An exploration of schooling practices over the nineteenth and twentieth\ud
centuries reveals a number of ‘fixed characteristics.’ These continue to have a\ud
principle role in the organisation of schooling today and are underpinned by\ud
assumptions stemming from traditional psychological theory. Most prominent is\ud
the transmission-receiver model associated with behaviourism. This provides a\ud
simplistic view of the learning process, locating performance in the individual\ud
child or teacher. In this work, learning is re-conceptualised as experience and\ud
in doing so, any understanding is rendered much more complex than previously\ud
acknowledged. It becomes a wider phenomenon, distributed across agent,\ud
activity and world. Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model of human\ud
development is used to elucidate this notion. To enrich the analytical power of\ud
this model, additional perspectives have been integrated to further explore the\ud
complex web of proximal, distal and environmental influences serving to shape\ud
children’s quotidian learning experiences and development; specifically, notions\ud
of metacognition and self-efficacy, Vygotskian psychology and the community\ud
of practice literature. In unison, these theoretical lenses seek to provide an\ud
explanation for learning on multiple levels: the role of the learner, the intricate\ud
mechanisms of the learning process itself and the wider conditions that\ud
surround learning.\ud
Immersed in the primary school context, the researcher adopted the dual role of\ud
researcher and teaching assistant, carrying out ethnographic research over two\ud
school terms. Following the day-to-day lives of eight children in Year 6, the\ud
research records a multiplicity of factors impacting upon their learning\ud
experiences at school. The children’s time in Year 6 is presented in story form\ud
and structured using the theories noted above. The research illuminates that\ud
the constellation of factors operating in the child’s world is unique to him or her.\ud
These combine in idiosyncratic and non-predictable ways with the child’s own\ud
repertoire of characteristics, resulting in a different learning trajectory for every\ud
child. However, analysis indicates that relationships and participation play a\ud
fundamental role in all learning journeys. Recommendations for managing\ud
children’s experiences based on this understanding are discussed