Occupational Well‐being among Aging Teachers in Finland

This article presents an examination of occupational well‐being among teachers in Finland who are over 45‐years of age (n = 1012). Occupational well‐being was described by affective (job anxiety and depression, burnout), behavioral (job competence and aspiration) and health (psychosomatic Symptoms and work ability) components. The structure of well‐being turned out to be two‐dimensional, consisting of affect‐health and behavior dimensions. The level of well‐being among aging teachers was quite high, although 36% of the teachers had Problems of well‐being related to both ajfect‐health and behavior. However, according to the work ability index, only 4% of the 45‐49‐year‐old and 12% of the 55‐59‐year‐old teachers were classified as having poor work ability. Of the demographic variables examined (sex, age, subject and teaching level) the most Variation in occupational well‐being was produced by subject and teaching level. The level of well‐being was lowest among vocational subject teachers in vocational schools and highest among Special dass teachers in comprehensive schools. Attention should thus be directed to the work Situation of vocational teachers, in particular.     

Immediate Impacts of PALS: A school‐wide multi‐level programme targeting behaviour problems in elementary school

The article describes the main outcomes of the intervention programme “Positive behaviour, interactions and learning environment in school” (PALS). PALS is an adapted Norwegian version of the School‐Wide Positive Behaviour Support model, developed in the United States with school‐wide interventions aiming at the prevention of behaviour problems and the promotion of social competence through a supportive learning environment. The effectiveness was evaluated with a quasi‐experimental design in four elementary schools, two years after implementation. An equal number of comparison schools were included in the study. Informants were students (n = 735) in third to seventh grade and teachers working at least 50% (n = 82). The immediate reductions in teacher‐observed problem behaviour ranged from moderate to large, while the results based on student ratings of social competence and classroom climate were less encouraging. Differential effects were found and implementation quality was together with teacher collective efficacy significantly related to better outcomes. The programme and results are discussed in relation to prior research, limitations of study design, and future implementation and research.     

Smoking Habits among Teachers in Primary Schools in Norway 1977

Seip, A.K. 1982. Smoking Habits Among Teachers in Primary Schools in Norway 1977. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 26, 183‐195. A representative sample (N = 1988) of members of the two main teachers’ organizations in Norway, the Norwegian Teachers’ Association and the Association of Secondary School Teachers, were mailed a questionnaire in the spring of 1977 regarding their past and present smoking habits, and 92 % responded. The percentage of daily smokers among the teachers was approximately half of that found in the general population. Also in recent years the decline in smoking among teachers has been greater than in the general population. Answers given to questions concerning reasons for stopping smoking as well as certain attitudinal indicators show that the teachers’ reduction in smoking is related to their professional involvement and comparatively high level of knowledge about the health hazards of smoking.     

School Choice in London,England: Characteristics of Students in Different Types of Secondary Schools

In England, parents make “choices” (in reality, “preferences”) for the state-maintained secondary schools they wish their child to attend. If there are more applicants than places, the school's published admissions criteria are used to give priority to applicants. This article examines how school composition in London varies by first comparing schools that are overtly academically selective with those that are nominally “comprehensive” (“all ability”); second, comparing “comprehensive” schools that control their own admissions with those that do not; third, comparing schools with and without selective admissions criteria; and fourth, comparing schools that use religious criteria with those that do not. We find that school compositions vary. Academically selective schools have fewer students from poor households than comprehensive schools in the same area and have fewer Black and more Indian and Chinese/Other Asian students. Comprehensive schools with autonomy over admissions admit higher attaining students and have fewer students from poor households and with special educational needs, and those with selective admissions criteria admit higher performing children. There are fewer Bangladeshi/Pakistani students and more Black students in schools with a religious character than in those without. Although a range of factors are likely to play a role in explaining the variation in school composition, the evidence suggests that there is “selecting in” and “selecting out” of more desirable students by some schools. Implications for policy are highlighted.     

Observación de las situaciones didácticas

RESUMEN

Se hace una reflexión sobre la observación en el aula como método de investigación. Se deberá observar las conductas y verbalizaciones de los niños, sus intercambios con los otros y las intervenciones del maestro. El análisis de los datos se llevará a cabo en dos niveles: uno inmediato, con vistas a la acción pedagógica del maestro, y otro diferido, con vistas a profundizar en los procesos del desarrollo. Se enumeran una serie de dificultades a tener en cuenta y se definen qué intervenciones del maestro facilitan la actividad de los niños y cuáles la bloquean y en qué momentos.     

More ways than one: Federal strategies to equalize access in education and health care

This article examines the responses of school principals from an urban school district to Michigan's zero-tolerance policy. We specifically seek to understand how school leaders interpret and implement the policy and how their administrative discussions subsequently affect the educational experience of children in urban schools. Given that a disproportionately high number of African American and Latino students are negatively affected by this policy, how do school leaders in predominantly African American districts implement it? The findings in this study reveal that the disparate interpretation of the zero-tolerance policy among school leaders and its implementation negatively affects the educational experience of urban students.     

A Model for Recruiting and Retaining Teachers in Alaska's Rural K–12 Schools

The Alaska Statewide Mentor Project (ASMP) is a joint effort of the University of Alaska and the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development to address the persistently low teacher retention rates in the state, especially in rural districts that predominantly serve Alaska Native (AN) students. Over six years, teacher retention in rural districts, measured from year to year, has increased from an average of 67% to an average of 77% among new teachers who receive ASMP mentoring (Adams & Jordan, 2012). We conducted a midcareer teacher study to determine whether ASMP also affects long-term retention and, if so, to identify contributing factors. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach, we first calculated longitudinal retention rates and then interviewed midcareer teachers to identify factors supporting teacher efficacy connected to teacher retention. Interview data were coded using a framework from community psychology that employs a strengths-based perspective grounded, in this case, by the orienting concepts of “stress” and “coping.” The data produced a model of strengths contributing to teacher efficacy related to typical stressors in Alaska's public K–12 schools, a model that includes factors specific to teacher background, professionalism, socializing in the community, and being student-focused. In this paper, we compare and contrast these results to findings by others in northern rural remote areas in order to present practical implications for teacher recruitment, professional development, mentoring and support, and school environment.     

Moving feedback forward: theory to practice

There is substantial research interest in tutor feedback and students’ perception and use of such feedback. This paper considers some of the major issues raised in relation to tutor feedback and student learning. We explore some of the current feedback drivers, most notably the need for feedback to move away from simply a monologue from a tutor to a student to a valuable tutor–student dialogue. In relation to moving feedback forward the notions of self regulation, dialogue and social learning are explored and then considered in relation to how such theory can translate into practice. The paper proposes a framework (GOALS) as a tool through which tutors can move theory into practice with the aim of improving student learning from feedback.     

Education policy: explaining,framing and forming

This paper presents a new heuristic device for the analysis of educational policy. Through an examination of the Evaluative State and the work of Brian Fay, the paper considers the way in which educational policy is subject to rational and linear forms of policy action and implementation. To counter this, positioning theory is deployed to consider the way in which we are produced both by discourse and the language of the ‘moment’ in discursive acts. Using the work of Gee, the paper contends that policy texts and policy Discourse ‘themselves form policy, that is, they position policy-explanation and policy-framing within the bounds of the institution and so give policy form’. Problematically, such mechanisms may succumb to the ‘death of subject’ and accordingly I offer a third method by which we might conceive of education policy: the discursively produced position call. Subsequently, I propose a tri-partite theory for the examination and understanding of policy: policy-explaining, the production of policy texts; policy-framing, the ways in which all can be positioned by texts and Discourse to produce the meanings imbued upon policy; and, policy-forming, the impact of moment-by-moment conversational acts for their production of the policy text itself, that is, the ways in which policy is locally formed rather than locally mediated.     

The differentiated classroom observation scale

This article presents a new classroom observation scale that was developed to examine the differential learning activities and experiences of gifted children educated in regular classroom settings. The Differentiated Classroom Observation Scale (DCOS) is presented in total, with clarification of the coding practices and strategies. Although the DCOS was developed to examine the impact of differentiated classroom practices for gifted children, it is expected that the scale could be used for observing the educational experiences of any identifiable group of children. Reflections on the benefits offered by the DCOS that are not available with existing measures are provided, and include (a) the ability to contrast the educational experiences of two groups of learners; (b) documentation of a variety of educational factors including pedagogy, student engagement, and level of cognitive activity; and (c) preservation of contextual factors for deeper investigation through a database‐driven record keeping system that maintains disaggregated data from a series of short observational segments.