Bureaucratic Control or Professional Autonomy?: Performance management in New Zealand schools

Since 1997 appraisal has been a mandated requirement of New Zealand schools. While the management of teacher performance is not new, schools are increasingly being faced with difficult and complex decisions regarding accountability mechanisms for teacher performance. Moreover, in a climate of school self-management the potential exists for tensions between bureaucratic systems and the professional autonomy of teachers to surface. This article reports on research conducted in 2001 that investigated teachers' perceptions of the bureaucratic and professional approaches to performance management in their schools. In a climate of increasing control of teachers' work and professional activities by the State, results from recent research indicate that school managers have adopted a professional approach to the appraisal of staff. Moreover the involvement of teachers in developing school-level appraisal systems is pinpointed as fundamental to the long-term success of appraisal in New Zealand schools.     

The development of beginning mathematics teacher pedagogical content knowledge

Recent research efforts (Schmidt et al. in The preparation gap: teacher education for middle school mathematics in six countries, MSU Center for Research in Mathematics and Science Education, 2007) demonstrate that teacher development programs in high-performing countries offer experiences that are designed to develop both mathematical knowledge and pedagogical knowledge. However, identifying the nature of the mathematical knowledge and the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) required for effective teaching remains elusive (Ball et al. in J Teacher Educ 59:389–407, 2008). Building on the initial conceptual framework of Magnusson et al. (Examining pedagogical content knowledge, Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 95–132, 1999), we examined the PCK development for two beginning middle and secondary mathematics teachers in an alternative certification program. The PCK development of these two individuals varied due to their focus on developing particular aspects of their PCK, with one individual focusing on assessment and student understanding, and the other individual focusing on curricular knowledge. Our findings indicate that these individuals privileged particular aspects of their knowledge, leading to differences in their PCK development. This study provides insight into the specific aspects of PCK that developed through the course of actual instructional practice, providing a lens for future research in this area.     

Bullying behaviour, intentions and classroom ecology

Anti-bullying commitment across school communities is seen as crucial to the effectiveness of interventions. This exploratory study used a mixed-methods design to investigate bullying behaviour, intentions and aspects of the classroom ecology within the context of an anti-bullying initiative that was launched with a declaration of commitment. Across the sample of 14 primary school classes, containing 338 children aged 8–11 years, changes over time in peer-assessed and self-reported bullying and victimisation were found to be associated with changes in pupils’ sense of school belonging and perceptions of their classroom climate. Using a newly-developed theory of planned behaviour measure, changes in bullying were found to be associated with pupils’ intentions and perceived control with regard to engagement in bullying behaviour. No differences were found between intervention and comparison classes on any of the pupil outcome measures. However teachers of intervention classes reported a relative increase in perceived control over undertaking anti-bullying work with their class. The role of the class as a meaningful unit of analysis in the investigation of ecological-systemic bullying interventions in primary schools is highlighted.     

Learning to teach writing through tutoring and journal writing

Structured reflection on practical teaching experiences may help pre‐service teachers to integrate their learning and analyze their actions to become more effective learners and teachers. This study reports on 12 pre‐service English as a second language (ESL) teachers’ individual tutoring of learners of English language writing. The data of the study are the writing journal entries that the pre‐service ESL teachers maintained during their tutoring experience. These journals had common elements: all were used by the pre‐service teachers to consider what funds of knowledge they bring to their teaching of ESL learners, to evaluate their roles as writers, learners and teachers and to reflect on the educational, social and cultural implications of teaching writing in English to speakers of other languages. This article describes ways in which both native and non‐native English speaking pre‐service teachers adapted their instruction to meet the particular needs of individual ESL writers and what they learned in the process. It provides insight regarding the value of using tutoring and reflection generally in teacher education and specifically in the preparation of teachers of ESL.     

Early education teachers’ conceptualizations and strategies for managing closeness with the class in child care

This study investigated teachers’ experiences of closeness during interactions with the group of children in child care. Structured interviews were conducted with 24 female teachers who were teaching children between the ages of three and five (mean age = 3.9) regarding their perceptions of closeness with the group of children in the class. Qualitative analyses of the interviews revealed a group solidarity domain of teacher–group relationships composed of three dimensions which comprise emotional solidarity, consensual solidarity, and functional solidarity, with emotional solidarity most dominant in the teachers’ perceptions. This group solidarity domain was interpreted as being consistent with qualities found in Grusec and Davidov’s group participation domain. The findings that, teachers’ closeness with the group of children in the class were dominated by the emotional dimension is similar to previous research results which report the predominance of personal and intimate interactions in relational closeness between teachers and individual children. Teachers described intentional strategies for managing close group relationships that made use of interactional histories between the teachers and children in the class. These discoveries provide a new perspective on teacher closeness with groups, an area of research not often investigated. It also provides insights into the importance teachers place on connecting emotionally with children when they are with the collective group in the classroom.     

Integrating technical editing students into a multidisciplinary engineering project

A three‐year experiment in integrating technical editing students into a multidisciplinary engineering design project developed several ways of helping students apply classroom learning to practical problems. Each year, the engineering students formed Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) and the technical editing students provided editorial support, first as full members of IPTs, then as separate editorial support teams. Research from cooperative learning and teamwork indicates strategies and techniques for best integrating the technical editing students.     

Practicing Resistance: Teacher Responses to Intergroup Aggression in the Classroom

Teachers are frequently advised to respond when they hear remarks that reflect anger, contempt, or disgust towards members of historically marginalized communities. However, there is little research on how teachers respond to such remarks. Focusing specifically on classroom talk about sexual identity, this study investigates how teachers responded to students who overtly expressed anger, contempt, or disgust towards LGBQ people. Data were collected on three teachers’ classroom practice, including teacher interviews, daily logs, and classroom observations. Findings indicate that variations in teachers’ responses to overt student bias reflect variations in underlying theories of how people unlearn their biases. This study suggests that grounding research on teachers’ responses to students’ biases in knowledge about how people learn might reveal new directions for research on ways to counter bias in the classroom.     

Training the Ethanol Workforce: The Importance of Partners in Niche Program Development

Educational, industry, and state leaders worked together to design a program to meet the training needs of Nebraska's fast-growing ethanol industry. The statewide initiative, guided by Northeast Community College and funded through the President's Community-Based Job Training Grants program, is developing dual-credit, short-term training that leads to a certificate, and degree programs in renewable fuels technology.