Stories and Statistics: Describing a Mixed Method Study of Effective Classroom Practice

The Effective Classroom Practice project aimed to identify key factors that contribute to effective teaching in primary and secondary phases of schooling in different socioeconomic contexts. This article addresses the ways in which qualitative and quantitative approaches were combined within an integrated design to provide a comprehensive methodology for the research purposes. Strategies for the study are discussed, followed by the challenges of combining complex statistics with individual stories, particularly in relation to the ongoing iteration between these different data sets, and issues of validity and reliability. The findings shed new light on the meanings and measurement of teachers’ effective classroom practice and the complex nature of, and relationships with, professional life phase, teacher identities, and school context.

Teachers’ Constructs Of Effective Classroom Practice: Variations Across Career Phases.

This paper outlines a theoretical framework which offers an explanation of the complexity of how teachers define their effectiveness in relation to their classroom practice. The research from which this framework emerged was a two-year, mixed method study of 81 primary and secondary school teachers. The use of repertory grid interviews combined with a number of other methods is unique in a study of teachers’ practice and, from the elicited constructs, seven key themes emerged. These themes, analysed in relation to three broad career phases, indicate a number of issues important for teachers as they transfer from early-to-late career.

Interpersonal Relationships in the Primary Classroom: an Analysis of Social and Affective Outcomes

Recent research regarding the quality of relationships in primary classrooms has focused largely on the enhancement and development of cognitive skills. The study reported here focused on a range of social and affective outcomes with the intention of broadening our understanding of the classroom as an interactive system, from the child's perspective. This paper provides empirical evidence on children's perceptions at Key Stage 2 (pupil age 7-11 years) of their relationships with teachers, other adults and children. Data were collected via an attitudinal questionnaire survey in nine primary schools in England. Results indicate that, in addition to the development of social skills, children also valued academic confidence, learning and the involvement of their parents in homework, and that these were associated with the interactions and routines established within the primary classroom settings. Some variations in terms of pupil age, teacher career phase, and the socio-economic context of the school were identified; however, the importance of the relationship between pupil and teacher remained consistent across schools.

Political Discourse Analysis, Sport and Scottish Independence: Provisional Reflections upon Fairclough and Fairclough's (2012) Analytical Framework.

This paper aims to reflect upon the potential analytical utility of the political discourse analysis framework proposed by Isabela Fairclough and Norman Fairclough (2012). This framework represents the most recent substantive development upon Norman Fairclough's past work situated within the wider school of Critical Discourse Analysis, building upon his influential position this methodological tradition. Central to this development is the additional emphasis placed upon the necessity to conceptualise all political discourse as 'argumentative' in nature, given that political actors are ultimately proposing or refuting particular courses of concrete future action. This paper will therefore apply Fairclough and Fairclough's model to provisional data derived from an ongoing doctoral thesis which considers the nature of political discourse relating to sport, the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and Scottish independence, with an ultimate aim of critically considering the benefits and limitations of applying this analytical framework as a methodological tool within this ongoing study.