Search results
1 – 10 of over 18000
This paper aims to explore the effect of teacher–student collaboration on academic innovation in universities in different stages of collaboration.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the effect of teacher–student collaboration on academic innovation in universities in different stages of collaboration.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on collaboration life cycle, this paper divided teacher–student collaboration into initial, growth and mature stages to explore how teacher–student collaboration affects academic innovation.
Findings
Collecting data from National Science Foundation of China, the empirical analysis found that collaboration increases the publication of local (Chinese) papers at all stages. However, teacher–student collaboration did not significantly improve the publication of international (English) papers in the initial stage. In the growth stage, teacher–student collaboration has a U-shaped effect on publishing English papers, while its relationship is positive in the mature stage.
Practical implications
The results offer suggestions for teachers and students to choose suitable partners and also provide some implications for improving academic innovation.
Originality/value
This paper constructed a model in which the effect of teacher–student collaboration on academic innovation in universities was established.
Details
Keywords
Nina Lotte Bohm, Renate G. Klaassen, Ellen van Bueren and Perry den Brok
In collaboration with their home cities, universities increasingly develop courses in which students investigate urban sustainability challenges. This paper aims to understand how…
Abstract
Purpose
In collaboration with their home cities, universities increasingly develop courses in which students investigate urban sustainability challenges. This paper aims to understand how far-reaching the collaboration with urban stakeholders in these courses is and what students are meant to learn from the transdisciplinary pedagogies.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is designed as a qualitative multiple-case study into the intentions of transdisciplinary courses in which universities collaborate with their home cities: Delft University of Technology in Delft and Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions in Amsterdam. The study compares the written intentions of eight courses in course descriptions with the ideal intentions that teachers describe in interviews.
Findings
First, seven of the eight investigated courses were designed for urban stakeholders to participate at a distance or as a client but rarely was a course intended to lead to a collaborative partnership between the city and students. Second, the metacognitive learning objectives, such as learning to deal with biases and values of others or getting to know one’s strengths and weaknesses in collaboration, were often absent in the course descriptions. Learning objectives relating to metacognition are at the heart of transdisciplinary work, yet when they remain implicit in the learning objectives, they are difficult to teach.
Originality/value
This paper presents insight into the levels of participation intended in transdisciplinary courses. Furthermore, it shows the (mis)alignment between intended learning objectives in course descriptions and teachers’ ideals. Understanding both the current state of transdisciplinarity in sustainability courses and what teachers envision is vital for the next steps in the development of transdisciplinary education.
Details
Keywords
Waheed Hammad, Yara Yasser Hilal and Mehmet Şükrü Bellibaş
Research has provided powerful evidence that what teachers do in the classroom matters most for the learning of students. Evidence also suggests that school leaders can make a…
Abstract
Purpose
Research has provided powerful evidence that what teachers do in the classroom matters most for the learning of students. Evidence also suggests that school leaders can make a significant difference to student learning via their influence on teachers' attitudes, beliefs and classroom practices. The purpose of this study was to examine if/how principal instructional leadership practices affect differentiated instruction in Omani schools, and understand the role that teacher collaboration and self-efficacy play in this dynamic.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze data collected from a sample of 496 teachers working in public schools in Muscat, Oman.
Findings
The findings revealed no direct association between principal instructional leadership and differentiated instruction. Instead, the effects of principal instructional leadership on differentiated instruction were achieved indirectly through the mediation of teacher collaboration and teacher self-efficacy. Collaboration was also found to have a positive influence on the teachers' self-efficacy beliefs.
Originality/value
The significance of this study stems from its relevance to the educational developments unfolding not only in Oman, but in the Gulf region at large. Recent reviews of educational administration and leadership research in the Gulf states indicate the scarcity of empirical research investigating the relationship between principal leadership and teacher practices. This is problematic as it creates a gap in our knowledge of the factors that can support ongoing school improvement initiatives in the region. More specifically, we expect our findings to guide current educational reforms aimed at raising education quality via promoting effective teaching and learning in Omani schools.
Details
Keywords
Sookweon Min, Marsha E. Modeste, Jason Salisbury and Peter T. Goff
The purpose of this paper is to examine what school leadership practices are associated with a school’s level of instructional collaboration among school professionals and also…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine what school leadership practices are associated with a school’s level of instructional collaboration among school professionals and also investigates what school characteristics are linked to the level of instructional collaboration in a school.
Design/methodology/approach
This study drew data from the Comprehensive Assessment of Leadership for Learning (CALL) survey. CALL is a multi-source measure of distributed leadership, comprised of five domains of school leadership practices. Responses from 3,767 teachers and 167 administrators working at 129 schools were analyzed using ordinary least squares regression analysis.
Findings
The findings show that there are significant relationships between school leadership practices and the extent of instructional collaboration taking place within schools, both in terms of quantity and quality. In particular, school leadership practices that are closely related to facilitating instruction and allocating resources are associated with a school’s instructional collaboration, whereas a leadership practice related to environmental factors tends not to be significantly correlated with a school’s collaborative culture. This study also found that leadership perspectives on instructional collaboration are an important predictor of both quantity and quality of collaboration among school professionals.
Originality/value
This study clarifies the importance of school leadership in a collaborative culture and also provides empirical evidence of what specific practices of school leadership predict the frequencies of professional collaborative activities in school as well as their quality. In addition, this study demonstrates how schools’ contextual factors are related to the level of instructional collaboration among professionals.
Details
Keywords
Tanja Webs and Heinz Günter Holtappels
Teacher collaboration is regarded as a central feature of school quality that promotes students’ learning processes, teachers’ professional development, and school improvement…
Abstract
Purpose
Teacher collaboration is regarded as a central feature of school quality that promotes students’ learning processes, teachers’ professional development, and school improvement. Although the phenomenon is complex, studies often use global constructs and measures. To meet the research demands, the purpose of this paper is to take a differentiated perspective on teacher collaboration, its particular school conditions and effects on instructional development.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected through a survey of 1,105 teachers at 36 secondary schools in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). Using multivariate analysis of variance and structural equation modeling, the occurrence of three different forms of teacher collaboration and their relations to activities of instructional development, structural and cultural working conditions, represented by appropriate scales and indexes, are analyzed.
Findings
The results show that teachers use less resource-intensive forms of collaboration more often and practice more demanding forms of collaboration less frequently. More demanding forms of collaboration not only depend on the working climate but also on individual self-efficacy, institutionalized teams, collaborative and instructional principal leadership and in turn promote the development of interdisciplinary curricula and concepts for individual support.
Originality/value
This study provides evidence for the importance of distinguishing different forms of teacher collaboration. Furthermore, by relating different collaborative activities of teachers to certain school conditions and instructional development, this study makes a contribution to research by emphasizing the relativity of teacher collaboration regarding its desired outcomes as well as its necessary requirements.
Details
Keywords
Regina R. Umpstead, Nicole L. Hacker and Emmanuel E. Akanwa
The authors of this study examined how four leadership teams participating in a year-long deeper learning leadership academy understood and adapted key practices for change…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors of this study examined how four leadership teams participating in a year-long deeper learning leadership academy understood and adapted key practices for change leadership, deeper learning and equity in their PK-12 schools.
Design/methodology/approach
This multiple-site case study used interviews, observations and documents to investigate how four school leadership teams developed deeper learning initiatives in their schools.
Findings
This study highlights how participants recast the leadership academy’s three pillars (change leadership, deeper learning and equity) as they engaged in educational reform for ambitious teaching and learning in their own contexts. Three themes emerged: transforming the culture, teaching the whole child and restructuring for collaboration. Overall, the authors found that district leaders must be fully committed to deeper learning for the culture to truly be transformed in schools under their purview.
Originality/value
This article contributes to the literature on supporting school leaders to enact equity-centered deeper learning initiatives using robust professional development. It is useful for understanding key deeper learning strategies and designing future training.
Details
Keywords
Semiyu Aderibigbe, Donald S. Gray and Laura Colucci-Gray
Mentoring is widely recognised as an effective strategy for supporting the professional learning of teachers and student teachers across different educational contexts. Yet, its…
Abstract
Purpose
Mentoring is widely recognised as an effective strategy for supporting the professional learning of teachers and student teachers across different educational contexts. Yet, its effectiveness in initial teacher education (ITE) may be more widely conceived to take account of mentoring as a cultural practice, contributing to a change of professional learning habits and relationships towards collegiate and collaborative reflexivity. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of mentoring experiences between teachers and student teachers, how these are embedded within the established professional learning culture of the school and the opportunities for mentoring to affect professional learning.
Design/methodology/approach
Set within the context of a teacher education reform project in Scotland, involving student teachers, mentors and university tutors, the study adopted a critical constructivist theory stance to explore mentoring relationships. A sequential mixed methods approach informed the collection and analysis of data.
Findings
Quantitative data point to a diversity of experiences of mentoring amongst teachers and student teachers. Qualitative data provide a nuanced account of participants’ views of their mentoring experiences, pointing to opportunities for revisiting assumptions about learning in the classroom as well as questioning established professional learning patterns.
Practical implications
The authors conclude that mentoring relationships cannot be disentangled from a critical interrogation of the modes of relationships and values supporting professional learning in ITE. Practical implications centre upon preparation and resources to develop mentoring as a tool for learning, embedded within the professional culture of the school.
Originality/value
This study reframes the concept of mentoring as a practice that does not simply reinforce professional expectations but seeks to redefine teacher professional learning, pedagogy and social relationships in school contexts.
Details
Keywords
Both Hong Kong and Singapore leverage teacher collaboration to improve student learning, but state reforms differ in how teacher collaborative capabilities are prioritized. This…
Abstract
Purpose
Both Hong Kong and Singapore leverage teacher collaboration to improve student learning, but state reforms differ in how teacher collaborative capabilities are prioritized. This paper provides a nuanced comparison of Hong Kong and Singapore teachers' values (risk-taking, power distance and uncertainty avoidance) to develop insights into how different policy focuses cultivate teachers' capabilities to focus on improving student learning.
Design/methodology/approach
Employing Hargreaves and Fullan's (2012) concept of professional capital, statistical analyses determine teachers' values profiles of high, medium and low professional capital in the respective contexts. Leveraging related research on Singapore teachers (Lee and Lee, 2018), nuances in teachers' values in the Hong Kong results are identified via cluster analysis and explained via structural equation modelling.
Findings
Medium professional capital Hong Kong teachers' values matched Singapore's, but teachers in other clusters are nuanced. Compared to Singapore teachers with similar levels of professional capital, high professional capital Hong Kong teachers have higher uncertainty avoidance, while low professional capital teachers are the opposite. In Hong Kong, high uncertainty avoidance values positively influence teacher leadership and focus on student learning. Nevertheless, as with their Singapore counterparts, high professional capital Hong Kong teachers have low power distance and high risk-taking values.
Originality/value
This paper raises awareness regarding policy's influence in cultivating teachers' values and their transformational change capabilities. By comparing two hierarchical Chinese societies, the discussion questions whether Chinese and Western cultural influences are mutually exclusive, and whether transformational change in cultural values, if achievable, is necessary.
Details
Keywords
Ryann N. Shelton, Rachelle Meyer Rogers and Trena L. Wilkerson
The purpose of this study was to explore middle and secondary mathematics preservice teachers' (PST) perceptions of the benefits, challenges and impacts of implementing lesson…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to explore middle and secondary mathematics preservice teachers' (PST) perceptions of the benefits, challenges and impacts of implementing lesson study.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a single case study in the university context. Embedded units of analysis included a group of middle and a group of secondary mathematics PSTs, who were in the internship year of a teacher preparation program.
Findings
This paper presents several perceived benefits, challenges and impacts according to PSTs. PSTs indicated benefits included their focused student observations and their collaboration in lesson design. Perceived challenges included observing as a nonparticipant observer and aspects of planning. The different impacts occurred in three phases: planning, observing during teaching and reflection.
Research limitations/implications
First, the study participants included a small group of middle and secondary mathematics PSTs from one university in central Texas. Second, the PSTs in this study were not able to reteach the lesson, which may have influenced their perceptions.
Practical implications
Mathematics teacher educators could use insights from this study as they implement lesson study or other field experiences to support PSTs in their growth as mathematics teachers.
Originality/value
This paper examines PSTs' perceptions, which could benefit mathematics teacher educators as they consider how to introduce or implement lesson study with PSTs.
Details
Keywords
Rural schools have typically been strong on community but weak on professional learning. Their small size and geographical isolation have meant that much of the recent reform…
Abstract
Rural schools have typically been strong on community but weak on professional learning. Their small size and geographical isolation have meant that much of the recent reform movement focused on professional learning communities has passed them by. But there is no reason why rural educators cannot participate in professional learning networks (PLNs) and benefit from heightened levels of collegiality that can be experienced across schools. However, intentional design for deeper collaborative work and face-to-face connection is necessary for PLN members to reap the benefits from increased professional capital and teacher leadership opportunities. This chapter describes the work of the Northwest Rural Innovation and Student Engagement (NW RISE) network in the United States. NW RISE brings together rural educators in gatherings that take place every six months, helps them to form “job-alike” groups focused on academic subject matter or cross-contextual themes, and provides support for shared curriculum design. This chapter describes how rural educators have seized upon the resources in NW RISE to promote student engagement and to develop their professional capacity across the network’s schools.
Details