Studies about native and non-native language teachers have found that these two groups are perceived as different from each other in language abilities and teaching styles. However, most of the existing research has investigated the perspective of teachers or students separately and has rarely triangulated their opinions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to contribute to the body of literature related to the native and non-native teacher dichotomy by triangulating perceptions from native and non-native teacher samples and a student sample. Particularly, this study set out to examine the problem in the context of the English language teaching and learning system in Vietnam. This study involved three participant groups: 30 native English teachers (NETs), 30 Vietnamese teachers (VETs), and 30 Vietnamese EFL students in Vietnam. The instrument included two versions of an online Likert scale survey, one for the students and the other for the teachers (both NETs and VETs). The questions covered 4 areas of teaching efficacy: teaching language skills, teaching language aspects, teaching methodology, and assessment. The data were analyzed through statistical analyses, including Cronbach alpha, two MANOVAs, and 16 dependent t-tests. The results of this study revealed that NETs, VETs, and students did not differ significantly in how they perceived the teaching efficacy of NETs and VETs. Instead, they had similar judgments which overall were in the upper part of the scale, showing rather positive perceptions of the teaching efficacy of both NETs and VETs. NETs were favored in teaching pronunciation; teaching culture; teaching speaking; involving students; balancing lecture, pair work, and group work; organizing classes; measuring students' progress; and grading. VETs were found more effective in teaching grammar and giving feedback. Both NETs and VETs were perceived as equally effective in teaching listening, teaching reading, teaching writing, teaching vocabulary, preparing classes, and giving an appropriate number of tests.

Syftet med denna studie är att få kunskap om hur förskollärare agerar och stödjer barn i deras tillträde i den fria leken samt undersöka vilka tillträdesstrategier som används av barnen utifrån ett förskollärarperspektiv. Studien är kvalitativ och använder semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju förskollärare som metod. Data transkriberades och analyserades genom att använda Corsaros studier med begreppen tillträdesstrategier samt kamratkulturer. Vid analysen framkom två teman: stöttning och tillgänglighet samt ”får jag vara med?”. Båda teman har flera underrubriker. Studien visar att det fanns två olika uppfattningar kring stöttning och tillgänglighet, där den aktiva förskolläraren uppfattas som att förebygga exkludering långsiktigt medan den avvaktande förskolläraren har en mer kortsiktig plan och löser problemen som finns här och nu. Studien visar även förskollärarnas upplevelser kring barnens hinder och vägar till lek och vilka tillträdesstrategier som förskollärarna anser fungerar mer eller mindre bra för att få tillträde till den fria leken. En slutsats som framkom i vår studie utifrån tillträdesstrategier ur ett förskollärarperspektiv är att det inte är den strategi som förskollärarna uppfattar förekommer mest som är den som oftast leder till lek, något som även Corsaro har kommit fram till i sina studier. / <p>Fastställt via akademichefsbeslut HIG-STYR 2019/7 den 2019-01-07</p><p>Daniel Petterson, fil dr, univ. lekt Pedagogik och Erika Björklund, fil dr, univ. lekt Pedagogik går in som examinatorer på PEG700 under veckorna 1 till och med 3, 2019 då Peter Gill, prof. Pedagogik, gått i pension från och med 2019-01-01.</p>

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Education) / The National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa of 2006 (NPF) outlines seven principles which underpin this policy as expressed in the Norms and Standards for Educators (2000). These principles require a teacher to be: a specialist in a particular learning area, subject or phase; a specialist in teaching, learning and assessment; a curriculum developer; a leader, administrator and manager; a scholar and lifelong learner; and a professional who plays a role in community development, citizenship education, and pastoral care. Beginner teachers have difficulty adapting to these new roles as they have not had efficient exposure to the actual, often harsh realities of the classroom situation as it unfolds on a daily basis. A qualitative research approach is employed in the research study to explore beginner teachers' perceptions of school support to enhance their capability sets in relation to teacher education policy. Generally, a qualitative study lends itself to developing an understanding of a particular phenomenon of interest without formulating a hypothesis. In this explorative study, the investigation was underpinned by the elements of Amartya Sen's Capability Approach which include "Freedoms", "Unfreedoms", "Capabilities" and "Functionings" (Sen 1992). These elements were used to understand the nature of beginner teachers' competences and the impact of policy on their performance. In this regard, the achievement of quality learning outcomes concerning the basic competences of beginner teachers could be linked to Sen's vision for reaching achieved functionings (those valuable activities and situations that make up a person's well-being, which is also referred to as that which a person ultimately manages "to be and to do").

Education should empower all students to attain their maximum potentials as learners. Equally, it makes them socially acquainted and dynamic people in local, national, and international situations. Multicultural education (MCE) emphasizes the essential need to set up institutions to promote the transformation of society in general and the elimination of misconceptions, prejudice, oppression, and injustice. This study analyses university teachers’ perceptions of and pedagogical strategies for fostering multicultural education in Swedish higher education as well as how individual teachers’ backgrounds and views influence their strategies of fostering MCE in Sweden. It embraces a qualitative research method and a case study design in attempting to answer how and what research questions. The concepts of education, culture, multiculturalism and race are examined and used to offer insights to the whole study. The theory of globalization and social justice theory have been utilized in this investigation to ground and control the research process. The findings of this study show an important pedagogical tool in teaching students of different backgrounds. However, teachers face a range of challenges on strategies of implementation, which is mainly their insufficient knowledge about what MCE actually is.

Students' appropriate social skills and behaviors are essential for classroom success at any level but are of special importance at an elementary school level when the foundations of these skill sets are developing (Lane, Givner, & Pierson, 2004). An initial study investigated which social skills Utah elementary school teachers identified as being most important, and which behaviors are most problematic during the elementary school years. Elementary school teachers (Kindergarten through sixth grade) were randomly selected from Utah's school districts. In total, 295 of 1,144 teachers (26% return rate) participated (Weed, 2015). As a follow-up, this current study utilized data from the initial study and analyzed teachers' perceptions by grade level, determining if there were discernible differences between the grades. A statistically significant difference was found in the social skill of following directions between third and fifth grade with the mean for third grade being higher. This suggests that third grade teachers viewed following directions as a more important social skill for students to display than fifth grade teachers did. Between first and fourth grade there were significant differences in both the areas of anxiousness and trouble making friends, again with first grade results showing higher means in both areas. This suggests that based on their teaching experiences, first grade teachers would find these behaviors more problematic in their classroom than fourth grade teachers. In all areas of statistical significance, the mean of the younger grade was higher than that of the lower grade suggesting that these behaviors are considered more problematic to teachers of younger grades. These differences are important to consider when helping schools address children's social skills, taking into account potential developmental differences that emerge across ages. Additionally this age-specific information will assist school-based mental health practitioners to understand teachers' perceptions of which specific social skills are considered most important at a particular point in time so that these skills can be targeted as needed.

<div>With countless problems facing the world, there is an indispensable need for individuals who are able to persist and succeed in generating virtuous actions to meet unsettling eventualities. There have even been successful attempts to deploy specific wisdom-based curricula and then measure the results. Since the possibility for developing wisdom in the classroom exists, teachers’ perceptions of wisdom and the implicit beliefs that influence their ability to cultivate wisdom in their classroom become important to understand. </div><div>The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Perception of Wisdom Exploratory Rating (POWER) Scale based on the Polyhedron Model of Wisdom (PMW). According to PMW, components that characterize wisdom are knowledge; reflectivity and self-regulation; moral maturity; openness and tolerance; sound judgment; creativity; and dynamic balance and synthesis. A total number of 585 responses from in-service and preservice teachers with no missing data was collected. Inservice and preservice samples were randomly split into two halves for Exploratory Factor Analysis (n = 290) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (n = 295). In the EFA, the items fit a seven-factor structure, producing the following subscales: knowledge management; self-regulation; altruism and moral maturity; openness; tolerance; sound judgment and decision making; creative thinking. CFA was performed to test the construct validity of the scale. The model did produce a good fit to the data (χ2/df= 1.67, CFI= .92, TLI= .91, RMSEA= .049, and SRMR= .06). With continued testing and revisions, this instrument could be useful for cross-cultural comparison of perceptions of wisdom and identification of barriers to promoting wisdom instruction. It also could be used to identify and compare, across different populations, educators’ perceptions of wisdom and measuring perceptional changes due to designed interventions.</div><div><br></div>

The purpose of this examination is to study and have a deeper understanding about the different perceptions preschool teacher have regarding to the importance of the pedagogical environment, in relation to strengthening multilingual work and children's mother tongue. We also want to study preschool teachers' perceptions about the structure and organization of the indoor environment and how it can promote children's multilingualism.  The study used phenomenography as a methodological approach and the theory of variation as the theoretical starting point, based on semi-structured qualitative interviews. We have interviewed ten preschool teachers from three different municipal preschools and one special educator that works in one of the communes.  The results of our study show that there are different perceptions about the pedagogical environment in relation to multilingual work. The result high lighted a greater awareness from preschool teachers’ perceptions about the work with the pedagogical environment compared to the multilingual work. Experiences and knowledge about the pedagogical environment were also experienced more than the multilingual work, which the preschool teachers perceived as problematic as they have the majority of children who are multilingual in preschool.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ICT on EFL students’ reading and writing skills, as well as both teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards ICT. 14 articles from varying countries were systematically selected for the purpose of this literature review. The data collected was investigated through content analysis. The results showed that ICT has generally positive effects on students’ reading and writing skills and the motivation to do those tasks. The teachers perceived ICT to be mainly beneficial, but often distracting and difficult to use or control. The students were appreciative of technology and found it helpful in their learning English process. It was concluded that ICT’s positive effects outweigh the negative effects of using ICT in an EFL setting and implementing technology can improve students' reading and writing skills as well as increase their motivation.

This study investigates teachers’ perceptions about the value of peer and self-assessment as tools for enhancing EFL writing in the context of upper-secondary education in Sweden. In addition, this study examines the relationship between teachers’ beliefs, knowledge of the methods, and their reported teaching practices. Based on teachers’ comments, this paper identifies the ways in which peer and self-assessment can be effectively implemented in EFL classrooms. A mixed-methods approach was used in the study. Three qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted. The interviews were complemented with a questionnaire survey in order to check the generality of the interview findings. Through a process of triangulation, the datasets obtained from the questionnaires and interviews were analysed and interpreted in light of theory and recent research on peer and self-assessment. Results show that these teaching and learning tools are appreciated by teachers as a way to enhance learning in relation to EFL writing. However, the investigation showed significant inconsistencies regarding teachers’ usage of the method. The results obtained showed that, in order for these practices to be effective, careful training is needed. Moreover, in order to provide proper training for their students, teachers themselves need to understand the value of the tools, and to be trained in how to effectively implement them. Therefore, the study concluded that information about peer and self-assessment should be included in teacher education and in-service training in Sweden.

School violence has gained attention in recent years with the rise of aggressive behavior in schools across the United States. With increased understanding of this problem, school district administrators might implement prevention strategies or assess current school violence policies and programs. Using the conceptual framework of general strain theory, a case study was conducted in an urban school district in the northeastern United States that was experiencing increased student violence. The purpose of this case study was to explore teachers' perceptions of school violence to increase the understanding of the problem at the study site. All certified teachers in the study district were invited to participate. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 12 teachers in 9 elementary schools. After compiling, disassembling, reassembling, and coding the data, various themes emerged. The findings from the interviews revealed a need for district-wide consistency to address school violence, professional development to train staff on violence related issues and mandates, and a program to combat as well as prevent the existence of violence in the school climate. A recommendation is that the school district adopts the School Wide Positive Behavior Intervention Supports to provide a framework of consistent management of student behavior and professional development practices within a district-wide violence prevention program. The study contributes to positive social change by increasing the understanding of school violence at the study site and providing the recommended program designed to improve school climate, student learning, and social behavior through a tier leveled system designed to reach all levels of school violence.