The integration of sustainability education in Namibian colleges of education

Abstract

This article reports results of the study that examined constraints on the integration of Sustainability Education in Namibian colleges of education. The sample consisted of sixty-four (64) teacher educators selected from a total of one hundred and seventy-two (172). The findings of the study show that institutional, dispositional and situational constraints affect the cross-curricular integration of Sustainability Education in these colleges. The recommendations support the re-orientation of administration, curriculum and in-service training for teacher educators and administrators in order to support the cross-curricular integration of Sustainability Education in Namibian colleges of education.     

Environmental Education in Primary Education: status and trends in southern and eastern Africa

This study presents the results of an international comparative study (based on secondary analysis techniques) into the status of environmental education (EE) in primary education in 10 southern and eastern African countries. The study concludes that the current provisions for EE in primary education in the countries sampled are insufficient for the comprehensive development of national programmes. The major barriers to the further development ofEE include inadequate provisions for EE in education policy, deficiencies in teacher training in EE and a lack of instructional materials. The study recommends that the most important step towards improving the status of EE in primary education in the region is the inclusion of EE in education policy, combined with the development of a mechanism that would facilitate policy implementation.     

Pre- and in-service teachers’ beliefs about ELLs in content area classes: a case for inclusion,responsibility, and instructional support

This study documents differences between pre- and in-service content area teachers’ beliefs about: whether English language learners (ELLs) should be included in content area classes, the kind of instructional support (IS) they should receive, and responsibility for ELLs’ language and academic achievement. Questionnaire data were collected from 94 in-service and 101 pre-service content area teachers. Although several significant differences were found in pre- and in-service and female and male teachers’ beliefs about responsibility for ELLs’ language and academic development, both service and gender groups appeared to hold similar beliefs about ELLs’ inclusion in mainstream classes. Results also revealed that some beliefs held by female teachers about IS for ELLs significantly differed from those of males’; however, the effects of service and gender on certain beliefs may be contingent upon a number of background factors. The article concludes with pedagogical implications for teacher education for classrooms with linguistically and culturally diverse learners.     

In-service teacher training for agricultural education in the Netherlands: From supply to demand

This article reports the results of research on in-service teacher training in agricultural education in the Netherlands. Seven agricultural education centres (in Dutch: AOCs) and six institutes which are involved in in-service teacher training participated in this research. The data were collected by way of structured open interviews with persons (N = 16) responsible for the in-service policy of their organization. The Dutch government has changed the rules concerning in-service teacher training. The in-service budget has been transferred from in-service training institutes to schools. Accordingly, a new situation has arisen, for both schools and in-service training institutes. Schools will have to show a more active in-service policy than before; in-service training institutes can no longer offer schools in-service training activities which they deem necessary. More than in the past these institutes have to meet the in-service training needs of schools. In literature this is called a shift from a supplied to a demanded in-service training organization. This research has been carried out in order to gain insight into the way the institutes involved will organize their in-service policy in the near future, and, as a result, to give recommendations to help these institutes to make these policies. At this moment it appears that agricultural education in the Netherlands lacks certain fundamental conditions in order to achieve professional growth of teachers.     

Teachers’ perceptions and concerns about the implementation of the 2005 preschool curriculum in Tanzania

The aim of this study was to examine teachers’ perceptions and concerns about the implementation of the preschool curriculum developed over 10 years (2005–2015). This paper reports findings from an interpretive case study design in four preschool settings in Tanzania with 12 teachers and 8 parent participants. Data were generated using interviews and documentation. The research focus was on how teachers have implemented the 2005 preschool curriculum. The findings indicate that the implementation of the curriculum was problematic due to teachers’ lack of knowledge of a child-centred pedagogy. In addition there were no teachers qualified to work with young children, overcrowded classrooms, poor teaching and learning environments, and insufficient teaching and learning materials and facilities. This study recommends that to improve the current situation and attain quality provision of early education, teachers need to develop their professional knowledge through in-service training. The government policy planners need to provide initial teacher education, professional development, and conducive teaching and learning environments with available resources for effective teaching and learning practices.     

构建面向21世纪教师在职培训体系——我国高师院校的使命和发展新视角

制约我国教师教育发展的瓶颈性因素:教师职后教育自身体系建立问题,虽然近年来有了较大的变化,但仍然没有根本的改观,其中一个特别值得引起重视的是,高师院校在职教育的认识和实践不容乐观,而在日益强化的综合化改革中,这个问题又在整个教师教育领域里,有被忽视的倾向。这是绝对要不得的,因为,我国在新时期的教师教育改革中如果不解决这个问题,将会给事业带来不可弥补的损失,并且高师院校是解决这一问题的首当其冲的主体和关键,高师院校需要尽快转变观念,抢抓发展机遇,为教师教育一体化的真正建立做出应有贡献。     

Integration of New Exercise Classes into the Informatics Education in the Field of Object-Oriented Modelling

In secondary informatics education in Germany in the field of object-oriented modelling (OOM) a lack of published suitable learning material focussing on modelling instead of programming was found. This especially holds for learner adequate exercises on OOM. In this paper methods for identifying exercise classes by specialist textbook analysis, for structuring exercise classes in a catalogue and for designing learner adequate exercises are proposed with the aim to help teachers create exercises and give learners orientation in combining abstract exercise classes with solution strategies. Based on a first version of an OOM exercise class catalogue, exploratory tests were performed in secondary informatics education (analysis of filled in worksheets with OOM exercises), informatics teacher education (design of exercises) and in-service teacher training. The results led to a refinement of the concept. In summarizing educational experiences exercise classes give learners a promise for probable educational success.     

中小学学科教师心理健康教育能力的培养

我国教师教育重视中小学心理健康教育专兼职教师心理健康教育能力的培养,而忽视了中小学学科教师心理健康教育能力的培养.在中小学学科教师心理健康教育能力培养上,我国教师教育存在思想认识上的不足、职前培养与职后培训上的分离、理论学习与实践上的脱离等问题.针对这些问题,可以采取以下措施:提高思想认识,增强中小学学科教师心理健康教育能力培养意识;职前培养与职后培训一体化,实现中小学学科教师心理健康教育能力全程培养;理论知识学习与实践活动训练相结合,提高完善中小学学科教师心理健康教育能力等对策,将中小学学科教师心理健康教育能力的培养工作落到实处.     

Using teachers' prior knowledge,attitudes and beliefs to develop in-service teacher education courses for inclusion

This paper examines one important dimension of inclusive education: the development of in-service teacher education courses. Using an example from Cyprus, it discusses the issue of contextualizing teacher training courses to suit teachers' prior knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about inclusion. The paper considers some of the findings of a survey about issues relating to inclusion. The findings suggest that teachers' conceptualizations of inclusion are problematic. According to the findings, teachers tend to think on the basis of a medical and charity model and they favour special schooling for specific groups of children. The discussion considers how a training course for inclusion can be academically robust and professionally useful, while at the same time taking into consideration teachers' prior knowledge and expectations.     

Reforming teacher education in Tanzania

It is widely acknowledged that in order to improve the quality of education in primary schools in developing countries there is a need to place pedagogy and its training implications at the centre of teacher education reform. Like many countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, Tanzania has introduced various initiatives and reforms to improve the quality of teacher education at the pre- and in-service stages. Drawing on evidence from a baseline study of primary teacher interactional and discourse practices, and a review of teacher training colleges, this paper explores the training needs of teacher educators in Tanzania who, in the light of recent reforms to teacher education, will be responsible for education and training at the pre and in-service levels.     

The challenges of universal primary education in Uganda through distance education programmes

Abstract

This article reports on teacher education in Uganda, with specific reference to the role that distance education has played in upgrading the quality of education in general and in supplying more qualified teachers to meet a growing demand, specifically for teachers involved in primary education. The investigation paves the way for the establishment of the Open University of Uganda and illustrates how the Primary Education Policy of Uganda has increased access to 7 million primary school learners to schools in 2002. The article also explains how the qualifications of 10 000 in-service teachers have been upgraded between 1995 and 2000. The successes of two major in-service teacher education programmes are discussed. The article also explains how the Mubende Integrated Teacher Education Project (MITEP) not only contributed to the training of teachers, but also focused the attention of educators on the possibiliities of distance education for Uganda. Furthermore, it also argues that the Northern Integrated Teacher Education Project (NITEP) has on the other hand achieved successes in the field of inservice teacher education. The programmes assisted in the training of academic support staff who work in distance education. The article concludes by addressing the further needs of distance education in Uganda and highlights the challenges facing distance education programmes in Uganda.     

Mobile devices in early childhood education: teachers’ views on benefits and barriers

Mobile devices and, in particular, tablets have become increasingly popular in young children’s lives; however, there is limited empirical evidence regarding early childhood teachers’ perceptions on mobile technology-learning in early years. This study investigated teachers’ views on mobile devices’ usage in early childhood education classrooms, focusing on their perceived benefits, barriers and their concerns. A questionnaire with open ended questions was completed by 30 early childhood education teachers, in Greece. The primary perceived benefits regarded the facilitation of the educational process, the interactive learning environment and the support of children’s learning and development. Major perceived barriers were related to the lack of (or limited) resources/equipment, the limited teacher training opportunities and lack of funding, while key concerns regarded the constraint of hands-on experiences, children’s concentration, and cyber safety issues. Implications for pre-service and in-service teacher training, educational policy and practice, as well as links between home and school are discussed.

     

特教教师在职培训要走终身教育的道路

本文通过对特教教师队伍现状 ,特教师资队伍建设中存在的主要问题 ,及特教师资队伍加强职后教育的必要性与可行性分析 ,提出给予一定的政策支持 ,分类指导、按需施教 ,扩大中等特师的办学职能 ,适当地开展远距离教育等 ,将是加强我国在职特教教师的终身教育的有效措施 ,有利于提高我国特教师资队伍的整体素质 ,从而促进我国特殊教育事业的健康发展     

北京市特殊教育师资培训现状调查

本文采用问卷法对北京市特殊教育学校师资培训现状进行调查。结果显示:北京市特殊教育师资数量、质量和结构都明显好于全国平均水平,但也存在教师专业素养低、职前教育课程设置不合理、在职培训缺乏针对性等问题。最后,提出了进一步完善师资培养体系的三点建议:改革高校课程设置;建立完善的教师招聘制度和岗前培训制度;建立系统、专业的在职培训制度。     

引领与协作——社会性别视角下高校女教师的师徒生活研究

师徒制作为重要的在职教师培训模式之一,具有久远的历史渊源。现代师徒制是在对现代学徒制的借鉴和对职业教育的反思基础上产生并加以运用的。师徒生活通过提升教学理念、促进反思性教学、塑造职业性格而提升了高校女教师的课堂生活质量,通过缓解情感危机、养成心理健康、传承职业情感而丰富了女教师的日常生活体验,因女性独特的性别身份对于师生生活的有效性产生了积极的推动作用。     

Discovery learning of object-oriented modelling with exploration modules in secondary Informatics education

Discovery learning is very desirable not only in secondary education, because it prepares learners for life-long learning. Within secondary Informatics education in Germany, pupils often acquire many concepts by learning to program. To be able to model, to design and to evaluate own solutions, learners must acquire many details of a programming language and apply complex software development environments. So a lot of time gets lost for important topics, like the working principles of Informatics systems. The research presented here focuses on learning by exploration instead. The basic idea is that before developing own (typically small) solutions, learners explore medium size solutions by means of special learner-adequate Informatics systems, named exploration modules (EMs) here. In this paper, the author presents important aspects of the development methodology of such software, its application to the educational field of object-oriented modelling and shows how EM prototypes have successfully been included in different learning scenarios of secondary Informatics education, Informatics teacher education, and in-service Informatics teacher training within the academic years 2001 to 2004.     

教师专业化背景下的中小学师资培训论略

教师专业化和教师教育专业化既是世界性潮流,也是目前我国教育发展的客观要求.高师的培训部门应贯彻可持续发展的继续教育观,强化为教师职业专业化服务的意识;构建培养教师专业结构的培训课程体系;创新以校本培训为主的教师专业化培训模式,为我国基础教育培养出高质量的教师.     

Reframing Teacher In-Service Training in Kenya: Recommendations from the Literature

Following the rapid expansion of Kenya's education system from 2003, raising education standards has emerged as the country's next major nation-building challenge. There is acknowledgement within Kenya that high education standards are dependent upon the quality of its teachers, which is in turn dependent upon the quality of their pre-service training, and subsequent in-service training. However, amidst accusations that educational standards are declining, in-service training programmes in particular have been singled out as being overly bureaucratic, under resourced, poorly delivered and ineffective in helping to raise teaching standards. Further, the literature suggests that current in-service training programmes are failing to address more fundamental issues surrounding Kenyan teaching professionalism as a whole. This article examines the literature surrounding teacher in-service training in Kenya, as identified by Kenyan researchers, with the aim of synthesising and clarifying the major issues surrounding quality and delivery, and then presents policy recommendations for reframing and building effective in-service provision for the future.