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This paper reports on findings derived as part of a two-year project funded by the European Union's Daphne III scheme, involving collaboration between seven partner organisations across six European countries. The project involved an evaluation, using questionnaires and focus groups, of domestic abuse prevention education programmes delivered in schools in the UK, France and Spain. This paper presents the findings from the UK focus group discussions, conducted with young people aged 10–11 years, and 13–14 years to explore their opinions about the intervention delivered in their school. The focus groups revealed the following challenges for service providers in this area: young people can misunderstand issues related to domestic abuse, especially the role of power and control within relationships; there is a tension between educators giving young people free expression to share their opinions and challenging sexism and other prejudices; and boys can become disengaged with gender-based interventions. These issues point towards three key considerations when implementing a domestic abuse prevention education intervention: programme content (the what); the teaching methods used (the how); and whether teachers or external organisations should deliver the programme (the who). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the ways in which students' voices can be used to analyse the process of moving schools, at a time outside of those that young people normally change schools. The paper is based on a study in a secondary school and uses qualitative data collected by researchers and student co-researchers. Two areas were raised by students as important about being at a new school: the perceived challenges and their perceptions of learning in a new environment. It is argued that to respond to issues that arise due to mobility, an engagement with students' views is necessary. Furthermore, this can facilitate policy-makers, school leaders and educators in providing more effective support for those young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:It is widely agreed that more needs to be done to improve participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Despite considerable investment in interventions, it has been difficult to discern their effectiveness and/or impact on participation. Purpose:This paper discusses findings from a six-week pilot STEM careers intervention that was designed and overseen by a teacher from one London girls’ school. We reflect on the challenges for those attempting such interventions and the problems associated with evaluating them. Sample:Data were collected from Year 9 students (girls aged 13–14 years) at the school. Design and methods:Pre- and post-intervention surveys of 68 students, classroom observations of intervention activities, three post-intervention discussion groups (five or six girls per group) and a post-intervention interview with the lead teacher were conducted. Results:Although the intervention did not significantly change students’ aspirations or views of science, it did appear to have a positive effect on broadening students’ understanding of the range of jobs that science can lead to or be useful for. Conclusions:Student aspirations may be extremely resistant to change and intervention, but students’ understanding of ‘where science can lead’ may be more amenable to intervention. Implications are discussed, including the need to promote the message that science is useful for careers in and beyond science, at degree and technical levels. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Drawing on data from 1740 pupil questionnaires and 160 pupils in focus-group interviews, the study aimed to gain insight into British pupils' ideas about why they study history at school. The paper considers the implications of these ideas for history teachers and teacher educators. The data suggest that many pupils have very vague ideas about the purposes of school history. The variations among schools suggested that there are things that teachers can do to explain the purposes and benefits of school history to their pupils. The outcomes of the study also indicate that there is a case for teachers devoting more time and thought to helping pupils to understand the purposes and benefits of studying their subject in secondary school in order to improve the motivation and engagement of their pupils. The study may also have similar implications for teachers of other school subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study, carried out in England, examined the variation of attitudes towards science over the first three years of secondary schooling and with gender. The study in question was part of an evaluation of the “Lab in a Lorry” project, and involved 932 pupils completing a pre-measure questionnaire containing items looking at six separate attitude constructs. From these data, two main patterns emerged; pupils' attitudes towards science declined as they progressed through secondary school, and this decline was more pronounced for female pupils. These conclusions are largely in agreement with previous studies in this field. However, in examining separate attitude constructs, we were also able to identify that the sharpest decline occurred specifically for pupils' attitude towards learning science in school. Furthermore, using linear regression, we identified that, as pupils progress through school, this construct becomes a greater influence on attitudes towards future participation in science. Therefore, we also concluded that learning science in school is a particular area that needs to be concentrated upon, if we are to improve children's attitudes towards science. In the final part of the paper, we drew on interview data obtained from 44 pupils involved in the Lab in a Lorry study. Pupils' comments in these interviews provided further insight into why pupils are “switched off” by school science. We drew out the most prevalent themes that emerged in the interviews, in order to provide further insight into why pupils do not enjoy science in school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many observers have commented on disparities between the theoretical understandings of environmental education portrayed in academic literature and the environmental education that takes place in schools. In much of the literature and in curriculum documents there has been an increasing emphasis on promoting positive attitudes towards the environment, and the results of several surveys suggest that many teachers support this aim. This paper explores the beliefs of three geography teachers teaching controversial environmental issues in UK secondary schools. In contrast to the findings of prior studies, the teachers in this study feel strongly that they should try to avoid influencing students' attitudes, or imposing any kind of pro‐environmental agenda. There is a substantial divergence between the teachers' beliefs and the espoused aims of much environmental education literature and the geography syllabus they were following. This suggests that, unless curriculum developers take account of teachers' beliefs in designing new curriculum materials, those materials are unlikely to be implemented in their intended format. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]