Managing teacher retention in a rural school district in South Africa

Retaining quality teachers is a global challenge for schools, particularly those in rural districts. A nation-wide study conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) found that 55 % of teachers in South Africa would leave teaching if they could. Resignation was found to be one of the three largest causes of attrition (Hall et al. Potential attrition in education: the impact of job satisfaction, morale, workload and HIV/AIDS. Report presented to the ELRC by the Human Sciences Research Council and the Medical Research Council of South Africa, Cape Town: HSRC Press, 2005). This paper reports findings of a qualitative multi-case study of 15 schools in Moretele, part of a rural district—Bojanala—in the North-West province of South Africa. The aim of the study was to determine factors that influence teacher retention and the teacher retention strategies used by principals. The study also ascertained principals’ perceptions of their effectiveness in managing teacher retention. Data were collected through individual and focus group interviews of purposefully selected school principals. Findings suggest that rural schools have unique challenges that tend to militate against teacher retention. Reported barriers to teacher retention relate to the policy and procedures framework, working conditions in schools, socio-economic push–pull factors, teachers’ personal circumstances, and the role ambiguity of principals. The key recommendation made is that the staffing function as an aspect of Human Resource Management should be decentralized. School Governing Bodies must be empowered to make teacher-retention decisions and facilitate related activities of school principals.     

浅议农村中学教学反思型教师的培养

反思性教学正逐渐成为影响当今世界各国教育实践的强劲教学思潮。新课程改革要求教师学会反思。本文针对我国农村中学教师中普遍存在的反思意识不强、反思活动较初级、反思能力较差等弱点提出了反思型教师的培养模式和方法。     

Professional development schools: Cataylsts for teacher and school change

Drawing on data from questionnaires and 49 interviews with teachers and principals, the impact of involvement in Professional Development Schools on teacher professional growth and school change at seven Professional Development School sites is explored through a cross-case analysis. Each of the seven sites, four elementary and three secondary, served five or more years as a PDS site. Program results were mixed, underscoring the importance of a range of context variables to program success, including school district support, principal, staff and University faculty stability, student body composition, school and faculty size, as well as the nature of teachers' program involvement. Implications for PDS program development and research are discussed and a range of policy issues explored, including those associated with tensions between university faculty roles and PDS responsibilities.     

The role of feedback from the school leader during teacher evaluation for teacher and school improvement

Since the turn of the century, teacher evaluation has been introduced around the world with the intent to improve teaching. However, in the literature on teacher evaluation, often findings reveal critical accounts about the effectiveness of feedback in teacher evaluation for teacher and school improvement. This article presents a qualitative study in eight schools where teachers did indicate to find the feedback they discussed with school leaders during teacher evaluation processes useful. In this study, we investigate whether we can identify what teachers actually do with this feedback and which factors contribute to their response. Our findings demonstrate the importance of school organizational characteristics and an integrated leadership approach for the feedback response of teachers. Also, our findings reveal how teacher evaluation is used in these schools to further school improvement.     

A climate for self-efficacy: the relationship between school climate and teacher efficacy for inclusion

Teacher efficacy represents a key construct in exploring successful implementation of inclusive policy. Teachers’ impression of school climate is shown to relate to teacher efficacy; however, few studies pay due deference to its context/specific conceptualisation, with a particular lacuna in research noted in an Irish mainstream primary school context. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between school climate and efficacy for inclusion and whether this relationship impacts on perceptions of challenging behaviours, further identifying barriers to and supports for efficacious inclusive practice. Fifty-seven probated primary mainstream teachers in the Republic of Ireland responded to online questionnaires exploring perceptions of school climate, teacher efficacy for inclusion and challenging behaviours. Teachers’ perceptions of a supportive school climate related positively to their teaching efficacy for inclusion, in turn influencing their ratings of the severity of and their confidence in managing commonly experienced challenging behaviours in inclusive classrooms. Teachers looked within their school for support, few noting Educational Psychologists (EPs) as sources for support. These findings add weight to the importance of understanding the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of their school climate and their efficacy for inclusion, addressing the dearth of research in an Irish context. In particular, these findings underline the potential offered by an understanding of teachers’ beliefs to inform and enhance the role of EPs in supporting efficacious inclusive practice.     

Fostering collaborative teacher learning: A typology of school leadership

Previous research indicates that supportive school leadership is a key condition of collaborative teacher learning. The purpose of this study was to develop a typology of how school leaders foster collaborative teacher learning. We adopted an integrative perspective on leadership by examining both learning-centred leadership and distributed leadership practices that are supportive of collaborative teacher learning. Data were gathered by means of interviews with ten school leaders and a questionnaire that was completed by 39 teachers from six secondary schools in the Netherlands. The aim of the interviews was to identify to what extent school leaders applied learning-centred leadership and distributed leadership practices. The questionnaire measured teachers' perceptions of the role of school leaders in teacher learning. As an outcome of this study, we constructed a typology that provides insights into how school leaders foster collaborative teacher learning. Four types of school leaders were distinguished: (a) integrators of teacher learning, (b) facilitators of teacher learning, (c) managers of teacher learning, and (d) managers of daily school practice. Our findings suggest that integration of learning-centred leadership and distributed leadership practices can help school leaders to support collaborative teacher learning.     

Problems facing school superintendents and school board presidents of large school districts

Superintendents and school board presidents from the 100 largest school districts in the nation were surveyed to determine the major problems confronting these education leaders. Both superintendents and school board presidents were in agreement on most concerns, including the top three major problems. They are in complete agreement that finance and related worries are the most important problems they face. The survey identified several critical variables, including the superintendents' age, gender, and experience; the school board presidents' gender and experience; and the school districts' size, geographical region, metropolitan setting, and ethnic student profile.     

美国农村学区吸引和挽留教师的对策及其启示

本文主要介绍美国农村学区一系列吸引和挽留教师的对策及其对我国农村地区解决教师匮乏问题的一些启示.     

The rationale for a wider concept of inclusive education for teacher education: A case study of Serbia

Teacher education for inclusive education (IE) is recognized as vital for improving quality and equity in education globally. In the Western Balkan countries it is also part of the transition process towards joining the European Union and has attracted international funding for IE-related projects. A key finding from research funded by the European Training Foundation, carried out by the authors as members of a seven-country research team in 2009?C2010, was that the prevailing local understanding of IE was very narrow. In this article we hypothesize the reasons for this finding. We use a case study of school and teacher education systems in Serbia to explore how this understanding has constrained the development of IE and associated teacher education and limited the efficacy of some recent internationally supported developments. We identify both challenges and possible ways forward for teacher education for IE based on promoting a concept of IE that is both collaboratively agreed and comprehensive.     

A unique rural school environment

An observational study of 34 children in a Midwest rural two-room school yielded several insights into a unique school environment. Teacher strategies are described, as well as child behavior, as they differed from urban schools. Five environmental characteristics were striking: (a) school routines, (b) group learning, (c) interdependence, (d) independence, and (e) community involvement. Comparison of the Metropolitan Achievement Tests and the Science Research Associates (SRA) scores yielded little or no differences in performance between urban and rural children. The only significant difference was on the Social Science subtest. Positive aspects of a rural school environment were highlighted by this study's observational and test data.     

贵州农村小规模学校师资建设调查分析--以黔东南州四个县为例

开展2013年贵州省教育改革发展研究招标课题“贵州省农村小规模学校教学质量保障机制研究”调查研究过程中发现,农村小规模学校发展存在诸多的问题,主要是教职工满编与不够用的矛盾,教师知识文化与教育素质缺失,农村学校教师有机会培训与不能去培训矛盾以及师资影响学校各学科开设齐全等问题.以黔东南的某四个县为例深入分析这些问题并提出思考建议.