Students’ perceptions and teachers’ self-ratings of modelling civic virtues: an exploratory empirical study in Dutch primary schools

This is a study of teachers’ modelling of civic virtues in the classroom. It focusses on three virtues of good citizenship: justice, tolerance and solidarity. The aim is to explore the extent to which teachers can be regarded as models of these virtues. Questionnaires were developed for both students and teachers. Factor analyses showed that the three virtues could be empirically distinguished in teachers’ behaviour. The students rated their teachers higher on the justice and solidarity scales than on the tolerance scale. The teachers rated themselves as less just, but more tolerant than they were rated by their students. Furthermore, the correspondence between students’ perceptions and teachers’ self-ratings was not high: correlations were only found between ratings of teachers’ level of justice. The results of the study indicate that teachers need to become more aware of their exemplary function and the way they are perceived by their students.     

Teacher educators’ research practices: an explorative study of teacher educators’ perceptions on research

Research conducted by teacher educators is considered important for their professional development, their actual teaching practice and their body of knowledge. However, for many teacher educators in Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) in the Netherlands, research is a new challenge. A survey was conducted among 508 such teacher educators exploring their perceptions towards research. They were questioned about the aims of research within a UAS, their perceived capabilities to conduct research and their need for support. Subsequently, 10 teacher educators were interviewed to elaborate on the findings and to gain further insight. Research is considered vital for their professional development, and their development is seen as an important means to improve the quality of the curriculum for teacher education. Teacher educators emphasise the need for communities of inquiry in which they can collaborate on research, improve their skills, develop a shared language and contribute to the body of knowledge in teacher education.     

Emotional geographies of teacher–parent relations: three teachers’ perceptions in Taiwan

This article attempts to use Andy Hargreaves’ theoretical framework of emotional geographies to analyze teachers’ perceptions of their interactions with parents in Taiwan. Based on the qualitative interviews with three primary teachers, the research findings show that teachers’ emotional distances from parents were intertwined with parents’ sociocultural status, teachers’ moral purposes, teachers’ notions of professionalism, teachers’ political pretense, and the frequency to contact parents. Thus, Hargreaves’ framework could be a useful tool to explore teacher–parent interactions. The paper closes with suggestions for policy considerations.     

Respect in principal–teacher relations at primary schools in Turkey

Respect means consideration of actions and requests of others and confirmation of values of others. School is a social institution where students are equipped with knowledge and skills, as well as fundamental character attributes. Respect among students, teachers, administrators, parents, and other staff at schools is of importance. In this study, the focus group method, including 12 principals and 10 teachers at state primary schools, was employed to explore respect in principal–teacher relations. According to the findings, the participants generally developed professional respect understanding. The teachers presented different definitions of respect associated with hierarchical relations. The participants’ respect behaviors were commonly observed in positive communication and self-improvement. The principals displayed respect for teachers through some guarding behaviors, and the teachers displayed profession-related respect behaviors. The common respect expectations of the participants were as follows: self-improvement, establishment of positive social relations, and unbiased behavior. While the school principals expected obedience and complete fulfillment of assigned tasks from teachers, the teachers expected civility, justice, and guarding administration from principals. The participants regarded improper appearance, behaviors contradictory to rules of good manners and bad habits as disrespectfulness. The school principals regarded abuse of goodwill and false excuses by teachers as disrespectfulness; whereas the teachers regarded oral or behavioral insults by school principals and intervention in their private life as disrespectfulness.     

Ethnographical mapping of thick places – teaching and learning practices in teacher training schools

The aim of this study is to use an ethnographic method in order to map where understandings of teaching and learning practices (TaLP) are being discussed in three schools. The questions posed are: what are the relations between thick places, meaning, affect, and TaLP? This study uses an ethnographic method outside the classroom and in between different activities as a starting point for understanding TaLP and where many students at the same school produce thick places of affect and meaning. The main conclusion from this study is that matters of where, what, and who are shaping TaLP. Another important conclusion from this study is that training schools offer new conditions for teacher students, but also offer new opportunities for ethnographic studies that aim at understanding these school environments with a range of new questions.     

The teacher–learner relationship in the management of discipline in public high schools

Abstract

This article discusses data from a case study involving Grade 8–12 teachers in 14 classrooms. In all the schools that were identified, one teacher from each of the schools was identified for interviewing. After the interview the teacher was used as an ‘informant’ to identify other teachers who could provide additional information on the issue of classroom discipline in public high schools. Teachers are uncertain about how to relate to the learners and still maintain discipline in the classrooms. Reasons for the persistence of poor teacher–learner relationship include lack of knowledge regarding the effective use of alternatives to corporal punishment and the use of power to establish teacher authority. The results of the study showed that teachers, who are successful in managing misbehaviour in the classrooms, maintain good relations with the learners, encourage self-discipline and dignity, and involve the parents, learner peers as well as other teachers in the learning process. Involving all people who are close to the learner is essential in encouraging the learner to accept the teacher's authority and establish the required interpersonal classroom relationships.     

Degrees of co-creation: an exploratory study of perceptions of international students’ role in community engagement experiences

Increased competition for the international student market has motivated universities to modernize their marketing strategies. Community engagement is an important component of students' international university experience and represents a potential point of competitive advantage. Developing marketing strategies around university–student–community engagement (U–S–CE) requires an understanding of the perspectives of international students, the university and the community. We anchored our study in value co-creation which is a principle of the service dominant logic framework found in the marketing literature. With limited research in the area, a qualitative approach was appropriate. Interviews were undertaken with key university members (n?=?4) and community members (n?=?5) concurrently with focus groups of international students (n?=?22) at a single university. Based on the degree of co-creation by international students in U–S–CE, three groups emerged: consumers, collaborators and co-designers. This study offers theoretical and practical insight, providing a platform for further research into U–S–CE.     

Teachers’ organisational practices and their perceptions of the benefits of support by withdrawal for mathematics in Irish primary schools

This study was designed to ascertain the organisational practices of learning support teachers and their perceptions of the benefits, if any, of support by withdrawal for mathematics in Irish primary schools. The study reports on the views of a sample of 137 teachers who have postgraduate qualifications in learning support/special education from six designated centres for professional development in this area. As an organisational model for learning support in mathematics, small group/individual withdrawal was the most popular way in which additional support was organised, with 94% of the survey respondents in this study operating this system to some degree. Furthermore, key findings also highlighted that teachers perceived the following as advantages to out-of-class support: learning benefits; enhanced learning space; benefits for certain types of pupils; time benefits; positive contrast with mainstream class; assessment benefits; and greater use of concrete materials. In contrast, only 41% of teachers reported that they provide an in-class service for pupils and class teachers. Barriers to collaboration for in-class support are identified and teachers’ responses to these outlined. The study found large differences between teachers in the amount of support they provided to class teachers, the amount of non-contact time they had for planning and collaboration, and in the range of practices used to carve out time for collaboration. The implications of these findings are then discussed.     

The teacher–state relationship in China: an exploration of homeroom teachers’ experiences

With the relaxation of the system of command in China’s public schooling sector and the decline of ideological coercion in the post-Mao era, the Chinese state has reshaped its control over individual teachers. Much effort has been made to analyse the state’s influence on teachers’ academic activities at school, but little attention has been paid to the teacher–state relationship in another facet of teachers’ work, namely the socialisation of students. This article examines Chinese teachers’ perceptions of their relationship with the state through an analysis of homeroom teachers’ perspectives. Using a multi-method approach, this study reveals the teacher–state relationship through three key themes: teacher-profession–state, teacher–school–state, and teacher–market–state. The findings indicate that the post-Mao regime seeks to monitor and control homeroom teachers using indirect, subtle methods, and that teachers have a complicated understanding of the state’s articulation of their role and status.     

The self‐perceptions of bullies in Cyprus primary schools

Bullying is a matter of significant concern in the Cypriot educational setting. Teachers usually report their difficulties in understanding bullies and their anxiety to find effective ways to deal with them. This project investigated the self‐concepts of a sample of nine boys identified as bullies at the end of primary schooling in Nicosia, Cyprus. The bullies’ self‐concepts were examined by the use of two instruments, namely, the Butler Self‐image profile for children (SIP‐C), which is derived from Personal Construct Theory, and the Harter Self‐perception profile for children (SPPC), derived from Self‐concept Theory. The results reveal that the bullies who participated in this study understood that their behaviour was usually inappropriate. Their self‐perceptions varied across a number of dimensions, indicating the need to examine the complexity of their view of themselves as part of any attempt to seek to implement behavioural change.     

Understanding silence: an investigation of the processes of silencing in parent–teacher conferences with Somali diaspora parents in Danish public schools

This article questions the dominant understanding that immigrant and refugee parents in parent–teacher conferences are silent because they come from a culture where one does not question the authority of the teacher. Instead, it is argued that they become silent through certain interactional processes. Building on material from an explorative case study of the home–school relations of Somali diaspora families in Danish public schools, the article argues that while these parents have many opinions about their children’s education that they wish to convey, there are institutional and interactional processes in the parent–teacher conference that systematically silence their voices. The understanding of culture as a stable structure that persons are situated within in a top-down manner is thus challenged, arguing that dynamic here-and-now interactions unfolding in a specific practice result in persons becoming, rather than being, silent.     

Teachers’ perceptions of professional identity: an exploratory study from a personal knowledge perspective

The purpose of this study was to investigate experienced secondary school teachers’ (N=80) current and prior perceptions of their professional identity. A questionnaire was used to explore the way teachers see (and saw) themselves as subject matter experts, didactical experts, and pedagogical experts. The teachers currently see their professional identity as consisting of a combination of the distinct aspects of expertise. Most teachers’ current perceptions of their professional identity reportedly differ significantly from their prior perceptions of this identity during their period as beginning teachers. On the basis of their current perceptions of their professional identity, five groups of teachers could be distinguished. These groups had different learning experiences throughout their careers for each aspect of expertise. Also, teachers from different subject areas did not undergo the same changes in their perceptions of their professional identity. The differences among the groups in teachers’ current perceptions of professional identity were not related to contextual, experiential, and biographical factors that might influence these perceptions.     

Building strong parent–teacher relationships in primary education: the challenge of two-way communication

This study investigates which subjects teachers talk about with parents in parent–teacher conferences and other contact moments, and how they communicate with regard to these subjects. Fifty-five in-depth interviews were carried out with teachers from special education schools, at-risk schools serving low socio-economic status children and mainstream primary education schools in the southern part of the Netherlands. The results illustrate that (1) two-way communication is used the most in at-risk schools, (2) teachers find it difficult to involve parents in the decision-making process concerning special care for the child, and (3) the teachers’ attitude towards parents is best when it comes to difficult discussion topics. When situations are really difficult, teachers stand alongside the parents instead of addressing them from their expert role, asking them ‘How can we solve this together?’. Teachers should be more aware of this quality, and not be afraid to address difficult subjects or conflicts.     

A qualitative study of secondary-school students’ perceptions of interpersonal teacher behaviour in Hong Kong

Learning Environments Research - This qualitative study explored Hong Kong students’ views and reactive emotions towards interpersonal teacher behaviour in their classrooms. Fifteen...     

A cross-national study of teacher’s perceptions of online learning success

This study examines success factors in online learning from the instructors’ perspective. Academic success comprises not only student satisfaction and good grades, but also perception of learning and knowledge transfer. A systemic model of inputs–process–outputs of learning was used. A total of 322 online teachers from four different universities and countries were used to study factors of attainment. Findings suggest that: (i) instructors from the University of Peking and the Autonomous Popular University of the State of Puebla reported learner factors as the most important for students on online courses, (ii) instructors from the University of New Mexico perceived institutional factors as the most important for establishing effective online learning and (iii) instructors from the Open University of Catalonia reported outcome factors as the most important for learners in online courses. Compared with other research results in online learning, instructors in this study generally reflect a greater concern about the content, social presence, instruction and their interactions than about technological matters.     

International students’ choice to study in China: an exploratory study

Tertiary Education and Management - International higher education is a major source of revenue in many developed countries. Historically the top destination countries for international students...     

An exploratory study of changes to university EFL teachers’ teaching practices

The brief report describes an exploratory investigation into changes to three university EFL teachers’ teaching practices in a research-intensive university framed by managerialist technologies to improve its visibility and global ranking. The findings revealed that substantial changes have been brought about to their teaching practices in terms of falling into the routine of ‘technification of teaching’, producing a spectacle ‘what is there simply to be seen and judged’ or striving to seek out new spaces for ‘authentic’ English teaching. The study concluded with implications for facilitating the managerial reforms that are congruent with the cognitive and contextual realities of different generations of Chinese university EFL teachers.     

Exploring inclusive practices in primary schools: focusing on children’s voices

This paper reports a small-scale research project which took place in one primary school in the north-east of England. The study aimed to listen to children’s views about how the practices of teachers helped and/or hindered their sense of inclusion in classrooms. Inclusion was understood here in a broad sense rather than specifically relating to children with special educational needs. Participatory research tools were used as part of group interviews with children from three different year groups. Even though the children were mostly happy with their school experience, it was noticeable that there were some areas for concern for some children that related to four interconnecting themes: unfairness, shouting, loneliness and seating plans. All of these themes seemed to be connected with children’s interpersonal relationships – with teachers and with each other – and can be seen as crucial in terms of understanding inclusion in schools and further developing existing practices.     

Defining the ‘good mother’ and the ‘professional teacher’: parent–teacher relationships in an affluent school district

This article examines the challenges of parent–teacher relationships in an affluent school district, drawing on 30 in‐depth interviews of mothers and elementary school teachers in the USA. Professional women who have put their careers on hold to care for their children are apt to define being a good mother in terms of the academic achievement of their children. This results in extreme amounts of involvement and advocacy in their child's education, even when such actions have questionable effects on the larger school population. Enhancement of ‘good mothering’ was found to be done at the expense of teacher professionalism. A small number of entitled‐minded mothers were able to make a large impact not only on teacher job satisfaction but on the climate of the entire school due to their extensive networks, levels of advocacy, and critical examination of school processes.