Project Activities
Researchers used a multi-method, multi-informant, sequential-cohort design with 3 time points per cohort: late summer/early fall (Time 1), winter (Time 2), and spring (Time 3). The team gathered data using direct assessments, video observation, and teacher/parent reports. Student/teacher demographics and characteristics were collected at Time 1. Teacher feelings/beliefs, student feelings and learning behaviors, and video data were collected at Times 1 and 2. Statewide student achievement data were provided by schools at Time 3 for the contemporaneous and previous years.
Structured Abstract
Setting
Data were collected from 48 public elementary schools in 11 school districts in Arizona and Delaware. Forty-four teachers and 585 students were from Arizona, and 26 teachers and 311 students were from Delaware. In both states, participating districts spanned rural, urban, and suburban settings, and a wide range of student enrollment rates in a Free and Reduced Meal (FARM) program was observed (schoolwide FARM enrollment rates ranged 6% to 94%). Student racial/ethnic makeup also varied greatly among schools, with schoolwide percentages of students of color ranging from 17% to 96%.
Sample
The sample consisted of 4 sequential cohorts of participants, totaling 101 teachers and 1,258 students. Fifteen teachers and 198 students participated in Cohort 1 (2018/2019), 18 teachers and 245 students participated in Cohort 2 (2019/2020), 30 teachers and 362 students participated in Cohort 3 (2021/2022), and 36 teachers and 451 students participated in Cohort 4 (2022/2023). No cohort participated in the 2020/2021 year as schools nationwide moved to remote instruction.
This project focused on the following malleable factors: teacher emotions and beliefs for mathematics, science, and English language arts (ELA); student emotions and learning behaviors for mathematics, science, and ELA, and teacher instructional practices in mathematics, science, and ELA.
Research design and methods
Researchers used a multimethod, multi-informant, sequential-cohort design with 3 time points per cohort: late summer/early fall (Time 1), winter (Time 2), and spring (Time 3). Data collection involved guardian, teacher, and student surveys, video observations, and school-administered direct assessments of student achievement via standardized statewide tests. Participant demographics, characteristics, and emotions and beliefs were reported via surveys at Time 1. The research team collected video recordings of classroom mathematics, science, and ELA lessons at Time 2 Teachers and students reported their emotions, and students reported their learning behaviors in, mathematics, science, and ELA at Time 2. Schools provided state testing data at Time 3 for the current and previous years. Due to the nationwide cancellation of standardized state tests in the 2019/2020 academic year, these data were not collected for Cohort 2 students.
Control condition
Due to the exploratory nature of the research design, there was no control condition.
Key measures
Student academic achievement in each content area was measured using the AZMerit Statewide Math Test, AIMS Science Statewide Science Test, and AZMerit Statewide English/Language Arts Test. Researchers measured teachers’ content area-specific enjoyment and anxiety using the Teacher Emotions Scale adapted for each content-area, and measured teachers’ content area-specific self-efficacy using the Math and Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument which was adapted for ELA. The research measured students’ content area-specific enjoyment and anxiety using the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire for Elementary Students: Enjoyment and Anxiety subscales which were adapted for math, science and ELA. Researchers measured students’ content area-specific engagement and disaffection will be assessed using the Engagement vs. Disaffection with Learning Scale: Engagement and Disaffection subscales adapted for math, science, and ELA. Teachers’ instructional practices were assessed using the Teacher Intentionality of Practice Scale (TIPS) and Electronic Quality of Inquiry Protocol (EQUIP) observational tools applied to video recordings of classroom instruction in each content area.
Data analytic strategy
The research team used multileveled multiple regression and multileveled path analysis frameworks to examine direct, mediated, and moderated effects of Time 1 teacher feelings/beliefs on Time 2 student emotions and engagement outcomes in multiple papers. Statistical models controlled for the initial measures of the focal student outcome as well as for other relevant covariates including teachers’ years of teaching experience and pre- vs. post-COVID cohort membership.
Key outcomes
The main findings of this exploratory study are as follows:
- Teachers’ internally-experienced and externally-expressed emotions in the content areas they teach associated with their students’ own content-area emotions and engagement. These associations are particularly relevant for students from underserved socioeconomic groups (McLean & Jones, 2025; McLean et al., 2024; McLean et al., 2023).
- Researchers developed a new protocol for the remote collection of classroom video data (McLean et al., 2024b).
Additional outcomes will be reported once they are publicly available.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
SubAwardee(s)
Products and publications
Researchers produced preliminary evidence of potentially promising practices. They shared this evidence in peer-reviewed publications, presentations at school district meetings, postings on their website, and on social media sites focused on early academic, social, and emotional development.
Publications:
McLean, L. & Corbin, C.M. (2025). Associations Among Elementary Teachers’ Burnout and their Lesson Length and Classroom Grouping in Mathematics, Science, and English Language Arts. Teaching and Teacher Education, 156, 104937.
McLean, L. & Jones, N. (2025). Using an Observational Measure of Elementary Teachers’ Emotional Expressions During Mathematics and English Language Arts to Explore Associations with Students’ Content Area Emotions and Engagement. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 80, 102352.
McLean, L., Espinoza, P., Janssen, J., Jimenez, M. & Lindstrom-Johnson, S. (2024). Relations Between Fourth Grade Teachers’ Content-Area Enjoyment and Students’ Engagement in Literacy, Mathematics, and Science. School Psychology. Advance Online Publication.
McLean, L., Espinoza, P., Tilley, K., Foote, L., Jones, N., & Kelcey, B. (2024b). Expanding Education Researchers’ Access to Video Observation Data with a Remote and Cost-Effective Video Data Collection Protocol. Prevention Science. Pg. 1-10.
McLean, L., Bryce, C., & Johnson, B. (2023). Describing Teachers’ Well-Being Prior to and 18 Months After COVID-19 School Closures, with a Focus on Early-Career Teachers and Teachers of Color. Sage Open, 13(4), 21582440231217872.
McLean, L., Granger, K. L., & Chow, J. C. (2023b). Associations between elementary teachers’ mental health and students’ engagement across content areas. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 75, 102231.
McLean, L., Janssen, J., Espinoza, P., Lindstrom Johnson, S., & Jimenez, M. (2023c). Associations between teacher and student mathematics, science, and literacy anxiety in fourth grade. Journal of Educational Psychology, 115(4), 539.
Available data:
It is expected that these data will be made publicly available by July 2026. Until that time, please contact the project PI at lmclean@udel.edu for information about accessing these data.
Additional project information
Previous award details:
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