Teacher efficacy: A construct validation.

Developed an instrument to measure teacher efficacy and examined the relationship between teacher efficacy and observable teacher behaviors. Factor analysis of responses from 208 elementary school teachers to a 30-item Teacher Efficacy Scale yielded 2 substantial factors that corresponded to A. Bandura's (see record 1977-25733-001) 2-factor theoretical model of self-efficacy. A multitrait–multimethod analysis that supported both convergent and discriminant validity analyzed data from 55 teachers on 3 traits (teacher efficacy, verbal ability, and flexibility) across 2 methods of measurement. Finally, classroom observations related to academic focus and teacher feedback behaviors indicated differences between 8 high- and low-efficacy teachers in time spent in whole class and small group instruction, teacher use of criticism, and teacher persistence in failure situations. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Same-sex and opposite-sex teacher model influences on science career commitment among high school students.

Studied the relationship between the science career commitment and the science teacher models of 141 female and 129 male high school students. On the basis of earlier findings, it was predicted that Ss with same-sex teacher models would indicate a higher science career commitment. Furthermore, it was predicted that perceived teacher attractiveness and amount of science-related teacher contact would affect the influence of same-sex teacher models more than that of opposite-sex teacher models. Ss were administered a questionnaire and the Science Career Attitude Survey. Results support the hypotheses. Implications for female participation in science are discussed. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional transmission in the classroom: Exploring the relationship between teacher and student enjoyment.

In this study, the authors examined the relationship between teacher and student enjoyment. Based on social–cognitive approaches to emotions, they hypothesized (a) that teacher enjoyment and student enjoyment within classrooms are positively linked and (b) that teacher enthusiasm mediates the relationship between teacher and student enjoyment. Self-reported enjoyment of mathematics classes was available from 1,542 students from 71 classrooms at 2 time points (Grades 7 and 8). At Time 2, mathematics teachers’ reports of their enjoyment of teaching were available (N = 71), as well as student ratings of teacher enthusiasm. The findings were in line with theoretical expectations. Multilevel structural equation modeling showed that teacher and student enjoyment were positively related even when the authors adjusted for students’ previous-class levels of mathematics enjoyment, and that the effect of teacher enjoyment on student enjoyment was mediated by teacher enthusiasm. Discussion centers on the practical implications for affective interactions in the classroom. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Special Education referrals: Failure to replicate student–teacher ethnicity interaction.

Investigated the influence of student sex and ethnicity and teacher sex, ethnicity, and teaching level on referrals to special education. Responses of 320 teachers enrolled in graduate courses to a systematically varied protocol showed that recommendations were influenced by teacher ethnicity and teaching level but not by student sex or race. Also, teacher ethnicity and student sex showed significant interaction. Black and White teachers recommended more males, whereas Hispanics recommended more females for special education. Results fail to replicate an earlier study by S. Tobias et al (see record 1982-22036-001) who found an interaction between teacher and student race in which teachers recommended fewer students of their own background for special education. (2 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher preferences for service delivery: A look at attribution research.

Reviews the literature on teacher attributions and discusses the relevance of causal attributions to teacher preferences for service delivery (i.e., referral for psychoeducational assessment, consultation). Literature is reviewed in the context of B. Weiner's (see record 1979-28688-001) proposed dimensions of causality. In addition, practical implications for this literature are discussed, and future research endeavors exploring the relationship between causal attributions and preferences for service delivery are outlined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivation in the classroom: Reciprocal effects of teacher behavior and student engagement across the school year.

On the basis of a new model of motivation, the authors examined the effects of 3 dimensions of teacher (n?=?14) behavior (involvement, structure, and autonomy support) on 144 children's (Grades 3–5) behavioral and emotional engagement across a school year. Correlational and path analyses revealed that teacher involvement was central to children's experiences in the classroom and that teacher provision of both autonomy support and optimal structure predicted children's motivation across the school year. Reciprocal effects of student motivation on teacher behavior were also found. Students who showed higher initial behavioral engagement received subsequently more of all 3 teacher behaviors. These findings suggest that students who are behaviorally disengaged receive teacher responses that should further undermine their motivation. The importance of the student–teacher relationship, especially interpersonal involvement, in optimizing student motivation is highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Congruence of mother and teacher educational expectations and low-income youth's academic competence.

In this study, the authors examined the independent effects of teacher and mother expectations on youth achievement outcomes, the mediating factors that explain the relationship between adult expectations and student achievement, and the effects of congruent vs. dissonant adult expectations on achievement. Participants were an ethnically diverse sample of 522 low-income, urban youth (ages 9-16). Youth's mothers and teachers also participated. Findings show that adult expectations exert a significant influence on youth's academic competency and performance. Moreover, adult expectations matter both independently and conjointly: Comparably high mother and teacher expectations have a generative effect on youth outcomes, and comparably low mother and teacher expectations have a disruptive effect. Of particular interest are findings demonstrating the buffering effects of high mother expectations in the face of low teacher expectations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The other half of the expectancy equation: Pygmalion.

The central position of this study is that both expectancy research and compensatory educational theory have reached an impasse because expectancy manipulation has largely been confined to the teacher. 45 inner-city 5-6 yr old Blacks enrolled in a compensatory program were exposed to different positive expectancy inductions in order to assess the effects of manipulating Ss' expectations alone, teacher's alone, and the 2 simultaneously on reading achievement test scores (Metropolitan Reading Readiness Test, Form A). Results show that postexperimental scores improved significantly for all 3 expectancy conditions. Moreover, inducing positive expectations in Ss was more effective than the conventional teacher manipulation and was as successful as the group in which both teachers and Ss were given controlled feedback. It is concluded that perhaps the focus of educational programs should be the potentially malleable child rather than the sometimes intransigent teacher. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hepatitis B virus transmission in an elementary school setting

CONTEXT: The risk of transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in day care centers and schools is low. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the source of HBV transmission for an elementary school teacher with acute hepatitis B. DESIGN: Serologic survey for HBV infection among elementary school students, school staff, and household members of an HBV-infected teacher and student. SETTING: General community and elementary school. PATIENTS: Elementary school students and staff members and household members of an HBV-infected teacher. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Elementary school students, school staff, and household members of an HBV-infected teacher were tested for markers of HBV infection. Samples positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) were tested for HBsAg subtype using monoclonal antibodies and examined for HBV DNA homology by polymerase chain reaction techniques. RESULTS: An HBV-infected student and the teacher were found to have the same HBV subtype (ayw1-2) and to have identical HBV DNA sequences. The teacher reported none of the usual risk factors for acquiring HBV infection, and none of her family members had been infected prior to her illness. The specific means of HBV transmission from student to teacher was not identified. Of 108 total children in the same grade as the HBV-infected student, 102 (94%) were tested for serologic markers of HBV infection, and none was positive. CONCLUSIONS: This investigation documented transmission from an HBV-infected student to a teacher in an elementary school setting without a reported overt percutaneous or permucosal exposure to blood or infectious body fluids. Transmission of HBV to other students or staff members in the school was not observed.     

The development of a goal to become a teacher.

The purpose of this project was to investigate how the goal of becoming a teacher emerges. The study used interviews to develop goal histories for 8 preservice teachers. There tended to be 4 sources of influence for their goal to become a teacher: (a) family influences, (b) teacher influences, (c) peer influences, and (d) teaching experiences. The categories developed from the interviews to describe the types of influences those sources provided were (a) suggesting that the person become a teacher, (b) encouraging the person to become a teacher, (c) modeling teaching behavior, (d) exposing the person to teaching experiences, and (e) discouraging the person from becoming a teacher. In addition, influences such as critical incidents, emotions, and social-historical factors, such as the status and pay of teachers, were prominent in the goal histories of the participants. Finally, the results of the study are discussed within the context of goals and self-directed behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the Independence of Ratings of Hyperactivity, Conduct Problems, and Attention Deficits in Children: A Multiple Regression Analysis: Correction to Lahey, Green, and Forehand.

Reports an error in the original article by Benjamin B. Lahey, Kenneth D. Green, and Rex Forehand (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1980, Vol. 48, No. 5, pp. 566-574). It was incorrectly stated on page 571 that Loney, Langhorne, and Paternite derived factor scores from the product of all factor loadings and teacher ratings. Instead, they used normalized z scores derived from ratings of only those items that loaded most strongly on each factor. Differences in results between the two studies, therefore, are probably not due to differences in the methods of calculating factor scores. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1980-33426-001.) Teacher ratings, direct observational measures, and peer evaluations were obtained on 109 3rd-grade children. Factor scores on the Conners Teacher Rating Scale were correlated with the following measures: observation of time on task; frequency of teacher interaction; positive and negative peer interactions; peer ratings of acceptance, rejection, and dislike; and 3 measures of academic performance. Arguments are made for combining hyperactivity and conduct problem scales in rating child behavior problems. A factor resembling the attention deficit disorder without hyperactivity (inattentive-passive) was found to account for a substantial portion of independent variance in the multiple regression analyses and should, therefore, be considered as a separate rating scale factor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Student perceptions of differential teacher treatment as moderators of teacher expectation effects.

Tested, in 2 studies, a student mediation model of teacher expectation effects that proposes that students acquire information about their abilities by observing the differential teacher treatment accorded high and low achievers. They then revise their own achievement expectations and subsequently perform according to the expectations perceived. Student perceptions of teacher treatment toward hypothetical high and low achievers were used to distinguish high from low-differential-treatment classrooms. In the 1st study, 101 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-grade students were also asked to report teacher treatment toward themselves. Only in high-differential-treatment classrooms did recipients of high and low teacher expectations perceive teacher treatment toward themselves that was consistent with the patterns of differential teacher treatment reported. In the 2nd study, in which 234 4th-, 5th-, and 6th-graders served as Ss, hierarchical regression analyses showed that teacher expectations contributed more to the prediction of student expectations and achievement in high- than in low-differential-treatment classrooms. Findings support a student mediation model of teacher expectation effects. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mediating Teacher Liking and Moderating Authoritative Teachering on Chinese Adolescents' Perceptions of Antisocial and Prosocial Behaviors.

The authors present a model of adolescents' peer relations in the classroom that integrates 3 social processes involving the adolescent students, the classroom teacher, and peers. One of the hypotheses was that teacher liking of students mediated the relation between students' social behaviors (e.g.. antisocial disruption and prosocial leadership) and peer acceptance. This mediating teacher influence was also hypothesized to be moderated by the extent to which adolescent students perceived their teacher to be authoritative in teachering. These hypotheses were tested and supported on the basis of a sample of 659 Chinese middle school students. A discussion of these results focuses on the classroom teacher as a social context in the study of children's social interactions in the classroom. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived teacher support of student questioning in the college classroom: Its relation to student characteristics and role in the classroom questioning process.

Examined college students' perceptions of their teachers' support of student questioning (SQ). Perceived teacher support had significant and consistent relationships with students' motivational tendencies and strategy use typical of self-regulated learners. Perceived teacher support affected the likelihood of SQ by influencing whether students had a question to ask and their level of inhibition. Students perceived high levels of support, which does not account for the low incidence of SQ in college classrooms. Agreement between student perceptions and teacher self-reports suggested that creating opportunities for questions and providing high quality answers are important dimensions of teacher support. The possible self-fulfilling consequences of perceived teacher support are discussed. Teacher support for SQ may influence the likelihood that students formulate questions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's Perceptions of Gender Discrimination.

Children (N = 76; ages 5-10 years) participated in a study designed to examine perceptions of gender discrimination. Children were read scenarios in which a teacher determined outcomes for 2 students (1 boy and 1 girl). Contextual information (i.e., teacher's past behavior), the gender of the target of discrimination (i.e., student), and the gender of the perpetrator (i.e., teacher) were manipulated. Results indicated that older children were more likely than younger children to make attributions to discrimination when contextual information suggested that it was likely. Girls (but not boys) were more likely to view girls than boys as victims of discrimination, and children with egalitarian gender attitudes were more likely to perceive discrimination than were their peers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investigating the acceptability of behavioral interventions in applied conjoint behavioral consultation: Moving from analog conditions to naturalistic settings.

Whereas there exists a vast literature investigating consumer satisfaction ratings of various behavioral interventions, the majority of these studies have been limited to analogue conditions, which may compromise utility and generalization. Additionally, most research has failed to explore multiple-source, multiple-setting data in the investigation of treatment acceptability. This study investigated parent, teacher, and child treatment acceptability ratings derived from field-based conjoint behavioral consultation cases. Data indicate that overall, 67 parents (aged 23-54 yrs), 67 teachers (aged 22-57 yrs), and 67 children (aged 5-15 yrs) rated conjoint behavioral consultation-based behavioral interventions as very to highly acceptable. For parents, interventions with a reductive component were rated as more acceptable than interventions using both positive and negative components; no significant differences were found among teacher and child group ratings. For teachers, there was a positive relationship between (a) intervention complexity and treatment acceptability ratings and (b) problem severity ratings and treatment acceptability ratings... (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Academic expectations, attributed responsibility, and teachers' reinforcement behavior: A suggested integration of conflicting literatures.

Replies to W.-U. Meyer's (see record 1979-29550-001) criticisms of the methodology of the present authors' (see record 1978-08780-001) study of teacher performance expectations and reinforcement behavior. Several counter-arguments are presented, and an integrative interpretation of the conflicting feedback literature is offered. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Role of Children's Ethnicity in the Relationship Between Teacher Ratings of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Observed Classroom Behavior.

Significant ethnic differences have been consistently documented on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) teacher rating scales. Whether these ethnic differences result from a teacher rating bias or reflect actual classroom behavior patterns is unknown. Ethnic differences between Caucasian and African American (AA) elementary schoolchildren on teacher ratings and codings of observed classroom behavior were examined with latent variables. In structural equation models, correlations between teacher ratings and observed classroom behavior suggested nonbiased teacher ratings of AA schoolchildren with diagnosed ADHD. Ethnic differences were documented for both teacher ratings of ADHD and classroom behavior. Differences in classroom behavior were attenuated when the behavior of an average child in the classroom was taken into account. Multiple explanations for this pattern of results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improving classroom quality: Teacher influences and experimental impacts of the 4rs program.

This study capitalizes on recent advances in the reliable and valid measurement of classroom-level social processes known to influence children's social–emotional and academic development and addresses a number of limitations in our current understanding of teacher- and intervention-related impacts on elementary school classroom processes. A cluster randomized controlled trial design was employed to (a) examine whether teacher social–emotional functioning forecasts differences in the quality of 3rd-grade classrooms, (b) test the experimental impact of a school-based social–emotional learning and literacy intervention on the quality of classroom processes controlling for teacher social–emotional functioning, and (c) examine whether intervention impacts on classroom quality are moderated by these teacher-related factors. Results indicated (a) positive effects of teachers' perceived emotional ability on classroom quality; (b) positive effects of the 4Rs Program on overall classroom quality, net of teacher social–emotional functioning indicators; and (c) intervention effects that are robust to differences in these teacher factors. These findings support and extend recent research examining intervention-induced changes in classroom-level social processes fundamental to positive youth development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)