The teacher educator’s role in promoting institutional versus individual teacher well-being

This article addresses the teacher educator’s role in defining and facilitating teacher well-being. It does so by first exploring the literature on teacher well-being, resilience, resistance, morality and professional dispositions. It then examines the policies and rhetoric of two countries, the USA and England, as examples of a global tilt towards the excessive promotion of institutional well-being at the expense of individual teachers. It concludes with specific recommendations at the university programme and teacher educator levels for bringing individual and institutional well-being into better balance. These include: innovating sustained and reciprocal university–school partnerships; helping new teachers become ‘mindful’ rather than solely resistant; analysing cases of teaching to become more aware of macro vs. micro influences; and facilitating skills in taking oppositional stances, including within the teacher educator’s own classroom.     

Understanding change through a high school mathematics teacher’s journey to inquiry-based teaching

This article focuses on an experienced high school mathematics teacher who changed her practice without participating in planned interventions aimed at producing this change. It reports on the nature of the teacher’s change from her perspective and an interpretation and understanding of the change from the researcher’s perspective. It illustrates how meaningful change can occur when the process is initiated and rooted in the teacher’s experience based on a tension in self and/or practice that is personal and real to him or her. It discusses three types of change that are possible depending on the level of engagement of the teacher in professional development opportunities: instrumental change, conceptual change, and foundational change.     

An idealistic view of teaching: teacher students’ personal practical theories

Personal practical theories (PPTs) are built based on underlying beliefs, experiences, values and conceptions regarding ‘good teaching’. Having a vision of teaching and valuing the work may have a strong effect on one’s sense of identity, resilience and commitment. This study focused on Finnish teacher students’ (N = 84) PPTs constructed during the middle or at the end of their studies, on average during their fourth year of a five-year MA programme. All of the PPTs, written as statements (N = 647), were combined, and a unified conception of the theories was formed using inductive content analysis. The three main categories found were the foundations of good teaching, the teacher and the teacher’s daily work. The analysis of the statements shows that the notions of good teaching are very idealistic: they emphasise abstract ideologies and high standards for the teacher, but also everyday matters of teaching, although also here the ideology of the pupil’s individuality is at the centre. The paper concludes by arguing that it is good to have high aims and values for teaching, although in reality some of them might be difficult to achieve.     

The educational developer’s portfolio

The roles and responsibilities described in internationally advertised job opportunities for educational developers reflect the diversity and emerging professionalism of the field. Models adapted from the traditional teaching portfolio are a promising means of articulating these roles and responsibilities, and of defining the nature of the educational development profession.     

Rachel’s literacy stories: unpacking one preservice teacher’s moral perspectives on literacy teaching

While teacher educators agree that teaching is a profoundly moral activity, little attention has been placed on the moral perspectives about teaching and learning of those entering the teaching workforce. As a way of illustrating the importance of helping both future teachers become aware of their own moral compasses and teacher educators to understand ways in which such knowledge can support their students, I use methods of qualitative inquiry to explore the life history of one European American preservice elementary teacher in the USA. In recounting the events of her life, Rachel Rosenberg demonstrates how she uses her own life experiences to frame the moral aspects of her future role as a teacher and especially her perspectives on literacy teaching and learning. The methods used here to elicit and analyse Rachel’s story can be useful to teacher educators who want to understand how the moral perspectives embedded in teachers’ stories influence the ways in which teachers approach and enact the work of teaching.     

The decline of teacher autonomy: Tears or cheers?

In the United States teacher autonomy has been declining for at least a decade. This decline can be attributed in large part to three factors. First, uniform staff development programmes based on research on effective teaching have become widespread. Second, classroom observations have become an integral part of imposed teacher evaluations. Third, school principals have been called on to assume the role of instructional leader. While some may perceive the decline of teacher autonomy negatively, at least two benefits of this decline have been identified. First, a common language by which teachers can discuss the problems and potential of instruction and teaching among themselves and with school administrators is developing. Second, the likelihood that teachers will achieve a truly professional status is enhanced. Many educators write as if the natural result of a decline in teacher autonomy is standardization; that is, the cloning of teachers. This article negates such pessimism. Teacher autonomy, like many educational variables, exists along a continuum. As a consequence, a midpoint on the autonomy continuum — a balance between uniqueness and standardization, between license and responsibility — is the desirable state of affairs. Finally, autonomy should be earned by teachers, not simply given to them. In this regard, greater concern should be given to teachers' preparation for, and induction into, their roles as school teachers. Similarly, increases in autonomy should mirror increases in teacher status; status defined in terms of teacher experience, expertise, and excellence.

---

Zusammenfassung In den Vereinigten Staaten ist die Autonomie der Lehrer im letzten Jahrzehnt gesunken. Drei Faktoren sind die hauptsächlichen Ursachen dafür: Erstens sind einheitliche, auf Untersuchungen über wirksame Unterrichtsmethoden basierende Personalentwicklungsprogramme derzeit weit verbreitet. Zweitens sind Beobachtungen im Klassenzimmer zu einem integralen Bestandteil vorgeschriebener Lehrerbeurteilungen geworden. Drittens sind die Schulleiter aufgefordert worden, die Rolle der Unterrichtsanleiter (instructional leader) zu übernehmen. Während einerseits die zunehmend eingeschränkte Autonomie der Lehrer negativ beurteilt wird, lassen sich zumindestens zwei Vorteile aus dieser Minderung ableiten. Erstens wird eine gemeinsame Sprache entwickelt, in der Lehrer über die Probleme und das Potential der Lehre und des Unterrichts miteinander und/oder mit den Schulverwaltern kommunizieren können. Zweitens verstärkt sich die Wahrscheinlichkeit, daß Lehrer einen wirklich professionellen Status erreichen. Viele Pädagogen schreiben, als ob die natürliche Folge einer verminderten Autonomie der Leher eine Standardisierung bedeute, d.h. das Klonen von Lehrern. Dieser Artikel verneint einen solchen Pessimismus. Wie viele andere pädagogischen Variablen besteht die Autonomie der Lehrer in einem Kontinuum. Folglich ist der wünschenswerte Zustand in Form eines Mittelwerts des Autonomiekontinuums — d.h. eine Balance zwischen Einzigartigkeit und Standardisierung, zwischen Lehrfreiheit und Verantwortung. Ferner sollten sich Lehrer ihre Autonomie verdienen, anstatt daß sie ihnen automatisch übertragen wird. In diesem Sinne sollte der Lehrervorbereitung und deren Einführung in die Rolle des Schullehrers ein größeres Gewicht beigemessen werden. Ebenso sollte sich der Zuwachs an Autonomie in einem Anwachsen des Lehrerstatus wiederspiegeln. Status ist hier zu verstehen im Sinne von Lehrererfahrung, Sachverständigkeit und Vortrefflichkeit.

---

Résumé L'autonomie de l'enseignant aux Etats Unis va en déclinant depuis dix ans au moins. Ce déclin peut être attribué en grande partie à trois facteurs. Tout d'abord, les programmes de développement d'un personnel uniforme basés sur la recherche relative à l'efficacité de l'enseignement se sont répandus. Puis, les observations de classes font à présent partie intégrante des évaluations globales des enseignants. Enfin on a demandé aux directeurs d'assumer le rôle de responsables en matière d'instruction. Alors que certains perçoivent de façon négative la restriction de l'autonomie de l'enseignant, deux avantages au moins ont été identifiés. Premièrement, la langue commune avec laquelle les enseignants peuvent discuter des problèmes et du potentiel de l'instruction et de l'enseignement entre eux ainsi qu'avec le personnel administratif connaît un développement. Deuxièmement, les chances d'obtenir un vrai statut professionel sont renforcées pour les enseignants. De nombreux enseignants écrivent comme si le résultat naturel d'une perte d'autonomie de l'enseignant signifiait une standardisation, c'est-à-dire une reproduction exacte de la même espèce. Cet article réfute un tel pessimisme. L'autonomie de l'enseignant suit un continuum, comme de nombreuses variables éducatives du reste. En conséquence, le point central du continuum d'autonomie — l'équilibre entre le caractère unique et la standardisation, entre l'autorisation et la responsabilité — est une situation souhaitable. Enfin, l'autonomie devrait être acquise par les enseignants, et non leur être simplement offerte. A ce propos, un plus grand intérêt devrait être accordé à la formation des enseignants, à leur entrée dans leur rôle d'instructeur. Parallèlement, une croissance de l'autonomie devrait refléter une amélioration du statut de l'enseignant, statut défini en termes d'expérience en matière d'enseignement, de compétences et de perfection.

     

A narrative analysis of a teacher educator’s professional learning journey

This article reports on a narrative analysis of one teacher educator’s learning journey in a two-year professional development project. Professional development is conceived of as the complex learning processes resulting from the meaningful interactions between the individual teacher educator and his/her working context. Our analysis indicates that the capacity to manage such interactions contributes strongly to teacher educators’ experience of vulnerability. We analytically describe three strategies (building positive self-esteem, sustaining moral commitment and purpose, and strategical compliance) to cope with this vulnerability and their impact on processes of professional development as well as the outcomes of it. Understanding the role of the working context – and vulnerability as a structural characteristic of that context – in professional development processes adds to existing knowledge of teacher educators’ professional lives and development.     

The development of a mathematics teacher’s professional identity during her first year teaching

This study is focused on a period that poses several challenges for the development of mathematics teachers’ professional identities and agency: their first year of teaching in schools. During this period, beginning mathematics teachers confront tensions and contradictions among the principles, ideals, and experiences encountered during pre-service education and the demands, and restrictions of their teaching practice in schools. This article approaches this topic by developing an interpretative case study centered on one novice mathematics teacher, Sol. The aim is to describe and understand the development of Sol’s professional identity and agency during her first teaching year. Considering identity development as a diachronic phenomenon, we carry out a narrative analysis of the research data. The findings show that Sol developed her professional identity and agency through a process that gathered together the teaching practices possible inside her school, the positions she could negotiate as a newcomer inside the institution, and the cultural practices and discourses embodied during pre-service education. The results bring to the forefront the profound and tense interactions between the intimate and personal terrain of mathematics teachers and the social and cultural world of the schools where they work. Sol’s case also contributes to understanding the role that a robust pre-service education can play in the development of beginning teachers’ professional identities and in the possibility they could become agents of transformation in their schools.     

MOOCs in teacher education: institutional and pedagogical change?

We study the implementation of a MOOC initiative which involved two distinct teacher education institutions at HEIs, and where the implementation was led by a governmental body. Our aim was to see in what ways this initiative changed the teacher education involved, in terms of institutional organisation and pedagogics. Based on interviews with stakeholders from the government and from the two HEIs, we found that the process of implementing and piloting the MOOC faced various sorts of resistance. Our study might serve as a contribution to researchers and practitioners involved in development and running MOOCs as cross institutional initiatives, in that it addresses the diversity of challenges new study models are facing within HEIs. It may also be of interest to teacher education departments responsible for continuing education programs, since it demonstrates the opportunities that comes with a MOOC to provide larger groups of in-service teachers with new educational possibilities.     

Joseph Schwab,self-study of teaching and teacher education practices proponent? A personal perspective

The field of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices, like a number of other areas of inquiry, appears negligent in paying intellectual debt to Joseph Schwab who revolutionalized the fields of curriculum and teaching in the 1970s with his ideas about the practical. In this article, I trace my personal journey of coming to know Schwab's contributions and how I came to vicariously know Schwab as a professor who not only paved the scholarly way to self-study, but also appeared to practice a form of self-study by making his personal teaching an object of inquiry. To my way of thinking, Schwab practically and theoretically blazed a trail for the self-study of teaching and teacher education practices long before the line of research became recognized as a legitimate strand of inquiry. Furthermore, Schwab's thinking provides, for me and others, a possible plotline that could lead to renewal in the field of teaching and teacher education.     

The relationship between school’s organizational climate and teacher’s job satisfaction: Malaysian experience

The purpose of this paper was to examine the relationship between school organizational climate and teachers’ job satisfaction. A quantitative survey method was applied, and three broadly hypothesized relationships were tested with a sample of 245 teachers from six government secondary schools in district of Penampang, Sabah, Malaysia. The instrument used in this study was the modified version for combination of two questionnaires: Organizational Climate Index and the Teachers’ Job Satisfaction Questionnaire. The findings indicated that there is a significant positive relationship between school organizational climate and teachers’ job satisfaction. The teachers in this study were found to be fairly satisfied with their job, with the responsibility factor as the biggest contributor to job satisfaction. This study found that there is no significant difference in levels of job satisfaction between the teachers’ gender (male and female). Based on the years of service in their current school, there was a statically significant difference in the level of job satisfaction among the teachers. These findings revealed that the secondary schools in Sabah have a positive and open climate, with the professional teachers’ behaviour factor as the biggest contributor. The results of this study indicate the necessity to provide positive organizational climate and up keeping teachers’ job satisfaction by policy makers and principals with hope in enhancing the quality of schools in Malaysia.     

Happy teacher’s day

阳光普照,园丁心坎春意暖雨露滋润,桃李枝头蓓蕾红———祝我们的老师,节日快乐Yourkindnesstoyourstudentengravesonmymind.您对学生的恩情永远铭记在我的心中。Arealteacherinalifetimeistheverybestofmyluck.能遇良师,实乃人生之大幸。Ican'tthankyouenoughforyourhelpwithmylearningandgrowth.衷心感谢您在学习和成长上对我的帮助。Thankyouformakinglearningnotajobbutajoy.感谢您使我们枯燥的学习变成快乐的享受。Icouldhaveachievednosuccesswithoutyouunselfishdedication.没有您无私的奉献,就没有我成功的今天。Iamnotyourbests…     

Science teachers’ conceptions of teaching: Implications for teacher education

An analysis of recent science education research on student conceptions of natural phenomena, on science teaching and on science teacher planning carries implications for science teacher education. This suggests that the development of appropriate conceptions of teaching should be an important goal of science teacher education. Drawing the analogy between conceptions of natural phenomena and conceptions of teaching suggests guidelines for designing instruction in science teacher education courses. The importance of these guidelines is enhanced because teachers are likely to hold conceptions of teaching which are in conflict with those considered appropriate.

Activities in science teacher education which have attempted to identify and influence conceptions of science teaching are described and analysed. While these activities must be regarded as preliminary, they point to a powerful approach to thinking about the education of science teachers.     

Reciprocal learning: One teacher’s narrative

This paper is a personal narrative from the perspective of one teacher in Toronto who participated in the Canada–China Reciprocal Learning in Teacher Education and School Education Partnership Grant Project. I took part in a Sister School partnership between 2013 and 2017. Over the four years, I came to understand relationships in an international professional learning community. Participating in the project gave me the benefit of seeing my practice through an international lens. For my students, it offered a global citizenship experience. Although there are numerous professional development opportunities in Toronto, this partnership extends beyond a lunch and learn, or a full day professional learning. The commitment to my partners has fueled my desire to incorporate new teaching ideas and has required ongoing reflection on my own teaching practice. In this article, I will explain some of the challenges, stages of development, reciprocal learning, and implications for future international professional learning communities.     

Pre-service teacher’s self-perception of digital literacy: The case of Israel

Education and Information Technologies - Teachers provide society with literacy needs. They instruct students to acquire the essential skills and competencies required for a successful social...     

The intersection of culture and institutional support for Latino students’ academic success: Remediation or empowerment?

The study is framed by critical race theory to explore the intersection of cultural and institutional factors that influence Latino students’ completion of high school. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which factors related to students’ background, culture, socioeconomic status, and institutional-support such as participation in mentoring and/or dropout-prevention programs, can predict Latino students’ successful completion of high school. The overarching research question is: To what extent do family background, students’ educational aspirations, and institutional support programs predict whether Latino students’ complete high school? Using data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS: 2002), from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) with 2,217 Hispanic participants, the study used a logistic linear regression model for the analysis. The findings identified students’ gender, socioeconomic status, first language, educational aspirations as well as the aspirations of their parents, school poverty concentration, and school support programs to be significant predictors of high school completion. The logistic regression model correctly classified between 78%, 85%, and 81% of the cases included in the group for timely completion according to first-, second-, and third-generation respectively. A similar classification was found for high school completion-within-two-years. The discussion highlights marked differences between the effect of dropout-prevention programs and that of mentoring programs on Latinos’ high school completion. In addition, that the factors represented by individual and institutional variables might not operate in isolation but instead might intersect with socioeconomic and cultural factors that ultimately create barriers for this minority group.     

Intersections between immigration, language, identity, and emotions: a science teacher candidate’s journey

This study reports a subset of findings from a larger, ongoing study aimed at exploring interactions between teacher identity, learning, and classroom practices in a social justice teacher education program at a selective liberal arts college in New York. This case-study explores the journey of Elena, as an immigrant, a student, and a pre-service teacher candidate towards becoming a social justice educator. Elena reflects upon her school language experiences as an immigrant youth, her learning in a social justice teacher education program, and her field experiences in an international high school. The analysis spans macro-, meso-, and microlevels to explore the ways globalization, particularly immigration, as well as schooling policies for English language learners interact with aspects of Elena’s core identity, particularly in school settings. The findings show some of the ways language and literacy verified and/or denied aspects of Elena’s core identity; specific instances where second language proficiency was cast as power and privilege versus disadvantage according to ethnic, language, and class categorizations; and the struggles Elena, and other immigrant youth may face given the focus on English language acquisition and high stakes accountability in schools, at the expense of students’ primary language proficiency and affirmation of core identity markers.

Negotiating identity and science teaching in a high-stakes testing environment: an elementary teacher’s perceptions

This study draws upon a qualitative case study to investigate the impact of the high-stakes test environment on an elementary teacher’s identities and the influence of identity maintenance on science teaching. Drawing from social identity theory, I argue that we can gain deep insight into how and why urban elementary science teachers engage in defining and negotiating their identities in practice. In addition, we can further understand how and why science teachers of poor urban students engage in teaching decisions that accommodate school demands and students’ needs to succeed in high-stakes tests. This paper presents in-depth experiences of one elementary teacher as she negotiates her identities and teaching science in school settings that emphasize high-stakes testing. I found that a teacher’s identities generate tensions while teaching science when: (a) schools prioritize high-stakes tests as the benchmark of teacher success and student success; (b) activity-based and participatory science teaching is deemphasized; (c) science teacher of minority students identity is threatened or questioned; and (d) a teacher perceives a threat to one’s identities in the context of high stakes testing. Further, the results suggest that stronger links to identities generate more positive values in teachers, and greater possibilities for positive actions in science classrooms that support minority students’ success in science.