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1 – 10 of over 3000Bethany R. Mather and Jeremy D. Visone
This study explored teachers' perceptions of a specific, collaborative peer observation structure, collegial visits, and collegial visits' connection to collective teacher…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explored teachers' perceptions of a specific, collaborative peer observation structure, collegial visits, and collegial visits' connection to collective teacher efficacy (CTE). The research question was: how do teachers perceive collegial visits, particularly with respect to their influence on CTE?
Design/methodology/approach
Within this qualitative descriptive study, 13 K-12 educators from three northeastern USA schools (one urban high school and a suburban middle and elementary school) were interviewed individually and/or in a focus group.
Findings
Utilizing social cognitive theory as a framework for analysis, the authors found a theme of a shift from uninformed to informed perceptions of the collective. Results demonstrated that collegial visits foster positive CTE beliefs.
Practical implications
Since collegial visits were found to increase participants' CTE, a construct others have associated with increased student achievement, school leaders should consider implementing collegial visits as a professional learning structure in their schools after considering their specific context.
Originality/value
Though there has been recent scholarship connecting peer observations and CTE, there has been no research, to date, to examine the effect of the specific structure of collegial visits on CTE.
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This chapter discusses practical ways that we as researchers can identify and make use of supports that will help further our research impact and advocates for making plans to…
Abstract
This chapter discusses practical ways that we as researchers can identify and make use of supports that will help further our research impact and advocates for making plans to include impact work from the beginning and taking advantage of opportunities and resources available. The chapter begins by encouraging you to identify your own values related to research impact and to articulate what impact you would like their research to have in the world. This ensures that impact work does not become a tick-box exercise but a meaningful, planned part of their research practice. The chapter then looks at supports – collegial and institutional – from the perspective of information science. The discussion of collegial supports makes the case that colleagues are key sources of practical information, assistance and mentorship; these connections can become information relationships and important parts of your professional network. The discussion of institutional supports makes the case that the landscape of impact can be scattered, so it is important to actively seek out information to help understand the impact environment where you are. Each discussion is accompanied with practical suggestions about how to make the most of opportunities and get the supports needed. The chapter ends with a section aimed at those who are in leadership positions to discuss what can be done to help reduce barriers and provide supports for those who are undertaking research impact projects, including helping to share information and resources about research impact, as well as acting as a mentor.
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Joanne Orlando and Michael Gard
The aging research community and current research accountability frameworks raise concerns about developing future researchers who have the capacity and commitment to undertake…
Abstract
Purpose
The aging research community and current research accountability frameworks raise concerns about developing future researchers who have the capacity and commitment to undertake and lead quality research in the future. The aim of this paper is to focus on the support that Australian universities currently provide to build the capacity of their ECR staff and how ECRs are experiencing this support.
Design/methodology/approach
Email interviews were used with early career education researchers (ECRs) to ask them how they experienced the research support structures provided by their institutions.
Findings
It was found that the anxiety and frustration some ECRs feel about their research careers may stem from the appropriateness or otherwise of the kinds of immediate goals they are choosing for themselves and, perhaps more important, the extent to which they see themselves working in isolation from their colleagues.
Practical implications
While different kinds of material support, such as reduced teaching loads and access to internal grant funds will always be important, it is argued that more attention needs to be given to realistic goal-setting for ECRs and a more patient, long-term approach to producing high-quality research.
Originality/value
Developing a sustainable research community means building a supportive environment in which ECRs can achieve satisfaction and success. The research presented in this paper seeks to contribute to this goal by trying to learn more about the support ECRs currently experience in Australian universities.
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Saga Stenman and Fanny Pettersson
The aim of this study is to explore equality and inclusion as an aspect of remote teaching in rural areas. Moreover, the aim is to explore teachers' pedagogical digital competence…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to explore equality and inclusion as an aspect of remote teaching in rural areas. Moreover, the aim is to explore teachers' pedagogical digital competence (PDC) and school organizational support as conditions for developing remote teaching.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed method approach with both qualitative and quantitative data was used.
Findings
According to this study, remote teaching can solve many problems for school organizations and offer pupils new opportunities to learn in rural areas. Remote teaching expands the learning environment and provides pupils with equal access to qualified teachers and a wider range of learning solutions for different needs. However, the learning context needs to be redesigned with flexibility to meet the needs of individual pupils, whereas the remote teaching format itself can contribute to difficulties in teachers' flexibility. In meeting these challenges teachers' PDC and digital relational competencies are becoming increasingly important. Moreover, teachers' access to communities and school contexts where remote teaching is collaboratively discussed and elaborated on.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to a region in Sweden, with ten participants.
Practical implications
The practical implications are that equal and inclusive remote teaching is dependent on technological as well as pedagogical competence from teachers as well as from organizations.
Social implications
If sufficient professional development for teachers is provided as well as organizational structure are in place, remote teaching is an option for equal access to education in sparsely populated areas. This means inclusive education can be provided to areas otherwise lacking in teacher competence.
Originality/value
The study is one of few that investigates how remote teaching teachers perceive the teaching form and the competencies and support required to develop and use it in rural areas.
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Sylvia Yee Fan Tang, Eric Siu Chung Lo, Fang-Yin Yeh and May May Hung Cheng
This study examined the relationship between early career teachers' (ECTs') perceived professional competence (PC) and teacher buoyancy (TB) and the contribution of such dynamic…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examined the relationship between early career teachers' (ECTs') perceived professional competence (PC) and teacher buoyancy (TB) and the contribution of such dynamic interaction between ECTs' perceived PC and TB to their thriving in the face of everyday teaching challenges.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted a concurrent mixed-methods research design. A total of 218 ECTs taking a postgraduate, part-time initial teacher education programme completed two quantitative measures: Professional Competence Questionnaire and Teacher Buoyancy Scale – Extended Version. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between PC and TB. Qualitative data via semi-structured interviews were collected from 14 survey respondents and were interpreted through a case study approach.
Findings
The quantitative findings showed: (1) Competence in classroom teaching predicts the personal and contextual dimensions of teacher buoyancy; and (2) Competence to work in schools predicts the personal dimension of teacher buoyancy. The qualitative findings showed two cases that exemplified how the dynamic interaction between ECTs' perceived PC and the personal and contextual dimensions of TB supported their development of teaching expertise.
Originality/value
The paper provides empirical findings on the relationship between PC and TB. It highlights ECTs' perceived Competence to work in schools as goal alignment and engagement with school policy as a crucial facilitating condition that develops ECTs' capacity to face daily challenges and engenders their thriving in terms of development of teaching expertise.
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Emelie Lantz, Bengt Nilsson, Carina Elmqvist, Bengt Fridlund and Anders Svensson
The purpose of this study was to describe experiences of working as a paid part-time firefighter (PTF) in Swedish rural areas.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to describe experiences of working as a paid part-time firefighter (PTF) in Swedish rural areas.
Design/methodology/approach
An inductive explorative design was used, based on interviews with 18 paid PTFs in Sweden. Data were analyzed using qualitative latent content analysis.
Findings
Three themes emerged from the interviews and describe paid PTFs’ experiences. The findings provide insights into how firefighters share a strong commitment, how support plays a crucial role, and how training and call-outs contribute to their experiences. Paid PTFs’ experiences are nuanced, ranging from personal limitations and challenges to satisfaction and the contrast with ordinary life.
Practical implications
The implications for fire and rescue service organizations are that they can encourage firefighters’ commitment and pride, as well as the commitment and support of their families and main employers. Further, highlighting the importance of support and facilitating flexibility when on call is crucial. Finally, acknowledging and promoting personal development and facilitating an inclusive culture are important factors for both motivation and satisfaction.
Originality/value
Paid PTFs are under-represented in the literature, despite the reliance on them in Sweden, and this study begins to address the knowledge gap. To improve retention, it is vital to understand paid PTFs work situation: what motivates them, what barriers they face, and how those challenges influence their experiences.
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Image-based researchers have previously noted the failure of institutional ethics guidelines and frameworks to adequately address the issues and methodologies used in visual…
Abstract
Image-based researchers have previously noted the failure of institutional ethics guidelines and frameworks to adequately address the issues and methodologies used in visual research, citing a need for more creative and flexible approaches. Screen scholars work with traditional (non-visual) data sources, human subjects, visual data, and colleagues. This produces a range of ethical issues which are not addressed by institutional frameworks, based as they are on individualism and utilitarian ideals. Drawing on the ideas of Johann Neem and Savannah Dodd, this chapter suggests the need to shift our research practices towards a more collective, reflective, and empathetic mode of working.
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Tracy A. Smith-Carrier, Sarah Benbow, Andrea Lawlor and Andrea O'Reilly
The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of parents who have full professorial positions (in faculties of engineering and nursing) in universities in Ontario…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of parents who have full professorial positions (in faculties of engineering and nursing) in universities in Ontario, Canada, with a particular focus on the ways in which gender shapes professors' parenting experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
We employ a case study methodology involving quantitative and qualitative data collected from a survey emailed to full professors in Ontario.
Findings
Data from the study reveal that numerous strategies, resources (e.g. informal social support networks, supportive partners) and institutional supports (i.e. pausing the tenure clock after child birth) are required to assist academics to meet the extensive demands of their positions, while they perform caregiving responsibilities for their children.
Research limitations/implications
The protected ground of family status is inconsistently applied in Canadian human rights policy, considerably reducing its transformative potential. Yet, while family status gains greater recognition in rights-based practice, we argue that it be added to forthcoming institutional equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) action plans across post-secondary institutions to better ensure equity for mothers who shoulder significant paid and unpaid work responsibilities.
Originality/value
While there is literature on parenting in academia, family status is rarely featured as an intersection of interest in EDI research. This article aims to fill this gap.
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Patsy E. Johnson and Susan J. Scollay
School‐based, decision‐making councils were studied as vertical teams, groups of individuals who share a common purpose but operate on different levels from different role…
Abstract
School‐based, decision‐making councils were studied as vertical teams, groups of individuals who share a common purpose but operate on different levels from different role perspectives within the organization. These role perspectives were considered important determinants of the amount of conflict experienced by council members when conflict was considered to be a function of the bases of leader power of the principal and the social influence of the council members. Subjects were from 144 schools in Kentucky, representing the three school council constituencies: teachers, principals, and parents. Findings of the study revealed significant differences in the amount of conflict, power, and influence between the three council constituencies and a significant relationship between the amount of conflict and power and influence.
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Elizabeth Spradley and R. Tyler Spradley
This study extends work from home (WFH) literature by recasting WFH performances that emphasise agents’ manipulation of scene. Drawing on the dramatist paradigm, the study uses…
Abstract
This study extends work from home (WFH) literature by recasting WFH performances that emphasise agents’ manipulation of scene. Drawing on the dramatist paradigm, the study uses Burke’s pentadic criticism to code the social media application Pinterest’s ‘work from home’ and ‘home office’ pinboards for act, agent, agency, scene, and purpose. Pinterest is a social media application that users post pins (images with verbal tags and link to external sites, especially blog sites) and collect pins by subject on an electronic pinboard, which other users can like, follow, and share. Analysis of WFH pins reveals that the agent–scene ratio saturates pins emphasising the agency of WFH agents to control their scenes or home office spaces. The idealism of the agent–scene ratio in pins further demonstrates an unrealistic approach to popular culture’s shift to WFH and a romanticisation of WFH as idyllic working conditions. Scripts for employees and employers are explored to equip them with the rhetorical resources to more closely align their agent–scene ideals with the scene–agent realities.
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