荷兰教师教育工作者专业标准研究

为了提高教师教育质量和促进教师专业化发展,荷兰经过十多年的努力制定和完善了教师教育工作者的专业标准。该标准的制定以专业能力、专业知识、专业技能、专业态度、专业价值观和专业品质为基本维度,并将“自我评价、专业发展和注册程序”作为标准完善的辅助工具。这一专业标准制定的背景、发展历程、主要内容和功能对我国教师教育工作者专业标准的制定具有一定的借鉴作用。     

中国大陆、香港、美国教师专业伦理比较

教师的专业伦理修养是其专业素养的重要组成部分,重视教师的专业伦理建设是中外教育的共同特征,但是在具体的建设实践中又存在诸多差异。比较国家教委和全国教育工会1997年9月1日颁布的《中小学教师职业道德规范》、香港“教育工作者专业守则筹备委员会”1990年10月公布的《香港教育专业守则》和美国“国家教育协会”1975年颁布的《教育专业伦理规范》三个重要文献,结果显示中国大陆、香港和美国在教师专业伦理在性质、建设主体、功能取向、适用对象、文本格式、内容、可操作性、实施及组织保证八个方面存在差异,这些差异为中国的教师专业伦理建设提供了有益的借鉴。     

美国特殊教育教师任职标准的演变和特点分析

美国特殊儿童委员会于1995年制定的《每个特殊教育工作者必须知道什么:道德、标准和指南》是美国最权威、最具影响力的特殊教育教师任职资格标准。目前该《标准》已有六个版本,其中第五版、第六版修订幅度较大。本文采用文本分析法,对第一、第五和第六版《标准》的结构和内容进行纵向比较,分析美国对特殊教育教师专业化要求的特点与走向,指出:制定标准是引领教师专业化发展的必然举措,要借鉴对特殊教育教师分级要求的制度设计,全面认识特殊教育教师的多样化结构,动态调整特殊教育教师的专业标准。     

中美教师教育技术标准比较研究

为提高我国中小学教育技术能力,2004年12月国家教育部颁布了《中小学教师教育技术能力标准(试行)》,这是我国颁布的第一个中小学教师专业能力标准,是推进我国教育信息化和教师专业发展的一项重要举措。上世纪90年代,国际教育技术协会(ISTE:International Society for Technology in Education)制定了美国国家教育技术标准NETS(National Educational Technology Standards),这是一个在美国和全球都有着广泛影响的标准。两个标准在制定背景、主要内容、内涵、实施等方面都有着异同之处。     

美国在线教师专业发展标准与启示

在线教师专业发展作为一种学习模式,其核心理念是帮助教师学习,特点是突破时空限制,建立最广泛的专业实践共同体。美国在线教师专业发展标准从环境、过程和内容三个方面,为在线教师专业发展项目规划和课程实施评价制定了详细的标准,解读这些标准对我国在线教师专业发展研究具有一定的启示。     

中美教师教育技术标准比较研究

为提高我国中小学教育技术能力，2004年12月国家教育部颁布了《中小学教师教育技术能力标准（试行）》，这是我国颁布的第一个中小学教师专业能力标准，是推进我国教育信息化和教师专业发展的一项重要举措。上世纪90年代，国际教育技术协会（ISTE：International Society for Technologyin Education）制定了美国国家教育技术标准NETS（National Educational Technology Standards），这是一个在美国和全球都有着广泛影响的标准。两个标准在制定背景、主要内容、内涵、实施等方面都有着异同之处。     

教师管理的变革及其实践路径——基于教师专业发展的视角

传统教师管理的科层取向、对立的主客关系以及精确的评价标准成为了教育改革与教师专业发展的束缚。在教师管理的变革过程中,当代教师管理呈现出管理思想人本化、管理主体多元化、管理内容合理化及管理过程公平化的特点。而要探寻当代教师管理的实践路径,需关注以下三个方面：管理思维转向扁平化;实施“服务型”领导模式;建立“发展性”评价机制。     

美国优秀科学教师专业标准:内容、特征及启示

科学教育在国家竞争中的作用得到普遍认可,许多国家在研制科学教师专业标准方面已做出较多探索。分析《美国优秀科学教师专业标准》可以发现,其内容主要包含关注学生发展、强调教师系统性能力的培养、注重教师专业成长的路径支持三个方面,其特征主要体现于三个维度:以学生本位、卓越、公平为原则;以系统性的专业能力为落脚点;以关注教师学习共同体的建设为理念。我国优秀科学教师专业标准的建设需考虑三个关键点:构建凸显教师主体权利的标准研发机制;以学生发展为出发点,充分考虑标准的适切性;以提升教师专业素质为目标,构建科学教师学习共同体。     

国际比较视域下建立数学教师专业标准的构想

教师专业标准是引领教师专业化发展的纲领性文件,体现着一个国家教师教育改革和发展的新动向。通过分析美国、英国、德国和澳大利亚数学教师专业标准,结合我国制定的教师专业标准(试行)版本,对构建我国数学教师专业标准提出了理论框架。该构想从专业知识与认知、专业技能与实践、专业精神与理念三个方面展开,并对其内涵做了阐述。在此基础上,对构建我国数学教师专业标准所涉及的几个焦点问题做了辨析,旨在引起数学教育研究者的思考,起到抛砖引玉的作用。     

美国幼儿园准教师和新教师专业标准述评

美国的教师专业标准和教师资格认证制度建立较早且发展比较完善。在幼儿园教师专业标准的制定与实施方面,美国也走在世界前列。全美幼儿教育协会(NAEYC)制定的《幼儿教育职业准备专业标准》和州际新教师支援与评量协会(InTASC)制定的《新教师许可、评估与发展的模型标准》分别对幼儿园准教师、新教师的专业知识、专业倾向等提出了基本要求。美国的经验值得借鉴。     

The professional developmental needs of higher education-based teacher educators: an international comparative needs analysis

A universal lack of attention to the professional learning needs of teacher educators is the driver for this study, which considers the most effective ways to support the professional learning of higher education-based teacher educators. At a time when many industrialised countries are engaged in systemic educational reform, this study provides an international and comparative needs analysis through a survey of 1158 higher education-based teacher educators in the countries participating in the International Forum for Teacher Educator Development: Belgium, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK. Our results suggest that while teacher educators are only moderately satisfied with their professional development experiences, a strong desire exists for further professional learning. This desire, influenced by their professional context, relates to their current beliefs concerning ‘best practice’ in teacher education, the academic skills required to further their professional careers and knowledge of the curriculum associated with their fields of expertise.     

Teacher educators’ research practices: an explorative study of teacher educators’ perceptions on research

Research conducted by teacher educators is considered important for their professional development, their actual teaching practice and their body of knowledge. However, for many teacher educators in Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) in the Netherlands, research is a new challenge. A survey was conducted among 508 such teacher educators exploring their perceptions towards research. They were questioned about the aims of research within a UAS, their perceived capabilities to conduct research and their need for support. Subsequently, 10 teacher educators were interviewed to elaborate on the findings and to gain further insight. Research is considered vital for their professional development, and their development is seen as an important means to improve the quality of the curriculum for teacher education. Teacher educators emphasise the need for communities of inquiry in which they can collaborate on research, improve their skills, develop a shared language and contribute to the body of knowledge in teacher education.     

Preparing teacher candidates for family–school partnerships

Previous research indicates that, while parent involvement promotes student achievement, how teacher candidates are prepared to establish family–school partnerships (FSP) is not well documented and the roles of teacher educators are often neglected. Explorative studies including curriculum analysis and focus groups of primary and secondary teacher candidates and teacher educators were conducted in three universities, one each in the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA. Data collection was designed to identify opinions towards FSP and perceived preparation for FSP. The programmes showed limited attention to aspects other than communication and FSP was not assessed. The findings indicate training is largely dependent upon the proclivities of individual teacher educators. Although all respondents acknowledged the importance of FSP, respondents of primary education held a more positive attitude towards parents than others. Hardly any differences were found between the views of candidates and educators, regardless of the programme they followed or taught.     

Legitimacy and identity in teacher education: a micro‐political struggle constrained by macro‐political pressures1

To gain a clear sense of teacher educators at work, we need to look closely at the context in which they practice. Any attempt to address the questions of what works and the nature of evidence must be situated in the macro‐political context that constrains the work of teacher educators struggling for legitimacy and identity within both the university and the professional field of teaching. We characterize the macro‐political context as a set of neo‐liberalist forces that works to undermine the central role universities have played in the development of the nation state. As the university's role has become focused on supporting economic development and global competitiveness, this context is at odds with longstanding agendas of professional responsibility and self‐governance in teacher education. In this policy context, we argue that teacher educators need to engage in rigorous practice‐based inquiry that addresses issues of policy and governance, particularly those that tend toward direct government intervention or professional governance.     

Perceptions of identity among Finnish university-based subject teacher educators

The aim of the present study was to explore how Finnish university-based subject teacher educators perceived their professional identity. Several factors related to professional identity were analysed. Subject teacher educators are initially subject teachers who have proceeded to the doctorate level. They form a small academic group within a larger faculty milieu with only partial responsibility for a teacher education programme. The study is based on focus group interviews with 15 subject teacher educators at four of the eight universities that offer teacher education in Finland. The results reveal that these teacher educators have a strong and persistent self-ascribed identity of an educational nature. The close social interplay with other subject teacher educators within the faculty seems to contribute to a confident collective identity. However, the self-identity is not congruent with the other-ascribed identity, which varies depending on the other party’s institutional context. The subject teacher educators examined in this study wished to have research included to a higher extent in their identity as subject teacher educators.     

Teacher educators working on their own professional development: goals,activities and outcomes of a project for the professional development of teacher educators

This article reports on the professional development of teacher educators within the context of a national project, ‘Professional Quality of Teacher Educators,’ where a professional standard and a standards‐based procedure of (self‐)assessment and professional development have been created and effectively implemented. This project offered a unique opportunity to analyze the goals, activities and outcomes of the process of professional development of teacher educators in a situation in which this development is promoted by the professional group as a whole. In our research, we used 25 completed portfolio's made by teacher educators participating in the standards‐based procedure of (self‐)assessment and professional development. We found that teacher educators, participating in this procedure, prefer the development of their knowledge and skills over the development of their attitudes and beliefs. For their professional development, the teacher educators experiment with new activities within the work‐situation and interact with colleagues within their professional community, more than that they study theory or reflect on their work. The participating teacher educators experience a positive impact at the personal level (change in cognition and behavior). More than one‐third of them share outcomes with others. Above, they report a more positive self‐esteem and more enthusiasm for teacher education. This article may motivate other countries or institutions to invest in the professional development of teacher educators. Further research is necessary on the essence of the professional qualities of teacher educators and the relation of their professional development with student learning.     

The emerging professional: an investigation into teacher education students’ developing conceptions of the relationship between theory and classroom practice before,during and after a postgraduate teaching programme

This article brings together two studies which contribute to the examination of the nature of professionalism in education by focusing on the perspectives of two under-researched groups namely ‘teaching assistants’ and teacher educators working ‘either side’ of the school teacher. The projects were conducted in, and framed by, the UK policy context of public sector modernization and cuts, and raise issues of relevance to international debates on notions of professionalism in education in a context of neo-liberal policy and austerity. The studies drew upon different approaches including autoethnography, life history and discourse analysis. The authors examine the formation and representation of professional identity in education through the discourses of ‘professionalism’ of teaching assistants and teacher educators. Professionalism is articulated through three themes in the accounts; ‘non-standard’ professional transformations, role ambiguity, and the role of classroom experience and higher education in the development of professional identities. Through these themes the perspectives of teaching assistants and teacher educators locate the notion of ‘teacher professionalism’ within a broader concept of professionalism in education providing alternatives to the discourse of imposed policy, and the authors reflect upon the ways in which these voices contribute to the wider international debate on professionalism in education.     

Factors affecting the professional characteristics of teacher educators in Israel and in the USA: a comparison of two models

The objective of this research study was to identify the factors affecting the professional characteristics of teacher educators by comparing two models of teacher education. The research findings revealed four major focal points that have an impact on professional characteristics: the operational model adopted by the institution where teacher educators work; the breadth and depth of teacher educators’ research and scholarship and the degree to which such scholarship is required as part of the assessment criteria; the cooperation between the training institution and the practical field (i.e., the schools where the students do their practice teaching); and the informal relationships between teacher educators and their students. The novelty of the study resides in the fact that these points affect teacher educators’ professional characteristics and that focusing on these characteristics facilitates a comprehensive view of methods, tools and directions that may expedite the professional development of teacher educators.     

What and how teacher educators prefer to learn

In which areas and domains do individual teacher educators prefer to work on their professional development? What kind of learning activities do they want to take on and with whom? Are there significant differences in these preferences between teacher educators? This article reports on a recent survey (N = 268) about the professional development of teacher educators and differences in learning preferences between less and more experienced teacher educators and between university-based and school-based teacher educators. Findings show, for example, that while most university-based teacher educators were mainly interested in improving their teaching, less experienced school-based teacher educators were more focussed on aspects such as coaching skills. In this study, ‘learning profiles’ have been developed for four categories of teacher educators. These profiles may help to create more meaningful arrangements for teacher educators’ initial education and further professional development in a context where teacher education is required to have a more school-based as well as a more research-based orientation.