Pedagogical influence of interaction with cooperating teachers on the efficacy beliefs of student teachers

Abstract

Cooperating teachers are often identified as some of the most important figures in the preparation of new teachers, and the reasons are not difficult to understand. Surprisingly, however, very little research has been conducted to quantify the effects of cooperating teachers on student teachers. This study examines the impact of student teachers' perceived interactions with their cooperating teachers and the influence that interaction has on student teachers' self‐efficacy for teaching. Results indicate a moderate correlation between perceptions of teaching efficacy and cooperating teacher‐student teacher interactions. Differences were found in the frequency of interaction based on the certification level of the student teacher, with elementary level student teachers perceiving a greater amount of interaction with their cooperating teachers. However, no differences based on certification level were detected in perceived efficacy. Student teachers' perceptions of the level of guidance offered by their cooperating teachers provided the most reliable predictor for their efficacy belief.     

Measuring the success of 'Playing for Success'

'Playing for Success' is a national initiative to establish Study Support Centres in professional football clubs, intended to support underachieving young people at key stages 2 and 3. The second year of the evaluation involved collection of data from pupils in 12 such Centres. Instruments were administered before and after attendance at the Centres, and measurements taken relating to literacy and numeracy, as well as attitude scales and self-assessments of ICT skills. Data were also obtained from a small 'control' group. Multilevel analysis of the results has given insights into the areas where the initiative appears to have had positive effects, and the other factors which may be associated with such effects.     

The Influence of Representations of Attachment, Maternal–Adolescent Relationship Quality, and Maternal Monitoring on Adolescent Substance Use: A 2-Year Longitudinal Examination

The present study examined the hypotheses that more secure representations of attachments to parents are associated with less adolescent substance use over time and that this link is mediated through relationship quality and monitoring. A sample of 200 adolescents ( M  =   14–16 years), their mothers, and close friends were assessed over 2 years. Higher levels of security in attachment styles, but not states of mind, were predictive of higher levels of monitoring and support and lower levels of negative interactions. Higher levels of security in attachment styles had an indirect effect on changes in substance use over time, mediated by maternal monitoring. These findings highlight the roles of representations of attachments, mother–adolescent relationship qualities, and monitoring in the development of adolescent substance use.     

Embedding external referencing of standards into higher education: collaborative relationships are the key

External referencing of assessment and students’ achievement standards is a growing priority area within higher education, which is being pressured by government requirements to evidence outcome attainment. External referencing benefits stakeholders connected to higher education by helping to assure that assessments and standards within courses are appropriate and comparable among institutions. External referencing takes many forms, which have different resourcing requirements, outcomes, and operational strengths and challenges. This paper describes the External Referencing of Standards (ERoS) approach developed, tested and adopted by a university consortium. ERoS draws on the strengths of existing methodologies to produce an evolved model that is effective, efficient, transparent and open, capability building and sustainable. The model enables participants to communicate directly and construct peer relationships, and findings suggest this is a significant design strength. The process facilitates capability building, such that participants garnered insights valuable to enact quality assurance and enhancement of existing courses, and fosters connections that facilitate collaboration and peer-learning. ERoS successfully used open source collaborative tools to review work samples, which can be used to benchmark costed systems.     

Shifting hegemony in ‘a man’s world’: incremental change for female golf professional employment

There is much evidence to suggest that the golf environment is unequal in terms of gender. This study puts this to the test by focusing on female golf professionals’ understanding of the barriers and opportunities to employment in the golf industry. Data were collected through a series of focus groups, interviews (n = 17) and a survey (n = 95) with female PGA professionals and trainee PGA professionals in Great Britain and Ireland, over half of whom indicated coaching as their primary employment role. At the time of data collection female PGA golf professionals made up less than 3% of all PGA professionals in Britain and Ireland. The data revealed some clear differences between older and younger respondents on barriers to, and opportunities for, employment in the golf industry. On the whole, younger professionals appeared more willing to challenge, discuss and confront the underlying discrimination. The results suggest that golf is undergoing an incremental change away from male hegemony.     

Professionalism in medical education

Medical professionalism in today's society requires the exhibition of a range of qualities deployed in the service of patients, rather than more traditionally defined aspects such as mastery, autonomy and self-regulation. These qualities incorporate demonstrated clinical competence; aspiring to excellence in practice while demonstrating humility and recognition of personal limitations; exercising professional judgement; and maintaining a fiduciary relationship with patients by the earning and maintenance of trust.     

Curriculum Reform and the Case of the Disappearing Agents

It is an irony that, as the educational world has come to recognise the value of school or district‐based teacher leaders, many teachers have become wary of involvement in activities which take them beyond their own classrooms or schools. The problem becomes particularly apparent in centrally organised curriculum reform efforts that call for a cadre of teachers to be co‐opted to act as ‘link’ or ‘lighthouse’ teachers. This paper examines these issues in the context of an Australian state‐wide physics curriculum project in which a ‘pyramid’ implementation model required a group of school‐based ‘link’ or ‘lighthouse’ teachers to work as change agents in district school clusters. The study focused on the motivations of those teachers who chose, and those who chose not, to become involved. It reports a number of critical distinctions, in both experience and motivation, between these two groups of teachers. These differences are analysed as a set of interlocking themes: personal meaning, professional history, ownership, rewards, professional autonomy and gender.     

Service-Learning and Experiential Learning in Criminal Justice Education: An Exploratory Examination of Faculty Perspectives

Scholarship on service-learning and experiential learning consistently demonstrates benefits for students, but little evidence has emerged examining the perspectives of faculty. The current study examines the conflicting perspectives from faculty affiliated with a university undergraduate criminology major that utilizes both experiential learning and service-learning. Focus groups of departmental faculty revealed fears over curriculum rigor, concerns over forming partnerships and investing resources into service-learning and experiential learning activities without university incentives, and recognition of student and department benefits derived from service-learning and experiential learning activities.     

The enactment of literacy curriculum policy by early childhood teachers in two Australian schools

Since the early 2000s, literacy education has become an area of intense focus in Australian education policy, positioned to have a role in Australia's pursuit of enhanced international competitiveness in the “global knowledge economy”. Policy called for improvements in literacy outcomes, monitored by mandated annual assessments, and policy statements recognised the need to establish solid literacy foundations in early childhood to facilitate learning, and desired improvements, in later years. This article is derived from a larger study that investigated the production and enactment of literacy curriculum policy by early childhood teachers in Australian schools. It focuses on the school level within the State of Western Australia, presenting findings derived from thematic and critical discourse analysis of participant interview and documentary data collected in two case‐study schools. Comparative analysis revealed that literacy curriculum policy processes in both case‐study schools were focused on achieving improved test results in mandated testing regimes. This was impacting upon literacy curriculum in the early childhood years of schooling, in Australia deemed to involve children up to 8 years of age, in many, possibly adverse, ways. These findings may offer insights in other contexts about literacy curriculum policy processes that are focused on enhancing competitive positioning.