Mature student experiences in teacher education: widening participation in Greece and England

In the context of the growing number of mature students entering higher education in Europe, this study breaks new ground in comparing the personal and professional identities of mature student teachers in Greece and England. Using an analytical model of student success by Zepke and Leach (2008 Zepke, N. and Leach, L. Linking soft skills and student engagement in second chance education. Paper presented at the Comparative Education Society of Europe (CESE) annual conference. July7–10, Athens, Greece.  [Google Scholar]), the research sought to identify the factors affecting the progress and development of 30 mature student teachers (15 in each country). It was found that individual motivation and prior experience were assets in the development of the student teachers, while peer and family support were vital success factors. In the English context, the importance of institutional support from university and school-based tutors was also strong. Barriers included financial difficulties and domestic responsibilities, which had a particular impact on mature women students. Some recommendations to improve institutional support for mature student teachers are made in conclusion.     

英国教师教育政策的实践转向与因素分析

教师职前培养在理论与实践的钟摆中徘徊,20世纪80年代之后,英国教师职前教育在政府直接干预下急速转向实践。解制背景下的政府集权,危机余波中的经济理性,政治新右派的鼓吹,教学实践能力的下降,教师数量的波动是这种犹如19世纪学徒式旧模式复兴的重要原因。分析其实践转向及影响因素既有利于把握教师教育的改革动向与发展趋势,也能防止陷入比较教育研究常见的盲目应景跟从的误区。     

The influence of teacher emotion on grading practices: a preliminary look at the evaluation of student writing

The evaluation of student work is a central aspect of the teaching profession that can affect students in significant ways. Although teachers use multiple criteria for assessing student work, it is not yet known if emotions are a factor in their grading decisions as has been found in other instances of professional evaluations. Reason to believe that this might be the case not only comes from emotion-congruent judgment research, but also from the emerging field of teacher emotion research which is beginning to reveal that emotion may be an important element in various teacher cognitions and practices. The present study provides initial evidence that emotions may bias the grades teachers assign to their students, such that positive and negative emotions influence grade assignment in emotion-congruent ways. This research offers empirical contributions to research on emotion and cognition as well as on teacher emotion.     

Psychometric quality of a student evaluation of teaching survey in higher education

Student evaluations of teaching (SET) are used globally by higher education institutions for performance assessment of academic staff and evaluation of course quality. Higher education institutions commonly develop their own SETs to measure variables deemed relevant to them. However, ‘home-grown’ SETs are rarely assessed psychometrically. One potential consequence of this limitation is that an invalidated instrument may not provide accurate information for the intended purposes. Moreover, in the absence of psychometric assessment, the students’ voices collected by the SETs often fail to provide insight relative to their intended purpose. The present study evaluates a ‘home-grown’ SET using a Rasch model and confirmatory factor analysis. Our results identified weaknesses in two areas: the rating categories and the number of items used to measure the intended constructs. Suggestions are provided to address these weaknesses. This work provides an additional tool set for critical analysis of SET that is generally applicable for a variety of institutions, including those in Asia.     

Every Child Matters: the perceptions of a sample of initial teacher education trainees in England

We discuss an investigation into the understandings of trainee teachers about government policy, using, as an example, the UK government's ‘Every Child Matters’ (ECM). We discuss the research methods used to gather and analyse data from 197 initial teacher education trainees in three institutions in England drawn from six subject areas. The project focussed on trainees' reactions to the anticipated outcomes of ECM and their confidence to help implement the initiative in their roles as form tutors (home room teachers) and subject teachers. Trainees react positively to ECM but reveal uncertainty about its precise meaning and about the roles they would need to adopt as teachers. We suggest that it is problematic for governments to expect teacher education communities to assist with the implementation of policies that have been inadequately characterised. We make recommendations about the role of initial teacher education in the further development of ECM.     

Student identity construction in online teacher education: a narrative life history approach

This paper explores student identity construction through the narrative life history of one non-traditional student, engaged in teacher education in a non-traditional way – a fully online university degree course. The students within this course are all mature-aged. Most are female, and have already developed personal identities as partners, friends and mothers, as well as professional identities such as teacher aides. Adding the new identity of “student” to these already established roles has an impact on these participants’ actions, beliefs, experiences and hence on their identities. Further, the notion that they are now “pre-service teachers” forces students to consider their professional identity in new and sometimes uncomfortable ways. This paper explores the challenges for one student created by the need to negotiate this complexity. Through this exploration using narrative life history methods, the paper considers the implications of the experience of becoming a student and a teacher.     

Alternative placements in initial teacher education: An evaluation

The paper evaluates a programme of short alternative placements for final-year B.Ed. students in Northern Ireland, which aims to broaden student teachers’ experience and develop their transferable skills. The alternative placement programme is set first in an international context of evolving pre-service field placements and then set in a local context marked by a surplus of teachers; a Revised Curriculum that emphasises the importance of employability, lifelong learning, and enterprise and entrepreneurship; and the introduction of the Extended Schools programme. The evaluation is based on feedback from the 2007 to 2008 cohort of students whose comments confirm the value of exposing student teachers to non-traditional educational environments.     

Student perceptions of quality feedback in teacher education

Many reports have identified a perceived lack of quality in regard to assessment feedback in higher education contexts. One research study in 2007 on undergraduate university students found that less than half of the students (46%) collected their formative feedback, suggesting that from their perspective feedback clearly was not fulfilling the role it should. This is a study of 465 graduate students and 101 undergraduate students studying teacher education at a major Australian university. The study investigated what students perceived to be effective, quality feedback based upon their extensive higher education experiences. Students identified preferences in regard to form, detail and timing of assessment feedback. The data were collected by means of pen and paper survey and identified which strategies the students perceived to be the most effective, particularly within the context of large cohort teaching and written assessment formats. Findings agreed with research elsewhere regarding problems with assessment feedback quality and quantity, but students also provided clear indications of how realistic improvements could be made in terms of assessment feedback processes and strategies.     

Innovation in teacher education: towards a critical re-examination

ABSTRACT

In the course of introducing a themed issue of the journal on “Innovation in Teacher Education’, we lay out an argument for re-examining the meaning of innovation in the field, shifting it away from the dominance of the economistic and technological. Acknowledging its status as a ‘buzzword’, we distinguish between purposes for innovation and, in particular, between changes driven by arguments for social mobility and those driven by social justice and equity. Two imperatives for innovation underpinned by arguments for social justice and equity are identified: the concept of a ‘teacher education debt’, built on Ladson-Billings’ more general notion of ‘education debt’; and the humanization of learning, teaching and becoming a teacher as person-centred, relational practices. The final section of the article introduces each of the six papers in the context of the discussion in previous sections about these imperatives for change.     

教师教育课程教学质量评价标准的构建--基于CIPP评价模式的视角

教师教育课程是教师教育质量提高的关键所在,科学合理的教师教育课程教学评价的标准是培养高水平教师的重要因素,也是教师教育教学质量持续不断提高的有效保障。目前,我国教师教育课程教学存在的诸多问题无不与教师教育课程教学评价的标准有关。在当前我国高等教育“质量工程”和教师教育课程改革的大背景下,应用CIPP评价模式评价教师教育课程教学质量,对促进学生发展、教师发展、课程改进和教学资源优化配置等具有重要的价值。     

Supporting families: a nurturing teacher education strategy in Nauru

There has been little recent documentation concerning Pacific family support for family members locally involved in university study in their Pacific home country and how such responses affect both parties. Some studies dealing with family support for student family members, including Pacific families residing in the USA, have been published. A New Zealand Ministry of Education report on Pasifika students’ educational success rates raised the need for effective family support contexts. Another study researched the family support negotiation patterns of mature-age part-time students in Australia, Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea. Only one University of the South Pacific research focused on Pacific family and community expectations of family members studying and residing with their families in their Pacific home countries. This Nauru-based study describes mixed support responses from Nauruan families towards their teacher education student family members and Nauru Department of Education student engagement and well-being development strategies.     

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.     

Thinking beyond student resistance: a difficult assemblage in teacher education

This paper draws on feminist new materialist, poststructuralist and post-human theories to rethink discomforting moments when engaging with sensitive topics in teacher education. It is argued that the common approach to such events – as instances of student resistance or pedagogical failures – is both simplistic and problematic, and that a more holistic and in-depth approach is needed. Inspired by Deleuze and Guattari’s ideas of assemblage and affect, our aim here is to re-theorise an instance of such an event in an attempt to make visible how place, space, objects, emotion, affect and history entangle in predictable and unpredictable ways in teacher education. The aims of the paper are to propose new ways of engaging with discomfort in teacher education and, secondly, to introduce post-human approaches in the field of teacher education, where they are underrepresented.     

Mothers who are student teachers: navigating their dual roles in pre-service teacher education

Many students in New Zealand are now of mature age, female, and mothers of dependent children (Allister et al. 2006). These students typically experience the challenge of sharing themselves between their children, partners, extended families and their fellow students, lecturers and studying. This research explored how a group of student-teachers who were also mothers experienced these dual roles and sought to document their beliefs, motivations, attitudes to these roles from the time they had entered teacher education. The following key themes emerged from the in-depth interviews with the women: strong motivation for wanting to become primary school teachers; the impact this decision had on the lives of their children, partners and extended families; the particular issues they faced as they tried to navigate the roles of mother and student-teacher; and the suggestions they had for continuing education and tertiary institutions to improve opportunities for other mothers wanting to study. This last theme is perhaps the most pertinent, as it offers implications for continuing education institutions wanting to attract and retain these students, who, as a group, represent a growing demographic trend in the student population.     

Finding a third space in teacher education: creating an urban teacher residency

This paper describes an urban teacher residency program, the Newark Montclair Urban Teacher Residency, a collaborative endeavor between the Newark, New Jersey Public Schools and Montclair State University, built on a decades-long partnership. The authors see the conceptual work of developing this program as creating a “third space” in teacher education. We detail the ways in which we conceptualize epistemology and clinical practice in teacher education, and changes in the roles of the community, and P-12 teachers that occur in a third space. Providing an account of our messy and nonlinear process demonstrates the struggles of creating new spaces for teacher education. We believe the theory that informs our work, the challenges we face, and the strategies for meeting those challenges illustrate the tenuous and ever-evolving nature of doing work in the “third space.”     

Assessment of the practicum in teacher education: advocating for the student teacher and questioning the gatekeepers

This paper reports on research that suggests a new view of assessment of the practicum in teacher education. By transcending the stereotypes of “failing” student teachers who do not achieve traditional benchmarks, this new lens highlights the complexity, diversity and inequality of experiences through listening to the voices of the student teachers and their mentors. By valuing context and focusing on progress and development rather than absolute attainment, teacher educators are challenged to reflect on their own role as mentors and educators through guiding principles of practicum learning. These guiding principles of practicum learning are the result of significant observation in the practicum classroom followed by critical analysis of data provided as narrative. A more humane, trusting and respectful attitude towards assessment is suggested.     

Active citizenship: a preliminary study into student teacher understandings

Background:?Assessment grades are ‘estimates’ of ability or performance and there are many reasons why an awarded grade might not meet a candidate's expectations, being either better or poorer than anticipated. Although there may be some obvious reasons for grade discrepancies, such as a lack of preparation or under-performance, there are a number of technical issues to consider, such as the potential effects of random measurement error, human error and grade misclassification. However, traditionally, there has been limited information available to the public about such issues.

Purpose:?This study formed part of a two-year investigation into the reliability of public examination outcomes in England and the current paper explores participants’ narratives relating to one of the themes that emerged from the study of public perceptions of assessment reliability. It examines how individuals interpreted and rationalised their examination results, particularly those that failed to meet expectations, and discusses the impact that such results may have on individuals’ academic self-concept.

Sample and method:?Ten focus groups were conducted across five qualification user groups:?two each with employees, employers, teachers, trainee teachers, and job-seekers (74 participants in total). A flexible discussion schedule was employed to explore participants’ experiences and perceptions of assessment reliability.

Main findings:?Participants tended to internalise ‘blame’ for results that were poorer than expected by constructing explanations that focused on a perceived lack of preparation, ability or knowledge. These experiences appeared to have a negative impact on individuals' academic self-concept. Secondary school teacher participants shared experiences of marking, technical and standard setting errors, and were more aware than other qualification user groups of the external factors that can impact on assessment outcomes.

Conclusion:?Examination results that are poorer than expected can threaten individuals’ academic self-concept, confidence in their ability, and influence their study and career intentions and opportunities. A better understanding of educational measurement issues may offer individuals a more informed framework for understanding their examination results, especially where results do not meet expectations.     

Team teaching during field experiences in teacher education: Exploring the assistant teaching model

Teacher education institutes are in search of alternative models of field experiences, inspired by collaborative learning. This study examines team teaching. We focus upon the assistant teaching model, in which the student teacher assists the mentor during teaching. We investigate which assisting activities student teachers prefer, how student teachers and mentors experience these activities and the conditions for implementation they foresee. Data were gathered using activity reports, reflective documents and questionnaires. Results show that the preferred assisting activities mainly consist of guiding pupils during individual and team work and of teaching a part of a lesson in front of an entire class group. The assistant teaching model has both advantages (professional growth, …) and disadvantages (feelings of unfamiliarity, …) for the student teacher. Advantages and disadvantages have also been reported for mentors (support, high workload, …) and pupils (support, confusion, …). Finally, several conditions for successful implementation of the assistant teacher model are discussed.     

Toward praxically-just transformations: interrupting racism in teacher education

ABSTRACT

Recognising the importance of learning from experience, this mixed methods study critically problematises how teacher educators position student teaching as pivotal in teacher education programmes’ inability to focus on racial equity. Through learnings from a survey of US university-based teacher educators who constructed student teaching placements in schools serving students of colour as problems, this article unveils how the concept of quality cloaks the re-production of racism in and through teacher education. Seeking to address how teacher education is implicated in the re-production of racial inequities, a teacher educator partnered with teachers in the most segregated system of state schools in the US to transform student teaching. In describing a situated representation of an innovation at once practice-focused and theoretical, this article illustrates the power and potential for praxically-just critical transformations in teacher education. Findings shed light on the power of Freirean culture circles for transforming teacher education. Implications point toward the need to recognise, problematise, and interrupt ways in which the White-centric rhetoric and practice of teacher education continue to foster racism and re-produce injustice.