Pupil Gains Studies

An important element of the research being conducted as part of the STNE initiative is the impact of teacher practice on pupils' gains.  To date little has been done in the initiative to examine pupil gains, or what is meant by pupil gains.

It is anticipated that exploration and examination of the meaning of "pupil gains" and the development of appropriate instruments to gather data across the possible areas e.g. cognitive, affective, social etc. will be undertaken over the next two years.  These instruments can then be used in examining the effectiveness of the new teachers beginning their professional practice in the final two years of the STNE initiative.

Follow-up survey of 2009 B.Ed Graduates

What impact do STNE teachers have on pupils' experiences and outcomes?

Background

This research aims to follow through the 4th year B.Ed cohort who completed their course in June 2009 at the University of Aberdeen into their first year of teaching.

A large-scale study involving the probationer teachers and their classes has been planned using web-based questionnaires for teachers and pupils and a small number of individual case studies, drawn from the students who have participated in the longitudinal study.

What do we want to find out?

The B.Ed program developed as part of the STNE project was rooted into ideas of collaborative and social learning between pupils and teachers, within and outside the classroom. Child-centred techniques as well as deep understanding of the children's learning were central aspects of the program. We would like to be able to get a sense from the students as to how such principles are working in their own classroom, what they learn about their teaching, about the children and about themselves as well as more general aspects related to starting teaching in a school.

Nature of the activities

Different activities will be used to suit the age and abilities of the pupils.

  • Pupils in P3 to P7 will be asked to complete a questionnaire asking to comment on places they like in school and where and how they learn. This should take about 30 minutes on two occasions during the school year.
  • Pupils in P1 and P2 will be invited to do paper-based activities involving drawing pictures for about 30 minutes on two occasions during the school year.
  • Teachers from all classes will be given a web-based questionnaire to complete. This should take about 30 minutes on two occasions during the school year.

Time scale

We are planning to collect data on two occasions:

  • At the beginning of the academic year in August/September 2009
  • At the end of academic year in May/June 2010

Participating in the study

  • Taking part in the research is entirely voluntary. Probationers will be asked for their consent prior to taking part in the research.  Written permission will be sought from the pupils' parents.
  • All participating teachers will receive guidance and a standard consent letter for parents to complete and any participant may ask to withdraw from the research at any time.
  • All the data collected will be treated confidentially and no individual or the school will be identified in anything written about the research.

Further information about the research

The researchers and the project coordinator can be contacted at any time for any query or updates on the research.

Please contact Marie-Louise Smoor,  STNE Project Coordinator, School of Education, King's College, University of Aberdeen, AB24 5UA

Telephone: 01224 274619, E-mail: m.smoor@abdn.ac.uk