Dialogue and reciprocity in an international teaching practicum

Many teacher education institutions across the world are now initiating and supporting international teaching practicums to better prepare their teaching graduates to teach for diversity. Recently, some of these practicums have embedded service-learning structures and discourses to further encourage pre-service teachers (PSTs) to think beyond their self-interests towards larger ethical and educational questions. This paper employs narrative-based inquiry methods to explore the lived experiences of three co-leaders of an international teaching practicum in South Africa for Australian PSTs underpinned by dialogic service-learning principles. Using Bakhtinian dialogic theory, the authors generate alternative interpretations of reflective narratives they have written, in order to examine the concepts of dialogue and reciprocity in their lived experience of this teaching practicum. The authors conclude that reciprocity and dialogue are indeed valuable discourses for critically researching international teaching practicums with service-learning dimensions, but counsel against romanticising either of these.     

Consensus and dissensus in mentor teachers' judgments of readiness to teach

Deciding whether a teacher candidate is ready to teach is a significant judgment about which little is known. In this study, Social Judgment Theory's lens model is used to analyse grade decisions made by 18 primary school mentor teachers who were provided with four vignettes of fictional teacher candidates' practicum performance. Mentor teachers' grade decisions, and their reasoning, showed evidence of some consistency but also significant dissensus. We argue that such dissensus is inevitable in complex social decision-making and therefore needs to be used productively to help make more reliable judgments.     

Leading an international teaching practicum: negotiating tensions in a site of border pedagogy

Across the world, the work of teacher educators in universities is subject to contradictory discourses of, on the one hand, globalisation and standardisation and, on the other, innovation in both teaching and research. This article is a critical account of a particular experience of an Australian teacher educator leading an international teaching practicum in South Africa. The account shows how multifarious tensions play out in the practice of a teacher educator working in transcultural spaces utilising ‘border pedagogy’.     

Developing pre-service teachers' professional knowledge of teaching: The influence of mentoring

This study was situated in a Primary Teacher Education program in the Netherlands. The participants (N=16) comprised four each of: Pre-Service Teachers (PST); Mentor Teachers; School-Based Teacher Educators; and University-Based Teacher Educators. Video-recordings of four mentoring conversations for each PST which transcribed and translated for analysis. A mixed methodology was applied with analysis based on examining mentoring conversations in relation to the MERID-model through turn-taking analysis and Propositional Discourse Analysis. The study illustrates that mentors tend to use a more directive mentoring approach and that they dominate dialogue suggesting that there is aneed for reconsideration of the mentor-PST learning relationship and how it is understood in teacher education.     

Supervising an international teaching practicum: building partnerships in postcolonial contexts

Teaching practicum experiences, including those in international contexts, are based on partnerships between institutions and host schools, and the partnership between the pre-service teacher, the cooperating teacher and the university supervisor. This article explores the relationship between pre-service teachers and cooperating teachers in an international practicum in the Solomon Islands. It considers the way the cooperating teachers were positioned within the partnership, and raises questions about the way the university engages with host schools and teachers in international contexts, particularly in developing countries. Drawing on postcolonial theory, we investigate the complexity and contradictions in relationships between the pre-service teachers and cooperating teachers. We conclude by offering suggestions for valuing the role of cooperating teachers in these contexts.     

Blended teacher professional development: A synthesis of three program evaluations

This study synthesized the findings of three program evaluations of teacher blended professional development programs from the perspective of situated design and implementation, development of community, changes in teacher practice, and impact on students. We found that the blended programs were effective in providing teachers with an opportunity for learning on the job and collaborating with other teachers, and they influenced teacher classroom practice moderately and affected student learning to a limited extent. Our study supports the contention that blended learning is a viable model for teacher professional development.     

Teacher agency and professional learning in cross-cultural teaching contexts: Accounts of Chinese teachers from international schools in Hong Kong

This study examined how teacher agency shaped professional learning in cross-cultural teaching contexts. Interviews with 14 Chinese language teachers showed that teacher agency varied in different dimensions of professional learning. Social suggestions, power relations, teachers' professional and social positioning and the imposed identity and social roles in the school contexts interacted to shape teacher agency. The findings suggest both creating school cultures and structures that value and share diverse discursive and pedagogical practices and managing teachers' professional identity and self-positioning to enhance teachers' agency to engage in mutual learning and remaking of their work practices.     

Out of the book and into the classroom: The experiences of Korean social studies pre-service teachers in an international teaching practicum in the United States

Despite the growing interest and importance of pre-service teachers’ cross-cultural experiences, a review of the literature shows that few studies have discussed the international teaching practicum experiences of pre-service teachers from Asian countries. Bridging this gap, this qualitative case study examined the perceptions and experiences of 15 Korean social studies pre-service teachers who participated in an international teaching practicum in the United States. The findings of the study demonstrated that although participants encountered difficulties in speaking a foreign language and adjusting to a different culture, they also gained confidence and self-efficacy by negotiating and actively participating in the teaching and learning process. This international teaching practicum also helped participants promote their own understanding of multiculturalism and their different perspectives of the teachers’ roles, teaching pedagogies, and local education systems. This study offers implications for future multicultural professional development in teacher education and contributes to developing a body of research and scholarship on international teaching practicums from Asian contexts that have, to date, been largely underexplored.     

Forming a change environment to encourage professional development through a teacher study group

This study is grounded in the context of English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) teacher education in Taiwan and aims to promote the potential of teacher study groups. The Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth provides a framework to design this teacher study group and to analyze the learning process as experienced by the participating teachers within the collaborative inquiry. The study illustrates the group's learning process by characterizing the major patterns of the teachers' changes in beliefs and practices. The results support the claim that the design of the teacher study groups plays a major role in shaping various sequences of teacher change.     

Understanding legitimate teacher authority in a cross-cultural teaching context: pre-service Chinese language teachers undertaking teaching practicum in international schools in Hong Kong

Legitimate teacher authority is fundamental to effective teaching, but is often a thorny issue that teachers need to grapple with when teaching in cross-cultural teaching contexts. By interviewing 18 pre-service Chinese language teachers on their understanding of legitimate teacher authority throughout teaching practicum at international schools in Hong Kong, this study revealed that the teachers changed their perception about the essentiality and the nature of the pedagogical and interpersonal components of legitimate teacher authority. They developed a more nuanced and balanced understanding about legitimate teacher authority over time. However, their abilities in reaching the balance were constrained by their cultural knowledge and skills in achieving positive interpersonal dynamics when implementing student-centred pedagogies.     

A comparative study: English and Turkish teachers' conceptions of their professional responsibility

This paper discusses some of the findings pertaining to how teachers see their work, produced by a comparative study of 120 English and 120 Turkish primary school teachers. The sample was drawn from schools in four different types of matched catchment areas—rural, inner city, suburban and affluent suburban—in Leicestershire. England, and in Erzurum, Turkey. Four major dimensions of difference between the two national contexts are identified in terms of the range of professional activities undertaken, the ambiguity of relative importance to teachers of the process as against the products of learning. Against a background of contemporary policy changes which seem likely to effect different teaching and learning activities in the two countries, the paper argues that attempts to change teachers' practice without due regard to those conceptions of professional responsibility which are deeply rooted in particular national traditions, as well as more general classroom realities, will result in a lowering of morale and decreased effectiveness.     

Affordances of video-based professional development for supporting physics teachers' judgments about evidence of student thinking

This study explores the affordances of a video-based professional development workshop for supporting physics teachers' content-specific judgments about evidence of student thinking. We rated both the quality of teachers' discussions and the judgments that resulted as they discussed video clips highlighting student thinking. We found that teachers' judgments were related to the quality of their discussions. Quantitative and qualitative analyses suggest that elaborated focus questions and interactions with colleagues may support teachers with relatively little physics teaching experience in using their collective wisdom to engage in a situation-specific skill necessary for responsive teaching.     

Uncovering a hidden professional agenda for teacher educators: A mixed method study on Flemish teacher educators and their professional development

Taking into account the pressing need to understand more about what teacher educators’ professional development characterises, this article adopts a mixed method approach to explore Flemish (Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) teacher educators’ professional development needs and opportunities. Analysis results of a large-scale survey study with 611 teacher educators and analysis of five qualitative focus groups (with 24 teacher educators) are presented. The results confirm the lack of attention for teacher educators’ professional development in the Flemish teacher education system. Moreover, the findings indicate a structural need for participation in professional development activities that are linked to teacher educators’ own practices, organised as long-term sustainable professional development trajectories, and formally recognised. To conclude, a professional development agenda for research, policy and practices related to teacher educators’ professional development is discussed.     

Exploring prospective teachers' critical thinking: Case-based pedagogy and the standards of professional practice

This qualitative constructivist research study employed a unique professional case-based pedagogy to investigate how concurrent Education undergraduate students made sense of the complex dilemmas inherent in the cases and in particular, the factors that influenced their critical thinking processes. The paper identifies three core categories that emerged in participants' critical reflections. Further, it discusses the process of participant engagement as they reflected upon the complexities of each case to arrive at new levels of awareness regarding their professional conduct, responsibilities, and behaviour in view of the Standards of Professional Practice. Last, it elaborates upon the progression of participants' thinking processes via this multi-modal approach.     

Creating foundations for collaboration in schools: Utilizing professional learning communities to support teacher candidate learning and visions of teaching

Despite widespread acknowledgment of the power of professional collaboration, the norm in most schools is teachers working in isolation. Our study examined the impact of multiple layers of professional collaboration intentionally integrated into a one-year preservice teacher education program working in two elementary schools. Analysis of 23 teacher candidates' written reflections, focus group interviews, and classroom observations indicated that supported by collaboration with colleagues, they developed the skills and commitment to teach each student for understanding. Based on our research, we propose a shift in teacher education toward collaborative inquiry about teaching and learning within school/university partnerships.     

Australian academics and transnational teaching: an exploratory study of their preparedness and experiences

Australia is now the third largest provider of education to overseas students. Between 1994 and 2000 the number of overseas students taught by Australian universities increased by 150% to 107,622. It is estimated that 41% of the recent growth in international education has been in offshore enrolments, with each of Australia’s 38 universities now providing offshore education. This paper reviews recent Australian literature on transnational teaching and presents an overview of a study with academics who teach transnationally and who are drawn from nine Australian universities. The study covers the professional development and teaching experiences of these academics and their perceptions of the induction/orientation and ongoing professional development needed to support the delivery of quality trans‐cultural education offshore.     

Supporting inclusive practicum experiences for international students across the social sciences: building industry capacity

Practicum experiences are critical learning environments for developing requisite skills, knowledge, behaviours and attitudes across the professions. Evidence suggests that international students in professional social and behavioural science programs struggle across a number of dimensions while on practicum. Key issues for these students coalesce around English language competency and cultural competency in the workplace. Research evidence likewise suggests that workplaces generally struggle to provide culturally inclusive practicum experiences for international students. This difficulty is evident at the level of individual supervisors, as well as at the level of schools and host organisations. This article reports on the capacity of host organisations to offer inclusive practicum experience for international students across professional programs in the social and behavioural sciences. The article reviews the literature in relation to the needs of international students and factors supporting inclusive practicum experiences, before outlining the method and findings of a needs analysis undertaken as part of a research project conducted in south-east Queensland, Australia. Suggestions are provided about how the capacity of host organisations can be developed to offer quality practicum experiences for international students.     

Self-directed professional development to improve effective teaching: Key points for a model

The purpose is identifying the conditions and tools that ensure an articulation between the two processes that mediate self-directed professional development (SD-PD). We accompanied a physical sciences teacher who was interested in improving the quality of her teaching practices in the classroom. Over a ten-year period, we gathered data from her career and from three action-research cycles. The results show that SD-PD has an impact on the quality of teaching practices when it is based on tools and used as a focus for teaching practices. Furthermore, the richer the linkage between the two processes is, the more effective SD-PD is.     

职前英语教师教育实习期身份建构叙事探究

本文采用叙事探究方法,以一名职前英语教师为研究对象,探索其实习期身份建构及其影响因素。研究表明,该教师在实习期建构了批改工具、良师益友、学习者、多面手及教师预备兵等多重身份。影响其身份发展的个人因素主要包括个人过往学习经历、反思能力和情感,社会因素主要为重要他者和学校文化。本研究对推动职前教师积极身份建构和职前教师教育具有重要意义。     

Learning for professional life: Student teachers' and graduated teachers' views of learning,responsibility and collaboration

The focus of this study is on how final-semester students and newly-graduated teachers experience the formal objectives of teacher education, with a particular view of the concepts of learning, responsibility and collaboration. The ways of experiencing these concepts varied from conceptions in which only one dimension is discerned from in the student teachers group to conceptions in which several dimensions of the phenomena are discerned in the graduate teachers group.