Primary School Staff Research Articles

The impact of Public Private Partnerships on education

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) for education delivery, attainment, attitude, behaviour and attendance. Partnership success factors are identified, and transferable lessons extracted. Barriers to the success of the partnership are explored and suggestions for improvement are made.Design/methodology/approachCase study of the first PFI school in the UK. This involved a systematic literature review and collation of data on impact on Victoria Dock Primary School, four face‐to‐face in‐depth interviews with Sewell Group Plc and Victoria Dock Primary School staff, and three face‐to‐face in‐depth interviews with experts in the education sector.FindingsFindings suggest that the impact of the partnership on education is positive. Pupils perform significantly better than both the average Hull and national primary schools. There appears to be a positive impact on attitude, behaviour and attendance.Research limitations/implicationsCaution is issued regarding generalisability of findings on account of this being a single case study.Practical implicationsThe findings have implications for those involved in PPPs, or those considering entering such a partnership. A very useful source of information and advice about the ingredients required for successful partnerships.Originality/valueThis study adds evidence to the existing limited evaluative work that has been completed on PPPs with regard to their impact on education. This includes delivery, attainment, behaviour and attitude, and attendance.

Demand for education in the urbanization process: prediction and analysis

According to records from 2002, there will be a continuous increase in the number of classes, full-time teachers and teaching staff in urban primary and junior secondary schools during the period 2005–2020. At the same time, the demand for classes and teachers of non-compulsory education will decrease yearly. It is estimated that the budgetary funds for urban primary, junior secondary, senior secondary education and even higher education will increase by 8%, 8.7%, 15.2% and 9%, respectively each year.

Victorian school staff perceptions of the role of the state school psychologist

AbstractThis study investigated the conflicting interests of the different client groups of Victorian school psychologists. A questionnaire on the role of the school psychologist was constructed and administered to 97 Victorian State school staff from two primary schools and two secondary schools. Fifteen role activities undertaken by psychologists were analysed according to their perceived importance, effectiveness and desirability. Traditional role activities were compared with innovative role activities that were being encouraged by Victorian Government policy. School staff perceived traditional role activities as significantly more important, effectively undertaken and more desired than innovative role activities. Perceptions of the effectiveness of the school psychologist were affected by the position that responding staff held within schools. Furthermore, the more frequently the reported interaction between psychologists and service users occurred, the more school psychologists were perceived as effective. Primary school staff differed from secondary school staff in their perceptions of desired role activities. The paper concludes with a discussion of the management of different client needs, communication with school staff about role discrepancies, and future directions.

Modernizing the roles of support staff in primary schools: changing focus, changing function

In this article we describe the ways in which primary schools involved in the ‘Transforming the School Workforce: Pathfinder Project’ in England addressed the opportunity to restructure their working practices. The Project was established in 2002 by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) primarily to help fund pilot schools to make interventions into the ways in which they were resourced, managed and organized—interventions that have often affected the whole school's workforce, and in particular the focus and function of the work of their support staff.Here we concentrate on the evaluation of the Pathfinder Project with particular reference to the changing roles of teaching assistants in primary schools, although we draw upon evidence gathered from all the schools involved in the Project. The range of different initiatives introduced to change the work of support staff is explored, as well as the resultant impact on the workloads of teachers within the schools. We discuss how the Project has facilitated innovative practice in remodelling the work of support staff and place this within the context of the changing policy agenda on workload in English schools.

Crisis management in a primary school

Dunblane Primary School, Scotland, and Columbine High School, USA. Two headline tragedies that have led to trauma for their pupils and staff. Trauma that could be devastating because of the psychological impact and the practical requirements a crisis brings. Children's social and personal development can be negatively affected, their academic performance can suffer and schools as communities may never recover. Unfortunately, crises like these could hit any school, anywhere. So, how is your school prepared to face a major emergency? This article explains how a primary school staff worked collaboratively to develop, evaluate and improve their own emergency plan. A school which expects the unexpected and considers the practical and emotional implications of a crisis will respond more effectively and hence lessen the impact on the whole school. Planning included the formation of a crisis management team (CMT) and practical requirements such as a media statement. The evaluation of the plan took place using a simulation of a crisis over real time. The CMT had to react to the role-play using their emergency plan. It became apparent that this role-play was effective at consolidating the practical and emotional requirements of a crisis as well as a better understanding of the plan.

Crisis management in a primary school

Abstract Dunblane Primary School, Scotland, and Columbine High School, USA. Two headline tragedies that have led to trauma for their pupils and staff. Trauma that could be devastating because of the psychological impact and the practical requirements a crisis brings. Children's social and personal development can be negatively affected, their academic performance can suffer and schools as communities may never recover. Unfortunately, crises like these could hit any school, anywhere. So, how is your school prepared to face a major emergency? This article explains how a primary school staff worked collaboratively to develop, evaluate and improve their own emergency plan. A school which expects the unexpected and considers the practical and emotional implications of a crisis will respond more effectively and hence lessen the impact on the whole school. Planning included the formation of a crisis management team (CMT) and practical requirements such as a media statement. The evaluation of the plan took place using a simulation of a crisis over real time. The CMT had to react to the role-play using their emergency plan. It became apparent that this role-play was effective at consolidating the practical and emotional requirements of a crisis as well as a better understanding of the plan.

Accidents in the school environment: perspectives of staff concerned with data collection and reporting procedures

School-accident reports document incidents that have resulted in children requiring assistance from staff in the education and healthcare sectors. This study was undertaken to investigate the collection and use of data by agencies concerned with the school-accident problem. Our aim was to determine if the annual collection and use of such a large body of data might be improved through better management procedures. Interviews were conducted with primary and secondary school staff in one education authority. Interviewees completed a questionnaire on accident activity and accident reporting in their school. In the healthcare sector, staff from the Schools' Office and the ambulance unit servicing the schools provided information on their collection and use of data. Our survey found that accident activity is usually a private matter for individual schools, shared to varying degrees with the education authority. Playgrounds, children's behaviour and footwear carried much of the blame for the injuries sustained. Staff generally accepted the current accident rates. The compilation of accident data by the Schools' Office, accident and emergency department, and ambulance service were compromised by deficiencies in computerization and computer software. The management and utilization of school-accident data could be improved by better collaboration within and between the education and healthcare agencies.

Support staff in primary schools: Reflections upon the benefits of training and implications for schools

This article will examine the roles and involvement of support staff in the primary school. It will consider rationales for training and identify the benefits that accrue following this investment. It will highlight the training needs of support staff, identify implications for schools and discuss the constraints that schools may face with this process.

Realising the potential for evidence-informed policy and practice in primary schools

This article considers how primary school staff may be supported with developing their capacity for ‘evidence-informed policy and practice’ (EIPP) through partnerships involving academic researchers. It reports on one such partnership, a collaborative research project focused on improving the transition between key stages of the National Curriculum for pupils in the middle years of schooling. A case study of one participating primary school is presented. The headteacher opportunistically capitalised on the unexpected evidence emerging during the project that the vision for the school held by members of the senior management team had not been communicated to other teachers. The headteacher's response was to initiate a management review involving all staff. It is suggested that this sort of approach to collaborative research involving school staff and academic researchers holds great promise as a starting point for many initiatives to strengthen the evidence base informing school policy and practice.

Generating Criteria for Measuring Teacher Effectiveness Through a Self-Evaluation Approach: A Complementary Way of Measuring Teacher Effectiveness

The article argues that the traditional conception of teacher effectiveness, focused on the teaching performance of individual teachers in relation to student cognitive outcomes, has limitations primarily because it does not recognise broader roles and responsibilities. A case study of a primary school staff attempting to generate criteria for effectiveness was conducted in order to develop a complementary approach. The criteria generated cover most of the characteristics of the effective teacher in the literature. Also the criteria generated in the case study school correlated strongly with those of a nationally representative sample. Implications for teacher effectiveness research are drawn.

Going, Going ...? Men in Primary Teaching in New Zealand

This article examines the issue of the declining numbers of men in primary teaching, and charts the points in their preparation, induction and classroom experience where attrition may have occurred. Some reasons are suggested, based upon research evidence. It concludes with four arguments for having more men in the classroom, which are classified as: academic, social, environmental, and representational. Of these the representational argument is regarded as the most compelling. Primary school staff should be more representative of society at large, conveying the message that learning and academic achievement are for everyone.

Intervention strategies for improving iron status of young children and adolescents in India.

Despite advances in scientific knowledge regarding multiple etiology, treatment, and potential strategies for combating iron deficiency and deficiencies of other micronutrients, iron deficiency anemia, vitamin A deficiency, and iodine deficiency remain significant public health challenges for growing children and adolescents. The short-term efficient supplementation approach, although technically feasible, has not been successful due to problems with delivery and compliance. Evidence is building that preventive supplementation coupled with nutrition education may be a more effective strategy associated with better compliance and improvement in iron status. Long-term, effective approaches include fortification, dietary modification, public health and disease control measures, and income generation programs. Food fortification can be a cost-effective intervention strategy if technologically feasible, nutritionally sound, culturally acceptable and economically viable food vehicle(s) and fortificant(s) can be identifed. Foods such as wheat, rice, and salt are commonly consumed in India; research is underway to evaluate various fortificants for these foods. Doubly fortified salt with iodine and iron may be particularly promising in the Indian situation as it is affordable, culturally acceptable, and may enhance iron absorption from Indian dietaries containing inhibitors of iron absorption. Feasibility studies are underway to evalute the stability and storage issues as well as bioavailability of fortificant iron. Dietary modification involves increased iron intake, by increasing total food intake and consumption of locally available iron-rich foods, and dietary practices favoring iron absorption. Blood loss associated with worm infestation can be controlled by periodic deworming and reducing reinfestation. Coordinating these major intervention approaches by building partnerships between the community, existing nutrition and health programs, government, industry, and academic institutions is critical for success of these programs. Nutrition education must be integral to all of these strategies discusssed. Primary health care system and school infrastructure and staff, along with school children and community members, can be powerful resources for addressing malnutrition in children and adolescents.

From Theory to Implementation: intercultural education in Italian schools

ABSTRACT This article examines the gap existing between the de jure and the de facto situation of im/migrant children in Italian schools. Basing our comments on the specific pedagogical expertise and activities of CD/LEI (Centro di Documentazione/Laboratorio per una Educazione Interculturale — Research/Documentation Centre on Intercultural Education), an inter‐institutional organization operative in Bologna, we will discuss ways of creating a multicultural learning environment, in order to address more effectively the educational needs of im/migrant pupils in Italy. The major findings of a book, recently published by the founder of CD/LEI and two colleagues are also presented. The book, entitled Dall'accoglienza alia Convivenza (From the Reception of Im/migrants to an Intercultural Society), is intended as a working tool for heads, teachers and school staff in primary and secondary schools in Italy.

Do headteachers want research?

Summary This study complements a series of earlier studies which considered the expectations that headteachers and other staff in primary and secondary schools have of their educational psychologists (EPs). These studies noted that, while traditional models of service delivery which focused on individual children were still most strongly endorsed by schools, wider roles including a research contribution were also valued. Questionnaires were completed by headteachers in 48 primary schools situated in four of the new Scottish education authorities. The responses indicated that research in primary schools was viewed as being important, and that it should be included as part of service delivery by the EP. Implications for services are discussed.

Sitting on a Lonely Crag: Senior Primary School Staff Consider Applications for Headship

Sitting on a Lonely Crag: Senior Primary School Staff Consider Applications for Headship

Research Methods in Educational Management

Part 1 Thinking about research: methods tools doing your projects. Part 2 Planning small scale research: efforts of interpretation in surveys social research and documentary studies action research doing your own research survey research practice substance of the interview probing checklist for reporting interviews in education research the Primary School Staff Relationships Project sources using documents to check on interview data extracts from Hilgun and Kane methods of reserach.

Research Methods in Educational Management

Part 1 Thinking about research: methods tools doing your projects. Part 2 Planning small scale research: efforts of interpretation in surveys social research and documentary studies action research doing your own research survey research practice substance of the interview probing checklist for reporting interviews in education research the Primary School Staff Relationships Project sources using documents to check on interview data extracts from Hilgun and Kane methods of reserach.

Ethnic Minority Support Staff in Primary Schools: a deprofessionalised semi‐profession?

Abstract This paper draws upon findings from research into multiracial primary schools in three English local education authorities (LEAs) in questioning how far ethnic minority support staff working in these institutions are treated as professionals in comparison with their mainstream teacher and assistant colleagues. The contribution of the recent change in the Home Office procedure for ‘Section 11’ funding to the perpetuation or eradication of institutional racism is tentatively explored. Relevant central government policy is briefly outlined; concepts relating to professional status and institutional racism are introduced; these concepts are employed to interpret the research findings, focusing upon the extent to which Section 11 funded ethnic minority support staff were treated as professionals before and after the recent bids for Section 11 funding; and it is suggested that LEA attempts to professionalise ethnic minority support staff and to promote cultural pluralism are being undermined as a conse...

School Leadership and School Development: reflections from research

Abstract This article examines what two school‐based qualitative research projects have highlighted about primary school leadership and development. After discussing findings from the Primary School Staff Relationships and Whole School Curriculum Development Projects, the author reflects upon these insights in terms of: the complexity of leadership; instrumental and expressive leadership; the pace of school development; headteacher motivation; vision, ownership and community. The author concludes that primary school leadership needs to be more carefully researched and rethought.

The Reliability and Validity of a Scale to Measure Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Integration in an Australian Context

This paper investigates, in an Australian context, the psychometric properties of reliability and construct validity of a scale to measure the attitudes of teachers toward the integration of handicapped children into regular schools. The responses of a sample of 301 primary school staff were factor analysed to determine the factorial validity of the 30-item scale. The scale was found to have an underlying conceptual framework of five factors, which could be used to investigate various aspects of a teacher’s attitude toward integration. The psychometric characteristics of the scale indicate that it is both reliable and factorially valid in an Australian context and that it is valid to make comparisons between American and Australian data using the scale.