Abstract/Notes: Preschool education is an important and much studied topic in developed countries, and of growing importance in the third world. Studies exploring preschool experience have noted positive effects when comparing children with access to preschool versus children without access, and effects of particular curriculum approaches over the length of primary schooling. This study adopts a focused sample, cross‐sectional design to explore the types of preschool experience available (denoted by types of preschool activities which equate broadly to curriculum approaches) and whether variation in preschool experience affects core curriculum (English, science, mathematics) performance and classroom behaviours throughout the years of primary schooling in Trinidad and when children complete their primary education in the form of a national ‘common entrance examination’ for entry into a stratified secondary school system. Results show that a large majority of the sampled children attended preschool and that most of the preschool experience was traditional and teacher centred. Neither child centred or teacher centred preschool activities affected academic performance in the core subjects during the primary school years or at the end of their primary school career. Type of preschool activity did affect teacher perception of behaviour in class. Child centred experience facilitated a social/peer orientation in children. High levels of teacher centred experience detracted from later relationships with teacher. Results were confounded by social class, with middle class children having most access to (the limited amount available) child centred preschool experience and performing at the highest academic and behavioural levels in the classroom although in limited numbers. The discussion questions the appropriacy of the various preschool activities for pupils within a cultural orientation of traditional upbringing and primary schooling practices.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/0300443941030103

ISSN: 0300-4430, 1476-8275

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246

Abstract/Notes: The aim of the research was to compare the assessment methods of state schools andthose of some alternative schools and examine the opinions and estimates of teacherson the possibility and need to implement assessment methods from some alternativeschools into state schools. The purpose of the paper is to enhance existing assessmentmethods in state schools. The longitudinal research was carried out in five alternativeschools and in state schools in the city of Zagreb. Triangulation methodology wasapplied. Seventeen participants were included in the qualitative phase of the researchcarried out in 2011 while the sample in the quantitative phase of the research in 2018comprised 159 participants. The first phase collected data using the case study andinterview, while a questionnaire - Assessment models and methods - was developedfor the second phase. The research did not show significant differences in opinionsbetween teachers regarding the same assessment methods seven years later. The resultsshow that teachers in alternative schools give a more positive estimate of the possibilityand need for implementation. The existing manner of assessment and evaluation instate schools should be modernized with alternative methods such as the yearly report,portfolio and Montessori materials.Keywords: alternative schools; assessment and evaluation; primary education, specificassessment methods; state schools.---SažetakCilj istraživanja bio je usporediti dokimološka rješenja u državnim i nekimalternativnim školama te ispitati mišljenja i procjene učitelja o mogućnosti i potrebiimplementacije dokimoloških rješenja iz nekih alternativnih škola u državne škole.Svrha rada jest unaprjeđenje postojećih dokimoloških rješenja u državnim školama.Istraživanje je longitudinalno i provedeno je u pet alternativnih i u državnimškolama u gradu Zagrebu. Korištena je metodološka triangulacija. U kvalitativnojfazi istraživanja iz 2011. godine, sudjelovalo je 17 ispitanika, a u kvantitativnoj faziistraživanja 2018. godine, 159 ispitanika. U prvoj fazi za prikupljanje podatakakorištena je studija slučaja i intervju, a za drugu je konstruiran anketni upitnik- Dokimološki modeli i rješenja. Ispitivanje nije pokazalo značajnije razlike umišljenjima učiteljica i učitelja o istim dokimološkim rješenjima 7 godina kasnije.Rezultati pokazuju kako učitelji alternativnih škola pozitivnije procjenjuju mogućnosti potrebu implementacije, a postojeće načine praćenja i ocjenjivanja u državnojškoli treba osuvremeniti alternativnim dokimološkim rješenjima poput godišnjegaizvještaja, portfolija i Montessori materijala.Ključne riječi: alternativne škole; državne škole; praćenje i ocjenjivanje; primarnoobrazovanje; specifična dokimološka rješenja.

Language: Croatian, English

ISSN: 1848-5189, 1848-5197

Abstract/Notes: Although multiage grouping is part of a greater approach to change in education, classroom problems can result when the approach's rationale is not understood. Three precepts of vertical grouping concern heterogeneity of student groups, individualized materials and activities, and a caring learning community. Factors influencing successful programs are described. (LB)

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/00094056.1992.10521787

ISSN: 0009-4056, 2162-0725

Abstract/Notes: There has been little research on pupils' experiences of ability grouping. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of primary‐aged pupils regarding the purpose and practice of within and between class ability grouping; their experiences of those practices; and how their attitudes to school, self‐perceptions and behaviour were affected. The study was undertaken in six primary schools adopting different combinations of grouping practices including streaming, setting, within‐class ability and mixed ability grouping. Six pupils, of high, moderate or low ability, mixed in gender, in each Key Stage 2 class were interviewed in each school. The findings showed that pupils were aware of how and why they were grouped and accepted the rationales provided. Attitudes towards school were not affected by grouping structures, but pupils' awareness of their place in the pecking order and the nature of teasing in the school were, although these were mediated by school ethos factors.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/0141192042000237211

ISSN: 0141-1926, 1469-3518

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/0141192830090106

ISSN: 1465-3346, 0142-5692

Abstract/Notes: During the 1990s, there was considerable emphasis on promoting particular kinds of pupil grouping as a means of raising educational standards. This survey of 2000 primary schools explored the extent to which schools had changed their grouping practices in response to this, the nature of the changes made and the reasons for those changes. Forty-eight per cent of responding schools reported that they had made no change. Twenty-two per cent reported changes because of the literacy hour, two per cent because of the numeracy hour, seven per cent because of a combination of these and twenty-one per cent for other reasons. Important influences on decisions about the types of grouping adopted were related to pupil learning and differentiation, teaching, the implementation of the National Literacy Strategy, practical issues and school self-evaluation.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/01411920310001629992

ISSN: 0141-1926, 1469-3518

Abstract/Notes: This research investigated Education for Sustainability (EfS) at an independent Montessori primary school, located in the Perth metropolitan area of Western Australia. A longitudinal case study involving analysis of data from a 20-year period was conducted to determine the effectiveness of EfS. Historical information about EfS at the school from 1990 to 2005 was examined, with the main focus of the study being on the impact of the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI) between 2005 and 2009. AuSSI promotes a whole school, whole systems thinking approach to EfS.Three school-based issues in EfS were studied. First, the research aimed to determine what elements of EfS were in operation in the school prior to involvement in AuSSI. Second, student outcomes including engagement with whole systems thinking, attitudes and values, knowledge and understandings, and skills and behaviours related to EfS, were investigated during the first 5 years of participation in AuSSI. Third, teacher perceptions of the EfS program, including engagement with whole systems thinking, were examined during this same time period. A case study approach was employed to enable in-depth investigation of EfS in the life of the school prior to, during and post implementation of AuSSI. This approach facilitated revelation of participants’ lived experiences, their perceptions and understandings of EfS, as well as detailed information about student outcomes in EfS. Case study methodology was also compatible with the culture and processes of the participating school and provided an opportunity for utilising a whole systems thinking approach. Data was gathered from a range of sources, through surveys, interviews, observation and document analysis over a 5-year period. The total participants included 11 teachers and 75 students. The research identified particular antecedents of EfS in the Montessori method of education that existed in the school prior to AuSSI, including the whole child approach, together with the Montessori learning environment, curriculum and values. Following participation in AuSSI, student attitudes and values, knowledge and understandings, and skills and behaviours related to EfS were enhanced for all year levels. However, after 3 years, when specific EfS actions and projects ceased, student EfS outcomes were limited. Furthermore, students’ thinking and behaviour indicated a ‘silo’, rather than whole systems thinking approach to EfS. Teachers perceived the EfS program as highly effective in the initial 3 years after joining AuSSI. Key elements that enhanced EfS included EfS staff champions who had access to EfS networks, leadership support, and active school community involvement in all EfS processes. However, after 3 years of being an AuSSI school, the culmination of reduced leadership support for EfS, lack of staff training, vague designation of staff with EfS responsibilities and inadequate community involvement, resulted in cessation of the EfS program. Teacher perceptions on whole systems thinking revealed alignment between Montessori philosophy, EfS and whole system thinking was more in theory than in practice. Through an in-depth longitudinal case study of a school this research highlighted the importance of whole school EfS professional learning, embedding EfS and whole systems thinking across the curriculum at all year levels, whole school support, and the usefulness of a sustainability continuum that recognises the complex, dynamic interplay of issues involved in a school's EfS journey. It is strongly recommended that improvements to pre-service teacher education in EfS are implemented, and a review of the AuSSI toolkit is conducted to refine EfS evaluation processes and to target the specific EfS needs of teachers at different stages of schooling, as well as to enhance understanding and implementation of the whole systems thinking approach. Finally, EfS professional learning for all school staff in all schools is warranted to enhance depth of EfS engagement.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1017/aee.2013.8

ISSN: 0814-0626, 2049-775X

Abstract/Notes: Portfolios have gained wide acceptance as a learning and assessment tool. Yet, little research has been reported on the practices of teachers who are actually using portfolios within their classrooms and how those practices are moderated by contextual variables. This research examined the instructional, learning, and assessment roles of student portfolios and explored, from the perspective of the classroom teacher, variations in portfolio applications associated with teaching level (primary vs. intermediate) and classroom environment (self-contained vs. multiage-teaming). Kindergarten through Grade 5 teachers in 13 elementary schools completed a survey questionnaire regarding the instructional and assessment uses to which portfolios are put within their classrooms. To further examine for patterns of portfolio use, a subset of teachers was interviewed to explore the perceptions that teachers hold about the impact of student portfolios on themselves and on their students. The results suggest that Kindergarten through Grade 5 teachers make deliberate decisions regarding uses of their students' portfolios, decisions that appear heavily impacted by the maturity or skill level of the child, the purposes of the application, and the classroom environment within which the application occurs. They also depend on whether the portfolio product is in a formative state (working portfolio) or final state (performance portfolio).

Language: English

DOI: 10.1207/S15324818AME1302_5

ISSN: 0895-7347

Language: Spanish

ISSN: 0210-0630