Moderation and the primary school context

Abstract

This study presents an examination of the enactment of moderation in a Scottish primary school. The study investigated how an individual school made sense of moderation. Documentary evidence was gathered providing an in-depth understanding of both moderation and the wider context of the school. Audio recordings of three moderation meetings provided data on moderation enactment.Unstructured, semi-structured and focus group interviews captured the views of all participants involved in moderation. Moderation was viewed positively, understood as a social process enhancing collegiality and curriculum improvement. Finally, a typology for moderation is proposed.

Primary teachers’ experiences of neo-liberal education reform in England: ‘Nothing is ever good enough’

“…Raising questions about data, or admonishment for lack of pupil progress can position teachers as threatened and defensive. In Scotland, such a meeting is positioned as formative, collegiate and learnerorientated reflecting a child-centred and professional dialogue around pupil outcome data (Adams and Anderson 2019).…”