scholarly journals A national intervention in teaching phonics: A case study from England

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhona Stainthorp

AbstractAt the start of the 21st century, literacy teaching in state primary schools was conducted under a framework guided by a National Literacy Strategy, which recommended a model of reading called ‘The Searchlights Model’. Early on it became clear that rises in performance predicted from adoption of this strategy were not happening. This led to a review of the effective teaching of early reading under the chairmanship of Sir Jim Rose (Rose, 2006). Rose recommended that the Simple View of Reading (Gough & Tunmer, 1986) be adopted as a framework. It also recommended that pupils be taught how to read words in the first instance through the adoption of programs of systematic synthetic phonics. A change in government reinforced this policy and added a national program of early assessment of grapheme-phoneme knowledge. These changes uncovered an important issue: namely that there was no national program for ensuring that teachers had the necessary professional subject knowledge to teach phonics effectively. Steps have been taken to mitigate this. The most recent data from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Studies (PIRLS) 2016 study suggests that England is now beginning to close the achievement gap, with the pupils in the lowest percentiles making the most improvement.

Author(s):  
Roy Ardiansyah

<em>The phenomenon of the spread of religious-based elementary schools in the community will certainly have an impact on the development of the Indonesian Human Resources Development Index. This includes efforts to strengthen the National Character. The purpose of this study is to describe the role of teachers in religion-based elementary schools in strengthening the national character of students. This research uses a qualitative approach. The subjects of this study were 37 students and teachers. Data collection techniques used in this study were participant observation, in-depth interviews, literacy studies, and questionnaires. Analysis of the data used is Miles and Huberman Interactive Analysis. The results showed that teachers have an important role in strengthening the Nationality Character in Religion-Based Primary Schools, namely (1) Teachers not only teach about concepts but also emulate them, (2) Provide effective communication media between students and parents, (3) and supervise every student's behavior</em>


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Labby Ramrathan ◽  
Jabu Mzimela

<p>The skill of reading is regarded as the cornerstone of literacy learning in the foundation phase. Although it is the most complex skill to master, it forms part of literacy teaching. Most learners begin schooling without having any kind of exposure to reading. This lack of exposure introduces a number of challenges, which are consequently exacerbated if teachers have to teach in multi-grade classes. This case study was conducted in two primary schools in the Ndwedwe Circuit in KwaZulu-Natal. It is framed within the interpretive epistemology <br />embedded in a qualitative research methodology. Empirical data were generated from two rural schools where multi-grade teaching was undertaken. To produce data, two teachers teaching multi-grade classes (incorporating both grade R and grade 1) were observed during an isiZulu Home Language reading period. Subsequently, semi-structured interviews were used to elicit more data for corroboration of findings. The findings show that teacher agency is crucial <br />in making adaptive decisions. These decisions are based on the intersection of formal knowledge, situational knowledge and experiential knowledge that the teachers have acquired over time.</p>


Author(s):  
Markus M Bugge ◽  
Fazilat Siddiq

Abstract In the literature on mission-oriented innovation supply side and tech-oriented approaches have been complemented by broader and more inclusive societal approaches. Here, it is highlighted that both directionality and broad anchoring of diverse stakeholders across private, public, and civic domains are key to successful implementation. Still, it is unclear how these dimensions relate and unfold in practice. Using digital literacy in education as an example of mission-oriented innovation, this paper investigates what prerequisites and capabilities are needed to envision and govern such processes. Based upon a case study of innovative teaching practices in twenty-five classes at ten primary schools in Norway, the paper finds that the motivation, dedication, and engagement of the teachers is not primarily related to the digital technologies themselves, but to the professional and pedagogical anchoring of the digital teaching tools. The mobilization of the professionalism of the teachers is enabled by a process of balanced empowerment.


Buildings ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 160
Author(s):  
Kate Sarkodee ◽  
Andrew Martel

Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme Specialist Disability Accommodation (NDIS SDA) program anticipates new, disability specific, housing stock being built by private investors incentivized by cash payments and rental income. To date, very few new SDA dwellings have been constructed and the majority of the research and analysis of the program’s potential has been in the context of apartment construction in major capital city markets in Australia. This paper uses a hypothetical case study of building SDA accommodation in a discrete regional Indigenous community, Yarrabah, in Queensland. It investigates underlying assumptions within the scheme, particularly around the relationship of land to investment outcomes, as well as cultural considerations. An important aspect is to test how effectively the design guidelines associated with the scheme translate into an appropriate built form that is culturally and environmentally appropriate in locations outside major urban centres. The results suggest that housing actors from the not-for-profit sector may benefit from the SDA at the expense of profit-driven, market-based housing developers, and that the SDA design categories offer limited flexibility for participants with changing care needs, potentially restricting resident continuity in occupancy and ongoing return on investment. The work offers an early assessment on the workability of the SDA in the context of housing investment in a new market for the private housing industry.


2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Rwiza

Blackmore and Sachs’ (2007) opinion that “educational reform needs to be seen within a broader context of restructuring in economic and social relations among the individual, the state and new modes of governance” (p. 1) is relevant for expressing the essence and influence of the global decentralization policies in Tanzania and elsewhere. The 1995 decentralization of the management of primary schools in Tanzania was the outcome of the World Bank’s policies and the International Monetary Fund’s conditions following the economic instabilities of the 1980s. Assuming that public systems are inefficient, autonomy in decision-making and competition are seen as means of achieving high quality and efficiency (Bonal, 2002; Carnoy, 1995; Martinez & Garcia, 1996). The need for autonomy, external accountability and competition has created new managerial roles for school principals even though their core function is to lead instruction (Lingard & Christie, 2003; Reitzug, West, & Roma, 2008; Stewart, 2006). This study explores how principals in Tanzania are harmonizing these roles and is informed by political discourse analysis and decolonizing theories (Abdi & Shultz, 2012; Blackmore & Sachs, 2007; Dimmock & Walker, 2005; Fairclough & Fairclough, 2012; Nyerere, 1968; Wagenaar, 2011). Qualitative interpretive case study is also used to analyze the principals’ experiences. The implementation of a borrowed culture in new contexts creates tensions; thus, the adoption of new roles in the context of decentralization creates conflicts and imbalances. Given that education is a public good, educational policies should be decolonized and separated from market influences.


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