Early Career Teachers' Efficacy in Working with Families

Partnering effectively with families is an important skill for teachers to have to support student achievement, and one that is especially important for early career teachers in order to protect them from burnout and attrition. However, research has demonstrated that teachers do not feel prepared to work with families, and further research is needed to see what difficulties are specific to early career teachers. The following research questions were addressed in the study: 1) What current situation and prior training factors affect early career teachers’ perceptions of efficacy in working with families? 2) Which family-school partnering topics do teachers report the most experience in their prior preparation programs and in their current daily practice? 3) Is there a relationship between number of years reported teaching and overall efficacy scores? 4) What family-school partnering training do early career teachers believe would have been or would be beneficial to receive in their teacher preparation programs versus during their first five years of practice? A survey was created which included a pre-existing self-efficacy scale adapted to reflect family partnering language. This survey was disseminated to 76 first through fifth year Colorado teachers. Results indicate that age of current school placement had a significant effect on overall self-efficacy scale scores, while several other variables had an effect on subscales of the efficacy scale. Recommendations are presented for future research, teacher preparation programs, and school district mentoring.

Janet Sobel : expressions of experience

Historians have yet to realize the depth of artist Janet Sobel’s artistic aptitude and ingenuity. This paper focuses on understanding how unique Sobel and her art were due to her distinctive world experiences and her ability to express her feelings about these experiences through her art. It also demonstrates the importance of her Jewish and Ukrainian heritage, showing how this influenced her artistic development. Sobel immigrated to the United States at a young age and struggled with her identity. Her art was a way for her to define and accept her personal identity as an immigrant Eastern European Jew in America. In addition to this heritage, Sobel experienced many traumatic events in her early life. Her art therefore served as a way for Sobel to work through this past trauma and come to terms with it.