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This paper considers the nature of a curriculum as presented in formal curriculum documents, and the inherent difficulties of representing formal disciplinary knowledge in a prescription for teaching and learning. The general points are illustrated by examining aspects of a specific example, taken from the chemistry subject content included in the science programmes of study that are part of the National Curriculum in England (an official document published by the UK government). In particular, it is suggested that some statements in the official curriculum document are problematic if we expect a curriculum to represent canonical disciplinary knowledge in an unambiguous and authentic manner. The paper examines the example of the requirement for English school children to be taught that chemical reactions take place in only three different ways (i.e., proton transfer; electron transfer; electron sharing) and considers how this might be interpreted in terms of canonical chemistry and within the wider context of other curriculum statements, in order to make sense of neutralisation and precipitation reactions. It is argued that although target knowledge that is set out as the focus of teaching and learning cannot be identical to disciplinary knowledge, the English National Curriculum offers a representation of chemistry which distorts and confuses canonical ideas. It is suggested that the process of representing the disciplinary knowledge of chemistry as curriculum specifications is worthy of more scholarly attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The teaching of reading has been a source of contentious debate for many years. Margaret Meek Spencer contributed her passion for the importance of specific texts to help children learn to read. In addition to the kinds of texts to be used, important aspects of the debateimportant aspects of the debate include the relationship between national curriculum policies and robust research evidence about what works in teaching reading This paper notes a historical trend in government policy that has included England's Department for Education in England's strengthening its control of the curriculum and pedagogy for teaching reading in ways which run contrary to many of Meek Spencer's arguments. The paper examines the use of statutory assessment, particularly a Phonics Screening Check, its influence on pedagogy and links with the politics of reading. We conclude that policy needs to be reformed to better reflect robust research evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In England, religious education (RE) is a part of the basic curriculum mandatory for all pupils in the compulsory years of schooling. This paper explores how RE and spirituality interact and whether one can contribute to the effective delivery of the other. It explores the experience of a small group of subject leaders working in schools in one local authority area in the West Midlands of England, drawn from schools with a religious affiliation and those without. Using in service training activities, questionnaires and reflective processes, it seeks to elicit their aspirations for the interaction between RE and spirituality (also referred to as meaning-making). The findings suggest the subject leaders have an intention to develop both activity to promote learning and activity to apply that learning to real life experience. This suggests that developing a spiritual dimension to religious education requires a move from the abstract or theoretical and from knowledge acquisition towards increased engagement, making a personal response and considering what difference can be made as a result. As such, a spiritual dimension to learning cannot be passive. The project has the potential to impact policy and practice on both national and international levels, given its focus on values and pedagogy rather than specific curriculum content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores primary school children's ability to engage with “the power of the text” by tackling persuasive writing in the form of an advertisement. It is eclectically framed within genre theory and rhetorical studies and makes use of linguistic tools and concepts. The paper argues that writing research has not built upon earlier publications in these areas. There is a need for studies of advertisement writing to consolidate and extend the recent interest in non-fiction text types. The writing of two children, drawn from a much larger study, is used to provide evidence of some key features of advertisement writing. Use of a pro forma reveals how children imbue the power of their writing through a variety of techniques and suggests how these features may develop over time. It is argued that an understanding of advertisement writing warrants careful exploration, as persuasive writing is generally being given a more prominent place in curriculum provision in England. The paper concludes by noting the importance of ecological validity and pupil engagement when persuasive writing is tackled in schools. It also suggests the need for new kinds of customised analyses when further studies of this kind of writing are undertaken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a reflection on the reflections of pupils about being ‘reflective learners’, one of the Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills of the secondary National Curriculum for England. A teacher and a lecturer worked together in a collaborative action research project generating co-constructed knowledge of practice across a two-year period, with reflective practice at the core of our action research endeavours. Key data were generated with a case-study group of 20 pupils who analysed their actions as ‘reflective learners’. We also asked the pupils their opinions of reflecting on their learning. These data are discussed in the paper along with the reflective process engaged in by the teacher-researchers. Teacher Tami shared that previously she had only been concerned with examinations results and not developing cross-curricular learning. The culture of performativity was influential in her previous conceptions of teaching and learning. Our reflections were also concerned with catering for a diversity of learners including pupils who speak English as an additional language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research aims to articulate the experiences and opinions of Year 6 (Y6) teachers, primary headteachers and primary science coordinators as a contribution to the debate about the effect of statutory national testing in England and its abolition in Wales. A multi-faceted approach of quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis was used in England and Wales including a telephone survey of 600 respondents and eight focus group interviews involving a total of 74 participants. The findings of this research provide insights into the strategies adopted by Y6 teachers in England in ensuring pupils gain the highest possible scores in high-stakes national tests, used as the basis of published Schools and Colleges Assessment and Attainment Tables at Key Stage 2 (KS2). Test preparation is perceived by teachers to narrow the curriculum, and for science in particular, as the inclusion of only those aspects of science likely to be included in paper and pencil tests is said to have reduced many aspects of investigatory science in Y6. Year 6 teachers in Wales reported working to develop effective teacher assessment strategies, supported by the continued use of optional test materials, to inform summative judgements about pupils' levels of attainment in science at KS2. Practical science activities, including investigations, were reported as becoming an important feature of science lessons in Y6 in Wales. Although it is too soon to make predictions about the longer-term effects of the abolition of national testing on Y6 teachers and the teaching of science in Wales, early indications suggest increased opportunities for investigative science in Y6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on attempts to understand how the curriculum and pedagogy can help to reduce inequalities in the outcomes of schooling between those from higher and lower socio-economic backgrounds. In the 1970s, the author was involved with Michael F.D. Young and others in the development of the so-called ‘new’ sociology of education. Much of this work entailed laying bare the assumptions underlying the school curriculum and demonstrating how the selection of school knowledge was implicated in the reproduction of social inequalities. During the 1980s in England the curriculum was overtly politicised by the Thatcher government but the interests of sociologists of education moved increasingly away from the sociology of school knowledge to focus instead on the sociology of education policy. This paper identifies a recent tendency on the part of sociologists of education to return to the ‘knowledge question’. In particular, it examines Young's own role in this and his attempts to revisit and revise of his earlier position. Contemporary developments in curricular policy in England and Northern Ireland are then outlined and discussed. Finally, the paper considers whether the work of Basil Bernstein, particularly his concepts of classification/framing and recognition/realisation rules, might help us to address one of the prevailing political problems of many modern education systems — the systematic failure of socially disadvantaged pupils to perform well at school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on data from a broader study, the central object of which was to explore the place of sport and physical activity in young people's lives. More particularly, the paper reports the findings of 24 focus groups conducted with 153 15-16 year olds in north-west England and north-east Wales in order to examine young people's views towards activity choice in physical education (PE). In this regard, it is suggested that despite their deep-seated preferences for 'traditional', games-dominated PE curricula and the constraints imposed upon them from the existence of a national curriculum for PE and government policy over the past two decades, PE teachers continue to provide young people with a degree of activity choice in the later secondary school years. The 15-16 year olds in this study considered activity choice to be a very positive feature of their experience of PE at key stage 4 and viewed it as a vehicle for greater enjoyment of and engagement with PE. It was also the case that the 15-16 year olds appeared to attach a great deal of importance to the ways in which the activities provided them with the opportunity to engage in activities within PE that they also do in their leisure-time, and which they are likely to do in the future. At the same time, however, many young people expressed dissatisfaction with what they perceived as unnecessary and undesirable limitations on the number and range of activities made available to them. Restrictions on choice were particularly felt among girls and those from lower social class backgrounds who were evidently dissatisfied with what they saw as the over-representation of a small number of traditional team sports and activities in PE. It is concluded that if PE teachers and policy-makers want to increase their impact upon young people's participation in PE and 'modernise' further the curricula provided for pupils, then they need to appreciate more adequately the significance of the twin processes of democratisation and informalisation, since both processes help explain young people's growing preference for choice in PE and in other social contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on work carried out as part of a research study into the professional practices of secondary design and technology teachers in England. It focused on fostering creativity or teaching for creativity as defined by the Robinson Report (1999, All our futures: creativity, culture and education. London: Department for Education and Employment (DfEE)) for pupils aged 11–14 years. The overall research question that drove this study was “to what extent can teachers influence the creativity of pupils aged 11–14 years in design and technology lessons?” The paper provides the basis used to generate a unique theoretical three-feature model or framework that can be used to explore creativity within an educational context. The findings of three investigations in the study are presented in this paper. The first and second investigations looked at what could be learnt from the professional practices of art and design and design and technology teachers and the views of four ‘expert’ teachers known for their ability to develop the creative potential of their pupils. The data is discussed under emerging themes and it is used to inform specific criteria in the evolving theoretical three-feature model for creativity. The model is then used to analyse the data from the third classroom based investigation and the findings are discussed under the emerging themes to help identify the issues related to fostering creativity within the design and technology classroom. This paper discusses the implications of the research for classroom practice and suggests that, as creativity is a complex, multi-faceted concept and process, the theoretical three-feature model and related criteria evolved in the study provides a sound framework to explore creativity within an educational context. As a tool it helps identify examples of good practice and highlight areas that require further attention by teachers aiming to foster their pupils’ creativity. It is suggested that design and technology teachers have lessons to learn from the practices of their art and design colleagues and ‘expert’ design and technology teachers. It is concluded that there is a need for greater understanding by teachers of their implicit theories regarding teaching, learning and creativity. A wider use could be made of the breadth of strategies outlined by the ‘expert’ teachers. This would help address the weakness identified in the school based study and strengthen classroom practice when teaching for creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of the demands of the revised National Curriculum for Physical Education in England (DfEE/QCA, 1999) and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Discrimination Act (DfES, 2001a), this paper presents some preliminary observations on how PE teachers endeavour to include pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in secondary school physical education (PE). Findings from a small-scale study revealed that whilst teachers expressed a commitment to providing pupils with SEN with `equal opportunities'--to participate in the same learning contexts as their `more-able' peers--in practice, this was not always the case. The paper concludes by suggesting that the apparent tendency of teachers to prioritise `traditional' team games within PE serves to exclude, rather than facilitate the full inclusion of many pupils with SEN. Moreover, it appears that these pupils are in effect being integrated into, rather than included in, PE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background : Around 10% of school-aged children experience mental health difficulties. Many more are 'vulnerable': experiencing emotional and/or behavioural problems reaching clinical levels, and thus at greatest risk of future mental illness. The trial aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of the CUES for schools programme in reducing emotional and behavioural problems in vulnerable children. Methods: The "CUES for Schools" study is a multicentre cluster randomised controlled trial in primary schools in south east England. Schools will be randomised to receive the usual school curriculum, or the CUES programme (1:1). We aim to enrol 74 schools (5550 children including 2220 vulnerable children). CUES is a whole-class teacher-facilitated interactive digital cognitive-behavioural intervention, delivered as 24 short (20-min) modules over 12 weeks, targeting emotional/behavioural regulation skills. Children self-report emotional/behavioural problems at baseline, 8, and 16 weeks, and wellbeing and cognitive vulnerability at 0 and 16 weeks. Adverse events are assessed at 8 and 16 weeks. Teachers rate classroom behaviour at baseline and 16 weeks. School senior leadership teams and individual teachers consent to involvement in the study; parents can opt their child out of CUES sessions, assessments, or research. Children can similarly opt out and assent to research participation. The primary objective of this trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of CUES for schools compared to the usual school curriculum in improving emotional/behavioural problems for vulnerable Year 4 (8–9 years old) children at 16 weeks post-randomisation, as measured using a standardised questionnaire designed for primary schools. The secondary objective is to investigate the impact of the CUES for schools programme on both vulnerable and non-vulnerable children on wellbeing and teacher-rated classroom behaviour. Discussion: The study will show whether CUES for schools is more effective than the usual curriculum in reducing emotional and behavioural problems in vulnerable Year 4 children, and thus reducing the risk of mental health difficulties in later adolescent and adult life. As a digital, teacher-facilitated intervention, CUES for schools can be readily implemented, at minimal cost. If effective, CUES for schools therefore has the potential to reduce the impact of emotional/behavioural difficulties on children's learning, behaviour, and relationships and the burden of future mental health morbidity. Trial registration: Trial Registration ISRCTN11445338. Registered on September 12, 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an historical case study of an abortive attempt to revise policy and legislation relating to Religious Education (RE) in English schools in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Drawing upon published sources, including parliamentary debates, as well as previously unutilised national archival sources from the Department of Education and Science, it comments upon events which have hitherto been omitted from the historiography of RE, but which help to contextualise significant changes in RE theory and practice at that time. Moreover, it demonstrates that the current parlous state of RE in schools is in part the result of latent and longstanding issues and problems, rather than a consequence of present-day government policy alone. Therefore, in reviewing and developing RE policies and practices, all stakeholders are urged to look more closely at both changes and continuities in the subject’s past and the contexts in which they occurred. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article draws on the author's doctoral research to examine the relationships between children's geographies in different spaces of geographical thought in England – geography in and of everyday life, geography as an academic discipline and geography as a school subject. It begins by setting out how children's geographies have largely been omitted from school geography due to complex reasons including the impact of governmental policy on teaching and teacher education, and the public accountability of schools. Drawing on a case study of five young people's narratives about London, the article then examines their perspectives on education – highlighting that the young people view both London, and the education system, as a space of opportunity and hope, but also of inequality and injustice. The article concludes by arguing that through drawing on the ideas and methodologies of children's geographies as a subdiscipline, and recognising and exploring the geographies of those who are taught, school geography can be enhanced by making teachers more informed about the children they teach and providing children with opportunities to examine (their own) geographies through engaging with disciplinary thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of a pull-out enrichment project in Cheltenham targeted at academically able 9- to 10- year old (Year Five) children. The structure and curriculum of the project are detailed and the ways in which children have benefited from participation are discussed in the light of an evaluation of the programme, as are the drawbacks. The benefits of key aspects of the project are highlighted for schools that might be interested in setting up similar programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Researchers have been aware for some time of the differences between extensive and intensive quantities but the significance of these differences has not been recognized in mathematics curricula. In England children are provided with many opportunities in their first few years in school to manipulate, measure and reason about extensive quantities but have virtually no opportunity to do the same with intensive quantities. This paper contrasts extensive and intensive quantities and describes the obstacles to primary school children''s understanding of intensive quantities: the need to consider two variables simultaneously and the difficulty of understanding inverse relations between variables. Study 1 shows that children have considerable difficulty in using inverse relations reasoning. Study 2 shows that this form of reasoning is more difficult in the context of intensive than extensive quantities problems. Implications for education are considered and examples of experiences with intensive quantities that could provided in school are presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

School life in England (and beyond) is temporally structured, with learning planned as a time-limited activity, both within lessons and across units of work. Discourses of performativity and measurement pervade school life in many societies and, what we call regulated time controls school-based learning. In particular, primary mathematics learning is often marked by a focus on speed and pace and on children and teachers demonstrating progress against fragmented goals. Taking this as an exemplar, and in the context of the pedagogical approaches promoted through two curriculum development projects, we consider disruptions to regulated approaches to learning as children and teachers work collaboratively on mathematical activities. We argue that the expansive timescape that emerges is generated through extended timescales and through an acceptance of unfinishedness, a key change from usual school mathematics that leaves mathematical meaning making open to revision, providing a more meaning-full experience of primary mathematics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young modern language (ML) learners' heightened, yet temporary, phonological sensitivity suggests an aptitude for spoken communication with peer native target language (TL) speakers. Opportunities for this can be achieved through videoconferencing (VC). As researcher and specialist teacher at a primary school in England, I undertook a study of VC which aimed both to develop theoretical insights for policymakers and practitioners, and also to provide 'usable processes' associated with design-based research for developing young pupils' ML speaking skills. My challenge in brief weekly lessons was to develop pupils' usual group chanting/singing towards individual speaking in meaningful exchange in twice-weekly VC links with a partner French school. Participants' affective experience was the focus of data gathered from pupils in Years 2, 3 and 6. This article focuses on pupils' and teachers' views of the value of VC for learning to speak French. Pupils tended to see VC as useful for learning to speak French although peer pressure seemed to adversely influence Year 6 pupils' pronunciation. Some pupils of different abilities were highly motivated by their VC participation. Some able pupils' retrospective reflections on the longer-term impact of VC suggested it had been a 'highlight' of their entire primary ML learning experience, and they felt they had increased confidence in speaking as a result. A sample of lower ability pupils also retrospectively expressed a positive view of VC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of transitions, from class to class, year to year and school to school, is integral to the education system in England. The transfer of pupils from primary to secondary education is an important stage of transition. Models for managing this transfer highlight different aspects of the experience, including social/pastoral integration, curriculum continuity and the progression of individual pupils. This study investigated the transfer of pupils from primary to secondary school in relation to physical education. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with fourteen secondary school PE heads of department. The results showed that although all the heads of department reported the transfer of pupils from primary to secondary school to be very important in relation to physical education, this was not translated into practice. There was limited involvement in activities supporting the transfer, and what involvement there was placed greater emphasis on activities to support social/pastoral integration than to support continuity and progression for individual pupils during transfer. Some possible reasons for these results are considered, along with suggestions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article revisits the underlying principles of the citizenship curriculum in England to address reports of communication breakdowns between schools and students and to consider whether the curriculum can do anything other than prescribe what democratic participation should be. Although the focus is on the curriculum in England, it has implications for citizenship education programmes around the world. The government agenda is contrasted with that of young people who may be politically active but in ways that place them outside the participatory framework of the curriculum. Two fundamentally opposed interpretations of democracy are considered. These, it is suggested, predicate incompatible understandings of what it means to be a citizen participating in a democratic society. The article then addresses their implications for the citizenship curriculum and concludes by suggesting that these different interpretations of democratic participation will inevitably lead to a curricular failure to move beyond political prescription. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents some of the results of the questionnaire-based Relevance of Science Education Project (ROSE) carried out in England in the latter half of 2003 as part of a wider international comparative study based at the University of Oslo. Data, drawn from 1277 students, most of whom were 14 or 15 years old, indicate their views about their school science education, their choice of careers and what they would most like to learn about in their science lessons. The findings are placed in the context of other accounts of the ‘student voice’ in science education and their implications for policy and science curriculum reform are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study described is part of a larger research programme designed to investigate primary aged children's learning during a visit to the Eden Project. Children from eight primary schools were interviewed approximately four weeks after a one-day, teacher-led visit to the Eden Project (EP) in Cornwall. Their responses revealed that the children enjoyed their visit to the EP and were affected by the sensory experience of being immersed in such a profusion of plants from around the world. The children showed interest in the plants that were relevant to their lives but were often unsure of the relationship between plants, people and resources. The analysis highlights the need for teachers to integrate a visit to the EP within their school's curriculum, particularly in respect of prior preparation and mediation, in order to capitalize effectively on the children's experiences during their visit to the Eden Project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 1 August 1989, the introduction of a National Curriculum of subjects to all maintained schools throughout England and Wales brought compulsory science education into the primary sector for the first time. As a direct result of its elevated profile and an immense amount of hard work and effort by teachers and other professionals responding to requirements, science education provision benefited enormously. Despite this, however, successive overhauls and radical revisions of primary science have brought about many questionable changes, some not necessarily for the better or resulting in improvement. This article presents a critical, analytical and personal review of the history and development of science in the primary school and draws attention to the need for care at times when classroom practices and expectations are driven by national science curricula that remain to be fully informed. Astronomy is used to contextualize some of the changes at their most extreme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]