Using activity theory to understand prospective teachers' attitudes to and construction of special educational needs and/or disabilities

Appropriate professional development, including that initial teacher training, is regarded as a cornerstone of the development of inclusive education. This research is concerned with prospective teachers' conceptualisations of terms such as ‘disability’ and ‘special education’. Activity theory is proposed as a lens through which to consider the complexities involved. In the context of the English systems, this research, using data collected through word association and analysed using activity theory, explored the trainees' conceptualisations. The findings highlight both heterogeneity and homogeneity within a cohort of students, changes over time and implications for those involved in teacher education.     

Service-learning informing the development of an inclusive ethical framework for beginning teachers

A social-cultural theory of difference informed the development of a university unit on inclusive education with a focus on broadening students’ experience and understanding about the backgrounds and values of people in society. One of the aims of the unit was to “develop and work within legal and ethical frameworks that promote diversity, equity and inclusive education”. This paper will report on pre-service teacher reflections in Service-learning Program Logs associated with a university unit on inclusive education in Queensland, Australia. Service-learning requires students to become involved in their community in order to utilise knowledge learned at university. The programme involves reciprocal relationships with organisations in which the service reinforces and strengthens the learning in the academic unit on inclusive education, and the learning reinforces and strengthens the service. Analysis of data presented in this paper informed the development of set of principles of an inclusive ethical framework. We suggest that these principles could be further developed in teacher education programmes to progress inclusive practices in schools.     

The inclusive practice project in Scotland: Teacher education for inclusive education

While differences in national contexts are associated with variations in how teachers are trained and school systems are organised, the conceptual and philosophical problems of equity and inclusion in schooling are shared concerns. This paper describes how the structure and content of an initial teacher education programme for primary and secondary teachers has been revised to ensure that social and educational inclusion is addressed within the core programme. A rationale is presented for the development of ‘inclusive practice’, followed by a discussion of the reforms and an outline of the effects that are expected in the classroom practices of teachers in schools.     

Becoming a health and physical education (HPE) teacher: Student teacher ‘performances’ in the physical education subject department office

This study considered how physical education teacher education students ‘perform’ their ‘selves’ within subject department offices during the practicum or ‘teaching practice’. The research was framed by a conceptual framework informed by the work of Goffman on ‘performance’ and ‘front’. The findings revealed three common performances across the whole group across all sites. These were: performance of sports talk, bodily performances, and performance of masculine repertoires. Such performances were considered to be inconsistent with the coursework ideals and principles within the teacher education programme but in step with the general ethos of most PE department offices.     

Developing a pedagogy of mutuality in a capability approach: Teachers’ experiences of using the Open Educational Resources (OER) of the teacher education in sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) programme

The TESSA (teacher education in sub Saharan Africa) programme aims to improve teacher education at scale by developing open educational resources (OER) that allow sustainable and locally managed pedagogical change in higher education institutions and schools. The article offers a sociocultural theoretical rationale for the pedagogy of mutuality represented in the TESSA OER; and for the research approach to understanding pedagogical change that recognises the dialectical relationships between national policies and institutional structures and practices, and the consequent impact of these on teachers’ practice and pupils’ learning. It reports from an interview-based enquiry, from the project¹ ‘Extending and embedding TESSA OER’, looking at how teacher educators at a Kenyan University served to broker changes in pedagogy within the institution and its partner schools. Two school-based cases are discussed that highlight the role teachers, who take up these pedagogical challenges play in further brokering change in their local institutions; some of the influences that support the process of institutional change are identified and how these are understood and reported to increase access and enhance learning for all pupils.     

‘It will make me a real teacher’: Learning experiences of part time PGCE students in South Africa

The province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa has a recent estimate of 8000 unqualified and under-qualified teachers. Some of these teachers have an undergraduate degree, but do not have a professional qualification. In order to become professionally qualified, teachers with a degree must complete a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), which is traditionally a programme offered to fulltime ‘pre-service’ student teachers. However, part-time students have already been teaching in schools for some years and thus are in fact ‘in-service’ teachers. They have already gained professional practical knowledge through learning on-the-job. The study aimed to investigate what kind of knowledge they had learnt through experience and how this knowledge changes as a result of their formal learning on the PGCE. The study interviewed twenty part time PGCE students who are already practicing teachers about the kind of professional knowledge they acquired through the formal programme and their perceptions of how their practice changed as a result of this learning. Most of the respondents said that they had changed their teaching practice as a result of studying for the PGCE and that pedagogical knowledge about assessment, classroom management and lesson structuring strategies were deemed to be most important. More than half reported that the programme had developed their confidence as a result of both developing personal competence and through becoming a ‘real’ teacher by dint of achieving professional status. This points to the importance of offering teachers with a degree the opportunity to become professionally qualified through a flexibly offered programme.     

The Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers: An analysis of a hegemonic link between education and poverty

This paper has two main objectives. First, it aims to analyse the connections between education and poverty established by the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), a central policy tool for the articulation of the Post Washington Consensus. Second, it intends to study how the PRSPs have been consolidated and expanded through different international organisations. With these objectives, the paper includes four sections: the first and second sections present the ‘model of poverty’ and the ‘model of education’ defined in the PRSPs. The third analyses how different international actors have adopted the PRSPs as a guide to orient their strategies and policies in the field of education, development and poverty reduction. The fourth and final section critically explores the current global development agenda and identifies some of its main challenges in terms of conceptualisation and implementation.     

Novices and veterans journeying into real-world teaching: How a veteran learns from novices

This paper illustrates the experiences of novice teachers through self-reflection by a teacher trainer. It shows how novice teachers recognize deficiencies in their professional capacity, the coping strategies they adopt and implications for teacher training. As teacher trainers we should know why novice teachers say ‘I wish they had taught me about…’ or ‘how lucky I am to have been taught this.’ The paper accounts for the initial experiences of novice teachers in their first school and clarifies how they address their own self-improvement. It shows how novice teachers engage in meaning making as they connect theory and practice in the classroom. It also illustrates how within one component of a teacher training programme a veteran teacher-trainer learnt from novices whose experiences enabled practical theories to be recognised. The evidence highlights potential areas of criticality in teacher education programmes in the real-world of teaching.     

A research model for the study of science teachers’ PCK and improving teacher education

In this article, a new research model for the study of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is presented which aims to improve teacher education. This model called “educational reconstruction for teacher education” (ERTE) represents the framework for an integrative approach to the study of science teachers’ topic specific PCK, which is a largely unexplored field. By integrating the PCK concept, originating in the American Curriculum tradition, into the German (Fach)didaktik tradition, this model adds a new perspective to (Fach)didaktik. This paper, therefore, also aims to clarify the PCK concept and its relation to Fachdidaktik.     

Values, virtues and professional development in education and teaching

This paper addresses conceptual issues concerning values in teaching and the professional education of teachers. Proceeding from rejection of a common (empiricist) account of values as subjective tastes, the paper distinguishes three common (more and less restrictive) concepts or senses of value, here referred to under the labels ‘principled preference’, ‘principled commitment’ and ‘principled disposition’. The paper proceeds to argue that, in light of certain distinctive features of teaching as a profession, the key values of teaching should be regarded as ‘principled dispositions’ (or, in another term, virtues). It is further argued that such professional teacher values are best appreciated under the three aspects of ‘intellectual virtues’, ‘procedural virtues’ and ‘moral virtues’ and the paper concludes with a brief exploration of the implications of this analysis for professional teacher education.     

A comparative study of the impact of enhanced input on inclusion at pre-service and induction phases on the self-efficacy of beginning teachers to work effectively with children with special educational needs

There is a well-founded assumption in the literature that the first year of teaching presents challenges to beginning teachers. However, few studies have looked empirically at how beginning teacher perceptions about teaching ability change from the pre-service to the novice teacher year. This is particularly the case for inclusive education, where no substantive empirical studies have measured such a change in teacher perceptions across these phases of teacher development. This study tracks changes in the perceived self-efficacy of teachers in relation to working effectively with children with special educational needs (n = 67) following an inclusion-enhancement programme in the pre-service phase and enriched induction on inclusion in the novice teacher phase. The study employed a repeated panel survey design with an intervention and comparison group. A critique is made of the domain specificity of current measures used for considering self-efficacy for inclusion, and an alternative approach proposed. Results indicate that there were relative gains in self-efficacy from the start to the end of the pre-service teacher year due to the enhancement programme, and that these gains were maintained in the novice teacher year. However, there was no evidence that the induction enrichment had any impact on self-efficacy in this domain. Implications for the timing and intensity of induction for beginning teachers, as well as for future research directions on teacher education, are considered.     

Demonstrating a situated learning approach for in-service teacher education in rural India: The Quality Education Programme in Rajasthan

Recent educational policy in India has repositioned elementary school teachers as active, reflective practitioners, not just ‘deliverers’ of syllabus material. This article examines innovations in teacher support in Rajasthan's government schools through the ‘Quality Education Program.’ Drawing on qualitative research of collaborative learning processes, the paper discusses two support strategies used by the program: professional dialogic interactions and modeling of pedagogic strategies, which paralleled introductory or developmental phases within a ‘collaborative apprenticeship model’ of teacher professional development. In doing so, the paper outlines the potential of situated, collaborative approaches for Indian in-service teacher education and education development reform, more broadly.     

Promoting inclusive education in secondary school in Norway: a national programme for teacher development

There is a great need in many countries for extended and new teacher competence to meet the challenges of inclusive education. This paper presents a national programme for developing new teacher competence in secondary schools in Norway. The programme was developed and implemented during the 1990s, its aim being to start a continuing process in schools directed at promoting inclusive education and improving the quality of education for pupils with special educational needs. Further, the paper presents some findings from a national survey of 2240 teachers and school administrators in 104 schools one year after the implementation of the programme. The survey partially replicated a survey carried out before the programme started. The purpose was to give an overall picture of the situation with respect to teacher competence in special needs and inclusive education, and the impact of the competence building programme on teacher practice, and to identify possible system changes in schools.     

Investigating educational change: The Aga Khan University Institute for educational development teacher education for school improvement model

This article continues the analyses of the impact of an innovative teacher education programme aimed at school improvement in a developing country context (A. Khamis, P. Sammons, 2004. The development of a cadre of teacher educators: some lessons from Pakistan. International Journal of Educational Development, 24(3), 255–268). Building on recent publications that have analysed outcomes of the teacher education programme and how the cadre of teacher educators has worked to initiate improvement in schools in Pakistan. The article considers the ‘teacher education for school improvement model’ based on findings from the case studies of nine co-operating school. Lessons are presented to further inform the development of teacher education programmes and the measurement of effectiveness of such programmes in developing country contexts. The article further considers relevant international research on educational change and reform to draw further lessons. These lessons include the need to pay greater attention to the cultural contexts and milieu in Pakistan, and the need to create models of school improvement and teacher education that originate within developing country contexts rather than the adaptation of European/North American models that are based on sources of data in those contexts. The article concludes by arguing for the need to develop better theoretical understandings from the current innovations underway and placing the onus on intervening agencies to better inform educational change strategies promoted in developing country contexts.     

Idiographic roles of cooperating teachers as mentors in pre-service distance teacher education

This study aims to define the roles of cooperating teachers as mentors in the context of distance-learning teacher education. The participants included 358 cooperating teachers who mentored 4th-year student teachers in a Distance English Language Teacher Training Program in Turkey. To determine the roles that were perceived as mentoring roles by the cooperating teachers in the distance practicum, an inventory of 10 primary mentoring functions was constructed. These functions included five primary mentoring roles: ‘self-trainer’, ‘networker, ‘social supporter’, ‘academic supporter’, and ‘psychological supporter’. The results will contribute to an increased understanding of how cooperating teachers perceive their mentoring roles during distance practicums.     

‘My colleagues wear blinkers . . . If they were trained,they would understand better’. Reflections on teacher education on inclusion in Cyprus

This paper discusses fundamental theoretical issues in relation to education on inclusion. These issues inform core decisions about initial teacher education courses and in‐service teacher‐training programmes on inclusion. International and local discussions and research in this area formed the background for the design and implementation of a 2‐year funded research project whose aim was to record teachers' knowledge, attitudes and skills in relation to inclusion before developing an in‐service training programme that suited their profiles. The paper focuses on Greek‐Cypriot teachers' perceptions of their initial and in‐service teacher education on inclusion in Cyprus, as revealed by survey and interview findings. The findings are discussed with reference to relevant literature from Cyprus and other countries in an attempt to draw connections between teacher education, local culture and international practice. The paper concludes with a discussion of the argument that in‐service training programmes on inclusion are of central importance, not only for Cyprus but also for other countries. We argue that teachers' initial education does not guarantee a shared understanding of inclusive education; therefore, in‐service teacher‐training programmes need to be carefully planned and delivered to all schoolteachers to address both theoretical and practical aspects of inclusive education effectively.     

Pre-service teachers' dispositions towards diversity: Arguing for a developmental hierarchy of change

This article explores Australian pre-service teachers' beliefs about and attitudes towards diversity. Building on Garmon's [Garmon, M. A. (2004). Changing preservice teachers' attitudes/beliefs about diversity: what are the critical factors? Journal of Teacher Education, 55(3), 201–213] argument that there are three dispositional factors that influence students' likelihood of developing multicultural awareness and sensitivity in teacher education programmes, the authors explore the relationship between such dispositions as exhibited in students' autoethnographic work. In so doing, the authors posit that these dispositions may be hierarchically developed: beginning from ‘self-awareness/self-reflectiveness’; moving towards ‘openness’; and finally a ‘commitment to social justice’. After exploring the nature of this hierarchical development through the in-depth investigation of six representative student accounts, the paper concludes by discussing the implications for teacher education, including the necessity to adjust our expectations of changing the dispositions of pre-service teachers in discrete, short courses.     

The things (we think) we (ought to) do: Ideological processes and practices in teaching

Ideologies of education and of teaching are complex and layered, and they contain macro-social, institutional as well as micro-ideological levels. Building on cases from the UK and South Africa, this paper argues that notions of ‘professionalism’ among teachers display such ideological layering, and that such notions are heavily invested with interests that transcend the operational or institutional scales. In the case of the UK, we discuss the way in which a teacher described her experience of taking a degree course, exposing a rift between individual, experiential knowledge and institutional, organisational knowledge, characteristic of the large-scale transformations of the educational field in the UK. In the South African case, we show how a white teacher instructing black township children deploys images of the disciplined body that derive from the Apartheid ‘old order’. In both cases we see that views of professionalism are infused with micro-ideological, practical beliefs as well as with macro-ideological social and political views. In terms of the implications of our line of argument for teacher education we conclude that student teachers should be taught explicitly about the discourses by which teaching is constructed so that they are able to reflect more critically on their professional practice.     

重温师范大学制的“孟胡之争”——孟宪承与胡先骕关于师范大学制的论争之探析(1925)

为尽早实现教育普及的目标,近代教育先贤设计了独立的师范教育体制,当中又特别强调高等师范的建设,而有"高师教育分区制"的出台,"六大高师"因之而诞生。上世纪20年代,高师迎来了"升格运动",历经多年苦心经营才成的"分区制"随之破产,"六大高师"多数倾向转轨为普通大学。特别是武昌高等师范学校先升级为武昌师范大学,旋即"舍师范"而"奔综合"变为武昌大学,此种情形引发了教育先进的担忧,而有恢复旧制的种种呼声及努力。但著名植物学家胡先骕对此却不以为然,而孟宪承与之意见相左,故而构成一场教育论争。胡不认可"封闭性"的师资培养方式,主张采用"开放性"的,但是这种理想的计划离中国的现实太远,而且对教育学与师范教育的认识不周全,因而引来孟宪承的批评。这场论争规模虽小,但学术分量很足,对于今日的师范教育改革亦不乏借鉴意义。     

The rise and attenuation of the basic education programme (BEP) in Botswana: A global–local dialectic approach

Using a global–local dialectic approach, this paper traces the rise of the basic education programme in the 1980s and 1990s in Botswana and its subsequent attenuation in the 2000s. Amongst the local forces that led to the rise of BEP were Botswana's political project of nation-building; the country's dire human resources situation in the decades following Independence in 1966; and its propitious economic climate in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Global forces included the global circulation of the World Bank's educational discourse on the primacy of primary education as a public ‘investment’ option and Botswana's desire to be a member of the influential transnational social structure. BEP's attenuation can similarly be traced back to both local and global forces. Local forces included the growth of youth unemployment, and a sluggish economy. Global forces included the globalization of neo-liberalism which called for cost-sharing/recovery measures, and, ironically, Botswana's ‘promotion’ to a ‘middle income status’ country. While conceptually the attenuation represents a case of policy reversal and in some ways a sense of ‘loss’, empirically, the attenuation has not been of material consequence to access to ‘basic’ education. This is attributed to the ambiguous position (best captured by the term ‘doublethink’) the Botswana government¹ has adopted in relation to the issue of school fees.