The interplay of a biology teacher's beliefs,teaching practices and gender-based student-teacher classroom interaction

Cross-relationships among a Taiwanese seventh-grade biology teacher's beliefs, practices and classroom interaction with either male or female students were qualitatively and quantitatively analysed. Results show that the teacher's classroom practices reflect her teaching philosophy, which she described in interviews held before and throughout the class observation period. Gender-based characteristics clearly play an important role in establishing and maintaining differences in interactions between male or female students and their teacher in this particular classroom. Data collected from classroom observations show that the subject teacher's beliefs concerning boy/girl differences in learning style and classroom participation are reinforced or sustained by her behaviour, which includes unequal distribution of direct questions, unbalanced feedback and encouragement, and a lack of restrictive controls on calling out answers.     

Beliefs systems and classroom practices: Identified typologies of elementary school teachers from the United States

In a mixed-methods study, the authors investigate teacher typologies of elementary teachers (N = 132) in the United States based on their reformed science teaching beliefs. Additionally, the identified teacher typologies were compared with respect to their science content knowledge, self-efficacy and epistemic beliefs. Results revealed three clusters of teachers with different combinations of teaching beliefs and practices. Comparative analysis indicated significant differences among teacher typologies with respect to their epistemic beliefs and teaching efficacy beliefs. Additionally, interview results enhanced the depth of understanding of participants' views for reformed science teaching and further highlighted differences in the typologies. Study implications are considered with regard to improving teacher quality and preservice teacher training.     

Mathematics teachers’ beliefs about a new reform in high school geometry in Iran

The geometry textbooks of the new system of secondary education in Iran differed dramatically from the old ones considering the aims, the visions, the content, the approach, and the educational purposes. Four hundred eighty mathematics teachers participated in a nationwide professional development program conducted by the author to facilitate the implementation of the new changes. Based on this program, a research study was designed to investigate the teachers’ beliefs about a new reform in high school geometry as a result of the professional development program. The data of the study were collected through teachers’ reflective writings, project works, group discussions, reflective questionnaires, and oral communications. The purpose of this paper is to draw upon this study and to document mathematics teachers’ beliefs about new changes.     

Informal learning of primary school teachers: Considering the role of teaching experience and school culture

Teacher learning does not solely occur within formal professional development activities; in fact, the majority of learning occurs through daily practice. The current study focuses on this everyday learning and examines primary teachers' informal learning. Results showed that teachers learn through a variety of learning activities including ‘experimenting’, ‘reflection’, ‘learning from others without interaction’ and ‘collaboration’. In addition, differences between novice and more experienced teachers were identified. More experienced teachers learn as much as their novice colleagues, however they undertake different learning activities. Finally, results reveal that although collaboration is an important source of learning, primary teachers value their autonomy.     

Sustainable changes in teacher practices: a longitudinal analysis of the classroom practices of high school mathematics teachers

This study examines the effects of professional development on various aspects of teachers’ mathematics instruction. Using data collected between 2005 and 2009, we examined the extent to which the instructional practices of 49 US high school teachers who participated in content-based, sustained professional development changed over time. We found that changes in several aspects of their instructional practices followed somewhat different patterns. Teachers made statistically significant and steady changes in mathematical discourse, instructional clarity, and the development of students’ mathematical habit of mind, but not in student interactions or in the use of multiple representations.     

Parents,teachers and children’s school outcomes: a Taiwanese study

The study examined relationships among family social status, perceptions of family and school learning environments, and measures of children’s academic achievement, educational aspirations and self‐concept. Data were collected from 261 (128 boys, 133 girls) 11‐year‐old Taiwanese children. The findings from structural equation modelling suggest that: (a) family social status continues to have an unmediated association with children’s academic achievement, but its relationship to educational aspirations and self‐concept is mediated by children’s perceptions of their more immediate learning environments, and (b) after taking into account differences in parents’ aspirations and parental involvement, children’s perceptions of teachers have strong associations with self‐concept but are not related to differences in academic achievement and educational aspirations.     

高中英语教师师徒结对案例分析

通过实地观察和跟踪访谈收集S中学师徒制和三对高中英语教师第一学年师徒结对活动的事实资料,主要描述学校师徒制运行原貌和师徒教师带教状况,着重探讨师徒带教的成功与不足,继而提出促进师徒制有效实施的实际建议从而促进教师专业成长。     

The well‐being of teachers in Flanders: the importance of a supportive school culture

Research on the well‐being of teachers was conducted at the request of the Department of Education in Flanders, Belgium. The goals were: (1) to construct an instrument for the Education Inspectorate; and (2) to conduct a survey in order to identify school‐related conditions relevant for teachers’ professional well‐being. Based on literature and panel discussions with teachers and principals, a questionnaire was constructed, tested and subdivided in subscales following a factor analysis. The questionnaire was administered to a representative sample of elementary (covering both nursery and primary schools, children aged 3–12) and secondary school teachers. A multilevel analysis reveals how differences in scores can be explained at school level.     

Irish teachers,starting on a journey of data use for school self-evaluation

With much of the literature on school self-evaluation (SSE) stressing the importance of data use, this article explores how teachers in Irish post-primary schools are coming to terms with this new challenge. Since 2012, all schools in Ireland are required to engage in SSE for the purpose of improving student outcomes. For the first time, teachers and school leaders are being asked to systematically gather and analyse various types of data, devise improvement plans and implement improvements. Despite such demands, the compulsory education system in Ireland operates within a low-stakes accountability environment, with an absence of published school league tables and no consequences for poor school performance. It is also interesting to explore the introduction of a school improvement process that requires data as evidence for self-evaluation, but where very little data currently exists compared to other jurisdictions and where the discourse of data use in schools is relatively new.This article outlines the experience of 13 post-primary schools that were supported by the DCU Centre for Evaluation, Quality and Inspection to complete an SSE process, during which, each school gathered and analysed a range of data. This study is part of a larger action research project which explores various aspects of the implementation of SSE in schools, including models of support and continuing professional development for schools. This article looks specifically at the use of data by the schools involved. The key research questions ask: what data was gathered by the schools and what was the attitude to and experience of data-use among teachers? In doing so, this article explores some of the current research questions in relation to data use in schools. Overall, the findings indicate that schools gathered a range of data, which was mainly quantitative due to a focus on quantitative target setting. Despite a generally positive attitude to the usefulness of data and the skills learned, participants did not appear convinced that they would be involved in data use on an ongoing basis.     

Experiences of beginning teachers in a school‐based mentoring program in Sweden

Even though teacher education has been successful in preparing students for their future profession, the classroom reality can differ greatly from the inservice training. Many novice teachers therefore find the transition from student teacher to inservice teacher overwhelming To support beginning teachers, mentoring programs—where more experienced teachers support novice teachers—have become commonplace in many schools worldwide. In Sweden, mentoring for beginning teachers has been a frequent feature of support since 2001. This study, conducted in Sweden, examines seven novice teachers and the impact the mentoring process had upon them during their first‐year teaching. Based on interviews, it was found that these experienced both professional and personal support from their mentors. The study also showed the significance of observant leaders within the mentorship program following up on the development of the mentor–mentee relationship.     

渭南市农村初中教师素质现状调查报告——“提高农村初中教师素质的对策研究”之一

农村初中教师队伍的职业思想基本稳定，学历水平近年来有较大提高，但与素质教育要求的知识结构和能力结构还存在着较大的差距，应引起教育部门的高度重视。     

Writing short messages in English: Out-of-school practices of Malaysian high school students

For Malaysian adolescents, writing in English covers various forms and serves a range of purposes. Outside the formal school context, students engage in more personalized forms of writing. This paper examines one such form, namely, the writing of short messages, using a sociocultural perspective of literacy as a social discursive practice that implicates identity construction. This paper draws on a larger qualitative study which looked at school and personal writing by a class of Form 4 (Year 10) students in an urban school in Malaysia. Data were taken mainly from student interviews and students’ written products during six months of fieldwork. Findings from the study showed students’ informal writing involved new hybrid forms of English and included the use of a mixture of short forms, “Penang English” and Net English. This study has implications for the English literacy education of Malaysian high school students learning ESL while immersed in a contemporary digital and Internet culture.     

Emotional experience, expression, and regulation of high-quality Japanese elementary school teachers

The present study investigates the emotional experience, expression, and regulation processes of high-quality Japanese elementary school teachers while they interact with children, in terms of teachers’ emotional competence. Qualitative analysis of interview data demonstrated that teachers had various emotional experiences including self-elicited negative emotions. The major expression patterns were identified as direct staging and the suppression of emotions. Teachers considered emotion expression in front of children as a skill, and their emotion regulation processes involved considering various purposes, appropriately using emotion expression, and ideal teacher images. The findings suggest that high-quality teachers effectively use emotional competence in teaching.     

Security measures on school crime in Texas middle and high schools

This statewide study surveyed 215 principals of middle schools and high schools in Texas, USA. It examined the effectiveness of activities on school crime by three main methods: (1) what activities the school was doing to combat crime (e.g. police/guards, school uniforms, metal detectors, drug education programmes, character education programmes, closed campus, surveillance, student court activity, rewards for attendance, etc.); (2) cooperation with outside sources (i.e. police, parents, school district, judicial branch); and (3) principals' comments on what helps and hurts school efforts to alleviate school crimes. Data from these principals regarding drug crime and interpersonal crime in schools were correlated with the data on school activities and outside cooperation. The study also used nine critical elements of promising violence prevention programmes introduced by Dusenbury et al., as a framework to evaluate Texas school measures to combat school crimes. The study's findings and policy implications were discussed.     

论宋代江浙地区白龙母信仰

宋代江浙地区存在三大白龙母信仰圈,其中,平江府地区信奉阳山白龙母缪氏和海隅山白龙母蒋氏,镇江府地区信奉吴塘白龙母吴氏,而嘉兴府地区信奉的陈山白龙母身份较为模糊,宋人大多认为其与阳山白龙母缪氏为同一人。白龙母身份出现混淆,其原因在于此三地龙母传说的共通之处：女子感异孕龙、龙母生龙即亡及龙子均为世俗化的孝龙。无论白龙母的身份混淆与否,政府的态度都是“惟灵是信”。由此,反映出宋代江浙地区儒家文化盛行、水网密布和农业经济发达以及佛教兴盛的地域文化特色。     

Stress and Job Satisfaction: a study of English primary school teachers

Using a self‐report questionnaire, a picture of the sources of stress and job satisfaction amongst a sample of 267 teachers, drawn from primary schools in the North and Eastern regions of England, is established. Teachers scored the frequency and intensity of 18 items on a stress scale. A principal components analysis was carried out and three factors were identified: professional concerns, pupil behaviour and attitude and professional tasks. The strongest correlations were found between professional concerns and occupational stress. Biographical factors were examined and significant differences were found between men and women, and teachers of different ages and length of teaching experience. Men reported more stress than women on professional tasks and pupil behaviour and attitude. Women scored higher than men on professional concerns. Just over one‐third of teachers were satisfied with their job. When specific facets of job satisfaction were examined, teachers were most satisfied with their professional performance and least satisfied with teaching resources. Stress and job satisfaction were found to be negatively correlated. High reports of occupational stress were related to low levels of job satisfaction. Attention is drawn to the likely significance of including a frequency as well as intensity measure when considering the experience of stress and to the complex nature of job satisfaction.     

校系两级管理与校园文化建设

校系两级管理是一种具有鲜明文化内涵的管理制度.校园文化建设是养成学生良好的人文素养、良好的科学精神的手段,校系两级管理既是校园文化建设的一部分,又为校园文化建设奠定了基础,校园文化建设反过来又为校系两级管理不断地注入生机和活力,因而它们之间是相互依存、互相促进的.校系两级管理的实施,为校园文化建设的成功展示出了光明的前景.     

Publicly minded,privately focused: Western Australian teachers and school choice

In the growing school choice research literature little, if any, attention has been given to the choices made by the providers of educational services. Yet the workplace preferences shown by teachers and school administrators influences educational practice in important ways and helps illuminate some of the important issues raised in the school choice literature, such as the impact of marketisation on school planning, infrastructure and service delivery in public and private schools, social justice and resource distribution. Following discussion and analysis of the tendency for educational anthropologists to ignore teachers and their work, I use the stories of two teachers to help illustrate the research upon which this essay is built. Based on in-depth interviews with fifteen teachers in Perth, the capital of Western Australia, the primary aim of this paper is to ‘give voice’ to teachers by describing and analysing the social implications of the workplace choices exercised by a range of teachers. Issues of permanency, care, systemic needs, commitment to different forms of social equity, gender and age all emerge as important influences on the choices made by individuals when it comes to the type of school they choose to work in.