Who is running this project?
This pilot research project is led by Dr Naomi Flynn, Institute of Education.
What is this project about?
This project tackles the issues common to the US and the UK of the under-attainment of children who speak English as an additional language (EAL), and teachers’ limited preparation to teach them. Currently still at pilot stage, it has involved me in a) collaboration with Indiana University to find out about a pedagogy referred to as The Enduring Principles of Learning, and b) research with one school in Southampton to examine how this approach might translate to UK classrooms. The US team who have developed this approach have empirical evidence of its potential for raising the academic outcomes of children with EAL. I have early indications from work with one school (98% EAL pupils) that training teachers to use this approach requires a shift in mindset but that, with that shift, teaching becomes more linguistically responsive and meaningfully contextualised. An ESRC-SeNNS collaborative studentship PhD student will begin a project with me, Professor Suzanne Graham and three Southampton schools in October 2020. The studentship project will support my qualitative professional development work with the teachers by collecting quantitative data from their pupils in order to build the evidence base towards an external bid to fund upscaling use of this approach.
