Literacy Hour Research Articles

Pengembangan Perilaku Berliterasi Siswa Berbasis Kegiatan Ilmiah: Hasil-hasil Penelitian dan Implementasinya di Sekolah

This essay argues that literacy is of paramount importance in schools, be it for the purpose of students’ completion of their studies, of their study career, or of their life-long education. To these ends, literacy necessitates serious, systematic, and contextual undertakings. This article will selectively out-line the views of a number of experts and critically review some research findings in the area, which, by and large, advocate the significance of efforts to improve the quality of literacy. The paper will also provide various examples of how literacy might be enhanced, for instance, by administering literacy hour and whole school literacy. An argument that scientific activities can serve as bases for the im-provement of students’ literacy will conclude the essay.

Educational attainment across the UK nations: performance, inequality and evidence

Background Political devolution occurred in the UK in 1998–99, following many years in which some degree of policy administration had been devolved to the four nations. Since devolution, all four countries of the UK have pursued increasingly divergent education policies. This is true in England in particular, where diversity, choice and competition have become a key focus of education policy. This political divergence between the four nations gives us the opportunity to appraise differences and similarities in educational policies and outcomes in the four UK nations. Purpose This article is a comparative review of the education reforms of the constituent countries of the UK, with particular focus on value for money. The main aims of the article are to (1) outline the key differences in the educational systems in terms of school type, choice and competition, educational resources and pedagogy; (2) describe how the countries compare in terms of educational attainment during compulsory schooling years; (3) examine inequalities in educational attainment, such as by gender and socio-economic status, and how the different countries compare on these measures; and (4) examine existing evidence on the effectiveness and value for money of different education policies and programmes in the different countries. Sources of evidence We use a variety of sources of evidence to achieve these aims. We undertake a literature review of the existing evidence on the effectiveness and value for money of different programmes and policies that have taken place across the UK. We also collate and undertake an analysis of data on educational outcomes from published statistics sourced from the national statistics offices of each country. It is easier to be confident about comparisons based on international data sets because in this case all students will have taken exactly the same test, so we also compile and analyse survey data from international surveys of educational attainment such as PISA, PIRLS and TIMSS. Main argument We argue that while the systems of the four countries of the UK are becoming increasingly divergent, there are still many similarities. This is borne out in the evidence on educational outcomes, which show many similarities between the four countries. Because of these similarities, the positive impacts of many of the policies and programmes adopted in England may have relevance for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Conclusions We find evidence that increasing school resources improves results, and also that more targeted spending benefits able pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. We also find positive results of several programmes. Evaluating the education policies of the four nations in terms of value for money – and therefore whether they have scope to be adopted – represents a bigger challenge. Whilst the value for money of certain policies – such as the literacy hour – can be reasonably well measured, for many other policies, value for money is hard to pin down accurately. However, this forms an important direction for future research.

Literacy for low achievers

This article is an extract from Including Lower Achievers in the Literacy Hour, year 1. The full book offers detailed lesson plans to teach specific skills and goals as outlined in the National Literacy Strategy Framework for Teaching.

Enhanced recognition of written words and enjoyment of reading in struggling beginner readers through whole-word multimedia software

The effectiveness of a reading intervention using the whole-word multimedia software ‘Oxford Reading Tree (ORT) for Clicker’ was compared to a reading intervention using traditional ORT Big Books. Developing literacy skills and attitudes towards learning to read were assessed in a group of 17 struggling beginner readers aged 5–6 years. Each child was given each of the two interventions, and the order of intervention was counterbalanced across the group. Each intervention was integrated into the literacy hour over five consecutive days. Measures of written word recognition, written word naming, phonological awareness and attitudes towards computers were taken before and after each intervention. Significant gains in performance were found following both interventions for all of the literacy measures, but significantly greater gains in written word recognition and enjoyment of instruction were found following the Clicker than Big Book intervention. These results suggest that whole-word multimedia software could be a useful classroom aid for supporting early literacy skills in children who are struggling with learning to read.

CD-ROM multimodal affordances: classroom interaction perspectives in the Malaysian English literacy hour

CD-ROM affordances are explored in this article through participation in classroom interaction. CD-ROMs for shared reading of animated stories and language work were introduced to all Malaysian primary schools in 2003 for the Year 1 English Literacy Hour. We present classroom interaction extracts that show how the same CD-ROMs offer different affordances in their support of seven teaching styles differentiated along eight dimensions. The meaning potential of the CD-ROMs emerges as teachers make salient different combinations of modes in the materials. Despite these interactional differences, the introduction of CD-ROMs is essentially a ‘benign addition’ in that it generates interest and motivation among students and is appreciated by teachers for ‘lightening the load’, but has done little to transform traditional ways of teaching in these Year 1 classrooms: there was no evidence of the increased interaction and student participation desired by the Ministry. Our findings resonate with research internationally which calls for clear guidelines about ‘what works’. Our classification of teaching styles based on interactions afforded by the Malaysian CD-ROMs enables us to identify what might work in different contexts.

Transforming Talk And Phonics Practice: Or, How Do Crabs Clap?

This article aims first to show how a teacher, working within a nationally proscriptive, standards‐driven, mainstream context turns a form‐focused phonics practice activity into a word game that engages the imagination, intellect, and identity of 5–6‐year‐old English language learners. Based on the assumption that teacher—student interactions are crucial for bilingual students' success at school (Cummins 2000, p. 6), the transformation in the 15‐minute Literacy Hour word work activity is presented in terms of five key discourse threads related to (a) covering the curriculum, (b) surface justification, (c) deep justification through shared imaging, (d) shifting the locus of experience, and (e) playing the word game, each of which is explained by different theoretical perspectives, and each of which embodies different pedagogical principles. The subsequent discussion focuses on the fundamental changes in instructional and social assumptions about the nature of language, knowledge, learning, the curriculum, and student outcomes to explain how the traditional pedagogy implicit in the published activity develops into a constructive and then a transformative pedagogy (Cummins, 2001, p. 219). The article shows how pedagogical transformation works on multiple related assumptions and how these are realised in discourse threads weaved through the teacher—student interaction.

Evaluating and sustaining Precision Teaching interventions in schools

The subject of how school staff can be supported in teaching children basic literacy skills has been the topic of debate for many years, with recent guidance continuing to stress the importance of this area of schooling (Brooks, 2007). One of the approaches often recommended by EPs in developing key literacy skills is Precision Teaching (PT). This article describes how an EP working in a school in the south-west of England used this approach to show how progress in reading could be developed compared to the usual literacy hour techniques. As part of an evaluation of a school development initiative, a heightened emphasis is given to reflections of the ‘systemic’ outcomes of the PT intervention in relation to how the style of training and support provided for the staff led to a sustainable change in practice.

The literacy hour

In countries like the UK and the US, a significant and challenging problem facing educators is how to ensure that future generations do not suffer from the severe basic skills problems that currently hinder a sizeable group of adults. We look at a primary school programme introduced into English schools, the literacy hour, to work out whether changing the structure and content of teaching can enhance literacy skills, thus acting as a tool to alleviate problems of low literacy. Our results point to a significant impact of the literacy hour with there being around a 2–3 percentage point improvement in the reading and English skills of primary school children affected by the introduction of the policy. The literacy hour fares well when compared to other policies in terms of cost effectiveness. These findings are of strong significance when placed into the wider education debate about what works best in schools for improving pupil performance. The evidence reported here suggests that public policy aimed at changing the content and structure of teaching can significantly raise pupil achievement. The literacy hour therefore has practical implications for raising literacy standards in many countries.

Teachers' use of questioning and modelling comprehension skills in primary classrooms

Research suggests that children's understanding of text can be improved by the explicit teaching of those comprehension strategies that are used implicitly by skilled readers, particularly the use of self‐regulating strategies to generate questions about text. This study of the teaching of comprehension in 51 London Key Stage 2 classrooms explores the extent to which comprehension strategies are explicitly taught within the literacy hour and the amount of opportunity which is provided for children to generate there own questions. Evidence from teacher interviews and classroom observations shows that direct teacher questioning, mostly in the form of ‘teacher‐led recitation’, is both the most frequently advocated, and the dominant strategy used for teaching comprehension. When sharing books with children, teachers model the strategies which are used by skilled comprehenders, but they neither make these strategies explicit nor encourage children to generate their own questions about the text.

Pupils' perspectives on literacy teaching

The views of the learners are arguably the most important consideration in planning for classroom literacy instruction, yet they are often ignored by policy-makers and by teachers. In order to match the literacy curriculum to the learners, it is essential for teachers to consider the programmes they offer from the learners' points of view. This article begins an exploration of some of what is known about learners' perspectives on literacy and literacy teaching, presenting some preliminary findings of a research study into pupils' views of the literacy hour.

Learning to Read ‘Properly’ by Moving Between Parallel Literacy Classes

This paper explores what kinds of advantages and strengths the process of learning to read simultaneously in different languages and scripts might bring about. It is based on a socio-cultural view of learning and literacy and examines early literacy in three parallel literacy classes in Watford, England. It analyses the learning experiences of five bilingual children who are of second or third generation Pakistani background. At the start of the study the children are five years old and they attend the same school and class. They learn to read in English during their daily literacy hour lessons; their home language is Pahari1. They attend weekly Urdu lessons that take place in a community language school. They also learn to read in classical Arabic – in a language they do not speak or understand – in their daily Qur’anic classes and, typically, in the local mosque. The data shows that the children learn to switch between three literacy systems. They talk about their literacy learning in terms of ‘how you got to do it’ and ‘do it properly’, which varies from class to class. They use a different range of learning strategies in establishing how to read with meaning. Rather than finding these – or the different related languages and scripts – confusing, they have a powerful impact in enabling the children to see literacies as systems that change and that can be manipulated. This kind of analytical approach of understanding ‘proper’ reading is based on the children’s varied experiences of parallel literacy classes.

Thinking through languages: a multi-lingual approach to primary school languages

The beginning of the 21st century in England has seen a rapid growth in interest in foreign languages for primary age learners. This article presents an alternative approach to primary school languages based on a Nuffield-funded pilot in Coventry LEA. A brief overview of recent developments in primary MFL is provided, followed by an account of the approach. The pilot project draws upon language awareness and develops it towards a multilingual approach to foreign languages for primary learners. The approach fosters links with the literacy hour and citizenship, and has the aim of raising pupils' awareness of the diversity of languages and the challenges and rewards of language learning. The article includes some practical examples of activities for primary age children and is interspersed with comments from MFL PGCE trainees who were involved in one aspect of the project (a language encounter) as well as primary teachers' views. A nation's fate will depend, in the end, on the quality of the education its children get in language'. Comenius, 1630

Teacher–pupil dialogue with pupils with special educational needs in the National Literacy Strategy

This paper reports on an investigation into the interactive and discourse styles of a nationally representative sample of primary teachers (n = 70) as they work with pupils who experience difficulties in literacy development during whole class and group‐based sections of the literacy hour. Using a computerized observation schedule and discourse analysis system, the paper explores the impact of the official endorsement of ‘interactive whole‐class teaching’ on the teaching of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in the literacy hour to see whether the National Literacy Strategy (NLS) is promoting their active involvement. The findings suggest that while the NLS is encouraging teachers to involve pupils with SEN in the literacy hour, the discourse is dominated by teacher explanation and question/answer sequences that provide little opportunity for pupils of all abilities to initiate, explore and elaborate on their ideas. The implications of the findings are considered in the light of their impact on classroom pedagogy and the professional development of teachers who are charged with implementing the national policy‐led initiatives like the NLS.

Gender and Student Achievement in English Schools

In the UK, there is a marked gender gap in the educational attainment of boys and girls. At the end of compulsory education, 10 per cent fewer boys achieve 5 or more good GCSEs. This gap is by no means confined to GCSE. It is evident at all Key Stages. Furthermore, some indicators suggest that the gap has widened over time. In this paper, we document the evolution of the gender gap at various stages of compulsory education in England. We consider the importance of some possible explanations for the gender gap – in particular, factors that may explain the observed changes over time. Analysis of this issue is important in the context of research on the gender wage gap. However, it also raises policy-relevant issues in relation to whether changes in the school system can effect a change in the gender gap in educational achievement. We find that it is in secondary school, rather than primary school, where the gender gap has widened most noticeably over time. Controlling for attainment at the end of primary school makes very little difference to the measured gender gap at age 16. We consider the potential role of school based factors: school inputs; teaching practice; and the examination system. We show that the average gender differential cannot be explained by factors that vary across schools (i.e. it cannot be attributed to heterogeneity across schools in how they use inputs). However, this does not mean that teachers cannot influence the gender gap in attainment. We show that the introduction of the ‘literacy hour’ and ‘numeracy hour’ in primary schools made a difference to the gender gap in English and Maths respectively at Key Stage 2. However, these strategies are too recent to have made an impact on the gender gap observed in secondary school. The timing of the emergence of the gender gap in secondary school coincides with the change in examination system from O-levels to GCSEs. We argue that the importance of coursework in the GCSE examination is likely to be a key explanation for the emergence of the gender gap at age 16. Another very important explanation may be a gender differential in skills that are taught and tested in different types of system (as well as the mode of assessment). We also consider the potential role of social and economic changes that would influence the relative achievement of boys and girls at age 16. However, the most compelling explanation to explain the specific timing of the gender gap at this age in the England comes from the change in examination system. Taken together with the evidence on the literacy and numeracy strategies, this shows that education policy can most definitely have an impact on the gender gap in achievement, whether this is intended or not.

Conversations Around the Literacy Hour in a Multilingual London Primary School

This study was conducted against the background of a British government initiative – The National Literacy Strategy – which prescribes a daily hour of formal literacy instruction for primary aged children, known as the Literacy Hour. The paper describes the developing understanding and experience of literacy of four bilingual Year Five children, studying in a multilingual London school. I recorded and analysed conversations about literacy and the Literacy Hour with the children – two boys and two girls – for one hour a week over one school year. My focus was on the impact of the Literacy Hour on the children’s understanding of literacy as revealed through their personal talk about text. I divide the conversational data into four sets, moving from relatively structured, ‘on task’ talk, closely aligned to the Literacy Hour, to talk which embraces more widely the children’s cultural and linguistic experiences, resources and attitudes. I conclude that the Literacy Hour plays a relatively small part among the rich literacy resources, crossing both home and school boundaries, which the children make use of in everyday life.

Challenging Gifted and Talented Children During Literacy Hour

This article discusses the language and literacy provision that should be made for gifted and talented pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 in UK primary schools. It considers whether Literacy hour lessons offer an appropriate medium for literacy learning and suggests practical ways in which more able pupils can be challenged to higher levels of achievement across the Programmes of Study of the English National Curriculum. The importance of providing pupils with imaginative, creative, problem-solving tasks is explored and the significance of pupils' gaining metacognitive awareness acknowledged. Suggestions are made about how to differentiate Literacy hour teaching and learning appropriately, so that the needs of gifted and talented pupils can be successfully met.

Reading and writing

Reading and writing

Pace and differentiation in the Literacy Hour: some outcomes of an analysis of transcripts

This article discusses the detailed analysis of utterances in two classes where the pedagogy enshrined in the UK government's Literacy Strategy was followed. The pedagogy is set out in The National Literacy Strategy: framework for teaching (DFEE, 1998) which provides termly objectives for each year for word, sentence level and text work. General evaluations of the strategy are discussed in the context of scrutiny, undertaken by researchers, of what was happening in classrooms. Following a brief discussion of methodological issues, a framework for the analysis of the pedagogic discourse of the Literacy Hour is outlined. This framework is applied to transcripts from two classrooms. A discussion of the data, focusing on issues of gender, of pupils with special educational needs, and of pace, offers tentative analysis of what is currently happening in English primary schools. The making of a 'reduced' curriculum experience for pupils with special educational needs and of the differentiated curriculum for boys and girls are illustrated. Issues of the pace of the lesson for different groups and implications for literacy teaching are discussed.

The National Literacy Strategy and setting: an investigation in one school

This article investigates the policy of setting that is commonly being seen as an organizational tool for effective delivery of the National Literacy Strategy (NLS). It is suggested that teachers are finding the increased amount of whole‐class teaching to a diverse range of abilities, as prescribed by the NLS, problematic. This case‐study researches both teachers' and children's perspectives on the Literacy Hour as taught in mixed‐ability classes and in sets. Reflective commentaries and pupil questionnaires were used to collect data over two years. The results indicate a complex range of issues, both pedagogical and organizational, which need be considered before setting can be promoted as a strategy for literacy delivery. I conclude that there is a need for urgent research into the effectiveness of setting as a means of teaching the Literacy Hour.

‘Are we allowed to…?’ Teacher autonomy and interactive teaching in the literacy hour

This article examines a key factor of the National Literacy Strategy, interactive teaching, and looks in particular at how it may be affecting teacher autonomy. It traces the development of this approach in the Literacy Hour and describes a research project which showed that many teachers have their own sophisticated ideas about interactive teaching but remain unsure about what they are actually required to do, a situation potentially threatening to their autonomy as professionals.