Wullschleger, Andrea
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Teaching quality in kindergarten. professional development and quality of adaptive learning support enhances mathematical competency
AbstractAdaptive learning support provided by kindergarten teachers before and after (macro-adaptive learning support) as well as during mathematical learning activities (micro-adaptive learning support) is a cross-cutting concept of teaching quality. Effective adaptive learning support enhances children’s learning. However, providing it is challenging and teachers need professional development (PD) to improve the quality of their support. This study investigates the mediating role of teaching quality between PD programs for kindergarten teachers and the development of children’s mathematical competency. 122 kindergarten teachers and their 825 pupils participated in the study. The teachers were randomly assigned to three groups. Two groups attended PD sessions designed to foster either macro- or micro-adaptive learning support. The third was the materials-only control group. The data was analyzed using a self-developed rating instrument focusing on generic and domain-specific elements of teaching quality related to macro- and micro-adaptive learning support. The multilevel latent change model analysis revealed that the PD programs had positive and significant effects on the teaching quality of kindergarten teachers. A significant positive relationship was also found between micro-adaptive learning support and changes in children’s mathematical competency. However, an indirect effect of teaching quality could not be detected, and the PD programs did not have a total effect on children’s mathematical competency. The study reinforces the importance of PD that specifically targets macro- and micro-adaptive learning support for kindergarten teachers. The mediation between PD and mathematical competency development requires further investigation.
No Loss, No Gain? COVID-19 school closures and Swiss fifth-graders' competencies and self-concept in mathematics
COVID-19-related school closures in spring 2020 interrupted learning routines and posed a great challenge for students' competencies acquisition and self-concepts. Concerns about possible learning losses due to school closures, especially for disadvantaged students, are justified, but the currently available empirical evidence is still scarce, varies greatly with regard to context, and neglects reciprocal effects of competencies and self-concept. To address these shortcomings, this paper first provides insights on the effect that the 8 weeks of school closures had on Swiss primary school students' math competencies. IRT-based math tests were used to cross-sectionally compare data from 1,299 students in Grade 5 in late spring 2020 shortly after the reopening of schools with data from a previous year's cohort ( n = 11,314) using propensity score matching. The results revealed no significant differences in math competencies and no evidence of an increase in inequality when children with not German (vs German) as their first language were studied. Second, changes in math self-concepts in the school year 2019/20, when the pandemic first hit, as well as reciprocal effects of math competencies and math self-concept were assessed longitudinally ( n = 1,299) using random intercept cross-lagged panel models based on three measurement points. Results showed that higher math self-concept and positive change in math self-concept over the time of school closures were related to higher learning gains. Different development trajectories for children with German (vs not German) first language emerged. The study therefore fosters a better understanding of the effect that pandemic-induced school closures had on learning and relativizes the feared negative effects on math competencies caused by short school closures.
Adapting routines in schools when facing challenging situations. Extending previous theories on routines by considering theories on self-regulated and collectively regulated learning
Routines play a major role in educational change in schools. But what happens if the routines performed by school staff fail to deal successfully with current challenges? What strategies aid adaptation of the routines in a specific situation? Up to now, there exists no comprehensive concept for understanding why and at what points the adapting of routines in schools in a specific situation takes a favorable or unfavorable direction. To address this gap, we propose extending theories on routines by considering theories on self-regulated and collectively regulated learning. We consider these theories to be a beneficial complement because of their broad theoretical, methodological, and empirical research base. We argue that these theories enhance the understanding of adapting routines to specific challenging situations in schools. We present a newly developed theoretical framework for dealing with specific challenging situations in schools as an interplay between routines and regulation processes. Finally, important research questions regarding the suggested approach are discussed.
Preconditions of teachers’ collaborative practice. New insights based on time-sampling data
Previous findings on the preconditions of teachers’ collaboration are inconsistent. This might be related to the research methods used to assess the teachers’ collaborative practice. Retrospective assessments by self-report on a relatively general level prevail. The validity of these self-reports is limited, however. In contrast, time-sampling methods have the potential to investigate collaborative practice specifically and longitudinally as a day-to-day process over time validly. But to date, no research on collaborative activities in schools based on time-sampling methods is available. In this study, we extended the current state of research by analysing the variability and preconditions of teachers’ collaboration at four secondary schools over three weeks based on time-sampling data collected by a newly developed online practice log. Recorded were collaborative activities outside of teaching with a focus on administrative and organisational tasks and on school subject-specific tasks. The results revealed that teachers’ collaborative activities varied significantly between weekdays, showing a linear decrease from Monday to Friday, regardless of the content of collaboration. Collaboration that focused on administrative-organisational tasks seemed to be quite stable over the weeks and was hardly influenced by teachers’ individual characteristics. Instead, collaborative activities that focused on school subject-specific tasks varied significantly between weeks; moreover, they were influenced by teachers’ leadership role and gender. The results indicate that rather stable routinised patterns of day-to-day collaboration over the weeks decrease the influence of teachers’ individual characteristics. Hence, by collecting data that is closer to content-specific day-to-day collaborative activities, time-sampling methods can be seen as a driver for new insights.
The cycle of violence. Effects of violence experience, behavior, and attitudes on adolescents’ peer rejection networks
Previous research on adolescent peer networks has mainly focused on friendship networks and their association with violence, but very limited research is available on peer rejection networks. This lack of knowledge hinders the effectiveness of preventing peer rejection and its negative effects. Based on the theory of the cycle of violence, the present study examines the extent to which parental physical abuse experiences, aggressive behavior toward peers and acceptance of violence are related to peer rejection networks at school. Social network analysis with a stochastic actor-oriented model of longitudinal data collected from high school students (Wave 1, n = 620; Wave 2, n = 590) confirms that adolescents who frequently use aggression toward their peers are more likely to be rejected, especially if those adolescents have experienced abuse. Similarly, peers are more likely to reject adolescents with high levels of accepting violence. The results also show that aggression toward peers generally tends to decrease over time but not for adolescents who reject a larger number of students. For students who reject many peers, aggression frequency increases. From the perspective of resilience theory, peer rejection, when combined with aggression toward peers and acceptance of violence, particularly in female adolescents, creates a significant risk factor for socio-emotional development. Therefore, tackling violence attitudes, experiences and behavior in the school environment and at home is crucial in overcoming the cycle of violence.
Improving teaching, teamwork, and school organization. Collaboration networks in school teams
Whereas previous studies on teacher collaboration have focused almost exclusively on improving teaching, this paper investigates collaboration in three highly important school improvement areas. Data for three collaboration networks were collected in four secondary schools in Switzerland in 2018 on teachers exploring new ideas on teaching (teaching improvement), teamwork (team improvement), and school organization (organizational improvement). Using social network analysis, we examined to what extent the collaboration networks overlap, how network structures differ, and what factors explain these differences. The results revealed substantial differences between collaboration in the three areas. This suggests that future research should examine collaboration from a multidimensional network perspective.
Improving the quality of adaptive learning support provided by kindergarten teachers in play-based mathematical learning situations
Adaptive learning support is a key element of high quality preschool education and includes the planning of learning situations and teacher–child interactions. The provision of effective adaptive learning support in kindergarten is challenging. This longitudinal experimental study examined the impact of two professional development programs on 132 kindergarten teachers. One program focused on teacher–child interactions (micro-adaptive learning support), the other on planning, preparation, and reflection (macro-adaptive learning support). Each program had a positive impact on the quality of the specific type of adaptive mathematical learning support provided by kindergarten teachers, macro or micro, it was designed to improve.
Bridging gaps: a systematic literature review of brokerage in educational change
Bridging gaps between educational stakeholders at the classroom, school, and system levels is essential to achieve sustainable change in primary and secondary education. However, transferring knowledge or building capacity within this network of loosely coupled stakeholders is demanding. The concept holds promise for studying these complex patterns of interaction, as it refers to how specific actors link loosely coupled or disconnected individuals. However, different research traditions, in terms of theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches, and various stakeholders examined in their role as bridge builders make understanding the role of brokers, brokering, and brokerage in changing educational practice challenging. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide an overview of the current literature on these concepts in educational change research. In a systematic literature review based on 42 studies, we analyzed each study’s theoretical assumptions, methodological approach, scope in terms of stakeholders involved, and empirical findings. First, the literature review revealed that research on educational change refers to four different theoretical frameworks when focusing on brokers, brokering, or brokerage. Second, our results indicate that predominantly qualitative approaches have been applied. Third, using content network graphs, we identified teachers and principals as among the most frequently analyzed brokers. Fourth, four relevant aspects of the empirical findings are presented: brokers’ personal characteristics, conditions that enable brokering, successful brokering strategies, and outcomes of brokerage. Finally, we outline a future research agenda based on the empirical evidence base and shortcomings.
Teachers involved in school improvement. Analyzing mediating mechanisms of teachers’ boundary-crossing activities between leadership perception and teacher involvement
Teachers are drivers for change in school improvement. However, not all teachers participate in further developing schools' educational practice. This study aimed to understand conditional factors in teachers' involvement. To this end, we analyzed teachers' leadership perception and boundary-crossing activities aimed at increasing professional capital. Structural equation modeling analyses based on a sample of N ¼ 1232 teachers at N ¼ 59 schools indicated partial mediations of cognitive and social boundarycrossing activities on the relationship between leadership perception and involvement. This study contributes to the literature by illuminating the potential of teachers’ activities to enhance professional capital for school improvement.
School teams’ regulation strategies for dealing with school-external expectations for school improvement
School-external expectations regarding implementation of reforms and innovations often do not lead to successful school improvement processes in schools. To better understand these processes in schools, this paper aims to investigate school improvement processes on a deep level by focusing on cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational regulation strategies used by school teams and by exploring what school-external and school-internal factors are related to this strategy use. Principals, teachers, and specialist teachers ( N = 1328) at 59 primary schools responded to an online questionnaire indicating their school’s use of regulation strategies on school improvement. Results from descriptive, variance, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that school teams use all forms of school-based regulation strategies but that schools differ significantly in their strategy use. These differences were mainly explained more by school-internal deeper structures (e.g., task cohesion) and less by school-internal surface structures (e.g., school size) and not at all by school-external factors (e.g., governance systems).