The Department of Education and Science (DES, 1989) published a report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate (HMI) based on visits to primary schools in summer 1986, and to secondary schools in spring 1987. Many of the pupils who were seen in their primary schools were again encountered after they had completed almost two terms of secondary education. The report concluded that, while teachers worked hard to ensure pupils transferred without ill-effects, schools were not achieving effective links in all aspects of the curriculum. Moreover, while parents and governors were usually well briefed, the opinions of pupils were largely overlooked, a fact which HMI found disappointing as the majority of pupils were thoughtful, informative and articulate when discussing their transfer. Now, ten years later, there is renewed concern about pupils' academic progress when they make the transfer from primary to secondary schools.
In this article we describe a longitudinal study with secondary school pupils which focuses on the relationship between pupils' cognitive development and understanding dynamics. Tho classes of pupils the first between 12-14 and the second between 14 and 16, together with a sub-sample from each of these classes were followed for three years. The main sample completed two tests composed of standard dynamics items and a Piagetian cognitive task. The subsample were interviewed on some of the dynamics items tested and carried out additional (~ognitive tasks. The results showed that the majority of younger pupils, and the sub-sample reflect the tendency, make very little or no cognitive progress during the three years whereas the older pupils of the main sample and sub-sample make reasonablepropgress mainly in the fourth year. The study showed that the relationship between cognitive scores and results on dynamics items is variable with both samples and subsamples. Further different domains within dynamics related in different ways to cognitive development. An analysis of dynamics concepts suggested that some are more accessible to pupils than others. Three different types of relations are proposed between pupils' understanding of dynamics concepts and the use of these in the real world Introducion Physics, is generally recognised to be a difficult subject for many children. While there are ideas about which domains of Physics are more accessible to children at different ages, much of this is at the level of speculation. Research in the area of children's ideas about
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