An article said that the system for measuring pupil performance in England, together with the reduction of the curriculum to a ?one-size-fits-all? model of teaching, ignored the heterogeneous complexity of groups within society.
Source: Bill Boyle and Marie Charles, 'Education in a multicultural environment: equity issues in teaching and learning in the school system in England', International Studies in Sociology of Education, Volume 21 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
A paper said that claims that England had been 'plummeting' down international pupil performance tables could not be justified. An analysis of English pupils' scores in international maths tests over the previous 12 years showed no hard evidence of any decline in comparative performance over time. A clearer picture was unlikely to emerge until all the international survey data were compared with national test scores.
Source: John Jerrim, England s Plummeting PISA Test Scores Between 2000 and 2009: Is the performance of our secondary school pupils really in relative decline?, Working Paper 11-09, Department of Quantitative Social Science, Institute of Education (University of London)
Links: Paper | IOE press release | ASCL press release | Labour Party press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Dec
The report was published of a government-appointed expert panel on the national curriculum in England. The coalition government said that the overhaul of the national curriculum would be delayed by a year: revised curriculums for all subjects would be introduced in 2014, instead of 2013.
Source: The Framework for the National Curriculum: A report by the Expert Panel for the National Curriculum review, Department for Education | Written Ministerial Statement 19 December 2011, columns 138-140WS, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Report | Hansard | BHA press release | IOE press release | Labour Party press release | NASUWT press release | BBC report
Date: 2011-Dec
A report said that pupil attainment in England was an estimated 1.5 years behind that in Shanghai, China (the top-performing area) at age 15.
Source: PISA 2009 Study: How Big Is the Gap? A comparison of pupil attainment in England with the top-performing countries, Research Report RR149, Department for Education
Links: Report | Brief | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Oct
A paper estimated the effect of neighbours' characteristics and prior achievements on teenage students' educational and behavioural outcomes, using Census data on secondary school students in England. There was evidence that peers in the neighbourhood had no effect on test scores: but they did have a small effect on behavioural outcomes, such as attitudes towards schooling and anti-social behaviour.
Source: Stephen Gibbons, Olmo Silva, and Felix Weinhardt, Everybody Needs Good Neighbours? Evidence from students outcomes in England, Discussion Paper 5980, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Oct
The exams regulator examined the experiences of teachers implementing 'controlled assessment' (CA) in 9 GCSE subjects. On the whole, stakeholders and teachers were broadly supportive of the idea of CA: but there were a number of logistical difficulties that needed to be addressed.
Source: Evaluation of the Introduction of Controlled Assessment: Report on qualitative and quantitative research, Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator
Links: Report | Ofqual press release | NAHT press release | NASUWT press release | NUT press release | Guardian report
Notes: From 2009 onwards, controlled assessment (CA) – the completion of an internal assessment under supervised conditions – replaced traditional coursework in GCSE subjects.
Date: 2011-Oct
An article examined formulations of 'key competences' in European Union member states, and the way in which they were being integrated into the compulsory education curricula.
Source: Gabor Halasz and Alain Michel, 'Key competences in Europe: interpretation, policy formulation and implementation', European Journal of Education, Volume 46 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Sep
A report presented a review of studies of interventions aimed at supporting and improving parental engagement in the education of children aged 5-19.
Source: Janet Goodall and John Vorhaus, with Jon Carpentieri, Greg Brooks, Rodie Akerman, and Alma Harris, Review of Best Practice in Parental Engagement, Research Report RR156, Department for Education
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Sep
The education inspectorate in Wales said that the foundation phase was having a positive impact on the well-being of children; and in the majority of primary schools children aged 5-6 were achieving well. However, in a minority of schools there was a lack of understanding of the principles and practices of the foundation phase; and in a few schools staff were not convinced about its educational value.
Source: Literacy and the Foundation Phase: An evaluation of the implementation of the foundation phase for five to six-year-olds in primary schools, with special reference to literacy, HM Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales
Links: Report | HMCIETW press release | NAHT press release | BBC report
Date: 2011-Sep
A paper reviewed a programme of research aimed at providing guidance for the evidence-based provision of personal, social, health, and economic (PSHE) education. It summarized the major impediments and facilitators of evidence-based programming, and described a model curriculum for the delivery of evidence-based PSHE.
Source: Daniel Hale, John Coleman, and Richard Layard, A Model for the Delivery of Evidence-Based PSHE (Personal Wellbeing) in Secondary Schools, DP1071, Centre for Economic Performance (London School of Economics)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Aug
The education inspectorate in Wales said that too few schools planned a 'skills-based' curriculum that consisted of progressively more complex activities designed to develop pupils' thinking, communication, information/communications technology, and number skills. This was because generally there was not a clear understanding of how to use the non-statutory skills framework as the basis for planning a curriculum.
Source: The Skills Framework at Key Stage 2: An evaluation of the impact of the non-statutory skills framework for 3 to 19-year-olds in Wales at key stage 2, HM Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales
Links: Report | HMCIETW press release
Date: 2011-Jul
A report by a committee of MPs expressed concerns about the composition of the English baccalaureate, and said that it should not have been introduced before the national curriculum review had been completed.
Source: The English Baccalaureate, Fifth Report (Session 2010-12), HC 851, House of Commons Education Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Additional evidence | DE press release | NAHT press release | NASUWT press release | NUT press release | Voice press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-Jul
A report said that the European Union average score in reading for children at age 15, and the proportion of struggling readers in this age group, remained stable in international (PISA) surveys carried out between 2000 and 2009. The spread of the results in reading (the gap between the highest and lowest scores) slightly decreased. Although most countries had set objectives in relation to reading comprehension, they often lacked sufficiently broad strategies in national guidelines, especially in lower secondary education.
Source: Teaching Reading in Europe: Contexts, policies and practices, Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (European Commission)
Links: Report | European Commission press release
Date: 2011-Jul
A report by an all-party group of MPs said that the coalition government's focus on phonics risked contributing to a decline in literacy standards. Raising standards required a well-rounded reading culture. Funding should be redirected so that schools were free to adopt the resources and programmes that their pupils need (including one-to-one reading tuition). There also needed to be more in-depth teacher training; improved support for the transition between primary and secondary school; greater support for literacy difficulties at secondary schools; an acknowledgment of the growing value of digital literacy, especially in motivating boys to read; and a community approach to literacy (including promoting libraries and parental involvement).
Source: Report of the Inquiry into Overcoming the Barriers to Literacy, All-Party Parliamentary Group for Education
Links: Report | APPG release
Date: 2011-Jul
The coalition government said that it accepted all the recommendations of an independent review of testing, assessment, and accountability at the end of primary school (key stage 2, age 11). The existing writing test would be replaced by teacher assessment of writing composition. More data would be included in school performance tables from 2011 onwards, including new three-year rolling averages from 2012.
Source: Independent Review of Key Stage 2 Testing, Assessment and Accountability: Government Response, Cm 8144, Department for Education, TSO
Links: Response | Hansard | DE press release | ASCL press release | NAHT press release | NUT press release | Voice press release
Notes: Bew Report (June 2011)
Date: 2011-Jul
An article examined 'sexuality discourses' in the secondary school curriculum in England. Issues relating to sexual diversity were 'noticeably absent' from the curriculum. Teachers were not explicitly encouraged to explore sexual diversity in their teaching. The effects of this on young people who identified themselves as lesbian/gay/bisexual/transsexual were overwhelmingly negative.
Source: Helen Sauntson and Kathryn Simpson, 'Investigating sexuality discourses in the UK secondary English curriculum', Journal of Homosexuality, Volume 58 Issue 6-7
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jul
An article examined the origins and legacy of national vocational qualifications.
Source: Michael Young, 'National vocational qualifications in the United Kingdom: their origins and legacy', Journal of Education and Work, Volume 24 Issue 3-4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jul
An independent review of key stage 2 testing (at age 11) in England said that the writing test should be scrapped and replaced by teacher assessment throughout the school year. Other tests should be retained. Schools should be judged over three years of KS2 results rather than one and given a rolling average in league tables.
Source: Paul Bew, Independent Review of Key Stage 2 Testing, Assessment and Accountability: Final Report, Department for Education
Links: Report | DE press release | ASCL press release | Durham University press release | NAHT press release | NASUWT press release | NUT press release | Voice press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Jun
A think-tank report examined school attainment in Wales at key stage 3 (age 14). It said that continuous monitoring of individual pupils' performance was one of the most powerful tools that schools had for improving education outcomes.
Source: Making a Difference at Key Stage 3, Institute of Welsh Affairs
Links: Summary | IWA press release | BBC report
Date: 2011-Apr
A paper examined whether meeting performance targets in tests at school had an effect on students' subsequent behaviour. Meeting a target that the government set for students at age 11 had an 'insignificant' effect on outcomes such as the probability of absence from school or of a police warning.
Source: Marcello Sartarelli, Do Performance Targets Affect Behaviour? Evidence from discontinuities in test scores in England, Working Paper 11-02, Department of Quantitative Social Science, Institute of Education (University of London)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Apr
A report said that introducing a national curriculum for sex education would see control taken from schools and centralized in the hands of those who advocated the use of sexually explicit resources – resources which most parents would find unacceptable, and which would increase the problem of the 'sexualization' of childhood.
Source: Too Much, Too Young: Exposing primary school sex education materials, Christian Institute
Links: Report | Christian Institute press release | BHA press release | SEF press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Mar
An article examined the aims, practices, and effects of religious education in schools. There were conflicts and overlaps between religious education and other parts of the curriculum, which could lead to students being unclear about the purpose and focus of the subject.
Source: David Lundie, 'Does religious education work? An analysis of the aims, practices and models of effectiveness in religious education in the UK', British Journal of Religious Education, Volume 32 Issue 2
Links: Abstract | Glasgow University press release
Date: 2011-Mar
A paper exploited the change to the minimum school-leaving age in the United Kingdom from 14 to 15 in order to evaluate the causal effect of one more year of education on cognitive abilities at older ages. A 'large and significant' effect of this reform was found on the memory and executive functioning of males.
Source: James Banks and Fabrizio Mazzonna, The Effect of Childhood Education on Old Age Cognitive Abilities: Evidence from a regression discontinuity design, Working Paper 04/11, Institute for Fiscal Studies
Date: 2011-Mar
An article examined the decision-making processes shaping curriculum design within the English education system. An unresolved 'ideological fracture' at government level had been passed down to school leaders, whose response to the dilemma was distorted by the target-driven agenda of arm's-length agencies. The rapid spread of alternative curricular arrangements, implemented in the absence of an understanding of curriculum theory, undermined the value of disciplined thinking to the detriment of many young people, particularly those in areas of social and economic deprivation.
Source: Richard Harris and Katharine Burn, 'Curriculum theory, curriculum policy and the problem of ill-disciplined thinking', Journal of Education Policy, Volume 26 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Mar
A report examined evidence on the impact of health and health behaviours on educational outcomes in European countries.
Source: Marc Suhrcke and Carmen de Paz Nieves, The Impact of Health and Health Behaviours on Educational Outcomes in High-Income Countries: A review of the evidence, World Health Organisation (Regional Office for Europe)
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Mar
An article said that although England and France shared similar patterns in terms of the differential achievement of boys and girls, in the former the boys' underachievement debate was prominent, while in the latter it was non-existent. This supported the view that the emergence of the boys' underachievement debate was not related to a 'grounded reality'.
Source: Marie-Pierre Moreau, 'The societal construction of "boys' underachievement" in educational policies: a cross-national comparison', Journal of Education Policy, Volume 26 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Mar
A report examined the effect on schools and local authorities in England of implementing the statutory duty to promote community cohesion. Use of the curriculum to promote community cohesion was widespread: one-half or more of all types of school said that they were using the curriculum and enrichment activities in equal measure.
Source: Chris Phillips, Daniel Tse, and Fiona Johnson, Community Cohesion and PREVENT: How Have Schools Responded?, Research Report RR085, Department for Education
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Feb
An article said that initiatives in English schools to promote children's well-being and empowerment – ostensibly to support the citizenship curriculum – were being undermined by an informal curriculum of citizenship, embedded within the culture of 'performativity'. This was a form of 'symbolic violence' that affected working-class families disproportionately.
Source: Pamela Fisher, 'Performativity, well-being, social class and citizenship in English schools', Educational Studies, Volume 37 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Feb
A think-tank report said that health education could play a crucial role in improving children's well-being, and deliver wider social benefits. The effectiveness of the numerous policies and initiatives under the former Labour government (1997-2010) had been undermined by the lack of a coherent and overarching strategy. There was a need for results and positive outcomes to play a far more important role in the strategy.
Source: Tracey Bleakley, Stuart Carroll, and Ross Carroll, Putting the Health Back in Education, Bow Group
Date: 2011-Feb
A report said that the educational system for young people aged 16-19 resulted in only a small proportion of pupils studying science and mathematics subjects at A-level or equivalent. It called for the introduction of an A-level based baccalaureate or similar qualification, giving students the opportunity to study a greater breadth of subjects, including science and maths.
Source: Preparing for the Transfer from School and College Science and Mathematics Education to UK STEM Higher Education, Royal Society
Links: Report | Royal Society press release | DE press release | NAHT press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Feb
The government announced a review of the primary and secondary national curriculum in England. It described the existing curriculum as ' substandard'. The new curriculum would be taught in maintained schools from September 2013, and would be based on the 'best' school systems in the world.
Source: National Curriculum Review – Call for Evidence, Department for Education
Links: Call for evidence | Hansard | DE press release | ASCL press release | BHA press release | Democratic Life press release | Hansard Society press release | NAHT press release | NASUWT press release | NSS press release | NUT press release | Voice press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2011-Jan
A report examined the delivery models of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education in primary and secondary schools in England.
Source: Eleanor Formby et al., Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Education: A Mapping Study of the Prevalent Models of Delivery and their Effectiveness, Research Report RR080, Department for Education
Links: Report | Brief | Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2011-Jan
An article used the concept of the 'pedagogical state' to examine the impact of introducing statutory citizenship education lessons in secondary schools in England in 2002.
Source: Jessica Pykett, 'Citizenship education and narratives of pedagogy', Citizenship Studies, Volume 14 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jan
