Biomedical subjects

P Blatchford

Publications and source records attributed to P Blatchford.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Validation of the serum bactericidal assay for measurement of functional antibodies against group B meningococci associated with vaccine trials.

Provisional licensure of the trial vaccine, MeNZB, required demonstration of immune responses in vaccines, as measured by a validated Serum Bactericidal Assay (SBA). Reported are the investigations undertaken to define test parameters, lower limits of quantitation and measurement of SBA reproducibility. Results helped to formulate the operating procedure for the measurement of serum bactericidal antibodies during six age-group MeNZB vaccine trials. The lower limit of quantitation was determined as a titre of 4. A four-fold rise in antibody (sero-conversion) from a pre-vaccination titre of 2 (<4) required a minimum post-vaccination titre of 8, a more stringent measurement than has been used in other published studies.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗

PubMed2001

Classroom contexts: connections between class size and within class grouping.

BACKGROUND: There has been a vigorous debate for many years about the educational effects of class size differences, but even if differences have an impact on pupils' academic progress this still leaves unanswered important questions about what mediates the effect. AIMS: This paper is informed by a classroom contextual perspective, and examines associations between class size and within class groupings (in terms of size and number of groups, adult presence in groups, and type of interaction between grouping members). Age differences in these relationships are also explored. SAMPLES: The quantitative study is based on analysis of 3157 groupings, from 672 Reception, Year 2 and Year 5 classes in 331 schools. The qualitative study was based on 12 classes in 8 case study schools, and questionnaire responses completed by over 100 class teachers. METHODS: Links between size of class and within class groupings were examined on the basis of a 'grouping mapping survey', in which teachers at a given time in the school day provided information on group size and number, adult presence, and type of interaction between pupils, and complementary qualitative analyses of data from teacher-completed questionnaires, and interviews. RESULTS: The number of groups in a class increased with the size of the class. Over all three year groups, small classes had on average just over three groups, while large classes approached six groups. The size of groups in the class decreased with size of class. In class sizes over 25, pupils were more likely to be in a large group of 7-10, while in classes under 25 they were more likely to be in whole class groupings. Qualitative analyses showed that teachers felt that groups of 7-10 pupils had negative educational effects, for example, in terms of the quality and quantity of teaching and children's concentration and contribution in groups. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that the effects of class size can be best seen as through the size and number of groups, which will then have implications for learning experiences. So while debate about size of class has often been in terms of reduced size of class resulting in pupil academic gains, it is also important educationally to consider within class grouping size and number, and their effects.

Child↗

PubMed1997

Pupils' self assessments of academic attainment at 7, 11 and 16 years: effects of sex and ethnic group.

BACKGROUND: There is much concern with group differences in educational attainment in school. Better understanding of pupils' academic ability perceptions promises to help understanding of differences in attainment. AIMS: The aim of this paper is to examine ethnic and sex differences in academic self assessments at 7, 11 and 16 years, and ethnic and sex differences in the degree of under and overestimation of self assessment. SAMPLES: Results come from a longitudinal study of white and black UK pupils in inner London schools. Samples sizes at 7, 11 and 16 years were 133, 175, 108 respectively. METHODS: Self assessments, other self report data and attainments were collected at each age. RESULTS: White pupils by the end of junior and secondary school were less positive about their own attainments, and about themselves at school. While black girls showed confidence in their attainments, and had the highest attainments in reading/English, white girls tended to underestimate and have little confidence in their school attainments.

Achievement↗

PubMed1989

Teacher expectations in infant school: associations with attainment and progress, curriculum coverage and classroom interaction.

There is still much debate, particularly in North America, about whether teachers' expectations have an effect on pupils' achievement, and through which factors expectations might be mediated. This paper reports on associations between teachers' academic expectations at the beginning, and children's attainments at the end of the school year. The study took place in infant schools in London. Associations were significant during all three years of infant school, and were not explained by children's attainments at the time of the expectation rating. Range of effects, in standard deviation units, of associations between expectations and progress over the school year ranged from 0.4 to 0.8. Two possible mediating factors between expectations and attainment were explored: differential curriculum coverage and differential classroom behaviour. It was found that children for whom teachers had higher expectations were given a wider range of activities in written language and mathematics, and this was so over and above attainments at the beginning of the school year. In contrast, there was no evidence that expectations were related to measures of classroom interaction like teacher praise and instructional contact.

Achievement↗