Education and racism:a study of the teachers' and the pupils' relations in the schooling of black boys

This thesis examines the teachers' and the pupils' relations in the schooling of black boys. The study using the methodology of participant observation focusses on one school (Kilby) in an area of black population in an English city. The thesis’s intentions are two fold: firstly, in order to examine these relations, two major aspects of their interaction are addressed, that of the absence of teachers from conventional 'race-relations' research, and, the identification and examination of the anti-school pupils' sub-cultures. Two substantive questions are asked: what is the response of the teachers to the schooling of black pupils? and, what is the meaning of the pupils' resistance to schooling? Secondly, in attempting to answer these questions and offer a critique of the dominant 'race-relations' culturalist explanation of black youth's response to schooling, a theoretical framework has been developed which takes account of both the 'economic' and the 'sociological' perspectives. Methodology allowed and pointed to the importance of examining the teachers' ideologies and practices as well as those of the black boys. It is argued that a class analysis of the racially structured British society is more adequate than the conventional ethnic approach in explaining the black boys' location within Kilby School. Hence, it is posited that the major problem in the schooling of black youth is not that of their culture but of racism, which pervasively structures the social reality at Kilby school. Racism is mediated both through the existing institutional framework that discriminates against working-class youth and through the operation of race specific mechanisms, such as the process of racist stereotyping. It is thus further argued that the Kilby school teachers are of central causal significance to the - problems that the boys encounter. Furthermore, it is in response to these racist ideologies and practices that both West Indian and Asian pupils develop specific forms of collective resistance, which are seen to be linked to the wider black community, as legitimate strategies of survival.

Motivational state and process within the sociolinguistic context : an Anglo-French comparative study of school pupils learning foreign languages

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the socio-cultural environment upon the motivation school children have to learn foreign languages. Motivation was therefore considered from a sociolinguistic, rather than from a psycholinguistic perspective, giving primary importance to contextual, as opposed to personal factors. In order to examine the degree of relationship between motivational intensity and the contextual factors of parental attitudes, amount of foreign language exposure and the employment related value of foreign language learning (FLL), data obtained from school children living in two distinct sociolinguistic environments (Mulhouse, France and Walsall, England) were compared and contrasted. A structured sample drawn from pupils attending schools in Mulhouse and Walsall supplied the data base for this research. The main thrust of the study was quantitative in approach, involving the distribution of almost 1000 questionnaires to pupils in both towns. This was followed up by the use of qualitative methods, in the form of in-depth interviews with an individually matched sample of over 50 French/English pupils. The findings of the study indicate that FLL orientations, attitudes and motivation vary considerably between the two sociolinguistic environments. Levels of motivation were generally higher in the French sample than in the English one. Desire to learn foreign languages and a commitment to expend effort in order to fulfil this desire were key components of this motivation. The study also found evidence to suggest that the importance accorded to FLL by the socio-cultural context, communicated to the child through the socialisation agents of the family, the mass media and prospective employers, is of key importance in FLL motivation.

Multiculturalism- the ideological response to the education of black pupils in British Schools

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Today's pupils tomorrow's engineers! Pedagogy and policy:a UK perspective

Purpose – This paper aims to provide a critical analysis of UK Government policy in respect of recent moves to attract young people into engineering. Drawing together UK and EU policy literature, the paper considers why young people fail to look at engineering positively. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing together UK policy, practitioner and academic-related literature the paper critically considers the various factors influencing young people's decision-making processes in respect of entering the engineering profession. A conceptual framework providing a diagrammatic representation of the “push” and “pull” factors impacting young people at pre-university level is given. Findings – The discussion argues that higher education in general has a responsibility to assist young people overcome negative stereotypical views in respect of engineering education. Universities are in the business of building human capability ethically and sustainably. As such they hold a duty of care towards the next generation. From an engineering education perspective, the major challenge is to present a relevant and sustainable learning experience that will equip students with the necessary skills and competencies for a lifelong career in engineering. This may be achieved by promoting transferable skills and competencies or by the introduction of a capabilities-driven curriculum which brings together generic and engineering skills and abilities. Social implications – In identifying the push/pull factors impacting young people's decisions to study engineering, this paper considers why, at a time of global recession, young people should select to study the required subjects of mathematics, science and technology necessary to study for a degree in engineering. The paper identifies the long-term social benefits of increasing the number of young people studying engineering. Originality/value – In bringing together pedagogy and policy within an engineering framework, the paper adds to current debates in engineering education providing a distinctive look at what seems to be a recurring problem – the failure to attract young people into engineering.

The nature of the influence of parents on the education and occupational choice of school pupils

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Study of the factors involved in the occupational aspirations of fifth year secondary school pupils

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Childhood ethnic differences in ametropia and ocular biometry:the Aston Eye Study

Purpose: To describe the methodology, sampling strategy and preliminary results for the Aston Eye Study (AES), a cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence of refractive error and its associated ocular biometry in a large multi-racial sample of school children from the metropolitan area of Birmingham, England. Methods: A target sample of 1700 children aged 6–7 years and 1200 aged 12–13 years is being selected from Birmingham schools selected randomly with stratification by area deprivation index (a measure of socio-economic status). Schools with pupils predominantly (>70%) from a single race are excluded. Sample size calculations account for the likely participation rate and the clustering of individuals within schools. Procedures involve standardised protocols to allow for comparison with international population-based data. Visual acuity, non-contact ocular biometry (axial length, corneal radius of curvature and anterior chamber depth) and cycloplegic autorefraction are measured in both eyes. Distance and near oculomotor balance, height and weight are also assessed. Questionnaires for parents and older children will allow the influence of environmental factors on refractive error to be examined. Results: Recruitment and data collection are ongoing (currently N = 655). Preliminary cross-sectional data on 213 South Asian, 44 black African Caribbean and 70 white European children aged 6–7 years and 114 South Asian, 40 black African Caribbean and 115 white European children aged 12–13 years found myopia prevalence of 9.4% and 29.4% for the two age groups respectively. A more negative mean spherical equivalent refraction (SER) was observed in older children (-0.21 D vs +0.87 D). Ethnic differences in myopia prevalence are emerging with South Asian children having higher levels than white European children 36.8% vs 18.6% (for the older children). Axial length, corneal radius of curvature and anterior chamber depth were normally distributed, while SER was leptokurtic (p < 0.001) with a slight negative skew. Conclusions: The AES will allow ethnic differences in the ocular characteristics of children from a large metropolitan area of the UK to be examined. The findings to date indicate the emergence of higher levels of myopia by early adolescence in second and third generation British South Asians, compared to white European children. The continuation of the AES will allow the early determinants of these ethnic differences to be studied.

School outcomes:sharing the responsibility between pupil and school

This paper uses a Data Envelopment Analysis based approach to decompose pupil under-attainment into that attributable to the school the pupil attends and that attributable to the pupil. The approach measures pupil attainment in terms of value added. Data on over 6700 A-level pupils from 122 English schools have been analysed. The results suggest that at current levels of school effectiveness a pupil's own application accounts for the major part of any under-attainment, though schools also have scope to improve their effectiveness.The approach also makes it possible to identify target attainment levels a pupil could be set and the extent to which the attainment of those targets necessitates an improvement in the effectiveness of the school the pupil attends and in the pupil's own efforts.

Grammar in the curriculum for English: what next?

It is clear from several government reports and research papers published recently, that the curriculum for English in primary and secondary schools is about to change, yet again. After years of a bureaucratic stranglehold that has left even Ofsted report writers criticising the teaching of English, it seems as if the conditions are right for further revisions. One of the questions that inevitably arises when a curriculum for English is reviewed, relates to the place and purpose of the teaching of grammar. This paper outlines a possible curriculum for grammar across both primary and secondary phases, arguing that for the teaching of grammar to have any salience or purpose at all, it has to be integrated into the curriculum as a whole, and not just that of writing. A recontextualised curriculum for grammar of the kind proposed here, would teach pupils to become critically literate in ways which recognise diversity as well as unity, and with the aim of providing them with the means to critically analyse and appraise the culture in which they live.

Continuous measurement of accommodation in human factor applications

It has long been sought to measure ocular accommodation continuously in human factor applications such as driving or flying. Open-field autorefractors such as the Canon R-1 could be converted to allow continuous, objective recording, but steady eye fixation and head immobilisation were essential for the measurements to be valid. Image analysis techniques utilised by newer open-view autorefractors such as the Shin-Nippon SRW-5000 are more tolerant to head and eye movements, but perhaps the technique with the greatest potential for the measurement of accommodation in human factor applications is photoretinoscopy. This paper examines the development of techniques for high temporal measurements of accommodation and reports on the tolerance of one such recent commercial instrument, the PowerRefractor (PlusOptiX). The instrument was found to be tolerant to eye movements from the optical axis of the instrument (∼0.50 DS change in apparent accommodation with gaze 25° eccentric to the optical axis), longitudinal head movement (<0.25 DS from 8 cm towards and 20 cm away from the correct photorefractor to eye distance) and changes in background illuminance (<0.25 DS from 0.5 to 20 cd m-2 target luminance). The PowerRefractor also quantifies the direction of gaze and pupil size, but is unable to take measurements with small pupils <3.7 ±1.0 mm. © 2002 The College of Optometrists.

The directions taken by young people on leaving compulsory education:a study in two Birmingham schools

The thesis addresses the relative importance of factors affecting working-class school-leavers' post-compulsory education transitions into post-sixteen education, training, employment and unemployment. It focuses on school-leavers choosing to enter the labour market, whether successfully or not and the influences affecting this choice. Methodologically, the longitudinal approach followed young people from before they left school to a period of months after. Discrepancies between young people's intended and actual destinations emphasised the diverse influences on post-sixteen transitions. These influences were investigated through a dynamic multi-method approach, drawing from quantitative and qualitative methodologies providing depth and insight while locating the research within a structural framework, allowing a comparison with local and national trends. Two crucial factors of school and gender affected young people's intended and actual post-sixteen directions. School policy, including treatment of disaffected pupils and recruitment to a large, on-site sixth form, influenced the number of pupils opting to continue their education. Girls were more likely to continue education after the end of compulsory schooling and gave different reasons to boys for doing so. Family and peer groups were influential, helping young people develop a 'horizon for action' incorporating habitus and subjective preferences that specified acceptable post-sixteen directions. These influences operated within the context of the local labour market. Perception of the latter rather than actual conditions informed post-sixteen decisions; however, labour market reality influenced the success of the school-leavers' endeavours. The research found that the economics-based rational choice model of decision-making did not apply to many working class school-leavers. The cohort made pragmatically rational decisions dependent on their 'horizon for action'. based on partial, occasionally inaccurate information. Policy recommendations consider the careers service and structure or school sixth forms as aiding successful transitions from compulsory education into education, employment or training. The maintenance allowance may be ineffectual in tackling its objective of social inclusion.

Pupil resistance to their schooling experience

The thesis explores the nature of pupil resistance; it investigates what constitutes it and how it can be explained. Various ethnic and national group, male and female working-class resistance if analysed in two secondary schools in Birmingham (England) and one school in Sydney (Australia). It focuses on the pupils’ experience of school. ‘Compressed ethnographies’ (Walford and Miller, 1991) were conducted in each school to examine pupil resistance. The research found that structural societal state factors, regional, community and formal, informal and physical characteristics of each school, together with the teachers and pupils characteristics and background all influence resistance. The class, gender, ethnic and national identity of each pupil shapes resistance. In all three schools that were involved with the research, girls were more likely to exhibit overt, collective forms of resistance, whereas lads were more likely to operate alone. Islander pupils in Sydney and African-Caribbean kids in Birmingham were more likely to display engaged forms of resistance. Girls tended to show more engaged forms compared to their male counterparts across all ethnic and national cultures. Resistance is complex and dynamic, the definition alters depending upon context. Dimensions of resistance are developed; including overt, covert; individual, collective; intentional, unintentional; engaged and detached forms. Resistance operates within a structure and agency framework, the pupils can shape their own schooling experience mediated within the structures of their school, community and society. Some pupils manage their resources and the structures better than others; how the pupil manages and operates within the structures influences their resistance response. Resistance is contradictory and can reinforce the status quo. To fully understand resistance, it must be contextualised.

A study of the problem solving strategies used by expert and novice designers

This research project focused upon the design strategies adopted by expert and novice designers. It was based upon a desire to compare the design problem solving strategies of novices, in this case key stage three pupils studying technolgy within the United Kingdom National Curriculum, with designers who could be considered to have developed expertise. The findings helped to provide insights into potential teaching strategies to suit novice designers. Verbal protocols were made as samples of expert and novice designers solved a design problem and talked aloud as they worked. The verbalisations were recorded on video tape. The protocols were transcribed and segmented, with each segment being assigned to a predetermined coding system which represented a model of design problem solving. The results of the encoding were analysed and consideration was also given to the general design strategy and heuristics used by the expert and novice designers. The drawings and models produced during the generation of the protocols were also analysed and considered. A number of significant differences between the problem solving strategies adopted by the expert and novice designers were identified. First of all, differences were observed in the way expert and novice designers used the problem statement and solution validation during the process. Differences were also identified in the way holistic solutions were generated near the start of the process, and also in the cycles of exploration and the processes of integration. The way design and technological knowledge was used provided further insights into the differences between experts and novices, as did the role of drawing and modelling during the process. In more general terms, differences were identified in the heuristics and overall design strategies adopted by the expert and novice designers. The above findings provided a basis for discussing teaching strategies appropriate for novice designers. Finally, opportunities for future research were discussed.