Investigating the relation of perceived teacher unfairness to science achievement by hierarchical linear modeling in 52 countries and economies

Abstract

This study used the data from the 2015 OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to examine the relationship between perceived teacher unfairness and science achievement with a three-level hierarchical linear model (HLM) as the analytic approach. Data of 188,104 students from 4895 schools in 52 countries and economies were used for analysis. After accounting for student gender, student-, school-, and country-level economic, social, and cultural status, and students’ non-cognitive outcomes, the results of HLM analysis showed that perceived teacher unfairness negatively predicted science achievement with a modest effect size. The possible explanations of the results and the practical implication of the findings were discussed.     

Contrasting school dropout: The protective role of perceived teacher justice

BackgroundSchool dropout is a serious issue with high individual and societal costs. Although numerous risk factors have been studied, those related to the proximal learning environment have mostly been neglected.AimIn this study we tested whether a feature of the learning environment, i.e., students’ perception of being treated fairly by teachers, could reduce their intention to drop out.Sample547 9th grade students (56% male, 94% born in Italy, M_age = 13.92).MethodParticipants answered a questionnaire on teacher justice and intentions to drop out at the beginning (T1), middle (T2) and end (T3) of the school year.ResultsA latent growth model indicated that intentions to dropout increased over time and perceptions of teacher justice had a negative association with the increase both at T2 and T3, even after controlling for gender, nationality, motivation, and perceived learning difficulty.ConclusionThese findings suggest that teacher justice can play a relevant protective role against early school leaving.     

The role of the teacher with substance-abusing adolescents in secondary schools

Before choosing to become involved with students who currently are abusing psychoactive substances, teachers must consider not only the potential consequences and payoffs to them professionally, but also what specifically they can do to help adolescents. This article presents some of the philosophical problems, and suggests potential solutions of how to relate to students who engage in potentially self-destructive, drug-related behavior. There is a need for teachers to become quasi-counselors and consultants, since they are the first line of defense against substance use and abuse.     

Bullying in middle schools: An Asian-Pacific Regional study

This study discusses and compares five types of bullying in middle schools among ten Asia-Pacific countries. The study does this in the following ways. It explores the impact of students’ genders and family backgrounds on the bullying, finds interactions of the victimization of bullying and relevant attitudes toward schools, teachers and schoolmates, and reveals the relationships between the experiences of bullying and the difficulties, pressures and achievements of academic study in each country. The findings provide meaningful reference points for understanding students’ ethics and behavior education, schools’ counseling and support systems (as well as the general improvement of the situation in the Asia-Pacific region), and for cross-cultural education comparisons.     

Bullying and social exclusion anxiety in schools

In this article, I develop a new conceptual framework, a new thinking technology, for understanding the bullying that takes place between children in schools. In addition, I propose a new definition of bullying. This new thinking technology reflects a shift in focus from individual characteristics to the social processes that may lead to bullying. The social approach theorises bullying as one of many reactions to particular kinds of social insecurity. The concepts I develop include the necessity of belonging, social exclusion anxiety and the production of contempt and dignity by both children and adults. I also draw on Judith Butler’s concept of abjection. In the last part of the article, I employ Karen Barad’s theory of agential realism, focusing specifically on her concept of intra-acting enacting forces. The entry to the theoretical development is based on empirical data generated in Denmark during a comprehensive five-year study of bullying.     

Creating expansive learning opportunities in schools: the role of school leaders in initial teacher education partnerships

This article analyses the learning opportunities afforded pre-service teachers when participating in a primary school placement in London, England as part of their university teacher education course. Cultural historical activity theory is used as a theoretical framework to address how pre-service teacher learning opportunities are constructed. Building on a previous year-long ethnographic study which explored how and why pre-service teacher learning opportunities differed in school settings, this paper introduces a small scale pilot study. The study integrates developmental work research into an initial teacher education school/university partnership, and considers the role of the school leader in this. Possibilities for pre-service teachers, teachers and teacher educators to work together in a research process that is integral to an initial teacher education partnership are forwarded, with the aim of ensuring that critical enquiry and learning are kept at the forefront of the activity.     

The role of teacher trust in segregated elementary schools: a multilevel repeated measures examination

This study aims to investigate how teachers’ trust in their students relates to reading comprehension achievement in socially and ethnically segregated elementary schools in Flanders (Belgium) by taking into account class composition characteristics. It is examined how student variables, ethnic diversity and the proportion of non-native students in the class, and teachers’ trust in their students relate to reading comprehension achievement and learning growth. A 3-level multivariate repeated measures analysis was conducted. At 2 measurement occasions, reading tests and questionnaires were administered to a sample (n = 417) of 7- and 8-year-old students in 32 classes. Teachers’ trust in their students was found to be a key factor relating to learning growth in reading comprehension, and mediated the relationship between the level of ethnic diversity in the class and learning growth. Teachers with a higher level of trust in their students seem to foster more learning growth in reading comprehension.     

The managerial role of the principal in promoting teacher professionalism in selected Eastern Cape schools

Abstract

In the last two to three decades teachers’ work has been plagued by problems internationally. These problems include a growing dissatisfaction of teachers about their working conditions (characterized by heavy workloads and low salaries), the growing attempts by governments to control teachers’ work and the increasing negative public image of the teaching profession. This negative public image of teaching is manifested in the failure of the profession to attract enough students and the fact that those who are already in the profession want to leave. These factors had, inter alia, lead to a collapse of professionalism amongst teachers in general.

There are, however, also other factors that have an influence on the professionalism of school teachers. It is argued in this article that the management role of the school principal is a crucial factor that influences teacher professionalism. This influence can be either positive or negative, depending to a large extent on how effectively the principal is managing the school. This article, derived from an empirical case study undertaken among a number of secondary schools in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, is an attempt to conceptualise the important and pivotal managerial role of the principal in promoting professionalism amongst teachers in this province.     

Predicting intraindividual changes in teacher burnout: The role of perceived school environment and motivational factors

Based on self-determination theory, this study proposes and tests a motivational model of intraindividual changes in teacher burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment). Participants were 806 French-Canadian teachers in public elementary and high schools. Results show that changes in teachers’ perceptions of classroom overload and students’ disruptive behavior are negatively related to changes in autonomous motivation, which in turn negatively predict changes in emotional exhaustion. Results also indicate that changes in teachers’ perceptions of students’ disruptive behaviors and school principal’s leadership behaviors are related to changes in self-efficacy, which in turn negatively predict changes in three burnout components.     

Bullying in 25 secondary schools: incidence,impact and intervention

This paper outlines an investigation of the incidence and impact of physical, verbal and property-violation bullying in 25 secondary schools within a partnership operating with Keele University. The investigation also considers the impact of antisocial behaviour on pupils and the effectiveness of intervention to secure improved behaviour patterns. Evidence shows that in any year 75 per cent of pupils are bullied but that severe and repeated bullying is likely to be perpetrated and suffered by about seven per cent of pupils. Four behaviour patterns can be identified: bullies, bullies who are also victims, victims and non-participants, and the link between behaviour and factors in developing self-esteem is explored. Successful intervention requires a change of attitude on the part of both pupils and the community, a willingness to report events, and an understanding of respect for personal space.     

Bullying in schools and exposure to domestic violence

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to investigate the relationship between bullying and victimization in school and exposure to interparental violence in a nonclinical sample of Italian youngsters. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 1059 Italian elementary and middle school students. Participants completed a self-report anonymous questionnaire measuring bullying and victimization and exposure to interparental violence. The questionnaire also included measures on parental child abuse and socio-demographic variables. RESULTS: Almost half of all boys and girls reported different types of bullying and victimization in the previous 3 months, with boys more involved than girls in bullying others. Exposure to interparental physical violence and direct bullying were significantly associated especially for girls: girls exposed to father's violence against the mother and those exposed to mother's violence against the father were among the most likely to bully directly others compared with girls who had not been exposed to any interparental violence. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that bullying and victimization were predicted by exposure to interparental violence, especially mother-to-father violence, over and above age, gender, and child abuse by the father. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to interparental violence is associated with bullying and victimization in school, even after controlling for direct child abuse. Violence within the family has detrimental effects on the child's behavior; schools, in this regard, can play a fundamental role in early detection of maladjustment.     

The role of motivation between perceived teacher support and student engagement in science class

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate the relationships among the middle school students’ perceptions of science teacher support, students’ motivation and students’ engagement in learning science. Student motivation was addressed with task value and academic self-concept while student engagement included aspects of agentic, behavioural, emotional and cognitive engagement. In the study, survey method was used and the data were collected though previously validated self-report questionnaires. Valid data were obtained from 1006 middle school students enrolled in one of the nine public schools in Turkey. The path analysis revealed that perceived science teacher’s support positively predicted students’ task value and academic self-concept in science. Furthermore, students who reported high levels of task value and academic self-concept showed higher levels of engagement in science. Accordingly, it seems important for science teachers to listen to the students, behave fairly and help them to solve their problems in order to motivate them for learning science and increase their engagement in science class.     

中小学“校园欺凌”探究

"校园欺凌"普遍存在,多发生在中小学,性质恶劣,危害深远。了解并深入分析该问题,提出应对方法意义重大。通过对"校园欺凌"的探索分析,针对发生校园欺凌的原因,从家庭、学校、社会、法律法规以及个人自身特点等方面提出建议。     

教师进修学校发展定位问题探索

在教师教育体制转型时期,教师进修学校应当及时抓住机遇,将自身建设成为类似于国外专业发展学校(PDS)性质的县(市、区)教师发展与教育研究中心,主要承担中小学教师实践类课程的继续教育,与大学合作开展师范生临床性实践能力培养,开展并推进中小学教育教学行动研究活动,为中小学教师终身学习提供信息资源服务等任务。     

Teachers matter: Measures of teacher effectiveness in low-income minority schools

Teachers make a difference in student academic growth. Students from low-income, minority communities attend schools with less resources and less qualified teachers than students in wealthier communities. The Race to the Top (RTTT) policy by the U.S. Department of Education has attempted to address the achievement gap based on SES and the disparity in the quality of teachers between communities. The policy stipulates that teacher effectiveness be determined, in significant part, by student growth measures and supplemented with multiple observation-based assessments. The emphasis placed on student outcomes to indicate teacher effects has served to link teacher evaluations with teacher effectiveness. This review article examines the reported benefits and critical responses to the use of a prominent student growth measure, the Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS), in terms of its implementation as an evaluation tool of teacher effectiveness in low-income, minority schools. Models of observational teacher evaluations, taking into consideration common attributes of effective teachers in low-income schools, are presented as supplemental measures to provide more in-depth information to interpret value-added analyses and to minimize possible misinterpretation of student growth data or the misclassification of teachers’ effectiveness for teachers in low-income schools. Information obtained from a combination of evaluation measures can be used to identify both effective and ineffective teachers, to target areas in need of improvement to increase teacher effectiveness, and to make decisions concerning the equitable distribution of effective teachers, especially for students who are most in need.     

Affordances of teacher professional learning in secondary schools

It is commonly understood that teachers in secondary school should develop throughout their career in order to stay as an essential factor in student learning. Schools can offer opportunities to link teachers’ professional learning to their school practice with a positive impact on teachers’ motivation to learn and the effectiveness of their learning. In this field study, teachers, school leaders, policy-makers, educational consultants and educational scholars were asked for their perceptions of conditions for teacher learning in school and of interventions in school to enhance teacher professional learning. These conditions and interventions were understood as affordances in schools that enable and support teacher professional learning. The main affordance in school these stakeholders mentioned was an open, but critical way in which teachers share their practices, collaborate and reflect upon their teaching practice. Collaborative practices seem to stimulate many interventions of teacher professional learning in school. Two implications of this finding are discussed. First, we suggest that the maximum teaching time should be reduced, team teaching should be more implemented or classes should be scheduled in such a way that teachers can meet. Second, distributed leadership approaches match with our findings about the role of school leaders in teacher professional learning.