For more than two decades, research on accelerated science classes has mostly been in , Mathematics and seldom in other science subjects and has mostly been conducted in English-speaking countries (e.g., Stanley & Stanley, 1986) and seldom in Asian countries with Chinese populations. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of an accelerated science programme for gifted & talented Chinese students in a gifted & talented secondary school in Hong Kong in terms of their proficiency, their motivation, their skilfulness and the usefulness ofthe programme. The assessment results of three science subjects (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) of Grade 9 (G9) students from accelerated and non-accelerated science classes were compared in the three cohorts 2007-08, 2008-09, and 2009-10. A questionnaire was used to evaluate the students' perceptions regarding their motivation and the usefulness of the programme from the three G9 cohorts and follow up interviews were conducted with six students from Cohort 2009-10 to enquire their views. The assessment findings showed that the students who attended the two cohorts 2007-2008 and 2009-2010 of the G9 Accelerated Science Programme achieved better in their science subjects. The G9 Accelerated Science Programme (2008-2009) .might not have any effects on the science achievements of the students. Student interviewees found the Accelerated Science Programme more engaging than the traditional science subjects for various reasons such as they could learn advanced topics more deeply to broaden their horizons in science. The Accelerated Science Programme was valid for the students' learning to do better in their science projects for different reasons such as they got to have more hands-on experience in doing sCientific investigations. The interview findings also revealed that the students picked up a variety of skills according to Gardner's (as cited in Sousa, 2009) theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI). Future researchers can treat this study as a representative model to help gifted & talented Chinese students in science.

In this thesis, I set out to understand the current lived experience of "gifted" teaching and learning within Kuwaiti classrooms. My chosen case study style of research focused on teaching and learning within two elementary schools for girls in Kuwait City - one Government and one Private. Within these two bounded contexts, the principal participants were: six female students, aged eleven in year five (three students in each school) nominated or identified by their respective school Principals as "gifted"; nine teachers from the Government school and six from the Private school; three Heads of Departments (HOD) from each school; both Principals, and both parents of the identified gifted students. The very rich picture I was able to develop of the case study schools was complemented by extended non participant observation of the 5th year classes in both schools. totalling three days per-week for three months. Framing my research gaze within a constructivist approach and teaching-learning traditions. contributed to the claims I make to having constructed new knowledge within the field of gifted education for girls. The results shed some original light on my research questions related to gifted teaching-learning practices and gifted subjectivities and new insights on some of the ways that gender-segregated education generally and gifted education, more specifically, appeared to reproduce wider social and cultural relations of domination over women. My conclusion was that overcoming such barriers to a more socially just and transformed gifted education for Kuwait girls depends on a re-think of the goals of schooling in general, and the development of new paradigm thinking about gifts, talents and gifted education in particular.

There are not, to the researcher's knowledge, any current studies that focus on the nonacademic learning outcomes of motivation and approaches to learning in a specific group of pupils; those identified as gifted and talented. Hence the author aimed to use this study to provide new knowledge in the field of gifted and talented and school effectiveness research relating to these specific pupils. Participants were a gifted and talented cohort of 286 Year 7 pupils from 19 schools in one UK Local Authority. Pupils' feelings about school and school work (PFSSW) questionnaires developed by Entwistle & Kozeki (1985) were used in a survey approach, measuring ten motivational and ten approaches to learning outcomes. Cohort survey responses were compared to Entwistle & Kozeki's 1985 findings, and the relevant literature. Quantitative statistical analysis, using ANOVA and post hoc tests, was also used to identify significant differences responses across schools, and links between school factors and learning outcomes were investigated. Qualitative analysis, employing questionnaire responses was used to draw up profiles of six gifted underachievers, and these were examined alongside teachers' pen-portraits, and school evaluation, performance and assessment data, Overall, results indicated that examination of motivation and approaches to learning of gifted and talented pupils at a cohort level reveal both homogeneous and heterogeneous preferences on outcome measures. At a school level statistically significant differences across schools are revealed suggesting possible links between particular school factors and non-academic outcomes. At an individual level a diverse range of needs and factors that may impact on gifted underachievers were observed. Implications for research, policy and practice are discussed and it is hoped that the findings of the study will point to the possible direction and focus of further investigation into this under-researched topic.

No description available.

At first glance, it seems that gifted and talented children have no need for advocates, being generously endowed with ability and needing only reasonable schooling to translate this into academic success, with all the advantages that it brings. However, it is simplistic to equate high ability with high achievement. High ability is a contentious issue. The highly able are not a homogeneous group; many able people have learning problems and disabilities, as well as becoming disillusioned and consequently disaffected as a result of unchallenging and limiting school provision. Because of the complexities of high ability, it is difficult to create a definition of the able child. I discuss the gifted education literature tackling the nature of high ability and school-based provision. This work is predominantly written from psychological perspectives and I analyse the underpinning premises, reconsidering them from a philosophical angle, allowing for clarification of commonly used but rarely examined ideas. Having established the nature of highly able children, I make a morally defensible argument for supporting them through educational provision. Examining ideas of equality, elitism and excellence, I show that able children are entitled to educational activities that match their abilities and that this is a vital investment in personal well-being with potential subsidiary social and economic benefits.

No description available.

This thesis is a discussion of the way young people of migrant and minority ethnic background experience schooling and plan for their futures within two different national contexts - England and Spain. It is based on a comparative and ethnographic fieldwork which I carried out in Birmingham and Madrid over the course of 14 months in 2007-2009. As part of the research, I did particular observation at a school in each city and interviewed a total of 54 young people. The thesis presents how they described their life at school, their plans and wishes for the future, and the influences which they considered important to their schooling and future lives. The education of migrant and minority ethnic groups is a topic that increasingly appears in public and political debates in Europe. Reports and research often describe education as crucial to socio-economic well-being and empowerment, but they also show a tendency among migrant and minority ethnic groups to be disadvantaged in terms of education. The literature presents a number of ways to understand this phenomenon and shows that schooling is affected by many complex and interlinking issues. Comparative research has good potential for exploring these complexities, but there is a gap within the existing comparative literature. Most comparative studies of migrant and minority ethnic youth in education are quantitative and analyse the situation of either large categories of young people or distinct ethnic or national groups. Furthermore, these studies focus almost exclusively on achievement and attainment. Thus, there is a lack of qualitative comparative research, which explores how young people from a variety of ethnic or national backgrounds experience schooling and plan for their future, and which discusses their experiences from a more holistic and contextual perspective. In this thesis I respond to this gap. I analyse the experiences of young people from a mixture of ethnic and national backgrounds. The data has been collected using qualitative ethnographic research methods. Finally, the findings are shaped by my informants’ narratives and perceptions and this has given the thesis a broader perspective than the traditional focus on achievement and attainment. The main findings arising from the data was the importance of social relations in influencing young people’s schooling experiences and life projects. Friends and family were described as particularly influential in providing support and socio-emotional wellbeing. In the thesis I analyse these findings through the lens of social capital. I argue that socio-emotional well-being should be considered a resource in itself and included in social capital theory. However, the analysis also shows that young people of migrant and minority ethnic origin do not all have the same conditions for accessing this ‘resource of well-being’. The thesis therefore concludes with a number of practical recommendations, aimed to improve the inclusion and general well-being of migrant and minority ethnic youth in schools.

This thesis investigates and analyses the level of challenge for able students in an 11-18 Academy. It is addressed from my position as the Principal of the case study Academy and a novice researcher. Eight teachers who formed the Teaching and Learning group within the Academy participated in the study, as part of a community of practice with an interest in the issue addressed and the research process. The study focused on concerns arising from Learning Walks and Ofsted feedback about the perceived lack of challenge for able students. Using a three layer action research methodology, the views and practices of staff and students about challenge in ILTs (Independent Learning Tasks) were explored. An initial brainstorming activity was followed by questionnaires, lesson observations and focus group sessions with a sample of 100 students (Years 7, 9, 10 and 11). At the close of the first layer of research, data analysis revealed a range of levels of challenge in different subject areas, and from these a Year 10 Geography group was selected, with the support of the teacher. The second action research layer involved the Geography teacher and 15 Geography students who had identified a lack of challenge in their ILTs. This shifted the focus of the research to consider the cognitive challenge incorporated into tasks, focusing on thinking skills and questioning techniques. The third and final action research layer resulted in a newly developed, collaboratively-constructed ‘student friendly’ thinking skills analysis which provided powerful and formative insights to ‘label’ challenge. The teacher responded reflexively to the outcomes by trying out a redeveloped approach to ILTs (homework) and questioning techniques within the Academy. The findings from this investigation suggest that, cognitively challenging, problem-solving tasks, co-constructed with students to include opportunities for Socratic questioning provide for greater challenge in the classroom. Finally, the benefits to be gained from establishing a research community where the Principal is the lead researcher, include an increased emphasis on staff as change agents and the critical contribution of student voice in pursuit of challenging teaching and learning.