The structure and goals of a student teaching program and the character and quality of supervisory discourse

This study compares the form and substance of supervisory discourse between university supervisors and elementary student teachers during postobservation conferences in two teacher education programs with similar organizational structures but with very different ideological orientations. One program represents a traditional-craft orientation to teacher education while the other represents an inquiry-oriented approach. The findings indicate a great deal of similarity with regard to both the form and substance of supervisory discourse in the two programs and suggest the need for changes in the organizational context of student teaching if innovations in the curriculum of student teaching are to be realized.     

Ways to Support Beginning Science Teachers

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

An Examination of the Role of HRD in Voluntary Turnover in Public Service Organizations

In this study I examine the role of HRD, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment in voluntary turnover decisions. A sample of managers from public service agencies who voluntarily left their job in the previous year is compared to a sample of currently employed managers in the same or equivalent position. Both quantitative and qualitative methods are used to determine if attitudes towards HRD were a factor in the turnover decision for those who voluntarily left and if it would be a factor in influencing turnover intentions in those currently employed in comparable positions. The level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment are also compared between the two groups of respondents. The implications of attitudes towards HRD and levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment in the decision to turnover among public service managers are examined along with recommendations for further research on the role of HRD in turnover decisions.     

The relationship between social behavior and self-concept in school settings

The relationship between social behavior, as measured by the School Social Behavior Scales (SSBS), and self-concept, as measured by the Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC), was studied. Subjects included 41 public school students in Grades 5 and 6. These subjects were rated on the SSBS by their classroom teachers and also completed the SPPC as a self-report measure. A number of significant positive relationships were found between the Social Competence scores of the SSBS and the SPPC self-concept scores. Relationships between the Problem Behavior scores of the SSBS and the SPPC scores were extremely weak, and none of the obtained coefficients was statistically significant. The pattern of associations identified through this investigation provides support for the criterion-related validity of both the SSBS and SPPC, and raises some interesting questions regarding the relationship between social behavior and self-concept in children.     

An empirical analysis of an alternative configuration of the Academic Motivation Scale

The purpose of this study was to examine an alternative configuration of the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS), a psychometric instrument used as a measure of academic motivation in various academic environments. The analyses utilised data from a convenience sample of 2354 business students, broken into two random subsamples of 1177 cases. Exploratory factor analysis of the 28 AMS scale items was conducted on the estimation sample. The results indicated good model fit for a four-factor configuration consisting of amotivation, external regulation, identified regulation, and intrinsic motivation as indicated by factor loadings, as well as internal consistency and reliability statistics.

Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the holdout sample to independently assess the construct validity and internal consistency of the item loadings on the reconfigured scale. Results indicated good model fit for the four-factor configuration and a significant loss of fit for competing three- and one-factor models. The uncovered factor structure advances our understanding of how the items on this scale cluster into theoretically meaningful constructs. This knowledge may be utilised in research designed to further assess the impact of motivational states on educational outcomes such as academic performance, absenteeism, dropout rates, etc.