Small Primary School Research Articles

Socio-spatial networks and capital in small rural primary school voluntary activity

ABSTRACT Small primary schools and schools with the lowest number of free school meal (FSM) eligibility are increasingly reliant on voluntary activity for the provision of core services. Significant disparities in where and how this voluntary activity happens risk widening inequalities between schools, especially when policies directly encourage them (and funding cuts necessitate them) to turn to their communities for support. However, we do not know how these differences play out in practice or what the implications might be. Drawing on ethnographic research, this paper explores how voluntary activity undertaken in small rural primaries is facilitated through socio-spatial networks (interpersonal connections rooted in space) and how capital is mobilised (and converted) through these networks. This research revealed how the work of education is carried out through many socio-economic modes, by different people and across a range of spaces, and that this influences the education provided in these environments.

Shifting from distributive to recognitional social justice for rural educators through professional development

ABSTRACT Progress towards equitable schooling and educational outcomes in Australia has been notoriously slow, with countless reports highlighting stark inequities between rural areas and urban centres. Most reforms have been grounded in distributive notions of social justice – addressing funding, staffing, and resourcing – but fail to address other domains of injustice manifest in the positioning of the rural as Other, as deficit or in need of saving. To counter this trend, this paper examines how one teacher professional development (PD) initiative, Quality Teaching Rounds (QTR) Digital, built a “politics of recognition” for rural educators, analysed through two school-based case studies situated in diverse geographical regions of NSW, Australia: a remote central school and a small regional primary school. Drawing on interview data collected from rural educators and principals, we show how QTR Digital not only overcame the documented difficulties of accessing high-quality PD in rural Australia but also fostered a positive sense of group difference and respect for teaching and learning in these contexts. We argue that if we are to enact such significant change for rural educators, reforms that both challenge the normative ideals of city life and redefine a positive image of rural schools and communities are urgently needed.

(Re)contextualizing the field. A Bourdieuian analysis of small rural school principal leadership in a post-conflict society

ABSTRACT As neo-liberal, economic and political fields increasingly contaminate the field of education, so a (re) contextualised understanding of the manifold and shifting social space small rural primary school principals occupy is of central importance to understanding practice. An understanding especially germane to a post-conflict divided and segregated society such as Northern Ireland. The paper draws on data from a mixed-method investigation including a survey of small rural school principals and case study research in five small rural primary schools. The findings are theoretically and conceptually informed by Bourdieu (1984) and his work on field, habitus and capital as a means to understand practice. The insight into principal practice that emerges is one that is, complex, fluid and uncertain; school leaders needing to negotiate diverse logics of practice as a response to the dominant fields in play at any given time. We contend that at one level, neo-liberal economistic imperatives and politicisation of education have led to a professional narrowing in principal leadership practice. While on another level, in a post-conflict Northern Ireland, we have arguably seen a professional widening, with principals afforded a leadership role potentially empowered to help balance cross-community religious tensions and facilitate peace and reconciliation.

Using CUBES strategy in a remote setting for primary mathematics word problems

Various research has been carried out worldwide over the years to identify ideal methods that are helpful to pupils when solving mathematical word problems. This study aims to examine the use of the CUBES Maths Strategy, a mnemonic device, to solve word problems and was conducted in a remote setting. An action research approach using a mixed method research was conducted where all data collected were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The participants involved were pupils from a small local government primary school, aged between 8 and 9. Pupils’ test results from the given pre and post-tests were quantitatively analysed using Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test, which concluded that there was no significant change in the difference in test scores. Newman’s Error Analysis interview was conducted to investigate the source of errors committed by the pupils, which concluded that the most prominent type of error made is the Comprehension error, followed by the Transformation error. From the observations and reflections, it can be deduced that, as the research was done in a remote setting, the use of the CUBES Maths Strategy was not fully utilised. These results could be based on the interactions between teachers and students during remote online learning.

Exploring possible approaches and proposals for the development of film education in Bulgaria

This article locates a consideration of the contemporary state of film education in Bulgaria within a wider discussion of the value of school-based arts education. Drawing upon the work of Arte Urbana Collectif – an artistic collective based in Sofia – and, in particular, upon two short case studies of the delivery of an innovative, state-approved programme of film education within a small primary school, and as part of a programme of teacher training, this article ultimately presents a series of proposals for the future of film education in Bulgaria.

Understanding the value of parental engagement through pupil voice in a Scottish Primary School

ABSTRACT Schools strive to respond compassionately to disadvantaged families. However, barriers to authentic home-school relationships persist because the concept of parental engagement at home is not well enough understood. Socio-cultural stereotyping still contributes to schools’ fixed impressions of what parental engagement should consist of, and the abilities of disadvantaged parents to support their children’s learning. This qualitative case study provides new and unique insights into learning at home. A child-centred study was undertaken in a small Primary school, in a deprived area of Scotland, exploring the importance of home learning with young children. The findings indicate the young participants had an acute understanding of the significance of home learning for their ongoing and future development.

Uplifting School Leadership and the Townsend/Adams Seven Powers: A Study of Leadership Growth in a Small Rural Primary School in New South Wales, Australia

This article presents a rich account of school leadership development within the North Coast Initiative for School Improvement program in New South Wales, Australia. The focus is the school leader at a small rural school, whose engagement with generative dialogue and collaborative inquiry results in a growing confidence in engaging her school community. The study demonstrates the power of narrative as a mode of inquiry and leadership development as represented in the school leader’s own account of her changing relationship with her school and her developing sense of professionalism. The study evaluates the success of the approach against a model of Seven Powers derived from the work of David Townsend and Pam Adams in Alberta, Canada, that includes the positive effects of carefully constructed and managed teams, professional relationships and processes, and the use of inquiry, reflection, collaboration, modelling and narrative in supporting the professional development of a school-based leader. Key words: school leadership growth; collaborative inquiry; emotional intelligence; narrative; generative dialogue; North Coast Initiative for School Improvement Cet article presente un compte rendu riche du developpement du leadership scolaire dans le cadre du programme North Coast Initiative for Schola Improvement en Nouvelle-Galles du Sud, Australie. L'accent est mis sur le leader scolaire d'une petite ecole rurale, dont l'engagement dans le dialogue generatif et l'enquete collaborative se traduit par une confiance croissante dans l'engagement de sa communaute scolaire. L'etude demontre le pouvoir du recit en tant que mode d'enquete et de developpement du leadership, tel qu'il est represente dans le temoignage de la directrice de l'ecole sur l'evolution de sa relation avec son ecole et le developpement de son sens du professionnalisme. L'etude evalue le succes de l'approche par rapport a un modele des Sept Pouvoirs derive du travail de David Townsend et Pam Adams en Alberta, Canada, qui comprend les effets positifs d'equipes soigneusement construites et gerees, de relations et de processus professionnels, et l'utilisation de l'enquete, de la reflexion, de la collaboration, de la modelisation et du recit pour soutenir le developpement professionnel d'un leader scolaire. Mots cles : leadership scolaire, enquete collaborative, intelligence emotionnelle, recit, dialogue generatif, North Coast Initiative for School Improvement

Uplifting School Leadership and the Townsend/Adams Seven Powers: A Study of Leadership Growth in a Small Rural Primary School in New South Wales, Australia

This article presents a rich account of school leadership development within the North Coast Initiative for School Improvement program in New South Wales, Australia. The focus is the school leader at a small rural school, whose engagement with generative dialogue and collaborative inquiry results in a growing confidence in engaging her school community. The study demonstrates the power of narrative as a mode of inquiry and leadership development as represented in the school leader’s own account of her changing relationship with her school and her developing sense of professionalism. The study evaluates the success of the approach against a model of Seven Powers derived from the work of David Townsend and Pam Adams in Alberta, Canada, that includes the positive effects of carefully constructed and managed teams, professional relationships and processes, and the use of inquiry, reflection, collaboration, modelling and narrative in supporting the professional development of a school-based leader. Key words: school leadership growth; collaborative inquiry; emotional intelligence; narrative; generative dialogue; North Coast Initiative for School Improvement Cet article présente un compte rendu riche du développement du leadership scolaire dans le cadre du programme North Coast Initiative for Schola Improvement en Nouvelle-Galles du Sud, Australie. L'accent est mis sur le leader scolaire d'une petite école rurale, dont l'engagement dans le dialogue génératif et l'enquête collaborative se traduit par une confiance croissante dans l'engagement de sa communauté scolaire. L'étude démontre le pouvoir du récit en tant que mode d'enquête et de développement du leadership, tel qu'il est représenté dans le témoignage de la directrice de l'école sur l'évolution de sa relation avec son école et le développement de son sens du professionnalisme. L'étude évalue le succès de l'approche par rapport à un modèle des Sept Pouvoirs dérivé du travail de David Townsend et Pam Adams en Alberta, Canada, qui comprend les effets positifs d'équipes soigneusement construites et gérées, de relations et de processus professionnels, et l'utilisation de l'enquête, de la réflexion, de la collaboration, de la modélisation et du récit pour soutenir le développement professionnel d'un leader scolaire. Mots clés : leadership scolaire, enquête collaborative, intelligence émotionnelle, récit, dialogue génératif, North Coast Initiative for School Improvement

Experiencing Transformation of Professional Identity: From Teaching to Leadership in a Small Rural Primary School in Cyprus

The study used the Clarke and Hollingsworth (2002) model on teacher professional growth to investigate the changes and the transition of professional identity when a deputy head teacher was appointed as an acting head teacher in a small rural primary school in Cyprus. The head teacher had no previous experience in headship, and did not receive any training or followed an induction course to the job. The goal of the study was to identify ways to support novice acting head teachers for effective leadership in the complexities of small primary schools. Data was collected through diary notes and semi-structured interviews using thematic analysis of qualitative data. The analysis revealed the importance of the interaction between the external stimuli and information through informal professional learning in the role set and the personal knowledge and previous experience. Feelings of isolation as the main outcome of this experience enabled changes in leadership practice through enactment and reflection. The teacher’s suggestions for a professional learning program could be the contribution of her personal experience on the educational context.

Using Cooperative Learning Strategies to Develop Rural Primary Students' English Oral Performance

This small-scale quasi-experimental research study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of cooperative learning (CL) strategies in the achievement of students’ oral performance at the A1 Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) level. The study participants were twenty-four seventh graders from a small rural primary school located on the southern part of Cuenca city. The quantitative part was based on a descriptive statistic study. It was collected through the students’ speaking pre and post-test. The results were processed and analyzed through SPSS version 25. To compare the mean scores of the students in the pre and post- test, a T test for one sample was used. In addition, the qualitative part based on phenomenological research was gathered through direct classroom observations and group discussion. Findings indicated that: firstly, the study participants reached their A1 oral performance level in the evaluation criteria of comprehension, interaction, fluency, pronunciation. Secondly, students had positive attitudes toward CL strategies. Thirdly, through CL strategies students became more motivated and less reluctant during oral participation. In light of the findings, CL should be adopted in primary English learning as it helps improve learners’ EFL peaking skill.

ОСОБЛИВОСТІ НАВЧАННЯ УЧНІВ У МАЛОКОМПЛЕКТНІЙ ШКОЛІ

The article analyzes the activities of small schools. Their advantages and disadvantages are defined. For example, Postojnska UVK «rose-DOUZ» / - / / St. characteristics of the educational process in small rural school. In such small schools Pustotyne NPK «o-DOU» / - / / article, where studies 57 students, I work as a primary school teacher. I would like to help my colleagues, revealing the features of the organization of training in a small school based on my experience. The principles on which small schools are oriented in their educational activities are analyzed. Advantages of training in small schools, use of various educational means of pedagogical technologies in educational process are defined. A small school is a small multi-age group, where improved opportunities for the education of the younger by the older are created. These schools resemble a large family. One of the main tasks of a modern small school is to create a developing pedagogical environment, on the basis of which it is possible to implement the idea of interaction between students of different ages. The author considers that in the conditions of small school it is easier for the teacher to carry out: individual approach to students taking into account the type of their temperament and nervous system, peculiarities of development, inclinations and interests, level of knowledge and skills; personality-oriented approach to learning, in which personal communication acts as the purpose and means of training and education, as an understanding of the inner position of the student. Student and teacher "hear" each other; practical orientation of educational activities of students (excursions to agricultural facilities, participation in research, etc). Through the use of educational resources of reference schools (resource centers), the quality of students' knowledge in small schools is improved, creative ties between school teachers are strengthened and the process of experience exchange, primarily successful experience in small schools, is expanded. The effectiveness of the lesson in a small school depends on its preparation. Preparing for the lesson, the teacher should think over the logic of the educational process so well that he can foresee where difficulties will arise, and he needs to get involved in the work, i.e. to allocate the so-called "zones of special pedagogical attention in advance. The author comes to the conclusion that the quality of education in a small primary school is influenced by the correct acquisition of combined classes, skillful scheduling, lesson planning, the nature of educational equipment, its rational use.

Rewilding education? Exploring an imagined and experienced outdoor learning space

ABSTRACTThis paper follows the progress of a small rural primary school in the UK as it goes about cultivating a new vision of the future by transforming its outdoor spaces. Exploring the significance of these outdoor spaces as they are imagined, made and experienced, from the first design stages to the first days of use, the paper considers how feelings about children’s access to and engagement with nature are entangled with cultures of protection and surveillance. Using observations from a multimodal ethnography, including video tours and photography workshops alongside observant participation and interviews, the paper illustrates how, in practical terms, changing an educational landscape can also shift a school culture, giving children greater freedom outdoors to live, learn and grow together.

Does Early Childhood Education in England for the 2020s Need to Rediscover Susan Isaacs: Child of the Late Victorian Age and Pioneering Educational Thinker?

Since the nineteenth century, the history of childhood has been inextricably linked to the history of schooling. Throughout the period of state-provided schooling, the approach to teaching the youngest children, originally from five but currently usually from three years old, has been contentious. This article looks at Susan Isaacs as a major figure in the shaping of views about early childhood education and thus in the history of contemporary childhood. It surveys her rather special position as someone who was herself a child in the urban late Victorian school system when schooling became compulsory for all, and who later combined radical innovation in the combination of educational theory and practice. She experienced for a period the running of a small experimental primary school on a daily basis, yet also engaged in high level academic research and writing which was founded on psychological, educational and, unusually for the time, observational principles. She thus provided evidence-based thinking for policy making at a crucial point in England’s educational history (The 1944 Education Act). Her early life, her neighbourhood as shown by the 1901 census and the educational significance of her position on the value of assessment through detailed observation are discussed within the overall context of the last one hundred and thirty years of educational change. This reveals the principles which formed during her childhood and which teachers who work with young children share now even though these are challenged by current government policy. This article focuses on educational policy in England, as the other countries of the UK have at times evolved separate structures for their school systems.

Изучение интенсивности физиологических проявлений школьного стресса в условиях малокомплектной начальной школы

Изучение интенсивности физиологических проявлений школьного стресса в условиях малокомплектной начальной школы

‘…we don’t bring religion into school’: issues of religious inclusion and social cohesion

This paper examines the approaches of cultural and religious inclusion at one small state-funded primary school situated in suburban Australia. The school community is experiencing high levels of racialised, gendered and religious conflict. Through case study data from leaders and teachers, we illustrate the potential and limitations of these approaches and consider their location within the notions of secularity and Christian privilege that characterise Australia’s public education system. The paper is situated within the context of current anxieties around social conflict and unrest especially in relation to religious racism or Islamophobia and amid calls for the introduction of a multi-faith education in Australian public schools. Against this backdrop, we highlight key tensions and difficulties confronting schools in their efforts to be inclusive towards creating a climate of social cohesion.

Principals’ Perceptions of the Impact of School Library on Student Academic Achievement in Rural Thailand and Factors Driving Their Perceptions

School libraries in rural Thailand have faced a serious long-term problem in developing effective libraries, and could not achieve a minimum criteria of school library standard. Key people who influences in supporting and contributing an effective library are school principals because they have authorities in directing and administration the facilitation of change in the schools. Therefore, school principals require to understand the values and impacts of school library on students’ academic achievement. The principals’ perceptions about the impact of school library on students’ academic achievement not only present their awareness of the value of school library on student’s academic achievement, but also reflect their attention on contributing effective libraries. This paper presents the principals’ perceptions of small public primary school in rural Thailand and the factors that drive their perceptions about the impact of school library on students’ academic achievement, which is one part of the study of school libraries and their roles in rural Thailand. These perceptions meaningfully presented the understanding and awareness of school principals about the library values on increasing students’ academic achievement, and revealed the factors influencing those principals’ perceptions. This information was further integrated with rural school libraries’ characteristics and situations to clarify their scenarios and local context, which is important to understand the causes making these libraries struggle to be effective, how to manage with school library issues and develop effective school libraries in rural Thailand.

All Together Now: Using Conversational Analysis and Muted Group Theory to Understand Gendered Classroom Discourse in a Cameroonian Primary Classroom

Using Conversational Analysis (Jefferson, 2004) and Ardener’s (2005) Muted Group Theory, this paper explores classroom data from an African classroom through the sociolinguistic lens of ‘gendered linguistic space’. Emphasis here is on one small village primary school in the rural area surrounding the city of Bamenda, North West, Cameroon and the embodiment of learning displayed by both boys and girls in this learning situation. Reflecting on an African classroom opens up necessary possibilities of understanding what occurs in classroom lessons around the world and ever-new ways of understanding how classroom talk impacts the learning environment in various cultural contexts. In particular, the use of choral responses heavily used in African education challenges current pedagogical ideas concerning classroom talk by offering a less gendered space to engage with learning.

Physical Activity and Play as a Medium of Psychological First Aid (PFA) Leading to Psychosocial Care for Building Resiliency and Helps to Overcome Trauma in Emergency Situation

Children use play to express themselves. Play is an extremely crucial communication tool for the child. It serves the same purpose as talking would for adults. And selected toys and materials can help the child to act out feelings and fears as they have experienced them. Children not only express themselves but also learn a lot of new things while playing. When children play or draw, they are able to bring out their frustrations, fears, tension, anger and insecurities. This helps them face the emotions and then decrease the power the emotions have on them. Often we talk about the big disaster impact on children, but for children even if a small bad experience stop/changer the daily living for the child. Same was seen in small primary school in Odisha In this situation of crisis the intervention started “four station of carousal of happiness”. The present study is designed to work on fear and anxiety reduces after the play and physical activities, its called the four station of carousal of happiness with children.

Educational network of Small Rural Primary Schools “VORAS” (ENSRPV)

In this presentation appears a Greek proposal for the function of the timetable in small rural primary school in Greece and particularly in the Primary Education in the area of Pella- north area of Greece. In this proposal we talk about the need for building assemblies for the determination of the timetable of the “ENSRPV”. We appear basic principles, requirements & structures for the timetable reform of multiage primary schools. Main fields of timetable reform in multigrade schools 1st field: Establishment of Team Teaching. Also we discus a) The difficulty of covering the teaching hours of teachers, who work in “ENSRPV”. b) The lack of adequate teaching rooms for the simultaneous implementation of different subjects. For all of the above, we provide specific innovative proposals for the best way of running these schools.

Development of Educational Management System in Small Primary School

<p class="apa">The purposes of the research were: 1) to study the factors of Educational Management System in Small Primary School; 2) to investigate current situations problems and guidelines of developing educational management in small primary school, 3) to develop Educational Management System in Small Primary School and 4) to examine the results of usage Educational Management System in Small Primary School. The research was comprised of four phases: Phase1 studying the factors of educational system in small primary school; Phase 2 Investigating current situations problems and guidelines of developing Educational Management System in Small Primary School; Phase 3 Developing educational system in small primary school and Phase 4 Examining the results of usage educational system in small primary school. The instruments used for data collection in this study were a note- taking form, a questionnaire, an interview and an observation form. The statistics used for data analysis were mean, percentage, standard deviation and content analysis.</p><p class="apa">The results of the research found that:</p><p class="apa">1) The factors of educational system in small primary school comprised of 4 main aspects: (1) Input including with eight sub-factors; (2) Process including with two sub-factors; (3) Output including with two sub-factors; (4) Feedback including with one sub-factor.</p><p class="apa">2) The results of studying current situations and problems revealed that:</p><p class="apa">There are 10,877 small primaries.</p><p class="apa">The problems revealed that administrators lacked of supervision and did not followed up development of student’s quality, teachers did not clear about student-centered learning, parents and community lacked of cooperation in development of student’s quality and students’ quality were lower than benchmark.</p><p class="apa">The guidelines to develop found that both administrators and teachers needed to develop teachers in student-centered learning, curriculum in learning of teachers, media and technology, learning sources for learner’s learning and to ask for parents’ cooperation in development of student’s quality.</p><p class="apa">3) Educational Management System consisted of 4 main aspects, 13 sub-factors including with 42 indicators</p><p class="apa">4) Evaluating system factors by experts, the results revealed that there were the highest in every factor in 80%. The findings of evaluation system and manual of Educational Management System found that it was higher than 80%.</p><p class="apa">5) The examining of usage Educational Management System revealed that pre- treatment of usage educational management system was in the ‘least’ level. However, post- treatment of usage educational management system was in the ‘most’ level.</p>