Some possible effects of behaviour management training on teacher confidence and competence: evidence from a study of primary school teachers in Hong Kong

This study aims to explore the relationships between the extent and perceived quality of teachers’ experience of training in behaviour management (BM), and their awareness of the nature and extent of behavioural problems among school students, and their confidence in their own competence to deal with such problems. Teachers (n = 183) from Hong Kong primary schools were surveyed. The results showed that gender, age and whether teachers have received training had no significant influence on teachers’ awareness, conception and confidence regarding BM. A negative correlation was found between teachers’ levels of satisfaction in relation to their training experiences and their perceptions of the level of problematic behaviours among students, and the impact of students’ problematic behaviour on their teaching. A positive correlation was found between teachers’ levels of satisfaction in relation to their training experiences and their confidence in their own competence to deal with students’ problematic behaviour.     

Design-Based Research Within the Constraints of Practice: AlgebraByExample

Superintendents from districts in the Minority Student Achievement Network (MSAN) challenged the Strategic Education Research Partnership (SERP) to identify an approach to narrowing the minority student achievement gap in Algebra 1 without isolating minority students for intervention. SERP partnered with 8 MSAN districts and researchers from 3 universities to design and rigorously test AlgebraByExample, a set of 42 Algebra 1 assignments with interleaved worked examples that target common misconceptions and errors. In a year-long random-assignment study, students who received AlgebraByExample assignments had an average 7 percentage point boost on a posttest containing released items from state assessments, and students in the bottom half of the performance distribution where minority students are disproportionately concentrated had an average 10 percentage point boost on a researcher-designed assessment of conceptual understanding. AlgebraByExample is easily incorporated into any existing curriculum, and naturally serves as a launch point for mathematically rich discussion.     

Advancing scholarship on anti-racism within developmental science: Reflections on the special section and recommendations for future research

To date, theoretical and conceptual scholarship on anti-racism has been advanced through leading contributions from several disciplines (e.g., sociology, education, psychology). Still, there remain fewer empirical studies on anti-racism constructs, and we know little about the development of anti-racism among diverse youth across key stages of development. In this special section of Child Development, we sought to address this gap by highlighting scholarship in developmental science that attends to the development of anti-racism in children across contexts (e.g., families, schools) and developmental stages (e.g., early childhood through emerging adulthood). In our introduction to the special section, we review the collective contributions of included studies and outline recommendations for future research in the development of anti-racism in youth.     

The impact of current developments in post-compulsory education on young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities

Deborah Cooper, Economy and Learning Manager with Milton Keynes Council and previously Chief Executive of Skill: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities, considers ways in which opportunities for children with special educational needs in England and Wales are being affected by current developments in post-compulsory education.     

The disguise of self‐disclosure: The relationship ruse of a Soviet Spy

The verbal disclosures of a Soviet spy masquerading as a university student are compared to those of three other group members involved in a semester‐long project. Audio‐tapes of six group meetings provide a unique opportunity to assess the relationship deception of this proficient deceiver. His communication is characterized by strategic disclosures designed to create a false impression and, thereby, to divert attention from his secret role. His conversation reveals more frequent control disclosures, attitude disclosures, personal disclosures, and dramatic disclosures than other group members. The spy also verbalized significantly more knowledge disclosures than all but one other peer. The frequency and content of his disclosures identify, in part, the communicative strategy of his disguise, whereby he drew considerable attention to himself and, thus, appeared transparent. The results underscore the importance of looking beyond the appearance of disclosures when attempting to identify relationship deception.     

SCHOOL RACIAL CLIMATE AND THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT

This investigation utilized an integrative model of development for ethnic minority children and a process model of engagement to explore whether three dimensions of school engagement (behavioral, emotional, and cognitive) mediated relationships between school racial climate, academic performance, and educational aspirations. A total of 139 African American students were recruited from a high school in the southeastern United States. Findings revealed an indirect association between perceptions of racial fairness and academic achievement indicators through behavioral and cognitive engagement. Behavioral and cognitive engagement also mediated relationships between youths’ perceived peer discrimination and academic achievement indicators. No significant indirect associations between teacher discrimination and academic achievement through school engagement dimensions were found. Study limitations, future directions, and implications are discussed.     

A collaborative assessment of students’ placement learning

The research informing this paper set out to investigate the qualitative experiences of students, supervisors and tutors involved in a summative collaborative assessment of placement learning on an undergraduate professional qualifying programme in the UK. Analysis of data gathered through semi-structured interviews provides valuable insights into its use. In particular, engagement in a collaborative assessment brings a degree of exposure for all concerned. Participants need to feel ‘able’ to participate, and ability to participate is linked to notions of agency and autonomy. Collaborative assessment design needs to acknowledge power relations and include strategies to reduce imbalances. The importance of recognising and working with the complexities of assessment should not be underestimated. Criterion referencing offers a guide to support consistency but can also falsely present assessment as mechanistic and instrumental. The research shows that it is in the ‘doing’ of assessment that a ‘shared language’ is developed. It demonstrates the value of active student engagement in assessment in relation to the construction and use of theory, developing reflective practice and assessment literacy. The collaborative assessment provides students with the opportunity to experience a ‘performance of understanding’ in a community of practice that, whilst pressured, reflects ‘real’ professional life.     

The power of the ‘object’ to influence teacher induction outcomes

In this paper we explore newly qualified New Zealand secondary teachers’ varied accounts of induction. We claim that multiple interpretations of objectives for induction programs are a significant source of this variation. With reference to an activity system framework, we identify four primary objects of induction that were represented in the induction accounts as follows: ‘orientation to learning about the context’, ‘fitting into the school’, ‘completing registration requirements’, and ‘becoming a professional inquirer’. Whilst teachers would be expected to experience all of these objects within their induction experiences, the balance and emphases of these objects within programs varied considerably.