A closer look at the role of mentor teachers in shaping preservice teachers' professional identity

This paper focuses on the extent to which mentoring relationships played a role in creating changes in the professional identity of seven preservice teachers. Semi-structured interviews, observations and reflective journals were used to document the changes experienced by participants as they went through their two placements during their one-year teacher education course. The data indicated that when the mentoring relationships were positive and expectations were met, preservice teachers felt more confident as a teacher. However, for some participants, who experienced a partially negative mentoring relationship, their confidence declined and they felt they did not improve. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Tracing one teacher candidate's discursive identity work

Drawing on the work of one teacher candidate, I demonstrate what can be learnt about the process of discursively constructing a teacher identity through the close study of written plans and portfolios. This teacher candidate positioned herself differently over time in relation to discourses from her teacher education programme about the importance of using detailed knowledge of students to guide planning and instruction. In the end, she downplayed specific information about students, arguing students' interests were “worthless.” The findings have implications for the ways teacher educators work with teacher candidates around artefacts of practice.     

Reflective learning and identity construction in practice,discourse and activity: Experiences of pre-service language teachers in Hong Kong

This paper reports on an investigation into two pre-service teachers' reflective learning through a series of integrated and interactive tasks (i.e., collaborative lesson planning, group consultation, microteaching and videoed reflections) in a teacher education course in Hong Kong. Relying on data gathered from interviews and reflection videos and informed by a tripartite model on teacher identity in practice, discourse and activity, the study revealed how the pre-service teachers engaged in reflective practice and identity construction in the course. The paper concludes with practical implications on how to design and implement effective reflective tasks in preparing and developing competent language teachers.     

Professional identity creation: Examining the development of beginning preservice teachers' understanding of their work as teachers

The importance of reflection in supporting the continued professional learning of preservice practitioners is well recognised. This study examines one aspect of the outcomes of preservice teachers' reflection: the development of their own self-image as a teacher. In making the transition from student to teacher, preservice teachers create their own professional identity. Their ability to articulate this identity is examined through a new construct, a “teachers' voice”. A teachers' voice, develops when preservice teachers interpret and reinterpret their experiences through the processes of reflection. A teachers' voice is articulated as part of the persons' self-image. The construct, a teachers' voice, was investigated by examining changes in preservice teachers' contributions in an online discussion forum. Two complementary approaches of content analysis were applied. Both methods revealed changes in preservice teachers' levels of engagement and showed that in the first semester of preservice teacher education, the majority of preservice teachers moved towards a more professional stance in their contributions.     

Narrative construction of teacher identity: positioning and negotiation

This study investigates the ways in which the disciplines of science and literature influence concepts related to thinking among teachers at colleges of education. Tools were developed to distinguish between what teachers declared to be important in the thinking skills necessary for their discipline and the skills the teachers actually used. A quantitative and qualitative analysis was carried out of the findings. Thinking skills unique to each discipline and common thinking skills were found. The study revealed the discrepancy between the declared views of thinking skills held by teachers and their active use. Results of this research can help build an environment that develops a culture of thinking among both teachers and future teachers in educational colleges.     

Conceptualising a pedagogical cultural identity through the narrative construction of early career Aboriginal teachers' professional identities

This paper explores the concept ‘pedagogical cultural identity’ as one that embeds cultural knowledge and lived experience into pedagogical practice. Four narratives were constructed from fifteen in-depth interviews with early career Aboriginal teachers who completed their Aboriginal Studies teaching degree at the University of Sydney. The study found that these teachers enacted their habitus, harnessed their social and cultural capital, and mobilised their relationship building skills in the construction of their professional identity. Significantly, contextual power relations influenced the enactment of a pedagogical cultural identity, challenging assumptions of a presumed identity claim by exploring its potential and limitations.     

Illustrations of the analytic memo as reflexivity for preservice teachers

This study illustrates the use of analytic memos during the action research process as a space to support preservice teachers’ emerging teacher identity and construction of practice through critical reflexivity. The authors reviewed 34 sets of analytic memos written by graduate preservice teachers by asking, ‘How are preservice teachers using the space of the analytic memo during the action research process as critical reflexivity?’. Reflexivity is understood in this work as a method of self‐inquiry, and positions teacher identity as fluid and subject to multiple and often competing discourses. The outcome of this analysis demonstrates how emerging action research questions reflect emerging teacher identity; the power of dialogue within the memos to act as a ‘corrective moment’; and the elliptical nature of action research as preservice teachers confront contradictions and paradoxes in learning to teach. The authors suggest that the analytic memo can act as a vehicle of agency and transformation, a space where preservice teachers may practice reflexivity as they begin to critically construct their practice, create and re‐create their teacher identity, and confront assumptions about teaching and learning.     

An examination of what metaphor construction reveals about the evolution of preservice teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning

Examination of prospective teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning on entry to teacher education programs, and tracking the development of these beliefs in light of academic and field-based experiences, is a critical task for teacher educators. The study examines metaphor construction as a tool to gain access to, and promote the development of, prospective teachers’ beliefs through the incorporation of reflective activities that integrate academic and field-based experiences. Specifically, this research examines how metaphorical representations of preservice elementary teachers’ in the United States and Europe changed and examines the factors influencing the development of beliefs and the modification of metaphors.     

Developing beliefs about classroom motivation: Journeys of preservice teachers

This paper examines the developing beliefs about classroom motivation of eight preservice teachers during teacher education. The framework conceptualises the contexts in which preservice teachers participate and the filtering effect of prior beliefs. Qualitative analyses of multiple data sources reveal two distinct trajectories in the development of beliefs about classroom motivation. The findings highlight the importance of filtering prior beliefs, alignment and conflict of ideas, significance of self-motivating factors and power of emotions in developing beliefs about classroom motivation. Implications emphasize the importance of enabling preservice teachers examining existing beliefs and integrating these with learning during teacher education.     

Decisions to enter and continue in the teaching profession: Evidence from a sample of U.S. secondary STEM teacher candidates

Given its prevalence and cost it is imperative to identify predictors of early career teacher turnover intentions and behavior. During their final year as education majors, 311 US, STEM Secondary Education students rated their student teaching experience, the strength of their teacher identity, and their intent to enter the teaching profession. Within 1–3 years after graduating 191 of them reported whether they remained in the teaching profession. One's identity as a teacher, as well as the perceived quality of student teaching experiences, predicted both intent and actual entry into the teaching profession. Furthermore, teacher identity mediated the relationship between student teaching satisfaction and outcomes.     

Examining the unexpected sophistication of preservice teachers’ beliefs about the relational dimensions of teaching

Research on preservice teachers’ beliefs about professional teaching capabilities indicates strong attention to the relational dimension; these studies have contributed to a portrayal of preservice teachers as simplistic and overly optimistic about the teaching profession. In this article, I position preservice teachers’ attention to teacher–student relationships as a form of professional knowledge. Drawing from findings of a qualitative study of U.S. elementary (prekindergarten-Grade 4) preservice teachers who were asked to describe professional characteristics of effective teachers, I suggest their beliefs reveal surprisingly nuanced understandings about the complex nature of teaching.     

Factors that influence pre-service teachers' persistence

This study investigated the role of various factors in pre-service teachers' persistence. Using a sample of U.S. pre-service teachers (N = 1365) from 256 institutions, the study explored the joint effect of predictors that influence their persistence including student engagement, demographic characteristics, prior achievement, college grades, and institutional characteristics. Results from multilevel logistic models indicated that campus environment engagement was a weak but positive predictor of persistence, those with higher grades were more likely to persist, and male and minority pre-service teachers were less likely to persist. Implications include implementing evidence-based programs to improve campus environment and support at-risk candidates.     

Initial epistemological beliefs transformation in one teacher education classroom: Case study of four preservice teachers

Education literature suggests that preservice teachers hold similar initial beliefs, viewing the teacher as the authority figure passing knowledge to the students. In consistency with constructivist practice, these beliefs should be challenged to enable the preservice teachers to develop alternative ideas, seeing the students capable of constructing knowledge with the help of the teacher. These beliefs are found difficult to change in the course environment. Drawing on surveys and teaching observations from four preservice teachers in an introduction methods course, the study showed that the four participants had different epistemological beliefs, some beliefs being more resistant to change than others.     

Defining moments: Developing culturally responsive dispositions and teaching practices in early childhood preservice teachers

This paper reports the results of a study that examined preservice teachers’ perceptions of which program experiences contributed to shifts in their culturally responsive dispositions and teaching practices. At the time of the study, participants were engaged in a teacher preparation program designed to prepare teachers to work with culturally, linguistically, socio-economically, and ability diverse young children and their families. The findings suggest that five types of experiences, interacting with each other, were instrumental in effecting changes in dispositions and teaching practiced. The experiences included material resources, diverse internship experiences, interactions with diverse families, critical reflection, and discussion and dialogue.     

Teacher identity construction in school–university partnerships: Discourse and practice

This article reports on a qualitative case study that explored the experiences of two groups of secondary school English language teachers as they participated in school–university partnerships in Hong Kong. Drawing upon theories of identity construction and using in-depth interviews, the case studies highlight how teacher identity formation shaped and was shaped by participation in a school–university partnership. Implications for developing a critical perspective on school–university partnerships and for future research are discussed.     

Facilitating preservice teachers’ development of mathematics knowledge for teaching arithmetic operations

Mathematical tasks, centered on arithmetic word problems, are discussed as the basis of an approach to facilitate preservice elementary teachers’ development of mathematical knowledge for teaching arithmetic operations. The approach consists of three groups of tasks that allow students to reflect on their initial knowledge, explore arithmetic word problem situations from multiple perspectives, and apply their resulting knowledge, respectively. Findings from the investigation of the approach indicate that the tasks can provide an effective and meaningful basis to help preservice teachers to develop deeper understandings of the arithmetic operations and their relationships and pedagogical-mathematical knowledge for teaching the arithmetic operations conceptually.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mathematical sophistication</Emphasis> among preservice elementary teachers

This study explores the ways in which eleven preservice elementary teachers used a web-based teacher resource to apply a mathematical definition, to correct a procedural error in arithmetic, and to make sense of a story requiring the multiplication of fractions. In our analysis we propose a framework to compare the behaviors and values expressed by our participants with the values and norms of the mathematical community. This analysis suggests that many preservice elementary teachers are profoundly mathematically unsophisticated. In other words, they displayed a set of values and avenues for doing mathematics so different from that of the mathematical community, and so impoverished, that they found it difficult to create fundamental mathematical understandings.     

Learning for professional life: Student teachers' and graduated teachers' views of learning,responsibility and collaboration

The focus of this study is on how final-semester students and newly-graduated teachers experience the formal objectives of teacher education, with a particular view of the concepts of learning, responsibility and collaboration. The ways of experiencing these concepts varied from conceptions in which only one dimension is discerned from in the student teachers group to conceptions in which several dimensions of the phenomena are discerned in the graduate teachers group.     

Helping Preservice Teachers Learn to Teach for Understanding in this Era of High-stakes Early Education Reform

As early childhood education becomes more regulated through a range of education reforms and mandates, early childhood teacher educators are seeking ways to prepare their preservice teachers to address these policy constraints through appropriate teaching practices that foster learning with understanding. Using the National Research Council’s conception of learning as a framework for analysis, this article considers strategies to achieve this goal by first presenting findings from a case study that examined the training of a sample of preservice teachers who were both educated in high-stakes learning classrooms as well as taught to be early educators in these same environments. This article then uses these findings to the make case for practical and political approaches to teaching that can assist teacher educators in preparing their students for this regulated field of early education.     

Virtual internships in blended environments to prepare preservice teachers for the professional teaching context

This study investigated to what extent virtual internships in teacher education were able to reduce Preservice Teachers’ (PSTs) professional anxiety. Simultaneously, this study investigated how virtual internships in blended learning environments were evaluated by PSTs in terms of technological, social and educational affordances. PSTs followed virtual internships during two different Educational Pedagogy Master’s courses (27 and 16 participants) in a teacher education programme. A mixed methods design was employed, consisting of pre- and post-test questionnaires, a focus group interview and individual interviews. A significant decrease was found in PSTs’ professional anxiety after having followed Virtual Internship 2. PSTs reported they obtained a more realistic image of teaching and felt better prepared for teaching in practice. Furthermore, regarding technological affordances, system usability was considered between acceptable and good. Concerning social affordances, PSTs appreciated collaboration within the virtual internships. As an educational affordance, it appeared that learning from videos with authentic classroom events is a good preparation for the professional teaching context. According to the PSTs, the scenarios within virtual internships could be improved in terms of authenticity and personalisation by offering more details and background information. The results of this study imply that virtual internships can be useful assets for teacher education.