High School Index: Published by the Pupils of the Bangor High School

A student newpaper published June 1884 by the students of Bangor High School. Here is a sample paragraph (which is quite elegant and prophetic): Every day some new scientific truth takes the place of a falsehood that has been taught for centuries. Scientific study tends not only to correct and ennoble the intellectual conceptions of man, it serves also to ameliorate his physical condition. The investigation of principles is immediately followed by practical inventions. Machinery is rapidly supplanting human and animal labor. The steam engine has become the drudge of civilization and changed the industries of nations. It has not only enlarged the field of human activity, but it has increased the capabilities of human life and become a most efficient incentive to human industry.https://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/bhs_yearbooks/1057/thumbnail.jp

Educational achievement and ethnicity in compulsory schooling

This paper analyzes the evolution of the attainment gap between white British born and ethnic minority pupils throughout compulsory schooling, from the age of 5 to 16. At the start of school, pupils from most ethnic groups substantially lag behind White British pupils, but these gaps decline for all groups throughout primary and secondary school. Language is the single most important factor why most ethnic minority pupils improve relative to White British pupils. Although poverty explains part of the differences in levels, it cannot explain why ethnic minority pupils gain relative to or even overtake White British pupils. All ethnic minority groups initially attend worse performing schools than White British pupils. However, more than 20 percent of the subsequent relative improvement can be attributed to ethnic minority pupils moving up to better schools relative to White British pupils. Finally, our results suggest the possibility that the relative improvement of ethnic minority pupils may be related to teacher incentives to concentrate attention on particular pupils, caused by the publication of school league tables at the end of secondary school

Helping behaviour during cooperative learning and learning gains

Is helping behaviour (i.e., solicited help and peer tutoring) during cooperative learning (CL) related to subsequent learning gains? And can teachers influence pupils’ helping behaviour? One hundred one 5th grade pupils from multiethnic schools, 10-12 years old, participated in the study. Forty two pupils (31 immigrant) worked in an experimental condition, characterized by the stimulation of solicited high quality help and 59 (24 immigrant) worked in a control condition. It was found that learning gains were predicted positively by pupils’ unsolicited helping behaviour (i.e., peer tutoring) and negatively by solicited help. Furthermore, teachers were able to affect pupils’ low quality solicited help only. Lastly, immigrant pupils used less helping behaviour than local pupils, irrespective of CL setting

How do you know that he's bright but lazy? Teachers' assessments of Bangladeshi English as an Additional Language pupils in two Year Three classrooms

This article considers how teachers come to assess pupils' needs and abilities and how pupils come to acquire particular identities in the classroom - particularly Bangladeshi pupils who are both English as Additional Language (EAL) pupils and minority ethnic pupils. This work is a contribution to an emerging 'sociology of educational assessment' (Filer and Pollard, 2000) which considers assessment as a social practice, one which has consequences for identity, educational opportunity and the reproduction of social difference. How teachers understandings and expectations of pupils, how their needs as teachers to organise, manage and accomplish their lessons and how their pupils' actions in presenting themselves as particular kinds of pupils, contribute to the achievement and underachievement of minority ethnic and EAL pupils is outlined through the presentation of data from three case studies. The article attempts to outline how the case study pupils came to be positioned within their classrooms, how particular understandings and identities were ascribed to them and how this resulted in particular resources being made available to them. It also considers how the support provided by teachers focused on behaviour rather than on language development because of teachers’ needs to manage their lessons

Supporting more able and talented pupils in primary schools

"This survey evaluates the effectiveness of strategies used by primary schools and local authorities to support and challenge more able and talented pupils. Overall, most more able and talented pupils are not challenged enough and too few pupils achieve above the expected levels at the end of key stages 1 and 2. Provision for more able and talented pupils varies too much across Wales. In the few primary schools with the best provision, thorough analysis of data and assessment outcomes helps to identify more able and talented pupils. In these few schools, more able and talented pupils are supported through a range of additional provision and their progress tracked and monitored carefully. Parents understand the school’s approach to providing additional support for more able and talented pupils. More able and talented pupils gain most in schools that promote individualised or personalised approaches to learning and they benefit particularly from having control over how and what they learn. However, in the majority of primary schools, more able and talented pupils are not identified and do not receive appropriate support. Teachers in these schools do not have the expertise to identify, support or track the progress of more able and talented pupils. Transition arrangements between primary and secondary schools often do not provide enough continuity and progression in the education of more able and talented pupils. Few local authorities use data to monitor the progress of more able and talented pupils or promote the sharing of best practice between schools. School improvement officers rarely discuss more able and talented pupils during their visits to schools." - page 1

Drawing back the veil: the socio-psychological correlates of paranormal belief among 13- to 15-year-old adolescents

This study examines the socio-psychological profile of young people who believe that it is possible to contact the spirits of the dead. Data provided by 33,982 13- to 15-year-old pupils throughout England and Wales demonstrated that almost one in three young people (31%) held this particular belief in the paranormal. The level of belief was higher among females than among males, among year-ten pupils than among year-nine pupils, among pupils of lower academic expectations, among pupils who had experienced the death of a parent or whose parents had separated or divorced, among pupils from lower social class backgrounds, and among those who watched more than four hours television in a day. The level of belief was higher among pupils who had had a religious experience, but lower among pupils who attended church most weeks

Pupils’ and teachers’ experiences of school-based physical education: A qualitative study

Objectives: To explore pupils’ and teachers’ experiences of P.E. Study Design: A qualitative investigation employing semi-structured interviews. Self Determination Theory was used as a guiding theory and Template Analysis was used to analyse the data. Setting: A secondary school in the North East of England. Participants: 14 pupils (aged 13 and 14, boys and girls) with a range of self-perceived competencies regarding P.E. and 4 P.E. teachers of the pupils (3 male, 1 female). Primary and secondary outcomes: (1) Attitudes and perceptions of P.E. pupils regarding their experiences of compulsory school P.E. lessons. (2) P.E. teachers experiences of teaching P.E. Results: Key results from pupils and teachers suggest pupils enjoy participation in P.E. when they feel competent, in control and supported by others. Feeling competent depended on i) the activity within P.E. and ii) the pupils perceived physical capabilities/aptitude. Feeling in control related to i) having a choice of activities, ii) being able to set exertion levels and iii) control over clothes worn whilst taking part. Relationships within pupil groups and between pupils and teachers were perceived as important. Teachers could positively influence their pupils’ enjoyment by understanding and supporting their personal goals, as opposed to dictating and controlling what they did and for how long, and by promoting a non-threatening atmosphere between pupils. Conclusions: Rising obesity levels and concerns over the fitness of children and young people has returned the focus of P.E. to its potential as a vehicle for promoting health. This study suggests schools and P.E. teachers in particular can positively influence the P.E. experience of both boys and girls by providing more choice of activities and letting pupils make their own decisions based on their personal needs

Early Years Foundation Stage profile attainment by pupil characteristics, England 2011/12

Between 2011 and 2012, the percentage of pupils achieving a good level of development increased for all groupings of pupils, regardless of gender, ethnicity, FSM eligibility, SEN stat us or first language. - Comparing attainment gaps for pupils achieving a good level of development between 2011 and 2012, the gap has widened for SEN/non-SEN pupils but for all other key disadvantaged groups has remained broadly the same

Asthma Prevalence, Knowledge, and Perceptions among Secondary School Pupils in Rural and Urban Costal Districts in Tanzania.

Asthma is a common chronic disease of childhood that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of asthma among secondary school pupils in urban and rural areas of coast districts of Tanzania. The study also aimed to describe pupils' perception towards asthma, and to assess their knowledge on symptoms, triggers, and treatment of asthma. A total of 610 pupils from Ilala district and 619 pupils from Bagamoyo district formed the urban and rural groups, respectively. Using a modified International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire, a history of "diagnosed" asthma or the presence of a wheeze in the previous 12 months was obtained from all the studied pupils, along with documentation of their perceptions regarding asthma. Pupils without asthma or wheeze in the prior 12 months were subsequently selected and underwent a free running exercise testing. A >= 20% decrease in the post-exercise Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) values was the criterion for diagnosing exercise-induced asthma. The mean age of participants was 16.8 (+/-1.8) years. The prevalence of wheeze in the past 12 months was 12.1% in Bagamoyo district and 23.1% in Ilala district (p < 0.001). Self-reported asthma was found in 17.6% and 6.4% of pupils in Ilala and Bagamoyo districts, respectively (p < 0.001). The prevalence of exercise-induced asthma was 2.4% in Bagamoyo, and 26.3% in Ilala (P < 0.002). In both districts, most information on asthma came from parents, and there was variation in symptoms and triggers of asthma reported by the pupils. Non-asthmatic pupils feared sleeping, playing, and eating with their asthmatic peers. The prevalence rates of self-reported asthma, wheezing in the past 12 months, and exercise-induced asthma were significantly higher among urban than rural pupils. Although bronchial asthma is a common disease, pupils' perceptions about asthma were associated with fear of contact with their asthmatic peers in both rural and urban schools

Missing value and comparison problems: what pupils know before the teaching of proportion

This paper analyses grade 6 pupils’ mathematical processes and difficulties in solving proportion problems before the formal teaching of this topic. Using a qualitative methodology, we examine pupils’ thinking processes at four levels of performance in missing value and comparison problems. The results show that pupils tend to use scalar composition and decomposition strategies in missing value problems and functional strategies in comparison problems. Pupils’ difficulties are related to a lack of recognition of the multiplicative nature of proportion relationships