key point of many National Congresses and Party Conferences.

As an English teacher of more 30 years experience I have undergone most of the education policy changes and as citizen of 50 years old I have experienced most of the revolutionary periods of People’s Republic of China. I am living both as a victim and a beneficiary of different policies. I am very lucky to have outlived the turbulences to the present economic development and I am energetic to meet the world education challenge and very happy to do my bit for it.

References

Chinese Education p4 23rd November,2001

Chongqing Secondary Textbook Compile Group (1969) Chinese a trial edition for secondary school in Chongqing City Chongqing

Gu Shuming Volumn 4 (2000) On Chinese Modern Education Background and Its Reform Perspective Huairen Teachers College magazine social science edition Huairen

Li lanqing 6th August 2004 Deng Xingping and the 20years Chinese Education http:// www.scol.com.cn

Kairov, I. A. (1956). Pedagogy [Original in Chinese]. Beijing, China: People’s Press.

Shanghai Primary School Textbook compile Group (1976) Arithmetic A Temporary Edition for Shanghai City Primary School Shanghai

Song Yinjun Volumn 4 (1996) Deng Xiaoping and the Repudiation of the Left Thinking and the setting of things to rights The Modern Chinese History Study Beijing

The 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party C.P.C. at the 6th Full party Conference In Relation to the Party’s Resolution on Certain Historical Issues Since the Founding of the People’s Republic of China 27th June 1981


Notes for ContributorsThe policy of the journal is to promote the practice of education as a professional activity based on critical evaluation, enquiry and analysis by practitioners. Any educator who considers themselves to be a reflective professional is welcome to submit articles of interest to the target audience.

Scope and nature of contributionsPapers are accepted as main features between 4000 and 6000 words in length or short reports of between 1000 and 2000 words. Papers based on analytic research into practice will dominate, though literature reviews or well grounded discussions will be welcomed. Papers should be written in a straight forward, accesible style, avoiding the use of technical jargon. Acronyms must always be explained. The first person voice should always be used. Articles should begin with an introductory paragraph that sets out what is being argued, and a concluding paragraph that clearly summarizes the main points. The editor will compile a brief abstract. Short summary case studies or illustrative vignettes can be included as boxes outside the main text. There ahould be some referencing, though this will be limited to key texts that readers may wish to consult further, or which justify contestable claims. Samples of the work of students or pupils may be included, subject to the appropriate permission. Graphs or tables should be kept to a minimum. Photographs will be particularly welcome, though must always be accompanied by unambiguous evidence that they are compliant with child protection considerations and have the neccesary authorisation.

Manuscript requirementsManuscripts must be submitted to the editor in electronic form using recognised word processing software such as MS Word. Discs, CD ROMS or e-mail attachments are all acceptable. Three hard copies must also be included. Single spacing is acceptable. Figures, charts or diagrams must be included at the end of the text, with a note to indicate approximate place of insertion. They must be submitted in electronic form and as good quality originals. Photographs may be good quality black and white or colour prints, or may be submitted in a recognised electronic form such as .jpg.

Referencing conventionsThe Harvard style must be used. Footnotes should be avoided or kept to a minimum.

For a journal: Sloggs, J. (1995). Underwater basket weaving revisited, British Journal of Submarine Crafts. � (2) 22-26.

For a book: Patel, A. (1994). Subaqua creativity, London: Seaweed Press

Or an article in an edited collection: Brown, A. (1993). Coping with the undertow, in J.Smith (ed.) Submerged Willow, Atlantis: Coral Books.

Incompletely referenced articles will not be sent out for peer review

Are the contributions reviewed?

The editor will pre-read all submissions to assess them in relation to the editorial policy. Those considered consonant with this will be sent to two referees for double blind peer review. On the basis of their recommendations the editor with either accept, accept with changes or reject.

Who is the editor?

The editor is Dr Martin Ashley, who can be contacted through the Faculty of Education, University of the West of England, S block, Frenchay Campus, Coldharbour Lane, BRISTOL, BS16 1QY.

Telephone: 0117 32 84190

e-mail: [email protected]

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