Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.<i>Background to the PACE study</i> The PACE (Primary Assessment, Curriculum and Experience) project aimed to study the impact on English primary schools of the introduction, following the 1988 Education Reform Act, of the National Curriculum and its associated assessment procedures. Questionnaires and interviews with heads and infant teachers in forty-eight schools in eight varied areas, provided background data for a closer focus on nine schools. Children as well as teachers in primary school classes were interviewed. These randomly selected pupils formed a cohort who have taken part in the subsequent years of the study. New assessment procedures were also observed and analysed as they were introduced. The project consisted of three phases: phase 1 (SN:3486) was carried out in 1990-1992, phase 2 (SN:3470) in 1993-1994 and phase 3(SN:3969) in 1995-1996. Pupils of the original cohort, continued to be observed and interviewed, as did their teachers into year 6 (phase 3). In addition, teachers and heads in the wider sample of schools have again been interviewed; in this phase both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 teachers provide material on the degree and kind of change experienced in primary schools during a period of unprecedented innovation.

<i>Phase Two of the PACE Study (PACE 2)</i> This dataset consists of four files: PACE Year 3 and 4 Teachers Interviews 1993 (9T INT 93) PACE Headteacher Interviews 1994 (9HT INT 94) PACE Advance Questionnaire to Teachers and Headmasters 1994 (AQ 3 94) PACE Year 1 and Year 2 Teacher Interviews 1994 (10T INT 94) The aims of the survey are: 1. To monitor the progressive implementation in primary schools of the National Curriculum and associated assessment procedures, following the Education Reform Act (1988) by building on Stage 1 of the PACE (Primary Assessment, Curriculum and Experience) project (PACE 1). In Stage 2 of the PACE project (PACE 2), this will focus on: Continuity and progression in the Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2 transfer: the research will analyse curriculum provision, assessment practice, classroom pedagogy and pupil experience. Teachers' changing perceptions of innovation: the project will consider the degree to which such innovations become routinised and the differences in response of infant and junior teachers and headteachers. 2. To advance theoretical understanding of the sustained effects of multiple innovations on processes of teaching and learning in primary classrooms. This work will focus on: Curriculum, pedagogy, and pupil experiences, assessment practices, and teacher professionalism. 3. To provide a basis for the final projected stage of the PACE project (PACE 3) which will continue to focus on the above issues as pupils move through the later years of Key Stage 2 and are subject to the National Curriculum and assessment procedures at age 11.

Main Topics:

Year 3 and 4 teachers Interviews 1993 (9T INT 93): Teacher background characteristics; pedagogy and pupil experience; curriculum change and continuity; assessment practices; impact of the National Curriculum on teaching and learning; changes in teachers' roles; changes in planning and management within the school; teacher/pupil relationships; staff relationships. Headteacher Interviews 1994 (9HT INT 94): Headteacher perspectives; school relationships; impact of recent policy changes; curriculum and pedagogy; assessment policy; pupil experience. Year 1 and Year 2 Teacher Interviews 1994 (10T INT 94): Teacher background characteristics; pedagogy and pupil experience; curriculum change and continuity; assessment practices; impact of the National Curriculum on teaching and learning; changes in teachers' roles; changes in planning and management within the school; teacher/pupil relationships; staff relationships. Advance Questionnaire to Teachers and Headmasters 1994 (AQ 3 94): Characteristics of teachers and headteachers, e.g. age, sex, years of experience, socio-economic catchment area of school; educational objectives for the children; accountability; meaning of professional responsibility.

One-stage stratified or systematic random sample

Purposive selection/case studies

For further details see documentation

Face-to-face interview

Postal survey

9T INT 93: Face-to-face interview9HT INT94: Face-to-face interviewAQ 3 94: Postal survey; self-completion form10T INT94: Face-to-face interview