RiSE (Research in School of Education ) newsletter Issue02

RiSEResearch in the School of Education newsletter

July 2010

School wins National College tender for leadership research

Interview with John Bayley Managing Classroom behaviour

Also inside: Forthcoming research conferences, Interaction training research, Benefits of studying for a PhD

School of Education Research Student ConferenceResearching learning, learning to research

Welcome to the second issue of RiSE. The articles in this newsletter confirm the continued vibrancy of research within the School of Education.

Over the last few months we have seen an increase in the diversity of our research initiatives, as well as a noticeable enlargement in our research community. New doctoral researchers, research partners and Visiting Professors have joined us, helping to take the School’s profile to the next level. Judging by the energy, interest and commitment of colleagues in the School, it is safe to assume that the next academic year will bring further success.

It is important to note that this progress can only be achieved within a culture which recognises the value and purpose of educational enquiry. One aspect of this, which is frequently overlooked by the research community, is the importance of an appropriate strategy and framework to enhance the links between research and practice.

One of the achievements within the School of Education has been the establishment of an ongoing strategy to develop its research culture. An important feature of this strategy has been the collaborative manner in which it has emerged, being the product of inputs from interested parties, those who are substantially involved, those able to direct time towards personal or funded research and those who provide administrative support for research. The resulting document (available to view on the School of Education’s website) indicates the School’s intention to provide a dynamic and flexible set of opportunities to encourage research activity at all levels.

While, in the light of widespread economic constraints, the next few years are going to present significant financial challenges to the School’s research community, our forward planning ensures that we remain ideally placed to further develop our profile while retaining a practice-based emphasis.

Professor Philip Garner

If you would like to be featured in future editions of this publication, or would like more information, please email [email protected]

Written and produced by The University of Northampton’s School of Education and Marketing and External Relations Department.

All submissions are the property of RiSE newsletter. Content © 2010 The University of Northampton, School of Education.

Editor Pam Cormack [email protected]

Thanks to all The University of Northampton’s staff and School of Education partners who contributed to this newsletter.

ContentsPapers presented by CeSNER tutors ...................3

Researcher profile: Ann Fergusson ...................3

My research: Dr Jan Davidson-Sofair discusses her research .......................4

Study looks at interaction training for children on the autism spectrum................4

Star of Teachers TV, John Bayley, visits the School of Education ............................5

Inaugural School of Education Research Student Conference .........................6

The Benefits of studying for a PhD ...................................7

Leadership skills for positive classroom behaviour ........7

PhD support and skills sessions – diary dates ......7

School of Education lecturers produce ground-breaking textbook for trainee teachers ................8

Welcome

2 l RiSE l Web www.northampton.ac.uk/education l Email [email protected]

Ann came to work at the University in 1998 to develop postgraduate courses in the areas of severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties (SLD/PMLD) and physical disabilities.

In 2003 Ann worked on a three year DfES-funded project looking at the use of the P scales in schools across ten local authorities in the region. This was the start of several opportunities to explore assessment of pupil progress for

learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Funding was provided by the Department for Education and Training in Western Australia for Ann to offer training in this area and to set up trial groups to explore issues of assessment for the student population. A presentation to federal government about the topic was a catalyst for more involvement with Australian colleagues.

Ann and Professor Philip Garner, are in the early stages of exciting new research in partnership with the University of Adelaide and the Australian Education Support Principals Association.

Ann’s recent work has been related to children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) – assessing progress, promoting inclusive practice in mainstream settings, and supporting schools in the identification of mental health issues.

The pair presented work at the latest Irish Association of Teachers in Special Education (IATSE) conference, which took place at St. Patrick’s College, Dublin, and the Erasmus Mundus Special Education Needs International Conference (EMSENIC) at the University of Roehampton.

The presentation focussed on initial ideas, arising from a review of literature on the transition from compulsory to

further and higher education for young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

The study – conducted in collaboration with Trinity College, Dublin, and commissioned by the National Council for Special Education, Dublin – aims to explore progression and pathways for this transition in the Irish Republic, with a view to highlight barriers to access and identify successful practice.

The IATSE conference was well attended by Irish teachers who specialise in teaching children with Special Educational Needs. EMSENIC was attended by international researchers in the field of special needs and inclusion.

For further information about this research, please contact Dr Cristina Devecchi on [email protected]

Forthcoming research conferences

The European Conference on Educational Research (ECER)Helsinki, Finland 25-27 August 2010 www.eera-ecer.eu

The British Educational Research Association Conference (BERA) Warwick University 1-4 September 2010 www.bera.ac.uk

London International Conference on Education (LICE-2010)London 6-8 September 2010 www.liceducation.org

20th European Early Childhood Education Research Association ConferenceBirmingham 6-8 September 2010 www.eecera2010.org

International Conference on Educational and Information Technology (ICEIT)Chongqing, China 17-19 September www.iceit.org

International Conference on European Transnational Education (ICEUTE 2010), Burgos, Spain 24 September 2010 www.gicap.ubu.es/iceute2010

3rd International Pedagogical Research in Higher Education ConferenceLiverpool 25-26 October www.hope.ac.uk/learningandteaching

2nd International Conference ‘Towards Excellence in Education in Schools’, Delhi, India 28-30 October 2010 [email protected]

Papers presented by CeSNER tutors

Researcher profileAnn Fergusson is a part-time senior lecturer and member of the CeSNER team in the School of Education.

Two members of the School of Education’s Centre for Special Needs Education and Research (CeSNER) team, Sheena Bell and Dr Cristina Devecchi, were invited to present papers at recent research conferences.

Sheena Bell (left) and Dr Cristina Devecchi

Web www.northampton.ac.uk/education l Email [email protected] l RiSE l 3

My researchDr Jan Davidson-Sofair discusses her research.

I had been a teacher trainer in Further Education (FE) for twenty years when, in January 2000, I was asked to become involved with the introduction of ‘Curriculum 2000’ along with ‘Key Skills’ (KS) training for all my vocational students.

I became a KS tutor overnight, delivering three subjects: Application of Number (arithmetic), Communication (spelling, reading, writing and assimilation of information), and Information Technology (computer skills). It was this experience that drove me to undertake a doctoral study examining the effects of KS 2000 (as it became known) on students’ levels of motivation.

The PhD gave me the opportunity to explore the subject at a very deep level, using research methodologies I had not previously known. These included participation observation and grounded theory, which, although rather complex to use, helped me to produce some very interesting data.

The PhD was the hardest work I have ever undertaken, but it was also the most interesting, absorbing, fascinating, exhilarating and fulfilling experience.

Although my conclusions were critical of KS 2000 and its demotivational effects on some students, I was overwhelmed with the quality, empathy and sheer hard work of all the KS tutors I observed and interviewed. I was also impressed with the level of Basic Skills teaching I encountered, some of which was outstanding.

Study looks at interaction training for children on the autism spectrum

Using a case study approach, the research focused upon outcomes for children, perceptions of schools regarding the impact of the training programme, and key features of the system of delivering training. The study looked at five schools, all of which had completed training during a one-year period.

Data was gathered using questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and document scrutiny. Findings indicate a number of positive outcomes for children, including enhanced communication skills and the development of friendships. For example, one trainee reported:

‘...before, she didn’t have any friends in the playground, she would just play on her own. Sometimes she would play with other peers, but it would have to be a game of her own choosing, and she couldn’t tolerate more than one person.

But now in class she has got three other friends, which is a huge step for her...’

The training model revealed a number of features essential to effectiveness, including the development of partnerships between all stakeholders. The study reflects the ability of support services to identify innovative ways of providing services, underpinned by the notion of promoting inclusive practices.

This holistic package of support could serve as a model for other types of interventions with children with a range of needs.

For further information on this research, see Jones, K. and Howley, M. (2010) ‘An investigation into an interaction programme for children on the autism spectrum: outcomes for children, perceptions of schools and a model for training.’ jr1153 Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs. 10 (2) 115–123.

Kyffin Jones and Marie Howley from The University of Northampton’s CeSNER team, were commissioned by an East Midlands local authority to investigate a training programme designed to promote interactive skill building with children on the autism spectrum.

Kyffin Jones and Marie Howley


What advice would you give to new teachers?Try to maintain your thinking brain. An American analyst, William Glasser, has a great phrase – he teaches the students the art of ‘looking on’. When something’s going wrong, look at it and ask yourself the question, how did I get here and what’s the route out? You’re trying all the time to maintain your analytic brain.

We can’t always change our behaviour on the spot, but the great single truth about the classroom is that the most important influence in the classroom is the behaviour and activities of the teacher, of us. And so we need to maintain our analytic brain as far as we possibly can, because we’re the only thing that we can really change. We can’t change the students directly, we can only change ourselves.

The thing to avoid is the flip side of that, especially when we start teaching. We’re going to be assaulted by all sorts of primitive instincts. There’ll be children we don’t like, there’ll be children we think are humiliating us, and there’ll be children we think are just impossible to get through to. We’re not going to feel that way in six months time, or a year’s time – we’ll know them and we’ll understand how they tick. So we’ll feel those primitive emotions about children, but I guess the two bits of advice string together. We’ve got to know and recognise those primitive feelings, but we have to remember that it’s us that determines what happens in the classroom, and in fact it’s us that’s largely determining the behaviour that the children manifest towards us.

What advice can you give on managing behaviour?Once we have a framework, we have to operationalise it. And when we’re operationalising it, we’re talking a lot about teacher behaviour. In fact, we’re beginning to talk about assertiveness. Let me tell you a story. I learned this from Lee Canter, who was the guy who co-defined a certain discipline. He said, that when he does mentoring, he can get any class to behave within about five minutes by following this method. He explains to the teacher his mentoring; he uses a signaling system.

If he holds up one finger, it means you haven’t made your expectations clear. The children don’t really know what it is you want. You haven’t told them clearly enough and you haven’t checked for understanding, so you need to tell them again.

If he holds up two fingers, it means, they know what you want them to do, and some of them are doing it, and you’re not letting them know that they’ve done the right thing. You have to praise them for it; you have to acknowledge the appropriate behaviour. You’re just standing there like a dummy, you’re not saying, ‘great, well done, Philip, you’ve got your book opened at page 76, that’s what I’m looking for’.

When he holds up three fingers, it means there are some children floating off task, and you need to get them back on task. It doesn’t mean go and scream at them, it means go over there and say ‘ladies and gentlemen, we’re working through page 54 of our geography book, I see you’re not doing that, do you need any further help and support getting back onto the task’.

When he holds up four fingers, it means you’ve threatened a sanction, and now it’s time to give it out. Don’t be one of those people who’s forever saying, ‘you made a poor choice, if I have to talk to you one more time, I’m going to see you after the lesson’. If you’ve told them you’re going to see them after the lesson, if you have to speak to them again and they’re still mucking about, go and do it.

What’s interesting about that story is that by working in a classroom in that way, you can change the adult’s behaviour, and the minute the adult’s behaviour changes, the children’s behaviour changes. So if you’re having trouble in a classroom, are you clear enough in your expectations? Are you being rewarding enough? Are you redirecting the children who are off task? Are you being firm enough? Once you’ve laid out your ground, are you sticking to it?

One more thing, which I think is the best single piece of advice I can give about behaviour management, for any classroom, anywhere, is to go out and buy yourself a small digital voice recorder. Stick it in your breast pocket and then teach for an hour. You may want to pass the off license on your way home in the evening, because the next thing you need to do is listen to yourself for an hour, or twenty minutes if you’re feeling a bit faint hearted. Are your directions clear? Are you being sufficiently rewarding? Are you redirecting children who are off task, and do you follow up when you’ve issued warnings? That’s more or less behaviour in a nutshell.

Star of Teachers TV, John Bayley, visits the School of EducationJohn Bayley is best known for his appearances in the regular spot ‘Teaching with Bayley’ on Teachers TV. John is also an experienced teacher and a skilled mentor. He recently visited the School of Education where he was filmed for one of a series of interviews being produced by the School for a website resource aimed at teachers, trainee teachers and mentors, called ‘Behaviour4Learning’.

The full interview will be available on Behaviour4Learning’s YouTube channel soon at www.youtube.com/behaviour4learning

John Bayley being interviewed for ‘Behaviour4Learning’


The inaugural School of Education Research Student Conference took place at The University of Northampton on Friday 14 May. The day was organised by School of Education PhD students. It saw several Research Degree students and supervisors give presentations and display posters about their own research to an audience of University staff, PhD and MA Education students and undergraduate students with an interest in Postgraduate and Doctoral study.

The conference was opened with a speech by the School’s Dean, Professor Ann Shelton-Mayes, who spoke about research being at the heart of the School’s activities and, in a wider sense, underpinning the educational agenda regionally, nationally and internationally. Professor Shelton-Mayes went on to discuss, “growing people who are passionate about research, and who are on their way to becoming experts in the dissemination of knowledge.”

Professor Shelton-Mayes also spoke about the collective learning, sharing and exporting of ideas that these kinds of events engender. She commented that these “rich learning experiences” make students “more effective communicators and presenters.”

The key-note speaker was Dr Jo-Anne Dillabough, a Canadian researcher currently working at the University of Cambridge. Dr Dillabough’s work has focused on cross-national social and cultural exclusions in the ‘rapidly urbanising’ Canadian cities of Vancouver and Toronto. She discussed her ten-year urban study project, which looks at the relationships between Canadian youth sub-groups such as ‘Ginos’ (gangsters) and

‘Chav Girls,’ and the two cities where they reside which, despite being extremely popular with tourists, are home to some of the poorest postcodes in the country.

Dr Dillabough’s talk was followed by a series of presentations by our School’s PhD students, on topics such as: ‘Schools, community and the duty to promote cohesion’; ‘Gaining access to children as researchers’; ‘Students with emotional and behavioural difficulties in Ireland’; and ‘School Science Technicians in Role Transition within Policy, Curricular and Labour Process Contexts’. The presentations were followed by an opportunity for the audience to pose questions to the students.

A panel discussion concluded the event with School of Education Professors Richard Rose and Philip Garner and Roy Evans, an External Research Consultant. The panel discussed their thoughts on the possible education policies of the newly installed government.

Professor Richard Rose ended the conference by thanking the students for joining the research network/community and thereby creating a relationship that is richly rewarding for all involved.

The conference proved to be extremely popular with attendees. Delegate comments included: “A most interesting and enjoyable day”, “The student presentations were excellent – challenging and thought-provoking”, “Great event – I look forward to the next one”, “A brilliant opportunity, thanks so much”.

After the success of our inaugural Research Student Conference, we look forward to hosting our second in May 2011.

Inaugural School of Education Research Student ConferenceResearching learning, learning to research

PhD NewsPresentations at the conference


PhD student groupPhD students and supervisors from the School of Education meet once a month to share ideas, issues and experiences.

The informal meetings enable researchers to bring along their work, seek opinions and ideas or simply catch up with what others are doing. The meetings run from 4.30-6pm and are open to all PhD students, potential students and supervisors.

The dates of meetings are 16 September, 21 October, 18 November and 16 December in 2010, with further dates in 2011

PhD training daysThe School runs PhD training days for students, potential students and supervisors.

The days take place termly and provide:

• Aplatformforstudentstodisseminatetheir work and receive feedback in a supportive environment

• Anopportunityforstudentstoexchange information

• Thechanceforstudentstohearfromestablished researchers on matters of interest or concern to them

• Anopportunityforpotentialstudentsto find out what it is like to study for a PhD

PhD training days are 7 October 2010 from 2-4.30pm, 10 February 2011 from 2-4.30pm and 5 May 2011 – Annual Research Student Conference

School of Education Research ForumThis forum provides an opportunity for academic staff, research assistants, PhD students and research administrators to meet to catch up on current research issues and to gain support for writing and bidding activity.

The School of Education Research Forum will meet from 1-4pm on 20 October, 8 December in 2010 and 2 February, 6 April, 25 May and 6 July in 2011

The benefits of studying for a PhDDr Carol Wolstenholme explains why studying for a PhD was one of the highlights of her life.

Leadership skills for positive classroom behaviourThe University of Northampton has been commissioned by the National College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services to undertake research to establish what leadership skills are required to promote positive behaviour in schools and other settings.

Prior to becoming a full-time research student in the Centre for Education and Research (CeSNER), Carol had extensive experience of teaching pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) and severe learning difficulties (SLD). This passionate interest in special education and inclusive practice became the basis of the research she undertook, initially at masters level and then for her doctoral research. Carol was attracted to study at The University of Northampton because of the research staff’s expertise in this area.

Carol’s research focused on Local Authority working practices in developing special and inclusive

education. She collected data from a number of service users and providers in the Local Authority.

Through her research, Carol was able to identify a range of innovative practices to ensure greater inclusion for pupils with special educational needs and to identify conditions which either promoted or inhibited progress.

During Carol’s studies she took advantage of several opportunities to attend and present papers at research conferences in Strathclyde, Dublin, London, Birmingham and Warwick supported by members of her supervision team.

Carol completed her PhD studies in June 2008 under the supervision of Professor Richard Rose and Professor Philip Garner.

For anyone considering undertaking studies for a PhD, Carol has this advice:

“There are no limits, not your age, your circumstances, nothing, just go out and do it. This was without a doubt one of the best things I have ever done, one of the highlights of my life.”

The team, led by Professor Philip Garner, will also produce a series of illustrated ‘case studies’ of outstanding schools in which the leadership dimensions implicit in promoting positive behaviour have been identified. The resulting material will be made available to existing and aspirant heads, deputies and others involved in managing pupil behaviour.

Each case study will explore ‘behaviour for learning’ issues of direct relevance to school leaders rather than generic aspects of behaviour. Its objective is to consider the leadership-related issues across four main themes:

• Partnershipsandcommunities

• ManagingSchoolExclusion

• Schoolcultures,relationshipsandbehaviour

• Professionalcharacteristicsandbehaviour

Work has already been undertaken in a number of schools, drawn from a national sample, and data sets are being analysed. A feature of this has been to gather a series of interviews with school leaders, which have been filmed for use as training materials on the National College’s website. Professor Garner commented: “This project represents another example of the way in which the School of Education has developed an important profile in respect of pupil behaviour in schools.”


Promoting enjoyment and developing understanding of Science in Primary SchoolsA new, ground-breaking primary science education textbook for trainee teachers, produced by lecturers from the School of Education at The University of Northampton, is rapidly becoming a core textbook in a number of Teacher Training institutions.

Dr Paul Bracey reviewed the new book:

“The book, entitled ‘Teaching Primary Science: Promoting Enjoyment and Developing Understanding’, was produced by Peter Loxley, Lyn Dawes, Linda Nicholls and Babs Dore and published earlier this year by Pearson. The authors set out to develop a strong link between the development of the subject knowledge of students and their understanding of its application in the classroom. They spent 18 months drawing together research-based ideas and piloting them with children in local schools.

“Throughout the book, science is set within its wider historical and social context, helping to promote its creative qualities. In a recent discussion about the book, co-author Peter Loxley explained the significance of this by comparing great scientific discoveries with artistic masterpieces.

“A key feature of the book is the use of scientific ideas to solve theme-based ‘puzzles’ as part of a story-telling approach to teaching and learning science. The advantage of using a narrative technique is that the familiar and engaging form can carry children along, helping them to construct a meaningful understanding of science that can change the way they perceive the world.”

The University of Northampton

Park Campus Boughton Green Road Northampton NN2 7AL

Web www.northampton.ac.uk/education Email [email protected]

RiSE (Research in School of Education ) newsletter Issue02

Education

Transcript of RiSE (Research in School of Education ) newsletter Issue02