The relationship between teacher’s autonomy support and students’ autonomy and vitality

Abstract

Within education, some teachers’ interpretation of professionalism emphasizes conformity to the perceived norms of collective associations. Unprofessional behaviour, often equated with ‘unethical’ behaviour, is seen by many to be that which threatens solidarity and loyalty to colleagues. Informal norms typified by casual collegial relations as well as more formal attachments to organized unions or teachers’ federations exert a significant influence on individuals’ behaviour within the group. Professional ethics, in this sense, become concerned primarily with how one relates to colleagues rather than how one fulfils moral responsibilities to students. Qualitative findings from interviews with elementary and secondary school teachers suggest that, as a result of an ethic of collegial loyalty, some teachers experience personal moral and ethical dilemmas that they find difficult to resolve. Some respondents acknowledged that this can enable serious situations to be ignored or ‘covered up’. This paper examines some of the tensions and dilemmas experienced by teachers and raises questions about the ethical adequacy of defining professionalism in terms of inter‐colleague behaviour.     

Schooling,Morality and Race

Abstract

In this paper the authors examine the nature and significance of the interface between race, culture and morality and the implications for the classroom teacher in relation to schooling generally and moral education in particular.

They argue that morality is circumscribed by the culture(s) from which it derives and within which it operates. It is therefore, impossible to consider one without the other. The same applies in relation to race and culture and similarly to the holism of race, culture and morality.

Having argued that culture in Britain has been increasingly racialized, they make the case for an anti‐racist approach to moral education which debunks the racial baggage from contemporary conceptions of morality.

They finally argue that since teachers, like pupils, bring their own values and perceptions with them to school, teachers need to acknowledge this and respond positively within the context of a ‘multi‐ethnic’ Britain.     

Teachers’ reflection on PISA items and why they are so hard for students in Serbia

The study explores how teachers perceive and go about students’ thinking in connection to particular mathematical content and how they frame the notion of applied mathematics in their own classrooms. Teachers’ narratives are built around two released PISA 2012 mathematics items, the ‘Drip rate’ and ‘Climbing Mount Fuji’ (will be referred to as the Fuji item). Teachers show concordance as to the reasons that could make either of the items difficult for students and are able to provide more examples justifying their reasoning for the ‘Fuji’ item. Suggestions linked to making the items more familiar to the students mostly relate to de-contextualization of the items’ content towards a more formal mathematical record. The teachers agree that students need only basic mathematical knowledge, at a level learned during elementary school, in order to solve these problems. Yet, at the same time, many teachers have difficulty clearly verbalising which procedures students are expected to follow to be able to solve the tasks. Disagreement among the teachers is noticeable when labelling the most difficult part(s) of each of the selected items. Mathematics teachers show openness for learning on how to create math problems we examined in this study, but question the purpose and meaning in incorporating more such problems in their own teaching.     

Commentary

This longitudinal case study of a single school examines changes in the educational beliefs of 10 elementary‐school teachers who experienced a constructivist‐based trans‐disciplinary curriculum (CTC). After 3 years of experiencing a CTC, which emerges through theme‐oriented and project‐based learning, teachers’ educational beliefs had changed to demonstrate multiple views rather than pure beliefs. Teachers’ beliefs form a mosaic of complementary visions and the process of change in teachers’ beliefs reflects the ‘overlapping’ rather than the ‘staircase’ metaphor.     

“… We have learnt not just to sit back,twiddle our thumbs and let them take over.” Single‐sex settings and the development of a pedagogy for girls and a pedagogy for boys in Danish schools

Teachers in the Danish co‐educational elementary school system (the ‘folkeskole’ with pupils from 7 to 16 years) who are involved in innovative pedagogical projects have used segregation as an organisational method in introducing and developing equal opportunities and anti‐sexist pedagogical initiatives. The idea of arranging single‐sex settings started out as a means to provide space for girls and to enhance their competence professionally as well as to empower them personally. In setting up ‘Project Girls’ Class—Boys’ Class’, an ongoing developmental project about gender equity, the teachers, a woman and a man, have mixed their two classes and segregated the girls and the boys for longer or shorter periods or for a whole term in certain subjects, thus giving them space and tutoring on their own terms. It started in 1987/88, when the pupils were 10‐11 years old. Here for the first time they were segregated for 2 months. The involved girls developed self‐confidence and prefer to be in their girls‐only setting whereas it is the teachers (more than the involved boys themselves) that find that the boys’ class can provide important learning experiences for boys in raising their awareness of values and attitudes—both among the boys themselves and in relation to the girls. From the point of view of educational theory and how learning can become true learning, affecting the cognitive, emotional as well as moral and behaviourial attitudes, the paper reflects on why the segregation projects have given such clear results, whereas much other excellent tutoring by committed teachers seems not to have had the same impact. It comes to the preliminary conclusion that, in the hands of devoted teachers (people committed to the issues of gender equity and anti‐sexism and who are close to their pupils) the technique of polarising can be very effective.     

Teacher collaboration in the context of the Responsive Classroom approach

This mixed‐method study examined characteristics and predictors of teacher collaboration. Limited research exists that describes the characteristics of teacher collaboration, and surprisingly little work explains the ways in which teaching experience and teachers’ perceptions of the school environment influence teacher collaboration. Questionnaire data were collected from a sample of 118 elementary school teachers in six schools in a northeast urban school district, and interviews were conducted with administrators in each school. Three schools were in their second year implementing the Responsive Classroom ^® (RC) approach, and three schools were comparison schools. Teachers reported collaborating approximately once or twice per month, generally with fellow grade‐level teachers about student‐centered topics. Teachers in RC schools reported more frequent formal collaboration than comparison school teachers. In regards to predicting teacher collaboration, teachers who used more RC practices and/or resources reported collaborating more, valuing collaboration to a higher degree, and perceiving greater involvement in school decision‐making, controlling for whether they taught at a RC school. Also, teachers’ perceptions of the school environment related positively to teacher collaboration. The current study adds to the understanding of teacher collaboration and its antecedents, contributing uniquely to the literature on how a school‐wide educational initiative is associated with teachers’ perceptions of their school environment as well as their collaborative behaviors and beliefs.     

Strengthening and sustaining professional learning in the second year of teaching

The data discussed in this paper derive from post‐lesson and end‐of‐year interviews with 17 teachers in their second year of teaching. They form part of a longitudinal study which first tracked these teachers through their initial postgraduate teacher education programme and induction year. In the light of earlier analysis, which had highlighted both the enduring importance of individuals’ dispositions towards their own learning and the profound sense of professional isolation that some teachers experience once the support of their induction year is withdrawn, this paper focuses specifically on the interplay between teachers’ orientations towards their own professional learning and the nature of the learning environments in which they are working. The complex interrelationships between these two dimensions are illuminated by six case studies, which offer strong support to those who have challenged exclusive conceptualisations of ‘learning’ as either ‘construction’ or ‘participation’. The findings have important implications for all those responsible for the professional education of beginning and early career teachers, especially as they respond to the government launch in England of a new ‘national framework’ intended (eventually) to offer opportunities for Masters level professional learning to all newly qualified teachers.     

‘But sir,I lied’ – the value of autobiographical discourse in the classroom

This article aims to examine the benefits of teachers using their own autobiographical writing in the classroom. It explores the blurring of truth and fiction in autobiographical writing and argues that teachers can help students if they provide students with the cloak of fiction when writing about their own lives. Furthermore, it puts forward the case that when teachers share pertinent autobiographical episodes then pupils are more willing to respond in an engaged and passionate fashion. In developing my argument, I suggest that autobiographical writing can be therapeutic in certain classroom contexts. The data sources for this article are the author's own life and two case studies: an 11‐year‐old boy, George, and a 15‐year‐old girl, Eloise, both of whom were pupils of the author and wrote autobiographically for him. The methodological approach is that of bricolage: chiefly, the article combines ethnographical observation with interviews and discourse analysis. I also examine quantitative studies which look at the therapeutic dimensions of autobiographical writing. Theoretically I draw on Friere's concept of ‘conscientization’ (Friere 1985: 49) in order to critique the ‘banking’ concept of education, which would close down opportunities for pupils to write freely about their own lives.     

Motivating and improving attitudes to reading in the final years of primary schooling in five New Zealand schools

Teachers are influential in motivating and improving attitudes towards reading. This article reports on an investigation of eight teachers of 10‐ to 12‐year‐old students from five New Zealand schools and the strategies they used to improve attitudes to reading. Each school had been identified as implementing effective reading programmes by a panel of literacy experts and supported by standardised tests demonstrating overall improvements in reading achievement. A reading culture developed by using sophisticated picture books and novels for discussion and debate along with ready access to age‐related, high‐interest appropriate books in the classroom and school library. Teachers worked with children on a whole class, group and individually and demonstrated explicit teaching using texts that engage the reader. The research suggests that children need support by their teachers to negotiate them away from potential points of discouragement in learning to read. Also, teachers need to be aware that reading may not be considered ‘cool’ at this time of early adolescence and initiate strategies to make reading fun.     

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.     

Taking risks with a growth mindset: long-term influence of an elementary pre-service after school science practicum

In this study, we present the long-term influence of an after school science practicum associated with an elementary science methods course. The practicum or field experience could be considered a community-based service learning programme as it is situated both within and for the community. Study participants included eight third- and fifth-grade teachers who had participated in elementary science methods courses; four of these teachers participated in the after school teaching practicum while four participants experienced a more traditional observation-based elementary science practicum. All of these teachers were in their second or third year teaching which was 3–4 years after taking the methods course. Investigation methods included questionnaires, field observations and semi-structured, individual interviews. Teachers more regularly utilised reform-based teaching strategies and cited the after school teaching practicum as preparing them to use these strategies in their own classrooms. All teachers exhibited a growth mindset to some degree, but the after school practicum participants did demonstrate a wider use of reformed-based teaching strategies and a higher growth mindset. Elementary teachers perceive risk associated with these key aspects of instruction: (1) managing instruction and classroom management, (2) teaching science through guided inquiry, and (3) overcoming adoptions in other ‘mandated’ curriculum like math and reading.     

‘Here's one I made earlier!’ A qualitative report on creativity in a residential primary school for children with social,emotional and behavioural difficulties

The impact of project‐based learning has been shown to be effective in increasing pupil motivation, improving problem‐solving skills and thinking skills in studies by Barrows and Williams. ‘Project Hour’ was set up in order to conduct a longitudinal study over the course of one academic year, to observe and record progress and development in independent and imaginative learning in a sample of primary school‐aged children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. This group was highlighted as having poor development and experience of language and school that has detracted from this aspect of their learning. ‘Project Hour’ allowed the children to have freedom in their creativity regarding a four‐week project chosen individually. The role of the adult was to support the child with materials required and assist the child as the child requested. Over the period of an academic year, the children progressed in their own thinking skills, problem‐solving skills, and creative and organisational skills. The children's behavioural problems in the learning situation reduced and children were keen to participate and to be included in the Project Hour groups.     

THE INFLUENCE OF VYGOTSKY IN MOVIMENTO DA ESCOLA MODERN A EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CURRICULUM IN PORTUGAL

Abstract

The present study investigated specific teacher factors that potentially influence teacher‐child relationships with preschool‐age children. One demographic questionnaire and three rating scales were used to survey 152 head teachers of 3–6‐year‐old children in community‐based childcare and preschool centers in one mid‐western state. There were 46 teachers who reported on their relationship with a child with a disability or concerning developmental delay. Positive correlations were found between teacher‐child relationships and the teachers’ educational backgrounds, self‐reported teaching efficacy and parent‐teacher relationships. The parent‐teacher relationship appeared to be the strongest teacher‐related factor predicting the quality of teacher‐child relationships. Compared to other teachers, the teachers of children with delays or disabilities reported comparable parent‐teacher relationships and more positive teacher‐child relationships, especially when more than one child with concerns was reportedly enrolled in the classroom. Teachers with children who had developmental delays reported lower teaching efficacy scores. The role of parent‐teacher relationships is highlighted as a possible moderator when teachers feel less than capable or positive about individual children in their program.     

The relationship between teachers’ empathy and perceptions of school culture

This research examined the relationship between teachers’ empathy and perceptions of their school’s culture. Teachers’ ability to change their school’s culture might be limited by their inability to interpret and respond appropriately to student behaviour. As teachers’ empathic abilities increase, it seems likely that they would be better able to understand and respond appropriately to their students. Teachers’ perspective‐taking was positively associated with their positive perceptions of student–peer relations, school norms and educational opportunities. Teachers’ personal distress was negatively related to student–peer relations. Empathy was unrelated to student–teacher relations. It is postulated that it takes more than just empathy to be able to negotiate the complex relationship between student and teacher. With teacher training programmes currently focusing on teacher dispositions, such programmes need to focus more on training future teachers to recognise and exercise their cognitive and emotional empathic capacities.     

Finnish Elementary School Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Gifted Education

This study examined Finnish elementary school teachers’ (N = 212) attitudes toward the gifted and their education. On a general level, teachers’ attitudes toward gifted education were slightly positive. Teachers saw that gifted students have social value and that they need special services. The results of teachers’ attitudes toward specific gifted education options were in line with earlier Finnish research, because teachers supported differentiated teaching but were more negative toward acceleration or separating the gifted into their own groups. However, despite the strong support for differentiated teaching for the gifted, teachers’ positions toward practice were more skeptical.     

Primary teacher identity,commitment and career in performative school cultures

The research reported here maps changes in primary teachers' identity, commitment and perspectives and subjective experiences of occupational career in the context of performative primary school cultures. The research aimed to provide in‐depth knowledge of performative school culture and teachers' subjective experiences in their work of teaching. Themes in the data reveal changed commitments and professional identities. The teachers who had an initial vocational commitment and strong service ethic were the older teachers in the sample. While some of the younger teachers expressed vocationalism in the form of wanting ‘to make a difference’, they also stressed the importance of time compatibility for family‐friendly work and child care. In the ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ of school life a number of factors supported some of the teachers' initial commitments, thus, providing ‘satisfiers’ in their work. However, some factors impacted negatively on teacher commitment. The psychic rewards of teaching provided the main basis of commitment and professional work satisfaction. Teacher strategies in performative school cultures highlighted the impact and saliency of testing regimes. There was evidence, however, of teacher mediation of policy and their investment in a more creative professional identity in their involvement in nurturing programmes and creative projects. Whether the schools and teachers developed creative approaches to increase test scores or to ameliorate the worst effects of testing they demanded increased effort and commitment from the teachers. Teachers in the contemporary context, who had in many cases experienced a career in another occupation prior to teaching, seemed much more adept and realistic in both recognising and managing their range of parallel commitments and identities. They have become more strategic and political in defending their self‐identities. Some evidence suggests their priorities have been to hold on to their humanistic values and their self‐esteem, while adjusting their commitments.     

On explaining curriculum change: H. B. Beal,organizational categories and the rhetoric of justification

ABSTRACT

In response to a perceived reluctance to engage with poetry on the part of teachers and trainee teachers, a questionnaire was administered to a group of 48 trainees in their second year of training, before they undertook the part of their course dealing with the teaching of poetry. Their responses indicated that they had had a positive experience of poetry during their own primary education but had ceased to enjoy or understand poetry at secondary level. In discussing the responses, attention is drawn to the importance of understanding the difference between poetry as a specialist subject and as a vehicle for teaching other things. The difference between ‘enjoyment’ and ‘appreciation’, as outlined by Wittgenstein, is defined and applied to the study of poetry. Ways of extending trainees’ understanding and ability to teach poetry are explored. It is concluded that in order to get ‘on the inside of the subject they should (a) be allowed to respond freely to poetry at their own level and (b) be initiated into the kind of skills and knowledge which will enable them to identify the progressive features of poetry itself as well as the instrumental aspects of poetry teaching in the primary school.     

Exploring teachers' definitions of bullying

This paper is based upon detailed research over a two‐year period into primary school teachers' attitudes and approaches to bullying. All the teaching staff in a single school contributed to the research and they were thoughtful and reflective in their engagement with the research. The project focuses on the key issue of how teachers define bullying and begins with a consideration of factors that might influence their definition before moving on to develop a framework of key concepts that inform definitions and the problems that emerge from that framework. Teachers' own understanding and the differing forms of definition that developed are discussed. What emerges is a picture of a shared vocabulary and a strong personal understanding about what is meant by ‘bullying’, but little consensus is evident. It leads to a conclusion that endorses the importance of shared understanding amongst the professionals within an institution, and those who work alongside them, that are often called upon to resolve bullying issues.