Being bullied is associated with a psycho-social maladjustment during childhood. One hitherto largely overlooked correlate is disrupted classroom concentration. Using data collected from 364 9-11-year-old children attending seven junior schools in the UK, we tested a model in which children's perceived safety in two contexts (classroom and…

The recently revised "Northern Ireland Primary Curriculum" recommends that teachers make use of the environment to extend children's understanding of mathematics. One approach to using the environment in mathematics is to take children on a mathematics trail. A mathematics trail uses the resources and features within the environment as a…

Background: There is still relatively little research on the social context within which bullying develops and remains stable. Aim: This study examined the short-term stability of bullying victimization among primary school students in the United Kingdom and Germany (mean age, 8.9 years) and the individual and social network factors that…

This paper looks at the growing interest in exploring alternative futures and in particular at the need for a futures perspective in education. It looks at the ways in which educators are responding to this and at the concerns expressed by young people themselves about the future. The value of a futures perspective in work exploring issues of…

There are differences of opinion about self-esteem enhancement in the classroom; these differences exist at both conceptual and practical levels. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether techniques employed by primary school teachers as a day-to-day part of their teaching can have measurable effects on the self-esteem of their pupils. Two…

Pupils' motivation and interest are identified as important influences on learning. Motivational orientation is a construct that links motivation and epistemology. This study attempted to explore motivational orientation as it relates to science education and two different instructional approaches. A published instrument standardized with a…

Observes primary children's information skills and identifies areas of difficulty. Discusses modifying and developing such skills through specific teaching methods. Focuses on the case of one student whose response to gathering information from difficult text was to copy the text word for word. (RS)

This guide focuses on the architecture of the primary and pre-school sector in the United Kingdom and broadly considers the subtle spatial and psychological requirements of growing children up to, and beyond, the age of sixteen. Chapter 1 examines the history, origins, and significant historical developments of school architecture, along with an…

This article explores how gifted children learn to think. Issues related to the learning experiences of gifted children emerge from a consideration of work collected from primary classrooms and are developed by reference to children's work on a structured program designed to support aspects of thinking associated with decision making. (Contains 5…

Provides a narrative account of the development of a solutions-focused approach to school improvement. Describes the process whereby an urban primary school harnessed the collective energies of all staff (teachers and support staff) to bring about improvement, and considers the role of democratic leadership in reconceptualizing the school as a…

Creative Partnerships in Education UK (CAPE), funded by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), worked with the Centre for Science Education at Sheffield Hallam University and The Centre for the Understanding of the Built Environment (CUBE) to devise and manage this project in 10 primary and secondary schools in Leeds…

Examines gender association in the primary classroom and organizational strategies that may influence gender integration. Discusses the effects of strategies to increase gender integration in relation to cross-gender friendships and gender differentiation across subjects. Argues that classroom organization can be influential in the degree of…