Sharing Student Projects

Shyness in the UK has increased in recent years (Schmidt et al., 2023), indicating a need for schools to effectively understand and support shy pupils to improve their outcomes. However, UK qualitative research, based within primary schools is limited, and teachers report inadequate training provision (Solberg et al., 2022). The present study aimed to bridge this gap, exploring UK primary school teachers’ conceptualisations of pupil shyness, the impact they perceive it has on academic attainment and wellbeing, and the mechanisms via which they build supportive relationships. This dissertation was guided by a socio‐constructivist philosophical approach, employing semi‐structured interviews with eight primary school teachers, with at least one year of experience, from diverse school contexts across the UK. RTA was used to analyse data via a hybrid inductive and deductive approach, which identified nuanced pattern and meaning. Ethical approval was granted as a medium‐risk study, with the data collected in line with strict adherence to confidentiality, informed consent, and distress protocols. Findings revealed whilst most teachers viewed shyness as temperamental, their conceptualisations of shyness beyond this were diverse. Teachers explained this made shyness difficult to accurately identify in practice, especially when masked by other SEN. Shyness was consistently perceived to impact both pupil wellbeing, causing high anxiety, low self‐esteem, a fear of mistake making, reducing oral participation and negatively impacting engagement, which in turn reduced academic outcomes. Teachers described adapting their practices, using praise as a central strategy, although many pointed out this must be applied carefully to avoid spotlighting shy children. Teachers also described using peer‐based strategies and scaffolding graduated approaches to oral participation. Teachers emphasised the importance of building trust through safe and secure TPRs as a foundational approach for supporting shy pupils, enabling them to overcome social anxiety and engage in learning.

This study offers significant educational practice and policy applications for improving educational experiences for shy pupils in the UK, by providing rich and deep insights which are nuanced and practice informed. An oral participation scaffolding framework synthesises teacher reported strategies with existing psychological theory to provide strategies which demonstrate how teachers in this study supported shy children. This may provide a framework for educational practitioners and teachers aiming to develop pedagogies which reduce anxiety, increase self‐esteem and facilitate school engagement and adjustment for shy children. This also addresses the current lack of training for teachers working with shy children by offering pedagogical and relational strategies for use in the classroom. However, the scope of this project was limited, and as such the framework requires further systematic empirical research to refine the strategies and validate its efficacy, transferability and generalisability (Mertens, 2020). At a systemic level, the findings highlight the need for educational policy changes, including adjusting curriculum demands and the current emphasis on oracy, to make it more accessible for shy learners. Inspection frameworks may also be adapted to value and include purposeful relational teaching strategies. This research’s focus on the complex, context dependant and developmental nature of shyness increases the visibility of this group and highlights the importance of catering to children who might otherwise go unnoticed due to rising SEN needs in schools (Department for Education, 2024). Furthermore, this research highlights the need for temperament diversity to be fully supported in classrooms, ensuring more effective education for all.