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Motivational self-views, such as growth mindset—the belief that abilities are malleable—and mastery goal orientation—the drive to focus on learning—predict positive academic achievement. Interventions to promote these self-views lead to greater achievement, but only when students have a supportive learning environment that can cultivate the growth of these self-views. Therefore, a better understanding of which aspects of the learning environment help shape motivational self-views is needed. The current study extends previous research by examining both observed teacher practices and students’ self-reported perceptions of the teacher and classroom environment to identify which aspects of the learning environment foster positive self-views. Multilevel Bayesian analyses of 495 6th and 7th graders nested within 17 teachers indicated that it is the students’ perceptions of their learning environment, not the objective learning-oriented practices, that foster positive self-views. This suggests that more work is needed to understand what influences students’ perceptions and how teachers can more effectively create a learning environment that fosters positive self-views in students.

Coaching is an increasingly used professional development approach involving ongoing, individualized teacher-coach exchanges hypothesized to drive immediate changes in teachers’ practices with students. Examining this hypothesis, the present study quantifies marginal changes after individual coaching cycles in a set of commonly considered, high-quality teacher practices using a teacher fixed effects approach. It draws on panel data from 169 early childhood educators participating in a 9-month coaching intervention using the MyTeachingPartner approach intended to improve practices outlined in the Teaching Through Interactions framework. Results indicated that emotional support and classroom organization practices improved immediately after any coaching cycle, whereas others, like instructional support and literacy focus practices, only changed after cycles focused on those specific practices. Some immediate postcycle differences in practices endured over time, whereas others dissipated quickly.

This study is aimed at investigating the level of teacher-written feedback self-efficacy among Malaysian secondary school teachers and the influence of teachers’ age, gender, qualifications and teaching experiences on their written feedback self-efficacy. Bandura (1986) had mentioned that of all the different aspects of self-knowledge, none is more influential in people’s everyday lives than their personal self-efficacy. People with a high level of selfefficacy expect favourable outcomes, while those who doubt themselves expect mediocre performance, which results in negative outcomes. This research examined the impact of self-efficacy on teacher-written feedback in formative assessment. Self-efficacy is very important to determine how teacher-written feedback is placed in their formative assessment. One hundred sixty-six English language teachers in Selangor participated in this research by completing the survey. This current research reveals that secondary schools’ English teachers’ self-efficacy of teacher-written feedback was mostly unrelated to their demographic factors. The results have shown that there was no significant difference among Malaysian secondary school teachers in relation to their qualification, teaching experience and level of training in written feedback self-efficacy.

Limited research has explored mothers’ perceptions of teachers’ pedagogical practices that may or may not support the learning and development of their child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Mo...

Teachers’ pedagogical practices have been consistently highlighted either as a support, or as a barrier, to girls’ science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) engagement. Research suggests that teachers can display forms of gender bias during STEM experiences, such as unintentionally favouring boys in STEM participation. Investigation into early childhood and primary STEM education highlights teacher professional development as a priority, with a key focus on the awareness of gender issues. This study explores whether and how the STEM practices of early childhood teachers change and develop towards supporting girls’ STEM engagement through Conceptual PlayWorlds as a model of practice. Through an educational experiment, the study design involved professional development workshops introducing teachers to the Conceptual PlayWorld model for the intentional teaching of STEM, with ideas on how to engage girls through the five characteristics of a Conceptual PlayWorld. Interview responses of seven teachers and one assistant principal regarding their experience of teaching STEM through Conceptual PlayWorlds are analysed in line with the cultural-historical approach. Findings highlight the teachers’ developing consciousness regarding girls’ STEM engagement through participation in the professional development workshops and Conceptual PlayWorlds, creating a shift in their teaching practices towards becoming more agentic in actively engaging girls with STEM. It is argued that while increasing teachers’ consciousness informed and transformed their STEM practices, leading to teacher development, further relevant and meaningful professional development opportunities are required to support early childhood teachers in positioning STEM as a truly welcoming and inclusive space for girls.

Preliminary evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has created new opportunities for assessment as teachers reconsidered instructional goals in technology-intensive and hybridized learning conditions. However, our understanding of how formative assessment (FA) was affected by the pandemic is very limited. This study aims to explore middle-high school mathematics teachers’ from different SES schools' use of FA practices before and during the COVID-19 period and, in the future, to identify what we can learn from teachers who successfully applied FA practices in their classrooms. First, we will survey teachers regarding shifts in FA instruments and processes most frequently used in classroom practice. Second, we will interview teachers to understand these shifts and investigate FA strategies teachers consider most effective. The interviews will include examples of assessment tools brought by the teachers. Third, we will summarize the commonalities and differences in FA between the different SES, and the FA strategies that show the most promise for wider use. We will distribute the findings in a form of a kit that includes a written explanation of the findings and a short video with subtitles in Hebrew and Arabic that will summarize the best assessment practices for every SES.

PurposeThe paper discusses the influence of instructional leadership on effective teacher teaching practices and learning outcomes. In particular, the paper examines one of the instructional leadership practices, namely teaching evaluation, and seeks to investigate the influence on the effective teacher practices and on the achievement of 6th grade primary school students studying mathematics in the Cyprus educational system.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative research approach was deemed appropriate and employed for the purpose of the research subject, and in particular for the type of questions studied. Data were collected from 81 principals, 139 6th grade teachers and 1,553 students in the Cyprus educational system. In addition, data analysis was performed using structural equation models (SEM).FindingsThe instructional leadership approach assumes that principal evaluations influence high learning outcomes. Findings demonstrated that the principal evaluation has a positive and statistically significant impact on effective teaching practices and student achievement.Originality/valueIt is important to acknowledge that in the Cyprus educational leadership field the corellation among the instructional leadership, the effective teaching practices of teachers and the students achievements were not examined through the above parameters. Furthermore, the survey provided important insights into the principals, teachers, pupils and, more generally, on Cyprus's educational policy.

The current emphasis on data-based decision-making ties discussions of accountability, school improvement and educational reform to the notion that gathering and using evidence addresses questions ...

Music curriculum programmes are designed by English Music teachers in schools as the primary means of musical engagement for young people aged 11–14. Such Music curricula are often structured in learning topics. However, Music teacher rationales for the sequencing of the topics they have chosen to include in their curriculum is an under-developed area of music education research literature. This study seeks to examine teacher practices in this domain through a comparative case study of nine English secondary school teachers using Think Aloud Protocols to uncover sequencing practices. The findings are analysed using the Friedman ANOVA statistical test and eyeball analysis of teacher curriculum formulations. Theorising from these results facilitated the development of a teacher model of curriculum processing, and illuminated hidden practices in curriculum design.

Emerging research shows teachers and architects perceive higher numbers of affordances for learning in innovative learning environments (ILEs) than in traditional classrooms. Yet, offering ILEs alone will not bring about significant changes to teacher practices nor students’ learning experiences. Supporting teachers to perceive and utilise spaces that offer multiple activity settings, such as afforded by ILEs, is important in eliciting pedagogical change. This research explored the development of strategies intended to support teachers to actualise the affordances of ILEs, i.e. take advantage of new learning spaces for effective teaching and learning. An innovative methodological pairing of Participatory Action Research (PAR) and Co-design was employed to explore teachers’ instructional practice development in relation to new learning spaces. The study uncovered insights into current and future practices, where teacher participants planned, enacted, and reflected upon their pedagogical strategies. It was found that empowering teachers to actualise ILE affordances involved generating communities of practice that provided them with the ‘time and space’ to collectively develop their practice.

This paper reports the findings of a meta-synthesis of studies which investigated the ways in which teachers described their pedagogical practices in three different contexts: the Maldives, Austral...

The study intended to explore whether and to what extent principal learning-centred leadership influences teacher practices, with the mediating role of teacher beliefs and teacher professional lear...

Contains fulltext : 231541.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) To ease the transition to university, preparation in secondary school is often seen as a first step. This study investigated longitudinal relationships between teacher practices in secondary education (i.e., emotional support, autonomy support, and student-centred teacher practices) and first-year students' academic achievement and social and emotional adjustment at university. We focused on students' perceptions of their teachers' practices to, on the one hand, take individual differences into account and, on the other hand, to investigate differences in teacher practices between schools. In a three-wave longitudinal study, 235 students were followed from their final year of secondary school to the end of the first year at university. The results indicated that teacher practices related to students' social and emotional adjustment across the transition to university, but not to their academic achievement. Specifically, we found that perceived teachers' emotional support was related to students' social adjustment at university whereas autonomy support was associated with emotional adjustment. Differences in teacher practices between schools were quite small. This study indicated that teachers in secondary education might play a pivotal role in preparing students for university. This role goes beyond preparing students for academic achievement, as teachers may have a long-term impact on first-year students' social and emotional adjustment. 19 p.

Teaching practice is an action of the teachers and the students who are contributing together in the elaboration of knowledge in the classroom. This practice has an important scientific interest for school success, quality and efficiency of teaching. The objective of our work is to evaluate teaching practices in learning situations in order to ensure a good quality of teaching in Moroccan schools. An exploratory survey was conducted during the 2019-2020 about classroom practices for 50 qualified high school physical chemistry sciences teachers recruited from 10 public schools in Kenitra. The results of our study showed that the practices adopted by the teachers are numerous and their uses change from one teacher to another, each practice has specific effects that allow the teacher to select effective and appropriate methods to achieve each effect, in order to regulate the learning of students, improve their levels and evolve the teaching and learning process, in fact the evaluation of teacher practices plays a very important role in detecting problems encountered by teachers during a teaching and learning situation.

Bu nitel arastirmada amac, okul oncesi siniflarda ogretmenler tarafindan kullanilan erken okuryazarlik materyallerini ve ogretmenlerin erken okuryazarlik ogretimiyle ilgili uygulamalarini incelemektir. Bu nitel arastirmanin katilimcilari, Turkiye'nin Usak ilindeki 22 devlet okulunda gorev yapan 52 okul oncesi ogretmenidir. Siniflardaki materyalleri incelemek icin Erken Okuryazarlik Materyal Kontrol Formu kullanilmis ve ogretmenlerin uygulamalarini anlamak icin yari yapilandirilmis gorusme formu ile birebir gorusmeler yapilmistir. Bu calismanin sonuclarinda, okul oncesi siniflarinda yeterli miktarda ve turde erken okuryazarlik materyallerinin bulundurulmadigi ve bu becerilerinin gelisimi icin secilen etkinliklerin yeterli olmadigi ortaya cikmistir. Etkili bir okuryazarlik ortaminin varligi, kitap cesitliligi ve sinif icerisinde farkli ve ilginc gorsellerin yer almasi gibi konularda eksiklikler oldugu belirlenmistir. Ogretmenlerin genellikle matematik etkinlikleri yaptiklari ve cocuklarin erken okuryazarlik becerilerini gelistirmelk icin cizgi calismalari yaptiklari belirlenmistir. Etkinliklerin uygulanmasinda en cok kullanilan yontem kitaplarin ve / veya calisma sayfalarinin kullanilmasidir. Bu bulgulara dayanarak, erken okuryazarlik becerilerini desteklemek icin alternatif yollar ve erken okuryazarlik materyallerine ve sinif uygulamalarina daha fazla vurgu yapan egitim programlarinin yurutulmesi onerilmektedir.

This study investigated teachers’ reported practices of teaching culture in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms from the perspective of their approaches to student diversity. Specificall...

We studied how the distal policy mechanisms of curricular aims and objectives articulated in official curriculum documents influenced classroom instruction, and the factors that were associated wit...

This article discusses the impact of a professional learning activity called the Principals as Literacy Leaders (PALL) program on the capacity of school leaders to engage, involve, and support teachers and their school communities to develop a shared moral purpose for making their school more effective in assisting students to become more able readers. It uses data collected from participants in the PALL program together with case study data collected from five Tasmanian schools to analyse the actions by school leaders to develop a shared moral purpose related to facilitating higher levels of student learning in reading. The study shows that school leaders felt more capable in their ability to lead their schools after completing the program and that the development of a shared moral purpose led to improved teaching practices and higher levels of student engagement, students’ ability to talk about their learning, and better achievement in reading.

The use of a pedagogical practice known as ‘differentiation’ has become more common over time as educators have sought to respond to increases in the diversity of students enrolling in their local school. However, there are now so many misperceptions and definitional inconsistencies that it is difficult to know what is being enacted in the name of differentiation or indeed what is being researched internationally. The aim of this scoping review was to identify key characteristics of and conceptualisations within peer-reviewed empirical research on differentiation published between1999 and 2019, as well as to map the ways in which this body of research was produced. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were used to inform a systematic screening process and resulted in a final sample of 34 articles focusing on differentiation in regular schools. Half were conducted in the United States and most in the elementary school phase. Survey and case study designs were dominant, as was research of and influences on teacher practice. Only a small group of studies focused on differentiation’s impact on student outcomes and these typically only examined specific elements of differentiation or its use in specific academic domains. The diversity of focus and methodological approaches across the 34 studies prevents comparison of findings and weakens the evidential basis to make claims of either differentiation’s effectiveness or indeed its ineffectiveness. The review concludes with recommendations for future research and practice in this important area of practice.

It is expected that teacher practices could improve students’ emotional state by encouraging the endorsement of adaptive goals. However, the mediation effect of achievement goals in the relationshi...

This multiple case study explores how two middle school social studies teachers enact a district mandated unit on the Islamic Empire. Using Cunningham’s division of influences on teacher practices,...

Differentiated instruction (DI) addresses academic diversity in order to maximise learning. Although it is theorised as both a philosophy and as a praxis of teaching, it is rarely measured as such. This study examines teacher profiles on differentiated instruction relating to their philosophy and self-reported praxis. The data stem from an exploratory study on differentiated instruction, which served the purpose of creating a valid instrument to measure teachers’ philosophy and teaching approaches relating to academic differences in interests, readiness and learning profiles, namely the DI-Quest instrument. The results reveal three teacher profiles based on five DI-related factors. The patterns are almost identical in primary and in secondary education. Interestingly, if more frequent adaptations to students’ differences in interests, readiness and learning profile are what differentiated instruction aims for, both philosophical factors (namely growth mindset and ethical compass oriented to students) need to be present. Lacking one of these factors, will have less adaptations as a consequence. This study displays the predictive power of teachers’ philosophy about Differentiated Instruction for their daily classroom practices. Consequences for future research, professional development and teacher education are discussed in detail.

This paper examines the effects of instructional leadership on the change in teachers’ classroom practices, with the mediating role of shared practice and learning effectiveness. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design, using quantitative methods. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the data collected from 350 teachers in primary and secondary schools in various provinces of Turkey. The results provided evidence consistent with the previous research from western English-speaking societies, suggesting an indirect relationship between leadership and teachers’ instructional practices with the full mediation roles of shared practices among teachers and their sense of agency in learning effectiveness. This work concludes that teacher learning and collaborative practices among teachers, influenced by principals’ instructional practices, can facilitate a significant change in several diverse components of classroom instruction, such as the quality of grouping, questions, homework, instructional strategies and differentiated practices.

This investigation examined whether teacher practices, as measured by the Classroom Strategies Assessment System (CSAS), were associated with students’ proficiency and gain scores, as measured by the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP), in 13 high-poverty charter schools in New Jersey. Results from two-level hierarchical linear models, fitted to a sample of 2,188 Kindergarteners through eighth-grade students in 110 classrooms, revealed that instructional and behavior management strategies on the CSAS were associated with (a) MAP gains in mathematics but not in reading and (b) MAP Rasch Unit (RIT) (proficiency) scores in mathematics and reading. The relationship between CSAS scores and student achievement did not differ across grade levels. In general, students in classrooms with higher quality use of classroom strategies exhibited higher gains in mathematics and proficiency scores in mathematics and reading. Implications for research and educational practices are discussed.

Teachers of young learners often seek guidance on how best to engage and motivate their students. In this study, we aimed to document engaging teacher practices in the context of foreign language classes in Japanese elementary schools. We surveyed 16 public elementary school foreign language classes in western Japan using quantitative (questionnaire; external rating) and qualitative (naturalistic observation) tools grounded in self-determination theory. Classes were sorted into three groups of high, middle, and low teacher support based on student surveys, and observed for practices that influenced student engagement in each tercile. Results indicate that students are most responsive in classrooms involving teacher warmth and strictness, homeroom teacher involvement, appropriate pacing, instructional clarity, and a balance of activities. We offer descriptions of how these practices were employed, with implications for classroom practice and teacher training.

This study examined the stress and coping patterns of middle school teachers. A final teacher sample of 102 and student sample of 1450 agreed to participate in the study. We conducted a latent profile analysis of the teachers' self-reported levels of stress and coping at the beginning of the school year and used the resulting profiles to predict teacher practices and student outcomes over time. Nearly all teachers were characterized by high stress and high coping (66%) or high stress and low coping (28%). Based on concurrent ratings and observations, the High Stress/Low Coping profile had higher burnout and lower self-efficacy, higher rates of observed reprimands, and higher student-reported depression in comparison to the other classes. The most adaptive profile, Low Stress/High Coping (6% of sample), had lower burnout, greater parent involvement and higher student prosocial skills in comparison to the other groups. Profiles also predicted the maintenance of most of these effects and the increase of some effects over the school year. Examining stress and coping in combination can inform efforts to improve teacher well-being and have a positive influence on student learning environments.

As early childhood education programs in the United States increasingly serve a growing number of children from linguistically and culturally diverse families, understanding teacher practices to better serve these families continues to be an important focus for the profession. In programs that serve migrant farmworker families, little is known about teachers’ communication practices and ways in which teachers promote parent engagement with migrant farmworker families. This article explores the practices of teachers relevant to family communication and engagement in Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs, a branch of Head Start program for farmworker families, mostly of Mexican origin. This study used qualitative methods of in-depth interviews and a focus group to bring forth the perspectives and lived experience of Spanish-speaking and English-speaking teachers working with farmworker families in the Great Lakes region of the United States. Key findings illustrate the role of shared language and culture, mediated language barriers, the reliability of interpreters and written communication, and authentic ways of creating home–school connections with the migrant farmworker community.

This study examines the relationship between teacher quality and student achievement in Mathematics among Grade 4 pupils located in 91 urban primary schools and 181 rural primary schools in Kenya. ...

This paper reports on teacher practices in tablet-based Finnish one-to-one computing classrooms in grades 7-9. The aim of this study was to increase the understanding of teacher practices by illustrating and analysing the relations of power and control in Finnish teachers' one-to-one computing classrooms. The study applied methods based on classroom observations, photographs and audio recordings of the teachers' communication. Within the context of this study, the results indicate two theoretically distinct, but varying, forms of teaching practice. These teaching practices demonstrate contrasts with regard to how the classroom spaces were organised, including one-to-one computing, as well as the teacher-enacted communication with students. Based on how power and control either was retained by the teachers or distributed to the students, this paper highlight how different meanings were constructed in student learning.

Using portraiture methodology, this study features caring classroom experiences between Latina teen mothers and their teachers at an alternative school along the U.S./Mexico border. Classroom observations and in-depth interviews were conducted to piece together three classroom portraits which reveal the following: (a) authentically caring pedagogical interactions in the classrooms enabled Latina teen mothers to develop a pro-school ethos, and (b) these pedagogical interactions of care and support in the classroom were made possible within a caring schooling structure. This article contributes to the field of urban education by showcasing successes and effective practices in an urban setting.

Students master the methods of reasoning and argumentation in school mathematics when study theorems and their proofs. In studying theorems, students must learn to understand the essence of the theorem. For this, special work with the wording of the theorem is necessary. We believe that this work must contain: a) four mandatory stages; b) three stages for students who take a genuine interest in mathematics; c) stage for those who want to go further in learning mathematics. The aim of this study is to investigate the challenges in teacher practices during four mandatory stages; to reveal the obvious and hidden factors that affect student outcomes. For this study, a survey that involved 129 mathematics teachers across Ukraine was carried out. A standard closed ended questionnaire was developed. Several challenges were found in the area of students' motivation, and teachers' lack of understanding of how to most efficiently teach the wording of theorems. Factor analysis was used to analyze the results of the survey, and 10 variables were found to describe how teachers motivated students to learn theorems and taught the wording of theorems.

Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) education has become a top priority, particularly for low-income Latino students, who are vastly underrepresented in STEM fields, largely due to various inequities in the PK-20 pipeline (Villareal, Cabrera, & Friedrich, 2012). Implementing effective science instruction in preschool has been identified as a way to increase low-income Latino students’ participation in STEM (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). However, science in preschool classrooms is often nonexistent or not of high-quality (Nayfield et al, 2011; Tu, 2006). This lack of high-quality science in preschool is especially problematic for low-income Latino children, who already face challenges persisting in the STEM pipeline throughout their years of schooling. Research that centers around improving children’s early science learning focus mostly on children’s science experiences within the classroom, but there is little research that consider children’s culturally-based early science experiences within the home.This study investigated low-income Latino children’s early science experiences at home and at school. Using mixed-methods and an ecocultural (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Weisner, 2002)/ cultural communities (Rogoff 2003) perspective, this study examined and compared the early science learning beliefs/values and practices of low-income Latino parents of preschool children and their children’s preschool teachers. Both parents and teachers ranked science as one of the least important school readiness domains that children should learn about in preschool. Teachers also rated science the domain they felt least comfortable teaching. Teachers reported science as being difficult to teach due to various barriers (i.e. fixed mindset of their science teaching capabilities, issues with preschool program structure, and a belief that science is inappropriate for preschool children). Science was both a reported and documented area of weakness, as there were very few science-related activities/interactions and several “missed opportunities” for science-related talk, play, and exploration that were observed. This study provided a more detailed picture of two cultural communities (home and school) that impact children’s early science learning. An increased awareness of parents and teachers’ beliefs/values and practices, can aid in the improvement and development of effective, culturally adaptive, science curriculum and instruction that is informed by the beliefs/values and practices of children’s parents and teachers.

Despite the existence of a large body of research on pragmatic instruction, teachers’ beliefs about teaching and assessing pragmatic competence have received scant attention. The present study sought to investigate Persian-speaking EFL teachers’ beliefs and perceived knowledge about pragmatic instruction and assessment and their self-reported instructional practice. To achieve this aim, a questionnaire was administered to 204 EFL teachers and 30 of these teachers also participated in semi-structured interviews. The findings showed that even though the teachers were aware of the importance of pragmatics, they did not consider themselves highly competent in teaching the subject to learners or in the assessment of learners’ pragmatic abilities. The most frequent method they reported having used was pragmatic corrective feedback. Further, the teachers believed that their colleagues and institute directors also gave little weight to the improvement of learners’ pragmatic abilities, and they further argued that textbooks and exams, while containing some pragmatics-related sections, failed to enhance and measure learners’ pragmatic knowledge. These results have critical implications for teachers’ pragmatic awareness in their professional development and for the inclusion of more explicit pragmatic activities in textbooks.

Mobile augmented reality games (MARGs) can be leveraged for educational purposes, as there are several examples in the literature revealing their educational value. The supporting technologies for MARGs’ implementation in education are increasingly pervasive and popular, so it is time for their adoption in teacher practices. However, the integration of new practices in schools, with an impact on students’ learning, requires teacher training. For that, a 50 h workshop was con-ducted to promote the collaborative development of MARGs for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics learning, which was attended by 16 in-service teachers, in Portugal. The aim of this study is to propose a set of guidelines for teacher training on MARGs, emergent from the perspectives of teachers who participated in the workshop. This is a descriptive qualitative study focusing on documental analysis of the individual final reflections of the participating teachers. The results showed that the workshop answered teachers’ personal and professional needs, with an impact on their practices, in what concerns the integration of mobile and AR technology, and of games. Producing a new game during training and making it freely available for others to use seemed to be very satisfactory for teachers, and a good practice to follow. From teachers’ reflections, it was possible to propose a set of guidelines useful for international readership, both researchers and teacher trainers, who aim to conceive and develop continuous professional development initiatives for MARGs’ integration in teacher practices. This research was funded by FEDER-Fundo Europeu de Desevolvimento Regional funds through the COMPETE 2020-Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), and by Portuguese funds through FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, grant number PO-CI-01-0145-FEDER-016542, and the work of the second author is funded by national funds (OE), through University of Aveiro, in the scope of the framework contract foreseen in the numbers 4, 5 and 6 of the article 23, of the Decree-Law 57/2016, of August 29, changed by Law 57/2017, of July 19. published

This paper explores the relations between teacher beliefs and practices about the medium of instruction from the perspective of complex dynamic systems theory. Through a functional framework of teacher classroom discourse, mixed analytical models were adopted to fully describe the close interaction and non-linear relations between teacher beliefs and practices. Data were collected through classroom observations and semi-structured interviews from three college teachers working in a typical research-based university in northeast China. The findings revealed the complex and dynamic relations between teacher beliefs and practices about the medium of instruction. The consistency and inconsistency between the analysis of interviews and classroom observations represented the tensions and changes between teacher beliefs and practices about the medium of instruction. The study calls for attention to the socially situated and co-evolving relations between teacher beliefs and practices and how they develop with contextual affordances, attractor states, flexible goals, and high dependence on initial conditions.

The inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is increasing, but there have been no longitudinal studies of included students in Australia. Interview data reported in this study concern primary school children with ASD enrolled in mainstream classes in South Australia and New South Wales, Australia. In order to examine perceived facilitators and barriers to inclusion, parents, teachers, and principals were asked to comment on the facilitators and barriers to inclusion relevant to each child. Data are reported about 60 students, comprising a total of 305 parent interviews, 208 teacher interviews, and 227 principal interviews collected at 6-monthly intervals over 3.5 years. The most commonly mentioned facilitator was teacher practices. The most commonly mentioned barrier was intrinsic student factors. Other factors not directly controllable by school staff, such as resource limitations, were also commonly identified by principals and teachers. Parents were more likely to mention school- or teacher-related barriers. Many of the current findings were consistent with previous studies but some differences were noted, including limited reporting of sensory issues and bullying as barriers. There was little change in the pattern of facilitators and barriers identified by respondents over time. A number of implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed.

Student self-assessment practices are central to involving students in meaningful assessment-as-learning. While personal and psychological factors are known antecedents, little is known about proximal social contexts (e.g., teacher practices) as predictors of student self-assessment. This chapter presents the findings from a cross-sectional study that aimed to test the association between perceived teacher practices and students' self-assessment practices. Using data from 796 secondary school students, we used regression analyses to examine the link between three types of teaching practices (i.e., involved, structured, and autonomy-supportive) and student's four self-assessment actions (i.e., seeking external feedback by monitoring, seeking external feedback by inquiry, seeking internal feedback, and self-reflection). Results showed that involved teaching predicted self-assessment practices with small to medium effect sizes. Involved and autonomy-supportive teaching practices had medium effect sizes to self-reflection and seeking external feedback by monitoring, respectively, while structured teaching did not. These findings highlight the importance of teacher involvement and autonomy-support in promoting students' self-assessment.

Establishing a positive peer climate in the elementary school classroom is an important goal for educators. This pilot study examined if children’s liking and disliking of their classroom peers are predicted by teachers’ use of practices designed to address child disruptive behaviors that are off-putting to peers, and practices designed to enhance peer inclusivity. Whereas teacher practices to foster good peer relationships are useful for all students, they are particularly important for those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, as these children are often poorly regarded by classmates. Thus, we explored the moderating effect of child ADHD symptom status. Participants were 194 children (grades K-4) in the classrooms of 12 teachers. The teachers were helping our study team revise the Making Socially Accepting Inclusive Classrooms (MOSAIC) program for use in general education classrooms. The MOSAIC program contains a set of teacher strategies to encourage students’ increased liking and decreased disliking of one another, which was measured by sociometric ratings. Teachers’ use of MOSAIC strategies was observed and self-reported over a school year. Results indicated that teacher practices designed to improve children’s classroom behaviors, as well as practices that encouraged peers to be more inclusive, each predicted children receiving better sociometric ratings at the end of the year after accounting for ratings at the beginning of the year. Some practices appeared uniquely efficacious for children with elevated ADHD symptoms, whereas others were useful for all children but had accentuated benefits for typical children. Implications for practitioners are discussed.

The studies in the special series focus on the measurement of teacher practices and approaches for facilitating and evaluating school personnel’s use of data to inform instructional decisions that promote student achievement. In this commentary, the importance of conducting research on professional development and coaching is highlighted. The need to consider a broader framework within which professional development and coaching are contextualized and directions for future research are discussed.

he study aimed to identify the role of kindergarten teachers during the mealtime in providing nutritional knowledge of the kindergarten child. To achieve this, a descriptive method was used. The questionnaire was used as data collection tool. The sample consisted of (60) Kindergarten Teachers. In the analysis of the data, the study showed that the tool obtained an average of (2. 95 from 4. 00) and at the field level Axis concept of nutritional knowledge (2. 88). Followed by the difficulty of kindergarten teachers during the mealtime, teachers were at an average of (2.49). Both of which are rated (High), while very high on (kindergarten teacher practices during the mealtime at an average of (3.46).The teachers also showed that the meals attended by the children are healthy and that there is awareness among the families about the type of food provided to the children. In the light of the results of this study, a number of recommendation and suggestions are made to introduce the food culture of the child as judges in the rehabilitation and training of nannies and teachers.

This study explores the relationship between students’ perceptions and teachers’ discourse practices in mathematics classrooms. It reframes the sequence of Initiate-Response-Follow-up (IRF) with a renewed discourse structure that focuses on teachers’ follow-up actions including listening, thoughtful questioning, and effective talk moves. Specifically, the study analyzes how these follow-up actions were related to positive student perceptions about their teachers’ discourse practices around sustaining productive discussions in mathematics classrooms. Participants were secondary mathematics teachers (n = 57) and their students (n = 875) in U.S. schools. The study first considered the students’ perceptions of their teachers’ discourse practices, identifying which teachers were perceived by students to implement mathematics discussions. Next, the study identified and examined patterns of teacher practices in discussions—the teachers’ talk moves, duration, and frequency in asking follow-up questions. Findings indicate that the teachers identified by students as promoting mathematics discussion tended to ask follow-up questions that increased and sustained students’ participation in mathematics discussions. What this finding implies is that in asking follow-up questions, the teacher listened and responded to students’ ideas, and students felt heard. The study asserts that there is much potential for enhancing mathematics instruction by learning more about how teachers listen to and build on students’ responses.