How student perceptions of academic ‘ability’ at the beginning of a primary education programme (3-11) informed module design

Leslie, Pippa ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3513-5995 and Wright, Phil (2024) How student perceptions of academic ‘ability’ at the beginning of a primary education programme (3-11) informed module design. In: TEAN (Teacher Education Advancement Network) Conference 2024, 22-23 May 2024, Manchester, UK. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Defining the nature of ‘ability’ is complex, and the use of the term in relation to children’s learning and grouping has been a sustained and contested focus of research (Yarker, 2011; Marks, 2013; Education Endowment Foundation, 2018). Previous research has also suggested that learner’s beliefs about their own ‘ability’ can impact on learning behaviours (Dweck and Yeager, 2019), and that social interactions of the classroom influence this (Leslie, 2022). Understanding student perspectives is important when developing trainee teachers’ knowledge about such complex concepts. The purpose of this study was therefore to gain understanding of student perceptions in relation to concepts of ‘ability’ and capability to inform programme design. This study considered students to be an expert source of information about their own experience (Patton, 2015). It sought to rigorously analyse student perspectives on ability and capability and how they consider they have been developed/influenced by their own experiences and observations of teaching and learning. It asked what students’ perceptions were and what experiences had influenced their views. It aimed to particularly investigate how they related this to academic ‘ability’ and the organisation of grouping in classrooms. Data generation included an online survey of a large purposive sample of student teachers. followed by interviews with a convenience sample of six respondents who were willing to volunteer and were available for interview. The study was conducted with fifteen student groups across three of the University’s campuses and satellite schoolbased training provision. A combination of qualitative methods ascertained depth and rich data pertinent to curriculum planning in this specific cohort and transferable to other contexts. Likert scale prompt survey questions, drawn from previous studies, were combined with open prompt free text and interview questions informed by a theoretical framework relating to the concept of ‘ability’. During data generation, an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach has been an iterative process, creating a hierarchy of conceptions and understand the influences of lived experience on perspective. Findings point to student perspectives being bounded by their own personal learning experiences, despite acknowledgement of other contextual factors, which often led to incongruent statements of current understanding. Further to this, notions of intelligence were constructed in relation to speed of recall or processing, as well as proof of intelligence or ‘ability’ only being made manifest through examination outcomes. This presentation probes further into nuances and contradictions that emerged to discuss full implications of findings for programme design.

Key References:
Dweck, C. and Yeager, D. (2019) ‘Mindsets: A view from two eras’, Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(3), pp. 481-496.
Leslie, P. (2022) ‘Growth Mindset, dialogue and Philosophy for Children’, in Cooper, H. and Elton-Chalcraft, S. Professional studies in primary education. 4th edn. London: Sage, pp. 265-285.
Marks, R. (2013) ‘’The blue table means you don’t have a clue’: The persistence of fixed ability thinking and practices in primary mathematics in English schools’, Forum: For Promoting 3-19 Comprehensive Education, 55(1) pp. 31-44.
Patton, M.Q. (2015) Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice. 4th edn. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Yarker, P. (2011) ‘Knowing your mind: Teachers, students and the language of ability’, FORUM: for promoting 3-19 comprehensive education, 53(2) pp. 225-234.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Departments:	Institute of Education > Initial Teacher Education
Additional Information:	Presentation 26 at this conference.
Depositing User:	Anna Lupton
Date Deposited:	19 Jun 2024 16:05
Last Modified:	19 Jun 2024 16:05
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/7744

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