A tale of two technical cultures: Foreign language teaching

In broad terms this study investigated how the social organization of schools affects and is affected by the structures within which teachers find themselves: in essence how teachers shaped their reality. In particular this investigation was concerned with high school foreign language (FL) teachers' perceptions of their work environment; specifically how FL teachers in differing school contexts defined FL instruction and the manner in which these contextual definitions associated with their classroom behavior. Many previous investigations have focused on the relationship of teachers' classroom behavior and student outcomes. This study instead asked what the organizational antecedents for teachers' classroom practices are by documenting high school FL teachers' technical cultures—the processes designed to accomplish an organization's goals (Lortie, 1975; Rosenholtz, 1989).     

Comparison of correlates of classroom behavior problems in schools with and without a school‐wide character education program

System‐wide practices in schools should diminish the occurrence of children's problem behavior that is deleterious to academic achievement. The current study examined the relationship between variables that affect classroom behavior and observed behavior in schools with and without a theoretically based character education program. Observational data from 12 elementary schools compared control and treatment conditions on classroom disruption, and examined the influences of class size and percentage of students receiving a free or reduced price lunch (FRL). Results showed a weaker relationship between class size, FRL, and behavior problems within the character education schools than in control schools and that the character education program may have had a stronger influence in schools with a high percentage of students eligible for FRL. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Examining the influence of teacher behavior and curriculum-based movement breaks

Little research has explored the impact of teacher behavior in the relationship between classroom movement breaks and student outcomes. The authors' primary purpose was to explore teacher behavior during classroom movement breaks to determine if teacher behavior served as a moderating variable in the relationship between physical activity and student achievement. The second major aim was to examine these relationships across two different types of movement breaks: (a) academic-content movement breaks and (b) aerobic-based movement breaks. Children (n = 466) in Grades 3–5 from four elementary schools served as participants in the study. Results found that teachers who encouraged students to move and teachers who moved themselves did not necessary have students with higher activity levels during the movement breaks. However, significant differences across the type of movement break provided were found. Implications and limitations are discussed.     

The Role of Classroom-Level Child Behavior Problems in Predicting Preschool Teacher Stress and Classroom Emotional Climate

Research Findings: Despite the abundance of research suggesting that preschool classroom quality influences children's social-emotional development, the equally important and related question of how characteristics of children enrolled in a classroom influence classroom quality has rarely been addressed. The current article focuses on this question while also considering teacher stress as a mediator of the relationship between child behavior problems and classroom emotional climate. Data came from 2 low-income samples. Ordinary least squares regression revealed that higher levels of child externalizing behavior problems in the fall predicted higher teacher stress in the spring. Teacher stress was nonlinearly related to classroom emotional climate in the spring: Moderate levels of teacher stress were associated with higher (i.e., more positive) classroom emotional climates, and low and high levels of teacher stress were associated with lower classroom emotional climates. Contrary to expectations, higher levels of child externalizing behavior problems were related to higher classroom emotional climates. There was no evidence that teacher stress mediated this relationship. Practice or Policy: These results are discussed in terms of strategies to reduce the disruptive influence of child behavior problems on the classroom emotional climate as well as strategies to limit high levels of preschool teacher stress.     

Social Outcomes Associated With Media Viewing Habits of Low-Income Preschool Children

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between preschool children's social outcomes in the classroom (including hyperactivity, aggression, and social skills) and their media viewing habits (including the amount of television they watch and whether they watch videos/movies that are rated as inappropriate for young children). The participants were 92 low-income pre-kindergarten-age children for whom we obtained parent reports of media viewing habits and teacher reports of classroom behavior. The results suggested that viewing of inappropriate content was associated with higher hyperactivity and aggression scores and a lower social skills rating, whereas the amount of viewing was not related to these classroom outcomes. Policy: There has been a great deal of focus on how both the amount and content of television viewed affects social development in middle and later childhood. These studies have helped influence the development of guidelines for parents of young children to limit media viewing. The findings from the present study suggest that school personnel and others should monitor the content of what preschoolers are watching and should educate parents about the potential impact of media viewing on children's classroom behavior.     

The contributions of ‘hot’ and ‘cool’ executive function to children's academic achievement, learning-related behaviors, and engagement in kindergarten

Executive functioning (EF) refers to higher order thought processes considered foundational for problem-solving. EF has both ‘cool’ cognitive and ‘hot’ emotional components. This study asks: (a) what are the relative contributions of ‘hot’ and ‘cool’ EF to children's academic achievement? (b) What are the relative contributions of ‘hot’ and ‘cool’ EF to learning-related classroom behaviors and observed engagement? (c) Do learning-related classroom behaviors and observed engagement account for the relation between EF and achievement? For a sample of 173 kindergarteners, cool EF predicted math achievement, learning-related classroom behaviors, and observed engagement. Hot EF did not predict any achievement or behavior outcomes when examined concurrently with cool EF. Children's classroom behavior did not account for the relation between cool EF and math achievement, suggesting cool EF and math performance are directly associated.     

Self-esteem and classroom behavior in elementary school children

While many investigators have examined the relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement, and between behavior and achievement, there has been little research examining the relationship between self-esteem and classroom behavior. The present study investigated the relationship between self-esteem, using the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, and classroom behavior, using the Classroom Behavior Rating Scale, with a sample of 54 elementary school children. Results indicate that a significant relationship exists between self-esteem and classroom behavior. The implications of this with regard to teachers' modification of student behaviors are discussed.     

Classroom Age Composition and Vocabulary Development Among At-Risk Preschoolers

Research Findings: The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the relationship between classroom age composition and preschoolers’ vocabulary gains over an academic year and also to examine whether these relations were moderated by classroom quality. In this study (N = 130 children in 16 classrooms representing a subset of all children enrolled in these classrooms), results showed a significant cross-level interaction between classroom age composition and children's age, suggesting positive effects of greater variance in classroom age composition for younger but not older children. The interaction between behavior management (1 dimension of classroom quality) and classroom age composition was also significant, indicating that a wider distribution of classroom age composition was positively related to children's vocabulary gains within classrooms characterized by better behavior management. Practice or Policy: Findings underscore the importance of children's social interactions with more knowledgeable conversational partners in promoting their vocabulary development and signify the need to help teachers learn how to manage children's behaviors so as to provide a classroom that is optimal for child learning.     

Racial and emotional factors predicting teachers' perceptions of classroom behavioral maladjustment for urban African American male youth

The present study investigated the predictive influence of students' reactive emotional coping and racial socialization experiences on teachers' perceptions of classroom behavior adjustment problems. Participants were 148 African American male youth attending a secondary school in a large northeastern city. Behavioral outcomes included teacher ratings of student behavioral overactivity in different classroom situations. Results using hierarchical regression analyses show that measures of social rejection sensitivity, anger expression, and racial socialization predict teacher‐observed behavioral overactivity, with overt anger expression being the most powerful predictor. Findings suggest that racial socialization and particular styles of emotional coping are important determinants for teachers' impressions of classroom behavior for some African American adolescent males. Implications for future research and interventions with African American male youth in urban secondary schools are discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Preschool Home Environment and Classroom Behavior

A longitudinal investigation was made of the relationship between home-environment processes when children are between 3 and 5 years of age, and children’s classroom behavior in the primary grades. A generally moderate relationship was observed between the two sets of variables. Encouragement of social maturity showed the strongest relationship with classroom behavior, particularly patience, internal reliance, and inattentiveness. Of the seven classroom behavior variables examined, comprehension showed the largest number of significant relationships with early environment variables.     

Positive teacher–student relationships go beyond the classroom,problematic ones stay inside

The authors voice teachers' perceptions of their interpersonal experiences with students in both positive and problematic relationships. Interview data from 28 teachers were examined by coding utterances on teacher and student interactions. Results indicate that teachers defined the quality of the relationship mostly by the level of communion (friendly vs. hostile), instead of by the level of agency (in control vs. powerless). Analyses of mentioned teacher and student behavior show a friendly interactional pattern for positive relationships and a hostile pattern for problematic ones. In teachers' perceptions, positive and problematic relationships also differed in context where encounters take place and topic of talk. Contrary to interactions in problematic relationships, encounters in positive relationships were mostly situated outside the classroom context and conversations during these encounters covered a wide range of topics. Implications for teacher education programs are discussed.     

Professional development to increase teacher behavior‐specific praise: A single‐case design replication

Effective classroom instruction is contingent upon successful classroom management. Unfortunately, not all teachers successfully manage classroom behavior and need in‐service professional development. In this study, we replicated a targeted professional development approach that included a brief one‐on‐one training session and emailed visual performance feedback to increase novice teachers’ use of behavior‐specific praise, an evidence‐based classroom management skill. Dependent variables collected through direct observation included teachers’ behavior‐specific praise along with average student engagement and disruptions. Four elementary teachers participated and, based on a multiple‐baseline single‐case design, we found a functional relationship between the targeted professional development and teachers’ increased use of behavior‐specific praise. However, because of variability and one teacher's limited response, effect sizes were small for behavior‐specific praise and little change was observed in student behaviors. These findings warrant further research to determine which classroom management skills affect student behaviors overall, as well as continued evaluation of this professional development model and using school‐based coaches.     

Teacher locus of control and classroom climate: A cross-lagged correlational study

The Locus of Control Scale for Teachers was given to 13 middle school teachers, and the Origin-Climate Questionnaire was given to 78 of their students. Results indicated a moderate relationship between teachers' locus of control and students' perception of classroom climate. The difference between the cross-lagged correlations suggested that teachers' locus of control has a causal impact on classroom climate.     

Kindergarten Teachers' Use of Developmentally Appropriate Practices and Attitudes About Authority

This study examined the relationship between kindergarten teachers' use of developmentally appropriate practices and their attitudes toward authority in the classroom. The study found an overall low use of developmentally appropriate practices. Instead, the classrooms exhibited academically oriented, skill-centered programs. However, kindergarten teachers who rated themselves higher in authority sharing as opposed to authority controlling were more likely to use developmentally appropriate teaching strategies as delineated by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Aspects of the teachers' professional experience and education had little relationship to their attitudes about authority in the classroom. The positive relationship between an authority-sharing attitude and developmentally appropriate practices suggests that more importance be placed on developing teachers' and prospective teachers' attitudes about adult/child authority orientation than on simply prescribing overt teacher behavior.     

Garden-Based Learning: An Experience With “At Risk” Secondary Education Students

The reengagement of disenchanted secondary students is one of the priorities of the educational system. Over a six-year period (2003–2004 to 2008–2009), 63 disruptive and low-performance secondary school students were integrated into a two-year garden-based learning program, which took place in southeastern Spain. This article intends to assess the quantitative and qualitative changes in both academic outcomes and personal behavior brought about by the experience. Results show that school failure decreased substantially, while the dropout rate was reduced from an initial 30% to zero in some years. Disruptive episode control improved significantly in the classroom, where teachers observed a decided improvement in students' skills, self-esteem, and self-confidence.     

Validation of the Early Childhood Teacher Experiences Scale in Head Start

To address gaps in the availability of validated measures that assess early childhood teachers' workplace experiences, the current study examined the validity of the Early Childhood Teacher Experiences Scale (ECTES) for use in a diverse Head Start program. Mean differences in the ECTES dimensions of self-efficacy, job stress, and school support were examined across teachers' demographic characteristics and observed teacher–child interaction quality. Multilevel models examined associations between ECTES dimension scores and children's social-emotional and academic skills (N = 161 preschool teachers and N = 3,152 children). Findings support the reliability and validity of the three-factor structure of the ECTES in the diverse Head Start teacher sample. Higher teacher-reported self-efficacy and school support were associated with higher observed classroom emotional support, instructional support, and classroom organization. Higher teacher-reported self-efficacy was associated with fewer years of teaching experience. With respect to child outcomes, higher teacher self-efficacy and school support were associated with lower behavior problems and higher social-emotional skills but were not associated with academic skills. Implications of the findings, limitations, and future directions are discussed.     

CLASSROOM QUALITY AND STUDENT BEHAVIOR TRAJECTORIES IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Student behavioral concerns are a top priority for school psychologists. This project took an ecological systems perspective by examining the contribution of students’ initial externalizing and internalizing behaviors and the quality of their classroom environments to their behavioral outcomes across one school year. Participants included 322 elementary students and their 32 teachers. Results suggested that externalizing and internalizing behaviors were stable over time. However, the correlation between fall and spring internalizing behavior was accentuated if students also had high externalizing behavior in the fall. Poor spring behavioral engagement was predicted by students’ fall internalizing (but not externalizing) behavior. Importantly, classrooms high in emotional support attenuated the stability of students’ internalizing behavior. In addition, students’ fall externalizing behavior appeared to be associated with reduced spring internalizing behavior in classrooms high in emotional support or classroom organization. Findings underscore the importance of considering both student‐ and classroom‐level factors when predicting elementary students’ behavioral outcomes.     

Teacher's aides in kindergarten: Effects on achievement for students with disabilities

Over the past 20 years, the number of teacher's aides in the United States has more than doubled, potentially in response to the growth of special education programs now taking place in general education schools. Surprisingly, little research at all has focused on the role that teacher's aides may play in improving student achievement, and no known study had examined this for students with disabilities. The author addressed this void by examining how teacher's aides link to achievement outcomes for students with disabilities in kindergarten. Using nationally representative data, the findings suggest that students with disabilities in full-day kindergarten have higher reading and mathematics outcomes at the end of kindergarten when the classroom has a teacher's aide. In contrast, there was no observed benefit for students with disabilities in part-day kindergarten. The size and strength of this relationship differs by individual characteristics and teacher and classroom characteristics. Implications are discussed.     

Can classroom emotional support enhance prosocial development among children with depressed caregivers?

Preschool children from economically disadvantaged families often experience difficulties in developing prosocial behavior. Risk associated with depressive symptomatology in caregivers (parents and guardians) may further compound these difficulties. The overall objective of the present study was to examine the compensatory effect of Head Start classroom environments on the development of prosocial behavior among children with caregivers high in depressive symptomatology. We initially examined the association between caregiver depressive symptoms and children's starting levels of prosocial behavior and then tested classroom emotional support as a moderator of the relation between caregivers’ depressive symptoms and children's prosocial behavior development during the school year. The sample of 194 Head Start preschoolers in 28 classrooms was part of a larger study designed to test the effects of an emotion-based prevention program. As expected, caregivers’ levels of depressive symptoms predicted lower starting levels of prosocial behavior. However, classroom emotional support promoted improvements in prosocial behavior for the children of the caregivers high in depressive symptomatology. The implications of these findings for the development of preventive interventions are discussed.