Icelandic Teachers Research Articles

Use of School-Based Interventions for ADHD, Professional Support, and Burnout Symptoms among Teachers in Iceland

Objective: Effective school-based interventions for youth with ADHD are critical to their success. We examined whether teacher application of such interventions and perceptions of professional support related to greater well-being, including fewer burnout symptoms. Method: Teachers in primary schools in Iceland were invited to participate in an online survey, including questions about professional support and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). The sample comprised N = 592 (88.5% female) participants. Results: Regression analyses indicated that use of recommended ADHD interventions was positively associated with MBI-Personal Achievement (PA). Greater satisfaction with professional support related to lower MBI-Emotional Exhaustion and MBI-Depersonalization, and higher MBI-PA. Level of professional support was positively associated with use of recommended interventions. Conclusion: Effective interventions and support for students with ADHD may enhance teacher well-being. Icelandic teachers require further training and professional support in best practices for ADHD, to help promote teacher and student success.

Productive language development in classroom activities in Poland and Iceland: The diversity of language context in the digital world

The aim of the study was to gain insight into Polish and Icelandic teachers’ attitudes towards children’s productive language skills in the societal languages, Polish and Icelandic, their teaching practices in fostering these skills, and to identify any obstacles experienced. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with two teachers in each country. The Icelandic population is only 364.000, while the number in Poland is 39.857.000. In Iceland, English is an additional language to Icelandic, whereas Polish is the dominant language in Poland. Reading literacy among Icelandic youth on PISA has declined and Polish adolescents have improved. According to the Icelandic teachers, the diversity of language context in Iceland has a negative effect on children‘s Icelandic language skills. Speaking and writing appeared to be practised in a more elaborate way by the Icelandic teachers. School activities focused on speaking and writing can be improved in both the Polish and the Icelandic classes./ Keywords: primary school, literacy, oral skills, discussions, writing instruction, classroom practices

Towards a better understanding of preschool teachers’ agency in multilingual multicultural classrooms: A cross-national comparison between teachers in Iceland and Israel

Educators and researchers increasingly recognize the impact of teachers’ agency on language education policy enactment in their classrooms. The study is aimed to conduct cross-cultural comparisons of Israeli and Icelandic teachers regarding their agency towards linguistically and culturally diverse children in a preschool context. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 selected teachers who had rich pedagogical experience in educating children with immigrant background. In both countries, we found that teachers’ agency was expressed on continuums from teachers’ proactivity to teachers' passiveness regarding linguistically and culturally diverse teaching; from perception of home language as a resource to viewing it as a barrier to the child's progress in the societally dominant language; and from equal relationships to teacher-parents’ hierarchical relationships. Despite historical and socio-cultural differences between the two countries, we found striking similarities between the teachers in their reports on classroom management of diversity and interactions with children and families.

The Well-Being of Primary School Teachers during COVID-19.

This study examines the self-rated health and well-being of Icelandic teachers just before and over a year after COVID-19 first appeared. We ask, what was the stress level in 2021 compared to 2019 and the impact of mental and physical health and health symptoms on perceived stress? Were there any changes in self-assessed mental and physical health? Were there any changes in self-assessed mental and physical health symptoms? The study is based on an online survey conducted in 2019 and 2021. A total of 920 primary school teachers answered the questionnaire in part or in full, after three reminders. The main findings show increased stress, worsening mental and physical health, and increasing mental and physical symptoms in 2021 compared to 2019. The results also show a higher percentage of women than men reporting high stress, with women scoring higher on the PSS scale, but the gender patterns for mental and physical health are less clear. The results show that the COVID-19 pandemic had negative consequences on the health and well-being of the teachers. The study demonstrates the importance of school authorities keeping an exceptionally watchful eye on the welfare and well-being of teachers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Perceived Organizational Antecedents of Emerging Collaborative Learning Activities Among Icelandic Beginning Teachers

ABSTRACT Encouraging teachers to participate in collaborative learning activities for professional development has become an important part of educational reform strategies in many countries. Recent research suggests these activities may play an important role in the professionalization of the teaching profession. In Iceland, teachers report the highest level of unmet demand for professional development among countries surveyed by the OECD. As a result, the new education policy in Iceland focuses on collaboration among teachers. This study explores the perceived organizational antecedents of emerging collaborative learning activities among Icelandic teachers as they begin their careers. Based on the survey data from 215 Icelandic beginning teachers, the results show that feedback by school leaders, role clarity and perceived organizational support are strongly associated with collaborative learning activities among beginning teachers, whereas affective commitment to the school organization does not contribute to collaborative learning activities. One implication for practice is that leadership that promotes organizational factors will also promote collaborative activities.

Kennsla og stuðningur í íslenskum háskólum - Reynsla innflytjenda

Í kjölfar aukinna fólksf lutninga síðustu áratugi hefur innf lytjendum fjölgað í háskólum á Íslandi. Þessi grein er byggð á niðurstöðum rannsóknarverkefnisins Væntingar og tækifæri innf lytjenda a? I?slandi til ha?sko?lamenntunar og áskoranir henni tengdar (2016-2018) sem styrkt er af Ranni?s. Meginmarkmið rannsóknarverkefnisins er að öðlast skilning á upplifunum, reynslu, áskorunum og stuðningi við innf lytjendur í háskólanámi hérlendis. Í þessari grein eru kynntar helstu niðurstöður úr eigindlegri rannsókn með innf lytjendum sem eru núverandi og fyrrverandi háskólanemar á Íslandi. Gagna var af lað í rýnihópaviðtölum og einstaklingsviðtölum við alls 41 nemanda í þrem háskólum á Íslandi. Markmið rannsóknarinnar sem greinin fjallar um er að öðlast skilning á reynslu og upplifun innf lytjenda af kennsluaðferðum, áskorunum og stuðningi í þremur stærstu háskólunum á Íslandi, Háskóla Íslands, Háskólanum í Reykjavík og Háskólanum á Akureyri. Niðurstöðurnar benda til þess að f lestir þátttakendur upplifi að kennsluaðferðir í háskólunum séu nútímalegar. Þeir nefna hagnýtar kennsluaðferðir, svo sem umræðutíma og hópavinnu, og að byggt sé á þekkingu þeirra og reynslu. Skoðanir á þessum kennsluaðferðum eru þó mismunandi. Sumir þátttakendur telja hópavinnu vera góða, en aðrir upplifa hana sem tímasóun. Sumir sækjast eftir akademísku námi, á meðan aðrir vilja frekar læra eitthvað hagnýtt, sem þeir geti notað í framtíðarvinnu. Þá telja þátttakendur að jafnræði ríki milli nemenda og kennara í háskólunum, en það hafa þeir ekki alltaf upplifað í heimalöndum sínum. Niðurstöðurnar sýna einnig að nemendurnir eru langf lestir jákvæðir gagnvart kennslu og stuðningi í íslenskum háskólum en þeir glíma við ýmiss konar áskoranir. Fram kemur að þeir leita eftir mismunandi stuðningi, bæði formlegum og óformlegum, svo sem betra aðgengi að formlegum upplýsingum fyrir innf lytjendur á innra neti og á vefsíðum háskólanna. Óformlegur stuðningur, svo sem frá íslenskum samnemendum, t.d. við nemendur sem hafa lítið tengslanet hér á landi, virðist heldur ekki mikill. Þátttakendur glíma einnig við ýmiss konar vandamál, einkum tungumálaerfiðleika, en einnig samskiptavandamál og skort á upplýsingum. Þátttakendur frá löndum utan EES/ES glíma við erfiðleika tengda dvalarleyfi sem geta haft mikil áhrif á nám og líðan. Þessi rannsókn getur nýst háskólum við að bregðast við aukinni fjölbreytni meðal háskólanema.

Teamwork in Establishing a Professional Learning Community in a New Icelandic School

The focus of the action research reported here is on how leaders and teachers used teamwork in developing a professional learning community in a new compulsory school in Iceland. Collaboration is a critical issue in schools as it can improve practice that supports student achievement. Results from the TALIS 2008 study show that Icelandic teachers are below international averages regarding joint teaching and supporting each other. Findings from this action research study showed signs of an emerging collaborative structure among some teams but also a lack of feedback among peers. Teachers expressed difficulty in putting into practice their growing sense of professionalism. The research findings suggest that peer coaching should be supported to encourage staff to engage in critical reflection and transforming practice.

‘Let's go outside’: Icelandic teachers' views of using the outdoors

This article discusses the views of 25 Icelandic preschool and compulsory school teachers who were interviewed on the role of the outdoor environment in children's learning. The teachers reported not being afraid to take children outside. These teachers valued the learning potentials of the outdoors more than they feared the possible risks. They believed that the outdoors could provide opportunities for (a) enhancing children's play and learning (b) promoting children's health, well-being, and courage, and (c) affecting children's views, knowledge, and actions towards sustainability.

Additional workload or a part of the job? Icelandic teachers' discourse on inclusive education

The aim of this article is to examine the discourse of Icelandic compulsory school teachers on inclusive education. From 1974 and onwards, the education policy in Iceland has been towards inclusion, and Iceland is considered to be an example of a highly inclusive education system with few segregated resources for students with special educational needs. In particular, the article focuses on what characterises and legitimises teachers' discourse on inclusive education, the contradictions in the discourse and how teachers have involved themselves in the process. We use the approach of historical discourse analysis to analyse the discourse as it appears in interviews with teachers and media articles on education as well as in key documents issued by the Parliament. The article provides an insight into the complexities of this topic and draws attention to underlying issues relevant to inclusive education.

Comparison of the Classroom Practices of Finnish and Icelandic Mathematics Teachers

Mathematics teachers in Finland and Iceland are on different tracks. Based on a recent video study, the classroom practices of Finnish mathematics teachers seem to be rather traditional. This is in contrast to the Icelandic teachers many of whom use progressive-minded, learner-based instructional strategies. The classroom practices in Finland include substantial whole-class interaction, while many students in Iceland are getting used to learning independently, without significant collaboration with others. This paper discusses three pedagogical dimensions on which mathematics teaching in Finland and Iceland differ: individualization, learner control, and content-related discourse.

Changes in Teachers’ Speech during a Working Day with and without Electric Sound Amplification

An increase in fundamental frequency (F₀) and in sound pressure level (SPL) has been reported both after vocal loading tests and after a teacher’s working day. This increase has been found to be greater among teachers with fewer voice complaints. The present study investigated speech changes during a teacher’s working day (a) in ordinary conditions and (b) when using electric sound amplification while teaching. Five Icelandic teachers (mean age 51 years) volunteered as subjects. Classroom speech was recorded with a portable DAT recorder and a head-mounted microphone first in ordinary conditions, and the next week while using electrical sound amplification. Recordings were made during the first and the last lesson of the hardest working day of the week. F₀ and SPL were analyzed. The subjects’ comments were gathered by questionnaire. An increase in F₀ and SPL was found during the working day in both teaching conditions but the change was larger and for F₀ statistically significant when amplification was used. All 5 teachers reported less tiredness of the vocal mechanism when using amplification. The results support the suggestion that a vocal loading-related increase in F₀ and SPL is not merely a sign of vocal fatigue but may even reflect an adequate adaptation to loading. Situational factors cannot be ignored, however.

A comparison of the occurrence and nature of vocal symptoms in two groups of Icelandic teachers

Research suggests that teaching activities involve a high risk of developing voice disorders. The aim of this study is to examine the possible difference in the occurrence and nature of vocal symptoms in two groups of teachers - head teachers ( N = 43), including both principals and assistant head teachers, and teachers of physical education ( N = 43) - and to investigate the possible role of gender. The questionnaire results indicate that demands on the voice for P.E. teachers and head teachers are different. The findings suggest that (i) demands influence the occurrence and nature of reported vocal symptoms, (ii) that teachers of physical education are at a greater risk of developing voice problems, and (iii) that female P.E. teachers are at particular risk.

Effects of sound amplification on teachers' speech while teaching

Voice problems are common among teachers. This is most likely due to the heavy vocal load of their profession. The present study investigated one possible method to decrease the vocal load. The effects of amplification on classroom speech were studied on five Icelandic teachers (three females, two males, mean age 51 years). Classroom speech was recorded with a portable DAT recorder and a head-mounted microphone, first under ordinary conditions and in the next week while using electrical sound amplification. The average fundamental frequency (F0), sound pressure level (SPL) and phonation time were measured. According to the results, amplification significantly lowered both F0 (average 8.6 Hz for the females and 11.3 Hz for the males, p =0.002 and 0.0001, respectively) and SPL (about 1 dB for both genders, p <0.05), while phonation time was not significantly affected. The results suggest that electric amplification is likely to reduce vocal load.