Abstracts - Earli

The effect of schools on the motivation toward learning tasks and the academic self-concept:A multivariate multilevel latent growth curve modelEva Van de gaer, Catholic University of Leuven, BelgiumBieke De Fraine, Catholic University of Leuven, BelgiumHeidi Pustjens, Catholic University of Leuven, BelgiumJan Van Damme, Catholic University of Leuven, BelgiumAgnes De Munter, Catholic University of Leuven, BelgiumThe main objective of the present study is to gain more insight into the effect of schools on thedevelopment of two non-cognitive student outcomes, namely, the motivation toward learningtasks, and the academic self-concept, and, on the relationship between these two developmentalprocesses. Data were drawn from the LOSO-project and consisted of 2687 students in 50 schoolsthat were tested repeatedly at four different time points during secondary education (Grades 7-12).A multivariate multilevel latent growth curve model was used to analyze the data. This modelestimates quadratic growth trajectories of the two outcomes simultaneously, which has theadvantage of examining the associations between the growth parameters of the outcomes.Moreover, a school-level was included that allows the investigation of the effect of schools on thetwo development processes and on their interrelation.I 1930 August 2007 14:30 - 16:30Room: 0.81 OrtvaySymposiumTeacher learning through coaching and mentoring: Individual andcontextual issuesChair: Fritz C. Staub, University of Fribourg, SwitzerlandOrganiser: Fritz C. Staub, Fribourg, SwitzerlandDiscussant: Frances Rust, New York University, USADiscussant: Sharon Derry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USAGiven the crucial role of education in today’s world and the vast amount of resources itnecessitates (OECD, 2006), the development and research based understanding of effectivelearning environments for teachers to acquire and develop teaching expertise is of pivotalimportance for educational sciences. In an era in which educational reform focuses increasingly onteacher quality it is essential that we can identify and foster the conditions that will optimizeteacher learning. Traditional forms of professional development-such as short-term workshops andtraditional forms of teacher training have increasingly been found to be inadequate for theadvancement of effective and high quality teaching practices (Huberman, 1995; Hiebert, Gallimoreand Stigler, 2002). Current theories of teachers’ professional development draw on socioculturaland cognitive theories of learning (Putnam and Borko, 2000; Lave and Wenger, 1991; Rogoff,1990) to emphasize creating the conditions in schools for teachers to engage in on-going learningand reflection on their practice with the assistance of more knowledgeable ‘others’ (coaches,mentors, and/or other teachers). This symposium brings together research on mentoring andcoaching in pre-service teacher education and professional development from five countries(England, Ireland, the Netherlands, USA, and Switzerland). The goal of the symposium is to– 521 –