ERIC Number: EJ882947
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Feb
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0305-5698
EISSN: N/A
Raising the Achievement of Portuguese Pupils in British Schools: A Case Study of Good Practice
Demie, Feyisa; Lewis, Kirstin
Educational Studies, v36 n1 p95-109 Feb 2010
The aim of the research was to study the experiences of Portuguese heritage pupils in British schools. The main findings from empirical data suggest Portuguese children are underachieving at the end of primary education but the case study confirms that in good schools Portuguese pupils do well and have made huge improvements over the periods. The findings show that the case study schools have adopted a number of strategies to overcome some of the barriers to achievement including parental engagement, effective use of a more diverse workforce, developing an inclusive ethos and curriculum, effective English language support for Portuguese pupils, monitoring performance of Portuguese pupils and good and well-coordinated targeted support through extensive use of teachers, teaching assistants, learning mentors and Portuguese classes. The study argues that the worryingly low-achievement levels of many Portuguese pupils in British schools have been masked by Government statistics that fail to distinguish between European ethnic groups. Policy implications for all concerned with school improvement are highlighted in the final section. (Contains 1 table, 1 figure and 1 note.)
Descriptors: Ethnic Groups, Educational Change, Teaching Assistants, Students, Academic Achievement, Case Studies, Underachievement, Parent Participation, Inclusive Schools, Educational Improvement, Immigrants, Educational Strategies, Mentors, Portuguese, Native Language Instruction
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Portugal; United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A