My Benefits?

My big question is, did my grammar school education improve my social mobility?

The national population evidence says 'No'! This conclusion comes from a survey published in 2010 from analysing determinants of university degree performance. The researchers find a small but significant negative relationship between attending Grammar school and degree performance. Attending Grammar school will have a positive effect on a student's A-level results, but it was found that this effect is not present for students from lower social classes, which indicates that Grammar schools do not have a positive impact on social mobility, although they did not evaluate the impact on social mobility for students in selective LEAs who do not gain a place at a Grammar school. More recent data from Durham University finds evidence that there is no significant difference between attending Grammar school and Comprehensive school, although the validity of this conclusion could be questioned due to the small sample size.

In my life at Wintringham I was not so much influenced by the learning environment as by the gradual development of critical enquiry that led eventually to me taking my own learning in hand through a managerial process of self-regulation and self-observation. This was boosted after I had left school at the end of the fifth form and taken a job in a fish oil quality control laboratory that was not self-fulfilling.

Self regulation is the process in which students activate, take control of and evaluate their own learning.

Self-regulation is not the same as motivation. Although motivation and self-regulation share some common elements, there are some critical differences. In motivation, choice (specifically referring to autonomy and control over the situation) does not have to be central. There is no doubt though that self-regulation requires some degree of choice or intentional selection of strategies designed to help a learner achieve a goal or behaviour.

Researchers have identified three critical dimensions, or characteristics, of self-regulation:

•Self-observation

•Self-judgment

•Self-reaction

Self-observation refers to the deliberate monitoring of one's activities. It may take the form of recording frequency, duration or quality of a behaviour. Self-observation is also critical to the regulation of performance. Self-observation may also lead to higher motivation.For example, if you realize your study habits were causing you to perform poorly on these tests, you may adjust the way you study, leading to higher test grades and more motivation to continue to improve your study habits.

A second critical dimension of self-regulation is self-judgment, which refers to evaluating one's current performance levels compared to the goal level.

The third critical dimension is self-reaction. This refers to one's behavioural, cognitive and affective responses to self-judgments. Self-reactions can be motivating if one believes they are making progress toward their goal. Negative self-evaluations are not necessarily demotivating if one believes they can still make changes and progress toward their goal.

Self-regulation is a cyclical process because during the process of self-evaluation and monitoring, the learner will make alterations to strategies, cognition and behaviours that will the alter learning and ultimately, the end-goal.

There are three phases of the self-regulation cycle:

•Forethought

•Performance (volitional) control

•Self-reflection

Self-regulation begins with the forethought phase. This pre-action phase refers to the processes that set up the learner for action toward their goal. This phase helps the learner to establish a positive outlook, set realistic expectations and address questions such as: 'When will the work begin? What conditions will help or hinder learning activities toward the goal?' and 'How often will tasks be completed toward the goal?' Short-term and long-term goal-planning occur in this stage.

The next stage is the performance- (or volitional) control phase. This phase involves processes that occur during learning that affect action and attention. Specific strategies are established during this stage in order to help a learner be successful. Strategies are identified, preliminary self-evaluation occurs and motivational strategies are identified. Questions such as: 'Am I accomplishing as much as I thought I would? Am I being distracted?' and 'What will motivate me to continue working?' are common questions during this phase.

The final stage is the self-reflection phase. During this stage, learners reflect on their performance. Did they accomplish the goals they set forth? Were there hurdles? Did the learner overcome those hurdles successfully? If the outcomes were positive, the learner will continue to use the methods established to set and proceed toward future goals. If the outcomes were negative, the learner will re-evaluate and make necessary adjustments for future goals.

There are several types of influences on self-regulation which I can easily relate to my own life.

Social and external influences are:

•Modelling (which is observed behaviours of others that lead to academic success)

•Verbal description (which is verbal instruction from others describing the processes that made them successful in their goal achievement)

•Social guidance

•Feedback

Internal influences are:

•One's own internal standards for success and failure

•Self-reinforcement, for example, rewarding oneself after completing a certain amount of work or studying

•One's self-efficacy beliefs

It is only now that I can see that the strength of a grammar school learning environment was to encourage pupils to respect their teachers and and accept that an enforcement of discipline is necessary to adopt a top down ethos to strive, to compete and to acheive.

When Wintringham Grammar School disappeared in the 1970s thousands of pupils were let down by the shift towards what have been described at the 'bog standard comprehensives' where the classroom environment was to stifle any individual's efforts to assemble a personal body of knowlege. A headteacher was expected to be a friend, not a leader and the associated damaging results were seen in the toleration of poor behaviour, the half-hearted attempts to pursue high academic standards, the distain for competitive sports and the meagre respect given to leadership. Intellectual excellence was sacrificed to an unattainable belief in academic equality.