Teacher readiness towards nurturing Advanced Performance among all students: A pilot study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17159/zzjy1k50Keywords:
Advanced Performance (AP), advanced cognitive performance characteristics, values, attitudes and attributesAbstract
Equipping students with well-developed thinking skills and dispositions to become Advanced Performers appears to remain a daunting task for teachers. To this end, the research foregrounded two feasibility objectives for a pilot study that, firstly, obtained information based on teachers’ perceptions about the strengths and weaknesses in relation to the factors that influence the nurturing of Advanced Performance, and, secondly, established the suitability of the questionnaire items to ascertain teachers’ perceptions about their readiness towards nurturing Advanced Performance. Quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive survey research with a heterogeneous group of Grade R and Foundation Phase teachers from two public primary schools and one pre-school (n = 26) in South Africa was employed. Findings revealed that a main study would be feasible and should continue with modification to the questionnaire to streamline data collection. Perceptions about teaching practice as well as competence in teaching thinking skills and dispositions seem to strongly influence teaching for Advanced Performance. Questionnaire items could be selected and grouped more meaningfully to focus attention to these two constructs. Moreover, exploring additional contextual factors, such as curriculum overload and a content-driven approach to teaching, could extend the present identification of factors that hamper the nurturing of Advanced Performance.
References
Bodrova, E. & Leong, D.J. (2012) Scaffolding self-regulated learning in young children. Lessons from tools of the mind. In R.C. Pianta, W.S. Barnett, L.M. Justice & S.M. Sheridan (Eds.) Handbook of early childhood education. New York: Guilford Press. pp.352-369.
Booyse, C. (2016) Bridges and gaps in South African schooling. A research-based reflection on the intended curriculum. Presentation made at the NWU, Vaal Triangle Campus on 9 March 2016. Vanderbijlpark, South Africa.
Costa, A.L. & Kallick, B. (2009) Changing perspectives about intelligence. In A.L. Costa & B. Kallick (Eds.), Learning and leading with habits of mind. 16 essential characteristics for success. Victoria, Australia: Hawker Brownlow Education, pp.5-14.
Creemers, B.P.M., Kyriakides, L. & Sammons, P. (2010) Methodological advances in educational effectiveness research. London/New York: Routledge.
Creswell, J.W. (2009) Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.) California: Sage Publications.
Creswell, J.W. (2012) Educational research. Planning, conducting and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (4th ed.) Boston: Pearson.
Danielson, C. (2016) Creating communities of practice. Educational Leadership (May) pp.19-23.
De Bono, E. (1992) Teach your child how to think. London: Viking.
Deemer, S.A. (2004) Classroom goal orientation in high school classrooms: revealing links between teacher beliefs and classroom environments. Educational Research 46(1) pp.73-90.
Department of Basic Education see South Africa. Department of Basic Education.
Department of Education see South Africa. Department of Education.
Devine, D. (2011) Immigration and schooling in Ireland – making a difference? Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Diamond, A. & Lee, K. (2011) Interventions shown to aid executive function development in children 4 to 12 years old. Science 333(6045) pp.959-964.
Dweck, C.S. (2000) Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development. Philadelphia: Psychology Press.
Dympna, D., Declan, F. & McGillicuddy, D. (2015) What is ‘good’ teaching? Teacher beliefs and practices about their teaching. Irish Educational Studies 32(1) pp.83-108.
Earl, L.M. (2013) Assessment as learning (2nd ed.) London: Corwin.
Ediger, M. (2014) The changing role of the school principal. College Student Journal 48(2) pp.265-267.
Eldridge, S.M., Lancaster, G.A., Campbell, M.J., Thabane, L., Hopewell, S., Coleman, C.L. & Bond, C.M. (2016) Defining feasibility and pilot studies in preparing for randomised controlled trials: Development of a conceptual framework. PLoSONE, 11(3) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0150205
Engelbrecht, P., Nel, M., Smit, S. & Van Deventer, M. (2016) The idealism of education policies and the realities in schools: the implementation of inclusive education in South Africa. International Journal of Inclusive Education 20(5) pp.520-535.
Eyre, D. (2015) High Performance Learning. An Introduction. Oxford, UK: High Performance Learning.
Eyre, D.M. (2016) High performance learning. How to become a world-class school. London: Routledge.
Felner, R.D. (2000) Educational reform as ecologically-based prevention and promotion: The Project on High Performance Learning Communities. In D. Cicchetti, J. Kappaport, I. Sandler & R.P. Weissberg (Eds.) The promotion of wellness in children and adolescents. Washington, DC: CWLA Press, pp.271-307.
Felner, D.R., Favazzo, A., Shim, M., Brand, S., Gu, K. & Noonen, N. (2001) Whole school improvement and restructuring as prevention and promotion. Lessons from STEP and the Project on High Performance Learning Communities. Journal of School Psychology 39(2) pp.177-2-2.
Felner, R.D., Seitsinger, A.M., Brand, S., Burns, A. & Bolton, N. (2007) Lessons from the project on High Performing Learning Communities about “What works” in creating productive, developmentally, enhancing learning contexts. Educational Psychologist 42(4) pp.209-221.
Green, L. & Murris, K. (2014) Philosophy for children. In L. Green (Ed.) Schools as thinking communities. Pretoria: Van Schaik, pp. 121-139.
Hallinger, P. & Lu, J. (2014) Modelling the effects of principal leadership and school capacity on teacher professional learning in Hong Kong primary schools. School Leadership and Management 35(5) pp.481-501.
Hertzog, M.A. (2008) Considerations in determining sample size for pilot studies. Research in Nursing and Health 31 pp.180-191.
Hill, R. (1998) What sample size is “enough” in internet survey research? Interpersonal Computing and Technology: An Electronic Journal for the 21st Century 6(3-4). http://www.emoderators.com/ipct-j/1998/n3-4/hill.html
Hopkins, D., Harris, A., Still, L. & Mackay, A. (2011) School and system improvement: A narrative state of the art review. School Effectiveness and School Improvement 25(2) pp.257-281.
Hyerle, D. (2014) Thinking Maps. In L. Green (Ed.) Schools as thinking communities. Pretoria, South Africa: Van Schaik, pp.161-178.
Isaac, S. & Michael, W.B. (1995) Handbook in research and evaluation. San Diego, CA: Educational and Industrial Testing Services.
Jansen, J. (2012) Opinion analysis. http://historymatters.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/02Article-by-Prof-Jonathan-Jansen1.pdf (Accessed 12 January 2012).
Jansen, J. (2017) Educate yourself widely. Herald live. 5 January. http://www.heraldlive.co.za/opinion/2017/01/05/jonathan-jansen-educate-widely/ (Accessed 5 January 2017).
Johanson, G.A. & Brooks, G.P. (2009) Initial scale development: Sample size for pilot studies. Educational and Psychological Measurement 70(3) pp.394-400.
Kerr, A., Stebbins, P., De Young, B., Stebbins, D. & Rijnbout, J. (2016) Performance schools case study: West key state school achievement engagement. Australian Educational Leader 38(2) pp.23-27.
Lancaster, G., Dodd, S. & Williamson, P.R. (2004) Design and evaluation of pilot studies: Recommendations for good practice. Journal of Evaluation and Clinical Practice 10(2) pp.307-312.
Leedy, P.D. & Ormrod, J.E. (2013) Practical research: Planning and design (10th ed.) Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Lin-Siegler, X., Dweck, C.S. & Cohen, G.L. (2016) Instructional interventions that motivate classroom learning. Journal of Educational Psychology 108(3) pp.295-299.
Loukia, N. (2006) Teaching young students through stories. The development of a handy parallel syllabus. The Reading Matrix 6(1) pp.25-40.
Maree, K. & Pietersen, J. (2008) Overview of statistical techniques. In K. Maree (Ed.) First steps in research (pp. 215-223). Pretoria: Van Schaik.
Maree, K. & Van der Westhuizen, C. (2010) Planning a research proposal. In K. Maree (Ed.) First steps in research. Pretoria: Van Schaik, pp.24-25.
McMillan, J. H. & Schumacher, S. (2014) Research in education: A conceptual introduction (5th ed.) New York: Pricilla McGeehon.
Miri B., David, B.C. & Uri, Z. (2007) Purposely teaching for the promotion of higher-order thinking skills: A case of critical thinking. Research in Science Education 37 pp.353-369, doi: 10.1007/s11165-006-9029-2
Morris, D. (2017) Teaching self-efficacy. Oxford Research Encyclopaedia of Education. Oxford University Press, USA. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.86
Newton, P. & Wallin, D. (2013) The teaching principal: An untenable position or a promising model? Alberta Journal of Educational Research 59(1) pp.1-17.
Pietersen, J. & Maree, K. (2016) Overview of some of the most popular statistical techniques. In K. Maree. (Ed.) First Steps in Research (2nd ed.) Pretoria: Van Schaik, pp.250-304.
Pretorius, S.G. (2014) Educators’ perceptions of school effectiveness and dysfunctional schools in South Africa. Journal of Social Sciences 40(1) pp.51-64.
Reynolds, D., Chapman, C., Clarke, P., Muijs, D., Sammons, P. & Teddlie, C. (2016) The future of educational effectives and improvement research, and some suggestions and speculations. In C. Chapman, D. Muijs, D. Reynolds, P. Sammons & C. Teddlie (Eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Educational Effectiveness and Improvement. London/New York: Routledge, pp.408-439.
Sammons, P. (2012) Methodological issues and new trends in educational effectiveness research. In C. Chapman, P. Armstrong, A. Harris, D. Muijs, D. Reynods, and P. Sammons (Eds.), School effectiveness and improvement research, policy and practice: Challenging the orthodoxy? London: Routledge, pp.9-26).
Sammons, P., Davis, S. & Gray, J. (2016) Methodological and scientific properties of school effectiveness research. Exploring the underpinnings, evolution and future directions of the field. In C. Chapman, D. Muijs, D. Reynolds, P. Sammons & C. Teddlie (Eds.) The Routledge handbook of educational effectiveness and improvement. London/New York: Routledge, pp.25-76.
Schader, R.I. (2015) Proof of feasibility: What a pilot study is and is not. Clinical Therapeutics 37(7) pp.1379-1380.
Schoeman, M. (2012) Developing an inclusive education system: Changing teachers’ attitudes and practices through critical professional development.Paper presented at the National Teacher Development Conference at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, 17-19 September.
South Africa. Department of Basic Education (DBE). (2011) National Curriculum Statement (NCS). Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). English First Additional Language. Foundation Phase. Grades 1-3. Pretoria, South Africa: Department of Basic Education.
South Africa. Department of Education. (1997) Curriculum 2005. Lifelong learning for the 21st century. Pretoria: Department of Education: Government Printer.
South Africa. Department of Education. (2001) Education White Paper 6: Special needs education, building an inclusive education and training system. Pretoria: Government printers.
South Africa. Department of Education. (2002) Overview of Revised National Curriculum Statement, Grades R-9 (Schools). Pretoria: Sol Plaatjie House.
Strydom, H. (2011) The pilot study in the quantitative paradigm. In A. S. De Vos, H. Strydom, C. B. Fouché & C.L. Delport (Eds.) Research at grass roots: For the social sciences and the human service professions. Pretoria: Van Schaik, pp.236-247.
Taylor, N. (2011) The National School Effectiveness Study (NSES). Summary for the synthesis report. JET Education Services.
Teddlie, C., Creemers, B.P.M., Kyriakides, L., Muijs, D. & Yu, F. (2006) The international system for teacher observation and feedback: Evolution of an international study on teacher effectiveness constructs. Educational Research and Evaluation 12(6) pp.561-582.
Thabane, L., Ma, J., Chu, R., Cheng, J., Ismaila, A., Rios, L.P., Robson, R., Thabane, M., Griangregorio, L. & Goldsmith, C.H. (2010) A tutorial on pilot studies: The what, why and how. BMC Medical Research Methodology 10(1) https://doi:org/10.1186/1471-2288-10-1
Tompkins, M.A. (2013) Enhancing self-efficacy to achieve competence. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy: An International Quarterly 27(1) pp.71-80.
Tsang S., Royse, C.F. & Terkawi, A.S. (2017) Guidelines for developing, translating and validating a questionnaire in perioperative and pain medicine. Saudi Journal of Anaesthesia 11(1) S80-S89.
Van Aswegen, S.L. (2015) Learning how to learn through stories. Design-based metacognitive awareness intervention at the Intermediate Phase. Unpublished PhD. University of Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa.
Van den Berg, M.E.S. (2010) Critical reasoning and the art of argumentation. Pretoria: University of South Africa.
Van der Berg, S., Taylor, S., Gustafsson, M., Spaull, N. & Armstrong, P. (2011) Improving Education Quality in South Africa. Report for the National Planning Commission. Department of Economics, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Wegerif, R. (2013) Dialogic: education for the Internet age. London, UK: Routledge.
Wildeman, R.A. & Nomdo, C. (2007) Implementation of inclusive education: How far are we? IDASA inclusive education occasional papers. http://www.idasa.org.za (Accessed 2 February 2017).
Wyatt, M. (2014) Towards a re-conceptualization of teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs: tackling enduring problems with the quantitative research and moving on. International Journal of Research and Method in Education 37(2) pp.166-189.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 The Independent Journal of Teaching and Learning
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
.png){kind=spacer}