Form Tutor Research Articles

Criterial framework for internal and external evaluation of the form tutor’s activity

Introduction. In modern conditions, the problem of setting the criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the form tutors’ activity is becoming relevant in virtue of the importance of education and the absence of a unified methodology and techniques for evaluating the efficiency of the form tutor’s activity. The purpose of the study is to develop and substantiate the criterial framework for evaluating the efficiency of the form tutor’s activity. Materials and methods. A total of 230 form tutors from educational organisations representing 7 regions of the Russian Federation took part in the survey. The service record of 54% of the respondents was over 20 years, 30% – 11 to 20 years and 16% – less than 10 years. Methods: the key theoretical methods were system analysis, synthesis and generalisation of scholarly literature on the problem of developing the criteria and efficiency parameters of the form tutor’s activity, modelling the criterial framework of evaluation. The following was used as the main empirical methods: questioning of form tutors, method of observation, expert examination of the developed criterial framework. Results. A criterial framework for evaluation of efficiency of the form tutor’s activity, based on the selected theoretical and methodological foundations, was developed, being structured as three blocks: personality, process and efficiency. Certain criteria and of efficiency indicators were selected for each block with regard for the key invariant directions of the form tutor’s activity: work with the learner’s personality, learners’ stream, parents, subject teachers, social partners. It was revealed as a result of the empirical research that the most important component in the developed criterial framework, according to 41% of the respondents, is the efficiency block; it is followed in importance by the process block (39%) and the personality block (20%). The necessity to include invariant directions of the form tutor’s activity in each block was noted by 75% of the respondents. The rating results on the each block criteria showed that 67% of the respondents noted the foremost importance, when considering the processual aspect, of the criterion “Organisation and facilitation activity aimed at education and socialisation of learners in cooperation with all actors of the educational process” (KP-4); when considering the personality aspect, 75% of the respondents placed the criterion “Competence in organisational and pedagogical support of educational process” (KL-4) at the top. When assessing the criteria of the efficiency block, the respondents’ rating showed that 72% and 87% of the form tutors placed the criteria “level of cohesion of children’s team, parents, teachers, the staff, the level of development of children and adult community” (KR-6) and “level of learners’ mature experience as based on the system of values inherent in a Russian citizen” (KR-7), on the first place. Conclusions. The obtained results confirm the importance and necessity of creating a criterial framework that acts as an evaluation matrix of the form tutor’s activity efficiency. The personality, processes and efficiency aspects forming its basis take into account the complex of the form tutor’s invariant activity. The further research will be connected with the creation of methods for assessing efficiency of the form tutor’s activity and those related with automation of this process.

Digital Learning Environment in Higher Education: New Global Issues

Research background: Living in a digitalized connected world changes the dynamic of the learning process. Recent issues in the world economy and society have increased the demand for online education drastically. But many enterprises in higher education find themselves unprepared to satisfy this demand effectively because digital learning is a relatively new and under-researched field especially regarding digital instruments and social aspects. For this study we adopted connectivism learning theory proposed by George Siemens in 2005 together with the “old” behaviourism, cognitivism, and constructivism theory put forward by Ertmer and Newby in 1993. Purpose of the article: The study intended to investigate elements of digital learning process using student feedback and to suggest ways to improve the quality of digital higher education based on learning theories applied to digital environment. Methods: A total of 2347 university students participated in this study. Data were collected through an online survey and were analysed with the use of SPSS software. Findings & Value added: The study revealed that students pinpoint three groups of problems in online learning: the process of getting feedback form tutor and peers; the process of concentration and self-management; the technical difficulties of staying connected. The paper studies the theoretical background of problematic areas and proposes tools for their improvement.

The Personal Efficiency Of The Form Tutor In The School-Family Partnership

The Personal Efficiency Of The Form Tutor In The School-Family Partnership

Obowiązki wychowawcy klasy w szkołach średnich Drugiej Rzeczypospolitej

Educational influence is among the essential tasks of school activities. It should be performed by all the teachers and especially by form tutors. The modern model of the form tutor was formed during the interwar period. After Poland regained independence, it also gained the opportunity of creating its own schools and of conducting educational tasks in accordance with the needs of the country and the society. Educating the youth became one of the most important tasks. The duties of form tutors had to be redefined, too. The educational authorities issued the relevant regulations, which were popularised by educational magazines and introduced into schools under the guidance of school principals and teachers’ boards.

Getting to know you

Becoming a form tutor has proved rewarding for our NQT diarist, although the role throws up an array of interesting, engaging and sometimes bizarre interactions with students

How to become an effective form tutor

As a new teacher, one of the first additional duties you could take on is that of a form tutor. Matt Bromley offers some guidance and advice

Form Tutors in the Joint Teaching of Music: Perspectives and Experiences

In the Portuguese school system, form tutors (FTs) are an intermediate education management structure. The form tutor is responsible for a position of coordination and orientation with a «threefold function»: a relationship with students, relationship with the student’s family and relationship with other class teachers. The joint teaching of music is a part of the educational system in basic education. It is optional and provides musical and instrumental training to students who are interested in taking it. In order to achieve this, there is a system, subject to protocols, between general education schools and schools specializing in teaching music. There is also the position of FT in specialized schools and it also includes a «threefold function». However, these FTs have the additional role of representing music teachers at the class council, which is held at the general education school. Thus, in these cases, both FTs have a fourth joint area, between the music school and the general education school, which makes the relationship between them even more complex. This paper is based on the analysis of empirical data obtained from the testimonies of FTs regarding their representations and experiences in leadership and the coordination of teachers among schools in which there is a joint teaching system. The aim of collecting narratives is to look into some of the main challenges and confrontations related to leadership issues, which we assume to be the focus of those who have the role of form tutor in that specific context.

Forty years of Pastoral Care: an appraisal of Michael Marland’s seminal book and its significance for pastoral care in schools

Michael Marland’s seminal book: Pastoral Care was published 40 years ago this year. The thesis of the book – that pastoral care is the central task of the school, and must be planned and institutionalized through pastoral roles and structures – is explored against the background of the social, cultural and educational developments taking place in the 1960s and 1970s. Its influence on research and publication in the field is demonstrated in the literature which deals with both the ‘technique’ and ‘critique’ of pastoral care in schools, much of it published in Pastoral Care in Education. Marland’s later writings, especially on the role of the form tutor and the idea of a ‘pastoral curriculum’, the conferences he convened, and his part in the founding of the National Association for Pastoral Care in Education, are seen to be a natural extension of the book’s thesis. Despite the difficulty of measuring the outcomes of educational literature, the article concludes that the significance of Marland’s book and his related activities was substantial, and that the relevance of its underlying values is as great as ever.

RESTRICTIONS ON THE COLLABORATION OF SOCIAL PEDAGOGUES AND FORM TUTORS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF BULLYING PREVENENTION IN SCHOOL

The aim of the paper is to analyse the restrictions on the collaboration of social pedagogue and form tutor when coping with bullying cases in school. To succesfully deal with the bullying issues in school, it is necessary to make use of different forms of collaboration and to remove restrictions on the collaboration of social pedagogue and form tutor. By the analysis of the expert-identified drawbacks and hindrances of collaboration, the following restrictions were identified: the failure to perceive the goals of collaboration, a shortage of time, a lack of the system of collaboration and /or its regulation, a lack of the specialists‘ motivation, and a lack of competence Only the development of a sustainable system of social pedagogue and form tutor’s collaboration will ensure effective work with schoolchildren, their parents, and pedagogues when coping with the bullying cases in school. KEYWORDS: social pedagogues, collaboration, bullying prevention. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.15181/atee.v1i0.662

Etyka powinności czy etyka cnoty w przygotowaniu zawodowym nauczycieli?

Given the assumption that a modern teacher’s role cannot just be narrowed down to being an instructor, but that he should also carry out the role of a form tutor providing all necessary care, advice, assistance and support for a maturing person, the naturally following question to raise is what ethical attitude a prospective educator should be suggested to adopt towards his occupation as part of a teacher training programme. Two approaches can be singled out in modern studies: the ethics of duty and the ethics of moral virtues. The author makes no attempt at judging either of them nor does he provide an answer to the question, but he tries to indicate the advantages and drawbacks behind the two conceptions. He points out that the ethics of duty, whose nature is object-related, is bound up with the perception of a teaching occupation in terms of professionalism. On the other hand, the ethics of virtue emphasizes subject-related facets of moral actions since its principles lead to understanding of a teaching occupation in terms of vocation. While it can easily be asserted that under the ethics of virtue a greater stress is laid on a teacher’s moral excellence, one should notice that such an attitude cannot be inculcated through a series of university lectures because it develops as a lengthy process where personal experience plays a significant role. The dilemma presented in the title can be resolved by stating that both the ethics of duty as well as the ethics of virtue constitute a value which contributes to the professional development of a teacher and affects this process across its successive stages.

Intention of adolescents to seek professional help for emotional and behavioural difficulties

Much is known about adolescent help seeking for severe mental health problems. Little is currently understood about the professionals that adolescents would seek help from for milder emotional and behavioural difficulties. A self-report questionnaire was completed by 968 adolescents (53% male), aged 13-14 years in school year 9, and 15-16 years in school year 11 (64% male), attending a purposive sample of four medium to large secondary schools in Devon, UK, during February 2005. Questionnaires were completed by adolescents during whole class teaching sessions with all in attendance being willing to participate. However, 39 (4%) responses were uncompleted or incorrectly completed and removed from subsequent analysis. Questionnaires contained a series of commonly experienced difficulties and asked adolescents to indicate who they would seek help from first, if anyone, from a list of professionals identified as common providers of support. Logistic regression analyses indicated that intention to seek help varied between a low of 30% for adolescents in Year 11 on the difficulty 'were arguing all the time with your parents' to a high of 95% for females on the difficulty 'had been unfairly treated or spoken to by a teacher' with Year and Sex influencing each difficulty separately. With the exception of the difficulty 'were feeling "down" for a long time' there was a high degree of discrimination regarding the professional group (School vs. Health) that would be approached for help. With respect to specific professionals, the Form tutor featured prominently across several difficulties involving school, friends and family (range 53-65%), but also significantly across several difficulties suggestive of emotional problems (range 49-61%). General practitioners were commonly identified as providing help with difficulties sleeping (76%), and along with the school nurse with problems concerning health advice (range 38-49%). Findings highlight the influence of Year and Sex, and importance of the Form tutor in adolescent help seeking across the range of difficulties. A need is identified for further training of Form tutors in recognition of their role in supporting the interface between adolescents and services aimed at engaging young people and a recognition by health and social care professionals regarding the importance of this role.

Tutors Talking

What do form tutors say about tutoring? For this special edition of the journal, focusing on tutors, I contacted some experienced tutors for some insights into the role. I asked them to respond to four questions. What do you enjoy about being a form tutor? What, in your experience, are the most significant problems you face in your role as form tutor? What do you think your students get from you as a form tutor? What advice would you give to a new teacher who is taking on the role of form tutor?Their positive and engaging responses reinforce how the care they give to the young people is a significant part of their work as teachers.

Support for Students’ Learning: What the Form Tutor Can Do

This article is written for new and experienced tutors to review the ways in which they are supporting their students’ learning. It considers the purposes of tutoring, drawing on the voices of students themselves. The article then considers the ways in which the tutor can support the learning of young people, including academic tutoring. It concludes with some guidance for the tutor to develop their own learning about tutoring.

From ‘Form Teacher’ to ‘Tutor’: The Development from the Fifties to the Seventies

Michael Marland has drawn on his own experiences and the recollections of others to chart the development of the role of the form tutor in the post–war era. Through the memories of key people who were once in the roles of head teachers, LEA officers and tutors themselves, a picture emerges of schools adapting to meet the perceived needs of young people, by establishing form masters, houses and eventually the emergence of the tutor. This historical journey points to the enduring purpose of pastoral care, and to the enduring value of the tutor’s role in the care and guidance of the individual pupil. It also helps us to understand some of the difficulties and differences in the perception of the tutor’s role, for example by revisiting the ‘tutor ascendant – tutor subordinate’ continuum.

A review of substance use education in fifty secondary schools in South Wales

Objective To review substance use education in secondary schools in four local authority areas in South Wales to identify good practice and to explore the barriers to good practice. Design Qualitative and quantitative observational study. Setting Secondary schools in South Wales. Method Semi-structured interview with teachers responsible for coordinating substance use education in 50 (100 per cent) secondary schools in four local authority areas. Results All 50 schools (100 per cent) provided substance use education but only 21 (42 per cent) had a written policy. All schools delivered substance use education at key stage 3 and 46 (92 per cent) at key stage 4 with the time allocated varying from 30 minutes to 6 hours per year at key stage 3 and one and a half hours to 7 hours at key stage 4. Models of delivery varied considerably from form tutor based programmes to stable teams of Personal and Social Education Programme (PSE) staff. PSE coordinators' confidence in programme delivery was greater in those schools with stable PSE teams than in those with other delivery models. Guest speakers were invited to contribute to programmes in 37 (74 per cent) schools. Conclusion The lack of a clear overall philosophy and written policy underpinning the delivery of substance use education in many schools limits the ability of these schools to achieve the maximum potential from the time invested. There were wide variations in the time allocated, training of teachers delivering the programme, and age of introduction of topic areas. Schools frequently relied on guest speakers to deliver their programme. The implications for a co-ordinated approach to substance use education and the provision of further guidance are discussed.

The Role of the Form Tutor: Some Research Findings

(1995). The Role of the Form Tutor: Some Research Findings. Pastoral Care in Education: Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 29-33.

The Shunting of Railway Wagons

Journal Article The Shunting of Railway Wagons Get access ALAN JASPER, AFIMA ALAN JASPER, AFIMA Alan Jasper was educated at The Barr Beacon School, Walsall and then went on to read mathematics at the University of Manchester. He graduated in 1988 but remained for another year to gain his teaching qualification. He is currently a maths teacher and form tutor at Ludlow CE School, Shropshire where he is also responsible for the production of the timetable. He is particularly interested in the use of graphical calculators and software packages such as Cabri Geometry and Geometry Inventor in the classroom. His other passion is football and he can often be found at Villa Park Address for correspondence : Ludlow CE School, Bromfield Road, The Burway, Ludlow, Shrophshire, SY8 1DR Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Teaching Mathematics and its Applications: An International Journal of the IMA, Volume 13, Issue 4, 1994, Pages 154–166, https://doi.org/10.1093/teamat/13.4.154 Published: 01 December 1994 Article history Received: 01 September 1994 Accepted: 01 November 1994 Published: 01 December 1994

Pupils' Perceptions of the Role of Form Tutor

(1987). Pupils' Perceptions of the Role of Form Tutor. Pastoral Care in Education: Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 206-217.