Issues relating to the statutory assessment of technology at key stage 3 (1989-93)

During this four year period an agency based at Middlesex University was contracted by the Schools Examination and Assessment Council to develop statutory assessment procedures for both design and technology and information technology. This paper will reflect on some of the issues faced by the development team and aspects of the research undertaken in attempting to resolve these issues. The paper will explore the context for the development work with particular reference to the constraints imposed by political decisions and the problems created in attempting to examine a National Curriculum Order whilst many schools were still grappling with its implementation. The paper will focus on design and technology and deal with issues relating to both practical tasks and written tests. The proposed presenter of the paper was director of the agency throughout the four year period. Participants should note that certain aspects relating to this research and development work remain confidential

Exploring Year 9 students’ perceptions: influences on decisions to study GCSE art and design

National examination entry evidence shows that there are almost twice as many girls as boys taking art at GCSE level, making this one of a number of subjects where there is a significant gender imbalance at KS4. Such gender imbalances in certain subjects have implications at both an individual level and societal level. The focus of this research is therefore to explore both boys’ and girls’ views on art and their motivations towards studying art as they make decisions about examination courses beyond KS3. It also considers the extent to which a wider range of influences beyond school could affect student decision making about examination course choice. It is specifically centred on questions exploring why and what is making the difference between boys’ and girls’ choices to pursue art at 13–14 years of age and how these can influence their decision to study the subject at GCSE level. In terms of research methods, a convergent parallel multi methods design was selected to gather a mixed of both qualitative and quantitative data in response to the research questions. These included: what do 13–14-year-old students, about to decide their GCSE options, emphasize when they represent their view of art and artists as a hand-drawn image; what factors appear to influence the students’ decisions to continue studying art at GCSE; how much do 13–14-year-old students appear to value art studies and why; how do 13–14-year-old students self-report views of their ability and effort required to do well in art? Responses to a drawing activity and questionnaire, designed to elicit their thoughts and values towards art, were collated and analysed from a small group of 40 Year 9 students aged 13–14 from three secondary schools in the Southeast of England. The drawing activity and questionnaire were undertaken at a time when the students were actively considering their GCSE course choices. The elicited data was then explored through a Bourdieusian lens and in conjunction with a revised version of Eccles’ expectancy-value model of achievement motivation (1995). It was then analysed to consider whether and how there may be differences in perspectives between boys and girls on their desire to study GCSE art. Students’ self-assessment of their ability and success in art was also explored through the student responses together with their perception of the subject’s value and whether the effort they invested in artistic study and practice was deemed useful and/or enjoyable. The two approaches to eliciting data, both confirmatory and exploratory, were then considered during the data analysis and interpretation phase. Parental influences, peer pressure, societal norms, and the effects of students’ own self-perception of their ability as well as their habitus, field, and cultural capital all appeared to be evident in the findings and these informed some noticeable differences in behaviour and thinking. In particular, the findings indicated that boys’ and girls’ views differed considerably and that these influences had a persuasive and noticeable impact on the boys’ decision to study GCSE art. Furthermore, the adapted expectancy-value model suggested that self-reported differences in the students’ subject expectations and values underlie differences in motivation and achievement in art. This study is relevant as, with fewer boys choosing to study art at GCSE and beyond, there is a risk that this may, over time, limit opportunities for them particularly in the creative industries. It may also limit boys from realising their full potential and restrict their appreciation of art, impoverishing both them and society generally. The research could also be used to inform strategies for establishing a more gender balanced future for a number of subjects at KS4 in English secondary schools. Recommendations specifically for art teachers and schools concerned with the low uptake of art GCSE by boys are described and outlined. However, the methodological approach, combining a drawing activity and a questionnaire with the expectancy-value model, could be adopted by teachers, policy makers, and future researchers across a range of subjects

Teachers' beliefs about the value of making

This paper draws on the findings of an on-going research project, funded by the Crafts Council 'Learning through Making' project and the Technology Enhancement Programme, into the competencies and capabilities which young people develop by being involved in making activities. The first phase of this research has established a general model of teachers' beliefs about the value of making. This model has been established by undertaking case study research in a number of schools, selected because of the importance which they place on making. These schools cover all key stages and the participating teachers are drawn from across the curriculum, inclusion being determined by their use of making in the teaching context. Methodologies employed are described. Teachers' beliefs were sought in three different response modes which provided a measure of triangulation and validation. Key quantitative data is provided which highlights the hierarchical manner in which teachers view competencies and capabilities when they are categorised in to three discrete classes: practical competencies, cognitive abilities and personal attributes. Finally the paper proposes conclusions about the value of making in the school curriculum and provides possible reasons for the way in which teachers prioritise and focus their teaching on certain competencies and capabilities

Issues relating to the statutory assessment of design and technology at key stage three, 1989 to 1993

This thesis is principally concerned with the statutory assessment of design and technology at key stage 3 of the National Curriculum. Design and technology is a foundation subject of the National Curriculum for England and Wales introduced under the auspices of The Education Reform Act of 1988. To establish the context in which this research was undertaken, this chapter describes in outline the National Curriculum. In particular the role of The Task Group on Assessment and Testing is considered and discussed as its key recommendations had a direct influence on statutory testing. In particular issues relating to end of key stage 3 assessment in design and technology, the focus of this thesis, are detailed. The aims of this thesis are described in relation to the key questions which it seeks to answer. In brief these are concerned with the validity and reliability of national statutory tasks; the impact of adopting criterion referencing in design and technology; the effect of assessment activities on learning experiences and the relationship between the different modes of assessment. Each of these issues is reviewed in relation to the way in which they might effect statutory testing. In addition the aspects which will need to be considered in undertaking the research and development required are identified

"Employability skills" - the contribution made by making activities

This paper draws on the findings of an on-going research project, funded by the Crafts Council 'Learning through Making' project and the Technology Enhancement Programme, into the competencies and capabilities which young people develop by being involved in making activities. Phase one was reported at IDATER 1997. The second phase of this research sought to establish the skills which employers look for when recruiting staff and compare these with the outcomes from phase 1. Employers' views were elicited via a structured interview using a variety of techniques. Forty employers took part in the process with 21% coming from the manufacturing sector, 47% from the service sector and 17% from the public sector. Interviews were undertaken with senior staff with responsibility for staff recruitment, who at the time of the interviews were unaware of the focus of the research. Key quantitative data demonstrate the hierarchical manner in which employers view competencies and capabilities and as in phase 1 they are categorised into three discrete classes: practical competencies, cognitive abilities and personal attributes. Finally the paper compares the outcomes of phase 1 and phase 2 and demonstrates that the practical skills acquired via making activities in schools are highly valued by employers

Through the Kinesthetic Lens : Observation of Social Attunement in Autism Spectrum Disorders

© 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).This paper will present a movement-informed perspective to social attunement in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). BACKGROUND: Dance movement therapy (DMT) is a psychotherapeutic intervention that is used with participants with ASD in various settings. Regular clinical outcome monitoring in an outpatient setting in the Netherlands had shown positive effects on social attunement capacities in young people with ASD. However, a systematic study of the development of social attunement movement behaviors of participants with ASD throughout a DMT intervention was not yet available. METHODS: A series of individual cases of DMT with young people with ASD (mean age 12.2 years.) were analyzed for changes in interpersonal movement behaviors employing video-based retrospective observation. RESULTS: The findings were summarized in an observation scale for interpersonal movement behaviors. This scale was then tested for its applicability for the monitoring of social attunement behaviors throughout therapy. DISCUSSION: A movement-informed perspective may be helpful to inventory changes in social attunement behaviors in participants with ASD. The relevance of a movement-informed perspective for the concept of social attunement in ASD will be discussed.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

New radiocarbon-based assessment supports the prominence of Tell Lachish during the Later Bronze Age IB-IIA

This article presents a new suite of radiocarbon (14C) dates for the lower portion of the Late Bronze Age (LBA) sequence of Area S, Tel Lachish. The results show that the lowest levels reached by Ussishkin in the 1980s (S-2 and S-3) date significantly earlier than was previously thought. Level S-3, with its monumental architecture, belongs in the 2nd half of the 15th century BCE, as does the commencement of Level S-2. The laminated deposit of S-2 continues through the first half of the 14th century BCE, coinciding at least in part with the Amarna period. This redating leads to improved agreement between archaeological and textual evidence regarding the presence of a substantial, prominent settlement at Lachish during LB IB-IIA, from the reign of Thutmoses III through the Amarna period.ISSN:0033-822

District schools and the erosion of parental rights under the Poor Law:a case study from London 1889-1899

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Cambridge University Press via the DOI in this recordThis article investigates the empirical backing for the claim that poor law officials needed legal authority to refuse poor parents' right to the custody of their children in order to stabilise children's welfare institutions during the nineteenth century. Although workhouses were capable of accommodating children, Victorian lawmakers feared children would model themselves on adult paupers to become permanent burdens on the state. To tackle this problem, a system of children's welfare institutions called 'district schools' was introduced to train children to become industrious adult labourers. Children were usually classified as orphans or deserted so they could be sent to district schools without fear of family intervention. However, children with ambiguous parental circumstances were labelled as 'other' and considered a problematic class because they were perceived to be at risk of having on-going contact with their birth families. Lawmakers feared parents of 'other' children would undermine reformation efforts by asserting their custody rights, and passed the first laws in English history to allow the state to restrict parental rights on this basis. This article explores the claim of unwanted parental involvement, and in doing so, seeks to contextualise the origins of public law interference in the family sphere within a narrative of imposed citizenship rather than protection

‘Instead of fetching flowers, the youths brought in flakes of snow’: exploring extreme weather history through English parish registers

Parish registers provide organized, dated and located population data and as such, are routinely among the most frequently consulted documents within the holdings of county record offices and archives. Throughout history, extreme weather has had significant impacts on the church, its congregation, and local landscape. It is for these reasons that extreme weather events have been deemed worthy of official note by authors of many registers. Although isolated entries have been used as supporting evidence for the occurrence of a number of historic extreme weather events, the information that parish registers contain relating to weather history has not been studied in its own right. Parish register narratives add new events to existing chronologies of extreme weather events and contribute to our understanding of their impacts at the local level. As public and well used documents they also function to keep the memory of particular events alive. The examples in this paper cover a wide range of weather types, places, and time periods, also enabling recording practice to be explored. Finally, as the number of digitized registers increases, we highlight the risks of weather narratives being obscured, and reflect on how the weather history contained within might be systematically captured