Lesbian and gay teachers’ experiences of ‘coming out’ in Irish schools

Lesbian, gay and bisexual teachers have struggled with managing their sexual identities in contexts where heteronormative policing has resulted in deep silences and misrepresentation. However, many teachers have tried to counter this by ‘coming out’ or engaging with a process of disclosure. This paper draws on qualitative research with eight self-identified lesbian and gay teachers in primary and second-level schools in Ireland. Findings suggest that, for these teachers, the process of disclosure is valuable and fulfils a desire for openness and honesty. However, they continue to struggle with their teacher identities and aspects of their school culture. This paper argues that the complexities faced by these teachers in negotiating the process of disclosure are an illustration of the privileged position afforded heterosexuality in the Irish education system and the dividends that accrue to those who occupy a ‘normal’ sexual identity.     

Special education trainee teachers’ perceptions of their professional world: motives,roles, and expectations from teacher training

To open a window into perceptions entailed in the professional world view of special education teacher trainees, three research questions were developed: (a) What are their motives for joining the profession? (b) How do they perceive the role of the special education teacher? and (c) What are their expectations from teacher training? The research was carried out using a qualitative approach. Ninety-three students about to begin their professional training in special education in an Israeli teacher-training college completed a questionnaire consisting of five open questions. The data were analyzed according to the grounded theory approach. The research findings showed that the trainees chose special education because they wanted to belong to a group of teachers perceived as the most ethical; one that considers its mission to help ‘vulnerable’ individuals, mold their characters, and ‘have an impact on society.’ The role of special education teachers was perceived mainly as caring for students and their parents; the trainees expected that during their training, they would become completely familiar with the range of disabilities and how to deal with them, as well as learn about themselves and strengthen their teaching skills. The world of special education was perceived as ‘mysterious,’ having a high moral standing; as a closed profession, in that relations are limited to teacher, child, and parents; but with a spiritual aspect. The professional world of special education as perceived by the teacher trainees was different than that actually waiting for them, and for which teacher training institutes must prepare them.     

Mathematics-for-teaching: what can be learned from the ethnopoetics of teachers’ stories?

The purpose of this article is to consider what methods from ethnopoetics—a field at the intersection of linguistics and anthropology—may add to narrative inquiry in mathematics education. I build a theoretical framework to argue for the use of narrative inquiry and ethnopoetics in studies of teacher knowledge. I report ethnopoetic analyses of two teachers’ narratives and what they suggest regarding their knowledge of mathematics-for-teaching.     

‘Sent out’ and Stepping Back In: stories from young people ‘placed at risk’

This paper invokes the voices of young people who had been separated from mainstream schooling because they were positioned as ‘disengaged’ and ‘at risk of failing’. The authors argue that streaming students out of schooling needs serious questioning as an escalating number of young people are framed as non-performers within a globally competitive educational market. Throughout the paper we use critical ethnographic slices to expose the experiences of the 24 young people interviewed who together with mentors shared personal insights whilst attending a re-engagement programme in Australia in the year 2010. Their responses unearth a ‘wickedness’ and a preoccupation during their schooling with performance and school improvement. In response, we privilege student interpretations of their own marginalisation as an activist form of ‘speaking back’ to the social and economic conditions and limitations dominating their lives.     

Student and novice teachers’ stories about collaborative learning implementation

Despite the research evidence on the effectiveness of collaborative learning (CL), the implementation of this teaching strategy has not yet found a profound place in teaching practice. As a consequence, several studies have investigated teachers’ motives regarding and experiences with the use of CL. Most of these studies concern however senior teachers, whereas new generations of teachers are important actors in the process of educational innovation. Hence, it is crucial to explore novice teachers’ stories about CL implementation: what motivates them to implement this teaching strategy, what hinders them and how do they handle the challenges they are confronted with? The answers to these questions may provide useful information for improving the teacher education curriculum regarding CL. In this respect, the present study intends to study pre-service and beginning teachers’ experiences with CL in classroom practice, after a formal training pertaining to CL as part of their teacher education programme. The aim is to identify the main challenges student and novice teachers encounter when they want to implement CL in their teaching practice, and how they position themselves in these challenges. A qualitative case study design with in-depth interviews in the Flemish context (Belgium) was used to gain access to the particular experiences of each teacher, and to the processes of interpretation and meaning-making that go with those experiences. Participants were interviewed individually one week before graduation (n?=?15). After at least half a year of experience in the teaching profession, 10 participants were interviewed for a second time. In the present study, we present the results from a cross-case analysis, using the method of constant comparative analysis to identify similarities or differences, and to capture recurring patterns within the data. The findings reveal several dilemmas that illustrate the conflicting options teachers are facing in relation to their colleagues, their pupils, the curriculum and in the classroom context when they intend to implement CL. In particular, the following dilemmas were identified: two dilemmas related to professional autonomy (student teachers: teacher autonomy vs. pre-service performance assessment; novice teachers: teacher autonomy vs. institutional conformity), further dilemmas related to teachers’ beliefs about pupils’ readiness for CL vs. evidence about pupils’ readiness for CL, investing in innovation vs. curriculum and job pressure, and pedagogical intentions vs. contextual constraints. In most conflicting situations, student and novice teachers position themselves in the challenge by opting for non-implementation.     

Mr. , Mrs. , Miss, and Ms.

大家都知道在英语中M r.,M rs.,和M iss的意思。M r.用在男子名字前,M rs.用在已婚女子名字前,M iss用在单身女子名字前。但是M s.到底是什么意思呢?当你不知道某女子是否已经结婚时,人们则在女子姓名前加上M s.。有些妇女声称M r.没有表明男子是否已经结婚。这是男子的优势。他们想要在这一点上和男子平等。于是,他们喜欢M s.这个单词。这些妇女认为他们婚否对于别人来说不是一件重要的事情。Y ou all know them eaning of M r.,M rs.,and M iss.M r.is used be-fore the nam e of m en.M rs.is for m arried wom-en and M iss is f…     

Do trainee teachers harm pupil attainment? Isolating the effect of pre-service teachers on contemporaneous pupil performance in ‘high-stakes’ tests

The prevalence of ‘pre-service’ or ‘trainee’ teachers in schools is rising in England, driven by the expansion of school-led routes to qualified teacher status and increasing demand for newly qualified teachers. This may have important implications for schools, which have historically been concerned with the impact of trainee teachers on their pupils’ attainment. There are, however, confounding factors which affect both the decision to host a trainee teacher and pupil attainment. We empirically model the impact of trainee teachers on contemporaneous pupil attainment in ‘high-stakes’ exams, exploiting unique data combining national administrative data on pupil test scores with a survey of schools’ involvement with initial teacher training over multiple academic years. We use school fixed effects to account for time-invariant school factors which may determine both schools’ teacher training decisions and pupil attainment. Counter to schools’ concerns, we find that pupil attainment in high-stakes assessments, on average, is not significantly affected by the number of trainee teachers. This is an important empirical finding, as it suggests that the rapid expansion of school-led teacher training is not likely to have a detrimental effect on pupil attainment in England, conditional on the set of schools that choose to engage with initial teacher training remaining similar: trainee teachers may still affect pupil attainment in schools that do not currently participate in initial teacher training, as these schools are typically more constrained.     

Emotions involved in encountering classroom diversity: Beginning teachers’ stories

This article addresses emotions involved in encountering classroom diversity as appearing in beginning teachers’ stories. Previous research has pointed out that teachers’ emotions related to growing classroom diversity are seldom addressed, although increasing classroom diversity has been distinguished as a significant emotional challenge for teachers. In this article, teachers’ work is viewed as relational and moral work, in which emotions are inherently present. We conceptualise emotions as simultaneously social and individual. Instead of predefining the term ‘diversity’, we are interested in what kind of classroom diversity seems to become meaningful in teachers’ stories. The data consists of narrative interviews with seven Finnish beginning teachers. The findings illustrate how, in beginning teachers’ stories, students are both categorised and approached as unique individuals. Furthermore, the findings show diverse ways that emotions are present in teachers’ stories about classroom diversity, and how the working community also affects teachers’ emotions. We argue that teachers’ stories related to emotions and classroom diversity can be interpreted as moral negotiations, in which teachers’ own values and ideas of teaching are challenged. The findings of this article may add understanding of teacher–student relationships in diverse classrooms, and are also significant for teacher educators and teacher education programmes.     

Predictors of US teachers’ intervention in anti-lesbian,gay, bisexual,and transgender bullying and harassment

This study examines how United States (US) teachers’ experiences and beliefs may be predictive of their intervention in anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) bullying and harassment using a US national sample of teachers (N?=?726) who completed an online survey. Results from regression analysis indicated that knowing LGBT people, awareness of general bullying and harassment, awareness of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment, and self-efficacy related to intervention in homophobic remarks were significant predictors of teachers’ frequency of intervention in homophobic remarks. Teachers’ sense of obligation to ensure safe schools for LGBT youth was not predictive of intervention. Implications for teacher education include: providing opportunities for exposure to LGBT people; raising awareness of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment; and building teachers’ skills to intervene in anti-LGBT behaviors.     

All the right features: towards an ‘architecture’ for mentoring trainee teachers in UK further education colleges

This paper reviews the range of institutional strategies which it might be appropriate and desirable to have in place to support and enhance the effective mentoring of trainee teachers in UK colleges of further education. The high degree of importance being attached to mentoring by various government bodies, with reference to initial teacher education in particular, is emphasised, as is the rapidity with which this state of affairs has been arrived at. The notion of an institutional architecture for mentoring activity is proposed; this comprises features ranging from those structures necessary to allow certain basic mentoring activities, to those with a more strategic and longer‐term significance. In conclusion, the likely costs of failing to acknowledge the need to build institutional capabilities for mentoring alongside developing individual mentors' skills are identified.     

Children’s transitions to school: ‘so what about the parents’? or ‘so,what about the parents’?

Children progress through a number of life transitions and each is a pivotal point of development and growth for them, their parents and family members. Through a review of the literature, the Bioecological Model will be used to frame childhood transitions as highly social, contextualised and political. This paper will assert that governments, schools and educators have an increased role in supporting parents with their changing roles, responsibilities and relationships as their child transitions to school and that schools need to provide space for parents to share their own transition to school narratives in order to better understand the effect these stories may have on the transition process for them and their children. Finally, schools and systems will be challenged to engage in a strengths-based approach to support parents at this pivotal time in their own and their child’s growth and development and call for increased research to identify ways in which this can occur within respectful, collaborative and agentic relationships.     

Why are there still so few men within Early Years in primary schools: views from male trainee teachers and male leaders?

One of the challenges facing the Early Years (EY) sector is how to encourage more male practitioners to counterbalance a largely feminised workforce. Using case studies of male trainees at different stages of their primary undergraduate Initial Teacher Training course at one university, we attempt to consider data why there is under-representation of men within the leadership strata in EY settings. Questionnaires and interviews were conducted with the male sample groups and male leaders in primary schools to gain an overview regarding gender stereotyping. Our findings suggest that male trainees enjoy working in the EY sector, but they need mentoring by strong leaders to help them overcome the perceived contextual barriers of male stereotypes in that setting. In conclusion, we consider some of these barriers of stereotypes, attitudes, values, beliefs existing and the actions needed in addressing such stereotypes if a long-lasting change is to happen.     

Exploring the characteristics of ‘teachers for excellence’: teachers’ own perceptions

This article is concerned first with identifying teacher characteristics connected with excellence. It then analyses the results of a survey conducted among primary school teachers in one local authority area in Scotland. Teachers responded to a questionnaire which asked them to rate in importance 44 characteristics of excellence. The findings suggest that teachers have a clear view of excellence. They consistently described excellence in terms of personal qualities and interpersonal skills. Teachers gave high ratings to qualities which demonstrated their expectations of positive classroom ethos and positive relationships with students. Practitioners consistently rated characteristics related to classroom ‘relationships in action’ as essential characteristics for excellent teachers. These findings suggest a new emphasis on interpersonal skills in continuing professional development for teachers who are increasingly expected to develop students’ dispositions relating to openness to new thinking; self‐respect and a commitment to responsible participation in social, cultural, economic and political life.     

Understanding teachers’ ‘levels of use’ of learnscapes

All eight teachers and their principal, at an Australian regional primary school in New South Wales (NSW) accredited for its ongoing ‘learnscape’ developments, were interviewed. This was to ascertain their perceptions about the role of learnscapes and their self‐reported use of such outdoor areas to assist in the achievement of their State’s syllabus and environmental education learning outcomes. Teachers at the school (6) and their principal were (re)interviewed a year later to determine if changes in perceptions and practice had occurred and why. This paper interprets narratives derived from the combined interviews of these latter teachers and their principal from an educational change perspective in order to gain insight into their level of use of learnscapes. Teachers’ learnscape and environmental education content and pedagogical knowledge, their focus on the consequences of learnscape use for student learning, and awareness of multiple learning outcomes, including social learning, when using learnscapes, were among interdependent change factors identified which may assist in understanding why teachers embraced learnscapes to different degrees. Consequent avenues for increasing the future use of learnscapes for syllabus and environmental purposes are suggested.     

‘Doing well’ and ‘being well’—secondary school teachers’ perspectives

The mental health and wellbeing of young people is increasingly a concern in schools. This study explores how English secondary school teachers perceive and engage with the concept of wellbeing. By asking teachers to reflect on their practice, we can draw out their relational experience and knowledge about wellbeing in the classroom. Twenty teachers were interviewed about their practice in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and during the academic year 2020–21. Reflexive thematic analysis reveals the challenges experienced by teachers. Specifically, we find a perceived role conflict for teachers between giving care and purveying knowledge. We draw on recent policy research and the work of Nel Noddings to account for this conflict in terms of conceptualisations of teaching practice and purpose. We illustrate how an emphasis within schools on ‘doing well’ academically undermines and marginalises a more holistic sense of ‘being well’, which contributes to a set of strains on teachers personally, professionally and relationally in terms of their interactions with students and colleagues. We propose that ‘doing well’ arises out of ‘being well’, rather than the converse, and should hence be an educational policy priority. Finally, we offer implications for how wellbeing may be woven into school culture.     

‘Voodoo maths’, asymmetric dependency and maths blame: why collaboration between school science and mathematics teachers is so rare

Mathematical reasoning and tools are intrinsic to science, yet the close and dependent relationship science has to mathematics is not reflected in either school education or science education research. This paper asks what the barriers are to a mutually beneficial relationship between the two disciplines. A two-phase qualitative interview study was used to explore the relationship between school science and mathematics education through the perspectives of science and mathematics education policy-makers and of teachers in departments which are unusual in collaborating. In total there were 36 participants. Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings show that there is an asymmetry in the dependency between school science and mathematics: science is dependent on mathematics but the reverse is not true. We discuss three consequences of this asymmetric dependency: there is greater benefit for science from any collaboration; ‘maths blame’ can arise from science teacher frustration; and science educators may believe they should have some ownership of the mathematics curriculum. Asymmetry of dependency, and therefore of benefit, will make it very difficult for mathematics and science to work together in a way which is genuinely mutually beneficial.     

Towards a critical translanguaging biliteracy pedagogy: the ‘aha moment’ stories of two Mandarin Chinese teachers in Canada

Learning Mandarin Chinese as a heritage or additional language at Chinese complementary schools has long been a tradition for many Asian Canadians. However, research that looks at teachers' experiences and perceptions in Canadian settings, especially the power dynamics embedded in biliteracy development at complementary schools, is scant. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic brought challenges and opportunities to Chinese complementary schools. In this paper, we, as two Mandarin teachers and literacy researchers, used collaborative autobiographical narrative inquiry to tell our stories to unfold (1) how power dynamics regarding biliteracy/multiliteracy were enacted and reflected in a Chinese complementary school during the pandemic and (2) our re-understanding of Mandarin teaching and learning from critical literacy and translanguaging perspectives. Although the pandemic is over, racial discrimination and social inequity continue to remain in our lives. By analysing our teaching moments and reflections, we hope this study could provide some insights into how critical literacy and translanguaging can be integrated into language and literacy education in multilingual and multimodal settings in the pandemic and post-pandemic contexts.     

Conceptualising play-based learning from kindergarten teachers’ perspectives

This study sought to gain insight into how Ontario teachers define play-based learning, and how their perspectives affect its implementation in kindergarten classrooms. Using survey data from kindergarten teachers from around the province of Ontario, two definitions of play were developed: one focused on social development through play and the other on academic and social development in play. Results revealed inconsistencies in participants’ definitions and implementations of play-based learning in kindergarten classrooms. Several participants described the enactment of play that was entirely separate from learning, yet still indicated some belief in the ability to learn through play. While all participants described positive perspectives of play-based learning, more than half described the implementation of kindergarten programmes that did not fully integrate play-based learning as it is described in the Ontario curriculum. Participants were also asked to identify challenges they experienced in their implementation of play-based pedagogy. Participants in all enactment groups indicated experiencing challenges to their play implementation. These results support the need for a clear and consistent definition of play-based learning that will help determine how best to integrate play and the learning of academic skills.