Important but challenging: Chinese in-service EFL teachers' research attitudes in a graduate program

In recent decades, the practice of involving teachers in research in degree programs is becoming popular. Yet, little is known about the impact of research experiences on teachers' behavior: whether research experiences change their teaching practices and lead to further research efforts in future careers, especially in the unique social, cultural, and educational culture of China. Thus, this study examines Chinese IETs' (in-service EFL teachers') research attitudes in a graduate program with a reasoned action approach. We used an embedded mixed methods research design to investigate a cohort of 197 IETs who completed the Research Attitudes in Vocational Education Questionnaire (RAVE-Q). The quantitative data validates the survey and shows that, in general, the IETs hold positive attitudes toward research. Next, semi-structured interviews investigating IETs and their advisors' perceptions of teacher research were conducted. The qualitative data shows a variety of research experiences among the IETs. Specifically, this study highlighted some interviewed IETs who had the desire to be reflective about their teaching and to apply research in their practices, nevertheless, the educational contexts made such efforts impossible. Thus, this study questioned the previous assumptions that positive research attitudes lead to corresponding research behaviors. This study offers implications for EFL graduate programs seeking to improve IETs' research attitudes both within and outside China.

Two Years Later: How COVID-19 Has Shaped the Teacher Workforce

The unprecedented challenges of teaching during COVID-19 prompted fears of a mass exodus from the profession. We examine the extent to which these fears were realized using administrative records of Massachusetts teachers between 2015-2016 and 2021-2022. Relative to prepandemic levels, average turnover rates were similar going into the fall of 2020 but increased by 17% (from 15.0% to 17.5%) going into the fall of 2021. The fall 2021 increases were particularly high among newly hired teachers (31% increase) but were lower among Black and Hispanic/Latinx teachers (5% increases among both groups). Gaps in turnover rates between schools serving higher and lower concentrations of economically disadvantaged students narrowed during the first 18 months of the pandemic. The same holds true for gaps in turnover between schools serving higher and lower shares of Black and Hispanic/Latinx students. Together, these findings highlight important differences in teachers' responses to the pandemic across subgroups and the need to improve early-career retention to ensure long-term stability within the teacher workforce.

Teacher Attrition and Mobility in the Pandemic

We contextualize the magnitude of teacher attrition during the pandemic, including from the 2020–2021 school year to the 2021–2022 school year, using longitudinal data on teachers in Washington since the 1984–1985 school year. The teacher attrition rate after the 2020–2021 school year (7.3%) increased by almost one percentage point from the attrition rate after the 2019–2020 school year (6.4%), but these rates are well within the range of turnover rates observed during pre-pandemic years. The increase in turnover during the pandemic was also smaller than pre-pandemic differences in turnover between high- and low-poverty classrooms in the state, and these inequities in turnover between high- and low-poverty classrooms decreased during the pandemic relative to pre-pandemic years.

Teachers' Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

With an emergence of research investigating the educational impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, empirical studies assessing teachers' mental health throughout the pandemic have been scarce. Using a large national data set, the current study compares mental health outcomes during the pandemic between pre-K-12 teachers and professionals in other occupations. Further, we compare the prevalence of mental health outcomes between in-person and remote teachers (N = 134,693). Findings indicate that teachers reported a greater prevalence of anxiety symptoms than did those in other professions and that remote teachers reported significantly higher levels of distress than did those teaching in person. We summarize the policy implications of these results.

The Use of Social Capital in Teacher Research: A Necessary Clarification

In this paper, we present a critical reflection on the concept of social capital. We argue that there is no such idea of an umbrella concept of social capital. Instead, two overarching conceptualizations of social capital exist, namely individual social capital and collective social capital. As these conceptualizations of social capital are completely different, we emphasize that studies using social capital as a theoretical lens should clarify the concept as well as be consistent in the interpretation of the concept, from its definition to its methodological operationalization. In this article, we first map the two different conceptualizations of social capital. Next, these conceptualizations are illustrated with well-known teacher research studies, followed by examples of studies in which individual and collective social capital are mixed. Finally, we discuss the consequences of the use and the mix of these different conceptualizations in terms of measurement methods. Additionally, implications for teacher education are presented.

The Relationships Among Perceived Organization Support, Resilience, Perceived Mattering, Emotional Exhaustion, and Job Satisfaction in Adapted Physical Educators

Although much has been learned about the workplace experiences of physical education teachers, less is known about the unique experiences of adapted physical educators (APEs). Grounded in role socialization theory, the purpose of this study was to understand the relationships among perceived organizational support, resilience, perceived mattering, emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction in APEs. The participants included 237 APEs from the United States, who completed an online survey. The primary data analyses included confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The final structural model was a good fit for the data, χ2(199) = 327.25, p < .001, χ2/df = 1.64; root-mean-square error of approximation = .052 (90% confidence interval [.042, .062], p = .354); standardized root-mean-square residual = .050; nonnormed fit index = .959; comparative-fit index = .964. The results of this study highlight the importance of developing a workplace environment in which APEs feel supported in developing perceptions of matter, reducing emotional exhaustion, and improving job satisfaction.