Will IR Staff Stick? An Exploration of Institutional Researchers’ Intention to Remain in or Leave Their Jobs

The study explored the factors that relate to the likelihood of institutional researchers (IRs) to plan to leave their jobs. Learning more about the effects on IR job turnover can serve to improve the employment experience of IR practitioners, the profession of IR, and, indirectly, higher education. 1,264 IRs responded to a national survey comprised of antecedents of intention to quit one’s job that had a high degree of construct validity within job turnover theories. Data were tested against a theoretical model developed from the Industrial-Organizational Psychology and IR literature. Perceived organizational support was the strongest predictor of intent to quit. Burnout, lack of advancement opportunities, lack of rewards and recognition, job embeddedness, and available job alternatives also affect IRs intention to quit. Suggestions for supporting IRs and elevating the role of IR on campuses are included.     

Teachers’ professional development: a solitary or collegial (ad)venture?

There exists nowadays consensus on the importance of teachers’ professional development. Also, most authors agree that the school's workplace conditions can exert great influence on this development. In this paper the impact of two workplace conditions, autonomy and collegiality, on elementary school teachers’ professional development is analysed. The qualitative research reported makes clear that this influence should be thought of in a balanced way. Certain forms of autonomy and collegiality — and more specifically certain combinations of both workplace conditions — have a far more positive influence on teachers’ professional development than others.     

Right or Wrong? Toward a Theory of IRBs’ (Dis)Approval of Research

No one would disagree that scientific research has been unethical—even criminal—at times. Institutional review boards (IRBs) play a fundamental role in protecting people from unethical criminological research. At the same time, IRBs, as social entities, are subject to a wide range of influences that may affect their decisions regarding the ethicality of research. This research note draws on the paradigm of pure sociology and the logic underpinning Black’s theory of law to propose a preliminary theory of IRBs’ (dis)approval of research. Specifically, it suggests that IRBs apply less social control to criminological research involving higher status researchers and lower status research participants and, therefore, those persons are more often involved in research. The paper concludes with theoretically situated, practical advice for how (1) IRBs can reduce their discrimination, and (2) criminological researchers can reduce IRBs’ disapproval of their projects and thereby increase their research output.     

Review of serious events in cases of (suspected) child abuse and/or neglect: A RoSE by any other name?

Child abuse and neglect (CAN) cases presenting to health-services may be complex; when things go seriously wrong such as a child death or near miss, cases are reviewed and health-services and professionals subject to intense scrutiny. While there are a variety of mechanisms to review critical incidents in health-services no formal process for the review of cases where child protection is the primary concern exists in Australia. We aimed to develop a systematic process to review serious events in cases of suspected CAN across two health districts in Sydney, so that shared learnings could fuel system change. Drawing upon mapping, case review, literature findings and using quality improvement methodology, we developed a model named Review of Serious Events (RoSE), in suspected cases of CAN. The RoSE model has the key features of: being child focused; seeking to examine care over a period of time; using child protection staff as lead reviewers; involving health professionals/services in the review who have been involved with the child; and actioning systems change at local levels. The RoSE model was trialled through 2014–2015. Eight cases were reviewed using RoSE; cases were similar to those reviewed prior to having a model. Participant feedback from RoSE group processes was overwhelmingly positive; outputs were transparent and accessible to key stakeholders, there was mixed progress with implementation. The RoSE model is a serious case review process that is strongly child-focused, is both investigative and reflective, led by child protection experts; and can be adapted to other settings and systems.     

Teacher education graduates’ choice (not) to enter the teaching profession: does teacher education matter?

In an era of recurring teacher shortages, Flanders struggles with a considerable proportion of teacher education graduates who do not enter the teaching profession. This study identifies the predictors of teacher education graduates’ choice on job entry (teaching profession or not). A prospective research design with two data collection phases is adopted. Student teachers (subsequently graduates) (N = 217) of integrated teacher training for secondary education were surveyed shortly before as well as shortly after graduation. Results of chi-squared and t-tests indicate that gender, initial motivation for teaching, mentor support, teacher education preparation, teacher efficacy, learner-oriented beliefs, performance in teacher education, and employment opportunities show differences (at 1% level) between graduates who entered and those who did not enter the teaching profession. Results of the subsequent logistic regression validate the importance of teacher education (i.e. mentor support) – beside initial motivation and labour market factors – to explain graduates’ decision on job entry.     

Should teachers be accurate or (overly) positive? A competitive test of teacher judgment effects on students’ reading progress

Previous findings on effects of teachers' judgments on student learning have been contradictory leading to the question of what kinds of judgments are most beneficial: accurate or (overly) positive ones? In this study, we provide the first competitive test of prominent but contradictory hypotheses regarding the consequences of teachers' judgments in the context of reading proficiency using reading fluency and reading comprehension performance judgments from 145 teachers and measures of real performance and learning progress across eight points of measurement from 2880 students. Response Surface Analyses combined with an information-theoretic approach for model comparison revealed no evidence of positive effects of judgment accuracy or overestimation of student performance by teachers. Instead, progress in reading fluency and reading comprehension was best predicted by students' prior achievement. For reading comprehension, the positivity of teachers' judgments was additionally beneficial: The higher a teacher judged a student's performance, the more the student learned.     

Using a Professional Development Program for Enhancing Chilean Biology Teachers’ Understanding of Nature of Science (NOS) and Their Perceptions About Using History of Science to Teach NOS

A number of authors have recognized the importance of understanding the nature of science (NOS) for scientific literacy. Different instructional strategies such as decontextualized, hands-on inquiry, and history of science (HOS) activities have been proposed for teaching NOS. This article seeks to understand the contribution of HOS in enhancing biology teachers’ understanding of NOS, and their perceptions about using HOS to teach NOS. These teachers (N = 8), enrolled in a professional development program in Chile are, according to the national curriculum, expected to teach NOS, but have no specific NOS and HOS training. Teachers’ views of NOS were assessed using the VNOS-D+ questionnaire at the beginning and at the end of two modules about science instruction and NOS. Both the pre- and the post-test were accompanied by interviews, and in the second session we collected information about teachers’ perceptions of which interventions had been more significant in changing their views on NOS. Finally, the teachers also had to prepare a lesson plan for teaching NOS that included HOS. Some of the most important study results were: significant improvements were observed in teachers’ understanding of NOS, although they assigned different levels of importance to HOS in these improvements; and although the teachers improved their understanding of NOS, most had difficulties in planning lessons about NOS and articulating historical episodes that incorporated NOS. The relationship between teachers’ improved understanding of NOS and their instructional NOS skills is also discussed.     

Networks of Encouragement: Who’s Encouraging Latina/o Students and White Students to Enroll in Honors and Advanced-Placement (AP) Courses?

Using affiliation network data collected at a large high school, this study examined differences between who encourages Latina/o and White students to enroll in advanced courses. Previous research has shown a positive association between emotional support and academic achievement, and thus, this study shifts the focus from who informs students to who encourages them. This study revealed that on average, Latina/o and White students have different networks of encouragement.     

Critique of the article by Visser and Jehan (2009): ‘ADHD: a scientific fact or a factual opinion? A critique of the veracity of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder’

This article seeks to evaluate and take further the discussion put forward by Visser and Jehan (Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties 14, no. 2: 127–40). It begins by focusing on the biomedical discourse, its dominance in the academic and professional literature and why the existence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as a medical category is questionable. This is followed by a discussion of other discourses including the sociological discourse and the bio-psychosocial discourse. The importance of multi-professional approaches in the identification, assessment and management of ADHD is highlighted, followed by an examination of what part the educational environment might play with regard to behaviours associated with ADHD. Attention is drawn to the need for continuing research and debate on this evolving concept.