Payback time? Discourses of lack,debt and the moral regulation of teacher education

This paper analyses recent policy and discourse in the UK lifelong learning sector to identify a tension in discourse which positions teacher educators as essential to the knowledge economy while simultaneously insisting on the deficits they represent. Drawing on critical analyses from Friedrich Nietzsche, Maurizio Lazzarato and Gilles Deleuze, I challenge altruistic views of professional motivation and situate individual professionalism under a construction of an indebted subject. Examining recent attempts to redefine professional standards in the sector, I argue that teachers are positioned as subject to homogenisation and ethically indebted to a higher ideal. Ethical commitments to adult learning, I suggest, are a cost-effective instrument of social control because of their imbrication in this discourse of irredeemable moral debt to the sector. Responses to this situation, I argue, are likely to include forms of professional mobility which undermine it.     

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.     

Preservice teacher perceptions of preparedness for teaching: Insights from survey research exploring the links between teacher professional standards and agency

In this article we explore the use of teacher professional standards in an initial teacher education programme and preservice teacher perceptions of their preparedness for teaching using a survey of 54 first- and second-year preservice teachers in a graduate-entry programme. The survey asked the preservice teachers to respond to 16 questions based on professional standards as well as their knowledge of student learning, professional identity and teaching as a career path. The preservice teachers’ responses were analysed using a mixed methods approach that relied on quantitative methods, but was supplemented by qualitative analysis of short-answer responses. Our analyses hypothesised about possible links between the preservice teachers’ responses and the extent to which they perceived they were classroom and career ready. The themes of teachers, teaching and student learning are used to present and discuss the results, while the notion of agency as achievement is used to deepen possible understanding about their meaning and implications. We conclude that the preservice teachers appeared to benefit from learning about professional standards throughout their programme but appeared to lack confidence in: engaging professionally with others such as parents/carers; setting objectives for all students with different backgrounds; and implementing lesson sequences that engage students and promote learning. Most doubted teaching as their future career. Finally, we discuss implications for: adopting standards-integrated initial teacher education programme approaches; preservice and early-career teacher professional learning needs; and future research opportunities, which include using innovative methodologies and conceptual frameworks.     

Program portfolios: documenting teachers’ growth in reflection‐based inquiry

Meeting the challenge of program accountability is a goal for teacher education programs across the USA. In this context, achieving effective assessment practices that provide concrete evidence of program participants’ knowledge and skills has become both an increasingly significant issue and a challenge to teacher education programs seeking to document the attainment of their program learning outcomes. This qualitative study examined the portfolio reflections of 51 teachers enrolled in an advanced master’s degree program whose learning outcomes are aligned with the core propositions of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Using the four levels of reflection and a fifth level that emerged from data analysis, we examined the levels of development and change in teachers’ reflections across the program. This analysis helped the researchers to determine to what degree teachers developed a reflection‐based inquiry stance in their classrooms during the program. The study contributes new findings to the body of literature on the role and function of portfolios in teacher education programs seeking to document teachers’ understanding and application of specific program goals and professional standards as a result of professional development coursework. As an authentic assessment tool, portfolio data (i.e., evidence such as the reflections contained therein) can provide an important lens for capturing teachers’ approach to teaching and learning and provides insight into the complexity of professional development for practicing teachers.     

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.     

论高校特殊教育专业教师的素养

教师是专业性职业之一,教师的专业素养直接影响到教育的质量。我国已经出台了针对小学、中学和幼儿园教师的《专业标准》,但还没有专门针对高等院校教师的专业标准。论文在分析特殊教育教师专业素养重要性基础上,借鉴《专业标准》构建理念,提出了高等院校从事特殊教育师资培养的专业教师应该具备良好特殊教育专业伦理及师德、特殊教育专业知识和特殊教育专业能力三个方面的素养,并对其内容构成和关系进行了梳理。     

Teacher preparation to proficiency and beyond: exploring the landscape

Concerns around the provision and retention of quality teachers are global. Amongst these concerns are the preparedness of graduate teachers and the quality and nature of teacher education. The purpose of the article is to focus questions of teacher preparedness and education within a wider discussion around the professional life-cycle of teachers. Initial teacher education is viewed as the first phase of the professional life-cycle of a teacher; part of a professional continuum of learning and expertise, rather than a distinct preparatory phase. We do not present a detailed model for this continuum; believing there is still significant work to be done on defining and delineating the levels of expertise. Such work is beyond the scope of this paper. We do provide a starting point for further consideration. Further, we suggest a scaffolded transition, determined by the learning needs of teachers, between initial teacher education and induction, moving to in-service learning, with closer connections between providers and schools to mitigate against a disconnect between these phases of development. The potential role of professional standards in supporting teacher learning across the professional life-cycle is also discussed.     

The ongoing development of an effective model of action learning for use by the busy GP veterinary surgeon

I passionately believe that reflective practice is an essential competency for the busy GP veterinary surgeon to develop throughout their career. Action learning sets would appear to offer a way of promoting this while at the same time helping the GP veterinary surgeon find a way forward with professional issues. In this article I reflect on my own action learning journey to date and how it relates to the ongoing development of an action learning set model that is inspired by the following personal reflections: reflective practice is an essential competency required by the professional so as to ‘get the most out’ of their career; action learning sets are an effective way for the busy professional to use their work-based learning to get on a developing lifelong ladder of postgraduate qualifications for the GP veterinary surgeon; action learning dialogue, inspired by personal and shared issues from within the consulting and operating room, provides effective and ongoing personal learning and professional development opportunities for the GP veterinary surgeon; action learning set membership promotes, encourages and facilitates the understanding by the individual of the importance of making time available on a regular basis to proactively develop their professional competencies throughout their career; issues are very similar within most veterinary practices and that being a member of an action learning set can help the individual to move their issue onwards towards a ‘win-win’ solution.     

教师专业发展的问题与出路

我国的教师专业化虽然有了制度保障,但仍然面临很大的难题,那就是缺乏专业标准。因此,教师教育机构在对新教师培养和在职教师的培训中难以提供科学的专业支持和鉴定。基础教育课程改革要求教学专业化、教师职业专业化,因此,制订符合我国教师队伍建设和发展的教学、教师专业标准是解决我国教师队伍专业化程度不高的一条出路。     

专业能力与职业素养的发展应当一体化——浅谈技工院校专业教学中职业素养的培养

目前,一些技工院校的专业课教师在探索如何在工学一体化的专业课教学中培养学生的职业素养。他们的课程教学设计方案虽然很用心,也有不少创意,但是往往忽视企业的工作组织形式和客户需求与标准,“以学生中心”的理念也没有完全落到实处。在进行工学一体课程教学设计时,教师应该根据企业的工作组织形式确定学生学习分组原则,关注学生成长尤其是职业素养的发展,了解、落实客户的需求,解决工作过程中“成人”与“成事”的统一性;准确理解职业素养与专业活动的关系,通过科学设计的每一节课的目标与内容、策划与设计、实施和评价、反思和构建等环节,使学生在完成具体工作任务的过程中,既提高知识和技能,又提升职业素养。     

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.     

Local and global – conflicting perspectives? The place of overseas practicum in preservice teacher education

International practicum is disappearing from teacher education programs with the increasing pressures for ‘local experience’. International practicum is seen as too different from local contexts to develop preservice teachers to meet professional standards. This study explores the teaching development of a group of 24 preservice teachers from a regional university on a placement in Beijing and examines the ways they make explicit connections between their learning on overseas practicum and their teaching in Australia. The findings indicate that it is precisely the difference in teaching contexts that enables professional development in key areas of professional standards. The study challenges perceptions of overseas practicum as ‘cultural tourism’ and also the presumption of conflict between preparing teachers for both global and local contexts.     

Teacher educators developing professional roles: frictions between current and optimal practices

This article reports on a study of the professional learning of Flemish teacher educators. In the first part, an exemplary survey was conducted in order to compile an inventory of the existing types of education initiatives for teacher educators in Flanders. An electronic survey was then conducted in order to identify the professional needs of teacher educators in Flanders. The third part of the study focused on how the professional learning of teacher educators can evolve throughout their careers. This topic was examined by organising focus groups with teacher educators at two international conferences for teacher educators. Flemish teacher educators devote considerable attention to professional learning, and they are able to meet their needs through the broad range of existing courses and programmes offered within the educational system. Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement in the alignment of professional learning with the needs and career stages of teacher educators.     

New professionalism in austere times: the employment experiences of early career teachers in Scotland

International concern to raise educational standards and improve teacher quality has directed attention to the need to sustain career-long professional learning. Teacher induction and early professional learning (during years 2–6) have been associated with patterns of attrition and improved pupil outcomes. As the economic crisis impacts on public sector employment, the rhetoric of professionalism stands in contrast to the employment experiences of many recently qualified teachers. This article draws on interviews with 20 early career teachers in Scotland who achieved full registration from 2006. Work histories drawn from this small-scale study challenge the implicit assumptions of staged models of teacher development and draw attention to the increasing fragmentation and casualisation of experience in the teacher labour market.     

Understanding teachers’ professional learning goals from their current professional concerns

In the day-to-day workplace teachers direct their own learning, but little is known about what drives their decisions about what they would like to learn. These decisions are assumed to be influenced by teachers’ current professional concerns. Also, teachers in different professional life phases have different reasons for engaging in professional learning. In this study, we explored the professional concerns underlying teachers’ learning goals in order to understand variation in professional learning over a teacher’s career. In this qualitative study, we administered a semi-structured interview and a card sorting task to 15 secondary school teachers to elicit teachers’ learning goals and current professional concerns. By conceptually combining teachers’ learning goals with professional concerns in concern-goal pairs, we sought to understand the different reasons for teachers’ learning. These concern-goal pairs were characterized in three different types of reasons: continuous, growth and improvement, and work-management. The results showed that early career teachers have mainly growth and improvement concerns, whereas mid- and late-career teachers have both continuous and growth and improvement concerns. Work-management concerns differ for early- and late-career teachers. Results are further discussed in terms of professional life phase models and teachers’ developmental tasks throughout their career.     

Teachers' learning to facilitate high‐level student thinking: Impact of a video‐based professional development

Attaining the vision for science teaching and learning emphasized in the Framework for K‐12 Science Education and the next generation science standards (NGSS) will require major shifts in teaching practices in many science classrooms. As NGSS‐inspired cognitively demanding tasks begin to appear in more and more science classrooms, facilitating students' engagement in high‐level thinking as they work on these tasks will become an increasingly important instructional challenge to address. This study reports findings from a video‐based professional development effort (i.e., professional development [PD] that use video‐clips of instruction as the main artifact of practice to support teacher learning) to support teachers' learning to select cognitively demanding tasks and to support students' learning during the enactment of these tasks in ways that are aligned with the NGSS vision. Particularly, we focused on the NGSS's charge to get students to make sense of and deeply think about scientific ideas as students try to explain phenomena. Analyses of teachers' pre‐ and post‐PD instruction indicate that PD‐participants began to adopt instructional practices associated with facilitating these kinds of student thinking in their own classrooms. The study has implications for the design of video‐based professional development for science teachers who are learning to facilitate the NGSS vision in science classrooms.     

Teacher Professional Standards: Controlling or developing teaching?

The issue of professional teaching standards has generated considerable interest from various quarters in Australia and elsewhere. In this paper, I am concerned with examining some of the claims made by advocates for the establishing of uniform standards for the teaching profession. To this end I identify three major claims derived from the Australian literature regarding the benefits that the application of a standards framework would make to the quality of teaching: the introduction of standards should improve the performance of teachers; the introduction of standards will improve the standing of teachers; and standards contribute to the on-going professional learning of teachers. Specifically, I argue that we need to look critically at the issue of professional standards for teachers and the claims that are made by their advocates. In particular, we need to ask whose interests are served by these standards and what are the effects of the imposition of these standards on teachers individually and collectively. Finally, we need to ask whether the standards judged as appropriate for today's teaching conditions and teachers will be equally appropriate in the future. Standards cannot and should not be frozen in time; they must be flexible to the changing conditions of teaching and learning as they occur inside and outside of schools.     

澳大利亚教学专业标准及其质量保证

针对教师教育改革问题，澳大利亚不断完善专业标准，持续推进教师专业发展。文章重点说明澳大利亚标准导向的专业教学体制，并在教学标准、绩效评价与教师学习之间建立了有机联系，诸如，教学标准的定义、专业原则、内容标准、发展的水平标准及澳大利亚寻求教学专业质量的保证措施。     

Teachers’ professional selves and motivation for continuous professional learning amid education reforms

Promoting in-service teachers’ continuous professional learning is indispensable to educational reforms that demand knowledge acquisition and practice innovation. Addressing this issue, this mixed-method study examined the relationship between teachers’ professional selves and continuous professional learning. Two hundred and nighty-one practicing teachers completed a questionnaire that assessed their current and future professional selves, learning motives, strategy use, self-efficacy, control beliefs, learning interests and intentions. Cluster analyses found that strongly-committed teachers who held strong professional selves had the most engaged patterns of learning followed by teachers who had moderate and weak levels of professional selves. Study two was a follow-up interview study with eight selected teachers who held contrasting professional selves. Strongly-committed teachers discussed their hoped-for selves while weakly-committed teachers expressed concerns about heavy workload and the selves that they feared. These two groups of interviewees differed in the strategies they employed to complete course assignments.     

Four spheres of knowledge required: an international study of the professional development of literacy/English teacher educators

This paper reports on a research study of 28 literacy teacher educators (LTE) in four countries: Canada, the USA, England and Australia. It identifies three main forms of professional development: informal, formal and communities of practice and four spheres of knowledge: research; pedagogy of higher education; literacy and literacy teaching; and current school district and government initiatives. The study reveals the sheer scale of knowledge required to be an effective LTE and demonstrates how participants used the three forms of professional development to enhance their knowledge in each sphere. It concludes that the professional development of teacher educators is not conducted systematically; rather, it is quite ad hoc with much of it occurring through learning while doing. All had to construct their own programmes for professional development, which added yet another layer to their responsibilities.