scholarly journals Teachers’ Perceptions on the Relationship Between Teachers’ Working Conditions and Pupils’ Reading Ability in Pre-Primary Schools in Nakuru County, Kenya

2019 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 694-714
Author(s):  
Sally Wai-Yan Wan

Purpose: This exploratory study investigates the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of professional learning communities (PLCs) and their differentiated instruction (DI) practice in a Hong Kong primary education context. Design/Approach/Methods: Three subsidized primary schools participated in the study. A total of 121 teachers completed surveys regarding their perceptions of PLC engagement and DI practice. Findings: Using principal component analysis, three dimensions of PLC engagement were identified: student learning, reflective dialogue, and shared and supportive leadership. Two distinctive PLC engagement profiles were generated based on cluster analysis: high PLC engagement and low PLC engagement. Teachers’ PLC engagement profiles were correlated with their DI practices. Originality/Value: The findings have implications for fostering teacher engagement in PLCs. Increased teacher participation in PLCs has great potential for promoting the use of DI.


2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Burkhauser

Teacher turnover is a challenge for U.S. public schools. Research suggests that teachers’ perceptions of their school working conditions influence their leaving decisions. Related research suggests that principals may be in the best position to influence school working conditions. Using 4 years of panel data constructed from the North Carolina Teacher Working Condition Survey, this study uses value-added modeling approaches to explore the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of four measures of their working conditions and their principal. It finds that teacher ratings of the school environment depend on which principal is leading the school, independent of other school and district contextual factors, suggesting districts struggling with teacher turnover should assess climate and use that information to advise and support principals.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Madoda Cekiso

Background: There is a general outcry that too many South African Foundation Phase (Grades 1–3) teachers do not know how to teach reading and are currently teaching reading in an ad hoc, unsystematic way.Objectives: In response to this, this study explored the Foundation Phase teachers’ perceptions of their role in teaching reading. The focus was on the relevance of the initial training, awareness of reading strategies and how these strategies were reflected in their classroom practice.Method: The study was qualitative in nature and a case study design was followed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine teachers who were purposively selected from three public schools. Content analysis was used to analyse the data.Results: Regarding the initial training programme, teachers received at tertiary institutions, the findings of the study showed that the majority of teachers were not adequately prepared to teach reading and to deal with learners who experience problems in reading. Some teachers indicated that they were not even trained to teach in the Foundation Phase. The findings also showed that the majority of respondents doubted if their classroom practice would yield positive results as far as reading instruction is concerned. The findings further indicated that the majority of respondents only paid attention to oral reading (observing punctuation marks and pronunciation), without attending to reading comprehension. There was a general consensus that the new ways of teaching reading were necessary in order to improve the reading ability of learners.Conclusion: Recommendations based on the findings are that institutions of higher learning that train Foundation Phase teachers should do so in ways that adequately equip them to produce student teachers who are knowledgeable about research and theory regarding how individuals learn to read. Workshops on appropriate instruction of reading strategies are recommended for in-service teachers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abidin Dağlı ◽  
Gülsen Gençdal

The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between the physical conditions of school buildings andorganizational commitment according to the perceptions of teachers in public primary schools. The researchpopulation consists of 2450 teachers from 92 primary schools in the central district of Diyarbakır/Turkey in theacademic year of 2017-2018. The data collection instrument was applied to randomly selected 534 teachers from 27schools. “School Buildings Scale" developed by Çağlayan and Yılmaz (2011) and “Organizational CommitmentScale" developed by Meyer, Allen and Smith (1993), and adapted into Turkish by Dağlı, Elçiçek and Han (2017)were used in this study.Some important findings of the study are listed below: According to teachers' perceptions, the highest item that isassociated with the school buildings was found in the dimension of “General view (M=3,58; Quite adequate), theitem with the lowest level was found in the dimension of “Fields reserved for students” (M=2,44; insufficient). Themean of the whole scale was found as (M=2.99) “Partially adequate”. It was determined that the highest mean ofteachers' perceptions about organizational commitment (M=3.50; Agree) was in “affective commitment” dimensionand the lowest mean (M=2,94; Undecided) in the dimension of “normative commitment”. Teachers participated inthe total mean of the organizational commitment scale at the level of (M=3.19; Undecided). Generally, it was foundthat there was a moderate and positive relationship between the school building scale and organizational commitmentscale (r=,561, p <0.01). This shows that, as the physical conditions of the school buildings are improved, theorganizational commitment of the teachers is increased.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 236
Author(s):  
Vasiliki Brinia ◽  
Stavroula Leimoniti ◽  
Alexandros Dimos

The present study examines teachers’ perceptions regarding moral satisfaction, financial gain and professional motivation in order to examine the relationship between these factors and their work efficiency. The degree of agreement and disagreement in the perceptions of 270 Primary Education teachers, regarding the extent to which their effectiveness at work is affected by the existence of the above factors, is studied, and the study was conducted in 31 primary schools in Greece. The size of the sample and the way the results are extracted is a key innovation of the research, as for the first time, the above concepts are quantified through the answers of those involved in education. Their answers are examined by the method of quantitative research and the statistical program IBM-SPSS 24. It appears that moral rewards, the relationship with their manager and colleagues and their degree of self-esteem are elements that, if increased and positive, lead to higher productivity in their work. The recognition of the overall offer of the teachers by colleagues, the manager, society and the state have a positive effect on the effectiveness of their work, while its lack reduces their motivation to be efficient.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 265-272
Author(s):  
Venelin Terziev ◽  
Preslava Dimitrova

The social policy of a country is a set of specific activities aimed at regulating the social relations between different in their social status subjects. This approach to clarifying social policy is also called functional and essentially addresses social policy as an activity to regulate the relationship of equality or inequality in society. It provides an opportunity to look for inequalities in the economic positions of individuals in relation to ownership, labor and working conditions, distribution of income and consumption, social security and health, to look for the sources of these inequalities and their social justification or undue application.The modern state takes on social functions that seek to regulate imbalances, to protect weak social positions and prevent the disintegration of the social system. It regulates the processes in society by harmonizing interests and opposing marginalization. Every modern country develops social activities that reflect the specifics of a particular society, correspond to its economic, political and cultural status. They are the result of political decisions aimed at directing and regulating the process of adaptation of the national society to the transformations of the market environment. Social policy is at the heart of the development and governance of each country. Despite the fact that too many factors and problems affect it, it largely determines the physical and mental state of the population as well as the relationships and interrelationships between people. On the other hand, social policy allows for a more global study and solving of vital social problems of civil society. On the basis of the programs and actions of political parties and state bodies, the guidelines for the development of society are outlined. Social policy should be seen as an activity to regulate the relationship of equality or inequality between different individuals and social groups in society. Its importance is determined by the possibility of establishing on the basis of the complex approach: the economic positions of the different social groups and individuals, by determining the differences between them in terms of income, consumption, working conditions, health, etc .; to explain the causes of inequality; to look for concrete and specific measures to overcome the emerging social disparities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Giusi Antonia Toto ◽  
Pierpaolo Limone

In the relationship between teachers and distance learning in the context of COIVD-19, a series of unprecedented dynamics have emerged relating to a process of open-air experimentation that is going on in the world of school. The main constructs investigated in this paper concern the professional perceptions of teachers in terms of their skills and resistances towards digital technologies. To investigate this topic, a questionnaire on distance learning was administered to a sample of 658 teachers. From a methodological point of view, factor and reliability analyses and correlation and regression analyses were conducted. From the analysis of the results, it emerged that the questionnaire measures the resistance of teachers to distance learning and focuses on three main dimensions (two positive and one negative) that link teachers’ perceptions to the resistance to distance learning. In conclusion, the theme of the acceptance of technologies in the practice of teachers is still a subject full of meaning for professional perception and vision. A second issue concerns precisely the relationship between digital technologies and users, which must no longer focus only on the relationship with students but also on the perspective of the other training actors, including teachers.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document