Evaluating Portfolio Use as a Learning Tool for Professionals

We have earlier reported overall teacher emphases on six general educational goals. In the present study we present school level analyses of the same goal variables. The new focus of the present study was on possible school differences in teacher goal emphases. It is assumed that school differences may indicate a process of teacher socialisation in schools, particularly if these characteristics are relatively stable over time. About 40 schools were analysed at two points in time and they were represented by two different samples of teachers (144 and 157 teachers). We analysed both individual goal variables and goal profiles defined by how the teachers ranked the six goals. Only the 'profile approach' indicated school-specific goal priorities. The results also showed that the degree of goal consensus in schools should not be regarded as an aspect of the school climate. In addition, the measure of school goal consensus was weakly related to other examined aspects of the school climate.     

Free‐choice worksheets increase students' exposure to curriculum during museum visits

The museum visit is an important part of elementary school science teaching. However, a divide exists between teachers, who require curricular accountability, and museums, who emphasize free‐choice exploration. Can a carefully constructed worksheet bridge this divide by providing free‐choice exploration of curricular topics during the museum visit? In the present study, a theoretical framework was constructed to inform the design of worksheets as free‐choice learning devices. This framework was used to analyze the design of an existing museum worksheet. Subsequently, curriculum‐related conversations among school groups visiting a museum were monitored in groups supplied with the worksheet and in control groups without. Overall, the worksheet complied well with design criteria synthesized from the free‐choice learning literature. Furthermore, the use of the worksheet increased the number and diversity of curriculum‐related conversations among school groups during the visit. This study documents that the use of carefully designed worksheets may increase students' exposure to curriculum during a museum visit, and thus may help build better bridges between teacher needs and museum free‐choice identities. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 1389–1414, 2007     

Science teachers’ perceptions of the appeal of science subjects to boys and girls

Science teachers’ perceptions of the type of subject that appeals to 14 year old pupils were investigated using bi‐polar semantic differential rating scales. It was found that science teachers believe that boys and girls prefer significantly different subject characteristics. Teachers’ beliefs about the subject characteristics preferred by boys are closer to the perceived characteristics of school science, as judged on the same semantic differential scales, than is the case for girls. Teachers perceive the characteristics of school science to be much less attractive to girls. A comparison between the responses from groups of science teachers and pupils revealed that teachers believe that boys’ and girls’ preferences for subject characteristics are more dissimilar than they actually are. Girls’ preferences are closer to those of boys and to the characteristics associated with school science than teachers realize.     

How do Teachers View Their Teaching and the Use of Teaching Resources?

This paper looks briefly at teachers' views and opinions of their use of various teaching methods and teaching resources. The study was limited to a single secondary school where a questionnaire was given to a small sample of 15 teachers in four departments. What was found was that in the Ideal World (where everything that was needed was available), the reasons given for various teaching methods used were mainly pupil dominated, but when it came to the actual methods being used, the reasons were mainly personal constraints of the teacher or organizational constraints. This dichotomy widened from the humanities field to the sciences field. With respect to the resources used, it could be hypothesised that most teachers felt they were not prepared to use new types of resources especially if they entailed acquiring new technical skills, more preparation, and a change of roles played by the teacher.     

The relationship between conceptions of teaching and approaches to teaching

The relationship between conceptions of teaching and approaches to teaching was explored in a study of 18 secondary school art teachers in Hong Kong. Conceptions of teaching approaches were fitted to a four‐category model. Each of the categories was distinguished by reference to six relevant dimensions. As is the case in higher education, approaches to teaching lower forms, with little pressure from external examinations or school ethos, followed logically from conceptions of teaching. There was also evidence that contextual influences, if they were sufficiently strong, could play a part in teachers’ approaches to teaching in the lower forms. For senior forms, the most marked contextual influence on approaches to teaching came from the external examination syllabus. Of the 13 teachers who taught senior form students, eight reported using approaches to teaching that were significantly different from those they used for lower forms. The remaining four used essentially the same approach for junior and senior forms because these were consistent with the orientation of examinations that measure skill and knowledge acquisition. Finally, the data suggest that both the educational background of the teachers and the banding levels (designation of the school as high or low achieving) of the schools they were teaching in were related to the combined conceptions and approaches. The influence of banding levels could be due either to teachers choosing a type of school consistent with their beliefs or the environment of the school influencing teachers’ beliefs and practices.     

Notes on contributors

Social cohesion in school is reflected in social discrimination processes and the complementary social roles of teachers, pupils, other staff and pupils' relatives. School social cohesion varies in level from high, characterised by prosocial interactions, to low, characterised by antisocial or violent interactions. Antisocial behaviour is usually embedded in specific interaction patterns between different social actors and is based on specific motives or stereotypes that elicit or justify this behaviour. Comprehensive study of these patterns is enabled by information and communication technology (ICT). The aim of this study is to use ICT to investigate social interaction patterns between personal and school characteristics of secondary school teachers and their curricular and disciplinary characteristics and experience of violence, including the motives they perceive when they are the victim, perpetrator or witness of six types of violence, differentiated according to the complementary roles of pupils, other teachers, other school staff and pupils' relatives. Three questionnaires were developed and used in a nationwide Internet‐based survey in Dutch secondary schools. This school safety monitor was completed in 2006 by 5148 teachers, 80,770 pupils, 1749 educational support staff and 629 school managers. Data were checked for reliability, scale homogeneity and representativeness. Pearson correlation analysis was used to examine the social interaction patterns in teachers' data. The results reveal violence‐specific social behaviour and social‐mirroring processes between teachers and pupils in particular. Furthermore, teachers who are younger, female or working in low‐attainment educational settings apply more curricular differentiation and collaborate more with pupils on disciplinary matters than their respective counterparts. Teachers who work in low‐attainment schools, who work in cities, who are homosexual/lesbian or who do not feel most at home in The Netherlands experience more violent behaviour as a victim or witness than their respective counterparts. In particular, teachers attribute the following motives to violence: physical appearance, behaviour, level of school achievement, a handicap, being religious, gender, sexual preference and ways of dealing with non‐conforming behaviour or punishments. Compared to teachers, pupils gave a broad array of motives for every type of violence. The conclusion is that Internet‐based data‐collection procedures provide a more comprehensive and systematic picture of social discrimination and violence motive patterns in schools than has hitherto been customary.     

Study of Turkish Preschool Teachers’ Attitudes toward Science Teaching

This study aims to explore preschool teachers’ attitudes toward science teaching and its impact on classroom practices through the frequency of science activities provided in the classroom. In addition, the study investigates if their attitudes are related to factors such as educational level, years of teaching experience, and the school type they work in. The present research was conducted with 292 preschool teachers who work in public and private schools in different districts of Ankara, Turkey. The data were collected by administering the Early Childhood Teachers’ Attitudes toward Science Teaching Scale. Our analyses indicate that there is a significant but weak link between preschool teachers’ attitudes toward science teaching and the frequency of science activities that they provide in the classroom. Further, while teachers’ characteristics such as educational level and experience are found to play an insignificant role on the overall measures of the scale, type of school appears to be a major factor in explaining the attitudes toward science teaching.     

Value Education as Perceived by Parents,Teachers and Pupils in Israel

Abstract

The perplexity that characterizes moral education was the motive for undertaking this study. A field selection of terminal and instrumental values served as its frame of reference. Two questions were posed by the investigators: Is there any difference in the degree of importance which parents, teachers and pupils attach to these values? Do different schools rate these values differently? A sample consisting of 531 pupils, 251 parents and 38 teachers, randomly selected from five Israeli high schools, were asked to rate the degree of importance they attach to each value and the degree to which they think each value is cultivated in school. All subjects rated instrumental values higher than terminal values. A striking consensus between parents, teachers and pupils was disclosed. Between school variance was significant for both terminal and instrumental values. The study of approaches to values found in schools may contribute to curriculum development and planning of teacher education programmes.     

Patterns of compensation of public and private school teachers

General impressions suggest that public school teachers are paid higher salaries than private school teachers. Indeed, the evidence is consistent with this general impression. But why the difference? Do public school teachers have better qualifications? Are private schools better places in which to work, and are they able to pay lower wages for comparable teachers? Do public and private schools even operate in the same market for teaching personnel? Are those individuals who seek employment in the private school sector from the same population as those seeking public school employment? What part does the ownership structure of the school play in the determination of teacher compensation? It is the purpose of this paper to provide some insights into these and related questions about the patterns of variation in compensation of public and private school teachers. Our findings reveal that public school teachers earn more than teachers in non-public schools. Teachers in parochial schools are the lowest paid, while teachers in non-sectarian private schools are the highest paid among non-public school teachers. There appear to be structural differences in the patterns of wage variation between the different sectors. Public school teachers possess greater quantities of those characteristics that are valued in the market than non-public school teachers. Non-public school teachers sacrifice between 10 and 40% of the public school teacher salary to work in the non-public sector (depending on the type of school within the non-public sector) and they are aware of their sacrifice. Organizational and ownership structure of the school also appears to make a difference in salaries, with profit-making schools being among the lowest paying, second only to parochial schools.     

The importance of school leaders’ engagement in socialising newly qualified teachers into the teaching profession

This article focuses on the importance of school leaders’ commitment to socialising newly qualified teachers (NQTs) into the teaching profession. Framed by a social constructivist perspective, the article is based on four challenges novice teachers face as described by four school leaders. The aim is to illuminate how school leaders have understood the conflicts and differences that come to light in these challenges. School leaders’ experiences of the encounter between NQTs and schools point to how the facilitation of the teachers’ professional development at their schools was challenged and how follow-up and guidance of NQTs only started after the problems were disclosed to colleagues and the school leaders. This study indicates that there is a lack of insight into NQTs’ work situation, a fact that seems to exacerbate a negative development in the school environment. We argue that school leaders must be more proactive by being aware of the dynamics of the teaching team when NQTs join a previously established team. School leaders should communicate the expectations they have for how the team can welcome NQTs’ new ideas, on the one hand, and offer support if they encounter challenges, on the other. Furthermore, our findings indicate that the composition of teaching teams must be reassessed from year to year so that they serve as an arena that promotes professional development for both NQTs and established teachers. Poor relationships with colleagues and a lack of cooperation within teacher teams may also have a detrimental effect on student learning. School leaders have a great amount of power and influence, perhaps much more than they are aware of, when it comes to the wellbeing of NQTs and their decision to remain in the profession. We underline the importance of the role school leaders have in socialising NQTs into the teaching profession by paying attention to how they are welcomed and mentored by their colleagues in school.     

Teacher Morale in Western Australia: A Multilevel Model

As part of a larger longitudinal study of Western Australian high schools, 212 teachers were surveyed about their perceptions of the school in which they teach and the management of that school. In particular, teachers responded to questions about the school environment, their morale and the organisational health of the school, and they were asked some self-concept and teaching efficacy questions. A multilevel model was used to investigate the effects of these and other school characteristics on teacher morale (the dependent variable), while accounting for school level differences. This study demonstrated that teacher morale varied between teachers and between schools, with school environment explaining 54% of the variability in morale. That is, when the school environment was positive, teacher morale was higher. The implications of this finding point to the importance of both improving the school environment and teacher morale in order to enhance the health of schools. This is only achieved when teachers believe that their school is improving and has a positive climate. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A Five-Year Follow-Up: Teachers�� Perceptions of the Benefits of Home Visits for Early Elementary Children

The purpose of this study was to replicate previous research about teachers?? perceived benefits of home visits to determine if they remained stable. Furthermore, the investigation sought to find out whether home visits impacted variables often associated with improved school success (i.e., school attendance, academic performance, parent engagement). Participants were 29 kindergarten through second grade teachers in a rural, Midwestern school district who conducted home visits at the beginning of the school year. Seventeen of the teachers participated in the earlier study. Revised surveys were completed. Results are consistent with those of the previous study. Specifically, teachers reported these positive effects: beneficial relationships and better communication with parents, more appreciation of the influence of the child??s home environment related to school performance, and a better understanding the child??s behavior in school. In addition, teachers identified a connection between the home visits and variables related to school success. Thus, teachers?? perceptions reinforced the importance of conducting home visits.     

Personal belief in a just world, experience of teacher justice, and school distress in different class contexts

The study examined the meaning of personal belief in a just world and students’ experience of their teachers’ behavior toward them personally for school distress in different class contexts. The study involved 827 secondary school students from 61 classes (grades 9 to 11). Analyses revealed that the more the students believed in a personal just world, the more they felt their teachers’ behavior toward them personally to be just, and the less school distress they experienced; the association between belief in a just world (BJW) and school distress was partly mediated by students’ personal experience of teacher justice. These associations were stable across school tracks, schools, and classes. According to these results and the just world theory, a strong BJW seems to function as a rather context-independent personal resource for students, explaining their individual experience of teacher justice and school distress. Moreover, teacher justice seems to be a key feature of schools explaining students’ well-being at school.     

BACKGROUND AND TRAINING OF TEACHERS IN JEWISH SCHOOLS: CURRENT STATUS AND LEVERS FOR CHANGE

Abstract

This paper presents a secondary analysis of data from a survey of teachers in the Jewish schools of three communities. Previous findings had shown that only 19% of teachers have professional training in both Jewish content areas and in the field of education, and despite incomplete professional backgrounds, little professional growth was required of teachers. What can be done to enhance and expand professional growth activities for teachers in Jewish schools? Analyses reported in this paper examine three possible “levers” for changing standards for professional growth: state licensing requirements for pre‐schools, state requirements for continuing education among professionally‐trained teachers, and community incentives for training of supplementary school teachers. Results indicate that pre‐school teachers in state‐licensed pre‐schools and supplementary school teachers who were paid for meeting a professional growth standard reported that they were required to attend more in‐service workshops, compared to other teachers who were not subject to these conditions. In addition, standards for the quantity of in‐service were higher among teachers who have stronger Judaic backgrounds and who are committed to a career in Jewish education.     

The interactive attribution of school success in multi-ethnic schools

The study shows how explanations for school success are expressed and dialogically constructed during teacher–parent conferences at school. Attribution theory is used to conceptualize the various explanations for school success that were expressed. However, instead of only looking at attributions as beliefs which individuals or groups ‘have’, the aim of this study is to show how attributions are part of co-constructed processes in which multiple partners impact upon each other’s attributions over the course of a conversation. The results indicated that in the conversations between teachers and minority parents, school performance is more often attributed to effort while in conversations with majority parents, psychological attributions were more common. Besides these differences in content, the process through which these accounts were constructed was different. While the diagnosis on what went wrong was more commonly constructed in case of the conversations with majority parents, they were more characterised by opposition or a passive position by the parent in case of the conversations with minority parents. The analyses show that instead of a simple mismatch between explanations of the home and the school, these explanations are interactionally co-constructed as both parents and teachers necessarily ‘re’-act on each other’s claims and understanding of school success. The results ultimately reveal how the interactive process impacted upon the construction of the attributions and the possibilities this creates for partnerships between parents and teachers to create an understanding of the child’s academic potential across home and school.     

Mentoring retrained teachers: extending the web

Novice teachers need support if they are to survive the reality of school. A web of relationships involving members of the school community, mentors outside the school community and a university tutor has been shown to be an effective way of providing this assistance. This article describes an extended web of assistance offered to a group of 11 teachers retrained to teach science. As they made the transition to science teaching these teachers identified a need for guidance and support in learning about a new subject and a new school environment. In some cases the school community was able to provide this guidance and support but in other cases the retrained teachers were met with scepticism by their fellow teachers and needed assistance from other sources. The extended web of relationships they accessed included district consultants provided by the employer, mentors located outside of the school, fellow graduates and a university tutor. All retrained teachers were also assisted in their development as reflective teachers by the production of a portfolio. The addition of an online component to the portfolio, allowing the sharing of ideas between the retrained teacher and the university tutor coordinating the program is proposed as a valuable component of the mentoring network.     

Social competence as an educational goal: The role of the ethnic composition and the urban environment of the school

This article concerns the relationship between social–educational goals and the school context. We used a questionnaire to map the educational goals of teachers in pre-vocational education in the field of social competence, and investigated whether these goals were related to the percentage of students from ethnic-minority groups and to the urban environment of the school. The results show that all teachers, regardless of the school context, value promoting the social development of their students as an educational goal. We did not find a relationship between the context the teachers work in and the social-competence goals they aspire to in their subject. However, teachers working in a more complex school environment, in terms of both the ethnic heterogeneity of the student population and the urban environment of the school, did consider a number of social-competence goals to be less attainable for their students. The results are discussed in the light of research on the competences young people need to participate in a multi-cultural society and the implications for teachers and teaching.     

WHEN IS A SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT PERCEIVED AS SUPPORTIVE BY BEGINNING MATHEMATICS TEACHERS? EFFECTS OF LEADERSHIP, TRUST, AUTONOMY AND APPRAISAL ON TEACHING QUALITY

This study examines the hypothesis that the more support beginning mathematics teachers perceive and the better they evaluate the management of their school, the higher their teaching quality is. Indicators of teaching quality were how the teachers, who were in their third year in the profession, regarded themselves able to cope with the challenges of mathematics instruction and generic tasks like classroom management and how satisfied they were with their job. Indicators of support were the level of appraisal and autonomy the teachers reported. School management indicators were the administrative leadership of the principal and the climate of trust as perceived by the teachers. Our results reveal that teacher support plays an important role in the quality of beginning mathematics teachers. All quality indicators improved significantly if beginning teachers reported more appraisal and autonomy. A climate of trust plays an important role for the extent of autonomy perceived. Administrative leadership was significantly related to the amount of appraisal the teachers reported. Our results provide important information on how to steer a school so that the quality of beginning mathematics teachers is maximized.     

Effective Integration of ICT in Jordanian Schools: An Analysis of Pedagogical and Contextual Impediments in the Science Classroom

A series of interviews and classroom observations were conducted with a group of in-service science teachers, students, school principal, and computer lab supervisors, from a “Discovery” female school in Jordan to assess their utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching science. The study also intended to determine how these participants were using ICT and if they had any internal and external impediments in the way of the effective integration of ICT in the teaching of science. Results showed that some participants were using ICT creatively in their science teaching. However, despite considerable political pressure to increase ICT use in the classroom, most expressed frustration at the lack of ICT tools, support from the school, from the Ministry of Education, and from the surrounding community. The article proposes possible resolutions to help these participants overcome their impediments. Some of the suggested resolutions for the internal impediments include involving teachers in preparing the school’s time-table, equipping the school with more ICT tools and offering more training courses for teachers. However, the suggested resolutions for the external impediments involve (1) The Ministry of Education to rethink the administration of board examinations, (2) The school to sacrifice scoring higher in board examinations for preparing more creative and more versatile students’ perspectives.     

The story of leading mathematics teachers from teacher‐trainees to key positions

The present study depicts the story of three elementary school mathematics teachers who come from a different socio‐economic background but have similar entrance characteristics for college studies. They have chosen teaching as their first and sole alternative and as their preferred profession in life. All three were integrated into the education system upon graduation from college and, a short time later, less than three years, are playing key roles in the field of education in addition to their teaching practice in class. The study aims to identify unique characteristics of college graduate teachers who undergo an accelerated process of professional development. Their stories illustrate that the attitude towards the discipline (love of the profession, the wish to teach it), the wish to make an impact on what is transpiring in the system, personality variables and the school context in which they work as teachers are major and significant factors in their professional growth.