This study explores different perceptions of pre-service and beginning teachers’ professional identity in relation to their decisions to leave the profession. Teachers’ professional identity was ...further broken down into six factors: value, efficacy, commitment, emotions, knowledge and beliefs, and micropolitics. This study employed mixed-methods which included 84 participant surveys, and 27 interviews from four groups of participants at different stages of teaching. The findings of this study showed that pre-service teachers tended to have naïve and idealistic perceptions of teaching, and dropout teachers showed most emotional burnout. Implications for improvement of teacher education and retention of beginning teachers are discussed.
The demographic divide between teachers and students is of growing public concern. However, few studies have explicitly addressed the common argument that students, and particularly minority ...students, have more favorable perceptions of minority versus White teachers. Using data from the Measure of Effective Teaching study, we find that students perceive minority teachers more favorably than White teachers. There is mixed evidence that race matching is linked with more favorable student perceptions. These findings underscore the importance of minority teacher recruitment and retention.
The present study explores the relationship between Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) and a number of teacher-centered variables within the Spanish ...classroom context. Participants were 210 former and current learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) from all over Spain who filled out an online questionnaire with Likert scale items. A moderate negative relationship emerged between FLE and FLCA. Participants who had an L1 English speaker as a teacher reported more FLE and less FLCA than those with a foreign language user of English. Teacher characteristics predicted close to 20% of variance in FLE but only 8% of variance in FLCA. The strongest positive predictor of FLE was a teacher's friendliness while a teacher's foreign accent was a weaker negative predictor. Teacher-centered variables predicted much less variance for FLCA. Participants experienced more FLCA with younger teachers, very strict teachers, and teachers who did not use the foreign language much in class. The findings confirm earlier research that FLE seems to be more dependent on the teachers' pedagogical skills than FLCA.
Digital technology plays a crucial role in modern second/foreign language education. Enormous changes in technology and the growing emphasis on 21st century skills raise a concern about English as a ...foreign language (EFL) teachers' competencies in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) more than ever. In response to the mounting concern, this study investigates pre-service EFL teachers' readiness in the use of CALL in the Hong Kong context. It explores the experiences and self-efficacy of participants with respect to the evaluation of the current English teacher education curriculum for CALL at a university in Hong Kong and factors affecting the participants' acceptance and willingness to use CALL. In-depth interviews were conducted with six pre-service EFL teachers to reveal the reality of the teachers' attitudes, perceptions and experiences regarding the use of technology. Findings provide insights into the significance of language teacher education in CALL and ways for fostering pre-service EFL teachers' knowledge and skills in the implementation of CALL. Practical implications are made for effective teacher training for CALL in EFL contexts.
Understanding teachers' stress is of critical importance to address the challenges in today's educational climate. Growing numbers of teachers are reporting high levels of occupational stress, and ...high levels of teacher turnover are having a negative impact on education quality. Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education (CARE for Teachers) is a mindfulness-based professional development program designed to promote teachers' social and emotional competence and improve the quality of classroom interactions. The efficacy of the program was assessed using a cluster randomized trial design involving 36 urban elementary schools and 224 teachers. The CARE for Teachers program involved 30 hr of in-person training in addition to intersession phone coaching. At both pre- and postintervention, teachers completed self-report measures and assessments of their participating students. Teachers' classrooms were observed and coded using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). Analyses showed that CARE for Teachers had statistically significant direct positive effects on adaptive emotion regulation, mindfulness, psychological distress, and time urgency. CARE for Teachers also had a statistically significant positive effect on the emotional support domain of the CLASS. The present findings indicate that CARE for Teachers is an effective professional development both for promoting teachers' social and emotional competence and increasing the quality of their classroom interactions.
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