Teacher self-efficacy moderates the relations between imposed pressure from imposed curriculum changes and teacher stress

Based on the Job Demands-resources (RD-R) model, the aim of the current study was to examine how pressure arising from imposed curriculum changes and teacher self-efficacy relate to perceived stress in teachers. Participants (839 teachers working in English schools) completed an online survey that contained questions about demographics, self-reported pressure from imposed curriculum changes, teacher self-efficacy, and perceived stress. Pressure from imposed curriculum changes was positively, and teacher self-efficacy negatively, related to perceived stress. Teacher-self efficacy moderated relations between pressure from imposed curriculum changes and perceived stress. High teacher self-efficacy was associated with lower perceived stress, relative to low teacher self-efficacy, when pressure from imposed curriculum changes was low. The differential advantage offered by high self-efficacy declined as pressure from imposed curriculum changes increased.     

The relationship of role expectations to faculty behavior

This study examines sources of influence over 290 faculty members of a large public university. The role expectations a faculty member has for himself and the role expectations of the employing organization both predict positively and significantly the role behaviors of the respondents. The departmental colleagues' expectations predict significantly role behaviors for the research role only. In addition, the degree of person—role conflict a faculty member is exposed to is related to his productivity (research) but not to his satisfaction. The implications of the results are explored for both role theory and for the understanding of faculty behavior.     

Children with epilepsy in school: Special service usage and assessment practices

Special services usage and related assessment procedures were investigated for 50 students with epilepsy. Fifty‐six percent of students with epilepsy received special education services, with mental retardation designation and self‐contained placement common, especially among individuals with epilepsy plus a coexisting neurological diagnosis. Sixteen percent of participants had an “other health impairment” designation, and several of these were deemed eligible in at least one other special education category. The majority of students who had been evaluated were administered IQ, adaptive behavior, speech/language, and sensorimotor components, whereas few were assessed for executive or memory functions. Little information about antiepileptic drugs, their effects, or the actual manifestation of students' seizures appeared in special services school documents. Additional empirical information regarding services for children with chronic health conditions, such as epilepsy, is necessary to improve school psychologists' practice. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 169–181, 2006.     

Moving to a Global Stage: A Media View

The Times Higher Education Supplement was the first newspaper to publish an international ranking of universities in November 2004 Jobbins, D. 2002. “The Times/The Times Higher Education Supplement – League Tables in Britain: An Insider's View”. Higher Education in Europe, 27(4): 383–389. [Taylor & Francis Online] [Google Scholar]. This article describes the evolution of the international rankings from their origin in a limited peer review exercise through the gradual refinement of a national ranking based on, as far as possible, publicly available, verifiable, and accepted data. The author describes the methodology of the international ranking and presents the case for the integrity of commercially produced rankings, national and international, which can be as objective, robust, and transparent as initiatives from within the university community itself.     

Using multidimensional scaling for curricular goal analysis

Multidimensional sealing and related analytic procedures were used to estimate the accuracy of a set of goals used to pattern the design of a graduate curriculum. The analysis suggests that this goal set faithfully represents the essential elements within the area of professional practice to be taught. The procedures described have utility for a wide range of goal-focused analyses.     

Fees,flows and imaginaries: exploring the destination choices arising from intra-national student mobility

ABSTRACT

Are intra-national student flows driven by the same forces as international student mobility? This paper addresses this question by analysing cross-border student mobility in the UK. The paper identifies four principles that one might expect to drive the destination choices of students from Scotland enrolling in English universities. Following a statistical analysis of student destination choices, it is argued that cross-border moves from Scotland to England are stimulated by some of the same global forces as international student mobility (such as a desire to accumulate cultural capital), but in terms of destination choice the imaginaries held by Scottish students of ‘good’ places to study in England to accumulate cultural capital are constructed differently from the imaginaries of international students.     

Mental toughness and transitions to high school and to undergraduate study

Mental toughness can be conceptualised as a set of attributes that allow people to deal effectively with challenges, stressors and pressure. Recent work has suggested that it may be a valuable construct to consider within educational settings. The current studies explored the associations between mental toughness and educational transitions. Study 1 examined the relationships between mental toughness and concerns about moving to a new school in 105 children aged 12–13 years of age. The results revealed significant relationships between several aspects of mental toughness, but particularly confidence in abilities, and children’s concerns. Study 2 examined the relationships between mental toughness and adjustment to university in 200 undergraduate students at various stages of their course. The results revealed a role for several aspects of mental toughness; commitment, control of life, control of emotion, confidence in abilities and interpersonal confidence. The results are discussed in terms of implications for educational practice. It is suggested that measures of mental toughness could be used to identify individuals who may benefit from additional support during transition to a new school or to university, and that future research should explore the potential benefits of mental toughness training.