Teachers as researchers in a major research project: Experience of input and output

Teachers have long participated in collaborative research. However, they have generally had direct stakes in the outcomes. Teachers in the Early Professional Learning (EPL) Project used their insider status to gather data not directly related to their own practice. Lessons for integrating a group of teacher–researchers into a major project are discussed. Some of these are practical, but also cover their unexpectedly experienced initial isolation within the project team, that has relevance for both forming and theorising communities of enquiry. An outline for a new concept of teacher–researcher begins to emerge that may influence the direction of educational research.     

Novice in secondary school – the coin has two sides

The aim of this study is to gain an insight into novice teachers’ diverse experiences. The study is conducted among nine beginning teachers in upper secondary school in Norway, and the research instrument was semi structured interviews. The main findings indicate that there are two sides of the coin of being a new teacher, positive as well as less positive aspects. The beginning teachers want to be recognised as who they are, new to the job, and on the other hand, they want to be accepted as fully qualified teachers. The two contradictory perceptions of themselves as professionals represent two sides of the same coin.     

The Issue at a Glance

THE ISSUE AT A GLANCE

The Issue at a Glance     

Student audiences for international broadcasts

This field experiment identified two types of television programmers—High Risk and Low Risk. Information processing differed in judgment‐formation and decision‐making conditions.     

The desire for longevity: Development of the Personal Longevity Scale

ABSTRACT

A new psychometrically acceptable measure of the desire to live a very long life was devised using two samples. In Study 1, initial exploratory analyses of the Personal Longevity Scale (PLS) scale revealed a two-factor structure. The Hope factor represents the hopefulness participants have with regards to their expectations about personal longevity. The second factor, Dread, represents the fear and uneasiness associated with self-perceptions of living a very long life. In Study 2, the bidimensional nature of the PLS measure was confirmed, and the scale was further refined to include a final of seven items. Four items represent Hope (α = .85), and three items represent Dread (α = .78). Theoretical rationales for the two-factor structure of personal longevity are discussed. In Study 3, the PLS was compared to three similar measures of attitudes about aging. The results indicate that the PLS has moderate levels of convergent and discriminant validity. Potential uses for the new scale are discussed.     

Long-term Influences of Portfolios on Professional Development

In recent publications on the use of portfolios in professional training both their goals, application and success are reported in favourable terms. The main purposes of portfolios being put forward are: documentation of performance, monitoring growth, revealing discrepancies in development and enhancing self-responsibility. The findings, however, pertain to the introductory implementation of the portfolio instrument, most notably with (student) teachers. Not much is known about the sustained use of a portfolio as an instrument to support professional development in the long term. In this study the benefits of different forms of sustained portfolio use are focused on in particular. Use is related to the portfolio's function, which can be for both professional development and certification, and to the setting and conditions of use, which may be either mandatory or voluntary. We gauge its impact on indicators like ongoing documentation, systematic reflection, dialogue with significant others and learning for professional development. The difficulties experienced users found are discussed, as well as the gains they saw in sustained use of portfolios, which led us to conclude that portfolios are mainly used for documentation but have a high potential as mirrors of competence when issued as instruments for self-evaluation and self-assessment.     

‘There are lots of different kinds of normal’: families and sex education – styles,approaches and concerns

This paper reports on qualitative research with Australian parents concerning their attitudes to sexuality and relationships education, both at home and in school. A wide range of values and attitudes were represented among parents in this study. Regardless of the varying approaches parents used, all participants expressed a desire for their children to be well informed about sex, sexual health and relationships, yet many felt inadequate to the task of providing high-quality sex education to their children. Some participants blamed this lack of confidence on their own limited education about sexuality. Their main concern was to ensure that their children are safe and that when they do become sexually active their experiences of sex are positive. Most participants saw sex education as primarily their responsibility, with school sex education as an important adjunct. They wanted to be well informed about the timing and content of school programmes for their children, and to be assured that those educators who will be teaching their children about sexual health have the skills and qualifications to do their job well, while remaining sensitive to the diversity of values among students and their families. While most parents who participated in the research supported sexuality education in schools, they did so with reservations. In particular, they wanted schools to take an active role in communicating with them about the content of sexuality education programmes and be open to meeting with those parents who expressed concerns.