Experiment Findings

Educators' Self-Efficacy Questionnaire

Authors:
To read the file of this research, you can request a copy directly from the author.

Abstract

The Educators' Self-Efficacy Questionnaire was based on a questionnaire by Menon and Sadler (2018). Menon and Sadler's questionnaire incorporated David Palmer's (2006) alternative or sources of efficacy: cognitive pedagogy mastery, cognitive content mastery, and simulated modeling to understand how teacher education programs contribute to pre-service educators' self-efficacy. Cognitive content mastery was not explored. The questionnaire was condensed and modified to understand how an online educational technology program may have contributed to K-12 educators' self-efficacy teaching online during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The questionnaire was distributed to participants via SurveyMonkey.

No file available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the file of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.

ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
Article
Full-text available
This paper sheds light on the skills and competencies required for teaching online courses in higher education. The paper started with an overview of the issues related to online learning and teaching. Reviewing and analyzing literature in this topic were performed to confine skills and competencies that instructors need to effectively teach in online learning environments. These skills and competencies are classified into six categories: (a) pedagogical skills, (b) content skills, (c) design skills, (d) technological skills, (e) management and institutional skills, and (f) social and communication skills.
Article
Full-text available
With the advancement of information technology and policies encouraging interactivities in teaching and learning, the use of students’ response system (SRS), commonly known as clickers, has experienced substantial growth in recent years. The reported effectiveness of SRS has varied. Based on the framework of technological-pedagogical-content knowledge (TPACK), the current study attempted to explore the disparity in efficiency of adopting SRS. A concurrent mixed method design was adopted to delineate factors conducive to efficient adoption of SRS through closed-ended survey responses and qualitative data. Participants were purposefully sampled from diverse academic disciplines and backgrounds. Seventeen teachers from various disciplines (i.e., tourism management, business, health sciences, applied sciences, engineering, and social sciences) at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University formed a teacher focus group for the current study. In the facilitated focus group, issues relating to efficient use of clickers, participants explored questions on teachers’ knowledge on various technologies, knowledge relating to their subject matters, methods and processes of teaching, as well as how to integrate all knowledge into their teaching. The TPACK model was adopted to guide the discussions. Emergent themes from the discussions were extracted using NVivo 10 for Windows, and were categorized according to the framework of TPACK. The survey, implemented on an online survey platform, solicited participants on teachers’ knowledge and technology acceptance. The close-ended survey comprised 30 items based on the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework and 20 items based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). Participating teachers concurred with the suggestion that use of clickers is instrumental in engaging students in learning and assessing formative students’ progress. Converging with the survey results, several major themes contributing to the successful implementation of clickers, namely technology, technological-pedagogical, technological-content, technological-pedagogical-content knowledge, were identified from the teacher focus groups. The most and second most frequently cited themes were technological-pedagogical-content Knowledge and the technological knowledge respectively. Findings from the current study triangulated with previous findings on TPACK and use of clickers, particularly, the influence of technological-pedagogical-content Knowledge and technological knowledge on successful integration of innovations in class. Furthermore, the current study highlighted the impact of technological-pedagogical and technological-content knowledge for further research to unfold technology adoption with these featured TPACK configurations, as well as rendering support to frontline academics related to integration of technology and pedagogy.
Article
Full-text available
Due to COVID-19, many countries implemented emergency plans, such as lockdown and school closures. This new situation has significantly affected families, namely, the involvement required to support children’s learning at home. The current study aimed to analyze Portuguese parents’ perceptions of their home-based parental involvement in their children’s learning during the lockdown and school closures in 2020 due to COVID-19. An online survey, using a closed-ended questionnaire, was employed. Variables included parents’ sociodemographic and COVID-19 related characteristics; students’ sociodemographic characteristics; distance learning context; parental involvement; and students’ autonomy. Data were collected from a sample of 21,333 parents with children from elementary school to secondary education, and statistical data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26. Findings revealed that Portuguese parents supported their children during the pandemic mainly through the monitoring of attention in classes and task realization. However, several variables appear to significantly determine parental involvement time, which is higher when students attend public schools, when they are less autonomous and younger, when parents’ level of education is lower, when the child is a boy (except in secondary education where gender is not relevant), and when the online school time is higher. Findings highlight the need for a significant investment of time from parents, particularly of primary school children, making it difficult to cohere work or telework with school activities. Implications for policies, schools, families are discussed in order to promote children’s learning and success.
Article
Full-text available
This paper presents an overview of the relevant literature in the field of the K-12 e-Learning. The literature suggests that e-Learning at the K-12 level has been growing exponentially. The main focus of this paper is to describe some foundational concepts such as what is K-12 e-learning, how has it grown, how is the technology employed, and what is the role of an e-teacher. Researchers in the field agree that K-12 e-learning is a form of distance education in which teacher and learners are separated in time or space, and occur through an organization, which offers formal instruction via the internet. The types of e-Learning have been identified. The growth and rationale for e-Learning have been described. Some other relevant aspects of K-12 e-Learning such as virtual school management and student support have been discussed. The challenges of K-12 online learning are also a part of this paper. The necessary attributes for successful online learning environments.
Article
Full-text available
In Spring 2020, schools in many countries had to close in response to the COVID-19 virus pandemic and move to remote teaching. This paper explores the views of pupils, parents/carers and teachers of ‘home-school’ in one Norwegian municipality, gathered through parallel online surveys in April 2020 during the peak of the COVID-19 lockdown period. It finds that adaptation happened very quickly and that home-school was well received by pupils and parents. There was more creative learning, better progress, more useful feedback and greater student independence. School leaders reported that they wanted to implement changes based on the experience of remote learning enforced by the lockdown, so that the crisis has become an opportunity for grassroots innovation.
Article
Full-text available
The impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on schools was massive and unprecedented. Many schools were forced to close, and teachers were forced to deliver their instruction online with a very short notice. To assist K-12 teachers to teach remotely, a simple instructional design model, CAFE (Content, Activities, Facilitation, & Evaluation), was created. This article describes the context in which CAFE was created and the three stages of improvement it went through from a simple instructional design table to the instructional design model. It also shares a reflection on the creation and characteristics of CAFE and finally, it ends with the introduction of the CAFE model.
Article
Full-text available
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced sudden transformation in many sectors of the global community, turning the world upside down. Everything has been impacted, not excluding the education sector, which has experienced some unforeseen changes in many parts of the world. The sudden transition to online pedagogy as a result of COVID-19 in developing countries has exposed some inequalities and challenges, as well as benefits. These challenges and inequalities have now become the new realities in the educational sector of developing countries. Suggestions are provided here so that the challenges presented by the new approach can be mitigated while we come to terms with the disruptions introduced by COVID-19 to our education sector.
Article
Full-text available
The COVID-19 outbreak imposed to Italian families many changes in their daily life increasing the risk of developing psychological problems. The present study explored risk factors associated with parenting stress and implications for children's emotion regulation in families with different socioeconomic risks. Parents of 2-14 years old children completed a survey reporting difficulties experienced due to the lockdown, level of household chaos, parenting stress, parent involvement in the child's daily life, and children emotion regulation competences. The general mean levels of parenting stress and children emotion regulation abilities were not at clinical level compared with Italian norms. Household chaos predicted higher levels of parenting stress, which, in turn, was associated with less effective emotion regulation in children through the mediating role of parental involvement. More stressed parents were less involved in their children's activities, decreasing children's effective emotion regulation. Only for SES no-risk families, the lockdown constraints increased parenting stress. For SES at-risk families, the impact of parenting stress and involvement on children regulation strategies was stronger, with a protective role played by parental involvement on children's negativity not evident for SES no-risk families. Dealing with the lockdown is a stressful experience for parents who have to balance personal life, work, and children upbringing, without other help. This situation potentially impairs their ability to be supportive caregivers and is consequently detrimental for children well-being. Policies should take into consideration the implications of the lockdown for families' mental health and tailor supportive interventions according to family's risk factors.
Article
Full-text available
Previous research has suggested that higher levels of teachers’ self-efficacy (TSE) tend to be positively related to positive teachers’ emotions (e.g., joy, pride) and negatively to negative teachers” emotions (e.g., anger, anxiety). However, these studies predominately relied on cross-sectional design and therefore were unable to test the reciprocal relations between the two constructs. Based on the propositions of social-cognitive theory (Bandura, 1997), TSE may be viewed as an antecedent or as a consequence of emotions. More specifically, TSE may shape emotions since it directs teachers’ attentional, appraisal, and regulatory processes, while emotions may shape TSE since they act as a source of information about teachers’ performance in a given task (i.e., emotions can serve as a filter that determines which efficacy information is seen as salient and how it is interpreted). To test these assumptions, an initial sample of 3010 Croatian teachers (82% female) participated in a longitudinal study based on a full panel design with three measurement points and time lags of approximately 6 months. Teachers taught at different educational levels (i.e., elementary, middle, and secondary schools) and had on average 15.30 years (SD = 10.50) of teaching experience. They completed self-report measures that assessed their self-efficacy beliefs and six discrete emotions experienced in relation to teaching and students – joy, pride, love, anger, hopelessness, and exhaustion. An autoregressive cross-lagged analysis showed that teachers’ emotions and TSE are indeed related to each other. However, the direction of this association is not bidirectional as was suggested by theoretical assumptions; instead, it is asymmetrical – higher levels of TSE beliefs predicted higher levels of positive emotions of joy and pride, while higher levels of teachers’ negative emotions of anger, exhaustion, and hopelessness predicted lower levels of teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs.
Article
Full-text available
This study analyzed the current situation of education in the context of the pandemic caused by COVID-19. The worldwide health emergency situation has caused the confinement of people and with it, the closure of centers and the transfer of face-to-face education to online education. Faced with these facts, teachers have had to adapt at a dizzying pace not only to new methodological approaches, but also to their own confinement, presenting high levels of stress. The purpose of this study is to offer a proposal that optimizes the work of education professionals in the current context of a pandemic through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) under the novel approach of the contributions of neuroeducation in the field of managing emotions and motivational processes, contributing to meaningful learning in students. The symbiosis of ICT and neuroeducation can make a great contribution to the paradigm shift that is taking place today.
Article
Full-text available
The aim of this study is to analyse the effects of principals’ instructional leadership on the teachers' perceptions of their self-efficacy. Mixed method, in which quantitative and qualitative techniques are employed together, was used in order to analyse the data obtained. The sample for quantitative analysis included 435 teachers working in schools in Şahinbey Province and study group for qualitative analysis included 24 teachers working in these schools. For the quantitative data, regression and correlation analysis were done; for the quantitative data, descriptive and content analysis were done. Data were obtained using Instructional Leadership Behaviours Scale (Hallinger, 2011) and Teachers' Self-Efficacy Perception Scale (Tschannen-Moran ve Woolfolk Hoy, 2001). According to the result of the study, there is a significant medium level relationship between principals’ instructional behaviours and teachers' self-efficacy. In addition, instructional leadership behaviours displayed by principals contribute positively to teachers' motivation and task focality, the development of learners' ability to learn, and the self-evaluation skills of the teachers about themselves and students.
Article
Full-text available
This article reports on a qualitative study which explored online student engagement experiences in a higher education institution. There are very few studies providing in-depth perspectives on the engagement experiences of online students. The project adopted a case study approach, following 24 online students over one academic year. The setting for the study was an undergraduate online Humanities programme at Dublin City University. The research question for the study was: What themes are central to online student engagement experiences? Data was collected from participant-generated learning portfolios and semi-structured interviews and analysed following a data-led thematic approach. The five central themes that make up the study’s findings highlight key issues of students’ sense of community, their support networks, balancing study with life, confidence, and their learning approaches. The findings of this study indicate that successful online student engagement was influenced by a number of psychosocial factors such as peer community, an engaging online teacher, and confidence and by structural factors such as lifeload and course design. One limitation of the study is that it is a relatively small, qualitative study, its findings provide insights into how online degrees can support online students to achieve successful and engaging learning experiences.
Article
Full-text available
The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between alternative certification preservice teachers' levels of depression, stress, educational technology anxiety, self-efficacy for educational technology, and attitude towards using technology in education to provide insight into the interplay between intrinsic factors affecting technology integration. Participants were 451 preservice teachers enrolled in the alternative certification program at a public university in the southwestern part of Turkey (N=451). Data were collected using the Educational Technology Standards Self-Efficacy Scale, Attitude towards Using Technology in Education Scale, Educational Technology Anxiety Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, and Beck’s Depression Inventory. In addition to descriptive techniques, Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression were used for data analysis. Findings revealed that preservice teachers suffer from stress, depression, and anxiety, even more so than other undergraduate students. Age did not correlate with any of the parameters. Stress and depression did not differ according to gender; however, females were more anxious about using educational technology. Additionally, findings indicated bidirectional and cyclical relationships between emotional states, self-efficacy, and attitude. Finally, using educational technology for instructional purposes and for secondary purposes such as classroom management were associated with different sets of self-efficacy beliefs, and attitudes. Findings of the research were discussed and suggestions were made.
Article
Full-text available
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to supply an in-depth description of the educators’ values, beliefs and confidence changing from a traditional learning environment to a learning environment integrating technology. Design/methodology/approach The descriptive case study design was employed using descriptive statistical analysis and inductive analysis on the data collected. Findings Themes on a high level of confidence, the importance of professional development and training, self-motivation, and excitement about the way technology can enhance the learning, along with concerns over the lack of infrastructure and support for integrating technology, and about the ability of students to use the technology tools for higher ordered thinking surfaced. Research limitations/implications Additional research may include a more diverse population, including educators at the kindergarten to high school level. Another recommendation would be to repeat the study with a population not as vested in technology. Practical implications A pre-assessment of the existing values, beliefs and confidence of educators involved in the change process will provide invaluable information for stakeholders on techniques and strategies vital to a successful transition. Social implications To effectively meet the learning styles of Generation Z and those students following, educators need be able to adapt to quickly changing technology, be comfortable with students who multitask and be open to technology-rich teaching and learning environments. Originality/value This study filled a gap in the literature where little information on the humanistic challenges educators encounter when integrating technology into their learning environment providing insights into the values, beliefs and level of confidence of educators experiencing change.
Article
Full-text available
This study aims at investigating the profiles of teacher educators in order to explore their ability to prepare preservice teachers for technology integration in education. Specifically, the current study examines whether teacher educators can be grouped on the basis of their attitudes toward ICT (in education), their ICT self‐efficacy to design ICT‐rich learning environments, their competencies to use ICT in their teaching practice and the strategies they use to prepare preservice teachers for technology integration. These strategies are included in the SQD (Synthesis of Qualitative Data) model and comprise: (1) teacher educators as role models, (2) reflecting on the role of technology in education, (3) learning how to use technology by design, (4) collaboration with peers, (5) scaffolding authentic technology experiences and (6) providing continuous feedback. Data were collected from a sample of 284 teacher educators in Flanders, the Dutch‐speaking part of Belgium, and submitted to latent profile analysis. The added value of the current study lies in the account of how SQD strategies and a typical set of determinants of ICT integration can be associated within teacher educators’ profile. Based on the profiles emerging from this study, teacher training institutions should consider their teacher educators to be gatekeepers when preparing future generations of teachers for the learning environments of the twenty‐first century. In the discussion section, the implications for practice and future research are discussed.
Chapter
Full-text available
While the use of distance and online learning at the K-12 level of growing exponentially, the availability of empirical evidence to help guide this growth is severely lacking. The author of this chapter provides an overview of the nature of K-12 distance and online learning today and a critical examination of the literature and-lack of research-supporting its use. The author further describes some of the methodological issues surround the limited among of existing research, and calls for researchers in this field to adopt practices that have been employed by their colleagues investigating adult populations over the past decades. Biography: Michael Barbour is an Associate Professor of Instructional Design for the College of Education and Health Sciences at Touro University California in Vallejo, California. He has been involved with K-12 online learning in a variety of countries for well over a decade as a researcher, teacher, course designer and administrator. Michael's research interests focus on the effective design, delivery, and support of online learning to K-12 students in virtual school environments, particularly those in rural jurisdictions.
Article
Full-text available
Although empirical validation of teacher self-efficacy in face-to-face environments continues, it remains a relatively new construct in online education. This literature review, which was conducted over academic databases and which examined work published in the past 15 years, explores three areas of research about teacher self-efficacy in online education: (1) ease of adopting online teaching, (2) online teaching self-efficacy in comparison to demographic and experience variables and (3) changes in teacher self-efficacy in professional development scenarios where self-efficacy was measured before and after treatment. Research studies demonstrate agreement (or no discernible disagreement) in the importance of system/curriculum quality in the implementation of online learning and the recognition that a measure of self-efficacy in online pedagogy has not yet been empirically derived. Researchers continue to examine the balance of technological and pedagogical knowledge that supports the development of teacher self-efficacy, the role of learner self-efficacy in teacher self-efficacy and whether teacher self-efficacy differs fundamentally in online education. In addition, it seems clear that empirical validation of the association of teacher self-efficacy and student success has yet to occur in online education with the rigour seen in face-to-face modes of delivery.Published: 17 October 2018Citation: Research in Learning Technology 2018, 26: 2047 - http://dx.doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v26.2047
Article
Full-text available
This study aims to understand teacher emotions through interviewing 28 primary teachers in Hong Kong. The study employed content analysis to analyze the data. The results were allocated to three dimensions of teacher emotions—student and learning, teacher and teaching, and the contextual factors. These teachers described 78 emotions of which approximately an equal number were positive and negative. Emotions relating to the student and learning dimension are the most intense, followed by those in the teacher and teaching and contextual factor dimensions. Data also indicated that teachers can hold positive and negative emotions simultaneously (e.g., happy yet pressurized by child’s unconditional trust) and can suffer from paradoxical emotions (e.g., regarding education reform). Teachers demonstrated different ways to manage emotions contingent on their demographic background. Given the powerful role that emotions play, recommendations for including teacher emotion education in both initial teacher education and professional development have been proposed accordingly.
Article
Full-text available
This article describes the organisational development of virtual learning in networked rural schools in New Zealand, specifically the obstacles that e-learning clusters of rural schools face in their journey to sustainability and maturity through the lens of the Ministry’s Learning Communities Online Handbook. Analysis of a nationwide purposeful sample identified three common barriers: a lack of a coherent vision; difficulty in sustaining necessary funding and resources; and of the need for more collaboration within and between clusters. Based on these findings, it is recommended that VLN e-learning clusters develop specific strategies to encourage greater collaboration between schools and work towards greater consistency between their activities, including professional and organisational development and also of the approaches to virtual learning. © 2016, Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. All rights reserved.
Article
Full-text available
This article presents a synthesis of reports and research on K-12 blended teaching competencies compared with K-12 online teaching competencies. The skills needed to teach in online and blended environments are distinct from traditional teaching, but teacher education programs often do not equip preservice teachers for the new modes of instruction. Additionally, there is a dearth of research on blended teaching competencies. This review synthesizes 8 blended teaching documents and 10 online teaching documents. Seven global themes identified in both competency domains are (1) pedagogy, (2) management, (3) assessment, (4) technology, (5) instructional design, (6) dispositions, and (7) improvement. The top 20 blended teaching skills include flexibility and personalization, mastery-based learning, data usage and interpretation, learning management system usage, online discussion facilitation, and software management. The authors recommend that researchers collect more methodologically transparent data about blended teaching and that teacher education programs include the identified skills in curriculum.
Article
Full-text available
This paper describes a teacher knowledge framework for technology integration called technological pedagogical content knowledge (originally TPCK, now known as TPACK, or technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge). This framework builds on Lee Shulman's (1986, 1987) construct of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) to include technology knowledge. The development of TPACK by teachers is critical to effective teaching with technology. The paper begins with a brief introduction to the complex, ill-structured nature of teaching. The nature of technologies (both analog and digital) is considered, as well as how the inclusion of technology in pedagogy further complicates teaching. The TPACK framework for teacher knowledge is described in detail as a complex interaction among three bodies of knowledge: content, pedagogy, and technology. The interaction of these bodies of knowledge, both theoretically and in practice, produces the types of flexible knowledge needed to successfully integrate technology use into teaching.
Article
Full-text available
Aim/Purpose: The number of students enrolled in online courses that use video lectures is on the rise. However, research shows that the number of students watching video lectures is low, and the number watching videos to completion is even lower. Background: This paper seeks to understand this problem by looking for correlations between instructional design and student engagement with video lectures. Methodology: Students at a cyber-university in South Korea (n=1801) were surveyed on their perception of the instructional design used in the courses they took and their engagement with online video lectures. Contribution: This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by demonstrating positive correlations between instructional design, watching, and finishing video lectures. Findings: While most other research has found low levels of online lecture viewership, this paper found significantly higher numbers watching and finishing videos. Other major findings of the paper are that five key elements of instructional design for online learning environments (designing methods, setting the curriculum, establishing time parameters, establishing netiquette, and utilizing the medium effectively) all correlated positively with students watching and finishing video lectures. Recommendations for Practitioners : Based on findings in this paper, it is recommended that practitioners consider taking actions when designing their instruction for online courses. These include batching their video lectures together by topic, devoting greater resources to helping students utilize the medium, and communicate time parameters in a way that encourages students to view video lectures in a timely manner. Recommendation for Researchers: As the watching of video lectures in this study was mandatory for learners, an interesting area of further research would be to examine whether that decision led to higher numbers of students watching them. Future Research: It is important for researchers to conduct further research into the interplay between ways instructors can design their instruction in order to encourage learners to better experience online learning.
Article
Full-text available
The aim of this study was to examine the reciprocal relations between teachers’ work engagement and their emotions, both positive and negative, and experienced in relation to their students, by implementing a two-wave panel design. The predictive role of self-efficacy with respect to teachers’ emotions and work engagement was also explored. The study included a sample of 941 teachers from various state schools in Croatia. A cross-lagged analysis demonstrated the reciprocal nature of the relationship between emotions and work engagement. Teachers who reported higher levels of positive emotions of joy, pride and love at first time point, tended to be more engaged in their work at subsequent assessment. The association between negative emotions and work engagement showed the opposite direction—teachers who experienced more anger, fatigue, and hopelessness in the first measurement point, were also less engaged at second time of assessment. Furthermore, teachers who were more engaged in their work in the first time point, also reported about lower levels of negative emotions but higher levels of positive emotions 6 months later. At last, teachers with higher perceived self-efficacy are more engaged in their work, experience more joy, pride and love, and less anger, fatigue and hopelessness, towards their students. However, these effects did not hold upon control of baseline levels of emotions and work engagement.
Article
Full-text available
Within the K-12 online learning environment there are a variety of standards that designers can utilize when creating online courses. To date, the only research-based standards available are proprietary in manner. As such, many jurisdictions have begun adopting online course design standards from the leading advocacy organization, which that have yet to be validated from a research perspective. This article reports on the second phase of a three-stage study designed to examine the validity and reliability of the iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online Courses. Phase two utilizes two groups of expert reviewers to examine and provide feedback with goal of further refining these standards (after the standards had been scrutinized through the lens of the available K-12 online learning literature). Available online at http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/2800
Article
Full-text available
Self-efficacy beliefs play a major role in determining teachers’ science teaching practices and have been a topic of great interest in the area of preservice science teacher education. This qualitative study investigated factors that influenced preservice elementary teachers’ science teaching self-efficacy beliefs in a physical science content course. The primary data sources included Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument-B (STEBI-B) responses, two semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and artifacts. Analysis of STEBI-B data was used to select 18 participants with varying levels of self-efficacy beliefs: low, medium, and high. Four categories representing course-related factors contributing towards participants’ science teaching self-efficacy beliefs were found: (1) enhanced science conceptual understandings, (2) active learning experiences, (3) teaching strategies, and (4) instructor as a role model. While some course elements such as hands-on learning experiences and inquiry-based teaching strategies seemed to impact all groups positively, the low-group participants were particularly benefited from the ways in which science concepts were presented and the pace at which learning progressed. One implication from this study is that science educators could include elements within science content courses to potentially support preservice teachers with varied initial levels of science teaching self-efficacy.
Article
Full-text available
Designers have a limited selection of K-12 online course creation standards to choose from that are not blocked behind proprietary or pay walls. For numerous institutions and states, the use of the iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online Courses is becoming a widely used resource. This article presents the final phase in a three-part study to test the validity and reliability of the iNACOL standards specifically to online course design. Phase three was a field test of the revised rubric based on the iNACOL standards against current K-12 online courses. While the results show a strong exact match percentage, there is more work to be done with the revised rubric. Résumé : Les concepteurs ont une sélection limitée des normes K-12 de création de cours en ligne à choisir qui ne sont pas bloqués derrière des propriétés exclusives ou des péages informatiques. Pour de nombreuses institutions et états, l'utilisation des Normes nationales pour les cours en ligne de qualité iNACOL devient une ressource largement utilisée. Cet article présente la phase finale d'une étude en trois parties pour tester la validité et la fiabilité des normes iNACOL spécifiquement liées à la conception de cours en ligne. La phase trois était une mise à l'essai sur le terrain de la rubrique révisée établie en fonction des normes iNACOL par rapport aux cours en ligne K-12 actuels. Bien que les résultats montrent un fort pourcentage de correspondance exacte, il y a plus de travail à faire avec la rubrique révisée. Available at: http://www.ijede.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/976
Chapter
This chapter investigates some of the critical issues associated with virtual schools. It reviews historical forms of school education and the different types of virtual schools that are currently emerging. The educational value of virtual schooling is considered in terms of cognitive and affective outcomes, and some of the factors that promote the rise of virtual schools are outlined. The implications of related philosophical viewpoints and communication theory are explored, together with the benefits and disadvantages of virtual schools for society. A number of problems associated with virtual schools are identified and some possible solutions are outlined. Future trends in the growth of virtual schooling and the characteristics of the next generation of virtual schools are discussed in terms of their implications for school education.
Article
This study reports on parent-child dynamics following COVID-19 related school closures, based on cross-sectional analyses of a survey that utilized a convenience sampling approach. Data were collected approximately five weeks after the World Health Organization declared that the Coronavirus was a pandemic. Participants (N = 405) were adults recruited throughout the U.S. This study examines data from parents (69% mothers and 31% fathers) with at least one child 0-12 years of age. The majority were White (71%) and 41% had at least a bachelor’s degree. 78% of parents said they were educating their child at home due to COVID-19. Most (77.1%) reported use of online tools for at-home education, including educational apps, social media, and school-provided electronic resources. More than one-third (34.7%) of parents said their child’s behavior had changed since the pandemic, including being sad, depressed, and lonely. Most parents were spending more time involved in daily caregiving of their children since COVID-19. Two out of every five parents met the PHQ-8 criteria for major depression or severe major depression (40.0%) and the GAD-7 criteria for moderate or severe anxiety (39.9%). Multivariate analyses indicated that, compared to non-depressed parents, parents who met criteria for probable major or severe depression (B = -.16, 95% CI = [-.29, -.02], p = .021) and parenting stress (B = -.37, 95% CI = [-.47, -.27], p < .001) were negatively associated with parents’ perceived preparation to educate at home. Compared to parents with minimal or mild anxiety, parents with moderate or severe anxiety reported higher child anxiety scores (B = .17, 95% CI = [.06, .28], p = .002). Parenting stress was also positively associated with higher child anxiety scores (B = .40, 95% CI = [.32, .48], p < .001). Content analyses of open-ended questions indicated that school closures were a significant disruption, followed by lack of physical activity, and social isolation. Overall, study results suggested that parents’ mental health may be an important factor linked to at-home education and child wellbeing during the pandemic.
Article
We examine the conceptions of digital literacy of pre-service teachers in the United States (n ¼ 188) and Sweden (n ¼ 121). Pre-service teachers were asked to define digital literacy in an openended fashion and to select those skills that they considered to be essential for digital literacy from a list of 24 skills provided. Based on pre-service teachers’ open-ended responses, four profiles of digital literacy conceptions, progressing in sophistication, were identified (i.e., technology focused, digital reading focused, goal directed, reflecting critical use). Moreover, preservice teachers’ selections of skills or competencies essential for digital literacy were used in cluster analysis. Profiles of digital literacy conceptions were consistent across open-ended and selected-response forms of assessment. Important similarities and differences in conceptions of digital literacy across the United States and Sweden are discussed, as are implications for improving teacher education.
Article
Anger is a very common emotion for teachers with potential adverse effects for themselves and their students. The aim of this research was to thoroughly explore teacher anger, determine and operationalize its contextual triggers and components, and establish its relationships with teachers' emotional labor, well-being, and self-efficacy. Through a series of four independent studies using diverse methodological and analytical approaches and involving over 3000 teachers, it was established that teacher anger is a multi-faceted construct evoked by diverse contextual triggers (i.e. students, parents, colleagues, educational system). These facets can be successfully assessed via self-report and meaningfully relate to external variables.
Article
The purpose of this multiple case study was to understand how the beliefs of college of education faculty members about their students and teaching online influenced their online teaching. The study focused specifically on beliefs regarding student digital literacy and preparedness. The study used the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework as a lens for looking at online teaching. Results indicate that participants’ beliefs about students did in fact influence their online teaching in a variety of ways and with differing teaching outcomes. The results of this study have implications for those who teach online as well as those who support them.
Article
Teachers do not consistently maximize the potential of classroom technologies for enhancing student learning. As their self-efficacy is positively associated with technology integration, developing teachers’ self-efficacy could increase high-quality integration. We investigate how a holistic system of professional learning about technology integration including formal, informal, and independent professional learning might allow for access to and prompt reflection on self-efficacy source information. We interviewed six middle school math and science teachers from two schools where leadership teams participated in a leadership development program aiming to ultimately support teachers’ technology integration. To gather the teachers’ perspectives, we asked them to reflect on and explain visual displays of their reported confidence in technologies and frequency of professional learning. Through core assertions, we suggest a holistic system of learning supports teachers’ access to three sources of self-efficacy information (verbal persuasion, vicarious experiences, and mastery experiences) and prompts teachers’ reflection on source information such that it can impact their self-efficacy. We make recommendations for leaders to operate on these findings, as leaders are responsible for fostering the conditions necessary for teachers’ effective technology integration, as well as recommendations for future research to increase the generalizability and depth of understanding.
Article
This introductory paper to the special issue of High Ability Studies aims to provide a “guide for the perplexed” relating to self-regulated learning (SRL) theory, research, and applications. We begin by defining SRL and its key cyclical stages and criterial attributes. We move on to discuss a number of motivational and meta-motivational constructs supporting SRL. We then briefly present a number of issues related to teaching and promoting SRL. Finally, we review research shedding light on SRL in gifted, high ability, and high achieving students.
Article
Teacher educators play an important role in preparing student teachers to integrate technology into their classrooms. This article presents an overview of research literature on teacher educators' competences in preparing their students to teach with technology. A literature search yielded 26 relevant research articles. Four domains of competence were identified: technology competences, competences for pedagogical and educational technology use, beliefs about teaching and learning and competences in professional learning. The literature focuses on teacher educators’ competences in using technology for teaching. Research on the competences that teacher educators need and have as second-order teachers is lacking. Recommendations for future research are discussed.
Article
The purpose of this study is to build a structural equation model that predicts the relationship between Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) competencies and digital nativity. The data was collected from 1493 Turkish pre-service teachers. Two instruments were used in the data collection; a TPACK-deep scale and a Turkish adaptation of the Digital Native Assessment Scale (DNAS). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to investigate the assumption that digital nativity was a predictor of TPACK competency. It was found that pre-service teachers considered themselves to have high-level ability in both digital nativity and TPACK competency. The most prominent finding of the study was that digital nativity is a significant predictor of TPACK competency. Based on the research findings, implications for practice and suggestions for future studies are also provided.
Article
The use of information and communication technology (ICT) is becoming an essential skill for teachers to enhance teaching and learning. Teachers’ training on ICT utilisation in higher education institutions in South Africa has emerged as an important issue. However, limited research has been done on a needs analysis for teachers who plan to make use of ICT in their teaching. This article reports the findings of the training needs analysis as well as the attitudes of secondary school teachers about the use of ICT for purposes of teaching in an ICT-enhanced classroom environment. A survey was administered to a group of 21 in-service teachers from a secondary school in Pretoria in Gauteng Province, South Africa. A focus group interview was also conducted with this group of teachers. The findings reveal that the majority of teachers required to learn computing skills on software installation, web design software, creating database using MS Access and electronic resources for teaching; that only a few needed to learn basic computing skills such as e-mail and Internet; and that a more important issue was that this group of teachers has a positive attitude towards using ICT in their teaching activities and wanted to learn how to integrate ICT in classroom teaching effectively and efficiently. These findings are important as they could guide teacher trainers at higher educational institutions when planning training programmes in ICT and education.
Book
Rev.& expanded from Case study research in education,1988.Incl.bibliographical references,index
Article
With growing interest in and popularity of online learning and lifelong learners, students’ ability to be engaged in self-regulated learning (SRL) has become more important. Moreover, online learning is becoming an important feature of K-12 education. Although SRL is known to be important and teachable, little research has been conducted on teachers’ practices and perceptions of SRL. Survey responses of 112 teachers who were teaching at K-12 online schools in the United States revealed that they perceived the importance of both their students’ SRL and their own responsibility for teaching SRL to their students. However, the survey also showed that their practices for supporting SRL had a narrow focus concentrating on conventional teaching, which may have prevented their students from developing the full range of SRL abilities. Possible solutions, limitations, and implication of the study were also discussed.
Article
Teacher self-efficacy has predominantly been explored using quantitative instruments such as Likert scales-based questionnaires. Several researchers have questioned these methods, suggesting they offer only a limited view of the concept. This paper considers their claim by exploring the self-efficacy of UK secondary science teachers participating in a two-year professional development programme using both traditional quantitative scales and qualitative methods, including interviews and lesson observations. The findings support the suggestion that traditional quantitative scales do not fully capture teacher self-efficacy and highlight inconsistencies between self-efficacy assessments through the different research approaches. We argue that to achieve a more complete and comprehensive picture of teacher self-efficacy, it is essential that traditional quantitative approaches are better triangulated and integrated with other sources of data, in particular lesson observations. We offer an emerging approach of how qualitative data sources might be used to develop this comprehensive picture.
Chapter
The nature of digital content and tools, coupled with the communications capabilities available through online instruction, can, if leveraged properly, provide opportunities for quality instructional delivery. This chapter proposes that — even in an environment of remote, asynchronous, web-based instruction — approaches and the best of effective classroom practices may not be sufficient to address the full range of capabilities the technology provides. Through work done by IBM and the Florida Virtual School (FLVS), principles and models for leveraging the advantages offered by the technology environment and overcoming the difficulties inherent have been worked out in ways that offer significant promise to all providers of virtual schooling.