From Teacher Improvement to Teacher Turnover: Unintended Consequences of School Reform in Quincy, Massachusetts, 1872–1893

The “Quincy Method” is widely considered a successful nineteenth-century school reform. Pioneered by Francis Parker in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1875, it fostered broad pedagogic change in an ordinary school system, transforming Quincy into a renowned hub of child-centered instruction. This article revisits the reform and explores its interaction with the Massachusetts teacher labor market. In a market characterized by low wages and an oversupply of teachers but few experienced, well-trained ones, teachers used Quincy's reform to obtain higher-paying, higher-status positions while municipalities used it to recruit competent applicants. Both practices jeopardized Quincy's cohesive system. Though the ensuing turnover may have brought progressive pedagogies to the mainstream, departing teachers frequently assumed positions outside public schools or in systems ill-structured to maintain their expertise. Accordingly, the article probes a celebrated reform's unintended consequences and contributes to scholarship on nineteenth-century progressive school reforms and women teachers.

Establishing Links Between Teacher Effectiveness Research and Research on Teacher Improvement

This chapter draws on teacher effectiveness research (TER) and elaborates on factors associated with teacher effectiveness to make suggestions for professional development. The first part provides a critical review of TER in which the major findings of this field are studied. In the second part, taking into account the limitations of TER, the dynamic model of educational effectiveness is presented. The rationale and major assumptions of this model are outlined. Effectiveness factors operating at the teacher level and their measurement dimensions are presented, and the concept of grouping of factors is introduced. In the third part, the authors provide a summary of national and international studies that were conducted to test the validity of the dynamic model at the teacher level. This part is also concerned with empirical studies that revealed relationships among factors operating at the teacher level which helped the authors define specific stages of effective teaching. In the last part, implications for TER and research on teacher professional development are drawn.

Perverse incentives? A cautionary tale about coaching evaluation

Little attention has been given to better understanding how to effectively evaluate the work of instructional coaches. This study by Evthokia Stephanie Saclarides and Sarah Theule Lubienski illustrates how a new evaluation system for coaches was implemented in one mid-size, urban district. They describe two ways in which the Evaluation Tool detracted from the coaches’ work to foster teacher improvement. Furthermore, they provide suggestions for school districts to consider when evaluating their coaches.

Data use in Kenyan secondary schools

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the data available and their use by Kenyan secondary school teachers and head teachers. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative case study design, this study utilised interviews and documentary evidence to explore the data available and their use within Kenyan schools. Findings The data available in Kenyan schools were similar except for context data which had slight variations between schools. Head teachers mainly used school-level data to monitor school functioning, plan and develop school-level policies which mainly focused on school and curriculum improvement but little on teacher improvement. Teacher improvement attempts were mostly via benchmarking. The results also show that Kenyan head teachers hide inspection reports from teachers and that some head teachers used data creatively than others. For example, one head teacher used data to start a feeding programme to support economically disadvantaged students. Teachers, however, mostly used classroom-level data to plan lessons and monitor students’ progress. Research limitations/implications The study results may be used for data use comparative studies between developing and developed countries. Practical implications Based on the findings, data use training is needed to help Kenyan schools use data to improve teachers and teaching. Originality/value Accountability and data use are at the centre of many school improvement efforts the world over. The last two decades, for example, show pressure on schools to account for the resources invested and for the education they provide to children mainly in the form of data. Regrettably, studies pay little attention to data use in schools within developing countries such as Kenya.

Analysis of university level teacher training: reflections and revisions

Introductionthe management of the curriculum in teacher training within the Catholic University of Salta in the School of Education and Teacher Improvement, this thought from a deductive perspective in which theoretical processes are established that allow the explanation of the curriculum in terms of teacher training and its impact on the organizational articulation. Objectiveto specify a strategic articulated intervention device that requires the constitution of a new emancipatory discourse. Materials and methodsWe present a qualitative research that analyzes the problems and variables established in the study. ResultsThe process of rupture leads us to reflect on the teaching position in the face of praxis, on the processes of "learning to teach" which involves continuous training. DiscussionThis perspective points to the development of certain skills that are developed over time of the formation through diverse strategies Conclusionsthe development of the professional competences of the teacher that confront with the disciplinary approach from an innovative glance

Acceleration of cocoa fermentation through the action of bacteria (Acetobacter aceti) and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae)

Introductionthe management of the curriculum in teacher training within the Catholic University of Salta in the School of Education and Teacher Improvement, this thought from a deductive perspective in which theoretical processes are established that allow the explanation of the curriculum in terms of teacher training and its impact on the organizational articulation. Objectiveto specify a strategic articulated intervention device that requires the constitution of a new emancipatory discourse. Materials and methodsWe present a qualitative research that analyzes the problems and variables established in the study. ResultsThe process of rupture leads us to reflect on the teaching position in the face of praxis, on the processes of "learning to teach" which involves continuous training. DiscussionThis perspective points to the development of certain skills that are developed over time of the formation through diverse strategies Conclusionsthe development of the professional competences of the teacher that confront with the disciplinary approach from an innovative glance

Do Organizational Supports for Math Instruction Improve the Quality of Beginning Teachers’ Instruction?

Background/Context Researchers have found that teachers’ effectiveness at increasing student achievement improves during the first few years on the job. Yet little research maps the trajectory of beginning teachers’ instructional quality or investigates what forms of support are associated with variation in this trajectory. Further, although beginning teachers face many challenges not directly related to the rigor of their instruction, such as classroom management, effectively implementing high-quality instruction remains a major challenge. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This article focuses on five research questions: (a) What are the initial levels of beginning seventh- and eighth-grade teachers’ mathematics instructional quality? (b) To what extent are teachers’ preservice qualifications (e.g., major; mathematics knowledge for teaching), prior teaching experience (e.g., weeks of student teaching), and school teaching context (e.g., percent of student receiving free or reduced price lunch) associated with the quality of their instruction during their first semester of teaching? (c) What are the levels of, and changes in, organizational supports for math instruction that these teachers receive during their first three years in the profession? (d) To what extent does the instructional quality of beginning middle school math teachers change over their first three years of teaching? and (e) To what extent do content-focused supports (e.g., math-focused mentoring, math-focused PD, professional community, principal leadership) provided over these three years predict improvement in instructional quality? Population/Participants/Subjects Participants include 62 teachers from eight southeastern and three northeastern districts in the United States. Research Design Using observation, survey, and interview data, we identify the links between the organizational supports provided beginning teachers and the teachers’ improvements in instructional quality during their first three years of teaching. Findings/Results Results suggest little improvement in the instructional quality of mathematics lessons during the first three years of teaching and that most organizational supports, as they are currently delivered, do not appear to help beginning middle school mathematics teachers improve their instructional quality. Using in-depth case studies, we explore the nature of the supports provided and their potential links to teacher improvement. Conclusions/Recommendations Our quantitative findings suggest that current methods of supporting beginning middle school mathematics teachers are not robust enough to support the type of teacher improvement demanded by new math standards, although our qualitative analyses suggest ways of designing these supports to better attend to instructional improvement. Our findings also emphasize the critical role the principal can play in connecting new teachers to effective supports.

The Development of Effective English Teacher Improvement Program Based on a Case Study of English Teaching in Madrasah in Indonesia

Teachers play very important roles, yet not all teachers can teach well and hence it is important to develop a teacher improvement program. Therefore, this study observed teaching and learning process to understand current teacher instruction so that priorities could be easily set up. 11 English teachers participated in the study. The eight classroom factors of the dynamic model (Orientation, Structuring, Modeling, Application, Questioning, Assessment, Building Classroom as a Learning Environment, and Time Management) are used as the framework since they are theory-driven and have been empirically proven to lead to better student outcomes. The data on the teaching of reading were descriptively analyzed, the results of which show almost no teachers did orientation and structuring, which could serve as pre-reading activities. Modeling was not really provided and students were left not to have sufficient tasks, hence during reading activities were not well delivered. Questioning was practiced by teachers but was limited to “product” questions. Lastly, collaboration and competition among students were not really promoted. The findings of this study suggest that all eight factors should be trained to teachers. It is expected that when teachers practice those factors, student outcomes will be better. Keywords: teacher instruction, the dynamic model, teacher improvement program