Promoting inclusive education in secondary school in Norway: a national programme for teacher development

There is a great need in many countries for extended and new teacher competence to meet the challenges of inclusive education. This paper presents a national programme for developing new teacher competence in secondary schools in Norway. The programme was developed and implemented during the 1990s, its aim being to start a continuing process in schools directed at promoting inclusive education and improving the quality of education for pupils with special educational needs. Further, the paper presents some findings from a national survey of 2240 teachers and school administrators in 104 schools one year after the implementation of the programme. The survey partially replicated a survey carried out before the programme started. The purpose was to give an overall picture of the situation with respect to teacher competence in special needs and inclusive education, and the impact of the competence building programme on teacher practice, and to identify possible system changes in schools.     

A new direction?

Digital literacy is now defined as a key area of competence in the new national curriculum for schools in Norway. For policy makers the terms ‘information society’ and ‘knowledge society’ has been used to argue for implementing new technologies in education, and for improving learning. These views have been highly problematic, partly because they do not take into consideration how new technologies are used by young people, or how schools work as social practices. This article will focus on how we conceptualize a student perspective in schools related to the use of digital technologies. Combining an increased focus on digital literacy in school curricula with an increased focus on student participation challenges our conception of the school-aged learner. In discussing these issues I will draw on results from a number of school-based ICT projects that I have been involved in since 1998.     

世纪之交以来德国职前教师教育课程改革:背景、举措与效果

随着高等教育一体化与"可持续发展教育"进程的不断深入,德国教师教育发展面临巨大的挑战。加之"PISA震惊"引发的基础教育课程改革,21世纪初期,德国陆续颁布出台了一系列针对职前教师改革的新政策,并积极对课程实施改革,如建立分层、贯通性本硕一体化课程体系,基于教师教育标准设置能力导向的课程目标,在课程内容中融入可持续发展与跨文化主题,开发行动能力导向的实践课程等。虽取得了明显成效,但也出现了一些实际问题。     

教师资格国考内容与高职教师教育专业课程融合策略探讨--以S职业技术学院数学教育专业为例

科学合理的课程体系和内容是高职教师教育专业培养合格师资的重要保证。在教师资格证国考的背景下,高职院校如何将国考内容与教师教育专业课程进行有机融合,既能保证师范生的教师资格证的通过率,又能保证教师教育专业的人才培养质量,是摆在每一个教师教育工作者面前的一个重要课题。文章分析了教师资格国考对高职教师教育专业产生的影响,阐述了教师资格国考内容与高职教师教育专业课程融合的必要性,并以数学教育专业为例提出了教师资格国考内容与高职教师教育专业课程融合的策略。     

Program reflections on the role of longitudinal digital portfolios in the development of technology competence

Abstract

Digital portfolios in teacher education provide opportunities to conceptualize learning and growth over time. The digital portfolio experiences of two secondary teacher education students in the context of an entire preservice teaching experience are presented. These vignettes, along with programmatic observations from the past four years, indicate that high‐level uses of educational technology are difficult to facilitate in large teacher education programs using a technology infusion model that emphasizes general skills. Whereas many teacher education programs have abandoned required technology courses to jump start National Educational Technology Standards‐based competence, the authors argue that advanced courses in educational technology for teacher education majors are still necessary for curricular integration with technology. This article concludes with a discussion of the nature and level of technology competence in relation to portfolio development and makes recommendations for how programs might pursue similar models.     

中学女性体育教师胜任力模型的构建

在基础教育课程改革的背景下,中学体育教学面临新的挑战．基于胜任力理论的研究成果,结合学科、学段以及性别特征,对中学女性体育教师胜任力概念、内涵和特征进行了分析,在此基础上,根据胜任力建模方法,构建了中学女性体育教师胜任力模型——KAP金字塔模型,包括综合知识、教学能力、个性特质3个维度以及专业知识、教学知识、实践能力、管理能力、创新能力、自我认知和价值取向7个因子．     

Newly qualified teachers’ professional digital competence: implications for teacher education

The professional digital competence (PDC) of teachers is of growing importance in classrooms, now that digital resources and digital media are becoming important parts of teachers’ everyday practice. This study explores how newly qualified teachers are prepared to use information and communication technology (ICT) in their initial teacher education (ITE). We present findings of a nationwide survey in Norway on 356 newly qualified teachers. It explores how these teachers’ ICT self-efficacy is related to how they perceive the quality of, and contributions from, their ITE related to ICT and the development of their PDC. In general, newly qualified teachers report fairly poor quality and contribution of ICT training during their teacher education. We claim that continuous effort is needed to review the quality of ITE and contribute specifically to the development of PDC and developing student teachers’ ICT self-efficacy in ITE.     

Mathematical competence for all: Options, implications and obstacles

In the recent evolution of Portuguese basic education, the concept of competence and the process of curriculum development became major aspects of an innovative movement at a national level. Concerning school mathematics, this evolution provided an opportunity to explore the way in which mathematical competence for all could be defined and interpreted with the purpose of abandoning a technique-oriented view of the curriculum and the process of developing it. After describing the context and exploring the concept of competence, this paper presents a formulation for the characteristics of mathematical competence for all and discusses some of its implications. Finally, the paper tries to identify the obstacles that tend to emerge when such an approach is proposed in the context of a national curriculum. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

高等教育大众化背景下教师教育课程改革的价值取向

在高等教育大众化的背景下,我国教师教育体系正经历一次深层次的转型,教师教育课程体系的改革作为教师教育改革的核心内容之一受到广泛关注,而教师教育价值观的重建以及对教师教育实践性本质的知识论的认同是教师教育课程改革的理论基础。本文从转型的需求背景、价值观重建和知识论更新等几个层面对当前教师教育课程改革中的理论问题进行深层次的思考,以期对构建适合中国时代发展需要的新教师教育课程体系提供理论参考。     

Environmental education (EE) policy and content of the contemporary (2009–2017) Mexican national curriculum for primary schools

In Mexico a reformed curriculum is being implemented at the national primary level focused on the competence model and incorporating EE as a key element. This article reports our analyses of what theories, policies and/or EE related-contents were included in the documents that integrated this curriculum: general study plan, study programs of Grades and official students’ textbooks. Results indicate that in those official documents was incorporated a competence related to EE called ‘competences for the coexistence’, implying harmonic relationships with others and the nature. Additionally, EE for sustainability was included as a transversal topic expecting that contributes to reach the graduate profile of basic education that indicates that students should promote and assume the care of health and the environment. Nevertheless, it is not clear how it is expected that teachers implement EE in practice, lacking clarity of the environmental theory that support this curriculum.     

“Research-based” and “profession-oriented” as prominent knowledge discourses in curriculum restructuring of professional programs

This article questions what kind of actors become involved and analyzes what forms of knowledge are activated, when discourses such as “research-based” and “profession-oriented” become basic preconditions in national curriculum change processes in Norway. A “mapping” is conducted, comprised of actors and ideas, played out in two national curriculum change processes in Norway, namely “the Integrated Master Program in Teacher Education” and “the Bachelor Program in Engineering.” The analysis shows that actors and the roles they were able to play may have had an effect on what kind of knowledge forms was prioritized in the curriculum change processes. In both, curriculum process integration of discipline-based/theoretical knowledge and practical and context-specific knowledge are emphasized. However, in the teacher education process, principled knowledge about specific professional problems and theory-based decisions are highlighted as important, while, in the engineering education process, procedural knowledge about how to solve problems and innovative capacity is more emphasized. The analysis shows a relationship between such curriculum change processes and the composite “epistemology” of the wider and contextually developed policy space. It is also demonstrated, in the two cases, that the knowledge base for professional work is subject to negotiations far beyond the academic community and is embedded in a wider set of social, professional, and political institutions and frames.     

Policy impact of PISA on mathematics education: the case of Norway

This article addresses the policy implications of participation in international large-scale assessments (ILSAs), particularly the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), and the ways in which such implications might influence mathematics education. Taking Norway as a special case, this discussion focuses on insights into teaching, learning and assessment practices that can be inferred from the PISA study, and how participation in ILSAs has contributed to educational policy and even changed policymakers’ perspectives on schools, teachers and students. Following publication of the PISA 2000 results, Norway experienced a ‘PISA shock’, leading to the implementation of a national quality assessment system and national tests. In addition, changes were made to the mathematics curriculum for compulsory school and to mathematics teacher education. More recently, public debate has focused less on rank and league tables, shifting instead to the high number of low-achieving students and the low number of high achievers. Moreover, there has been little uptake of policy advice provided by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which focuses on strengthening accountability measures. Furthermore, although the Norwegian educational system in the past decade has undergone a decentralisation process, the educational system still follows the Nordic model, which focuses on equity and ‘education for all’. Analyses of the Norwegian case indicate that policymaking takes place in highly cultural contexts, and that international studies might be used merely to validate existing policy directions.     

在高师教育中实现“教书育人能力”的再生产——如何在高师教育中培养学生的教书育人能力

“教书育人”是每一位教师都应当具有的基本能力,也是高等师范教育培养的最终目标,但是我国师范教育本身对于师范生“教书育人”的培养并未曾引起教育研究者的关注。因此,如何将“教书育人”这种教育、教学能力有效内化于每一个师范生的能力结构中实现“教书育人能力”的有机传承,为他们以后的教育、教学工作奠定良好的基础,是现代师范教育研究、实践应当注重的环节。本文就这一问题进行探讨,并试图通过研究高等师范教育存在的实际问题,提出相应的解决策略。     

数学教师教育课程设置的思考与实践

本文通过对几所部属师范院校、地方师范院校数学教师教育课程的调查分析,结合国内教师教育课程的发展趋势,探讨了基础教育对数学教师的新要求,进行了教师教育课程设置改革的探索和实践,取得了明显效果。     

美国教师教育改革新趋势对中国的启示

美国奥巴马政府执政以来,增加联邦教育经费,招募教师和吸引人才,进一步提高学生学业标准并奖励优秀教师,出台了一系列对美国的教师教育发展产生深刻影响的教育革新计划。美国大学在通识教育、培养模式、教学实习、教师资格等方面的改革举措有:在教师教育课程方面,更加注重多学科知识基础;在培养模式上更加多元化;延长教育实习期,完善实习专业标准;严格教师资格认定标准,建立考试体系。美国教师教育改革的经验和创新措施,对我国的启示主要有以下四点:建立和完善国家教师教育课程标准,强化教师综合素质提升;完善教育实习顶层制度设计,建立国家级教师教育实习基地;健全和完善国家评定标准,把好教师准入关;完善多层级的专业发展模式,建立教师资格证书进阶制。     

Teacher educators mediating curricular reform: anticipating the Australian curriculum

Many education systems are experiencing a re-scaling and consolidation of governance through rolling national agendas of standardisation and centralisation. The present article considers the case of Australia as it moves towards implementing its first national curriculum, to explore how teacher educators plan to retain pedagogical space for debate, diversity and contestation of such systemic curricular reform. The present article reports on an interview study conducted with nine teacher educators across the four curriculum areas included in the first wave of the Australian curriculum: English, science, mathematics and history. The analysis reveals how teacher educators reported professional dilemmas around curricular design, and planned to resolve such dilemmas between the anticipated changes and their preferences for what might have been. While different curricular areas displayed different patterns of professional dilemma, the teacher educators are shown to construe their role as one of active curriculum mediators, who, in recontextualising curricular reforms, will use the opportunity to reinsert both residualised and emergent alternatives in their students’ professional value sets. The study also identifies a new set of dilemmas emerging around the politicisation and standardisation of curriculum, and its impact on the teaching profession and teacher educators.     

MICTS: Municipal ICT Schools – A Means for Bridging the Digital Divide Between Rural and Urban Communities

There is a substantial difference in use and development of information and communication technologies and services between and within countries. Some denote this phenomenon as the digital divide.This paper addresses the competence aspect of the digital divide. It proposes municipal ICT schools as one model aimed to bridge this gap and provides an assessment of the model based on the results from a field trial in three rural municipalities in Norway. The model brings the benefits of increased competence of ICT in the communities but in addition have a potential with regard to stimulating talent development, serving as a resource for local business and offering meeting places in the communities for building social capital. The model may be successfully implemented within reasonable economic limitations but is also challenging in several ways, for instance on how teaching resources are recruited and supported.The purpose of the paper is to bring forward the discussion about how to bring all people, also those in rural areas, to be participators in the information technology age.     

中小学英语教师继续教育新反思

随着我国基础教育课程改革的不断推进,作为实施新课程主体的英语教师面临着新的挑战。新课程需要新型教师,而在新型教师的培养中,除了对高师院校英语专业进行课程改革外,学历达标的教师的继续教育也承担着重要的责任。从新型教师所具备的素质入手,对中小学英语教师继续教育进行了新的反思。     

共建教师发展的开放学习环境--探索以网络为中介的研究型课程的教师教育模式

在上海市二期课改的进行中,增设了拓展型与研究型（探究型）课程等新的课程模式,相应地对教师提出了新的要求.如何帮助教师尽快地理解改革的新理念,适应改革的需要,承担起改革的重任,已成为教师教育的当务之急.本项目研究正是从当前新形势下教师教育面临的新问题出发,试图利用学习科学的研究成果,从共建教师发展的开放学习环境着手,探索一种新的学习型、参与型的教师教育模式.该模式的主要特点是立足真实活动,在教师与学生共同参与的过程中,在与社会的积极交往中,在整合各种形式的资源中,以主题性网络为中介,帮助教师学会学习,在学习中成长,在学习中发展.