Full version

Can Instructional and Emotional support in the Key Stage 1 classroom make a difference for children at risk of school failure?

Introduction

Authors

Publisher

How can teachers effectively support pupils who are at risk of school failure?

Previous research has found that:

• pupils considered to be at risk of failing to start school behind their peers and the gap increases by the time they are aged 7; and
• pupils identified as having higher risk of difficulties with attention, behaviour, social skills and academic competence showed higher levels of conflict with their teachers at age 7.

This study examined the ways in which everyday classroom processes may help alter the trajectories for pupils considered to be at risk of failing by considering a group of 910 pupils taken from 747 primary schools across the United States of America.

The researchers found that pupils identified as being at risk of school failure were more likely than other pupils to benefit from placement in classrooms offering high levels of teaching and emotional support, and that placement in high quality classrooms helped close the gap between these pupils and their low risk peers, particularly in the early grades.  The consistency of good teaching and emotional support was found to be critical to the success of the pupils.

Keywords:
USA; Key stage 1; Primary schools; Pupils; Classroom environment; Classroom management; Social skills; Individual needs; Inclusion; Whole class teaching.

How were pupils identified as being at risk of school failure?

The researchers identified pupils as being at risk of school failure if they showed one or both of two types of risk:

• demographic risk; and/or
• functional risk.

Demographic risk was defined prior to a child entering school and was based on family and other demographic factors thought to place pupils at a risk of school failure.  The researchers identified low maternal education as one of the most robust indicators of this risk as pupils were less likely to have been exposed to frequent and rich language and literacy stimulation in the home.  For the purpose of this study pupils were placed in the high demographic risk if their mother's level of education was less than a four year college degree (equivalent to A-levels in England).

Functional risk was recognised in pupils who demonstrated early difficulties with attention, behaviour, social skills and academic competence and was measured in the following ways:

• sustained attention was measured by getting pupils to push a button every time a target stimulus, such as the letter X, appeared and recording the number of errors, measured when the pupils were 54 months of age;
• behaviour was measured by asking teachers (of pupils aged four to six years) to rate a list of 100 problem behaviours relating to aggression, attention and classroom disruption, as not true, somewhat true or very true for each child;
• academic competence was measured by asking teachers (of pupils aged four to six years) to judge specific learning behaviours such as overall academic performance and motivation against a five point scale; and
• social skills were measured by teachers (of pupils aged four to six years) considering pupils’ cooperation, self assertion and self control.
  

Back to top^

What difference can instructional and emotional support make for pupils who are at risk of school failure?

The researchers found that pupils identified as being at risk of school failure at ages five and six on average displayed lower levels of achievement at age seven when compared with their low risk peers.

Researchers found that the achievement gap between pupils identified as being at risk of school failure and their peers reduced when:

• pupils whose mothers had lower levels of education, were placed in classrooms offering high levels of instructional support in their first year of school; and
• pupils who demonstrated difficulties with attention, behaviour, social skills and academic competence at age five were placed in classrooms offering high levels of emotional support in their first year of school.

The study found that pupils who were identified as having a high functional risk at ages five and six were more likely to develop poor relationships with their teachers and experience conflict than their peers by the time they were seven.   However when these pupils were part of a classroom which offered high levels of emotional support their experience of conflict was similar to that of their peers.

Back to top^

What took place in supportive classrooms?

School based prevention and intervention strategies increasingly aim to improve the social and emotional climate of classrooms in order to enhance pupils’ social and behavioural development. 

Classrooms were considered to offer high quality instructional support when:

• teachers made frequent and effective use of literacy instruction including reading, phonics and comprehension;
• there was a high quality of verbal feedback focused on pupils’ learning, development of understanding and personal improvement; and
• pupils were taking increased responsibility for their own learning by, for example, offering solutions, and managing resources.

Classrooms were considered to offer high emotional support when teachers:

• were aware of and responsive to individual pupils’ needs, moods, interests and capabilities;
• set clear expectations in the classroom and developed routines which children understood; and
• created a positive classroom climate in which teachers and pupils enjoyed each other and their time in the classroom.
  

Back to top^

How was the study designed?

This study followed pupils who had been identified at ages five and six as being at risk of school failure. The researchers examined whether the classroom environment to which they were exposed had made any difference to these risks by the time the children reached the age of seven.

Researchers examined the following outcomes:

• pupils’ achievement - measured through a series of tests which included long term and short term memory, auditory processing (the ability to identify incomplete words presented orally such as ba_e as baby), and comprehensive knowledge and skills, including reading and maths.
• student teacher relationships - assessed by asking teachers to rate how they perceived their relationship with a particular pupil, focussing on the degree of negative emotions and interactions between them; and
• classroom process - measured through classroom observations carried out for each pupil in their second year of school which were rated for emotional climate, effective classroom management, literacy instruction, use of evaluative feedback, and instructional conversation. 

The sample was a part of the National Institute for Health and Human Deveopment (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. The pupils’ mothers were recruited from hospitals during their pregnancy, and a random subgroup, of 1364 families, was selected to be involved in this study.  910 pupils for whom there was a complete set of data were included in the final sample and were spread across 747 different schools. The pupils in the sample were predominantly white, equally divided between girls and boys and did not come from economically deprived backgrounds. Of the sample:

• 27% of these pupils had mothers with less than a four year college degree  or less than English A-Levels and were identified as high demographic risk; and
• 11% of pupils had difficulties with attention, behaviour, social skills and academic competence and were identified as high functional risk.

In order to provide a robust test the researchers adjusted the data to take into account children’s scores at age 4 ½.

Back to top^

Implications

In completing this digest the authors began to ask the following questions about implications for practitioners:

• the study reported that the achievement gap between pupils from families with low maternal education and their peers was significantly reduced when these pupils were in classrooms with high instructional or teaching support:

Implication for teachers:

• how do you ensure that the feedback offered to pupils focuses on their specific areas of need? How could you develop strategies to ensure that you are focusing on their understanding in addition to their factual knowledge?

Implication for school leaders:

• how do you ensure that your school identifies pupils at risk of failure or behavioural dysfunction early on in their education?   What additional support do you provide to help staff to develop their skills in recognising these pupils so that they can offer them the appropriate support to succeed?

• the study found that pupils who were identified as having difficulties with their attention, behaviour, social skills and academic competence were more likely to develop poor relationships with their teachers:

Implication for teachers:

• how could you ensure that these pupils receive the amount of emotional support they need in order to develop their social skills, and develop more positive relationships with their teachers? Would pupils benefit from lessons that focussed on specific social skills like communication?

Implication for school leaders:

• could you work with teachers in your school to share the strategies used to offer emotional support within the classroom?  Could peer coaching for both teachers and pupils help you to develop these strategies further through the use of observation and reflection?
  

Back to top^

Where can I find out more?

A digest which considers how the long-term contribution of early childhood education to children's performance:
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/research/themes/early_years/WedMar241201102004/

A digest which considers whether schools counteract early performance differences between children from different social backgrounds:
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/research/themes/early_years/ThuApr221020482004/

For a more detailed summary of research that investigated the impact of pre-school provision in England on children’s intellectual, social and behavioural development at ages five and seven: http://www.gtce.org.uk/PolicyAndResearch/research/ROMtopics/childrens_schooling/

The Sure Start website offers practitioners links to resources and research about early years education. http://www.surestart.gov.uk/

Pianta, R. C. et al.  (2002)  The relation of kindergarten classroom environment to teacher, family and school characteristics and chid outcomes.  Elementary School Journal 102, 225-238.

Back to top^