Gender and attitudes towards religious education in the primary school

A detailed questionnaire containing a range of questions to assess perceptions of RE and worship was completed by 361 of the 577 primary school head teachers employed by the Ceredigion, ­Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Swansea, Newport and Cardiff Local Education Authorities. While the degree of support for both religious education and worship was found to be similar for both male and female head teachers significant differences emerged between their views regarding related issues. The findings suggest that structural location theory and gender orientation theory shed some light on the differences in perceptions between male and female head teachers. The ­suggestion is made that these theories might also help to explain why a career in primary school teaching is more likely to appeal to females than males.     

Impact of an inclusive programme on achievement,attendance and perceptions towards the school climate and social-emotional adaptation among students with disabilities

The aim of this paper is to report outcomes of a school-based programme aiming to promote achievement, attendance and positive perceptions towards the school climate and social-emotional adaptation among students with disabilities (SWD). The programme included a series of training and social activities for school staff, parents and children followed by implementation of the knowledge gained through these activities. The programme lasted one school year and data were collected through quantitative and qualitative methods. Results of the study indicated enhanced student attendance and achievement, social-emotional development, and positive perceptions about the school climate. In addition, parents and teachers were mostly content with development of students and the attempts of their schools to prompt student learning. Findings of this research indicate the significance of the holistic approach in educating SWD in mainstream schools and confirm that schools can make progress relying on their internal structures and planned action.     

Investigating the attitudes of head teachers of Cypriot primary schools towards inclusion

This paper reports the results of a study that has been carried out for the first time in Cyprus, with the aim of exploring the views of head teachers on inclusion. Data were collected by means of questionnaires and a focus group meeting; 185 head teachers participated in this study. The findings indicated that overall, head teachers held positive attitudes towards inclusion of children with disabilities. The relationship among the head teachers' background factors, such as sex, administration experience, contacts with people with disabilities, possession of postgraduate titles in special education and attitudes towards inclusion were reported. This study has brought out that head teachers held overall positive attitudes towards inclusion. The findings are meaningful to the understanding of the effects of inclusion and entail various implications to facilitate it.     

Attitudes of preschool and primary school pre-service teachers towards inclusive education

Teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion are important as they have the primary responsibility of implementing inclusive education. Attitudes at the beginning of teaching careers are likely to predict future attitudes. Some studies show a drop in attitudes after leaving university education. Using the Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Inclusion (Amended) questionnaire, 465 pre-service teachers (located in Victoria, Australia) from primary school and preschool streams were examined to determine the effect of a number of independent factors on Total Inclusion Score; a measure of attitudes towards inclusion. Two-way ANOVAs revealed module (unit) and year of study to be significant factors. A multiple regression showed the factors combined accounted for 10% of the variance in Total Inclusion Score. Participants who had studied a module (unit) on inclusive education or were in later years of study were more positive towards inclusive education based on Total Inclusion Score from the questionnaire. No significant differences for Total Inclusion Score were found between pre-service teachers that study primary school teaching or preschool teaching. It is concluded that studying a module on inclusive education is a particularly important factor in the development of pre-service teacher attitudes towards inclusion.     

Stress and positive attitudes towards violent discipline are associated with school violence by Ugandan teachers

BackgroundGlobally, the use of violent discipline methods by teachers to manage child behavior is still highly prevalent despite enactment of laws that prohibit school violence. In the case of Uganda there is a dearth of accurate prevalence statistics on school violence and factors associated with the use of violence by teachers.ObjectivesTherefore, the current study examined the prevalence of and attitudes towards violence. The study also explored the association between teachers’ stress, positive attitudes towards violence and the use of violent discipline management methods.MethodsA representative sample of 291 teachers and 702 students from 12 public secondary schools in southwestern Uganda responded to anonymous self-administered questionnaires. Data were collected from April to November 2017.ResultsFindings indicated that 86.5% of the teachers reported having used violent disciplinary methods on students in the past month while 91.5% of the students reported experiencing violence by teachers. Teachers (88.3%, n = 256) endorsed positive attitudes towards violent discipline. Teachers’ stress was related to higher levels of violent discipline (β = 0.20). This relation was mediated by positive attitudes towards violence (0.06, SE: 0.01, 95%-CI: 0.035–0.092).ConclusionsOur findings indicate that teacher reported stress was associated with their use of violent behavior and positive attitudes and that positive attitudes reduced the association between teachers’ stress and violent behavior. Therefore, interventions aiming to reduce violence by teachers may need to integrate effective stress management skills, in addition to nonviolent discipline strategies, and fostering attitudinal change towards the use of violent methods.     

A study of the attitudes of primary school teachers in Harare towards the inclusion of blind children in regular classes

This article presents the results of a study of the attitudes of primary school teachers in Harare, Zimbabwe, towards the inclusion of blind children in regular classes. The ultimate aim was to assess the acceptability of moves towards inclusive education in mainstream Zimbabwean schools. The study was conducted from May to June 2000.
The sample of teachers involved in this study (N=400) ranged over a wide area of Harare. The result can be considered to be representative of the views and feelings of primary school teachers in Harare towards including blind children in regular classes.
Overall, the study established that the majority of teachers have a negative attitude towards the inclusion of blind children in regular classes and that male and female teachers were equally rejecting of the idea. Taruvinga Mushoriwa, of the Department of Education Foundations at the University of Zimbabwe, reports these results and goes on to consider the impact of the inclusion debate in developing countries. It is difficult to promote inclusive practices in situations where mainstream classes are large and resources, including aids, equipment and support staff, are rare.     

Gendered positionality among Irish male primary teachers: the staff room as a site of performative masculinity

The concept of masculinities has traditionally been defined in terms of crises associated with boys’ underachievement, the violence of homophobia, the under-representation of males in caring occupations, the rituals and discourses of laddism, and perceptions of disaffected and unrealised talent. Whereas the topic of masculinities has long been associated with warrants for distinctive and diverse male identities, it has a comparatively more recent history in the research on male Irish primary teachers as a particular social category. Two key findings are discussed in relation to performative masculinities – a form of strategic manoeuvring designed to exploit gender discourses, practices for control, power and privilege. First, the findings show the staffroom as a bellwether or highly developed locus for teacher socialisation through gendered discourses, events and actions. Second, the findings show nonsynchronous performative masculinities not only between male and female teachers but also with male colleagues. Therefore, it is argued that this frequently forgotten and neglected seam in the grand narrative of schools and schooling in Ireland needs to be more fully understood as a variable of quality, social justice and democratic practices across the full scope and sequence of the teacher continuum and as a prerequisite component in all teacher leadership programmes.     

On the relationship between students attitudes towards school mathematics and their levels of intelligence

The study was conducted to clarify the fact that the effect of attitudes towards school mathematics on mathematical achievement in the classrooms was larger in a group of low intelligence students than in a group of high intelligence students, using the technique of the analysis of covariance. In the study we interpreted the effect as the coefficient of regression of summative test scores on attitudinal scores. The study involved eighth grade students attending three junior high schools in Japan. For the three schools, we obtained the expected inequalities: the regression coefficient of the low intelligence group (> that of the middle intelligence group) > that of the high intelligence group, almost all of which were statistically significant.     

An investigation on value orientations,attitudes and concern towards the environment: the case of Turkish elementary school students

Environmental attitudes depend on the relative importance that individuals attach to themselves, other people, or all living things. These distinct bases have been found to predict environmental concern, and may act as statistically significant determinants of pro-environmental behaviours. We claim that examining the complex nature of value orientations and concern levels among elementary school students as well as the interrelationships between these attributes could guide researchers and educators in Turkey. This study aimed (1) to explore Turkish elementary students’ ecocentric and anthropocentric attitudes, and environmental apathy; (2) to investigate their egoistic, altruistic and biospheric value orientations as well as their environmental concerns; (3) to examine relationships among environment-related attributes and (4) to determine the role of gender on these attributes. Participants seemed to be highly concerned and held favourable ecocentric attitudes. Furthermore, students with higher levels of anthropocentric attitudes tended to exhibit higher levels of environmental apathy, and those expressing biospheric concerns held lower levels of egoistic concerns. The findings suggest that girls were significantly more concerned about environmental problems and tended to value nature more for its own sake than boys.     

浅谈小学数学教学中师生的课堂关系

进入21世纪的孩子们面临着更多的机遇和挑战,所以社会各界对教育的要求更高,实施素质教育已迫在眉睫.素质教育要求教学教学更重视学生的主体地位,重视数学思想的渗透,重视智力的开发和能力的培养,重视非智力因素的作用.在素质教育的课堂上应体现新的师生关系.     

中国城市和农村小学教师对融合教育态度的比较研究

This study investigated the attitudes of primary school teachers from the selected rural and urban areas in China toward inclusive education. The results indicated that, (1) teachers’ attitudes are composed of three dimensions: positive and negative effects of inclusion, and benefits of segregated special education; (2) most surveyed teachers demonstrated positive attitudes toward segregated special school education while supporting inclusion; (3) rural and urban teachers held significantly different attitudes toward inclusion, and urban teachers were more negative toward inclusion than rural ones; and (4) teachers’ attitudes were not essentially influenced by resources, teaching years or relevant special education training.      

Secondary school students’ perceptions of teacher–student interaction and students’ attitudes towards project work

Project work (PW) provides one of the pathways for students’ self-inquiry learning and collaboration in Singapore schools. In this context, PW teachers function as facilitators. This study investigated quantitatively how a group of 270 secondary-school students (aged 14 years) perceived their seven PW teacher-facilitators’ face-to-face interactions with students based on the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI), and whether their perceptions of teacher–student interaction during PW classrooms were related with their attitudes towards PW learning as a whole. Seven out of eight QTI scales were associated with Enjoyment of Project Work Lessons and two QTI scales were associated with Attitude to Inquiry in Project Work. The findings are discussed in terms of how teachers who function as facilitators can translate their interpersonal behaviours into effective teaching strategies for communicating with students and facilitating students’ learning in PW classrooms.     

Changing the attitudes of high school students towards intellectual disabilities: the contribution of a social coexistence programme

Students’ attitudes towards peers with intellectual disabilities are mostly negative, and negative attitudes appear more among secondary education students than any other age group. Social coexistence programmes are intervention programmes implemented by school psychologists to manage and change negative attitudes and enforce social interaction with students with disabilities. The research sample consisted of 193 public high school students in Greece who were given the Chedoke–McMaster Attitudes Toward Children with Handicaps (CATCH) Scale. The study aimed to explore whether there is a change in the attitudes of high school students towards peers with intellectual disabilities after participation in a social coexistence programme. The findings showed that students who participated in the programme had more positive attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities after the completion of the programme. The above findings confirm the research on the possibility of changing attitudes of secondary school students towards peers with disabilities and reinforce the need for the systematic development of social coexistence programmes for the entire student population. Future research should focus on the benefits of students with disabilities from their participation in social coexistence programmes.     

The attitudes of Israeli Arab and Jewish high school students towards extrinsic and intrinsic values

The aim of this research was to investigate the attitudes of Israeli Arab (n = 259) and Jewish (n = 259) high school students toward extrinsic and intrinsic values. A questionnaire, which consisted of eight value scales in two groups—extrinsic and intrinsic values—was administered. Participants were asked to state whether they agreed or disagreed with 31 statements on a five-point Likert scale. Jewish students who experience school-based values education endorsed more intrinsic values (e.g. autonomy: Jews M = 4.27, SD = .53; Arabs M = 3.92, SD = .83), whereas Arab students, whose education as a minority group focuses on education towards achievement, endorsed more extrinsic values (e.g. attractiveness: Jews M = 3.56, SD = .82; Arabs M = 3.96, SD = .84). The findings suggest that the use of a more refined and complex analysis of extrinsic–intrinsic scales yields multiple interpretations of moral education in a modern world. This research may contribute to the discussion on moral education for minority groups, especially where they are a distinct minority in a society where they are surrounded by different cultural values. The growing cultural diversity in the Western world requires that through moral and civic education, schools explicitly expose their students, and especially minority groups, to the diverse interpretations of values and to the need to both respect differing interpretations, on the one hand, and to challenge them, on the other.     

Teacher attitudes towards the inclusion of students with support needs

Teachers’ positive attitudes towards inclusive education are a prerequisite for its successful implementation. This study surveyed the attitudes of Finnish classroom, subject, resource room and special education class teachers (N = 4567) towards inclusive education. The results indicated very low support for the concept. Its acceptance was strongly associated with the specific teacher categories and the concern that inclusive placements would cause extra work for teachers. Teachers who were confident in their support networks and had sufficient access to educational resources, such as an in‐classroom teaching assistant, were more positive towards inclusion than other teachers. Attitudinal variables, including self‐efficacy and child‐centredness, and demographic variables, including age and gender, were also associated with attitudes towards inclusion. It is argued that vicious circle exists between resources and teacher attitudes. The negative climate towards inclusion prevents the legislation that would guarantee adequate resources for mainstream teachers who have students with support needs in their classrooms. The lack of legal guarantees, in turn, prevents negative teacher attitudes towards inclusive education from changing. Although the overall progress in inclusive education is tied to the development of cultural values, the promise of more inclusion in schools goes hand‐in‐hand with the availability of adequate resources.     

Relationships among burnout, social support, and negative mood regulation expectancies of elementary school teachers in Korea

The purposes of this study are as follows: (1) to determine whether burnout among elementary school teachers in Korea differs on selected demographic variables, (2) to investigate the relationship between burnout and negative mood regulation expectancies, as an internal variable, and social support, as an external variable, and (3) to examine the relative effects of these two variables on burnout. As regards burnout differences according to grades under their charge, upper-grade teachers reported experiencing a greater degree of burnout than lower-grade teachers. In particular, a significant difference was found in depersonalization. With respect to the relationships among burnout, social support, and negative mood regulation expectancies, perceived social support in general was associated with a lowered degree of burnout, while negative mood regulation expectancies correlated negatively with burnout. Furthermore, negative mood regulation expectancies, as an internal variable, affected burnout more than social support, as an external variable. This finding suggests that burnout can be alleviated by controlling negative mood regulation expectancies, and therefore, intervention efforts, such as counseling, continuing education, or training programs designed to enhance teachers’ negative mood regulation expectancies, could benefit teachers in reducing their burnout.     

Adaptation in the transition to school: perspectives of parents,preschool and primary school teachers

Background: Transition to school is a highly demanding phase at an intellectual, social and emotional level and is, therefore, an opportunity for growth and development. Despite the greater emphasis given to school transition in Portugal over recent years, namely by means of new educational policies, studies on the adaptation processes involved in the transition to primary school are still scarce.

Purpose: The present qualitative study sets out to contribute to the knowledge on the adaptation process of children to school transition (around age 6) in Portugal, by comparing preschool teachers’, primary school teachers’, and parents’ perceptions about success indicators and relevant factors in the transition to school.

Design and method: In order to collect data, 14 focus group interviews with different participants were conducted, three with preschool teachers (N = 18), three with primary school teachers (N = 13), four with parents conducted before the child’s transition to primary school (N = 14) and four with parents conducted after the child’s transition to primary school (N = 20).

Results: While the preschool and primary school teachers stressed factors of a family nature, such as parental involvement and parental support of children, the parents referred more frequently to the overall running of the school and the characteristics and methodology of the teacher as being relevant to the adaptation process in the first year of primary education.

Conclusions: The findings suggest different factors associated with adaptation to school and also offer clues for designing strategies to facilitate such adaptation. New strategies are needed to facilitate the construction of a robust educational family–school partnership.     

Attitudes of Slovene teachers towards the inclusion of pupils with different types of special needs in primary school

Numerous studies show that a successful implementation of inclusion of children with special needs (SN) largely depends on the teachers’ positive attitude towards it. The empirical research that is presented in the main part of the article analyses attitudes of a representative sample of Slovene teachers (n = 1360) regarding four domains of impact (impact of inclusion on pupils with SN, on peers, on teachers and on the classroom environment). In this, we controlled the role of the following two relevant characteristics of the sample: the category of SN (physical impairments, mild intellectual disabilities, learning difficulties and behavioural/emotional disorders) and the category of professional expertise of teachers in working with pupils with SN. We applied the Impact of Inclusion Questionnaire. The results show that teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion are determined by the type of SN the integrated pupils have. In the case of pupils with physical impairments, teachers expressed the highest level of consent and the lowest in the case of pupils with behavioural and emotional disorders. Our study shows that besides the type of SN, teachers’ professional expertise in working with pupils with SN is another important factor that determines the level of agreement with inclusion. It turned out that the teachers who had taken part in different forms of education and training had a more positive attitude towards all domains of impact.