Teach Secondary - Issue 14.6

Research by the youth insight and publicity agency Hark has found that a significant proportion of adolescents experience major declines in confidence over the course of their time at school. Drawing on survey data involving over 1,400 11- to 18-year-olds across the UK, the agency’s ‘Listen Up’ report details how 1 in 3 respondents professed to having little or no confidence in themselves. The report’s authors describe this group as an ‘unheard third’ who are reluctant to engage in class, prefer to avoid extra- curricular activities and rarely speak up. The pupils most well-represented among this ‘unheard third’ include the 34%of girls stating that they possess little to no confidence (compared to 27% of boys) and the 37%of respondents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who echo the same sentiment. The point at which students’ confidence tends to dip the most seems to be after they turn 16, though the researchers did record a slight uptick in confidence past the age of 18. In terms of regional difference, the respondents reporting to have little to no confidence were most likely to be found inNorthern Ireland (where 43% responded as such), Wales (41%) and parts of the Midlands (35%). There also appears to be some deliberate masking at work, with 44%of girls responding to the survey saying that they had pretended to ‘less confident than they actually felt’, owing to concerns at being perceived by classmates to be showing off. The full report can be downloaded from harklondon.com/listen-up Got a great learning idea? Email editor@teachsecondary.com or tweet us at @teachsecondary TRENDING Our pick of the recent resources and launches teachers might find useful... THE LAY OF THE LAND Pearson has published its latest annual School Report, charting the developments and perspectives that have done most to shape the education profession over the past year. Areas covered include learning motivation, what trends are impacting upon learning and what directions the profession should take next. tinyurl.com/ts146-LL5 WE THE UNDERSIGNED Stephen Fry and Kate Nash are among nearly 4,000 signatories to an open letter urgently calling on the DfE to revise its updated RSHE guidance, due to it placing “ Trans, non-binary, intersex, asexual and gender non-conforming pupils at risk by erasing their identities from the curriculumand silencing their experiences within schools. ” tinyurl.com/ts145-LL6 A crisis of confidence? On the radar WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT... RELUCTANTWRITERS Research carried out by the National Literacy Trust has highlighted a dramatic decline in writing for pleasure among 5- to 18-year-olds across the country. The headline figure, based on data gathered by the NLT’s Annual Literacy Survey of 114,970 respondents, is that just 26.6% said they enjoyed writing in their spare time. That proportion seems even starker once the historical context is taken into account, with levels of writing enjoyment decreasing by 20.2 percentage points since 2012. That said, there are some reasons for optimism among the results – including the finding that 31,1% of students receiving free school meals, across all ages, continue to enjoy writing more than their non-FSM peers (among whom 25% can say the same). 10.4% of all respondents meanwhile said that they tried to write something in the spare time each day. Those stating that they did not enjoy writing said that being given more freedom to choose their preferred writing topics, and more say over the format of their writing, could entice them into picking up their pens. According to NLT chief executive Jonathan Douglas, “ The findings offer a sobering view of writing culture in the UK, but also point to actionable insights. By focusing on what motivates children and young people – particularly autonomy, creativity and personal and cultural relevance – they are far more likely to engage with it on their own terms. That’s where true progress begins. ” 89 teachwire.net/secondary L E A R N I N G L A B