The influence of context on attainment in primary school: Interactions between children, family and school contexts [Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report No. 28]

Growing awareness of the importance of parents and the home environment in shaping children’s achievement, coupled with the recognition of the school as a site for engagement in broader aspects of social and personal development, has raised interest in the interactions between these different influences as a way of addressing issues of educational attainment and inequality. This study explores the nature of these links and considers the relative contribution of different aspects of four different ‘contexts’ or likely spheres of influence on pupil achievement in England at Key Stage 2 (age 10/11), as well as their associations with one another. The results highlight that the quality of each of the different aspects of their lives is important for children’s attainment in primary school: pupils with better contexts – i.e. better individual, school and family background and experience – have higher scores in Key Stage 2 assessments in English, maths and science. However, these contexts do not act in isolation, but are closely related to one another, and their influence on children’s attainment is affected by these interrelationships. Furthermore, these results indicate that the interaction effects are greater for those with poor quality contexts. This suggests not only that there is scope to narrow the gaps in educational opportunity, but also that, where influence is possible, the greatest likely returns are for those whose background and experience are poor

Are there effects of mother's post-16 education on the next generation? Effects on children's development and mothers' parenting [Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report No. 19]

There is an extensive body of research which shows that the children of parents with longer participation in education do better in standard tests of school attainment than those whose parents have had less education. One of the mechanisms put forward for explaining the intergenerational transmission of educational success is parenting. This report adds to a growing body of research from the Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning on the inter-generational transmission of educational success and issues of parenting skills, behaviours and attitudes. The report seeks to establish whether the strong correlation between mothers' participation in education and both her child's development and her parenting results from a primarily causal relationship, or from selection effects. Using longitudinal data spanning three generations, we find that while mothers' participation in post-compulsory education has some small positive causal effects, much of the apparent relationship between a mother's post-16 educational participation and measures of her children's cognitive ability and her parenting skills is driven by the selection bias – it is largely other factors, such as her aspirations, motivation and prior achievement, which determine her child's attainment and affect her decision to stay on in education. Much of the developmental literature tends towards a causal interpretation of the relationship between parents' education and the development and ability of their children. However, the results of this report suggest that such assumptions should be made with considerable caution. Our findings suggest that simply extending the length of time that women spend in education may do little to directly affect the educational attainment of their children. Rather, it is the ability and aspirations of women which inform their participation in post-16 education, their parenting ability and the attainment of their children. It may be through inter-generational continuities in factors such as these that inequalities in educational success are transmitted through the generations. This suggests that supporting children in learning through early and continued investment in quality education and developmental opportunities is more important in addressing social immobility than simply extending the average length of participation, important though that may be

Development in the early years : Its importance for school performance and adult outcomes [Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report No. 20]

Early development of children’s intellectual, social and physical abilities has the potential to affect their long term achievement, beyond the initial introduction to the classroom, through their school lives and into adulthood. A greater understanding of the processes at work in these early years and their role in later success is therefore important to ensure that resources are appropriately targeted. Past research has shown that early cognitive attainment is strongly related to later academic success. But we are also interested in the benefit that children gain from arriving at school with particular personal characteristics and the relationship which these may have to cognitive development. We also seek to explore the role of development (as opposed to innate capability) in the pre-school years. Data from the 1970 British Cohort Study is used to examine the importance of early measures of children’s cognitive ability and behavioural development for their subsequent school and labour market achievement. Our results suggest that, of the various measures used in this study, the most powerful predictor of later academic and labour market success is the ability of children to copy basic designs. However, we do not ignore the influence of behavioural factors and highlight the particular importance of skills related to attention with respect to these outcomes. The results clearly show that early development of both cognitive and behavioural skills have a role in subsequent achievement. In this respect, we believe that the findings in this report add to the debate on the appropriate balance between cognitive and non-cognitive skills at different ages and for different groups of children. In particular, failure to place sufficient emphasis on cognitive development may run counter to the interests of children from low SES groups. We believe that pedagogy should continue to address ways in which cognitive and non-cognitive abilities can support one another and how the interactions between these different groups of skills can best be harnessed for different groups of children

What role for the 3Rs? Progress and attainment during primary school [Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report No. 23]

This study builds on earlier work by the Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning, and explores the balance of change and stability in children’s school test scores during primary school. We consider how the foundation stones of literacy and numeracy operate to support progress in Key Stage attainment, looking at within- and between-subject effects for literacy, numeracy and science. In line with other research, we find that Key Stage 1 tests are the best predictors of attainment at Key Stage 2. Overall, there is substantial stability over the Key Stage 2 period, but also mobility, both upward and downward, in pupils’ performance. Progress and attainment were also moderated by socio-economic factors. Children from more socially advantaged homes, on average, do better in both Key Stage 1 and 2 assessments. However, for children of parents with lower levels of education, doing well in Key Stage 1 tests, particularly in maths, is more important (i.e. more predictive of later attainment) than for other groups