Consultant Verbal Control and Consultee Perceptions

High verbal control is a way of exercising interpersonal power and may be an important influence on consultation process and outcome. In this study, two groups of public school teachers were shown videotapes depicting either high or low levels of consultant verbal control. Dependent measures included a consultation-acceptance rating, a behavioroid measure assessing consultee commitment to future consultation meetings, and a thought-listing technique soliciting covert cognitive responses occurring while the teachers viewed the consultation exchanges. Results indicated that the verbal control manipulation produced differences in teachers' perceptions of the consultant's level of verbal control. After viewing the vignettes, 16% of the teachers expressed willingness to commit to future consultation. However, there was no apparent detrimental effect of high consultant verbal control: Of those teachers willing to commit, differences between high and low control were not significant. Post hoc analysis of acceptance scale items indicated that participants thought the consultee learned more about the problem discussed during the consultation under the high consultant verbal control condition. Advantages and limitations of high consultant verbal control as a consultation process variable are discussed, and recommendations for future consultation research are offered.     

Teacher Testing and the Improvement of Practice

Previous approaches to teacher testing have been criticized for poorly representing the knowledge base for teaching, for oversimplifying teaching decisions, and for lacking criterion-related validity evidence supporting their use. A new generation of teacher assessments has been developed in the United States through the efforts of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and a corollary organization of more than 30 states. These performance-based assessments use videotapes of teachers' practice, examples of lessons and assessments, samples of student work, and analyses of classroom events and outcomes to provide evidence about teaching. Early research on the effects of these assessments suggests that they may be more valid measures of teacher knowledge and skill and that they may help teachers improve their practice. The stimulus to teacher learning appears to occur through task structures that require teachers to learn new content and teaching strategies as part of their demonstration of performance and through the processes of required reflection about the relationships between learning and teaching.     

Challenging science teachers' beliefs and practices through a video-case-based intervention in China's primary schools

The present study aims to challenge primary school science teachers' beliefs about education and teaching efficacy, as well as their teaching practices, through a video-case-based intervention programme in a Chinese educational setting. A total of 46 in-service teachers were involved in this study (experimental group = 23, control group = 23). Pre- and post-intervention surveys were administered to examine possible changes in the participants' beliefs about education and science teaching efficacy. Video data were gathered through classroom observations of 9 participants from the experimental group and 9 participants from the control group. The results of one-way analysis of covariance indicate that the reported post-intervention beliefs of teachers who participated in the programme differed significantly from their pre-intervention beliefs. More specifically, teachers in the experimental groups reported fewer traditional and more constructivist beliefs after the intervention, as well as stronger personal science teaching efficacy beliefs. One exception included beliefs about science teaching outcome expectancy. The video data showed that teaching practices became more constructivist in terms of both practical activities and student ICT use.     

Traditional Assessment,Consultation, and Intervention Practices: Urban School Psychologists' Use,Importance, and Competence Ratings

This article examines the practices of school psychologists who work within an urban school district. Participants (N = 86) rated 20 specific practices on their current use, their importance, and their level of competence. Overall the school psychologists rated their involvement in traditional assessment activities as significantly more common than consultation/collaboration and prevention/intervention; however, they indicated consultation and prevention/intervention activities as significantly more valued than traditional assessment practices. Participants also noted prevention, intervention, and functional assessment as their top priorities for professional development. Thus, a practice gap was noted with regard to what this group of school psychologists' value and what they do. Results are discussed within the context of current educational reform initiatives.     

Who has a Problem,the Student or the Teacher? Differences in Teachers' Beliefs About Their Work with At‐risk and Integrated Exceptional Students

In this study, teachers' assumptions and beliefs are explored about the needs of at‐risk and exceptional students, and about their roles and responsibilities in meeting such needs. Teachers appear to hold consistent and coherent belief systems which differ along an ordinal scale. At one end, ‘restorative’ beliefs assume that problems reside largely within the pupil, and therefore the teacher's duty is to refer the pupil for confirmatory assessment as soon as possible. At the other ‘preventive’ end, teachers assume that the environment, including instruction, plays a part in a student's problems. The teacher therefore attempts prereferral interventions, and requests assessment to identify instructional alternatives. This study provides evidence for the validity of the restorative‐preventive construct, reporting the results of both quantitative and qualitative analyses of interviews with 27 regular class elementary teachers. Teachers' ratings on the construct correlated significantly with their self‐ratings of teaching efficacy (Gibson & Dembo, 1984). Teachers with preventive beliefs had higher self‐efficacy scores than those with a restorative profile. Further, teachers with restorative beliefs rated the withdrawal of problem pupils from the classroom as a more desirable resource service than preventive teachers, who preferred in‐class consultative support.     

Predicting teachers' achievement goals for teaching: The role of perceived school goal structure and teachers' sense of efficacy

The present study investigated contextual and personal factors associated with teachers' achievement goals for teaching. A total of 211 teachers completed an online survey. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that perceived school mastery goal structure and performance goal structure predicted teachers' mastery goals and performance-approach goals, respectively. Teachers' sense of efficacy moderated the effect of perceived school goal structures on achievement goals for teaching. Teachers with high teaching efficacy maintained personal achievement goals for teaching even when their schools emphasized conflicting goals. However, teachers with low teaching efficacy tended to assimilate the goals promoted by their schools.     

Intrinsic instructional goal adoption increases autonomy-supportive teaching: A randomized control trial and intervention

Goal contents theory (GCT) stresses the benefits of intrinsic goal pursuit. To extend this research to teachers, the present investigation conducted two experiments to apply GCT's principles to the classroom to test for the causal, facilitating effect of teachers' intrinsic instructional goals on the new benefit of autonomy-supportive teaching. Study 1 was a laboratory study with 156 college students randomly assigned into one of three conditions: intrinsic instructional goal-personal growth, intrinsic instructional goal-relationship growth, or no-goal. Planned comparisons showed that teachers who pursued an intrinsic instructional goal showed more autonomy-supportive teaching than did teachers in the no-goal condition. Study 2 was a classroom-based intervention with 26 experienced K-12 teachers and their 538 students. Teachers were randomly assigned into either an intrinsic instructional goal intervention or a no-intervention control condition. Repeated-measures ANCOVAs showed that intrinsic instructional goals were malleable and led to significantly greater autonomy-supportive teaching, according to trained raters and teachers but not their students. Teachers in the intervention condition also reported greater need satisfaction and teaching efficacy. These findings confirm the teacher benefits of adopting intrinsic instructional goals and therefore open up a new and promising area for future research.     

Teacher Education Programmes and Their Contribution to Student Teacher Efficacy in Classroom Management and Pupil Engagement

This study focuses on how different educational programmes contribute to student teachers efficacy for classroom management and their abilities to provide learning opportunities and good classroom outcomes. Data were gathered from 491 student teachers attending different teacher education programmes in Norway and analysed via structural equation modelling. The results revealed the following: (1) problem behaviour in the classroom has a negative effect on student teacher efficacy, (2) students' perceptions of the integration of pedagogic knowledge and practice supports students' efficacy beliefs, (3) support from supervisors contributes positively to student teachers' efficacy beliefs, and (4) student teachers in university college programmes for primary school teaching report higher teacher efficacy than students in university programmes for secondary school teaching.     

Teacher response to collaborative consultation

Investigated teacher responses to a consultant's efforts to foster either a collaborative or an expert consultation relationship via a quasi-experimental study. Eight teachers were exposed to a collaborative approach, and seven to an expert. Teacher satisfaction with the consultation and the extent of their implementation of the recommendations were the dependent variables examined. Teachers exposed to the collaborative approach were significantly more satisfied (p <.05, Mann-Whitney U Test, one-tailed). There was no significant difference in the extent of recommendation implementation of the two groups of teachers, but a consultant approach-teacher experience interaction was suggested. The generalizability of these results and recommendations for design modification for further research are discussed.     

Australian Teachers’ Views of Their Effectiveness in Behaviour Management

ONE HUNDRED AND twenty‐five Brisbane area teachers completed the Teacher Manageability Scale (TMS), a 39 item, nine factor, self‐report instrument designed to assess educators' perceptions of their personal competence in behaviour management. Results indicated that behaviours associated with Lack of Communication, Task Dependency, Cognitive Confusion and Inattention were rated as being equally as difficult to manage as Negative Aggressive behaviours. The findings of a series of multiple regression analyses suggested that personal efficacy (beliefs concerning a teacher's personal instructional effectiveness) was the only important predictor of manageability ratings. Surprisingly, independent variables such as teacher‐reported student academic level and socioeconomic status failed to be significant predictors of any of the dependent measures of manageability. In addition, Australian teachers' rated themselves as somewhat more effective than a group of 182 Ohio teachers. Implications for behaviour management practices in the schools and future research are discussed.     

Teacher expectations on the directiveness continuum in consultation

The study investigated the consultation approaches of collaborative‐directive and collaborative‐nondirective and the influence of teacher expectations for consultation on their ratings of consultation success. Teachers viewed videotaped consultation sessions of a collaborative‐directive or collaborative‐nondirective consultation session that either matched or mismatched their expectations. The study found significantly higher ratings for the consultants and interventions when the collaborative‐directive approach was used. In addition, teachers in conditions that matched their expectations for consultation rated consultants and interventions significantly higher than did teachers in mismatched conditions. The importance of this line of research lies in its practical application, allowing practitioners of consultation and trainers of school psychologists greater knowledge in selection of the appropriate consultation approach to maximize perceived consultant effectiveness and intervention acceptability. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Researcher as Teacher: Lessons Modeled by a Well-Remembered Scholar

While teacher educators may encourage their students to reflect deeply on their teaching, the teachers of teachers rarely seem to examine their own teaching practices. Yet a study of one's own practice can generate profound insights into one's own teaching, can model good teaching to our students, and can serve as the foundation for research about teaching. One teacher–researcher–scholar, Jeff Northfield, developed a powerful set of insights into the value of exploring personal practice while contributing to our general knowledge of teaching. Within the context of the current paradigm wars concerning “best” research in the reform of teaching and teacher education, this paper demonstrates that the work of researchers like Northfield stands as a valuable exemplar of good research of teaching. The paper also explores critical points from Northfield's work that can guide future research into our own teaching.     

Role expansion in school psychology: The need for primary and secondary prevention services

A sample of 80 special education directors completed a survey regarding the functions of school psychologists, the degree of effectiveness of psychologists in delivering certain services, and activities in which they should become more (or less) involved. The results reveal that there is no single activity that accounts for the majority of the school psychologist's time. School psychologists were rated as more effective in assessment, consulting, and crisis intervention. Activities rated as needing more involvement were counseling and consultation. Although these results are supportive of role expansion and consistent with the literature, of particular concern was the failure to identify involvement with at-risk and regular education students as a major need. These concerns suggest that there is a need for increases in primary and secondary prevention services.     

云南边疆中学优秀教师与一般教师教学效能感研究

采用问卷法对718名云南边疆中学的优秀教师与一般教师的研究发现:优秀教师与一般教师的教学效能感存在显著的差异;优秀教师的总体教学效能感以及个人教学效能感,一般教学效能感均高于一般教师;边疆少数民族地区的优秀教师、一般教师与内地的专家型教师、新手型教师的教学效能感存在着共同性与差异性;不同的民族、性别对优秀教师、一般教师教学效能感的影响并不显著。     

Teacher Efficacy in Writing: A Construct Validation With Primary Grade Teachers

Teacher efficacy has been identified as a variable accounting for individual differences in teacher practice and student outcome. Because teacher efficacy is a specific rather than a generalized expectancy, an examination was done on the validity and reliability of a teacher efficacy instrument designed specifically for the area of writing. Consistent with previous teacher efficacy research, a factor analysis of the instrument yielded 2 dimensions: 1 measuring personal teaching efficacy and the other general teaching efficacy. Both factors were reliable and only slightly correlated with each other. The reported classroom practices of high- and low-efficacy teachers differed, providing further support for the validity of the instrument. It was also found that variation in efficacy scores was related to teachers' beliefs about how to teach writing.     

Teacher Reactions to Two Approaches to School-Based Psychological Consultation

One hundred twenty-eight female teachers were classified by degree of dogmatism, locus of control, and teaching experience, and then were randomly assigned to view a videotape of either a 'mental health' consultant or a 'behavioral' consultant. The tapes were originally used in a study by Medway and Forman (1980) who reported that, at least in the early stages of consultation, teachers preferred behavioral consultation over mental health consultation. Our findings are essentially in agreement with those of Medway and Forman and were expressed via significantly higher teacher ratings on scales measuring satisfaction with consultation, teacher strength, and the resolution of the referral problem. Several interaction effects are also discussed.     

Attitude Towards Responsibility and Teacher Locus of Control: Further Evidence of Their Validities

In recent years, a growing number of studies have shown that teachers' sense of efficacy is a powerful predictor of teacher effectiveness. The construct of teacher locus of control or perceived teacher efficacy is defined as the teachers' beliefs or conviction that they can influence how well students learn and how they behave (Guskey, 1981; Rose & Medway, 1981; Taylor et al., 1981). It has also been found that teachers who place a high value on teaching tend to take greater personal responsibility for their own actions and their students' performance (Ames, 1982; Brookover & Lezotte, 1979). The concept of personal responsibility for student performance and behaviour may be extended to include responsibility for other aspects of school work and to attitude towards responsibility in general within the school context.     

Teacher efficacy: Toward the understanding of a multi-faceted construct

To explore dimensions of teacher efficacy, the responses of 310 teachers to a modified version of the Gibson & Dembo (1984) [Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 569–582], scale were factor analyzed, yielding three factors. Personal efficacy concerned teachers' beliefs about their ability to perform specific behaviors. Outcome efficacy referred to teachers belief that student outcomes were attributable to their actions. We believe these two factors represent the efficacy expectations and outcome expectations of Bandura's model of self-efficacy. The third factor, teaching efficacy, concerned teachers' beliefs about the influence of external factors, including the home, heredity and television violence, on the impact of teaching.     

High School Science Teachers’ Conceptualisations of Teaching and Learning: theory and practice

One focus of classroom based research in recent years has been the exploration of the relationships between teachers’ personal beliefs about the teaching/learning process and their classroom practice, and, in the context of science education, between teachers’ epistemological beliefs and classroom actions. This paper, based on two case studies of classroom practice, examines the beliefs and actions of two high school science teachers in relation to their involvement in a curriculum development exercise which was being undertaken by the Children's Learning in Science Project (now the Children's Learning in Science Research Group) based at the University of Leeds, UK.