What kind of individual support activities in interventions foster pre-service and beginning teachers’ self-efficacy? A meta-analysis

During the early stages of the teaching profession, pre-service and beginning teachers often participate in individual support activities intended to develop their teacher self-efficacy. These individual support activities (modeling, feedback on lesson plans or lessons, and reflection) are provided as part of an intervention by a mentor, cooperating teacher, instructor, or supervisor. We conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the effectiveness of these interventions and the individual support activities for pre-service and beginning teachers’ self-efficacy. We found a medium-sized overall effect of interventions on teacher self-efficacy based on 28 studies (49 effect sizes) in our meta-analysis. Providing feedback on lesson plans amplified the intervention effect (large effect). However, this moderator effect slightly missed the significance level of 0.05. The moderator effect of providing feedback on lesson plans was stable after controlling for mastery experiences and methodological moderator variables. Implications for future interventions regarding teacher self-efficacy for early career teachers are discussed

‘My family’s goals are also my goals’: the relationship between collectivism, distal utility value, and learning and career goals of international university students in Germany

The utility value of an academic task can affect university students’ learning behavior and career choices. For collectivistic-oriented students, learning and career goals also matter to their families. Following expectancy-value theory, we assumed that families’ achievement-related expectations would affect collectivistic-oriented students’ utility value. We conducted a survey study with 154 international university students in Germany. We found a significant mediation effect of students’ distal utility value of their university coursework on the relationship between students’ collectivism, learning goal orientation, and motivation to follow family-oriented distal career goals, respectively. Practical implications for career counselors and university teachers are discussed

Stereotype threat-effects for Turkish-origin migrants in Germany: Taking stock of cumulative research evidence

Source at https://doi.org/10.1177/1474904118807539.Turkish-origin migrants on average show lower academic performance than Germans. This achievement gap cannot be fully explained by socio-economic differences between the groups. Negative competence stereotypes about Turkish-origin students predict the causal attributions that German preservice teachers make for migrants’ academic underperformance. Specifically, the more strongly preservice teachers endorse negative competence stereotypes, the more likely they are to attribute academic underperformance of Turkish-origin migrants to the migrants themselves and less to the educational system. Stereotype threat theory posits that the activation of stereotypes in test situations can reduce the performance of members of the negatively stereotyped group. Based on this theory, we propose that negative stereotypes provide a social-psychological explanation for the academic underperformance of Turkish-origin migrants compared to Germans. A series of six experiments conducted within a research project funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research investigated stereotype threat effects for Turkish-origin migrants. Two new moderator variables were identified: implicit theory of intelligence and vertical collectivism. A meta-analysis of the six studies showed a small, non-significant mean effect for stereotype threat main effects, but a significant medium-sized mean effect for moderated stereotype threat effects. Limitations and practical implications of stereotype threat effects in educational settings are discussed

How do professional development programs on comparing solution methods and classroom discourse affect students' achievement in mathematics? The mediating role of students’ subject matter justifications

Comparing solution methods fosters strategy flexibility in equation solving. Productive classroom discourse such as Accountable Talk (AT) orchestrated by teachers can improve students' justifications during classroom discussions and achievement. Do students' subject matter justifications during classroom discourse mediate the effect of teachers' professional development (PD) programs focused on comparing and AT on students’ mathematics achievement? We investigated whether two PD programs (comparing or comparing+AT) compared to a control group increased the number of students justifications, and whether this affected mathematics achievement (strategy flexibility, procedural knowledge, and conceptual knowledge). The study (739 9th and 10th grade students in 39 classes) had an experimental pre-post control group design. Both PD programs significantly increased students justifications compared to the control group. The results of our multilevel path models showed significant small mediation effects in the comparing+AT group on procedural and conceptual knowledge. No mediation effects were found in the comparing group

Evidence-Based Practice in Teacher Education: The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy Beliefs and Practical Knowledge

European educational reforms call for the implementation of evidence-based teaching (EBT) in universities. Based on the evidence-based research paradigm in medical education, this study investigates the relationship between teacher educators' research experience, practical knowledge, self-efficacy beliefs, and frequency of EBT implementation. We report on survey data from N = 243 teacher educators from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. A set of mediation analyses were run to identify the mediating role of self-efficacy beliefs and practical knowledge in the interplay among teacher educators' research experience and frequency of research evidence implementation. The results indicate that self-efficacy beliefs are a strong predictor of how frequently teacher educators implement EBT. Implications about the role of self-efficacy beliefs in teacher educators' professional learning and development along with future steps that are necessary to increase the implementation of EBT practices in teacher education will be discussed

The relationship between ethnic classroom composition and Turkish-origin and German students’ reading performance and sense of belonging

Past research on ethnic composition effects on migrant and ethnic majority students’ performance has reported inconclusive results: Some studies have found no relationship between the proportion of migrant students in school and students’ performance, some revealed positive effects, whereas others showed negative effects of the proportion of migrant students. Most of the studies did not consider whether an increase in the proportion of migrant students in the classroom has different effects on migrant and ethnic majority students’ performance. For this reason, the present study (N = 9215) extends previous research by investigating the cross-level interaction effect of the proportion of Turkish-origin students in classrooms on Turkish-origin and German students’ reading performance with data based on the German National Assessment Study 2008/2009 in the school subject German. In addition, we examined the cross-level interaction effect of Turkish-origin students’ proportion on sense of belonging to school of Turkish-origin and German students, as sense of belonging has been shown to be an important predictor of well-being and integration. No cross-level interaction effect on performance emerged. Only a small negative main effect of the Turkish-origin students’ proportion on all students’ performance was found. As predicted, we showed a cross-level interaction on sense of belonging. Only Turkish-origin students’ sense of belonging was positively related to the proportion of Turkish-origin students: The more Turkish-origin students there were in a classroom, the higher Turkish-origin students’ sense of belonging. German students’ sense of belonging was not related to the ethnic classroom composition. Implications of the results in the educational context are discussed

Turning research evidence into teaching action: Teacher educators’ attitudes toward evidence-based teaching

Teacher educators are seen as potential brokers able to bridge the research-practice gap and accelerate the adoption of current evidence in teacher education. The present study focuses on the in-depth exploration of teacher educators’ attitudes toward evidence-based teaching practices and provides a deeper understanding of the challenges encountered when turning evidence into teaching action. Moreover, facilitating factors to foster the implementation of evidence-based teaching are explored. Twelve teacher educators working in various teacher education programs in Germany reflected on challenges and facilitators to evidence-based teaching implementation. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Results indicate that although teacher educators show positive attitudes towards evidence-based teaching, they still feel challenged to translate research evidence into their teaching practice. Our research suggests that evidence-based teaching may not be successfully implemented if teacher educators lack appropriate preparation and support from higher education institutions

The interaction of vertical collectivism and stereotype activation on the performance of Turkish-origin high school students

The activation of negative stereotypes in achievement situations can lead to decreased performance (i.e., stereotype threat effect). Research has shown that stereotype threat effects increase when performance outcomes become more important. Cultural value orientations such as vertical collectivism can influence the perceived importance of performance outcomes. For this reason, we investigate the interaction between vertical collectivism and the activation of negative stereotypes on the academic performance of migrant students. More precisely, we argue that the more Turkish-origin students endorse vertical collectivism (i.e., the willingness to sacrifice individual interests for their group's interests), the more they try to meet their group's high achievement expectations after negative stereotype activation. This increases performance pressure and thus impairs their performance. We further argue that vertical collectivism increases migrants students' motivation to temporarily join a high performing outgroup in order to achieve high performance outcomes in the future. An experiment conducted in classrooms (N = 94) with Turkish-origin students confirmed our hypotheses. Implications for dealing with stereotype threat in educational contexts are discusse

Why Do Turkish-Origin Students Underperform in Germany? : Investigating the Effects of Ethnic Composition in Classrooms and Negative Stereotypes on Performance and Coping Strategies

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Does coaching, mentoring, and supervision matter for pre-service teachers’ planning skills and clarity of instruction? A meta-analysis of (quasi-)experimental studies

During the practicum, pre-service teachers (PSTs) practice instructional skills such as lesson planning and clarity of instruction. Different approaches to assisting PSTs with coaching, mentoring, or supervision have been developed to improve PSTs' instructional skills. We conducted a meta-analysis based on quasi-experimental and experimental studies. The results showed a small and significant overall effect of coaching, mentoring, or supervision on instructional skills (d = 0.41). Cooperating teachers' or supervisors' cognitive modeling (i.e., making cognitive processes explicit and demonstrating teaching-related practices) of lesson planning and teaching practices was a significant moderator (d = 0.90). Implications for initial teacher education are discussed