Challenging experiences faced by beginning casual teachers: here one day and gone the next!

The Educational Alumni Support Project (EdASP) indicated that there is an urgent need for the teaching profession to support casual beginning teachers (CBTs). The EdASP that was carried out at the University of New England provided online support for primary and secondary beginning teachers, yet the majority of postings were submitted by CBTs. In general, these casual teachers experienced feelings of alienation, culture shock, a lack of school and systemic support, and are often not considered part of the school community by staff or students. The analysis of postings by CBTs provides further insight into the difficulties they face, as well as reveals or reinforces strategies that could effectively facilitate their teaching. Many of these findings are not new, yet the call to aid casuals continues to be overlooked. This need for support is both professional and pragmatic. Ethically, education – a nurturing profession – should support its novices. In addition, the transition period from pre‐service to professional teacher has significant implications for teacher educators plus the potential retention of teachers.     

Structural marginalisation,othering and casual relief teacher subjectivities

Produced through market relations of neoliberal managerialism, teacher subjectivities are becoming progressively commodified. With the increasing casualisation of the teaching workforce, the well-being and status of casual relief teachers (CRTs) can be seen as an area of concern, at risk of ‘flexploitation’. More than just a convenient labour pool, CRTs operate on the margins of school communities, a space fraught with a range of issues. In many instances, CRTs experience less job satisfaction; less rapport with students and colleagues and less access to school information, professional development, resources and teaching materials. This article draws on a positioning theory to frame the discursive production of CRT selves within the neoliberal milieu. It offers a detailed analysis of collective biographies that explore narrative formations of casual teaching. Schooling discourse is replete with metaphorical language that frames teacher positioning, and a range of existing metaphors in CRT literature highlight their vulnerability in particular. Rather than offering an analysis that addresses casual teacher performance as a problem to be solved, this article proposes that the relationship between ‘structural marginalisation and the ‘othering’ that CRTs can experience is associated with the politics of market-related performativity.     

Analysing the experiences of casual relief teachers in Australian primary schools using practice architecture theory

This study examines the professional experiences of casual relief teachers (CRTs) and some of the challenges they face through the lens of practice architecture theory. Practice architecture theory considers human activity through the multi-layered lens of sayings, doings and relatings. A survey was used to collect responses from 104 CRTs who are teaching or have previously taught in Australian primary schools. The responses were examined using thematic content analysis to gain insights into their experiences of professional practice. In addition, the demographic information from the survey identified three main categories of CRTs which contributed to better understanding of distinct needs and experiences of each type of CRT. Results indicate that many participants saw casual teaching as a negative and alienating experience due to lack of access to school information, lack of support for accreditation and feelings of exclusion from school communities. The need for greater access to information about professional learning was also highlighted. However, others enjoyed the flexibility and sense of belonging they experienced as CRTs. The present study contributes to CRT research by identifying similarities and differences across the three CRT groups and applying practice architectures as a new theoretical lens through which to analyse their professional experiences.     

Internationally educated female teachers in the neoliberal context: Their labour market and teacher certification experiences in Canada

In this paper, we consider the difficulties that a group of internationally educated female teachers (female IETs) encountered in the process of seeking certification in the Canadian Maritimes. We read their experiences in the context of neoliberalism, in particular how they are positioned in the labour force and also the teaching profession. We consider the material effects of differences such as gender, race, ethnicity, and regional location for the female IETs. Further, we underscore implications for teacher education.     

Beginning teachers as enquirers: m-level work in initial teacher education

In order to deliver life-long learning for teachers, practitioner-based enquiry learning is being promoted by teacher education institutions on the basis that this form of learning gives teachers the ability to understand factors affecting learning within their own classrooms by systematic investigations of issues and the construction of an evidence-base on which decisions which improve learning can be taken. In turn this enhances teacher professionalism. This article presents a study of how practitioner-based enquiry was embedded in an initial teacher education programme; the reasons for this; and the purposes of the strategy, which raised the one-year postgraduate qualification to masters-level. It looks at the reasons for the change; the nature of the change, which included educating teachers intending to teach in primary schools together with those intending to teach in secondary; the introduction of practitioner-based enquiry; some early student reaction; and the structural, cultural and learning issues which have emerged.     

Casual Academic Staff in an Australian University: Marginalised and excluded

Abstract

The transition from a planned centralist economy to a market economy over the last decade of the 20th century has presented Russian universities with many profound challenges. These challenges require universities to review and consider their organisational culture and deserve careful study. This paper describes the changes that have taken place at Tomsk Polytechnic University ‐ one of oldest, largest and leading Russian universities.     

论我国高校师生权利救济缺陷及其制度建设

我国现有的高校师生权利救济途径狭窄,缺乏相应的法律规范,导致师生的许多切身利益得不到法律保障,私力救济现象越来越普遍,高校冲突日益凸现。建立和完善我国高校师生权利救济制度,应从权利救济机构、纠纷处理程序以及纠纷调处手段的法定化和规范化入手。     

教师工作超前思维初探

超前思维是人们超越于存在的意识与思维 ,对于指导人们的实践具有重要意义 .从超前思维的含义及基本特征出发 ,论述了具有前瞻性特征的教育事业 ,其教育目标的实现依靠教师工作的超前性 ;超前思维是教师开展教育教学工作的心理基础 .同时探索了教师形成超前思维的三条基本途径     

Understanding media mentalities and logics: institutional and journalistic practices,and the reporting of teachers’ work

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the ‘media mentalities’ about teachers and their work in the Australian print media. The notion of media mentalities draws on the theoretical concepts of discourse, mentalities, and mediatisation. This refers to the constructed realities and forms of thought in media coverage that circulate particular accounts. These are linked to institutional and journalistic practices in media that are governed by media logics. Drawing on newspaper text and interviews with journalists, the following practices are addressed: agendisation and accountabilisation which are both institutional practices; and the journalistic practices of factualisation, emphasisation, and sensationalisation – all of which operate globally, to some degree, across and within media institutions and media practitioners, and produce the news about teacher's work within the framework of these practices.     

高校教师工作与心理压力的伦理省思

高等教育改革的深化及其对教师专业发展的要求,使教师的工作强度和心理压力空前增强。外力驱使与内在焦虑是高等学校教师工作与心理压力剧增的两大主因。建立符合伦理规范的师资管理与考评机制,保障教学与科研的均衡发展,构建外部激励与内源发展相结合的教师专业发展长效机制,实现制度约束与自由发展的和谐统一,是缓解高等学校教师超强度工作压力和超负荷心理压力的有效伦理保障。     

Making accountable teachers: the terrors and pleasures of performativity

This article draws from Stephen Ball’s work on markets, managerialism, and performativity to frame a comparative study that examines the reconstitution of the teacher–subject across a pivotal decade in which neoliberal standards and accountability reforms effected significant changes in US education. It juxtaposes two qualitative studies conducted during the implementation of successive standards and accountability movements. The first study of early career English teachers coincided with the implementation of the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), and the second took place nearly a decade later as states began to implement value-added teacher assessments in conjunction with the Obama administration’s Race to the Top (RTTT). The juxtaposition of these two studies points to a paradigmatic shift in the construction of teachers’ professional knowledge and subjectivity. While teachers of the first accountability stage positioned NCLB’s (self-) disciplinary mechanisms as external intrusions on their autonomy, professionalism, and practice, the second group positioned RTTT’s accountability mechanisms as the very modes by which they knew themselves and their quality. Thus, these studies show a collapse between the governed (i.e. teachers) and the government (i.e. accountability mechanisms) and the normalization of the marketized teacher, the managed teacher, and the performative teacher.     

Choosing teachers: Exploring agency and structure in the distribution of newly qualified teachers

This paper theorises aspects of the distribution of newly qualified teachers in England, which is not arbitrary but patterned with differential effects upon socially distanced learners. As part of a larger project exploring the sociological strategies and stratification whereby teachers choose, and are chosen, for their first teaching post, I consider here the stories of Susan and Ben. These two newly qualified teachers of mathematics both accepted posts in schools while on initial teacher education courses but quickly relocated to increase the harmony between their teaching dispositions (habitus) and the type of school (habitat) in which they were to be working. Bourdieu's sociological tools are mobilised to theorise aspects of teacher distribution and the potential inequity resulting from the aggregation of such strategies and ‘corrections’.     

新形势下高职院校辅导员工作方法创新研究

高职院校辅导员工作直接关系到大学生的前途和学校的发展。只有不断的创新高职院校辅导员的工作方法,才能塑造出符合当前形势的社会主义建设者和接班人。首先,要理论联系实际,努力提高高职院校辅导工作的针对性和实效性;其次,要转移工作阵地,积极扩展高职院校辅导员工作的区域和时限;再次,要树立正面典型充分调动学生自我教育管理的积极性和主动性;最后,选拔辅导员助理,进一步提高学生自我教育管理的能力的水平。     

A study of novice teachers: Challenges and supports in the first years

In recent years, it has been reported that an alarming number of teachers are leaving the profession in the first three years after graduation from a pre-service program. This phenomenon is common in North America and it is essential that educators identify the challenges surrounding new teachers and provide supports to assist them. The vast majority of literature surrounding new teacher induction and mentorship support is void of the Canadian context and the novice teacher voice. In this study, Ontario graduates from a two year pre-service program were surveyed and 5 teachers were selected for case studies. Participants found administrative leadership, refining the mentorship selection process, hiring practices, and district-sponsored supports as positive factors necessary for them to grow into the profession.     

Engaging children in lessons: the role of efficient and effective teachers

The training of effective teachers has been one of the main aims of educational systems, in so far as it could be an important tool to improve the education performance of children and, consequently, contribute to their career progression and foster social mobility towards a more meritocratic society. The present study intends to identify these teachers by their ability to engage young students in lessons, which may reflect the capacity of their teaching practices and efficient use of available resources to increase students’ learning. We focus on 4th-grade reading and mathematics teachers in Spain – using TIMSS and PIRLS 2011 data – and we propose a 2-step procedure for this analysis: the 1st step obtains teachers’ efficiency scores, which are later employed in a 2nd step – together with teachers’ practices – to explain children’s engagement in lessons.     

Developing learner-centred education among secondary trainee teachers in Malawi: The dilemma of appropriation and application

This article is mainly concerned with the capability of trainee teachers to implement learner-centred practice at one of the teacher education institutions in Malawi. The notion of learner-centred education has assumed a positive policy position for teaching and learning in both primary and secondary sectors not only in Malawi, but also in the wider world. However, there is no clear evidence on the extent to which trainee teachers or indeed qualified teachers develop and utilise learner-centred education during their classroom pedagogical practices. The appropriation and application of a pedagogical theory involves adopting tools for thinking that are made available by various social agents, structures and systems within cultural learning settings. The findings in the study indicate that appropriation and application of learner-centred education is constrained by various factors. These findings resonate with findings from other countries and indicate that progressive pedagogical notions aligned with social constructivism promoted in teacher education institutions have not resulted in widespread change in classroom practice. Teacher educators and policy makers need to be aware of this and examine relevant ways and possibly adaptations that can be reasonably made to ensure that secondary teaching appropriately benefits from the strength of learner-centred pedagogy.     

Music teachers in Turkey: their proficiency,working environments and problems

The aim of this study was the collection of data concerning Turkish music teachers’ proficiency and their place in the primary and secondary education system. In addition, information was collected regarding the teachers’ working environment and professional complications. A total of 200 music teachers’ opinions were compiled for the determination and evaluation of existing conditions. Opinions in different areas were analysed with statistical results indicating a government need to provide facilities and supply budgets for all levels of art and music education. Suggestions have been offered regarding the importance of educating qualified teachers and avoiding the impediments to their work. If carried out, music teachers’ job satisfaction will increase.     

Gender balance in teaching debate: tensions between gender theory and equality policy

This paper draws on findings from a research project funded by the Scottish Executive which analysed the gender balance in teaching and explored the underlying reasons for the decline in the number and proportion of men, particularly in secondary schools. As in other developed countries, such as Australia, the USA and Canada, the proportion of men entering teaching has declined fairly rapidly over a ten‐year period. At a time when women are participating in paid work in greater numbers than ever before, their concentration in certain areas of work, particularly in the service sector and the ‘caring’ professions, is increasingly apparent. Despite the clarity of this trend, it is evident that responses from academics and policy‐makers have been very different, with some policy‐makers linking the declining proportion of men in teaching with the problem of boys’ underachievement and a perceived ‘crisis in masculinity’, whilst some feminist writers have questioned these views, drawing on recent gender theory which questions the utility of the binary categories of ‘man’ and ‘woman’, instead suggesting that gender is performed and may have little to do with the body of the person who is involved in the particular performance. Sex and gender thus become decoupled, with the focus on individual actors freely choosing the version of gender they wish to practice. This line of argument suggests that the sex of the teacher is irrelevant; what really matters is the way in which they perform gender in the classroom. Work on the gender balance in teaching therefore provides an opportunity to reflect on underlying tensions in gender theorising and policy‐making. The paper begins by considering tensions between modernist and post‐structuralist accounts of sex and gender. Having outlined the underlying theoretical tensions, it then goes on to consider the accounts given by teachers and students of the reasons for their own choice of teaching as a career, their experiences in teaching and their views of the reasons underlying the declining proportion of men in teaching. The aim is to consider whether students and teachers believe that sex is an important variable structuring their lives, including their decision to become a teacher and their experiences of working as a teacher, or whether they regard gender as something which is chosen from a wide repertoire of options and is relatively free from the constraints of embodiment. In relation to research on the gender balance in teaching, the paper concludes by suggesting that there is a need to make use of the idea of gender as performance, whilst at the same time holding on to the foundational concepts of ‘woman’ and ‘man’. This is necessary to monitor and understand the career paths and underlying power relations of women and men in teaching and to transform these over time.     

Changing policy contexts and teachers´ work-life narratives: the case of Estonian vocational teachers

ABSTRACT

In recent decades, the work of teachers worldwide has undergone deep change. We have seen that teachers have encountered recent challenges differently and adapted to educational changes to a different extent depending on their personal disposition, but also school leadership and workplace support. This study focuses on the example of Estonian vocational teachers that serves as an interesting case for analysing how the interplay of the transitional context and neo-liberal policy trends adopted since Estonia regained its independence in 1991, after 50 years under Soviet rule, have affected the individual trajectories of teachers’ lives. This paper aims to understand how the interplay of the institutional context and individual (work) lives shapes Estonian vocational teachers’ understandings of their work and professionality. We suggest that certain periods of practice are visible in teachers’ narratives and those periods might be considered as enabling different degrees of agency. However, our interviews also revealed that different reform periods have been perceived and responded to differently. In the context of 25 years of the educational reform process, the policies and requirements introduced have been refracted at different levels (Goodson & Rudd, 2017), including that of the vocational field, the schools and individual teachers. Our results confirm that teachers individual, social, cultural and material resources such as competence, career stage, relations and networks, school leadership and prevailing culture at schools have their role in enabling or hindering the agency of teachers.