Theo Wubbels

A comparison of interpersonal behavior of Dutch and American teachers.

Abstract This study examines interpersonal teacher behavior from a crossnational perspective. It details the adaptation of a questionnaire from the Netherlands to the U.S. and describes its use in validating a cross-national application of a theoretical model of communication. The Leary model of interpersonal behavior provided the measurement framework for the study. The model states that people communicate according to two dimensions—Dominance-Submission (DS) and Cooperation-Opposition (CO). All human communication behaviors can be graphed using these two dimensions as axes. The studys main purpose was to adapt the Dutch questionnaire for use in the U.S. The results confirm that both versions have the same internal structure. In addition, the participating American and Dutch teachers displayed similar interpersonal behavior towards their students. The groups differed, however, in one aspect: American teachers want to be stricter than their Dutch colleagues, whereas the Dutch teachers want to provide their students with more responsibility and freedom. One other important result of the study was its further confirmation of the Leary models cultural generality.

A Vygotskian perspective on teacher education

Contemporary teacher education demonstrates the continued use of competency‐based, personality‐based and inquiry‐based approaches. These approaches are commonly regarded as representing alternative paradigms for designing curriculum and pedagogy. From a Vygotskian perspective, characterized by the use of bridging concepts relating individual functioning and personal development to sociocultural process and setting, these approaches may serve to provide elements for a more comprehensive paradigm of professional development. Drawing on Vygotskian theory, a teacher‐education environment offers support to trainee teachers for developing a professional identity. A central element is that trainees explore the practice of teaching for its underlying public meanings and as these meaning relate to their own structures of personal meanings. Such an exploration involves the shaping and testing of personally‐meaningful action in professional practice. Commitment to meanings found to be valid and practicable constitutes the core of professional identity. The task students face in developing professional identity on the basis of an assignment of meaning to teaching needs an appropriate teacher‐education environment. These conditions are worked out from a Vygotskian perspective on professional development.

Characteristics of Reflective Practitioners: towards an operationalization of the concept of reflection

Abstract This article reports about a research project on reflective teaching in a preservice teacher education program. The program is based on an explicit view of good teaching and a theory of mathematics education. Reflective teaching was conceptualized accordingly. Four studies were carried out: an initial overall evaluation, a longitudinal study into developmental processes in student teachers, a study into correlates of reflectivity as measured with the aid of a questionnaire, and a quasi‐experimental study into the effects of the program. These studies reveal a number of critical attributes and correlates of reflectivity, thus offering building blocks for a theory in which empirically based relationships are established between good teaching, the concept of reflection and characteristics of reflective practitioners.

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHER INTERPERSONAL STYLE: THE FRONT OF THE CLASSROOM AS THE TEACHER’S STAGE

Abstract In previous research, associations were shown between students’ perceptions of teacher interpersonal style and variables such as student outcomes and problems with order in the classroom. In the study described in this paper, associations are investigated between these students’ perceptions and judges’ ratings of the interpersonal aspect of videotaped teacher behaviour. Judges only saw one minute of videotaped teacher behaviour during either whole class teaching or individual seatwork. Strong correlations were established between students’ perceptions and judges’ ratings of teacher behaviour during whole class teaching. No significant correlations were found between students’ perceptions and judges’ ratings of teacher behaviour during individual seatwork. It is argued that students’ perceptions of teacher interpersonal style are primarily formed when the teacher is in front of the classroom. At those moments a working climate is created that lasts for the whole lesson and beyond.

An international perspective on classroom management: what should prospective teachers learn?

Drawing upon a review of relevant literature, this paper provides an overview of the treatment of classroom management in teacher education and teaching around the world. Six approaches to classroom management are distinguished: classroom management approaches that focus on external control of behaviour, on internal control, on classroom ecology, on discourse, on curriculum, and on interpersonal relationships. This paper then presents an analysis of the six approaches across countries and cultures. No clear picture of cross‐national differences in classroom management practices or pervasiveness of one of the approaches was found. The paper concludes with implications for the role of management in teacher education, particularly with regards to the relevance and appropriateness of the six models for classroom management.

Do We Know a Community of Practice when We See One

This paper comments on strengths and weaknesses of the papers on communities of practice in this special issue of Technology, Pedagogy and Education. First it discusses the character of communities of practice and the question of whether schools are environments that are conducive to the development of teacher communities of practice. It then argues that the number of external inputs in reflection in teacher education in general and more specifically in communities of practice is too limited. A way to improve this input might be by fruitfully combining the concepts ‘community of practice’ and ‘learning community’ and by adding a stronger focus on theories of teaching. Developments in teacher education could profit from a stronger combination of pedagogy and technology driven approaches. With regard to research methods, future research needs mixed methods and quasi‐experiments applied in a rigorous way to investigate conditions for and effects of communities of practice and learning.

Escalated disorderly situations in the classroom and the improvement of these situations

Abstract Results are presented of an extended case study of a teacher who was confronted with severe discipline problems. This teacher changed the aggressive disorder in her lessons into a good working atmosphere with the help of a teacher educator. With a systems communication perspective in mind, we have analysed the pupil-teacher interaction in this teachers lessons. In the paper we first describe the development of the disorderly classroom situations using communication concepts. Then we review the characteristics of the disorderly situations. We then describe the ways the teacher was able to change the aggressive communication pattern. Finally, we describe characteristics of the procedures by which she stimulated a pleasant classroom atmopshere.

Preparing university teachers in The Netherlands: Issues and trends

Abstract During the last ten years universities in The Netherlands have become less dependent on national policies regarding salary structures, promotion criteria and reward systems. At the same time the government has put increased pressure on universities to take a serious look at the quality of education in general, and at the teaching qualities of the staff in particular. The effects of these policies on staff development at Dutch universities is described. The main focus is on recent initiatives by two universities, Utrecht and Maastricht, to improve the preparation of university teachers. For Utrecht a closer look is taken at the career system, in which the importance of teaching competence is upgraded; at the teacher training programme; and at the role of portfolios and assessment in the programme. The implications are discussed.

Let’s Make Things Better

Philips, the Dutch multinational, had as its mission until 2004 “Let’s make things better”. We chose this sentence as the title of our contribution to this book because despite considerable progress in the study of interpersonal relationships in education during the last two decades, a great deal of work remains. Two topics are particularly relevant. First, further development is needed on the theoretical basis of the Model for Interpersonal Teacher Behaviour and the instrument based on this model, the Questionnaire for Teacher Interaction (QTI; Wubbels, Brekelmans, Den Brok & Van Tartwijk, 2006). Second, attention is needed for the search for (causal) relationships between moment-to-moment interactions in the classroom and the patterns of interpersonal relationships between teacher and students. The first is a sine qua non for sustainable progress in the field and the development towards a more parsimonious model. The second will advance progress in providing formative guidance and professional development to teachers in pre and in-service programmes.

Benchmarks for Teacher Education Programs in the Pedagogical Use of ICT

This chapter presents nine benchmarks for teacher education programs on the pedagogical use of information and communication technology for both pre-service and in-service teacher education and training based upon a review of the literature on effective teacher education and an analysis of international exemplary teacher education programs. Four benchmarks relate to the competence of the teacher at the individual level and include personal ICT competencies, the use of ICT as mind tools in professional practice, knowledge of and experience with social aspects of ICT use in education and the use of ICT in teaching. The other relate to program design and teacher-education pedagogy. Effective programs should involve institutional and workplace learning, foster development of communities of practice, and use learning environments that are rich in ICT, open and flexible. Effective teacher-education pedagogy integrates ICT in structured, experiential learning, embedded in different content domains in the teacher education program rather than as a separate component.