School Teachers In England Research Articles

The Changing Face of Teaching in England and Portugal: A study of work experiences of secondary school teachers

SUMMARY This paper reports research into the perceived effects of educational reform among secondary school teachers in England and Wales and Portugal. While the two countries have different education histories, as in most countries across the world teachers' lives and work are being affected by increased centralised interventions in the name of raising standards of achievement. In the case of England, interventions since the late 1980s have touched every facet of school government, curriculum and assessment, whereas in Portugal, this process did not begin until the late 1990s. The paper focuses upon teachers' experiences in these two communities, which are in different transition phases. By doing so it is possible, even within the different cultures, to identify common problems experienced by teachers within the reforms and their management which challenge existing identities, values and commitments and which are creating new forms of compliant professionalism.

Anticipating the Citizenship Curriculum Order in Secondary Schools in England: A Snapshot of Teachers' Preferred Purposes and Curriculum Practices

This paper is based on a small-scale study that explored how a sample of ‘specialist’ secondary school teachers in England characterize ‘educating for citizenship’ on the eve of its inclusion into the National Curriculum. This study was carried out between September, 2000 and January, 2001. Data was gathered from a group of ‘specialist’ secondary teachers through postal self-completion questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observations. Relevant documents, e.g. school-based curriculum documents, Department for Education and Employment (DfEE), and Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) documents, were also considered. Teachers' thinking about essential learnings, curriculum practices, and contextual concerns are described and analyzed. Findings suggest general support for the purposes of the Citizenship initiative, preferred yet divergent curriculum practices, and scepticism about implementation. They also suggest a need for a more critical examination of the interconnections among curriculum intentions, pedagogical practices, and contextual considerations.

PERFORMANCE-RELATED PAY FOR TEACHERS: An examination of the underlying objectives and its application in practice

Performance-related pay (PRP) is being introduced for schoolteachers in England and Wales at a time when policy makers are concerned with the ‘mission to modernise’ and the requirement for ‘change’ to take place in the public sector (Cabinet Office 1999: 4). In a number of recent government publications, public sector pay has been heralded as an important mechanism that will ensure public services are ‘efficient’ and of ‘high quality’. Kessler and Purcell (1992) examine the managerial objectives underlying the current application of PRP in organizations and provide a useful framework to explore and evaluate PRP systems. Their framework has been adopted to consider the implications of implementing PRP for teachers.

Teacher activism in primary schools in England

The large number of reforms introduced by the United Kingdom Government over the past decade has created a climate of compliance among primary (elementary) schoolteachers in England. In its desire to ‘drive up’ standards in English and Mathematics, the Government has exercised tight control over what is taught and, increasingly, the way it is taught. However, the sleeping giant of teacher activism is beginning to stir again. Teachers are not resorting to industrial action to express their concerns over their loss of autonomy, but rather to leave the profession altogether. The high wastage of trained staff should sound a warning to government at every level to reconsider its policies.

ICT teaching

SHEILA BURKE, a primary school teacher in England, describes how she came to terms with information and communication technology in the classroom (first of two articles)

Student teachers' motivation to become a secondary school teacher in England and Norway

This study sought to explore the reasons given by student teachers in influencing their choice to become a secondary school teacher. Some 105 student teachers in Stavanger and 112 student teachers in York completed a questionnaire at the beginning of their postgraduate teacher training course. Twelve student teachers from each sample were then interviewed. Both groups reported being strongly influenced by enjoying the subject they would teach, liking to work with children, and the fact that teaching would enable them to use their subject. This is broadly in line with other studies. However, there was tendency for more of the student teachers in the York sample, compared with the Stavanger sample, to place value on ‘wanting to help children succeed’ and ‘liking the activity of classroom teaching’; conversely, there was a tendency for more of the student teachers in the Stavanger sample, compared with the York sample, to place value on ‘long holidays’ and ‘social hours’. These tendencies may in large part be accounted for by the fact that more of the Stavanger sample were already teaching, were older and had family commitments.

Trade Union Concentration and the Determination of Wages: The Case of Teachers in England and Wales

AbstractMulti‐unionism is a common feature of the industrial relations scene, yet to date there has been relatively little economic analysis of its effects, in particular on the outcome of wage negotiations. In this paper, we examine the impact of multi‐unionism—specifically, the degree of union membership concentration—on the determination of the relative pay of a particular occupational group, namely that of schoolteachers in England and Wales. We measure teacher trade union concentration using the Herfindahl index of concentration, and find that, after controlling for other possible influences, changes in the value of this index have a positive impact on schoolteachers' relative pay. In addition, we find union membership concentration to be a better indicator of ‘union pushfulness’ effects in wage determination than the traditional measure, union density. These findings are potentially of wider significance for the analysis of wage determination in multi‐union environments.

Perceptions of Teaching: Primary School Teachers in England and France. Patricia Broadfoot , Marilyn Osborn , Michel Gally , Arlette Bûcher

<i>Perceptions of Teaching: Primary School Teachers in England and France</i>. Patricia Broadfoot , Marilyn Osborn , Michel Gally , Arlette Bûcher

Models of teacher assessment among primary school teachers in England

ABSTRACTBuilding on their study of assessment practices at Key Stage 1, the authors use similar methods to examine practices at Key Stage 2. They identify teacher styles, ranging from Testers to Diagnostic Trackers, and look at the way those teachers carried out assessments, gathered evidence, made decisions about National Curriculum levels and recorded their findings. Finally, they make comparisons between practices concerning assessment at the two'Key Stages.

Mathematics and the national curriculum: primary teachers’ attitudes

This paper reports on the attitudes of 901 primary school teachers in England and Wales towards the new national curriculum in mathematics, as well as English and science. It was found that most teachers perceive themselves to be competent to teach this new curriculum in mathematics (and English) but not in science. It is argued that this is because the national curriculum in mathematics represents a codification of existing content and practice. A comparison with a text widely used in the mathematical preparation of primary school teachers provides supporting evidence for this view. With the exception of computer‐based mathematics and increased attention to probability and statistics (data handling), the national curriculum in mathematics reflects the curriculum which has been taught in most primary schools for two decades. 1This research is part of the Leverhulme Primary Project, directed by Professor S. N. Bennett and Professor E. C. Wragg and co‐ordinated by Clive Carre, at the University of Exeter Sc...

A Lesson in Progress? Primary Classrooms Observed in England and France

Abstract As part of the Bristol‐Aix project, a comparative study of primary school teachers in England and France prior to the introduction of the National Curriculum, teachers in the two countries were ‘shadowed’ for a week at a time in order to focus in a detailed way on their classroom practice. Striking differences were observed in pedagogy, in classroom organisation, and in teacher‐pupil relations, which were far greater between the two countries than any of the differences observed within one country. The findings provide a basis for projecting some of the more likely results of current policy initiatives in England and Wales and contribute to an understanding of teachers’ responses to educational change.

Research into english primary school teachers’ understanding of the concept energy

Abstract Interviews‐about‐instances and interviews‐about‐events conducted with an opportunity sample of 20 primary school teachers in England were used to probe the teachers’ knowledge and understanding of the concept energy. A number of statements made by the teachers during the interviews were then incorporated into a survey questionnaire which was given to an opportunity sample of 152 primary school teachers from three English Local Education Authorities. This enabled the prevalence of particular ideas about energy in a much larger sample of teachers to be established. Results of both the interview and survey phases of the research are reported, and discussed in light of a recent increased emphasis on the learning of science concepts in primary schools.

A Five‐country Study of the Work Perceptions of Secondary School Teachers in England, the United States, Japan, Singapore and West Germany (1986‐88)

A Five‐country Study of the Work Perceptions of Secondary School Teachers in England, the United States, Japan, Singapore and West Germany (1986‐88)

Training Teachers for Primary Schools: the question of subject study

Abstract The education of intending primary school teachers in England and Wales has increased the amount of academic subject specialist study in response to governmental pressure. (Primary means children between 7 and 11 years.) This paper seeks to show that the Department of Education and Science's (DES) requirement of initial teacher training courses at primary level that it should include the application of subject study to the learning and developmental needs of young children is problematical, begging questions of ideology, epistemology, psychology and curriculum organisation. An attempt to meet the DES requirement is made through the adoption of two models of subject study and their application to young children; their implications for subject study at the level of higher education are drawn. Content and pedagogy are examined in the light of the two models. The suggestion is examined that together they constitute analytical tools to examine subject study at primary school and higher education level...

What Is Comparison? Methodological and Philosophical Considerations

Previous articleNext article No AccessWhat Is Comparison? Methodological and Philosophical ConsiderationsReijo RaivolaReijo Raivola Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Comparative Education Review Volume 29, Number 3Aug., 1985 Sponsored by the Comparative and International Education Society Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/446527 Views: 37Total views on this site Citations: 18Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1985 The Comparative and International Education SocietyPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Adnan ÇIRAK Social Studies and Comparative Education: An Examination of Theses Prepared as a Comparative with Different Countries in the Field of Social Studies Education in Turkey, Eğitim ve Toplum Araştırmaları Dergisi (May 2022).https://doi.org/10.51725/etad.1087300Adnan Qayyum Assessing the Digital Transformation of Education Systems, (Jun 2022): 1–18.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0351-9_14-1Bob Adamson Juxtaposing Comparative Education and Teacher Education, (Aug 2022): 899–904.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8679-5_307Masoud Ataei, Shengyuan Chen, Zijiang Yang, M. Reza Peyghami Time-homogeneous top- K ranking using tensor decompositions, Optimization Methods and Software 35, no.66 (Mar 2019): 1119–1143.https://doi.org/10.1080/10556788.2019.1584623Bob Adamson Juxtaposing Comparative Education and Teacher Education, (Jul 2019): 1–5.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1179-6_307-1Adnan Qayyum, Olaf Zawacki-Richter The State of Open and Distance Education, (Feb 2019): 125–140.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-5787-9_14Adnan Qayyum, Olaf Zawacki-Richter Open and Distance Education in a Digital Age, (Jun 2018): 1–8.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0298-5_1Yu-Chih Li International education comparison: an intellectual tradition and its contemporary considerations, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education 38, no.66 (May 2016): 955–963.https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2016.1187873Kari Kantasalmi, Gunilla Holm Introducing the Complexity of Educational Diversification, (Dec 2016): 1–23.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1515-1_1Ahmed Ismail Heggi Comparative Education in Egypt: Trends, Directions, and Aspirations, (Jan 2016): 89–95.https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-367920150000028006Marianne A. Larsen and Jason Beech Featured Article: Spatial Theorizing in Comparative and International Education Research, Comparative Education Review 58, no.22 (Jul 2015): 191–214.https://doi.org/10.1086/675499 , Journal of Empirical Theology 27, no.11 ( 2014): 130.https://doi.org/10.1163/15709256-12341295Sally Findlow Comparative and International Perspectives on Educational ‘Spaces’, European Educational Research Journal 3, no.11 (Mar 2004): 400–414.https://doi.org/10.2304/eerj.2004.3.1.13Keith Watson The Impact of Globalization on Educational Reform and Language Policy: Some Comparative Insights from Transitional Societies, Asia Pacific Journal of Education 21, no.22 (Jan 2013): 1–18.https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2001.10600191Keith Watson Memories, Models and Mapping: the impact of geopolitical changes on comparative studies in education, Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education 28, no.11 (Aug 2010): 5–31.https://doi.org/10.1080/0305792980280102Masamichi Sasaki RESEARCH DESIGN OF CROSS-NATIONAL ATTITUDINAL SURVEYS, Behaviormetrika 22, no.11 (Jan 1995): 99–114.https://doi.org/10.2333/bhmk.22.99Keith Watson Technical and Vocational Education in Developing Countries: Western paradigms and comparative methodology, Comparative Education 30, no.22 (Aug 2006): 85–97.https://doi.org/10.1080/0305006940300202Allen Menlo, Pam Poppleton A Five‐country Study of the Work Perceptions of Secondary School Teachers in England, the United States, Japan, Singapore and West Germany (1986‐88), Comparative Education 26, no.2-32-3 (Nov 2010): 172–182.https://doi.org/10.1080/0305006900260203

Monopsony and the shortage of school teachers in England and Wales, 1948–73

A simple model of monopsony is developed to explain the prolonged shortage of teachers, and an expression for the shortage is derived in terms of the wage rate elasticities of demand and supply. A demand function for teachers by the local education authorities is estimated which indicates that the wage rate elasticity of demand is about–0.18 and that real disposable income per capitaand central government grants have also had a significant influence on their demand for teachers. A dynamic shortages model which has been used in other studies to explain the shortage of teachers is also examined.

A Note on the Estimation of Subjective Rates of Discount from Labour Supply Functions

In a previous paper by the author (Zabalza, 1979), a model of occupational choice was developed from which were derived testable hypotheses about the determinants of teacher supply. The model was tested with data on schoolteachers in England and Wales and, in general, the results showed that new entrants into teaching are sensitive not only to the level of starting wages but also to the slope of the earnings profile. This note considers some implications of that model for the subjective rate of discount. The first section summarizes the occupational model used and the empirical results obtained, and the second explores the possibility of deriving subjective rates of discount from the wage elasticities of the supply function and presents empirical estimates of such rates.