Children, their voices and their experiences of school: what does the evidence tell us?

This report draws on evidence from empirical studies which explore pupils’ perspectives on aspects of their primary schooling. It builds on an earlier report ‘Children and their primary schools: pupils’ voices’ (Robinson and Fielding, 2007, updated as Robinson and Fielding 2010) which reviewed literature from studies based in the United Kingdom (UK) which reported on the experiences of primary school children. The overall aim of this report is to consider research literature published since 2007 and, in similar vein to the earlier publications, concentrate on findings from studies based in the UK which have focused on eliciting pupils’ own perspectives of their primary school experiences. In particular, the report focuses on pupils’ perceptions of the ethos and organisation of primary schools, their perceptions of primary school learning, teaching and assessment, and their views on transfer from primary to secondary school. Specific attention is given to the significance now placed on acknowledging the rights of children, as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), and to the recent move by some schools to work towards developing a right-respecting ethos.