Quantifying teacher resilience: Context matters

Previous research has identified individual and contextual level factors that may promote resilience in teachers; however, little is known about their relative importance in predicting measures of positive adaptation. Questionnaire data were collected from 226 UK teachers. Relative importance analyses identified a number of significant predictors of job satisfaction, burnout, and wellbeing. The results suggest that contextual influences on teachers' ability to thrive within the profession are just as important as individual factors. Any intervention designed to develop teacher resilience should therefore focus on improving the professional environment as well as looking at ways to enhance teachers’ personal resources

Difficulties assessing knowledge of grammatical terminology: implications for teacher education and teaching

This paper starts by reporting on the design and trialling of an informal, low-stakes test designed to assess the knowledge of grammar terms of pre-service primary school teachers following the UK’s National Curriculum, the results of which were used to inform the design of a series of optional grammar classes. The test proved surprisingly difficult to design, and the final version contains many flaws, some predictable and some less so. In this paper we describe the design process and illustrate the difficulties we encountered, using evidence from our contemporaneous discussions and notes, as well as qualitative feedback and selected results from student teachers’ test scores. We speculate on the extent to which the problems of our test reflect underlying issues with our understanding of the nature of declarative grammatical knowledge; these issues are likely to be relevant in all contexts where formal grammar is taught. We also draw out specific implications for the grammatical framework used in the English National Curriculum, and the associated tests of grammar, punctuation and spelling currently in use

Towards an aesthetics of grammar learning: lifting the veil on language

The last few decades have seen growing interest in the field of disciplinary aesthetics. While the physical sciences and mathematics have attracted significant interest in this area, relatively little attention has been given to the aesthetic potential of learning about the structure of one’s own native language. Within this paper, we bring together ideas from evolutionary aesthetics, philosophy, psychology and neuroscience to explore the question of what might characterize an aesthetics of grammar learning. The paper connects our previous empirical findings with theoretical developments across these disciplines. We argue that explicit grammar learning has a particular potential to evoke aesthetic experience due to its role as a mediator between procedural and declarative knowledge. We suggest that by facilitating the transformation from knowhow to knowledge, grammar learning has the potential to generate cognitive consonance, experienced as an aesthetic-epistemic feeling of fittingness. The discussion draws parallels between the characteristics of grammar and the properties of entities more traditionally conceived to be aesthetic (such as art works and performances). In particular, we note that meta-linguistic labels (grammar terms) provide concrete tokens which facilitate virtual models, supporting the transition from ‘automatism’ to ‘conscious reflection’. The paper concludes by exploring the implications for the field of disciplinary aesthetics and for developing pedagogies which maximize the aesthetic potential of grammar

Evaluation of the Accelerating Improvement in Knowlsey: Pathways to Success Initiative

The Pathways to Success initiative aimed to raise standards, especially in literacy, across the primary and secondary phases in Knowsley, Merseyside. The project commenced in February 2018 and concluded in July 2019. It was funded through the Department for Education’s Strategic School Improvement Fund (SSIF) and coordinated by the Knowsley Education Commission, set up in November 2016. The project focused on 30 schools in an area with exceptionally high levels of disadvantage and a poor record of student achievement over a number of years, particularly for students at age sixteen. Participating schools were able to access support from a PtS Adviser, development sessions organised at school level and centrally, and modest additional funding to implement a locally-authored Accelerated Improvement Plan overseen by an Accelerated Improvement Group. Key approaches included intensive work in classrooms, capacity building and leadership development, and school-to-school support

EAS Support for Newly Qualified Teachers

In January 2019, an evaluation team from Manchester Metropolitan University was commissioned to evaluate the EAS model of support for Newly Qualified Teachers. A multi-method evaluation was completed between January and October 2019. This report presents key messages from a review of 68 research publications, and summarises the key findings from thirteen focus group discussions conducted with 46 Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) between March and May 2019, and survey responses from 60 Induction Mentors and 42 Newly Qualified Teachers. Objective The purpose of the evaluation was to: Determine the quality, effectiveness and impact of the EAS’ existing professional learning provision and support for NQTs, delivered both centrally and by partner schools. Provide recommendations for future development

Using the DreamBox Reading Plus adaptive literacy intervention to improve reading attainment, a two-armed cluster randomised trial evaluation protocol

DreamBox Reading Plus (known as Reading Plus hereafter) is an online (EdTech) adaptive silent reading programme designed to improve reading and language comprehension skills (Spichtig, A. N. et al., 2019). The programme supports fluency, comprehension (e.g. inference) and vocabulary growth, It is designed to support all readers including pupils with EAL, SEND, as well as the most able students. The programme incorporates a visual skills element which scaffolds pupils’ reading via a Guided Window text display to support eye movement control (Radach and Kennedy, 2013). The programme also includes additional visual skills activities to support struggling readers. Another unique feature of the programme is that children selfselect reading tasks based on age-appropriate texts. These tasks are designed to be ‘high interest’ for all children, including lower attaining readers. Overall, the programme promises to have an important socio-emotional impact by building stamina and motivation to read. In addition to promoting reading proficiency directly (by improving pupils’ fluency, vocabulary and reading comprehension), the programme also promises to have an indirect effect on reading attainment, through improvements in teachers’ knowledge of the role of silent reading fluency in developing reading stamina and comprehension

Peer assisted learning strategies – UK (PALS-UK): a whole class reading approach – evaluation report

Peer Assisted Learning Strategies – UK (PALS-UK) is a structured peer reading programme that aims to raise reading attainment by developing pupils’ oral reading fluency and reading comprehension, as well as reading motivation and self-efficacy (pupil confidence in their own reading abilities). PALS-UK is delivered to the whole class and is centred on pupils working in pairs to engage in four activities: partner reading; retell; paragraph shrinking; and prediction relay. The programme was delivered to Year 5 primary school pupils (age 9–10). The intervention was delivered three times per week for 20 weeks, with each session lasting around 35 minutes. The first four weeks focused on training pupils on the PALS-UK activities and on working together in pairs. Teachers received one day of initial training followed by a 90minute top-up training session, a programme manual, a set of 20 children’s books, and access to online support and twilight webinars. PALS was developed by Douglas Fuchs, Lynn Fuchs, and other researchers from Vanderbilt University. The intervention was adapted for the UK context and delivered by Dr Emma Vardy (Nottingham Trent University) and Professor Helen Breadmore (University of Birmingham). This efficacy trial was a two-armed, cluster randomised controlled trial. A total of 114 schools, including 4,840 pupils, participated in the evaluation. The trial evaluated the impact of PALS-UK on reading attainment, measured using the New Progress in Reading Assessment (PiRA) Summer Term Year 5 Test. It also evaluated the impact of the programme on oral reading fluency, comprehension, motivation, and self-efficacy. An implementation and process evaluation (IPE) was conducted to explore participants’ experiences of PALS-UK. This included teacher and headteacher surveys, interviews, and focus groups with pupils. The study was funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) through the Department for Education’s Accelerator Fund. The trial started in September 2022 and ended in summer 2023

Editorial: Disciplinary aesthetics: the role of taste and affect for teaching and learning specific school subjects

Editorial on the Research Topic: Disciplinary aesthetics: the role of taste and affect for teaching and learning specific school subject

Adding 6 months of androgen deprivation therapy to postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of short-course versus no androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised controlled trial

Background Previous evidence indicates that adjuvant, short-course androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) improves metastasis-free survival when given with primary radiotherapy for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the value of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy is unclear. Methods RADICALS-HD was an international randomised controlled trial to test the efficacy of ADT used in combination with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to radiotherapy alone (no ADT) or radiotherapy with 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT), using monthly subcutaneous gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue injections, daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as distant metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. Standard survival analysis methods were used, accounting for randomisation stratification factors. The trial had 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 80% to 86% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·67). Analyses followed the intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00541047. Findings Between Nov 22, 2007, and June 29, 2015, 1480 patients (median age 66 years [IQR 61–69]) were randomly assigned to receive no ADT (n=737) or short-course ADT (n=743) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 121 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 9·0 years (IQR 7·1–10·1), metastasis-free survival events were reported for 268 participants (142 in the no ADT group and 126 in the short-course ADT group; HR 0·886 [95% CI 0·688–1·140], p=0·35). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 79·2% (95% CI 75·4–82·5) in the no ADT group and 80·4% (76·6–83·6) in the short-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 121 (17%) of 737 participants in the no ADT group and 100 (14%) of 743 in the short-course ADT group (p=0·15), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Metastatic disease is uncommon following postoperative bed radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy. Adding 6 months of ADT to this radiotherapy did not improve metastasis-free survival compared with no ADT. These findings do not support the use of short-course ADT with postoperative radiotherapy in this patient population

Duration of androgen deprivation therapy with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of long-course versus short-course androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised trial

Background Previous evidence supports androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with primary radiotherapy as initial treatment for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the use and optimal duration of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy remains uncertain. Methods RADICALS-HD was a randomised controlled trial of ADT duration within the RADICALS protocol. Here, we report on the comparison of short-course versus long-course ADT. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after previous radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to add 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT) or 24 months of ADT (long-course ADT) to radiotherapy, using subcutaneous gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue (monthly in the short-course ADT group and 3-monthly in the long-course ADT group), daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. The comparison had more than 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 75% to 81% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·72). Standard time-to-event analyses were used. Analyses followed intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT00541047 . Findings Between Jan 30, 2008, and July 7, 2015, 1523 patients (median age 65 years, IQR 60–69) were randomly assigned to receive short-course ADT (n=761) or long-course ADT (n=762) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 138 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 8·9 years (7·0–10·0), 313 metastasis-free survival events were reported overall (174 in the short-course ADT group and 139 in the long-course ADT group; HR 0·773 [95% CI 0·612–0·975]; p=0·029). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 71·9% (95% CI 67·6–75·7) in the short-course ADT group and 78·1% (74·2–81·5) in the long-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 105 (14%) of 753 participants in the short-course ADT group and 142 (19%) of 757 participants in the long-course ADT group (p=0·025), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Compared with adding 6 months of ADT, adding 24 months of ADT improved metastasis-free survival in people receiving postoperative radiotherapy. For individuals who can accept the additional duration of adverse effects, long-course ADT should be offered with postoperative radiotherapy. Funding Cancer Research UK, UK Research and Innovation (formerly Medical Research Council), and Canadian Cancer Society