Measuring perceived social support: Development of the child and adolescent social support scale (CASSS)

The measurement of students' social support has become a popular topic in education and psychology, yet measurement tools in this area are limited. In this study, we use a large, representative sample to conduct confirmatory factor, reliability, and correlational analyses of scores on the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASSS; Malecki, Demaray, Elliott, & Nolten, 1999). These analyses revealed evidence of reliability, a four‐factor structure (Parent, Teacher, Classmate, and Close Friend subscales), and construct validity. The results of this study indicate that the CASSS covaries as predicted with the clinically important constructs of self‐concept, social skills, and behavioral indicators. There is evidence that the CASSS can be used to understand children and adolescents' perceived social support. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

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Once upon a time, there was a little girl; once upon a time, she was polishing her nail in her yard with her friend like a young woman; once upon a time, this world is such a beautifill and perfect place for her; once upon a time, she was me.Once upon a time, she sang loud and clear with her little voice as if she had been the greatest singer in the world without shyness; once upon a time, she has so many dreams to be fulfilled; once upon a time, she has a heart as pure as an mborn baby.     

Instructional leadership in Malaysia: a review of the contemporary literature*

This article provides a review of the contemporary instructional leadership research base in Malaysia. The core aim of this review is to assess the recent knowledge base on instructional leadership in Malaysia and to evaluate its current contribution to the existing international literature. The article explores a range of published material that has focused explicitly on instructional leadership and instructional leadership practices in Malaysia, including that written in Bahasa Malaysia. The article outlines the findings from the review and highlights certain strengths and limitations. The article concludes by identifying areas for further enquiry and investigation.     

What Preschool Classroom Experiences Are Associated With Whether Children Improve in Visuomotor Integration?

Research Findings: This study examined the contribution of several class-room experience measures (classroom characteristics, teacher characteristics, and teacher–child interactions) to preschoolers’ improvement in visuomotor integration. Children (N = 467) ranged in age from 3 to 5 years old and were enrolled in 115 classrooms in 5 U.S. states. Children’s visuomotor integration was measured twice (on average 5.2 months apart) using the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (visuomotor integration subtest). Hierarchical linear models controlling for background characteristics and inhibitory control showed that children improved more in visuomotor integration when they were in classrooms with fewer 3-year-olds, when their teacher had at least a bachelor’s degree, and when teachers demonstrated high quality in their interactions. Practice or Policy: Visuomotor integration, and specifically the ability to copy designs with a writing utensil, is a robust indicator of children’s school readiness and longitudinal achievement. U.S. preschoolers gained more on visuomotor integration in classrooms with fewer 3-year-old children that were taught by a college-educated teacher and when such classrooms provided high-quality organizational and instructional interactions. These results expand the outcomes linked to early childhood education experiences and emphasize the need for well-prepared early childhood teachers who interact with children effectively.     

Longitudinal effects of induction on teaching skills and attrition rates of beginning teachers

The teaching profession faces a shortage as well as a decline of teaching skills. A possible way to mitigate this is to implement evidence-based induction arrangements. Seventy-one schools with 338 beginning secondary education teachers were randomly allocated to an experimental or a control group. The experimental schools used induction arrangements; the authors measured the effects of these arrangements by using repeated lesson observations and by comparing the rates at which beginners in the control and experimental groups left the teaching profession. Three years later, 14% of the control group and 12% of the experimental group had left. Leaving the profession could be explained by a lack of certification and low initial teaching skill levels. The experimental group exhibited greater improvement in teaching skills compared to the control group. Workload reduction influenced the skill level negatively, and coaching and observing had a strong positive influence on the skill level in Year 3.     

Promoting Metacognitive Decision-Making in Teacher Education

Effective teachers are characterized by their abilities to make thoughtful, deliberate, and informed adaptations while teaching (Hoffman & Pearson, 2000). These in-the-moment teaching decisions are guided by a complex web of teacher knowledge. Raising teachers' awareness of the decisions they make on a moment-by-moment basis may aid in thoughtful, more deliberate decision-making and more robust instruction. We charge that preservice teachers can acquire this skill, as well. This article highlights practices employed in preservice teacher education courses as a means to promote awareness of, and engagement with, in-the-moment teaching decisions. Using examples from mathematics, social studies, and literacy methods courses, we describe our processes to intentionally cultivate preservice teachers' adaptive teaching skills through metacognitive decision-making.     

Discourse appropriation and category boundary work: casual teachers in the market

With the increasing casualisation of the teacher labour force, there is little written on the experiences of casual teachers and the challenges they face in brokering professional identities within constantly shifting and uncertain work contexts. Being a category bound casual teacher (a product of category boundary work) is a complex subject position. The aim of this article is to advance our understandings of the identity work inherent in casual relief teachers (CRTs) performativity. Anti-essentialist theories support this exploration of CRT subjectivities and processes of discourse appropriation. Using collective biography methodology as re-storied memory work, this article speaks back to neoliberal politics of casualisation. The stories draw attention to how both experienced practitioners and newly graduated teachers might ‘do’ category boundary work within the complexity of school politics as they navigate the uncertainty of gaining and maintaining employment in the Education market.