Evaluation of the primary behaviour and attendance pilot: the school improvement strand

Poor attendance and disruptive behaviour in primary schools have a negative impact on learning and teaching. For those children whose attendance is continuously disrupted or behaviour is particularly difficult there can be a substantial impact on subsequent life chances. Improving attendance and behaviour in school depends on addressing a range of inter-related issues at the whole-school level, in the classroom, and in relation to individual pupils. Evidence suggests that schools with high levels of communal organisation, adopting a whole-school approach, show more orderly behaviour. The Primary Behaviour and Attendance pilot took place from 2003-05 and involved 25 Local Authorities. The pilot had four strands, a CPD strand, a school improvement strand, a curriculum materials or SEAL strand, and a small group strand. The LAs selected to participate in the programme were those which were not eligible for other funded programmes. They were LAs with above-average levels of social deprivation, often bordering EiC areas with significant numbers of schools where behaviour was likely to be a key issue. The school improvement strand of the pilot aimed to develop and test out models of LA support where behaviour and attendance were key school improvement issues. Each LA was funded to employ a ‘teacher coach’ to work with existing services (educational psychology and behaviour support) in schools experiencing difficulty, using a systematic process of audit, action plan, and professional development that included on-the-job solution-focused coaching.The focus of the enquiryThe evaluation aimed to test out the effectiveness of the school improvement strand in relation to: • improvements in behaviour, attendance and attainment for individual children; • teacher skills and confidence; • and the promotion of effective whole school approaches to positive behaviour, attendance, and improvements in attainment.Emerging best practice, particularly for the more innovative measures, was identified as was their sustainability within schools and LAs, and transferability to other LAs.The research methods:Multi-methods were adopted to undertaken the evaluation of the school improvement strand. Interviews were undertaken with LA co-ordinators and teacher coaches. Field visits were made to 9 schools implementing the strand and interviews were undertaken with head teachers and other staff. Twenty-eight head teachers and 31 teachers completed questionnaires following the completion of the programme and data relating to pupils’ attendance and attainment were analysed

Recent Archaeological Research in Western Australia

A description of the general archaeological investigations in Western Australia. The article covers sections on general investigations and regional investigations

Can a rhythmic intervention support reading development in poor readers?

There is increasing interest in the wider benefits of music in relation to reading, although relatively little evidence relating to the role that music might play in developing literacy skills in those experiencing difficulties. The research reported here explores the impact of a rhythmic intervention involving clapping, stamping, and chanting to music while following notation on a chart. The intervention took place for 10 minutes each week over a 10-week period with groups of 10 children, who had lower than average reading scores. The children were in the first year of secondary school (11–12 years old). The NARA II test was selected to assess reading accuracy, comprehension, and reading rate before and after the intervention with alternative forms of the test being used. Pupils (N = 354) attending six secondary schools in the UK participated and were randomly allocated to control (174) and intervention groups (180). Multivariate analysis of variance of change scores across the period of the intervention revealed statistically significant differences between control and intervention groups in reading accuracy (p = .014) and comprehension (p = .001) but not in reading rate. The differences in reading accuracy were equivalent to 1.38 standardized scores and reading comprehension, 2.33 standardized scores

The perceptions of non music staff and senior management of the impact of the implementation of the Musical Futures approach on the whole school

This research aimed to provide an account of the impact of the Musical Futures approach on the wider school community in Musical Futures ‘Champion Schools’. Questionnaires were completed by 344 non-music teachers. Interviews were undertaken with members of senior management teams. The majority of staff indicated that Musical Futures had had a positive impact on student motivation, well-being, self-esteem and confidence and had encouraged students to work together. There was less agreement that it had improved student concentration, organisation and students’ attitudes towards learning and academic progression. The interviews provided deeper insights into the issues relating to implementation

What impact does teaching music informally in the classroom have on teachers, and their pedagogy?

The aim of this research was to explore the impact of the adoption of the Musical Futures (MF) approach on secondary school music teachers working in MF Champion schools. The research took place over 3 years in 3 phases with 28 teachers completing questionnaires exploring the impact on their confidence, skills and pedagogy and 30 being interviewed individually. Data from the interviews provided greater insights into the questionnaire responses. Most teachers reported that MF had helped them to become a more effective teacher, more confident in teaching music and had increased their enjoyment. MF changed the nature of teaching and learning with a more student-led approach being adopted. Managing this workshop approach on a daily basis, for some teachers, was exhausting and stressful. Overall, the adoption of the MF approach had a wide range of benefits for teachers but there were issues relating to the logistics of managing small group work

Ability grouping: Year group differences in self-concept and attitudes of secondary school pupils

The vast international literature on the effects of different types of ability grouping on selfconcept and pupils? attitudes towards school has focused on pupils from single year groups. This paper aimed to explore year group differences in pupils' self concept and attitudes towards school as influenced by ability grouping. The study was cross sectional in design and measured attitudes towards school and mathematics; mathematics, general and school selfconcept and preferences for different kinds of grouping in 234 students from years 7 through 10 attending a mixed comprehensive school. The findings indicated that mathematics self concept was consistently lower than school and general self concept; all aspects of self concept increased up to year 9 and then declined in year 10; pupils in the higher sets tended to have higher self concepts; pupil preferences for setting were greater in the higher year groups, as was the extent to which the top set was perceived to be the best. A substantial proportion of pupils wanted to move set, usually to a higher set. Set placement itself did not appear to have a consistent effect on attitudes towards mathematics. This seemed to be mediated by the quality of teaching

Can the adoption of informal approaches to learning music in school music lessons promote musical progression?

The aim of this research was to explore the impact of the adoption of the Musical Futures approach on the musical progression of students in Musical Futures’ Champion schools. The research took place over three years in three phases with 733 students and 28 music teachers completing questionnaires. Data from the interviews with 39 staff and focus groups of 325 students provided greater insights into the questionnaire responses. Overall, teachers reported that Musical Futures had enhanced the musical progression of their students and increased take up at Key Stage 4. In some cases this had led to changes in the qualifications on offer with an emphasis on those which were vocational rather than academic. This created some tensions in catering for the needs of different groups of students who had a range of different musical skills

Conceptions of musical understanding

Music can be understood in many ways. This has important implications for music education. The research reported here explored how groups of people conceptualise musical understanding and what they believe supports its acquisition. In this study 463 participants completed two statements: "Musical understanding is" and "You learn to understand music through". Understanding music was viewed as complex and multidimensional with two overarching themes: personal musical understanding in context and understanding as process, with 10 main sub-themes of understanding: communication, kinaesthetic, emotional, personal, knowledge about music, critical evaluation, musical elements, analysis and comparison of music, internal representations, and creating music. Understanding was believed to be acquired through love and enjoyment of music, physical responses, emotional engagement, analytic processes, active engagement with music, education or guidance in formal or informal contexts, exposure to music, and listening. A model is set out illustrating the different ways in which it is possible to understand music and how these various understandings can be attained and supported

The incidence and make up of ability grouped sets in the UK primary school

The adoption of setting in the primary school (pupils ability grouped across classes for particular subjects) emerged during the 1990s as a means to raise standards. Recent research based on 8875 children in the Millennium Cohort Study showed that 25.8% of children in Year 2 were set for literacy and mathematics and a further 11.2% of children were set for mathematics or literacy alone. Logistic regression analysis showed that the best predictors of being in the top set for literacy or mathematics were whether the child was born in the Autumn or Winter and cognitive ability scores. Boys were significantly more likely than girls to be in the bottom literacy set. Family circumstances held less importance for setting placement compared with the child's own characteristics, although they were more important in relation to bottom set placement. Children in bottom sets were significantly more likely to be part of a long-term single parent household, have experienced poverty, and not to have a mother with qualifications at NVQ3 or higher levels. The findings are discussed in relation to earlier research and the implications for schools are set out. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Teachers’ perceptions of the impact on students of the Musical Futures approach

Music education has faced considerable challenges in trying to bridge the gap between music in young people's lives and that taking place in the classroom. The ‘Musical Futures’ (MF) initiative aimed to devise new and imaginative ways of engaging young people, aged 11–19, in music activities through a process of informal learning based on popular music. This research aimed to explore teachers’ perceptions of the impact of adopting the MF approach on students’ learning and attainment. Twenty-eight music teachers completed questionnaires and 30 were interviewed. The majority of music staff agreed that since doing MF, students demonstrated higher levels of attainment, greater enjoyment of and positive attitudes towards music lessons, enhanced musical and performance skills, team working, concentration, confidence, listening skills, musical understanding and independent learning