Storied emotional distances in the relationships between beginning teachers and school principals

Recent research has acknowledged the importance of the relationships of school principals with beginning teachers. However, little is known about how emotions inform these relationships from the beginning teacher's side. Applying the concept of emotional geographies, this paper explores the kinds of storied emotional distances that appear in the relationships between beginning teachers and their principals. Based on interviews with beginning Japanese teachers, the results indicate that such relationships may be: (1) very direct and personal; (2) acted out indirectly by the principal as personal facilitator ‘behind the scenes’ or as public gatekeeper; or (3) mediated by the teacher community. The analysis reveals beginning teachers’ personal experiences of these relationships, as well as how such relationships are influenced by organisational and cultural context. Although principals are described as distant figures within the school organisation, they are seen to play an important role in facilitating beginning teachers’ work by connecting with them at a personal level and providing good working conditions by influencing the emotional atmosphere of the teacher community or by sheltering them from parental pressure.     

Norwegian secondary school teachers and ICT

ICT is meant to be integrated in all subjects in Norwegian schools; nevertheless many teachers are reluctant to use ICT in their own teaching. This paper explores to what extent teachers use ICT in their classroom teaching and what teacher‐level factors influence the use of ICT. It draws on an analysis of 10 focus‐group interviews with 10 teachers and a quantitative study of 59 teachers in three lower secondary schools in Hamar, Norway. The teachers showed commitment to ICT; however, may did not see the educational value, except for increased access to learning material and to stimulate learner motivation. Teachers also expressed lack of ICT confidence even though they have been taking part in ICT courses. A main finding is that to integrate ICT in one’s own teaching is a difficult and gradual process and teachers must be given time to find their own way to merge ICT with their own teaching style.     

Assisting beginning teachers and school communities to grow through extended and collaborative mentoring experiences

Mentoring as a strategy to assist and retain beginning teachers in the profession has been perceived as the panacea for reducing attrition rates. Whilst this may be true in many cases, mentoring alone has been unable to stem the flow of resignations. In this essay on scholarship and teaching, the author explores surrounding mentoring programs. New ways of professional learning are suggested that encompass mentoring within a whole school approach, with a particular focus on the school as a collaborative community of learners.     

初任教师的适应与思考

初任教师的入职阶段是他们在教师生涯中一个重要的部分 ,是他们从事教学专业工作的关键适应期 ,对教学的有效性、工作满意度以及职业持久性产生长久的影响。但我们对初任教师的职业适应状态不容乐观 ,他们往往面临“现实的冲击”,影响其留任率。本文拟从师范院校、学校和初任教师三个角度 ,考察初任教师面临的主要问题 ,并从职前和入职培训两个方面 ,提出改善初任教师适应状态的某些建议。     

Challenging experiences faced by beginning casual teachers: here one day and gone the next!

The Educational Alumni Support Project (EdASP) indicated that there is an urgent need for the teaching profession to support casual beginning teachers (CBTs). The EdASP that was carried out at the University of New England provided online support for primary and secondary beginning teachers, yet the majority of postings were submitted by CBTs. In general, these casual teachers experienced feelings of alienation, culture shock, a lack of school and systemic support, and are often not considered part of the school community by staff or students. The analysis of postings by CBTs provides further insight into the difficulties they face, as well as reveals or reinforces strategies that could effectively facilitate their teaching. Many of these findings are not new, yet the call to aid casuals continues to be overlooked. This need for support is both professional and pragmatic. Ethically, education – a nurturing profession – should support its novices. In addition, the transition period from pre‐service to professional teacher has significant implications for teacher educators plus the potential retention of teachers.     

The learning needs of beginning teachers in the United Arab Emirates

Beginning teachers have legitimate learning needs that cannot be grasped in advance or outside the school context. These needs are documented in Western literature, but the skills required by beginning teachers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have not been investigated. The present study responds to this research gap. Data were collected through a self-administered survey with multiple-choice and open-ended questions completed by beginning teachers. Then focus group meetings with selected participants were conducted. Classroom management, creating attractive learning environments, motivating pupils to learn and using different teaching strategies are the most critical learning needs of beginning teachers in the UAE. Interestingly, being responsive to the diverse cultural and social backgrounds of pupils, creating extra-curricular activities and teaching in overpopulated classrooms were considered less crucial. These findings are significant for improving pre-service teacher education programmes and in-service teacher training and mentoring programmes in the country.     

中美中小学教师职前教育课程的理论比较

中小学教师职前教育课程是我国高等师范院校教育改革的重点,高师院校课程结构和内容关系到未来中小学教师的培养和国民科学素质的提高。．美国在中小学教师职前教育课程设置与改革方面的经验对我国有很大的借鉴意义。本文首先阐述教师职前教育的相关概念和理论。接着以物理学科为例,介绍中美两国中小学教师职前教育课程的基本概况。     

Teachers' views on citizenship education in secondary education in The Netherlands

In 2005 the Dutch Minister of Education proposed making it compulsory for all schools in The Netherlands to stimulate active citizenship and social integration. Teachers must give these educational goals a tangible form in their practice. What are the teachers' views on citizenship education? Concepts of citizenship education and the teacher's role in it may differ widely, and very different perspectives on values and value development are possible. This article addresses how teachers view citizenship education. We present the results of a survey conducted among a representative sample of Dutch secondary schools. The results show that teachers make clear choices in the importance they attach to certain values. Teachers want students to acquire skills to analyse, communicate and reflect on values, and they want to stimulate the development of certain values. The chosen values relate to different types of citizenship. School level, school subject and the age of the teachers make a difference to the importance teachers attach to different values.     

走出广西中小学教师教育科研的困境

中小学教育科研与基础教育改革的成功与否休戚相关。在广西,还存在各地中小学教师教育科研条件很不平衡、中小学教师尤其是农村中小学教师对教育科研的观念比较落后、科研成效不明显等现实困境。那么,如何走出广西中小学教师教育科研的困境,则是一个不可回避的问题。     

Supporting the transition to secondary school: The voices of lower secondary leaders and teachers

ABSTRACT

Background: The primary-secondary transition is recognised as a challenging time for students, and poor transition processes can negatively affect the students’ development. School professionals play an important role in enhancing the students’ transition experience, but international literature calls for more research concerning their perspective on this transition.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate what lower secondary school leaders and teachers in Norway emphasise when supporting the primary to lower secondary school transition.

Methods: A qualitative single case study approach was used. The participants were ten form teachers, their team leader and the principal (n = 12) within one lower secondary school. These were the individuals overseeing the transition process on behalf of a cohort of students who transferred to their school in August 2017. Data were collected through observations and focus group interviews. The data were transcribed and analysed qualitatively, inspired by the constant comparative method of analysis.

Findings and conclusion: Framed by their own experiences, the leaders and teachers emphasised ensuring predictability, establishing a safe psychosocial learning environment, giving the students time to learn to be lower secondary school students, and collaboration at the school level and with the families. These efforts are largely in line with what the research recommends. The findings indicate, however, that the teachers need more support during this process. The article concludes that a closer dialogical interaction with colleagues at the primary and secondary levels, parents and students could support the leaders and teachers to promote an even better transition.     

Teaching students with Down syndrome in regular classrooms in Ghana: views of secondary school mathematics teachers

ABSTRACT

The recent development of making secondary school education free in Ghana has raised concerns about the level of preparedness of teachers to teach students with diverse needs in one classroom. Significantly, mathematics is one of the core areas that the Ghanaian government has prioritised, and it has institutionalised mechanisms to encourage participation by many students. Accordingly, this qualitative study aimed to document the level of preparedness of mathematics teachers to support the teaching of students with Down syndrome in secondary school classrooms. Twenty-seven mathematics teachers from 14 schools, made up of 18 males and nine females, took part in the study. We found that participants were in favour of implementation of inclusive education. However, regarding the prospect of teaching students with Down syndrome, most of the participants thought that the regular secondary school classroom is not a suitable environment for these students to access education, especially due to a number of challenges. The need for the government to support schools with appropriate teaching materials and facilities is discussed extensively.     

Feelings of existential fulfilment and burnout among secondary school teachers

Teacher burnout is recognized as a serious problem. In research it has been related to many person-specific variables; one of these, the variable of existential fulfilment, has received very little attention thus far. The present study focuses on the relationship between existential fulfilment and burnout among secondary school teachers in the Netherlands (N = 504). Existential fulfilment was made operational by means of the Existential Fulfilment Scale, which distinguishes between three dimensions: self-acceptance, self-actualization, and self-transcendence. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed a three-dimensional construct with interdependent dimensions. Burnout was measured by the Dutch version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory for teachers. Negative relationships between the existential fulfilment dimensions on the one hand and the burnout dimensions exhaustion and cynicism on the other were hypothesized, as well as positive relationships between the existential fulfilment dimensions and the burnout dimension professional efficacy. The hypotheses were confirmed, except for the relationships between self-transcendence and exhaustion and self-transcendence and cynicism, which appeared not to be significant. The inquiry demonstrated the importance of existential fulfilment for the prevalence and prevention of burnout among teachers. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications for future research.     

提高农村中小学教师继续教育效果的深度思考

我国农村中小学教师继续教育中面临的主要问题在于,培训机构教师的素质不高,观念陈旧,培训的内容过于理论化,严重脱离农村中小学教育教学的实际;培训的方式过于强调课堂灌输,不利于调动农村中小学教师参与继续教育的积极主动性。要提高农村中小学教师继续教育的效果,教育主管部门和教师继续教育机构就要尽快转变教育观念,用科学发展观指导农村中小学教师继续教育工作,根据新课改的要求和农村学校的实际大力更新继续教育的内容,改进继续教育模式,促使继续教育质量不断提高。     

Modelling the determinants of school leaders' perceptions of beginning teachers' efficacy

The school and especially the school leader's perceptions of a teacher's efficacy have influence on aspects of teaching ratings and performance, and this may facilitate or hinder beginning teacher success. This study examines the school leaders' perceptions of their beginning teachers' efficacy. The study's scope of teacher efficacy is multidimensional to include the beginning teachers' Teaching Competencies, sense of Professionalism, and Professional Identity. Of interest is the interconnectedness of these variables that contribute to the school leaders' perception. A total of 256 school leaders responded to a survey on beginning teachers' efficacy. A hypothesized model was tested. According to the analysis, while Teaching Competencies and Professional Identity did not have a significant direct impact, they each did have a significant indirect effect on perceived efficacy.     

高职院教师体质现状与成因分析

本文通过对部分高职教师的体质测试发现,测试对象的体质水平低下,达标率不足50%,造成高职教师体质水平较差的主要原因是工作压力,运动技能欠缺,以及缺乏运动归属感和饮食习惯,职业特点等不利因素。     

Teaching beliefs: a comparison between Italian primary and secondary school trainee teachers

This paper presents research which compares the teaching beliefs of primary and secondary school trainee teachers. Participants were 177 trainee teachers, 92 enrolled in a primary school teacher degree course, and 85 enrolled in a postgraduate teacher training course specifically for music teaching at secondary school level (middle and high school). A questionnaire was employed for assessing beliefs. By performing factor analysis, the following four dimensions were extracted: innovative teaching and cooperative learning, teacher-centred approach, learner-centred approach and working collaboratively. Data were subjected to analysis of variance for each factor of the questionnaire. Significant differences between primary and secondary trainee teachers in the way they think about music teaching were found. The relevance of these factors and differences was discussed in considering how to improve the education of teachers.     

Mid-life career changing to teaching profession: a study of secondary school teachers in a rural community

There are many research projects focused on pre-service teachers’ professional development programmes but only a few focus on mid-life career-changing teachers’ career decision. This paper worked with data collected from semi-structured interviews with 11 mid-life career-changing secondary school teachers. The aim was to understand the career decisions of these participants and how they made sense of their new profession during their mature adulthood in Indiana, USA. 11 mid-life career-changing secondary school teachers referred to ‘changing the next generation with industry experience’, ‘rich life experience’, ‘life-long learning’, ‘knowledge transferring’, and ‘make a difference’ to describe their current occupation as career changing secondary school teachers. The findings also outline how to reform the curriculum and instruction of the pre-service teachers’ professional development programmes.     

绩效工资改革与中小学教师激励机制研究

本文针对绩效工资改革在中小学实施中出现的问题,提出中小学绩效工资改革的教师激励策略,即完善教育经费投入及监督机制,提供有竞争力的教师薪酬;建立公正有效的考核评估系统,发挥绩效工资的激励作用;运用多种激励方式,提高教师激励的有效性。     

Exploring inclusive education: early steps for prospective secondary school teachers

Recent changes in the structure of initial teacher education have resulted in teacher training institutions having to think again about how they address the issue of inclusion within their provision. In this article, Sue Pearson, who co-ordinates the MA (SEN) programme in the School of Education at the University of Leeds, and who contributes to Post Graduate Certificate in Education training, reports on developments in the training of secondary phase geography teachers. The article examines the planning, development and evaluation of a session which was designed to complement students' school-based experiences and other university-based sessions. The activity was co-taught by the geography and inclusive education tutors. The tutors used activity theory to analyse the elements of inclusive education and drew upon the literature related to the training of health professionals to design the session. This led to the adoption of a problem-based learning approach involving simulation activity. Sue Pearson provides details of the planned session together with evaluations from the tutors and students. She argues that this type of session, early in the university-based part of the course, provides a productive environment in which prospective teachers can be alerted to some of the complexities and uncertainties of inclusive education. While the initiative described here was matched to circumstances at the University of Leeds, the collaboration between tutors, the planning process and the style of activity have wider implications.