Teaching for equity: insights from international evidence with implications for a teacher education curriculum

Researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers in many countries are grappling with ways to address the persistent problem of inequitable educational outcomes between advantaged and disadvantaged students. This paper reports the results of a unique cross-country, cross-cultural analysis undertaken to provide insights into teaching practices that promote equity, drawing on programmes of empirical research or syntheses of major programmes of research that worked from a complex, non-linear view of teaching and its outcomes. We analysed international evidence about teaching practices that have a positive influence on diverse students’ learning outcomes and opportunities and then compared and contrasted the results of these analyses. From the commonalities we identified, we derived six interconnected facets of practice for equity, which are general principles of practice rather than specific teaching strategies or behaviours. Building on these facets, we developed a conceptual framework that can inform an equity-centred teacher education curriculum that specifically addresses the task of preparing teachers who can make a positive difference to the learning opportunities and outcomes of diverse students, particularly those historically disadvantaged by the education system.     

教师学习的内涵及对教师教育的启示

教师学习的内涵是多元的。从学习过程看,教师学习是建构性学习;从学习方式看,教师学习是参与式学习;从学习结果看,教师学习是理解性学习。教师学习内涵的研究为我国的教师教育提供了依据和启示。     

Collaborative teacher learning across foci of collaboration: Perceived activities and outcomes

This study compared teacher collaboration with differing foci, in terms of various learning activities and learning outcomes. A total of 411 teachers from 49 primary schools participated by completing a questionnaire. Foci of collaboration explained significant differences in the frequency with which teachers perceived learning activities and learning outcomes to occur in their collaboration with colleagues. Moreover, the focus of collaboration explained a considerable amount of between-schools differences in teachers' reported learning activities and learning outcomes. These results suggest that the school context and the focus of collaboration are related and that these both influence collaborative teacher learning.     

Everyday life and everyday learning: the ways in which pre-service teacher education curriculum can encourage personal dimensions of teacher identity

This article presents and discusses the findings of a research project, the main objective of which is to identify curriculum components that promote personal development as a nuclear part of teacher professional identity formation through pre-service teacher education. Curriculum is viewed as an ecological scenario with different subsystems and both as formal and informal. Identity formation is conceived as an ever-provisional result of a double transaction: the biographical one and the relational one. The curricula of four different historical periods of pre-service teacher education in Portugal and the professional identity of teachers trained within them were characterised through collection and analysis of documents and biographical narratives. Crossing results from the four periods, the quality of school climate emerges as an important variable to the quality of the teachers’ identity. The lifelong learning ethos seems to emerge when the training curriculum connects everyday learning with everyday life, namely by urging the students’ involvement in school life, peer learning activities and peer and teacher educators’ informal learning activities.     

Innovations at the boundary: an exploratory case study of a New Zealand school-university partnership in initial teacher education

21st century initial teacher education [ITE] requires teachers and teacher educators to work together in the design and delivery of innovative learning experiences for student teachers. This study investigates a partnership that enabled the co-construction of one core course within a graduate ITE programme in New Zealand. Our partnership aimed to help student teachers to make links between theory taught at the university, and day-to-day practices in classroom settings. Using case study methodology, data were generated from participants in three primary/intermediate schools and one university to identify strategies that supported their collaborative process. Seven affordances were identified to facilitate this school-university collaboration, which enabled the development of a learning community wherein professional values and expertise were made visible, power was shared, and relational trust and respect grew. The findings offer insights for teacher educators and teachers seeking to open up a boundary space between universities and schools within which they might co-design and deliver an ITE course.     

教师教育课程资源建设的问题与策略

课程资源的观念和视野对于重新审视我国教师教育的改革和发展问题具有重要意义。当前我国教师教育课程资源面临的主要问题包括资源意识淡薄和表达形式单一,脱离中小学及幼儿园教师专业发展的实际,低水平重复现象严重,普遍缺乏高水平研究成果的支持,等等。对此,可采取的基本策略包括提高教师教育者在课程资源建设中的地位和能力,强化素材性资源建设,优化共建共享机制,重视教师教育课程资源的基础理论和应用技术研究。     

Approaches to embedding sustainability in teacher education: A synthesis of the literature

This study investigated how teacher education academics embed sustainability education in learning and teaching, using a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed journal articles. A taxonomy of four distinctive approaches was developed: (1) embedding sustainability education widely across curriculum areas, courses, and institution; (2) through a dedicated core/compulsory subject; (3) through a component of a core/compulsory subject; and (4) through a dedicated elective subject. This paper investigates the differing rationales, theoretical frames and pedagogical approaches used and identifies the perceived challenges underpinning each of these approaches. The final section offers an analysis and discussion of the implications of our review findings for teacher education academics and researchers, and others in the broader academic community who are interested in change towards sustainability through education.     

The special education teacher between the priorities of inclusion and specialisation

In Austria, the profession of the special education teacher is facing major changes. Presently, special education teachers need to have general pedagogical competences to teach children of all grades, and are expected to have competences in managing highly heterogeneous groups in inclusive settings. Additionally, they need to apply special strategies to efficiently work with children with various special needs. Student teachers starting their education 2015/2016 will no longer have the option of obtaining a distinct degree as a special education teacher. Instead, future teachers will choose between teaching in primary or in secondary schools, and can then select their preferred focus from various options, including inclusive education. This qualitative study is based on written and oral research interviews with teachers in inclusive settings, and aims to identify competences in the areas of knowledge, action, and attitude which teachers consider necessary and effective for successfully teaching a heterogeneous group of pupils. The results indicate the need to further strengthen both the inclusive and the reflexive attitude in teachers. The outcomes will influence curricula development in the new teacher education programmes, and aid to tailor courses offered in in-service training for teachers working in inclusive settings.     

Concepts,policies and practices of teacher education: an analysis of studies on teacher education in Portugal

Education policies, and in particular those related to teacher education, are central to the construction of Europe as a knowledge society and for facing the social and economic challenges that European countries must respond to in this millennium. This article presents an analysis of studies on the evaluation of in-service teacher education conducted in Portugal since 1992. Based on the results of this analysis, the study develops a reflection on the concepts, policies and practices of in-service teacher education, contextualising it within a wider equation related to teachers’ education in Europe. The study consisted of content analyses of scientific articles, research reports, studies of evaluation and legal documents that provide the guidelines for in-service teacher education in Portugal. At the end, a final reflection and some general recommendations for teacher education are presented. There is a focus on the importance of placing in-service teacher education at the centre of educational contexts and on the problems that this causes in teachers’ work, emphasising its importance for social justice in Europe.     

Teacher-chameleons: the glue in the alignment of teacher practices and learning in policy

This article investigates how learning outcomes, a concept inspired by an Anglo-Saxon curriculum approach, are expressed in policy documents, with an emphasis on expectations articulated to teachers. Developments in education policy for the last two decades reflect a widespread expansion of learning outcome orientation in curricula and assessment in most of the modern world. These developments have led to changes in how education is governed and practised, and this makes it necessary to form critical concepts to understand how curricula are formed and functioned today. The research questions of the study are: How is learning outcome-oriented policy defined in key policy documents and what are the implications of these policies for the teaching profession? The topic is investigated through a document content analysis of key policy documents. A complex picture of teachers emerges in which they are to be both controlled and autonomous. The study also identifies a strong belief in ‘alignment between teachers’ competences and practices and students’ life opportunities. The findings indicate that the policies move back and forth between different parameters for describing teachers and teaching, and as such, teachers must be able to adapt as chameleons in the context of each policy.     

Reforming teacher education in the context of lifelong learning: the case of the BEd degree programme in Ireland

Lifelong learning has become a prominent fixture in educational policy in recent years in many countries around the world. In terms of teacher education, it is now widely accepted that initial teacher education is insufficient for the lifelong professional needs of teachers. From September 2012, initial teacher education in Ireland will be offered as a radically different four-year BEd degree programme. This reform of initial teacher education offers immense potential for teacher educators to re-imagine their programmes in light of a range of guiding paradigms and theoretical frameworks, including lifelong learning. This paper provides a rationale for developing programmes in initial teacher education in the context of lifelong learning. A number of recommendations for lifelong primary teacher education are offered in light of current reforms that are taking place in Ireland.     

音乐教师教育与基础音乐教育的呼应之管见

基础音乐教育课程改革轰轰烈烈,成绩卓著。各类音乐师范院(系)在积极的宣传、研究音乐新课程改革的同时,也将音乐新课程标准及其培训纳入了教学工作之中;许多教师还参加了国家、省(市)的音乐新课程的研究、培训,并出了不少成果;而且办学规模不断扩大、办学层次不断提高以及音乐教育研究生教育工作等,都无不显示出高等师范教育对基础音乐教育课程改革的关注。各高等艺术师范(院)系虽然积极参与基础教育改革,但是对自身的改革还显得被动和保守。因而转变观念,调整课程结构,为音乐基础教育培养合格师资乃当务之急。     

Moving beyond disproportionality: the role of culturally responsive teaching in special education

For over 30 years the field of special education has grappled with the problem of disproportionality. The discourse around this issue has predominately focused on possible causes, and yet the problem persists. This paper will provide an overview of the research on disproportionality and multicultural special education. In addition, the authors will examine the extent to which culturally responsive teaching has been implemented in special education and will propose future directions for research and practice.     

Transversal traits in science education research relevant for teaching and research: A meta‐interpretative study

This study is a meta‐interpretative analysis that focuses on research conducted and published by other researchers. Concepts central to this study include global practical relevance, curriculum design, and formative situation. We analyzed 35 studies selected from 374 published studies in the years 2000 and 2001 in three journals referenced in the International Scientific Index. Using a replicable methodology developed specifically for this research, we found evidence of s clusters of variables that suggest the existence of transversal traits in the 35 science education research studies. These results form a reference framework of theoretical and practical knowledge relevant for research and practice pertaining to teaching and learning science. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 574–599, 2008     

教师教育课程一体化构建:问题、理念及对策--以地方高师院校为例

课程改革是地方高师院校教师教育改革的必然选择。教师教育课程一体化是教师教育一体化的重要组成部分。从教师教育课程整合的要素来讲,教师教育课程一体化包括教师教育课程结构一体化、课程内容一体化和课程实施一体化等方面。地方高师院校教师教育课程一体化建设中存在的主要问题是课程结构比例失调、课程类别不合理,课程之间内容融合度低、教育实践课程欠整合,课程实施方式变革步伐缓慢、学生评价单一等。建立模块化课程网络体系、合理整合课程内容、优化课程实施过程等是教师教育课程一体化构建的基本对策。     

Workplace learning within teacher education: the role of job characteristics and goal orientation

Within teacher education, it is widely recognised that internships play a major role in preparing prospective teachers. The current research examines if the learning activities students’ undertake in the workplace can be explained by students’ goal orientation and their perceptions of the workplace. In addition, it will be investigated whether this model is predictive for students’ academic achievement. Participants in this study were 464 bachelor students enrolled in teacher education. The results from the structural equation modelling show that students’ learning goal orientation is an important predictor for students’ learning activities and academic achievement. Students with a higher learning goal orientation demonstrate a more active approach towards their learning. Regarding the context, some positive relations between work-related variables such as job demands and job control on the one hand and students’ learning activities on the other hand were identified, but their relationship was more limited than expected.     

The ideal teacher: orientations of teacher education in Sweden and Finland after the Second World War

There are many similarities between the Nordic countries of Sweden and Finland, but they have made different decisions regarding their teacher-education policies. This article focuses on how the objectives of teacher education, particularly the vision of the ideal teacher, have changed in Sweden and Finland in the period after the Second World War. In Finland, the period since the 1960s can be described as a gradual scientification of teacher education. The image of the ideal teacher has transformed according to a research-based agenda, where teachers are expected to conduct minor-scale research in the classroom. In Sweden since the 1980s, on the other hand, teacher education has oscillated between progressivist and academic orientations, following shifts in government between the Social Democratic Party and the centre-right. Since the turn of the millennium, however, a consensus in favour of a strengthened research base of teacher education has also emerged in Sweden.     

加拿大高校学生学习成果评估的内容、方法及启示

作为全球第二个实现高等教育普及化的高等教育强国,加拿大高校学生学习成果评估体系富有特色:在评估内容方面,构建起了高等教育系统、院校以及学科(专业)等不同层面的学生学习成果体系;在评估方法方面,形成了由标准化测试、评价量规、表现性评估以及问卷调查等四种类型构成的多元化学生学习成果评估方法体系。其对我国的启示是:构建和完善高校学生学习成果评估的内容体系,为学生学习成果评估奠定共识基础;开发多元化的学生学习成果评估方法与工具,提高评估活动的科学性;加强以结果为导向的评估制度建设,促使学习成果评估常态化。