Are we building preservice Teacher self-efficacy? A large-scale study examining Teacher education experiences

Teacher education programs are under great pressure to produce highly capable teachers. Teacher self-efficacy has been shown to correlate with teacher motivation and perseverance, yet little is known about how specific teacher education experiences predict teacher self-efficacy. Four sources contributing to teacher self-efficacy beliefs during teacher education programs include mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion from teacher educators, and verbal persuasion from cooperating teachers. In this study, perceptions of these sources were examined to determine how well they correlate with and predict preservice teacher self-efficacy. Results showed all four variables were strong predictors of preservice teacher self-efficacy, but that these variables accounted for only 18% of the variance, suggesting additional sources need to be examined. Perceptions of training experiences were examined across nine programs (N = 783). Implications for teacher educators and mentor teachers are provided so as to find ways to strengthen preservice teacher self-efficacy.     

MEASURING EFFICACY SOURCES: DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE SOURCES OF TEACHER EFFICACY QUESTIONNAIRE (STEQ) FOR CHINESE TEACHERS

The aim of the current study is to develop and validate an instrument to measure the four sources of teacher efficacy among Chinese primary school teachers. A 26‐item Sources of Teacher Efficacy Questionnaire (STEQ) was proposed with four subscales: mastery experience, vicarious experience, social persuasion, and physiological arousal. The results supported the hypothesized four‐factor structure of the STEQ. Scores from all the four factors of the STEQ had strong significant correlations with the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), which showed the criterion‐related validity of the STEQ. Further, scores of all four sources significantly predicted teacher efficacy scores, among which social persuasion was the strongest predictor. This study contributes to the self‐efficacy literature by providing researchers with an instrument for examining the various facets of teacher efficacy. The findings can inform school principals and teacher educators, enabling them to facilitate a school culture and teaching environment that cultivates a greater sense of teacher efficacy and, in turn, better teaching performance.     

The Relationship Between Entry Motivation and Professional Satisfaction of No-Fee Preservice Students

This study used expectancy-value theory to better understand no-fee teacher education and improve the relevant educational methods and policies. It applies a self-developed scale, derived from the theory, to identify entry motivation and professional satisfaction levels among no-fee teacher education students (N=700) at Southwest University. The results illustrate that (1) students enrolling in the no-fee teacher education program are mainly motivated by their perception of the teaching profession, no-fee teacher education policies, intrinsic value, and social persuasion; (2) demographic characteristics account for the differences between no-fee teacher education students in respect to entry motivation and professional satisfaction; and (3) specific entry motivation has significant predictability for the level of professional satisfaction of students. With solid empirical data as evidence, this study recommends that no-fee teacher education policymakers and program designers should take cognizance of the motivating factors that affect students' decision to enroll in the program and their perception about the teaching profession after years of preparation; information about student needs and feedback should be incorporate in modifying policy and implementing educational practices in order to maximize the effectiveness of the no-fee teacher education policy.     

教师教学的教育重建模式

PCK是学科教学知识(Pedagogical Content Know ledge)的简称,是教师知识范畴中使教学最有效的知识。为了研究PCK产生了一种新的研究模式。这种模式被称为"教师教学的教育重建"(ERTE)模式,它代表了研究科学教师PCK的结构框架,它是一个庞大但是之前又未涉及的研究领域。基于此,从PCK的定义到ERTE模式作介绍,以期进一步促进教师教学的有效性,提高教学质量。     

Pedagogical practices: examining preservice teachers’ perceptions of their abilities

Teachers routinely make decisions regarding the best pedagogical methods for altering students’ understandings about academic content. Such practices are at the root of teaching as persuasion, and have been shown to be related to academic achievement. Yet very little research has investigated the extent to which individuals learning to be teachers (i.e., preservice teachers) feel they are capable of performing the practices underlying teaching as persuasion. As such, the purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which preservice teachers see themselves as capable of performing persuasive pedagogical practices compared to more general teaching practices as operationalized on well-researched measures of teacher efficacy. Results indicated that undergraduates enrolled in preservice teacher education courses perceived themselves as less capable of performing persuasive pedagogical practices than more generally accepted practices. In addition, preservice teachers perceived they were more capable of altering students’ knowledge about content than at modifying their beliefs about content. Implications for research and practice are forwarded.     

Using Sociocultural Theory to Understand the Relationship between Teacher Change and a Science-based Professional Education Program

This paper focuses on a model of teacher change based on a study of a science discipline-based professional education program and on an understanding of teacher change in terms of an agency| structure dialectic. Professional education programs should expand teachers' capacity to act in a range of fields. Conducted over one year, this study used socio-cultural theory to examine the role of cultural schema and resources in the enactment of new pedagogical structures by two teachers who demonstrated widely variable responses to their experience of a professional chemistry education program. Hermeneutic and phenomenological methods of study supported the examination of teacher actions and narratives as sources of data. The analyses of these data sources resulted in greater understanding of the relationship between schema, resources and structure and the relationship between structure and teacher agency. Structures are dynamic and if a teacher uses a resource such as an inquiry-based instruction protocol without the attendant cultural schema such as the value of questioning then the structure that is implemented will be different from that the teacher experienced in the professional education program. This understanding supported an explanation of teacher change in terms of teacher agency that constituted our learning from the study and resulted in changes to aspects of the professional education program.     

教师培养意识和教学模式

本文认为,刘颂浩(2014)提出的"对外汉语教学和本专业硕士培养和实习工作有机地融合"的思路若能落实,将是研究生培养方式的重大改变,可以全面提高研究生的培养质量。由于研究生实践经验有限,参与教学工作时宜采取"逐渐进入"的方式。本文进一步指出,研究生在参与学院教学进行教学实习的过程中,应得到一定的专业指导,这一指导过程无论对指导教师还是对研究生都有好处。本文最后依据较新的实证研究成果指出,研究生培养不能简单采取"教学主管+无经验的学生教师"的二元体系,而应设计为"主管教师+有经验的学生教师+无经验的学生教师"的层级模式。     

Working in the rain: pressures and priorities for teacher education curriculum design in South Africa: a case study of the University of Durban-Westville

This case study of the transformation of teacher education in post-apartheid South Africa is a reflection on the pressures and priorities that characterise curriculum design and development in a society undergoing rapid change. It focusses on the varied sources behind the process of curriculum transformation, indicating how an historically disadvantaged institution chose to redesign its model of teacher professional development to reflect a more progressive interpretation of the process of becoming a teacher. The influences impacting on the design of the teacher education curriculum emanate both from within the institution itself and from the wider external environment of changing educational policy which signalled a departure from apartheid traditions. This paper suggests that the process of transformation is characteristically messy, contradictory and complex.     

Practicum experiences as sources of pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy

This study examines physical education pre-service teachers’ (PTs) self-efficacy and practicum experiences as self-efficacy sources through a mixed-method approach. For the quantitative phase, a self-efficacy questionnaire was applied to 141 PTs. Results showed a stronger self-efficacy in the relationship with students and discipline promotion. Lower self-efficacy was linked to instructional strategies. Concerning the qualitative phase, eight PTs were interviewed. PTs with higher self-efficacy reported professional experiences before practicum as mastery experiences. During the practicum they highlighted as mastery experiences: classes’ characteristics, planning and teaching practice; lesson observation as vicarious experiences; and post-lesson conversations as verbal persuasion. PTs with lower self-efficacy reported classes’ characteristics and teaching practice as failure experiences. Lesson observation was linked to negative vicarious experiences and post-lesson conversations were associated to negative emotions and the absence of verbal persuasion. This study’s results have implications inasmuch as they confirm the role of the practicum in teacher education programmes and the importance of training supervisors in the implementation and management of the training experience, thus contributing to PTs’ self-efficacy development.     

Teachers’ professional development through university–school partnerships: theoretical standpoints and evidence from two pilot studies in Chile

This paper presents a teacher professional development programme, based on a university–schools partnership and a collective reflection model, addressing the needs of in-service teacher education in Chile. First, the main challenges faced by both teachers and teacher education in Chile are summarised. Then, the foundations of this model are presented. Finally, an illustration of the model is provided by presenting two pilot studies implemented in Chile. A qualitative analysis of interviews showed that the programme was successful in promoting teacher reflection, leading to reported changes in their practices. Finally, the advantages and the challenges arising from this study, and the educational possibilities of this model of professional development, are discussed.     

Effects of social persuasion from parents and teachers on Chinese students’ self-efficacy: an exploratory study

This study compared the effects of social persuasion from parents and teachers on students’ self-efficacy in reading comprehension in English as a foreign language. Ninety-nine Grade 8 Chinese students in a secondary school in Hong Kong completed a questionnaire with six scenarios which tapped their self-efficacy after receiving positive and negative feedback that were described as coming from their teacher, mother and father. Students decreased their self-efficacy after receiving negative feedback and the source of feedback did not make a statistically significant difference. Conversely, positive feedback led to an increase in self-efficacy with the mother’s positive feedback leading to a higher increase in self-efficacy than feedback from the teacher and the father. No statistically significant difference was noted in the change in self-efficacy after receiving feedback from the father and the teacher. Parents and teachers should increase the use of positive feedback and decrease that of negative feedback. Implications for collaboration between teachers and parents in providing positive feedback on students’ academic performance were discussed.     

实践取向:职前教师教育模式的重构

实践取向的教师知识观强调教师实践性知识在课堂教学中的重要作用,在教师教育观上主张在实践场景下,创设学习共同体,帮助未来教师形成和发展实践性知识。本研究基于实践性知识的性质、内容、来源及获得途径,以小学教师职前教育为例,重建职前教师教育模式——"理论-实践交融"模式。这一模式的特点是:理论与实践相互渗透、交融。在理论-实践共同体中,未来教师的理论学习与"主题见习"结合,真实情景下的学习而理论总是"在场"。     

Teacher Education in Portugal: Analysing changes using the ATEE-RDC19 scenario methodology

This paper presents an overview of the development of teacher education in Portugal since the Revolution of 25 April 1974, which brought the country to democracy. Making use of the scenario model created by the ATEE-RDC19, it is an attempt to make clearer the hidden philosophies underlying the changes that are undertaken and show how teacher education has evolved from a romantic and idealistic social vision towards an ideology dictated by economic and selfish interests.     

Students’ conceptions of knowledge,the role of the teacher and learner as important factors in a didactic school reform

In the first part of this paper, conceptions of trainee teachers are defined, together with their importance for the process of teacher education. Many studies concerning teacher conceptions and models of teacher development show that the conceptions of instruction, knowledge, and teacher and learner roles are a key part of the teacher’s professional equipment. They affect his/her thinking, experiences and actions, and thus directly determine the quality of instruction and the teacher’s professional growth. The Slovene school system has been undergoing many changes in the past decade. The success of the reforms largely depends on the way teachers perceive knowledge and other basic educational categories. The purpose of the present study was to identify the conceptions of knowledge, teacher and learner roles held by the student teachers in primary education at the beginning of their professional training. Numerous categorizations of these conceptions were reviewed to form a four‐tiered hierarchic taxonomy of conception categories, ranging from teacher and content centred to learner and learning centred. The study shows that trainee teachers largely hold conceptions typical of the transmission model of education. The key question arising from this is how to shift the students’ conceptions towards a modern, cognitive‐constructivist model of education, which is an important basis for the didactic reform of the Slovene school system.     

顶岗实习：合法的边缘性参与——泰山学院教师教育模式创新

基于对现代教师教育模式的反思与审查,教师教育逐步由个人认知取向的“知识中心论“转型为“身份”与“知识”并重的人类学的教师教育模式.其方式是将“顶岗实习”作为创新点,通过让大学生“合法的边缘性参与”中小学教学实践共同体来形成身份认同和专业知识.建构专业身份认同是教师教育的核心,建构与身份相适应的专业知识是教师教育的重要内涵.自2010年以来,泰山学院教师教育学院以顶岗实习为突破口,让师范生通过“合法的边缘性参与”中小学的教学实践,以此推动教师教育实践的转型,实现了教师教育模式创新.     

The potential of teaching schools in enabling student teacher learning for the teaching profession

In 2011 the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa was promulgated. This framework proposes the establishment of teaching schools to strengthen pre-service teacher education. This study arises from this initiative. A generic qualitative study was undertaken to explore the views of research participants from selected teacher education institutions and schools in South Africa on the potential of teaching schools to enable student teacher learning for the teaching profession. The key findings are that teaching schools can potentially make a distinctive contribution towards enabling student teacher learning for the teaching profession through student teachers experiencing good teaching in a model environment and through coordinating experiences in coursework and at the school. The discussion of the findings points to the distinctive potentialities of teaching schools for strengthening teacher education. The notion of hybridity and third space is invoked as a heuristic to shed light on the developing of a true collaborative relationship between the teacher education institution and the teaching school for enabling student teacher learning for the teaching profession.     

Teacher Educator Identity in a Culture of Iterative Teacher Education Program Design: A Collaborative Self-Study

Faculty in the School of Education have collaborated to re-envision teacher education at our university. A complex, dynamic, time-consuming and sometimes painstaking process, redesigning a teacher education program from a traditional approach (i.e. where courses focus primarily on theoretical principles of practice through textbooks and university-based classroom discussions) to a model of teacher education that embraces teaching, learning and leading with schools and in communities is challenging, yet exciting work. Little is known about teacher educators’ experiences as they either design or deliver collaborative field-based models of teacher education. In this article, we examine our experiences in the second implementation year of our redesigned teacher education program, Teaching, Learning, and Leading with Schools and Communities (TLLSC) and how these unique experiences inform our teacher educator identities. Through a collaborative self-study, we sought to make meaning of our transformation from a faculty delivering a traditional model to educators collectively implementing a field-based model, by analyzing the diverse perspectives of faculty at different entry points in the TLLSC development and implementation process. We found that our participation in an intensive field-based teacher preparation model challenged our notions of teacher educator identity. In a culture of iterative program design, this study documents the personal and professional shifts in identity required to accomplish this collaborative and dynamic change in approach to teacher education.     

转型时期我国教师教育的几个问题

从师范学校教育到现代教师教育，我国的教师教育体制正在发生着变革，一个开放、多元、一体化的教师教育体系正在悄然构建。师范院校通过学科结构、专业设置、人才培养模式三的综合性，积极探索转型之路。本通过对世界及我国师范教育进程的叙述，说明了现代教师教育兴起的历史必然性，同时讨论了教师教育的概念、教师专业化及教师教育模式问题。     

Perceptions and practices of multicultural education among Ethiopian secondary teacher education program officials,teacher educators and prospective teachers

This study explores the perceptions and practices of multicultural education among Ethiopian secondary teacher education program officials, teacher educators and prospective teachers. To that end, data were collected from secondary teacher education program officials, teacher educators and student teachers using questionnaire and interview. The data were analyzed by employing mixed methodologies. The study revealed that while Ethiopian secondary teacher education program officials and teacher educators have awareness about multicultural education, the prospective teachers’ awareness was found to be very low. Furthermore, there are inadequate practices of multicultural education in the secondary teacher education institutions. Suggestions which may enhance the implementation of multicultural education in the secondary teacher education program of the country and beyond are discussed in the article.     

Teacher education graduates’ entrance into the teaching profession: Development and test of a model

This study aims to advance insight into the relationship between teacher education and graduates’ intended and actual entrance into the teaching profession. Moreover, it indicates how this relationship varies between teacher training for primary education (i.e., programs for class teachers-to-be) and teacher training for secondary education (i.e., programs for subject teachers-to-be). A hypothetical model of graduates’ entrance into the teaching profession comprising empirically grounded variables was developed. Besides teacher education related variables, other factors (e.g., motivation and labour market) were included. Data for this study were collected based on a sample of 301 teacher education graduates. Logistic regression analysis shows that intention to enter teaching is a valid predictor of actual entrance. Path analysis was applied to test the hypothetical pattern of (inter)relationships between the variables. For graduates from teacher training for pre-school and primary education, the path model accounts for 33% of the variance in intention to enter teaching. For teacher training for secondary education the explained amount of variance is 44%. Results are largely consistent across the two types of teacher training showing a small, although statistically significant, contribution of teacher education above other antecedents of graduates’ intention to enter teaching.