Teachers’ Cognitive Processing of Complex School-Based Scenarios: Differences Across Experience Levels

Teachers are confronted with and must process challenging situations every day. Yet the development trajectory of their processing ability is unknown. Our two-part mixed method studies use a think-aloud methodology to understand how teachers cognitive process difficult school-based and non-school-based scenarios. Studies 1 and 2 examine the differences between expert, beginning, and pre-service teachers without and with pre-existing response options, respectively. Results from qualitative (but not quantitative) analyses indicate group differences in strategy, scope, content, and reasoning. Furthermore, we find that teaching is a domain-specific expertise. We discuss how this information can inform teacher education and professional development programs

Türkiye’deki Fen Bilgisi Öğretmenlerinin Mesleki İyilik Durumlarının Bazı Demografik ve Kontekst Değişkenleri ile İlişkisi : Çok Değişkenli Analiz

The purpose of this study was twofold: first, to determine the Turkish elementary science teachers’ occupational well-being profile and second, to investigate the relation of science teachers’ occupational well-being to some contextual and demographic characteristics. The contextual variables included class size, years of teaching experience and weekly course hours, while demographic characteristics included gender, graduated faculty, marital status, and having children. Moreover, occupational well-being was examined in terms of job satisfaction and burnout (i.e. emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment). 376 elementary science teachers that were randomly selected across the Turkey participated in the study. Descriptive statistics and canonical correlation analysis were utilized to analyze the data. Results showed that Turkish elementary science teachers experience low level of Emotional exhaustion and high level of personal accomplishment and job satisfaction. Additionally, it was found that as class size and weekly course hour increase, elementary science teachers tend to experience more emotional exhaustion but less job satisfaction. Teachers having children appeared to experience more emotional exhaustion but less job satisfaction. Moreover, a positive relationship was found between teaching experience and occupational well-being (i.e. job satisfaction and personal accomplishment). Female teachers appeared to experience more personal accomplishment and job satisfaction than male teachers. Similarly, teachers graduated from faculties of arts and sciences were found to have higher level of personal accomplishment and job satisfaction than teachers graduated from educational faculties.Bu çalışmanın amacı Türkiye’deki fen bilgisi öğretmenlerinin mesleki iyilik durumlarını incelemek ve bu fen öğretmenlerinin mesleki iyilik durumlarının bazı demografik ve kontekst değişkenleri ile ilişkisini araştırmaktır. Demografik değişkenler cinsiyet, mezun olunan fakülte türü, medeni durum ve çocuk sahibi olma durumunu içerirken, kontekst değişkenleri ortalama sınıf mevcudu, öğretmenin iş deneyimi ve öğretmenin haftalık ders saatini içermektedir. Ayrıca, mesleki iyilik durumu; iş tatmini ve tükenmişlik (duygusal tükenmişlik ve kişisel başarı) olarak ele alınmıştır. Araştırmanın örneklemini Türkiye genelinden basit seçkisiz örnekleme yöntemi ile belirlenen 376 fen bilgisi öğretmeni oluşturmuştur. Veri setinin analizi için betimsel istatistikler ve kanonik korelasyon analizi kullanılmıştır. Analiz sonuçları Türkiye’deki fen bilgisi öğretmenlerinin yaşadığı duygusal tükenmişliğin düşük düzeyde; kişisel başarı hissi ve iş tatmininin ise yüksek düzeyde olduğunu göstermiştir. Ayrıca, ders verilen sınıfların mevcudu ve öğretmenin haftalık ders saati sayısı arttıkça öğretmenlerin daha çok duygusal tükenmişlik ve daha az iş tatmini yaşama eğiliminde oldukları bulunmuştur. Çocuk sahibi olan öğretmenlerin daha çok duygusal tükenmişlik ve daha az iş tatmini yaşadıkları görülmüştür. Bunun yanı sıra, iş deneyiminin iş tatmini ve kişisel başarı hissi ile pozitif yönde ilişkili olduğu bulunmuştur. Bayan öğretmenler, erkek öğretmenlere kıyasla daha yüksek iş tatmini ve kişisel başarı hissi yaşadıklarını ifade etmişlerdir. Benzer şekilde, üniversitelerin fen-edebiyat fakültelerinden mezun öğretmenlerin de eğitim fakültesi mezunlarına göre daha yüksek iş tatmini ve kişisel başarı hissi yaşadıkları bulunmuştur

Using video-based situational judgment tests for teacher selection: : A quasi-experiment exploring the relations between test format, subgroup differences, and applicant reactions

The question whether video-based situational judgment test (SJT) formats provide benefits over ‘traditional’ text-based SJTs has not yet been addressed in research on teacher selection. Focusing on three SJT conditions - two video-based conditions (with and without text), and a text-based condition - we investigated mean differences in applicant reactions and SJT scores, subgroup differences (ethnicity and gender), and relations between SJT scores and applicant reactions. Using a quasi-experimental design, 290 prospective teachers (56.6 % female) were randomly assigned to one of the three SJT conditions. SJT scores did not significantly differ between conditions, but both video-based formats were perceived as more engaging than the text-based format. Results from a multigroup path model indicated that there were gender effects for the text-based condition (females outperforming males), but not for the two video-based conditions. However, ethnicity bias (members from majority groups outperforming members from minority groups) occurred in all conditions. Differentiated patterns of relations were found between applicant reactions and SJT performance, with test anxiety significantly predicting SJT performance in the video with text condition and engagement significantly predicting SJT performance in the video without text condition. Implications for future research and teacher selection practice are discussed

The selection gap in teacher education : adverse effects of ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic status on situational judgment test performance

Background: Situational judgment tests (SJTs) measure non-cognitive attributes and have recently drawn attention as a selection method for initial teacher education programs. To date, very little is known about adverse impact in teacher selection SJT performance. Aims: This study aimed to shed light on adverse effects of gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic status (SES) on SJT scores, by exploring both main effects and interactions, and considering both overall SJT performance and separate SJT domain scores (mindset, emotion regulation, and conscientiousness). Sample: A total of 2,808 prospective teachers completed the SJTs as part of the initial stage of selection into a teacher education program. Methods: In addition to SJT scores, the variables gender (female vs. male), ethnicity (majority group vs. minority group), and home SES background (higher SES status vs. lower SES status) were used in the analyses. Moderated regression models were employed. Results and conclusions: Gender effects (females scoring higher than males) were restricted to emotion regulation, while ethnicity effects (ethnic majority group members scoring higher than ethnic minority group members) emerged for SJT overall scores and all three domains. The results revealed significant interactions (gender and ethnicity; ethnicity and SES) for SJT overall scores and two domains. Considering the importance of reducing subgroup differences in selection test scores to ensure equal access to teacher education, this study’s findings are a critical contribution. The partially differentiated results for overall vs. domain-specific scores point towards the promise of applying a domain-level perspective in research on teacher selection SJTs

A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Teacher Personality on Teacher Effectiveness and Burnout

The question of what makes a good teacher has been asked by practitioners, policymakers, and researchers for decades. However, there is no guiding framework about which qualities are important for teachers. Thus, it is necessary to examine these qualities using a recognized framework and to summarize the previous literature on this topic. We conducted a meta- analysis on the 25 studies (total N = 6294) reporting the relationships between teacher Big Five personality domains (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability) and two teacher job-related outcomes (i.e., teacher effectiveness and burnout). Furthermore, the influence of three moderators was assessed, namely, the type of teacher effectiveness measure (i.e., evaluations of teaching, student performance self-efficacy, class- room observation, and academic achievement), source of personality report (i.e., self-report vs other-report), and the instructed educational level (i.e., elementary, secondary, and tertiary). Overall, teacher Big Five domains (except for agreeableness) were positively associated with teacher effectiveness, especially for evaluations of teaching. Furthermore, teacher emotional stability, extraversion, and conscientiousness were negatively associated with burnout. Other- reports of teacher personality were more strongly associated with outcomes than self-reports. There were no differences in the strength of the associations between the educational levels. The need for using common descriptors in teacher research as well as practical implications of the findings for teacher personality measurement is discussed

Developing a Proof-of-Concept Selection Test for Entry into Primary Teacher Education Programs

The purpose of this article is to report on the development of a proof-of-concept situational judgment test (SJT) to assist in the selection of candidates for primary teacher education (ITE) programs. Nine development steps involving practising teachers, teacher educators, and applicants to ITE programs were carried out to establish target attributes and to develop content for the test. The results from administering the test to 124 primary ITE candidates showed a near-normal distribution, high levels of reliability, and significant positive correlations with a range of concurrently administered interview scores. We conclude with a description of the necessary next steps needed to implement evidence-supported teacher education selection processes in a range of international settings