Providing a broad, balanced curriculum which recognises the academic
role of schooling, but also values students with special educational needs,
is a difficult but crucial task. Having a limited focus within sessions in
primary schools so that pupils generally work in common curriculum areas
and teachers can support their learning without being 'pulled in different
directions' is also difficult but appears to be highly conducive to effective
learning.
d) Pupil care Treating pupils with dignity and encouraging them to
participate in the organisation of the school - even at a young age - gives a
positive signal that they are valued. In the same way, using rewards rather
than punishment to change behaviour is important. Involving parents in
the life of the school and treating education as a partnership between
parents and school is likely to increase the confidence of the community in
the efficiency of education. Keeping systematic records of pupil progress
is crucially important if the curriculum is to have coherence for
individuals.
e) School environment Ensuring that the environment is made as attractive
and stimulating as possible, through taking trouble over classroom
displays and removing graffiti, sound relatively simple tasks but they may
have a profound effect on the attitudes of pupils attending the school.
f) School climate Endeavouring to achieve a consensus on the values
shared by the school as a whole needs to be a fundamental aim.
Expressing a general attitude that is positive towards learning and positive
about young people will be a clear signal of what the school stands for and
where its priorities lie. Establishing clear rules and guidelines for pupil
behaviour and maintaining high expectations for all pupils are ways in
which the goals and values of the institution are translated into daily life.
(Mortimore in Riddell & Brown, 1991, pp 14-15)
At secondary level, David Reynolds reports that it is clear that schools can have
substantial positive effects upon young people's development if they can become more
effective. Schools may be differentially effective upon different areas of pupil
development, and recent findings suggest that schools can have somewhat different
effects upon pupils of different backgrounds or abilities. We know much more about
what generates academic effectiveness than what generates social effectiveness.
Reynolds (in Riddell & Brown, 1991, pp 24-25) summarises the findings of Rutter et al
(1979) as follows: