Teacher Evaluations and Contextualized Self- Efficacy

Teacher feedback from administrators can play an important role in continuous teacher development, especially in making the classroom safe, challenging, and engaging for all students. In this study, interview data was collected from 28 high school teachers from three different comprehensive high schools within the same school district in Southern California to examine teachers' perceptions of feedback from administrators in the areas of classroom management, instructional feedback, and student engagement. Results indicated that teacher feedback from administrators can play an important role in increasing teachers' self-efficacy. Types of feedback varied depending on the context (classroom management, instructional strategies, and engaging students), individual teacher needs, and the population served. For this reason, feedback from administrators may need to be tailored accordingly. Implications are discussed and may be useful for administrators to conduct teacher evaluations with a set of concrete solutions for teachers in specific areas.

Comparing Online and In-Person Delivery Formats of the OSHA 10-Hour General Industry Health and Safety Training for Young Workers

Seven school districts or comprehensive high schools were enrolled in online OSHA 10-hour General Industry or Construction health and safety training via CareerSafe to determine the feasibility of online training for students, given limited resources for in-person trainings. A two-campus school district was analyzed comparing OSHA 10 for General Industry across in-person, supervisor-level teachers as authorized trainers, and online course formats. The online training courses were completed by 86 of 91 students, while another 53 of 57 students completed in-person training. Both groups completed identical OSHA-approved quizzes for “Introduction to OSHA,” the initial 2-h module consistently provided in OSHA 10 courses across topics and formats. Results indicated teacher supervision was critical, and girls had higher online course completion rates, overall quiz scores, and never failed. Though both cohorts passed, in-person had significantly higher scores than online; both struggled with two questions. Online OSHA 10 for General Industry can be an efficient learning tool for students when limited resources prevent widespread availability of in-person courses.

Pre-Employment Skill Formation in Australia and Germany

This chapter provides a critical analysis of the role that vocational education and training plays in preparing young people for the labour market in two contrasting systems – Australia and Germany. In Germany, this occurs mainly within the structure of the “dual system”. In Australia, it occurs within a system of comprehensive high schools, where vocational studies are located within the senior secondary certificates. In Australia, it also occurs to an extent in the adult sector VET institutions and in some specialist providers which focus on school-aged youth. The concepts of education logic and employment logic and the type of welfare state, whether neocorporatist or neoliberal, are used to analyse important differences between Australia and Germany. The chapter argues that the skills formation of young people requires both symbolic and financial support and an approach to upper secondary education which is not captive to the sorting and selection mechanisms of universities.

Using the analytical hierachy process to construct performance indicators for comprehensive high schools in Taiwan

In recent years numerous position papers (Visscher, 2001; Wang, Shieh, & Wang, 2008) have been written about the need for ensuring the efficient and effective performance of educational institutions and an increasing number of policy makers are advocating that educational institutions be held accountable for their performance. Our purpose in this study was to construct performance indicators (PIs) for comprehensive high schools (CHSs), which provide general and occupational education programs. A literature review was completed, a panel discussion held, and field interviews were conducted. An analytical hierarchy process was used to make decisions on a framework of PIs for CHSs in Taiwan. The 2 main conclusions were that the most important indicator of performance in CHSs is the domain of "student and development" and that the difference between the experts' and practitioners' viewpoints on those schools' performances should be addressed in the near future.