Fantasy or reality? The use of enterprise in education as an alternative to simulated and imaginary contexts for raising pupil attainment in functional writing.

CHILD writing; SCHOOL children; CLASSROOM environment; CLASSROOM management; TEACHER-student relationships; EDUCATION

Much of the debate surrounding the use of contexts for pupils' writing focuses on the need for purpose, relevance and a sense of audience outwith the immediate classroom environment. This article seeks to explore whether there is any evidence to suggest that the use of enterprise in education may have a greater beneficial effect on the quality of pupils' functional writing than other types of contexts in the primary school. The author reports on the assessment data emerging from a small, exploratory case study of 50 pupils, and the interview data emerging from a wider sample of 130 pupils and their teachers. Although the findings are tentative, the emerging data suggest that some short-term benefits may emerge from enterprise contexts for some children, but that other strategies may result in as much, if not more, benefit to others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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