Compassion: the legacy of the pandemic in rural schools and communities

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how rural schools and communities responded to the COVID-19 pandemic through compassionate care. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides “compassion narratives” (Frost et al., 2006, p. 851) from five educators (i.e. the authors) working and/or living in rural communities. Each narrative describes how compassion was witnessed and experienced from various professional positions (which include classroom teacher; building-level leader; district-level leader; special services director and school psychologist; and assistant professor of educational leadership). Findings The compassion narratives described in this paper demonstrate how various organizations and communities responded to COVID-19 through compassionate care. They also provide a lens for considering how rural schools and communities might sustain compassion in a post-pandemic world. Originality/value This paper extends disciplinary knowledge by considering the healing, transformative power of compassion within rural schools and communities – not just in response to COVID-19 but in response to all future adversities.

Reflections of Leadership Narratives

This narrative focuses on a classroom teacher called to forge a path for students during online learning by using journal writing as well as a variety of other methods including sharing life lessons, discussing time management, and organizing priorities. Transformative leadership requires vulnerability, courage, and innovation. During difficult times such as the recent pandemic, leaders need to demonstrate creativity and resilience. Anyone who wishes to enhance a leadership role can benefit from the strategies presented.

Teaching Students With Specific Learning Disabilities in the General Education Classroom

In many college teacher preparation programs across the United States, students who want to become a general education teacher are required to take a course focused on teaching students who have disabilities. Typically, that course provides an overview of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the characteristics of each of the 13 categories of disabilities. That course does not present various strategies a general education classroom teacher can use to educate these students, despite the fact that more and more disabled students are being educated in a general education classroom environment. Thus, this chapter provides resources and research-based reading, math, language arts, and social skills strategies general education teachers can utilize when educating a student with a specific learning disability in their classrooms. The resources presented in this chapter are not meant to take the place of special education teachers but to supplement practices for when they are not available.

Examination of Teachers’ Digital Literacy Levels and Life Long Learning Tendencies

In this study, digital literacy levels and lifelong learning tendencies of teachers were investigated. Data were collected from 210 teachers working in public schools in Zonguldak province. Two measurement tools, namely Digital Literacy Scale and Lifelong Learning Tendency Scale, were used in data collection. In the study conducted with the scanning method, the difference between the variables of gender, branch and age of the teachers and digital literacy and lifelong learning tendencies was investigated. In addition, the relationship between teachers’ digital literacy levels and lifelong learning tendencies was examined. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used in the analysis of the data. According to the results obtained from the research, no significant difference was found between the digital literacy levels and lifelong learning tendencies of teachers and gender, educational status (undergraduate-graduate), branch (Classroom teacher-Culture lesson teacher). It was observed that the digital literacy levels of teachers aged 46 and over were lower than those of younger teachers. No significant difference was found between the ages of teachers and their lifelong learning tendencies. It has been observed that there is a medium-level positive relationship between teachers’ lifelong learning tendencies and digital literacy levels.

Formation of the Readiness of Classroom Teacher to Organization of Problem-Value Communication with Students in the Conditions of Implementation of the Working Program of Education

The article is devoted to the problem of the class teacher’s readiness for problem-value communication with pupils as one of the factors of the effectiveness of educational activities. High demands for the moral and ethical component of the modern young generation require the teacher to pay attention to the transmission of socially significant knowledge and the formation of value attitudes towards oneself, others and the world. One of the tools for understanding and forming value orientations is problem-value communication. Such communication can be organized, first of all, in the class team. The authors of the article believe that the readiness of the class teacher to organize problem-value communication with pupils the requires special training using potential of formal and non-formal education. The purpose of the article is to substantiate and describe the essential characteristics of the formation of the readiness of the class teacher to organize problem-value communication with pupils. Methodology. For methodological substantiation, the authors rely on axiological, systemic and event-driven approaches. Results. The research results are in the characteristics of the components of readiness and the conditions for its formation by means of formal and non-formal education. Also described are subjective factors that negatively affect the formation of readiness to organize problem-value communication with pupils.

COLLABORATION CLASS TEACHERS AND CONSELORS IN DIRECTING STUDENTS 'CLASS XII HIGH SCHOOL INTERESTS DETERMINING THE CONTINUATION AT SMA NEGERI 1 PATIANROWO

This research is presented to anticipate the future steps of class XII students in making a decision regarding their interests through the collaboration of teachers and counselors. Data collection in this study uses observation and interview techniques. The data of this study were obtained from BK teachers or counselors at SMAN 1 Patianrowo Nganjuk, East Java. Data analysis in this study uses narrative analysis. The subject is students in class VII of SMAN 1 Patianrowo. These findings reveal that many of the students have not been aware of their interests. Learners are directed more in academic matters only and have not led to the development of the potential of students such as direction of the students' interests. Few of the students can develop the interest they have because the teacher is more focused on academics and the counselor is more focused in dealing with problems experienced by students. The collaboration process of the classroom teacher and counselor is carried out in the form of recorded and unrecorded. Recorded collaborations such as the conduct of scheduled aptitude interest tests in class X and class XII early. While not recorded like communication between class teachers and counselors related to the interests of students through analysis in the daily lives of students. This is an effort to find out the interests of students from an early age which is then reaffirmed by the procurement of scholastic tests at the beginning of entering class XII. In conducting group counseling, counselors use the opportunity in spare time or when there is a class that is not in the learning process to do group guidance in the classroom. While for personal guidance, the counselor calls one student at a time. However, not all must be called, but many of the students voluntarily come to see the counselor by themselves for guidance.

Meditative Breathing A Catalyst for Positive Change

<p>The New Zealand government faces substantive challenges in meeting both the health and education needs of a significant number of our children who are vulnerable to alienation and inform the statistics of mental health distress and academic underachievement. The New Zealand Ministry of Education acknowledges that the education system is not meeting the needs of its most disadvantaged young people. This research explored whether a programme of meditative breathing might contribute to the alleviation of this situation by supporting the development of self-regulation and well-being in students. It also sought to enable student agency by adding nuanced student voice to the literature in this field. While there is an increasing number of peer-reviewed studies in this field, there are few studies that encourage the participants to describe their experiences directly in their own words or images. The main research question was ‘What are student’s experience of guided meditative breathing?’ The sub-questions were ‘Does it contribute to their wellbeing?’ and ‘Does it contribute to their learning?’. Students participated in a ten-week programme of daily meditative breathing. Data was collected from the weekly cogenerative dialogue, journals, from a heuristic and teacher recorded reflections with a three-month follow-up. The meditative breathing intervention intervention was described by students and the classroom teacher as leading to a calmer and more peaceful classroom climate. They indicated reduced anxiety, increased clarity of thinking, improved self-regulation and engagement. A number of students described taking the skills that they had learned in the programme and regularly applying them in other contexts. Implications for teachers and teacher training are discussed.</p>

Meditative Breathing A Catalyst for Positive Change

<p>The New Zealand government faces substantive challenges in meeting both the health and education needs of a significant number of our children who are vulnerable to alienation and inform the statistics of mental health distress and academic underachievement. The New Zealand Ministry of Education acknowledges that the education system is not meeting the needs of its most disadvantaged young people. This research explored whether a programme of meditative breathing might contribute to the alleviation of this situation by supporting the development of self-regulation and well-being in students. It also sought to enable student agency by adding nuanced student voice to the literature in this field. While there is an increasing number of peer-reviewed studies in this field, there are few studies that encourage the participants to describe their experiences directly in their own words or images. The main research question was ‘What are student’s experience of guided meditative breathing?’ The sub-questions were ‘Does it contribute to their wellbeing?’ and ‘Does it contribute to their learning?’. Students participated in a ten-week programme of daily meditative breathing. Data was collected from the weekly cogenerative dialogue, journals, from a heuristic and teacher recorded reflections with a three-month follow-up. The meditative breathing intervention intervention was described by students and the classroom teacher as leading to a calmer and more peaceful classroom climate. They indicated reduced anxiety, increased clarity of thinking, improved self-regulation and engagement. A number of students described taking the skills that they had learned in the programme and regularly applying them in other contexts. Implications for teachers and teacher training are discussed.</p>

Development of Teachers' Self-Efficacy for Homework Management Scale

Introduction. Homework is one of the daily assessment methods used by the classroom teacher. In the literature, there are many studies dealing with homework management from the perspectives of students and parents. However, studies concerning teachers' self-efficacy for homework management are scarce. This study aimed at developing and validating a scale for measuring teachers' self-efficacy for homework management. Method. A descriptive research design was employed in this study. The participants were 127 teachers randomly selected from one educational governorate in the Sultanate of Oman. The literature was reviewed to construct 20 items reflecting various aspects of the homework design and implementation. The items and the responses were subjected to a validation process. Results. Factorial structure of the scale revealed three subscales: efficacy for planning and designing homework; efficacy for monitoring, assessing, and providing feedback on homework; and efficacy for considering individual differences in homework. The three subscales showed acceptable evidence of validity and reliability. Discussion and Conclusion. The psychometric analysis of the teachers’ responses showed that the three subscales were reliable measures of teachers’ self-efficacy for homework management. These results support the usefulness of using the scale as an assessment tool for research purposes and the professional development of teachers. These results present new knowledge about teachers’ management of homework with planning and designing being the salient factor.