The Role of Psychological and Developmental Science in Efforts to Improve Teacher Quality

By S. Rimm-Kaufman, B. Hamre. Teachers College Record, 2010

159 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Background Theory, methods, and knowledge gained from years of study in psychological science and human development apply to the understanding and improvement of teacher quality and, ultimately, student achievement and social and emotional outcomes. With these applications, educational research has stronger potential to make more effective and systematic contributions to the improvement of teaching in American schools. This potential can be realized by linking the scientific study of psychology and teachers’ development (social, relational, psychological, and cognitive) to teachers’ classroom behaviors (the mechanisms and processes underlying quality) and student achievement of educational and social and emotional objectives (the outputs of quality). New funds of knowledge in developmental and psychological science can serve as a basis for future research on inputs into teacher quality. Purpose The present article advances an interdisciplinary perspective on the factors influencing teacher quality, specifically defined as teachers’ practices and their interactions with students that can be shown to relate to student achievement. The article (1) offers a view of teacher quality focused on teacher–child interactions that serve as explanatory mechanisms in predicting children's achievement; (2) introduces key principles of human adult development that offer insights to link developmental research on teachers to teacher quality and, ultimately, to student achievement and social and emotional outcomes; and (3) discusses two bodies of research from psychological science that illustrate the ways in which psychological principles and an overarching view of teachers as developing people may contribute to current debates about teacher quality. Research Design The article synthesizes research from the fields of education and psychology. Conclusions The article closes with recommendations for basic, developmentally oriented research on teacher quality and student achievement.

Subfields: Clinical Psychology, Education

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/ef8a2362188a0944f91fedd7d77a6a9929aaf230

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In Clinical Psychology

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Citations in the corpus

Preschool Teachers’ Emotional Exhaustion in Relation to Classroom Instruction and Teacher-child Interactions (2020, background): “Scholars argue that teachers’ classroom practices are influenced by the interplay of teachers’ professional experiences and their emotional well-being (Rimm-Kaufman & Hamre, 2010), particularly in the context of classrooms with greater demands.”
Teachers’ Social–Emotional Capacity: Factors Associated With Teachers’ Responsiveness and Professional Commitment (2016, methodology): “We first reviewed conceptual papers and published meta-analyses that generally discussed the role of teachers’ social and emotional well-being in school settings (Jennings & Greenberg, 2009; Montgomery & Rupp, 2005; Rimm-Kaufman & Hamre, 2010; Sutton & Wheatley, 2003).”
Teacher Personality and Teacher Effectiveness in Secondary School: Personality Predicts Teacher Support and Student Self-Efficacy but Not Academic Achievement (2017, background): “…as individual differences in student non-cognitive characteristics are important predictors of student outcomes (Heckman & Kautz, 2012; Richardson, Abraham, & Bond,, 2012), individual differences in teacher non-cognitive characteristics may also be important predictors (Rimm-Kaufman & Hamre, 2010).”
Early Childhood Teachers’ Psychological Well-Being: Exploring Potential Predictors of Depression, Stress, and Emotional Exhaustion (2018, background): “Rimm-Kaufman and Hamre (2010) argued that the quality of teachers’ interaction with children is influenced by the interplay between teachers’ professional experience and psychological attributes.”
Advancements in the Landscape of Social and Emotional Learning and Emerging Topics on the Horizon (2019, background): “…tells us that teachers who have knowledge about child and adolescent development are better able to design and carry out learning experiences in ways that support student social, emotional, and academic competence and enhance student outcomes (Hamre & Pianta, 2010; Rimm-Kaufman & Hamre, 2010).”
Measuring Teacher Engagement: Development of the Engaged Teachers Scale (ETS) (2013, background): “…theme of recent educational debate in public and research circles is the critical importance of providing all students with access to teachers who are highly engaged in their work (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2012; Pianta, Hamre, & Allen, 2012; Rimm-Kaufman & Hamre, 2010; Staiger & Rockoff, 2010).”