title: Understanding the emotional environment of the classroom

authors: Harvey, Shane Trevor

abstract: Gottman's work on "meta-emotion" reveals the impact of parents' emotional interactions on their children's emotional development; however there has been no analysis of comparable teacher influences on children in school settings. This research was an attempt to understand how emotion-related variables influence classroom atmosphere and pupils' emotional competence. Several studies were conducted in this research project. The first part of the thesis involved two studies. First, teachers identified by reputation as having an emotionally sensitive and calming teaching style were asked in focus groups to explain the methods they used to ensure that children developed emotionally as well as educationally. Second, students whose emotional and behavioural difficulties had improved dramatically from one year to the next were asked to provide attributions for the change. Transcripts were analysed using content analysis and nonparametric grouping procedures to extract the predominant themes. These were subsequently organised into a descriptive model that represented the classroom emotional environment. 
The second part of this project involved three studies. First, teacher questionnaires for primary, secondary, and student teachers were designed to assess the qualities of the emotional environment. The Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT, Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2002) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI, Derogatis, 1993) were administered concurrently to teachers for discriminative validation purposes. Second, two separate questionnaires on the classroom emotional environment for (i) primary and (ii) secondary school students were constructed. Students were asked to concurrently complete the student questionnaire on the classroom emotional environment, the Bar-On Emotional Intelligence Test for Youth (EQ-i:YV, Bar-On & Parker, 2000), and the Emotion Regulation Scales for Youth (ERS-Y, Kovacs, unpublished test). These questionnaires were structurally analysed and the relationships between the emotional environment, emotional intelligence, and emotion regulation were explored and discussed. 
Findings from these series of studies are as follows. First, based on the focus group studies, five superordinate dimensions were found to contribute to the classroom emotional environment. The five-dimensional model consists of emotional relationship, emotional awareness, emotional intrapersonal beliefs, emotion coaching, and emotional interpersonal guidelines. These dimensions were further sub-divided into secondary categories: Emotional relationships involves rapport between teachers and their students, and students' connectedness with their peers; emotional awareness includes teachers' awareness of emotions-both their own and their pupils'; emotion coaching consists of teachers' emotion regulation and their coaching of students' emotional responses; emotional intrapersonal beliefs involves emotional philosophy, emotional attitude, and emotional acceptance of self and others. Emotional interpersonal guidelines are separated into emotional boundaries and emotional standards. Four exemplars relating to emotional boundaries are boundaries in self, limit setting, expectations, and structure. Likewise, four examples representing emotional standards include fairness, respect, availability, and trust or belief in students. These dimensions exist to varying degrees across four contexts: Personal, teacher-student, student-student, and teacher-class. Not all superordinate dimensions distribute evenly across these four contexts. Factor loadings of the teacher-based questionnaire provided support for these five superordinate dimensions and their respective subcomponents. Second, teachers' emotional intelligence and psychological symptoms were found to be unrelated to the emotional environment. Third, emotion regulation and emotional intelligence as measured by the ERS-Y and the Bar0n EQ-i:YV respectively, were significantly related to the questionnaires on the classroom emotional environment for both primary and secondary students. Fourth, primary school students' data from the Classroom Emotional Environment Questionnaire loaded on positive and negative factors. In contrast, secondary school student data loaded onto five components representing both negative and positive factors and factors indicative of hypothesised model dimensions such as emotional awareness, emotional relationship, and emotional intrapersonal beliefs. 
Various implications emerge as a direct result of this study. First, this study organises groupings of emotional behaviours that occur within the classroom context into a framework. This introduces the possibility of measuring and critiquing the emotional environment of the classroom. Second, understanding the classroom emotional environment may act as an adjunct to successful management of pupils' behaviour. Third, interventions designed to address teachers' skills in developing the emotional environment may promote positive emotional development in children. These results emphasise the complexity of the work teachers perform on a daily basis. To continue teachers' invaluable contribution and commitment to pupils' emotional well being invariably means ensuring that teachers' emotional health and safety are protected and that psycho-education is provided to teachers on skills contributing to healthy classroom emotional atmospheres. These results contribute to a developing field of knowledge in both education and psychology investigating the link between implicit everyday emotional experiences and emotional development in children.

text: Understanding the emotional environment of the classroom Gottman's work on "meta-emotion" reveals the impact of parents' emotional interactions on their children's emotional development; however there has been no analysis of comparable teacher influences on children in school settings. This research was an attempt to understand how emotion-related variables influence classroom atmosphere and pupils' emotional competence. Several studies were conducted in this research project. The first part of the thesis involved two studies. First, teachers identified by reputation as having an emotionally sensitive and calming teaching style were asked in focus groups to explain the methods they used to ensure that children developed emotionally as well as educationally. Second, students whose emotional and behavioural difficulties had improved dramatically from one year to the next were asked to provide attributions for the change. Transcripts were analysed using content analysis and nonparametric grouping procedures to extract the predominant themes. These were subsequently organised into a descriptive model that represented the classroom emotional environment. 
The second part of this project involved three studies. First, teacher questionnaires for primary, secondary, and student teachers were designed to assess the qualities of the emotional environment. The Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT, Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2002) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI, Derogatis, 1993) were administered concurrently to teachers for discriminative validation purposes. Second, two separate questionnaires on the classroom emotional environment for (i) primary and (ii) secondary school students were constructed. Students were asked to concurrently complete the student questionnaire on the classroom emotional environment, the Bar-On Emotional Intelligence Test for Youth (EQ-i:YV, Bar-On & Parker, 2000), and the Emotion Regulation Scales for Youth (ERS-Y, Kovacs, unpublished test). These questionnaires were structurally analysed and the relationships between the emotional environment, emotional intelligence, and emotion regulation were explored and discussed. 
Findings from these series of studies are as follows. First, based on the focus group studies, five superordinate dimensions were found to contribute to the classroom emotional environment. The five-dimensional model consists of emotional relationship, emotional awareness, emotional intrapersonal beliefs, emotion coaching, and emotional interpersonal guidelines. These dimensions were further sub-divided into secondary categories: Emotional relationships involves rapport between teachers and their students, and students' connectedness with their peers; emotional awareness includes teachers' awareness of emotions-both their own and their pupils'; emotion coaching consists of teachers' emotion regulation and their coaching of students' emotional responses; emotional intrapersonal beliefs involves emotional philosophy, emotional attitude, and emotional acceptance of self and others. Emotional interpersonal guidelines are separated into emotional boundaries and emotional standards. Four exemplars relating to emotional boundaries are boundaries in self, limit setting, expectations, and structure. Likewise, four examples representing emotional standards include fairness, respect, availability, and trust or belief in students. These dimensions exist to varying degrees across four contexts: Personal, teacher-student, student-student, and teacher-class. Not all superordinate dimensions distribute evenly across these four contexts. Factor loadings of the teacher-based questionnaire provided support for these five superordinate dimensions and their respective subcomponents. Second, teachers' emotional intelligence and psychological symptoms were found to be unrelated to the emotional environment. Third, emotion regulation and emotional intelligence as measured by the ERS-Y and the Bar0n EQ-i:YV respectively, were significantly related to the questionnaires on the classroom emotional environment for both primary and secondary students. Fourth, primary school students' data from the Classroom Emotional Environment Questionnaire loaded on positive and negative factors. In contrast, secondary school student data loaded onto five components representing both negative and positive factors and factors indicative of hypothesised model dimensions such as emotional awareness, emotional relationship, and emotional intrapersonal beliefs. 
Various implications emerge as a direct result of this study. First, this study organises groupings of emotional behaviours that occur within the classroom context into a framework. This introduces the possibility of measuring and critiquing the emotional environment of the classroom. Second, understanding the classroom emotional environment may act as an adjunct to successful management of pupils' behaviour. Third, interventions designed to address teachers' skills in developing the emotional environment may promote positive emotional development in children. These results emphasise the complexity of the work teachers perform on a daily basis. To continue teachers' invaluable contribution and commitment to pupils' emotional well being invariably means ensuring that teachers' emotional health and safety are protected and that psycho-education is provided to teachers on skills contributing to healthy classroom emotional atmospheres. These results contribute to a developing field of knowledge in both education and psychology investigating the link between implicit everyday emotional experiences and emotional development in children.

year: 2004

title: Review: A new understanding of how temperature affects the catalytic activity of enzymes

authors: Daniel, Roy M.

subjects: enzyme

abstract: The two established thermal properties of enzymes are their activation energy and their thermal stability, but experimental data do not match the expectations of these two properties. The recently proposed Equilibrium Model (EM) provides a quantitative explanation of enzyme thermal behaviour under reaction conditions by introducing an inactive (but not denatured) intermediate in rapid equilibrium with the active form. It was formulated as a mathematical model, and fits the known experimental data. Importantly, the EM gives rise to a number of new insights into the molecular basis of the temperature control of enzymes and their environmental adaptation and evolution, it is consistent with active site properties, and it has fundamental implications for enzyme engineering and other areas of biotechnology.

text: Review: A new understanding of how temperature affects the catalytic activity of enzymes The two established thermal properties of enzymes are their activation energy and their thermal stability, but experimental data do not match the expectations of these two properties. The recently proposed Equilibrium Model (EM) provides a quantitative explanation of enzyme thermal behaviour under reaction conditions by introducing an inactive (but not denatured) intermediate in rapid equilibrium with the active form. It was formulated as a mathematical model, and fits the known experimental data. Importantly, the EM gives rise to a number of new insights into the molecular basis of the temperature control of enzymes and their environmental adaptation and evolution, it is consistent with active site properties, and it has fundamental implications for enzyme engineering and other areas of biotechnology.

year: 2010

title: Beyond ethics to morality: Choices and relationships in bicultural research settings

authors: Furness, Jane Amanda

subjects: Indigenous methodologies

abstract: Knowledge of ourselves as cultural beings, of the values and beliefs of those with whom we work, and of the history of relations among those in our work settings are essential for community and applied social psychologists. In New Zealand, research by non-Maori involving Maori has often mirrored the harmful colonising practices of the nation’s wider history. In response, several frameworks have been developed setting out conditions and guidelines in which non-Maori might conduct research in Maori settings responsibly and usefully. Nevertheless, views differ on the ways, and extent to which, non-Maori might be involved. Most guidelines do not provide answers to ethical nuances that may arise. This article discusses the experiences of a non-Maori community psychologist engaging in research with Maori participants in a bicultural, but predominantly Maori, school-based community education setting. Insight is provided into how kaupapa Maori approaches were applied in research that was valuable to the community.

text: Beyond ethics to morality: Choices and relationships in bicultural research settings Knowledge of ourselves as cultural beings, of the values and beliefs of those with whom we work, and of the history of relations among those in our work settings are essential for community and applied social psychologists. In New Zealand, research by non-Maori involving Maori has often mirrored the harmful colonising practices of the nation’s wider history. In response, several frameworks have been developed setting out conditions and guidelines in which non-Maori might conduct research in Maori settings responsibly and usefully. Nevertheless, views differ on the ways, and extent to which, non-Maori might be involved. Most guidelines do not provide answers to ethical nuances that may arise. This article discusses the experiences of a non-Maori community psychologist engaging in research with Maori participants in a bicultural, but predominantly Maori, school-based community education setting. Insight is provided into how kaupapa Maori approaches were applied in research that was valuable to the community.

year: 2013