Teachers’ judgment accuracy concerning consistent and inconsistent student profiles

Research on teachers' judgment accuracy has focused on teacher judgments of single student characteristics. We analyzed differences in teachers' judgment accuracy concerning students with consistent and inconsistent cognitive and socio-emotional profiles (i.e., profiles of cognitive abilities, self-concept, motivation, and anxiety). Based on test scores and self-reports of N = 743 students, we identified one inconsistent and two consistent profiles. Judgments of N = 43 teachers yielded only three consistent student profiles, indicating that teachers perceived student profiles to be more consistent than they really were. Contrary to our expectations, teachers' judgments were not more accurate for consistent student profiles.     

Opportunities and limitations of using the linguistic category model as a measure of teachers’ implicit stereotypes in Germany

The current work focused on how ethnic stereotypes manifest themselves in language. The aim of our research was to investigate whether the Linguistic Category Model (LCM) is applicable to German teachers' language. More precisely, we investigated whether the categories proposed by Semin and Fiedler (1988) and mostly tested in the English-speaking world are applicable to German teachers' language and whether the pattern of Linguistic Intergroup Bias is evident in teachers' language. The analyses of two samples including in- and pre-service teachers (Study 1: N = 124, 76.6% female; Study 2: N = 104, 67.6% female) revealed difficulties in applying the LCM to German teachers' language. Further, neither of the two conducted studies found patterns of Linguistic Intergroup Bias in teachers’ language. We attribute this to a mismatch between the LCM and the German language and discuss the difficulties and limitations of applying the category system to other languages.     

What promotes teachers’ turnover intention? Evidence from a meta-analysis

Given the importance of teacher attrition, researchers have used various methods to investigate reasons that teachers want to leave their profession; but little attention has been paid to distinguishing and comparing the contributions of a range of factors to teachers' turnover intention and to investigating and clarifying the potential moderating roles of age, gender, grade level, and cultural context. The aim of the current meta-analysis was to fill the gaps left by omissions in the research. A total of 94 studies, 99 independent samples, and 269 effect sizes were included in this study (n = 39,508). The associations between twelve antecedents and turnover intention were negative, and nine of them were strong. Trust, professional identification, and organizational commitment were the three most important protectors; job satisfaction, climate, justice, support, work engagement, and intrinsic motivation were also important. Burnout, workload, and stress were positively related to turnover intention; and burnout was the most important predictor of teachers' turnover intention. The effect sizes of the demographic variables were small; furthermore, the relationships between most of the antecedents and teachers’ turnover intention were stable regardless of their age, gender, cultural context, and grade level. Burnout and intrinsic motivation showed a stronger relationship with turnover intention in younger teachers (vs. older teachers); specifically, younger teachers with higher burnout and lower intrinsic motivation tended to show higher intention to quit. Gender had a small moderating effect on the relationship between work engagement and intrinsic motivation. Age was negatively related to turnover intention only in the context of collectivist cultures as compared with that of individualist cultures. Limitations, implications, and suggestions for future research are included.     

Chinese and US Middle-School Science Teachers' Autonomy,Motivation, and Instructional Practices

This study examined Chinese and US middle-school science teachers' perceptions of autonomy support. Previous research has documented the link between teachers' perceptions of autonomy and the use of student-oriented teaching practices for US teachers. But is not clear how the perception of autonomy may differ for teachers from different cultures or more specifically how motivation factors differ across cultures. The survey measured teachers' motivation, perceptions of constraints at work, perceptions of students' motivation, and level of autonomy support for students. Exploratory factor analysis of responses for the combined teacher sample (n?=?201) was carried out for each of the survey assessments. Significance testing for Chinese (n?=?107) and US (n?=?94) teachers revealed significant differences in teachers' motivation and perceptions of constraints at work and no significant differences for perceptions of students' motivation or their level of autonomy support for students. Chinese teachers' perceptions of constraints at work, work motivation, and perceptions of student motivation were found to significantly predict teachers' autonomy support. For the US teachers, teacher motivation was the only significant predictor of teachers' autonomy support. A sub-sample of teachers (n?=?19) was interviewed and results showed that teachers in both countries reported that autonomy was important to their motivation and the quality of science instruction they provided to students. The primary constraints on teaching reported by the US teachers related to materials and laboratory space while the Chinese teachers reported constraints related to the science curriculum and standards.     

Do teachers' achievement goals and self-efficacy beliefs matter for students’ learning experiences? Evidence from two studies on perceived teaching quality and emotional experiences

Although teacher motivation is posited to matter for students' learning experiences, this remains largely uninvestigated, particularly in higher education. In two studies, we analyzed the role of higher education teachers' achievement goals and self-efficacy for students' learning experiences. In Study 1 (k = 166 teachers, n = 2,106 students), we assessed teachers' motivations at the semester start, and students' course-specific perceptions of teaching quality (overall rating, learning) and emotions (joy, boredom) at the semester end. Latent multilevel modeling indicated favorable associations for teachers' self-efficacy, but not for their goals. In Study 2 (k = 96 teachers, n = 16,009 students), we assessed the same constructs and measured students' learning experiences weekly regarding 828 specific course sessions. Additionally, we included teachers’ session-specific motivations. Results replicated the effects of self-efficacy on the teacher-level and suggested that performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals primarily matter on the level of specific sessions. This affirms the relevance of teacher motivations and illuminates the importance of their specificity.     

Relations among preschool teachers' self-efficacy,classroom quality,and children's language and literacy gains

This study examined the relations among preschool teachers' self-efficacy (n = 67), classroom quality (instructional and emotional support), and children's (n = 328) gains in print awareness and vocabulary knowledge over an academic year in the US. Results indicated that teachers' self-efficacy and classroom quality served as significant and positive predictors of children's gains in print awareness but not vocabulary knowledge. However, results also showed a significant interaction among teachers' self-efficacy, classroom quality, and vocabulary gains: for children of teachers with higher levels of self-efficacy, higher levels of classroom quality (emotional support) were associated with higher vocabulary gains.     

The importance of teachers' emotions and instructional behavior for their students' emotions – An experience sampling analysis

The present study focuses on the relationship between teachers' emotions, their instructional behavior, and students' emotions in class. 149 students (55% female, M age = 15.63 years) rated their teachers' emotions (joy, anger, anxiety) and instructional behavior, as well as their own emotions in an experience-sampling study across an average of 15 lessons in four different subject domains. Intraindividual, multilevel regression analyses revealed that perceived teachers' emotions and instructional behavior significantly predicted students' emotions. Results suggest that teachers' emotions are as important for students' emotions as teachers' instructional behavior. Theoretical implications for crossover theory and practical recommendations for teachers are discussed.     

Judging students' achievement goal orientations: Are teacher ratings accurate?

Using the theoretical framework of achievement goal theory, this study investigated the accuracy of teachers' judgments of their students' motivation. Self-report data were gathered on the mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals of 1140 German secondary school students (mean age = 14.24) in five academic subjects (English, Mathematics, German, second foreign language, and Biology). Their teachers in each of the five subjects (N = 176) were asked to judge students' achievement goals. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that teacher ratings of students' motivation statistically significantly predicted student ratings in all five subjects for mastery and performance-approach motivation, but not for performance-avoidance motivation. Assessment of differences in teachers' judgment accuracy across classrooms revealed some variability in teachers' ability to judge their students' mastery and performance-approach goals. Exploratory analyses showed that teaching experience, teacher gender, student age, and student gender did not systematically explain variation in judgment accuracy. Future research should examine other characteristics potentially influencing teachers' judgment accuracy and investigate the effect of teachers' judgment accuracy on students' motivation.     

Reflecting on their mission increases preservice teachers’ growth mindsets

When teachers believe that students' abilities are fixed, their students' motivation, well-being, and performance tend to suffer. While many interventions have been developed to reduce these so-called fixed mindsets in students and increase the belief that abilities are malleable (i.e., a growth mindset), there are no cost-effective, scalable interventions targeting teachers' mindsets. To address this need, we developed a brief intervention consisting of a reflection task in which teachers thought and wrote about their mission as educators. Two experiments with preservice teachers (total N = 576) revealed that this brief intervention increased their growth mindsets (meta-analytic d = 0.25). This increase did not dissipate over the course of a week (meta-analytic d = 0.26), suggesting the intervention's effects are not ephemeral. Although more work is needed to establish the robustness and generalizability of this intervention's effects, it may ultimately become a useful tool for teacher education programs.     

Emotionally and motivationally supportive classrooms: A state-trait analysis of lesson- and classroom-specific variation in teacher- and student-reported teacher enthusiasm and student engagement

Teacher enthusiasm and student engagement are often interrelated and have important implications for student learning and students' and teachers' well-being. However, results on the lesson-specific variation of teachers' and students' affective-motivational experiences and their interplay are scarce. This study investigated variation in teacher enthusiasm and student engagement, each rated by teachers (n = 70) and students (n = 1537), as indicators of a shared affective-motivational climate in ninth-grade math classrooms across five consecutive lessons. Multitrait-multistate analyses revealed substantial “trait-like” consistency in all four affective-motivational measures. However, there was also a substantial degree of “state-like” lesson-specific variance that was shared across the four measures. This indicates that teachers' and students’ affective-motivational experiences are shaped by situation-specific influences and person-by-context interactions, which are shared between teachers and students. Teacher gender, teaching experience, class-level achievement, and the availability of motivationally supportive instructional interventions failed to explain substantial variance in these associations.     

Effects of a classroom discourse intervention on teachers' practice and students' motivation to learn mathematics and science

Student interest and motivation in STEM subjects has dropped significantly throughout secondary education, for which teacher–student interactions are named as a central reason. This study investigated whether a video-based teacher professional development (TPD) intervention on productive classroom discourse improved students' learning motivation and interest development over the course of a school year. The teachers' intervention group (IG; n = 6) was compared with a control group (CG; n = 4) who participated in a traditional TPD programme on classroom discourse. The teachers showed a significant increase in constructive feedback and decrease in simple feedback as a function of the treatment. Pre- and post-tests revealed that students in the IG (n = 136) significantly increased their perceived autonomy, competence and intrinsic learning motivation as compared with those in the CG (n = 90). They also showed significantly greater interest changes in the subjects compared with their peers in the CG.     

EFL teachers' behavior of using motivational strategies: The case of teaching in the Korean context

While studies have investigated the role of motivation in learning and teaching, research on teachers' motivational strategies remains scarce. This study examined the motivating behavior of in-service teachers of English in Korea (N = 12). Videotapes of the teachers' classes were analyzed based on Keller's ARCS model using NVivo, revealing that the teachers did not effectively utilize motivational strategies or tactics, except for attention. Additionally, teachers' motivational strategies were correlated positively with their language proficiency but negatively with teaching experience. Finally, teachers' motivational strategies were shown to be grounded in traditional teacher-centered approaches rather than the promotion of student ownership of learning.     

The relationship between early childhood teachers' instructional quality and children's mathematics development

This study examined how early childhood (EC) teachers' instructional quality predicted children's development in mathematics across two measurement occasions. Therefore, EC teachers' (n = 25) instructional quality was assessed using one standardized observation instrument covering both domain-specific and general aspects of instructional quality. Additionally, data on children's (n = 208) outcome in early number skills was collected applying a standardized test. Multilevel structural equation modeling was used accounting for nested data. Children's age and the average size of preschool groups were controlled for. Results revealed that EC teachers' instructional quality predicted children's development but was not associated with their initial achievement. The findings suggest that instruments covering domain-specific and general aspects might be helpful in order to measure EC teachers' instructional quality in mathematics and predict children's learning growth. Understanding the mechanisms between instructional quality and children's development may help EC teachers to enhance their math teaching in practice.     

Teachers’ motivational profiles and their longitudinal associations with teaching quality

This study used an integrated theoretical approach to investigate teacher motivation and its influence on teaching quality. Drawing on Expectancy-Value-Theory and Achievement-Goal-Theory, a person-centered approach was used to investigate how multiple characteristics (i.e., self-efficacy, enthusiasm, and goal orientation) combined to form teachers’ motivational profiles. The profiles were then analyzed to see if there was a link to teaching quality. Latent profile analysis for 156 secondary-level mathematics teachers identified three motivational profiles which differed only in their performance goals: low performance goal-oriented (49%), high performance goal-oriented (38%), and high performance-avoidance goal-oriented (13%). Multilevel path analysis showed that motivational profile membership was not significantly related to student-rated teaching quality when baseline teaching quality was controlled (N = 1497 available on both measurement points). The findings revealed that the link between teacher motivation and teaching quality was less clear than expected. Possible reasons for the results are discussed.     

Teacher judgments at zero-acquaintance: A social accuracy analysis

How accurate are teachers’ first impressions and what moderates the degree of first impression accuracy? In previous teacher judgment accuracy research, teachers judged students who were well-acquainted to them, focusing on single traits. Here, we follow the zero-acquaintance paradigm and apply the Social Accuracy Model (SAM; Biesanz, 2010) to examine teachers’ first impressions regarding students’ personality profiles. Three groups of perceivers (student teachers, experienced teachers and psychology students; N = 285) rated students’ (N = 10) academic self-concept, intrinsic motivation and intelligence based on brief videos. SAM analyses revealed that teachers were accurate regarding the average students’ profile of characteristics (normative accuracy), but were not successful at detecting students' unique personality profiles (distinctive accuracy). Moreover, likeable students and those evaluated as more physically attractive were perceived with higher normative accuracy. Personality similarity and teaching experience were unrelated to accuracy. Implications for teacher judgment accuracy research and educational practice are discussed.     

Does teachers' cognitive self-regulation increase their occupational well-being? The structure and role of self-regulation in the teaching context

Cognitive self-regulation is assumed to foster teachers' occupational well-being (their level of emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction), which directly impacts the quality of their work. We investigated (1) the factor structure of teachers' cognitive self-regulation, (2) whether self-regulation fosters teachers' job satisfaction by reducing emotional exhaustion, and (3) whether this relationship is moderated by gender and school track. Structural equation modeling (N = 664 German secondary mathematics teachers) confirmed the hypothesized second-order factor structure of teacher self-regulation. The positive effect of cognitive self-regulation on job satisfaction is mediated by emotional exhaustion and can be generalized across gender and school track.     

Gaps too large: Four novice EFL teachers' self-concept and motivation

This study employed possible selves theory (Markus & Nurius, 1986) to conduct an interpretive inquiry into the teaching motivation of four novice secondary school EFL teachers in Japan. The narrative analysis of the interview data revealed that the conflicts between the young teachers' different possible selves negatively affected their motivation in their early days of teaching. However, such conflicts gradually induced self-reflection in the minds of the novices, which eventually helped them reshape their self-concepts and regain their motivation. The author concludes by suggesting to related parties some measures to assist novice teachers' entry into secondary school teaching.     

Depressive Symptoms in Third‐Grade Teachers: Relations to Classroom Quality and Student Achievement

This study investigated associations among third‐grade teachers' (N = 27) symptoms of depression, quality of the classroom‐learning environment (CLE), and students' (N = 523, M_age = 8.6 years) math and literacy performance. teachers' depressive symptoms in the winter negatively predicted students' spring mathematics achievement. This depended on students' fall mathematics scores; students who began the year with weaker math skills and were in classrooms where teachers reported more depressive symptoms achieved smaller gains than did peers whose teachers reported fewer symptoms. teachers' depressive symptoms were negatively associated with quality of CLE, and quality of CLE mediated the association between depressive symptoms and student achievement. The findings point to the importance of teachers' mental health, with implications for policy and practice.     

Japan's communal approach to teacher induction: Shokuin shitsu as an indispensable nurturing ground for Japanese beginning teachers

Sustaining beginning teachers has been one of the greatest challenges in some countries such as the U.S. In contrast, Japan sustains their teachers with the low attrition rate of 1.35%. This qualitative study aims to examine how Japan supports beginning teachers by examining shokuin shitsu or the teachers' room. Results from the qualitative study revealed the critical role that the teachers' room played for novice teachers as a place to exchange necessary information among colleagues, to develop collegial relationships with one another, and to provide a safe environment to make sense of beginning teachers' questions.     

Stable or situated understandings of adolescent reading engagement across readers and raters

Teachers' skill in inferring students' reading motivation influences their ability to provide responsive literacy instruction. Yet, studies show that convergence between students' and teachers' reports of students' affective experience with reading is moderate to poor. The present study, with a sample of 140 students, and 15 middle school teachers, examined the convergence across different rater reports (teachers, students, and research observers) of reading motivation and behavioral engagement in daily reading activities as well as the factors that explain teachers' perceptions of students' daily behavioral engagement with reading. Results indicate that there was no correlation between teacher or research observer reports with student ratings. However, teachers' perceptions of students' behavioral engagement in reading was explained by stable as well as situated student indicators of reading engagement. Additional measures to help teachers more easily detect shifts in motivation as a function of classroom practices are discussed.