Learning International Survey Research Articles

Formal mentorship and instructional practices: a Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) study of US teachers

PurposeWithin schools across the USA, mentees supported by mentors experience a number of potential benefits, including high job satisfaction, less attrition and more opportunities for professional/emotional guidance. However, these benefits are less understood in the context of formal mentorship specifically, as well as to what extent these supports apply to instructional practices. This study aims to address the minimally researched area of how being mentored might impact the instructional practices of teachers at all stages of their career.Design/methodology/approachBased on data recently published for the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) in 2018, this study examines the relationship of teachers with formally assigned mentors, the number of total years of teaching experience and instructional practices. US teachers who responded to the target survey questions (n = 1,934) were submitted to several one-way analyses of variance to determine (1) the potential relationships between the presence of a formal mentor and instructional practices and (2) how different groups of teachers with varying numbers of total years of teaching experience impacted these relationships.FindingsThe results found that the presence of a formal mentor predicted higher classroom management practices, clarity of instruction practices and cognitive activation activities for the combined sample (p < 0.05), and for teachers with 15 years or more of teaching experience, the presence of a formal mentor predicted higher classroom management and clarity of instruction practices (p < 0.05).Originality/valueThe results provide evidence for the use of formally assigned mentors beyond new teacher induction, but the nature of the formal mentorships in this study is unclear. Future research should further investigate descriptive cases of more inclusive formal mentorship programs.

Principals’ time allocation in the context of Shanghai school administration

ABSTRACT Time allocation is a complex problem for school principals in many countries. This study examines the restrictive structure of principals’ time allocation for each task domain, as well as the explanatory structure of school administration context for their time allocation. Structural equation models were developed based on data gathered in Shanghai, China using the 2013 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). The results of the restrictive structure indicate that the administrative and leadership tasks are in the moderating position of principals’ time allocation structure. Meanwhile, principals’ interactions with students underlie their interactions with parents and community members. The outcomes of the explanatory structure signal that school administration context (in terms of principals’ work duties, power distribution and work challenges) affects their time allocation in relation to the task domains. This study illustrates the importance of school administration structure in Shanghai principals’ time allocation, characterized by a high power distance between principals and teachers.

Exploring Factors associated with the implementation of student-centered instructional practices in U.S. classrooms

This study explored school- and teacher-level factors associated with a higher probability of teachers’ implementation of student-centered instructional practices. These practices include adaptive instruction and active teaching strategies that support learning enhanced by information communication technology (ICT), collaborative small-group learning, and project-based learning. We used data from the U.S. sample in the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2013, which consisted of 1112 teachers from 89 public schools. Results showed that teacher participating in professional development (PD) in ICT and approaches to individualized learning, receiving student feedback, and student assessments were related to a higher level of implementing student-centered instruction.

Helping teenagers reconnect to learning -the power of supportive teachers to design autonomy

Teaching and Learning International Survey - TALIS (2019) reports that classroom climate is an important factor in student outcomes. The process of creating a productive learning environment in schools is a challenging dimension of students' autonomy. Related to school autonomy, the PISA results (2013) discovered that levels of school autonomy is related to student performance across some PISA countries (positive correlations), but is depending on some resources, especially when de autonomy significance is combined with accountability. The most used definition of learner autonomy is closely identified with the personal meaning of what the learner sees as important for itself and with the responsibility to develop new skills to progress in the metacognitive process, to be reflective in all itself actions, and to be motivate and self-aware. In this study, the interest is focused on the teachers and their implications on students' autonomy development. The implications of the learning interactions between teacher and students, the categories of teaching styles that influence the development of students' autonomy, the characteristics of teachers who develop autonomy (seniority in teaching, the quality of mentors, the subject field of teaching) are analyzed. The results emphasize that supportive teachers use quality educational relationships, stimulate students 'involvement in their own learning, and do not necessarily depend on teaching experience, teachers' age, time spent with students or the category of subject field teaching.

Relationships between teacher autonomy, collaboration, and critical thinking focused instruction: A cross-national study

Teachers' autonomy and their collaboration with each other in teaching are assumed crucial in shaping the quality of their teaching practices. This study addresses this assumption by examining the role of teachers' autonomy in making teaching decision and their collaboration in teaching practices in shaping their use of critical thinking focused teaching instruction from a comparative perspective. This study uses Japan, Singapore, Australia and the United States secondary teachers’ data from the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) which is an international survey focusing on teachers’ working conditions and teaching strategies. Each of the country involves average of 3242 participants and 12,968 secondary teachers’ data were utilized in this study. Results have found that secondary teachers in the two Asian (Japan and Singapore) countries are working under the school systems with low autonomy but high collaboration while those teachers in the two Western (Australia and the US) countries are teaching in the schools with high autonomy but low collaboration. Besides, teachers in a low autonomy culture including Japan and Singapore intended to use more often strategies in connection to students’ real-life to promote critical thinking. Yet, Australia and the US who hold a low level of collaboration preferred to foster students’ specific thinking skills to promote critical thinking development.

Distributed leadership and innovative teaching practices

The primary aim of this research was to understand the relationship between distributed leadership and teachers’ use of innovative teaching practices. Innovative practices such as increasing cognitive activation and enhanced curricular activities have shown to have significant positive effects on student outcomes (Le Donné et al., 2016). Based on internationally representative samples including 7,436 lower secondary school principals and 117,876 teachers from 34 countries surveyed in the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2013 data, this study analyzed the effect of distributed leadership on teachers’ use of these innovative teaching practices. The findings demonstrate that distributed leadership has a significant and positive impact on teachers’ use of innovative teaching practices. Conclusions, limitations, and recommendations for further research are discussed.

Teacher Supervision in the Context of Linguistic Diversity in OECD Countries

This study addresses teacher supervision in a context of linguistic diversity using data from the OECD’s Teachingand Learning International Survey (TALIS, 2013) in which school leaders (N = 7438) from 36 OCDE-member countries participated. Factor analyses on the principals’ supervision practices enabled us to identify three forms of supervision: administrative, pedagogical, and professional (career development). Kendall tau-b correlations revealed that the principals’ administrative and career development supervision correlated with the linguistic diversity of the students. Also discussed is the impact of this linguistic diversity on the administrative supervision provided and the teacher professional development.

Contextual influence on formal and informal teacher leadership

Using the 2013 Teaching and Learning International Survey data, this research employed descriptive analysis and multiple logistic regression with the complex survey data analysis approach (resampling with Balanced Repeated Replicate weights), in order to reveal the variations in overall informal and formal teacher leadership, and for different leadership dimensions, respectively, as well as the contextual influence on teacher leadership. The results suggest that there exist significant variations between general informal and formal teacher leadership, and for each of the leadership dimensions internationally. In sum, Eastern and Nordic Europe have a greater extent of teacher leadership, compared to Asia, Latin America, and Latin Europe. There was less prevalent teacher leadership in hiring, setting teacher salary, and budget allocation in general. Formal teacher leaders often make school decisions for disciplinary policy, teacher evaluation, data analysis, and parental communication, while informal teacher leaders frequently decide on instructional content. Female, experienced, and well-educated teachers often make decisions even without positions; schools with increased minority students tend to have a greater extent of teacher leadership, while schools with disproportional poverty students have decreased teacher leadership. Using large-scale and international data, this study has provided nuanced evidence in teacher leadership with the intersection of leadership functions, positions, and contexts.

Understanding teaching professionals' digital competence: What do PIAAC and TALIS reveal about technology-related skills, attitudes, and knowledge?

In an ever-evolving technological landscape that challenges teaching professionals' digital competence, this study complements previous studies by providing an overall picture of teaching professionals' digital competence. We employed regression models on two large-scale assessment data sets on teachers from 11 countries—namely, the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS; n = 50,800) and the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC; n = 2590)—to investigate through the theoretical lens of digital competence how teaching professionals' skills, attitudes and knowledge distribute and relate, and how they are associated with personal and contextual factors. Our results found notable variation in teaching professionals' skills and knowledge but less variety in attitudes. The respondents generally recognised the importance of digital technologies in teaching regardless of their background. Older professionals often showed weak skills, but they also recognised the need for professional development in using digital technologies. An important result of this study is a better understanding of digital competence from the teaching professional's perspective. Our findings contribute to further developing theories and practices related to teaching professionals' skills, attitudes and knowledge.

Does school leadership matter for teachers’ classroom practice? The influence of instructional leadership and distributed leadership on instructional quality

ABSTRACT The presented paper aims to examine the influence of principal leadership on teaching practices in order to reveal direct and indirect effects of instructional and distributed leadership models on teachers’ instructional quality, with the mediating effect of teacher collaboration and job satisfaction. This research conducted secondary data analysis using the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2013 dataset collected by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Multilevel structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to the analysis of the data. The results suggested a significant direct effect of principals’ instructional leadership on instructional quality, while the effect of distributed leadership was mainly indirect, mediated by teacher collaboration and job satisfaction.

Teacher autonomy for improving teacher self-efficacy in multicultural classrooms: A cross-national study of professional development in multicultural education

With the increasing diversity in classrooms, teachers are called upon to have the efficacy of teaching students in multicultural classrooms. Professional development in multicultural education (PDME) has been implemented across the world for equipping teachers with the efficacy that meets the educational needs of diverse students. Using data from 47 countries in the Teaching and Learning International Survey 2018, this study shows that PDME helps teachers develop teacher self-efficacy in multicultural classrooms (TSMC). We further find that teacher classroom autonomy strengthens the positive relationship between PDME and TSMC. Acknowledging that diversity in schools will continue to grow, this study provides implications for teacher learning and development, multicultural education, and the school organization.

Veteran teachers and digital technologies: myths, beliefs and professional development

ABSTRACT According to the Teaching and Learning International Survey (2019), the average age for a teacher, across OECD countries, is 44 years old, and the teacher workforce has aged in a number of countries, over the past 5 to 10 years. Given the demands expected from the contemporary teaching profession, the study of possible implications of ageing on the use of digital technologies in education is even more pertinent and relevant. This study aims to analyse veteran teachers’ perceptions about digital technologies and outline possible pathways for their professional development. Data collected through literature review and content analysis of veteran teachers’ perceptions, expressed in a continuing education training programme, show there are positive and negative thoughts and dilemmas related to the role of digital technology in education, and that there are myths regarding veteran teachers’ digital skills, competences and motivation to change practices, as well as misconceptions about the relationship between technologies and educational reforms. The results also indicate possible pathways to successful training practice with this target group.

Developing a shared cluster construct of instructional leadership in TALIS

In the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), instructional leadership is measured by the self-reports of principals on three items only. When this measure is investigated together with teacher satisfaction with current work environment, no significant associations were found in the Nordic countries participating in the TALIS 2013 round. This paper argues that a potential reason for this might be the severely underrepresented construct of instructional leadership. As an alternative approach, teacher data from the same study are used to establish two important dimensions of instructional leadership at the school level: 1) managing the instructional program and 2) developing the school learning climate. Applying multilevel structural equation modelling (MSEM), we establish two shared cluster constructs at the school level and observe significant modest relationships between these constructs and teacher job satisfaction with current work environment. The paper brings to our attention the different approaches for interpreting, exploring, and making sense of instructional leadership in international large-scale studies, such as TALIS, from the joint perspective of teachers.

School testing culture and teacher satisfaction

Teachers, as frontline providers of education, are increasingly targets of accountability reforms. Such reforms often narrowly define ‘teacher quality’ around performative terms. Past research suggests holding teachers to account for student performance measures (i.e. test scores) damages their job satisfaction, including increasing stress and burnout. This article examines whether the relationship between test-based accountability and teacher satisfaction can be, in part, explained by the emphasis of student test scores in teacher appraisals. Although historically used for formative purposes, recent research demonstrates that across a large range of countries, nearly all teachers work in a system where their appraisal is based, in part, on students’ test scores. Using data from the 2013 Teaching and Learning International Survey, we pool data from 33 countries to evaluate the direct and indirect effect of school testing culture on teacher satisfaction. Results suggest that there is a direct relationship between the intensity of the testing culture and the satisfaction of teachers, as well as an indirect relationship with test score emphasis in teacher appraisals suppressing potential positive effects of appraisals on teacher satisfaction.

EVALUATING A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHER EDUCATION QUALITY

It is critical for teacher educators and scholars of teacher education to think carefully about the conceptual framework that they use to evaluate teacher education programs. Without a strong conceptual framework, it may be difficult for teacher educators to evaluate whether or not they are operating within a strong program. Thus, we frame this article as an opportunity to present one particular pre-existing framework in the research literature that can be used to conceptualize teacher education quality. We then present some evidence that supports and challenges this framework. In other words, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the conceptual framework for teacher education quality proposed by Hsieh, Law, Shy, Wang, Hsieh, and Tang (2011). In our attempt to create a supplementary evaluation of this conceptual framework, we test a statistical model using a different large international database – Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2013 (OECD, 2014). Specifically, we examine the effects of preparedness for content knowledge (CK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and field-based practice on teachers’ later performance satisfaction using multiple linear regression analysis. Our findings suggest that teachers who are more prepared for PCK and classroom practice (through field/clinical experience) during their teacher education program tend to be more satisfied with their teaching performance. However, our findings also suggest that becoming prepared in one’s CK during teacher preparation does not, according to the respondents, have a significant impact on their satisfaction with their teaching performance. Findings of this study have implications for practice and future research.

Teacher Work and Job Satisfaction among Romanian Lower Secondary Teachers

The purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical based understanding of the Romanian context of teacher work, which provides an opportunity to identify characteristics considered to affect teaching activities and gives a basis for planning and conducting other research on teachers working conditions. The paper is based on authors' research which is a secondary analysis of Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2013 database. The database contains the survey responses of teachers of lower secondary education (ISCED 2) and the principals of their schools. During the investigation cross/tables, cluster analysis, linear and logistical analyses were used. Based on our research results, we can see that the factors attributed both to the individuals and to the elements of pedagogical culture show a strong correlation with the characteristics of the teaching and the satisfaction with the teaching. Considering the factors attributed to the individuals, professional development and the total career time is the most influential factor of job satisfaction and teacher’s self-efficacy. Among the variables included in the school culture dimension, the effectiveness of teacher work, the disciplined atmosphere, the values of student/teacher relationships and the positive effects of teacher-teacher relationships indicated satisfaction and self-efficacy.

Responsible, competent and with a sense of belonging: an explanation for the purported levelling effect of CLIL

ABSTRACT Whilst CLIL research has flourished and showed some gains for CLIL learners, for example in motivation, there is little consensus about how it affects students from different social strata. The British Council ‘English Impact’ study (Shepherd and Ainsworth 2017, English Impact. An evaluation of English language capability. https://www.britishcouncil.es/sites/default/files/british-council-english-impact-report-madrid-web-opt.pdf) has recently uncovered that CLIL contributes to the levelling of SES (socio-economic status) differences between students and leads to high levels of motivation in all students. In this study, we aim to follow up on these findings by exploring the factors that account for the curbed impact of SES in bilingual schools. To this end, 138 teachers from bilingual and non-bilingual schools filled in the TALIS questionnaire (OECD, 2013, Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2013 Teacher Questionnaire. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/education/school/TALIS-2013-Teacher-questionnaire.pdf ) and 20 teachers were interviewed. Whereas questionnaire data reveals few perceived differences between students from the two types of schools, interviewees did point to differences in characteristics of students from bilingual and non-bilingual schools and the type of parental support they receive. The findings point towards the creation of a learning environment in CLIL programmes that satisfies the need for autonomy, competence and relatedness as reasons behind increased levels of motivation and the reduced impact of students’ SES on their performance.

Enhancing Teacher Self-Efficacy in Multicultural Classrooms and School Climate: The Role of Professional Development in Multicultural Education in the United States and South Korea

The modern classroom is becoming increasingly diverse, with many countries seeking to develop teacher self-efficacy in multicultural classrooms (TSMC) to effectively teach diverse students by offering professional development in multicultural education (PDME). Using the Teaching and Learning International Survey 2018, we examine whether the teachers’ experience in PDME improves TSMC, as well as whether TSMC mediates the relationship between PDME and teachers’ perceptions of school climate in secondary schools in the United States and South Korea. We find a significant positive relationship between PDME and TSMC and that TSMC plays a mediating role between PDME and school climate. The findings suggest that PDME not only plays a key role in enhancing TSMC but also promotes a positive school climate.

Assessment of Science Education Teachers’ Quality Work

&lt;p style="text-align:justify"&gt;The quality of science education teachers’ work determines the effectiveness of education and science education programs in many respects. Given that the results of students are not the same for teachers with the same formal characteristics, we formulate the research problem: when assessing the effectiveness of teachers, we can distinguish a system of indicators that affect the effectiveness of education and educational programs. The purpose of this article is to analyze the quality of work of science education teachers in the Kirov region and their teaching practice. The leading research methods in this case are the concept of the third international study of teaching and learning “Teaching and Learning International Survey”, collecting data obtained through a questionnaire of science education teachers, analyzing the quality of work and conditions of pedagogical practices, statistical processing of the research results, modeling and conversations with heads of secondary schools and representatives of executive authorities. As a result of a study conducted in 2017–2020, in which 1146 teachers of secondary schools of the European part of Russia took part, including 310 science education teachers, the author of the article found: the workload of a school teacher of science education is 0.65; subjects teachers spend on average 42.2 hours every week to perform their official duties, urban teachers have more work than rural teachers; with age, teachers of science education have a partial redistribution of labor activity from teaching to administrative work; actual teaching takes 53% of working time in the structure of workload for teachers of science education; teachers evaluate the completeness of their knowledge upon completion of training at the level of 38% of the required level for performing labor activities; there is a predominant share of teachers with a moderate level of need for knowledge in most areas of professional development. The results of the study allow us to develop a set of group measures for training and methodological support of science education teachers. These measures should take into account the specifics of workload and the characteristics of professional deficits.&lt;/p&gt;

School principals' workplace well-being: a multination examination of the role of their job resources and job demands

PurposeThe aim of this study was to examine the extent to which several workplace factors are implicated in school principals' well-being. Two job resources (i.e. participatory climate and collegial climate) and two job demands (i.e. barriers to professional learning and staff shortages) were investigated, along with two well-being outcomes (i.e. job satisfaction and occupational commitment). Interaction effects between the job resource and job demand variables were also tested.Design/methodology/approachData were from 5,951 principals in 22 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries that participated in the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2013. Path analysis of direct and interaction effects was tested, along with multigroup path analysis to determine any differences in results across nations.FindingsThe results showed that staff shortages and collegial climate predicted job satisfaction. All of the job resources and demands predicted occupational commitment. In addition, one interaction effect was significant showing that a participatory climate was especially important for occupational commitment under conditions of high staff shortages. The findings were similar across the 22 countries.Originality/valueThe study yields important knowledge about the cross-national salience of four job resources and demands that are associated with principals' well-being at work.