Depressive Symptoms in Third‐Grade Teachers: Relations to Classroom Quality and Student Achievement          下载免费PDF全文

Leigh McLean  Carol McDonald Connor 《Child development》2015,86(3):945-954

This study investigated associations among third‐grade teachers' (N = 27) symptoms of depression, quality of the classroom‐learning environment (CLE), and students' (N = 523, M_age = 8.6 years) math and literacy performance. teachers' depressive symptoms in the winter negatively predicted students' spring mathematics achievement. This depended on students' fall mathematics scores; students who began the year with weaker math skills and were in classrooms where teachers reported more depressive symptoms achieved smaller gains than did peers whose teachers reported fewer symptoms. teachers' depressive symptoms were negatively associated with quality of CLE, and quality of CLE mediated the association between depressive symptoms and student achievement. The findings point to the importance of teachers' mental health, with implications for policy and practice.  相似文献   

Depression,Control, and Climate: An Examination of Factors Impacting Teaching Quality in Preschool Classrooms     

Lia E. Sandilos  Lauren M. Cycyk  Carol Scheffner Hammer  Brook E. Sawyer  Lisa López  Clancy Blair 《Early education and development》2013,24(8):1111-1127

Research Findings: This study investigated the relationship of preschool teachers’ self-reported depressive symptomatology, perception of classroom control, and perception of school climate to classroom quality as measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System Pre-K. The sample consisted of 59 urban preschool classrooms serving low-income and linguistically diverse students in the northeastern and southeastern United States. Results of hierarchical linear modeling revealed that teachers’ individual reports of depressive symptomatology were significantly and negatively predictive of the observed quality of their instructional support and classroom organization. Practice or Policy: The findings of this study have implications for increasing access to mental health supports for teachers in an effort to minimize depressive symptoms and potentially improve classroom quality.  相似文献   

Relative Contributions of Prekindergarten and Kindergarten to Children's Literacy and Mathematics Skills     

Lori E. Skibbe  Annemarie H. Hindman  Carol M. Connor  Michelle Housey  Frederick J. Morrison 《Early education and development》2013,24(5):687-703

Research Findings: A difficulty for developmental researchers is disambiguating children's general maturation from the influence of schooling. In this study, we use a natural experiment to examine the influence of prekindergarten and kindergarten schooling experiences on the development of literacy and mathematics. Children (n = 60) whose birthdates fell within 2 months of the state-determined cutoff date for prekindergarten and kindergarten entry were administered 4 subtests of the Woodcock–Johnson III Tests of Achievement in the fall and spring of the school year. Using hierarchical linear modeling coupled with propensity score matching, we found that children who were starting kindergarten and who had prior experience in prekindergarten had higher scores on measures of phonological awareness, early reading, and mathematics skills than did children who had not attended prekindergarten previously, even though they were essentially the same age. Fall vocabulary scores did not differ in relation to whether children had prekindergarten experience. In addition, although children who attended kindergarten as well as those who attended prekindergarten exhibited growth on all measures during the school year, children who attended kindergarten demonstrated greater gains in early reading and vocabulary during the school year. Practice or Policy: These findings highlight the potential of early schooling processes to facilitate children's intellectual growth.  相似文献   

Our Practice, Their Readiness: Teacher Educators Collaborate to Explore and Improve Preservice Teacher Readiness for Science and Math Instruction     

Astrid Steele  Christine Brew  Carol Rees  Sheliza Ibrahim-Khan 《Journal of Science Teacher Education》2013,24(1):111-131

Since many preservice teachers (PTs) display anxiety over teaching math and science, four PT educators collaborated to better understand the PTs’ background experiences and attitudes toward those subjects. The research project provided two avenues for professional learning: the data collected from the PTs and the opportunity for collaborative action research. The mixed method study focused on: the relationship between gender and undergraduate major (science versus non-science) with respect to previous and current engagement in science and math, understanding the processes of inquiry, and learning outside the classroom. A field trip to a science center provided the setting for the data collection. From a sample of 132 PTs, a multivariate analysis showed that the science major of PTs explained most of the gender differences with respect to the PTs’ attitudes toward science and mathematics. The process of inquiry is generally poorly interpreted by PTs, and non-science majors prefer a more social approach in their learning to teach science and math. The four educators/collaborators reflect on the impacts of the research on their individual practices, for example, the need to: include place-based learning, attend to the different learning strategies taken by non-science majors, emphasize social and environmental contexts for learning science and math, be more explicit regarding the processes of science inquiry, and provide out-of-classroom experiences for PTs. They conclude that the collaboration, though difficult at times, provided powerful opportunities for examining individual praxis.  相似文献   

Preparing Teachers for Anti‐oppressive Education: International movements     

Kevin K. Kumashiro  Sikunder Ali Baber  Eric Richardson  Carol Ricker‐Wilson  Pia L. Wong 《Teaching Education》2013,24(3):257-275

While theories and recommendations continue to proliferate in the educational research literature on what it means to teach towards social justice and to prepare teachers for such teaching, so do concerns that these theories and recommendations fail to account for the ways that the contexts of teaching—cultural contexts, national contexts, political contexts—always affect teaching in idiosyncratic, unpredictable and even contradictory ways. Given that much educational research fails to trouble the US‐centric nature of prevailing conceptions of social justice and teacher education, it is important to learn about the unique as well as shared challenges facing teacher educators around the globe. In this article, teacher educators from Asia, Africa, North America and South America offer a sampling of initiatives in anti‐oppressive teacher education; that is, initiatives to prepare teachers to teach various subject matters to various age groups, addressing various forms of oppression in various cultural and community contexts.  相似文献   

Severity differences among self-assessors,peer-assessors,and teacher assessors rating EFL essays     

Rajab Esfandiari  Carol M. Myford 《Assessing Writing》2013,18(2):111-131

We compared three assessor types (self-assessors, peer-assessors, and teacher assessors) to determine whether they differed in the levels of severity they exercised when rating essays. We analyzed the ratings of 194 assessors who evaluated 188 essays that students enrolled in two state-run universities in Iran wrote. The assessors employed a 6-point analytic scale to provide ratings on 15 assessment criteria. The results of our analysis showed that of the three assessor types, teacher assessors were the most severe while self-assessors were the most lenient, although there was a great deal of variability in the levels of severity that assessors within each type exercised.  相似文献   

Assessing the 21st Century After-School Program and the Educational Gains of LEP Participants: A Contextual Approach     

Carol Ward  Benjamin G. Gibbs  Rilee Buttars  Patricia Grace Gaither  Bert Burraston 《Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk》2013,18(4):312-335

This study examines math and English standardized test score progress of students who participated in the 21st century program across 2 years of involvement with a focus on the learning trajectories of limited English proficiency (LEP) students. We find that math and English scores are highly associated with the school and program type—even within a single school district. LEP participants are the furthest behind but have the highest gains compared to other participants. Results vary based on the type of outcome (math or reading), the type of activity (academic or enrichment), and the grade level (elementary or middle school).  相似文献   

EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHERS’ PLAYFULNESS AND AMBIGUITY TOLERANCE: ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF ENCOURAGING CREATIVE POTENTIAL OF CHILDREN     

Deborah W. Tegano  Melissa M. Groves  Carol E. Catron 《Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education》2013,34(3):291-300

This article examines the concept of an early childhood teacher learning, in stages, a new method for integrating the arts into the early childhood curriculum. An early childhood graduate course, Aesthetics as Learning, is the learning ground. In this course, the graduate students discover the “Adult Within,” the “Child Within,” the “Teacher Within” and the “Artist Within.” The innovative component is the fourth dimension, which is defined as learning to “feel like an Artist Within.” This is accomplished through 1-hour arts experiences in every 3-hour class, where the graduate student experiences the arts followed by discussion and reflection on the readings with a facilitative teacher in a supportive environment.  相似文献   

The best for our youngest: A separate,vital, stand‐alone early childhood certification,birth ‐ age 8     

Carol Sue Marshall 《Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education》2013,34(3):201-206

Abstract

The call for educational reform is loud. Concern about the quality of students being graduated from public high schools, large numbers of students dropping out before graduation, and poor results on achievement tests in the lower grades continues to grow. As the public seeks an end to such problems, policy makers react by raising standards and making exams tougher. Such solutions may have positive impact; however, early childhood professionals are anxious about such a response. Research tells us experiences in the earliest years create a pathway for all later learning. Further, we know that adults who help provide those early experiences must be prepared to focus on the specific developmental and academic needs of young learners. Research confirms the cost effectiveness of quality early programs, and students affirm the need for teacher preparation to be focused specifically on their needs. Offering stand‐alone teacher certification for birth ‐ age 8 will insure that teachers exist who can effectively build a solid foundation for young students. © 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.  相似文献   

Teachers' Knowledge of Literacy Concepts,Classroom Practices,and Student Reading Growth     

Shayne B. Piasta  Carol McDonald Connor  Barry J. Fishman  Frederick J. Morrison 《Scientific Studies of Reading》2013,17(3):224-248

We examined the relations of teacher knowledge (n = 42 first-grade teachers), explicit decoding instruction provided, and students' (n = 437) word-reading gains. Results revealed an interaction between teacher knowledge and observed decoding instruction: For students of more knowledgeable teachers, more time in explicit instruction predicted stronger word-reading gains. For students of less knowledgeable teachers, more time in explicit instruction was associated with weaker skill gains. Findings highlight the importance of teachers' specialized body of knowledge about reading as it informs effective instruction.  相似文献