US Teachers Research Articles

Teachers constituting the politicized subject: Canadian and US teachers’ perspectives on the ‘good’ citizen

This study examines how secondary history teachers in the United States and Canada understand their role in promoting citizenship and national identities. Building upon Anderson’s concept of ‘imagined communities’, I argue that compulsory history classes are key sites for imagining the nation and communicating norms about citizenship. While the citizenship education literature has begun to explore teachers’ beliefs about citizenship, researchers in the fields of citizenship education and history education have not examined how history teachers understand the ‘good’ citizen or the place of their subject in forming national identities. I interviewed thirteen secondary history teachers (seven US/six Canadian) to examine their beliefs about citizenship and national identity. I sought to understand how they engage with broader discourses about citizenship and the nation. Twelve of the thirteen teachers described the good citizen in ways consistent with Westheimer and Kahne’s models of the personally responsible citizen and the participatory citizen. US teachers also expressed a desire to foster students’ individual judgement and critical thinking skills, whereas Canadian teachers stressed the importance of fostering national identity as well as students’ responsibility to the collective good.

Second/Foreign Language Teacher Efficacy and its Relationship to Professional Attrition

There is a shortage of second/foreign language (S/FL) teachers in many parts of the world and the attrition rates are startling. The present study, grounded in social cognitive theory, investigates Canadian and US teachers’ (N = 1065) sense of efficacy in teaching languages as it relates to teacher attrition. Findings indicate that S/FL teachers tend to leave the profession as a result of a lack of confidence to teach cultural knowledge as well as the classroom management issues that can arise. The research has implications for teacher-preparation faculty, professional development coordinators, and legislators.

Teachers’ conceptions of reading comprehension and motivation to read

Given the increasing number of immigrant students in the USA initially schooled in Mexico, Central America, and South America, and the dearth of investigations examining the beliefs of teachers from Mexico, Central America, or South America, an exploration of Latin American teachers’ conceptions may inform policy-makers and researchers about teachers in different cultural contexts and provide insight into the types of instruction Latin American immigrants may have experienced before coming to the USA. Teachers’ conceptions of reading comprehension and motivation to read across two cultural contexts (i.e. the USA and Argentina) were examined by analyzing responses from 21 US teachers and 23 Argentinean teachers. Both groups of teachers held views of reading comprehension in partial agreement with cognitive views of reading comprehension but differed in their views of instructional practices for supporting reading comprehension. Differences also emerged for conceptions of motivation and practices to support motivation to read. Knowledge of teacher views can be used by teacher educators to target misconceptions and further develop teachers’ knowledge and skills related to reading comprehension and motivation to read.

Chinese and American Refusal Strategy: A Cross-cultural Approach

This study investigated both Chinese and American refusal speech act from the perspectives of cross-cultural communication using a modified version of the discourse completion test (DCT) developed by Beebe et al. (1990). 60 US college students and teachers and 60 Chinese college students and teachers are interviewed. The findings indicate that there are more similarities than differences among the Chinese and Americans in making refusals. Both groups preferred to use indirect refusal strategies rather than direct ones and preferred the strategies of reason, statement of alternative and regret. However, the American groups utilized a greater proportion of direct strategies than did the Chinese subjects on average. The differences can be attributed to cultural differences between Chinese and American Culture.

Non-authoritative approach to supervision of student teachers: cooperating teachers’ conceptual metaphors

Cooperating teachers’ beliefs of effective supervision of student teachers may play an important role in mentoring practices. By systematically analysing metaphors unconsciously expressed in the discourse of cooperating teachers concerning supervision of student teachers, these beliefs could be made explicit. This study explored: (1) what metaphors concerning supervision of student teachers are embedded in the cooperating teachers’ everyday language; and (2) what central concept of effective supervision of student teachers is shared by the cooperating teachers’ metaphors. Analyses of the interviews with the 13 cooperating US teachers showed that their metaphors centred on the issues of interpersonal relationships, power sharing, and tension and conflict. The metaphors converged into a central concept of a non-authoritative approach to supervision of student teachers that embraces relationship issues raised by the participants and provides successful learning experiences for student teachers. A recommendation for future research is suggested.

The Social Class Origins of U.S. Teachers, 1860-1920

In spite of its importance for understanding teachers and teaching in the past, the issue of the social class origins of US teachers from 1860 to 1920 has largely been neglected. Using the IPUMS-USA, this paper attempts to answer whether teaching was an engine of upward mobility into the middle class for relatively well-educated daughters of skilled workers and of low manual workers. The results suggest that the teaching profession was mainly occupied by individuals from the middle class and farms, and it is they, not individuals from the lower class, who improved their socioeconomic standing. In addition, more systematic analyses show that most of the opportunities for upward mobility were presented to teachers whose fathers were immigrants, who resided in small places in the Northeast in early years, and who grew up on farms.

An Investigation of Factors Impacting the Motivation of German and US Teachers to Become School Principals

School principals play a pivotal role in establishing the direction for successful schools. Unfortunately, significant challenges to recruiting and retaining highly qualified school leaders exist in many regions of the world. Extending the findings of a recent quantitative study comparing the influence of motivators and inhibitors that impact German and US teachers' decisions to become principals, researchers in the current study interviewed selected teachers to determine the reasons for their responses. Similarities and differences in the respondents' perceptions of factors that influenced their desire to become school leaders are reported. The findings offer important ways in which Germany and the USA may learn from each other's practices.

Implementation of Effective Health Innovations and Pediatricians

Implementation of Effective Health Innovations and Pediatricians

Preparing US teachers for critical global education

While recognising the nature and significance of the theoretical bases and dimensions of the range of theoretical orientations that inform the literature on global and international education, the central aim of this paper is to describe in a more concrete way ‘critical global education (CGE)’, an approach to global education that seeks to educate students about the causes and consequences of global injustices and that aims to support students to work in solidarity with the world's people towards transformative change. The particular focus of this article is how such orientations may most effectively be introduced into teacher education, a field that has so far not developed such a focus. Our purpose in defining both CGE and globally competent teaching (GCT) is to articulate the knowledge, skills and dispositions that we feel teachers need and to communicate the rationale for our work. We develop the idea of CGE in the main part of the paper alongside the concept of the ‘globally competent teacher’, which together form the conceptual basis for our efforts to internationalise teacher education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In doing so, we have attempted to distinguish our work from other efforts in teacher education in which the basis for the work is either vaguely defined or defined differently in the service of the neo-liberal agenda.

Teacher Academy Induction Learning Community: Guiding Teachers Through Their Zone of Proximal Development

This is a preliminary analysis of The Academy for Teacher Excellence (ATE) induction support provided through the Teacher Academy Induction Learning Community (TAILC). In response to current US teacher attrition rates, ATE–TAILC’s primary objective is to retain teachers in the classroom and provide support to ensure they are fully prepared to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. In this manuscript, we will share the TAILC component as a support structure for teacher candidates/interns during the apprenticeship period, which commences while obtaining certification requirements and continues during/through their first years of teaching. Data were collected vis à vis surveys, individual and group interviews, and induction mentors’ classroom observations. Qualitative methods were used to analyze the data. We describe and discuss effective services and professional development activities provided to 69 novice teachers. We concluded that effective teacher induction support assists novice teachers through their zone of proximal development in becoming members of a community of practice.

ELEMENTARY TEACHERS’ THINKING ABOUT A GOOD MATHEMATICS LESSON

In an effort to gain a better understanding of Chinese classroom teaching culture, this study aimed to examine elementary teachers’ views about a good mathematics lesson in China. Through analyzing 57 teachers’ essays collected from 7 elementary schools in 2 provinces, it is found that Chinese teachers emphasized the most about students and their learning in their descriptions of a good mathematics lesson. However, in describing what it takes to develop a good mathematics lesson, they thought more about teachers and their knowing and understanding of textbooks than about students. The results revealed a picture of Chinese teachers’ thinking about a good mathematics lesson that is different from what has been reported about US teachers’ views. The findings suggest that examining teachers’ thinking about good teaching is valuable for understanding cross-cultural differences in mathematics classroom instruction.

How does leadership affect student achievement? Results from a national US survey

Using survey responses from a national sample of US teachers, this paper provides insight into 2 questions: (1) Do 3 specific attributes of leadership behavior – the sharing of leadership with teachers, the development of trust relationships among professionals, and the provision of support for instructional improvement – affect teachers' work with each other and their classroom practices? and (2) Do the behaviors of school leaders contribute to student achievement? We tie this investigation of school leader behaviors to 2 additional factors that have also received increasing attention in research because they have been shown to be related to student achievement: professional community and the quality of classroom instruction. Our analysis provides an empirical test of the notion that leadership variables are positively related to student learning. It also suggests that both shared and instructionally focused leadership are complementary approaches for improving schools.

Zen and the art of neriage: Facilitating consensus building in mathematics inquiry lessons through lesson study

One danger of integrating inquiry-based problem-solving activities into mathematics lessons is that different strategies could be accepted without in-depth discussions on the cogency and efficiency of the strategies. To overcome this issue, Japanese teachers typically go through a series of lesson-study-based teacher learning sessions and learn how to help students build consensus on the best mathematical strategy and think deeply about problem solving (neriage in Japanese). Assuming that this can also be an effective model in other cultural contexts, a video-based lesson study was conducted for a group of US teachers to effectively incorporate consensus building discussions in their mathematical inquiry lessons. Through the lesson study, the teachers learned to release control of class discussions to their students and help them discuss and examine different strategies. This article concludes with various aspects that the teachers learned for effectively implementing neriage in their lessons.

Recession reverses US teacher shortage

Recession reverses US teacher shortage

Social Justice is Not Spoken Here: Considering the Nexus of Knowledge, Power and the Education of Future Teachers in the United States

Using the critical race theory methodology of counter-storytelling, the authors provide narratives of their experiences as teacher educators to consider why and how the racial power of Whiteness continues to derail teaching and learning for social justice in US teacher preparation programs, despite the democratic intentions, hard work and good will of many teacher educators. Contending that Whiteness serves as a hidden referent structuring interactions and activity within US teacher preparation programs, the authors draw on their narratives to highlight and analyze moments in time when teacher educators actively and fully participate in and enact the obstruction of social-justice-oriented educational endeavors, thus ensuring that future teachers will not be prepared to teach all students. The authors argue that for social justice to be realized in education, the racial power of Whiteness must be interrupted. Since individuals choose, whether consciously or not, to help recreate Whiteness as the normative standard in US teacher education programs, the authors posit that teacher educators and others can also choose differently; they can choose to act ways that challenge the historical privileging of White interests, values, and beliefs.

Are US teachers making the grade?

Are US teachers making the grade?

SOUTH KOREAN AND THE US SECONDARY SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHERS’ CONCEPTIONS OF CREATIVITY AND TEACHING FOR CREATIVITY

This study examined science teachers’ conceptions of creativity in science education, pedagogical ideas, and contextual factors perceived as constraints on teaching for creativity and any differences in the conceptions of teachers from South Korea and the United States. Participants in the study consisted of 44 South Korean and 21 US secondary science teachers. Data was collected from open-ended and Likert-type questionnaires. Results indicated that each individual teacher’s conception was considerably limited, but the teachers’ conceptions of creativity as a whole group were consistent with the literature. In terms of teaching methods for creativity, the teachers commonly emphasized problem-based or project-based inquiry which was consistent with the literature. The South Korean teachers tended to consider ethics as a more important criterion for judging creativity than the US teachers and emphasized providing thinking opportunity for fostering creativity, while the US teachers emphasized environmental or emotional support. Possible sources of these differences were discussed. The commonly mentioned constraints included pressure of content coverage for high-stakes tests, difficulties in assessing creativity, and class size. Suggestions for professional development of teachers and further research questions were made based on the findings.

Preparing LGBTQ-allies and combating homophobia in a U.S. teacher education program

Interns in a US teacher education program were surveyed regarding their attitudes towards diversity, particularly issues of sexuality, their feelings of “cultural competence” around diversity, and the repertoires of practices and resources they feel prepared to draw on in their work with middle and high schools students (11–18 year olds). Analysis of course materials provided insight into distinctions between anti-homophobia and LGBTQ-ally stances among students. Extensive semi-structured interviews with 7 students explored these issues in more depth, documenting their sense of preparedness and cultural competence, where locate and how they identify “useful experiences in learning how to teach LGBTQ youth, and the concerns they face in their work against heterosexism and homophobia in schools.

Influences on US middle school teachers’ use of environment‐based education

The term environment‐based education (EBE) describes a form of school‐based environmental education in which an instructor uses the environment as a context for integrating subjects and a source of real world learning experiences. Despite the growing body of evidence that supports the educational efficacy of this instructional approach and its grounding in high‐quality environmental education, relatively few US teachers seem to practice EBE (University of Maryland Survey Research Center 2000). In the context of encouraging more widespread adoption of this formal instructional approach, the author used survey research with a random sample of fifth–eighth grade teachers in US public schools to investigate influences on their decisions to use EBE and barriers to EBE implementation. The study also investigated how perceived influences on and barriers to EBE teachers differed from perceptions of teachers using other forms of environmental education and teachers using neither approach. Results suggest the importance of the following in teachers’ decisions to use EBE: positive environmental attitudes; environmental sensitivity; receptiveness to EBE; teaching context; and environmental literacy knowledge and skills. The influence that best discriminated between EBE teachers and teachers using other forms of environmental education was evidence of positive outcomes. The barrier that best discriminated among EBE teachers, teachers using other forms of environmental education, and teachers not using any form of environmental education was lack of training.

Do the Math: ESP + Web 2.0 = ESP 2.0!

As university teacher of English, the author of this paper has been concerned with exploring and exploiting the potential of Web 2.0 tools and applications for English language learners. To this end, I have complemented face-to-face teaching with collaborative Web 2.0 tools, such as blogs and voice threads (online media albums that can hold any type of media, and can be shared with anyone we wish). More specifically, I came in contact with Mr. Larry Ferlazzo, a US teacher who invited my students from International Relations to join a project he had designed and which was called Sister Classes. Our students interacted on an edublog using English, created a few presentations, left audio and written comments on each other's work, exchanged ideas, shared links, podcasts and videos. Other countries from around the world became involved, and we built a community of practice.Thus, in the present paper we assert that creating meaningful content for the students’ specific purposes (in this case, practicing English), is as important as creating connectivity, and that collaborative language learning can prove very efficient. At the same time, we have also identified some methodological limitations to teaching English with the aid of Web 2.0. Consequently, our pedagogical approach may serve for an invitation to further research.