Teacher Quality and Students’ Post-Secondary Outcomes

Research suggests teachers’ observable characteristics are inequitably distributed across schools, leaving minoritized students with less exposure to experienced and credentialed teachers. While prior research focuses on how the teacher sorting explains disparities in students’ test scores, little research explores how teacher quality gaps might implicate students’ post-secondary outcomes. To fill this gap, we analyze administrative data on high schools in Georgia and explicate how variations in teachers’ human capital correlate with the percentage of students who enroll and persist in college. Our study confirms prior research accentuating widespread disparities in access to highly qualified teachers, and finds students attending schools with more experienced and credentialed teachers are more likely to have positive post-secondary outcomes.

The Role of Moodle Software among Medical Students During Distance Learning

The study of the role of Moodle software among medical students is relevant, as distance learning is now new in terms of learning, processing, and teaching educational material online. The representation of new (latest) informative data using Moodle during distance learning contributes to and increases the level of students' knowledge. Moodle software is a valuable resource that presents an archive of educational (scientific) materials to students and teachers with unlimited access. The study is aimed at determining the role of Moodle for medical students during distance learning based on a theoretical review of the literature. Three stages of methodological justification were proposed as the basis for this study. At the first stage of the study, Moodle software was characterised; during the second – the role of distance learning was defined; third – the quality of medical students' training during distance learning through the use of innovative technologies, namely Moodle, was assessed. The study substantiates the significant role of Moodle and distance learning: understanding the goals of learning, gaining a significant “baggage” of knowledge, the latest information and access to resources, self-learning, self-improvement, and development of a “doctor” personality. The expediency of using the software among medical students is proved, taking into account the structure, logic, constant updating of materials, direct assessment of the student using test tasks and practical classes. Using Moodle software during distance learning, a medical student independently and consciously focuses on pathology based on the acquired knowledge, clearly and reasonably makes a preliminary conclusion (diagnosis) with subsequent appropriate treatment. The combined use of Moodle software and highly qualified teachers improve the quality of education and guide the medical student to focus on the study material and improve one’s practical skills with the presented materials and visual aids

HIDDEN POTENTIAL OF CHILDREN’S ART EXHIBITIONS AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE INCREASE IN TEACHER’S SELF-EFFICACY

A key element contributing to the quality of teaching in all educational areas is teacher’s belief in their professional competencies. The paper describes the impact of high or low teacher’s self-efficacy beliefs on the quality of their teaching, as well as the ways to promote self-efficacy. We see a gap in knowledge regarding the issue of whether kindergarten teachers are able to recognise the sources of self-efficacy offered by their practice. The aim of the research was to find out whether teachers can use the potential of children's art exhibitions to strengthen their teacher’s self-efficacy, not only to present children's art works. A qualitative approach has been applied to the research that involved 30 kindergarten teachers awarded for an excellent level of art education. The research has shown that even the most highly qualified teachers benefit from the exhibition in terms of being professionally inspired and motivated. These are mainly self-efficacy supports in the category of vicarious experience and social persuasion. The impact of perceived personal well-being is also very significant. These findings highlight the importance of self-evident activities, such as the presentation and exhibition of children's art works. They can thus serve as a guide in the conception of exhibitions and conscious support for teacher’s self-efficacy.

How do Master Teachers plan to renew early childhood education in Hungary? – The five-year plans of the Master Programmes and their implementations

In Hungary, the teacher qualification and promotion system was extended with the missing Master teacher grade in 2016. The analysis of the five-year plans of the Master teacher candidates provides an opportunity to get an overview of the vision of experienced and highly qualified teachers about the current situation and the potentials of the educational sector. The research explores the Master programmes of 95 Master teacher candidates from the early years sector to understand what issues they identify in their everyday work, which motivates them for professional learning and for setting innovative goals. The qualitative research uses document analysis to explore the programmes that is followed by semi-structured interviews. The Master kindergarten teachers consider teacher fluctuation and the changes in the legislation the main issues that induce extra tasks to deal with. They also plan to enrich their practice with innovative methods. Collaborative methods for professional learning and planning are frequently mentioned in the programmes, but the terrain of knowledge sharing is mainly their community of practice. Even though opposition is visible in the teachers' attitude against the qualification network, the majority of the Master teachers claim to consider their master programme as an enhancement of their professional work.

Exploring rural administrator perspectives of the decline in science and math secondary education graduates from a regional public university in a Midwestern state over the last ten years : a case study

There has been a marked decline in the number of graduates from the secondary education science and math program at a regional public university in a Midwestern state over the last ten years. Using qualitative and quantitative data gathered from interviews and surveys, this study revealed that this trend damages the ability of rural schools in the service area of this university to find and staff highly qualified science and math teachers in their high schools; thereby, unfairly impacting rural school students opportunities to learn from highly qualified teachers in those disciplines. To address the struggles that rural school administrators and students face because of this troubling reality, this study constructed its recommendations to directly combat the issues related to production of new teachers from this university and staffing teachers in rural schools.

“I’m a Teacher.” –Preschool Teachers’ Perception of Professional Self

Preschool education requires articulate, reflective and highly qualified teachers. However, within the teaching field, it is claimed that preschool teachers have the lowest perception of their own professional status. Determining the preschool teachers’ professional standing is problematic and begins with preschool teachers’ sense of professionals self. Using a mixed methods research methodology, the study garnered quantitative as well as personal insights into preschool teachers’ perception of professional self. The findings showed that the preschool teachers have an emerging perception of professionalism. The study also highlighted the importance in providing opportunities as well as space for teamwork within supportive professional communities. To further enhance professional learning, the study findings also highlighted the role of supportive mentors. Teacher education and professional development programs, together with statutory and professional institutions have to take the lead to improve the profession. Importantly, the preschool community must continue to develop leaders in a landscape that is evolving quickly.

Improvement of professional and personal qualities of officer-managers in engineering and aviation service in the process of professional development

The article substantiates the relevance of the creation and implementation of pedagogical conditions for the development of professional and personal qualities of the management team of engineering and aviation service in the process of improving the qualifications. Based on the theoretical and methodological analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature, pedagogical conditions, contributing to the development of competence, motivational and prognostic, moral and behavioral professional personal qualities of officers. A theoretical description of pedagogical conditions, including: a problem presentation of educational material, a targeted organization of independent work, attracting highly qualified teachers with the experience of organizing engineering and aviation provision of combat training and conducting hostilities by aviation compounds and parts, as well as the use of modern information and technological and material and technical provision. Based on experimental work, during the forming step of the experiment, targeted work was carried out to create pedagogical conditions. The diagnosis of the level of development of professional and personal qualities of officers was conducted on the basis of issues and tasks on the main discipline «Organization of Engineering and Aviation Support», the methods of identifying communicative and organizational inclinations («KOR-2»), K. Kharsky Test»Personal Values» Subcategory «Material Values» (Qualification, Education, Profession, Career), Subcategory «Ideological Values» (faith, debt, patriotism, spirituality, morality), Questionnaire by V. I. Morosanova «Self-regulation of behavior». The quantitatively qualitative analysis of the results based on statistical processing of data on the criterion of Pearson χ2 showed that the created pedagogical conditions largely allow increasing the level of development of officers’ professional personal qualities. Thus, the resolution of the problem of the development of professional and personal qualities of specialists of the management team of engineering and aviation service in the process of advanced training is seen in the targeted implementation of pedagogical conditions.

Prestige, status, and esteem of educational occupation in Kazakhstan: temporal, regional and gender analysis of payroll data

Since gaining independence after the dissolution of the USSR, the education system in Kazakhstan has undergone significant reformations. Retention of highly qualified teachers is crucial for successful reforms. However, educational occupation that employs almost one million people, the majority of the workforce (26.5%) in the economy, is one of the lowest paying sectors. Low pay causes unpopularity of teaching profession among youth, aging and high feminization of the personnel, harms prestige, status and esteem of teachers and thus intensifies turnover and makes retention of qualified teachers a difficult task. This study proposes to use temporal, spatial and gender three-tiers payroll data to analyze prestige, status, and esteem of educational occupation in Kazakhstan. It argues that while improving a social package is important, fundamental reforms of the payment system in education are likely to be the most effective measure to improve the prestige and status of teachers.

THE PROBLEM OF TEACHING STAFF IN GENERAL SECONDARY EDUCATION IN THE SOUTHERN REGIONS OF UZBEKISTAN (1991-2010)

This article describes the reforms in the education system, the system of training highly qualified teachers who can meet the spiritual and moral requirements,the measures taken during the years of independence to provide secondary schools in the southern regions of Uzbekistan with teachers in various disciplines, the data are described.

AN EXPLORATION ON EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF EFFECTIVE 21st-CENTURY PEDAGOGICAL COMPETENCIES

The need for preparing highly qualified teachers with all the quintessential pedagogical competencies has been acknowledged as a preeminent priority in the educational world. This present study is intended to scrutinize the EFL teachers’ perspectives and preferences in the 21st century pedagogical competence. The study was qualitatively conducted as a case study to retrieve a reputable understanding of the phenomenon. A semi-structured interview and a five-Likert scale questionnaire were used to collect the necessary data. The data of this study were taken from the purposively chosen informants regarding their familiarity and apprehension with the issue of this study. The results demonstrated that the teachers perceived the rapid development of technology and information as the key feature of the 21st-century learning, which is beneficial to furnish more comprehensive learning. Moreover, they predominantly conceived that the term 21st-century pedagogical competence focused on how teachers assimilate technology in the classroom and how to facilitate the students’ creativity due to the widely opened sources of information which positively affect students’ proficiency. It is suggested to consecutively provide more courses and training about confronting the 21st-century education to keep teachers voguish of any adjustments, innovations, and modifications in education.