This article considers the extent to which the needs and aspirations of teachers are taken into account in three examples of current Primary and Early Years documentation -the National Curriculum, the Early Years Foundation Stage and the Primary Framework. This analysis is done through three methods: a critical discourse analysis of the aims and purposes of each; an analysis of models of power; and an analysis of models of pedagogy. The article reveals that teachers and teaching are not well represented within the aims and purposes of two of the documents, but that equally there are pedagogic behaviours within the teaching profession that do not aspire to autonomy. Recent documentation has tended to be accompanied by prescribed systematic pedagogy, which has created perceived tensions within the profession, yet the data show that many teachers seek to be professionally passive in terms of the planning demands of documentation. This article suggests that where there are identifiable tensions, these are not found simply between teachers (collectively) and imposed documentation, but between some teachers and some aspects of documentation.
This mixed method study investigated the extent to which the use of a model built around student-led questioning and feedback improved the learner engagement and attainment of a cohort of students. It compared outcomes from an experimental with a control group of students in Key-Stage 3 using a set of parameters. It found that the experimental group, who were taught using this model, showed improvements in engagement and attainment when compared to the control group. A model of discourse was proposed to help students take ownership of their learning and offered as a means of helping to transform science teachers' classroom pedagogy.
This opinion piece makes connections between common strategies currently being deployed in primary schools and a growing perception amongst lecturers that a significant minority of undergraduate students have difficulty with punctuation, a difficulty which can render their written submissions very hard to read. This piece offers possible explanation, citing the 'punctuation pyramid' and considering the long-term effects of a primary education policy that encourages primary-aged children to 'up-level' their writing, a practice which many students bring to their undergraduate studies.
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