Elementary School Teachers' Sense of Efficacy for Character Education

Abstract

In this study, the authors describe the efficacy beliefs of practicing elementary school teachers regarding character education. The Character Education Efficacy Belief Instrument, developed and validated by the authors, was completed by a sample of 254 elementary school teachers in a large midwestern suburban school district. The results suggest that elementary school teachers feel efficacious about most aspects of character education and that teachers who earned their undergraduate degrees from private, religiously affiliated universities have a greater sense of efficacy for character education. Further research into the nature and effectiveness of programs that exist in private, religiously affiliated institutions may suggest methods for developing teachers' abilities to provide character education in schools.     

Pre-service education for primary school English teachers in Indonesia: policy implications

Although English is only an extra-curricular subject at primary level in Indonesia, expectations over the improved quality of the teachers are exceptionally high . This is the case in the past few years in which the low proficiency of primary English teachers and their lack of teaching competencies have repeatedly been pointed out as major constraints. Unfortunately, it remains unclear whether this problem is attributed to the delivery of pre-service education in preparing primary school English teachers. This paper gathered data from teachers, language teacher educators, primary school principals, members of educational boards, and educational consultants. The data were analysed using Grounded Theory in order to examine the adequacy of pre-service education in Indonesia to prepare primary school English teachers as well as factors that contribute to its efficacy or lack thereof. The findings of the study demonstrate the need for specific preparation for primary school English teachers as well as further training for teacher educators. This present study is highly relevant to Indonesia and other Asian countries where teacher efficacy is a major concern.     

Preservice teachers’ sense of preparedness and self-efficacy to teach in America’s urban and suburban schools: Does context matter?

The researcher examined the influence that school contextual factors have on American preservice teachers’ sense of preparedness to teach and culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy appraisals. The findings suggest that preservice teachers in this study felt more prepared and confident to teach in a suburban school compared to an urban school. Additionally, preservice teachers felt less prepared and confident to teach English Language Learners regardless of their enrolment in an urban or suburban school. This study has implications for the preparation of teachers who are self-efficacious in their ability to teach in both urban and suburban educational settings.     

Antecedents of Norwegian beginning teachers’ turnover intentions

This study aims at exploring several individual, organizational, and contextual factors that may affect beginning teachers’ turnover intentions during their first years of practice. The sample consists of 227 beginning teachers (69% female and 31% male) from 133 schools in Norway. The results show four important antecedents of beginning teachers’ turnover intentions: collective teacher efficacy, teacher–principal trust, role conflict, and affective commitment. Our findings suggest that organizational and contextual factors, and not necessarily individual competence perceptions, have a significant impact on beginning teachers’ turnover intentions. Also the findings suggest that beginning teachers should be studied separately from more experienced teachers. Implications for school leadership are discussed.     

Coherence,contradiction, and the development of school science identities

This study demonstrates the potential for collaborative research among participants in local settings to effect positive change in urban settings characterized by diversity. It describes an interpretive case study of a racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse eighth grade science classroom in an urban magnet school in order to explore why some of the students did not achieve at high levels and identify with school science although they were both interested in and knowledgeable about science. The results of this study indicated that structural issues such as the school's selection process, the discourses perpetuated by teachers, administrators, and peers regarding “who belongs” at the school, and negative stereotype threat posed obstacles for students by highlighting rather than mitigating the inequalities in students' educational backgrounds. We explore how a methodology based on the use of cogenerative dialogues provided some guidance to teachers wishing to alter structures in their classrooms to be more conducive to all of their students developing identities associated with school science. Based on the data analysis, we also argue that a perspective on classrooms as communities of practice in which learning is socially situated rather than as forums for competitive displays, and a view of students as valued contributors rather than as recipients of knowledge, could address some of the obstacles. Recommendations include a reduced emphasis on standardized tasks and hierarchies, soliciting unique student contributions, and encouraging learning through peripheral participation, thereby enabling students to earn social capital in the classroom. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47: 1209–1228, 2010     

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.     

Experienced EFL teachers’ professional practical knowledge,reasoning and classroom decision making in Egypt: views from the inside out

This study aimed to investigate the areas that constituted the professional practical knowledge of experienced English as a Foreign Language teachers in Egypt and how their knowledge informed their classroom practice. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 236 preparatory and secondary school teachers in 38 schools through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and stimulated recall following classroom observation. Six areas of knowledge were revealed and rationalized from the participants’ responses. In addition, the teachers made decisions while teaching informed by what they knew and viewed. The findings of the study call for a knowledge-based practical approach to teacher learning and professional development.     

Do inclusion practices for pupils with special educational needs in the English as a foreign language class in Israel reflect inclusion laws and language policy requirements?

The study of additional languages is mandatory for all pupils in most European countries. Usually, the first foreign language is English. This is due to the status of English as a global language. According to inclusion laws, pupils with special educational needs (SEN) should be taught in regular classes with support services by teachers with special education training. Often, however, foreign language teachers lack training and do not know how to adapt teaching methods for pupils with SEN in the regular language learning class. In this study, 109 elementary school teachers filled out questionnaires examining practices and attitudes about inclusion of pupils with SEN in the English as a foreign language (EFL) class in Israel. Findings indicated that pupils with SEN are included in regular EFL classes, taught with the same materials as the class, usually by teachers with no specialised training and no teaching assistants. Teachers are not always encouraged to take in-service courses on how to teach these pupils. No significant difference were found between teachers with and without special education training regarding inclusion practices, but slight differences were found with regards to attitudes towards inclusion of pupils with SEN. The majority of teachers felt that pupils with SEN should be taught in special education settings with specialised materials, and not in the regular education class. These findings raise questions regarding the efficacy of inclusion laws and language learning policies.     

Students’ Perceptions of Code-Switching in Natural Sciences Classrooms: A South African Perspective

Although South Africa is a multilingual country with 11 official languages, English dominates as the language of teaching and instruction in almost all schools. In addition to this, the Natural Sciences teachers at the school of study were cautioned not to use code-switching because the school policy states that the medium of instruction should be exclusively English. Recently, students at this school complained about teachers who had been code-switching between one or more indigenous languages and English. The objectives of this investigation, therefore, were to explore the perceptions of Grade 8 students regarding code-switching in Natural Sciences classrooms, their perceptions of the effect of code-switching on their academic achievement and also how the use of this teaching strategy influenced their respect for their teacher. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire and the findings revealed that students believed that the use of code-switching confused many students, resulting in underachievement in Natural Sciences and that they respected teachers more when they taught in English only.     

The mediating roles of collective teacher efficacy in the relations of teachers' perceptions of school organizational climate to their burnout

This study examined the relationships between school organizational climate, collective teacher efficacy, and burnout in a sample of Korean middle school teachers. Using SEM, the results showed that school organizational climate reflecting higher levels of reflective dialogues was associated with both higher levels of collective teacher efficacy and lower levels of teachers' burnout. In contrast, school organizational climate reflecting higher levels of organizational politics was associated with lower levels of collective teacher efficacy, and did not have a direct effect on teachers' burnout. The relationship between school organizational climate and teachers' burnout was mediated by collective teacher efficacy.     

Preparing preservice English teachers and school counselor interns for future collaboration

The authors believe that by working together, teachers and school counselors can better support students and more effectively work for their success. In this article, we present our efforts in creating a collaborative class for preservice English teachers and school counselor interns. While offering an overview of English teachers and school counselors in their daily interactions with adolescents, we focus on the university preparation of both groups, specifically the preparation at our university, a large research institution in the Midwestern United States. We provide a look at the collaborative class created for the preservice English teachers and school counselor interns, offering examples of their interaction and feedback from the students. Lastly, we close with a consideration of the meaning of such collaboration at the university level for both English teachers and school counselors.     

“If Carmen Can Analyze Shakespeare,Everybody Can”: Positions,Conflicts, and Negotiations in the Narratives of Latina Pre-Service Teachers

This study, focusing on the life stories of three pre-service Latina teachers in the United States, explored how they positioned themselves as learners of English and teachers of Spanish in their oral narratives, and how their past experience as minority students shaped their current professional identity negotiations as language teachers. Positioning analysis of their narrative accounts indicated that these female teachers, throughout their education, felt different or isolated because of their ethnic identity, language background, and socioeconomic class. They negotiated memberships in different communities across settings in their lives. Understanding the conflicts and struggles that they experienced and unique strategies that they used to overcome them will hopefully provide insights for all teachers and teacher educators in linguistically and culturally diverse contexts.     

Addressing violence against teachers: A social-ecological analysis of teachers' perspectives

Much research has been dedicated to supporting school communities in combating the problem of school violence. However, violence directed toward teachers is under-investigated, and knowledge of how to support teachers is limited. This qualitative study used conventional content analysis to assess teachers' recommendations for preventing and improving the response to teacher-directed violence. The sample included 245 prekindergarten through 12th grade teachers, all of whom experienced school violence and participated in a larger national survey study on violence against teachers. Using a social-ecological framework and conventional content analysis, teacher recommendations for addressing teacher victimization were identified and organized at the individual, school, community, and society levels. Themes around conflict resolution strategies; improving policies, resources, and relationships with administrators; increasing parental involvement; and changing culture and laws were highlighted. Implications for research, practice, and policy are discussed.     

Attitudes and self‐efficacy of pre‐service teachers towards inclusion in Pakistan

This study sought to determine the attitudes and teaching self‐efficacy of pre‐service teachers towards the inclusion of students with disabilities into regular classrooms. A questionnaire was administered to 194 pre‐service Pakistani teachers (male 73, female 121) enrolled in a 1‐year teacher education programme at a government university in Pakistan. Overall, male pre‐service teachers expressed more positive attitudes than their female counterparts regarding the inclusion of students with disabilities in regular classrooms. Surprisingly, those pre‐service teachers majoring in special education did not express more positive attitudes towards inclusion than their counterparts who were preparing to teach in mainstream schools. However, participants with training in special education, knowledge of disability legislation, teaching experience and personal experience with a disability reported higher levels of self‐efficacy towards teaching within inclusive settings. The findings of the study are discussed with possible implications for policy‐makers and teacher educators in Pakistan and other countries in the South Asian region.     

Teachers’ implicit theories of intelligence: influences from different disciplines and scientific theories

A sample of 226 Swedish high school teachers from various knowledge domains completed self-report measures of intelligence regarding implicit theories and scientific theories of intelligence. A mixed ANOVA showed that teachers from language, social science and practical disciplines had a significant preference for an incremental theory of intelligence compared to an entity theory of intelligence whilst the teachers in mathematics did not. One of the conclusions was that entity theories of intelligence may be more pronounced among teachers in mathematics. Second there is a significant relation between naïve beliefs in intelligence as fixed and inborn, entity theories, and the scientific g-factor theory. Last, it was the oldest and most experienced and youngest and least experienced teachers who preferred an entity theory of intelligence the most.     

Unpacking high and low efficacy teachers’ task analysis and competence assessment in teaching low-achieving students in secondary schools

This study adopted a pragmatic qualitative research design to unpack high and low efficacy teachers’ task analysis and competence assessment in the context of teaching low-achieving students. Nine secondary school English and Science teachers were recruited and interviewed. Results of thematic analysis show that helping students perform well in exams was identified by both the high efficacy teachers (HETs) and the low efficacy teachers (LETs) as the sacred task, but the HETs perceived more contextual support from school culture, school leaderships and collegiality than the LETs did. Although the HETs showed more confidence than the LETs in instructional strategies, classroom management and student engagement, both the HETs and LETs experienced struggles when their personality traits and beliefs were in conflict with required strategies or imposed regulations. Despite the LETs having a lower level of perceived competence, their hunger for learning reveals that their sense of efficacy could be enhanced if provided with courses that focus on coaching and mentoring experiences.     

Attitudes of Dutch and German preschool teachers towards professional childcare: a cultural comparison

This study explores educators' reflections on professional childcare practice in different national contexts. The data were collected by showing video clips of classroom activities in Japanese, Dutch and German pre‐schools to experienced German and Dutch pre‐school teachers. The clips were used to elicit their opinions on playing and learning in educational settings through a standardized questionnaire completed immediately after viewing each clip. The participants were also invited to rate the strength of cognitive, social, physical and emotional developmental domains during the activity. These data were analysed by classifying the questionnaire responses into four categories: remarks related to teachers, to children, to peers and to context. The frequencies of the categories and the ratings of developmental domains were computed and compared by t‐tests between the German and the Dutch sample. The findings revealed that pre‐school teachers offered more elaborated perspectives on the content of the foreign video clips than on the clips from their own country. There were also some differences with regard to developmental domains. With regard to pre‐school teacher training it was concluded that the teachers' knowledge base should be used as an input for their professional practice.     

Special education teachers’ experienced burnout and perceived fit with the professional community: A 5-year follow-up study

In many countries, including in Finland, promoting inclusive school practices supporting pupils’ equal rights for learning is the focus of school development. Special education teachers play a central intermediary role in developing inclusive school and classroom practices by providing support both for pupils and peer teachers. This may increase their risk of experiencing exhaustion, cynicism towards the teacher community and/or inadequacy in pupil–teacher relationships. However, the resources of a school's social working environment experienced as a functional teacher–working environment fit may buffer the risk of developing burnout. This study aims to gain a better understanding of the interrelation between, and development of, special education teachers’ experienced burnout symptoms and perceived teacher–working environment fit across time. The longitudinal study included two measurements (in year 2010, n = 760 and in year 2016, n = 485). The results show that special education teachers’ experienced inadequacy in pupil–teacher relationships predicted teacher exhaustion, cynicism towards the teacher community and inadequacy in pupil–teacher relationships 5 years later. Moreover, a perceived good teacher–working environment fit predicted lower cynicism towards the teacher community 5 years later.     

A climate for self-efficacy: the relationship between school climate and teacher efficacy for inclusion

Teacher efficacy represents a key construct in exploring successful implementation of inclusive policy. Teachers’ impression of school climate is shown to relate to teacher efficacy; however, few studies pay due deference to its context/specific conceptualisation, with a particular lacuna in research noted in an Irish mainstream primary school context. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between school climate and efficacy for inclusion and whether this relationship impacts on perceptions of challenging behaviours, further identifying barriers to and supports for efficacious inclusive practice. Fifty-seven probated primary mainstream teachers in the Republic of Ireland responded to online questionnaires exploring perceptions of school climate, teacher efficacy for inclusion and challenging behaviours. Teachers’ perceptions of a supportive school climate related positively to their teaching efficacy for inclusion, in turn influencing their ratings of the severity of and their confidence in managing commonly experienced challenging behaviours in inclusive classrooms. Teachers looked within their school for support, few noting Educational Psychologists (EPs) as sources for support. These findings add weight to the importance of understanding the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of their school climate and their efficacy for inclusion, addressing the dearth of research in an Irish context. In particular, these findings underline the potential offered by an understanding of teachers’ beliefs to inform and enhance the role of EPs in supporting efficacious inclusive practice.     

Some possible effects of behaviour management training on teacher confidence and competence: evidence from a study of primary school teachers in Hong Kong

This study aims to explore the relationships between the extent and perceived quality of teachers’ experience of training in behaviour management (BM), and their awareness of the nature and extent of behavioural problems among school students, and their confidence in their own competence to deal with such problems. Teachers (n = 183) from Hong Kong primary schools were surveyed. The results showed that gender, age and whether teachers have received training had no significant influence on teachers’ awareness, conception and confidence regarding BM. A negative correlation was found between teachers’ levels of satisfaction in relation to their training experiences and their perceptions of the level of problematic behaviours among students, and the impact of students’ problematic behaviour on their teaching. A positive correlation was found between teachers’ levels of satisfaction in relation to their training experiences and their confidence in their own competence to deal with students’ problematic behaviour.