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.

Maintenance of communication in primary classrooms : some evidence for the role of elicitation and code-switching in English medium schools in Kenya, with implications for teaching

This is a study of specific aspects of classroom interaction primary school level in Kenya. The study entailed the identification of the sources of particular communication problems during the change-over period from Kiswahili to English medium teaching in two primary schools. There was subsequently an examination of the language resources which were employed by teachers to maintain pupil participation in communication in the light of the occurrence of possibility of occurrence of specific communication problems. The language resources which were found to be significant in this regard concerned firstly the use of different elicitation types by teachers to stimulate pupils into giving responses and secondly teachers' recourse to code-switching from English to Kiswahili and vice-versa. It was also found in this study that although the use of English as the medium of instruction in the classrooms which were observed resulted in certain communication problems, some of these problems need not have arisen if teachers had been more careful in their use of language. The consideration of this finding, after taking into account the role of different elicitation types and code-switching as interpretable from data samples had certain implications which are specified in the study for teaching in Kenyan primary schools. The corpus for the study consisted of audio-recordings of English, Science and Number-Work lessons which were later transcribed. Relevant data samples were subsequently extracted from transcripts for analysis. Many of the samples have examples of cases of communication breakdowns, but they also illustrate how teachers maintained interaction with pupils who had yet to acquire an operational mastery of English. This study thus differs from most studies on classroom interaction because of its basic concern with the examination of the resources available to teachers for overcoming the problem areas of classroom communication.

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.

Spelling acquisition in English and Italian:a cross-linguistic study

We examined the spelling acquisition in children up to late primary school of a consistent orthography (Italian) and an inconsistent orthography (English). The effects of frequency, lexicality, length, and regularity in modulating spelling performance of the two groups were examined. English and Italian children were matched for both chronological age and number of years of schooling. Two-hundred and seven Italian children and 79 English children took part in the study. We found greater accuracy in spelling in Italian than English children: Italian children were very accurate after only 2 years of schooling, while in English children the spelling performance was still poor after 5 years of schooling. Cross-linguistic differences in spelling accuracy proved to be more persistent than the corresponding ones in reading accuracy. Orthographic consistency produced not only quantitative, but also qualitative differences, with larger frequency and regularity effects in English than in Italian children.

Unresolved issues and new challenges in teaching English to young learners:the case of South Korea

The introduction of languages, especially English, into the primary curriculum around the world has been one of the major language-in-education policy developments in recent years. In countries where English has been compulsory for a number of years, the question arises as to what extent the numerous and well-documented challenges faced by the initial implementation of early language learning policies have been overcome and whether new challenges have arisen as policies have become consolidated. This article therefore focuses on South Korea, where English has been compulsory in primary school since 1997. The issues raised by the introduction of English into the primary curriculum are reviewed and the current situation in South Korea is investigated. The results of a mixed methods study using survey data from 125 Korean primary school teachers, together with data from a small-scale case study of one teacher are presented. The study shows that, while some of the initial problems caused by the introduction of early language learning appear to have been addressed, other challenges persist. Moreover, the data reveal the emergence of a number of new challenges faced by primary school teachers of English as they seek to implement government policy. © 2013 © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

The impact of increased writing time allotment on the developmental writing skills of intermediate elementary school students

The purpose of this study is to determine which of several treatment groups and/or grades have shown growth when increased writing time allotment has occurred. Third, fourth and fifth grade students identified as Gifted, Learning Disabled, and Limited English Proficient enrolled in ESOL classes were the 69 subjects.^ All students were allotted at least one hour of writing time, four days a week for the school year of 1994-1995. Writing activities conducted during the school year involved the full writing process, including prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing. Pretests and posttests were administered across the grade levels at a designated period of time using the same administration procedures as the Florida Writing Assessment Program. Three teachers rated each sample on a scale of zero to three.^ The results of the oneway ANOVA indicated that the three raters did not score the pretests and posttests significantly different from each other. A single group pretest-posttest experimental design was used on the three groups. The results of the Gifted group revealed that the Gifted C subgroup (Gifted Behavioral) appeared to have averaged a higher gain score than both the Gifted A and Gifted B subgroups. For the four subgroups of the LD group, no distinct pattern was evident. The Group C subgroup (ADD) appeared to have scored lower than the other three subgroup although their mean IQ score was higher than the others LD subgroups. Comparisons were difficult to make among the four ESOL subgroups due to low subjects and/or scores. Qualitative analyses were also conducted using semi-structured interviews with the Gifted, Learning Disabled, and ESOL teachers. All believed the additional instructional time spent on writing made the difference in the increased writing scores.^ The study indicated that time alone is not a significant factor in developing accomplished writers. Direct instruction perhaps in a specific strategy or skill may lead to significant results. ^

The effect of group counseling on the self-esteem, attendance, and counselor utilization of immigrant Hispanic secondary limited English proficient students

As the population of the United States becomes more diverse and the immigrant Hispanic, limited English proficient (LEP) school age population continues to grow, understanding and addressing the needs of these students becomes a pressing question. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of group counseling, by a bilingual counselor, on the self-esteem, attendance and counselor utilization of Hispanic LEP high school students. The design for this study was a quasi-experimental design. The experimental and control groups consisted of one class from each of the four levels of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), I-IV. The counseling intervention, the independent variable, was delivered by a bilingual counselor once a week, for fifteen weeks.^ A total of 112 immigrant Hispanic LEP students selected from the total ESOL student population participated in the study. The experimental and control groups were administered the Culture Free Self Esteem Inventory (CFSEI) Form AD as a pretest and posttest. The Background Information Questionnaire (BIQ) was utilized to gather information on counselor utilization and demographic data. Attendance data were obtained from the students' computer records. At the conclusion of the study the differences between the experimental and control groups on the three dependent variables were compared.^ Statistical analyses of the data were done using SPSS statistical software. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was utilized to determine if there were significant differences in the self-esteem scores, attendance and counselor utilization. Correlational analyses was utilized to determine if there was a relationship between English language proficiency and self-esteem and between acculturation level and self-esteem.^ The study results indicate that there were no significant differences in the self-esteem scores and attendance of the subjects in the experimental group at the completion of the group counseling treatment. Counselor utilization was statistically significant for the targeted population. A relationship was found between English language proficiency level and self-esteem scores for students in ESOL levels II, III and IV. No significant correlation was found between acculturation and self-esteem.^ Research on the dropout rates of LEP coupled with the results of this study show that students at the intermediate and advanced levels of ESOL (III and IV) exhibit more positive self-esteem and achieve higher graduation rates that levels I and II. LEP students at levels I and II, once they became familiar with the role and function of school counselors through group counseling, utilized their services. ^

Safety habits promoted by Hispanic parents for school-aged and adolescent children

Accidents are the leading cause of death among children. Compliance with safety measures have been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality in children. However, Hispanic parents and children have not been adequately studied in the literature in regard to trauma and safety habits utilized. In this exploratory-descriptive study, a convenience sample of 48 Hispanic parents were questioned about their child's activities. The purpose was to determine what safety equipment was used during these activities and how often they were used. Responses to an English/Spanish questionnaire were summarized by frequencies and percentages. Findings suggested that these Hispanic children were at risk for injury due to a low percentage of children wearing the necessary protective equipment. Therefore, education must stress consistent use of safety equipment if injuries are to be prevented. ^