Selected recent articles
"A Curriculum without foundation" British Educational Research Journal. Vol 32 No 4 pp 569-582, 2006.
The curriculum data on which the authors base this article was supplied by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's own longitudinal monitoring of the school curriculum which was been carried out by CFAS from 1996 to 2007.
This article takes the position that the performance data debate is an interesting one but peripheral to a far bigger issue. Whether measurable (by standardised testing at ages 7 and 11) national standards in English and mathematics have risen or not, does not justify the drastic reduction of the intended 'broad and balanced' curriculum which has taken place to try to achieve the national percentage targets.
"What a Waste of Money!" The Education Journal, Issue 107, 2008 (In press).
Using data from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's (QCA) annual national
survey of curriculum (which CFAS has conducted since 1997) we investigated the impact of the range of government supplied performance boosting measures on end of key stage national test outcomes at key stage 3, whilst controlling for other factors (school background variables and involvement in national initiatives) that might affect performance. A nationally representative sample of 375 secondary schools which participated in the 2004 and 2005 curriculum surveys form the basis of the investigation. The data generated provided a comprehensive range of variables that enabled us to conduct an in-depth analysis of what actually impacts on test performance at key stage 3.
"A longitudinal study of teacher change: What makes professional development effective? Report of the third year of the study" International Journal of School Effectiveness and School Improvement, Vol 16, No 1, March, pp.1-27, 2005.
This article reports on an ongoing longitudinal investigation of the influence of professional development on teaching strategies. The study has so far identified models of type and duration of professional development activity for a national sample of primary subject co-ordinators and secondary heads of department of English, mathematics and science. This article reports on participants changes in type of professional development activity over time, extent of subject content emphasis of the development activity and subsequent changes to teaching practice effected by involvement in a longer term professional development activity.
"Learning through assessment" Primary Leadership Today 2007, Vol2 (8), p50-54
Assessment to support rather than just to measure learning has now been accepted as part of the government's teaching and learning strategies (QCA, 2006) and a range of teacher support materials is now being produced.
In the article Bill Boyle (Director of CFAS) argues there are four key areas in which focussed professional development would enable teachers to use assessment in support of teaching and learning
- sharing learning objectives with the pupil
- involving pupils in their own learning
- making learning more collaborative
- the centrality of peer and self assessment in the learning process