Minority Of Teachers Research Articles

Perspectives of ELT Teachers in Enhancing Writing Skills through Immediate Feedback

Immediate feedback is crucial for enhancing students’ writing skills as it provides timely guidance, allowing them to identify and rectify errors promptly, thereby fostering continuous improvement and proficiency in writing. This paper investigates the perspectives of secondary level English teachers on immediate feedback and the techniques they use while giving immediate feedback. The study was conducted on sixty English language teachers who have been teaching English at secondary level institutional schools of Nepalgunj Sub-metropolitan city of Banke district. The researcher used simple random sampling method to select the sample. The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire. The obtained data were analyzed descriptively and interpreted using simple statistical tools. The majority of teachers (i.e. 86.66%) viewed that immediate feedback plays the role of scaffolding in their writing, while only a minority of teachers (i.e. 13.33%) viewed it negatively. The study revealed that almost all the teachers showed a positive reaction towards the role of immediate feedback to enhance writing proficiency. It was also found that most of the teachers used correction codes to correct student’s mistakes and errors. Thus, the English language teachers are recommended to use immediate feedback as a scaffolding tool to enhance writing students’ proficiency of secondary level students.

Why do some teachers teach media literacy while others do not? Exploring predictors along the “will, skill, tool, pedagogy” model

The present study aims to identify factors that predict whether teachers engage in teaching about digital technologies (media education), which is an under-researched topic compared to the research about teaching with digital technologies (technology integration). Thus, a popular model of technology integration—the “will, skill, tool, pedagogy” model—guided our research on media education. Based on a survey of 2247 Swiss upper secondary school teachers, we found that for most of the media education topics, only a minority of teachers indicated that they have addressed them in class. Multilevel binomial regression analyses revealed that teachers' responsibility beliefs (will) were one of the most important predictors of discussing media education topics. Furthermore, teachers' self-assessed technical skills (skill) positively predicted whether they taught media literacy, whereas skills in teaching with digital technologies perceived by teachers (pedagogy) only promoted the likelihood that teachers would address topics of critical evaluation of online information and ethical questions of automation. The quality of the schools’ infrastructure (tool) seemed to be of minor importance or to have even detrimental effects in the context of media education. Moreover, we observed differences between subjects in engagement in media education, with language, arts, and humanities teachers being particularly more likely to cover aspects of media literacy in class.

Teachers Perception Towards Effectiveness of Teaching Practice in Improving Student Teachers Teaching Skills in Monduli District, Tanzania

The study investigated teachers’ perception towards effectiveness of teaching practices in improving student teachers teaching skills in Monduli District Tanzania. The study used Social change theory developed by Anthony Smith’s in 1973.The study adopted a convergent design under the mixed methods. The target population was 691 of public primary school teachers found in Monduli District, Tanzania that covered 63 public primary schools. The sample drawn from the target population was 6 head of schools and 94 public primary school teachers which taken from 6 primary schools through stratified and simple random sampling equivalent to 12.5% (Ogula, 2009). The self-administered questionnaires used for data collection from sampled participants. Additionally, reliability coefficient was calculated using Cronbach’s Alpha with acceptable scale of 0.78 and data was analyzed using means, frequencies, and percentages and presented in table form with the aid of Statistic Package of Social Science Version25. The qualitative data were summarized, coded, analyzed and presented in narration form according to the themes generated from research question. The findings of study revealed that, majority of teachers had positive perception towards teaching practice in improving teaching skills, which concluded that teaching practice is essential to student teachers in equipped with sufficient teaching skills like in harmonize theory and practice, learning life skills around community and also practice communication skills that enabled in development of teaching competence in their profession. Also, minority of teachers had negative perception on teaching practice which student teachers failed to demonstrate teaching skills such as dealing with teaching challenges and use of appropriate communication skills. The study recommended that colleges should continue emphasize student teachers to harmonize theory and practice during teaching practice to acquire skills necessary in teaching profession. The school should give priority on school leadership and management duties so that student teachers to be able to acquire leadership and management skills.

Gains of e-collaboration in professional engagement initiatives

This paper presents a single case study of SR Teaching and Learning community, initially established as an English teacher professional development company in Baku, Azerbaijan. Since July, 2020, the company has determined to enhance its geography by cooperating with academicians and practitioners from different countries by engaging official representatives from Kazakhstan, Georgia, Russia, Poland, Panama, Iran and Uzbekistan through e-collaboration processes, which aims to meet the needs of in-service and pre-service English teachers in their home countries. By investigating ongoing e-collaboration created by the community we attempted to provide a better understanding of the benefits of teachers' online collaboration and its role in teacher professional engagement initiatives. The community members' responses about the nature and extent of e-collaboration they experience served as empirical data for our study. A significant role of moderators in teaching partnership has been noted. The minority of teachers were negative about teamwork claiming that online sessions had led to increase in their personal workload.

Teaching about the past in Northern Ireland: avoidance, neutrality, and criticality

Citizenship education has been a feature of the school curricula in many western democracies since the 1990s. Consequently, there is a proliferation of research which explores its efficacy in instilling political literacy and encouraging democratic engagement amongst pupils. Less is known however about how citizenship is taught in societies emerging from conflicts which are [at least in part] motivated by competing narratives around citizenship. This paper examines this issue within the context of Northern Ireland. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 18 post-primary citizenship teachers, it argues that whilst the curricular text for citizenship education has encouraged teachers to discuss ‘the past’ in Northern Ireland only a minority of teachers do so. The paper suggests that teachers are constrained in their attempts to explore the past by a complex interplay of factors including cultural norms of avoidance and their interpretation of the current socio-political context. The paper argues that it cannot be assumed that teachers themselves possess the critical capacities that they are expected to nurture in pupils, yet, where efforts are made to harness teachers’ critical skills, they are more likely to display the confidence and skill to discuss contentious issues related to the past.

The Beliefs and Practices of Bhutanese English Teachers in Teaching Grammar in English as a Second Language (ESL) Classroom in Bhutan

This research aims to study the beliefs and practices of the Bhutanese English teachers about teaching English grammar in the Bhutanese ESL (English as Second Language) classrooms. English in Bhutan plays a vital role as a working language in offices, as a language of international communication, and a medium of instruction in the Bhutanese education system. Considering these multiple roles and its significance as a medium of instruction it is important to study the standard of English in Bhutan and work towards upholding its standard. Therefore; in this study, the teaching of grammar is considered as one essential aspect of teaching and learning English in schools. This study addresses questions on the Bhutanese teachers’ approaches to teaching grammar and their beliefs and practices in the classrooms. It also discusses some matters concerning the English curriculum besides focusing on grammar. To study and identify the Bhutanese English teachers’ beliefs about teaching English grammar, a total of 50 teachers from various schools from Bhutan were involved in this study. The findings from this study indicate that the Bhutanese teachers employ diverse approaches to the teaching of grammar, and among the various approaches most of the Bhutanese teachers follow the deductive method, followed by the inductive method, and there is a minority of teachers who still employ an obsolete method of teaching called lecture method. It is also worthy of note that some teachers in Bhutan are also aware of communicative approaches to language teaching and learning. The study also reflects the negative attitude of English teachers in Bhutan, especially in viewing English as a subject more challenging than other subjects. The findings from this study indicate that the Bhutanese teachers employ diverse approaches to the teaching of grammar, and among the various approaches most of the Bhutanese teachers follow the deductive method, followed by the inductive method, and there is a minority of teachers who still employ an obsolete method of teaching called lecture method. It is also worthy of note that some teachers in Bhutan are also aware of communicative approaches to language teaching and learning. The study also reflects the negative attitude of English teachers in Bhutan, especially in viewing English as a subject more challenging than other subjects. This particular research was an area of interest, because hardly any research has been conducted into the beliefs and practices of Bhutanese teachers, in particular teachers of English language. Therefore, this research has original and significant findings about the beliefs and practices of the Bhutanese English teachers about teaching English grammar.

Exploring primary school teachers’ use of formative assessment across fee and no-fee schools

Background: Recent initiatives by the Department of Basic Education to support teachers to enhance their use of formative assessment are positive steps for improving teaching and learning. However, the nature and type of support required by teachers is unclear given the dearth of information on teachers’ current pedagogical practices, and the extent to which formative assessment approaches are applied. Aim: This article explores teachers’ pedagogical practices in relation to five key formative assessment strategies: introduction of lesson objectives and assessment criteria, questioning and learner engagement, feedback practices and peer and self-assessment. Setting: This study was conducted in two districts involving 96 foundation and intermediate phase teachers selected from 54 fee- and no-fee-paying schools. Methods: Data were obtained using lesson observations and document review schedules. The analysis comprised descriptive and chi-square statistics. Results: Some evidence of all the formative assessment strategies as well as the range of steps that characterised each strategy was observed in the pedagogical practices of teachers sampled for this study. However, only a minority of teachers were able to demonstrate effective use of any specific strategy. No significant differences were detected between teachers in fee-paying and no-fee-paying schools as well as between the foundation and intermediate phases. Conclusion: Evidence of various aspects of the formative assessment approach in teachers’ pedagogical practices provides a positive platform for enhancing their formative assessment knowledge and skills. The key challenge pertains to ensuring the effective implementation of the formative assessment approach to address the specific learning needs of all learners, in both fee and no-fee schools.

Sköpunarsmiðjur í menntun ungra barna: Reynsla og viðhorf starfsfólks skóla, safna og sköpunarsmiðja

Í þessari grein er fjallað um þekkingu, reynslu og viðhorf til sköpunarsmiðja (e. makerspaces) meðal kennara ungra barna (3-8 ára) í leik- og grunnskólum, fagfólks á söfnum og í sköpunarsmiðjum. Upplýsingum var safnað með rafrænni könnun í tengslum við Evrópuverkefnið MakEY (e. Makerspaces in the early years: Enhancing digital literacy and creativity)1 sem er samstarfsverkefni fjölmargra háskóla og stofnana innan Evrópu og utan. Nokkrar íslenskar stofnanir tóku þátt í verkefninu.2 Gögnum var safnað meðal áðurnefndra hópa sumarið 2017 (n=254).3 Í ljós kom að minnihluti kennara (17%) en meirihluti safnafólks (72%) hafði áður heyrt um hugtakið. Um 28% safnafólks hafði reynslu af að nota slík rými og 13% höfðu skipulagt sköpunarsmiðjur en sambærilegar tölur hjá kennurum voru eingöngu 15 og 7%. Um helmingur kennara og safnafólks taldi gott aðgengi á sínum vinnustöðum varðandi vélbúnað til að búa til stafrænar afurðir. Álíka algengt var að hentug rými væru til staðar hjá kennurum og rúmur þriðjungur safnafólks sagði gott aðgengi að forritunarbúnaði. Aðgangur að verkfærasettum sem hentuðu í samþættum verkefnum var til staðar hjá mun færri og aðgangur að þrívíddarprenturum eða geislaskerum var fátíður. Áhugi var hjá stórum hluta safnafólks og kennara á þjálfun eða námskeiðum í tengslum við sköpunarsmiðjur og meirihluti svarenda (73% kennara og 60% safnafólks) taldi sköpunarsmiðjur samrýmast vel sýn sinni á nám og kennslu. Sköpunarsmiðjur geta gegnt lykilhlutverki í mótun menntunar á Íslandi í því tæknilega landslagi sem er í stöðugri þróun, þar sem stafrænt læsi, „germenning“ (e. makerculture) og forritunarhæfni leika aðalhlutverk ásamt faglegri starfsþróun þeirra sem mennta börn og styðja við nám þeirra og þroska. MakEY verkefnið og fræðilegt framlag þess er mikilvægt innlegg þar sem leitast er við að skoða stöðuna á byrjunarreit.

Tensions with the term 'gifted': New Zealand infant and toddler teachers' perpectives on giftedness

There is much contention surrounding the term 'gifted' within Aotearoa New Zealand and international literature. Five teachers who were identified as exemplary teachers of gifted infants and toddlers by surveyed gifted and early childhood communities participated in this study. Whilst the majority of the community members used the term 'gifted' comfortably, the minority of teachers within the study were not confident to do so. Their reluctance to use the term gifted is examined through the power/knowledge dynamic drawing from the theory of Michel Foucault. This study found that giftedness was normalised or abnormalised according to the perspectives of the teachers, promoting particular ways of viewing the child. There was found to be a significant disconnect between the teachers' and communities' usage of the term 'gifted' which holds implications for their 'exemplary' designation.

AN EVALUATION OF ENGLISH TEXTBOOK AT MATRICULATION LEVEL IN MULTAN DIVISION, PAKISTAN

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the English textbook at matriculation level in Multan Division in terms of content, vocabulary, grammar, exercises, activities and physical makeup of the textbook as well as context and information for teachers to guide the teachers. For this purpose, close ended questionnaire was used to collect data from one hundred and eight teachers. Data was analyzed to find out percentages of each items and graphs and it was found that overall quality of textbook is good. Content, vocabulary, exercises and grammar rules are organized logically. To guide the teachers, sufficient information is provided in the textbook. The textbook is per course goals and needs of the students. Textbook is good enough to promote critical thinking of the students and in the textbook images is not so high aesthetic quality. Though majority of teachers are satisfied with this textbook but minority of teachers who do not agree with this, cannot be neglected. There is still need to improve textbook. Finally, it can be said that the overall quality of textbook is good. Article visualizations:

Chemistry teachers as stakeholders of national context-based curriculum reform project

The present paper deals with a national curriculum reform project on modular context-based chemistry teaching in the Netherlands. A main characteristic of the project is the use of a ‘bottom-up’ approach for designing the ‘New Chemistry’ curriculum. A document analysis of project-related reports and empirical studies was carried out. The results showed that chemistry teachers were involved in all phases of the project: analyzing current problems, preparing outlines for renewal, developing context-based modules, and testing a pilot version of the curriculum. Some modular learning pathways were composed as exemplar tools for supporting teachers. Results at the end of the curriculum project showed that positive opinions about modular context-based teaching were expressed by about half of the interviewed teacher-innovators and about one-third of the teacher-followers. Nevertheless, negative opinions were expressed by an important minority of teachers. Implications for empowering teachers for modular context-based chemistry education are discussed.

Regular Education Teachers’ Attitudes towards Inclusion in Oman

The objectives of the study were to investigate regular education teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion and their educational setting preferences for teaching students with disabilities. In addition, the impact of teachers’ gender and teaching experience on the attitudes towards inclusion were examined. Seven hundred three Omani regular education teachers participated in this study. The findings suggest that the Omani regular education teachers held neutral behavior, cognitive, and affective attitudes towards inclusion; and a small minority of teachers believed that full inclusion in regular education classrooms or resource rooms were the best educational settings for educating the students with disabilities in comparison with other educational settings. Finally, the results indicated that there were significant relationships between teachers’ gender, teaching experience, and educational settings preference for educating students with disabilities and teachers' attitudes towards inclusion.

Working with schools in identifying and overcoming emotional barriers to learning

This paper reports a case study on working closely with a secondary school, to enhance understanding of disruptive behaviour, through the use of bespoke Continuing Professional Development (CPD) materials. This project evolved from the researchers’ previous research on the extent to which teachers believe disruptive pupils can control their behaviour. A notable finding was the sizeable minority of teachers in both primary and secondary schools who appear to be unaware of the psychological underpinnings of disruptive behaviour. That is, that such behaviour frequently communicates unresolved emotional needs, rather than wilful defiance. The current project aims to develop, implement and evaluate CPD resources developed by the researchers, for a one-day staff training day at a secondary school in north England. Prior to training, school staff completed a questionnaire to “audit” their perceptions of disruptive behaviour in school. Following evaluation, the CPD materials will be made available to other schools. It is anticipated that the materials will enable greater mutual understanding and respect for the ways in which disruptive behaviour is perceived by practitioners and school staff. Moreover, they will provide an urgently needed means of facilitating a shared knowledge base and a shared language for addressing emotional barriers to learning.

Knowledge and Attitudes of Georgia High School Economics Teachers

Using a unique large sample survey, the knowledge and attitudes of Georgia high school economics teachers towards economics is examined for the first time. Teachers are found to have a good knowledge of economics with perhaps more training needed in supply/demand analysis and monetary economics. A minority of teachers don't like economics and even the math that is needed to teach it. Teachers who recently took a university course or at least attended an economics education workshop are far more likely to like and be knowledgeable about economics.

Medicine education as a part of health education: the implementation in Finnish comprehensive schools

Medicine education, meaning teaching about rational use of medicines, is one way to promote health literacy of children. This paper describes the implementation of medicine education as a part of health education in Finland. Data were collected using a nationwide postal survey from a representative sample (n = 1700) of Finnish primary and lower secondary school teachers in spring 2010. A response rate of 56% (n = 928) was achieved. The final study population was formed of 667 teachers who had taught health-related topics. χ2- and non-parametric Mann–Whitney U- and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to statistically compare the data. Seventy-six percent of primary and 89% of lower secondary teachers had taught or were willing to teach medicine education. The actual implementation rate of medicine education was low because only a minority of teachers had taught specific topics related to medicines, i.e. what medicines are and the prerequisites for proper use of medicines (21% and 11% of primary, and 48% and 35% of lower secondary school teachers, respectively). In primary schools, these topics were taught most by teachers with experience of medicating own child's long-term illness (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001, respectively). In lower secondary school, these topics were taught most by teachers trained in health education (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.0001, respectively). These findings highlight the need of adequate teacher education as well as continuing education in medicine education.

B-Learning at Universities in Andalusia (Spain)

In this paper, the authors examine the rates at which blended learning (b-learning) has been adopted at universities in the region of Andalusia (Spain), as well as the educational model applied to its usage. The authors explore the influence of teachers’ perceptions of their competence in the use they make of digital material and to measure institutional support for teachers in this area. The methodology consists of an ad hoc questionnaire designed for a representative sample from four universities and the application of Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results show that the use of Learning Management Systems (LMS) in universities in Andalusia is common but there is little sign of educational innovation, except in a minority of teachers. In addition, it was found that teachers’ perceptions of their technological competence influenced their use of LMS but not the pedagogical model. The university pedagogical model must be reconceptualised, with a shift in traditional university values toward innovation, cooperation, and a shared construction of knowledge.

Professional learning orientations: patterns of dissonance and alignment between teachers’ values and practices

Through its positive influence on teachers’ classroom practices and their students’ learning, effective professional learning of teachers is an important condition for school improvement. However, the Teaching and Learning International Survey reports that teachers’ professional development in most countries falls short of meeting the needs of teachers. This paper reports analysis of survey data collected for a national study of teachers’ professional development in England, although the issues it raises have international relevance. Through factor analysis four underlying dimensions of teachers’ learning orientations were identified and used as the basis for developing profiles of teachers’ professional learning values and practices through cluster analysis. Based on these profiles, five distinctive groupings of teachers were identified: ‘engaged learners’, ‘moderate learners’, ‘infrequent learners’, individual explorers’ and ‘solitary classroom learners’. The concept of dissonance between values and practice is a strong theme in the findings and for policy development. The main findings are that only a minority of teachers are ‘engaged’ learners. There is a prevailing individualist approach to learning among the majority of teachers. And there are important between and within school differences in the mix of teachers’ learning orientations. This leads to recommendations for more differentiated forms of support for promoting effective professional learning in schools.

Geriatric care and gerontological research in Argentina

SummaryArgentina does not yet have a formal nationwide health programme for older people, so there are huge differences in the quality and entitlement of health care for senior citizens. Academic infrastructure is also underdeveloped and this situation slows the advance of geriatrics. Teaching and research in this field is usually unpaid. However, a committed minority of teachers and health professionals are confident that their efforts are worthwhile and a new generation of geriatricians is starting to participate actively in international forums, to publish in recognized medical journals, to participate in Latin American academic forums such as ALMA (Latin American Academy of Senior Adult Medicine) and to foster geriatrics as a speciality.

School visits to natural history museums: Teaching or enriching?

AbstractThis article describes a 3‐year study of school visits to four natural history museums and addresses the research agenda with regard to out‐of‐school learning. More specifically, the findings focus on the process of learning in museums. Comprehensive data collection allowed for an analysis of patterns of guided visits, the way the scientific content was conveyed to students, and the extent and types of social interactions thus enabled. Observations of 42 guided visits (grades 3–11) indicates that the main visitation pattern consisted of guide‐centered and task‐oriented activity. Analysis of questions asked by museum guides reveals that most of these questions required mainly lower‐order thinking skills. A common questioning pattern was to ask rhetorical questions as a means of carrying on the lecture. Detailed analysis of the scientific vocabulary used by the guides indicates that they used much scientific jargon, with limited explanation. There was only limited social mediation provided by teachers and museum guides. A minority of teachers were involved in the activities or in helping the guide to clarify or in helping the students to understand the explanations. The overall data indicate limited opportunities for meaningful learning, suggesting that the museums should shift from the traditional knowledge‐transmission model of teaching to a more socioculturally contextualized model. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 747–769, 2007

Structures, Understandings and Discourses: Possibilities for Re-Envisioning the Early Childhood Worker

As early childhood services move up the policy agenda, so too does the early childhood workforce. Its members are recognised as the main resource for such services, and there is an increasing recognition that the work is complex and requires enhanced education. But despite this recognition, the situation in many countries — where the early childhood workforce remains split between a minority of teachers and a growing majority of childcare workers with lower qualifications and poorer work conditions — is highly problematic. The article considers what forms change might take, both structurally and in terms of how the worker and her work is understood, arguing for the need to connect restructuring with rethinking to re-envision the workforce. It also examines how understandings of the workforce are produced from different discourses and how different understandings relate to concepts of professionalism, proposing a politics of occupational identity and values that moves beyond the dualistic ‘non-professional/professional’ divide. It concludes by arguing that although strong forces are involved, there is scope for contestation and change.