Physical education teachers in Australia: Why do they stay?

Studies related to reasons why teachers stay are far less frequent than those reporting reasons to leave. This study assessed the factors that satisfied PE teachers and the motivators to stay in PE teaching. Physical educator stayers (N?=?139) responded to a ‘PE Teachers’ Career Intentions Questionnaire’, ‘Basic Satisfaction Needs at Work Scale’ and an open-ended question to ascertain retention motivators. Basic needs satisfaction for competence, autonomy and relatedness support, along with satisfaction for ‘professional interaction’, ‘participation in decision-making’, ‘organisation of teaching’, and ‘respect’ predicted retention. PE teachers gain work-related motivation from their expertise, the opportunity to implement ideas collaboratively, but also the sense of efficacy to control their pedagogy and student outcomes of focus. Supportive policy and actions; not just the absence of career-thwarting stimuli, appear vital for teacher self-efficacy, leading to career fulfillment. Quality mentoring programs may serve to enhance PE teacher satisfaction and are worthy of further investigation.     

Occupational stress,job satisfaction and physical health in teachers

IntroductionChanges within the teaching profession have been blamed for the high levels of stress reported by teachers. In recent decades, Italian schools have been characterised by continuous change, as a result of profound transitions that have affected political, social and economic development.ObjectiveThis paper investigated the relationship between occupational stress, job satisfaction and physical health in Italian teachers. Specifically, our aim is to study the role of job satisfaction as a possible mediation role between work stressors and its effects on teachers’ physical health (physical symptoms). In addition, we were interested in studying the direct effects of work stressors on the hypothetical outcomes (physical symptoms).MethodData were collected via a questionnaire from a sample of 565 teachers working in different upper secondary schools in Italy. The booklet filled by the teachers consisted of 32 items that measure perceived occupational difficulties, job satisfaction and physical symptoms.ResultsThe results showed that workload, perception of work environment, teachers’ perceptions of senior management and attitude towards change are specific perceived occupational difficulties of the Italian teachers involved in our research. In particular, workload and attitude towards change have significant direct effects on physical symptoms, and indirect effects on physical symptoms through job satisfaction. Also, job satisfaction decreases physical symptoms.ConclusionThe results suggest important implications for stress prevention in teachers. In fact, the level of stress and its consequences can be reduced and prevented through an accurate identification of its sources, with a positive effect on individual and organisational health.     

Improving Teacher Job Satisfaction: The Roles of Social Capital,Teacher Efficacy,and Support

In this study, we examine how social capital, teacher efficacy, and organizational support increase teacher job satisfaction. Research suggests that teachers worldwide are exceedingly dissatisfied with their jobs and have significantly higher levels of turnover than their counterparts in other professions. We investigate this phenomenon using a sample of 122 elementary school teachers. We found that teachers’ centrality position, or each teacher’s relationship with every other teacher, in their school’s trust network and the density of a teacher’s academic advice ego-network predicted the development of teacher job satisfaction. Additionally, we found that teacher efficacy mediated the relationship between teacher’s trust and academic advice relationships and job satisfaction, and perceived organizational support strengthened the relationship between teacher efficacy and job satisfaction. The article concludes by offering implications of the findings for both administrators and teachers as well as for the social capital, teaching efficacy, and teacher job satisfaction literatures.     

Who are they and What do they Need: Characterizing and Supporting the Early Childhood Assistant Teacher Workforce in a Large Urban District

Scholarship and policy emphasize strengthening the early childhood education (ECE) workforce, but this work neglects a large segment of the workforce: assistant teachers. This study responds to gaps in knowledge by examining the demographic characteristics, qualifications, professional supports, and workplace experiences of assistant teachers (N = 120) in a representative sample of ECE centers (n = 35) in a large urban district. In addition to studying assistant teachers’ receipt of in‐service training and coaching, we draw from social network theory to investigate the professional support assistant teachers provide and receive via their collegial networks. We use a variance decomposition approach to explore how on‐the‐job supports, such as training, coaching, and networks, contribute to assistant teachers’ work‐related stress and job satisfaction—two key predictors of ECE teacher attrition. Results indicate that few ECE staff members seek assistant teachers for work‐related advice. Coaching is found to be an important contributor to assistant teachers’ job satisfaction; professional advice via collegial networks is a meaningful but under‐examined source of support for stress and job satisfaction. We consider implications for supporting and retaining assistant teachers and propose next steps for research on this understudied segment of the teaching workforce.     

Influences professionnelles et personnelles du climat scolaire chez les enseignants et les élèves

This research was designed to assess the impact of the school climate on teachers’ and pupils’ stress, satisfaction, violence perceptions, and physical health. Data were obtained by mean of a questionnaire which was responded by 59 teachers and 316 pupils from two Swiss high schools. The results shown that school climate predicts for teachers and pupils higher satisfaction, and lower violence perceptions. Moreover, for schoolboys and schoolgirls, a good school climate predicts lower level of stress and better school results. These data suggest that the atmosphere of a school plays a crucial role for teachers’ and pupils’ professional and personal attitudes.     

A randomized controlled trial of instructional coaching in high-poverty urban schools: Examining teacher practices and student outcomes

Job-embedded professional development is needed to effectively and efficiently enhance teachers' use of evidence-based practices in high-poverty urban communities. This study employed a three-cohort, waitlist controlled, randomized block design to investigate the effectiveness of the Classroom Strategies Coaching Model (CSC) in 14 high-poverty urban elementary schools. The CSC Model is guided by observations of teachers' instructional and behavioral management practices as measured by the Classroom Strategies Assessment System. Primary dependent measures included teacher use of evidence-based practices, student academic engagement, and teacher ratings of class wide student academic and behavior functioning along with perceived instrumental support, emotional support, and stress. The sample included 2195 students and 106 teachers randomly assigned to CSC coaching or waitlist control. Multilevel negative binomial modeling revealed that teachers in the CSC coaching condition had significant improvements in the frequency of academic praise (used 1.74 times more frequently) and behavior praise (used 2.10 times more frequently) as compared to teachers in the waitlist control condition. Multilevel linear models revealed that, relative to the waitlist control condition, teachers in the CSC coaching condition demonstrated significant improvements in quality of instruction (d = 0.52), behavior management (d = 0.60), and class wide student academic engagement (d = 0.41). Teachers reported significant improvements in class wide student academic (d = 0.96) and behavioral functioning (d = 1.24), instrumental support (d = 0.90) and emotional support (d = 1.04). No change was found for teacher stress. Implications for research and practice are reviewed.     

Links Between Stress, Positive and Negative Affect, and Life Satisfaction Among Teachers in Special Education Schools

This study focused on links between stress, positive and negative affect, and life satisfaction among teachers in special education schools. Teaching is a highly stressful profession, characterized by high rate of stress, burnout, and dropout. The study investigated: (a) whether teachers can maintain their positive affect and life satisfaction despite the stress they experience, and (b) the resources that may elicit positive affect and life satisfaction, including self-control as a personal skill and perceived organizational support (by peers, therapeutic staff, and manager) as an environmental resource. Participants were 125 teachers from 12 different special education schools. As expected, a positive link emerged between high stress levels and negative affect. Both self-control and organizational social support contributed to the explanation of positive affect and life satisfaction. Organizational support was found to moderate the link between stress and negative affect as well as the link between stress and positive affect and life satisfaction among teachers. The outcomes contributed both to the theoretical explanation about the role of resources in eliciting subjective well-being, happiness, and life satisfaction and also to the way teachers can be helped in daily coping with their difficulties.     

EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF BRIEF TRAINING ON THE ATTITUDES AND FUTURE USE OF BEHAVIORAL METHODS BY TEACHERS

Teachers from government and independent schools anonymously completed a measure of attitudes towards applied behavior analysis (ABA) before and after participation in a short seminar on ABA. A total of 187 primary teachers provided data on professional qualifications, years of teaching, school type, number of students in the classroom, and prior knowledge of ABA. Data were also collected on the number of students with a disability the teacher had instructed. Survey results suggested that, before and after the seminar, teachers held negative attitudes towards ABA. These attitudes, however, significantly and positively shifted after attending the seminar. Neither the number of students taught with a disability over the last 5 years nor teacher type (e.g., specialist or classroom) nor school type (e.g., independent or government) was significantly related to the attitude measure. The findings have implications for ongoing teacher education and professional development, as well as for school psychologists tailoring interventions and framing recommendations for teachers in mainstream primary settings. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The School-Based Mental Health Collaboration (SBMHC): A Multi-Level University-School Partnership

This article describes The School-Based Mental Health Collaboration (SBMHC), a novel school-based mental health partnership between Teachers College, Columbia University, and several high-poverty public grade schools in New York City. SBMHC is grounded in attachment and mentalization theory and practice. It applies nested mentalization to multilevel work with all school stakeholders, encouraging school leaders, faculty, staff, and parents to use mentalization with children, many of whom have experienced trauma. Graduate students serve as classroom consultants (CC), spending a half day per week in the classroom observing, doing push-in interventions, co-teaching a social-emotional learning curriculum, coaching the teacher, and making referrals for children. CCs follow up on referrals and coordinate among parents, teachers, and off-site providers. The CCs in turn receive weekly didactics and reflective clinical supervision. SBMHC works with school leaders to assess the school’s social-emotional climate, identify unmet need for mental health services, and locate low-cost providers in the community. SBMHC is a promising model that aims to enhance social-emotional learning for all students while also identifying and referring symptomatic students. It thus combines universal and targeted approaches to serving high-risk students at low-resourced schools.     

公费教育政策满意度对师范生教师职业认同的影响—社会认知因素的影响

采用问卷法,以839名公费师范生为研究对象,探究公费师范生政策满意度对师范生教师职业认同的影响,考察公费教育政策满意度、职业决策自我效能感、职业结果预期以及教师职业认同的关系。结果发现：（1）公费教育政策满意度显著正向预测教师职业认同;（2）职业决策自我效能感和职业结果预期在政策满意度和教师职业认同的关系中起中介作用,完全中介支持性政策满意度与教师职业认同的关系,部分中介限制性政策满意度与教师职业认同的关系。本研究通过社会认知职业理论解释了公费教育政策满意度与教师职业认同的关系路径,为提升公费师范生的教师职业认同提供了参考和借鉴。     

Reasoning About Single-Sex Schooling for Girls Among Students,Parents, and Teachers

The number of United States public schools offering single-sex education for girls has increased dramatically in the past decade. Rationales for all-girls schools are diverse and grounded in differing gender ideologies. We examined reasoning about all-girls schools among school stakeholders (i.e., individuals affected by single-sex schools, including students, parents, and teachers) in the Southwestern United States. Specifically, middle school students attending all-girls (n?=?398) and coeducational (n?=?191) schools, mothers of middle school students attending all-girls (n?=?217) and coeducational (n?=?64) schools, and teachers employed at all-girls (n?=?18) and coeducational (n?=?97) middle schools rated the veracity of multiple rationales for girls-only schools. Specifically, we examined rationales for single-sex schooling related to gender differences in learning, gender differences in interests, girls’ ingroup preference, and gender discrimination. Endorsement of rationales differed across participant role (student, parent, teacher) and school type (single-sex, coeducational). Overall, stakeholders affiliated with an all-girls school were more supportive of each rationale than stakeholders affiliated with coeducational schools. Teachers affiliated with the single-sex school strongly endorsed gender differences in learning as a rationale for single-sex schooling. Endorsement of rationales did not vary across participant gender. The implications of these findings for educational policy and the interpretation of research on single-sex schooling are discussed.     

Attitudes of Malaysian Teachers Toward a Performance-Appraisal System

This study investigated the attitudes of teachers of different ethnic origins in Malaysia toward an outcome-oriented performance appraisal, the New Performance Appraisal System (NPAS). It also investigated the relationship between teachers' attitudes toward the system and their job satisfaction and professional commitment. Teachers of the major ethnic origins in Malaysia—Malays, Chinese, and Indians—were selected randomly from 6 public high schools in the state of Kedah. The study found that teachers of all ethnic origins reported less favorable attitudes toward the NPAS, and that their cultural dimension had no bearing on attitudes toward the NPAS. Teachers who received appropriate explanation and supervision of their performance, despite low performance-appraisal results, reported high levels of job satisfaction and professional commitment.     

Do organizational conditions influence teacher implementation of effective classroom management practices: Findings from a randomized trial

Although there is a growing evidence base about effective classroom management practices, teacher implementation of these practices varies due to a number of factors. A school's organizational health is one aspect of the broader social environment that has been hypothesized to influence implementation of interventions. Yet, empirical evidence is limited on whether organizational contexts can influence teacher implementation of effective interventions and subsequently, classroom environments and student outcomes. In the present study, teachers in an urban school district were randomly assigned to receive training in the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management program (IY TCM), a classroom management intervention. We examined how teacher perceptions of their school environment moderated intervention effects for previously established treatment outcomes – implementation of effective classroom methods, students' social behaviors, emotional regulation, and social competence. Results showed that treatment effects on teacher implementation and student outcomes were moderated by teachers' sense of affiliation to their school. Specifically, main effects on implementation of effective classroom management strategies were only observed among teachers whose perceptions of initial teacher affiliation was low or average; whereas main effects on student outcomes were only found for teachers with initial high levels of affiliation.     

How class cohesion and teachers’ relatedness supportive/thwarting style relate to students’ relatedness,motivation, and positive and negative outcomes in physical education

The main goal of this study was to examine the links between class cohesion and teachers’ relatedness teaching style with students’ relatedness needs, motivation, and positive and negative outcomes in Physical Education. A total of 1294 students 10–18 years old (M = 14.40, SD = 1.99), 613 males (M = 14.48, SD = 1.95) and 681 females (M = 14.33, SD = 2.02), agreed to participate. They were enrolled in 88 classes belonging to 13 different primary and secondary schools in southwestern Spain. The study followed a correlational research design. Results of the multilevel path model showed a positive relationship between teachers’ relatedness support and class cohesion and behavioral and emotional engagement through relatedness need satisfaction and autonomous and controlled motivation. Results also showed a positive relationship between teachers’ relatedness thwarting and disruptive behaviors and problematic relationships through relatedness need frustration and amotivation. In conclusion, teachers’ relatedness behaviors and class cohesion can significantly impact the students’ relatedness and motivation, which in turn will affect their engagement and behaviors. A whole cascade of consequences begins with the way teachers teach and the cohesion generated in class. These first steps cannot be overlooked.     

A cluster randomized controlled trial of the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) curriculum

This randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluated the efficacy of the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies curriculum (PATHS; Kusche & Greenberg, 1994) as a means to improve children's social–emotional competence (assessed via the Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS); Gresham & Elliot, 2008) and mental health outcomes (assessed via the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ); Goodman, 1997). Forty-five schools in Greater Manchester, England, were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. Allocation was balanced by proportions of children eligible for free school meals and speaking English as an additional language via minimization. Children (N = 4516) aged 7–9 years at baseline in the participating schools were the target cohort. During the two-year trial period, teachers of this cohort in schools allocated to the intervention group delivered the PATHS curriculum, while their counterparts in the control group continued their usual provision. Teachers in PATHS schools received initial training and on-going support and assistance from trained coaches. Hierarchical linear modeling of outcome data was undertaken to identify both primary (e.g., for all children) and secondary (e.g., for children classified as “at-risk”) intervention effects. A primary effect of the PATHS curriculum was found, demonstrating increases in teacher ratings of changes in children's social–emotional competence. Additionally, secondary effects of PATHS were identified, showing reductions in teacher ratings of emotional symptoms and increases in pro-social behavior and child ratings of engagement among children identified as at-risk at baseline. However, our analyses also identified primary effects favoring the usual provision group, showing reductions in teacher ratings of peer problems and emotional symptoms, and secondary effects demonstrating reductions in teacher ratings of conduct problems and child ratings of co-operation among at-risk children. Effect sizes were small in all cases. These mixed findings suggest that social and emotional learning interventions such as PATHS may not be as efficacious when implemented outside their country of origin and evaluated in independent trials.     

From teachers’ implicit theories of intelligence to job stress: The mediating role of teachers’ causal attribution of students’ academic achievement

To better understand the cognitive antecedents of teachers’ stress in the school setting, the effects of teachers’ beliefs regarding intelligence and their causal attributions of students’ academic performance on teachers’ job stress were examined in the current study. We recruited 271 teachers who voluntarily filled out an anonymous questionnaire. Findings demonstrated that teachers who endorsed the entity theory of intelligence tended to attribute students’ poor performance to students’ inability but not lack of effort. Results showed a positive relationship between teachers’ fixed view of intelligence and job stress, and this relationship was mediated by teachers’ attributing students’ poor performance to students’ lack of ability, even after controlling for teacher efficacy. We suggest to promote the psychological health of teachers by incorporating intelligence mindset and attribution training programs in preservice teacher education, professional development, and cognitive behavioral stress intervention for in-service teachers.     

Randomized trial testing the integration of the Good Behavior Game and MyTeachingPartner™: The moderating role of distress among new teachers on student outcomes

A growing body of research documents the effectiveness of classroom management programs on a range of student outcomes, yet few early-career teachers receive training on these practices prior to entering the classroom. Moreover, few studies have attended to how variations in teacher distress or level of classroom misbehavior affects training benefits. This study reports findings from a randomized trial of a teacher training program that combined two evidence-based programs (Good Behavior Game [GBG] and MyTeachingPartner™ [MTP]) to determine their impact on novice teachers and their students. In addition, the current study reports findings on moderated impacts by initial teacher distress as well as the overall classroom level of misbehavior. The sample included 188 early-career teachers (grades K-3) in their first three years of teaching from three large, urban school districts. Analyses indicated that intervention had no main effects, but yielded moderated impact depending on the combination of the baseline levels of classroom disruptive behavior and teacher distress; it appears that the program impacts were greatest in the highest risk circumstance (i.e., high teacher stress and elevated challenging student behaviors). For those classrooms, those assigned to intervention evidence improved behavior and student achievement compared to control counterparts by the spring of the training year, relative to the fall baseline (d = 0.18–0.70 depending on outcome). This study is significant in that it highlights effects during a critical window of training and coaching for early career teachers and the need to consider teacher and classroom contextual factors that may moderate professional development efforts.     

Relationships between work-related characteristics,needs satisfaction,motivation and mental health in midwifery students

The present study examined the relationships between work-related characteristics in internships, psychological needs satisfaction, motivation and mental health using a partial least squares path modeling. Midwifery students (N = 214; M_age = 22.8 years) from three French schools completed different questionnaires online. Results showed (1) the importance of work resources (work control and social support) as protective factors of psychological needs satisfaction; and (2) the role of competence need satisfaction through motivation in the relationships between work resources and mental health. Midwifery schools should pay more attention to these two results, and take them into account in midwifery students’ training.     

The Disproportionality Dilemma: Patterns of Teacher Referrals to School Counselors for Disruptive Behavior

Disproportionality plagues schools nationwide in special education placement, dropout, discipline referral, suspension, and expulsion rates. This study examined predictors of teacher referrals to school counselors for disruptive behavior in a sample of students selected from the Educational Longitudinal Study 2002 (National Center for Education Statistics, n.d.). Findings demonstrated that students’ race predicted English teacher referrals; students’ gender, previous disciplinary infractions, and teachers’ postsecondary expectations for students predicted English and math teacher referrals. Implications for practice, policy, and research are discussed.     

Perceptions of High School Biology Teachers in Christian Schools on Relationships Between Religious Beliefs and Teaching Evolution

This mixed method study explored Christian teachers’ beliefs in religious schools on evolution, their attitudes toward evolution, and their perceptions on the effect of those beliefs on the teaching of evolutionary content. Teachers (N?=?52) from Association for Christian Schools International (ACSI) accredited schools in California and Hawaii participated in the quantitative component of the study. Path analysis revealed that teacher beliefs had a significant effect on attitude, and attitude a significant effect on evolution teaching. Biology teachers were further interviewed from the sample. Results showed that teachers’ beliefs regarding evolution and their Christian faith were mixed and complex.