Michael O'Leary - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Michael O'Leary
Irish Educational Studies, 2013
This paper traces the design, development and trialling of an assessment for learning audit instr... more This paper traces the design, development and trialling of an assessment for learning audit instrument (AfLAi) in use currently in the Republic of Ireland to gauge teachers' baseline understanding of AfL practices and the extent to which AfL is embedded in their teaching. As described in the paper, the AfLAi consists of 58 items distributed across four scales based on the following key AfL strategies: sharing learning intentions and success criteria, questioning and classroom discussion, feedback, and peer-and-self assessment. Preliminary data from the study provide a window into current formative assessment practices in Irish primary schools and teachers' professional needs in AfL.
Irish Educational Studies, 2012
Little attention was paid to professional development of primary teachers in Ireland to support t... more Little attention was paid to professional development of primary teachers in Ireland to support them in teaching physical education (PE) until 2004 when specific support was provided to help them implement the revised Primary Physical Education Curriculum. A significant National In-service Physical Education Programme was undertaken involving the preparation of a cohort of tutors who were to facilitate the programme to all primary teachers. This study focuses on the findings from a study of the effectiveness of the programme from the tutors' and teachers' perspectives beginning with the preparation of the tutors for facilitation of the programme. Elements of good practice emerged that can inform future policy with regard to support of primary teachers teaching PE within the constraints of funding. These include (1) the importance of quality preparation of tutors acknowledging the advantage of technology that may provide a new and cost effective way of supporting them, and (2) retaining the practical exploration of content by both tutors and teachers that prompts reflection on the nature and content of programmes of PE.
Little attention was paid to professional development of primary teachers in Ireland to support t... more Little attention was paid to professional development of primary teachers in Ireland to support them in teaching physical education (PE) until 2004 when specific support was provided to help them implement the revised Primary Physical Education Curriculum. A significant National In-service Physical Education Programme was undertaken involving the preparation of a cohort of tutors who were to facilitate the programme to all primary teachers. This study focuses on the findings from a study of the effectiveness of the programme from the tutors’ and teachers’ perspectives beginning with the preparation of the tutors for facilitation of the programme. Elements of good practice emerged that can inform future policy with regard to support of primary teachers teaching PE within the constraints of funding. These include (1) the importance of quality preparation of tutors acknowledging the advantage of technology that may provide a new and cost effective way of supporting them, and (2) retain...
Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 2020
ABSTRACT The study at the heart of this paper was conducted in 2017 to gather data on Irish post-... more ABSTRACT The study at the heart of this paper was conducted in 2017 to gather data on Irish post-primary teachers’ conceptions of assessment at the time immediately following the introduction of a revised policy for assessment by the Department of Education and Skills (DES). Central to the reform policy was an increased emphasis on formative assessment and a requirement that teachers engage in summative assessment for certification purposes – something that had never applied previously. The paper provides an overview of the literature on teachers’ beliefs, including Brown’s (2004, 2006) Teachers’ Conceptions of Assessment Inventory. Data from an implementation of the inventory with 489 Irish teachers are used to consider how they conceive of assessment, how these conceptions compare and contrast with those held by teachers in other jurisdictions where the instrument has been used and how the data might be used to inform policy change and implementation in Ireland.
European Journal of Education, 2018
The role of digital technology in assessment has received a great deal of attention in recent yea... more The role of digital technology in assessment has received a great deal of attention in recent years. Naturally, technology offers many practical benefits, such as increased efficiency with regard to the design, implementation and scoring of existing assessments. More importantly, it also has the potential to have profound, transformative effects on the field of assessment by facilitating the integration of formative activities with accountability requirements and broadening the range of abilities and the scope of constructs that can be assessed. This article provides an overview of the current state‐of‐the‐art in digital technology‐based assessment, with particular reference to advances in the automated scoring of constructed responses, the assessment of complex 21st century skills in large‐scale assessments and innovations involving high fidelity virtual reality simulations. Key challenges with respect to each are highlighted before the extent to which digital technology is truly transforming assessment is considered.
British Educational Research Journal, 2010
To investigate what keeps teachers motivated on a day-today basis, we traced the importance of ro... more To investigate what keeps teachers motivated on a day-today basis, we traced the importance of routinely encountered affective episodes. Significant research on emotions already highlights the relative importance of positive versus negative episodes, the importance of perceived origins of events and the need to differentiate between the frequency and affective intensity of episodes. Survey reports from 749 recently qualified primary teachers in Ireland strongly suggest the absence of positive experiences undermines commitment and efficacy rather than the occurrence of negative events. Furthermore, while remote structural factors may heavily influence teaching, it is the perception of events at micro-level that impinge most strongly on motivation. Finally, the importance of particular experiences was, crucially, more related to their frequency than intensity. A major implication for teachers' job satisfaction is the suggestion that while adverse episodes may be inevitably experienced, positive events (that occur independently of negative ones) fortify motivation and resilience.
Irish Educational Studies, 2001
Data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) were examined to determin... more Data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) were examined to determine the extent to which the rank ordering of countries based on pupil test performance was consistent across three different item formats: multiple-choice, short-answer, and extended-response. Findings from the analysis are used to make the case that international comparative studies are very complex and that the data they generate cannot be taken at face value but need close examination before firm conclusions can be drawn about a country's relative performance. The focus was the science performance of Irish second year secondary school students (Grade 8) in TIMSS across different item types, comparing this with the performance of similar cohorts in 11 other countries. Irish student performance was close to the international averages for short-answer and multiple-choice items, but performance on extended-response items was significantly above the international average. An examination of the match of these test items to the Irish curriculum was not good, and the Irish curriculum was judged to encourage higher-order thinking less than in other countries. Both of these factors made the good performance on extended-response items surprising. In many respects, these findings confirm the suspicion of W. Cooley and G. Leinhart (1980) that frequent exposure to test format will make a difference in performance. In Ireland there is a tradition of more open-ended essay type tests, and this may account for students' success with extended-response items. These findings also demonstrate the difficulties involved in making international comparisons of academic performance. An appendix contains a table of science averages for TIMSS participants. (Contains 63 references.) (SLD)
The learning portfolio is often lauded as a powerful pedagogical tool, and consequently, is rapid... more The learning portfolio is often lauded as a powerful pedagogical tool, and consequently, is rapidly becoming a central feature of contemporary education. This paper synthesizes and critically reviews the literature pertaining to its use in higher education contexts specifically. Three key themes are identified and discussed. First, although the theory underlying the use of learning portfolios is promising, robust empirical evidence supporting their effectiveness remains sparse. Second, the tool is rooted in a complex pedagogy, and its potential can only be realized if the processes underlying this pedagogy are properly understood by advocates and executed by users. Third, there is a recurring tension between the developmental (process) and evaluative (product) conceptualizations of the learning portfolio. On the basis of these findings, some recommendations for future research and practice in this area are identified. Background and Parameters of this Review The use of portfolios wa...
Journal of Computer Assisted Learning
Artificial Intelligence is at the heart of modern society with computers now capable of making pr... more Artificial Intelligence is at the heart of modern society with computers now capable of making process decisions in many spheres of human activity. In education, there has been intensive growth in systems that make formal and informal learning an anytime, anywhere activity for billions of people through online open educational resources and massive online open courses. Moreover, new developments in Artificial Intelligencerelated educational assessment are attracting increasing interest as means of improving assessment efficacy and validity, with much attention focusing on the analysis of the large volumes of process data being captured from digital assessment contexts. In evaluating the state of play of Artificial Intelligence in formative and summative educational assessment, this paper offers a critical perspective on the two core applications: automated essay scoring systems and computerized adaptive tests, along with the Big Data analysis approaches to machine learning that underpin them.
International Journal of Educational Methodology
Popularity, as a manifestation of social status, has been widely researched and determined by gro... more Popularity, as a manifestation of social status, has been widely researched and determined by group members. Prosocial behaviors are actions with intention of benefiting others or society as whole with little or no personal gain and may include helping, cooperating, and other voluntary works. Altruism is a type of prosocial behavior that could affect individuals' popularity. Altruism has been studied in different disciplines with the general definition of cooperative behavior that has a cost to the actor with a benefit to the receiver. The common theme in all perspectives is that there is an inevitable cost for the actor with a benefit to the receiver. During the current research, surveys and vignettes were used to collect data. Participants were recruited through an online site, and were compensated for their time and participation via payment of money. As a result of the research, it was observed that helpful behaviors were highly related to the items of empathy, likeability, and popularity. Findings suggest that when gratefulness and helpful behaviors are present, individuals are rated higher in several positive qualities. The unique finding of the study is that both gratefulness and altruism are highly effective resources in interpersonal relations. Purpose of the current study is to examine the relationship between altruistic behaviors that are towards friends and popularity by the endorsement of aforementioned hypotheses and theories.
Journal of In-Service Education, 2008
British Educational Research Journal, 2001
The investigation reported in this paper was prompted by discrepancies between the published outc... more The investigation reported in this paper was prompted by discrepancies between the published outcomes from two international tests of science achievement: (1) the Second International Assessment of Educational Progress (IAEP2), administered in 1991; and (2) the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), administered in 1995. One finding was that while average science achievement for Irish 13-year-olds was reported to be at the low end of the distribution for the 20 participating countries in IAEP2, it was around the middle of the distribution for the 40 or so countries that participated in TIMSS in the early grades of secondary schooling. Initial comparisons suggested that there were also inconsistencies in outcomes for some of the 11 other countries that participated in both surveys, such as France, Portugal, and Switzerland. Analyses reveal that when sampling/population definition differences between the two surveys are accounted for, science achievement in Ireland was not at the low level suggested by initial interpretations of IAEP2 data but was closer to the levels reported in TIMSS. While the sampling issue did not fully account for discrepancies with respect to the IAEP2/TIMSS outcomes for some countries, it is argued that the findings outlined in this paper have a number of implications for policymakers using data from future international comparative studies of student achievement. (Contains 2 figures, 6 tables, and 23 references.
education policy analysis …, 2000
Michael O'Leary is a member of the Education Department at St.Patrick's College, Dublin... more Michael O'Leary is a member of the Education Department at St.Patrick's College, Dublin, Ireland. He holds a Ph.D. from Boston College in the area of educational research, measurement and evaluation. He has served as Ireland's representative on the Board of Participating ...
Irish Educational Studies, 2006
This article describes a four-year project undertaken to develop a set of performance tasks that ... more This article describes a four-year project undertaken to develop a set of performance tasks that could be used for assessing hands-on science in Irish primary schools. It begins by considering some of the literature on performance assessment and concludes with a discussion on the potential of the tasks to support teaching and learning in science. The main body of the article is structured to reflect the five phases of the research project itself. In phase one, science assessments used in a variety of educational systems in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States were located and catalogued. In phase two, approximately 170 performance tasks were selected and adapted by the authors to suit the requirements of the Irish primary science curriculum. In phase three, a purposive convenience sample of teachers evaluated the extent to which the tasks (a subset of 67) were suitable for use at different grade levels. The teachers' feedback was used to amend tasks. In phase four, the researchers observed 11 different tasks being implemented in classrooms. The eleven teachers involved were interviewed about their experiences immediately afterwards. Again, based on the outcomes of this study, changes were made to the tasks. The fifth phase of the project, due to be completed in 2006, will involve the dissemination of 124 of the tasks to teachers via a booklet and a CD-ROM. Future prospects relating to other elements of the project such as Web-based resources, professional development courses and exemplars of performance are also discussed.
Teachers and Teaching: …, 2009
This paper seeks to provide a rationale for further researching the everyday events that keep tea... more This paper seeks to provide a rationale for further researching the everyday events that keep teachers motivated or that discourage them. We put forward the idea that routine Affect Triggering Incidents (ATIs) are an important area for researchers to investigate in terms of how they ...
British Educational …, 2010
To investigate what keeps teachers motivated on a day-today basis, we traced the importance of ro... more To investigate what keeps teachers motivated on a day-today basis, we traced the importance of routinely encountered affective episodes. Significant research on emotions already highlights the relative importance of positive versus negative episodes, the importance of perceived origins of events and the need to differentiate between the frequency and affective intensity of episodes. Survey reports from 749 recently qualified primary teachers in Ireland strongly suggest the absence of positive experiences undermines commitment and efficacy rather than the occurrence of negative events. Furthermore, while remote structural factors may heavily influence teaching, it is the perception of events at micro-level that impinge most strongly on motivation. Finally, the importance of particular experiences was, crucially, more related to their frequency than intensity. A major implication for teachers' job satisfaction is the suggestion that while adverse episodes may be inevitably experienced, positive events (that occur independently of negative ones) fortify motivation and resilience.
Irish Educational Studies, 2012
Irish Educational Studies, 2013
This paper traces the design, development and trialling of an assessment for learning audit instr... more This paper traces the design, development and trialling of an assessment for learning audit instrument (AfLAi) in use currently in the Republic of Ireland to gauge teachers' baseline understanding of AfL practices and the extent to which AfL is embedded in their teaching. As described in the paper, the AfLAi consists of 58 items distributed across four scales based on the following key AfL strategies: sharing learning intentions and success criteria, questioning and classroom discussion, feedback, and peer-and-self assessment. Preliminary data from the study provide a window into current formative assessment practices in Irish primary schools and teachers' professional needs in AfL.
Irish Educational Studies, 2012
Little attention was paid to professional development of primary teachers in Ireland to support t... more Little attention was paid to professional development of primary teachers in Ireland to support them in teaching physical education (PE) until 2004 when specific support was provided to help them implement the revised Primary Physical Education Curriculum. A significant National In-service Physical Education Programme was undertaken involving the preparation of a cohort of tutors who were to facilitate the programme to all primary teachers. This study focuses on the findings from a study of the effectiveness of the programme from the tutors' and teachers' perspectives beginning with the preparation of the tutors for facilitation of the programme. Elements of good practice emerged that can inform future policy with regard to support of primary teachers teaching PE within the constraints of funding. These include (1) the importance of quality preparation of tutors acknowledging the advantage of technology that may provide a new and cost effective way of supporting them, and (2) retaining the practical exploration of content by both tutors and teachers that prompts reflection on the nature and content of programmes of PE.
Little attention was paid to professional development of primary teachers in Ireland to support t... more Little attention was paid to professional development of primary teachers in Ireland to support them in teaching physical education (PE) until 2004 when specific support was provided to help them implement the revised Primary Physical Education Curriculum. A significant National In-service Physical Education Programme was undertaken involving the preparation of a cohort of tutors who were to facilitate the programme to all primary teachers. This study focuses on the findings from a study of the effectiveness of the programme from the tutors’ and teachers’ perspectives beginning with the preparation of the tutors for facilitation of the programme. Elements of good practice emerged that can inform future policy with regard to support of primary teachers teaching PE within the constraints of funding. These include (1) the importance of quality preparation of tutors acknowledging the advantage of technology that may provide a new and cost effective way of supporting them, and (2) retain...
Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 2020
ABSTRACT The study at the heart of this paper was conducted in 2017 to gather data on Irish post-... more ABSTRACT The study at the heart of this paper was conducted in 2017 to gather data on Irish post-primary teachers’ conceptions of assessment at the time immediately following the introduction of a revised policy for assessment by the Department of Education and Skills (DES). Central to the reform policy was an increased emphasis on formative assessment and a requirement that teachers engage in summative assessment for certification purposes – something that had never applied previously. The paper provides an overview of the literature on teachers’ beliefs, including Brown’s (2004, 2006) Teachers’ Conceptions of Assessment Inventory. Data from an implementation of the inventory with 489 Irish teachers are used to consider how they conceive of assessment, how these conceptions compare and contrast with those held by teachers in other jurisdictions where the instrument has been used and how the data might be used to inform policy change and implementation in Ireland.
European Journal of Education, 2018
The role of digital technology in assessment has received a great deal of attention in recent yea... more The role of digital technology in assessment has received a great deal of attention in recent years. Naturally, technology offers many practical benefits, such as increased efficiency with regard to the design, implementation and scoring of existing assessments. More importantly, it also has the potential to have profound, transformative effects on the field of assessment by facilitating the integration of formative activities with accountability requirements and broadening the range of abilities and the scope of constructs that can be assessed. This article provides an overview of the current state‐of‐the‐art in digital technology‐based assessment, with particular reference to advances in the automated scoring of constructed responses, the assessment of complex 21st century skills in large‐scale assessments and innovations involving high fidelity virtual reality simulations. Key challenges with respect to each are highlighted before the extent to which digital technology is truly transforming assessment is considered.
British Educational Research Journal, 2010
To investigate what keeps teachers motivated on a day-today basis, we traced the importance of ro... more To investigate what keeps teachers motivated on a day-today basis, we traced the importance of routinely encountered affective episodes. Significant research on emotions already highlights the relative importance of positive versus negative episodes, the importance of perceived origins of events and the need to differentiate between the frequency and affective intensity of episodes. Survey reports from 749 recently qualified primary teachers in Ireland strongly suggest the absence of positive experiences undermines commitment and efficacy rather than the occurrence of negative events. Furthermore, while remote structural factors may heavily influence teaching, it is the perception of events at micro-level that impinge most strongly on motivation. Finally, the importance of particular experiences was, crucially, more related to their frequency than intensity. A major implication for teachers' job satisfaction is the suggestion that while adverse episodes may be inevitably experienced, positive events (that occur independently of negative ones) fortify motivation and resilience.
Irish Educational Studies, 2001
Data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) were examined to determin... more Data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) were examined to determine the extent to which the rank ordering of countries based on pupil test performance was consistent across three different item formats: multiple-choice, short-answer, and extended-response. Findings from the analysis are used to make the case that international comparative studies are very complex and that the data they generate cannot be taken at face value but need close examination before firm conclusions can be drawn about a country's relative performance. The focus was the science performance of Irish second year secondary school students (Grade 8) in TIMSS across different item types, comparing this with the performance of similar cohorts in 11 other countries. Irish student performance was close to the international averages for short-answer and multiple-choice items, but performance on extended-response items was significantly above the international average. An examination of the match of these test items to the Irish curriculum was not good, and the Irish curriculum was judged to encourage higher-order thinking less than in other countries. Both of these factors made the good performance on extended-response items surprising. In many respects, these findings confirm the suspicion of W. Cooley and G. Leinhart (1980) that frequent exposure to test format will make a difference in performance. In Ireland there is a tradition of more open-ended essay type tests, and this may account for students' success with extended-response items. These findings also demonstrate the difficulties involved in making international comparisons of academic performance. An appendix contains a table of science averages for TIMSS participants. (Contains 63 references.) (SLD)
The learning portfolio is often lauded as a powerful pedagogical tool, and consequently, is rapid... more The learning portfolio is often lauded as a powerful pedagogical tool, and consequently, is rapidly becoming a central feature of contemporary education. This paper synthesizes and critically reviews the literature pertaining to its use in higher education contexts specifically. Three key themes are identified and discussed. First, although the theory underlying the use of learning portfolios is promising, robust empirical evidence supporting their effectiveness remains sparse. Second, the tool is rooted in a complex pedagogy, and its potential can only be realized if the processes underlying this pedagogy are properly understood by advocates and executed by users. Third, there is a recurring tension between the developmental (process) and evaluative (product) conceptualizations of the learning portfolio. On the basis of these findings, some recommendations for future research and practice in this area are identified. Background and Parameters of this Review The use of portfolios wa...
Journal of Computer Assisted Learning
Artificial Intelligence is at the heart of modern society with computers now capable of making pr... more Artificial Intelligence is at the heart of modern society with computers now capable of making process decisions in many spheres of human activity. In education, there has been intensive growth in systems that make formal and informal learning an anytime, anywhere activity for billions of people through online open educational resources and massive online open courses. Moreover, new developments in Artificial Intelligencerelated educational assessment are attracting increasing interest as means of improving assessment efficacy and validity, with much attention focusing on the analysis of the large volumes of process data being captured from digital assessment contexts. In evaluating the state of play of Artificial Intelligence in formative and summative educational assessment, this paper offers a critical perspective on the two core applications: automated essay scoring systems and computerized adaptive tests, along with the Big Data analysis approaches to machine learning that underpin them.
International Journal of Educational Methodology
Popularity, as a manifestation of social status, has been widely researched and determined by gro... more Popularity, as a manifestation of social status, has been widely researched and determined by group members. Prosocial behaviors are actions with intention of benefiting others or society as whole with little or no personal gain and may include helping, cooperating, and other voluntary works. Altruism is a type of prosocial behavior that could affect individuals' popularity. Altruism has been studied in different disciplines with the general definition of cooperative behavior that has a cost to the actor with a benefit to the receiver. The common theme in all perspectives is that there is an inevitable cost for the actor with a benefit to the receiver. During the current research, surveys and vignettes were used to collect data. Participants were recruited through an online site, and were compensated for their time and participation via payment of money. As a result of the research, it was observed that helpful behaviors were highly related to the items of empathy, likeability, and popularity. Findings suggest that when gratefulness and helpful behaviors are present, individuals are rated higher in several positive qualities. The unique finding of the study is that both gratefulness and altruism are highly effective resources in interpersonal relations. Purpose of the current study is to examine the relationship between altruistic behaviors that are towards friends and popularity by the endorsement of aforementioned hypotheses and theories.
Journal of In-Service Education, 2008
British Educational Research Journal, 2001
The investigation reported in this paper was prompted by discrepancies between the published outc... more The investigation reported in this paper was prompted by discrepancies between the published outcomes from two international tests of science achievement: (1) the Second International Assessment of Educational Progress (IAEP2), administered in 1991; and (2) the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), administered in 1995. One finding was that while average science achievement for Irish 13-year-olds was reported to be at the low end of the distribution for the 20 participating countries in IAEP2, it was around the middle of the distribution for the 40 or so countries that participated in TIMSS in the early grades of secondary schooling. Initial comparisons suggested that there were also inconsistencies in outcomes for some of the 11 other countries that participated in both surveys, such as France, Portugal, and Switzerland. Analyses reveal that when sampling/population definition differences between the two surveys are accounted for, science achievement in Ireland was not at the low level suggested by initial interpretations of IAEP2 data but was closer to the levels reported in TIMSS. While the sampling issue did not fully account for discrepancies with respect to the IAEP2/TIMSS outcomes for some countries, it is argued that the findings outlined in this paper have a number of implications for policymakers using data from future international comparative studies of student achievement. (Contains 2 figures, 6 tables, and 23 references.
education policy analysis …, 2000
Michael O'Leary is a member of the Education Department at St.Patrick's College, Dublin... more Michael O'Leary is a member of the Education Department at St.Patrick's College, Dublin, Ireland. He holds a Ph.D. from Boston College in the area of educational research, measurement and evaluation. He has served as Ireland's representative on the Board of Participating ...
Irish Educational Studies, 2006
This article describes a four-year project undertaken to develop a set of performance tasks that ... more This article describes a four-year project undertaken to develop a set of performance tasks that could be used for assessing hands-on science in Irish primary schools. It begins by considering some of the literature on performance assessment and concludes with a discussion on the potential of the tasks to support teaching and learning in science. The main body of the article is structured to reflect the five phases of the research project itself. In phase one, science assessments used in a variety of educational systems in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States were located and catalogued. In phase two, approximately 170 performance tasks were selected and adapted by the authors to suit the requirements of the Irish primary science curriculum. In phase three, a purposive convenience sample of teachers evaluated the extent to which the tasks (a subset of 67) were suitable for use at different grade levels. The teachers' feedback was used to amend tasks. In phase four, the researchers observed 11 different tasks being implemented in classrooms. The eleven teachers involved were interviewed about their experiences immediately afterwards. Again, based on the outcomes of this study, changes were made to the tasks. The fifth phase of the project, due to be completed in 2006, will involve the dissemination of 124 of the tasks to teachers via a booklet and a CD-ROM. Future prospects relating to other elements of the project such as Web-based resources, professional development courses and exemplars of performance are also discussed.
Teachers and Teaching: …, 2009
This paper seeks to provide a rationale for further researching the everyday events that keep tea... more This paper seeks to provide a rationale for further researching the everyday events that keep teachers motivated or that discourage them. We put forward the idea that routine Affect Triggering Incidents (ATIs) are an important area for researchers to investigate in terms of how they ...
British Educational …, 2010
To investigate what keeps teachers motivated on a day-today basis, we traced the importance of ro... more To investigate what keeps teachers motivated on a day-today basis, we traced the importance of routinely encountered affective episodes. Significant research on emotions already highlights the relative importance of positive versus negative episodes, the importance of perceived origins of events and the need to differentiate between the frequency and affective intensity of episodes. Survey reports from 749 recently qualified primary teachers in Ireland strongly suggest the absence of positive experiences undermines commitment and efficacy rather than the occurrence of negative events. Furthermore, while remote structural factors may heavily influence teaching, it is the perception of events at micro-level that impinge most strongly on motivation. Finally, the importance of particular experiences was, crucially, more related to their frequency than intensity. A major implication for teachers' job satisfaction is the suggestion that while adverse episodes may be inevitably experienced, positive events (that occur independently of negative ones) fortify motivation and resilience.
Irish Educational Studies, 2012