Perspectives on multiperspectivity : self-efficacy of master\u2019s student teachers in Belgium towards multiperspectivity in the classroom

Abstract: This study investigates pre-service teachers\u2019 self-efficacy and attitudes towards multiperspectivity in education. The sample is representative of postgraduate teacher education students in Flanders, the northern and largest region of Belgium, which has evolved into a migratory society with city life characterised by superdiversity. The capital Brussels and two Flemish cities have already evolved into majority-minority cities. A written survey was conducted at four universities in Flanders and Brussels, investigating the degree of familiarity with and views on ethnic diversity. Knowledge about and (readiness for) practical applications of multiperspectivity was also investigated. This study demonstrates that growing up in an urban environment is a good predictor of pre-service teachers\u2019 familiarity with ethnic diversity in education. Moreover, students training a subject from the Humanities score significantly higher on theoretical knowledge of multiperspectivity. Familiarity with ethnic diversity is also a good predictor of the application of a multiperspectivist approach in teaching practice. Since the greater part of Flemish master\u2019s student teachers did not grow up in large cities and are not majoring in humanities subjects, teacher education should pay sufficient attention to multiperspectivity so that all can acquire sufficient theoretical and practical knowledge to thrive in 21st-century classrooms

Krachtig en duurzaam leerzorgbeleid tot op de klasvloer : een beginsituatie als basis

Abstract: Het is wel degelijk mogelijk om het leerzorgbeleid in de school gericht vorm te geven, samen met het team, en hieromtrent een duidelijke communicatie te voeren zodat alle betrokkenen de mogelijkheden kennen. Daarvoor is het noodzakelijk om het leerzorgbe\uadleid vanaf de basis uit te werken, in lijn met het bredere schoolbeleid. Dit betekent met andere woorden starten met een beginsituatieanalyse van de actuele situatie en het vastleggen van de na te steven doelen op klasniveau, graadniveau en/of schoolniveau. Dan pas is het mogelijk om het leerzorgbeleid en een bijhorend actieplan gericht uit te werken en te implementeren, gericht actie te onder\uad nemen en de uitrol en implementatie van de acties bij te sturen, verder uit te splitsen... Sowieso is het opportuun om heel het team hierbij te betrekken, gezien het belang van een gedeelde taal (spreken we over hetzelfde?) en een gedeelde mindset (staan en gaan we voor hetzelfde?). Pas dan is het mogelijk om een duurzame implementatie na te streven. Deze procesmatige aanpak zal op langere termijn bijdragen aan werkelijke schoolontwikkeling

Professionalization Pathways for School Leaders Examined: The Influence of Organizational and Didactic Factors and Their Interplay on Triggering Concrete Actions in School Development

It is believed that school leadership contributes to efficiency and equity in school performance. Therefore, it is essential that professionalization initiatives for school leaders foster learning and development processes towards effective leadership. Based on a literature review, several factors appear to facilitate the influence of professionalization programs on learning outcomes of school leaders but empirical research on real effects and on explanatory processes is limited. This research gap forms the basis for this mixed methods study, in which we design and implement a longitudinal professionalization program as the research setting. We distinguish an organizational dimension focusing on structural choices and an intertwined didactic dimension. We examine which specific interaction between both contributes most to concrete learning-driven actions at the school of the participant. The results indicate that by participating in the program with such a design, school leaders prepare action plans for their own school and start up school development. The interaction between actively providing theoretical frameworks, further deepening insights through peer learning in professional learning communities, the conversion of insights into concrete action plans and supporting this with school-specific coaching leads to the strongest results, analyses show