Sixth Form Research Articles

New Choices of the Comics Creator

Theorisations of comics and graphic narrative have tended to focus on readership rather than creation. Even McCloud’s seminal Understanding Comics (1993) focuses on interpretation, though the later Making Comics (2006) pays more attention to the work of the creator. McCloud incorporates into his theory five ‘choices of the comic creator’: choices of Moment, Frame, Image, Word and Flow. However, these may not be the most salient choices for a creator to take; nor do they necessarily occur in that order. Using these alongside McCloud’s other notions (notably ‘transitions’) with a group of sixth form comics creators led me to reconsider approaches to comics creation, as well as reading, in my PhD research ‘Making Meanings with Comics: A Functional Approach to Graphic Narrative’. In this work, I take models of meaning-making from the functional linguistics of M.A.K. Halliday, and adapt that framework to specify how comics make meaning. As a linguistics-inspired approach, this takes seriously the production of meaning as well as the reception. In this graphic article, I give a brief illustrated overview of this view of comics meaning making, and present a set of new ‘choices for the comics creator’ which arose from it. These new choices include: Choice of Character Design, Choice of ‘Verb Style’, Choice of Framing, Choice of Density, Choice of Metonymy. I offer a critique of McCloud’s choices, and account for the proposed alternatives, indicating the theory that led to them with illustrative examples, drawn in the main from my own comics created in that sixth form workshop alongside students. The article is drawn digitally and incorporates extracts of comics pages as well as diagrams to illustrate the approach to comics that informs the five ‘choices’ described.

Experiences of educational transition: young women with ASD, and the staff supporting them, speak

AbstractThe article describes research into the factors that facilitate a smooth transition for young women with High Functioning Autism (HFA) as they move between secondary school and Sixth form or Further Education (FE) College. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with four young women with HFA and, additionally, with four members of education staff responsible for supporting young women with HFA, across a variety of school and FE settings. This research revealed that transition planning focuses almost exclusively on academic progression and is likely to be an ad hoc collection of arrangements, which places an undue burden of organisation upon parents and carers. The data suggests that, in order for transition to be successful, it needs to be systematically planned over an extended time period and to take into account the social, organisational, employment and residential elements which affect an individual's educational experience. The evidence also points to the importance of ‘taster’ experiences to inform decisions and prepare students for impending change. The final recommendation arising is that support for these students should continue to be sustained after transition points, being reduced only as the students settle into their new environment.

Evaluating the Peer Education Project in secondary schools

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine the efficacy of the Peer Education Project (PEP), a school-based, peer-led intervention designed to support secondary school students to develop the skills and knowledge they need to safeguard their mental health and that of their peers.Design/methodology/approachSix schools from across England and the Channel Islands took part in an evaluation of the PEP across the 2016/2017 academic year. In total, 45 trained peer educators from the sixth form and 455 Year 7 students completed pre- and post-questionnaires assessing their emotional and behavioural difficulties, perceived school climate, and knowledge, skills and confidence related to mental health.FindingsResults indicate that participation in the PEP is associated with significant improvement in key skills among both peer educators and student trainees, and in understanding of key terms and readiness to support others among trainees. Most students would recommend participation in the programme to other students.Originality/valueWhile peer education has been found to be effective in some areas of health promotion, research on the effectiveness of peer-led mental health education programmes in schools is limited. This study contributes evidence around the efficacy of a new peer education programme that can be implemented in secondary schools.

An insight into cyberbullying within the sixth form in England

An insight into cyberbullying within the sixth form in England

The (music) educator as producer

Music technology has been an active part of the Higher Education (HE) curricula for several decades but it is perhaps the last few decades that have witnessed the proliferation of courses at tertiary level, or at least certainly in the United Kingdom. The recently formed Office for Students (OfS) in the United Kingdom replaces HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England) although the remit is somewhat different for this new entity. The OfS is very much a regulator working on behalf of the consumers (students) and not the universities; education is probably the last of the sectors in the United Kingdom to fall into line with this practice since utility and other companies which have had such regulation for years. This brings into sharp focus the view of education as a service industry and the position of education more generally in HE in the United Kingdom. This takes place in the suggested context of a falling number of students engaging with music at schools, sixth form, and further education colleges as a consequence of changes to government policy and the content of the curricula. This article begins by examining music in education and highlighting the current issues. It draws upon recent reports about music in schools before examining the value of music, and especially music technology, in the curriculum. Questions around employability are set out and some key findings from a phenomenological study are presented to educators. Finally, some signposts are set out for future work in this area.

The impact of peer-to-peer coaching on self-esteem, test anxiety and perceived stress in adolescents

Schools are increasingly using peer support programmes to support students. This study will explore the effectiveness of peer-to-peer coaching on increasing self-esteem and reducing test anxiety and perceived stress in sixth form students. Fifty-five participants took part in the study. IGROW, a variation of the GROW coaching model, was used to structure a coaching intervention for 27 students, with 28 students receiving no coaching intervention. There was a significant improvement in self-esteem post-intervention for males regardless of group. The coaching group significantly reduced in test anxiety. There was no significant impact of coaching on perceived stress. Further research may determine whether peer coaching may be a beneficial low-cost method to support students during stressful periods.

The Process and Forms of Labelling Learners in Zimbabwean Schools: A Challenge

This article gives a bird’s eye view of a doctoral thesis which investigated the labelling of non-disabled secondary school learners, with particular reference to the social and psychological spheres, and their influence on learning. It reports on the process and forms of labelling as one part of the findings. The study had 54 participants: three school headmasters, 9 form three teachers, 8 lower sixth form teachers, 18 form three learners and 16 lower sixth form learners who were purposively sampled. A qualitative research approach was adopted, in which phenomenological interviewing was done with learners, their teachers and school headmasters; focus group discussions were held with learners and document analysis was done on teachers’ work schemes and records of work. It was found that the process of labelling was predominantly shaped by agents from the home (parents, guardians) and the school (learners’ class and subjects, as allocated by teachers and school headmasters), rather than the learners themselves. Several forms of labelling emerged as further challenges relating to school type, and the screening and streaming of learners. The study presents recommendations for addressing challenges emanating from such labelling, which includes crafting a policy framework to that effect.

ENGAGING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES TO EXPLORE SOLUTIONS OF EQUATIONS INVOLVING MODULUS FUNCTIONS

This study explored how dynamic mathematics software package called GeoGebra contributed to participants’ learning and understanding of equations involving modulus functions. The research followed a case study approach with a small group of six participants in a Sixth Form classroom in England. It research focused on participants’ experiences as the used technology to support their understanding of the concept: modulus functions. It highlights how participants used GeoGebra to correct some misconceptions about equations involving modulus functions and also investigate the source of some spurious answers obtained when using algebraic methods to solve the equations. The focus of the study was on how participants utilised GeoGebra to address misconceptions and perceptions about modulus functions. The main research questions that guided this study focused on how participants used GeoGebra to support their understanding of modulus functions and how GeoGebra related and contributed towards their whole learning experiences. The study found that GeoGebra provided a medium of visualisation that linked abstract aspects of modulus functions with graphical illustrations. Conclusion: Working with GeoGebra extended participants’ understanding of modulus functions. Article visualizations:

Living in Space and Young Innovators Programme

SMASHfestUK with: Middlesex University, The Refinery, Deptford Green School, Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College Sixth Form, Christ the King Sixth Form, AstroCymru, Monster Paw Games, Little Inventors, University of Greenwich, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Royal Academy of Engineering, UK Space Agency

Investigating the Development of Reasoning Abilities Among Bruneian Physics Students After 1 Year Exposure to Cambridge International Advanced Level Program

The aim of this study is to investigate the development of different reasoning abilities among Bruneian physics students after undergoing one year of Cambridge International Advanced level (‘A’ level) programme. This particular study administered pre and post questionnaires, namely, verbal critical reasoning, spatial ability and abstract reasoning. These questionnaires were distributed among ‘A’ level physics students from four out of six, sixth form centres. There were 173 students (73 male and 100 female students) who participated in the study. Non-parametric tests (i.e. Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test and Mann Whitney U) were conducted on the pre-test and post-test scores of verbal critical reasoning, spatial ability and abstract reasoning and their corresponding gain scores due to violation of normality and presence of outliers in the data. Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test revealed that there were significant differences in the spatial reasoning score and abstract reasoning score from pre-test to post-test. Meanwhile Mann Whitney U test indicated that male students outperformed female students in abstract reasoning during pre-test and post-test. Thus for this particular sample, there is an increase in students’ abstract reasoning abilities and spatial reasoning abilities. A further investigation might be needed in exploring the reasoning abilities scores of the students with their ‘A’ level results to make a stronger claim for this study.

Adventures in shape and space – and time

As a youth entering the sixth form to study Mathematics, Further Mathematics and Physics I enjoyed the riches of the school's mathematics library and in particular three books which appealed to me, A mathematician's apology [1], A book of curves [2] and On growth and form [3].Hardy's book [1] is one that an impressionable, young mathematician should not read unguided. It left me with the impression that the proper pursuit of mathematics was as a pure subject, of no use or application, to be studied for its own sake; to my regret, I held to this view for several years before finally being able to shake it off through teaching Newtonian mechanics. Looking across mathematics teaching today I seem to observe great interest in geometry, number and algebra ‘curiosities’ that are rooted entirely in mathematics. This in itself is no bad thing, since it clearly draws us and our students into the fascinating world of mathematics. But what of the applications of mathematics? Might they be equally fascinating? Surely we do not want to lure our students into Hardy's trap?

Sixth forms hit by 21 per cent fall in spending since 2010

Sixth form per-student spending has been hit the hardest, while schools as a whole are spending eight per cent less per-pupil

Employability Training for Sixth form Learners with Special Educational Needs: Preparing for Success?

This article reports a case study, carried out to determine how successfully one school’s provision was preparing its learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to move into some form of employment. Data were obtained from the principal stakeholders: staff, parent/carers and students. This was generated by questionnaires and observations of learning in the classroom, as well as the school’s assessment data. Interviews with staff from other post‐16 providers were used to give examples of good practice in other contexts. The study found that although much good practice was evident, there were opportunities to improve the preparation of students

Epidemiology of adolescent substance use in Norfolk schools.

The pattern of alcohol and substance use is changing, with the introduction of novel psychoactive substances, the internet as a means of acquisition and variations in drug purity and price. Alcohol and substance use among adolescents is associated with behavioural, mental health, health and social difficulties; arising at a vulnerable period in their development. Little is known about adolescent substance use in the UK, especially in rural areas. To investigate the prevalence of substance use amongst young people, aged 16-21 years, in Norfolk schools. Cross sectional questionnaire survey. Pupils from two, sixth form colleges in Norfolk answered a self-report questionnaire designed to measure prevalence, age of onset and frequency of use for alcohol, tobacco, illicit substances including new psychoactive substances as well as demographic data. A total of 482 students completed the survey (68% participation rate). Life-time use of alcohol was reported by 442 (91.7%) students and over half the pupils had tried tobacco (52.5%, n=253). About 40.7% reported cannabis use and nearly one-fifth (18.9%, n=91) reported using 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA); 41.1% (n=198) students reported using 'any drug' and 23.2% (n=112) 'using an illicit drug other than cannabis' and 8.7% (n=42) reported the use of a novel psychoactive substance. The most widely used substances were alcohol, tobaccos and cannabis; in keeping with European trends. Over the past decade a decline in alcohol and drug use by adolescents has been seen in the UK. However, since 2010 this decline has slowed with an increase in substance use noted in the past 2 years. This study provides evidence to support this trend. The findings demonstrate differences between the use of substances by pupils in this Norfolk sample compared to national surveys and more urbanized areas. These regional differences can be used to assist the development of local interventions targeting substance use among adolescents.

Reading religion in Norwegian textbooks: are individual religions ideas or people?

ABSTRACTDifferent religions are treated in different ways in Norwegian sixth form textbooks. We carried out an exhaustive content analysis of the chapters devoted to individual religions in textbooks for the Religion and Ethics course currently available in Norway, using rigorous indicators to code each word, image and question according to whether they were treated the religion as a set of ideas or a group of people. After adjusting for trends in the different kinds of data (word, image, question), we found that Buddhism and Christianity receive significantly more attention for their ideas than Hinduism, Islam and Judaism, which are treated more as people. This difference cannot be explained by the national syllabus or the particularities of the individual religions. The asymmetry also has implications for the pupils’ academic, moral and pedagogical agency for which teachers play a critical role in compensating.

Supporting progression to HE: the role of colleges and vocational courses

PurposeVocational courses in England support the progression to higher education (HE) of large numbers of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, yet there is little research exploring the college experiences of these young people prior to entering university. The purpose of this paper is to consider the experiences of young people on Level 3 Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) vocational courses in their progression to HE from differently positioned post-16 colleges in England.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative study was undertaken into the experiences of students on BTEC courses in four subject clusters (science, technology, engineering and maths, arts and humanities, social sciences and health) at both a Further Education College and a Sixth Form College in an area of multiple deprivation and low HE participation. Young people’s experiences of BTEC courses and the support and guidance they receive are explored through the conceptual lens of “possible selves” and using Bourdieu’s ideas of capital, habitus and field.FindingsPedagogies and practices on BTEC courses are found to support the development of relevant social and cultural capital and help young people formulate well-articulated “possible selves” as university students, even amongst students who previously had not considered university as an option. The findings illustrate how differently positioned colleges support students’ progression and identify challenges presented by an increasingly stratified and marketised system.Originality/valueThe study highlights the transformative potential of BTEC courses and their role in supporting progression to HE amongst young people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The current emphasis on standardisation and rigour as mechanisms to better equip students for HE neglects the unique contribution BTEC pedagogies and practices make to encouraging HE participation. A Bourdieusian and “possible selves” theoretical framework has provided new insights into these valuable learning processes.

Quasi-periodic solutions for a Schr\xf6dinger equation with a quintic nonlinear term depending on the time and space variables

This article is devoted to the study of a nonlinear Schrödinger equation with an x-periodic and t-quasi-periodic quintic nonlinear term. It is proved that the equation admits small-amplitude, linearly stable, real analytic, and quasi-periodic solutions for most values of frequency vector. By utilizing the measure estimation of infinitely many small divisors, we construct a real analytic, symplectic change of coordinates which can transform the Hamiltonian into some sixth order Birkhoff normal form. We show an infinite-dimensional KAM theorem for non-autonomous Schrödinger equations and apply the theorem to prove the existence of quasi-periodic solutions.

The construction and maintenance of exclusion, control and dominance through students’ social sitting practices

This article highlights the interactional work involved in relational aggression, and how rules and norms around sitting are used by students to achieve exclusion and dominance. This research took place in an English secondary school which educates pupils from Year 7 to sixth form (ages 11–18). Drawing on observation, walk-and-talk and group discussion data with Year 9 students (age 13–14), this research highlights how the girls developed shared rules and norms around sitting which, while seemingly reasonable and applied equally to all, are seen to facilitate and legitimise exclusion and relational aggression. Girls from different social groups collaboratively constructed and participated in a system of rules which were then utilised for dominance and exclusion by regulating where, when and how girls sat. Sitting is seen to be an important marker of ownership, both of people and places, as well as a group management tool within student social groups.

Students as Change Partners in the School of English Language and Literature at the University of Reading.

The pedagogic landscape in Higher Education has certainly witnessed change in recent years and involving students as partners in aspects of degree-programme development is part of that change. Darling-Hammond (2009) described how educational systems internationally are changing priorities to enable students to "cope with complexity, use new technologies, and work cooperatively to frame and solve novel problems" (p. 45). Zhao (2011) asserts that it is vital to engage students as partners in change, giving them an active hand in programme design, to enable students to develop into creative individuals who leave education with much more than just an academic qualification; it is an "authentic way to develop professional skills" (Giles et al., 2004, p. 681) as well as an opportunity to develop a positive and autonomous approach to lifelong learning. The case study which follows involved students' working cooperatively with each other and with staff in a school of English language and literature. Together, we redesigned a new module aimed at: developing students’ understanding of the demands of university-level study and writing; supporting them in their transition from sixth form to higher education.

Breast cancer education for schoolgirls: an exploratory study.

Adolescent girls are an important target group for breast cancer education and promoting breast awareness. However, research has not established schoolgirls' perceived importance of breast cancer education or explored factors that may impact engagement. This study aimed to identify schoolgirls' concerns about breast cancer, desire to know more and perceived importance of breast cancer education, and explored associations with demographic factors. Of 2089 schoolgirls (11-18 years) surveyed, 1958 completed all relevant breast cancer questions and demographic factors (ethnicity, school type, breast size, physical activity level and age). χ-Tests assessed associations between demographics, desire to know more and perceived importance of breast cancer. Overall, 44% of schoolgirls reported concerns about breast cancer, 72% wanted to know more and 77% rated the topic as extremely important. Breast size was not associated with wanting to know more about breast cancer. Schoolgirls who wanted to know more about breast cancer were White, from single-sex schools with boys at sixth form, more physically active and older. However, among other ethnic groups, school types and physical activity levels, the proportion of girls who wanted to know more about breast cancer was still high (≥61%). This study provides evidence of the need for breast cancer education for schoolgirls across all school types, irrespective of breast size or physical activity levels. The results highlight the need to be inclusive and engage schoolgirls from all ethnic groups and to promote breast awareness at a young age to ensure effective breast cancer education.