Student perceptions of the classroom environment, student characteristics, and motivation for music lessons at secondary school

The literature suggests that there is often no alignment between student preferences and what and how it is taught in the music classroom. A total of 749 Cypriot secondary school students, aged 12 to 14 years, responded to a survey addressing enjoyment of music, motivation for school music lessons, and perceptions of the music classroom environment. The survey included a questionnaire with six subscales: Involvement, Affiliation, Teacher Support, Task Orientation, Order and Organization, and Rule Clarity. High ratings for Affiliation, Teacher Support, and Rule Clarity suggest that, overall, students’ perceptions of the classroom environment were positive. They were not uniform, but varied on the basis of student characteristics. Girls rated Rule Clarity higher than boys. Younger students tended to rate Task Orientation, Order and Organization, and Rule Clarity higher than older students. Higher-achieving students tended to rate Affiliation and Teacher Support higher. Older boys rated Involvement lower than younger boys, whereas older girls rated Involvement higher than younger girls. It can be inferred that boys experienced a gradual increase in perceived Affiliation as their achievement improved, although the pattern was less consistent for girls. Girls tended to report higher motivation for school music lessons than boys. Motivation was enhanced by classroom environments in which students experienced higher levels of enjoyment of music, engagement, and support from teachers. The findings show that the music classroom environment should be characterized by student engagement, clarity of rules, good organization, clear goals, teacher support, and affiliation between classmates.

Factors Influencing Adolescent Anxiety: The Roles of Mothers, Teachers and Peers

Grounded in social–ecological system theory, the present study tested the mediating effects of maternal psychological flexibility and mother–adolescent attachment on the relationship between maternal adult attachment and adolescent anxiety as well as the moderating effects of teacher support and peer support on the relationship between mother–adolescent attachment and adolescent anxiety. In total, 1139 Chinese mothers and adolescents completed a set of questionnaires, including the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale, Parental Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire, Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. The results revealed that maternal adult attachment had a positive impact on adolescent anxiety. The relationship between maternal adult attachment and adolescent anxiety was chain mediated by maternal psychological flexibility and mother–adolescent attachment. In addition, teacher support and peer support had moderating effects on the relationship between mother–adolescent attachment and adolescent anxiety. These findings support the systematic social ecosystem perspective and highlight the differences in the effects of different maternal adult attachment styles, teacher support, and peer support on adolescent anxiety.

Does Schoolmate and Teacher Support Buffer against the Effect of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Emotional and Behavioural Problems?

This study aims to explore the associations of schoolmate and teacher support with emotional and behavioural problems (EBP) and whether schoolmate and teacher support affects the associations of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and of EBP in adolescence. We obtained data from 5220 students aged from 11 to 15 (48.7% boys), who participated in the Health Behaviour in a School-aged Children study (2018, Slovakia). Using logistic regression adjusted for gender, age and family affluence we assessed the modification of the relations of ACE and EBP by schoolmate and teacher support. Schoolmate and teacher support decreased the probability of EBP (Odds Ratios, 95% confidence intervals: 0.76, 0.74|0.79; and 0.86, 0.83|0.89, respectively). However, we found no statistically significant interactions of schoolmate and teacher support regarding the association of ACE with EBP. Schoolmate and teacher support decreased the likelihood of EBP among adolescents but do not buffer the relation of any previous ACE with EBP.

Connection between Teacher Support and Student’s Achievement: Could Growth Mindset Be the Moderator?

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound effect on the system of education—gaps in students’ learning, their socioemotional and mental health problems and growing inequality have been recorded. These problems confront students from low socioeconomic status (SES) in particular, therefore supportive relationships with teachers are of great importance. The growth mindset, as a student’s belief that he or she can develop his or her capabilities, can help him or her cope with arising difficulties. Based on the first hypothesis, this study sought to establish whether teacher support is positively related to student’s achievement. Our second hypothesis is as follows: a student’s growth mindset moderates the positive effect of teacher support on students’ achievement; this relationship is stronger when the student’s growth mindset is higher. The research sample consisted of 163 students from municipalities of Lithuania that are regarded as socioeconomically disadvantaged. The research results show positive correlations between teacher’ support, student’s growth mindset and achievement. Additionally, the role of student’s growth mindset as a moderator between teacher support and the student’s achievement was established. Statistically significant differences between high-SES and low-SES students when comparing their growth mindsets and achievement prove that it is important to enhance confidence of low-SES students in their capabilities and the potential to develop them.

Support From Parents, Peers, and Teachers Is Differently Associated With Middle School Students’ Well-Being

Parents, peers, and teachers provide a powerful context for school students’ well-being. However, a detailed and systematic analysis of how parental, peer, and teacher support relate to students’ well-being, measured by the dimensions self-worth, psychological and physical well-being, is still missing. To address this research gap, the following study investigates 733 adolescent German students from grades 7 and 8 (Mage = 13.97, SD = 0.41, 52% girls) with respect to their perceived supportive relationships at home and within the school context. The study considers gender, socioeconomic status, and school form as potential confounders. The results of the structural equation model, analyzed with the statistical software R, indicate that perceived teacher support was positively related to students’ self-worth and physical well-being, while peer support was related to psychological well-being. Students who perceived their parents as supportive reported higher well-being with respect to all three dimensions investigated.

‘IT FELT LIKE WE WERE ALL HANGING OUT WHILE TALKING ABOUT TRANSLATION THEORY’: LESSONS LEARNED FROM A FLIPPED TRANSLATION THEORY COURSE IN EMERGENCY REMOTE TEACHING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The role of translation theory in translator education seems to be undergoing a crisis as universities struggle to provide graduates with practical, market-driven skills that will increase their employability. The overnight transition to online delivery in the time of educational disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has only heightened the challenges in making theoretical courses relevant for students. This paper explores the application of the flipped classroom model in a translation theory course on the graduate (MA) level, delivered in the context of emergency remote teaching. The course is described and evaluated with the help of student feedback (N=30) elicited via an online questionnaire. The main source of data are responses to open-ended questions, which are analysed qualitatively. The data are coded for general perceptions of the flipped classroom and its four course components (videos, experimental translation assignments, forum discussion assignments, synchronous Zoom discussions), as well as for perceptions of teacher support. Lessons are drawn for emergency remote teaching but also for future face-to-face teaching of theory-oriented translation courses. Keywords: flipped classroom, teacher support, translation theory, emergency remote teaching, YouTube, Zoom