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This article was downloaded by: [Dokuz Eylul University ] On: 07 November 2014, At: 03:23 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Educational Psychology in Practice: theory, research and practice in educational psychology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cepp20 Circle Time: The perceptions of teachers and pupils Jackie Lown Published online: 02 Jul 2010. To cite this article: Jackie Lown (2002) Circle Time: The perceptions of teachers and pupils, Educational Psychology in Practice: theory, research and practice in educational psychology, 18:2, 93-102, DOI: 10.1080/02667360220144539 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02667360220144539 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub- licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly

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This article was downloaded by: [Dokuz Eylul University ]On: 07 November 2014, At: 03:23Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH,UK

Educational Psychology inPractice: theory, researchand practice in educationalpsychologyPublication details, including instructions for authorsand subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cepp20

Circle Time: The perceptions ofteachers and pupilsJackie LownPublished online: 02 Jul 2010.

To cite this article: Jackie Lown (2002) Circle Time: The perceptions of teachers andpupils, Educational Psychology in Practice: theory, research and practice in educationalpsychology, 18:2, 93-102, DOI: 10.1080/02667360220144539

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02667360220144539

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all theinformation (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform.However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make norepresentations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, orsuitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressedin this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not theviews of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content shouldnot be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sourcesof information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions,claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilitieswhatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connectionwith, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes.Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly

forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

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Educational Psychology in Practice, Vol. 18, No. 2, 2002

Circle Time: the perceptions of teachersand pupilsJACKIE LOWNEducational Psychology Service, 10–12 George Hudson Street, York YO1 6ZG, UK

SUMMARY The interest of teachers and educational psychologists in circle time has grownover recent years, and there has been an explosion of publications offering activities andcurriculum on the subject. Despite this expansion in publications, there has not been anaccompanying growth in ef� cacy-based research about circle time. The current literaturecontains little evidence of its effectiveness. The present paper outlines a research study,undertaken within one local education authority and as part of the researcher’s work on theEducation Doctorate programme at Shef� eld University, that aimed to investigate teacherand pupil perceptions of circle time. It concludes that both groups view circle time as apositive intervention. The study raises questions about the possibilities regarding sociallymediated learning.

Introduction and Context

Circle time is a technique that has rapidly grown in popularity among teachers in thepast 10 years. It is essentially a way of approaching the task of teaching children andyoung people personal and social skills. More speci� cally, it is a period of classactivity, in which pupils and teacher sit together in a circle formation, to share ideas,feelings and games/activities about one or more social/emotional/curricular issues.There are several possibilities as to why the use of circle time has increaseddramatically in recent years.

· The belief among some teachers and educational psychologists that the enhance-ment of self-esteem is central to the learning process (Lawrence, 1996; Mosley,1993; Margerison, 1996), and should therefore be given protected time throughcircle time sessions.

· A feeling that the increased emphasis on subject teaching (brought about by theintroduction of the National Curriculum) has left too little time for Personal andSocial Education (PSE) coverage.

· The idea that all children have entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum,and circle time contributes to this breadth, because of the areas it covers (Lang &Mosley, 1993; Margerison, 1996).

Manuscript submitted November 2000; accepted after revision, April 2001.

ISSN 0266-7363 (print)/ISSN 1469-5839 (online)/02/020093-10Ó 2002 Association of Educational PsychologistsDOI: 10.1080/02667360220144539

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94 J. Lown

· With increased pressures on teachers in terms of pupil achievement data, therecould be a view that non-academic-based activity is under threat of beingsqueezed out altogether. Aligning circle time activity with PSE may ‘legitimise’ theactivity, because PSE is regarded as an aspect of the curriculum that should becovered. By the same token, it may make the time seem special or desirable,because it is ‘time off’ from the academic curriculum.

· With increasing pressures on teachers to plan teaching content for the short,medium and long term, time for planning PSE coverage may feel in short supply.Circle time (including the many published activity books) offers a ‘nearly made’PSE curriculum package, which could save a great deal of time for teachers oncethey are familiar with the circle time structure.

· Circle time has been given Department for Education and Employment ‘approval’as an effective means of addressing the emotional and behavioural needs ofchildren and young people, by virtue of its inclusion in The Green Paper (Depart-ment for Education and Employment, 1997) and the Educational PsychologyServices (England) (Department for Education and Employment, 2000) docu-ments.

For a range of reasons, there has been an apparent expansion in the use of circletime in primary schools throughout the United Kingdom. Alongside this growth hasbeen the accompanying increase in publications that are packed with circle timeactivities. However, in the excitement and enthusiasm for this technique, there existmany unanswered questions. Not only does the literature indicate the limitedevidence-base of research to back-up claims for the effectiveness of circle time(Kelly, 1999), it also raises the multiplicity of views regarding the nature of circletime—what it is, what it does, and how it is done ‘properly’.

De� nitions of Circle Time

A review of the current literature on circle time highlights the fact that de� nitions ofwhat constitutes the activity are not consistent. The lack of clarity around de� nitionsof circle time will effect any research endeavouring to investigate outcomes.

White (1989) shares the view with other authors (Lang & Mosley, 1993;Margerison, 1996) that circle time is in the main a tool for improving self-esteem,but adds that in so doing it also improves learning. White (1989) also sees circletime as a method of cultivating group identity and cohesion. Housego and Burns(1994) agree with the idea that circle time can and should enhance learning, throughallowing children to experiment with new ideas and viewpoints about emotional,moral, spiritual, cognitive or social concerns.

Another frequently stated view in the literature is that circle time is a method ofimproving social skills (Wooster, 1988; Kantor, 1989), extending social networksand introducing children to the pressures and demands of large group living.Another dimension of what circle time offers to the teacher and the class is given byCadiz (1994), who contends that the activity provides an opportunity for ‘self-ex-

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Perceptions of Teachers and Pupils 95

pression and sensory integration’, as well as an opportunity for the teacher to assessthe level of stress in the group.

Curry and Brom� eld (1998) de� ne circle time as an activity that supportsself-esteem, allowing children to take risks, to explore feelings and encourage themto believe they are worthwhile people. The views of Mosley (1993) are similar,although she places emphasis on the dimension of problem-solving and decision-making for the circle. Rothlein et al. (1988) suggest that circle time can be a methodof covering four curriculum goals—fun, social development, physical motor develop-ment, and intellectual development. This brings a new dimension, namely physicalmotor development, into the arena of de� nition and purpose, and illustrates the ideathat de� nition, aim and process are inextricably linked.

In the author’s experience of visiting many mainstream and special schools, circletime has been used in two additional ways. First, using the organisation andprocedure to cover other curricular areas such as English, history, geography, and soon. Second, taking a circle time approach to offer a more ‘therapeutic’ input to smallgroups of children or young people experiencing dif� culties (e.g. bullying).

What Circle Time ‘Reaches’: psychological development

There is clearly a close link between the de� nition of circle time, and the perceivedaim(s) that the practitioner is working towards. The roots of circle time may havecontained clear understanding of the psychological processes involved (i.e. the onesbeing targeted for gain). Over time, the translation of psychological processes intoteaching strategies has resulted in these psychological targets becoming increasinglyblurred. Along with the blurring has come expansion, pushing the boundaries ofwhat is de� ned as circle time.

Conversely, elements of what already existed in approaches to social skill develop-ment, speaking and listening, and physical motor development may have turned intoa package called circle time at the points where teaching strategies overlapped. Thus,wide variation has been inevitable.

However this variation has come about, the fact remains that the literature to dateclaims a range of psychological processes are tapped in to by circle time: self-esteem,language and interactive skill, intellectual development, social awareness, cooper-ation, group functioning, problem-solving, decision-making, and motor develop-ment.

Evidence

Evidence for the effectiveness of circle time in enhancing the psychological processesit sets out to reach is, to say the least, � imsy. Much of what is referred to in theliterature as ‘evidence’ is in fact assumption, anecdote and circular argument.

Many authors are prepared to note the bene� ts without including reference tosources of evidence for this. The bene� ts mentioned often include reference toself-esteem; from evidence that associates self-esteem improvement with learningand behavioural improvement, the assumption is made that circle time is a legit-

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96 J. Lown

imate tool to use to improve all three. The association with behavioural and learninggains thereby becomes a ‘third-party’ association, not directly linked to the researchbase. The problem here may be that authors on the subject tend to be educationalpractitioners, starting from a different basis to the one that would be taken by aresearcher. Little regard is paid to analysis of the particular aspects of circle time thatmake a difference, if there is one. Is it structure, the chosen activities, the frequency,the philosophy or enthusiasm of the teacher, or some other factor that leads to gainfor the children involved?

The Present Study

The present study was undertaken within the context of a Standard Fund projectwithin one Unitary Authority, the central focus of which was to tackle emotional andbehavioural dif� culties and to reduce � xed-term and permanent exclusions. Thecircle time initiative was one strand among several others, designed to impact onemotional and behavioural dif� culties and exclusions. Other aspects included thefollowing.

· An accredited training course (40 taught hours), addressing emotional and be-havioural needs of children. The course contained sessions on circle time andself-esteem.

· Circle time training was offered to all schools in the authority.· Educational psychologist time was made available for schools to facilitate the

implementation of circle time.

The present circle time study arose as the result of a combination of factors.

· The researcher’s interest and experience in social skills and circle time techniques.· The researcher undertaking a research project as part of studies on the Education

Doctorate programme at Shef� eld University.· The opportunity for this researcher to train teachers in circle time techniques, via

the accredited training course.· The opportunity to train interested teachers from any school in the authority,

through a series of one-off training sessions.· The opportunity to follow through training by modelling the technique within

schools, and applying an ‘apprenticeship’ process where teachers requested this.· Willingness from teachers and schools within the local education authority (LEA)

to try out a technique that was new to them.

The Research Issues

This research was set-up to evaluate the use of circle time in schools, by consideringthree main issues.

· To explore the impact of circle time on children, as perceived by teachers and thechildren themselves.

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Perceptions of Teachers and Pupils 97

· To establish participant’s feelings about the process of circle time (adults andchildren).

· To explore any relationships between the perceived impact of circle time, andvariables within its implementation (e.g. frequency of sessions, age group).

The Research Method

An interpretive paradigm was considered to be the most appropriate way of ap-proaching the task of addressing the research issues; more speci� cally, ‘illuminativestudy’. Norwich (1998) states that, in illuminative study:

The aim of seeking objectivity, causation, and generality are … given up forthe alternative aim of seeking understanding of the meaning of actions anddescribing the perspectives of those involved in these practices. What wehave here is an alternative and rival model, and research methods whichfocus on descriptions rather than causal explanations. The practical aim ofsuch interpretive research is to illuminate or enlighten rather than to applytechniques to engineer change. (p. 12)

It is recognised that illuminative study may often form the basis of later, quantitativeresearch on the same, or similar, issue—the later research aiming to establish morede� nitive conclusions. These aims may well emerge as a direct result of theinterpretivist starting point, because the exploration of inter-subjective meaningsallows early patterns and possible causal relationships to emerge, laying the founda-tions for later investigation.

The present study was intended to be illuminative—not a quantitative piece ofresearch, but rather a searchlight temporarily resting on one area of practice withinone LEA. While illuminated, an exploration of what lies within was facilitated, withthe hope that emerging connections and inter-relationships may form the basis forfuture, much more extensive, perhaps quantitative, investigation. This illuminativestudy aimed to bring into focus the dimensions that may inform such future study.

Methods of Data Gathering

The present study was carried out within one LEA; circle time formed one of severalstrategies introduced within a Standard Fund project seeking to address emotionaland behavioural dif� culties in mainstream schools. The schools that were thequickest to take up the offer of circle time training within the remit of the StandardFunds project, and therefore had had the opportunity to use the method for at leasta term, were approached to give information about their views on circle time, as partof the evaluation of the whole Standard Fund project. The criteria for havingimplemented circle time for at least one term at the time of investigation wasregarded as necessary, even though it limited the number of schools/individualteachers who could participate.

Questionnaires were therefore sent to only a small number of schools, teachersand pupils: 15 teachers (13 primary, two secondary) from eight different schools

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98 J. Lown

(one secondary, seven primary). Responders were asked to remain anonymous. Nineteacher questionnaires were returned (i.e. a 60% response rate). Eighteen pupilquestionnaires were administered, and all returned. Three interviews were alsoconducted, with three primary teachers from two different schools, to offer sometriangulation to the data and to allow exploration of areas that would not arise fromthe questionnaires.

Teacher questionnaires were kept as brief as possible (two sides of well-spacedtype), to encourage respondents to feel they could complete it quickly. Backgroundquestions included factual information about length of time using circle time,frequency of sessions, location of sessions and number of participating adults.Respondents’ attitudes and perceptions about circle time were then illuminated,using a mixture of scaled-response statements and closed questions followed byopen-ended questions. For the scaled response questions, a Likert scale of 1–5(1 5 strongly disagree, 5 5 strongly agree) was used (e.g. ‘For my class, I think circletime has improved listening skills’). In the next section, closed questions, requiringa Yes/No selection, were followed by open-ended exploratory questions (e.g. ‘Doyou think circle time has impacted upon the general behaviour of your class?’),followed by ‘If yes, please brie� y state how’.

The teacher interviews were structured using 10 questions revolving around thekey issues for investigation (e.g. ‘Has circle time changed your relationship with yourclass? If so, how?’). Interviews lasted 45–60 minutes, and were tape-recorded andlater transcribed.

The pupil questionnaire, consisting of nine questions, contained Yes/No/Don’tknow options (e.g. ‘Has circle time helped your class get along better together?’) andfour more open questions, such as ‘What do you think have been the main bene� tsof [circle time] for you?’.

Findings

The � ndings from the questionnaires and interviews are organised and discussed inrelation to the three research issues earlier identi� ed.

The Impact of Circle Time on Children, as Perceived by Teachers and the ChildrenThemselves

Teachers’ views on circle time, elicited through questionnaire and interview, wereconsistently positive, and all those who were in a position to do so intended tocontinue to use it at the end of the project time. Their commitment to it arose fromperceptions of improvements in children’s personal and social behaviour acrossseveral dimensions, as follows.

There was a great deal of support for the view that the listening skills of pupils hadimproved within the circle time setting itself, with six positive responses, two neutraland one negative; average on Likert scale, 4.0. Some teachers reported perceptionsof generalisation into other curricular and non-curricular areas. When asked about

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Perceptions of Teachers and Pupils 99

the skills improved by circle time, comments like ‘Communication skills for most,certainly listening skills’ were frequently cited.

Teachers’ perceptions supported the view that the circle time initiative hadimproved the children’s cooperative skills (six positive, two neutral and one negative;Likert average, 3.9), self-esteem (seven positive, one neutral and one negative; Likertaverage, 4.1), turn-taking skills (seven positive, two neutral and no negative; Likertaverage, 4.3), and ability to express feelings (seven positive, three neutral, no negative;Likert average, 4.1). The comment of one teacher re� ected the views of several:‘Certain children would never put their hand up and say something, but as soon aswe started doing circle time, they would say something, even if it was only copyingsomeone else’. Another teacher commented that the class had come to feel ‘Whole,like a family’ as a result of circle time. And another said, ‘they are prepared to listenmore, work in teams’.

Pupil perceptions were largely consistent with these themes. When asked whetherthey thought circle time had ‘helped you to get to know other people in your classbetter’, 16 responded with yes, and two said no. Asked whether circle time had‘helped you to take turns better in discussions’, 11 said yes, three said no and foursaid don’t know. Seven children said yes they thought circle time had helped theclass get along better, while four said no and seven said don’t know.

In addition, several children commented positively on the opportunity to workwith others not normally in the friendship group. Some unsolicited comments areworthy of note: ‘I made better friends’, ‘I know most of my class better, and theirpersonal feelings’, ‘Enjoyed talking about myself’. There were many more commentsmade in a similar vein.

There was only a little support for the view that classroom behaviour hadimproved as a result of circle time. Four teachers felt it had while � ve said it had not,although qualifying statements concerned the length of time the technique had beenused, and the need to introduce it at the beginning of the year.

Some teachers felt that using circle time had had bene� cial effects on theprocesses of groupwork and class discussion in many contexts (six said they felt ithad, and three said not), and several comments were made about the bene� ts ofusing the circle time structure and process to cover National Curriculum subjects.Several teachers reported that their knowledge of circle time, and growing familiaritywith it, had resulted in them marrying it up, to an extent, with the academiccurriculum.

Teachers commented that circle time had enabled them to have a better under-standing of the children themselves, and the problems they faced, giving moreopportunity for the delivery of positive comments.

Participant’s Feelings About the Process of Circle Time

It is clear from the pupil questionnaires, teacher questionnaires and teacher inter-views that there are consistently held, positive perceptions about circle time amongthe children and adults involved in this study. Eight teachers chose ‘yes’ to thequestion of whether they enjoyed circle time, and one did not respond. When asked

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100 J. Lown

whether they would continue to use it, seven teachers said they would, one saidpossibly and one left a blank (with the explanation that she would no longer be ina position to use it). Several teachers commented very favourably on the process forboth themselves and the children. Pupils themselves gave clear messages that theyregarded circle time as fun, and several spontaneously suggested it should be donein every year at school. Seventeen of 18 children reported that they had enjoyed thesessions, and one child said both yes and no.

Relationships Between the Perceived Impact of Circle Time, and Variables within itsImplementation

Those teachers who had ‘another pair of hands’ in the room with them tended to bemore positive than those who worked with the class alone. Teachers tended to seethe bene� ts as stronger if the structure of circle time was introduced at the verybeginning of the academic year.

Connections were seen between the length of time teachers had been doing circletime and the bene� ts they saw in it. Those who had been underway for longerregarded it as more bene� cial, presumably related to their own con� dence in usingthe technique and the children’s familiarity with the structure. A counter-expec-tation could, in fact, be possible—it might be argued that adaptation would occurand the perceived effects ‘� zzle out’.

Discussion

In re� ecting on the issue of classroom behaviour, it is possible to see behaviouralimprovement as something that may progress over time, as the impact of improvedrelationships within the class starts to have effect on general classroom behaviour. Ifcircle time is enabling children to improve, for example, cooperative skills within thecircle time activity, there may be a time lag before this improvement becomesgeneralised into classroom behaviour. The mixed results from questionnaires, on thebehavioural issue, may be explained by this, as those teachers who had been usingcircle time for longer tended to be more positive about its impact.

Teacher comments suggested some evidence of children being more settled andhaving fewer arguments. It is interesting to speculate about why such improvementsin relationships between the children occur. It is possible that, as a result of circletime activity, the children become more able to articulate dif� culties and frustra-tions, and more able to generate possible problem-solving strategies between them-selves, therefore resolving disputes at a much earlier point and possibly before ateacher might usually become involved or aware of the dif� culty. Another possibilityrelates to the idea that circle time has enabled children to get to know each otherbetter, both in terms of depth of knowledge and breadth of social networks (a pointmade clearly in both questionnaires and interviews). This could result in pupilsbeing less inclined to misinterpret others’ behaviours or motives as threatening/nega-tive.

There was some support for the view that circle time had bene� cial effects ongroupwork processes in contexts outside circle time, as well as within it. It isinteresting to consider whether these aspects of class functioning impact on the

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Perceptions of Teachers and Pupils 101

learning experience and learning outcomes more generally. Improvements in behav-iour and social skill would be likely to affect classroom noise levels, disruptions tothe learning process, and opportunities for concentration. It could then be arguedthat the improved social competence and behaviour of pupils could lead to moreopportunities for effective learning to take place. This raises an interesting area forfuture study.

Connections were seen between the length of time teachers had been doing circletime and the bene� ts they saw in it. Perhaps continued and growing improvementover time is so because of the improved ability pupils develop in working in groups.This improvement enables circle time itself to become more effective. Alongside thiscould be the resulting improvement in groupwork skills that are required as part ofthe academic curriculum—reinforcing further the ongoing improvement in group-work. The process therefore continues to snowball.

These latter points raise questions about the power of socially mediated learning;possibilities are emerging concerning the medium by which some areas of theacademic curriculum are approached. Perhaps the relative effectiveness of sociallymediated learning should be considered, when set against more ‘traditional’ modelsof teaching and learning. The work of Vygotsky (1962) is supportive of this view.Piaget’s work (in Mussen et al., 1965) could also be seen to support this view—thatchildren learn more effectively when the learning experience allows them to interactdirectly with the environment—in this case the social environment. As Lawton(1968) points out, ‘the later writings of Piaget are certainly more inclined to givegreater weight both to social activity and to the function of language’.

If, for the moment, we hold on to the idea that learning which is socially mediatedcould be a more effective way of engaging in the learning process, it raises questionsabout the ef� cacy of recent initiatives being implemented in schools. Circle timecould, for example, be used as a more effective method of delivering some aspectsof the literacy hour, or the numeracy strategy. Again, an area for future study.

Critique of the Research

With the bene� t of hindsight, several areas of this study could have been adapted tostrengthen the � ndings. Primarily, the effect of small numbers of completed ques-tionnaires (both teacher and pupil) obviously limits the interpretation of � ndings ofthe present study, as does the limited number of schools represented. The multiple-role of the researcher in this case (participant/assessor/trainer) may have affected therespondents’ comments.

Conclusions and Implications for Further Research

This study goes some way towards addressing the question of whether circle timebrings bene� ts to children, from the perceptions of pupils and teachers involved inits’ implementation, within one local authority. Pupils’ and teachers’ perceptionsabout circle time were illuminated through questionnaire and interview, and theemerging dimensions suggest that, in the eyes of those participating, circle time

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brings bene� ts to those children with whom it is used. This study, then, begins theprocess of � lling the huge gap that exists in the area of research—circle time hasgrown in popularity, with many schools giving over valuable time to its implemen-tation, without a � rm research foundation for its’ effectiveness. This qualitativestudy raises questions about the particular variables in operation that align to pupiland teacher perception.

For the future, much more detailed research needs to be carried out, perhapsmoving towards a quantitative paradigm, that can address the emerging issues raisedby this study. A clear de� nition of the circle time activity, combined with clarityregarding the particular psychological processes being targeted for gain, consistencyof content and rigorous assessment of gain, would start a future researcher on thetrack of identifying the actual bene� ts of circle time, resulting in a clearer under-standing of the variables that make a difference. Future work could also be bene� cialwith regard to the effectiveness of socially mediated learning, and the possibleimpact of circle time when used to deliver academic areas of the curriculum.

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embe

r 20

14