SOAP in practice: learning outcomes of a cross‐institutional innovation project conducted by teachers,student teachers,and teacher educators

This paper reports on a case study investigating learning outcomes at the individual and organisational level of a cross‐institutional innovation project based on the SOAP approach. SOAP integrates Schooling of teachers, Organisational development of schools, Action‐ and development‐oriented research, and Professional development of teachers. The innovation project was aimed at combining teachers, student teachers, and teacher educators in an alliance to design and develop new competence‐based vocational educational arrangements for pupils. An inductive qualitative analysis of 37 semi‐structured interviews among the participants revealed seven main categories of individual learning outcomes: attitudes, project design and management, collaboration, action theory, teaching practice, educational principles, and developments within secondary vocational education. Three main categories of organisational learning outcomes were identified: institution‐level learning, project‐level learning, and combining institution‐level and project‐level learning. A tension was identified between the participants’ individual interests in learning and personal development, and the need for organisational learning aimed at improving organisational processes.     

Pre-service teachers’ perceptions of technological pedagogical content knowledge in mainland China: A survey of teachers of Chinese as a second language

Education and Information Technologies - There is an urgent need to address the critical demand for qualified Chinese language teachers against the background of China’s seeking greater...     

The teaching efficacy beliefs of pre‐service teachers in the USA and Turkey

The purpose of this study was to compare pre‐service elementary teachers' sense of mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs in a Turkish university and in a major American university located in the Midwest. The data for this study were collected by means of the Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument. In the Turkish sample there were 141 pre‐service elementary teachers, and in the American sample there were 104 pre‐service elementary teachers. Results from the study indicate that pre‐service teachers in Turkey tend to have a stronger belief that teaching can influence student learning when compared with pre‐service teachers in the United States. However, a similar difference was not observed for personal mathematics teaching efficacy.     

Developing a discourse community of preservice teachers in a technology‐mediated context

Abstract

Through an asynchronous discussion group on the Internet, students were given opportunities to interact in a community of beginning preservice and inservice teachers. They questioned, argued, and negotiated issues generated from their experiences in an introductory educational psychology course and school‐based practicum. This paper reports findings from an investigation into the social dynamics of a technology‐mediated environment and the extent to which community‐building occurred. Using a discourse analysis approach, the data were analyzed to determine the extent to which a technology‐mediated discourse community reflects the five main features that characterize the ethos of classroom communities: respect among members with open exchange of ideas, individual responsibility with communal sharing, shifting roles among members, constructive discussion/making meaning, and a participation framework. Illustrations of each of these categories that demonstrate an overall sense of community among the participants are provided.     

L. V. Shcherba: a ‘new slant’ on modern foreign languages in the school curriculum?

In this paper, I offer a critical reflection on the thesis of the general educational value of foreign languages developed by Russian linguist Lev Vladimirovich Shcherba. I do so against the background of current debates on the positioning of foreign languages in the school curriculum in the United Kingdom (UK). I argue that Shcherba's thesis, which was developed almost a century ago, retains its currency and can make an important contribution to the on-going discussion on the value of foreign languages in UK schools. The paper outlines Shcherba's scholarly explorations in general linguistics which underpin his arguments in favour of the inclusion of foreign languages in the basic school curriculum. The conception of language as a system immanently positioned in social experience assigns the foundational role to language in the literacy project. The conscious analytic processing of language phenomena is viewed as an essential pre-condition of literacy, and foreign languages are shown to be instrumental in developing such an analytic capacity of mind. Shcherba's argumentation reflects a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach, both to foreign language education and to curriculum matters, and merits the attention of language practitioners, educationalists and policy-makers alike.     

Implicit theories of creativity: a comparison of student‐teachers in Hong Kong and Singapore

This study attempts to uncover the beliefs regarding various aspects of creativity among trainee‐teachers in Hong Kong and Singapore. Trainee‐teachers from Hong Kong (N = 188) and Singapore (N = 127) completed a questionnaire on beliefs about creativity. The 30‐item questionnaire covering 15 aspects of beliefs regarding creativity was presented to the respondents as a set of six‐point Likert scales. Through factor analysis, creativity was found to have five dimensions: (1) physiology, (2) generality, (3) culture, (4) individuality and (5) youth. Hong Kong respondents were found to hold more rigid views of creativity than their Singaporean counterparts. In particular, Hong Kong respondents believed more strongly that creativity is dependent on birth order, effort, health, logical thinking and youth and that there is a critical period beyond which creativity may not develop.     

Young learners’ interactional development in task-based paired-assessment in their first and foreign languages: a case of English learners in China

In response to the growing interest in evaluating young learners’ foreign language (FL) performance, this study aims to deepen our understanding of young learners’ developmental differences in interaction during task-based paired-language assessments. To examine age effects separately from the effect of general language proficiency, we analysed learners’ interaction in both their first language (L1) and FL. We observed the students as they engaged in an assessment consisting of a set of decision-making tasks with their peers. After each task, the students self-assessed their performance. We found differences in interactions across grade levels in both L1 and FL with respect to holistic interactional patterns, topic development, and turn-taking patterns. The students’ understanding of communicative interactive tasks also appeared to differ between grade levels, perhaps reflecting their experiential differences with communicative tasks in class. The paper concludes with implications for implementing task-based paired-language assessments for young learners.     

Teacher candidates' reflections on some components of a pre‐service English teacher education programme in Turkey

This study aimed to explore teacher candidates' reflections on the methodology and practice components of a pre‐service English teacher training programme in Turkey. For this purpose, a qualitative case study method was followed. The participants were 176 senior year students at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. The data were analysed by seeking patterns and themes in relation to each research question. The participants believed that a close connection between the course materials and practical application in real classrooms did not always exist. They also stated that they did not have enough opportunities for micro‐teaching and practice teaching.     

Teachers’ views on the effectiveness of in‐service courses on the new curriculum in Turkey

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of in‐service courses conducted by the Ministry of National Education in order to inform teachers about the changes introduced by the new primary and secondary school curricula. The study also aims to reveal whether these changes have entered the classrooms based on the teachers’ views of the INSET courses they attended. For this purpose, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with both primary and secondary school teachers during the 2007–2008 academic year. Data were analysed based on the effective INSET criteria identified from the literature. According to the findings, the INSET courses were found to be ineffective, mainly in terms of the quality of the instructors, teaching methods employed, duration of the courses and support after training. Suggestions to conduct effective INSET courses, especially when change is afoot, are included at the end of this paper.     

Biography and social structure in the socialization of student teachers: a re‐examination of the pupil control ideologies of student teachers

This study examined the effects of the student teaching experience on the pupil control ideologies of student teachers and attempted to assess the relative contributions of biography and social structure in determining student teacher attitudes toward pupil control. The subjects were forty elementary student teachers from one midwestern university. The results indicated that student teachers did not become more custodial in their views toward pupil control by the end of the experience. Furthermore, cooperating teachers exerted little influence on student teacher pupil control ideologies once the effects of biography were removed. It was concluded that biography does play an important part in the socialization of student teachers and that future research on student teaching should consider the effects of biography and social structure together within an interactive model of socialization. Finally, the limitations of focusing exclusively on student teacher ideologies are discussed and the concept of perspectives is offered as a potentially heuristic tool for overcoming these limitations.     

From mainstream school to pupil referral unit: a change in teachers’ self-understanding

As teachers are at the heart of education, a substantial number of studies have researched the perception that mainstream school teachers have of themselves in relation to their work. This investigation extends this field of inquiry by examining how teachers’ self-understanding is altered when they transfer from mainstream to special school education. This study adopts the methodology of interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) to examine in detail how three female teachers in inner London experienced the transition from mainstream secondary schools to teaching in alternative provision for excluded students referred to as a pupil referral unit (PRU). Central to IPA is how an individual experiences a substantial change in life and the influence this may have on his or her world views. The research approach adopted is, therefore, idiographic and reliant on the experiences of a small number of participants. The findings from this investigation indicate that the participants chose to leave mainstream school education when they came to the self-realisation that they wanted to engage in more creative and personally engaging professional practice with a stronger moral purpose. When they started to teach at a PRU, the more persistent and personal relationships with their students brought about a substantial change in self-understanding.     

Collateral Learning in Science: Students’ responses to a cross‐cultural unit of work

The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of students’ responses to a cross‐cultural science unit entitled “Maintaining health.” The unit was designed to help students to build bridges between their traditional practices and beliefs and western science concepts. This paper reports students’ responses to a pre‐test and post‐test, and their reflections on their learning. The responses were analysed using the collateral learning model. There was evidence of parallel, dependent, and secured collateral learning. The implications for science teaching and for assessing science learning are discussed.     

The impact of foreign language mediated teaching on teachers’ sense of professional integrity in the CLIL classroom

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has received significant interest in recent years as a practical means of creating a plurilingual European community. A key feature of CLIL is the non-native speaking teacher responsible for developing learners’ content and language knowledge in a foreign language mediated environment. Teachers often enter the CLIL classroom with established expertise in either content or language learning; however, the impact of entering the foreign language mediated environment is little explored in existing literature. This investigative research is based on six teacher interviews intended to access the teachers’ own understanding of how foreign language mediated teaching impacts their professional integrity. The interviews aimed to explore how CLIL teachers experience the change in language, how new demands are encountered and handled. This research found that foreign language mediated teaching affects teachers’ sense of professional integrity with regard to both the person and the practice of the teacher at a fundamental level.     

Effects of variations in task design on mathematics teachers’ learning experiences: a case of a sorting task

The goal of the study presented in this article was to examine how variations in task design may affect mathematics teachers’ learning experiences. The study focuses on sorting tasks, i.e., learning tasks that require grouping a given set of mathematical items, in as many ways as possible, according to different criteria suggested by the learners. We present an example of a sorting task for which the items to be grouped are related to basic concepts of analytical geometry that are connected to the notion of loci of points. Based on a design experiment of three iterations with practicing secondary school mathematics teachers, we report on intended and enacted objects of learning inherent in three versions of the task. Empirically based suggestions are drawn about design of sorting tasks that potentially evoke desirable learning experiences.     

Beliefs of teachers in Italian schools concerning the inclusion of disabled students: a Q‐sort analysis

This paper presents a course of research into the beliefs of class teachers concerning the scholastic integration of children with disabilities. In the current situation in Italy, due to limited specialist training, the attitudes that teachers develop can constitute an obstacle to the full realization of scholastic integration. Of the 23 teachers who took part in the study, conducted using the Q‐sort methodology, some had direct experience with scholastic integration (with opinions both positive and negative); and others had no direct experience (but also had both positive and negative opinions). Using the Q‐sort system, the paper sets out to verify whether effectively the simple manifestation of positive or negative beliefs in relation to inclusion on the part of the teachers (whether they had direct experience or not) could be confirmed, and whether it lent itself to being developed in reference to specific areas of scholastic experience. From the factorial analysis of the Q‐data, four factors emerged that confirm our hypothesis regarding the existence of different beliefs among teachers.     

Mentorship and mitigation of culture shock: foreign‐trained pharmacists in Canada

Immigrants with professional qualifications face unique challenges in adapting personally and professionally to new environments. This ‘double culture shock’ experience may result in disengagement from the professional community due to perceived barriers to integration, with subsequent negative impact on employment prospects and professional role identification. The role of mentors in facilitating professional engagement by foreign‐trained pharmacists within the pharmacy profession has not previously been described in detail. This qualitative study examined the different mentoring strategies used by mentors and foreign‐trained pharmacists negotiating the licensure process in Canada. Using a categorization scheme described previously by major researchers, activity logs of mentors and mentees were examined and coded based on use of mentoring strategies. Focus groups and interviews were also undertaken with separate groups of mentors and mentees to discuss the use of these mentoring strategies for foreign‐trained pharmacists. Results suggest pharmacist‐mentors relied most heavily upon situative‐apprenticeship and humanistic perspectives in their mentoring relationships, and infrequently used critical‐constructivist mentoring activities or techniques. While mentees reported a high level of satisfaction with their mentors and the mentoring experience, they also expressed a desire for more activities of a critical‐constructivist nature as a way of assisting them in mitigating the double culture shock they experience during the licensure process.     

Increasing the supply of secondary teachers in sub‐Saharan Africa: a stakeholder assessment of policy options in six countries

Over the next decade many countries of sub‐Saharan Africa will face a demand for qualified secondary school teachers that current systems for teacher recruitment, training, deployment and retention will be unable to meet. While strategies for increasing teacher supply to meet this shortage have been suggested, less attention has been given to investigating the acceptability of these potential solutions by those educators closest to the school and classroom level and who often serve as gatekeepers to policy implementation. Kingdon’s multiple streams model is the framework used in this study to assess the feasibility of key strategies widely offered as possible solutions to resolve the projected teacher shortage. This study investigated the responses of 114 secondary school teachers, headteachers and education officials across six countries to policy options for increasing teacher supply. While none of the groups supported options to increase the supply through changed teacher training, there was support among all three groups for options that affected retention, including increased in‐service training and distance education, more mentorship for new teachers and more opportunities for teachers to network with each other. These findings suggest that policy‐makers in sub‐Saharan African countries need to build political support among education stakeholders to find the most feasible and viable solutions to address the large teacher shortages through both increasing supply and retention.     

Approaches to professional development of teachers in Scotland: pedagogical innovation or financial necessity?

Background: In a context of significant educational change and financial constraint, this paper explores ways to develop teacher learning. A recent review of teacher education (Teaching Scotland's Future: Report of a review of teacher education in Scotland, Donaldson 2011 Donaldson, G. 2011. Teaching Scotland's Future: Report of a review of teacher education in Scotland, Edinburgh: Scottish Government.  [Google Scholar]) coincided with two factors impacting on teaching and learning in Scotland. Firstly, the implementation of a new curriculum entitled ‘Curriculum for Excellence'. This new curriculum is underpinned by a philosophy of active learning, self-evaluation and reflection for all teachers and pupils. The second factor, impacting on teaching and learning, is the cuts being made in education because of financial constraints in the wake of the recession. These cuts include reductions in local authority support staff and opportunities for professional development.

Sources of evidence: This paper explores effective models of professional development for teachers and draws on principles of learning in the twenty-first century and the premise that what is known about how people learn should be applied to pupil and teacher learning. It also draws on a range of policy documents published in Scotland 2001–11 that impact on curriculum innovation and teacher education.

Main argument: The implementation of the new curriculum and the review of teacher education both focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning in Scottish schools and both offer opportunities for innovation for teachers and pupils. Both also require radical changes in ways of working for everyone. To implement the new curriculum, teachers have to change the ways they work requiring innovative models of continuing professional development to be designed not only to meet the demand for teacher learning but to make the best use of the limited funds.

Conclusions: It is argued that the cuts in funding may act as a catalyst for pedagogical change in professional development with increased reliance on school-based professional development. Empirical evidence collected during a research study in Scotland, which analysed feedback about curriculum reform, is used to illustrate both the need for improved professional learning opportunities for teachers and the benefits of facilitated school-based professional development.     

The measurement of teacher efficacy: Hong Kong primary in‐service teachers

This study sought to measure general teacher efficacy levels of in‐service primary teachers in Hong Kong. Participants included 725 Hong Kong in‐service teachers, who were invited to take part in the study. These in‐service teachers came from 28 different primary schools ranging from government, aided, private and direct subsidy schools. The Chinese version of the 12‐item Teachers' Sense of Efficacy (C‐TSE) Scale was applied to investigate the efficacy of the teachers. A factor analysis of these 12 items when male and female datasets were combined led to the extraction of only one factor. But separation of the two datasets led to the extraction of different factor analysis models. This could reflect the different perceptions that male and female teachers had about the formation of teacher efficacy. Overall, this study showed that female teachers were significantly more efficacious than male teachers. Moreover, years of teaching experience showed a weak but significant correlation to levels of general teacher efficacy. Interestingly, educational levels did not have a significant effect on the efficacy of this group of in‐service primary teachers. Overall, the C‐TSE was found to be a valid and reliable scale for measuring the efficacy levels of this particular group of in‐service primary teachers in Hong Kong.