Purpose − This survey research investigated important issues concerning computer use among novice graduate teachers from teacher training colleges in Sabah. The first issue was concerned with the ...levels of computer attitudes (CA) and computer use. The second was concerned with the effects of CA on computer use (CU). The third was concerned with moderating effects of the school environment (SE) on relationship between CA and computer use. Method − A set of questionnaires was used as the research instrument and stratified systematic sampling was used to determine the research samples. The sample consisted of 192 primary and secondary school teachers. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (factor analysis and regression analysis). Research hypotheses were tested at significance level of a = 0.05. Findings − The findings showed that novice teachers have moderate CA and CU. CA had significant effects on computer use. SE has moderating impacts on the relationships between CA towards CU. Value − The study provided wider implications for theory development, practices and policymaking that can be associated with the computer use among teachers. As a whole, most of the theoretical rationales used in explaining those relationships have been supported.
This is an investigation by a participant researcher into the 'hidden world' of Further Education (FE). I became interested in how the many innovations, which have occurred in the past twenty years ...have made FE staff feel and how this effected their work and how they coped with what often felt like the conflicting demands of constant change. This is longitudinal insider research with a political edge as it is an examination of one of New Labour's major inclusion strategies, as it covers almost all of the twelve years they were in power. Over this period I have seen staff concerns change, as have their 'folk devils', and as lecturers and support staff went through different 'moral panics' during a period of massive change and uncertainty in the post compulsory sector. The original grounded theory type emergent categories and my own personal ontology lead me to adopt the position of a 'critical realist' where I have also attempted to incorporate a Feminist stance with some insights from sociological theorists like Bourdieu. Through the Literature Review I looked at the wider social and political issues of 'new managerialism', 'globalisation', 'proletarianisation', 'intensification of labour', the 'audit culture' and the casualisation and 'deprofessionalisation' of academic staff. These and other issues had emerged as possible reasons for the way staff said they felt in my interviews with tutors and my long term participant observations in three colleges and the results from one local stress survey and one national questionnaire of college managers. My conclusions are that many staff who choose to stay in FE are to a degree alienated but not anomic, they still believe in their role despite the changes and take pride and pleasure in their work, especially their interaction with students. The work place and division of labour are gendered both vertically and horizontally. Staff and trainers are unsure of the effectiveness of the new training but recognise that they need more skills to deal with the newer student groups. The different cultural capital, 'habitus' and 'fields' work against a common professionalism developing and these are unlikely to disappear.
This quantitative study used Teacher Leadership Inventory (TLI) to survey the views and perceptions of public (government-funded) school teachers on factors that influence teacher leadership in ...Qatar. The survey sample was 2,969 participants in public (government) schools in Qatar. The results revealed significant differences for TLI in four factors (sharing expertise, sharing leadership, supra-practitioner, and principal selection). Thus, whereas teachers' qualification and nationality emerged as significant for sharing expertise, the leadership position and nationality were significant for sharing leadership. The results further revealed the significance of years of experience, gender, degree level, and nationality for supra-practitioner and leadership position, nationality, and years of experience for principal selection. The paper concludes with relevant recommendations for policy makers and educators and suggestions for further research to explore salient aspects of teacher leadership in further detail.
Research has demonstrated that an important factor in the success of inclusive education is dependent upon teachers' attitudes. Based on this evidence, the present study investigated the impact of a ...range of teacher variables in association with training on primary pre-service teachers' attitudes by examining total inclusion scores, positive affect, training and perceived competence, and negative affect. Three-hundred and forty-two participants from a metropolitan Australian University studying primary school education completed the Teacher Attitudes to Inclusion Scale (adapted). Comparisons were made between participants who had received training on special education, compared with those who had not. The analyses revealed that overall, studying an elective unit on inclusive education had a positive influence over pre-service teachers' attitudes. It was found that teaching experience had a significantly negative impact on pre-service teachers' attitudes. The present study demonstrates the vital role that training institutions play in developing appropriate attitudes to inclusive education with significant issues around teacher training being examined. The research has important implications for training institutions, with future research being discussed.
The aim of this study was to analyse and compare teachers' attitudes towards inclusive education in two culturally different countries: Finland and Japan. A sample of 362 Finnish and 1518 Japanese ...teachers participated in this survey. The teachers' attitudes varied and were rather critical. The Finnish teachers were more worried about teachers' efficacy when implementing inclusion, particularly when teaching students with intellectual disabilities or emotional and behavioural problems. The Japanese teachers had a more positive view on the benefits of inclusion for disabled or non-disabled students. Because Finnish schools emphasise the effectiveness of special education, the Finnish teachers in this study were more critical than the Japanese teachers of the idea that the efficacy discourse justifies the need for inclusive education. The findings support the idea that, to improve the universal understanding of inclusive education, more research should be done to analyse how inclusive education developments are realised in different cultural and historical contexts.
The implementation of inclusive policies is largely dependent on teachers' willingness to accommodate students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream classrooms, which is affected by ...their perceived competence and attitudes. This study investigated attitudes of pre- and in-service teachers toward students with two types of SEN: challenging behavior and learning difficulties. The three components of attitudes (affective, cognitive, and behavioral) were assessed using indirect and direct measures. Results revealed that teachers held negative implicit attitudes toward challenging behavior and learning difficulties, however, implicit attitudes did not vary as a function of the type of SEN. Ratings of the stereotypical dimensions warmth and competence and overall ratings of scholastic achievement were affected by professional status and type of SEN. Professional status, implicit attitudes, and stereotypical knowledge together explained 52 and 43% of the variance in teachers' ratings of academic proficiency for students with challenging behavior and learning difficulties, respectively. Results are interpreted within the theoretical framework and implications for teacher training are discussed.
Se hace un estudio de las variables que afectan a las actitudes de los maestros hacia la integración escolar de niños con necesidades especiales en dieciséis centros educativos normales de la ...provincia de Guipúzcoa.
No se encuentran relaciones entre las actitudes de los maestros y el sexo, la lengua materna, tipo de centro, nivel de apoyo administrativo o técnico, tiempo de contacto con los niños (tiempo de integración). Sí que se observan relaciones significativas entre las variables actitudes y las variables número de alumnos por aula, actividades extraescolares, información, diagnóstico, nivel educativo, edad de los maestros.
En general, no obstante, las actitudes tienden a ser positivas.
Se analizan y discuten los resultados y se recoge la importancia de una consideración multidimensional del estudio de las actitudes de los maestros hacia la integración escolar de niños con necesidades especiales.
This paper uses structural equation modelling (SEM) to examine the influence of teachers' attitudes and school context on reported instructional practices in integrated STEM (Science, Technology, ...Engineering and Mathematics). Instead of using an overall measure for integrated STEM, five specific characteristics (integration, problem-centered, inquiry-based, design-based, and cooperative learning) are examined to get a more in-depth and nuanced insight into the factors influencing implementation. For each STEM characteristic, teachers’ attitudes are positively linked with instructional practices Moreover, different aspects of school context influence instructional practices either directly or indirectly. Opportunities for ameliorating the implementation of integrated STEM are discussed.
•A framework with five principles for integrated STEM is proposed.•Teachers' attitudes influence their instructional practices for each STEM principle.•Management support is the most important factor of school context.
The success of inclusive education is dependent upon classroom teachers implementing adaptations for children with disabilities. Given that willingness to make such adaptations is influenced by ...teacher attitudes, the current study examined teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education through a meta-analysis of 64 samples that were found via a systematic literature search. The results indicated that teachers hold a positive attitude towards inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream schools and that these attitudes are moderated by an interplay of cultural and demographical factors. The findings offer a renewed basis for intervention research into improving educational opportunities for children around the world.
•Teachers generally hold positive attitudes towards including children with disabilities in mainstream schools.•Interplays between cultural and demographic factors moderate the strength of these attitudes.•The cultural moderators suggest that interventions must be adapted to specific parts of the world.
The recent interest in the use of Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) in education seems to correspond with the increased affordability, accessibility and functionality of IVR hardware and software. IVR ...has the potential to enhance
immersion, improve spatial capabilities, promote empathy, increase motivation and possibly improve learning outcomes. However, the extent to which teachers capitalise on these potentials in the future depends their perceptions of IVR and
their behavioural intentions to use it. Accordingly, this study aimed to identify relevant factors and influences relating to preservice teachers' behavioural intention to use IVR, using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of
Technology 2 (UTAUT2) model. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that UTAUT2 provided a suitable model to describe preservice teachers' perceptions of IVR on all dimensions (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence,
facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, price value, habit and behavioural intention), with hedonic motivation receiving the highest scores and habit scoring the lowest. Interview responses revealed the reasons for the substantial
variation in preservice teacher perceptions, which depended on a range of external- ("first-order"), internal- ("second-order") and design ("third-order")-related issues. Implications for schools, educational leaders and teacher
education are discussed. Author abstract
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