The story of leading mathematics teachers from teacher‐trainees to key positions

The present study depicts the story of three elementary school mathematics teachers who come from a different socio‐economic background but have similar entrance characteristics for college studies. They have chosen teaching as their first and sole alternative and as their preferred profession in life. All three were integrated into the education system upon graduation from college and, a short time later, less than three years, are playing key roles in the field of education in addition to their teaching practice in class. The study aims to identify unique characteristics of college graduate teachers who undergo an accelerated process of professional development. Their stories illustrate that the attitude towards the discipline (love of the profession, the wish to teach it), the wish to make an impact on what is transpiring in the system, personality variables and the school context in which they work as teachers are major and significant factors in their professional growth.     

教师应用技术进行教学变革的过程性研究——以参与课题研究中的三名新加坡生物教师为例

论文以新加坡一所中学三位生物教师为例,报告了一项有关教师如何看待和应用一款计算机建模软件BioLogica进行教学变革的过程性研究,考察与分析了教师个体因素与外部环境因素对教师技术应用行为的影响过程。研究表明,创新本身特性、教师的技术应用态度、已有的教学经验、实践共同体和管理者、尝试新教学的预期代价、教育评价制度等都会影响教师的技术采纳和应用表现。研究最后提出了一些如何促进教师采纳和成功应用技术的启示。     

Teacher attitude towards inclusion practices and special needs students

This paper investigates the varying attitudes of regular (mainstream) education teachers towards the implementation of inclusion in elementary and secondary school classrooms. This paper tries to take into account the need for a better understanding of teacher attitude towards inclusion and how the inclusive environment can be improved. The present paper concentrates on examining whether there is a difference in attitude between elementary regular education teachers and secondary regular education teachers. The participants of this study were 73 teachers from three public elementary and secondary schools in rural, southeastern USA who completed the Scale of Teachers' Attitudes Towards Inclusive Classrooms (STATIC). The results indicated that most teachers support the practice of inclusion in regular education classrooms or possess a neutral consensus towards the practice of inclusion as it relates to teaching assignment. For example, grade level, subject area or type of inclusion practice (full or partial). Meaning that the results for this study were mixed.     

中小学英语教师在线教学行为意向及影响因素

基于计划行为理论,采用问卷调查法探究中小学英语教师在线教学行为意向以及相关影响因素.通过相关分析和回归分析,得出以下结论:行为态度、主观规范、知觉行为控制与在线教学行为意向均存在正相关关系;行为态度、知觉行为控制均能显著预测在线教学行为意向;主观规范对在线教学行为意向的预测不显著.研究表明:当教师对在线教学持积极的态度...     

游戏教学法在幼儿足球教学中的运用探讨

幼儿园教育是促进幼儿德、智、体、美诸方面全面发展的教育。因此,教师可通过体育活动增强幼儿体质,培养幼儿健康生活的态度和行为习惯。在幼儿足球教学中,教师可引入游戏教学法,以激发幼儿的参与兴趣,增强幼儿的游戏体验感。文章探讨游戏教学法在幼儿足球教学中的运用策略。     

昭通地区中小学教师继续教育态度调查

从中小学教师继续教育的态度,继续教育的方式,课程设置等问题进行了抽样调查,结果表明,中小学教师对继续教育的态度在总体上是积极上进的,但也有部分教师对继续教育缺乏正确的认识和科学的态度,不同级别的中小学教师在不同的态度上有差异。     

The relationship between resistance to change and Romanian teachers’ attitude towards continuing education: the moderating role of conscientiousness

Previous research highlights that personal factors are more important than contextual factors in explaining teachers’ behaviours in relation to learning participation. The present study explores the relationship between two personal factors (dispositional resistance to change and teachers’ attitude towards continuing education) and the moderating role of conscientiousness on this relationship. The data have been gathered from 142 teachers from the field of special and public education, using three questionnaires: Revised Adult Attitudes Towards Continuing Education Scale, Resistance to Change Scale and IPIP-50. The main results show that, firstly, conscientiousness has a moderating role on the relationship between dispositional resistance to change and enjoyment of learning, and secondly, teachers in special education consider their continuing education as being more important than teachers in the regular system. Knowing this, we can predict and increase teachers’ participation in continuing education and can improve training design.     

Pre‐service teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion of students with high support needs in regular classrooms in Bangladesh

In the process of educational reforms for promoting equity and inclusion in education, pre‐service teacher preparedness has been identified as a vital factor that has an impact on the success of inclusive education. Bangladesh, like other parts of the world, has taken various initiatives to promote inclusive education in the country context. This study is an attempt to explore factors related to pre‐service teachers’ preparedness for inclusive education in Bangladesh. The current study is an extension of the work completed in previous studies and specifically examined participants’ attitudes and factors that influenced their attitudes. Following a mixed method design, this multi‐phase study measured 1,623 pre‐service teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education in phase 1. By applying a multiple regression procedure, several variables were identified that impacted on pre‐service teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion. The results indicated that Bangladeshi pre‐service teachers hold a less positive attitude towards the inclusion of children who have high support needs (that is, those who use Braille or sign language, or those who need to have an Individualised Academic Programme). In order to better understand the findings about apprehensive attitudes among pre‐service teachers, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with six institutional heads of pre‐service teacher education institutions. The interviews provided a new perspective on apprehensive attitudes among participants. Several curriculum reform suggestions are made that may have implications for policy‐makers and researchers in Bangladesh and beyond.     

The effect of a brief teacher training on student achievement

On the basis of previously determined correlations between teacher behavior and student achievement, a training program for mathematics teachers was developed. Previous research had established that this training did change the behavior of teachers. This article reports the effects of the training program on teacher behavior, student achievement, and student attitudes towards mathematics. From this study it appeared that the timing of the training was important for its effect on student achievement. There was no effect on student attitude.     

关于推行反思性对外汉语教学的思考

反思性教学以解决教学质量问题为基本点,以追求教学实践的合理性为出发点,具有较强的创新性。从国际教育的基本走向看,世界各国纷纷开始将教育改革的重点转向教师队伍建设,提倡研究型教师,以教师职业化作为提高教师素质、改善教育质量的重要途径,倡导并推行反思性教学对此具有积极的意义。我们要改变对外汉语学界在价值观和期望值上并不支持教师作为反思性教学实践者角色的倾向,采取对反思性教学优势认同的态度,探讨有利于推行反思性教学的管理思路和方法。     

Head teachers’ attitudes towards religious diversity and interreligious dialogue and their implications for secondary schools in Catalonia

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the attitudes of secondary-school head teachers towards religious diversity, intercultural and interreligious dialogue and the role of education in fostering intercultural and interreligious dialogue. A sample comprising 275 head teachers in Catalan secondary schools answered an online questionnaire. The results revealed attitudes which were moderately favourable towards cultural and religious diversity, more strongly favourable towards interreligious dialogue, and less favourable towards education playing a major role in managing religious and cultural diversity and in fostering interreligious dialogue. We found significant differences in head teachers’ attitudes in line with the specific features of the schools where they worked. Amongst these differences, it was noticeable that heads of religious and private–public schools had more positive attitudes towards managing religious and cultural diversity and towards education playing a leading role in promoting dialogue. Also, we identified three groups of head teachers who showed differing degrees of positivity according to the perceived religious diversity of their schools. The more diverse the school, the less favourable the attitude, and vice-versa; the most moderate favourability was also associated with the most moderate diversity.     

关于双语教学模式的调查分析与思考

双语教学在中国高等教育中尚处于发展阶段,因而部分师生对双语教学这一模式还存在很多模糊认识。因此,如何从理论和实践上定位双语教学模式,为高校的双语教学改革提供实施方案,是本文试图解决的问题。笔者通过对本科生双语教学情况的调查分析,指出了影响双语教学的症结所在,从而为正确开展双语教学提供了理论和实践依据。     

Attitudes of Slovene teachers towards the inclusion of pupils with different types of special needs in primary school

Numerous studies show that a successful implementation of inclusion of children with special needs (SN) largely depends on the teachers’ positive attitude towards it. The empirical research that is presented in the main part of the article analyses attitudes of a representative sample of Slovene teachers (n = 1360) regarding four domains of impact (impact of inclusion on pupils with SN, on peers, on teachers and on the classroom environment). In this, we controlled the role of the following two relevant characteristics of the sample: the category of SN (physical impairments, mild intellectual disabilities, learning difficulties and behavioural/emotional disorders) and the category of professional expertise of teachers in working with pupils with SN. We applied the Impact of Inclusion Questionnaire. The results show that teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion are determined by the type of SN the integrated pupils have. In the case of pupils with physical impairments, teachers expressed the highest level of consent and the lowest in the case of pupils with behavioural and emotional disorders. Our study shows that besides the type of SN, teachers’ professional expertise in working with pupils with SN is another important factor that determines the level of agreement with inclusion. It turned out that the teachers who had taken part in different forms of education and training had a more positive attitude towards all domains of impact.     

Beijing in-service teachers' self-efficacy and attitudes towards inclusive education

Four-hundred-and-fifty-one in-service teachers from the Beijing municipality filled in a questionnaire containing a Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices (TEIP) scale. The aim was to examine the factor structure of the TEIP scale among mainland Chinese in-service teachers, and to investigate the relationship between self-efficacy for inclusive practices, respondents' background factors and attitude towards inclusive education. The TEIP scale and its three sub-scales had good reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis gave support to a structure of three self-efficacy factors, efficacy in using inclusive instructions, efficacy in collaboration, and efficacy in managing behaviour.     

Primary teachers conducting inquiry projects: effects on attitudes towards teaching science and conducting inquiry

ABSTRACT

This study used an experimental, pretest-posttest control group design to investigate whether participation in a large-scale inquiry project would improve primary teachers’ attitudes towards teaching science and towards conducting inquiry. The inquiry project positively affected several elements of teachers’ attitudes. Teachers felt less anxious about teaching science and felt less dependent on contextual factors compared to the control group. With regard to attitude towards conducting inquiry, teachers felt less anxious and more able to conduct an inquiry project. There were no effects on other attitude components, such as self-efficacy beliefs or relevance beliefs, or on self-reported science teaching behaviour. These results indicate that practitioner research may have a partially positive effect on teachers’ attitudes, but that it may not be sufficient to fully change primary teachers’ attitudes and their actual science teaching behaviour. In comparison, a previous study showed that attitude-focused professional development in science education has a more profound impact on primary teachers’ attitudes and science teaching behaviour. In our view, future interventions aiming to stimulate science teaching should combine both approaches, an explicit focus on attitude change together with familiarisation with inquiry, in order to improve primary teachers’ attitudes and classroom practices.     

Assessment of the practicum in teacher education: advocating for the student teacher and questioning the gatekeepers

This paper reports on research that suggests a new view of assessment of the practicum in teacher education. By transcending the stereotypes of “failing” student teachers who do not achieve traditional benchmarks, this new lens highlights the complexity, diversity and inequality of experiences through listening to the voices of the student teachers and their mentors. By valuing context and focusing on progress and development rather than absolute attainment, teacher educators are challenged to reflect on their own role as mentors and educators through guiding principles of practicum learning. These guiding principles of practicum learning are the result of significant observation in the practicum classroom followed by critical analysis of data provided as narrative. A more humane, trusting and respectful attitude towards assessment is suggested.     

Which variables predict teachers diagnostic competence when diagnosing students’ learning behavior at different stages of a teacher’s career?

Diagnosing is one of teachers’ key competences. Lately, a new model of teachers’ diagnostic competence and therewith a new measurement method focusing on diagnosing students’ learning behavior in an interdisciplinary approach have been developed. They can build a basis for promoting teachers’ diagnostic competence. However, some questions relevant to promoting teachers’ diagnostic competence concerning students’ learning behavior still remain unanswered: Which values do teachers-on-the-job in contrast to preservice teachers with or without teaching experience gain through experience and which are the relevant variables that lead to a high level of diagnostic competence focused on learning behavior? Thus, this study aims at enlightening these issues. In a sample of 293 participants (93 German grammar school teachers, 107 German teacher students in their second phase of teacher education, and 93 German preservice students in their first phase of teacher education), teachers’ diagnostic competence concerning learning behavior as well as teachers’ motivation, attitude, self-efficacy, knowledge, and reflection on experience concerning diagnosing was measured. Motivation, attitude, and knowledge were found to be substantial positive predictors of diagnostic competence concerning learning behavior, with differentiated predictions for teachers’ experience. Reflection on experience and self-efficacy unexpectedly was not found to be relevant. Teachers-on-the-job were generally better at diagnosing their students’ learning behavior than were preservice teachers without teaching experience. However, the diagnostic work of preservice teachers with teaching experience was as credible as that of the in-service teachers.     

Individual and cultural factors in teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion: A meta-analysis

The success of inclusive education is dependent upon classroom teachers implementing adaptations for children with disabilities. Given that willingness to make such adaptations is influenced by teacher attitudes, the current study examined teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education through a meta-analysis of 64 samples that were found via a systematic literature search. The results indicated that teachers hold a positive attitude towards inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream schools and that these attitudes are moderated by an interplay of cultural and demographical factors. The findings offer a renewed basis for intervention research into improving educational opportunities for children around the world.