Assessing teacher perceptions on the need to reduce emphasis on English Studies

1.    Description of the local problem (The local problem that prompted the study is clearly defined and is discussed in terms of the local setting and the larger population or education situation):

Notably, majority of the classrooms are composed of students from diverse national and ethnic backgrounds, a factor that influences their speaking and learning of English. The current curriculum requires all students, regardless of their language backgrounds, to attain a standard score in English Studies to progress to higher levels. However, this requirement puts a strain on students with a weak English language background and could hinder their learning process. This is especially true in cases where some students perform well in other subjects but are held back by the English Studies standards requirement. Much attention is paid to how different teaching strategies should be used to ensure that all the needs of students are met in the classroom in the United States (Beverton and Britain, 2005: General Teaching Council, 2004).  This is a problem as it makes it difficult for students with poor English Study skills to pursue their subjects of interest. The issue is a local problem in that other schools may lack the diversity of students as evident in this local setting, or other areas may have different curriculum.
This study seeks to investigate if less emphasis should be placed on the attainment of higher standards in English through the curriculum to ensure that all children’s learning needs may be met, which could lead to more students reaching the required standards (Black, 2002). This may be gleaned through changing instructional practices or measured through assessment (Gipps and Stobart, 2004 National Curriculum Task Group on Assessment and Testing. 1988; OECD, 2004). The local setting under study consists of teachers and administrative officials who will be in a position to offer helpful feedback on the current state of English Study requirements at the local level.
The local problem is that despite classrooms having students from diverse language backgrounds and with diverse learning abilities, the curriculum requires all students to have a certain standard score in English Studies to progress to higher levels. The gap in practice identified and which necessitates this study is that the current curriculum does not seem to cater for the diverse needs of all students, thus hindering some from attaining desirable academic outcomes. Particularly, the study seeks to assess teachers’ perceptions regarding the need to reduce the emphasis laid on the English Studies’ standards in primary schools.
The problem is related to the larger educational setting in that how policymakers address it will influence how the curriculum responds to the needs of students with diverse learning needs. In this regard, the study will seek to find out whether teachers are in support of the need to reduce the emphasis laid on English Study standards, since doing so could influence the formulation of policies for the larger educational sector.

References:

Beverton, S. and Britain, G. (2005). Teaching Approaches to Promote Consistent Level 4 Performance in Key Stage 2 English and Mathematics. Durham, University of Durham, School of Education.
Black, P. (2002). Working Inside the Black Box. London, King’s College, Department of Education and Professional Studies.
General Teaching Council. (2004). The Role of Teacher in Pupil Assessment. Published in Perspectives on Pupil Assessment by the General Teaching Council. London, General Teaching Council.
Gipps, C. and Stobart, G. (2004). Fairness in Assessment. Published in Perspectives on Pupil Assessment by the General Teaching Council. London, General Teaching Council.
National Curriculum Task Group on Assessment and Testing. (1988). A report 1988. Department of Education and Science. London, Her Majesty’s Stationary Office.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2004). Learning for Tomorrow’s World: First Results from PISA 2003: Executive Summary. France, OECD.

2.    Rationale of the local problem and Purpose of the study (The rationale for choosing this problem is clearly articulated. The rationale consists of evidence that the problem exists and explains why there is a need to study and address this problem. The purpose or intent of the study is explained):
There is the need to establish whether teachers support the current emphasis laid on English Study standards as this will create the way for policy amendments in relation to the current curriculum. This is because the modern classroom continues to attract students with diverse language needs, and failing to consider such needs could hamper effective learning of other subjects. Many times, the larger picture or approaches that should be used through the curriculum in the United States have been debated (Beverton & Britain, 2005: General Teaching Council, 2004). However, the need to reduce the emphasis paid on English Studies may be explored from differing perspectives from a policy level or from a teacher’s perspective (Association of Teachers and Lecturers, 2006; Claire, 2004; Hurst & Peters, 1970; Katz, 1998; Richards, 2005; Tymms, 2004; White, 2007). This study seeks to explore the topic from the teacher’s perspective, by examining the emphasis laid on English Studies based on teachers’ experiences in primary schools in the United States. More insight may be gained to ascertain if it is appropriate to set national standards or local ones through the curriculum (Association of Teachers and Lecturers, 2006; Gipps & Stobart, 2004).
Thus, to examine how the curriculum may meet these diverse needs, this study is being undertaken to explore whether teachers consider that emphasis should be changed so that the importance being placed on English should be lowered to ensure that children are able to keep up in schools. To build an understanding of this is essential, if the needs of all children are to be met effectively (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2004). The purpose of the research is to seek teachers’ attitudes and views on the emphasis lay on English Study scores, thus establishing whether a change in policy could garner sufficient support from the educators. The research will contribute to the understanding of the local problem in that it will use data from schools where students have diverse language needs. By doing so, the study will make it clear that the current standards hamper students’ achievement of learning outcomes in other subjects.
References:
Association of Teachers and Lecturers. (2006). Online Survey of Teacher Opinion, September 2006.
Beverton, S. and Britain, G. (2005). Teaching Approaches to Promote Consistent Level 4 Performance in Key Stage 2 English and Mathematics. Durham, University of Durham, School of Education.
Claire, H. (2004) Gender in Education 3-19: A Fresh Approach. London, ATL.
General Teaching Council. (2004). The Role of Teacher in Pupil Assessment. Published in Perspectives on Pupil Assessment by the General Teaching Council. London, General Teaching Council.
Gipps, C. and Stobart, G. (2004). Fairness in Assessment. Published in Perspectives on Pupil Assessment by the General Teaching Council. London, General Teaching Council.
Hirst, P. H. and Peters, R. S. (1970). The Logic of Education. London, Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Katz, L.G. (1998). A Developmental Approach to the Curriculum in the Early Years. In Smidt, S. The Early Years: A Reader. London, Routledge.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2001). Knowledge and Skills for Life: First Results. OECD, Paris, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2004.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2004). Learning for Tomorrow’s World: First results from PISA 2003: Executive Summary. France, OECD.
Richards, C. (2005). Standards in English Primary Schools: Are They Rising? ATL, London.
Tymms, P. (2004). Are Standards Rising in British Primary Schools? British Education Research Journal, 30: 477–94.
White, J. (2007) What are Schools for and Why? IMPACT, Number 14. Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain, Staffordshire.

3. Review of literature addressing the problem (Consists of two parts: a) theoretical/conceptual framework and b) current research literature addressing the problem.

a)    The theoretical base or conceptual framework is described. The selection of the theory/framework is justified by showing a clear contribution to understanding of the problem. How the theory/framework will be used to inform the study is described and justified.

The theoretical approach, which shall be adopted for this research, is derived from the epistemological perspective that data should be collated by exploring the perspectives of individuals who have knowledge pertaining to the phenomena under investigation (Creswell, 1994; Holloway, 1997; Mason, 1996). Such individuals include teachers who have to implement the curriculum and come into contact with learners of differing abilities on a daily basis. In this regard, a phenomenological framework shall be utilised so that the researchers’ own perspectives and beliefs may be reflected in the research (Hammersley, 2000; Mouton & Marais, 1990). Moreover, Hycner (1999) states that “the phenomenon dictates the method (not vice-versa) including even the type of participants” (p. 156). Therefore, purposeful sampling shall be used to identify primary participants to ensure that the respondents “have had experiences relating to the phenomenon to be researched” (Kruger, 1988, p. 150). Participants shall be chosen on the basis that they may answer the research questions, which have been posed (Babbie, 1995; Schwandt, 1997). Thus a number of teaching professionals (100 from primary schools, 100 from middle schools and 100 from secondary schools) shall provide the data that shall be used in this study, once their informed consent has been gained (Arksey & Knight, 1999). This will help to ensure that the research question posed above is fully explored and answered.
References:
Arksey, H., & Knight, P. (1999). Interviewing for Social Scientists. London: Sage
Babbie, E. (1995). The Practice of Social Research (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Creswell, J. W. (1994). Research Design: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hammersley, M. (2000). Taking Sides in Social Research. London: Routledge.
Holloway, I. (1997). Basic Concepts for Qualitative Research. Oxford: Blackwell Science.
Hycner, R. H. (1999). Some Guidelines for the Phenomenological Analysis of Interview Data. In A.
Bryman & R. G. Burgess (Eds.), Qualitative Research (Vol. 3, pp. 143-164). London: Sage.
Kruger, D. (1988). An Introduction to Phenomenological Psychology (2nd ed.). Cape Town, South Africa: Juta.
Mason, J. (1996). Qualitative Researching. London: Sage.
Mouton, J. & Marais, H.C. (1990). Basic Concepts in the Methodology of the Social Sciences (Revised ed.). Pretoria, South Africa: Human Sciences Research Council.
Schwandt, T. A. (1997). Qualitative Inquiry: A Dictionary of Terms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

5.    Current research literature related to the problem is summarized and critically reviewed. Includes at least 15 current references from research literature articles published in peer-reviewed journals. Current literature is defined as published within the past 5 years. Research literature is defined as articles reporting data collection methods or data sources, data analysis methods, and findings)

There is an on-going debate regarding whether the curriculum should be derived from national standards or whether this should be situated in local contexts (Ball, 2013; Berlak & Berlak, 2011; Hextall & Mahony, 2013). Thus, the politics and implementation of how children should be taught is currently under scrutiny (Lawton, 2012).  Central to this is a need to ensure that all learners across diverse communities with differing needs are taught so that they may meet the standards stated in the curriculum (Klenowski & Wyatt-Smith, 2010). Various approaches have been debated regarding the use of standards for learning purposes, and who should be accountable for these (Mansell, James, & Assessment Reform Group, 2009; Reid, 2009). This study seeks to identify if lowering the curriculum standards in English would meet the needs of all learners. Could changing the approach to setting the curriculum aid this process (Klenowski & Adie, 2009) as teachers or schools could use their own judgement to decide if taking this action is appropriate or not? Should the curriculum standards be set by policymakers (Hyslop, 2009)?  This has been debated by various scholars (Crooks et al., 2009; Klenowski & Adie, 2009; Stanley et al., 2009; Wyatt-Smith, Klenowski & Gunn, 2010) and by professional organizations (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010) as one of the key concepts that needs to be considered when considering curriculum setting (Marsh, 2009). Thus, from this, it is clear how a number of debates surrounding changes to the curriculum have unfolded over the last five years. Some consider that managing the curriculum in a local context will enable teachers to be able to meet the diverse needs of their students (Klenowski & Wyatt-Smith, 2010; Klenowski & Adie, 2009).  This study shall be conducted to understand how teachers perceive whether if they were given this control over the curriculum in English this would meet the needs of more children in primary, middle and secondary schools.

References:
Ball, S. J. (2013). Education Debate. London. The Policy Press.
Berlak, A., & Berlak, H. (2011). Dilemmas of Schooling: Teaching and Social Change (Vol. 165). London. Routledge.
Hextall, I., & Mahony, P. (2013). Reconstructing Teaching: Standards, Performance and Accountability.     London. Routledge.
Hyslop, F. (2009). Assessment for Curriculum for Excellence. Retrieved 16/01/2014, from http://www.Itscotland.org.uk/Images/AssessmentforCfE_tcm4- 565505.pdf
Crooks, T., Darr, C., Gilmore, A., Hall, C., Hattie, J., Smith, J., (2009). Towards Defining, Assessing and Reporting against National Standards for Literacy and Numeracy in New Zealand. Christchurch: The New Zealand Assessment Academy, University of Canterbury.
Marsh, C. (2009). Key Concepts for Understanding Curriculum. London: Routledge. Reid, A. (2009). Is This a Revolution? A Critical Analysis of the Rudd Government’s National Education Agenda. Curriculum Perspectives, 29(3), 1–13.
Klenowski, V., & Wyatt-Smith, C. (2010). Standards, Teacher Judgement and Moderation in Contexts of National Curriculum and Assessment Reform. Assessment Matters, 2, 107-131.
Mansell, W., James, M., & Assessment Reform Group. (2009). Assessment in Schools: Fit for Purpose? A Commentary by the Teaching and Learning Research Programme. London: Economic and Social Research Council, Teaching and Learning Programme.
Klenowski, V., & Adie, L. E. (2009). Moderation as Judgement Practice: Reconciling System Level Accountability and Local Level Practice. Curriculum Perspectives, 29(1), 10–28.
Lawton, D. (2012). The Politics of the School Curriculum (RLE Edu B) (Vol. 22). London. Routledge.
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, & Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards Initiative. Retrieved 16/01/2014, from http://www.corestandards.org
Stanley, G., MacCann, R., Gardner, J., Reynolds, L., & Wild, I. (2009). Review of Teacher Assessment: Evidence of what Works Best and Issues for Development. Oxford: Oxford University Centre for Educational Assessment, Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.
Wyatt-Smith, C., Klenowski, V., & Gunn, S. J. (2010). The Centrality of Teachers’ Judgement Practice in Assessment: A Study of Standards in Moderation. Assessment in Education, 17(1), 59–75.

5.    Research questions (Lists research questions including related hypotheses, if applicable):

Should emphasis laid on English studies be lowered to ensure that more kids are able to keep up with the curriculum?

Would changing the requirements of the curriculum enable all children to meet the necessary standards in English? This question would be answered through assessment tests and continuous monitoring of the students’ progress in their English problem areas.

To what extent does the current curriculum meet the needs of all children in the United States who are learning English?

5. Description of proposed research method (Includes research design, population and sample/selection of participants, data collection methods and/or types of data, data collection instruments, and data analysis methods):

The proposed methods for this research are derived from qualitative methods (Boyatzis, 1998; Holloway & Todres, 2003). Data shall be collected by conducting a literature review pertaining to the extent to which the current curriculum meets the needs of children when they are seeking to learn English. Once this has been compiled, a semi-structured questionnaire designed specifically for the study shall be administered over the internet via email to a number of teaching professionals (100 from primary schools, 100 from middle schools and 100 from secondary schools). The questionnaires will be preceded by letters to school heads to help in obtaining an email list of teachers who would like to participate in the research. The questionnaires will carry the head of the institution together with the objectives of the research. This will authenticate them to ensure that the teachers respond affirmatively. Volunteering teachers will sign a consent form before handing in their emails to schools heads in the schools selected. The results of these semi-structured interviews shall then be analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis to seek to indicate whether teachers perceive that emphasis laid on English studies in the curriculum in their schools should be lowered in order to meet the learning needs of all children which may enable them to keep up with the curriculum.
References:
Boyatzis, R. E. (1998). Transforming Qualitative Information: Thematic Analysis and Code Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2006) Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology. Qualitative Research in
Psychology, 3 (2). pp. 77-101.
Holloway, I., & Todres, L. (2003). The Status of Method: Flexibility, Consistency and Coherence.
Qualitative Research, 3(3), 345-357.