Classification of teachers’ interaction behaviors in early childhood classrooms

This study investigated patterns of teachers’ interaction behaviors in early childhood classrooms. Sixty-three child care teachers were rated on their use of eight interaction behaviors taken from the Teaching Styles Rating Scale (McWilliam, Scarborough, Bagby, & Sweeney, 1998). Using cluster analysis techniques, we identified four homogenous interaction clusters. One cluster presented an average profile: The teachers in this group had average scores on all interaction behaviors compared to the other teachers in the study. The teachers in a second cluster were characterized by high ratings on elaborating and low ratings on redirecting behaviors. A third cluster consisted of teachers who where rated high on redirecting and low on all other behaviors, and the teachers in the fourth cluster received high ratings on nonelaborative behaviors. Cluster differences were found for teachers’ education; teachers’ sensitivity, as measured by the Caregiver Interaction Scale (Arnett, 1989); classroom quality, as measured by the Infant-Toddler Environment Rating Scale (Harms, Cryer, & Clifford, 1990) or the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (Harms, Clifford, & Cryer, 1998); group child engagement, as measured by the Engagement Check II (McWilliam, 1999); and center licensing level.     

Effects of personal and professional factors on teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion in preschool

Attitudes towards inclusive education have a crucial place in the effective implementation of inclusion practices. The aim of this study was to explore teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education in preschool education in Portugal and to identify teachers’ personal and professional variables that influence these attitudes. The data were collected from a sample composed of 68 preschool teachers working in mainstream schools located in urban and rural areas. The results indicated overall positive attitudes towards inclusion. Having previous personal contact with a person with special educational needs predicted more positive affective attitudes, whereas having previous experience teaching classes that included students with and without special educational needs predicted less positive behavioural intentions. From these results, we infer an emergent need for continuous training and for the promotion of positive attitudes among preschool teachers to achieve the successful implementation of inclusion at this educational level.     

The quality agenda: governance and regulation of preschool teachers’ work

The increased regulation of teachers’ work is a global phenomenon across education sectors. In Australia the governance of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) embeds international priorities for quality improvement in educational programmes. The implementation of a National Quality Framework (NQF) for the assessment of ECEC services has mobilised the production of a suite of regulatory texts. The regulation of teachers’ work is legitimised through the discourse of quality embedded in policy guidelines. Drawing on interview data from preschool teachers, this paper employs institutional ethnography (IE) to investigate teachers’ accounts of producing a Quality Improvement Plan. As teachers operationalise the expectations of quality assurance in the NQF, their work is oriented to gathering evidence of an approved quality of practice. The findings indicate a shift in professional focus to increased documentation of ‘quality of practice’, goal setting and evidence of the collaborative construction of Quality Improvement Plans.     

The contribution of non-formal learning in higher education to student teachers’ professional competence

This article reports a mixed methods study on the contribution of various aspects of pre-service student teachers’ learning in initial teacher education (ITE) to their professional competence in a Five-year Bachelor of Education Programme in Hong Kong. Special attention is given to how student teachers’ non-formal learning in higher education contributes to their professional competence, an under-researched area in teacher education. A total of 282 student teachers participated in the quantitative survey, 18 of whom were interviewed. Although  Undergraduate Learning Experience: Formal Learning and Non-formal Learning was not the most highly rated factor, multiple regression indicated that it was the only ITE professional learning factor that significantly predicted all dimensions of professional competence. This supports the hypothesis that non-formal learning as a part of learning in higher education makes a significant contribution to student teachers’ professional competence. The qualitative findings showed that non-formal learning provided opportunities for service learning, co-curricular activities, and student exchange programmes with different objects of engagement. Student teachers constructed pedagogical content knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, and knowledge of context through hands-on experiences, professional dialogue with practitioners, and observations of others’ practice. Such knowledge contributed to their competence in classroom teaching and to work in schools. Implications for ITE are discussed.     

Enhancing preservice teachers’ professional competence through experiential learning

This report introduces a way of engaging preservice teachers in experiential learning activities to enrich their pedagogical content knowledge and skills. The framework suggested can be applied to instruction in a wide range of disciplines in different contexts. It calls on teacher educators to work on similar experiential learning initiatives to equip novice teachers with the necessary pedagogies and competence for their future careers.     

Mentoring and teachers’ professional development in Albania

The role of teachers is becoming increasingly important in advancing student learning outcomes. This article discusses one area that is still in need of significant reform in Albania: the induction and mentoring of new teacher-candidates. Based on a mixed-method study involving 275 Albanian teachers and mentors, it provides insights into the benefits and challenges of current practices. The study identifies a number of key areas in need of improvement, including: the selection of mentors; professional training for mentors; communication among different stakeholders; and overall planning and coordination of mentoring services. These issues are discussed within a wider European policy context that situates mentoring as an important component of teachers’ ongoing professional development.     

The contributions of teachers’ educational interest and relational goals to instructional quality and student interest in mathematics classrooms

This longitudinal study examined the relative importance of two key facets of mathematics teachers’ motivation (educational interest, relational goals) for student-reported instructional quality (cognitive activation, social relatedness, relevance support, rule clarity) and student mathematics interest. The sample comprised 50 mathematics teachers and their students (n = 959) from 30 secondary schools. There were three waves of data collection: at the beginning of the ninth grade (Time 1), at the beginning of the tenth grade (Time 2), and in the middle of the tenth grade (Time 3). Teacher motivation was assessed using both self-assessments and student reports, the remaining variables were based only on student reports. Multilevel structural equation analyses revealed for teachers’ Time 1 self-reported educational interest significant class-level effects on Time 2 instructional practices (i.e., cognitive activation and relevance support). The hypothesized effect of teachers’ Time 1 relational goals on Time 2 social relatedness was found to be significant only at the individual student level. In contrast, at the class level, only teachers’ Time 1 self-reported educational interest contributed significantly and indirectly to Time 3 student mathematics interest via Time 2 cognitive activation. In addition, we observed a cross-level indirect effect of Time 1 teachers’ class-level self-reported educational interest on Time 3 student-level mathematics interest mediated by Time 2 student-level relevance support. Overall, the results contribute to research aimed at identifying and comparing the unique effects of teacher motivation facets on instructional practices and student outcomes.     

Collaboration and self-regulation in teachers’ professional development

This paper describes a professional development model with promise for supporting meaningful shifts in practice. We begin by introducing the theoretical principles underlying our professional development model, with a focus on explicating the interface between collaborative inquiry in a learning community (Lave, 1991, In L.B. Resnick, J.M. Levine, S.D. Teasley (Eds.), Perspectives on Socially Shared Cognition, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC; Lave, & Wenger, 1991, Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge) and teachers’ self-regulated learning. Next, we report on successes and challenges within a 2-year collaborative research partnership. We recount how participating teachers reflected on practice, constructed conceptual knowledge about teaching, and made important instructional shifts. We also detail features of our model that teachers found most effective. We close by discussing our implications for theory and in-service professional development.     

Should teachers be colorblind? How multicultural and egalitarian beliefs differentially relate to aspects of teachers' professional competence for teaching in diverse classrooms

This study uses the framework of professional competence to investigate the relationship between two cultural beliefs, multiculturalism and colorblindness, and different aspects of professional competence for teaching immigrant students. Results from path model analyses with 433 beginning teachers showed that participants with multicultural beliefs reported higher motivational orientations (self-efficacy and enthusiasm for teaching, and more integrative career motives), more positive values (lower agreement with negative stereotypes), and more reported willingness to adapt their teaching. Colorblind beliefs showed no relationships to the former constructs and were negatively related to reported willingness to adapt teaching to culturally diverse students.     

EFL teachers’ conceptions of speaking competence in English

The present article lies at the intersection of research on teacher cognition and speaking competence in a second language. It is a qualitative analysis of teacher accounts of speaking in the context of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Iran. More specifically, the study is an exploration of three EFL teachers’ conceptions of learning and teaching the speaking skill in English. The teachers represented varying levels of experience and education and were classified as experts and novices. Through juxtaposing teachers’ views of how students should learn to speak and how the teachers themselves learned to speak English, the research study uncovers the interwoven nature of learning experience with teaching conceptions. It also unveils the images underpinning their conceptions of how to learn and teach speaking in an EFL context. The results also portray teachers as having unique ways of thinking of speaking while at the same time sharing certain patterns.     

The circulation of expertise in teachers’ professional communities

This study qualitatively explores expertise as a critical resource on which quality teaching depends. The study sample is comprised of six South African schools from the poorest poverty quintiles achieving relatively higher and lower academic outcomes. From interview data gathered over three years with teachers and other school staff, findings reveal significant differences between schools in the kinds of expertise that circulate in teacher communities. Remediation strategies that support student learning at specific levels of complexity stand out as a significant form of expertise. In schools performing above demographic expectations, teachers have more opportunities to access knowledge as an instructional resource, enabled by the recognition of differences in expertise. The study offers insight into what kinds of pedagogic strategies might disrupt educational inequalities and support the quality of teaching and learning within a system of scarce resources.     

Teachers’ professional development for differentiated instruction in mixed-ability classrooms: investigating the impact of a development program on teachers’ professional learning and on students’ achievement

The present article reports the results of a study performed to investigate and examine the characteristics of a teachers’ professional development program (Teachers’ Professional Development Program for Differentiated Instruction [PDD]) specially designed to support teachers in the design and application of differentiated instruction. Considering the characteristics of high-quality professional development programs (i.e. active learning, collective participation, closely related to the curriculum and the existing teaching realities, sufficient duration and continuance), the PDD aimed to facilitate change in both attitudes and practices of the participants. The study provides evidence of the success of the program, both in terms of teacher professional development and student achievement, and discusses the elements that made this program successful.     

Signature pedagogies in support of teachers’ professional learning

Signature pedagogies [Shulman, L. 2005 Shulman, L. 2005. “Signature Pedagogies in the Professions.” Daedalus 134 (3): 52–59. doi: 10.1162/0011526054622015[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. “Signature pedagogies in the professions.” Daedalus 134 (3): 52–59.] are a focus of teacher educators seeking to improve teaching and teacher education. The purpose of this paper is to present a preliminary common language of signature pedagogies for teacher professional development (PD). In all, 24 papers from the study of physical education PD projects with clearly articulated pedagogical objectives and documentation on achieving those objectives were included in the analysis. In total 479 teachers and 48 facilitators across the US and Europe were interviewed and/or surveyed. Three discrete PD signature pedagogies holding potential to enhance teacher growth and learning within the context of PD were identified: critical dialogue (process of acquiring knowledge through communicative interactions), public sharing of work (testing out practices in classrooms and share ideas with larger audiences), and communities of learners (collective learning around a shared concern or a passion). It is our hope in providing the beginnings of a common vocabulary for pedagogies of teacher professional learning we have encouraged additional steps toward developing signature pedagogies for learning across different PD settings and content areas.     

Students’ and teachers’ perspectives about quality of engineering education in Portugal

Quality in higher education is a subject of increasing importance. This idea can be supported by looking at different sources, namely, the scientific literature, national and transnational governments’ policies, such as those emerging from the Bologna Process. Also, the internationalisation of higher education and, within it, students’ and staff mobility among institutions, has brought to the agenda the quality issue, particularly with regard to the teaching and learning process. Several authors argue that the meaning of quality depends on who defines it. This article focuses on a study that looks at how teachers and students in higher education institutions, in Portugal and in the domain of Engineering, see the quality issue. Data was collected through interviews to teachers (six) and students (38) in two different Portuguese institutions. The results indicate that, although teachers and students refer to the same dimensions that influence quality, they have different perspectives about their importance. From the point of view of the authors, this discrepancy requires some pedagogical actions in the context where the study was developed and, also, further research to see if the same tendency exists in different settings.     

Millennial generation preservice teachers’ intrinsic motivation to become a teacher,professional learning and professional competence

This mixed methods study examined how millennial generation preservice teachers’ intrinsic motivation affects their professional learning in ITE and professional competence. The quantitative findings showed Interest in teaching and subject taught and Self-development and ideal lifestyle as the two aspects of millennial preservice teachers’ intrinsic motivation, and confirmed a significant, positive, mediated effect from preservice teachers’ intrinsic motivation on their perceived professional competence: Subject matter, pedagogical and educational knowledge, via their professional learning in ITE coursework and interaction with others. The qualitative findings showed four underpinning linkages with illustrations from six preservice teacher cases. Implications for ITE are discussed.     

Situated learning and teachers’ digital competence

Computer literacy, media literacy, digital literacy and digital competence are all concepts that highlight the need to handle technology in our digital age. However, when it comes to teachers’ digital literacy there is a need to develop a more pedagogic-didactic content for digital literacy in order to deal with the way in which new digital trends influence the underlying conditions for schools, pedagogy and subjects. This theoretical article will therefore examine whether a broader view of knowledge (situated learning) can be a relevant theoretical underpinning for a new digital competence model for teachers and the Scandinavian English perception of the term competence. The article is particularly angled towards how the complexity of teachers’ digital literacy makes it necessary to expand our traditional perception of this concept. The implications of the article indicate that five vital structures are found to be essential to perceptions amongst teachers of the importance of Information- and Communication Technology (ICT) and achievement of digital competence.

Greek primary school teachers’ awareness of the special features of scientific language: implications for science curricula and teachers’ professional development

This exploratory study aims at investigating first the extent to which Greek primary school teachers recognize the features of scientific language (an archetype for the academic language employed in all school disciplines), and second and most importantly the functional role they attribute to these features in the construction of scientific discourse. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 teachers. Two versions of a one-page extract, varying in linguistic specialization, were used as stimuli-materials. Teachers correctly recognized the linguistically highly specialized version, but they were less able to spontaneously mention specific features (mainly syntactic complexity and terminology) contributing to this specialization. Worse still, they failed to recognize syntactic complexity as a feature of the specialized extract even after they were explicitly probed to do so. Moreover, teachers were found to only be partially aware of the functional role these features play in constructing the scientific world-view. Specifically, teachers seem to put emphasis on the communicative rather than the epistemological role of the corresponding linguistic features. These findings stress the need for certain interventions both at initial and in-service level of teacher education as well as at the level of science curricula.     

Text-based writing in elementary classrooms: teachers’ conceptions and practice

Reading and Writing - Writing analytically about text is a valued skill reflected in current academic standards. The quality of text-based writing opportunities in U.S. elementary schools, however,...