Educators rightly pay a lot of attention to how children are taught, what they are taught and the quality of teaching they receive.
Far less heed is paid to the attitudes of students themselves. What do we know about what they think of school or their teachers? How confident are they? How well prepared do they think they are to learn?
Yet we also know from the available research that student engagement and attitudes to learning play a vital role in academic performance and wellbeing.
Several studies, including the OECD’s PISA in Focus, have found that “students can only achieve at the highest levels when they believe that they are in control of their success”.
Even those students “with less raw potential, but with greater stamina, perseverance and capacity for hard work are more likely to succeed than those who are talented but have little capacity to set ambitious goals”, according to the study.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, too, has found that a disadvantaged child is likely to do well at school if he or she finds school worthwhile and has “a greater belief in his/her ability at school and believes that events result primarily from his/her own behaviour and action”. Young people’s attitudes to learning and school therefore matter enormously.
Our study, one of the largest of its kind, sought to identify when student attitudes start to alter, what implications that has for their education and what interventions can be implemented if necessary.
The main findings
The study, which was based on data from almost 32,000 children across England and Wales, found a decline in positive attitudes to schools, teachers and attendance from year 7 onwards, the first year of secondary school for most children.
Educators have long known that the transition between phases has a negative effect on student attainment. Ofsted’s 2015 report, Key Stage 3: The wasted years?, said that one of the major contributory factors for stalled performance “was that, too often, transition from primary to secondary school was poorly handled”.
Yet crucially our study found that the decrease in positive attitudes is just as great if not greater between year 7 and year 8 as it is between years 6 and 7. The implications are clear: “transition” lasts a lot longer than one or two terms in year 7. The effects for some children last well into year 8 and year 9.
At the time of transition, a whole host of factors come into play in children’s development – hormones, friendships, growing up, taking control.
As their school careers progress, of course, the greater the burdens on students as the pressures to pass exams, apply for university and ultimately get a job increase.
Whether young people’s changing attitudes are a cause or consequence of the problems associated with transition is a moot point. But as the trend in attitudes is clear, it would be reasonable to conclude that transition plays a significant role when it comes to student performance, behaviour and wellbeing.
If a student is not achieving as expected, could other factors be limiting their potential? Could it be a question of confidence and attitudes to teaching and learning?
Teachers and schools
The biggest changes in children’s positive attitudes are towards schools, teachers and attendance. The proportion of children who feel good about school declines from 94 per cent in year 3 to 84 per cent in year 9. Positive attitudes towards teachers fall from 93 to 84 per cent, while positive attitudes to attendance decline from 90 to 82 per cent in year 9.
The biggest declines in all of these factors occur after year 7 not before. The underlying questions behind the data can be illuminating.
For instance, the proportion of children who think the rules in school are fair declines from 94 per cent in year 7 to 86 per cent in year 9.
The proportion who say they are bored at school increases from 18 per cent in year 7 to 32 per cent in year 9.
Between years 7 and 9 there is a seven percentage point drop in the number of children who say they like their teacher. The fall isn’t precipitous, but that equates to around 70,000 students in each year group who have a much more negative perception of teachers.
Attendance, too, becomes more of an issue for children the older they become. The proportion of students who say they would rather be somewhere else than in school rises from 22 to 33 per cent between years 7 and 9.
When it comes to how prepared children feel they are for learning and their own capabilities, there is also a decrease in positive attitudes, though this is less marked than their feelings towards teachers and schools. Preparedness for learning declines from 92 per cent in year 7 to 87 per cent in year 9. Perceived learning capability drops from 88 to 85 per cent over the same period, while children’s confidence with challenging tasks decreases from 83 to 78 per cent.
Once again, responses to the underlying questions are instructive. The proportion of children who think that problem-solving is fun declines from 88 to 81 per cent between year 7 and year 9. The percentage of children who think they are “clever” falls from 93 to 90 per cent.
By contrast, some attitudinal factors remain remarkably stable. Self-regard as a learner, for instance, is 76 per cent even from the earliest years of primary school and remains at 76 per cent in year 9. General work ethic is 87 per cent in year 7 and only falls slightly to 84 per cent in year 9.
One positive attitudinal indicator actually increases over time. Contrary to received wisdom, students tend to respond well to increased curriculum demands. The proportion who rate it positively rises – 76 per cent in year 3 to 79 per cent in year 9.
That is less surprising when we look at some of the underlying questions behind that indicator. In answer to the question, “Do you get anxious when you have to do new work?”, the percentage of children saying they do halves between years 3 and 9, from 35 to 18 per cent.
The survey is also notable for what it did not find. The data suggest, for instance, that there is no noticeable gender variation in attitudes to learning and schools.
That suggests that there are no inherent attitudinal reasons why, say, boys shouldn’t perform as well as girls overall academically.
Fortunately, negative student attitudes to learning can be changed if teachers are able to identify the problem and adopt appropriate remedies. Underachievers can be given opportunities that allow them to see what success looks like, for instance. Confidence can be boosted if students are taught to aim for achievable goals.
But those attitudinal barriers to learning will not be overcome by more and more testing. We need to know how a student views their own learning skills and how they view their teachers. Only then will we help them to understand themselves.
- Greg Watson is the chief executive of GL Assessment. Download the full report, entitled Pupil Attitudes to Self and School, at http://gl-assessment.co.uk/pupilattitudes