Pre-service teachers' representations about children's learning: A pilot study

Background: Research on teachers' representations of children's learning is currently ongoing. Social representations are common-sense theories built and shared in everyday interactions. Their analysis can detect the possible differences between teachers’ naïve beliefs and scientific learning theories. Objective: The objective of this pilot study is to analyse the beliefs about children’s learning of a group of teachers. The beliefs will be related to the most acknowledged learning theories. Methods: A mixed methods research was employed to analyse 100 pre-service teachers’ representations of the origins of learning and the psychological processes involved. Results: It emerged from the results that the teachers interviewed consider children’s learning mainly as culturally acquired, which reveals the prevailing constructivist conception of learning. Many pre-service primary school teachers, however, tend to see learning as mere ‘transfer of information’; many pre-service kindergarten teachers perceive learning as ‘behaviour modification’. The most considered psychological aspects are ‘knowledge’ and ‘acquisition’, while emotions are barely considered. Conclusion: Linking implicit theories and disciplinary theories could support pre-service teachers in integrating the theory and the practice of learning so as to understand the way their models influence their educational choices

School Satisfaction and Self-Efficacy in Adolescents and Intention to Drop Out of School

School dropout is a risky behaviour that is a threat to well-being in adolescence. This study aimed to analyse school satisfaction and self-efficacy in school activities in a sample of adolescents attending secondary school in an Italian region at high risk of school dropout. The objective was to investigate whether differences exist among students on the basis of school dropout intention, gender, and career choices. Another aim was to identify, among the students' satisfaction variables, the main psychosocial predictors of dropout intention. Students (N = 1340) attending secondary schools in Sardinia completed Soresi's questionnaires on life satisfaction and self-efficacy. The data were analysed with a multivariate analysis of variance and logistic regression analysis. The results indicated that students intending to drop out of school scored lower on satisfaction with perceived support and satisfaction with peer and teacher relationships than their peers not at risk of dropping out. The logistic regression analysis showed that the most significant predictors of dropout intention were academic performance, satisfaction with the school experience, satisfaction in the relationships with teachers and with family members, and satisfaction with perceived support (26.9% of model variance). The results of this research thus indicate which areas could be addressed through prevention to improve well-being conditions in education

Teacher Satisfaction in Relationships With Students and Parents and Burnout

In the educational field, the role of the support component of the teacher-student relationship is well known, while the role of the teacher-student relationship on teacher burnout is a more current field of investigation. Several studies on the sources of burnout have recently focused on job satisfaction and teacher-student satisfaction. However, the role of teacher-parent satisfaction is still little explored in this field. Moreover, in the Italian school context, students’ seniority and educational level require further investigation, as the average age of teachers is particularly high compared to their European colleagues. The present study aims to examine in a sample of 882 Italian teachers the presence of burnout and differences in teacher-student and teacher-parent satisfaction between primary (students aged 6–10years) and lower secondary (students aged 11–13years) teachers. A further objective is to test whether teacher-student and teacher-parent satisfaction and seniority can be significant predictors of burnout. Teachers completed the Job Satisfaction Scale (MESI) and the MBI-Educators Survey and the data were then processed using MANOVA and multiple linear regression analysis. The results revealed that 8.2% of the teachers suffered from burnout and lower secondary teachers showed the highest levels of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced personal accomplishment. Predictors of emotional exhaustion were job dissatisfaction and seniority, and predictors of depersonalisation were job dissatisfaction and teacher-student dissatisfaction. Finally, predictors of personal accomplishment were also teacher-parent satisfaction and teacher-student satisfaction. The implications of these findings for practice and research are discussed in this article

Burnout syndrome in reception systems for illegal immigrants in the Mediterranean. A quantitative and qualitative study of Italian practitioners

Illegal immigration throughout the Mediterranean Sea is an intense and epoch-making phenomenon. This quantitative and qualitative study, based on the framework of the JD-R Model of burnout, described and assessed the risk of burnout among practitioners working in the reception system for illegal immigrants. A sample of Italian practitioners completed the Link Burnout Questionnaire (N = 193) and a semistructured interview (N = 108). The analysis of the questionnaires was carried out via ANOVA and χ2 test. The content of the interviews was examined using T-LAB. Quantitative results showed that the sample was generally at risk of burnout, and about a quarter were at severe risk. Qualitative results highlighted aspects of burnout that are specific to this working context: large workload, mental fatigue, and lack of social support; inability to understand the language and cultural differences of the immigrants; having to deal with organisational problems that come up repeatedly. This study offers coping strategies that can improve organisational health and performance of practitioners working in illegal immigration. Italy's shape, geographical location, and geo-political role make it a case in point for the whole European continent regarding the sustainability of illegal immigration across the Mediterranean Sea

Motivation to donate, job crafting, and organizational citizenship behavior in blood collection volunteers in non-profit organizations

This study assesses the levels of and relationships between the Motivation to donate, Job crafting propensity, and the Organizational citizenship behavior of blood collection volunteers in a non-profit association. An Italian sample of AVIS (the Italian Association of Voluntary Blood donors) blood donors (N = 1215) actively involved in organizing blood collection, were asked to complete the Italian version of the Volunteer Function Index, the Job crafting scale, and the Organizational citizenship behavior scale. The tools were verified by Confirmatory factor analysis and their relationships were explored using Structural equation modeling for hidden variables. The three constructs have overall high scores. Motivation to donate and Job crafting show a clear correlation, with the latter influencing volunteer Organizational citizenship behavior. The study highlights the need to take into consideration the Motivation to donate, Job crafting and Organizational citizenship behavior of volunteers, particularly in countries such as Italy, where blood collection is almost exclusively carried out thanks to spontaneous, altruistic, and disinterested commitment

L'attaccamento negli asili nido: le educatrici hanno una visione monotropica o poliadica?.

A large literature analyzes the attachment relationship between teachers and children who attend the nursery, and emphasizes that the existence of simultaneous multiple attachment relations, for positive outcomes and for clinical evidence, can compensate for an insecure attachment to a parent. The present study examines with an semi-structured interview, the beliefs of educators on the attachment and the appropriate strategies to promote it. The results are not in favor of a polyadic view and, indeed, in many cases the teachers still think that the attachment is only between parent and child