' Raising standards through international experience '
British Council TIPD Study Visits - 2002 USA
| Date of visit: | 2-14th February 2002 |
| Local Education Authority: | East Riding of Yorkshire Council |
| Full names of visit leaders: | Christine Davidson, Bob Duerden |
| Contact e-mail: | christine.Davidson@eastriding.gov.uk |
| Agency: | Central Bureau of the British Council |
| Country and Region visited: | Montgomery County, Maryland USA |
| Types of schools visited: | State funded |
| Ages of students observed: | 5 years to 15 years |
| Key educational purpose of the visit: | Social inclusion and behaviour support boys underachievement. |
Introduction
The group was made up of teachers from a range of schools in the East
Riding of Yorkshire.
The teaching teams represented Infant, Primary , Secondary and Special settings.
Washington DC, 5 miles from Montgomery County |
This was a large group of seventeen.
Two groups had been suggested but in the event the Study Visit was led
by two group leaders, one with Primary and the other with Secondary expertise.
The theme of the Visit was selected to support the Inclusion Agenda, which
is a high priority at the moment.
Intended Aims of the Visit
All members of the group set out to research successful strategies that
could be implemented in their own schools.
More specific intentions included a focus on raising self-esteem, communication
strategies, and integration into main stream schooling.
Revised Aims of the Visit
In the light of experience, each school group refined its aims and objectives
to reflect the practise they had observed. Boys underachievement was not
considered to be an issue in this area Of the State.
Ethnic underachievement was the focus in Montgomery County.
However the means of identification and the approaches which were being
explored there, offered many examples, which could be applied to underachieving
groups in our own schools.
The revision of aims followed several days of observation and discussions
with teaching colleagues in our host schools.
Report of the Experience
Visits were made by members of the group to six schools in the Bethesda,
Chevy Chase cluster in the suburb of Bethesda in the Montgomery County
Board of Education District.
Each school team experienced a variety of settings and this shared experience
proved very valuable in enriching the observational base of their research.
Visits to other settings were willingly accommodated and the Group Leaders
were given the opportunity to gain an overview of the educational organisation
of the School board.
The area of Maryland contrasted significantly with the mainly rural
nature of the East Riding, being a largely middle class suburb, which
is home to many families who are employed in the nearby city of Washington
D.C. and significant ethnic groupings of Asian, Afro Caribbean and African
American families.
More familiar was the range of socio-economic backgrounds represented
in the public schools.
Comparisons of Our Two Educational Systems
Staffing ratios and specialisms were higher in the US schools with some
subjects taught by specialists from Kindergarten onwards. The class teacher
was expected to use this time for planning.
Curriculum planning was less detailed than expected in our system but
relied, as ours does, on a curriculum described by the State.
Whole class teaching was used more frequently, with several programs
of withdrawal for additional support of individual children available.
This was reflected in the data on achievement, which was available at a
school level, but not for individual pupils or on progress.
Literacy is given a very high profile taking up one third of the
teaching time. PSHCE is taught and each school has a trained Counsellor
to meet the needs of pupils and parents.
Each school also has a fulltime Staff Development Co-ordinator whose
responsibility is to identify and meet training needs across the
school.
Resources were plentiful, computer suites, libraries, resource rooms
as well as spacious classrooms and additional adult support.
Replacement of school buildings is ongoing annually.
Magnet Schools in particular, were generously funded in order to retain
a balanced ethnic and social mix of pupils.
The School Board holds responsible for funding with little delegation
to schools.
At the time of our visit, school Principles were awaiting the decisions
on their staffing for the next academic year.
Perhaps the greatest impression was made by the very high emphasis
given to raising Self Esteem in order to create pupils who are self
motivated and understand the responsibility for their own learning
and behaviour.
Evaluation
The projects, which are to be implemented as a result of the visit,
are as diverse as the situations in which they will be based.
Several teams have described projects aimed at raising pupil Self Esteem,
Self Motivation and Responsibility for their own Behaviour.
Differing strategies are to be employed which include, pupil mediators,
school councils in primary school, whole school focus on personal and
social development, strategies to help pupils deal with conflict, greater
involvement of parents in their childrens learning experiences, raising
awareness of learning styles, and involving children in establishing rules
of behaviour.
Disseminate of the Findings of the Visit
Teaching teams plan to share the outcomes of the visit within their
own schools and with colleagues in their immediate cluster.
The Projects they undertake will be recorded and the outcomes shared with
schools across the East Riding.
The Group leaders will visit each project school to monitor progress and
to celebrate the results.
A display of Project materials will be available at the Head teacher Conference
and on the East Riding schools Website.
Proposals for Future Developments and Continuing Links
Links by E-mail between staff and pupils are planned by a number of
teams.
Some schools plan to continue visits between the two countries, and exchanges
of resources are already being made.
General Advice
Montgomery County has an excellent website, which gave us lots of
information before we set off, and has been used since our return
to good effect.
Earlier notification of the host schools and time beforehand to
exchange information on the purpose of the visit would have helped
our hosts in preparation.
The welcome we received and the response by our hosts to our every
request, made this visit rewarding both educationally and culturally.
For more information please contact:
Yvette Fox, Teaching and Learning Consultant, Multicultural Education and Global Citizenship/TIPD Co-ordinator
Tel: (01482) 392436
E-mail: yvette.fox@eastriding.gov.uk
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