Secondary Education In England Research Articles

‘I have it, so I understand it, I feel it’: The secondary school experiences of adolescent females with ADHD in England

AbstractThis research explores how adolescent females who have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience secondary education in England and make sense of their identity. Within schools, responsibility for supporting this population is placed in the hands of teachers, though prior research suggests that teachers feel underconfident in their ability to do so. Informed by a notion from the disability rights movement ‘nothing about us, without us’ (Charlton, Nothing about us without us: disability oppression and empowerment. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2000), this study places the voice of people with ADHD at the centre of research. Using an interpretivist approach, qualitative data was gathered through unstructured interviews with five participants and was analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Findings suggested that participants' experiences of education and identity formation were shaped by internal cognitive differences in skills relating to executive function (EF) and sensory differences. The implications of social construction of the ADHD label had an impact, both on how participants understood their identities, and how teaching staff were reported to respond to ADHD‐traits which participants felt they had little control over. Participants reported differences in their perceived ability to self‐advocate and described experiences of attempting to adapt their ADHD‐traits to reduce the risk of social or educational sanction in response to their differences.

Student views on the assessment medium for General Certificates of Secondary Education in England: insights from the 2020 examination cancellations

ABSTRACT In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) has been for the last 35 years the most common qualification by which students’ attainment at age 16 has been measured. The range and balance of processes by which the GCSEs’ programmes of study have been assessed have varied over the decades, to include both teacher-assessed coursework and modular or end-of-programme timed written assessments (examinations). The necessary replacement in 2020 of GCSE written examinations with teacher-led assessment provided a unique opportunity to explore students’ perceptions of the validity and utility of both examination and teacher-led assessment media for this high-stakes award. This research reports part of a survey that explored the experiences of GCSE candidates in 2020, with particular focus upon students’ perceptions of preparing for written examinations, and then for teacher-led assessment. 216 students responded to a mixed quantitative/qualitative methods survey that invited opinion and reflection on the relative affordances and shortcomings of written examinations and teacher-led assessment, both for the individual respondent and the wider student cohort. Responses revealed a balance of both positive and negative evaluations of both assessment media, with an almost equal preference for either, albeit many respondents indicated consideration of some other assessment medium (e.g. modular assessment; combined assessment media). We re-emphasise the attested value of ongoing ‘dialogue’ and consultation with student stakeholders to inform planning for optimisation of assessment utility and validity.

Music always helps: Associations of music subject choices with academic achievement in secondary education

AbstractThis paper investigates the relationship between music qualification choice and academic performance in secondary education in England at Key Stage 4 (KS4; usually at ages 15 and 16). We analysed data from 2257 pupils at 18 educational settings in a city in the southeast of England. Two regression analyses with clustered errors modelled KS4 music qualification choice and GCSE academic achievement in English, Mathematics and other English Baccalaureate subjects, while controlling for a range of demographic, academic and socio‐economic variables. Choice of music as a subject at KS4 was positively associated with the total volume of KS4 qualifications entered for examination and was also predicted by coming from an affluent neighbourhood. Furthermore, this choice of music at KS4 was associated with greater academic performance on English Baccalaureate subjects above and beyond other significant predictors (gender, language, prior academic achievement, total volume of KS4 qualifications and neighbourhood socio‐economic status; local Cohen's f‐squared = 0.09). These results point to moderate but significant additive effect of studying music at KS4 in relation to performance on core GCSE subjects. We also found that schools with KS4 music qualification choice greater than the national average were higher in overall academic attainment, in the proportion of pupils attending extra‐curricular instrumental lessons, and in our composite measure of school's engagement with a local music education hub. The results are interpreted in light of sociological theories of education in an attempt to better understand the underlying systemic factors affecting youth music engagement.

Dyslexic students and their early experiences of support in the first years of secondary education in England

ABSTRACT This paper aims to highlight and critique experiences of support for dyslexic learners in secondary education. The research had a special interest in the period after transition to secondary education, which can be difficult for learners with SEND. Interviews with 20 English participants revealed that the support that schools offered had a dramatic effect on learners’ academic experience. Findings suggest the types of support offered are not only important for academic achievement; they affect the identity development and even wellbeing of the pupils. Support, or the lack of it, provoked intense emotions to the participants, which are important to highlight so that teachers can consider them in their practice. The aim is to highlight and discuss this issue, to understand emotions caused by institutional support designed to support pupils. Teachers could consider these narratives when planning support strategies, so the overall experience can be made easier and more welcome.

Context and Implications Document for: Recruitment to STEM studies: The roles of curriculum reforms, flexibility of choice, and attitudes

Context and Implications Document for: Recruitment to STEM studies: The roles of curriculum reforms, flexibility of choice, and attitudes

The early labour-market returns to upper secondary qualifications track in England

We explore the early labour-market returns to following the academic track (such as A levels) rather than the vocational track (for example, NVQs) in upper secondary education in England. England is an interesting country case because students are ‘free to choose’ which upper secondary track they follow, unlike to many other European countries where standardised tests and teachers’ recommendations play a much larger role. We draw on data from the longitudinal survey Next Steps and register data from the National Pupil Database. We consider occupational social class and net disposable income at age 25 as early labour-market outcomes to explore to what extent the upper secondary qualification track has a net influence on them, controlling for pre-track measured ability, relevant socio-demographic characteristics and higher education participation. Our results show that following the academic track in upper secondary education is associated with higher chances of being employed in a service class occupation at age 25, compared to those with vocational upper secondary qualifications or no upper secondary qualifications at all. Subsequent participation in (prestigious) universities further improves the chances of service class membership. Interestingly, there does not seem to be a differentiated effect of following the academic rather than the vocational track by socio-economic status, except for those that did not subsequently attend university. Unlike access to service class occupations, we find no net effect of upper secondary track on disposable income at age 25 after controlling for prior attainment at GCSE and subsequent participation in higher education.

Does attending academically selective schools increase higher education participation rates?

ABSTRACT Most secondary education in England is comprehensive. However, a small minority of grammar schools have retained attainment-based selection. Since students in these schools achieve high grades, some commentators and policy makers believe that England’s grammar schools are more effective than its comprehensive schools, and suggest their expansion. This study evaluates whether attending grammar schools is associated with long-term academic benefits at the post-18 stage. It does so by comparing Higher Education (HE) participation rates in grammar schools with those of comprehensive schools in non-selective areas. The evidence reveals that the assumed HE participation benefits of attending academically selective schools are mixed. Acknowledging the limitations of regression models controlling for pre-existing differences between schools, this study reveals the sensitivity of the estimation results, and the challenge of choosing appropriate baseline variables. Thus, this study calls for more thorough understandings of the mechanism of school effectiveness, and stronger research designs for evaluation.

The great stagnation of upper secondary education in England: A historical and system perspective

This historical and contemporary assessment of 14–19 attainment and post‐16 participation suggests that for the first time in a generation, overall levels of attainment in the English upper secondary (14–19) phase are plateauing. Time‐series data has been compiled to present four phases of attainment and participation development since the late 1980s, when the education and training system in England transitioned into a full‐time post‐16 participation model. Closer analysis of the fourth phase (2012/13–present) shows several plateauing trends of learner attainment and participation that originate in Key Stage 4, but which are now spreading throughout the upper secondary phase. The analysis proceeds to explore the main dynamics of the plateauing phase—qualifications reform; accountability measures; and institutional behaviours—that form a new ‘attainment and participation equilibrium’. The article concludes by suggesting that the new trend poses particular threats to middle and lower attainers, who could be disproportionately affected by Conservative‐led reform, and to the performance of the English upper secondary system when compared internationally.

A review of the Common European Framework of Reference for Visual Literacy – Prototype (CEFR-VL)

In the Common European Framework of Reference for Visual Literacy (CEFR-VL) the researchers present competencies for teaching, learning and assessing art, conceptualized as visual literacy, offering constructive possibilities for modifications and implementation in Europe and potentially globally. The CEFR-VL is comparable with other international approaches to framing curriculum and assessment approaches, including the General Certificate in Secondary Education in England, International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, the National Standards created by the National Art Education Association in the United States, and design and craft focused practices in Europe. Given multiple incarnations of art, design and craft making worldwide, articulating what visual literacy means, along with re-shaping and revising the framework in an ongoing way, offers a helpful infrastructure for use by the global community of art educators, creators, students and scholars who are committed to the visual and to visual sensitivity, and to situated meanings and interpretations of visual and material cultures of production and consumption.

The mathematical backgrounds of undergraduates from England

Participation in any kind of mathematical study during upper secondary education in England is significantly lower than in other educational systems. As a result, many English students enter university at age 18 or 19 having not studied mathematics for 2 years or more and relatively large proportions of students entering numerate degree programmes do not have a qualification in advanced school mathematics. To date, the mathematical preparation of those university entrants who do not have an advanced school mathematics qualification has not been documented. This study addressed this by analysing a large dataset formed from the combination of two large national databases in England: the National Pupil Database and the Higher Education Statistical Agency Database (N = 253,557). This dataset provided the school mathematics qualifications of undergraduates from England across all degree subjects, who took General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) Mathematics in 2008 and entered a UK university between 2010 and 2012. The study found that approximately 10% of undergraduates did not have a C grade at GCSE Mathematics, which is commonly assumed to be a minimum requirement for entry to university. In general, degree subjects with more mathematical demand recruited students with stronger mathematical backgrounds: 64% of undergraduates in subjects with high mathematical demand had an advanced school mathematics qualification compared to 24% in subjects with medium mathematical demand and 12% in subjects with low mathematical demand. For some university subjects with high and medium mathematical demand, for example Electronic and Electrical Engineering, there were substantial proportions of students with weak school mathematics backgrounds. There was considerable variation across universities with undergraduates in the high-status Russell Group institutions having stronger school mathematics qualifications within the same degree subject.

Em uma encruzilhada e sem uma bússola: um panorama da eficácia e dos desafios enfrentados pela educação secundária na Inglaterra

Este panorama do ensino secundário na Inglaterra abrange aspectos como tipos de escolas, mudanças curriculares recentes e avaliação do progresso e aproveitamento do aluno. Ele descreve o impacto do Departamento de Normas para Educação, Serviços e Habilidades para Crianças (Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills – OFSTED) e a situação em relação ao recrutamento, progressão na carreira e retenção no ensino. Baseia-se em documentos governamentais e de pesquisa, além de lideranças interessadas, para mostrar por que o sistema é feito para ser fragmentado, sem direção, com baixo desempenho e acentuada desigualdade. A seção sobre o Brasil descreve os desafios e os pontos fortes de ambos os sistemas educacionais e a importância de investir na profissão docente.

In pursuit of social democracy: Shena Simon and the reform of secondary education in England, 1938–1948

Shena Simon (1883–1972), a leading English socialist and educationist, actively called for the reform of secondary education in the 1930s and 1940s in order to bring the ideal of ‘equality of opportunity’ into the English educational system. This paper explores the continuity and changes in Simon’s proposed reforms in relation to her ideals of social democracy from the appearance of the Spens Report (1938) to the publication of her book, Three Schools or One? (1948). In addition, Simon’s transnational visits to the Soviet Union, the USA and Scotland, as well as the impact of her international and comparative perspectives on different educational systems on her policy agenda, are also examined. It concludes that as many policy issues shown in the current paper continue to be debated, Simon’s democratic ideals and discourses are still relevant in the present and suggest implications for the future of secondary education in England.

〔5〕教育「義務」制成立の制度論的一研究 : Cockerton Caseをめぐる英国中等教育の場合

〔5〕教育「義務」制成立の制度論的一研究 : Cockerton Caseをめぐる英国中等教育の場合

Who gained from the introduction of free universal secondary education in England and Wales?

This paper investigates the introduction of free universal secondary education in England and Wales in 1944. It focuses on its effects in relation to a prime long-term goal of pre-war Boards of Education. This was to open secondary school education to children of all social backgrounds on equal terms. Adopting a difference-in-difference estimation approach, we do not find any evidence that boys and girls from less well-off home backgrounds displayed improved chances of attending selective secondary schools. Nor, for the most part, did they show increased probabilities of gaining formal school qualifications. One possible exception in this latter respect relates to boys with unskilled fathers.

Who Gained from the Introduction of Free Universal Secondary Education in England and Wales?

This paper investigates the introduction of free universal secondary education in England and Wales in 1944. It focuses on its effects in relation to a prime long-term goal of pre-war Boards of Education. This was to open secondary school education to children of all social backgrounds on equal terms. Adopting a difference-in-difference estimation approach, we do not find any evidence that boys and girls from less well-off home backgrounds displayed improved chances of attending selective secondary schools. Nor, for the most part, did they show increased probabilities of gaining formal school qualifications. One possible exception in this latter respect relates to boys with unskilled fathers.

British Labour Party education policy and comprehensive education: from Learning to Live to Circular 10/65

Fifty years after the production of Circular 10/65, which confirmed comprehensive education as the national policy for secondary education in England and Wales, it is possible to trace the idea of comprehensive education from the 1940s to the 1960s, to understand the position of the Labour Party in its development, and to assess the nature of the contribution of Circular 10/65 itself to comprehensive education in Britain. There were strong connections between the 1944 Education Act and Circular 10/65. In particular, Michael Stewart, the Labour Party education policy review of 1957–1958, and the 1958 report Learning to Live that arose from this, played a key mediating role. Awareness of public opinion through the then novel device of market research and a determination to consolidate ambitious reforming ideals into a practical strategy for educational reform over the longer term formed part of the party’s revisionist approach under Hugh Gaitskell, and helped to provide the basis for Labour’s policy on comprehensive education when it returned to power in 1964.

Annual Conference 2013 paper: Impulsivity in secondary school pupils: Issues and recent research findings Work in progress

Previous studies have shown that high levels of impulsivity are often associated with negative educational and social progress. A study is underway examining the effects of impulsivity in adolescence in the context of secondary education in England. Teacher perceptions are initially being sought, to be followed by parent and pupil perceptions. A future stage will involve tracking pupil progress and will investigate links with these perceptions. It is hoped that this will lead to implications for management and prevention of negative outcomes.

Middle attainers and 14–19 progression in England: half‐served by New Labour and now overlooked by the Coalition?

In the context of the international problem of ‘early school leaving’, this paper explores the issue of sustained participation in upper secondary education in England. It focuses in particular on the position of middle attainers, who constitute a large proportion of the cohort and whose progress will be vital in realising the government's goal of ‘Raising the Participation Age’ to 18 by 2015. The paper draws on evidence from national research undertaken as part of the Nuffield Review of 14–19 Education and Training in England and Wales and analysis of New Labour and Coalition policy between 2000–2012. It uses a three‐year local study of 2400 14‐ and 16‐year‐olds in an established school/college consortium to illustrate the effects of policy and practice on middle attainers. We argue that this important group of young people was ‘half‐served’ by New Labour, because of its incomplete and contradictory 14–19 reforms, and is now being ‘overlooked’ by Coalition policy because of its emphasis on high attainers. We conclude by suggesting a range of measures to support the 14+ participation, progression and transition of middle attainers in the English education and training system.

Centrifugal schooling: third sector policy networks and the reassembling of curriculum policy in England

This article examines changes in curriculum policy in secondary education in England. It is concerned with recent curriculum policy and reform, and the proliferation of non-government actors in curriculum policy creation. It examines the emergence of a loose alliance of third sector organisations and their involvement in a series of alternative ‘curriculum experiments’. The third sector curriculum policy network revolves around a policy vision of decentralisation constituted by public–private partnership, media-friendliness, social enterprise and an ‘open source’ or network-based organisational logic. It assembles a policy ideal of ‘centrifugal schooling’ which links together ideas about ‘networked governance’ with ‘flexible’ learning and ‘entrepreneurial’ curricula. The article traces and discusses some of the inter-organisational relations, materials and discourses of the third sector network of alternative curriculum policy developments, and provides a case study of a prototypical third sector curriculum programme. It examines the organisational relations and practices by which the project was produced and the conditions leading to its failure.

Assessing the assessment of citizenship

This paper draws on some of the findings from a research study which examined the current structure of assessment for citizenship in secondary education in England and considers the rationale for the assessment of citizenship. The research included an empirical evaluation of citizenship assessment from the perspective of the key user groups, teachers and pupils and comprised a mixed‐method approach. A questionnaire survey was sent to teachers and pupils in secondary schools across England and interviews were conducted with pupils (Years 9–11) and teachers in 18 schools around England. The data were analysed using both quantitative (descriptive and univariate statistics) and qualitative methodologies. The findings suggest that the way in which citizenship is delivered has an effect upon the means by which it is assessed and has some impact upon the way that the subject is valued. Some teachers were reluctant to use unfamiliar modes of assessment, particularly formative methods which did not result in a grade, because pupils were sceptical of the value of any subject which does not provide a ‘final’ mark. The creation of ideal‐type teachers facilitated a deeper investigation of the way in which teachers assess citizenship and how they perceive their pupils’ attitudes towards the subject. Teachers and pupils demonstrated generally positive attitudes towards citizenship education. However, their responses suggest a pervading educational ethos which values only the things that can be measured and some reluctance to believe that it is worthwhile to develop skills or abilities which do not generate a ‘grade’.