Clinical benefits of rational-emotive stress management therapy for job burnout and dysfunctional distress of special education teachers

It has been observed that managing job burnout and dysfunctional distress constitute part of the major challenges among special educators,and that empirical data on the management of burnout and dysfunctional distress associated with the job of special education teachers are lacking in the literature.The current article discusses the clinical benefits of a rational-emotive stressmanagement therapy program in reducing the level of job burnout symptoms and dysfunctional distress in special education teachers,using evidence from a 2018 clinical trial study that reported the efficacy of this intervention.Results show the clinical benefits and implications of conducting a rational-emotive stress management intervention,and recommendations are made for future research.

Teacher Education—Experiences and Challenges

Teacher education is fundamental to the attainment of the objectives of education of any nation.In Nigeria for example,research reports indicate that during the past 18 years,the quality of teachers produced from the Nigeria’s various teacher education institutions has dropped significantly.This paper examines the various teaching experiences acquired through training including new skills gained and challenges encountered in the current teacher education programme in Nigeria that have contributed to the decline in teacher quality and experiences.It was discovered that poor quality of candidates admitted,lack of interest to take teaching as career,poor funding,poor public image of the teacher,high incidence of examination malpractice among student-teachers,and lack of motivation and good incentives among teacher educators are some of the challenges on teacher education.The paper recommends that Government at all levels and all nations should increase funding of teacher education,high quality students should be admitted,and Government should initiate programmes that can enhance the status of the teaching profession etc.

Professional Development of Rural Physical Education Teachers from the Perspective of Educational Ecology:A Case Study of Deqing County

Based on the theoretical perspective of educational ecology,the basic situation of professional development of rural physical education teachers in Deqing County and the restricting factors in the process of professional development were investigated and analyzed by using the methods of literature review,questionnaire survey and mathematical statistic analysis,aiming to find out the problems existing in the professional development of rural physical education teachers in Deqing County.The targeted optimization strategies were explored,so as to achieve the effects of enriching the research theory of professional development of rural physical education teachers,improving the quality of physical education in rural schools,inheriting excellent rural sports culture,driving the development of rural mass sports,promoting the construction of rural material and spiritual civilization,and improving the quality of rural human capital.According to the research,the gender structure of rural physical education teachers in Deqing County was unreasonable;the teachers were undertaken heavy teaching task;there was a shortage of highly educated people;some teachers lacked understanding and attention to the connotation of professional development;the teachers had insufficient knowledge of educational science;teachers’sense of responsibility needed to be strengthened;schools did not pay enough attention to teachers’continuing education and training,and teachers were less satisfied with training.

Association between Teacher Candidates'Competency and First-Year Employment in Physical Education:A Comparison Study

Physical education teacher education(PETE)programs prepare teacher candidates to be competent and employed in P-12 school settings.This study examined the relationship between competency and first-year job obtainment in physical education(PE).Participants included 111 teacher candidates from two schools.Participants'competency in content knowledge in Kinesiology and sub-disciplines(CKKH),content knowledge in sport and skill proficiency(CKSP),pedagogical content knowledge(PCK),and first-year job obtainment in PE were collected.Descriptive statistics,independent-samples t tests,and multiple logistic regressions were used to analyze the data.The overall sample showed participants were most competent in PCK,followed by CKSP and CKKH.Female participants were more competent in PCK than their male counterparts,and those at School A performed better in CKSP and PCK than their peers at School B.As a sample,more than half of the participants(55.9%)obtained PE jobs.There was a significance between the overall sample and female participants'competency in CKKH and their first-year employment in PE.This study was limited by sample size,variances in courses between the two schools,and by the defined timeline to clarify first-year PE employment.Implications regarding the importance of CKKH and first-year employment were discussed.

In-Service LTE Program for Chinese Private Institute English Teachers

This paper describes a half-year in-service Language Teacher Education(LTE)program,targeting the trainee teachers who work in Chinese private English institutes.This is to better prepare them at the outset of their career.Primarily intending to build the trainee teachers' professionalism and raise their awareness,an overall illustration of adopted training courses and choice of activities are introduced in this paper.Focusing on integrating instructional knowledge from ESL and English language teaching,the LTE program schedule will allow majority of readers to implement during their daily teaching and research activities.Principles underpinning this program design are illustrated one by one.A course like this may not foster all teachers to become professionals at once,but to be a reflective practitioner can be a reachable goal,as accumulation of professional expertise is based on teachers’ capability of understanding how to reflect on teaching.

Contribution of International and Comparative Approach to the Policy and Practice of Teacher Education

This study intends to identify the value and pitfalls of international and comparative approach for the policy and practice of teacher education.The structure of this article proceeds as follows:the first section focuses on explaining the meaning and the values of international and comparative approach;based on previous discussions,the second section makes a more in-depth analysis of the values of international and comparative approach to teacher education from five key themes;the final section of this article proposes and interprets the drawbacks of international and comparative approach in teacher education.

The Influence of Language Teachers' Career Trajectory on Beliefs about Using the L1 in the EFL Classroom: A Multiple Case Study

To uncover how different backgrounds influence teacher beliefs,a multiple case study was done to three pre-service and three in-service EFL teachers through semi-structured interviews.The results show that pre-service and in-service teachers hold a general belief that while English exposure is important,the use of Chinese as the L1 is complementary.Nonetheless,teachers’rationale reflects influence from prior learning experience,teacher education and classroom practice.The findings provide implications for career development of EFL teachers.

国外教师教育研究现状——基于EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF TEACHER EDUCATION的分析

为了了解国外教师教育的研究内容、研究方向和研究热点,为我国教师队伍的发展和教师教育的研究发展提供助力,文章以EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF TEACHER EDUCATION杂志为例,采用文献计量法和内容分析法对其进行研究,分析了国外教师教育研究现状。

From Mutual Creation to Mutual Benefit:China’s National Teacher Training Program between Higher Teacher Education and K-12 Teachers

Sustainable Development Goal(SDG 4)lays solid theoretical foundation for the development of higher teacher education in improving the quality of teaching faculty nationwide.Sustainable teacher training paves a way for teacher professional development in the long run.China’s“National Teacher Training Program”serves a connection between higher teacher education and K-12 teachers in multiple perspectives when exploring K-12 teachers’improvement of the essence by upgrading the initiative of the program with the assistance of educational technology and modern educational philosophy from mutual creation to mutual benefit.Direction orientation strategic design based on demand for teaching faculty,curriculum setting in modules,and characteristics creation have been carried out to upgrade the training of teacher colleges and National Teacher Training Program in the future for achieving a win-win situation between higher teacher education and K-12 education.

Exploring Cross-Cultural Components in International Teacher Education Programs to Build Competenc(ies)for Indonesia

This article reviews preservice teacher arts education university course work with the goal of informing cross-cultural competencies for Indonesian teacher education.The authors are mid-career education faculty,who visited six universities in three countries to observe cross-cultural contents in teacher preparation courses.Cross-cultural competence relies on theories of globalization,intercultural and multicultural education.Using a case study method,the authors gathered data through relevant literature,course descriptions,met with stakeholders,wrote and coded reflective and reflexive field notes,and identified trends.These trends included the infusion of Eastern content into Western course work,and the role of Western arts forms in Eastern settings.These findings support the development of“cross-cultural communication through the arts”or“komunikasi silang budaya melalui seni”as a way of approaching cross-cultural teaching in Indonesia.

Teachers and the Outlook for Education in China

ＴｅａｃｈｅｒｓａｎｄｔｈｅＯｕｔｌｏｏｋｆｏｒＥｄｕｃａｔｉｏｎｉｎＣｈｉｎａ￥／／ＭａｎｙｏｆｔｈｅｇｒｅａｔｅｓｔｐｅｏｐｌｅＣｈｉｎｅｓｅｃｉｖｉｌｉｚａｔｉｏｎｈａｓｅｖｅｒｐｒｏｄｕｃｅｄｈａｖｅｂｅｅｎｅｄｕｃａｔｏｒｓ，ｂｕｔｔｏｄａ...

Let Each Child Have a Role to Play——A teacher's experiences in human rights education

The future of a country and society belongs to children and youngsters. As a primary school teacher, I keenly feel the need to educate our children in human rights, so that they will develop in an all-round way, morally, intellectually and physically. Over the past few yeas, I have tried to incorporate education in human rights into activities in

Innovating Pedagogical Practices through Professional Development in Computer Science Education

Recent advancements in technology have opened up new avenues for educators to facilitate teaching and leverage more learning access in the digital age.As the demand for computational skills continues to grow in preparation for future careers,both teachers and students face the challenge of developing problem-solving,critical thinking,communication,and collaboration skills within an emerging digital landscape.Technology adoption,big data,cloud computing and artificial intelligence pose ongoing challenges for both teachers and students in adapting to the changing workforce development landscape.To tackle these challenges,the paper highlights the importance of exploring the implications of learning sciences in classroom teaching,developing a holistic vision for professional development in education,and understanding the complexities of teacher change.To effectively implement these components,it is crucial to adopt design approaches that prioritize student ownership in education and embrace the principles of inclusive education to reconceptualize the teaching practices in education and technology.

The Synergized Quality Improvement Program in Teacher Education:A Policy for Improving the Quality of China's Rural Teachers

Purpose This study elucidates the rationale,implementation,values,and challenges of the Synergized Quality Improvement Program in Teacher Education(SQIPTE)—the first policy specifically dedicated to the development of teaching staff since the founding of the People's Republic of China.Design/Approach/Methods After introducing the primary structure and rationale of the SQIPTE,this study reviews the existing data and research to explain why the program focuses on local normal colleges and determine how it could be implemented more effectively.Findings In establishing group-based assistance under the principle of“1+M+N”(M≥N),the SQIPTE seeks to make normal colleges the primary force in the education of rural teachers and explores a collaborative operating mechanism to this end.Evidence suggests that this innovative program will provide new practical experience for the collaborative development and quality improvement of teachers.Originality/Value This study reviews the SQIPTE as a new Chinese intervention to improve the quality of rural teachers.There is strong evidence to suggest that this innovative program will inspire the construction of collaborative operating mechanisms incorporating multiple resources for teacher education systems across different areas.

Play by Design:Developing Artificial Intelligence Literacy through Game-based Learning

The paper proposes an innovative approach aimed at fostering AI literacy through interactive gaming experiences.This paper designs a game-based prototype for preparing pre-service teachers to innovate teaching practices across disciplines.The simulation,Color Conquest,serves as a strategic game to encourage educators to reconsider their pedagogical practices.It allows teachers to use and develop various scenarios by customizing maps,giving students agency to engage in the complex decision-making process.Additionally,this engagement process provides teachers with an opportunity to develop students’skills in artificial intelligence literacy as students actively develop strategic thinking,problem-solving,and critical reasoning skills.

U.S.Preservice Teachers Learning With Multilingual Learners in Korea Through Educational Technology:Bringing Heteroglossic and Global Approaches to TESOL Teacher Education

Purpose This study aimed to explore how educational technology influenced a preparatory teacher education program using heteroglossic and global approaches.Design/Approach/Methods The researchers drew upon the theoretical framework of multilingual digital storytelling(MDST),which emphasizes the intercultural awareness attributes of multilingual learners(MLs)and takes a heteroglossic perspective in linguistic pedagogy.This qualitative case study examined the experiences of 11 U.S.-based preservice teachers(PSTs)and 12 MLs elementary students in Korea in the MDST project of a TESOL methods course.Findings The findings showed that PSTs and MLs enhanced their appreciation for educational technology,multilingualism,and intercultural awareness.Although the project aimed to decenter English as a hegemonic language,both PSTs and MLs maintained traditional discourses that privileged English over MLs’home language and targeted literacy correctness in written English only,moving away from the heterogeneous goals of the course project.PSTs and MLs also faced challenges in navigating technological tools,which negatively affected their perception of the project.Originality/Value This study contributes to heteroglossic approaches in preparatory TESOL teacher education programs and improves the understanding of challenges in educational technology use for global multilingual exchanges to promote global citizenship.

The Potential for Distance Learning in Inner Mongolia

In this paper we discuss the general understanding of distance education, and analyze the advantages and significance of distance education, especially in relation to the teacher education in Inner Mongolia. Reviewing the current practice, we investigate some issues in the local context and give some practical suggestions in light of some external experience. It is believed that development of distance education will be the potential solution to the continuing professional education of school teachers.

The Participation Experiences of Chinese Teacher Trainees and Their Finnish Teacher Trainer on an In-Service Teacher Training Program Exported From Finland to China

Purpose:This paper aims to examine the participation experiences of a sample of Chinese teacher trainees and their Finnish teacher trainer on an in-service teacher training program exported from Finland to Beijing,China.Design/Approach/Methods:Six science teachers from Beijing and their Finnish teacher trainer participated in semi-structured interviews.From the ideological perspective of international education,a total of eight semi-structured interviews were analyzed through qualitative content analysis.Findings:The results show that all interviewees were highly motivated to learn from the Other's education system and culture.Some participants benefited from a broader understanding of the Self's and the Other's education systems,while others did not.The interviewees also described some participation challenges,such as language barriers and practices that adapted learner-centered teaching approaches in Beijing schools.Furthermore,the interviewees mentioned future expectations of more in-depth communication between Finland and China.Originality/Value:Some recommendations for better training outcomes,improving the quality of participation experiences,and reaching more mutual understandings were discussed at the end of this study.

Relationship Between a Teacher Educator's Questions and the Development of Prospective Teachers' Critical Thinking

Purpose:This study explores the relationships between the cognitive demands of the questions asked by a teacher educator(TE)and prospective teachers'(PT)capacity for critical thinking(CT).Design/Approach/Methods:Participants comprised a TE and 32 PTs.The cognitive demands of the TE's questions and PTs'CT were analyzed using a systematic observation approach.Findings:Results indicate that there are tangible connections between the increasing mental demand of TE questions and PTs'higher-order cognitive processing.The PTs achieved higherorder CT when the TE asked more cognitively demanding questions.For instance,when the TE's questions were pitched at the cognitive demand levels-namely,the analyze,evaluate,and/or create levels—the PTanswers were longer and reflected higher CT,such as inductive reasoning,suggesting new ways of thinking,or legitimating the arguments of others.Accordingly,results suggest that intentionally subjecting PTs to sustained higher cognitive demands via questions may help them reach their optimal CT capacity.Originality/Value:Although proposed teaching strategies have been invaluable in proposing content-specific interventions for fostering the CT of university students,how lecturers should use their questions to conduct such interventions has been overlooked.This study addresses this gap.

A Study on the Online Teaching Input of Higher Education Teachers Based on K-Means Analysis

Online teaching has become an important form of regular teaching in higher education institutions,and teachers’input in online teaching is directly related to the quality of online teaching.A K-means cluster analysis of teachers’teaching behaviours in the online teaching platform of Sanya Aviation and Tourism College and a comparison of the mean values of each semester’s behaviours reveal that teachers’overall online teaching input is insufficient and their online teaching behaviours need to be optimized;their teaching energy has improved and their online teaching resources are more completed;their teaching emotional input is seriously lacking and their online interaction needs to be strengthened.To address these problems,the following measures can be taken:improve teachers’incentives to increase the overall investment in online teaching;change teachers’roles to strengthen the emotional investment in online teaching;and strengthen teachers’training to enhance online teaching design skills.