‘The teacher who helps children learn best’: affect and authority in the traditional primary classroom

Hargreaves, Eleanore; Elhawary, Dalia; Mahgoub, Mohamed

doi:10.1080/14681366.2017.1314318

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…If we accept that all recognition of authority implies trust that the authority has the characteristic that it claims to, and follow Baier in seeing all trust as involving care, then it follows that all authority involves care. In addition, Hargreaves, Elhawary and Mahgoub (2017) demonstrate that when pupils feel they are cared for this supports other bases of authority. Acceptance of these points does not, however, negate the possibility of care and commitment also existing as a distinctive basis for authority.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Compliance through care and commitment: why young people do as adults ask

Macleod

Fyfe

Nicol

et al. 2017

Cambridge Journal of Education

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Although the behaviour of young people is often a focus for concern, most young people do as they are asked. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study across four educational settings which set out to explore reasons for this compliance. Forty-four young people (aged 12 -21) participated in interactive focus groups and 21 practitioners were interviewed. We undertook a critical exploration of the authority relationships between the young people and the participating adults. The research was designed to explore the relevance of the typology of authority relationships proposed by Dennis Wrong for educational settings. The findings confirmed the applicability of his work; however, the paper argues that an additional basis for authority relationships characterised by 'care and commitment' should be included. The results suggest the potential for long-term caring relationships, authenticity and professional competence as key factors in enhancing compliance in educational settings.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Compliance through care and commitment: why young people do as adults ask

Macleod

Fyfe

Nicol

et al. 2017

Cambridge Journal of Education

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“…This finding has implications for primary-schooling systems around the globe where children are categorised -whether physically or in professionals' minds -by attainment scores. This includes the many low and middle-income countries where children who find the cultural norms of schooling problematic have been labelled as not only low-attaining, but as deviant (Young 1971;Hargreaves et al 2018).…”

Section: Discussion: Institutionalised Norms Systematically Misrecognised Some People and The Qualities Associated With Themmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘I got rejected’: investigating the status of ‘low-attaining’ children in primary-schooling

Hargreaves¹,

Quick²,

Buchanan³

2019

Pedagogy, Culture & Society

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This text makes a significant contribution to the debate on within-class attainment grouping in primary schools, by portraying the views and perspectives of children themselves, labelled as "low-attaining". Extensive, active individual interviews plus observations over three terms of schooling facilitated rich insights into whether, and if so, how 23 "lowattaining" primary-school children assimilated cultural values designating them as having subordinate status to other children. We consider the implications of our findings for social justice, employing an innovative analysis framework which takes Nancy Fraser's conceptualisation of justice as "parity-of-participation". Our research illustrates that these children had absorbed some values about "success" that posed considerable obstacles to them, which led to feelings of isolation and lack of social participation. In particular, the children found some aspects of attainment grouping obstructive to social interaction.Reactions to these discomforts sometimes led them towards subtly subversive behaviour or alternatively to flat denial of difficulty.

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“…Macleod et al (2012, p. 494) note that "understanding the child-teacher authority relationship is central to understanding what goes on in classrooms". Indeed, the rapport between student and teacher nurtured through social dynamics, feelings and a child-centred approach are vital aspects in developing students' skills for learning, including literacy learning (Hargreaves et al, 2018). Mentor teachers who model this practice assist preservice teachers to understand the importance of student-teacher rapport as well as the skills required to develop this practice for future literacy teaching.…”

Section: Mentor Teachers' Attributes and Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Primary preservice teachers' perspectives of their literacy mentoring experiences during professional placement

James

Hudson

Cutcher

2021

IJMCE

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PurposeBeing literate can change the lives of Australian students. Therefore, graduating effective teachers of literacy is an imperative for Australian schools. Professional experience provides an opportunity for preservice teachers to refine their skills for teaching literacy under the guidance of a mentor teacher. This study investigates from the perspective of preservice teachers, the attributes and practices primary mentor teachers demonstrate when mentoring literacy teaching during professional experience.Design/methodology/approachThis investigation utilised survey design to gather data from primary preservice teachers (n = 402) from seven Australian universities. The 34 survey items were underpinned by the Five Factor Model of Mentoring and literacy practices prescribed by the Australian curriculum. Preservice teachers self-reported their responses about their literacy mentoring experiences on a five-point Likert scale. The Five Factor Model of Mentoring provided a framework to analyse and present the data using descriptive statistics.FindingsFindings revealed 70% or more of preservice teachers agreed or strongly agreed mentor teachers had the personal attributes, shared the pedagogical knowledge, modelled best practice and provided feedback for effective literacy teaching. Conversely, only 58.7% of the participants reported their mentor teachers shared the system requirements for effective literacy teaching.Research limitations/implicationsThe preservice teachers self-reported their experiences, and although this may be their experience, it does not necessarily mean the mentor teachers did not demonstrate the attributes and practices reported, it may mean they were not identified by the preservice teachers. While there were 402 participants in this study, the viewpoints of these preservice teachers' may or may not be indicative of the entire population of preservice teachers across Australia. This study included primary preservice teachers, so the experiences of secondary and early childhood teachers have not been reported. An extended study would include secondary and early childhood contexts.Practical implicationsThis research highlighted that not all mentor teachers shared the system requirements for literacy teaching with their mentee. This finding prompts a need to undertake further research to investigate the confidence of mentor teachers in their own ability to teach literacy in the primary school. Teaching literacy is complex, and the curriculum is continually evolving. Providing professional learning in teaching literacy will position mentor teachers to better support preservice teachers during professional experience. Ultimately, the goal is to sustain high quality literacy teaching in schools to promote positive outcomes for all Australian school students.Originality/valueWhile the role of mentor teacher is well recognised, there is a dearth of research that explores the mentoring of literacy during professional experience. The preservice teachers in this study self-reported inconsistencies in mentor teachers' attributes and practices for mentoring literacy prompting a need for further professional learning in this vital learning area.

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‘The teacher who helps children learn best’: affect and authority in the traditional primary classroom

Cited by 12 publications

References 23 publications

Compliance through care and commitment: why young people do as adults ask

Compliance through care and commitment: why young people do as adults ask

‘I got rejected’: investigating the status of ‘low-attaining’ children in primary-schooling

Primary preservice teachers' perspectives of their literacy mentoring experiences during professional placement

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