Revisiting reflective practice in an era of teacher education reform: A self-study of an early childhood teacher education program

ABSTRACT

The authors describe a major program reform study of an early childhood teacher education program in a large, urban, state university in the United States. Over a 4-year period, our team of early childhood faculty undertook an intentional and reflective program reform study to better advocate for quality early childhood educational philosophy and practice, while ensuring our program aligned with the newer national accreditation policy and state teacher certification standards. In this article, we identify three core problems we encountered, articulate how we approached each of them based on our philosophical framework, and discuss further considerations of each.     

Mathematical myths: Teacher candidates' beliefs and the implications for teacher educators

Abstract

For more than 2 decades, professional, state, and federal agencies have adopted educational standards aimed at improving mathematics instruction. One way of measuring the success of these adopted standards is to examine their impact on the mathematics attitudes and beliefs of students who received their education during this reform period. How teachers approach and implement these mathematics standards is heavily influenced by what they believe about mathematics content and pedagogy. For those who seek to improve mathematics education, examining beliefs regarding mathematics and the factors that influence those beliefs is imperative. In this paper we explore the persistence of teacher candidates' beliefs in myths despite changing educational standards. The beliefs of 76 current elementary teacher candidates were compared to beliefs of 131 elementary teacher candidates from 1990. The results confirm the pervasiveness and persistence of math myths among female elementary teacher candidates.     

The state steers by remote control: Standardising teacher education

This article questions whether the teacher training standards, (Department for Education and Employment Circular 4/98) have made it more difficult for teacher educators to help student teachers to become critically reflective teachers. It is suggested that, following the introduction of the discourse of the three 'e's', efficiency, economy and effectiveness and the teacher training standards, teacher 'education' has been transformed into teacher 'training' within an ideology of technical rationality. Four classroom-based episodes are introduced to form the contexts through which the teacher education standards are interrogated. It is argued that these standards ignore important issues to do with equality in the classroom and the relationship between education and the state. Ideas are suggested for teaching sessions using the episodes to encourage the development of a critically reflective perspective amongst student teachers.     

Teacher education accreditation in Turkey: The creation of a culture of quality

Turkey's experience in developing and piloting accreditation criteria and national standards for teacher education is examined. The full implementation of an accreditation process for teacher education programs was not completed within the time of the development project. However, the effort to do so encouraged the formation of a ‘quality culture’ in the faculties of education. The paper discusses what took place and analyses the later response of teacher educators to the introduction of accreditation criteria and the way in which they were introduced. Educators largely welcomed national standards and accreditation, but wished to have flexible means of implementation.     

Continuity and change in teacher education in Scotland-back to the future

Abstract

The paper examines the changes which have taken place in the delivery, content and validation and accreditation of teacher education in Scotland. Particular attention is paid to the impact of external and internal changes on the development of new course structures and the strengthening of linkages between the initial stage of a teacher’s professional career and on continuing professional development. The impact of these changes on those who are teacher educators are also explored.     

美国教师教育认证标准的发展历程及对我国的启示

本文以美国全国教师教育认证委员会(NCATE)为案例,在目标本位、课程本位、知识基础本位和绩效本位的概念框架下,对NCATE不同历史时期的认证标准的特征进行研究,将其理论基础分别归纳为目标评价理论、CIPP评价理论、效用评价理论和绩效评价理论,将NCATE不同历史时期所持有的教师教育观分别综合为技术理性主义的、科学主义的、专业化的、以及多元化的.最后讨论其对我国教师教育改革的启示和意义.     

澳大利亚全国职前教师教育鉴定制度述评

鉴定制度是教师教育质量保证和提高的有效机制.为了进一步提升教师教育的质量,建立教师队伍高标准资格框架,奠定教师持续性专业发展的坚实基础,前不久,澳大利亚教学与领导协会建立了一套全新的由毕业生标准和培养标准为基础的职前教师教育鉴定制度,以保证教师教育机构培养出合格胜任的新教师.文本勾勒了澳大利亚全国鉴定制度主要背景,对其基本框架和鉴定标准作了简要说明,并就该鉴定制度作了简要的分析.     

国际比较中探析我国教师资格认定标准的问题

教师资格认定标准问题关系着教师资格证书认定制度的规范程度。我国的教师资格认定标准相对一些发达国家来讲,还很不完善。运用国际比较的方法,对比教师资格制度比较完善的国家,探讨我国的教师资格认定标准存在的一些问题。通过逐渐提高学历标准,细化教师资格分类,重视教育教学能力的考核,加强教师教育课程改革和严把证书质量关等途径,不断完善我国的教师资格证书制度,促进我国的教师教育发展。     

苏格兰职前教师教育课程鉴定与评估述评

苏格兰的职前教师教育课程鉴定与评估制度健全、成效显著,是一个成功的范例。其实施机构———普通教学专业委员会是一个具有很强自主性和权威性的专业性组织,在鉴定、评估和促进职前教师教育课程建设方面发挥了关键性的作用;其标准具有较强的发展性和可操作性;实施过程安排细致,重点突出,具有很高的工作效率;职前教师教育课程的鉴定与评估作用突出,效果显著,有效地保证了职前教师教育课程的质量,维护了教学的专业标准、促进了教师教育机构与中小学之间的伙伴关系。     

COLLABORATIONS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER EDUCATION: CHALLENGES AND PROMISE

Abstract

This article describes the reflective process used by a group of early childhood faculty members to study national standards in order to improve their teacher education program. The standards studied included those from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC/ECE). The reflective process and study resulted in changes in field experiences, course requirements and activities and assisted in state and national accreditation.     

The Politics of Standards and the Education of Teachers

A number of industrialized countries around the world are in the process of creating new directions for education, focused on elementary and secondary schools and the preparation of teachers in universities. Those directions, it has been suggested, will enhance not only the education of children and adolescents, but will lead to expansive improvements in people's social and economic well-being and will advance our technological capacities. Teacher educators and K-12 teachers are now in the midst of coming to grips with a new approach to the education of prospective and veteran teachers. While I am not sanguine about earlier attempts to improve the quality of teacher education programs, I also believe the current emphasis on national standards for P-12 teachers and university faculty in the United States and elsewhere must be challenged and critiqued. Standards Based Teacher Education (SBTE) relies on a set of ideas and commitments that needs to be both understood and critiqued. The SBTE process has approved sets of aligned external standards that encompass specific kinds of performances, outcomes and dispositions, and are linked to accreditation requirements. The process of teaching in this system is based on a technical-rational approach to teaching, and largely ignores social, political, and philosophical understandings. The present paper provides an analysis of SBTE and its shortcomings, as well as suggesting an alternative vision for the preparation of teachers.     

质量认证框架下的美国教师教育质量保证研究

开放性、多样性是其美国教师教育的两大特点.在体现开放性的同时,美国已经形成了一套相互协调、有机配合的质量保证体系,其中教师教育质量认证发挥了极其重要的作用.本文以全美教育学院质量认证理事会的认证框架为线索,探讨了美国教育学院质量认证目的、认证标准框架、认证程序及其与教师教育政策决策部门、教育学院(系)和教育研究及学科专业委员会之间的关系,从而在此基础上提出我国教师教育所存在的问题.这些问题及进一步的思考将为我国教师教育转型以及建立开放式、高质量的教师教育模式提供良好的决策参考.     

美国教师教育课程评价的策略与启示

美国通过评价来切实保障教师教育课程的质量。美国的教师教育课程评价大体可以分为教师教育机构外部专业组织开展的认证和机构内部的学生学习评价两部分。美国专业组织开展的教师教育认证由于标准的清晰性、人员的专业性、过程的规范性、结果的透明性,能够对教师教育专业及其课程起到重要的指导与监督作用。美国教师教育机构内的各门课程都非常重视对学生学习过程和结果的评价,作品评价、表现性评价和成长记录袋评价等评价策略得到广泛使用。这启发我们,应该重视对教师教育课程评价的研究并切实改进我们的评价实践。     

澳大利亚教师教育及其课程标准的改革

澳大利亚自20世纪90年代开始对教师教育课程标准进行持续的改革,从最初的入职教师能力框架到首次建立全国教师专业标准框架,再到大体形成全国教师教育认证制度,并经过多次修订于2010年颁发了完整的全国教师专业标准,从而最终形成比较完善的教师教育认证机制和教师教育课程体系。最新的全国教师专业标准以其更加明确具体的标准结构和内容、充分体现教师专业发展阶段性和持续性的评价方式、从以过程为导向转为以结果为导向的认证要求,体现了澳大利亚教师教育课程标准更加开放灵活的发展理念,反映出国际教师教育改革的共同趋势和澳大利亚教师教育改革的鲜明特色。     

Standards of practice to standards of evidence: developing assessment capable teachers

Abstract

Teacher education is a hotly debated policy area in higher education and schooling portfolios, with increasing emphasis on standards and accountability. It is in this environment that The Standards Project (2013–2015) presented in this article began. It has at its core a three-part commitment: first, to undertake a comprehensive audit and analysis of all teacher education programmes in the state of Queensland, Australia, to establish the approaches and practices Universities relied on to preparing beginning teachers as assessment capable; second, to take account of multiple perspectives and approaches in initial teacher education to integrating data into how beginning teachers are prepared to source and use evidence for improving learning and teaching; and further, to develop new principles, policy and practices for reviewing and moderating teacher education programmes against professional standards. The paper proposes a move beyond the discourse of professional standards of practice towards a complementary discourse of standards of evidence. In our collaboration we drew on two fields, namely the writing on teacher education including reviews, and the field of assessment, both considered within broader sociocultural theory applied to assessment.     

葡萄牙教师教育认证研究——以INAFOP为例

葡萄牙中小学教师供应经历了从满足数量到提高质量的转变,教师教育机构培养计划一直缺乏统一评价标准的状况也伴随着1998年全国性的教师教育认证机构INAFOP的成立而宣告终止。如今,申请参加INAFOP的认证是教师教育机构开展教师教育的必要条件,只有通过了认证才能获得实施教师教育的法律地位。葡萄牙INAFOP的认证程序及认证标准对我国教师教育水平评估有一定的参考价值。     

中国近十年来对美国教师教育认证制度研究的回顾与展望

伴随着我国基础教育发展对教师质量要求的提高以及教师教育自身的变革,我国亟需完善教师教育认证制度。为此,许多学者对美国教师教育认证制度进行研究,以他山之石攻玉,近年来这类研究文章越来越多,因此有必要对已有研究作一个梳理和总结,以便把握现在的研究水平和明了未来的研究方向。我国研究的成就可分为三类:介绍叙述型,分类命名型,深入阐释型。其中以前两类研究为主,阐释性研究文献非常少。已有研究的不足表现在四个方面:研究层次主要停留在介绍、叙述和特征分析上;研究内容面比较窄;未在一个系统框架内理解美国教师教育机构认证制度;未在一个整体的制度框架上来研究美国教师教育认证制度对我国的参考价值。     

Using a storybook prompt to uncover inservice and preservice teachers’ dispositions toward struggling students

Abstract

The NCATE performance standards include “dispositions,” which validate the importance of teacher beliefs and attitudes. This project was designed to measure preservice and inservice teachers’ beliefs and potential dispositions toward struggling students. The children's story, Next Year I'll be Special, was read to preservice teachers from two teacher education programs (n = 139) and one group of inservice teachers (n = 41). Marilyn, the main character, is struggling in first grade, but she anticipates second grade will be better because she will have a new teacher. Participants were asked to write their prognoses for Marilyn's second‐grade year. Responses were coded into three categories, Overall Impression, Ownership of Academic Challenges, and Ownership of Social Challenges. Respondents (56%) indicated that second grade would be as bad as or worse than first grade for Marilyn. Further, results revealed that experienced teachers were more negative in their predictions than beginning teacher education students. Results were replicated in the second teacher education sample.