'Gaming' in the English Primary School: 'Do Whatever You Need to Do to Make Your Data Look Good'
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| Title: | 'Gaming' in the English Primary School: 'Do Whatever You Need to Do to Make Your Data Look Good' |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Soo Sturrock (ORCID |
| Source: | Journal of Education Policy. 2024 39(6):963-985. |
| Availability: | Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 23 |
| Publication Date: | 2024 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Elementary Education |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, Elementary School Teachers, Accountability, Student Evaluation, Teacher Effectiveness, Educational Policy, Professional Identity, Progress Monitoring, Data, Ethics, Incentives, Educational Change, Teacher Attitudes, Teaching Experience, Influences, Teacher Motivation, Teacher Morale, Merit Pay, Performance |
| Geographic Terms: | United Kingdom (England) |
| DOI: | 10.1080/02680939.2024.2360993 |
| ISSN: | 0268-0939 1464-5106 |
| Abstract: | In an international policy environment of intensified high-stakes accountability, pupil assessment data are an invaluable commodity and critical indicator of both school and teacher effectiveness. Teachers' engagement with pupil data and the associated experiences of increased accountability are of great consequence, and highly contentious for perceptions and experiences of policy. In the context of the English primary school, this paper explores the progressively tactical nature of teachers' enactment of assessment policy, and the impetus to 'make the data look good'. It draws upon an empirical study of rich qualitative data from 42 interviews with 22 primary teachers employed in the South-East of England. The findings add to an evolving field about 'gaming', and particular consequences for teacher identity are discussed. The paper further advances insights about teachers' experiences of 'in-school assessment' as pertinent for understanding gaming. It locates the pupil progress meeting as an iteration of teacher accountability and performativity, and particular site of contestation, and a specific contribution to knowledge in this regard. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2024 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1444859 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | In an international policy environment of intensified high-stakes accountability, pupil assessment data are an invaluable commodity and critical indicator of both school and teacher effectiveness. Teachers' engagement with pupil data and the associated experiences of increased accountability are of great consequence, and highly contentious for perceptions and experiences of policy. In the context of the English primary school, this paper explores the progressively tactical nature of teachers' enactment of assessment policy, and the impetus to 'make the data look good'. It draws upon an empirical study of rich qualitative data from 42 interviews with 22 primary teachers employed in the South-East of England. The findings add to an evolving field about 'gaming', and particular consequences for teacher identity are discussed. The paper further advances insights about teachers' experiences of 'in-school assessment' as pertinent for understanding gaming. It locates the pupil progress meeting as an iteration of teacher accountability and performativity, and particular site of contestation, and a specific contribution to knowledge in this regard. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0268-0939 1464-5106 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/02680939.2024.2360993 |
