Pub Date : 2022-05-11DOI: 10.1080/00131881.2022.2069586
C. Forbes, K. Kerr
ABSTRACT Background Internationally, young people experiencing poverty and related disadvantages do least well in school. These inequalities tend to be concentrated in places with high levels of poverty and poor outcomes across multiple domains. Although place-based initiatives are sometimes used by policymakers as a vehicle to improve outcomes, such programmes often fail to engage meaningfully with local resources, further marginalising disadvantaged communities. Purpose This article considers what asset-based approaches, which seek to understand existing resources (assets) in disadvantaged places, might bring to such situations. Focused on a disadvantaged inner-city neighbourhood in England, it explores professionals’ and young people’s understandings of assets through an assets-mapping approach. Method During a two-year study, a university researcher was embedded in a secondary school, and 10 students (aged 13) were trained as co-researchers. Utilising visual mapping methods, they conducted 17 focus groups (45 minutes each) with around 225 of their peers in total. In addition, the researcher conducted 14 semi-structured interviews with a group of local multi-agency professionals and with the co-researchers. Data were analysed thematically. Findings The analysis indicated that professionals and young people understood the neighbourhood’s assets in relation to perceived ‘lived territories’. Professionals described different residential groups as ‘owning’ different geographical ‘territories’, identifying professionally-led institutions as assets that could transcend these. Conversely, young people talked about ‘territories’ primarily in terms of power and control: they identified self-defined social spaces, away from professional scrutiny, as among the neighbourhood’s most valuable assets. Conclusion Exploring the students’ and professionals’ contrasting positions through Giddens’ notion of regionalisation, which distinguishes front spaces (i.e. professional and public-facing) and back spaces (i.e. private and personally developed), suggests that the tangible nature of assets is perhaps less important than the different power relationships at play within them. The study highlights the necessity of working in partnership with young people throughout the development of place-based initiatives.
{"title":"Comparing students’ and professionals’ understandings of neighbourhood assets","authors":"C. Forbes, K. Kerr","doi":"10.1080/00131881.2022.2069586","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2022.2069586","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Background Internationally, young people experiencing poverty and related disadvantages do least well in school. These inequalities tend to be concentrated in places with high levels of poverty and poor outcomes across multiple domains. Although place-based initiatives are sometimes used by policymakers as a vehicle to improve outcomes, such programmes often fail to engage meaningfully with local resources, further marginalising disadvantaged communities. Purpose This article considers what asset-based approaches, which seek to understand existing resources (assets) in disadvantaged places, might bring to such situations. Focused on a disadvantaged inner-city neighbourhood in England, it explores professionals’ and young people’s understandings of assets through an assets-mapping approach. Method During a two-year study, a university researcher was embedded in a secondary school, and 10 students (aged 13) were trained as co-researchers. Utilising visual mapping methods, they conducted 17 focus groups (45 minutes each) with around 225 of their peers in total. In addition, the researcher conducted 14 semi-structured interviews with a group of local multi-agency professionals and with the co-researchers. Data were analysed thematically. Findings The analysis indicated that professionals and young people understood the neighbourhood’s assets in relation to perceived ‘lived territories’. Professionals described different residential groups as ‘owning’ different geographical ‘territories’, identifying professionally-led institutions as assets that could transcend these. Conversely, young people talked about ‘territories’ primarily in terms of power and control: they identified self-defined social spaces, away from professional scrutiny, as among the neighbourhood’s most valuable assets. Conclusion Exploring the students’ and professionals’ contrasting positions through Giddens’ notion of regionalisation, which distinguishes front spaces (i.e. professional and public-facing) and back spaces (i.e. private and personally developed), suggests that the tangible nature of assets is perhaps less important than the different power relationships at play within them. The study highlights the necessity of working in partnership with young people throughout the development of place-based initiatives.","PeriodicalId":47607,"journal":{"name":"Educational Research","volume":"64 1","pages":"353 - 370"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2022-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43112194","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-11DOI: 10.1080/00131881.2022.2054451
E. Tobin, Seaneen Sloan, J. Symonds, Dympna Devine
ABSTRACT Background Family–school connections during the transition from preschool to primary school are crucial, as they serve to bridge the gap between the home and school learning environments. In order to support children’s learning and engagement throughout their school career, more needs to be understood about the factors that contribute to successful or difficult transition experiences during this critical period. Purpose This case study was part of the Children’s School Lives (CSL) national longitudinal study of Irish primary schooling. It aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of mothers’ experiences of family–school connectivity during their child’s transition to primary school in Ireland, exploring how these connections helped them manage their experiences of the transition. Method A qualitative, interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach was used to investigate mothers’ experiences of the transition to primary school from preschool. The analysis drew on data collected from semi-structured interviews carried out with five mothers of children who had started primary school. Findings Overall, findings from the analysis suggested that mothers had positive experiences of family–school connectivity during the transition period and indicated high levels of trust in their children’s teachers and their abilities. Mothers expressed a desire to be active participants in their child’s learning and transition experience, as well as to develop quality connections with their child’s school and teachers through regular communication and familiarity with the school environment. However, the analysis identified that experiences among the mothers were mixed. Conclusion This study offers insight into the need to develop consistent policy and practice across schools in terms of opportunities to contact teachers, parent–school communication and transition activities held by schools. It highlights the importance of creating strong bridges between families and schools and positive transition experiences for children entering primary school.
{"title":"Family–school connectivity during transition to primary school","authors":"E. Tobin, Seaneen Sloan, J. Symonds, Dympna Devine","doi":"10.1080/00131881.2022.2054451","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2022.2054451","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Background Family–school connections during the transition from preschool to primary school are crucial, as they serve to bridge the gap between the home and school learning environments. In order to support children’s learning and engagement throughout their school career, more needs to be understood about the factors that contribute to successful or difficult transition experiences during this critical period. Purpose This case study was part of the Children’s School Lives (CSL) national longitudinal study of Irish primary schooling. It aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of mothers’ experiences of family–school connectivity during their child’s transition to primary school in Ireland, exploring how these connections helped them manage their experiences of the transition. Method A qualitative, interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach was used to investigate mothers’ experiences of the transition to primary school from preschool. The analysis drew on data collected from semi-structured interviews carried out with five mothers of children who had started primary school. Findings Overall, findings from the analysis suggested that mothers had positive experiences of family–school connectivity during the transition period and indicated high levels of trust in their children’s teachers and their abilities. Mothers expressed a desire to be active participants in their child’s learning and transition experience, as well as to develop quality connections with their child’s school and teachers through regular communication and familiarity with the school environment. However, the analysis identified that experiences among the mothers were mixed. Conclusion This study offers insight into the need to develop consistent policy and practice across schools in terms of opportunities to contact teachers, parent–school communication and transition activities held by schools. It highlights the importance of creating strong bridges between families and schools and positive transition experiences for children entering primary school.","PeriodicalId":47607,"journal":{"name":"Educational Research","volume":"64 1","pages":"277 - 294"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2022-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46388559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-04-03DOI: 10.1080/00131881.2022.2064323
Christopher Speldewinde
ABSTRACT Background Prior to approaching any field site activity, the question of how researchers in education will interact with the participants in terms of positionality requires careful thought. Observation is often used by educators and researchers as a means of collecting informal data on children’s development and learning in early childhood education and care (ECEC) classroom settings. As data collection often involves varying degrees of observation and participation, there is a need for a clear articulation of researcher involvement. When the classroom is an outdoor, nature-based setting, particular challenges can arise in this regard. Purpose This small-scale study sought to explore these challenges in the context of early years of STEM teaching and learning. The research was situated within bush kindergartens (also known as ‘bush kinders’), a developing context in Australian early childhood education. The open spaces of nature reserves, forests, beaches and paddocks all constitute settings for bush kinders. Method The study employed an ethnographic lens to the teaching and play activities of around 10 educators and 120 four- to five-year-old children in four Australian bush kinders during 2015, 2017 and 2020. Much of the study was devoted to observation and participation in the activities that the children were undertaking. Influenced by a research tradition that places researcher participation and observation on a continuum of completeness, differences in researcher involvement that occur in nature-based education and care settings were categorised. Findings It was determined from this categorisation that researcher involvement with participants ranged from low to high. The in-depth analysis allowed identification of how this range of involvement provides both benefits and limitations upon the researcher’s involvement with teacher and child participants. Conclusions This paper offers a contribution to the methodological discourse on ethnographic research in ECEC outdoor settings. In drawing close attention to the ways in which researcher involvement in the field may vary, it provides a framework of reference that could be helpful to other researchers engaged in designing and carrying out ECEC research in diverse outdoor settings.
{"title":"Where to stand? Researcher involvement in early education outdoor settings","authors":"Christopher Speldewinde","doi":"10.1080/00131881.2022.2064323","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2022.2064323","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Background Prior to approaching any field site activity, the question of how researchers in education will interact with the participants in terms of positionality requires careful thought. Observation is often used by educators and researchers as a means of collecting informal data on children’s development and learning in early childhood education and care (ECEC) classroom settings. As data collection often involves varying degrees of observation and participation, there is a need for a clear articulation of researcher involvement. When the classroom is an outdoor, nature-based setting, particular challenges can arise in this regard. Purpose This small-scale study sought to explore these challenges in the context of early years of STEM teaching and learning. The research was situated within bush kindergartens (also known as ‘bush kinders’), a developing context in Australian early childhood education. The open spaces of nature reserves, forests, beaches and paddocks all constitute settings for bush kinders. Method The study employed an ethnographic lens to the teaching and play activities of around 10 educators and 120 four- to five-year-old children in four Australian bush kinders during 2015, 2017 and 2020. Much of the study was devoted to observation and participation in the activities that the children were undertaking. Influenced by a research tradition that places researcher participation and observation on a continuum of completeness, differences in researcher involvement that occur in nature-based education and care settings were categorised. Findings It was determined from this categorisation that researcher involvement with participants ranged from low to high. The in-depth analysis allowed identification of how this range of involvement provides both benefits and limitations upon the researcher’s involvement with teacher and child participants. Conclusions This paper offers a contribution to the methodological discourse on ethnographic research in ECEC outdoor settings. In drawing close attention to the ways in which researcher involvement in the field may vary, it provides a framework of reference that could be helpful to other researchers engaged in designing and carrying out ECEC research in diverse outdoor settings.","PeriodicalId":47607,"journal":{"name":"Educational Research","volume":"64 1","pages":"208 - 223"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46922871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-04-03DOI: 10.1080/00131881.2022.2054452
M. Rickinson, Connie Cirkony, Lucas Walsh, J. Gleeson, Blake Cutler, M. Salisbury
ABSTRACT Background There are growing expectations internationally that schools and systems will use research evidence to inform their improvement efforts. Such developments raise important questions about what it means to use research evidence well in education. Purpose To date, there has been wide-ranging debate about what counts as quality evidence, but very little dialogue about what counts as quality use. In response, this article presents a conceptual framework to define and elaborate what quality use of research evidence might mean in relation to education. Method The framework is informed by a cross-sector systematic review and narrative synthesis of 112 relevant publications from four sectors: health, social care, education and policy. The review explored if, and how, quality of evidence use had been defined and described within each of these sectors in order to inform a quality use framework for education. Findings Based on the cross-sector review, quality use of research evidence is framed in terms of two core components: (1) appropriate research evidence and (2) thoughtful engagement and implementation, supported by three individual enabling components (skillsets, mindsets and relationships) and three organisational enabling components (leadership, culture and infrastructure), as well as system-level influences. Conclusions There is potential for this framework to inform current approaches to the use of research in education. There is also an important need to test and refine its components through further empirical investigation, theoretical inquiry and intervention development.
{"title":"A framework for understanding the quality of evidence use in education","authors":"M. Rickinson, Connie Cirkony, Lucas Walsh, J. Gleeson, Blake Cutler, M. Salisbury","doi":"10.1080/00131881.2022.2054452","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2022.2054452","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Background There are growing expectations internationally that schools and systems will use research evidence to inform their improvement efforts. Such developments raise important questions about what it means to use research evidence well in education. Purpose To date, there has been wide-ranging debate about what counts as quality evidence, but very little dialogue about what counts as quality use. In response, this article presents a conceptual framework to define and elaborate what quality use of research evidence might mean in relation to education. Method The framework is informed by a cross-sector systematic review and narrative synthesis of 112 relevant publications from four sectors: health, social care, education and policy. The review explored if, and how, quality of evidence use had been defined and described within each of these sectors in order to inform a quality use framework for education. Findings Based on the cross-sector review, quality use of research evidence is framed in terms of two core components: (1) appropriate research evidence and (2) thoughtful engagement and implementation, supported by three individual enabling components (skillsets, mindsets and relationships) and three organisational enabling components (leadership, culture and infrastructure), as well as system-level influences. Conclusions There is potential for this framework to inform current approaches to the use of research in education. There is also an important need to test and refine its components through further empirical investigation, theoretical inquiry and intervention development.","PeriodicalId":47607,"journal":{"name":"Educational Research","volume":"64 1","pages":"133 - 158"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44682070","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-04-03DOI: 10.1080/00131881.2022.2055602
Per-Åke Rosvall
ABSTRACT Background In many countries, educational opportunities and choices may differ according to factors related to location. This may have a significant impact on young people’s life chances and trajectories. The in-depth, ethnographic study reported here focuses attention on rural/non-rural variations in transition programmes for school students requiring additional support. Purpose The research sought to explore why, seemingly counterintuitively, students requiring additional support in rural Swedish areas might experience more successful transitions than students in some less rural locations. Methods Data included field observations from selected municipalities and interviews with school staff and local officials. Using themes drawn from the data, the Local Learning Ecologies framework was adopted as an analysis tool to capture the detail of relevant macro-, micro- and intermediate-level factors and experiences. Findings Fine-grained analysis of the rich data suggested that the national expansion of school choice and decentralisation in Sweden has affected the organisation of transition programmes. In particular, decentralisation has led to the concentration of national programme provision in city centres, meaning that some students in municipalities may have abundant options but require substantial commuting to access them. Overall, important factors for successful transitions may include short distances between school institutions (facilitating information flows); collaboration between teachers, other professionals and students, and clear options for students. Conclusions The study highlights that although decentralisation may have, on the face of it, appeared to broaden options for young people in some (particularly commuter-belt) municipalities, their trajectories appear to have become more opaque and choices potentially more restricted. In contrast, short distances between institutions and better collaboration between staff, students and local entrepreneurs in rural municipalities seem to provide clearer options for students within transition programmes.
{"title":"Transitions and trajectories for school students requiring additional support: a local lens","authors":"Per-Åke Rosvall","doi":"10.1080/00131881.2022.2055602","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2022.2055602","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Background In many countries, educational opportunities and choices may differ according to factors related to location. This may have a significant impact on young people’s life chances and trajectories. The in-depth, ethnographic study reported here focuses attention on rural/non-rural variations in transition programmes for school students requiring additional support. Purpose The research sought to explore why, seemingly counterintuitively, students requiring additional support in rural Swedish areas might experience more successful transitions than students in some less rural locations. Methods Data included field observations from selected municipalities and interviews with school staff and local officials. Using themes drawn from the data, the Local Learning Ecologies framework was adopted as an analysis tool to capture the detail of relevant macro-, micro- and intermediate-level factors and experiences. Findings Fine-grained analysis of the rich data suggested that the national expansion of school choice and decentralisation in Sweden has affected the organisation of transition programmes. In particular, decentralisation has led to the concentration of national programme provision in city centres, meaning that some students in municipalities may have abundant options but require substantial commuting to access them. Overall, important factors for successful transitions may include short distances between school institutions (facilitating information flows); collaboration between teachers, other professionals and students, and clear options for students. Conclusions The study highlights that although decentralisation may have, on the face of it, appeared to broaden options for young people in some (particularly commuter-belt) municipalities, their trajectories appear to have become more opaque and choices potentially more restricted. In contrast, short distances between institutions and better collaboration between staff, students and local entrepreneurs in rural municipalities seem to provide clearer options for students within transition programmes.","PeriodicalId":47607,"journal":{"name":"Educational Research","volume":"64 1","pages":"191 - 207"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43912612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-04-03DOI: 10.1080/00131881.2022.2056495
C. Konishi, Tracy K. Y. Wong, Ryan J. Persram, Luis Francisco Vargas-Madriz, Xuedi Liu
ABSTRACT Background School climates have broad-ranging implications for students’ success and well-being, with research suggesting that a positive school environment plays a crucial role. However, more needs to be understood about school climate from students’ points of view. Purpose This study sought to explore what constitutes school climate from students’ perspectives. Method In this qualitative study, 22 grade 8 to 11 students (ages 13–18) from a secondary school in Canada participated in semi-structured focus group discussions (6 to 8 students per group). The students described their perceptions of school climate from their own perspectives. Later in the session, the students were introduced to ten school climate dimensions identified in a previous study and asked whether they would remove any dimensions or add new ones. Data were transcribed and analysed in depth, using thematic coding. Findings The analysis yielded fifteen main dimensions, of which seven represented those identified in the previous study. The remaining eight dimensions emphasised the uniqueness of students’ experiences and the facets that they value in school climate. These included the availability of school resources, leadership, teacher professionalism, student-teacher relationships, a sense of order, and support. Conclusions Understanding school climate plays a critical role in efforts to foster a positive school environment for students. Our study highlights the need for multi-reporter methodologies to fully comprehend the complexity of school climate, thereby helping to inform policies and professional development practices that aim to improve school climates.
{"title":"Reconstructing the concept of school climate","authors":"C. Konishi, Tracy K. Y. Wong, Ryan J. Persram, Luis Francisco Vargas-Madriz, Xuedi Liu","doi":"10.1080/00131881.2022.2056495","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2022.2056495","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Background School climates have broad-ranging implications for students’ success and well-being, with research suggesting that a positive school environment plays a crucial role. However, more needs to be understood about school climate from students’ points of view. Purpose This study sought to explore what constitutes school climate from students’ perspectives. Method In this qualitative study, 22 grade 8 to 11 students (ages 13–18) from a secondary school in Canada participated in semi-structured focus group discussions (6 to 8 students per group). The students described their perceptions of school climate from their own perspectives. Later in the session, the students were introduced to ten school climate dimensions identified in a previous study and asked whether they would remove any dimensions or add new ones. Data were transcribed and analysed in depth, using thematic coding. Findings The analysis yielded fifteen main dimensions, of which seven represented those identified in the previous study. The remaining eight dimensions emphasised the uniqueness of students’ experiences and the facets that they value in school climate. These included the availability of school resources, leadership, teacher professionalism, student-teacher relationships, a sense of order, and support. Conclusions Understanding school climate plays a critical role in efforts to foster a positive school environment for students. Our study highlights the need for multi-reporter methodologies to fully comprehend the complexity of school climate, thereby helping to inform policies and professional development practices that aim to improve school climates.","PeriodicalId":47607,"journal":{"name":"Educational Research","volume":"64 1","pages":"159 - 175"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45963870","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-04-03DOI: 10.1080/00131881.2022.2063751
Lieke Jager, E. Denessen, A. Cillessen, P. Meijer
ABSTRACT Background Instructional differentiation within classrooms involves educators’ adaptations of instructional elements to meet diverse learners’ needs. It is usually regarded as a crucial component of high-quality education that promotes equal and inclusive opportunities for all students. However, defining and operationalising this complex construct is challenging, and important, in efforts to better understand instructional differentiation and support learners worldwide. Purpose This paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of instructional differentiation. It discusses definitions and operationalisations of instructional differentiation in the educational research literature and argues for the inclusion of deliberateness and adaptiveness as two defining characteristics of instructional differentiation. Sources of evidence and main arguments Using theoretical arguments and illustrations from empirical research, including a small-scale study of our own, we discuss and exemplify the value of considering deliberateness and adaptiveness in empirical research on instructional differentiation. Further, we consider the challenges and opportunities for research on instructional differentiation. Conclusions Studying the deliberateness and adaptiveness of instructional variation calls for conceptual and operational alignment, and research methodologies that take into account the multiple perspectives of teachers and students. Our investigations draw attention to the conceptual complexity of instructional differentiation, challenges in practice and the need for professional development to support teachers’ embedding of instructional differentiation practices.
{"title":"Capturing instructional differentiation in educational research: investigating opportunities and challenges","authors":"Lieke Jager, E. Denessen, A. Cillessen, P. Meijer","doi":"10.1080/00131881.2022.2063751","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2022.2063751","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Background Instructional differentiation within classrooms involves educators’ adaptations of instructional elements to meet diverse learners’ needs. It is usually regarded as a crucial component of high-quality education that promotes equal and inclusive opportunities for all students. However, defining and operationalising this complex construct is challenging, and important, in efforts to better understand instructional differentiation and support learners worldwide. Purpose This paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of instructional differentiation. It discusses definitions and operationalisations of instructional differentiation in the educational research literature and argues for the inclusion of deliberateness and adaptiveness as two defining characteristics of instructional differentiation. Sources of evidence and main arguments Using theoretical arguments and illustrations from empirical research, including a small-scale study of our own, we discuss and exemplify the value of considering deliberateness and adaptiveness in empirical research on instructional differentiation. Further, we consider the challenges and opportunities for research on instructional differentiation. Conclusions Studying the deliberateness and adaptiveness of instructional variation calls for conceptual and operational alignment, and research methodologies that take into account the multiple perspectives of teachers and students. Our investigations draw attention to the conceptual complexity of instructional differentiation, challenges in practice and the need for professional development to support teachers’ embedding of instructional differentiation practices.","PeriodicalId":47607,"journal":{"name":"Educational Research","volume":"64 1","pages":"224 - 241"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49264208","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-04-03DOI: 10.1080/00131881.2022.2067071
Joakim Strindberg, Paul Horton
ABSTRACT Background Despite considerable anti–bullying efforts and greater awareness of the social processes underpinning bullying, bullying is still a serious problem across schools in many countries. In exploring the social processes that contribute to school bullying, research indicates complex relationships between bullying and the maintenance and building of friendships. While such findings provide important information about the social context of school bullying, more needs to be understood about the institutional context within which school bullying – and friendship – occur. Purpose The aim of this study is to better understand how school bullying relates to friendship processes, and how these are, in turn, influenced by the institutional constraints of the school context. Method The findings discussed draw on 3 months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted at one Swedish elementary school. The fieldwork involved participant observations, as well as semi–structured group interviews with 34 sixth-grade pupils (approx. 12 years of age), which were conducted towards the end of the fieldwork. Data were analysed thematically. Findings The analysis highlighted the importance of friendships to pupils but also identified the ways in which understandings of friendship relations were closely tied to the importance of social perceptions and the organisational constraints of the school context. Conclusions Taken together, the findings suggest that school bullying cannot be de–contextualised from the social and institutional contexts of school but may rather be connected to the perceived need for control in that particular arena. The study draws attention to how the complex relations between bullying, friendship and school context need to be better understood, in order to support efforts to prevent school bullying.
{"title":"Relations between school bullying, friendship processes, and school context","authors":"Joakim Strindberg, Paul Horton","doi":"10.1080/00131881.2022.2067071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2022.2067071","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Background Despite considerable anti–bullying efforts and greater awareness of the social processes underpinning bullying, bullying is still a serious problem across schools in many countries. In exploring the social processes that contribute to school bullying, research indicates complex relationships between bullying and the maintenance and building of friendships. While such findings provide important information about the social context of school bullying, more needs to be understood about the institutional context within which school bullying – and friendship – occur. Purpose The aim of this study is to better understand how school bullying relates to friendship processes, and how these are, in turn, influenced by the institutional constraints of the school context. Method The findings discussed draw on 3 months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted at one Swedish elementary school. The fieldwork involved participant observations, as well as semi–structured group interviews with 34 sixth-grade pupils (approx. 12 years of age), which were conducted towards the end of the fieldwork. Data were analysed thematically. Findings The analysis highlighted the importance of friendships to pupils but also identified the ways in which understandings of friendship relations were closely tied to the importance of social perceptions and the organisational constraints of the school context. Conclusions Taken together, the findings suggest that school bullying cannot be de–contextualised from the social and institutional contexts of school but may rather be connected to the perceived need for control in that particular arena. The study draws attention to how the complex relations between bullying, friendship and school context need to be better understood, in order to support efforts to prevent school bullying.","PeriodicalId":47607,"journal":{"name":"Educational Research","volume":"64 1","pages":"242 - 256"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46981419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-16DOI: 10.1080/00131881.2022.2044879
Brit Olaug Bolken Ballangrud, Marit Aas
ABSTRACT Background Despite widespread interest in the leadership and establishment of professional learning communities (PLCs), the ethical dimension may be overlooked. This article examines, in a Norwegian context, how principals have to deal with different sorts of ethical dilemmas in leading professional learning communities. Purpose The study aimed to investigate the leadership strategies and interventions that principals implemented in professional learning communities and the nature of ethical dilemmas that were apparent in establishing a professional collective culture. Methods Participants were from two different schools, both of which had challenging environments. Data were collected through observations and interviews with the principals (including follow-up interviews after a year had passed), middle managers, two groups of teachers and two groups of students in the two schools, and also with a district-level representative. In total, 15 interviews were conducted with 41 informants. Data were analysed qualitatively. Findings Analysis suggested that establishing a professional learning community, building on an inclusive ethos, pedagogical collaboration and democratic leadership are all important strategies. Leadership practices were anchored in an ethical perspective that emphasised responsibility not only for personal morality but for the enhancement of civic moral education that leads to self-knowledge and community awareness. Conclusion This research draws attention to how school leadership, especially in challenging environments, is closely connected to the democratic purpose of the school. Ethical thinking and decision-making can be developed in discussions between leaders at school and district level and between leaders and teachers in the learning communities in the school. To lead such discussions, school leaders should increase their knowledge and understanding of ethical decision making, which can help develop their own ethical leadership practice.
{"title":"Ethical thinking and decision-making in the leadership of professional learning communities","authors":"Brit Olaug Bolken Ballangrud, Marit Aas","doi":"10.1080/00131881.2022.2044879","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2022.2044879","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Background Despite widespread interest in the leadership and establishment of professional learning communities (PLCs), the ethical dimension may be overlooked. This article examines, in a Norwegian context, how principals have to deal with different sorts of ethical dilemmas in leading professional learning communities. Purpose The study aimed to investigate the leadership strategies and interventions that principals implemented in professional learning communities and the nature of ethical dilemmas that were apparent in establishing a professional collective culture. Methods Participants were from two different schools, both of which had challenging environments. Data were collected through observations and interviews with the principals (including follow-up interviews after a year had passed), middle managers, two groups of teachers and two groups of students in the two schools, and also with a district-level representative. In total, 15 interviews were conducted with 41 informants. Data were analysed qualitatively. Findings Analysis suggested that establishing a professional learning community, building on an inclusive ethos, pedagogical collaboration and democratic leadership are all important strategies. Leadership practices were anchored in an ethical perspective that emphasised responsibility not only for personal morality but for the enhancement of civic moral education that leads to self-knowledge and community awareness. Conclusion This research draws attention to how school leadership, especially in challenging environments, is closely connected to the democratic purpose of the school. Ethical thinking and decision-making can be developed in discussions between leaders at school and district level and between leaders and teachers in the learning communities in the school. To lead such discussions, school leaders should increase their knowledge and understanding of ethical decision making, which can help develop their own ethical leadership practice.","PeriodicalId":47607,"journal":{"name":"Educational Research","volume":"64 1","pages":"176 - 190"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2022-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43654659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/00131881.2021.2013127
V. Mankki, Pekka Räihä
ABSTRACT Background The COVID-19 crisis forced education providers around the world to cancel contact teaching in schools as part of measures to limit contact between people and to slowdown the spread of the virus. The rapid and unexpected transition to distance teaching in the beginning of the pandemic posed an unprecedented challenge for teachers and placed a significant demand on their informal professional learning. This study focused on Finnish primary teachers’ professional learning domains and activities during the first weeks of Finland’s COVID-19 school lockdown. Purpose The aim was to understand what and how primary teachers learnt during the beginning of the distance teaching period. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted individually with 20 Finnish primary school teachers, all of whom had been delivering distance teaching from the beginning of the lockdown, during the fourth week of the distance teaching period. Two separate qualitative analyses were undertaken. Findings The first analysis indicated that teachers’ professional learning involved more than progress in the most self-evident and apparent technological knowledge domain: learning was also firmly connected to pedagogical knowledge and coping skills. The second analysis identified the individual learning activities, such as learning by doing, experimenting and considering one’s own teaching practice, and revealed three levels of collective learning activities (with a close colleague, in the school community and in larger online communities) carried out with the aim of improving distance teaching. Conclusions The study draws attention to primary teachers’ multifaceted professional learning domains and the activities entered into during the rapid shift from contact to distance teaching. It highlights that even in emergency circumstances, teachers’ individual and collective learning processes are interrelated and supplementary to each other. Educators’ hard-earned understanding achieved in relation to distance teaching should be nurtured and refined to further benefit and support the profession.
{"title":"Primary teachers’ professional learning during a COVID-19 school lockdown","authors":"V. Mankki, Pekka Räihä","doi":"10.1080/00131881.2021.2013127","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2021.2013127","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Background The COVID-19 crisis forced education providers around the world to cancel contact teaching in schools as part of measures to limit contact between people and to slowdown the spread of the virus. The rapid and unexpected transition to distance teaching in the beginning of the pandemic posed an unprecedented challenge for teachers and placed a significant demand on their informal professional learning. This study focused on Finnish primary teachers’ professional learning domains and activities during the first weeks of Finland’s COVID-19 school lockdown. Purpose The aim was to understand what and how primary teachers learnt during the beginning of the distance teaching period. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted individually with 20 Finnish primary school teachers, all of whom had been delivering distance teaching from the beginning of the lockdown, during the fourth week of the distance teaching period. Two separate qualitative analyses were undertaken. Findings The first analysis indicated that teachers’ professional learning involved more than progress in the most self-evident and apparent technological knowledge domain: learning was also firmly connected to pedagogical knowledge and coping skills. The second analysis identified the individual learning activities, such as learning by doing, experimenting and considering one’s own teaching practice, and revealed three levels of collective learning activities (with a close colleague, in the school community and in larger online communities) carried out with the aim of improving distance teaching. Conclusions The study draws attention to primary teachers’ multifaceted professional learning domains and the activities entered into during the rapid shift from contact to distance teaching. It highlights that even in emergency circumstances, teachers’ individual and collective learning processes are interrelated and supplementary to each other. Educators’ hard-earned understanding achieved in relation to distance teaching should be nurtured and refined to further benefit and support the profession.","PeriodicalId":47607,"journal":{"name":"Educational Research","volume":"64 1","pages":"1 - 17"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41776519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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