Pupil Autonomy Research Articles

Exploring the potential of informal music learning in a perceived age of pedagogical traditionalism for student teachers in primary music education

AbstractThis research explored the impact of informal learning (IL) in primary music initial teacher training. A small group of undergraduate student teachers had an opportunity to learn about and facilitate an IL approach. Data were collected from interviews, participant reflective logs and researcher reflections. The findings show that perceived benefits included freedom for serendipity, pupil autonomy and aural learning; perceived tensions included student teacher anxiety and a lack of teacher control. The researchers propose two aspects for consideration: first, that language associated with IL has social meaning that must be updated; second, that while direct instruction remains at the heart of primary teacher education, IL can continue to be justified despite the current emphasis on direct explicit teaching.

In need of review: Developing Sensory Provision in Northern Ireland’s Mainstream Primary classrooms

The impact of Sensory Processing Difficulties across a range of Special Educational Needs is well researched. More recently, the impact on children’s mental health and well‐being, linked with anxiety, depression and self‐injurious behaviours, have redirected international research to consider the holistic benefits of sensory provision, for those with special educational provision and the wider classroom population. A SMART SURVEY was designed to collate empirical evidence regarding current sensory awareness and provision in mainstream primary schools throughout Northern Ireland, in a time efficient manner. Out of 809 schools, 164 (20.27%) fully completed the online survey. Findings indicate that Special Educational Needs Coordinator confidence in developing practice, supporting staff and children was limited and impaired by insufficient and inconsistent training opportunities. While healthcare research recommends provision by trained professionals, Occupational Therapy input was limited (n = 34; 24.8%), resulting in practice that could be detrimental rather than beneficial to children’s progress. Respondents identified a need for sensory training for teachers (n = 124; 93.94%) to ensure that the impact of Sensory Processing Difficulties on the holistic development of all children is understood. Pupil voice was undervalued (n = 5; 3.6%). Active involvement of children in the process of evaluation and intervention is recommended to enhance pupil autonomy and well‐being.

When Myth-Building Meets Nation-Branding: Fabricating the “Swedish Educational Model” in French Media Discourse (1964–2019)

The educational reforms carried out in Sweden have aroused persistent interest in the French public debate. This paper focuses on the evolution of the media’s portrayal of an alleged Swedish “educational model,” by highlighting cross-national influences over an extended time horizon. The origin of a stereotype is addressed from the point of view of the interaction between the Swedish branding of its own model and the demand, on the part of French elites, for a handy reform paradigm. Two crucial phases of idealisation are identified. At first, the popularity of the Swedish experiment in education coincides with the idealisation of Sweden as a laboratory for social reform. Since 2010, TV reporting has focused on both the resistance of this myth and the diversity of its possible uses. The expansion of market-oriented principles in educational culture is stigmatised as a “betrayal” of values associated with the Swedish reform experience (pupil autonomy, inclusiveness, anti-authoritarianism), while other players—such as international ranking organisations—intervene in shaping the media image.

"I Just Like the Feeling of It, Outside Being Active": Pupils' Experiences of a School-Based Running Program, a Qualitative Study.

School-based running programs that promote daily (or regular) walking/jogging/running are an emerging public health initiative. However, evaluation of these programs has predominantly used quantitative measures that limit understanding and explanations of contextual influences on pupil participation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to qualitatively explore pupils' experiences of participating in a primary-school-based running program (Marathon Kids) to provide relevant insights and inform program developments. Nine semistructured focus groups were conducted with a purposeful sample of 50 pupils (26 girls and 24 boys) between 6 and 10 years of age from 5 primary schools in England. All schools had delivered the running program for 5-9 months during the 2015-16 academic year. Transcripts were analyzed using an inductive thematic approach. Pupils identified a range of organizational, interpersonal, and intrapersonal factors that they believed influenced their participation in the program. Six themes were identified as being important to pupils' experiences: Marathon Kids as an enabling program, pupils' autonomy to participate, peer influence on participation (e.g.,development of social cohesion), teacher influence on delivery (e.g.,fidelity of implementation), logistics and suitability of the school environment, and appropriateness of program resources. School-based running programs can offer an enjoyable physical activity experience for children; however, it is important to understand how current delivery approaches influence pupils' participation. Aspects that were believed to facilitate enjoyment included pupil autonomy to participate, perceived benefits of participation (including psychosocial outcomes), and a supportive school environment. Further research is required to identify the type and level of support required by schools to sustain pupil participation in running programs so that their perceived value is maintained.

An evaluation of the potential impact of standardised assessments on the promotion of pupil autonomy in Scottish education, from the perspective of Dearden’s view of autonomy

Scotland is experiencing a period of radical educational transformation in the effort to raise attainment. Dearden argued for the promotion of autonomy in 1975 at another time of sweeping educational change. The principle of autonomy is firmly entrenched in Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence and seen as key to ensuring pupils develop a broad range of skills and capacities, and consequently fulfil their potential. However, while Scotland used to rank highly in international standings, it has plummeted to average in recent years, resulting in the introduction of the National Improvement Framework in attempts to address this worrying decline. Standardised assessments have been launched as part of the National Improvement Framework but have sparked a raft of criticism in the media and considerable debate in parliament. While the Scottish Government responded to concerns in a review document, this article assesses the issues from an entirely different standpoint. Utilising Dearden’s perspective on autonomy, this article examines how commensurate standardised assessments are with Scotland’s educational policy on autonomy. I contend there is little justification for the negative view of standardised assessments in principle, arguing that standardised assessments can promote autonomy rather than diminish it, on the proviso that conditions for applying standardised assessments are fully understood and resourced.

Teaching “fundamental values” in the Swedish education system: Towards an anti-authoritarian Regime of Truth

Often lauded for its egalitarian ambitions, over the last 25 years the Swedish education system has undergone a radical shift towards devolved management responsibilities. The article examines this trend by focusing on one of the priorities introduced by recent reforms of the curricula: the need to familiarise students with a set of national “fundamental values”. Obligations and rhetoric linked to this priority, which concerns all areas of teaching, are examined in a long-term perspective and in relation to a feature of the national educational ethos: the refusal to allow any value judgments, which restrict pupil autonomy. The construction of a school of democratic citizenship, which began in the 1940s, has led to a particular system of truth production in which the school claims – first in specific areas such as sexual education, and then more generally – to represent a statistically founded understanding of the “authentic values” of the population. In this area – defined by specific validation procedures in which psychosocial expertise lays down the law – the State is authorised, required even, to exercise directional pressure on the individual conscience.

De la verticalidad a la horizontalidad. Reflexiones para una educación emancipadora

The following essay pursues to concrete some aspects which are related with the education conceived as an emancipating labor. If this kind of education pursues the pupil's autonomy against some oppressive realities, one must point to certain kind of person and society. In order to shape this idea, two forms of being in the world and of human relationships are compared. The first one is called "verticality" and implies the social stratification with a psychic dynamics which tends to create hierarchies among persons, according with interiorized scales through the reproductive education. Its alienating and oppressing power is outlined. This conception is confronted with other perspective, called "horizontality", for this suppose a new and respectful way to understand the relations with others. The prosecution of this openness to the others, assumed by the individual and the social structures, would be the aim of every education that pretends to be emancipating, because only from this perspective the creation of autonomous individuals would be favored. Realidad: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades No. 107, 2006: 39-64

Breaking out of the grips of dichotomous discourse in teacher post-observation debrief conversations

Educational discourse is dominated by problematic dichotomies, for example, between teacher- and learner-centred pedagogies, and between teacher control and pupil autonomy. Such dichotomies impede attempts to understand and address complex educational problems, and thwart productive discussion among practitioners and the public. This article examines how teachers in one Israeli school addressed dichotomous discourse around classroom management in video-based post-observation debrief conversations. Three ways of coping with dichotomies are conceptualized: either/or, synthesis and both/and. Factors contributing to the emergence of non-dichotomous discourse are discussed, including ambivalent leadership, the use of video representations, flattened hierarchies, and a focus on issues and dilemmas.

Standing ‘on our own two feet’: A comparison of teacher-directed and group learning in an extra-curricular instrumental group

This practitioner-based research, undertaken by the author in her own teaching context with herself as participant, explores how autonomous learning skills and motivation can be fostered in primary-aged instrumentalists. A primary school extra-curricular recorder group was observed participating in two stages of lessons: the first, teacher-directed and the second, focused around group learning. Lessons were videoed and transcribed for analysis and pupils’ views on the two styles of lessons gained through interviews. The teacher-directed lessons were considered in the light of the apprenticeship conception of the teacher's role, with its potential to balance direction and facilitation, and scaffolding was observed to be used in various ways, both promoting and restricting pupil autonomy. The group learning lessons used aspects of the Musical Futures1 informal learning approach, particularly self-directed learning in friendship groups, using aural models on CD, with the teacher's role facilitative rather than directive. These lessons were considered in the light of theories of group learning, with pupils observed providing mutual support, scaffolding in different ways to a teacher, and engaging in transactive communication. Pupils, though positive about both stages, valued the opportunity to learn independently in the group learning lessons, gaining a sense of flow through the challenge involved. Findings suggest that whilst both teacher-directed and group learning can be effective, music teachers could develop their pupils’ capacity for autonomous learning by taking opportunities to adopt a more facilitative role, providing the learning context and assistance when required, but allowing the pupils to direct their own learning.

Keeping in touch with learning: the use of an interactive whiteboard in the junior school

Recent literature on the role of the interactive whiteboard (IWB) has indicated numerous ways in which teachers make use of the IWB to support children’s learning. In these studies there is a growing awareness of changing roles in the classroom as teachers gain confidence in the use of new technologies. This study describes how a researcher worked with a teacher in a small rural school in New Zealand to document and understand the use of an IWB to enhance the learning of young children ages five to six years. The focus of the research was on how the features of the IWB supported teaching actions and provided potential and structure for the children to develop their ‘key competencies’, broadly conceptualised as the development of knowledge, skills and aptitudes for learning. Here the authors demonstrate that it was the teacher’s orchestration of the classroom environment, incorporating the use of the IWB, that was the key to the development of pupil autonomy as they learnt to take risks and to be creative in their learning with the interactive whiteboard.

How teachers engage with Assessment for Learning: lessons from the classroom

Using video recordings of lessons and interviews with teachers, this article explores the way in which teachers enact Assessment for Learning (AfL) practices in their classrooms. Starting with the hypothesis that AfL is built on an underlying pedagogic principle that foregrounds the promotion of pupil autonomy, we analyse the ways in which teachers instantiate this principle in practice. A distinction is drawn between lessons that embody the ‘spirit’ of AfL and those that conform only to the ‘letter’. The nature and sequence of tasks and especially ‘high organization based on ideas’ appears crucial to the former. This adds a dimension to more familiar formulations of AFL practices. We also ask whether the teachers’ beliefs about learning contribute to the different ways in which they interpret the procedures of AfL. Interviews with teachers indicated that those whose lessons captured the spirit of AfL were more likely to take responsibility for success and failure in the promotion of pupil autonomy. Thus they had a sense of their own agency and sought to use it to overcome barriers to learning.

The empowerment principle: casualties of two schools' failure to grasp the nettle

Pupil autonomy, empowerment and clarity of school rules are factors underpied that the schools subscribed to different philosophies regarding pupil management. One school was largely authoritarian in its approach and the other was overly lenient. This paper emphasises the importance of furthering democratic principles of pupil participation within the context of clear rules and boundaries.

Conditioned Pupil Disposition, Autonomy, and Effective Use of ICT in Science Classrooms*

*This article is adapted, in part, from S. Rodrigues, Opportunistic challenges: Teaching and learning with ICT. New York: Nova Publishers, 2002.

Teacher Influence on Pupil Autonomy in Primary School Design and Technology

Primary school design and technology in the UK is taught, in the main, by non-specialists. This paper considers the influence of teachers on pupil autonomy in primary school design and technology lessons. Teacher interviews and lesson observations provide illustration in this consideration of pupil autonomy. What might at first appear to be a simple cause and effect relationship between teacher direction and pupil autonomy is questioned and a number of possible distinctions considered.

Curriculum Change in Norway: Thematic approaches, active learning and pupil cooperation - from curriculum design to classroom implementation

Laerplan 97 (L97) is a substantial programme of educational reform in Norway. It includes a subject-based, centrally determined curriculum more detailed than its predecessor, M87 (Monsterplan). L97 combines the compulsory delivery of a core of centrally determined knowledge with the flexibility for teachers to plan and teach with the local environment and resources in mind and in relation to topical issues and learners' interests. Teacher decision making in the selection of content and mode of delivery will be crucial aspects in the successful implementation of L97. This paper takes three key constructs within L97 and examines them more closely: thematic approaches to curriculum delivery, the active and independent learner and the cooperating learner, constructs traditionally associated with pupil autonomy and meaningful learning. Drawing on interviews with those responsible for designing the subject-related curricula and on teacher questionnaires, the study reveals how the journey from educational policy making to effective classroom practice would benefit from a continuing interface with all parties striving to understand links between the origins of ideological underpinnings and the reality of practice. Insights are drawn from curriculum development trends in England where a centrally determined curriculum has now been in place for over a decade and where debates about a learner-centred curriculum seem to have diminished.

Curriculum Materials as a Vehicle for Innovation: A case study of the Nuffield Design and Technology Project

Prior to the advent of the National Curriculum in England and Wales, the production of teaching materials was an established vehicle for curriculum change. The Nuffield Design and Technology Project recently published extensive materials which enlarge upon the National Curriculum. This paper presents an investigation based on case studies of two teachers in separate schools, each using Nuffield publications with one of their classes. It explores: how Nuffield materials were selected and adapted by teachers; the resulting balances between in-house and Nuffield influence; and teachers’ intuitive evaluations of the materials’ impact. Both teachers ‘injected’ similar Nuffield elements into existing schemes; they took ownership, exploiting the materials’ flexibility. Both prescribed the mechanical/structural elements of the product, but allowed extensive pupil autonomy over aesthetic elements. Text books were initially underused. In describing the materials’ impact, one teacher emphasised pupils’ learning, the other the improved quality of his own experience. This paper suggests that even a little training may greatly enhance teachers’ use of Nuffield resources.

Practical work in science education: Recent research studies

Introduction J. Leach, A. Paulsen. Section 1: Aims and rationales for practical work. Introduction A. Paulsen. Practical work in School Science - some questions to be answered E.W. Jenkins. 'Mapping' the domain - varieties of practical work R.H. Millar, et al. Envisionment in Practical Work. Helping pupils to imagine concepts while carrying out experiments J. Solomon. TIMSS Performance Assessment - a cross national comparison of practical work P.M. Kind. Touched by a disgusting fish. Dissecting squid in biology lessons in a comprehensive school P. Szybek. Section 2: Practical work and learning about science. Introduction J. Leach. A marriage of inconvenience? School science practical work and the nature of science G.M. Ntombela. Learning science in the laboratory. The importance of epistemological understanding J. Leach. The interaction between teaching styles and pupil autonomy in practical science investigations - a case study R. Watson, et al. Is authentic appropriate? The use of work contexts in science practical activity. S. Molyneux-Hodgson, et al. Section 3: Practical work and teaching scientific concepts. Introduction J. Leach. Labwork activity and learning physics - an approach based on modelling A. Tiberghien. Modelling Student's cognitive activity during resolution of problems based on experimental facts in chemical education J.-F. Le Marechal. A challenge for lifelong science understanding. The role of 'lab work' in primary school science M. Gagliardi, et al. Longitudinal study on lab work and 10-12-year-olds' development of the concepts of transformation of matter O. Ekilsson. Section 4: Practical work outside the laboratory. Introduction A. Paulsen. The theoretical and practical aspects of actively involved enquiry learning in a controlled environment (the Educational Greenhouse). A case study based analysis M. Dvir, D. Chen. Changing teachers' practise. Practical work in environmental education P. van Marion. Section 5: Models of student cognition in practical work: Perspectives from one research programme. Introduction A. Paulsen. The influence of students' individual experiences of physics learning environments on cognitive processes C. von Aufschnaiter, et al. The influence of learning environments on cognitive processes A. Schoster, S. von Aufschnaiter. How to interact with students? The role of teachers in a learning situation M. Welzel, et al. Contact details for first authors of chapters in this book

Cooperative Language Learning: A Teacher's Resource Book

recent decades, this stand is particularly significant. The text offers an engaging analysis of various issues in teaching, arguing that the nature of language and L2 teaching problems must be reexamined if an effective pedagogical model and corresponding teacher preparation program are to be developed. Widdowson offers some observations which could provide a basis for classroom research; in Part 2, Aspects of Language, he looks at some semantic and pragmatic issues in communication. In Chapter 6, Nonsense, and Learning, he effectively argues against the notion that a correct employment of the communicative approach to L2 teaching can or should dispense with the teaching of grammar. Grammar, as he illustrates, is part of meaning in most communication contexts. In Part 3, Aspects of Teaching, he assesses some of the problems of syllabus design and then outlines, in some detail, a methodology for the teaching of meaning. The final chapter consists of an interesting assessment of the different classroom forces of pupil autonomy and teacher authority, concluding that interactional autonomy is not necessarily a solution. Several chapters of this work are derived from conference presentations and published articles, but they have been reworked to achieve cohesiveness and a system of cross-referencing, and the text reads smoothly as a whole. It serves as an excellent opportunity to refocus our concerns in L2 teaching and target the areas to be considered by L2 researchers and teachers.

Interdependence and autonomy: Aspects of groupwork with computers

This paper presents case studies of two groups of six pupils undertaking three research tasks involving mathematical ideas and incorporating work with computers. We attempt to characterize effective groupwork and analyze the importance of developing a synergy between pupil interdependence and pupil autonomy. We examine the interrelationship between task, group as a social system and the role of the computer in establishing good group practice and identify the need for a pupil-teacher role within such a practice.

Pupil Autonomy in Learning with Microcomputers: rhetoric or reality? An Action Research Study

Pupil Autonomy in Learning with Microcomputers: rhetoric or reality? An Action Research Study