National Foundation for Educational Research Essay Example for Free

National Foundation for Educational Research Essay Over the last century different techniques have been used to organise children within schools according to what the public and government asked for and needed. For example after the Second World War the number and size of schools increased, the tripartite system of secondary education was introduced and there was increased competition for grammar school places Sukhnandan and Lee (1998 pg. 13). There was a drive for excellence and the 11 plus exam leant itself easily to the administration of streaming. However during the 1960s research was carried out that suggested streaming had negative social consequences for pupils, which could have been the catalyst for the shift of emphasis from excellence to equality. This resulted in a shift from streaming to mixed ability teaching that continued throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Ability grouping, in the form of setting and within class grouping, was sometimes used in higher year groups for linear subjects such as maths, science and modern languages but mixed ability was the main grouping method. The essay question implies that again there has been a shift, this time to setting. Boaler et al (1998) seems to imply that pressures from the government are to blame for this move; suggesting research (Gewirtz, Ball Bowe, 1993 cited in Boaler et al 1998) indicates some teachers regard the curriculum set out in the 1988 Education Reform Act as incompatible with mixed ability teaching implying that they have no choice. Todays Governments seem to be increasingly interested in achieving goals and raising standards, even if this means children missing out on the social advantages of mixed ability grouping. Setting seems to reinforce social divisions, as there are a higher proportion of boys, children of lower socio-economic status, children born in the summer and those of ethnic minority backgrounds in the lower sets (Boaler, 1997a, 1997b. Oakes, 1982. Sutton, 1966. Cited in Sukhnandan and Lee, 1998. ) whereas children in mixed ability classes tend to come from a range of different backgrounds. I find this quite extraordinary, as the Scottish Parliament has recently spent millions on an anti-racism campaign. Surely segregating the children, albeit unintentionally, will undermine the message sent out by this campaign? The essay will discuss the advantages and disadvantages research has told us concerning setting. It will begin with the discussion of the effect of teachers attitudes and expectations of the set that they are teaching. It will then discuss the limitations pupils face by being placed in sets. It will discuss the social gap created by teaching children in sets. It will also discuss the advantages to the teacher of teaching children in sets and the advantages to the pupils. The essay compares setting to mixed ability teaching on several occasions this is because mixed ability teaching was the technique used before the recommendation to use setting also there seems to only be limited research on the other forms of grouping. Research has shown there to be both advantages and disadvantages to setting. Boaler et al (1998) demonstrated many disadvantages to setting. In their paper they cited a worrying statistic Jackson (1963) 96% of teachers taught to streamed ability groups meaning they taught all the children without consideration into their individual differences. Boaler et al (1998) made reference to some of the experiences of pupils in setted mathematics classes, they reported that their teachers consistently made comments such as youre in the top set, you should be able to do this and youre in the bottom group your not going to learn anything. These attitudes are undoubtedly detrimental for the child. Boaler et al (1998) reported that children in higher sets were disadvantaged because their teachers had too high expectations of the children they were teaching, one third of the children taught in the highest sets felt they were being pushed to hard, that their lessons were paced too fast and they were under too much pressure to succeed because of their teachers expectations and the competitive ethos between pupils in higher sets. This was discovered to really upset certain children, Boaler et al, (1998) I mean I get really depressed it really depressed me, the fact that everyone in the class is like really far ahead and I just dont understand. It was reported that girls were the most affected by this citing the fact that although girls have been reported to be overtaking boys in all subjects boys still get the highest grades in mathematics (where the use of setting is dominant). The complete reverse was reported for those in lower sets, who felt that their lessons were too slow; they werent being challenged so lost interest. They believed that their teachers had no faith in them. This would then lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy, they have no option but to perform to the set that they are allocated, if they are not encouraged then they will languish in the bottom sets their entire school life. This causes a self fulfilling prophecy, if they are told that theyre incapable of anything more they will begin to believe it, so they wont try to do anything more. Even if the children in the lower sets worked to be moved up into the higher sets they are unlikely to be successful. Teachers teach the children in specific sets to different tiers of an exam, so those in lower groups will not learn the same things as those in higher groups so movement between the sets would be difficult. The idea that children are taught to specific tiers is generally problematic because children are allocated to sets up to three years before they sit the exam and as mobility is rare this can have detrimental effects on their attainment if they were aware that they could only get a low grade. Boaler et al (1998) reported that only some children actually knew the implications of this. The teachers high expectations of those in higher sets and low expectations of those in lower sets causes a further social gap between the sets, those in the top sets will be called boffins and those in the lower sets will be seen as stupid. This is further intensified by the allocation of better qualified and more experienced teachers to higher sets even though research suggests (Black and Wiliam, 1998, p42 cited in Boaler et al 1998) that this type of high quality teaching is more beneficial to those children in lower sets who need more guidance as they are more easily distracted. The lower ability children will recognise that the higher ability children are seen as better and again this will have detrimental effects on their self-esteem causing them to become interested in anti-educational activities where its cool to be alienated (Hallam article from TES website, Passmore 2002) and will heighten the rift between the ability groups. In a mixed ability class for example there is a reduced distinction between childrens ability, which is beneficial to the children. There is even the suggestion that children of lower ability use those of higher ability as role models. A further problem could be caused because of a distinction made between academic and vocational subjects. Only subjects such as Maths, Science, English and Modern Languages are set while subjects such as Art and Music are mixed ability as a general rule. Children who are good at art and music may not feel as valued as those who are good at maths. The emphasis for teachers seems to be applied to children in higher sets because they get taught by the best teachers and get taught in the best classrooms. Also the children who arent interested may distract other children in these mixed ability groups. Ultimately this will lower their self-esteem and have a negative effect on their attainment in and feelings for the subject. Of cause there must be advantages to setting otherwise the First Minister wouldnt have recommended it. One major advantage is that, compared to mixed ability teaching, its easier for teachers to implement as they can pitch work at a level that is more appropriate for the level the children are at. In mixed ability teaching a large majority of the class are unsupervised while setting lends itself to whole class teaching. This would appear to benefit those children in both higher and lower ability groups. Children in higher ability groups could be neglected and left to get on with their work in mixed ability classes while in sets these children will be given more attention, the children in with less ability will feel less inferior and more confident in groups of children with similar ability. Another benefit for high ability children is that low ability children who dont want to learn will not distract them. The government is aiming to raise standards so its understandable to want to give children of higher ability a better chance. Research (Kulik and Kulik, 1982. 1987. Cited in Sukhnandan and Lee, 1998. ) shows that gifted and high ability children achieve more when placed in sets than they do when placed in mixed ability groups. Its believed by some that high ability pupils benefit in groups with similar ability because it increases motivation by providing appropriate challenges and competition. There is also the implication that the children will be like-minded, facilitating the opportunity for them to discuss and bounce ideas between each other. Possibly the main reason why the First Minister recommended this form of ability grouping is because all the research conducted in this area conflicts resulting in there being no truly consistent findings on the effect of ability grouping for pupil achievement. His recommendation could therefore be based on the fact that setting is easier for teachers so it is more likely children will be taught effectively. His main concern appears to be with raising standards and setting is easier to manage and improve than mixed ability teaching as set guidelines can be given for the attainment targets for each set. The blame for these inconsistent findings has been given to the research methods used. Theres a suggestion made that the outcome of ability grouping isnt the only thing being tested. The quality of teaching, the teachers expectations, the pupils expectations and the materials available will all effect the pupils achievement. The evidence seems to produce more disadvantages to setting than advantages. The main ones being social rather than necessarily academic. However a child will perform better if they are happy and confident. Being labelled as set 6 is not good for a childs self esteem or confidence especially when teachers reinforce the idea that they are not as good as those in higher sets. This ultimately leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy, which eventually causes the child to lose all interest. If the First Ministers objective really is to raise standards then shouldnt he be focussing on these low ability children and trying to raise their attainment levels? High ability groups also suffer because of the expectation that they are more capable than they actually there. To improve this it might be necessary to re-teach teachers on pupil differences and explain that all the children within the set are not identical. For this to occur theyd have to be a reduction in the emphasis placed on meeting targets, teachers need the flexibility to return to areas that children are finding difficult. When all said and done isnt education for the benefit child? The First Ministers recommendation needs to be accompanied by guidelines for teachers on how they can avoid the negative effects of homogeneous grouping. These guidelines should include careful planning, using well-defined targets and remaining aware of the negative effects of ability grouping (GB. Scottish Office. HMI, 1996. Cited in Sukhnandan and Lee, 1998. ) There could also be a move away from emphasis on academic achievement to more recognition of non-academic achievements to restore the self-esteem of children in lower ability groups (Elton Report, 1989. Taylor, 1993. Cited in Sukhnandan and Lee, 1998. ) His recommendation was probably the right one considering the drive to raise standards and make teachers lives easier. Because of the lack of conclusive evidence for what type of grouping is more beneficial academically for the child he was right to choose the method that could be most easily implemented and controlled. However this lack of conclusive evidence means that more research needs to be carried out to discover what the best form of grouping is. To do this researchers will have to establish what is ultimately best for the child, possibly new ways of grouping could be developed or the old ways upgraded.

Essay --

ISSUES, CHALLENGES AND WAY FORWARD There remains considerable gap between the health HR in position and that required for public health sector. This shortage is attributed to delays in recruitment and postings not being based on work-load or sanctions. Lack of sound HR management policies has also resulted in irrational distribution of available HR and suboptimal motivation. The envisioned public health cadre to manage NRHM and NUHM (or now National Health Mission) is not yet in place. Insufficient focus on public health is a major weakness of the system and must be urgently corrected. Effective public health management requires a certain degree of expertise and it calls for an urgent real need for a dedicated public health cadre (with support teams comprising of epidemiologists, entomologists, public health nurses, inspectors and male multipurpose workers) backed by appropriate regulation at the state level. Availability of skilled HR remains a key constraint in expanding health service delivery. A mere expansion of financial resources devoted to health will not deliver results if health manpower is not available. An expansion of public sector medical schools and public health institutions is necessary in this process. The norms for public health service providers were set long ago and are considered very inadequate according to today’s requirements and expectations. Even those under IPHS also need to be revised periodically based on the rapidly changing modern times. The shortfall of doctors and specialists is a serious issue. Availability of public health functionaries is very low. The doctors and specialists in position do not necessarily mean that they are physically present at their respective centres and performing their du... ...the convergence and development of public health systems that are responsive to the health and well being of the people, it is important to recognise the need for a comprehensive strategy that must include the public health HR (both professional and auxiliary health personnel). In India, availability of health HR in the public sector is quantitatively inadequate and most of the States/UTs lack a dedicated public health cadre. To develop a robust public health cadre in our country, the public health HR needs to be strengthened in a systematic, organised and well-planned manner. Though there are certain issues and challenges, yet the creation of a new public health cadre would result in an efficient public health management system delivered by teams of well-qualified and competent workers who would be able to deal with changing public health priorities in the country.

Usain Bolt

Usain Bolt Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt is arguably the fastest man in the world, winning three gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, and becoming the first man in Olympic history to win both the 100-meter and 200-meter races in record times. Bolt won his fourth Olympic gold medal in the men's 100-meter race at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, beating rival Yohan Blake, who took silver. Bolt ran the race in 9. 63 seconds, a new Olympic record, making him the first man in history to set three world records in a single Olympic Games competition. The win marked Bolt's second consecutive gold medal in the 100.Bolt went on to compete in the men's 200, claiming his second consecutive gold medal in that race. He is the first man to win both the 100 and 200 at consecutive Olympic Games, as well as the first man to ever win back-to-back gold medals in double sprints. Usain Bolt was born in Jamaica on August 21, 1986. Both a standout cricket player and a sprinter ear ly on, Bolt’s natural speed was noticed by coaches at school, As early as age 14, Bolt was wowing fans of sprinting with his lightning speed, and he won his first high school championships medal in 2001, taking the silver in the 200-meter race.Bolt announced that he would run the 100-meter and 200-meter events at the Beijing Summer Olympics. In the 100-meter final, Bolt broke the world record, winning in 9. 69 seconds. Not only was the record set without a favorable wind, but he also visibly slowed down to celebrate before he finished (and his shoelace was untied), an act that aroused much controversy later on. Bolt's achievements in sprinting have earned him numerous awards, including the IAAF World Athlete of the Year (twice), Track & Field Athlete of the Year and Laureus Sportsman of the Year.

China as an economic power in the world Free Essay Example, 2000 words

The Chinese government is aware of all these challenges and promises to address them by implementing policies that boost consumer planning and spending. In addition, it intends to expand the coverage of social safety and encourage the growth of industries that promote less pollution. During the leadership of Mao Zedong, the economy was well planned and maintained. The state controlled a large share of the country’s economic output. The state set the goals of production, controlled the prices of products, and distributed resources throughout the economy. After the death of Mao in 1978, the Chinese government decided to get rid of the soviet style economic policies by gradually embracing new reforms that had a relation to the free markets. By 1979, there were new economic reforms and farmers got permission to sell their crops on the free market. Since the introduction of these reforms, the economy of China has grown at a faster rate as compared to the pre –reform period. Economists attribute to the rapid growth of China in large-scale capital investment as well as the rapid productivity growth. We will write a custom essay sample on China as an economic power in the world or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now In addition, the economic reforms increased the efficiency in the economy that led to higher output and increased resources that would aid in developing the investment in the economy. Moreover, people and nations recognize China for maintaining a high rate of savings. The decentralization of economic production led to an increase in the household savings and the corporate savings. Due to the high level of savings, China has been able to invest domestically. Likewise, China is the largest global lender and this is due to the gross domestic savings levels that exceed the domestic investment levels. The productivity gain is another factor that has led to the rapid economic growth of China. The central government led to the improvements in productivity, controlled reallocation of resources to various sectors like agriculture and trade. The rise of private firms that were more productive and the exposure of the export sector to the competitive forces inc reased a greater share of the economy. According to the United Nations, China is the world’s biggest manufacturer. By 2012, the value of China’s manufacturing on a basis of gross value was 28.2% higher than the U. S (Kee, 2010). Manufacturing plays an important role in China as a policy environment that is conducive and boosts competitiveness. It encourages investments in technology and science, education of employees as well as the development of infrastructure.