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Introduction
This paper seeks to examine three topics about the current issues in education concerning the educators perceptions and attitudes towards different teaching approaches, policies, and the training of teachers. The first topic for study is, Teaching linguistically diverse students: a mixed-methods study of the elementary practitioners coursework, attitudes, and practice. The second topic for study is Establishing the teachers understanding of the students knowledge, skills, and traits to educate diverse students. The last topic study is Government policy and collective participation in early educator professional development.
Potential research topics
The first topic for study is, Teaching linguistically diverse students: a mixed-methods study of elementary practitioners coursework, attitudes, and practice . This broad topic seeks to explore teachers attitudes and practices concerning linguistically diverse learners. A lot of literature has been provided for this topic but there are no consistent findings to build on for further research. Therefore, this topic presents an opportunity to conduct further research and identify ways to educate linguistically challenged students. Teachers professional practice differs depending on their understanding of and perceptions concerning assessment and teaching approaches.
Previous literature suggests that teachers professional capacity is interconnected to school, classroom, and government policies (OByrne & Smith, 2015). Besides, their perceptions are influenced by their students needs and performance. A previous study by Li (2013) suggests that the teachers perceptions predict practices, this, in turn, predicts outcomes. This author suggests that teacher-training programs offer insufficient training to teaching learners of linguistically diverse settings. Similarly, despite when or how perceptions are developed, teachers attitudes pose a direct effect on students self-esteem and performance. Thus, increased preparation for teachers is needed, and it should consider the social-cultural view of education (OByrne & Smith, 2015).
The second topic for study is Establishing the teachers understanding of the students knowledge, skills, and traits to educate diverse students . There is still looming controversy regarding pre-service and in-service teacher education as inadequate to prepare teachers to attend to the varying demands of students including those with special needs, those from low-income backgrounds, and English language learners. Teacher educators are facing huge barriers in preparing educators to teach students of diverse backgrounds. These gaps in teacher education have led to an unending debate that forms the basis for further research on this topic.
Even though many teacher educators have proposed various models to equip teacher candidates for diversity, the skills, knowledge, and traits are hard to obtain. In a bid to determine the effectiveness of teacher candidates to teach for diversity, this topic explores how training programs prepare teacher candidates to teach regarding equality and diversity. However, it is hard to come up with a tailor-made approach since each classroom has unique needs.
Teacher candidates should be prepared to possess skills for learning about and reacting to the diverse needs of a classroom. The second proposal to equipping teacher candidates for diversity would be bridging the gap between schools and universities. Faculty perspectives and attitudes on teacher learning for diversity are essential determinants of whether the process is going to be a success (OByrne & Smith, 2015). Most of the faculty members believe that they suffer limited skills and experience with teaching diversities, particularly when dealing with English learners. These insights indicate the need for more research to offer clarity on the necessary approaches needed to facilitate teaching in diverse environments.
The last topic study is Government policy and collective participation in early educator professional growth. This topic forms one of the most debated issues in the field of education today. This topic introduces the issue of collective participation by all stakeholders in achieving teachers professional development. This topic discusses the potential benefits of collaboration and identifies the trends of professional growth for insightful policies. According to Douglass, Carter, Smith, and Killins (2015), collective participation is a rare practice in elementary education but can be optimized via professional development policy considerations.
Real quality growth relies on professional strategies that work. Information and training alone cannot be sufficient in effecting changes in practices. Policymakers and training programs tend to focus on promoting the knowledge base of teachers rather than incorporating teachers points of view and work contexts. Professional training can be more beneficial if teachers are actively involved in the decision-making process. Besides, policies should be flexible enough to allow teachers to devise alternatives when they feel that certain models do not meet the demands of the students. Collective participation may provide benefits such as shared dialogue and planning among stakeholders for initiating new strategies. Besides, it ensures that teachers do not feel constrained by the state policies since they share values and goals towards quality instruction (Renée, 2016).
Key Words
The Keywords used include language , linguistic diversity , teacher education , teachers attitudes , teacher practice , collective participation , state policy , professional learning , and teacher development . A keyword can be defined as a general idea that is estimated from various search queries (Ridley, 2012). A search query may entail the exact word or a combination of multiple words that a user types into the search engine.
Following the high number of research materials available online, it is essential to establish reliable sources for the topic of interest. Furthermore, when researchers use keywords it implies that a certain issue was studied earlier, and since it was published, it is likely to be an important topic that deserves further scrutiny. A database search can be done using Boolean operators to either narrow or widen a certain set of results. The main Boolean operators are AND, OR, and NOT. Boolean operators focus a search on a certain topic coupled with identifying if there are multiple search words. Besides, Boolean operators interlink multiple pieces of information to find a specific topic of interest.
Using AND in search criteria helps narrow the results. For instance, keywords, language AND education AND teachers. This approach helps avoid ambiguity or omission of important reference works. Moreover, a search can be conducted using different but specific terms/phrases to get highly specific results. For example, teacher education AND teachers attitude . In this case, the phrases are well represented in the results within a narrowed topic.
Using OR in a search assists to link two or more common concepts. Essentially, OR enables broaden the results by indicating that any or both of the search terms can be found in the feedback records (Ridley, 2012). However, since not all results from a search are required, the term NOT is used to exclude unwanted words in the results. Such exclusion helps narrow the search by commanding the search engine to ignore terms that may be implied by typed search terms.
Various databases are reliable and help expand ones knowledge in a specific area of study. When writing a literature review it is essential to search what knowledge, arguments, and ideas that have been developed on a certain topic of interest. Some of the reliable sources to search for peer-reviewed journal articles include EBSCOhost, ProQuest, or PubPsych. In a bid to ensure that a literature review is directly linked to the topic of choice, one should search available literature using suitable keywords for the selected topic.
Comparing the filing systems for searches
This section seeks to compare and contrast three search databases that include EBSCOhost, ProQuest, and PubPsych. These three interfaces are similar in many aspects and only differ on aspects such as quantity and quality of search results. The one major distinction between the three interfaces is the number of results provided. For instance, if one was to undertake a search for a peer-reviewed, full-text article for the concept teachers perception in the three interfaces, it is approximated that ProQuest will offer the most results followed by EBSCOhost then PubPsych.
However, in a bid to get the best out of the sheer number of sources available in ProQuest, one has to learn and master how to employ the search options. Even though it is a good idea to familiarize myself with the academic research process, most researchers find it complex and time-consuming to use ProQuest. Alternatively, most researchers prefer EBSCOhost that is user-friendly and sorts the most relevant and current sources. PubPsych is not broadly used since it is limited to sources related to social sciences.
Given the fact that all the three interfaces are critical for the literature review process, it is important for researchers who find barriers using ProQuest to shift to EBSCOhost. EBSCO offers an easy learning time even though taking the time to examine ProQuest might lead to better understanding and credibility. Essentially, all the three search models deserve attention concerning a search for reference material since the knowledge trapped in each will help build the review (Ridley, 2012). Nonetheless, due to flexibility issues among other aspects that will be discussed in the next section, EBSCO is chosen for the review.
EBSCOhost search interface
In a bid to attain a reliable literature review, one should seek the services of EBSCOhost. Researchers in need of wide coverage and access to in-depth full-text materials, EBSCOhost is a truly competitive provider. EBSCOhost offers a user-friendly interface and powerful search site including general and advanced search criteria. EBSCOhost search interface allows the user to incorporate Boolean operators as well as various limiters.
This interface offers access to an incredible amount of literature including general media publications, peer-reviewed journals, e-books, conference proceedings, and monographs. EBSCOhost targets to meet the demands of a diverse range of users. The wide data coverage is backed by credible full-text availability. Most of the licensed databases might not offer full text but they often develop a link to EBSCOhost if the full text is available. As a search interface, EBSCOhost has been developed to cover a wide scope. The elaborate catalog of various fields and major media resources testify to the comprehensiveness of their collection (Ridley, 2012). Moreover, the interface does not need any skills or proficiency to access.
EBSCOhost assists in this type of research in different ways through its rich and diversified collection. This interface offers a wide spectrum of information on multiple researchers across many disciplines and within specified timeframes. The Boolean system is compatible with this interface making it easy for users to interact effectively with major reviewed reference works. However, this site is critical when narrowing the three topics to come up with a common topic of study.
Besides, EBSCOs content is highly recommended and compatible with most state or province-specific learning requirements. During this review, EBSCOhost helps connect the research focus to the context of the broader academic setting in the education field. This interface helps identify the gaps that exist in the field of interest as well as provide recommendations and implications for more research (Ridley, 2012). As the study period gets underway, EBSCOhost offers current, relevant, and peer-reviewed research. EBSCOhost helps researchers manifest their awareness of contemporary issues and demonstrate how their research is relevant within an evolving context.
Conclusion
The task of developing a logical and credible report of literature is complex at times. When handling broader topics, it is common for a researcher to feel overwhelmed by the work at hand given the volumes of reading materials that have to be used. Thus, the researcher should endeavor to reach at the end of the report with a clear recognition of what conspires throughout the review coupled with how it builds to the generation of new knowledge. EBSCOhost offers search fields that are rich in evidence of what other researchers did and what suggestions they gave towards further research. Therefore, it is essential to consider the goals of a review before determining the search methods to employ.
References
Douglass, A., Carter, A., Smith, F., & Killins, S. (2015). Training together: state policy and collective participation in early educator professional development. The New England Journal of Public Policy, 27(1), 1-13. Web.
Li, G. (2013). Promoting teachers of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) students as change agents: A cultural approach to professional learning. Theory into Practice, 52(2), 136-143. Web.
OByrne, W., & Smith, S. (2015). Multicultural education and multiliteracies: exploration and exposure of literacy practices with preservice teachers. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 31(2), 168-184. Web.
Renée, G. (2016). Educating linguistically diverse students: a mixed methods study of elementary teachers coursework, attitudes, and practice. Current Issues in Education, 19(1), 1-27. Web.
Ridley, D. (2012). The literature review: a step-by-step guide for students. London, UK: Sage Publications. Web.
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