Book review

This paper reports an evaluation of an innovative university–school partnership in which teacher practitioners work as university lecturers in a regional Australian pre‐service teacher education programme. The philosophy of this programme encompasses authentic partnerships between universities, schools and other industry employers. The study was motivated by an interest inunderstanding the experiences and outcomes for the teacher practitioners and in documenting their experiences. Staff members who are currently on contract as university lecturers as well as teachers who have completed secondments and returned to school settings are surveyed. This paper focuses on suggestions to improve the partnership and discusses future directions for the partnership.     

Key Elements of a Successful Multi-System Collaboration for School-Based Mental Health: In-Depth Interviews with District and Agency Administrators

The alarming number of youth with unmet mental health needs in the US is a significant social problem. The pilot school-based mental health project described here established an innovative multi-system partnership between an urban school district, a public mental health agency, and a local university to better meet the mental health needs of youth in one community. This qualitative study employed in depth interviews with six key administrators who were instrumental in developing and executing the project to explore the most important factors that promoted the successful collaboration. Results of the interviews identified five major themes: (a) perceptions of the project, (b) barriers to collaboration, (c) motivating factors, (d) sustainability, and (e) lessons learned. Findings may be especially helpful to other communities interested in establishing a multi-system intervention to support at risk youth. Implications for practice and research are discussed.     

Participants' Personal Perceptions of Mentoring

This study is an investigation of the views and perceptions held by one group of mentors, mentees and university lecturers about the recent policy changes in Initial Teacher Training (ITT) which have led to the closer collaboration between Higher Education Institutions (HEls) and schools under the umbrella of partnership.

It takes the form of a survey and uses a structured questionnaire and semi‐structured interviews as its source of data collection.

It then analyses and interprets the data obtained with the aim of using the information gathered to make recommendations for the future of partnership.     

Creating frames of practice for teacher education

Conceptualising teacher learning as being immersed in and arising from the totality of professional practice, this paper reports experiences and insights from practice-based teacher education. Initial data are drawn from two sites of seven involved in the federally funded School Centres for Teaching Excellence programme conducted in the state of Victoria, Australia. This programme is arranged as a partnership between the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and various school clusters and universities. Each university is working with a cluster of primary and secondary schools and with large numbers (20–100) of pre-service teachers allocated to schools across each cluster. In general, PSTs in Victoria University’s two clusters are placed at each school for 2 days per week with some block time throughout the year. Some university units of study are taught on-site by visiting lecturers with a strong emphasis being placed on the mentoring of PSTs by classroom teachers. Interviews with mentors/mentees and teachers, PSTs and principals indicate a particular understanding or approach to an issue of learning or relationship that provides a frame/scaffold of practice. Further practice begins to detail the frame for continuing application. We are considering the notion of frame as a conceptual skeleton of understanding that arises from school and classroom practice and is formatted in practice. Cases of practice have been reported in the paper below that indicate preliminary understandings and engagement with this concept for the learning of teachers.     

An Electronic Lifeline: Information and communication technologies in a teacher education internship

Practicum experiences in preservice teacher education are often characterised by disconnection. Preservice teachers are typically disconnected from university faculty and from their peers. Traditionally, university-based supervisors work to bridge the school and university contexts of preservice teacher education and facilitate learning to teach by visiting preservice teachers in their schools. This situation places high importance on the value of face-to-face interaction. The research reported in this paper explores the possibilities of utilising information and communication technologies (ICT) in the practicum component of preservice teacher education. It investigated the use of electronic discussion groups by preservice teachers and university lecturers while the preservice teachers were completing an internship towards the end of their teacher preparation programme. The paper discusses the benefits and challenges as reported by the participants in interviews, draws on the actual text of the electronic communication, analyses the findings, and draws implications for all participants in the preservice teacher education practicum. The study highlights the potential of ICT in providing new learning spaces that enable personal and professional networking and support, and points to reconceptualised notions of university supervision focussing on facilitating learning to teach and promoting reflective practice within the context of a professional learning community rather than as 'check-up' trips to schools.     

Motivation of Faculty Members at a Latin American University: A Case Study

The purpose of this study is to analyze the kind of motivation in academia at a university in Argentina, taken as an example of a Latin American country. The study used a questionnaire containing the same 37 attitudinal statements that At-Twaijri et al. used recently for a large university in the Arabian Gulf. Motivators in both universities are compared. Despite being two very different academic cultures, there are analogies between the responses of lecturers: financial rewards are the least motivator in both cases; the most important items affecting the university professors’ motivation deal with the internal reward along with a feeling of accomplishment in the Argentine, and self-achievement and social respect in the Arabian Gulf. This paper also serves to make the international academic community aware of the Spanish ‘Intercampus’ programme. This programme allows the interchange of a significant number of students and professors between universities of Spain and the Latin American community.     

Is Moodle a Platform to Decolonise the University Curriculum? Lecturers’ Reflections

Abstract

This article presents the results of an interpretive case study of three lecturers teaching a physical science module. The purpose of the study was to explore the lecturers’ reflections on their understanding of the Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (Moodle) as a platform to decolonise the university curriculum. Purposive, with convenience, sampling identified the three most accessible lecturers. An emailed reflective activity, one-on-one semi-structured interviews, and Moodle observations were utilised for data production. Inductive and deductive processes were used to ensure guided analysis of the produced data. The article argues that the Moodle learning management platform (LMP) has the potential to decolonise the university curriculum. The study concluded that the lecturers reflected well in all curriculum signals based on their informal, formal and personal LMPs in order to address all the needs. Consequently, the study recommends that lecturers understand the curriculum signals of each Moodle platform, before teaching and learning take place, in order to to decolonise the university curriculum.     

An exploration of the ‘value‐added’ of higher education for the health and social care workforce: the lecturers’ perspectives

As part of a larger case study, this co‐operative inquiry explores the lecturers’ perspectives of the added value of the higher education experience of mixed ability groups of experienced care workers undertaking a 60 credit Certificate in Empowering Practice programme. Following consistent positive programme evaluations the success of the course is reflected upon by two lecturers and two researchers to understand the lessons learned. Using a thematic analysis, findings provide an understanding of the principles involved in producing consistent enthusiasm from these students and their service managers. A key to their success appears to lie in the meaningful organisation of the curriculum and the creative use of learning and teaching strategies. As co‐inquirers, we have learned about the importance of promoting effective student support and creating successful links between their teaching and assessment strategies and the world of work. Although not generalisable, the findings of this co‐operative inquiry identify some of the lessons learned and the principles that can be used in larger groups of pre‐qualifying students to enhance their value in the workplace.     

The e-balanced scorecard (e-BSC) for measuring academic staff performance excellence

This research paper is a pilot study that investigated the suitability of adopting an automated balanced scorecard for managing and measuring the performance excellence of academic staffs in the higher education setting. A comprehensive study of related literature with requirements elicited from the target population in a selected premier university in Malaysia through document analysis, interviews and survey questionnaires provided the foundation for the system development. By adopting the balanced scorecard, the proposed system provided a means for top down alignment of organisational objectives while creating a medium of communication between the lecturers and management. Though the method suggested in this study primarily focuses on the academic staff, it addresses the lack of a representative form of performance measurement for lecturers that accommodates the complexities of the profession while providing the potential adoption of an unconventional method to encourage excellence and development amongst all levels of employees in the industry.     

Combatting Othering and Inspiring Hope: A Unique Approach to Teaching About Juvenile Justice

This case study was conducted to evaluate the experience of students in one university course about juvenile justice and one community partnership working together to create a unique learning experience for two very distinct groups of young adults. One of the groups involved justice-involved young men and their parole officers; the other group involved college students enrolled in the course. University students learned civic engagement is not charity, but rather it is working alongside a community partner toward a joint goal. All participants disrupted the “othering” that commonly exists between two such disparate groups. Finally, the community participants gained hope through experiencing a college course firsthand and being able to see themselves as college students. The success of this collaboration was demonstrated thoroughly through informal feedback, formal reflections, course evaluations, and participant observation.     

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.     

Using summative and formative assessments to evaluate EFL teachers’ teaching performance

Using classroom observations (formative) and student course experience survey results (summative) to evaluate English lecturers’ teaching performances is not new in practice, but surprisingly only a few studies have investigated this issue in a higher education context. This study was conducted in an English department of a large university in Vietnam. The data include: (1) semi-structured interviews with all the full-time lecturers, (2) two department heads and (3) course experience surveys from English as a foreign language (EFL) students (N?=?2886). Three lessons can be learned: (1) formative assessments do not seem to have an effect on promoting better teaching practices when their feedback is not helpful in improving high-stakes summative assessment results, (2) without sharing a common definition of good teaching practices among assessors, summative assessments appear to make the feedback from formative assessments less meaningful and applicable, and (3) as a result, the combination of formative and summative assessments tends to make EFL lecturers’ self-assessment practices less effective.     

Towards Responsible Massification: Some Pointers for Supporting Lecturers

Teaching large classes poses many challenges to lecturers where massification is a reality in higher education. There are implications for both teaching and effective learning in this context. The need for accountability to learners in education provision served as motivation for a study of large classes in the largest faculty of one university where enrolment figures had recently increased. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 14 lecturers who teach on average over 500 students in one class. Lecturers reported challenges and experiences related to the higher education environment, resources and support, and teaching and learning. The article provides pointers for supporting lecturers who are teaching large classes based on their identified tensions due to challenges they face. Taking cognisance of lecturers’ experiences could guide institutions towards relevant support for academics in the large-class setting and ultimately contribute to accountability and responsible massification of higher education.     

Students’ Perspectives of a Science Enrichment Programme: Out‐of‐school inquiry as access

Science enrichment programmes housed outside traditional school settings can offer students from traditionally under‐resourced schools valuable opportunities to access authentic scientific tools and practices. The present study contributes to our understanding of this potential and how it can best be realised through an analysis of the students’ own perspectives on a specific out‐of‐school programme—a one‐year partnership with a university‐based science outreach programme, which culminated in a half‐day laboratory experience for a total of 292 secondary students (ages 11–18 years). Extensive data were collected on this experience, including detailed field notes and video recordings of the classes’ visits to the university as well as the planning meetings with teachers at the beginning and end of the school year, surveys of the participating students, and surveys and interviews of the teachers, and were analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively using a grounded theory approach. Building on the valuable perspectives of the participating students, and comparing them with those of their eight teachers, this study confirms that carefully designed collaborative out‐of‐school inquiry programmes have the potential to broaden students’ (especially those from under‐resourced schools) experiences of science as well as bridge them to school science.     

New directions in preparing professionals: examining issues in engaging students in communities of practice through a school–university partnership

A new school–university partnership in NSW has created exciting opportunities for preservice teacher preparation. The paper examines the results of a pilot study and outlines the main teacher preparation activities undertaken in the partnership. The paper focuses on how engaging preservice teachers in the community of practice of teachers assisted in the development of students’ professional knowledge. The paper outlines three examples of preservice programmes, which incorporated legitimate peripheral participation as a meaningful component of the preservice teachers’ academic studies. The major issues associated with developing legitimate peripheral participation activities as part of a preservice teacher education course are discussed.     

Educational renewal as democratic practice: 'new' community schooling in Scotland

This paper focuses on the New Community Schools (NCS) initiative as currently being developed in Scotland. This major 5-year programme is one of a raft of educational initiatives that the Scottish Executive is supporting across local authorities. Drawing on documentary evidence and interview data, we discuss the potential of this programme for professional renewal across a range of occupational groups involved in NCS: community, health and social workers as well as schoolteachers and pre-school practitioners. A key question for us is whether the initiative can support these professional groups in closer collaboration across institutional and professional divides, between schools and communities, and across the subject demarcations of the school curriculum. The permeability of institutional, professional and curricular boundaries is thus a key focus here. We discuss this theme with reference to the work of a particular local authority in central Scotland. Finally, we highlight a number of tensions within the national initiative; tensions which focus on issues of power and control between centre and locality and between different interest groups within localities. The fledgling democratic structures supported through NCS at the local level are, we conclude, highly vulnerable to these tensions and potential conflicts of interest. I wish, first, that we should recognize that education is ordinary. (Raymond Williams)     

Lecturers’ and students’ conceptions of authenticity in teaching and actual teacher actions and attributes students perceive as helpful

This study investigated an under-explored area in the field of academic practice: the meaning of the complex notion of authenticity in teaching. Combining conceptual with empirical investigation, data included philosophical texts, repertory grid interviews with fifty-five lecturers and students from Law, Physics and English Literature, and fourteen focus groups with forty-six students. Philosophical conceptions were compared to those held by students and lecturers. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of repertory grids revealed differences in experts’/philosophers’ and lay-people’s conceptions of authenticity and additionally showed how lecturers’ and students’ conceptions of authenticity in teaching differed from their conceptions of teaching effectiveness. Focus groups identified linkages between authenticity in teaching and actual teacher actions and attributes that students perceive as being conducive to their learning. The findings enhance the meaning of authenticity, show how it matters in university teaching and offer a hitherto lacking theoretical foundation for further research.     

Evaluating student satisfaction of quality at international branch campuses

The aim of this research is to present the determinants of students’ perceptions of quality and experience of study at international branch campuses in Malaysia, a country that is set to become an academic hub in Asia. This study used a multi-method approach for data collection. The respondents comprised 245 students (both undergraduate and postgraduate) from six renowned international branch campuses operating in the country – three from Australia, two from the UK and one from India. In addition, a total of 21 face-to-face interviews were conducted after the survey. The results revealed that across the seven dimensions examined concerning education and non-education qualities – university reputation/image, programme quality, lecturers and teaching quality, student learning environment, effective use of technology, counselling and academic advising support, and social life (direct/indirect) facilities – the students were largely satisfied. The paper adds to the existing body of research on higher education service quality, particularly on students’ perceptions and expectations of international branch campuses.