Thesis(Ph.D. (Education Curriculum Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / This study reports on the evaluation of Teaching Practice necessary for guiding future best practice of Teaching Practice at the University of Limpopo. The key research question answered in this study was: How is Teaching Practice implemented at the University of Limpopo? The study is embedded within the interpretive paradigm. A qualitative research approach was employed using case study design. Case study design was used in order to explore the research questions that guided the entire study. This enabled the researcher to interact with the participants, immerse himself in the data for better and deeper understanding of the implementation of Teaching Practice. The case study design was also adopted because the researcher had no control over the implementation of Teaching Practice. In other words, the researcher could not manipulate the behaviour of the participants involved in the study. Purposive sampling was used to select knowledgeable and information rich participants comprising of the Director of the School of Education, three Heads of Department, the Teaching Practice coordinator, two academic staff members in the Teaching Practice Unit, the Teaching Practice administrative officer, six academic staff members, six four-year Bachelor of Education in Senior and Further Education and Training students, six Postgraduate Certificate in Education students, four schoolbased mentors in Limpopo, and four school-based mentors in the Mpumalanga Province. Data were captured through document analysis, semi-structured interviews and observations. Inductive analysis was used to analyse data from the documents. Data from semi-structured interviews and observations were analysed thematically. Findings from the documents, semi-structured interviews and observations were used to make recommendations for establishing an Integrated Model of Teaching Practice at the University of Limpopo. The study revealed lack of appropriate policy for Teaching Practice; lack of clear frameworks for the responsibilities of supervisors; student teachers and school-based mentors; lack of school-university partnerships; inadequate training of supervisors and school-based mentors in relation to supervision and assessment of student teachers; lack of a structured programme on the induction of student teachers into schools; poor human, physical and financial resources, and an inappropriate model for Teaching Practice.

School engagement has garnered interest in the academic research as a protective factor from many undesirable academic outcomes in high school. Maladaptive engagement patterns may begin to form as early as elementary school, therefore examining early predictors may be helpful in trying to identify and remedy early patterns of disengagement. The current study investigated the significance of early school motivation, academic self-concept and the student-teacher relationship in predicting student-reported school engagement at the age of 15 after controlling for race, gender, socioeconomic status, previous attendance, and previous achievement. This study included participants from the National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care (SECC) a comprehensive research database. It was hypothesized that student reported motivation in grade 5 would predict student reported school engagement at age 15, and that English self-concept and math self-concept in grade 6 and at age 15 would mediate this relationship. Findings from the data supported these hypotheses, establishing a relationship between early motivation and later engagement. Additionally, self-concept in both English and math was found to mediate that relationship. Self-concept in English and math at both grade 6 and age 15 had mediating effects on the relationship between motivation and engagement. It was hypothesized that the student-teacher relationship in grade 6 and at age 15 would moderate the relationship between motivation and engagement. The data did not support this hypothesis. Limitations and suggestions for future research on motivation, engagement, and the student-teacher are discussed.

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Early childhood adversity, particularly poverty, can be a source of chronic stress that contributes to emotion dysregulation at the start of formal schooling. Children’s reactivity to novel challenges in the classroom is associated with externalizing behavior and subsequent difficulties developing academic and social emotional skills (Blair & Raver, 2015; Hackman, Farah & Meaney, 2010). Research grounded in the “science of feeling safe” (Porges, 2011) and attachment theory demonstrates that sensitive, empathic teachers can foster the development of emotion regulation in at-risk children, leading to more adaptive classroom behaviors (Pianta, Belsky, Vandergrift et al., 2008). This study was designed to help explain the associations between student-teacher relationship quality and externalizing behavior, self-regulation and executive function, and then examine if these associations are moderated by poverty. The results of a multilevel analysis highlight significant correlations both within and between classrooms for closeness/conflict and externalizing behavior and teacher-rated self-regulation. Classroom-level SES was observed to moderate the association of relationship closeness with externalizing behavior. In the discussion of these findings, the needs for more nuanced measures of student stress and teacher sensitivity are examined. Professional development opportunities are also presented for teachers to learn stress management techniques and to build social regulation skills. / Educational Psychology

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Studies examining student-teacher relationships have indicated that certain relationship qualities, as well as teacher qualities, play a role in the development of student outcomes. Research suggests that this is particularly so for students who enter the classroom with preexisting risk factors (Hamre & Pianta, 2005). This study examined the way in which warm and caring teachers, as perceived by students themselves, moderate the link between the risk factor of early development of behavior problems at school and future problems, as defined by behavior problems and student-teacher conflict. Behavior problems were measured with an overall externalizing behavior composite. Participants in the analysis included 649 children from the longitudinal National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care. Variables in this study were measured from the 4 th through the 6 th grades. Though preliminary analyses indicated that having a warm and caring teacher in the 5 th grade was correlated with reduced behavior problems and better relationships with teachers in the 6 th grade, results of the moderation analyses suggested that there was no difference in extent of benefit for students with varying degrees of behavior problems. The results of this study may assist in determining how school psychologists can apply developmental theory through consultation with teachers to maximize student success and minimize problems in the classroom environment.

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Syftet med studien var att undersöka VFU-handledares syn på förskollärarstudenters förutsättningar till progression under VFU. Studien belyser VFU-handledarnas erfarenheter av och uppfattningar om förutsättningar för studenters progression under VFU:n i allmänhet och under studentens sista VFU-period i synnerhet. Tidigare forskning visar att det finns en komplexitet kring den växelverkan mellan de två utbildningsdelarna i utbildningen, högskoleförlagd utbildning och verksamhetsförlagd utbildning. Integrationen mellan teori och praktik sker inte i den utsträckning som förväntas. Vidare visar tidigare forskning att förväntningar och ambitioner hos studenten behöver anpassas till handledarens erfarenheter av och uppfattningar om tankar kring lärande och undervisning. Handledares egna målsättningar för studentens progression visar sig i sättet de handleder, handledaren ser sig som förmedlare av kunskap. Frågeställningen som studien utgick ifrån var: Vilka förutsättningar under studenters VFU behöver finnas enligt VFU-handledarna? Empirin inhämtades genom kvalitativa, semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju VFU-handledare inom förskollärarprogrammet. Ur bearbetning och analys av empirin framkom fyra kategorier: gemensamt projektet, ömsesidigt engagemang, gemensam repertoar och gemensam reflektion och progression. Resultatet visar att VFU-handledarna uppfattar att stöd i olika former är en förutsättning för studenters progression under VFU:n. Studentens eget intresse och engagemang i sin utbildning är också en viktig förutsättning för lärande. Handledarna betonar vikten av att studenterna behöver kunna kommunicera, både med vårdnadshavare och barn men också med handledarna. De beskriver hur de då kan utveckla sitt handledande och tillsammans med studenten tydligt se progressionsområden. Att de har ett gemensamt projekt, där progressionen för studenten är viktigt.

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