Teach Secondary 13.7

See the data exams won’t tell you What is the NCES? The National Citizenship Education Study (NCES) was established by the Association for Citizenship Teaching (ACT) and Middlesex University as a national research study on the impact of citizenship education in schools. Based on a comprehensive review of over 130 research articles, we have devised a survey designed to track a range of measures – including inputs relating to citizenship teaching methods and school ethos, as well as personal development outcomes, such as toleration, knowledge about (and attitudes towards) democracy, intentions to participate in different forms of active citizenship and feelings of personal efficacy. Howwill it benefit my school/ provision? Schools can undertake the survey with one or more whole year groups, enabling the research team to analyse your data for differences between students, focusing on gender, ethnicity, religion and socio-economic factors. We’ll then provide your school with a confidential report, enabling you to identify how your school is doing overall, and whether there might be any significant gaps between students. Some teachers have already been using this information to evaluate the quality of their provision and undertake appropriate development planning. ABOUT LEE: Dr Lee Jerome is Professor in Education (Citizenship and Children’s Rights) at Middlesex University Contact: teachingcitizenship.org.uk/national-citizenship-education-study ACTresearch@teachingcitizenship.org.uk What’s the difference? + The survey enables schools to engage in data-led evaluation and development planning + Our reports provide insights into different groups of students to help with equalities monitoring + Your school results also feed into a larger study looking for evidence about what works 30 SECOND BRIEFING Schools are about much more than exams, but getting reliable data to measure their wider impact is difficult. The NCES provides schools with bespoke reports analysing student outcomes against a range of factors, including toleration and active citizenship, helping staff to evaluate their provision. Q&A A timely initiative aimed at helping schools measure important aspects of students’ personal development What do the project’s initial results indicate? The data from all participating schools is added (via an entirely anonymised format) to a central database, which helps us look for evidence of what works. Our first year results indicate that a school’s ethos is one of the biggest predictors of positive outcomes, though the range of teaching and learning approaches used is also an important factor. Our research team regularly publishes briefings and case studies to help teachers plan for improvement. What are the next stages of the project? The survey has been extensively piloted and trialled, and is now available to any secondary school interested in participating. We can sign up individual schools or clusters/MATs and generate school-level and cluster-level reports. Across MATS, these reports will help colleagues identify strengths and weaknesses between schools, while also helping staff to identify good practice to share with colleagues. How do I get involved? Contact the research team and ask about the ‘NCES Student Evaluation’, following which we’ll send you an overview and an ethics pack. Once your headteacher has agreed to the ethics procedures, we’ll provide a PowerPoint presentation for introducing the survey, as well as a link enabling students to complete the survey online during the summer term. You’ll then receive your school’s report by the start of next September. There’s also an online survey for teachers that will provide instant feedback on your school’s provision. PA R T N E R C O N T E N T 71 teachwire.net/secondary