Teacher–student relationship at university: an important yet under-researched field

This article reviews the extant research on the relationship between students and teachers in higher education across three main areas: the quality of this relationship, its consequences and its antecedents. The weaknesses and gaps in prior research are highlighted and the importance of addressing the multi-dimensional and context-bound nature of teacher–student relationships is proposed. A possible agenda for future research is outlined.     

Enhancing Secondary School Instruction and Student Achievement: Replication and Extension of the My Teaching Partner-Secondary Intervention

Abstract

My Teaching Partner-Secondary (MTP-S) is a web-mediated coaching intervention, which an initial randomized trial, primarily in middle schools, found to improve teacher–student interactions and student achievement. Given the dearth of validated teacher development interventions showing consistent effects, we sought to both replicate and extend these findings with a modified version of the program in a predominantly high school population, and in a more urban, sociodemographically diverse school district. MTP-S produced substantial gains in student achievement across 86 secondary school classrooms involving 1,194 students. Gains were robust across subject areas and equivalent to moving the average student from the 50th to the 59th percentile in achievement scores. Results suggest that MTP-S can enhance student outcomes across diverse settings and implementation modalities.     

The effects of a short-term professional development program on physical education teachers’ behaviour and students’ engagement in learning

This study examined the effect of a short-term training programme οn in-service physical education teachers’ behaviour and students’ engagement in learning. Teachers (n = 32) were randomly divided into an experimental and a control group. Each teacher’s behaviour was observed in six lessons; two for each measurement (pre, post and retention) and analysed with qualitative dimensions of lesson introduction, task presentations and lesson closure. Student engagement was analysed with the time analysis form. The total and successful attempts of selected students were also recorded. The experimental group attended a two-hour lecture followed by a two-hour practicum, and showed significant improvement and learning of all the examined behaviours as well as significantly higher performance than the control group. Also, students of the experimental teacher group presented significantly greater activity time, more practice attempts and more successful ones than their peers in the control group. The results establish the effect of the training programme on teacher behaviour and student engagement in learning.     

Teacher candidates’ opinions and experiences as input for teacher education curriculum development*

The aim of this international study was to generate recommendations for curriculum improvement in family–school partnerships (FSP) by examining teacher candidates’ understandings, attitudes and experiences. A survey of 1144 candidates in their first or final year of preparation at three universities, one each in Belgium, the Netherlands and the USA, provided qualitative and quantitative data regarding their understandings, attitudes about FSP and their experiences in their teacher preparation. The data indicated modest approval of the value of partnerships, understandings of partnerships weighted towards teacher to parent communication, preference for traditional teacher–parent activities over non-traditional choices, and, among final year candidates, mildly positive feelings of preparedness. Candidates wished more interactions with parents during field experiences and practical strategies for communicating with parents. Inferred in their responses was the need for curriculum to develop an expanded view of partnerships, enhance attitudes, especially among secondary education candidates, and cultivate skills in working with families from culturally diverse backgrounds. However, few candidates expressed a desire for exploring theory and research on partnerships or for the opportunity to develop a personal philosophy, components which are thought critical for teachers’ ability to establish partnerships with parents.     

Beginning and end of the internship: student teachers’ interpersonal profiles and the accuracy of their self-beliefs

An important purpose of internships in teacher preparation programmes is to develop competence through experience. The research questions in the present study concern student teachers’ interpersonal profiles (i.e. patterns of their interpersonal behaviour as perceived by students) and the accuracy of their self-belief regarding the interpersonal relationship with students at the beginning and end of the internship. Participants were student teachers (n=34) of a one-year teacher education programme. There were fewer student teachers with preferable interpersonal profiles at the end of the internship than in the beginning. Self-beliefs at the beginning indicated that the majority of student teachers were underestimating themselves; at the end of the internship most of them were overestimating themselves. About two-thirds had more accurate self-beliefs at the end of the internship than at the beginning. Overestimating oneself seemed negatively related to more accurate self-beliefs at the end of the internship and student teachers with more preferable profiles had more accurate self-beliefs.     

The carrot,the stick,or the relationship: what are the effective disciplinary strategies?

The effectiveness of various management strategies has been of central concern in academic and educational debates on the role and nature of classroom discipline. Educational theorists and researchers have put forth a range of different models, each of which incorporates the use of a number of strategies. This article reports on a study that seeks to investigate the gamut of these strategies pragmatically and considers their affects on a range of factors, such as levels of student responsibility, misbehaviour, relationship with teachers, and connection to school. Analysis of the results offered in this article supports the judicious use of a combination of strategies involving the use of hinting, involvement, discussion, and recognition and rewards. The discussion focuses primarily on the benefits that can be achieved through a regulated process of positive discipline strategies, through which teachers and students can develop mutual respect and trust.     

论信息化环境下职业院校教师自主专业发展

在教育信息化环境下,教师应充分发挥自主性,做到自主专业发展,掌握自主发展的途径,包括开放的网络信息资源、交互的社会性软件、协作的学习共同体平台,以及立足自身的行动研究方法。     

高职体育教师专业成长探析

在当前素质教育和有效教学的社会背景下,提高课堂教学的有效性已经成为高职院校提高教育质量的重要途径。怎样才能更有效地利用好体育课堂,对高职体育教师的教学能力、育人能力等各方面都提出更高的要求,随之高职体育教师的专业成长问题也就变成一个急需解决的重要问题。体育教师只要多动脑、善学习、勤交流,结合个体反思、拓展视野、学习交流、实践创新等方式,就一定能够在专业领域取得长足的进步,也必定会成为更加优秀的教育工作者。     

基于高职院校行业英语教师专业发展的思考

行业英语教学是高职公共英语教学改革的必然趋势,行业英语教师的素质和能力决定英语教学的质量。因此,行业英语教师的自身专业发展成为行业英语教学的重点。分析高职院校行业英语教师专业发展存在的主要问题,探索行业英语教师专业发展的有效途径。     

How Good Are Our Schools

ABSTRACT

Research suggests a positive relationship between schools’ efforts to engage parents and parents’ involvement in their child's education. The authors investigated school socioeconomic status, school size, grade level, and student–teacher ratio as predictors of schools’ efforts to engage parents of students receiving special education services. The dependent variable was the Schools’ Efforts to Partner with Parents’ Scale, which has been validated for states’ use in their federal accountability systems. Mean school-level scores were calculated for 265 schools in a large southeastern state. Results indicated that student–teacher ratio was the strongest predictor of parents’ perceived school engagement efforts. Implications are drawn for ways in which all schools, including those with high student–teacher ratios, can improve their collaboration with parents of students receiving special education services.     

Examining the role of social relationships in the association between neuroticism and test anxiety – results from a study with German secondary school students

The current study investigates the mediating role of student–student relationships (SSRs) and teacher–student relationships (TSRs) in the association between neuroticism and test anxiety. Gender differences in these associations were examined. A total of 513 adolescent girls and boys from secondary schools in Berlin, Germany completed questionnaires on test anxiety, personality and quality of SSRs and TSRs. As expected, the results of group comparison analysis indicated that girls showed higher mean levels of test anxiety and neuroticism as compared to boys. Furthermore, negative correlations were observed between test anxiety and TSR for girls only. Structural equation modelling revealed a positive relationship between neuroticism and test anxiety, which was mediated by the SSRs, but not by the TSR. The results highlight the importance of a high quality SSR for both girls and boys, especially as this relationship was found to mediate the association between neuroticism and test anxiety in schools and therefore might contribute to lower anxiety in learning environments. Practical implications of these findings are outlined.     

Pre-service teachers’ growth as practitioners of developmentally appropriate practice: a Vygotskian analysis of constraints and affordances in the English context

This paper reports on an ongoing research programme designed to investigate the opportunities for, and barriers to, pre-service teachers’ growth as practitioners of developmentally appropriate practice for children aged 5–11. The analysis is framed by a Vygotskian cultural–historical perspective and points to personal, cultural and structural factors as potential constraints immanent in the various configurations produced by the pre-service teacher–environment interface. The paper concludes by confirming Vygotsky’s contention that development possibilities lie immanent in the contradictions produced by these specific configurations of constraints and affordances. Potential implications for teacher education programmes are also discussed, including the possibilities for facilitating the growth of critical teacher-researcher identities in what is currently a contested education landscape.     

职业教育课程改革与教师专业发展关系研究

课程改革作为深化教育教学改革的核心内容,关键在于教师,同时也对教师的专业发展提出了新的要求.课程改革与教师的专业发展是密切相关的,两者之间存在着相互影响、相互制约和相互促进的关系.从一定意义上说,课程的变革就是教师的变革,课程的发展就是教师的专业发展,课程改革的过程即是重构教师能力,促进教师专业发展的过程.     

关于职教教师专业发展特点的思考

职教教师专业发展主要有四个特点,分别是知识基础的特殊性、专业发展的复杂性、空间结构的多元性和理论的弱质性。