The construction of teaching roles at Aalborg university centre, 1970–1980

This paper proposes a historical analysis of the development of teaching roles at Aalborg University Centre in its first 10 years. The research highlights three processes through which the interpretation of the new ‘supervisor’ roles was constructed within the problem-oriented, project-based educational model of AUC. First, the authors show that the institutional framework for teaching roles was deliberately left open to significant interpretation from the various faculties of the university; second, the critical theoretical model that had served as a guideline for the inception of project work in Roskilde failed to make an impact in Aalborg, whereas teachers from AUC were more receptive to constructivist psychology as a theoretical framework for practice; third, through community-building and negotiation within the faculties, different interpretations of teaching roles emerged in the different disciplines. The paper closes with a reflection on the implications of these findings for the more general context of higher education.     

Burnout among university faculty: the central role of work–family conflict

This study examined both direct and indirect associations of faculty burnout with psychosocial work environments, using the job resources-demands framework. A sample of 2,229 faculty members (57.1% male) throughout public universities in the Czech Republic completed a questionnaire comprising measures of burnout and psychosocial work environment characteristics from the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II. We formulated a structural model that hypothesised a positive effect of job demands (quantitative demands, work-family conflict (WFC), job insecurity) and a negative effect of job resources (influence, social community, role clarity) on burnout. Results showed that the strongest predictor of burnout was WFC, which had a direct positive effect on burnout and mediated the positive effect of quantitative demands on burnout. Further, a small direct negative effect of age and an indirect positive effect of involvement in research grants and administrative paperwork on burnout were observed. The findings indicate that university management can most effectively address burnout in academic staff not only by implementing policies that reduce WFC, workload and administrative paperwork, but also by providing more job resources to younger faculty and faculty involved in grant-based projects.     

The effect of short online pedagogical training on university teachers’ interpretations of teaching–learning situations

The aim of the study was to explore whether short online pedagogy courses can have an effect on university teachers’ interpretations of teaching–learning situations. Before and after participating in a short online pedagogical training programme, a total of 66 participants wrote their interpretations of two short video clips, which depicted a content-focused teacher and a learning-focused teacher, respectively. The training was successful in changing participants’ interpretations from a knowledge-transmission view to a learning-facilitation view of teaching. This result indicates that even short online training programmes have the potential to affect participants’ interpretations of teaching–learning situations, especially when participants are not very experienced in teaching. Therefore, pedagogical training should be offered already at the early stages of teaching careers.

     

The teaching–research nexus and the importance of context: a comparative study of England and Sweden

The teaching–research nexus has been studied by many researchers, mainly looking at pedagogic links and direct benefits arising from the interaction of both activities. The paper takes a comparative approach, looking at the relationship between teaching and research in four universities from two different countries. This paper argues that contextual factors are vital in shaping the nature of the relationship and also identifies differences between disciplines in how these contextual factors may be understood. In particular, the contrasting structural and political contexts provided by two different national settings are seen to have a crucial role in shaping institutional activity.     

Skill mismatch and work–life conflict: the mediating role of job satisfaction

Previous research examining skill mismatch in the labour market has ignored potential implications for workers outside of the work environment. We argue that the psychological strain that the discrepancy between worker’s skills and job requirements wields on workers spills over into the non-work sphere, increasing work–life conflict. This study explores the consequence of skill mismatch for work–family life and various dimensions of job satisfaction. Using the 2011 British Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS), we find that both over- and underskilled workers reported lower satisfaction with achievement and autonomy, opportunity for development, and pay and security. Results also suggest that not only does skill mismatch have a negative influence on work–life conflict but that this association is completely mediated through job satisfaction. Given this better understanding of the complex ways that skill mismatch in employment shapes non-work life, implications for employees and firms are discussed.     

Self‐efficacy,school resources,job stressors and burnout among Spanish primary and secondary school teachers: a structural equation approach

This study examines the relationship between school resources, teacher self‐efficacy, potential multi‐level stressors and teacher burnout using structural equation modelling. The causal structure for primary and secondary school teachers was also examined. The sample was composed of 724 primary and secondary Spanish school teachers. The changes occurring in the Spanish teacher role in the last decade were taken into account to select job stressors. The results obtained revealed that external (school support resources) and internal (management classroom self‐efficacy and instructional self‐efficacy) coping resources have a negative and significant effect on job stressors. In turn, job stressors have a positive and significant effect on teachers’ burnout considering it as both a unidimensional and multidimensional construct. Furthermore, the hypothesised structure of burnout dimensions revealed that emotional exhaustion plays a key role in explaining Spanish school teachers’ burnout. Practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Sources of shifts in pre-service teachers’ patterns of attention: the roles of teaching experience and of observational experience

A key requirement of successful initial teacher education is the development of professional vision, which includes shifting attention to features of the situation relevant to the specialized goals of teaching. Existing research hints at the value of targeted video-based courses in the development of professional vision, but often raises questions about the sources of shifts in the pattern of attention. We argue that existing work makes it difficult to distinguish whether shifts seen across video interventions are the results of the intervention, teaching experience, or methodological issues with the unbalanced use of videos in the data collection in these studies. Our first study suggests pre-service teachers’ teaching practice experience does not notably affect attention, but that choice of video does. Our second study addresses the methodological issues and suggests that we may discount different or unbalanced videos as a source of the shifts in the pattern of attention. Finally, by introducing a new synthesis of the results in the literature, we identify a previously hidden key distinction between studies and suggest reasons why different studies have shown different results in this area.     

Computer‐mediated support groups: An examination of relationships among social support,perceived stress,and coping strategies

This study examined social support, perceived stress, and coping strategies among participants (N = 148) within twenty‐four computer‐mediated support groups. The results indicated that the amount of time a person reported spending communicating with others in on‐line support groups was positively related to the size of his or her support group network and satisfaction with the support he or she received in online support groups. Satisfaction with both on‐line supportive relationships and face‐to‐face supportive relationships was correlated with degree of reduction in perceived life stress. Satisfaction with on‐line social support was predictive of the types of coping strategies used by participants.     

The role of perceived autonomy support in predicting university students’ academic success mediated by academic self-efficacy and school engagement

This research analysed relationships between perceived teachers’ autonomy support and academic success, with self-efficacy and school engagement acting as mediators. This was a survey of 870 students from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), with a mean age of 26.99 years (SD = 5.09), 50.6% were men. Factor structure for measures was established. Then a structural equation model based on theoretical considerations was estimated. Final outcomes were grades and subjective well-being. Self-efficacy and school engagement were considered mediators, and the exogenous variable was perceived teacher’s autonomy support. This initial model fitted the data well, but several theoretically driven modifications were made and a final model was established. Teacher’s autonomy has important direct effects on engagement and self-efficacy, and it also was a direct predictor of subjective well-being. Self-efficacy and engagement had direct effects on subjective well-being. Grades were explained by the effects of self-efficacy, cognitive, and emotional engagement. As a conclusion, the main chain of effects hypothesised among the variables fitted the observed data well, and can, therefore, be tentatively supported: self-efficacy and engagement mediate the effects of autonomy support on academic achievement.     

Redefining university roles in regional economies: a case study of university–industry relations and academic organization in nanotechnology

The emerging field of nanotechnology has created a new frontier for the convergence of university and industrial research. In the United States, major federal investments provided a massive boom for this field over the decade. This paper reports on a case study of how the University at Albany came to establish the first college of nanotechnology in the US, as part of a larger R&D complex oriented towards building a regional nanoelectronics cluster. The case points to the role of entrepreneurs in mobilizing ideas and resources to advance novel organizational forms. This study demonstrates how a mode of technology transfer based on research facilities was deliberately used to build a nanotechnology complex at Albany, highlighting the enabling role of state S&T policies in supporting university engagements in regional economic development.     

The role of scientific terminology in research and teaching: Is something important missing?

The recent discussion between Lewis and Linn (Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 33, 335–337, 1996) and Pushkin (Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 33, 223–224, 1996) concerning the definitions of terms relating to heat raises the broader issue of the nature of scientific terms and their role in instruction. We illustrate that in just two significant examples (heat and electricity) it is easy to illustrate from the literature that there is not agreement as to the meaning of the terms among scientists and that between texts, even within texts, terms are used in such inconsistent ways that there is no logical way to sort out the meanings of the terms. Hence, if “standard interpretations of scientific knowledge to be taught” do not actually exist, then how can the teaching of standard interpretations of scientific knowledge be established as a goal to be accomplished? © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34: 655–660, 1997.     

The building of pre-service primary teachers’ knowledge of mathematics teaching: interaction and online video case studies

This study explores how preservice primary teachers became engaged in meaning-making mathematics teaching when participating in online discussions within learning environments integrating video-clips of mathematics teaching. We identified different modes of participation in the online discussions and different levels of knowledge-building. The data can be explained by the type of task set in the learning environments and by a gradually improved shared understanding of the teaching. The structure of the learning environments supported inquiry into meaningful topics and knowledge-building through activities like identifying, interpreting and designing. These findings suggest that the different types of task and conditions of online discussion in the learning environments influence the nature of the interaction showing the correspondence between synergistic interaction and higher-order thinking.     

The Relationship between Understanding of the Nature of Science and Practice: The influence of teachers’ beliefs about education,teaching and learning

This paper reports the relationship between four English primary teachers’ understanding of the nature of science and their practice. Action research was included as a major part of the research design in order to explore the dialectical interplay between various factors at work in the teachers’ practice. The influences of both tacit and espoused understandings of the nature of science were considered alongside the teachers’ beliefs about education, teaching, and learning. These beliefs were found to be the determining factor in the teachers’ decisions about classroom strategies. In arguing for a dialectical perspective on teachers’ practice, the research suggests that teachers’ espoused understanding of the nature of science may also be at least partially formed by the influence of these beliefs, raising the possibility that influence may run from teaching to theoretical understanding and not the other way round.     

The impact of perceived teachers’ autonomy support on students’ mathematics achievement: evidences based on latent growth curve modelling

European Journal of Psychology of Education - According to the self-determination theory, autonomy-supportive teaching is considered an effective approach to motivate students to learn. The present...     

Development research of a teachers’ educational performance support system: the practices of design, development, and evaluation

This study adopted design and development research methodology (Richey & Klein, Design and development research: Methods, strategies, and issues, 2007) to systematically investigate the process of applying instructional design principles, human–computer interaction, and software engineering to a performance support system (PSS) for behavior management in a classroom. The purpose was to examine how a proposed instructional design framework based on Ausubel’s (The psychology of meaningful verbal learning, 1963) advance organizer theoretical approach could be used to address inherent problems of technically driven PSSs. Development data were collected from a six-phase participatory rapid prototyping process using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Findings indicated that (a) the advance organizer concept combined with a matrix design metaphor provided an effective way to illustrate conceptual connections and relations among PSS modules and their elaborated information, (b) the system served as a reference to support participants for exchanging ideas with other teachers as well as with parents of students, and (c) the rapid prototyping process established parameters that helped the project team maintain a focus on users and collect data useful for advancing to a higher phase of system development. Potential drawbacks pertaining to the proposed design strategies and their possible corrective actions are also reported and discussed.     

Trainee teachers,gender and becoming the ‘right’ person for the job: care and authority in the vocational habitus of teaching

Drawing on a qualitative study of 32 UK student teachers, this paper asks what constitutes the vocational culture of teaching by exploring contradictory discourses of care and authority as they are presented to, and interpreted by, trainee teachers along their journey to becoming newly qualified teachers. Introducing the concept of ‘vocational habitus’ in relation to teaching, ‘ideal teacher narratives’ recounted by respondents are examined and mismatches between the expectations of individuals, institutions and wider policy contexts are explored. The later part of the article focuses specifically on three trainee teachers who struggled more than other research participants with their new roles as teachers. Their experiences suggest that simultaneous and gendered notions of caring and commanding respect can present considerable obstacles for the acquisition of a ‘successful’ vocational habitus. In light of proposed changes to teacher training in England, this paper argues that for government teacher education policies to be successful, they need to demonstrate an awareness and consideration of these contradictory notions.     

Modulation of attention in discrimination learning: The roles of stimulus relevance and stimulus–outcome correlation

The advantage in learning after an intradimensional shift rather than an extradimensional shift has been widely used as a behavioural marker of attentional changes during discrimination learning in different fields of neuroscientific study. However, some of the factors assumed to guide these attentional changes have not been completely disentangled by previous research. In two predictive-learning experiments, we investigated the importance of stimulus relevance and of stimulus-outcome correlation for the modulation of attention. In each experiment, participants were trained on two discrimination problems given in successive order. Each problem required participants to differentiate stimuli varying on two dimensions. We found that acquisition of the second discrimination was influenced by whether its relevant dimension (Exp. 1) or its irrelevant dimension (Exp. 2) had previously been trained as relevant and uncorrelated or as irrelevant and uncorrelated. We also observed that acquisition of the second discrimination was independent of whether its relevant dimension (Exp. 1) or its irrelevant dimension (Exp. 2) had previously been trained as relevant and uncorrelated or as relevant and correlated. Our results indicated that the modulation of attention is guided by stimulus relevance and not by stimulus-outcome correlation.     

Creating and translating knowledge about teaching and learning in collaborative school–university research partnerships: an analysis of what is exchanged across the partnerships,by whom and how

Whilst there is a growing body of literature on practitioner research and the role of collaborations and partnerships that include universities in that process, there are relatively few studies examining the role of the university in any depth. We reflect on 12 years of working in school–university collaborative research partnerships through an analysis of the exchanges between teachers and academics as documented by interviews, case studies and project reports. We draw upon a sample of 90 teachers in 51 schools covering all phases of compulsory schooling. Focusing on the exchanges between the university and partnership schools, we extend the idea of radical collegiality to encompass teacher to academic dialogue in the process of mutual transformation. We contribute to the development of greater conceptual clarity regarding school–university research partnerships and their potential to contribute to the creation and translation of knowledge about teaching and learning. The interplay of the project as the context, the role of enquiry and the development and use of tools by the participants is outlined and a model for understanding the dynamics of school–university partnerships proposed. We suggest that the project as a space‐ and time‐limited context inclusive of partner institutions may have the scope to reconcile the tension between an impetus for exclusive bonding and the flexibility of bridging across structures in social networks. We conclude that the model of the exchanges between partners is fruitful in unravelling the relationship between theory and practice in the pursuit of knowledge about teaching and learning.     

Factors influencing teachers’ innovative teaching behaviour with information and communication technology (ICT): the mediator role of organisational innovation climate

The aim of this study was to analyze the correlation among teachers’ perceived acceptance of technological innovation, organisations’ innovation climate, and innovative teaching using information and communication technology (ICT) in Taiwan. The participants (N?=?482) responded to a questionnaire using a five-point Likert scale for each factor, and their responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). This research found that an organisation’s innovation climate is significantly and positively related with innovative teaching using ICT, and that the acceptance of technological innovation is significantly and positively related with innovative teaching using ICT, as supported by the organisation’s innovation climate. The influence pattern and empirical data of the acceptance of technological innovation and the organisation’s innovation climate on innovative teaching with ICT exhibited a good fit. The implications of such findings were discussed.