Search results

The purpose of this paper is to present a model for supporting and increasing teachers’ reflection process.

The model is grounded in two concepts from variation theory: critical aspects and dimensions of variation. Those concepts are related to the concepts of reflection in-, on- and for-action. Analysis of data allows for determination of what kind of reflection is used in teachers’ professional development (PD) and the teachers’ perceptions of the relevance and usefulness of the PD.

The results show that, using the concepts of critical aspects and dimensions of variation, teachers practiced reflection in-, on- and for-action in a non-dualistic way.

The preliminary results confirm that the teachers change their behaviours, through reflection processes, if they have the opportunity to focus on the object of learning and to use research results found in mathematics education in order to open up dimensions of variation in the identified critical aspects.

The design of algebra modules, according to concepts from variation theory and the reflection process, is the main result of this study. The model used in creating the modules has the potential for supporting and increasing teachers’ reflection process.

A conceptual model of work practice evolution is proposed. The model is conceived as an intermediary between models of reflection, action at work and models of organisational teaching in the classroom. It considers work practices as evolving through confrontations between critical aspects, action in context, reflections in-, on- and for-action. The author advocate that the use of the presented methodology is not only inevitable but also vital to improve teachers’ PD.

Learning is the main‐stream function in the school. Just as the function of teaching is to facilitate learning, the function of administration is to facilitate teaching. Good administration is concerned with stimulating and motivating good teaching. The term “supervision” is commonly used to denote administration of instruction and instructional personnel. A major facet of supervision is that of teacher evaluation—a complex and difficult process in which the establishment of criteria of effectiveness, the development of valid, reliable instruments and techniques and the assessment of cause and effect is invariably influenced by personal perceptions, biases and interpretations. Research on teacher effectiveness, which includes thousands of studies, has produced few, if any, facts to guide us. It is doubtful that visits by an inspector have had much effect in improving teaching. Perhaps too much of our time and resources arc being applied ineffectually. If formal evaluation or rating of teachers must take place it is best performed by supervisors with skills in particular areas. Certainly we should not thrust the task of teacher evaluation on the principal, for whom the task of organizing and overseeing the operation and development of a school is extensive enough to take all his time, ability and effort.

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether oral feedback by inspectors of the Dutch Inspectorate of Education is an adequate method to support the professional development of teachers in primary education. This study aims to examine the impact of short feedback training for inspectors (focused on effective feedback conversations) on feedback quality and on teachers ' feedback perception. In addition, it aims to study the relation between immediate perception and the delayed perception of that feedback.

In an independent sample experimental design, 15 inspectors provided feedback to 40 teachers in primary education. Nine inspectors received short feedback training (the experimental group), while six others did not receive this training (the control group).

The results indicate that feedback provided by trained inspectors can foster professional development of teachers in primary education and that short feedback training has added value. The quality of the feedback by inspectors was related to teachers ' immediate perception of the feedback and the delayed perception of the feedback.

A limitation of this study is the small group of inspectors and the limited number of feedback conversations they could provide. Further research could be aimed at examining the impact of feedback of trained inspectors on the professional development of underperforming teachers.

This paper contributes to research that examines effective ways to use feedback conversations in workplace settings for the professional development of teachers.

This paper argues that in a well-organised school with strong leadership and vision coupled with a concerted effort to improve the teaching performance of each teacher, student achievement can be enhanced. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that while macro-effect sizes such as “whole of school” metrics are useful for school leaders in their professional development roles, there are important micro-conditions that can be uncovered in a more detailed analysis of student achievement data.

Evidence of student achievement in a variety of standardised and non-standardised assessment tasks was subjected to examination in a post hoc, case study design. The assessment tasks were the South Australian Spelling Test Waddington Reading Test, a school-wide diagnostic writing task, teacher running records and National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy. Performance in selected classrooms was compared on these tests utilising a variety of parametric quantitative statistics.

School-based reform initiatives require external criteria on which to base decision making. Without such criteria based on data and the capacity to interpret it, interactions in the school culture have unanticipated consequences that have the potential to neutralise school improvement strategies. Further, findings suggest that fewer but sharper and quicker data collection tools are more valuable in such teacher decision making, but these require expertise to produce and interpret them.

This paper provides insights from one school, but the reported data are embedded in a sustained five year school reform programme.

This paper documents a whole school organisational reform model devised by a school head and leadership team to improve student academic performance. The paper offers a process for developing a data-based school reform strategy for professional development to enhance both student achievement and school outcomes.

The paper outlines a model for school reform that is focused on all students increasing their academic outcomes. By emphasising collaborative teacher work based on research-justified teaching approaches, the model shows that social inequalities can be reversed.

The paper outlines a whole of school reform model focused through a combination of distributed leadership, data-driven decision making, within a context of a coaching, mentoring and feedback regime for teachers. Together this model is an application of theoretical ideas to school reform.

This chapter examines the problem of teacher education as it unfolds in the Indian context. It focuses on the historical and cultural context in which teachers’ attitudes and identities develop. Attention is particularly paid to contextual factors that frame teachers’ actions beyond individual intentions. Possibilities for breaking these frames and engaging in new alternatives for action are imagined. An historical approach is employed to understand teachers’ current pedagogical beliefs and action, and its future orientation.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to introduce MEDIA PROTECT, a multi-modal intervention for parents and teachers with six components preventing problematic, and in the long run addictive, use of screen media by children; second, to present results of a formative evaluation of the teacher training, an important component of the intervention.

In presenting the intervention, the authors used a common framework to describe complex interventions systematically. For the evaluation, participants were recruited from German schools and kindergarten for a cluster-controlled trial. As part of a formative evaluation, the participants completed written questionnaires to determine the importance of different components of the intervention in addition to their overall satisfaction. Additional qualitative interviews with teachers were conducted.

The authors recruited n=50 kindergartens and n=9 schools; n=30 received the intervention. N=222 teachers participated in the training and n=192 completed the questionnaire (86 per cent). Seven qualitative interviews were conducted. Participants exhibited high levels of overall satisfaction with the training, considered it moderately to highly relevant to their work, and exhibited varying satisfaction levels with different components and multipliers. The qualitative data support these findings.

Few interventions to date have pursued a universal approach to the prevention of problematic screen media use. This evaluation of MEDIA PROTECT is the most recent study in Germany, which involves a complex programme through which teachers are taught ways to promote the age-adequate use of screen media in the family, parents are provided with guidance and healthy leisure time activities for children are fostered.

The design of the ISBA project was guided by an analysis of the SBA theory of action, its likely effect on educators’ work across levels of the educational hierarchy, and prior research on the impact of SBA policies on teachers’ work. We begin placing our work in the context of theoretical accounts of school organizations and the occupational norms of teaching.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the variations in the ways that principals conceptualize their basis of power in schools.

Phenomenography was used as the research method of this study. The interviewees consisted of 16 principals, eight from public schools and eight from private schools.

The analysis of the interviews revealed eight ways of understanding a principal’s power basis. These potential power bases were: teachers’ sense of reciprocity; teachers’ sense of responsibility; organizational rules and regulations; principals’ deep knowledge and experience; in-service training; principals’ reputation for being fair and impartial; teachers’ sense of identification with their principal; and principals’ control over teachers’ employment. Participants from public and private schools held generally similar conceptions. The conception of in-service training remained limited to private school principals. The power basis of principals’ control over teachers’ employment was not emphasized but could still be perceived as a conception in certain statements by participants.

Coercive power and legitimate power of reciprocity need to be investigated more thoroughly in the field of educational administration.

There is an urgent need for training for principals to raise their awareness of the adverse effect that coercive power has on teachers.

This study is the first known to explore variations in the ways that principals conceptualize their power basis.

This chapter reviews recent research regarding behavior interventions for young children. We first consider the implications of allowing maladaptive behavior to remain untreated in young children. The reasons that people may select for inaction are illustrated through a case example of an individual who manifested behavior problems that were allowed to continue through accommodations rather than being addressed through interventions. We then consider several examples of promising behavior interventions for very young children that can be carried out in home and preschool environments. Next, we review promising interventions that are appropriate for school-based settings. We conclude with the observation that while it is absolutely necessary to deal with urgent situations evoked by maladaptive behavior, it is critical to keep sight of the goal that we should always work to promote more mature, self-regulated, and acceptable behaviors across settings.