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Teachers’, Counselors’, and Principals’ Perceptions of Positive Behavior Interventions at Schools: A Case Study
No full textPositive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) are inconsistently being implemented within schools. Students were not being intrinsically motivated, external feedback systems were not being reduced and replaced by a natural environment, and there was a lack of buy-in of the framework. The purpose of this study was to explore teachers’, counselors’, and principals’ perceptions of the effects and challenges of implementing PBIS at schools. This study adopted a qualitative method with a case study design to explore the perspectives and lived experiences of four counselors, four principals, and 17 teachers who all worked within an elementary school setting in a particular school district. The results indicated that the counselors and administrators felt strongly about the positive effects of PBIS, whereas teachers believed that PBIS produced negative, minimal, or no beneficial effects. The results revealed six major themes: inconsistency of PBIS implementation; improved focus for students on academics; student incentive to stay on track and complete assignments; students are not intrinsically motivated; student behavior improves because of consistent and predictable environment and expectations; and more training for teachers. The case study results demonstrated a need for the school district to provide yearly training for all staff members and to ensure consistency throughout the year. Future research was recommended
The Social and Emotional Learning Needs of IB Diploma Students: A Phenomenological Study on the Perceptions of IB Diploma Teachers
Full text linkThis phenomenological study focused on the perceptions of International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB diploma) teachers toward school-based social and emotional learning programs. The purposeful sample for this study relied on interviews with 16 participants from one international school in Southeast Asia. Utilizing a retrospective data collection methodology, six themes were identified: benefits for students, a lack of preservice training, the need for ongoing professional development, a lack of confidence teaching social and emotional learning, curriculum challenges teaching social and emotional learning, and the need for strategic plans regarding social and emotional learning. The results indicated that the social and emotional learning needs of IB diploma students were unique and students benefited from direct instruction regarding social and emotional learning competencies. However, findings also revealed participants had low levels of confidence teaching social and emotional learning curriculum. Participants discussed inadequate social and emotional training prior to entering the teaching profession and limited social and emotional learning professional development after becoming full-time teachers. In alignment with Ajzen and Fishbein’s (1975) theory of reasoned action (TRA), which emphasized an individual’s intention to perform a behavior was the biggest predictor of that behavior being performed, the findings in this study suggested that teachers who felt they did not have the training, ability, or confidence to teach social and emotional learning were more likely to ineffectively teach social and emotional learning. Based on these results, the arbitrary access students might have to effective social and emotional learning support calls for expanded studies by future researchers
Teacher Perspectives of Physical Activity and Student Engagement in Middle School English Language Arts: An Action Research Investigation
Full text linkThe researcher sought to determine how teachers in a middle school academic setting perceived the incorporation of movement with regards to student engagement. Three seventh grade English Language Arts instructors from the same middle school, one of whom was the researcher, incorporated three different physical activities into the academic class period and observed academic engagement indicators. The three movements used were 4-minute walking breaks, 2-minute stretching breaks, and a discussion technique that involved throwing, standing, and walking. Results showed that teachers perceived changes in academic engagement with all three activities, though the results for stretching indicated mixed positive and negative changes in academic engagement behaviors. Based on the teacher reports, all three activities can be useful in improving academic engagement, but the activities must be directly linked to an academic task for best results. Results also indicate a need for further research with regard to more varied activities and possible implications of whether academic engagement changed by movement has any impact on academic achievement
Teacher Perceptions of the Challenges of Teaching English Language Learners in Bilingual Education Versus English Immersion
Full text linkThe purpose of this study was to gain an understanding about the perceptions of teachers regarding the challenges experienced instructing ELLs in the English immersion and bilingual classrooms. The conceptual framework was centered on Cummins (1979) Linguistic Interdependence Theory suggesting that a student’s native and second language are interdependent and necessary for optimal language acquisition. This study addressed the research question: “What do teachers perceive to be the greatest challenges for teaching ELLs in English immersion classes as compared to ELLs in bilingual classes?” The non-probability purposive sampling was used in this study. The qualitative data collection process included two sets of interviews from six bilingual and six English immersion educators and lesson plans. The inductive analysis of qualitative data was used to analyze the data. Findings revealed the perceptions of English immersion and bilingual educators on the challenges of instructing ELLs. English immersion teacher perceptions indicated that beginning and intermediate ELL’s lack of English vocabulary created instructional challenges. Additionally, the lack of training and resources in English immersion required more instructional time from the teacher making it difficult to differentiate for all students. Bilingual teachers’ perceptions suggested that bilingual is more beneficial than English immersion since it provides more support for ELLs and the opportunity to develop two languages. Both sets of interviewed teachers perceived that younger ELLs would benefit more from English immersion since they are developing their first language, but older beginning and intermediate ELLs would benefit more from bilingual since they struggle with communication and comprehension
