Facilitating communication in children with multiple disabilities: three case studies of girls with Rett syndrome

Purpose: To investigate the effect of cueing on communicative responses of children with multiple disabilities in an educational setting. It was hypothesized that differences would exist in teacher interactional styles and the use of orienting cues would increase the communicative responses of the participants. Method: A naturalistic observation research method was employed in order to examine the interaction of three student-teacher dyads in three special schools. Three different activity types were videotaped from which interactions were coded and analysed. Results: Multi-modal cueing facilitated communicative responses of children with Rett syndrome. However, increased communication opportunities provided by caregivers did not elicit increased responses from the girls. Conclusion: There is a difference in cueing by teachers in their interactions with children with multiple disabilities. Also, more frequent communicative interactions did not necessarily lead to increased student responses. It is suggested that amount and type of cueing may need to be considered to be effective in generating student responses. The small number of participants, however, means findings should be viewed cautiously and that more research is indicated.

'Slippage' is not a dirty word: Considering the usefulness of Giddens' notion of knowledgeability in understanding the possibilities for teacher education

The attempt to understand the relationship between messages intended and messages received has been an enduring issue in teacher education. For the past three decades researchers have made forays into understanding this enduring issue, and in the process have drawn on various explanatory frameworks, one of them being socialisation. In this paper we work with Giddens' structuration theory as well as his concept of knowledgeability as analytical frameworks for understanding the relationship between messages intended (by the teacher educator) and messages received (by the student-teachers). Our discussion is informed by the findings of a study that investigated student-teachers' interpretations of the pedagogical process of a physical education teacher education course. Data generated from conversations with, and observations of, the student-teachers indicated that there was considerable “slippage” between the teacher educator's critical pedagogy inspired intentions and what was understood by the student-teachers.

Student expectations of TESOL programs: Student and teacher perspectives

Most practitioners teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) will agree that students come with some expectations about course content and teaching methodology and that these expectations play a vital role in student motivation and learning. However, the study of student expectations has been a surprising omission from Second Language Acquisition research. In the studies reported here, the authors develop a model of student expectations by adapting the Expectation Disconfirmation paradigm, widely used in consumer psychology. Student and teacher perspectives on student expectations were gathered by interviews. Responses shed light on the nature of expectations, factors causing expectations and effects of expectation fulfilment (or lack of it). The findings provide new avenues for research on affective factors as well as clarify some ambiguities in motivational research in second language acquisition. The model presented here can be used by teachers or institutions to conduct classroom-based research, thus optimising students' learning and performance, and enhancing student morale.

The relationships among teacher behaviours, teacher efficacy, and student quality of school life: A multilevel perspective

This Study invesdgated the impact of teacher behaviours on student quaUt}' of school Ufe (SQSL). A measure of teacher organisadonal cidzenship behaviour (OCB) was developed, tapping two dimensions of organisadon-focused OCB (OCBO) and one dimension of individual-focused OCB (OCBI). In Une with previous research suggesdng that OCBOs may consdtute efficacyenhancing experiences, as weU as studies demonstradng the posidve consequences of teacher efficacy for students, we expected teacher efficacy to mediate the reladonship between OCBO and SQSL. Hypotheses were tested in a muldlevel design in which 171 teachers and their students (N=3018) completed quesdonnaires. A significant propordon of variance in SQSL was attributable to classroom factors. Support was found for the main effects of OCBO, as well as the main and mediadng effects of teacher efficacy.

The relationship between extra-role behaviours and job burnout for primary school teachers: A preliminary model and development of an organisational citizenship behaviour scale

Recent research on teacher stress in primary schools (e.g. Leonard, Bourke & Schofield, 1999) has shown that higher levels of teacher exhaustion are associated with higher levels of student satisfaction. This paper seeks to explain this surprising finding by considering a construct discussed widely in the organisational literature known as extra-role or organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB). Teacher OCB may include extra efforts to make lessons enjoyable and interesting, organising extra-curricular activities and spending personal time talking with students. The proposed model of analysis also draws on literature relating to job burnout (Maslach, 1982), which generally suggests that the three components of chronic occupational stress - exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced accomplishment - occur together. However, this paper proposes that although teachers who engage in more OCB experience more exhaustion, they may simultaneously increase their feelings of personal accomplishment and work identification, which may in turn help to avert burnout. It is argued that only with this particular set of job attitudes are the effects of exhaustion caused by high levels of OCB sufficiently buffered to avoid job burnout, and thus positively affect students' quality of school life. The development and piloting of an instrument to measure teachers' OCB will be discussed. The preliminary findings reported herein are part of a larger ongoing study investigating the consequences of stress and OCB in primary school teachers.

Changing student teachers' attitudes towards disability and inclusion

A total of 274 preservice teacher education students were surveyed at the beginning and end of a one-semester unit on Human Development and Education which combined formal instruction with structured fieldwork experiences. The latter included interviewing community members regarding their knowledge of Down syndrome and opinions on inclusive education, and writing an associated report. At the end of semester, not only had student teachers acquired more accurate knowledge of Down syndrome, together with more positive attitudes towards the inclusive education of children with Down syndrome, but their attitudes towards disability in general had also changed, and they reported greater ease when interacting with people with disabilities. The study illustrated the value of combining information-based instruction with structured fieldwork experiences in changing attitudes towards disability and inclusion. It also demonstrated that raising awareness of one disability may lead to changes in attitudes towards disability in general.

Agency as discursive practice: From nobody to somebody as an international student in Australia

As more and more students pursue an international education, there is a need to investigate how these students deal with the demands of their study programs in the new academic context. This paper introduces one such student, a Thai English teacher named Woody,2 and looks at the ways that he engaged with a Master of Education program in Australia. I analyse the transcripts of two interviews that I conducted with Woody in his first semester using Fairclough's model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The analysis is interested in the social and institutional demands that Woody identified as impacting on the course, and the strategic action that he took in response to them. I argue that by undertaking this action, Woody was “working” as an agent of his own change. The analysis highlights a proactive and strategic engagement on Woody's part, a point that has been missed in much of the literature on the international student experience in Australia.

Highlighting hybridity: A critical discourse analysis of teacher talk in science classrooms

There is evidence that alienation from science is linked to the dominant discourse practices of science classrooms (cf. Lemke, J. L. (1990). Talking Science: Language, Learning, and Values. Norwood, NJ: Ablex). Yet, in secondary science education it is particularly hard to find evidence of curriculum reform that includes explicit changes in pedagogic discourses to accommodate the needs of students from a wide range of backgrounds. However, such evidence does exist and needs to be highlighted wherever it is found to help address social justice concerns in science education. In this article, I show how critical discourse analysis can be used to explore a way of challenging the dominant discourse in teacher-student interactions in science classrooms. My findings suggest a new way of moving toward more socially just science curricula in middle years and secondary classrooms by using hybrid discourses that can serve emancipatory purposes. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals. Inc.

The role of team identification in the dissimilarity-conflict relationship

This study examined the role of team identification in the dissimilarity and conflict relationship. We tested competing predictions that team identification would either mediate or moderate the positive associations between visible (age, gender and ethnic background), professional (background) and value dissimilarity and task and relationship conflict. Data was collected from 27 MBA student teams twice during a semester. Multilevel modelling and a longitudinal design were used. Results showed that value dissimilarity was positively associated with task and relationship conflict at Time 2. Its effects on relationship conflict at Time 1 were moderated by team identification. Team identification also moderated the effects of gender, age and ethnic dissimilarity on task conflict at Time 2, and the effects of gender and professional dissimilarity on relationship conflict at Time 2. No support was obtained for the mediating role of team identification on the associations between dissimilarity and conflict, or for changes in the effects of dissimilarity over time.