Authority in the classroom: adolescent autonomy, autonomy support, and teachers’ legitimacy

Younger generations are increasingly questioning the legitimacy of teachers. However, evidence concerning classroom authority and the many factors that shape it tend to disregard the complexity and dynamics of the relationship between the teacher and the student. This paper aims to contribute to further unfold and understand this topic. Specifically, teachers’ legitimacy is examined from the scope of the Relational Model of Authority and the principle of autonomy, from the standpoint of the individual (i.e. adolescent’s autonomy level) and the individual’s perception of the social context (i.e. perceived autonomy support). Participants were 323 adolescents attending two secondary schools in urban areas of Portugal, from 9th to 12th grades. The results indicate that teachers’ legitimacy, as recognised by students, varies according to their perceived autonomy support. In addition, more autonomous adolescents, when in contexts that they perceive as lower in autonomy support, recognise lower levels of legitimacy to their teachers, compared with individuals with lower autonomy levels. Results are discussed from the standpoint of the Relational Model of Authority, the Self-Determination Theory and the Theory of Psychological Reactance.     

Fostering students’ moderation competence: the interplay between social relatedness and perceived competence*

Using a longitudinal design, the present study examined whether two teaching concepts that varied in their capacity to foster students’ self-determination affected students’ sense of social relatedness and their perceived moderation competence, as well as the interplay between these two components and the students’ performance during a moderation exam. We conducted a quasi-experimental field study with university students (N?=?160), who were evenly distributed between an experimental (EG) and a control group (CG). The results of multi-group path analysis suggest that simultaneously fostering autonomy, competence, and relatedness (EG), in comparison to providing autonomy and competence support only (CG), leads to a stronger link between perceived competence and social relatedness. If students experience moderation competence, they in turn feel socially related to their teacher, which leads to an even higher competence perception thereafter. The crucial role of teachers’ behaviour, in particular relatedness support, in learning development is discussed.     

What motivates higher education educators to innovate? Exploring competence,autonomy, and relatedness – and connections with wellbeing

ABSTRACT

Background: High quality tertiary teaching is important for maximising the impact of tertiary education for students, employers and society, as well as for institutional reputation and accountability. Varied interpretations exist regarding what counts as ‘innovative’ tertiary teaching.

Purpose: This study sought to explore the deeper drivers of motivations of tertiary educators to initiate and implement teaching innovations.

Method: Drawing from the data from semi-structured interviews from a wider study into innovative teaching in a tertiary education institution in Aotearoa New Zealand, we analysed the rationale of 13 expert tertiary educators for teaching in novel ways. The framework for analysis was based on Self-Determination Theory: data were analysed in relation to three basic psychological needs known to impact on motivation and wellbeing – competence, autonomy and relatedness.

Findings: Our analysis suggests that tertiary educator motivation to innovate in their teaching is related to feelings of all three needs. Findings suggest that innovative pedagogical change was linked to educators’ need for feelings of competence in relation to subject area content, pedagogy and developing student competence. Enhancing autonomy for the educators themselves, or for their students, was also an important factor motivating innovative practice. Developing relatedness between students, between themselves and students, and between students and society were reported as motivations for innovative teaching. Some teaching innovations were motivated by the educator’s desire for greater personal or student wellbeing.

Conclusions Educators’ motivations for being innovative in their tertiary pedagogical practice encompassed content, pedagogical, personal and social dimensions. None reported that their innovation was motivated by institutional policy or expectations. The reported challenges to innovative teaching practice, including institutional structures and processes, lack of access to specific technologies, and the time needed to develop and implement changed practice, indicate that educators must be strongly committed to making change in their practice to sustain the effort required.     

Can the flipped classroom model improve students’ academic performance and training satisfaction in Higher Education instructional media design courses?

While “flipping” a classroom has gained attention in K-12 and Secondary school programs, there has been relatively no explicit focus on its effectiveness as a teaching method for instructional media design courses in Higher Education. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine the effectiveness of the flipped classroom approach to teaching instructional media design subjects by comparing students’ academic performance and training satisfaction in traditional lecture-based instruction with those in a flipped classroom. A total of 128 undergraduate students participated voluntarily and were divided into a control (n = 62) and an experimental (n = 66) group, respectively. The study findings indicated substantial differences in both academic performance and training satisfaction between the two groups, with the students in the experimental group performing significantly better. Specifically, the results showed some determining factors associated with training satisfaction that explain why students in flipped classes achieved notably higher mastery in the learning objectives than their control group peers. This study adds to the literature by providing evidence on how a flipped classroom can potentially benefit students’ academic performance, leading to higher training satisfaction and deeper disciplinary understanding in instructional media design courses.     

The effect of flipped learning on EFL students’ writing performance,autonomy, and motivation

Education and Information Technologies - Though flipped learning has positively impacted teaching English writing, its usefulness in developing students’ English writing performance,...     

Teaching the ‘invisible’ disabled students in the classroom: disclosure,inclusion and the social model of disability

Drawing on the insights of critical disability studies, this article addresses anxieties frequently articulated by academic staff around the implementation of the United Kingdom's Disability Discrimination Act: how to accommodate the needs of students with ‘hidden’ impairments. Following the social model of disability, it argues that universities should avoid the use of medical labels in identifying the learning needs of disabled students, and should make efforts to institute as part of everyday practice a diversity of inclusive teaching strategies. Finally it discusses an induction activity which sought to encourage students to disclose additional learning needs to university staff while opening up a discussion around difference, diversity with the student cohort as a whole.     

Students’ perceptions of the flipped classroom model in an engineering course: a case study

The flipped classroom model is an innovative educational trend that has been widely adopted in the social sciences but not engineering education. In this model, an active instructional approach shifts the educational strategy from a teacher- to a student-centred approach. The purpose of this study is to compare the learning outcomes of engineering students attending a flipped-model section of the Dynamics of Structures course with students attending a traditional, lecture-based section of the same course taught by the same instructor. The results confirm previous research showing that test scores in the flipped course sections were slightly higher than traditional sections. Although the improvement in test scores was statistically insignificant, student statements indicated that the flipped model promoted a deeper, broader perspective on learning, facilitated problem-solving strategies and improved critical-thinking abilities, self-confidence and teamwork skills, which are needed for a successful engineering career.     

Internationalisation and the development of students’ intercultural competence

Universities’ internationalisation rhetoric suggests that students studying on internationally diverse campuses will automatically engage positively with one another and develop intercultural competence. This study examined the extent to which a cohort of first year UK and non-UK students studying on an internationally diverse campus developed intercultural competence. The Intercultural Development Inventory® (IDI®) and a locally designed survey were used to assess students’ intercultural competence and to explore their intercultural experiences over seven months. Students began almost exclusively in lower (ethnocentric) stages of intercultural development and most showed little progress despite reporting relatively high levels of intercultural contact, friends from other cultures and positive experiences. Findings suggest that even positive intercultural experiences do not necessarily lead to the development of intercultural competence and that university policy and practice may need to be enhanced if producing graduates with higher levels of intercultural competence is to become a realised outcome of internationalisation.     

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....     

A pilot study examining the impact of collaborative mind mapping strategy in a flipped classroom: learning achievement,self-efficacy,motivation, and students’ acceptance

Educational technology research and development - Appropriate collaborative learning support is necessary for group learning in a flipped classroom setting, especially in the out-of-class learning...     

The relationship between teacher’s autonomy support and students’ autonomy and vitality

Abstract

Within education, some teachers’ interpretation of professionalism emphasizes conformity to the perceived norms of collective associations. Unprofessional behaviour, often equated with ‘unethical’ behaviour, is seen by many to be that which threatens solidarity and loyalty to colleagues. Informal norms typified by casual collegial relations as well as more formal attachments to organized unions or teachers’ federations exert a significant influence on individuals’ behaviour within the group. Professional ethics, in this sense, become concerned primarily with how one relates to colleagues rather than how one fulfils moral responsibilities to students. Qualitative findings from interviews with elementary and secondary school teachers suggest that, as a result of an ethic of collegial loyalty, some teachers experience personal moral and ethical dilemmas that they find difficult to resolve. Some respondents acknowledged that this can enable serious situations to be ignored or ‘covered up’. This paper examines some of the tensions and dilemmas experienced by teachers and raises questions about the ethical adequacy of defining professionalism in terms of inter‐colleague behaviour.     

Individual flipped learning and cooperative flipped learning: their effects on students’ performance,social, and computer anxiety

The purpose of this study is to differentiate the effect of cooperative learning strategy integrated with a flipped learning (FL) model from sole FL implementation in promoting students’ performances while decreasing their social and computer anxiety in an undergraduate course. As a method, a classical experimental design is used. The participants were from the department of English Language and Literature, and Translation and Interpretation. Students were randomly assigned to individual FL (the control group) class; and FL with cooperative activities (experimental group) class. The groups were randomly assigned as experimental and control by tossing a coin. The implementation took 10 weeks. Students’ performances (grades), social anxiety, and computer anxiety were dependent variables of the study and they were compared through multivariate analysis of variance. The results indicated that there is no significant mean difference between groups’ performances; however; the group of FL with cooperative activities had less social anxiety, but no significant change occurred at their computer anxiety level.     

Are teachers’ psychological control,autonomy support and autonomy suppression associated with students’ goals?☆

This study investigated associations between student-perceived teacher behaviours and students’ personal goal orientations. Thus, the study applied theoretical concepts from self-determination theory and parenting style in an attempt to enhance understanding of additional environmental characteristics possibly affecting personal goal orientation. Moreover, it examined psychological control in a classroom context, whereas it was previously investigated mainly within parent–child relationships. Junior-high school students (n?=?191) completed questionnaires to reveal their perceptions of teacher practices and their own personal goals. The distinction between teachers’ psychological control and autonomy suppression was supported by confirmatory factor analysis; however, they were highly correlated. When regarded as two dimensions of teachers’ compelling behaviours, they associated positively with performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals and negatively with mastery goals. Teachers are advised to avoid various compelling practices.     

Exploring the factors teachers consider in determining students’ grades

The purpose of this study was to investigate the specific factors teachers consider when assigning students’ report card grades. Data were gathered from 943 K-12 teachers from five school districts in a southeastern state in the United States who completed the Teachers’ Grading Practices Survey. Analyses focused on how teachers weigh different factors in determining report card grades, and if these factors and weights differ among teachers who teach at different grade levels and have different amounts of classroom experience. Results revealed statistically significant differences among teachers at different grade levels but no differences associated with teachers’ years of experience and no interaction effect. Differences by grade level were evident in teachers’ consideration of both cognitive and non-cognitive factors of students’ performance. Implications are discussed for improving grading policies and practices, teacher education and teacher professional development.     

The effect of extended UTAUT model on EFLs’ adaptation to flipped classroom

Education and Information Technologies - The educational transformation of flipped classroom continues to be the important approach to increasing students’ readiness for flipped learning. To...