Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the concept of ' inspiring teaching' based on case studies of exemplary practitioners in England to inform professional development and collaborative learning and support school improvement. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a mixed methods design involving multiple perspectives. Data sources included interviews with teachers, two systematic classroom observation schedules and qualitative field notes from classroom observations. Quantitative and qualitative findings were integrated to allow for triangulation and synthesis. Findings The ‘inspiring’ sample of teachers exhibited many strengths in terms of the characteristics of more effective teaching identified in previous literature. However, the integration and synthesis of evidence also reveals core features of inspiring practice and highlighted the strong emotional and reflective components that distinguish inspiring practice, including: positive relationships; good classroom/behaviour management; positive and supportive climate; formative feedback; high quality learning experiences; enjoyment, and high levels of student engagement and motivation. Research limitations/implications This small-scale study was based on a purposive sample of 17 teachers in England therefore results cannot necessarily be generalised to other contexts. Practical implications The research findings and approaches can be used to support teachers' professional development and provide resources to promote collaboration in developing professional learning communities. Originality/value The investigation provides new evidence on the characteristics, practices and views of inspiring teachers. The use of multiple perspectives and integration of findings provides new evidence to inform and support the development of professional learning communities.
In this paper, we extend a mixed method (MM) approach to lesson observation and analysis used in previous research in England, combining multiple structured observation instruments and qualitative field notes, to provide a framework for studying three videotaped lessons from 3rd-grade US mathematics classrooms. Two structured observation schedules are employed, one subject-specific and research-oriented and the other generic and inspection-oriented. Both instruments were previously developed based on evidence from the teacher effectiveness research (TER) knowledge base. Qualitative field notes, in addition to structured observation schedules, provide detailed narratives for each lesson video. Separate findings from each instrument and approach are presented, followed by an integrated analysis and synthesis of results. Although previous studies used similar methods to analyze teaching practice within broader research designs incorporating additional methods and perspectives (e.g. teacher interviews, pupil assessments, pupil questionnaires), this paper explicitly examines the strengths and limitations of the multi-instrument, mixed method approach to lesson observation. Using multiple observation instruments allows for triangulation as well as consideration of complementary foci (i.e. a content-specific instrument measures fine-grained aspects of practice not emphasized in a more generic instrument, and vice versa). Field notes facilitate rich descriptions and more thorough contextualization and illumination of teaching practice than structured observation ratings alone. Further, the MM approach allows for consideration of lesson features beyond those established in TER literature as sufficient to characterize 'effective' practice.
Aims: To determine whether distinct trends can exist in children's diurnal cortisol slopes as they transition to school, and the extent to which these trends relate to preschool attendance and/or exerted effortful control. Method: A secondary analysis of the anonymised data gathered for the UK Transition to School Study was carried out. 105 children were studied over a 12-month period during transition to school at mean age 55 months. Children's diurnal cortisol slopes were measured as the difference between average salivary cortisol concentrations (SCC) sampled at waking and early evening over two days at each of three measurement time points: 4 months before, 2 weeks after, and 6 months after school entry. Children's effortful control was measured at 2 weeks after school entry using the parent-administered Child Behavior Questionnaire. Parental questionnaires recorded the duration children spent in preschool (months; days per week; hours per week), and four background characteristics: child gender, parental cohabitation, responding parent's age, and responding parent's level of education. Findings: Latent class growth analysis suggested two distinct trends in diurnal cortisol slopes during children's transition to school: 39% of children demonstrated flatter diurnal cortisol slopes. These children were likely to have spent fewer hours per week in preschool, and were likely to exert less effortful control 2 weeks after transitioning to school. These associations underscore the importance of continuity in children's daily routines as they transition to school. Implications are discussed concerning school readiness and the effectiveness of early interventions.
We used pupil-level data from the National Pupil Database in England to conduct a longitudinal analysis of the identification of moderate learning difficulties (MLD) and social, emotional, and mental health difficulties (SEMH) among 550,000 pupils ages 5 to 11 years. Survival analysis was used to determine the hazard ratios (HRs) for time to first identification, controlling for prior attainment and social-emotional development at age 5 as well as socioeconomic variables. For MLD, the overrepresentation of Black Caribbean and Pakistani pupils compared with White British pupils was eliminated following age 5 controls, and the predominant picture was of ethnic-minority underrepresentation. For SEMH, Black Caribbean and mixed White and Black Caribbean (MWBC) pupils continued to be overrepresented even after age 5 controls (HR = 1.36 and 1.44, respectively), although this was not true for the larger group of Black African pupils, who were underrepresented in the adjusted analyses (HR = 0.62), as were most other ethnic-minority groups. The results indicate most ethnic-minority groups are underrepresented for special educational needs after adjusting for pupil characteristics on entry to school, though this varies by ethnic group and type of need.
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