Teachers’ capacity for organizational learning: the effects of school culture and context

This paper investigates how key elements of school culture are associated with teachers’ capacity to find and act on new information. We analyzed survey data from 3,579 teachers located in 117 schools which were a randomly selected sample from 9 states in the US. We found that school cultural components such as academic press, student support, and trust and respect among teachers promote teachers’ capacity for organizational learning. We also found that the role of teacher professional culture in molding the capacity for organizational learning is critical. In terms of school contexts, we identified that school level (elementary, middle, and high school) was associated with teachers’ capacity for organizational learning in 2 different ways. First, as the school level increases, the capacity for organizational learning tends to decrease. Second, as school level increases, the positive relation between reflective dialogue and teachers’ capacity for organizational learning is weakened. Implications of these results are discussed.     

Teachers’ assessment practices in mathematics: classrooms in the context of reform

This article responds to calls that have been made for research into how teachers incorporate new assessment ideas into their practice. We draw on a large‐scale study that examined the implementation of reform in mathematics in grades 7–10 in Ontario, Canada. We present teacher questionnaire data, and focus on data gathered from case studies for details of what new assessment practices look like in classrooms. We show teachers using a variety of forms of assessment and using assessment to improve student learning. Observed assessment practices went beyond tests to include the use of journals, observation, questioning, self‐assessment and unique forms of ‘quizzes’. These practices allowed teachers to examine students’ mathematical thinking and provided feedback to students and teachers to improve student learning. We also observed the important role of collaboration, coherence, and the teachers’ beliefs in supporting new assessment practices.     

Teachers’ perceptions of boys’ and girls’ shared activities in the school context: towards a theory of collaborative play

The Finnish educational system and curricula lay emphasis on play, collaboration and equality. Modern educational practices allow the learning environment to be enlarged from indoor classrooms to outdoor playful learning environments (PLEs). PLEs have been constructed in schoolyards in Finland with the goal of increasing learning through play in curriculum‐based education and augmenting collaborative play (ColPlay) between boys and girls. In order to better understand and describe such developments, the author set out to ascertain how teachers perceive mixed‐gender play activities in pre‐primary and basic education. Fourteen teachers were interviewed and the obtained data were analysed using the grounded theory as an analytical approach. The research suggests five premises for ColPlay: (1) the most suitable forms of ColPlay are outdoor games and role‐play, (2) gender roles adjust in contemporary play culture, (3) teachers’ pedagogical thinking on ColPlay includes various practices to promote collaborative relationships between girls and boys, (4) teachers have confidence in ColPlay and (5) learning to collaborate with both genders requires practice and reflection. The study offers useful insights for teachers, teacher educators and designers of game content and learning environments.     

Teachers’ spaces for coping with change in the context of a reform effort

In this paper, we are interested in the emotional responses of teachers in the context of a reform effort, and our study is oriented toward describing the significance of these responses with respect to the space teachers create to deal with reform in their school. Our interest for educational reform incorporates and builds on the work of spatial theories and theories of emotions in education, and most notably the work of Andy Hargreaves whose conceptualization of “emotional geographies” provides an insightful link between emotion and space. This is done through a 2-year ethnographic study with six teachers that were involved in science program restructuring in their school. In this study, we explore three aspects of the spaces for coping with change that were created by this group of elementary teachers: (1) time and space as sources of social and emotional support; (2) teacher collegiality and trust; and (3) teachers’ moral values and concerns. Finally, this paper explores the implications for practice and policy from the development of spaces for teachers to process their feelings about change.

Transprofessional competences of school teachers in the digital environment: education employers’ perspective

Education and Information Technologies - The shift towards digitalization in education, intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic-related issues, has led to the emergence of a need to expand the borders...     

Teachers’ work in complex times: the ‘fast policy’ of Swedish school reform

This paper analyses recent educational reforms on teachers’ work in Sweden following the 2010 Education Act, and up to the School Commission Report released in April 2017. We draw upon key policy texts and associated documents from the Ministry of Education, and the Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket). We consider the background to the reforms, their relations with one another and how they have played out in the Swedish educational policy context. We argue that these reforms exhibit features of ‘fast policy’ in terms of how they have taken on an increasingly centralised and neoliberal character, and the rapid-fire way they have been directed at teachers as individuals, rather than broader schooling structures. We show how the fast policy reforms have recentralised schooling and teachers’ work—effectively de-professionalising educators.     

Teachers’ conceptions of representation in middle school mathematics

Current reform efforts call for an emphasis on the use of representation in the mathematics classroom across levels and topics. The aim of the study was to examine teachers’ conceptions of representation as a process in doing mathematics, and their perspectives on the role of representations in the teaching and learning of mathematics at the middle-school level. Interviews with middle school mathematics teachers suggest that teachers use representations in varied ways in their own mathematical work and have developed working definitions of the term primarily as a product in problem solving. However, teachers’ conception of representation as a process and a mathematical practice appears to be less developed, and, as a result, representations may have a peripheral role in their instruction as well. Further, the data suggested that representation is viewed as a topic of study rather than as a general process, and as a goal for the learning of only a minority of the students—the high-performing ones. Implications for mathematics teacher education, prospective and practicing, are discussed.     

Teachers’ professional development in Nanoscience and nanotechnology in the context of a Community of Learners

ABSTRACT

This case study focuses on teachers’ professional development in NanoScience and nanoTechnology (NST). In the context of a Community of Learners (CoL), in-service teachers in collaboration with science education researchers, nanoscience researchers and experts from science museums, developed a teaching module. This module integrates NST topics along with aspects of science communication, i.e. development of science exhibits and socio-scientific issues, e.g. ethics regarding the research in this field. The data were gathered over 1-year period by using video recordings and interviews. The Interconnected Model of Professional Growth was used to study the processes that support teachers’ professional change in this context, as they are elicited from their interactions in the CoL. Our findings indicate that the dynamic of teachers’ interactions with colleagues and the mediating processes that impact on their professional learning, are crafted on the basis of the emerged challenges in each phase of module’s design and development. These findings give an insight on teachers’ professional learning as they transfer their professional knowledge regarding scientific topics which are innovative to them, i.e. NST, into their teaching practice. In this respect, this study contributes to research literature relevant to teachers’ professionalisation in order to implement innovations in the classroom.     

Adolescents’ psychological well-being and self-esteem in the context of relationships at school

Background:?The school environment has shown itself to be an important factor in explaining adolescent behaviour. The relationships and experiences that pupils have at school have been found to influence their development, psychological well-being, self-esteem and social adjustment.

Purpose:?The aim of the study is to explore whether there is a relationship between pupil–peer and pupil–teacher relationships and psychological well-being and self-esteem, and whether this relationship varies according to pupils’ experience of bullying or being bullied.

Sample: Data consisted of a sample of 3694 students (mean age?±?SD 14.3?±?0.62 years; 51% girls) from elementary schools in Slovakia.

Design and method:?Questionnaires were administered to the students. In terms of data analysis, linear regression was firstly used in the whole sample to explore pupil–peer and pupil–teacher relationships and psychological well-being (the depression/anxiety and social dysfunction subscales of GHQ-12) and self-esteem (positive and negative self-esteem subscales of RSE). Next, the whole sample was divided into four groups in terms of involvement in bullying (normative contrasts, passive victims, aggressive non-victims and aggressive victims). Linear regression was used to explore the associations between pupil–peer and pupil–teacher relationships with the two factors of psychological well-being and two factors of self-esteem in these four groups.

Results:?As findings showed, better pupil–peer relationships and also pupil–teacher relationships were significantly related statistically to less depression/anxiety and social dysfunction, as well as to more positive and less negative self-esteem. All bullying categories were significantly related to pupil–peer relationships and the four dependent variables. However, in the categories of aggressive victims and aggressive non-victims, the pupil–teacher relationship was not significantly related to their psychological well-being and self-esteem. Also, in all subgroups, better pupil–peer relationships were significantly related to less depression/anxiety and social dysfunction, as well as with more positive and less negative self-esteem.

Conclusion:?Given the differences found in the connections between pupil–teacher relationships and well-being and self-esteem, between those who bullied and those who were bullied, it would seem that the school environment can play an important role in implementing anti-bullying prevention strategies.     

Teachers’ thoughts on e-readers in the elementary school classroom

Despite the popularity of e-readers and the enthusiasm of some for their use in secondary education, their utility in elementary education has not yet been systematically explored. Some advantages and disadvantages to teaching elementary literacy with e-readers are identified here. A convenience sample of ten teachers from a variety of different types of elementary schools and classrooms who were e-reader novices read a chapter of a grade-appropriate book on a Kindle and evaluated its use for their students. The teachers gave their opinions and ideas on how the devices could be implemented. Three specific technological affordances of an e-reader that carry pedagogical implications are discussed: the text-to-speech and dictionary functions, and the idea of unlimited access to books.     

Teachers’ emotions in the context of education reform: labor process theory and social constructionism

In recent years, many teachers suffered different kinds of negative emotions in the context of education reforms. A typical explanation was that the education reforms disempowered teachers in teaching, so teachers were forced to do much non-instructional work. Teachers considered their work meaningless but were powerless to change it, and eventually indulged themselves in negative emotions. However, the present research suggested that this explanation had neglected teacher agency and might be incomplete. Arguing from the perspective of social constructionism, the research showed that teachers in Hong Kong experienced negative emotions in education reforms because, on top of the disempowerment, the reforms structurally displaced teachers’ educational goals with administrative goals. The goal displacement impeded teachers’ evaluation of the instructional values of their work. Thus, teachers perceived their work as inconsistent with their major purpose of teaching (i.e. making a difference) and they felt negative towards work.     

‘Changing the context’: Tackling discrimination at school and in society

In this paper we propose a social psychological framework for studying the role of schools in promoting positive intercultural relations. We draw on data from schools in England where addressing issues of cultural diversity is a key aim of educational practice. We focus specifically on the role of social context in educational activities that tackle discrimination. We consider the socio-political context, local community context, and immediate school context from a social representations theory perspective. Using data from interviews with staff and focus groups with students in schools from three very different localities, we show that the socio-political context may limit schools’ ability to promote positive intercultural relations but also that it is possible for schools to promote broader change from the bottom-up, acting as agents of change at a societal level, i.e. in terms of changing the local and broader societal contexts in which they are located.     

Teachers’ perceptions of school connectedness and risk-taking in adolescence

School connectedness has been shown to be an important protective factor in adolescent development, which is associated with reduced risk-taking behavior. Interventions to increase students’ connectedness to school commonly incorporate aspects of teacher training. To date, however, research on connectedness has largely been based on student survey data, with no reported research addressing teachers’ perceptions of students’ connectedness and its association with student behavior. This research attempted to address this gap in the literature through in-depth interviews with 14 school teachers and staff from two Australian high schools. Findings showed that teachers perceived students’ connectedness to be important in regard to reducing problem behavior, and discussed aspects of connectedness, including fairness and discipline, feeling valued, belonging and having teacher support, and being successfully engaged in school, as being particularly important. This research enables the development of school-based intervention programs that are based on both student- and teacher-focused research.     

Constructing model of teachers’ innovative behaviour in school environment

Teachers’ innovative behaviour influences not only their teaching practices and professional habits, but also has an impact on students’ creation of novel and original ideas. In spite of the increasing demand for innovative behaviour, and also relatively high academic achievements of Estonian students in international comparison, teachers in Estonia often do not use innovative teaching practices, according to Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). This study explores possible school environmental factors that may support the innovative behaviour of teachers. A model, where self-efficacy as a trait and different types of teaching practices as behaviour, are components of the model of teachers’ innovative behaviour. It is supposed that teachers’ innovative behaviour appears in school environments and may be supported by the following factors: interaction and involvement, need and freedom for innovation. The study is carried out as a secondary data analysis, based on a sample of TALIS survey. The results indicate that although the three factors mentioned do not constitute the integrated phenomenon, they do describe different aspects of a teachers’ innovative behaviour.     

Teachers’ perceptions of the use of an external change agent in school curriculum change

An external change agent (ECA) was recently employed in three Queensland schools to align the school curriculum with the requirements of the state’s high stakes test known as the Queensland Core Skills test (QCS). This paper reports on the teachers’ perceptions of a change process led by an ECA. With the ever-increasing implementation of high stakes testing in Australian schools, teachers are under mounting pressure to produce ‘results’. Therefore, in order to maximise their students’ success in these tests, schools are altering their curricula to incorporate the test requirements. Rather than the traditional method of managing such curriculum change processes internally, there is a growing trend for principals to source external expertise in the form of ECAs. Although some academics, teachers, and much of the relevant literature, would regard such a practice as problematic, this study found that in fact, teachers were quite open to externally led curriculum change, especially if they perceived the leader to be knowledgeable and creditable in this area.     

Teachers’ expectations of children with Down Syndrome starting school in the United Arab Emirates or United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

Starting school has been shown to correlate with later school outcomes. Teachers working in early years’ settings either in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) or the United Kingdom completed a questionnaire asking them to rate the importance of 20 statements in answer to the question ‘How important are the following for deciding whether a child with Down Syndrome has had a successful first two terms of school?’ Findings demonstrated a different pattern of expectations depending on where the teacher was working. Specifically, teachers in the United Kingdom placed more importance on academic performance and the relationship with the family. Some similarities in the rankings of the scales were also obtained. Teachers, regardless of the location, placed most importance on children’s happiness and knowledge of school routines in successfully starting school. Implications for children with Down Syndrome starting school in the UAE and the United Kingdom are discussed.     

Teachers’ views about pupil diversity in the primary school classroom

The present study explores Greek primary school teachers’ perceptions and views on pupil diversity in the classroom environment. A large-scale survey was carried out in order to examine teachers’ perceptions about pupil diversity and to identify personal and/or educational characteristics that can influence or predict these perceptions. The outcomes of the study reveal that Greek primary school teachers view diversity as a challenge more than as a barrier in teaching and learning, they can recognise at a high level the key elements of differentiated instruction as part of managing pupil diversity in their class and hold a negative-to-neutral stance on traditional curriculum implementation practices. The most influential factors and predictors of these perceptions and views are also presented and discussed.