Pamela Greenhough, Martin Hughes, Jane Andrews, Harvey Goldstein, Elizabeth Mcness, Marilyn
What effect does involving parents in knowledge exchange activities during transfer from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3 have on children’s attainment and learning dispositions?
Pamela Greenhough, Martin Hughes, Jane Andrews, Harvey Goldstein, Elizabeth McNess, Marilyn Osborn, Andrew Pollard, Vicki Stinchcombe, and Wan Ching Yee
(All authors are based at the University of Bristol with the exception of Jane Andrews who is at the University of the West of England and Andrew Pollard who is at the IOE, University of London.)
Paper presented at the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference, Institute of Education, University of London, 5-8 September 2007
Contact
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By Post: Dr Pamela Greenhough
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University of Bristol
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Acknowledgements
The Home School Knowledge Exchange (HSKE) Project was funded by the ESRC (reference number L139 25 1078) and is part of its Teaching and Learning Research Programme. We are very grateful to the children, parents and teachers who participated in the project and to the LEAs of Cardiff and Bristol for their support.
The HSKE project team consisted of: Martin Hughes (project director), Jane Andrews, Anthony Feiler, Pamela Greenhough, David Johnson, Elizabeth McNess, Marilyn Osborn, Andrew Pollard, Mary Scanlan, Leida Salway, Vicki Stinchcombe, Jan Winter and Wan Ching Yee. Project consultants were John Bastiani, Guy Claxton and Harvey Goldstein
THIS IS A DRAFT. PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF THE FIRST AUTHOR. Introduction
The Home School Knowledge Exchange Project explored ways in which progress in children’s attainment and learning dispositions might be brought about through processes of knowledge exchange between school and home and home and school. During the early stages of preparing the research, members of the project team consulted with staff from the Education Authorities of Bristol and Cardiff to identify specific areas of concern where the proposed work might prove fruitful. Three main areas emerged in these discussions
- Literacy learning at Key Stage 1
- Numeracy learning at Key Stage 2
- Transfer between Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3
and the project subsequently conducted research in each of these areas. This paper reports findings from the transfer strand.
Background
Moving from primary to secondary school can be a difficult time for young people and may be viewed as an ecological transition or disruption (Rudolph et al. 2001). As Rice (2001) has noted, institutional discontinuities are to be found in the areas of school climate, educational practices and social structures, and students have to “learn to read, negotiate and adapt to a very different school culture” (Pratt and George, 2005).
There is research evidence that suggests that the move between institutions may have a negative effect on students, in terms of their attainment, attitudes to learning and psychological functioning. Dips in attainment in the UK have been reported by Fouracre (1993), Suffolk LEA (1997) and the QCA (Pollitt, 2002). Galton et al. (1999) described a hiatus in learning whereby two in every five pupils failed to make expected progress in the year after changing school. Decline in academic performance post-transition is also reported in many other countries. In the USA, several studies (e.g. Barone et al. (1991), Simmons et al. (1991), Gutman and Midgeley (2000), Reyes et al. (2000)) have found a decline in students’ grade point average (GPA) after school transfer. Respondents to the INCA[1] thematic probe carried out by the NFER for the QCA (Whitby et al., 2006) reported dips in performance in the first year after primary-secondary transfer in Ireland, Italy, Spain and Tasmania. Students’ perceptions of their academic competence have also been found to decline after transfer. Anderman and Midgely (1997) found that perceived competence dropped in maths and English after transition from elementary school. In a Canadian study, Cantin and Boivin (2004) observed an immediate decline in self perception of scholastic competence after transfer, which was accompanied by a slow progressive decline in self esteem.
Evidence for attitudinal decline was found by Galton et al. (2002) where students were found to enjoy school significantly less by the end of the first year after transfer. Attitudes to science and especially mathematics also declined (Galton et al. 2003). Barone et al. (1991) observed a drop in school attendance in addition to the decline in GPA after transfer to high school. Students have also been seen to show an increase in psychological distress across the transition (Chung et al., 1998) although only boys in this study also showed decreased academic achievement.
As this last study indicates, some groups of students appear to be more vulnerable at transition than others. Gender is one factor that appears to have an impact on post-transition functioning. Duchesne et al. (2005) found that boys were more likely than girls to belong to the group with a declining trajectory post transfer. Barone et al. (1991) found that females showed less of a decrease in GPA than did males. In other research, it appears that gender may interact with ability. In the Anderman and Midgeley (1997) study, it was found that while student grades declined somewhat those of higher achieving females increased.
Females in the Barone et al. (1991) research also reported less difficulty with new social environment tasks. In other research relating to the social situation, Pellegrini and Bartini (2000) found that while there was an increase in bullying generally post transfer (see also Espelage et al., 2001), it was more marked for boys than girls and that girls endorsed bullying less than boys. They suggest that bullying is used in the service of establishing dominance and is a strategy used by males to respond to loss of status.
In other research, ethnic heritage has sometimes been identified as a factor that may be related to student vulnerability at transfer. Simmons et al. (1991) found that the decline in grades for African-American students post transfer was greater than for other students - “while everyone’s grades decrease in grade 7, African-American children’s grades plummet”. African-American students also showed a greater decrease in their liking for school. In Scotland, Graham and Hill (2003) found that fewer minority ethnic pupils felt positive about being at secondary school than white pupils.
In contrast to the above, however, Seidman et al. (1994) found that the decreases in GPA and self esteem observed in their study were robust across gender and race/ethnicity.
It appears that the student’s relationship with their family can be important at this time. This may seem somewhat surprising since it is suggested that one of the tasks of adolescence is to establish greater independence in daily life from parents (Simmons et al., 1991). However, a number of studies point to the importance of family support. Kurita and Janzen (1996), for example, found that parents were important sources of support for early adolescents, providing more tangible support than teachers and friends and more emotional support than teachers. Informational support (help with defining, understanding, and coping with problematic events) from parents significantly predicted esteem post transfer, although the size of the correlation was small. Most children in Graham and Hill’s study (2003) said that they would mainly talk about school related social and emotional problems to parents rather than friends or teachers. Seidman et al. (2003) found that adolescents who perceived fewer daily hassles and more involvement with their families appeared less vulnerable to declines in self esteem. They concluded that ‘it would seem important to educate families as to the normative difficulty of this school transition so they can provide constructive assistance’.
In relation to attainment, Newman et al. (2000) found that continuing high performers after transfer reported receiving more support from their immediate family. They suggested that ‘efforts to support a more successful transition to high school need to include ways of informing family members about the challenges and demands of the high school curriculum’. Anderson et al. (2000) identify the importance of the factors of preparedness for and support during transfer and again underline the potential role of the family amongst others in providing these.
A further call to focus effort on parents as well as children during the transition process comes from a study carried out in Scotland by Zeedyk et al. (2003). They found a degree of similarity between parents’ and students’ views prior to transfer and argue that it ‘seems reasonable to assume that a causal relation may exist between the two; if a parent becomes aware of a child’s concerns they may well come to share them, and vice versa’. However, it should be noted that evidence for the degree of similarity between children’s and parents’ views was based on similar proportions of each group identifying a particular factor rather than the matching of responses. However, in an early study for the Inner London Education Authority (Alston, 1988), responses were matched and parents’ views (concerning how well their children had settled after transfer) were found to be generally in accord with their children’s observations. This study also noted that school transfer is a period of transition for parents themselves as well as for students. New family routines may need to be put in place and new relationships established with the child’s school. Transfer to secondary school can also act as a marker for the passing of childhood and as O’Brien (2005) has observed the process can involve ‘ a fine balance of letting go and remaining emotionally available’ on the part of parents (or more specifically in this case, mothers).
Whilst, there is some research, then, which points to the potential importance of the family at the time of transfer, few studies have implemented programmes that have sought to extend support to parents at this time and it is common for the role of parents to be overlooked (Ofsted, 2002). The Home School Knowledge Exchange Project set up a programme of action aimed at increasing opportunities for parents to be more involved as their children transferred from primary to secondary school. This paper presents a brief description of the activities that were developed and the findings of work carried out to evaluate their impact.
Procedures
The research was carried out in the cities of Bristol and Cardiff. Four primary schools were involved in the action side of the project, two in Bristol and two in Cardiff. In each city, one primary school had a high proportion of students eligible for free school meals while the other primary school had a low proportion of eligible students. The major receiving secondary school for each action primary school was also recruited to the research.
During the first year, the emphasis was on building relationships with and between parties and on identifying areas where home-school links could be strengthened and the role of parents could be developed. This work included a series of interviews with students and their parents as they moved through transfer. During the subsequent year, activities were conducted with the new cohort of Year 6 students (10-11 year olds) and their families, which built on the work of the previous period. Action was implemented with this set of students both prior to transfer, and, where they transferred to the selected destination school, post transfer as well, since transfer was seen as encompassing the period of assimilation and accommodation during Year 7, as well as the move from one school to another.
Students from four primary comparison schools were also involved in the research. The comparison schools were identified as being similar to the action primary schools based on advice from the local education authority (LEA) staff. Again in each city, one comparison primary school had a low proportion of students eligible for free school meals while the other school had a high proportion. Students from these schools were assessed on the same instruments as students from the action schools but did not take part in the knowledge exchange activities. Both sets of students (action and comparison) were tested prior to transfer using the PIPS[2] End of Year 6 assessments of verbal and non-verbal intelligence and literacy and mathematics attainment. All these students were assessed again after transfer to their new schools, mostly towards the end of the Spring term. Preliminary analysis of the pre-transfer scores indicated that whilst no child was at ceiling, a number were close. After transfer, therefore, the End of Year 6 tests were supplemented with additional material from CEM which was developed for older students but compatible with the Pips materials. The assessment of higher achieving students was not, therefore, unduly restricted or capped. Internal reliability levels for the combined sections were acceptable (Cronbach’s alpha >.9 for both literacy and mathematics).
Changes to students' learning dispositions were monitored through the administration of the full version of the Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory (ELLI) before and after transfer. Seven factors were involved: A Changing and Learning, B Critical Curiosity, C Meaning Making, D Creativity, E Strategic Awareness, F Learning Relationships, and G Fragility and Dependence. We also assessed student attitudes and acclimatisation to life in their new schools using a questionnaire devised by the project. After transfer, particularly in Bristol, students were widely dispersed, with the result that this phase of testing entailed making arrangements with and visiting a large number of secondary schools, (16 in Bristol, 12 in Cardiff).
A small number of students from each primary action school and their families were followed more closely through transfer. A process of stratified random assignment was used to select these target students (giving a higher, medium and lower attaining boy and girl in each action school[3]). The parents and students were interviewed before and after transfer. This allowed us to explore the participants’ feelings about transfer and change and the development of these over time. The students' primary teachers were interviewed prior to transfer and the children were observed in their primary schools. Their tutors and secondary maths and English teachers were interviewed post transfer. Amongst other things, the interviews with the target students, their parents and their teachers provided a window on the knowledge exchange activities and how they were received. The students were also observed on the first day in their new school.
More extended and detailed work was carried out with 8 cases selected from amongst the target students. These families were visited more frequently both before and after transfer and the case students were observed in English and/or maths lessons in the secondary school.
Activities
A teacher was seconded part-time to work with school staff to develop the knowledge exchange activities. The detailed format of these activities varied across each primary-secondary pairing, depending on the affordances and constraints present in the different schools. The actions were all designed, however, to address similar underpinning features, particularly relating to the themes of preparation, support and relationships.
Examples of activities
Videos were made about life in the receiving secondary schools and reproduced on tape or CD. A variety of different voices was included on these - teachers, other secondary school staff, current Year 7 students and their parents. However, the mix of voices and contents varied across schools. They included Year 7 students explaining rules, routines and other features that were new to them like Smart Cards. They talked about the advantages of the secondary school as they perceived them and they gave advice on aspects like homework. In one case, a student unpacked her bag to show the things she needed to remember each day. They spoke of their own initial fears when they started and how these were resolved.
‘I was worried about getting lost but I just asked and people helped’
‘If you do get lost you just go to the bottom hall and someone is there to help you’
They discussed issues like bullying and gave advice about the help that was available if things go wrong. Different members of staff like tutors, a head of year, an Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS) support worker, a learning mentor and a director of achievement talked about their different roles and how they could be contacted. A cook explained the options that were available for lunch. She talked about the system of lunch passes for children receiving free school dinners. Some parents of Year 7 students gave advice and explained things from their perspective
‘Our morning routine has changed. She gets up and has her breakfast – we get everything ready the night before– and then I leave the house before her now.’
A Key Stage 3 head explained about the reward postcard scheme operating in that school to communicate successes to parents.
The target audience for the videos included both the current Year 6 students and their parents. The occasions for showing the videos reflected this duality and were selected to make them available to both students and parents. For example, one primary school included the video in its leavers concert, an occasion that was traditionally well attended by parents. The same video was also played during a pre-transfer parents’ evening held at the secondary school, which was attended by parents and children. In another primary school, parents were invited into school to view the video at either an afternoon or evening viewing. Two translators (Somali and Urdu/Punjabi speaking) were present at the afternoon showing. In this school, students watched the video separately during a class session.