Implications of Teacher Life–Work Histories for Conceptualisations of ‘Care’: Narratives from Rural Zimbabwe

Schools are increasingly seen as key sites for support to HIV‐affected and other vulnerable children, and teachers are assigned the critical role of identifying and providing psychosocial support. Drawing on the life–work history narratives of 12 teachers in Zimbabwe, this paper explores the psychosocial processes underpinning teachers' conceptualisations of these caring roles. The influence of prolonged adversity, formative relationships, and broader patterns of social and institutional change in teacher identity formation processes speak to the complex and embodied nature of understandings of ‘care’. In such extreme settings teachers prioritise the material and disciplinary aspects of ‘care’ that they see as essential for supporting children to overcome hardship. This focus not only means that emotional support as envisaged in international policy is commonly overlooked, but also exposes a wider ideological clash about childrearing. This tension together with an overall ambivalence surrounding teacher identities puts further strain on teacher–student relationships. We propose the current trainings on providing emotional support are insufficient and that more active focus needs to be directed at support to teachers in relation with their students. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Learners’ perceptions and experiences of respect in educator-learner relationships

The aim of the study was to explore and describe secondary school learners’ perceptions and experiences of respect in educator-learner relationships within a high-risk South African neighbourhood context. A qualitative research design was used in this study. The 15 participants were high school learners (females = 33%, age range 17 to 21 years). Data on how learners perceive and experience respect in educator-learner relationships were gathered utilising written assignments, and through the application of the World Café technique. Thematic analysis was used to identify relevant relationship themes for learners: mutuality, various behavioural practices and emotional attitudes. All school communities should promote relational well-being practices amongst educators and learners.     

How do my students think about ME as an English-language teacher?

The concepts of student-centered classrooms, empowering students with communicative competences to be able to voice their ideas in the surrounding community, powerless and marginalized strata, are conspicuous and prevalent in recent research articles. Teachers are well-acquainted with pertinent underpinnings and theories of teaching methodologies; and some research is also conducted to see how those learned theories in pre-service and in-service programs are implemented in their real-life classrooms. But, the teachers’ reflection on implementation of their teaching practices in classrooms is still a venue which needs further investigation within an international scope. Here, my own teaching practice within a period of two semesters is reflected through the 61 male and female students’ sharp and meticulous eyes, which is reflected in their written responses to the posed question at the end of their final exams, and some of my notes from their comments in each of their classes. The Constant Comparative method was then used to unearth students’ comments and feedback on both my personality as an English-language teacher, and my teaching practice respectively.     

Singaporean kindergartners' phonological awareness and English writing skills

This article describes the phonological awareness and English writing skills among a sample of 297 Singaporean kindergarten children, stratified by ethnicity (Chinese, Malay, and Indian), and examines the relationship between oral language and writing skills in this multilingual population. Overall, Singaporean kindergartners, nearly all of whom were bilingual, scored higher on English writing but lower on English oral language skills than U.S. norms. Despite literacy instruction that emphasized whole-word memorization, phonological awareness statistically significantly predicted English writing scores, controlling for English vocabulary, ethnicity, sex, and an interaction between English vocabulary and sex. The current study's findings highlight the possibility of developing high literacy skills among bilingual learners with low oral language skills. In addition, the study demonstrates children's development of phonological awareness in the absence of phonological awareness or phonics instruction and supports the theory that both alphabetic (phonological) processes and logographic (whole-word) processes contribute to successful English literacy achievement.     

Second language vocabulary level is related to benefits for second language listening comprehension under lower reverberation time conditions

The acoustic qualities of a room can have a deleterious effect on the quality of speech signals. The acoustic measurement of reverberation time (RT) has shown to impact second language (L2) speech comprehension positively when lower due to release from spectral and temporal masking effects as well as top-down processing factors. This auralization experiment investigated the benefits of better L2 vocabulary and executive function (updating) skills during L2 listening comprehension tests under shorter versus longer RT conditions (0.3 and 0.9?s). 57 bilingual university students undertook L2 vocabulary, number updating and L2 listening comprehension tests. After splitting groups into high/low vocabulary and updating groups, a mixed ANOVA was conducted. The high number updating group showed no significant differences or interactions in L2 listening comprehension than the lower number updating group across RT conditions. The high vocabulary group had 22% better L2 listening comprehension than the low vocabulary group in long RT, and 9% better in short RT. A significant benefit in L2 listening comprehension due to release from reverberation was only evident in the high vocabulary group. Results indicate that the benefit of good room acoustics for listening comprehension is greatest for those with better language (vocabulary) ability.     

Deliberative Discourse Idealized and Realized: Accountable Talk in the Classroom and in Civic Life

Classroom discussion practices that can lead to reasoned participation by all students are presented and described by the authors. Their research emphasizes the careful orchestration of talk and tasks in academic learning. Parallels are drawn to the philosophical work on deliberative discourse and the fundamental goal of equipping all students to participate in academically productive talk. These practices, termed Accountable Talk^SM, emphasize the forms and norms of discourse that support and promote equity and access to rigorous academic learning. They have been shown to result in academic achievement for diverse populations of students. The authors outline Accountable Talk as encompassing three broad dimensions: one, accountability to the learning community, in which participants listen to and build their contributions in response to those of others; two, accountability to accepted standards of reasoning, talk that emphasizes logical connections and the drawing of reasonable conclusions; and, three, accountability to knowledge, talk that is based explicitly on facts, written texts, or other public information. With more than fifteen years research into Accountable Talk applications across a wide range of classrooms and grade levels, the authors detail the challenges and limitations of contexts in which discourse norms are not shared by all members of the classroom community.

语境和构词法线索对外国学生汉语词义猜测的作用

要求学习汉语的欧美和日本留学生对三种条件下(只有词没有语境、只有语境没有词、既有词也有语境)的语义半透明的双音复合词进行猜测, 考察语境和构词法线索在欧美和日本留学生汉语生词猜测中的作用。结果显示：在猜测词义中语境和构词法线索分别都能提供一定的信息, 但同时提供两种信息能得到更好的猜测; 语境和构词法线索在生词猜测过程中所起的作用不同, 语境能提供更多句法上的信息, 构词法能提供更多语义上的信息; 目标词的结构方式对生词猜测产生影响, 与动宾式生词相比, 偏正式生词的猜测较为容易且构词法线索在其中的作用较大; 母语文字背景可能影响词义猜测的效果, 日本留学生对于构词法、语境线索以及两者的整合都比欧美留学生好。     

自我调节学习:策略型学习者实现自我效能的超越

自我调节学习与自我效能感是当今教育心理学和教学心理学的两个重要概念。自我调节学习是学习者为了保证学习的成功、提高学习的效果、达到学习的目标主动地运用与调控元认知、动机与行为的过程。自我效能感是个体对自己是否能够成功地进行某一成就行为的主观判断,它是直接影响个体自我调控的关键变量。文章在分析策略型学习者与自我调节学习的基础上,认为增强策略型学习者的自我调节学习能力,是实现教育目标的手段,也是策略型学习者实现自我效能超越的重要内容。自我调节学习也是促进学生全面发展,具备适应未来社会生活的终身学习和可持续发展的意识和能力的必然要求。     

Evoking children's spirituality in the reciprocal relationships of a learning community

Findings from my doctoral research suggest that the reciprocal relationships within a learning community can evoke and nurture children's spirituality. The study investigated the development of a community of learners in four primary school classrooms in Aotearoa New Zealand. A key finding of this study showed that when teachers and children learned together, shared decisions, and respected and trusted one another, changes were observed in some children that could not be explained in intellectual, social or emotional terms. Further analyses of these data revealed qualities that pointed to a spiritual essence. This paper presents these spiritually themed results and explores the argument that the caring, responsive and reciprocal relationships of a community of learners can provide opportunities for spiritual development.     

Examining the role of time and language type in reading development for English Language Learners

The purpose of this study was to examine the development of English reading achievement among English Language Learners (ELLs) and to determine whether the time that an ELL's family was in the United States and the type of native language spoken affected their reading development. Participants were 300 third-grade ELLs from two different native language backgrounds (93 Somali-speaking and 207 Spanish-speaking students) who attended a large Midwestern urban school district. Students' reading achievement was assessed using curriculum-based measurement and a statewide reading assessment. Moderated multiple regression and multiple-group latent growth curve analyses were conducted. Results indicated that the time an ELL's family had been in the U.S. was an important factor in understanding the development of ELLs' reading achievement, whereas language type did not appear to be as important. Implications for research and practice associated with understanding and promoting English reading development among ELLs are discussed.