Making the Case for Differentiated Teacher Effectiveness: An Overview of Research in Four Key Areas

Research into teacher effectiveness has traditionally attempted to uncover generic characteristics of effective teachers. However, recently the realisation that teacher effectiveness may be differentiated across different domains has gained recognition. In this article, we propose that researchers and policy-makers develop more differentiated models of teacher effectiveness. An overview of research is given that looks at whether there is evidence for differentiated effectiveness in four areas: different subject and curriculum areas, pupil background and ability, pupils' personal characteristics, and different teacher roles.     

Differential Teacher Effectiveness: Towards a model for research and teacher appraisal

The article reviews the research on teacher effectiveness and develops the case for a model of teacher effectiveness in which differential effectiveness is incorporated. Five problems with current concepts of teacher effectiveness are identified: undue influence of available techniques upon the concept; emphasis on school, to the detriment of teacher, effectiveness; tenuous relationship to teacher improvement; narrowness of operational definitions in research; and the development of generic, rather than differentiated, models. In addition the failure of existing models to explain variance in pupil outcome at the classroom level, the neglect of teacher self-evaluation, and the restricted measures of pupil outcomes are noted. A differential model is proposed incorporating five dimensions of difference. These refer to teacher activity, outside as well as inside the classroom; curriculum subject; pupil background factors; pupil personal characteristics; cultural and organisational contexts of teaching. The developmental functions of such a model for research and for teacher appraisal are explored. Four problems for implementing a differentiated model are raised: complexity, stakeholder expectations, values, and policy acceptability. These are considered in the light of the controversial Hay McBer model in England and of models developed in Europe and the USA in the early decades of the last century.     

Postgraduate student satisfaction: A multilevel analysis of PTES data

Student satisfaction has received growing attention in Higher Education systems in recent years, and are increasingly used for internal and external accountability in the sector. This does leave us with questions on the extent to which variance in student satisfaction can be explained by Higher Education Institution (HEI) and course attended rather than by individual student characteristics; and on what factors may predict student satisfaction. In this study we used the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) to look at these questions in a sample of approximate 70000 UK postgraduate students from 100 HEI's. Firstly, confirmatory factor analyses were used to test the validity of the proposed multidimensional structure of student satisfaction in PTES. Then multilevel models were used to look at variance at three levels (HEI, course and student), and the relationships between institutional and student factors collected in PTES and student satisfaction. Two years of data (2014 and 2015) were used. Findings suggest that over 90% of variance is explained at the student level for all dimensions of student satisfaction in both years, with variance at the HEI level being particularly low. Individual student characteristics explain more variance than institutional characteristics, but only some (such as BME status) are significant, and explained variance is low. These findings suggest using student satisfaction as an accountability measure in HE may be highly problematic.     

Teacher Evaluation and Teacher Effectiveness in the United Kingdom

An outline is given of the UK research situation for the knowledge bases of school effectiveness and teacher effectiveness, and the UK policy situation in terms of school and teacher evaluation, improvement and development. It is argued that the UK has seen a much greater use of school-level policies, reflecting its substantial school effectiveness research base, rather than teacher-level interventions, although there are currently some attempts at policy and practice level to focus upon teacher effects, teacher evaluation and related issues of professional development. Speculations are given concerning future policy and research needs.     

New Directions for School Effectiveness Research: Towards School Effectiveness Without Schools

School effectiveness research has made a number of valuable contributions to educational research over the past three decades. However, its validity is threatened by a number of evolutions that question the continuing centrality of its basic research object, the public school. Moves towards more flexible school organization such as networks of schools, a broader role for schools reconceptualized as community centers, the emergence of new providers outwith the public sector, the increasingly internationalised nature of research and moves towards greater use of distance learning and home schooling all mean that this focus may rapidly become outdated, potentially making school effectiveness research irrelevant.In this paper we will discuss the consequences of these evolutions for school effectiveness research and argue that, rather than lessening the need for effectiveness research, they increase the imperative for this type of research, as long as it is broadened to educational effectiveness in its broadest sense whether it takes place in the traditional public school or not, and is conducted in an empirical and open-minded way.     

Simulated tennis matchplay in a controlled environment

The aim of this study was to develop an exercise protocol to simulate tennis matchplay on a 'category 2' surface. Match analyses were used to form the basis for the design of the protocol. The protocol involved playing against a tennis ball serving machine. Part A of the protocol comprised 92 min 46 s of simulated tennis matchplay; Part B consisted of continuous hitting to the point of 'volitional fatigue' or when the required hitting frequency for two consecutive ball feeds could no longer be maintained. Ten elite tennis players (5 males, 5 females) volunteered to participate in the study, which was performed on an indoor tennis court (Matchplay?, En-Tout-Cas)?. Their age, body mass and estimated maximal oxygen uptake were as follows: males, 21.7±1.0 years, 73.6±2.6 kg and 58.0±1.7 ml?·?kg^?1?·?min^?1, respectively; females, 21.9±1.3 years, 62.3±2.0 kg and 42.2±0.7 ml?·?kg?·?min^?1, respectively (mean±). Heart rate, change in body mass and time to volitional fatigue were monitored. The heart rate responses of the participants to the simulated matchplay (range: 140-157 beats?·?min^?1, 73-81% peak heart rate) were consistent with the results of previous studies, for 'actual' matchplay. This protocol was successful in simulating similar physiological responses in Part A to 'actual' matchplay on a 'category 2' surface, in a controlled environment; it was also a sensitive evaluation tool of skilled performance in Part B. The current protocol may be used as a baseline protocol for studying the influence of, for example, training and dietary intervention on performance.     

School Effectiveness and Teacher Effectiveness in Mathematics: Some Preliminary Findings from the Evaluation of the Mathematics Enhancement Programme (Primary)

In this study the effect of teacher behaviours and classroom organisation on pupils' progress in mathematics was studied in years 1, 3 and 5 of primary schools in the UK participating in a mathematics intervention programme. Data on a total of 78 teachers and 2,128 pupils was collected. Teacher behaviours were measured using a classroom observation instrument developed for the project, and pupils were tested in March and July of 1998 using a curriculum-appropriate Numeracy test developed by the National Foundation for Educational Research. Background data on pupils was also collected at both testing occasions. Using multilevel modelling techniques it was found that teacher behaviours were able to explain between 60% and 100% of pupils' progress on the Numeracy tests. Amount of time spent teaching the whole class was not related directly to pupils' progress, but structural equation models were tested in which time spent teaching the whole class was found to be related to effective teaching behaviours and thus indirectly to pupil progress. The implications of the study for British educational policies and for educational research more generally are discussed.     

Teaching assistants’ roles in daily mathematics lessons

Background:?The increasing numbers of teaching assistants (TAs) and their widening role in English primary classrooms is part of wider international developments. Several large quantitative studies have been influential in shaping debate, but little qualitative research exists on TAs and the content of their activity in the key area of mathematics.

Purpose:?The article addresses the question: How do TAs in primary schools perceive their role in daily mathematics lessons?

Sample:?Twenty-four TAs employed in English primary schools participated in the study. Their experience ranged from 2 to 20 years. Two were men; the rest were women.

Design and methods:?Interviews were undertaken in the spring and summer of 2011, transcribed and coded using Glaser and Strauss’ recommended method (B. Glaser and A. Strauss, 1967, The discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for qualitative research; Chicago, IL: Aldine Publishing Company). A typology of TA activity was created and used together with other cross-cutting factors to ascertain what TAs did in general and, specifically, in mathematics teaching.

Results:?The results show that previous pictures generated from large-scale quantitative studies of TAs working with children seen as having the greatest difficulty in mathematics are essentially (though not universally) correct. However, they may be internally differentiated to a greater extent than previously envisaged.

Conclusion:?The range of TA activities in mathematics classrooms is considerably wider than previously thought; professional development for TAs and teachers needs to take account of this.     

Can we reliably compare student engagement between universities? Evidence from the United Kingdom Engagement Survey

Policy changes in the higher education landscape have given way to increased interest in the way students perceive engagement in UK higher education. This paper examines whether we can reliably distinguish between institutions and disciplines, and what key student and institutional variables are a predictor of engagement of undergraduate students. Using data from two waves of the United Kingdom Engagement Survey (UKES), a national survey of undergraduate student engagement, we constructed multilevel models for different aspects of student engagement. The results show that the vast majority of the variance of the models is at the student level, indicating that demographic characteristics seem to contribute most to differential aspects of engagement. Some variance at student level could be explained: females, distance learners, part-time students, and disabled student indicators were negative predictors of engagement, while indicators for Black and minority ethnic (BME) students and for students from Africa and Asia were positive predictors of engagement.