Tag: teachers

Teaching! How Do You Cope with the Dilemmas?

On By Dr Peter McIlveenIn BlogsLeave a comment

Distress tolerance involves skills that can help us to cope with stress and psychological issues. It involves keeping going despite the discomfort of distress. These skills are valuable for people working in stressful jobs like teaching. Mature and experienced teachers could provide colleagues and the next generation of teachers with a potential “gold mine” of knowledge on how they tolerate distress associated with teaching dilemmas.

Teaching dilemmas aren’t serious or critical incidents but are common decision-making situations within teaching where there are conflicting or competing interests or needs involved. The teacher is required to do something in the dilemma situation, requiring some form of compromise to do what is believed to be “right”. Here are two examples.

  • “Should I spend more of my teaching time extending a very capable student or doing remediation with a less capable student?
  • “Should I finish the unit of work now as instructed by my supervisor or keep going as my students require more time?”

If you are over 45 years of age and have taught in schools for more than ten years, we would really like to hear from you. We wish to invite you to a confidential and relaxed interview, either through Zoom or at a COVID-safe location near you. We expect the interview to be for approximately 30 – 45 minutes and at a time that suits you. You may be asked to join a second interview of a lesser duration. We know your time is valuable and would like to give you a $30 gift voucher after talking to show our appreciation.

This unique research is part of a Doctor of Education degree program and is approved and supervised by the University of Southern Queensland. If you would like to share your experiences with our friendly interviewer, please click on the link below to indicate your interest.

https://surveys.usq.edu.au/index.php/759922?lang=en

If you have any questions, please contact the principal researcher, Lorette Hargreaves by email: D1110744@umail.usq.edu.au

We look forward to learning from you and your experiences of teaching dilemmas.

How are educators adapting to the challenges of COVID-19?

On By Dr Peter McIlveenIn Blogs1 Comment

COVID-19 has changed the way we work, live, and learn. Most educational institutions have moved to some type of alternative education provision.  Research is required to better understand how these unprecedented challenges and ways of working affect educators and their vital work.

The effects on educators are being investigated by Associate Professor Petrea Redmond and colleagues at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia.

Educators around the world are completing an online survey for this research. The survey includes educators working in a wide range of educational sectors: Early Childhood, K – 12, Higher Education, Vocational Education and workplace trainers.

The survey takes, on average, approximately 5 minutes. If you are willing to contribute, here is the link: https://tinyurl.com/y73yj5fe

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“We need evidence to understand educators’ experiences, and to inform educational policies and workplace practices”, says Associate Professor Petrea Redmond

A snowballing technique is being used to gather more participants, so feel free to pass on the link to colleagues or your professional networks.

This research project has ethical approval from the University of Southern Queensland (Human Research Ethics Approval Number – H20REA103).

Future Teachers’ Career Adaptability, Self-Efficacy and Optimism

On By Dr Peter McIlveenIn BlogsLeave a comment

ACCELL Infographics FINAL-03

Find the full research article here:

McLennan, B., McIlveen, P., & Perera, H. N. (2017). Pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy mediates the relationship between career adaptability and career optimism. Teaching and Teacher Education, 63, 176-185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.12.022

Teacher Personality Links with Job Satisfaction and Work Engagement

On By Dr Peter McIlveenIn BlogsLeave a comment

 

ACCELL Infographics FINAL-02 (1)

Find the complete research article here:

Perera, H. N., Granziera, H., & McIlveen, P. (2018). Profiles of teacher personality and relations with teacher self-efficacy, work engagement, and job satisfaction. Personality and Individual Differences, 120, 171-178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.08.034