So what exactly do you want? What principals mean when they say ‘male role model’

The need for more male role models in young boys’ lives is one of the main reasons underpinning the call for more male teachers in primary schools. However, the exact responsibilities and attributes associated with the term ‘male role model’ have yet to be clearly established. The purpose of this survey of 250 New Zealand primary school principals was to investigate the views of one major group of stakeholders to determine how principals defined male role models and what they considered the specific attributes of that role. The study found that the principals favoured men who exhibit a hegemonic masculinity couched in heterosexual, rugby‐playing, ‘real men’ attributes.     

Enhancing student self‐worth in the primary school learning environment: teachers' views and students' views

This paper reports the findings from a study of teachers and students' views regarding self‐worth in the primary school learning environment. The revised New Zealand curriculum recognises the importance of self‐worth in students' motivation and ability to learn. While the need to enhance self‐worth in the classroom has been well established in the literature, similarities and differences between teachers and students' understanding of the impact of various classroom interactions on self‐worth has not received the same attention. The purpose of the research reported on in this paper was to provide further insight for teachers, thereby enabling them to strengthen classroom relationships and their students' learning experiences in ways commensurate with enhancing students' feelings of self‐worth.     

Mediating stress: Survival of the hardy

The present study explored variation in individual personality characteristics, termed “hardiness,” among female elementary teachers who had differing levels of burnout despite high levels of occupational stress. One hundred thirty-four female elementary teachers completed the Teaching Events Stress Inventory, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, The Allienation Test, and the Internal-External Control Scale. Data also were collected on demographic variables, incidence of stress-related physical and mental illness, and coping activities. Teachers with high stress and low burnout were less alienated than were teachers with high stress and high burnout. The low burnout teachers chose more active types of coping activities than did the high burnout teachers. Incidence of stress-related physical illness was significantly correlated with level of stress, emotional exhaustion (burnout), and alienation. Implications for future research and school district interventions are discussed.     

A theoretical and instrumental framework for implementing change in ICT in education

This paper summarizes the development and practical testing of a theoretical framework for the identification of important factors in relation to the implementation of ICT into a UK secondary school. The approach is characterized by considering the process of implementing use of ICT across a whole school for teaching and learning as a special case of implementing change.

The theoretical framework was derived from reviewing and synthesizing the literature in the field of change management and that of ICT in schools. Using an interpretive approach, a single case study was the practical basis for undertaking research, guided but not constrained by the theoretical framework and finally mapping the case study findings against it.

This process enabled the possible contribution of the framework with regard to the implementation of ICT in schools, to be assessed, and its further development considered.     

It's just not a real bloke's job: male teachers in the primary school

In recent years, there has been increasing academic debate concerning both the need for more male primary schoolteachers and the reasons for their minority status, numerically. Yet there has been relatively little heard from the men themselves. In this study the author used focus group discussions to investigate the views and experiences of practising male primary schoolteachers towards primary school teaching as a career. The focus questions included: the aspects which attracted them to primary school teaching; experiences which preceded their entry to teacher education; and the reaction to their choice from family and friends. The study concluded that a complex barrier of attitudes and actions would need to be addressed if the minority status of male teachers is to change.     

The Images for Teaching Education Project: developing multimedia resources within an integrative educational framework

The University of Exeter heads a consortium which has developed multimedia resources primarily for initial teacher education. Amongst a range of resources produced are Critical Encounters in Secondary Education , which deals with critical incidents in the classroom and how to deal with them, Multimedia in the Learning Environment , which deals with both the nature of multimedia and how it may be used in support of a range of approaches to teaching and learning and English Chalklands which deals with interpretational and judgemental responses to landscape. The resources are described and discussed in the context of the educational framework which has been developed to guide their use.     

Intervening with school problems: A family systems perspective

Viewing children's behavior from a systems perspective allows the school-based consultant an expanded perception of the contextual function of the behavior. The two key systems in a child's life, home and school, often overlap, and what occurs in one system can affect the child's behavior in the other system. By considering the relationships of the child to both home and school, a more holistic view of the child is obtained, and greater opportunity for family involvement is provided. This article explains the differences between systemic and linear approaches to behavior, and provides examples of how the school-based consultant can intervene from a systems perspective, using interviews, short-term family counseling, and teacher consultation. Issues and cautions about using a systemic approach are presented, and the need for data-based research is explored.     

Male primary school teachers: Helping or hindering a move to gender equity?

Despite research linking dominant masculinities to the disengagement of some boys from schooling, men teachers appear to be either unaware of the related literature, or reluctant to engage in behaviours that have increased their vulnerability to accusations of sexual abuse or homosexuality. A small study of men teachers in England, Sweden and New Zealand investigated the extent to which the men believed their teacher education had prepared them to teach in the gendered environment of the primary school. Teachers were also questioned about their views on gender differences in students and in the teaching practices of male and female teachers. Although the size of the study restricts the validity of data, the differences between the teachers in England and New Zealand, and those interviewed in Sweden, suggest that further research is warranted. A societal emphasis on gender equity in Sweden was reflected in the commentaries of Swedish men teachers on their pedagogical attitudes and actions relative to gender-based issues in schools. This emphasis was not evident to the same extent in England and New Zealand.