In recent years there has been an unprecedented increase in support staff in schools in England and Wales. There were widespread expectations that this will be of benefit to teachers and pupils but there has been little systematic research to address the impact of support staff. This study used a naturalistic longitudinal design to investigate the…

Despite an unprecedented increase in classroom-based support staff, there are confusing messages about their appropriate deployment and a lack of systematic evidence on their impact. This article addresses the deployment and impact on pupil engagement and individual attention of support staff, commonly known as teaching assistants (TAs), in terms…

As part of a project designed to provide information on the nature and uses of within-class pupil groupings for teaching and learning in secondary schools in England, this paper focuses on qualitative interviews with 20 teachers from three core curriculum areas in six schools. Interviews concerned the range and explanations for teachers' choices…

It is widely assumed that increasing the number of teaching assistants (TAs) in the classroom will be beneficial to children, and this is one important aim of the recently implemented Workforce Agreement. But there are still significant gaps in knowledge about many aspects of their deployment and impact. The Class Size and Pupil-Adult Ratios…

This longitudinal research tests the effectiveness of the SPRinG programme, which was developed through a collaboration between researchers and teachers and designed to provide teachers with strategies for enhancing pupil group work in "authentic" classroom settings. An evaluation study involved comparing pupils in SPRinG classrooms and trained in…

Despite evidence from the USA that children in small classes of less than 20 do better academically there is still a vociferous debate about the effects of class size differences in schools, and considerable gaps in our understanding of the effects of class size differences. This article summarises results from the most complete UK analysis to…

Early childhood teachers in Britain (n=359) found working with young children rewarding but felt impeded by stressful educational changes and curriculum initiatives, especially when required to implement policies contrary to their teaching values and philosophy. They were frustrated at spending more time on bureaucratic tasks than on teaching. (SK)

Studied the playground games of children in their first year of schooling. Findings for 77 urban first graders show that facility with games forecast the social competence of boys and the adjustment to first grade of both boys and girls. (SLD)

Reviews existing evidence on the relationship between class size and achievement for children in their first years of schooling. Describes a large-scale longitudinal study of these children within English local education authorities. Presents results for achievement progress in literacy and mathematics during the reception year. (BT)

Seeks to move forward the understanding of within-class groupings in actual classrooms. Identifies five core themes central to pupils' experience of groups in classrooms. Uses this as a basis to collect information on classroom groupings. Surveys teachers in 187 classrooms from Years 2 and 5 during normal class time. (BT)

Studied connections between class size and teaching interactions using a multimethod approach and data from a longitudinal study of more than 10,000 children and their teachers over 3 years. Results show, overall, that in smaller classes, there is more individualized teacher support for learning. Interprets results in the context of teacher time…

In any classroom, pupils will be drawn together for many purposes and we can refer to such within classroom contexts as "groupings". The teacher often creates these, and the way that they are set up, and how they are used for particular learning purposes. If the relationships between grouping size, interaction type and learning tasks in groups are…

The research detailed in this paper provides a systematic description and analysis of classroom grouping practices in primary and secondary schools in England. Practices are compared to main findings in developmental and educational literature with regard to effective contexts for learning and recent ideas about pedagogy. The research is based on…

Reviews research into class size effects from a methodological viewpoint, concentrating on various strengths and weaknesses of randomized controlled trials (RCT) and observational studies. Discusses population definitions, causation, and generally sets out criteria for valid inferences from such studies. Illustrates with new findings from data in…

Observes that student breaktimes are often seen as problems by teachers and that there are signs that breaktime is being reduced; however, breaktimes may have important social value for students. Reports on the results of a national survey in the United Kingdom about breaktime and teacher perceptions of its value. (DSK)