Teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs for teaching math: Relations with teacher and student outcomes

Social cognitive theory posits that teacher self-efficacy beliefs should be related to not only their own well-being outcomes but also classroom processes and student outcomes in the general ecology of the classroom environment. However, little research has directly examined the associations of teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs with these teacher and student-level outcomes simultaneously. The present study proposes and tests an integrative model of the relations of teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching math with their job satisfaction and student math achievement both directly and indirectly via interaction quality as a critical dimension of the quality of classroom processes. Additionally, student level relational and motivational predictors of math achievement, including individual perceptions of student-teacher interaction quality and math self-concept, are included per the ecology of the classroom environment. Based on data from over 6000 4th grade students and 450 teachers, results of multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs for teaching math were positively associated with teachers’ job satisfaction and class levles of math achievement and interaction quality. At the individual student level, individual levels of math self-concept were positively associated with math achievement, and individual perceptions of interaction quality were positively associated with math self-concept. However, a negative association between residualized interindividual perceptions of interaction quality and math achievement was observed.     

运用课堂纪律管理技能 提高师范生的课堂教学质量

高师小学教育专业学生由于面对的教育对象的特殊性 ,必然要求他们要运用课堂纪律管理技能来驾驭好课堂纪律 ,保证课堂教学的良好秩序 ,这也是提高师范生课堂教学质量 ,使他们的从教能力得到锻炼的前提条件之一。因此 ,加强师范生课堂纪律管理技能知识的学习和培养训练是十分重要的。     

Teachers’ Commitment to the Field and Teacher–Child Interactions in Center-Based Child Care for Toddlers and Three-Year-Olds

Defining teacher characteristics that are associated with effective teaching continues to be a challenging task for the field of early care and education. Much of the research examining classroom quality has focused solely on teacher characteristics such as education and experience; However, teachers’ commitment to the field of early care and education defined as including job satisfaction, perception of the job as a long-term career, education level, years of experience, and membership in a professional organization may be an important characteristic to consider in teachers’ interactions with children in the classroom, especially teachers of very young children. Using the NICHD Study of Early Child Care data at 15, 24, and 36 months, the present paper examines characteristics of early childhood teachers’ commitment to the field and the assessed quality of teacher–child interactions in the classroom. Results indicate that overall, these characteristics significantly predict the quality of teachers’ emotional and cognitive support provided to children as measured by the Observational Record of the Caregiving Environment (ORCE). Characteristics of commitment to the field were stronger predictors of the cognitive support than the emotional support teachers’ provide in classrooms. The current work provides important information to consider in discussions of how characteristics of early childhood teachers influence their interactions with children in classrooms.     

Improving Instruction and Classroom Management Behaviour in Mixed‐age Classrooms: results of two improvement studies

This article describes the results of a second school improvement study directed at schools with mixed‐age classes, and compares the results of this second study with the first study. The second improvement study examines the effects of a staff development programme which introduced selected findings from teaching effectiveness research into ongoing school settings with mixed‐age classes. In addition to the staff development programme the effects of coaching are also evaluated. In contrast to the first improvement study the staff development programme was implemented by teacher educators and school counsellors in the regular educational support context (in‐service teacher education). A quasi‐experimental, treatment‐control group investigation was designed to test the effects of the staff development programme ‘Dealing with mixed‐age classes’, and the effects of coaching. Based on pre‐ and post‐training classroom observations, the second improvement study‐‐like the first one‐‐revealed a significant treatment effect for pupils’ time‐on‐task levels in mixed‐age classrooms, and for teachers’ instructional and classroom management skills. Only two coaching effects were found: for organising effective instruction and for dealing with disturbances. Time‐on‐task levels improved more strongly in classes of coached teachers. In the second improvement study the effects on teacher instructional and classroom management skills, and pupil behaviour are smaller than in the first study. The staff development programme as conducted in regular in‐service settings by teacher educators and school counsellors was less effective than the staff development programme as conducted in an evaluation setting by the designers of the programme.     

Characteristics of male elementary teachers in the U.S.A., at teacher education program entry and exit

This article reports on two studies that describe the status of male elementary preservice and inservice teachers. One study looked at entering teacher candidates, describing differences between males entering elementary education and other teacher candidates, at three universities in the U.S.A. (n = 936), with three sets of variables: (1) high school background, (2) self-confidence in teaching, and (3) expectations for teacher education. The second study looked at practicing male elementary school teachers who were recent graduates of teacher education programs at 12 different universities (n = 1098), with three sets of variables: (1) career status, (2) ratings of teacher education program quality, and (3) self-evaluation of teaching knowledge and skills. Male elementary candidates were less academically oriented, more self-confident about teaching, and less optimistic about usefulness of courses than other subgroups of entering teacher candidates. Male elementary teachers had lower job satisfaction and less favorable opinions of their teacher education programs than other subgroups of teachers, but were just as sanguine about their level of teaching skill as were the other groups.     

地方高校青年教师课堂教学技能调查研究——以广西大学为例简

本研究以广西大学为例,采用问卷调查法对地方高校青年教师的课堂教学技能进行调查,研究发现,尽管教师教学态度认真,但由于缺乏必要的教师教育训练,对常用的课堂教学技能非常陌生,严重制约了课堂教学质量的提高.为了提高青年教师的课堂教学技能,高校应把提升青年教师课堂教学技能纳入学校师资队伍建设规划;加强校本培训,实行青年教师教学技能在岗培训计划;科学设计培训课程体系,加强教学技能培训的针对性.     

Mentoring for school based teacher education in Australia

This article is to explore the possibilities of mentoring for school based teacher education in Australia. Traditionally, supervision at the school level during the practicum in Australia has been focused on the classroom teacher whose role was to oversee and watch the direct work of the student teacher. However with the reforms in teacher education within the higher education sector which began in the late 1980s, a new challenge has arisen, which emphasises a shift of focus within the practicum from the role of classroom teacher as supervisor to one of mentor. Therefore, teachers who wish to become mentors will require new skills and competencies which extend beyond those of supervision, which necessitates the need for further training and education of classroom teachers. This article examines the mentoring role and the skills needed by teachers in supporting the development and education of student teachers into the teaching profession. The article also briefly examines the implications that this shift in focus from supervisor to mentor may bring for the participants involved in the education of student teachers.     

Why they quit: a focused look at teachers who leave for other occupations

To better understand the factors related to teachers' decisions to leave for jobs outside of education, the study employs a structural equation modeling approach to analyze data from two large national datasets from the National Center for Education Statistics. The focus on occupation switchers is unique, with most studies of teacher attrition failing to differentiate between teachers who leave by their reasons for doing so. Overall, our findings suggest that district- and school-level leaders concerned about keeping good teachers in the classroom can take steps to improve teachers' job satisfaction by enhancing salaries and the conditions in which teachers work. Forced to choose between these levers, administrators may be more successful in boosting satisfaction and reducing the rate by which teachers quit to take a job outside of education by focusing their efforts on improving working conditions.     

生本让我们享受简单——谈生本理念下小学语文教学的新思考

生本教育其实是一种回归到简洁的教育。任何教师拿起教材,就能走进课堂,上好语文课;只要乐于关注学生,善于和学生一起积极参与课堂学习,就能分享到教学最丰硕的成果;学优为师,师生共同成长,出现相互提高的美好境界。简单到:为了学生的一切,大胆地向学生拿来,让学生成为我们教育最丰富的资源,如信手拈来般自然真实,像一挥而就般利索纯朴。     

民族院校本科教学质量实证研究——基于N校教师工作满意度的调查简

教师工作满意度是反映高校本科教育教学质量的重要标志。2012年12月,笔者选取N校为调查对象,系统调查了民族院校教师对本科教学的工作满意程度。通过问卷调查和教师座谈,经过数据分析,我们发现,民族院校教师对本科教学质量总体满意度较高,但是在教师激励机制、学风教风建设、实验（实践）教学、人才培养方案、师资队伍建设等具体指标上满意度偏低。不同专业教师在专业规划和课程建设等方面的满意度差异显著,民族院校教育教学存在师资薄弱、理工科专业特色不足、平均主义等问题。民族院校需要进一步加大实践教学投入,凝练理工科专业培养特色,试行教师分类管理机制和教育职员制改革,不断提升服务水平。     

Teacher incentives in the Third World

Based on Kemmerer's earlier work on teacher incentives, this study examined the extent that teacher incentives (or the type that might be influenced by central ministries of education) were related to teachers' instructional practices and career satisfaction of junior secondary school teachers in Botswana. Results indicated that the level of incentives teachers received was meaningfully related to teachers' career satisfaction, but was not related to teachers' classroom teaching practices. Findings suggest that, while incentives to improve teachers' overall career satisfaction might stimulate teacher recruitment and encourage retention in teaching, those incentives would not necessarily lead to improved instructional practices.     

Developing the Effective Teaching Skills of Teacher Candidates During Early Field Experiences

This study examined the development of effective teaching skills in teacher candidates in the context of early field experiences directly tied to a pedagogical course. Evidence from faculty instructors, mentor teachers, and teacher candidates suggests secondary education candidates were able to develop effective teaching skills related to instructional strategies, classroom management, and curriculum design during an early field experience. Teacher candidates developed these skills as they shifted their identities from candidates-as-students to candidates-as-teachers.     

以中青年教师为主体的外语教学科研团队的建设

研究采用定性的方法对广东省内九所高校的外语教师进行调查,了解中青年外语教师的知识结构和层次、教育教学理念、教学方法和手段、科研或教研情况、职业发展的现状、提高自身业务的途径和策略以及教学与科研中存在的问题,提出建立以中青年教师为主体的"教学—科研"双向互动型团队,以解决传统的教师教育过分重视教师队伍中的精英阶层、脱离日常的课堂教学、对课堂教学的有效性关注过少的问题,并为中青年外语教师职业发展提供一条可行之路。在团队建设中真正贯彻平等、互信、协作、分享、共赢的原则,可以打破教师职业发展停滞不前、职业倦怠和压力与日剧增的怪圈,让中青年外语教师在教书育人、科学研究的道路上越走越顺畅。     

Teachers’ classroom management self-efficacy,perceived classroom management and teaching contexts from beginning until mid-career

Teacher self-efficacy for classroom management is an important component of teachers' identity with implications for their teaching quality. Theoretically, it has been described that contextual variables play an important role for self-efficacy development and its consequences. However, little is known about the interrelationships of job resources and demands with teacher self-efficacy, and consequences for teachers' professional behaviors. We extend teacher self-efficacy research by drawing on the Job Demands-Resources model in examining contextual influences on developmental dynamics between classroom management self-efficacy and teacher-reported classroom management, from prior to qualifying as a teacher until mid-career. Participants were 395 primary and secondary Australian school teachers. Longitudinal structural equation models showed teachers’ classroom management self-efficacy positively related to aspects of their perceived classroom management, particularly during early career. Between early and mid-career, the positive relationship between self-efficacy and classroom management was moderated by early career excessive demands. Implications are outlined for teacher education and school administration.     

Novice Science Teachers: Expectations and Experiences

This project grew out of concerns expressed by several novice teachers about their lack of preparation to deal with common problems in the classroom. Several trends were evident with the teachers involved in this study. They all came to recognize the importance of effective, organized instruction during the term of the study, along with the importance of effective classroom management and discipline skills. This included an emphasis on planning, preparation, and adequate knowledge of subject matter. They all felt that they were well prepared by their college classes in their primary content area, but less prepared in supporting areas of science. It is hoped that this information will be used to further refine teacher education programs at the university level.     

课堂教学研究的国际比较与诊断改进框架的构建

研究课堂教学和支持广大教师学会做研究成为世界各国教师教育研究的一个热点关注,在其教育教学研究中也占有十分重要的地位.本文针对国内课堂教学评价研究有余而诊断改进不足的现状,研究建立了一个课堂教学的诊断改进框架,以更好地促进广大教师自觉反思和研究自己的课堂,成为具有一定研究能力的实践者.     

Frequency of co‐teaching in different teacher categories

Co‐teaching – or the use of more than one teacher in a classroom – has been commonly recommended as a means to promote inclusive education. The aim of the present study was to survey the actual frequency of co‐teaching among different teacher categories in the comprehensive school level in one Finnish city. The data were collected through a questionnaire answered by two representative samples of teachers including 117 resource room teachers in the first survey, and 317 teachers of various teacher categories in the second. The results showed that co‐teaching was a widespread phenomenon among resource room teachers and special class teachers but less frequent among other teacher groups. Overall, it was used only infrequently, typically from two to three hours a week. On a weekly basis it was implemented by every second special education teacher, every third classroom teacher and every sixth subject teacher. A comparison with a study from the early 1980s confirmed that the relative popularity of co‐teaching had increased only slightly during the years. Although co‐teaching is used sparsely, the teachers reported almost uniquely positive experiences obtained from it. It is argued that the promotion of co‐teaching needs additional incentives if it is hoped to make it more common.     

构建大学生专业与岗位技能对接教学模式的探索

大学生专业与岗位技能对接教育是普通高等教育一种全新的教学实践模式。在这个模式中,大学毕业生入职岗位技能培训前移,大学生在校期间就已经掌握了岗位技能,职业素质得到拓展,就业能力得到提高;学校"双师型"师资队伍建设得到加强;用人单位对人才质量满意度提升。此模式建立了普通高等教育与职业教育融合的新渠道,完善了学校教育与社会需求相结合的人才培养、培训体系,创新了大学生培养机制。     

Are our Special Education Students Ready for Work? An Investigation of the Teaching of Job-related Social Skills in Northern Taiwan

This study is concerned with the current job preparation programmes for special education students in Taiwan. Two hundred and three randomly selected special education teachers in Northern Taiwan responded to a questionnaire about job-related social skills. The relationship between teachers’ demographic characteristics and their teaching of job-related social skills was examined. In general, teachers’ pedagogical practices were found to focus more on the basic job-related social skills (such as proper attire, hygiene, punctuality and attendance) than on the advanced job-related social skills (such as cooperation and emotion management). Interestingly, teachers with a special education degree tended to nurture both dimensions of job-related social skills. Additionally, teacher experience was found to be a key contributor to the teaching of job-related social skills, with less experienced teachers more likely to downplay the teaching of such skills.