ICT teacher training: Evaluation of the curriculum and training approach in Flanders

A policy-evaluation study was set up of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) teacher training in Flanders, focusing on the following questions: (a) What is the validity of the content and format of the teacher training, and (b) to what extent is the ICT teacher training linked to policies of schools? In-depth interviews were organised with respondents of primary, secondary, and adult education schools. The results indicate that ICT school policies are not well developed and reveal a partial match between policies, needs, and the actual in-service training. Innovative applications of ICT are not promoted. The supply-driven approach, the school-based nature, and follow-up activities are questioned.     

Regular Feedback from Student Ratings of Instruction: Do College Teachers Improve their Ratings in the Long Run?

The authors examined whether feedback from student ratings of instruction not augmented with consultation helps college teachers to improve their student ratings on a long-term basis. The study reported was conducted in an institution where no previous teaching-effectiveness evaluations had taken place. At the end of each of four consecutive semesters, student ratings were assessed and teachers were provided with feedback. Data from 3122 questionnaires evaluating 12 teachers were analyzed using polynomial and piecewise random coefficient models. Results revealed that student ratings increased from the no-feedback baseline semester to the second semester and then gradually decreased from the second to the fourth semester, although feedback was provided after each semester. The findings suggest that student ratings not augmented with consultation are far less effective than typically assumed when considered from a long-term perspective.     

The scientometric world of Keith Pavitt: A tribute to his contributions to research policy and patent analysis

Keith Pavitt has made pioneering contributions to the study of science, technology and innovation. This paper aims to examine some of them on the basis of a bibliometric analysis of Keith Pavitt's work and the impact that he has had. First the paper follows how Pavitt's publication profile develops over time. Then we trace his most cited works and explore the sets of references in his papers. Author and journal co-citation maps illustrate the intellectual environment associated with Pavitt and the central role Research Policy played in this context. An analysis of the most frequently cited authors in Research Policy and Scientometrics underlines Keith Pavitt's role as both a shaper of, and a bridge between, science and technology policy and bibliometric analysis.     

Urban adolescents’ exercise intentions and behaviors: An exploratory study of a trans-contextual model

Using a multi-theory approach, the current study was designed to identify gender differences in the psychological mechanisms by which urban adolescents’ motivation in physical education transfers into their leisure-time activities. The theoretical frameworks of Self-Determination Theory and the Theory of Planned Behavior were integrated to generate a trans-contextual model. Urban adolescents (N = 837, ages 11–15) completed questionnaires assessing relevant psychological constructs as well as their levels of physical activity during leisure time. Path analysis was used to test the direct and indirect paths of the model. Results support the model tenability and demonstrate its invariance across gender. Although there were several gender-specialized characteristics, perceived competence in physical education was the strongest predictor of leisure-time physical activity for both male and female urban adolescents. The finding suggests that nurturing urban adolescents’ autonomy and competence in physical education is important for enhancing leisure-time physical activity intentions and behaviors.     

The contribution of extracurricular coaching on high school teachers’ job satisfaction

The purpose of the present study was to explore the contribution of extracurricular coaching on high school teachers’ job satisfaction. Specifically, the study looked at how perceptions of the coaching environment (athlete relationships, colleague relationships and opportunities through coaching) influenced teachers’ perceptions of stressors (athlete-related and workload-related) and coaching efficacy, and how this in-turn influenced teachers’ job satisfaction. The sample examined 2949 teachers from across Canada who volunteered as high school sport coaches, above and beyond their regular teaching load. The results supported that the data fit the model well (SBχ²₍₂₆₄₎ = 973.36, p < .001, SRMR = .08, CFI = .91, TLI = .90, RMSEA = .055 CI₉₅ [.052, .059]) and that teachers who reported a positive coaching environment had increased coaching efficacy and decreased perceptions of athlete-related and workload-related stressors. Increased coaching efficacy predicted higher job satisfaction, while increased perceptions of stressors predicted lower job satisfaction.     

The Relationship Between Teachers' Perceptions of Student Motivation and Engagement and Teachers' Enjoyment of and Confidence in Teaching

This paper examines teachers' perceptions of their students' motivation and engagement and their enjoyment of and confidence in teaching. Drawing on Martin's Student Motivation and Engagement Scale, 10 facets of motivation and engagement were explored amongst a sample of 1,019 teachers. These facets comprised three adaptive cognitive dimensions of motivation (self‐efficacy, valuing of school, mastery orientation), three adaptive behavioural dimensions (planning, study management, persistence), two impeding dimensions (anxiety, failure avoidance), and two maladaptive dimensions (uncertain control, self‐handicapping). Male teachers tended to report significantly higher student motivation and engagement than female teachers (though effect sizes were small) and primary school teachers reported significantly higher student motivation and engagement than high school teachers (effect sizes were moderate). Adaptive dimensions were more strongly associated with enjoyment and confidence in teaching than impeding and maladaptive dimensions. Of the adaptive dimensions, students' mastery orientation was the strongest correlate of teachers' enjoyment of teaching and students' persistence and students' planning were the strongest correlates of teachers' confidence in teaching. These associations were more marked for male teachers and relatively independent of years spent teaching. Implications for teacher education and professional development are discussed.     

Trainee Primary Teachers’ Ideas about the Ozone Layer

The ideas of trainee primary teachers about the ozone layer have been examined. Students were well informed about the nature and location of the ozone layer and appreciated that it screens the Earth from ultraviolet (UV) rays, although some thought that it protects the Earth from acid rain. Most identified real causes of ozone layer depletion, but many thought that radioactivity and factory and vehicle emissions cause ozone layer degradation. Almost all realised that ozone depletion might cause more skin cancers; fewer recognised other potential biological problems. Many confused ozone layer depletion with global warming. The proportions holding these ideas were similar to those of older secondary school children, suggesting that misconceptions persist to the adult population. Since these ideas were found in final year trainee teachers, there is a danger that erroneous ideas or the attitudes based on them might be perpetuated in a formal learning context.     

Adult-child interaction in children’s learning from “Sesame Street”

This study examined whether children’s learning from “Sesame Street” could be improved by having adults ask the children questions and provide them with feedback while they watched the show. Subjects were 23 three- and four-year-old, white, middle-class children who were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. Children in both conditions watched three specially edited versions of “Sesame Street” with an adult. While they did so, children in the experimental condition were asked to name the letters and numbers shown on the programs. Results indicated that 3 days after watching the last program, children in the experimental condition were better able to name and identify the letters and numbers they had seen (p < .01). Three features of the experimental treatment that may have contributed to these results are discussed, as are the implications of the findings.