ABSTRACT
Selections from some of the larger scale statistical studies represented in parts one and two of this volume attempt to illustrate the major themes on classroom research which have emerged since Neville Bennett’s contentious work on teaching styles and pupil progress in 1976. These include studies of teaching styles and pupil learning; studies of the way in which teachers match tasks to children; the time children spend on different tasks and how this relates to achievement; the relationship between quality of learning experience and quantity of time on task; and, more recently, in the work of Peter Mortimore and his colleagues, factors at school and classroom level which seem to have a bearing on children’s progress through school. The latter has generated a new interest in developing the concept of school and classroom effectiveness, in which children’s progress, not just attainment, has become a key criterion. Selections from smaller scale, qualitative studies, contribute to some of these themes.
