A longitudinal study of effects of a developmental teacher preparation program on elementary prospective teachers’ mathematics beliefs

The universal emphasis in mathematics education on teaching and learning for understanding can require substantial paradigmatic shifts for many elementary school teachers. Consequently, a pressing goal of teacher preparation programs should be the facilitation of these changes during program experiences. This longitudinal, mixed methods study presents a thorough investigation of the effects of a distinctive teacher preparation program on important constructs related to prospective teacher preparedness to teach mathematics for understanding, including mathematics pedagogical and teaching efficacy beliefs, mathematics anxiety, and specialized content knowledge for teaching mathematics. The results indicate that the programmatic features experienced by the prospective teachers in this study, including a developmental two-course mathematics methods sequence and coordinated developmental field placements, provided a context supporting teacher change. These shifts are interpreted through the nature and timing of the experiences in the program and a model of teacher change processes. The findings provide insights for mathematics educators as to the outcomes of these programmatic features.     

Behavioral and relational correlates of low self-perceived competence in young children

It is developmentally normative for preschoolers (aged four to five years) to have self-perceptions that are typically positive and even over-inflated. However, because not all children have positive self-perceptions in early childhood it is important to understand factors that influence the development of self-perceptions, especially low self-perceptions, in early childhood. Therefore, this study examined the associations between self-perceptions and teacher ratings of social behaviors, subtypes of withdrawal, and peer ratings of acceptance/rejection in preschoolers. Participants included 199 children (107 males, 92 females) attending two early childhood programs in a midsized community in the western United States. The major findings were that children in early childhood who have lower self-perceptions of their abilities than their peers tended to engage in more reticence, solitary-passive withdrawal, and solitary-active behavior.     

Child refugees,trauma and education: interactionist considerations on social and emotional needs and development

This paper focuses on the social and emotional needs of children and young people who are refugees. It was inspired by casework undertaken by the author involving a 13‐year‐old boy who was a refugee from Montenegro. A vignette of the case is presented in addition to a review of relevant literature to illustrate and discuss the various sources of trauma experienced by children and young people who are refugees, and the potential impact of these on psychological functioning and emotional wellbeing. Child refugees’ experiences of trauma are seldom restricted to experiences of loss, violence or persecution in their country of origin. Rather, there are multiple experiences in the country of origin, during migration and on arrival in a country of “refuge” that are potentially traumatic, and can have adverse effects on a child or young person’s development. Drawing on research with children and adults who are refugees, as well as research into post‐traumatic stress disorder and into the educational effects of trauma, the paper advocates interactionist and ecosystemic perspectives for understanding the difficulties encountered by refugee children, and considers possibilities for therapeutic intervention.