Teacher-Student Rapport: Investigating its Impact on the Dropout Rate in Physical and Health Education

This study was an investigation into whether strong teacher-student rapport relates to the drop-out rates of students in grade 9 and 10 health and physical education (HPE). In the study, One hundred and thirty-six grade 9 students from five high schools in Ontario participated in this study. Findings of whether or not rapport related to students’ decision to take an additional HPE credit beyond grade 9 did not prove conclusive. A significant multivariate interaction effect was not found; however, tests of between-subject effects on sex and grade 10 dropouts showed some interesting trends. More research is needed to further illuminate the link between teacher-student rapport and students’ enrollment in optional HPE classes.

Exploring the potential of early identification and intervention within a college of applied arts

This study probed for an answer to the question, "How do you identify as early as possible those students who are at risk of failing or dropping out of college so that intervention can take place?" by field testing two diagnostic instruments with a group of first semester Seneca College Computer Studies students. In some respects, the research approach was such as might be taken in a pilot study. Because of the complexity of the issue, this study did not attempt to go beyond discovery, understanding and description. Although some inferences may be drawn from the results of the study, no attempt was made to establish any causal relationship between or among the factors or variables represented here. Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered during. four resea~ch phases: background, early identification, intervention, and evaluation. To gain a better understanding of the problem of student attrition within the School of Computer Studies at Seneca College, several methods were used, including retrospective analysis of enrollment statistics, faculty and student interviews and questionnaires, and tracking of the sample population. The significance of the problem was confirmed by the results of this study. The findings further confirmed the importance of the role of faculty in student retention and support the need to improve the quality of teacher/student interaction. As well, the need __f or ~~ills as~e:ss_~ent foll,,-~ed }JY supportiv e_c_ounsell~_I'l9_ ~~d_ __ placement was supported by the findings from this study. strategies for reducing student attrition were identified by faculty and students. As part of this study, a project referred to as "A Student Alert project" (ASAP) was undertaken at the School of Computer Studies at Seneca College. Two commercial diagnostic instruments, the Noel/Levitz College Student Inventory (CSI) and the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), provided quantitative data which were subsequently analyzed in Phase 4 in order to assess their usefulness as early identification tools. The findings show some support for using these instruments in a two-stage approach to early identification and intervention: the CSI as an early identification instrument and the LASSI as a counselling tool for those students who have been identified as being at risk. The findings from the preliminary attempts at intervention confirmed the need for a structured student advisement program where faculty are selected, trained, and recognized for their advisor role. Based on the finding that very few students acted on the diagnostic results and recommendations, the need for institutional intervention by way of intrusive measures was confirmed.

Exploring the potential of early identification and intervention within a college of applied arts

This study probed for an answer to the question, "How do you identify as early as possible those students who are at risk of failing or dropping out of college so that intervention can take place?" by field testing two diagnostic instruments with a group of first semester Seneca College Computer ,Studies students. In some respects, the research approach was such as might be taken in a pilot study_ Because of the complexity of the issue, this study did not attempt to go beyond discovery, understanding and description. Although some inferences may be drawn from the results of the study, no attempt was made to establish any causal relationship between or among the factors or variables represented here. Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered during four resea~ch phases: background, early identification, intervention, and evaluation. To gain a better understanding of the problem of student attrition within the School of Computer Studies at Seneca College, several methods were used, including retrospective analysis of enrollment statistics, faculty and student interviews and questionnaires, and tracking of the sample population. The significance of the problem was confirmed by the results of this study. The findings further confirmed the importance of the role of faculty in student retention and support the need to improve the quality of teacher/student interaction. As well, the need for skills assessmen~-followed by supportive counselling, and placement was supported by the findings from this study. strategies for reducing student attrition were identified by faculty and students. As part of this study, a project referred to as "A Student Alert Project" (ASAP) was undertaken at the School of Computer Studies at Seneca college. Two commercial diagnostic instruments, the Noel/Levitz College Student Inventory (CSI) and the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), provided quantitative data which were subsequently analyzed in Phase 4 in order to assess their usefulness as early identification tools. The findings show some support for using these instruments in a two-stage approach to early identification and intervention: the CSI as an early identification instrument and the LASSI as a counselling tool for those students who have been identified as being at risk. The findings from the preliminary attempts at intervention confirmed the need for a structured student advisement program where faculty are selected, trained, and recognized for their advisor role. Based on the finding that very few students acted on the diagnostic results and recommendations, the need for institutional intervention by way of intrusive measures was confirmed.

A speculative systems model of the dynamic interaction among students, faculty and administration in the community college, with particular reference to intrinsic motivation and the teacher-administrator interface

The challenge the community college faces in helping meet the needs of the living open system of society is examined in this study. It is postulated that internalization student outcomes are required by society to reduce entropy and remain self-renewing. Such behavior is characterized as having an intrinsically motivated energy source and displays the seeking and conquering of challenge, the development of reflective knowledge and skill, full use of all capabilities, internal control, growth orientation, high self-esteem, relativistic thinking and competence. The development of a conceptual systems model that suggests how transactions among students, faculty and administration might occur to best meet the needs of internalization outcomes in students, and intrinsic motivation in faculty is a major purpose of this study. It is a speculative model that is based on a synthesis of a wide variety of variables. Empirical evidence, theoretical considerations, and speculative ideas are gathered together from researchers and theoretici.ans who are working on separate answers to questions of intrinsic motivation, internal control and environments that encourage their development. The model considers the effect administrators·have on faculty anq the corresponding effect faculty may have on students. The major concentration is on the administrator--teacher interface.For administrators the model may serve as a guide in planning effective transactions, and establishing system goals. The teacher is offered a means to coordinate actions toward a specific overall objective, and the administrator, teacher and researcher are invited to use the model to experiment, innovate, verify the assumptions on which the model is based, and raise additional hypotheses. Goals and history of the community colleges in Ontario are examined against current problems, previous progress and open system thinking. The nature of the person as a five part system is explored with emphasis on intrinsic motivation. The nature, operation, conceptualization, and value of this internal energy source is reviewed in detail. The current state of society, education and management theory are considered and the value of intrinsically motivating teaching tasks together with "system four" leadership style are featured. Evidence is reviewed that suggests intrinsically motivated faculty are needed, and "system four" leadership style is the kind of interaction-influence system needed to nurture intrinsic motivation in faculty.

A safe place /

This study is an effort to give voice to an experience. The experience in question is the decision of a student to trust a practitioner. The study also describes the features which led the student to believe that the practitioner would provide a "safe place" for interaction around matters of a delicate or personal nature. This study is the gift oftwo coauthors, each with a unique story which offers description of critical incidents, and what made these events meaningful. At the heart of the study is the potential for education and its professionals to provide safe places for students. Analysis of the data determines that a safe place involves two parties, one seeking a safe place and another who provides the safe place-in this study, the student and the practitioner. The student, with urgency, seeks a safe place to disclose personal information. In this urgency the student is confronted with features of control, comfort, respect, felt sense, and nonjudgemental listening. These features are the constitutive elements of a Safe Place. Capacity to recognize and construct safe places is a competency which the existing school lifeworld demands of today's practitioners. Understanding what are deemed to be safe places and how practitioners might work to create them are the extended outcomes of this study.

What Matters? : the full-time graduate students' perceptions of teacher effectiveness

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the full-time graduate students' perceptions of teacher effectiveness at the graduate school level, to identify how graduate students perceive effective and ineffective teachers, and specifically to discover the main dimensions of teacher effectiveness that graduate students perceive as most significant. This topic was investigated because, although the teacher has been deemed as a crucial component in the teaching process, there is no common agreement on the definition and measure of teacher effectiveness. Graduate students' perceptions of teacher effectiveness have not been given much attention. The research design was based on a ground theory approach. It utilized qualitative data through interviews, field notes, andjournals. The findings ofthis study revealed that teacher effectiveness is markedly influential to graduate students. There is no universally consented definition or measure of teacher effectiveness due to the multidimensionality of teaching and learning. Nevertheless, several major dimensions ofteacher effectiveness were discovered and highlighted in this study. Such dimensions include good command of subject matter, presentation skills, challenging and motivating students, rapport with students, learning environment, course demands, as well as assessment and feedback. It was hoped that the study would move towards developing a theory that contributes to the knowledge base of graduate students' perceptions of teacher effectiveness. It was anticipated that the results would provide first-hand information for the instructor to improve teaching; for the administrator to promote the effective educational experiences and student achievements. It was intended that the findings would lay a theoretical and empirical groundwork for future research.

The relationship between working alliance and treatment outcomes in remedial instruction for older dyslexic children

Research in psychotherapy has demonstrated that a positive working alliance between therapist and client leads to positive treatment outcomes. Though its focus is in the area of psychotherapy, the concept of working alliance holds significant value to the area of education. Current applications of the theory in educational settings have looked at relationships between teacher and students in the broad context of classroom interaction and found significant promise. The present study investigates the application of the theory of working alliance in a sample of older reading disabled children. The study examined the psychometric properties of the Reading Alliance Scale for Children (RASC) and for Teachers (RAST) in relation to student reading ability and motivation. A sample of 254 (66.1 % male, 33.9% female) grade 6-8 students (mean age 12.7 years) were enrolled in a remedial reading program for reading disabled children. The average standard score across multiple reading measures was more than 1 SD below age-level expectations. Students responded to measures of reading achievement and motivation at pretest, after 70 hours (post 70) of remediation and at the end of the program (post 125). All participants completed measures on the working alliance relationship at post 70 and post 125. Results showed that teacher reports were most predictive of outcome compared to student reports of the working alliance relationship. Working alliance was correlated with posttest reading ability and motivation. Male students and Black students obtained the weakest working alliance reports from their teacher. Overall, findings support the view that students' relationships with teachers provide an important component of success in the classroom.

Beyond the Books: Understanding Connections Between Teachers and Pupils From the Perspective of the Student

Using a narrative inquiry approach from the perspective of the researcher’s own experiences, this paper explores the connections that developed with several teachers that facilitated and impacted his own academic and cognitive, affective, and behavioural personal development. Viewed through the analytical lens of Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, this narrative investigates the potential effectiveness of this model in understanding the lasting and life- altering changes that may be experienced by a student through his or her interactions with memorable teachers. Last, in educational environments today, character and value based curricula are experiencing a resurgence in popularity due to their theoretical applicability for helping students to optimally develop academically, socially, and culturally. With this in mind, a student-based perspective of memorable student–teacher connections may provide a framework for developing more effective means of effectively implementing a character development curriculum.

Teacher attitudes and the emotionally-behaviourally disordered middle school student

Inclusionary practlces prescrlbe that children, regardless of exceptlonal1ty shall benefit from recelving educatlonal servlce 1n the context of the regular class setting. The resulting el1mlnatlon of separate speclal classes could be v1ewed as aneconom1c advantage. In po1nt of fact, many school boards and d1strlcts 1n both Canada and the Unlted States are movlng towards 1mplementatlon of lncluslonary practice, posslbly for the above stated reason. Regardless, 1ncluslon as It relates to the emot1onal1y/behav1ourally disordered youth in our school systems may not be successful. Regular education teachers may not be prepared professlonal1y or personally to deal wlth this very spec1al student populat1on. Th1s study focused on teacher attitude 1n thls regard. As welll poss1ble factors that may lead to successful 1nclusion of these students are examined. Of these, teacher exper1ence, educat10n spec1f1c to the d1sab111ty of emot1onal/behavloural dlsordered comb1ned w1th teacher self-percept1on of success appear to hold the greatest promise. In v1ew of these flndlngs, recommendations are made for professlonal pract1ce and future research d1rect1ons.

Teacher attitudes and the emotionally-behaviourally disordered middle school student

Inclusionary practices prescribe that chl1dren, regardless of exceptional1ty shall benef1t from receiv1ng educational serv1ce 1n the context of the regular class sett1ng. The result1ng el1minat1on of separate spec1al classes could be v1ewed as an econom1c advantage. In point of fact, many school boards and d1str1cts 1n both Canada and the United States are mov1ng towards 1mplementat1on of inclusionary practice, possibly for the above stated reason. Regardless, 1nclusion as 1t relates to the emot1onally/behav1ourally disordered youth in our school systems may not be successful. Regular educat ion teachers may not be prepared profess1onally or personally to deal w1th this very special student population. Th1s study focused on teacher attitude 1n this regard. As well, poss1ble factors that may lead to successful 1nclusion of these students are examined. Of these, teacher exper1ence, educat10n spec1f1c to the d1sab1l1ty of emot1onal/behavioural d1sordered comb1ned w1th teacher self-perception of success appear to hold the greatest promise. In view of these findings, recommendat1ons are made for professional pract1ce and future research d1rect1ons.

Affect, ontology, and pedagogy: An autoethnographic study on student-teacher relationships

In studying affect within the realm of student-teacher relationships my thesis project use the concept of “affect” as composed by Baruch Spinoza (1992, 2007). I focus specifically on how Deleuze (1988) interprets and implements the term within his own philosophy, as well as on Antonio Negri’s (2011, 1991) work on Spinoza including his and Michael Hardt’s (2000, 2004, 2009) more recent works. This thesis will explore Spinoza’s affect within the discourse of Affective Pedagogy and Critical Pedagogy while remaining committed to a Spinoizist ontology as outlined by Deleuze (1988). I used artefacts from my past experiences as a student and teacher to produce evocative writing pieces which act as affective continuances of my past experiences as a student, student-teacher, and teacher, and the relationships of affect that composed them. This project used these artefacts and the writings they produced as sites of intensity that are carried through from traces, to evocative thresholds, to concepts, and finally into analysis.

Collaborative learning in a Japanese as a foreign language classroom /

This study examined the influence of training on Asian learners' beliefs, interaction, and attitudes during collaborative learning (CL) and explored the processes of their CL in pairs. The literature contains few studies on the effect of collaborative training in language learning. In addition, it shows gaps between SLA theory and practice resulting from learners' cultural differences. Although second/subsequent language acquisition (SLA) theory assumes that CL contributes to language learning, implementing CL in a multicultural classroom is often considered to be unsuccessful by teachers. The research questions designed to address this gap explore: (a) the extent to which tra~ng affects Asian learners' attitudes towards and interaction during CL; (b) how Asian learners accomplish collaborative tasks in pairs. In the quasi-experimental research design, the learners in the treatment group received special training in CL for 5 weeks while the learners in the comparison group did not receive similar training. Data were collected from 45 McMaster University students through pre- and posttests, pre- and postintervention questionnaires, student information, and informal classroom observations. To detennine the influence of training, the frequency of communication units (c-units), Language Related Episodes (LREs), Collaborative Dialogue (CD) from audio-taped data, and the fmal draft scores were compared between pre- and posttests. The learners' pre- and postintervention questionnaires were also compared. Transcripts from audio-taped data, students' information, their responses and comments from questionnaires, and informal observations served to investigate the processes of Asian learners' CL. Overall, this study found that training had significant influence on the frequency of c-units and CD, and considerable impact on the draft scores, although little influence on the frequency of LREs was observed. The results from the questionnaires in the treatment group showed positive changes in the learners' beliefs on pair work after training. On the other hand, analyses of the transcription data showed that the learners did not conduct enough discussion for a resolution of problems with peers. In conclusion, results suggested the need for teacher intervention, a longer period of collaborative training, and an implementation of self-evaluation into the course grade to encourage the learners to succeed in collaborative learning.

Grade nine teachers' perception of how teachers, parents, peers, administrators, and community members affect the development of the grade nine student /

The purpose of this study was to examine grade nine teachers' perception of how teachers, parents, peers, administrators, and community members influence the overall development of grade nine students. Ten grade nine teachers (four male and six female) participated in the study which consisted of the completion of a one hour, tape-recorded interview. The central findings were as follows: 1) the grade nine student has evolved; 2) peers have an important impact on the four developmental areas (physical, emotional, social, and academic) of the grade nine student; and 3) the role of the grade nine teacher appears to have dramatically changed over the last seventeen years. Suggestions and recommendations for future research in this field are based on findings related to the enhancement of the secondary school experience for the grade nine adolescent.

Teacher survival : staying alive in the job of teaching /

This study presents information gathered during personal interviews with dynamic and capable teachers in the areas of preparedness for teaching, teaching concerns, survival skills and strategies, and how these teachers support themselves and others in the teaching profession. The data are related to Purkey and Novak's work on invitational education and connections are made to Combs' perceptual orientation. Potential participants were gathered through personal recommendations from their colleagues. All teachers recommended were approached and asked for voluntary participation. Of those who agreed to participate, 6 were selected based on gender and years of experience. There was a male and female participant at each of the following career levels: early, mid, and late. The 4 major survival skills that became apparent were the ability to believe in oneself and others, to act decisively upon that belief through personal and professional goal-setting as well as accessing resources, to actively seek opportunities for interaction with other professionals, and to celebrate personal and professional successes.

Implementing a question-generation strategy with bilingual students: exploring the perspectives of a beginning teacher /

This study examined the challenges associated with the explicit delivery of questiongeneration strategy with 8 Arab Canadian students from the perspective of a bilingual beginning teacher. This study took place in a private school and involved 2 stages consisting of 9 instructional sessions, and individual interviews with the students. Data gathered from these interviews and the researcher's field notes from the sessions were used to gain insights about the participants' understanding and use of explicit instruction. The themes that emerged from the data included "teacher attitude," "students' enhanced metacognitive awareness and strategy use," "listening skills," and "instructional challenges." Briefly, teacher's attitude demonstrated how teacher's beliefs and knowledge influenced her willingness and perseverance to teach explicitly. Students' enhanced metacognitive awareness and strategy use included students' understanding and use of the question-generation strategy. The students' listening skills suggested that culture may influence their response to the delivery of explicit instruction. Here, the cultural expectations associated with being a good listener reinforced students' willingness to engage in this strategy. Students' prior knowledge also influenced their interaction with the question-generation strategy. Time for process versus covering content was a dominant instructional challenge. This study provides first hand information for teachers when considering how students' cultural backgrounds may affect their reactions to explicit strategy instruction.