Primary teachers' perception of policy for curriculum reform in Cyprus with special reference to mathematics

This paper reports and analyses findings from an investigation into Cypriot teachers' perceptions of national policy for curriculum reform in primary schools, with special reference to teaching and assessment in Mathematics. Questionnaires were sent to a 10% sample of Cypriot teachers randomly selected from the total population (n=257). A response rate 0170% was obtained and statistical analysis was carried out by SPSS-X. There were four main findings. First, in respect of curricular purposes, pupils' abilities to resolve investigations and to gain mathematical knowledge were considered to have equal importance while ability to talk about Mathematics was judged to be the least important. Second, formative purposes of assessment were accorded most importance, and summative purposes least importance. Third, teachers approved of active pedagogy. Fourth,they conceptualised assessment as a natural part of teaching but paradoxically favoured formally structured techniques of assessment. Implications for the implementation of curriculum policy are discussed.peer-reviewe

Improving quality and equity in schools in socially disadvantaged areas

Background: Recent effectiveness studies have investigated the relationship between two dimensions of effectiveness - namely, quality and equity. Specifically, the question of whether effective schools can also reduce the initial differences in student outcomes attributed to student background factors has been examined. In this context, the Dynamic Approach to School Improvement (DASI) makes use of theory and the research findings of effectiveness studies to try to improve school effectiveness in terms of quality and equity. Purpose: This study aimed to examine whether the implementation of DASI in primary schools in socially disadvantaged areas in four European countries (Cyprus, England, Greece and Ireland) was able to promote student learning outcomes in mathematics and to reduce the impact of student background factors on student achievement in mathematics. Design and methods: A sample of 72 primary schools across the four countries was randomly split into experimental and control groups. At the beginning and at the end of the school year, mathematics tests were administered to all students of Grades 4-6 (n = 5560; student ages 9-12 years). The experimental group made use of DASI. Within-country multilevel regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the impact of the intervention and search for interaction effects between the use of DASI and student background factors on final achievement. Results: In each country, the experimental group achieved better results in mathematics than the control group. At the beginning of the intervention, the achievement gap based on socio-economic status (SES) was equally large in the experimental and the control groups. Only in the experimental group did the achievement gap based on SES become smaller. However, DASI was not found to have an effect on equity when the equity dimension was examined by focusing on the achievement gap based on either gender or ethnicity. Conclusions: Implications of findings are drawn and the importance of measuring equity in terms of student achievement gaps based on different background factors, rather than only on SES, is emphasised. We propose the evaluation of the impact of interventions on promoting equity by the use of various criteria

Investigating the effectiveness of a dynamic integrated approach to teacher professional development

This paper argues that research on teacher professional development could be integrated with validated theoretical models of educational effectiveness research (EER). A dynamic integrated approach (DIA) to teacher professional development is proposed. The methods and results of a study comparing the impact of the DIA and the Holistic - Reflective Approach (HA) to teacher professional development are presented. Teaching skills and teacher perceptions of teaching of 130 teachers and the achievement of their students (n=2356) were measured at the beginning and at the end of the intervention. Teachers found to be at a certain developmental stage were randomly allocated evenly into two groups. The first group employed the DIA and the second the HA. Teachers employing the DIA managed to improve their teaching skills more than teachers employing the HA. Teacher perceptions and attitudes towards teaching have not been modified due to their participation in the interventions. On the other hand, the use of DIA also had a significant impact on student achievement. Implications of findings for the use of EER for improvement purposes are drawn and suggestions for research and practice in teacher professional development are provided. (DIPF/Orig.

Process-Product Research:A Cornerstone in Educational Effectiveness Research

This article links the contribution of process-product studies in developing the theoretical framework of educational effectiveness by pointing out the importance of teacher behavior in the classroom. The role that Jere Brophy played in this evolving research is described within the various phases of teacher effectiveness research. Process-product studies revealed the importance of moving from investigating the personal characteristics of teachers to identifying characteristics of effective teaching practices. Research on factors other than the teacher behavior, conducted during the last three decades, have not generated empirical support to show that these factors have direct effect on student achievement and only few of them reveal indirect effects through influencing teacher behavior in the classroom. It is also argued that current models of educational effectiveness research drawn from Brophy's research further the development of constructs generated through process and product studies. We additionally refer to the dynamic model of educational effectiveness and show how the original ideas in the process-product studies were taken into account in describing and analysing the dynamic nature of effectiveness and expand them further by introducing a multidimensional approach to measure the impact of these factors and grouping of factors on student learning outcome

Process-Product Research: A Cornerstone in Educational Effectiveness Research

This article links the contribution of process-product studies in developing the theoretical framework of educational effectiveness by pointing out the importance of teacher behavior in the classroom. The role that Jere Brophy played in this evolving research is described within the various phases of teacher effectiveness research. Process-product studies revealed the importance of moving from investigating the personal characteristics of teachers to identifying characteristics of effective teaching practices. Research on factors other than the teacher behavior, conducted during the last three decades, have not generated empirical support to show that these factors have direct effect on student achievement and only few of them reveal indirect effects through influencing teacher behavior in the classroom. It is also argued that current models of educational effectiveness research drawn from Brophy's research further the development of constructs generated through process and product studies. We additionally refer to the dynamic model of educational effectiveness and show how the original ideas in the process-product studies were taken into account in describing and analysing the dynamic nature of effectiveness and expand them further by introducing a multidimensional approach to measure the impact of these factors and grouping of factors on student learning outcome