The influence of teachers’ attitudes and school context on instructional practices in integrated STEM education

This paper uses structural equation modelling (SEM) to examine the influence of teachers' attitudes and school context on reported instructional practices in integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Instead of using an overall measure for integrated STEM, five specific characteristics (integration, problem-centered, inquiry-based, design-based, and cooperative learning) are examined to get a more in-depth and nuanced insight into the factors influencing implementation. For each STEM characteristic, teachers’ attitudes are positively linked with instructional practices Moreover, different aspects of school context influence instructional practices either directly or indirectly. Opportunities for ameliorating the implementation of integrated STEM are discussed.     

Alignment, cohesion, and change: Examining mathematics teachers’ belief structures and their influence on instructional practices

This collective case study reports on an investigation into the relationship between mathematics teachers’ beliefs and their classroom practices, namely, how they organized their classroom activities, interacted with their students, and assessed their students’ learning. Additionally, the study examined the pervasiveness of their beliefs in the face of efforts to incorporate reform-oriented classroom materials and instructional strategies. The participants were five high school teachers of ninth-grade algebra at different stages in their teaching career. The qualitative analysis of the data revealed that in general beliefs were very influential on the teachers’ daily pedagogical decisions and that their beliefs about the nature of mathematics served as a primary source of their beliefs about pedagogy and student learning. Findings from the analysis concur with previous studies in this area that reveal a clear relationship between these constructs. In addition, the results provide useful insights for the mathematics education community as it shows the diversity among the inservice teachers’ beliefs (presented as hypothesized belief models), the role and influence of beliefs about the nature of mathematics on the belief structure and how the teachers designed their instructional practices to reflect these beliefs. The article concludes with a discussion of implications of teacher education.     

Calibration: What is it and why it matters? An introduction to the special issue on calibrating calibration

The burgeoning literatures on students' metacognitive judgments, self-regulation, self-efficacy beliefs, strategic processing, and conceptual change have focused new attention on the nature and measurement of calibration. Calibration, the distance between perceived and demonstrated levels of understanding, capability, competence, or preparedness, is foundational to these critical areas of inquiry. Yet, not enough is known about the nature of calibration or about the best means of gauging the distance between what students' believe and what they show in their cognitive actions and performance. It is the goal of this special issue on “Calibrating Calibration” to provide educational researchers with critical theoretical and methodological information on this pivotal topic.     

The roles of teacher and student gender in German teachers’ attitudes toward ethnic minority students

Implicit and explicit attitudes play crucial roles in teachers’ judgments and behavior and might be part of the reason for the varying school performances of ethnic minority compared with ethnic majority students but also of female compared with male students. In this study, we investigated 80 female and 80 male German secondary school teachers’ implicit and explicit attitudes toward female and male Turkish students, expecting more favorable attitudes toward same-gender students. However, implicit and explicit attitudes toward male and female students were independent of teachers’ gender. An IAT revealed more negative implicit attitudes toward female than male ethnic minority students, while teachers explicitly favored female ethnic minority students. Results are discussed in terms of culturally divergent social norms and gender.     

How does student peer review influence perceptions,engagement and academic outcomes? A case study

Involving students in peer review has many pedagogical benefits, but few studies have explicitly investigated relationships between the content of peer reviews, student perceptions and assessment outcomes. We conducted a case study of peer review within a third-year undergraduate subject at a research-intensive Australian university, in which we examined: (1) students’ perceptions of the peer review process before and after peer review, (2) content of the peer reviews and what kinds of feedback were adopted and (3) the effect of participation in peer review on performance (grades) in the assessment task. Students overwhelmingly perceived peer review to be beneficial, and the opportunity to participate in peer review resulted in a significant improvement in the quality of work submitted for assessment. Students who benefited most from peer review were those of below-median performance, and the magnitude of benefit was related to the degree to which students engaged with the peer review process. Our study confirms that participation in peer review can lead to important improvements in performance and learning outcomes.     

Evaluating the effect of a teacher training programme on the primary teachers’ attitudes,knowledge and teaching strategies regarding special educational needs

Research has consistently stressed that regular school teachers are important in determining the success of implementing inclusive education. It was also found that teachers’ attitudes, their knowledge about special educational needs (SEN) and teaching strategies are prerequisites for implementing inclusive education successfully. This study examines the effects of an in-service teacher training programme on regular primary school teachers’ attitudes and knowledge about SEN and about teaching strategies. A pre- and post-test control group design study was set up (N_{experimental group} = 33, N_{control group} = 34), comprising 11 public primary schools. The training programme consisted of 32 hours face-to-face training sessions, covering topics about attitudes and knowledge about SEN and about teaching strategies. In order to establish the effects of the training programme, attitudes and knowledge were measured at two moments: before and after the training programme was performed. The outcomes of ANCOVA revealed significant positive effects of the training programme on most dependent variables (attitudes, knowledge about SEN and about teaching strategies) with medium to large effect sizes. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

How to foster student�Cstudent learning of science? The student, the teacher and the subject matter

In this response to Konstantinos Alexakos, Jayson K. Jones, and Victor H. Rodriguez’s study, I discuss ways attending to student membership in groups can both inform research on equity and diversity in science education and improve the teaching of science to all students. My comments are organized into three sections: how underrepresented students’ experiences in science classrooms are shaped by their peers; how science teachers can help students listen to and learn from one another; and how the subject matter can invite or discourage student participation in science. More specifically, I underscore the need for teachers and students to listen to one another to promote student learning of science. I also highlight the importance of science education researchers and science teachers viewing students both as individuals and as members of multiple groups; women of color, for example, should be understood as similar to and different from each other, from European American women and from ethnic minorities in general.     

Gatekeepers or facilitators: the influence of teacher habitus on students’ applications to elite universities

Low application rates of state school students to elite universities have been identified as a factor in their limited participation in elite universities. This article explores the role of teachers in state schools and colleges in guiding higher education (HE) choice. Drawing on qualitative research with teachers and students in six institutions, we identify differential practices that corroborate explanations of an ‘institutional habitus’ shaping students’ likely pathways to HE. However, we suggest that attention is paid to teacher habitus, demonstrating how teachers’ political and ethical dispositions as well as their social capital are potential factors shaping students’ decision‐making about HE, and elite university applications in particular.     

Does immigration background matter? How teachers’ predictions of students’ performance relate to student background

Accurate teacher evaluations of student performance are crucial for effective teaching. This study examined whether students’ immigration and language background affect teachers’ evaluations. Multilevel analyses tested whether teachers overestimate the performance of immigrant relative to that of non-immigrant students. As part of the German PISA 2003 assessment, 305 teachers predicted the performance of seven of their students on two mathematics problems of different linguistic complexity. Results revealed an interaction effect of students’ language background and linguistic complexity of the problem on teachers’ predictions. Teachers overestimated the performance of bilingual students more than the performance of monolingual immigrant or non-immigrant students on a linguistically complex problem. Teachers need to consider both students’ language background and linguistic demands of the material used to appropriately support bilingual students.     

What does the teacher do?: Constructivist pedagogies and prospective teachers’ beliefs about the role of a teacher

The constructivist pedagogies that are increasingly part of teacher education course work and expectations emerge from an intellectual world where knowledge is seen as created rather than received, mediated by discourse rather than transferred by teacher talk, explored and transformed rather than remembered as a uniform set of positivistic ideas. Increasingly, teacher educators ask new teachers to learn how to elicit and then use students’ existing ideas as a basis for helping them construct new, more reasoned, more accurate or more disciplined understandings. While the role a teacher plays in developing or shaping students’ thinking via constructivist pedagogies is obvious to teacher educators who advocate such strategies, the case of Taylor, a prospective English teacher, suggests that the role a teacher plays when using these strategies may not be at all clear to prospective teachers. Rather than understanding constructivist pedagogies as techniques for thinking with learners, for teaching them, Tayor saw these strategies as ends in themselves. Faced with models of constructivist pedagogies, Taylor concluded that the teacher's role ends when she has activated learners, invited them to talk, successfully engaged their participation. This article describes how she reached this conclusion and explores the ways in which constructivist pedagogies can lead prospective teachers to project a thin vision of their role as a teacher.     

Formative assessment in the Grenadian lower secondary school: teachers’ perceptions,attitudes and practices

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions, attitudes and frequency of use of formative assessment strategies of teachers in the Grenadian lower secondary school (Forms 1, 2 and 3). The study, which was quantitative in nature, involved 252 lower secondary school teachers. Overall the participants had positive perceptions and attitudes towards formative assessment. Significant differences in the perceptions of formative assessment held by trained and untrained teachers (p?p?=?.001) were found. Trained and untrained teachers were found to have similar frequencies of practice of formative assessment strategies. About half of the teachers reported not allowing students to provide input into test construction and encouraging students to engage in journal writing. The study raises questions about the hindrances that teachers face in the integration of some formative assessment strategies and provides policy-makers with valuable information to support strengthening of teacher education efforts.     

Implementing inclusion in disabling settings: the role of teachers’ attitudes and practices

Teachers’ attitudes towards disabled students seem to define the extent to which teaching practices are inclusive. Aiming to explore Cyprus secondary education teachers’ attitudes and practice, and the consequent implications for the future of disabled students and inclusive education, we conducted mixed methods research. Our research typology was sequential and integrated. First, we conducted a survey, during which we received 536 questionnaires from our randomly selected stratified sample of Cyprus secondary education teachers. The survey was followed by interviews with 21 Greek Philology teachers that enriched the findings from the quantitative phase. Data analysis revealed that even though Cyprus secondary education teachers have a rather positive attitude towards disabled students, they have low expectations from them and do not employ inclusive teaching practice. In addition, they tend to categorise students based on abstract notions about ability. Stereotypes and prejudice are more evident regarding students with cognitive disabilities. Despite the observed disabling practices, participants postulated that there is hope to implement inclusive education, if teachers are trained for inclusion and thereby begin to see the person and not the disability.     

Effects of the flipped classroom instructional strategy on students’ learning outcomes: a meta-analysis

Educational technology research and development - The flipped classroom instructional strategy is thought to be a good way to structure learning experiences to improve student learning outcomes....     

Student-centred learning environments: an investigation into student teachers’ instructional preferences and approaches to learning

The use of student-centred learning environments in education has increased. This study investigated student teachers’ instructional preferences for these learning environments and how these preferences are related to their approaches to learning. Participants were professional Bachelor students in teacher education. Instructional preferences and approaches to learning were measured by means of questionnaires. Results showed that most students preferred teacher direction, cooperative learning and knowledge construction, and adopted a deep approach. Moreover, significant correlations were found between approaches to learning and instructional preferences. Students adopting a deep approach preferred knowledge construction and cooperative learning, while students adopting a surface approach had a preference for teacher direction and passive learning.     

Which variables relate to the attitudes of teachers,parents and peers towards students with special educational needs in regular education?

While there is an increased interest in describing attitudes of teachers, parents and peers towards students with special educational needs in regular education, there is a lack of knowledge about various variables relating to the attitudes of these three groups. The aims of this study are: (1) to examine which variables relate to the attitudes of teachers (N?=?44), parents (N?=?508) and peers (N?=?1113) towards students with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Autistic Spectrum Syndrome or a cognitive disability in regular primary education and (2) to examine whether teachers and parents’ attitudes affect the attitudes of peers. An attitude survey was used to assess attitudes and data were analysed by means of multilevel analyses. The variables found in this study relating to attitudes can be used as a foundation to develop interventions to change attitudes.