Doing Science is unique in seeking to make explicit the links between science education and science studies. These fields of study and their respective academic communities, whilst appearing to have many potential points of contact, remain surprisingly separate, with little apparent recognition of the relevance to the interests of each of the work done within the other tradition. Presenting detailed accounts of current research, the book highlights the significance of modern science studies for classroom practice and, conversely, the importance of the classroom and teaching laboratory as a...

This book, by closely recording and reflecting upon the work and play of a group of 9 to 11 year-old children in a primary classroom, develops an approach to teaching and learning which is based upon the ways in which children are able to exercise a controlling influence over their own learning activity. It also suggests the sharing and analysis of classroom experience should be part of a teacher's day-to-day life. The material for the book was gathered during a year of classroom enquiry in which the author combined the roles of teacher and researcher, working alongside the normal class...

The arts in education are currently the subject of considerable controversy. Some people argue that fostering creativity in schools is important; that the arts can provide a substantial contribution to the development of the capacity for creative thought and action; and that therefore the arts should be well represented at all levels of the school curriculum. Some argue that the education system, in fact, leaves pupils incomplete, stultified and uncreative. Others argue that it is the processes of teaching and learning in the arts which are at fault because they are too passive. This book...

This volume describes and analyses exceptional educational events - periods of particularly effective teaching representing ultimates in teacher and pupil educational experience. The events themselves are reconstructed in the book through teacher and pupil voices and through documentation. A model of 'critical event' is derived from the study, which might serve as a possible framework for understanding other such occurrences in schools.

Linguistics and the Teacher is a collection of essays by linguists on different aspects of the relationship between linguistics and education. All the contributors are united in their belief that linguistics should be a central element in the education of teachers, and argue for principled and systematic analysis in the study of the role of language in learning. The essays range from theoretical accounts of the nature of language study in teacher education to practical examples of how linguistics can help the teacher in such diverse contexts as the assessment of difficulty in textbooks, the...

This book makes work in the field of sociolinguistics easily accessible to working teachers and to teachers in training. It focuses on the crucial first weeks that children spend in school, and deals with talk as a joint production, in which teachers and pupils are engaged from the earliest stages of the educational process. Using a variety of research methods and observations, Mary Willes captures the reality of what goes on in the classroom, and describes how young children develop both linguistic and cognitive skills in this social context. In addition, she examines classrooms where...

This is a study of the nature of the process whereby children go about the business of learning to read. The author relates her own practical teaching experience closely to studies in developmental psychology, and also considers the special needs of individual children. In all, the book provides an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the processes involved in learning to read, and it should be of interest not only to teachers, but also to parents of young children.

Does the education system help or hinder the fight against racism? This volume provides a constructive critique of the Swan Report of 1985 and of sociological research into racial and ethnic relations. The author undertakes a searching philosophical and sociological analysis of multicultural and antiracist education. He shows how the education system itself can reinforce racist assumptions and behaviour in society, but also argues that through educational and social reconstructing it can promote constructive cross-cultural relations.

This book reports an ethnographic study of thirty teachers from eighteen schools who participated in a staff development programme in multicultural education. The study examines how multicultural education was actually presented to teachers, and areas in which their classroom teaching and perception of students changed over the two-year period. Although most of the teachers reported learning a good deal, changes in their teaching and their discussions of teaching were fairly limited. After reporting the data, the book examines why changes were limited, analyzing three areas: the nature of...