Panayiotis Antoniou

A synthesis of studies searching for school factors: implications for theory and research

This paper reports the results of a meta-analysis in which the dynamic model of educational effectiveness is used as a framework to search for school factors associated with student achievement. The methods and results of a synthesis of 67 studies are presented. Findings reveal that effective schools are able to develop policies and take actions in order to improve their teaching practice and learning environment. Factors excluded from the dynamic model were found to be only weakly associated with outcomes. Implications for research on school effectiveness and for improvement of practice are drawn. It is illustrated that this approach of conducting meta-analysis helps us interpret the findings by providing support to the validity of the dynamic model and suggestions for its further development.

The impact of a dynamic approach to professional development on teacher instruction and student learning: results from an experimental study

This paper argues that Educational Effectiveness Research (EER) should establish closer links with research on teacher professional development. A dynamic integrated approach (DIA) to teacher professional development is proposed. The methods and results of a study comparing the impact of the DIA and the Holistic Approach (HA) to teacher professional development are presented. Teaching skills of 130 teachers and achievement of their students (n = 2356) were measured at the beginning and at the end of the intervention. Teachers found to be at a certain developmental stage were randomly allocated evenly into 2 groups. The first group employed the DIA and the second the HA. Teachers employing the DIA managed to improve their teaching skills more than teachers employing the HA. The use of the DIA also had a significant impact on student achievement. Implications of findings for the use of EER for improvement purposes are drawn.

Teacher professional development for improving quality of teaching

Preface.- List of Figures.- List of Tables.- PART 1: Research on Teacher Training and Professional Development.- 1. Towards the Development of a Dynamic Approach to Teacher Professional Development.- 2. Improvement of Teaching by Mastering Specific Competences: The Competency - Based Approach.- 3. Improvement of Teaching through Critical Reflection: The Holistic Approach.- 4. Going beyond the Classical Dichotomy Related to the Content of Teacher Training and Professional Development.- PART 2: Main Foundations of Research on Teacher Effectiveness.- 5. Establishing the Field of Teacher Effectiveness Research: Moving from Investigating Personal Characteristics of Teachers to Understanding Effective Teaching Practices.- 6. Different Approaches to Teaching which Emerged from Teacher Effectiveness Research.- 7. Establishing Theoretical Frameworks to Describe Teacher Effectiveness.- PART 3: Combining Teacher Effectiveness Research with Research on Teacher Training and Professional Development.- 8. Using the Dynamic Model to Develop an Integrated Approach to Teacher Training and Professional Development.- 9. An Experimental Study of Teacher Professional Development Based on the Dynamic Integrated Approach.- 10. Broadening the Scope of the Dynamic Integrated Approach to Teacher Professional Development.- 11. Implications for Research, Policy and Practice: A Way Forward.- References. - Index.

The short- and long-term effects of secondary schools upon students’ academic success and development

This paper presents the results of a study investigating the short- and long-term effects of secondary schools upon student academic success and development. A questionnaire was administered to a randomly selected sample of 15% of Cypriot students who graduated in June 2004 and June 2005 from secondary schools. A good response rate (i.e., 66%) was obtained. For each criterion of measuring school effects, separate multilevel analysis was conducted. The results provide evidence for statistically significant school effects on students’ success at the university entrance exams and on their academic success and development. Suggestions for further research are provided, and policy implications are finally drawn.

Dexter energy transfer pathways

Significance Controlling the dynamics of excitons—including their transport, fission, fusion, and free carrier generation—presents a central challenge in energy science, optoelectronics, and photobiology. We develop a coupling-pathway theory for triplet energy transfer, a process controlled by the structure of the medium between donor and acceptor sites, and find two competing coupling pathway mechanisms. At shorter distances or high tunneling gaps, the electron and hole move sequentially from donor to acceptor, accessing donor–acceptor charge-transfer exciton virtual states; at longer distances or lower tunneling gaps, virtual exciton states of the bridge mediate the transport. Molecular design strategies can leverage these competing mechanisms and their distinctive dependences on molecular structure. Energy transfer with an associated spin change of the donor and acceptor, Dexter energy transfer, is critically important in solar energy harvesting assemblies, damage protection schemes of photobiology, and organometallic opto-electronic materials. Dexter transfer between chemically linked donors and acceptors is bridge mediated, presenting an enticing analogy with bridge-mediated electron and hole transfer. However, Dexter coupling pathways must convey both an electron and a hole from donor to acceptor, and this adds considerable richness to the mediation process. We dissect the bridge-mediated Dexter coupling mechanisms and formulate a theory for triplet energy transfer coupling pathways. Virtual donor–acceptor charge-transfer exciton intermediates dominate at shorter distances or higher tunneling energy gaps, whereas virtual intermediates with an electron and a hole both on the bridge (virtual bridge excitons) dominate for longer distances or lower energy gaps. The effects of virtual bridge excitons were neglected in earlier treatments. The two-particle pathway framework developed here shows how Dexter energy-transfer rates depend on donor, bridge, and acceptor energetics, as well as on orbital symmetry and quantum interference among pathways.

The Dynamic Integrated Approach to teacher professional development: rationale and main characteristics

This paper refers to the Dynamic Integrated Approach (DIA) towards teacher professional development, which attempts to merge research findings on teacher effectiveness and teacher professional development. The theoretical framework and the major features of the DIA are presented. It is argued that the DIA can be effectively implemented through five steps: establishing clarity and consensus about aims and objectives; identifying needs and priorities for improvement through empirical investigation; provision of improvement guidelines, reflection opportunities and coaching on effective teaching by the Advisory and Research Team; establishing a formative evaluation mechanism; and finally establishing a summative evaluation system. Results of empirical studies providing support to the basic elements and the overall effectiveness of the DIA are also presented. Implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions for further research, particularly in exploring the conditions under which the DIA could have a long-lasting effect on teacher effectiveness, are finally drawn.

A dynamic approach to school improvement: main features and impact

This paper refers to the dynamic approach to school improvement (DASI) which attempts to contribute to the merging of educational effectiveness research and school improvement. The main underlying assumptions and the implementation phases of DASI are discussed. Moreover, a study aiming to compare the impact of DASI in helping schools to reduce bullying is presented. The results reveal that DASI has a stronger impact on improving school factors and reducing bullying than other approaches to school improvement. Suggestions for further research investigating the sustainability of DASI on school effectiveness are provided and policy implications are drawn.

Improvement of Teaching by Mastering Specific Competences: The Competency-Based Approach

This chapter refers to the main characteristics of the competency-based approach to teacher training and professional development, which is based on the assumption that training programmes should refer to the specific knowledge and skills which teachers should possess. The training programmes should also be structured on units related to single skills and knowledge. The rationale and the main characteristics of this approach are presented. It is acknowledged that at present, many attempts are being made across the world to establish lists of competencies or standards of teaching, and this approach has some impact on teacher training. In the final part of the chapter, not only the strengths, but also the weaknesses of this approach are discussed. Meta-analytical studies have revealed that although short-term effects on teacher improvement have been identified, the long-term effects of this approach are extremely modest. It has also been found that although this approach has established the need for teacher flexibility in how skills are applied in the classroom, yet the training itself may not encourage such flexibility. Finally, the specific educational context of the participating teachers is not taken into consideration, something that may reduce the will and the efforts of the participants to improve their teaching.

School self-evaluation for school improvement: Examining the measuring properties of the LEAD surveys

Research evidence suggests school self-evaluation with the participation of school stakeholders could improve teaching and learning. Identification and use of appropriate self-evaluation frameworks, however, is not an easy task for schools. Such a framework, the LEAD School Effectiveness Surveys, has been developed by Independent Schools Victoria in Australia. The LEAD suite of school stakeholder surveys enables schools to evaluate their overall effectiveness in several domains and make informed decisions for school improvement. This article evaluates the reliability as well as the face, content and construct validity of the LEAD surveys and discusses the ways in which school self-evaluation results could contribute to school improvement. Data were gathered from a total of 119,749 students, teaching staff, general and parents taking the LEAD Surveys in 112 independent (non-government) schools and followed a five-year longitudinal design from 2009 to 2013. The results support the reliability as well as the face, content and construct validity of the LEAD surveys. The importance of evaluating the measuring properties of instruments used for school self-evaluation is discussed and suggestions for school self-evaluation are provided.

Gender differences in mathematics achievement: an investigation of gender differences by item difficulty interactions

This paper presents findings from research exploring gender by item difficulty interaction on mathematics test scores in Cyprus. Data steamed from 2 longitudinal studies with 4 different age groups of primary school students. The hypothesis that boys tended to outperform girls on the hardest items and girls tended to outperform boys on the easiest items was generally supported for each year group. The effect of social class was also examined. For each social class, there was a correlation between the item difficulty differences estimated on girls and boys separately and the difficulty of the item estimated on the whole sample. It is claimed that in understanding gender differences in mathematics, item difficulty should be treated as an independent variable. Suggestions for further studies are provided, and implications for the development of assessment policy in mathematics are drawn.