Teacher self-efficacy and teacher burnout: A study of relations

The purpose of this study was partly to test the factor structure of a recently developed Norwegian scale for measuring teacher self-efficacy and partly to explore relations between teachers' perception of the school context, teacher self-efficacy, collective teacher efficacy, teacher burnout, teacher job satisfaction, and teachers' beliefs that factors external to teaching puts limitations to what they can accomplish. Participants were 2249 Norwegian teachers in elementary school and middle school. The data were analyzed by means of structural equation modelling using the AMOS 7 program. Teacher self-efficacy, collective efficacy and two dimensions of burnout were differently related both to school context variables and to teacher job satisfaction.     

From “truth” to “invented reality”: A discourse analysis of high school physics students' talk about scientific knowledge

Students' views of the nature of scientific knowledge have been recognized as an important component of science learning environments. In this study, we analyze an extensive data base consisting of 23 students' written and oral discourse about ontology, epistemology, and sociology of scientific knowledge collected over a 15-month period in the context of two consecutive junior- and senior-level physics courses. Over a 2-month period at the beginning of the second year, students read, reflected on, and talked about a text which discusses epistemology in the context of physics. Our study shows that students drew on nine types of discursive resources to support their ontological, epistemological, and sociological claims. Toward the end of the study, the range and number of supportive statements had increased. Simultaneously, few students changed their ontological and sociological claims, but a considerable number changed their epistemological claims. Two case studies illustrate the development of student discourse in the course of the study. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34 : 145–179, 1997.     

“Bumpy moments” in teaching: Reflections from practicing teachers

During the complex teaching act, there are moments that require teachers to engage in reflection to make critical decisions about how to respond to particular problems in practice. The present investigation provides a stimulus for capturing these reflections as four elementary practicing teachers are asked to describe their “bumpy moments” in teaching. Analysis of the 19 “bumpy moments” identified offers insights into the thoughts, knowledge, and beliefs that these teachers are considering during their practice. Results have implications for capturing reflection during teaching, ongoing practicing teacher professional development, and preservice teacher education.     

The relative strength of relations between different facets of teacher motivation and core dimensions of teaching quality in mathematics - A multilevel analysis

Teacher self-efficacy and teacher interest are two key facets of teacher motivation that are important for high-quality teaching. Little is known about the relative strength of the effects of teacher self-efficacy and interest on teaching quality when compared with one another. We extend previous research on teacher motivation by examining the relations linking mathematics teacher self-efficacy and interest with several relevant dimensions of teaching quality as perceived by teachers and students. Participants were 84 mathematics teachers (61.2% female) and their students (1718 students; 48.5% girls). Based on doubly latent multilevel models, we found that teacher-reported self-efficacy in instruction was positively related to teacher-reported cognitive activation, classroom management, and emotional support in mathematics classrooms. Teacher-reported educational interest showed positive associations with both student- and teacher-perceived emotional support. Future research is advised to focus more strongly on the unique relations between different teachers’ motivational characteristics and relevant dimensions of teaching quality.     

The teacher as “coach”: A whole new ball game

A comparison is drawn between the coach's situation on the playing field and the teacher's situation in the classroom. Several advantages that accrue to the coach are examined and suggestions are made as to how such advantages might be translated for classroom implementation.     

A multilevel analysis of the impact of a professional learning community, faculty trust in colleagues and collective efficacy on teacher commitment to students

This study investigated the relationships between a professional learning community (PLC), faculty trust in colleagues, teachers’ collective efficacy, and their commitment to students. The findings from exploratory factor analysis indicated that three clear components could be extracted from the scale of Professional Learning Communities Assessment (PLCA) in a Chinese setting. Multilevel analyses was conducted to investigate how school-level variables, including the three factors of PLC, faculty trust in colleagues, and collective teacher efficacy, affect teachers’ commitment to students. The findings from the Hong Kong teacher sample indicated that two PLC factors including collective learning and application and supportive conditions - structures, and the factors faculty trust in colleagues and collective teacher efficacy could significantly and positively account for the school-level variances of teachers’ commitment to students. Another PLC factor, shared and supportive leadership, was not identified as a significant predictor to teachers’ commitment to students in a Chinese setting. The findings of school-level regressions indicated that all three factors of PLC as well as faculty trust in colleagues could significantly and positively affect teachers’ collective efficacy on instructional strategies. However, only one PLC factor, collective learning and application, and the factor faculty trust in colleagues were significant predictors to teachers’ collective efficacy on student discipline.     

No child,no school,no state left behind: schooling in the age of accountability 1

Why and under which conditions do international student assessment programmes like PISA have success? How can the results of these assessments be useful for advocates of different, even contradictory, policies? What might explain different patterns of using assessment as a tool for school governance? Drawing on historical and comparative research, and using PISA as an example, this paper provides a frame for discussing these and other questions around the international rise of accountability as a key tool of social change. The basic argument is that even though accountability is a global phenomenon, the ways and means of enacting and encountering accountability are not. How accountability is experienced depends on deeply engrained ‘constitutional mind‐sets’, i.e. diverse cultures of conceptualizing the relation between the public and its institutions.     

“Montrose” child life protection unit: A treatment and assessment model in child abuse intervention

In New South Wales, Australia, the Department of Youth and Community Services is empowered by statute to deal with cases of child abuse and neglect. Its child protection services include the Montrose Child Life Protection Unit which is designed to support and complement the work of both the Intake Service, Field Service and most importantly the work of child protective facilities in the community. The service has intake crisis counselling and call out resources; maintains a central register; provides a facility for crisis residential care for children and families, diagnostic assessment, and a day programme. The emphasis in service delivery in New South Wales in the area of child protection is on multidisciplinary intervention. The Department of Youth and Community Services is involved in promoting interagency cooperation and co-ordination. Over and above a philosophy that underlies service delivery is the Montrose Unit's involvement in sensitising the community to the difficult and often demanding role of parenting. Montrose represents an attempt to create an environment where parenting myths can be examined from a reality base and strategies implemented for reeducation.     

Progressive drawing: A novel “lid–opener” and “monotony–breaker”

An innovative strategy called “progressive drawing” was used at the beginning (lid‐opener) and later (monotony‐breaker) during gross anatomy lectures. Diagrams were drawn on the classroom blackboard with anatomic structures added one by one. Students identified and labeled the diagrams and predicted the next structures to be drawn. Students felt that the strategy helped to activate prior knowledge, created interest in the current lecture, and made lecture sessions more interactive. The strategy has appeal for visual, auditory, read/write, and kinesthetic learners. Anat Sci Educ, 2010. © 2010 American Association of Anatomists.     

Child maltreatment in the “Children of the Nineties:” deprivation, class, and social networks in a UK sample

Aim: To determine risk factors for child maltreatment within the socio-economic environment of a contemporary UK child population.Methods: The research is based on a large cohort study, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Out of 14,256 children participating in the study, 115 have been identified as having been placed on local child protection registers prior to their 6th birthday. Data on the socio-economic environment of the families have been obtained from a series of questionnaires administered during pregnancy and the first 3 years of life. Risk factors have been analyzed using logistic regression analysis.Results: Four indicators of deprivation all showed significant relationships with registration. Adjusted odds ratios were 2.33 for paternal unemployment; 7.65 for council housing; 2.16 for overcrowding; and 2.33 for car ownership. There was a strong relationship between the number of indicators of deprivation and the risk of maltreatment. In a second model, maternal unemployment, high mobility (> 3 house moves in the previous 5 years) and a poor social network were also significant with odds ratios of 2.82, 2.81, and 3.09, respectively.Conclusions: This study confirms the importance of social factors in the etiology of child maltreatment. Social deprivation is an important determinant of child maltreatment, and encompasses a number of different aspects, including financial security, housing situation and material benefits; in addition, the job situation of the parents and the stability and richness of their social networks all have a significant impact on risk of maltreatment. Interventions at both an individual and a community level are important to support families and reduce the risk of maltreatment.     

“Every experience is a moving force”: identity and growth through mentoring

This narrative of the experience of a native English speaking (NES) cooperating teacher working with a nonnative English speaking (NNES) student teacher in an MA Teaching English as a Second Language practicum begins with a discussion of teacher identity, then outlines the significance of caring in teacher–student relations Noddings (Caring: A feminine approach to ethics and moral education, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, 1984) and personal values and beliefs within those relations Johnston (Values in English Language Teaching, Lawrence Erlbaum, Malwah, NJ, 2002). These then frame an understanding of three critical incidents Tripp (Qual. Stud. Educ. 7(1) (1994) 65), and the emergent themes of language expertise, cultural ways of knowing and doing, and conflicting religious beliefs. It concludes with a discussion of the value of writing and sharing teacher narratives for professional development.