Training teachers with 'pop Science': are humans as simplistic as Science suggests?

I have written before about the pedagogy attached to training sessions for teachers (see link here). My thoughts have been brought back to this topic after a recent training session in attachment theory. In particular, the use of popular science when training teachers.

Since I started teaching I have been involved in numerous training programmes, which upon reflection, has incorporated scientific findings about the brain to training sessions. The most recurring example is the synaptic connections within the brain which strengthen knowledge through practice. Similarly, I have become familiar with the amygdala, which according to session facilitators is actively involved with the flight, fight or freeze reactions that humans find themselves within when their “chimp” is out.

Sociology of scientific knowledge has been concerned with researching the effect of scientific knowledge upon social life and this is an example of this. During these training sessions I have often been skeptic of the use of scientific understanding of these social characteristics, which has led me to reflect, why? I think it may be due to my social science training. During A-level Sociology, I learned about the sociology of science and read works by Kuhn, Popper and Potter. Is it really true that social conduct is all down to functions within the brain? Perhaps my skepticism is a weakness and my lack of scientific knowledge is causing me to be ignorant but from my point of view this type of “popular science” is too simplistic and reduces humans to cause and effect models. 

Miss Bowling’s Shining Stars: Has something as simple as gold star stickers ignited my form?

My form, is comprised of those pupils who are punctual, do their homework and often get overlooked within a class due to dominant characters who get into trouble. Obviously, there are a couple of slips where some pupils, perhaps some more than others, forget their basic equipment or cause low level disruption. However, I found myself thinking that these are the “grey” kids who often do not get the attention or recognition they deserve on an individual basis. They may not be the pupil with the most level 1s, an attitude to learning score given to a pupil who has worked exceptionally in a lesson, but they are continuing to work well. Therefore, I decided to create a spreadsheet with all their names on, print it off and physically hand the pupils gold stars for every 1 they achieve within a day. I thought this may be a bit childish, but the reaction I have got has proved that I was wrong.

Since the implementation of the table, pupils are more than ever getting 1s in lesson; they relish in me calling out their name in form to come and collect a star to attach next to their name on the wall. Often, pupils will have achieved 2 or more 1s in one day. In fact, this week two pupils have achieved all level 1s in a day (that’s five 1s!). This may have something to do with actually handing the pupils a shiny sticker which symbolises that they have done well; psychologically putting a gold star next to their name could make them feel responsible for their attitude to learning within lesson. Having the chart visibly accessible for all my classes has made individual rewards for behaviour public. I have noticed that pupils will count how many gold stars other pupils have, then compare this number against their own. This has even proved well when I have been teaching other classes; surprisingly even with year 10. These pupils would count and see how well pupils have been doing even if they do not know them. It could be motivational for them to see that I, as a classroom teacher, am actively involved in other pupils’ education, which may translate into how they behave and act within my lessons.

Furthermore, the chart has created a tool that I can use for monitoring those pupils who do not get 1s and just “get by”: those with two or less gold stars to their name. I could then probe, why are these pupils not stretching themselves within lesson? How could I ensure they do? I’ve also found it is good for those pupils who would not usually aim for a 1 as it has given them something to aspire to within a lesson. 

What I now need to think about is how I will reward pupils once they have reached certain mile stones, any advice on this is much appreciated! 

Preparing pupils for neo-liberal liquid modernity: could high staff turnover be developing pupil resilience?

Figure adapted from Worth and De Lazzari (2017)

Statistics show that the number of teachers leaving their school every academic year, either to pursue another career or to simply move schools, is steadily increasing (Worth and De Lazzari, 2017). This phenomenon has resulted in crises of both teacher retention and turnover (Hilton, 2017). Often, these studies highlight the negative impact of high teacher turnover: for instance, Ronfeldt et al (2012) found a correlation between student achievement and high staff turnover rates; the higher the turnover, the lower the achievement. However, in my school I have begun to witness an accidental by-product of high staff turnover: the development of resilience in the face of the unknown.

It has been recommended that a crucial skill that schools must develop within their pupils is resilience. Resilience is defined by Hinduja and Patchin (2017) as a skill to overcome adversity and adopt a “carry on” attitude despite the stresses of everyday life. There are many ways in which a school can plan to develop this resilience within their pupils. For example, resources have been developed to encourage Dweck’s (2006) growth mind set in order to foster pupils’ resilience (Edutopia, 2017). However, one unintentional method of developing pupil resilience could be the level of staff turnover within a school.

I have observed that pupils are increasingly becoming reliant on the ‘concrete’ structures, such as the behaviour policy and GCSE course structures, rather than specific teachers. As such, pupils are prepared for unknown factors: they can overcome adversity, the foundation of resilience. Indeed, this is preparing pupils for life after school. Participating within liquid modernity requires resilience: society is characterised by insecurity and the insecurity within schools will make the pupils familiar and ready to deal with this feature of society (Beck, 2014). In a way, the school can be seen as a microcosm of society.

Research suggests that high staff turnover happens predominantly within disadvantaged, non-white schools. Although this may be a contributing factor as to why the achievement gap exists, it may foster a resilience gap between disadvantaged schools and those schools who have low levels of staff turnover. As my observations are only that, observations of one school in isolation, it would be interesting to, somehow, measure the resilience levels of pupils attending a school with longstanding members of staff against pupils attending a school with high levels of staff turnover.   

Reference list

Beck, U. (2014). Pioneer in Cosmopolitan Society and Risk Society. Springer.

Dweck, C (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Stanford.  

Edutopia (2017) Resources for Nurturing Resilience. Online, available at: https://www.edutopia.org/article/resilience-resources

Hilton, G. (2017) Disappearing Teachers: An Exploration of a variety of views as to the causes of the problems affecting teacher recruitment and retention in England. BCES Conference Books, 2017, Volume 15.

Hinduja, S and Patchin, J (2017) Cultivating youth resilience to prevent bullying and cyberbullying victimization. Child Abuse & Neglect, 73, 51-62.

Ronfeldt, M. Loeb, S. Wyckoff, J. (2012). How Teacher Turnover Harms Student Achievement. American Educational Research Journal. DOI: 10.3102/0002831212463813

Worth, J. and De Lazzari. G. (2017). Teacher Retention and Turnover Research. Research Update 1: Teacher Retention by Subject. Slough: NFER.

Engaging the disengaged parent within education

Studies within education have consistently found that parental engagement within education positively impacts upon the educational success of young people: this is referred to as “good parenting” (Desforges and Abouchaar, 2003; Goodall, 2016; Goodall, 2017; Goodall and Vorhaus, 2011; Harris and Goodall, 2010). After critically engaging with these studies, it could be inferred that they assume a bias against parents that do not, for whatever reason, value the field of education: it positions this parenting as “bad”. As Bourdieu (1977) attributes parental involvement in education to parents of the middle class, it could be seen that this positioning of “bad parents” replicates some sociological studies which found the distancing and “disgust” of working class individuals (Lawler, 2005).  

Despite whether it is believed that labelling some parents as good or bad should be done, it has been found that the field of education can transform a child’s life (Teach First, 2017). If parental engagement contributes towards the educational success of a child, it is important that this is encouraged for disadvantaged pupils. Therefore, to raise the educational attainment of disengaged and underachieving pupils, educators must firstly engage the disengaged parent. To engage the disengaged parent, schools must strike a balance between encouraging parents to attend training session to support their child’s educational progress and treating them as a colleague: the expert on their child. Literature suggests that this balance should be achieved through engaging parents in a sensitive and personalised manner (Goodall, 2016; Smith, 2016).

There are two strategies, within the literature, that have been proven to engage parents in a sensitive and personalised manner: one that I cannot implement but another which I could adapt. The first one is Save the Children’s FAST programme in which parents and children were brought together for a meal within school (Harris and Goodall, 2010). This non-invasive approach gets the parent into the school to socialise with their child. It could make the parent feel more comfortable within the school environment and encourage them to speak about their child’s studies. Of course, as a classroom teacher, I could not implement this method. However, I found it an interesting social strategy to break down the barriers of parental disengagement. The second strategy comes from Goodall’s (2016) blog post on teachertoolkit.co.uk. This post encourages teachers to shift from reporting to parents at parents’ evening to fostering a partnership to support learning. Treating parents with respect, recognising and acknowledging their efforts to come to the parents evening are encouraged to foster this working relationship (Goodall, 2016). Furthermore, Goodall (2016) suggests giving parents a list of questions to ask teachers to supplement their cultural capital, as some parents may not know how to engage with the teacher. Similarly, Goodall (2016) suggests that teachers should ask the parents how they can facilitate learning for their children. Through treating the parent as the expert, the parent will feel more comfortable and at ease with engaging with teachers (Smith, 2016).

Following this research, I plan to approach parental engagement in a different way than I did last academic year. By moving from reporting to engaging parents to support learning and providing parents with resources they may need to do so. This is especially important within my subject, Computing; often parents will approach me and state that they “know nothing about technology” and that it is their children who are the experts. If parents feel intellectually inferior to their child, how can they possibly help support learning? Therefore, I plan to give a list of resources that may help to these parents and move away from subject specifics at parents evening. As Goodall, in a recent lecture, stated: it does not matter that parents do not know the answer, what matters is they know how to find the answer. I intend to provide parents with the means to find that answer.

References:

Bourdieu (1977) Outline of a theory of practice. Cambridge: University of Cambridge.

Desforges and Abouchaar (2003) The impact of parental involvement, parental support and family education on pupil achievements and adjustment: a literature review.

Goodall and Vorhaus (2011) Review of best practice in parental engagement. Department of Education.

Goodall, J (2016) Reporting to Support. Online: https://www.teachertoolkit.co.uk/2016/08/10/parental-support/

Goodall, J (2017) From project to process. a report of the pilot of a toolkit for parental engagement. 

Harris and Goodall (2010) Helping families support children’s success at school. Save the Children.

Lawler (2005) Disgusted subjects: the making of middle-class identities. The Sociological Review, 53(3), 429-446.

Smith (2016) Swing Time. London: Penguin.

Teach First (2017) Income defines how well children do at school. Online: https://www.teachfirst.org.uk/our-mission/the-issue.

The insider/outsider continuum when researching education

There are two ways of addressing the insider/outsider debate: as a continuum and as a dichotomy. It has been argued that whilst conducting research the researcher can find themselves at some point along a continuum of insiderness (Mercer, 2007). On one side is the complete insider: the person who understands the inner workings of what they are researching. On the polar opposite side there is the outsider: the researcher completely new to the field with no knowledge of the topic. However, can one truly be an outsider? Although I would describe myself as an outsider to French art, I still have an opinion or a vague idea of what I think about the topic. Similarly, can anyone be a true insider? Although one may think they know everything about the topic they are researching, they do not know what they do not know (Krunger and Dunning, 1999). Following this logic, I must agree with Mercer (2007) in that the researcher is located along a continuum of insider and outsiderness rather than the dichotomy representing the researcher as either an insider or outsider with no in between. Below is a visual representation I have created to show the continuum vs the dichotomy.

Continuum:

Dichotomy:

Mercer (2007, p.2) writes that the insider/outsider debate is under researched yet important to an "ever increasing number of educational researchers". Indeed, when I decided to enter the teaching profession, I thought the experience would be beneficial for my future career ambitions as an educational researcher; the idea of being more of an insider appealed to me. I had decided that being a secondary STEM teacher allowed me to be in the midst of education; this would help me better understand the institution as well as its current issues. On the continuum, I wanted to be located more on the insider side than I currently was. 

Of course, there are many critiques of researching one's own educational institution, Simmel (1950) argues that the insider can be easily influenced and "blinded" by the familiarity of the setting. In contrast, advocates for insider research actually argue the opposite: the insider is able to comprehend the setting through their expert knowledge of status, culture and power relations (Merton, 1972). Looking back to when I was an undergraduate I can see why we were told to research an institution that we were a part of. Obviously ease of access played a part, but thinking back it could be possible this was due to understanding the culture and group which would help first time researchers. For instance, Mercer (2007) writes that an advantage of insiderness is flexibility; during my undergraduate degree I interviewed two of my undergraduate housemates at around 11pm after watching Made in Chelsea. The insider also negates the disadvantage of the outsider as Parades (1977) and Zinn (1979) found that these researchers are likely to be presented with a distorted image; hello every school when the famous outsider Ofsted comes for a visit.

However, one of the disadvantages of being an insider is that colleagues’ "willingness to talk to you and what they say to you is influenced by who they think you are" (Drever, 1995). During my PGCE year, my then school mentor sent an email around the school asking if any colleagues would allow me to observe them. It could be seen that their idea of who I was and what I would observe influenced their decision to allow me into their classroom. It could be that those who agreed saw me as an inexperienced trainee teacher and they held epistemological power. This highlights the type of power relationship between the researcher and the researched which Mercer (2007) describes as a dimension of the insider/outsider continuum. Whilst observing colleagues I was located at differing parts of the continuum: I am an insider to the school policies and familiar pupils but an outsider to unknown pupils, possibly the subject I am observing and the teacher’s techniques (Olson, 1977; Mercer, 2007; Deutsch, 1981).  It will be interesting to see how these relationships change when I ask to observe colleagues for my masters. Will those who do not hold the qualification feel epistemologically challenged? Will those who hold a masters degree feel more powerful, allow me in their classroom and treat me as an insider?

References:

Deutsch, C. P. (1981) The behavioral scientist: insider and outsider, Journal of Social Issues, 37(2), 172–191.

Drever, E. (1995) Using semi-structured interviews in small-scale research (Edinburgh, The Scottish Council for Research in Education).

Kruger, Justin; Dunning, David (1999). "Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one's own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments.". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. American Psychological Association. 77 (6): 1121–1134

Mercer, J. (2007) The Challenges of Insider-Research in Educational Institutions: wielding a double-edged sword and resolving delicate dilemmas, Oxford Review of Education, 33(1), 1-17.

Merton, R. (1972) Insiders and outsiders; a chapter in the sociology of knowledge, American Journal of Sociology, 78 (July), 9–47.

Olson, D. H. (1977) Insiders’ and outsiders’ views of relationships: research studies, in: G. Levinger & H. L. Rausch (Eds) Close relationships: perspectives on the meaning of intimacy (Amhurst, University of Massachusettes Press).

Parades, A. (1977) On ethnographic work among minority groups: a folklorist’s perspective, New Scholar, 6, 1–53.

Simmel, G. (1950) The sociology of Georg Simmel (New York, Free Press).

Zinn, M. B. (1979) Field research in minority communities: ethical methodological and political observations by an insider, Social Problems, 27(2), 209–219

Recruiting teachers of Computer Science: schools losing the “best and brightest graduates” to corporations

As it is the first week of the school year, many new trainee teachers will be starting out in their future career. One of the things that brought them to teaching was recruitment. It is interesting to think about how recruitment differs within different sectors. Interestingly, my partner and I were discussing our days at work. He stated that a new Junior Software Developer had started and that he used to be a Chemistry teacher up until last academic year. He added that this teacher was well into his 30s and was evidently a “career changer”. This made me think about the state of recruitment of Computer Science teachers within the English state education system.

Jones starts the second chapter in his book, The Establishment (2015); retelling a conversation he had after an interview with a senior lobbyist for a banking company. He states his view on politician’s salary: Jones states that there is a case for reducing MP’s salaries as MP’s are “comfortably placed in the top 5% of earners” (2015, p. 46). This leads the lobbyist to argue that “such a move would deter the most talented people, particularly from the private sector, from entering politics”. This led me to think about the current recruitment context of teachers. In fact, doesn’t this argument resonate with all employment sectors? Don’t all employers wish to recruit “the most talented people”?

Indeed, the school I work at is aiming to recruit English, Math, Science and MFL teachers, a glance at the job advert shows that the salary is “competitive”. So why is there is shortage of teachers if schools are trying to attract the most talented people with these “competitive” salaries? Of course, I cannot provide a sweeping answer as this would be too generalised. But what I can do is speculate. I am currently employed as a Computer Science teacher whilst my partner, is employed as a Junior Software Developer. We’re both at the very beginnings of our careers having started our jobs at the same time. Although the subject knowledge required is relatively the same, the salary is not. My starting salary as a teacher is £10,000 less than my partner’s starting salary. Obviously financial reward is not, in isolation, the reason to enter a specific field of work but if we apply this senior lobbyist’s logic why is there not a similar recruitment incentive for teachers? Does our society not want “the most talented people” teaching our future generations?

The current financial incentives are clearly not enough, at the moment in order to attract the “best and brightest graduates” that could teach any subject within the English Baccalaureate are up to £30,000 tax free bursaries and scholarships. This clearly matches the starting salaries of some graduate jobs. But, what about after they have trained, will schools who employ the “Best and brightest graduates” be able to afford them as an NQT? Will those schools who are too poor to even afford a printing budget, be able to afford these “talented” classroom teachers? I have heard a lot of stories already from ex-classroom teachers who have found jobs in other sectors such as banking because their schools “could not afford them” as simply just classroom teachers without giving them more responsibility such as a middle/senior leader.  Although helpful, the financial incentive during the recruitment of teachers is not enough. If we want to recruit and keep, the “most talented people” as teachers, it is important to adopt a similar stance as the senior lobbyist within Jones (2015), more money needs to be put into the salary of classroom teachers. 

Why I would rather live in my "deprived" ex-mining village compared to anywhere else in the world

There are many different definitions of place attachment. Most definitions agree that it refers to an emotional connection between a person and a geographical area. However, where Brown and Raymond (2007) define that geographical area as a person's immediate attachment, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2008) defines this as any place in the world. The way I interpret this definition allows the individual to feel an emotion connection to an area in which they have not necessarily visited. For this reason, any reference to place attachment will invoke this definition. 

Growing up, I was adamant that I would move to London for university and later live in Spain, Italy and America. I was attracted to the places that seemed different and adventurous in comparison to the ex-mining white working-class village in Yorkshire, where I had lived since I was born. When I was reminded of these foreign places, through popular culture or holidays, I felt a strong attachment to the life I could be living in these prosperous areas. In reality, the university I went to was in fact further north than my home village. It is interesting when I reflect upon how I made this geographical decision. Part of my undergraduate dissertation actually researched into how the "feel" of a university influences the decision that a first generation university student, such as myself, makes. Following similar conclusions, the northern university I chose was the correct fit for my habitus. Habitus, defined by Bourdieu (1972), as a set of dispositions that are second nature and familiar to an individual. 

Since I left for university as an undergraduate, besides going home over summer, I have never moved back to my home village. Now, living in Stoke-on-Trent, the home sickness is starting to catch up with me. Perhaps my habitus is being stretched too much by the 180 mile distance with weak train connections, and the feeling of being in Staffordshire rather than Yorkshire. It could be possible that I now feel like a "fish out of water" as Bourdieu (1972) would describe: living a life that is not completely compatible with my habitus. As such, my place attachment is not towards Stoke but rather my home village back in Yorkshire.

Indeed, when I visit my parent's house I do get the feeling that I will move back into my teenage bedroom at some ambiguous point in the future. Anton and Lawrence's (2014) research found that their participants had a higher attachment to their homes rather than local areas. Perhaps what I feel is not place attachment but a sense of nostalgia for a time gone by where I dreamt of where I would be living as an adult.

It is interesting to think that, although I have the economic means and knowledge that I could live anywhere I wanted, I have decided to go back to the same "deprived" village in which I grew up. Why would I want to live in this ex-mining town when I could live by the sea in Spain, a historic Italian town or a bustling city in America? Research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2008) suggests this, indeed, does have to do with habitus and capital. Their report on place attachment in areas of deprivation found strong social networks and historical links to the area create this bond. 

Bourdieu's theory of practice relates to place attachment as habitus fosters the emotional connection with a geographical location. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation's (2008) research found that place attachment is higher in more homogenous areas in which residents have common backgrounds, interests and culture. My ex-mining town is a white working class area with a uniquely Yorkshire accent, so this could be why it fits my habitus.

The idea of moving back does make me feel optimistic for the future of the village. Migrating for educational qualifications and skills across the country fills me with the sense of "giving back". Indeed, high attachment to place results in positive outcomes, for example, becoming socially and politically involved to create a better community for all (Anton and Lawrence, 2014). Of course, I could also be completely wrong, move back, hate it and move to New York City; but we will have to wait and see, I am sure that would make for an interesting reflective blog post if it were to happen!

References:

G. Brown, C. Raymond (2007) The relationship between place attachment and landscape values: Towards mapping place attachment. Applied Geography, 27, pp. 89-111

C.E. Anton and C. Lawrence (2014) Home is where the heart is: The effect of place of residence on place attachment and community participation. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 40, pp. 451-461

Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2008) People's attachment to place - the influence of neighbourhood deprivation. Available at: https://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/default/files/jrf/migrated/files/2200-neighbourhoods-attachment-deprivation.pdf

P. Bourdieu (1972) Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge: University Press