Queensland teachers’ conceptions of assessment: The impact of policy priorities on teacher attitudes

The conceptions Queensland teachers have about assessment purposes were surveyed in 2003 with an abridged version of the Teacher Conceptions of Assessment Inventory. Multi-group analysis found that a model with four factors, somewhat different in structure to previous studies, was statistically different between Queensland primary and (lower) secondary teachers. Primary teachers agreed more than secondary teachers that ‘assessment improves teaching and learning’, while the latter agreed more that it ‘makes students accountable’. The inter-correlation of ‘assessment is irrelevant’ to ‘makes students accountable’ was statistically stronger for primary teachers. Teacher beliefs reflected the differing practices of assessment by level of schooling.     

A survey of Greek general and special education teachers’ perceptions regarding the role of the special needs coordinator: Implications for educational policy on inclusion and teacher education

The present study explored the perceptions of Greek general and special primary teachers regarding the role and the professional characteristics of special needs coordinators (SENCOs). According to the responses of the 466 participants, each school should have a fulltime SENCO, who should have both teaching experience in general schools and specialization in teaching students with SEN, and also be able to deal with all types of SEN. SENCOs’ responsibilities include evaluating and directly teaching students, counselling teachers and parents, contributing to in-service training of staff, and undertaking initiatives for program enrichment and knowledge dissemination.     

Primary and secondary teachers’ conceptions of assessment: A qualitative study

A particular framework of teachers’ conceptions about assessment in school is presented. Fifty teachers of primary and secondary school were interviewed. Results of a qualitative analysis allowed building a model of conceptions of assessment. This model comprises four dimensions about the effects of assessment on: teaching, learning, accountability of teachers and schools to different audiences and stakeholders, and the certification of achievement. These conceptions, unequally distributed, show some tendencies that might be linked to the intrinsic tension between the by-default co-occurrence of both pedagogic and societal functions of assessment in school, and to difficulties of implementing assessment for learning practices.     

Student teachers’ conceptions of creativity in the secondary music classroom

This study aims to explore the meaning of the concept of creativity from the perspective of student teachers pursuing a one year teacher training course following their first degree. Seventeen student teachers following a specialist music teaching route in secondary education were selected as the sample for this study to offer their understanding on creativity in the secondary music classroom. Data were collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews and were subject to in-depth qualitative analysis using Atlas.ti software. All student teachers seemed eager to teach for creativity as they thought it was a vital component of their pupils’ musical engagement and development. However, some held richer conceptions than others or tended to overlook significant areas of musical involvement, such as improvisation, group work and engagement in evaluating and refining the creative musical product. Creativity was generally expected but it would emerge on an intuitive level as a by-product of a learning objective rather than being explicitly considered in the planning process. These narrow conceptions of the meaning of creativity in the music classroom need to be taken seriously and explicitly addressed in music education programs in order to maximize the expression of pupils’ creative potential in the music classroom and beyond.     

General, special and … inclusive: Refiguring professional identities in a collaboratively taught classroom

In implementing inclusive education, special educators frequently collaborate with general educators in various settings. How does such collaborative practice complicate the configuration of their professional identities? This paper uses the framework of figured world ( Holland, Lachiotte, Skinner, &; Cain, 1998) to scrutinize the practice of one special educator, Stephanie. Alternatively assuming both subordinate and lead positions within a collaborative teaching team, Stephanie refigured her professional identity and practice contingently, initiating a trajectory of change that extended to “out-of-classroom” spaces ( Clandinin &; Connolly, 1996). Stephanie’s improvisations in this process index the significance of teachers’ authorial spaces in the implementation of inclusive education.     

Mathematics teachers’ “learning to notice” in the context of a video club

This study examines changes in teachers’ thinking as they participated in a video club designed to help them learn to notice and interpret students’ mathematical thinking. First, we investigate changes in teachers’ talk about classroom video segments before and after participation in the video club. Second, we identify three paths along which teachers learned to notice students’ mathematical thinking in this context: Direct, Cyclical, and Incremental. Finally, we explore ways the video club context influenced teacher learning. Understanding different forms of teacher learning provides insight for research on teacher cognition and may inform the design of video-based professional development.     

An examination of what metaphor construction reveals about the evolution of preservice teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning

Examination of prospective teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning on entry to teacher education programs, and tracking the development of these beliefs in light of academic and field-based experiences, is a critical task for teacher educators. The study examines metaphor construction as a tool to gain access to, and promote the development of, prospective teachers’ beliefs through the incorporation of reflective activities that integrate academic and field-based experiences. Specifically, this research examines how metaphorical representations of preservice elementary teachers’ in the United States and Europe changed and examines the factors influencing the development of beliefs and the modification of metaphors.     

Cultural diversity in teachers’ group-centered beliefs and practices in early childcare

The present study examined the relation between teachers’ cultural backgrounds, their beliefs regarding group processes, their actual support of group processes, and children's behavior in center-based childcare in the Netherlands. For this purpose, 57 teachers of native Dutch and immigrant Moroccan-Dutch, Turkish-Dutch, Surinamese-Dutch, and Antillean-Dutch backgrounds were interviewed about their teaching beliefs and observed while engaging in a constructive play activity with small groups of children. Clear cultural differences in beliefs and corresponding behavior were found. In the interviews, the Turkish-Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch teachers mentioned concepts relating to group processes more often than the Dutch and Surinamese- and Antillean-Dutch teachers did, and they showed higher support of group processes during play. Moreover, the degree to which teachers expressed beliefs in group processes was significantly correlated with support of group processes by the teacher and with levels of collaboration and cognitive engagement in children's play. Structural equation modeling was applied to test direct and indirect effects, confirming the hypothesis that comparatively elaborate beliefs of teachers on group processes result in practices supporting group processes as well as more collaboration and cognitive engagement in children's play.     

“Maybe I can teach those kids.” The influence of contextual factors on student teachers’ efficacy beliefs

This study investigated student teachers’ efficacy beliefs, collective teacher efficacy beliefs, and perceived cooperating teachers’ efficacy beliefs. These student teacher beliefs were examined with the focus on context, primarily the school setting (i.e., rural, suburban, and urban), to determine whether setting played a role in the development of the student teachers’ efficacy beliefs. The research participants included 102 student teachers. All three setting groups exhibited significant increases in teachers’ sense of efficacy following student teaching. Urban student teachers exhibited significantly lower perceived collective efficacy. Perceived cooperating teachers’ efficacy was predictive of and positively related to the student teachers’ post-TSES scores.     

Local special education administrators’ understanding of inclusive education in China

China's inclusive education initiative began in mid-1980s under the name of “Learning in Regular Classrooms”. The purpose of this research is to examine how Chinese Local Special Education Administrators understand the ideology of inclusive education and LRC model by using a qualitative investigation. The results indicate that the Chinese inclusion is driven by pragmatic needs to enroll more children with disabilities who were denied education into schools, and LRC has been practiced in a different social and cultural context from inclusive education initiative in the West. The authors conclude that China should make generalised changes in the whole education system and society to bring greater opportunities to those with disabilities.     

Co-constructing efficacy: A “communities of practice” perspective on teachers’ efficacy beliefs

Teachers’ efficacy beliefs are critical to improving student learning, but we have yet to fully understand how these beliefs develop. The prevailing model of teachers’ efficacy development emerges from cognitive theories, but sociocultural theories may add insights to modeling the impact of teachers’ school contexts. This case study takes a “communities of practice” approach to explore the connections between teachers’ evidence-based decision-making practices and their efficacy beliefs. Findings, based on interviews with four teachers, indicate that teachers co-construct their efficacy beliefs in shared practices, suggesting the usefulness of communities of practice theory to more fully understand teachers’ efficacy belief development.     

Responding to students' needs in special schools in Ireland and England: findings from two schools

As more students with special educational needs attend mainstream schools, it is critical that the role and operation of special schools be examined. This article reports on two case studies, one special school in England and one in Ireland, which formed part of a national review of the role of special schools and special classes in Ireland. Two students, in each case study school, were shadowed and observed during two‐day visits by the research team. These students, and everyone belonging to them, were interviewed and relevant documents were analysed. Findings are discussed in terms of responding to students' needs through: organization of teaching and learning, curriculum, leadership, specialist staff, collaboration and links outside the special school. The implications are considered with reference to research, policy and practice and the authors conclude that the evidence provides support for maintaining the special school as an integral part of the continuum of educational provision for students with special educational needs.     

RESEARCH SECTION: Between a rock and a hard place: parents' attitudes to the inclusion of children with special educational needs in mainstream and special schools

In this paper, Katherine Runswick‐Cole, a researcher at the Research Institute for Health and Social Change at Manchester Metropolitan University, engages with parents' attitudes to the placement of their children with special educational needs in mainstream and special schools. She sets her review of parents' views within the current policy and legislative context. She then moves on to explore parents' attitudes to inclusion by drawing on the social model of disability as an analytical tool and developing a typology of parental school choices. The study reported in this paper involved 24 parents who were contacted through voluntary organisations and interviewed, either in their own homes or on the telephone. The views of seven professionals were also gathered. The findings reveal that parents' attitudes to mainstream and special schooling are influenced by their engagement with models of disability. The parents' experiences suggest that, despite the shifts in policy we have seen since 1997, the process of inclusive education continues to be fragile.     

Mainstream teachers about including deaf or hard of hearing students

This study is aimed at teachers’ classroom practices and their beliefs and emotions regarding the inclusion of deaf or hard of hearing (d/hh) students in mainstream secondary schools. Nine teachers in two schools were interviewed about the inclusion of d/hh students. These teachers were found to consider the d/hh students’ needs in their teaching practice. However, they showed less willingness to be considerate when the student showed a negative work attitude. With regard to teachers’ emotions, positive as well as negative emotions were reported, like enjoyment and frustration. Based on our findings, teachers’ pedagogies in inclusive classrooms are discussed.     

Democratizing school authority: Brazilian teachers’ perceptions of the election of principals

The idea of collective decision making in schools has been a popular democratic educational reform model. One of its claims is that participation in school decision making empowers teachers and improves teaching. This research investigates this claim by exploring seven teachers’ experiences with a unique democratic school reform in Porto Alegre, Brazil, the election of principals by teachers, students, parents, and staff. Results showed that the elections reshaped the school authority relations, resulting in greater freedom for teachers to introduce democratic teaching methods, while articulating the school as a democratic institution and teachers as citizens.     

A research model for the study of science teachers’ PCK and improving teacher education

In this article, a new research model for the study of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is presented which aims to improve teacher education. This model called “educational reconstruction for teacher education” (ERTE) represents the framework for an integrative approach to the study of science teachers’ topic specific PCK, which is a largely unexplored field. By integrating the PCK concept, originating in the American Curriculum tradition, into the German (Fach)didaktik tradition, this model adds a new perspective to (Fach)didaktik. This paper, therefore, also aims to clarify the PCK concept and its relation to Fachdidaktik.     

Rupture and repair: Episodes of resistance and resilience in teachers’ learning

This action inquiry article examines veteran teachers’ learning in a week-long professional development seminar. We describe moments of disconnection in key learning relationships (teacher, learner, text) and analyze relational–cultural dynamics that contributed to the disconnections. We investigate the dynamics that facilitate repair within the relationships. We argue that disconnections were often acts of resistance which preserve teachers’ sense of self as learner. We aver that moments of reconnection were acts of resilience. This study’s significance demonstrates the inherent links between resistance and resilience. Implications point to the centrality of taking an inquiry stance in the study of professional development experiences.     

Effects of job-embedded professional development on inclusion of students with disabilities in content area classrooms: results of a three-year study

During the mid-1990s, members of the global education community issued the Salamanca Statement that described inclusive schools as effective educational environments that also combat discrimination. Since that time, considerable progress has been made in moving students with disabilities from separate placements to inclusive settings. In the USA, nearly 10% of the school-aged population needs special education services and of that group, 96% are educated in general education classrooms 80% of the time. Placement of such large numbers of students with disabilities has increased the diversity of the student body and the complexity of teaching of core curriculum. For teachers and students to be successful, teachers need on-going professional development. This paper explores the efficacy of a Job-Embedded Professional Development (JEPD) model in six schools (urban, suburban and rural) that had made a commitment towards including all students with significant disabilities in general education core curriculum. Results are discussed for the six schools as well as for students identified as displaying behaviour disorders, autism or intellectual disabilities.