It Takes a Well-Organized Village

Response to intervention (RTI) and multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) are educational initiatives designed to increase the success of all students in general education and reduce the number of students referred for special education services. RTI and MTSS have resulted in improved outcomes for students. Successful implementation of RTI and MTSS relies upon collaboration between teachers and other school personnel. Lack of collaboration and consistency between members of MTSS teams can compromise the fidelity of the interventions, which can lead to poor student outcomes. Secondary RTI and MTSS models are difficult to implement due to several factors, including student diversity, curriculum complexity, and high student-staff ratios. This chapter investigates recent research on the implementation of RTI and MTSS models in secondary schools and focuses on the interdisciplinary efforts required to implement these models with fidelity and with student success.

Inclusive Teaching and Learning

This chapter focuses on the important role of educators' beliefs as they shape and consequently influence their teaching and learning approach from the planning to the implementation stage. Such beliefs were investigated using collaborative action research (CAR) on the belief-to-practice relationship of prospective teacher users of formative assessment (FA). A nine-month qualitative study with three Maltese state primary school teachers indicated that even with the transformation in the teachers' understanding, knowledge, and practice about FA, their belief was that success of FA depends on the learner motivation, hence shifting the problem onto the learner when it might well have been a problem with the system shaping the teaching and learning context. The point that will be made here is to look at FA as an inclusive teaching and learning approach if its strategies are used to attend to student diversity.

Islamic Education

In school, teachers are the most critical factor and should inculcate moral values among their students. This study seeks to identify the factors that support the strategies of Islamic Education teachers in akhlāq (character) building among students in an Islamic Private Secondary School. The research applied qualitative design with in-depth semi-structured interviews; the data were gathered from five Islamic education teachers to explore the supporting factors of teacher strategies of Islamic education and ensure the strengths and weaknesses of these factors. The teachers were purposively selected based on their experiences in teaching and learning. Moreover, the study revealed that the results identified the main supporting factor in the implementing of teacher strategies in Islamic education in akhlāq building among students was the school discipline, co-curricular activities of Islamic school, student (diversity in learning), and teachers as a role model as well as parental involvement in akhlāq building. The finding also asserted that the social environment is one of the supporting factors in implementing teacher strategies of Islamic education in akhlāq building among students. Based on the findings, the researcher recommends the future study, including examining other participants of the school, namely students, staff, principal of school, and parents, to enrich data from different views

Improving school performance and student academic orientation: the role of safety-oriented knowledge management and diversity

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of the implementation of safety-oriented knowledge management (KM) processes and student diversity acceptance in schools and the interaction effect of safety-oriented KM processes and student diversity acceptance over school performance and student academic orientation. Design/methodology/approach Responses of 977 American schools available in the database of the National Center for Education Statistics were analyzed using hierarchical regression analyses. Findings Results show that implementation of safety-oriented KM processes and diversity acceptance in schools have varying effects on school performance and student academic orientation. The impact of knowledge acquisition from parents on the academic achievement of students is positive and stronger in schools that are low in student diversity acceptance than schools that are high in student diversity acceptance. Originality/value This study adds value to the KM literature by exploring how KM processes are executed in American schools to improve their performance and students’ academic orientation and how diversity among students alters the strength of the relationships.

A Seychelles case of beginning teachers' perspectives of support and challenges in their pursuit of effective teaching practices

<p>Supporting teachers at the start of their career can help them to develop their pedagogical practice, and to understand the educational, political, and school systems within which they teach. Similarly, effective support can enhance the professional development and learning of beginning teachers, and contribute towards their overall path towards greater effectiveness, ensuring quality teaching. Recent education reforms in the Seychelles have placed an expressed focus on improving quality teaching. This study explores the support for and challenges faced by beginning teachers in the Seychelles in their efforts to implement effective teaching practices. In order to understand the phenomenon of beginning teacher support, a mixed methodology within an ethnographic, sociocultural framework with an emphasis on qualitative data was used. Research was conducted in two sequential phases within the Seychelles: in-depth, site-based qualitative cases studies of three beginning teachers and their school-based contexts, followed by a national quantitative survey completed by 56 beginning teachers. The qualitative phase generated data through interviews (with beginning teachers, deputy heads, and heads of department), document analysis and classroom observations in three schools across the main island, Mahe. The findings of this research identified that both the policy context and the more localised practical factors such as resource allocation, confidence in working with student diversity, and collegial relationships, combined to contribute to how beginning teachers experienced their induction period. The research revealed that whilst the central policy advocates for a school-based mechanism that would support and evaluate beginning teachers, schools' policies and practices around induction were for the main part, inadequately supporting beginning teachers. These results highlighted that the developmental and learning needs of beginning teachers were not clearly understood, either by school leaders or by beginning teachers. This limited understanding combined with a general conservative approach towards teaching within the schools impacted on how beginning teachers were supported and how they learnt from their pedagogical practices. The findings showed how participating beginning teachers endeavoured to align themselves with their schools' expectation for effective teaching, challenging their own beliefs about effective practice. In order to comply with routine expectations, they embraced predominantly teacher-centred practices, rather than a student-centred approach to their teaching. In view of the ongoing effort to augment the quality of education in the Seychelles, supporting beginning teachers could be recognised as part of this endeavour. For effective ongoing support, the research findings identified the need for contexts where open dialogue around teaching is culturally encouraged, and that embrace effective support policies, professional learning, and development for all teachers. It is in such contexts that beginning teachers are more likely to work alongside colleagues, address their professional issues, and join in the collective endeavour to improve their own and their students' learning and achievements.</p>

A Seychelles case of beginning teachers' perspectives of support and challenges in their pursuit of effective teaching practices

<p>Supporting teachers at the start of their career can help them to develop their pedagogical practice, and to understand the educational, political, and school systems within which they teach. Similarly, effective support can enhance the professional development and learning of beginning teachers, and contribute towards their overall path towards greater effectiveness, ensuring quality teaching. Recent education reforms in the Seychelles have placed an expressed focus on improving quality teaching. This study explores the support for and challenges faced by beginning teachers in the Seychelles in their efforts to implement effective teaching practices. In order to understand the phenomenon of beginning teacher support, a mixed methodology within an ethnographic, sociocultural framework with an emphasis on qualitative data was used. Research was conducted in two sequential phases within the Seychelles: in-depth, site-based qualitative cases studies of three beginning teachers and their school-based contexts, followed by a national quantitative survey completed by 56 beginning teachers. The qualitative phase generated data through interviews (with beginning teachers, deputy heads, and heads of department), document analysis and classroom observations in three schools across the main island, Mahe. The findings of this research identified that both the policy context and the more localised practical factors such as resource allocation, confidence in working with student diversity, and collegial relationships, combined to contribute to how beginning teachers experienced their induction period. The research revealed that whilst the central policy advocates for a school-based mechanism that would support and evaluate beginning teachers, schools' policies and practices around induction were for the main part, inadequately supporting beginning teachers. These results highlighted that the developmental and learning needs of beginning teachers were not clearly understood, either by school leaders or by beginning teachers. This limited understanding combined with a general conservative approach towards teaching within the schools impacted on how beginning teachers were supported and how they learnt from their pedagogical practices. The findings showed how participating beginning teachers endeavoured to align themselves with their schools' expectation for effective teaching, challenging their own beliefs about effective practice. In order to comply with routine expectations, they embraced predominantly teacher-centred practices, rather than a student-centred approach to their teaching. In view of the ongoing effort to augment the quality of education in the Seychelles, supporting beginning teachers could be recognised as part of this endeavour. For effective ongoing support, the research findings identified the need for contexts where open dialogue around teaching is culturally encouraged, and that embrace effective support policies, professional learning, and development for all teachers. It is in such contexts that beginning teachers are more likely to work alongside colleagues, address their professional issues, and join in the collective endeavour to improve their own and their students' learning and achievements.</p>

'Pākēhā Librarianship at the Interface': Being an ally in Māori student success through teaching and learning information literacies

<p>Research problem: Emerging from significant bicultural change within Aotearoa New Zealand libraries in the past 25 years, this research examines and attempts to implement an relationshipbased, culturally relevant approach to teaching and learning information literacy in an academic library, building on an approach outline by Roy, Lilley and Luehrsen (2011). Methodology: This exploratory study employed an action research methodology and was conducted within the Division of Sciences at Otago University. It sought to consult Māori staff and senior postgraduates, and then develop a teaching intervention for undergraduate Māori science students, then evaluate it with them. Weaving a research framework incorporating Kaupapa Māori theory, Research at the Interface, & Pākēhā as Ally of Tino Rangatiratanga, it was planned in three stages; observe & plan; act; and evaluate. Results: Only the initial stage was able to be carried out due to time constraints.Preliminary findings cover six main themes addressing student support and information literacy teaching with undergraduate Māori science students, including: the challenges of 'crossing the library threshold' and sustaining student engagement, developing ongoing relationships of integrity and reciprocity in the library, holistic student development and recognising student diversity, and finally culturally-relevant teaching for effective learning. Reflections on researching as pākēhā with Māori staff and students at in university context, and noted the importance of timing and place in supporting Māori students, and the need for relationships of integrity and mutual respect enabled by ongoing communication. Implications: Academic libraries can improve support for Māori student success at University, and pākehā librarians must take a role supporting this work. Culturally-relevant models of teaching and learning information literacy, combined with attention to developing relationships of trust, reciprocity and mutual respect, may improve Māori student success and support development of both library staff and relevant, effective library services. Future research could examine the use of storytelling and song in 'interface' information literacies teaching and learning as well as investigating mixed methods evaluation of this approach, and explore cross-cultural rituals of encounter in the library.</p>

'Pākēhā Librarianship at the Interface': Being an ally in Māori student success through teaching and learning information literacies

<p>Research problem: Emerging from significant bicultural change within Aotearoa New Zealand libraries in the past 25 years, this research examines and attempts to implement an relationshipbased, culturally relevant approach to teaching and learning information literacy in an academic library, building on an approach outline by Roy, Lilley and Luehrsen (2011). Methodology: This exploratory study employed an action research methodology and was conducted within the Division of Sciences at Otago University. It sought to consult Māori staff and senior postgraduates, and then develop a teaching intervention for undergraduate Māori science students, then evaluate it with them. Weaving a research framework incorporating Kaupapa Māori theory, Research at the Interface, & Pākēhā as Ally of Tino Rangatiratanga, it was planned in three stages; observe & plan; act; and evaluate. Results: Only the initial stage was able to be carried out due to time constraints.Preliminary findings cover six main themes addressing student support and information literacy teaching with undergraduate Māori science students, including: the challenges of 'crossing the library threshold' and sustaining student engagement, developing ongoing relationships of integrity and reciprocity in the library, holistic student development and recognising student diversity, and finally culturally-relevant teaching for effective learning. Reflections on researching as pākēhā with Māori staff and students at in university context, and noted the importance of timing and place in supporting Māori students, and the need for relationships of integrity and mutual respect enabled by ongoing communication. Implications: Academic libraries can improve support for Māori student success at University, and pākehā librarians must take a role supporting this work. Culturally-relevant models of teaching and learning information literacy, combined with attention to developing relationships of trust, reciprocity and mutual respect, may improve Māori student success and support development of both library staff and relevant, effective library services. Future research could examine the use of storytelling and song in 'interface' information literacies teaching and learning as well as investigating mixed methods evaluation of this approach, and explore cross-cultural rituals of encounter in the library.</p>

'Making a Difference': University Teachers' Narratives of Student Diversity

<p>An increasing diversity of students in higher education has prompted much research investigating diverse students' learning needs and experiences; however there is little research investigating teachers' experiences of student diversity. This thesis reports on a study aimed at helping to redress this imbalance. Twenty-two New Zealand university teachers were interviewed and asked what 'diversity' means to them and invited to talk about their experiences of student diversity in small-group teaching contexts. The study had two aims. The first was to examine the meanings study participants make of the notion 'diversity' and of their experiences of teaching diverse students. The second aim was to problematize the notion of 'diversity' by exploring how these teachers position themselves and are positioned within classroom relationships and institutional contexts, and by considering the narrative and discursive resources they draw on to talk about their experiences. The study was underpinned by a relational ontology and used narrative and post-structural methods of data analysis. A review of the literature on diversity in higher education identified ways that diversity is conceptualized. Because teaching diverse students involves relations of power and care, analysis of the meanings of 'power' and 'care' in the literature provided further conceptual tools for data analysis. Analysis of participants' narratives finds that 'diversity' is not an innocent concept but a powerful way of positioning people within or outside categories of difference, in relation to dominant norms, or in ways that challenge such positioning. Study participants described diversity positively when talking about it as a concept but their narratives of experience often portrayed it as problematic, and they employed various narrative strategies to reconcile the tension between these positions. Participants' narratives often conflicted with the public narratives of their universities, suggesting that the challenges participants face and the practical knowledge they have acquired teaching diverse students are not adequately recognized or valued. This study shows that there are multiple ways to 'speak and do' diversity that are embedded in relations of power and care, and constructed within and from larger social, political and educational narratives. This study challenges those in higher education to think reflexively about diversity, and offers suggestions for constructing alternative narratives of diverse educational relations.</p>