Contemporary Joads: Educating in a Rural Boomtown

This study aimed to explore the occupational identities of early-career music teachers. Specifically, the project investigated how the occupational identities of two Chinese music teachers were influenced and shaped by pedagogical content knowledge and skills, professional knowledge and skills, self-knowledge, performer/teacher identities, and school context. Previous literature suggests that early-career teachers usually face inconsistencies between their expectations of what music teachers are and what they do, and the reality of how they are to survive and function in their workplaces (Ballantyne, 2007a; Cook, 2009; Kagan, 1992; Perkins & Triantafyllaki, 2013; Wagoner, 2011). Those who fail to adjust their expectations to the real teaching environment may experience frustrations or drop out of the teaching occupation. An effective way to secure teachers’ commitments to their occupation and ensure success in the field is to develop a functional and productive teacher identity (Akkerman & Meijer, 2011; Ballantyne, 2005; Ballantyne, Kerchner, & Arostegui, 2012; Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009; Britzman, 2003; Hoban, 2007; Scheib et al., 2007), as identity can shape the teacher’s disposition, professional expectations, and occupational obligations (Hammerness, 2005). Negotiation between idealised and realised identities can be especially difficult for music teachers (Ballantyne, 2007a) because they also face the challenge of inadequate resources, multiple responsibilities, high workload, professional isolation, and a low level of music perception in school communities (Wagoner, 2011). Despite a wide acceptance of this notion, the development of music teachers’ occupational identities may receive little attention in their early teaching years (Ballantyne, 2007a; Wagoner, 2011). My motivation for embarking on this study rests with a desire to understand the ways in which self-knowledge influences early-career music teachers’ level of commitment to being a music teacher. Specifically through an explanation from the basic psychological needs perspective, I sought to find out why music teachers exhibit varying thoughts and behaviours when they face similar challenges and difficulties in the pedagogical, professional and school context. Using the methodological approach of case studies, data were gathered by interviewing the two teacher participants, their mentors and colleagues. These data were then constructed into case descriptions of each teacher within their school context. The findings of this study suggest that occupational identities of Chinese early-career music teachers can include musician, performer and music teacher. The distinctions between the idealised and realised lives of music teachers are mainly influenced by having to undertake tasks outside their professional areas, difficulties in effective teaching, classroom management and student discipline, and low salaries and status within the school. Importantly, the study found that fulfilling the psychological needs of relatedness, competency and autonomy at work are beneficial for early-career music teachers in maintaining confidence and knowledge. Fulfilling these needs enables them to reconstruct an appropriate music teacher identity, allowing them to function in their workplace. Another significant outcome of the research found that early-career music teachers who have more intrinsic motivations than extrinsic motivations at work will more readily accept the realised school context and develop a positive attitude towards teaching. The last finding of the study is that early-career music teachers are not equally influenced or shaped by pedagogical content knowledge and skills, professional knowledge and skills, self-knowledge, performer/teacher identities, and school context. The case studies in this thesis revealed that self-knowledge and performer/teacher identities are the two most important themes; they are mutually constitutive, dually influencing, and are shaped by the other three themes (pedagogical content knowledge and skills, professional knowledge and skills, and school context). This finding reinforces the need for pre-service and in-service music teachers to critically reflect upon how their occupational identities are shaped by their basic psychological needs and work motivation. Such reflection could enable early-career music teachers to negotiate their idealised teacher identities with their realised teacher identities, assisting them to adapt to their working lives and increase their effectiveness as professionals.

This paper reports the findings from a small-scale study of ten mentors’ experiences of supporting Early Career Teachers (ECTs) in secondary schools in England following the introduction of the Early Career Framework (ECF) in 2021. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with individual mentors based in London, Manchester and York, UK. The findings suggest that mentors experience some challenges supporting ECTs through the use of mandated training materials. The data report the contradictions of being required to support trainees through a programme governed by the statutory requirements of the Department for Education (DfE) in England, whilst also being part of a complex, nuanced school community. The authors examine mentors’ experiences as they balance the compliance requirements of the ECF alongside seeking to support ECTs with the realities of classroom life in their own settings. The paper discusses the emergence of a mediated mentor professionalism as mentors seek to navigate competing demands. We argue that this case study illustrates the potential for the international sector to challenge postulated solutions of homogenised mentoring curricula and practices to the recruitment and retention of ECTs.

ABSTRACTUnderstanding students’ and teachers’ representations of relevant learning is key to providing better learning programs. This article aims to show the various ways in which relevant learning is conceptualized in different community schools in Romania. First, it pays attention to differences and similarities in the students’ and the teachers’ concepts of learning. Second, it looks at how interlocking variables such as the position of the school in national hierarchies, the school’s profile, and how the social class of teachers and students influence the narrative. The article brings out voices from both urban and rural spaces, adding an Eastern European perspective to the global literature. The data is gathered by a local facilitator who has conducted separate focus groups with teachers and students from six schools on the topic of relevant learning. These discussions helped outline several categories that are considered relevant: applied learning, student-centered learning, market-oriented learning, and character/value education. Underneath, the framework of particular social and economic contexts is considered. Building on Jean Anyon’s writing on how schools’ discourses prepare students for the workplace, reproducing their social standing, this article aims to bring new insight into the current narratives of teachers and students. Finally, the article wishes not only to describe what relevant learning is perceived to be, but to show that the conceptualization is based on the individual’s position within the institution (microstructure) and within society (macrostructure).

This study examines how English Language Teachers perceive teaching in mixed-ability classrooms within the context of community schools in Nawalpur District. During their teaching activities, what barriers do they face while teaching in mixed-ability classrooms? I employed the qualitative case study as a research design or methodology. The data were collected from interviews, personal stories of English Language Teachers, and experiences with open-ended questions asked to four English Teachers who have been teaching in mixed-ability classrooms at the secondary level, as well as classroom observations. The issues include diverse socio-cultural backgrounds, varying levels of proficiency, different learning styles, varied instructional techniques, and varying student numbers. Teachers have been facing many challenges and issues in addressing the needs of learners in mixed-ability classrooms. The collected data was analyzed under the Sociocultural Theory of Vygotsky (1978) and Constructivist Learning Theory (1950). Previous research and literature have not given in-depth attention to the challenges faced by English Language Teachers, focusing instead on differentiated instruction. This research reveals that teachers should adapt their pedagogical approaches to incorporate various instructional methods, as the learning pace and style differ among students. The class size, peer learning, and teachers' scaffolding can also address the challenges they face in their classroom activities and improve and increase the student's learning outcomes. Furthermore, it contributes to the current issue of mixed-ability classrooms by filling the gap in the existing literature and providing some solutions and guidelines to enhance students' learning outcomes in community schools.

This chapter applies a critical geographic lens to existing literature in spatial production and research in rural education to create a more focused understanding of the ways neoliberalism is shaping rural spaces. It recontextualizes much of the existing research, which often focuses on narrow conclusions, in a manner that will provide an understanding of the relationships between the way space is produced and the effects on youth. The paper also examines the roles of schools in rural communities as they are affected by neoliberal ideology, and how they reproduce said neoliberal ideology in return, which is causing a decline in the quality of life in rural communities in the United States.

This is the second of three papers based on a 20-month study of teaching and learning in a diverse classroom in a downtown community school in Toronto, Canada. The purpose of the research was to describe the details of teaching and learning in a multicultural classroom and to document successful strategies in working with immigrant and minority students. The three papers detail the process by which this focus on classroom life led to a critique of the literature and to a new way to think about multicultural teaching and learning, which I call 'narrative multiculturalism'. In this paper, I provide a sampling of stories that illustrate what contributed to my changing thinking about multiculturalism. Four short stories focus on a participant teacher in her school, in her classroom and in interaction with her students. The stories illuminate the complexity of multicultural teaching and qualities of narrative multiculturalism. In the analysis of the stories I explore multicultural understandings that developed from the experience of being in the classroom, being in relationship with a teacher participant, and our on-going dialogue.

TODAY there is general agreement that the family finds itself more and more alone in an urban world of growing impersonal complexity. Lack of a sense of belonging brings neglect of democratic responsibilities. And reduced from the status of a human being to a mere statistical cipher, the citizen becomes profoundly discontented with the pattern in which the fabric of his life is woven.1 In addition, during the war years there was built up an imaginary period ahead which was labeled the postwar world, as though it were to be entirely different from that time and the past, and in which problems of the family and the individual were to be automatically solved by full production, high income, and victory over fascism. However, many of these problems that are now arising are unhappy ones that we have known before. The same old social and economic problems are still with us, perhaps more intensely. For example, municipalities are today engaged in debate as to whether they will honor their veterans and memorialize their soldier dead by erection of statuary, or whether their memories will be most hallowed by provision of muchneeded community facilities to create and sustain the moral and social values for which these men fought. In order to promote better psychological outlook and increased social values, participation in community life must be encouraged by the provision of well-organized educational, cultural, and recreational activities. An effort to instill a discriminating appreciation of music, art, and literature into community living, to promulgate educational programs and participation in recreation, and to provide background for the religious life of the individual, must be assisted by an adequate program of services and the physical facilities necessary for their implementation, such as community buildings, schools, churches, libraries, museums, and recreation space. It is now realized that greater participation in desirable activities results from their properly planned relationships to the people. A comprehensive analysis of the needs must precede the planning of projects in order to determine the effects of population and economic trends, the kinds of people who live within each residential area, and their desires and requirements in these fields, along with the facilities and program already existent.

The study focuses on the transition of debutant teachers from theoretical training to teaching practice. It also identifies significant challenges they face in their first career years and examines the experiences of debutant teachers in their initial teaching years, exploring sustainment opportunities, adaptation methods, and support measures. The research investigates resilience strategies developed by these beginner teachers, which include stress management techniques and innovative approaches to building relationships. It also proposes solutions to enhance institutional support, which could enhance job satisfaction and to retain debutant teachers within the educational system. The primary methodological tool is an anonymous questionnaire distributed online in the Cluj and Sibiu counties, structured around four key areas: identifying main challenges, exploring opportunities, analyzing adaptation methods, and proposing solutions and recommendations in order to support the integration and professional development of teachers in their early career, in accordance to the needs of the early education for children. Among the general conclusions of the survey, it is highlighted the importance of mentorship and both initial qualification and continuous training, addressing specific topics such as communication with parents, managing administrative tasks, and supporting children with special needs. Therewith, the research emphasizes that a healthy organizational culture, focused on collaboration and continuous development, increases the efficiency of the educational process, enhances the well-being of the school community, and reduces the risk of early-career teacher abandonment.

Social integration and suicide: Denmark, 1906–2006

In this work, we will consider the dimension reduction of the set of time series, such as economic data, to find the meaningful basis vector for the set of data, and indicate which data use which basis vector. Usually each of the time series is analyzed independently in economics but here we will analyze the set of time series simultaneously. Since some of the economic data are measured as positive values and we want to decompose them as a mixture of the parts, we will apply non-negative matrix factorization to the economic data. Non-negative matrix factorization can compress dimensions by approximating a non-negative matrix with the product of two non-negative matrices. The two non-negative matrices are called the coefficient matrix and the basis matrix, and the basis matrix can be considered as a dimensionally compressed matrix. If the standard non-negative matrix factorization is used for economic data, the basis matrix may not be smooth. We think that the basis vectors should be smooth except a few special economical incidents. In the proposed method, a Graph-based non-negative matrix factorization is introduced to regularize the basis matrix of the time series. A path graph for representing the time series of economic data is incorporated into the non-negative matrix factorization as regularization. As a result, basis vectors that maintains the time series of economic data are decomposed. Furthermore, we propose to introduce a sparsity in the non-negative matrix factorization. Traditionally, the sparsity incorporated into non-negative matrix factorization has been used for basis vectors. However, the proposed method introduces the sparsity for coefficient vectors. Thus the proposed method, which simultaneously incorporates the sparsity for the coefficient vectors and the smoothness for the basis vectors, can extract the smooth basis vectors and the original economical data are approximated as the weighted sum of the few bases vectors. This allows us to discover economic trends and the best-fit trends for each data at the same time.