A deeper look at predicting outcomes for future educators

Because educator licensure is gained by passing licensure examinations in most states, scores on high stakes tests are determining factors as to who will be teaching in America’s classrooms. Due to a focus on program graduation rates, state funding cuts, and production of quality teachers, it is vital that teacher preparation programs produce the quality and quantity of teachers needed to fill the educator deficit. The purpose of the study was to analyze various performance variables of pre-service teachers enrolled in a teacher preparation to identify predictors of performance on required licensure examinations. Findings of the study revealed there is a relationship between Praxis I: Reading scores and Praxis II scores, Praxis I: Writing scores and Praxis II scores, Praxis I: Mathematics scores and Praxis II scores, GPA and Praxis II scores, and CBASE scores and Praxis II scores. The strongest relationships that exist between variables and Praxis II scores are initial Praxis I: Reading scores and overall CBASE scores.

Executive Functions and Clinical and Academic Outcomes in Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Students

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate executive function measures as they relate to clinical and academic performance outcomes of graduate speech-language pathology students. Method An observational design incorporating correlations and stepwise multiple regressions was used to determine the strength of the relationships between clinical outcomes that occurred at various time points throughout the graduate program (clinical coursework grades throughout the program and case study paper scores at the end of the program), academic outcomes (graduate grade point average and Praxis II exam in speech-language pathology scores), and executive function (EF) scores (EF assessment scores, self-reported EF scores). Participants were 37 students (36 women, M age = 24.1) in a master's degree program in speech-language pathology at a southeastern U.S. university during the 2017–2018 academic year. Results Findings of this preliminary study indicated that a limited number of objective EF scores and self-reported EF scores were related to clinical and academic outcomes of graduate speech-language pathology students. Conclusion As results of this preliminary study suggest that EF tests may be related to clinical and academic outcomes, future research can move to study the potential role of EF measures in the graduate admissions process in clinical graduate programs such as speech-language pathology.

FORMAÇÃO DE PROFESSORES E O MANEJO DE SITUAÇÕES DE BULLYING NA ESCOLA: O QUE AS PESQUISAS TÊM INDICADO?

ResumoEste artigo objetiva analisar as contribuições de pesquisas sobre a formação de professores e o impacto dessa formação no manejo de situações de bullying na escola. Com o propósito de embasar essa análise, efetuou-se uma revisão sistemática em trabalhos indexados nas bases de dados: Scielo, Portal de Periódicos Capes e no Catálogo de Teses e Dissertações da Capes, no período de 2009 a 2019. Utilizando-se de critérios de inclusão e exclusão, foram selecionadas 28 publicações. As respectivas publicações foram lidas na íntegra. Como procedimento de análise dos trabalhos selecionados empregou-se a técnica de Análise Textual Discursiva, conforme Moraes e Galiazzi (2006). Do processo analítico emergiram três categorias: i) Práxis pedagógica; ii) Políticas públicas e educação escolar; e iii) Práticas construtivistas na formação de professores. Cada categoria foi constituída por sistematizações que compreendem perspectivas de formação de professores que poderiam contribuir na melhoria da e na prática do profissional em relação ao manejo de situações de bullying na escola. As pesquisas identificadas destacam, dentre as perspectivas de formação de professores, as que oportunizem aos profissionais conhecimentos teórico-práticos; a utilização de situações-problemas da própria escola, do cotidiano, como mobilizadores de processos de aprendizagem, da reflexão e tomada de decisões em relação ao manejo dessas situações; a valorização de momentos de trocas entre profissionais, da bagagem cultural, das experiências e vivências dos professores para encaminhar situações-problema de maneira mais assertiva.Palavras-chave: Bullying. Formação de professores. Perspectivas de formação. Revisão sistemática. AbstractThe following article aims to analyze the contributions of researches on teacher training and the impact of this education on the management of bullying situations in the school environment. With the purpose of basing this analysis, it was made a systematic review in articles, master thesis and doctoral dissertations indexed on the databases Scielo, CAPES Journal Portal and the CAPES Catalog of Thesis and Dissertations, between 2009 and 2019. By utilizing criteria of inclusion and exclusion, it was selected 28 publications. The respective publications were all read in full. As a procedure in the analysis of the selected material, it was used the technique of the Discursive Textual Analysis, according to Moraes; Galiazzi (2006). From the analytical process, emerged three categories: i) Pedagogical Praxis; ii) Public Policies and school education, and, iii) Constructive practices on teacher training. Each category was constituted of systematizations that comprehended perspectives of teacher training that could contribute on the improvement of and on the work of the education professional in relation to the management of the bullying situations presented at school. The identified researches highlight, among the teacher training perspectives, those that enable the professionals theoric-practical knowledge; the use of problem situations of the own school, of the day-to-day life, as mobilizers of the learning process, of the reflection and decision taking in relation to the management of these situations; the valuation of exchange moments between professionals, of the cultural insights, of the experiences of the teachers to resolve the problems situations in the most assertive way.Keywords: Bullying. Teacher Training. Education perspectives. Systematic review.

Predicting Teacher Effectiveness Based on Various Preservice Factors: Implications for Higher Education and the Evaluation of Teacher Preparation

The purpose of this study was to investigate a set of teacher-level factors that educator preparation providers (EPPs) may be examining to anticipate how effective teachers might be in the classroom. An ordinal logistic regression was performed to determine impact on teacher effectiveness, given five predictor variables: level (undergraduate vs. graduate), age, GPA, ACT, and Praxis II scores. The findings demonstrated that only level made a significant individual contribution to prediction, suggesting that undergraduate students were less likely to have higher teacher effectiveness scores than graduate students. The major implication for states may be to evaluate EPPs and their abilities to impact the quality of preservice teacher candidates separately based on whether they serve primarily undergraduate or graduate student populations.

Epistemologia da práxis na formação de professores: perspectiva crítica emancipadora

Partindo de reflexões que estudam os paradigmas da racionalidade teórica, racionalidade técnica, epistemologia da prática na formação de professores, discute-se no presente artigo pressupostos epistemológicos que podem contribuir para reelaborar perspectivas no processo da formação docente. Tendo como problema de referência conceitual, a partir da epistemologia da práxis, busca-se explicitar uma proposta para a formação de professores, referenciada em quatro teses: i) organizar a formação de professores a partir da epistemologia da práxis; ii) aliar a)formação de professores ao debate político da educação: a crítica social; iii) o trabalho docente constitui o ser profissional; iv) referenciar na Base Comum Nacional que compreende os sentidos epistemológico, político e profissional da formação de professores. O estudo foi realizado a partir de pesquisa bibliográfica para fundamentação teórica sobre a formação de professores e, também, como resultado de diferentes trabalhos empíricos que contribuíram com a construção da perspectiva crítica emancipadora. Considera-se que o professor necessita, pela natureza do seu trabalho, vivenciar uma formação de natureza científica, artística, ética e técnica de elevado nível que impõe, portanto, duas atividades de prática e teoria, a fim de construir o sentido da práxis como ação transformadora sustentada pelo conhecimento da realidade e reflexão, que fortalece o sentido histórico da ação educativa a favor da emancipação. Palavras-chaves: formação de professores. Epistemologia da práxis. Perspectiva crítica emancipadora.

Raising the Bar on Teacher Quality: Assessing the Impact of Increasing Licensure Exam Cut-Scores

State policy makers are constantly looking for ways to improve teacher quality. An oft tried method is to increase the rigor of licensure exams. This study utilizes state administrative data from Arkansas to determine whether raising the cut-scores on licensure exams would improve the quality of the teacher workforce. In addition, the study explores the trade-offs of such a policy decision. It is concluded that raising the required passing score on the Praxis II would increase the quality of the teacher workforce, as measured by value-added student achievement. This change, however, would be accompanied with an important trade-off as it would reduce the number of minority teachers and potentially lead to negative outcomes in disadvantaged schools.