Raising Aspirations for Primary School Children: A mixed-methods analysis of Education Policy and Its Impact

提高儿童愿望的呼吁在政治言论和教育话语中是当前和经常出现的，往往作为改善弱势儿童社会流动性和成就的一种机制而提出。至少在过去的四十年里，英国的教育政策充满了类似的例子。抱负被定义为个人未来的希望，通常与职业和教育领域有关。虽然青少年儿童经常被不同的学科研究，包括从心理学，社会心理学，经济学和社会学的角度来看，有相对较少的研究，在英国小学儿童的愿望。本研究采取后一种观点，认为社会影响、假设和经验是教育政策制定和由此产生的方案、议程和提高期望的举措的推动力。本研究采用先进的国家纵向数据集的定量分析以及其他来源，审查相关的现行教育政策-四十年来它是如何发展的，如何与各种政策倡议和议程联系在一起，以及它对学校和小学高年级儿童的愿望的影响。它探讨了从詹姆斯·卡拉汉1976年的罗斯金演讲（被许多人视为教育政策的更深层次的政治影响的开创性时刻，其中包括父母对孩子的期望与国家的期望相一致的讨论）开始，提高英国教育政策的愿望。它通过对现有数据（包括文件和第一手资料）的分析，强调了小学先前和当前政策及其应用之间的联系和紧张关系。关于儿童愿望、教育成绩和最终早期职业生涯的国家纵向数据提供了经验背景，为考虑政策行动、言论和青年人成果之间的联系提供了信息。政策审查通过文件和话语分析，进一步深入从半结构化的采访决策者和相关的行为者。定量数据分析来自访谈和纵向数据。本研究首先分析了儿童的期望与政策意图\行动之间的联系点，然后研究了当前小学儿童的教育表现，自我概念和学习者身份的期望和影响。它考察教师和学校领导对政策相关干预措施的理解和执行情况及其对学生的影响。通过在线调查和半结构化访谈收集了有关儿童愿望，自我概念和任何干预影响的数据，以及现有的学生认知\教育表现的学校数据。对教师、学校领导进行了单独的调查、访谈。一个具有全国代表性的样本的儿童和他们的领导\教师在5年\6。对样本进行加权，以确保弱势程度高的学校得到代表。结构化方程模型的数据分析，以表明是否有愿望，认知能力，自我概念，教育表现之间的关联，并与用于提高愿望的策略。总而言之，提高期望的教育政策、其与相关政策议程的联系及其对小学生的影响是当前的、重要的、紧迫的，但研究不足的领域。该项目将得出与教育政策和小学实践相关并为之提供信息的结论。

Calls to raise children's aspirations are current and frequent in political rhetoric and educational discourse, often advanced as a mechanism to improve social mobility and attainment for disadvantaged children. Over at least the past forty years, education policy in England is replete with similar examples.Aspirations are defined as an individual's future hopes and can often pertain to occupational and educational domains. Although adolescent children have been frequently studied by different disciplines, including from psychological, social-psychological, economic and sociological perspectives, there are relatively few studies looking at aspirations of children in English primary schools. This research takes the latter perspective, considering social influences, assumptions and experiences as an impetus for education policy making and resulting programmes, agendas and initiatives for raising aspirations. It considers whether this desire is an effective focus for intervention to address the intended social and educational issues.The research uses advanced quantitative analysis of national longitudinal data sets alongside other sources to examine related current education policy - how it has developed and connected with various policy initiatives and agendas over four decades, and its impact on schools and upper primary school children's aspirations. It examines attempts to raise aspirations in English education policy from James Callaghan's 1976 Ruskin speech (seen by many as a seminal moment for deeper political influence of educational policy, which included discussion of parental aspirations for their children aligning with those of the state) onwards. It highlights links and tensions between previous and current policy' and its application, in primary schools through an analysis of available data including documents and first-hand accounts. National longitudinal data on children's aspirations, educational performance and eventual early careers provides empirical context, informing consideration of links between policy action, rhetoric and outcomes for young people. Policy is examined through document and discourse analysis with further depth from semi-structured interviews with policy makers and associated actors. Quantitative data is analysed from interview and longitudinal data. This is scrutinised to highlight contact points between children's aspirations and policy intentions\actions identified.The research then continues by studying current primary school children's aspirations and influences of educational performance, self-concept and learner identities. It looks at teachers' and school leaders' understanding, and their implementation, of policy-related interventions and the impact on their pupils. Data on children's aspirations, self-concepts and any intervention impact are collected through an online survey and semi-structured interviews alongside existing school data of pupil's cognitive\educational performance. A separate survey\interviews are conducted for teachers\school leaders. A nationally representative sample of children and their leaders\teachers in years 5\6 is used. The sample is weighted to ensure that schools with high levels of disadvantage are represented. Structured equation models are developed from analysis of the data to indicate whether there is an association between aspirations, cognitive ability, self-concept, education performance and with strategies used to raise aspirations. Current and historic connections are then highlighted from the data obtained.In sum, education policy for raising aspirations, its connections with related policy agendas and its impact on primary school pupils, is current, significant, pressing, yet an under-researched area. This project will draw conclusions which are relevant to and inform education policy and primary school practice.