Teacher Factors and Special Class Referral Decisions

Using questionnaire data an examination was made of the personal and professional characteristics of 127 regular class (Grade 2‐5) teachers, all of whom had a child in their class whom they believed to be mildly retarded and not coping academically as well as socially in school. Of this group, 53 had referred the child to school psychological services while the remainder had not done so at the time of the study. A set of 28 variables derived from the questionnaire data was subjected to multiple regression analysis in order to examine the predictability of teachers’ referral decisions. Nine significant predictors were identified which together accounted for 35 percent of the variation in referral decisions. Inter‐group contrasts on these measures revealed that referring teachers were more likely to have made previous referrals, had better access to psychologists, were more confident of their ability to identify children who would qualify for special class admission, believed their school policy to b e more encouraging of referrals, were more likely to have made use of special programs, and received more frequent visits from psychologists. Results are discussed in terms of identifying “unserved mildly retarded” children in regular classes.     

Teachers' Experience and Management of Young Children Treated Because of Home Conduct Problems: A qualitative study

In the present study, a sample of 27 teachers were interviewed regarding their experience and management of young children with conduct problems in day‐care or school settings. The children had been referred and treated because of oppositional and conduct problems at home. Qualitative analysis of data was performed by using elements of a grounded theory approach. Although the children had complex conduct problems presenting considerable challenges for their teachers, most teachers described a close and engaged relationship with these children. Teachers used within‐discipline and within‐classroom approaches in their work with a main focus on managing the child's daily life in day‐care or school, supported by close colleagues. Their practices were not deeply rooted in evidence‐based knowledge and methods. Most teachers reported collaboration with parents as positive and necessary, however, they only pursued it to a limited extent. Representatives from supplementary services, such as school psychologist, child protection care and child psychiatry, were rarely involved in the work of teachers. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

我国随班就读师资培养存在的问题及对策

随班就读是融合教育背景下有特殊教育需要儿童的主要安置方式之一,即在普通学校普通班中进行学习。随班就读的师资培养存在诸多争议和问题,从职前培养方面主要是缺乏专业化的培养计划和课程设置以及政策支持和理论关注;职后培训方面教师参与热情和效率不高,培训后续工作和教研结合未能有效开展,这些问题影响了随班就读工作的质量。相应对策主要是：设立随班就读专业．培养专业化的师资力量;加强普通教育中的特殊教育内容;强化培训机制,鼓励教师积极参与;开展各方合作,实行教研结合。巩固培训效果。     

Pervasive and Non‐pervasive Conduct Problems in a Clinic Sample Aged 4–8 years: Child,family and day‐care/school factors

Differences between pervasive (home and day‐care/school) versus non‐pervasive (home only) conduct problems were examined in regard to various child, parent/family, and day‐care/school characteristics in an outpatient clinic sample of 120 children aged 4–8 years. All children scored above the 90th percentile on the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory for home problems and met the criteria for a possible or a confirmed diagnosis of oppositional defiant behaviours. The proportion of children with pervasive conduct problems was high, 83%. Teachers in day care and school reported children in the pervasive group to have significantly more attention and internalizing problems as well as lower social competence scores than those in the non‐pervasive group. Children in the pervasive group also showed consistently more problems in their relationships both with teachers and peers than those in the non‐pervasive group. The implications for assessment and treatment of children with conduct problems in these age‐groups are discussed.     

教师行动研究的专业伦理及其建构

教师开展行动研究面临专业伦理缺位的问题。应基于行动研究的伦理关系,确立教师专业伦理规范：在师生关系上,以尊重、理解和保护学生为道德基准,以学生发展为本;在与学校管理者关系上,坚持平等合作、民主参与和专业判断的行为准则;在自我探究与实践反思中,保持改进、敢于创新的自觉性和责任感;在与同行及专业研究者合作中,秉持民主开放、信任合作和专业自主的专业精神。教师行动研究的专业伦理,是在必要的制度规约下,教师主体不断的道德认同、承诺与践履,实现制度伦理与德性伦理的整合与同构,生成道德实践智慧的建构过程。     

USING CONSULTATION TO SUPPORT ENGLISH LEARNERS: THE EXPERIENCES OF BILINGUAL SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS

Through semi‐structured interviews, this study explored 11 bilingual school psychologists’ (BSPs) consultation experiences with teachers of English learners (EL) to determine referral concerns, recommendations made, challenges encountered, preparation experiences, and skills most needed. The most common referral issue concerned students’ academic performance and teachers’ attempts to parse out language acquisition difficulties from learning problems. Principal consultation challenges included the scarcity of trained professionals, teacher bias, and the stress of competing school priorities. BSPs relied most on their interpersonal skills and relationship building skills, as well as their knowledge of EL‐focused interventions and their problem identification skills. Recommendations to their monolingual school psychology colleagues included the need to actively seek out a) language and culture resources, b) relevant professional development opportunities, and c) consultations with fellow BSPs. Study limitations and implications are discussed.     

Expectancy and halo effects as a result of artificially induced teacher bias

This investigation examined the effects of deviancy labels on teachers' expectations of child behavior and their ability to evaluate child behavior objectively. One hundred elementary school teachers were randomly assigned to one of four label groups. Each group dealt with one label (emotionally disturbed, learning disabled, mentally retarded, normal), and each group participated in two separate treatment phases. During Phase I teachers identified behaviors they expected to be displayed by hypothetical children characteristic of the label condition. They were asked to complete a referral form for either a hypothetical normal, mentally retarded, learning disabled, or emotionally disturbed child. During Phase II, each group saw the same videotape of a normal fourth grade boy and completed a second referral form based on the behaviors displayed during this presentation. Experimental procedures were identical for the four groups, except each group was told the child was a member of a different category.Results indicated that teachers hold negative expectancies toward children categorized with a deviancy label and maintain expectancies even when confronted with normal behavior, behavior inconsistent with the stated label. Maintenance of this bias is sufficient to cause teachers to misinterpret actual child behavior, resulting in a halo effect. Results further indicated that the label of educable mentally retarded generated a greater degree of negative bias than did the labels learning disabled or emotionally disturbed, although all three deviancy labels produced negative expectancies and halo effects significantly different from those found under control conditions.     

理论引领的教师专业发展模式——在深圳市后海小学的研究发现

教师专业发展是不同层面因素互动的过程。当教师面对这次理念全面更新、教学方式彻底转型的课程改革时,他们需要在教学情境中持续的、专家与教师互动的理论引领。当学生的表现发生所期望的变化时,在他们对教学实践进行深入反思后,教师浅表的课程意识才会内化为深层的信念。教学的复杂性要求教师超越个人狭隘的视域,在全校性的专业社群中,在理论引领下对教学实践进行公共性的辩论。以学习、开放、探究和交往为特征的学校文化是进行专业发展活动不可缺少的生态环境。     

中小学教师职业嗓音负荷问题研究

课堂教学用嗓有不同于日常言语交流用嗓的特点。通过调查研究分析中小学教师职业嗓音负荷问题,提出从预防训练入手,采取高校与教育行政部门合作开展教师职前职后嗓音培训的方式,从技术对策和组织措施两个方面改善教师嗓音问题。     

边远地区中小学女教师职业压力现状分析

采用问卷调查的形式,对边远地区300名在职中小学女教师的职业压力基本表现进行研究,并分析了影响边远地区中小学女教师职业压力的主要因素。结果表明:(1)边远地区中小学女教师职业压力普遍较大,24.1%的女教师体验着重度的职业压力。(2)边远地区初中女教师在职业压力总分及各因子得分均显著高于小学和高中女教师;主科教师在考试压力和工作负荷方面压力显著高于副科教师;班主任教师在考试压力和工作负荷方面压力显著高于非班主任教师。(3)部分女教师面临家庭与事业发展的双重冲突,尤以研究生学历女性为最。(4)建立良好的社会支持系统是缓解教师职业压力的重要前提,增强自我职业压力管理能力是缓释教师职业压力的关键策略。     

A comparison of teacher referral and pupil self-referral measures relative to perceived school adjustment

This study investigated the relationship between teacher referral and pupil self-referral relative to perceived school adjustment of 417 4th grade pupils. Two major questions were focused upon: (a) To what extent do teachers and pupils agree relative to perceived learning and/or adjustment problems within the classroom? and (b) What are the relationships between teacher referral and pupil self-referral relative to sex of the child and type of problem indicated? The results suggest that a significant relationship exists between teacher referral and pupil self-referral (p <,001). Further, a disproportionate number of males in the sample were referred by their teachers as compared to female students (38% to 12%). However, relative to pupil self-referral, a much higher percentage of females (33%) “referred themselves.” It is suggested that greater consideration should be given by local school districts to including a pupil self-referral component within their overall screening mechanism for the identification of children in need of special education services. Further, school personnel should consider the possibility that their screening results may reflect teacher bias relative to “pupil sex stereotyping” in that males may be over-referred and famales under-referred.     

The joint contribution of early parental warmth, communication and tracking, and early child conduct problems on monitoring in late childhood

The relationship of parental warmth, communication, and tracking (WCT), and child conduct problems in early elementary school (age 5.5 years) to monitoring in late elementary school (age 9.5 years) was longitudinally examined in a sample of 267 boys and girls. WCT in kindergarten was associated with lower kindergarten levels and less growth of conduct problems into the first grade, and was prospectively associated with effective monitoring in the third and fourth grades. Overt and covert conduct problems in kindergarten and growth in covert problems during kindergarten and first grade were associated with less effective later monitoring. Early conduct problems mediated the prospective association of WCT on later monitoring. The results are described in a transactional model of parent-child relationships and child problem behavior.     

Child in a form: the definition of normality and production of expertise in teacher statement forms – the case of northern Finland, 1951–1990

This article shows the importance of paying attention to the role of professional devices, such as standardised forms, as producers of normality and deviance in the history of education. Our case study focused on the standardised forms used by teachers during child guidance clinic referrals and transfers to special education in northern Finland, from the 1950s to the early 1990s. How standardised forms were constructed and how they guided teachers through their evaluations had important consequences for the children’s diagnoses. A close analysis of the contents and meanings of forms enabled us to assess how criteria for normal and problematic behaviours were defined, as well as to evaluate the underlying professional and institutional practices. During the period studied, the criteria set for “normal” and “deviant” behaviours changed surprisingly little. Children were perceived as psycho-physical organisms who respond to family-related problems, but school environments’ effects, for example, were left unacknowledged. Problems were identified solely as originating within the individual children and their family. Teacher statement forms were used as a tool to ensure cooperation between the child guidance clinic and the compulsory school system. The forms invited the teachers to adopt a psychological approach to childhood development and established child guidance clinics as a leading expert in the process of selecting children for special education. Changes in the forms’ structure reflected differences in perceptions concerning the boundaries of professional fields.     

Why are suspected cases of child maltreatment referred by educators so often unsubstantiated?

School professionals have a unique vantage point for identifying child maltreatment and they are a frequent source of referral to child protective services. Disturbingly, past studies have found that maltreatment concerns reported by educators go unsubstantiated by child protective services at much higher rates than suspected maltreatment reported by other professionals. This study explores whether there are systematic differences in the characteristics of cases reported by educators as compared to other professionals and examines whether such variation might account for differences in investigation outcome. Analyses were based on 7,725 cases of suspected maltreatment referred by professionals to child protective services from the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect – 2003 a national database on the characteristics of children and families investigated by child protective services. School professionals were responsible for 35.8% of professional referrals. Reports by educators were much more likely to be unsubstantiated (45.3%) than those by other professionals (28.4%) in subsequent child protective investigation. Cases reported by educators were found to contain significantly more child risk factors (e.g., child emotional and behavioural problems) and fewer caregiver and family risk factors (e.g., caregiver mental health problem, single parent family) than cases reported by other professionals. Even controlling for these differences, educator-reported concerns were still 1.84, 95% CI [1.41, 2.40] times as likely to be unsubstantiated as reports from other professionals. Contrary to the notion that educators are mostly reporting non-severe cases, suspected/substantiated cases reported by school professionals were more likely to be judged as chronic and more likely to involve families with a previous child protection history. Results are concerning for the capacity of the education and child protection systems to work together to meet their shared goal of promoting healthy child development. Additional research is needed on the way in which child risks and problems influence child protective service, particularly in the context of chronic abuse and neglect and lack of availability of child and family mental health interventions. Potential problems with credibility of school professionals as reporters of child maltreatment concerns also warrant further investigation.     

Elementary school teachers' knowledge and beliefs regarding non-routine problems

This study focuses on the knowledge exhibited by 30 elementary school in-service and pre-service teachers in solving non-routine mathematical problems and on their beliefs regarding these kinds of problems. Interviews were used to reveal teachers' knowledge and beliefs. The findings indicated that these teachers had difficulty in solving non-routine problems and that their ability to solve these problems was influenced by their professional backgrounds. Most of the teachers, although failing to solve the given problems, expressed their willingness to give such problems to their students in class, explaining that such problems are important for students to learn how to solve as they help develop mathematical thinking and the skill of solving problems in everyday life. However, the teachers were unwilling to include such problems in examinations.     

A Multimethod Study of Problem Behavior among Thai and American Children in School: Teacher Reports versus Direct Observations

Previous literature describes Thai children as unusually polite, deferent, and behaviorally restrained. Yet, in a recent study employing teacher reports, Thai children were reported to show many more behavior problems than American children. Such a finding may reflect culture-linked differences in the perspective of Thai versus American teachers. To explore this possibility, we used trained observers to conduct direct observations of Thai and American children's school behavior, and we obtained teacher reports on the same children. Observational results were precisely the opposite of previous and present teacher-report findings: Observers reported twice as much problem behavior and off-task behavior in American children as in their Thai age-mates. This pattern may reflect Thai-U.S. differences in teachers' style, societal values and practices, even child temperament. The findings support the value of direct behavior observation in cross-national research on child problems.     

How university student–teachers for primary school learn about Department of Education Policy on child sexual abuse,and mandatory reporting: the sources of their professional information

Many regional and local Departments of Education in many countries now require their primary school teachers to be mandatory reporters of child sexual abuse. However, many student–teachers are not provided with courses on child protection and its policy requirements during their pre-service university education. So, how do student–teachers source, and develop, their professional information about this important role? This study examines an Australian university cohort of final 4th year bachelor of education primary school student–teachers, asking them to identify and clarify the nature of any relevant professional information they accessed over the 4 years of their teacher education. The results show that, in the absence of formal child protection courses, such professional information was scarce and sporadic. Student–teachers consistently indicated a pattern of not learning about essential Department of Education policies and procedures whilst at university. These results, although disappointing, provide a rationale for university curriculum planners to design appropriate pre-service university training courses that initiate, develop, and enhance student–teachers’ professional competencies as mandated reporters of child sexual abuse.     

经济欠发达地区高中青年教师专业发展的重要途径——基于校本教研和校本培训的思考

教师专业发展是教育管理者重点关注的问题。就经济欠发达地区高中青年教师专业发展面临的问题进行阐述,根据经济欠发达地区高中青年教师实际,探索出比较适合经济欠发达地区高中青年教师专业发展的重要途径——校本教研和校本培训(以广东省梅州市五华县城镇中学为研究对象),同时从学校管理方面提出保障校本教研和校本培训能顺利开展的策略,促进青年教师的专业发展。     

Defining Family-centered Early Education: Beliefs of Public School,Child Care,and Head Start Teachers

Reform efforts in early childhood education include recommendations to adopt more family-centered approaches to practice, including greater family support functions. In this study the beliefs of 280 early childhood teachers regarding aspects of family-centered programming were assessed using the written Family Involvement Survey (FIS). Teacher beliefs were compared across public school, child care, and Head Start settings. Results revealed that public school early childhood teachers reported significantly less positive beliefs about parents' childrearing interests and abilities, along with lower self-perceived competence in relating to families, than either child care or Head Start teachers. As compared to Head Start teachers, both public school and child care teachers reported significantly more conflict about providing support services to families through their early education programs. These results were interpreted, in part, as evidence of the need for more in-depth knowledge about the separate professional cultures that characterize various sectors of the early education field.     

Variations in early child care: Do they predict subsequent social, emotional, and cognitive differences?

A sample of 236 predominantly middle class 8-year-olds from a state with minimal child care standards were examined for possible differences associated with earlier child care histories. In comparison to children in part-time child care (less than 30 hours a week) or exclusive maternal care, children with more extensive child care experiences since infancy were rated by teachers and parents as having more poor peer relationships, work habits, and emotional health, and as being more difficult to discipline. In this minimal standard environment, extensive infant care was also associated with more negative nominations from classmates, poorer academic and conduct report card grades, and lower standardized test scores. In stepwise regressions that included family social class, parents' marital status, family size, number of family moves, child gender, childbirth order, and current after school care, children's extensive experience in infant care was the single best predictor (in a negative direction) of ratings by parents, teachers, and peers, and of report card grades and standardized test scores. Child care history continued to be a significant negative predictor of child outcomes in full regression models that incorporated child and family variables. These results are in marked contrast with Andersson's (1989) findings of positive social and cognitive development associated with early, extensive child care in Sweden (a country characterized by high child care standards and opportunities for paid parental leave during early infancy).