Research on Learners and Teachers of Mathematics and Science: Forerunners to a Focus on Teacher Educator Professional Growth

This introductory paper first reflects the genesis of research in mathematics and science teacher education. The analyses show a movement from foci of research in mathematics and science education from students to teachers, and then to teacher educators. Next, an overview of research in mathematics and science teacher education and its development is provided, including teacher educators’ growth. This is followed by a comparative look at the seven papers in this special issue through three lenses, focusing on who the teacher educators in these papers are, the practices which are the focus for development, and the contexts in which the professional growth is situated. The seven papers not only exemplify how teacher educators might critically and systematically reflect on their own growth, educate new teacher educators, and do corresponding research, but also demonstrate the considerable progress the research community has made with respect to the professional growth of mathematics and science teacher educators in the last decade. Finally, challenges and questions are raised, in particular in relation to raising the quality and quantity of proficient teacher educators in order to strengthen teacher education research, and to have enough human resources to offer more and better professional development opportunities and to support schools.

     

Beyond ‘what works’: understanding teacher identity as a practical and political tool

Drawing on previous research that focused upon the formation and mediation of teacher professional identity, this paper develops a model for conceptualising teacher professional identity. Increasingly, technical-rational understandings of teachers’ work and ‘role’ are privileged in policy and public discourse over more nuanced and holistic approaches that seek to understand teacher professional identity – what it is to ‘be’ a teacher. This article seeks to offer an alternative view, presenting the idea that an understanding of the processes by which teacher professional identity is formed and mediated is central to understanding the professional learning and development needs of teachers and advancing a richer, more transformative vision for education. I argue that instrumentalist notions of teachers’ work embedded in neo-liberal educational agendas such as those currently being advanced in many western countries offer an impoverished view of the teaching profession and education more broadly, and suggest that the concept of teacher professional identity holds the potential to work as a practical tool for the teaching profession and those who work to support them in the development of a more generative educational agenda.     

Preparing early childhood educators for global education: the implications of prior learning

This paper outlines the increasing cultural diversity of Australia’s education settings and explicates the global education movement and the new Australian Early Years Learning Framework. It discusses the implication of these factors for early childhood education practice and early childhood teacher education. The key research question considered in this paper is what prior learnings do early childhood educators utilise to consider global education? Data are presented on a research project that explores the prior learning of pre‐service early childhood educators at a major Australian university. The paper shows that, unlike primary and secondary pre‐service teachers, most early childhood education pre‐service teachers have significant professional experiences in educational settings. These prior experiences have a significant impact on pre‐service early childhood educators’ knowledge, beliefs and attitudes in the area of global education and align strongly with the global education curriculum movement and new national curriculum.     

The place of the practicum in pre‐service teacher education: the voice of the students

The focus of this paper is the importance student teachers attribute to the practical experience of their teacher education program, the practicum. Four hundred and eighty student teachers from the largest teacher education institution in Israel responded to a questionnaire with 68 closed items asking for their evaluation of various components of the teacher education program in relation to preparing them for teaching, and about sources for support during the practicum. The main findings show that the practicum is evaluated highly by a large majority of students; however, students find importance in the more theoretical aspects of their education as well. Institutional‐based supervisors of the practicum were perceived by student teachers to provide the strongest support, alongside peers and school‐based mentors. School principals were perceived not to be supportive of student teachers during the practicum. The findings align with previous research in terms of importance of the practical aspects in preparation for teaching, however not as a replacement for theoretical courses. Moreover, findings suggest that school principals do not include school‐based teacher education as part of their professional responsibility.     

Representations of teaching and standards-based reform: are we closing the debate about teacher education?

Since the mid-eighties, national organizations have been working together in an effort to reform schools and, more specifically, to reform teaching. Paralleling the movement toward developing curriculum standards for students, professional standards for teachers have also been developed for the purpose of teacher education program accreditation. The objective of this national coalition is to strengthen the teaching profession and raise its standards—eventually enhancing the quality of student learning—by redesigning teacher licensing and accountability requirements for teacher education programs, and engaging teachers in on-going professional development. In this study we address three specific questions: (1) what representations of teaching and teachers are portrayed in the professional teaching standards, their related policies and assessment? (2) how are standards-based reform policies affecting teacher education programs? (3) what representations or conceptions of teaching and teachers are currently reflected in teacher education programs in the context of this reform? To address these questions two states were selected as test cases. Reform documents, policies and practices, as well as interviews with key participants in the reform (e.g., teacher educators, state-level administrators) are described and analyzed, and constitute the evidential basis for this study. The patterns emerging from the data indicate that teacher educators’ degrees of resistance or cooperation with externally imposed frameworks is influenced by their conception of teaching, education and its purpose. Further, as teacher educators uncritically participate in the standards-based movement it becomes impossible for them to entertain alternative perspectives on teaching and education outside of the framework provided to them by the standards.     

Prospective classroom teachers’ metaphorical images of selves and comparing them to those they have of their elementary and cooperating teachers

Currently, it is strongly suggested that our thought processes are largely metaphorical in nature. Indeed, the metaphors we use not only represent the way we perceive the world and reality but also shape our professional ideas, attitudes, and practices. This study employs metaphor as a means of research to provide insights into the images prospective classroom teachers have of themselves as future teachers (i.e., professional self-images), their elementary teachers (i.e., former classroom teachers), and their cooperating teachers (i.e., supervisors of student teaching practices). Data for this study were gathered through the administration of a Likert-style questionnaire consisting of 20 metaphorical images of “classroom teacher” to 363 exit level elementary teacher education students enrolled in the Faculty of Education of Selcuk University in Turkey during the 2002–2003 academic year. Results indicate that the teacher candidates in this study appear to be less teacher-centered and more student-centered than their both elementary and cooperating teachers. Also, female teacher candidates appear to be less teacher-centered and more student-centered than their male peers. Implications for preservice teacher education and further research are discussed.     

Assessment of teacher and school psychologist knowledge of Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher and school psychologists' knowledge of Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). One hundred thirty‐two kindergarten through 12th‐grade general education teachers, special education teachers, and school psychologists responded to a 24‐item questionnaire concerning treatment and possible causes of ADHD. The results supported the hypothesis that school psychologists' knowledge level of ADHD would be significantly greater than the knowledge level of special and general education teachers, but did not support the hypothesis that the knowledge level of special education teachers would be significantly greater than the knowledge level of general education teachers. Increased years of professional experience was negatively associated with increased knowledge about ADHD. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

La Formation par la Recherche: un espoir pour une rénovation des pratiques éducatives

While reforms in education are relatively easy to achieve at a superficial level (structures, statements of objectives) more far‐reaching attempts which seek fundamental changes in teacher attitudes and behaviour are more difficult to achieve because of the teacher's professional autonomy. A strategy found to be effective in Suisse romande has involved teachers closely in the work of educational researchers. The strategy, known as ‘interactive observation’, fulfils three functions: to bring order into the teacher‐learning process, to improve understanding, and to advance in‐service training. The creative and reflective roles demanded by this participation in research makes it easier for teachers to analyse, and where necessary modify, their own professional practices.     

Investigating the relationship between pre-service physics teachers' professional knowledge,self-concept,and interest

This study investigates the relationships between professional knowledge, self-concept, and interest of pre-service physics teachers. In order to support student learning and interest development alike, teachers need a profound professional knowledge and respective motivational orientations. Developing both professional knowledge and motivational orientations in teachers is therefore a key challenge of teacher education. Prior research has focused on the development of content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) within teacher education, but the role of motivational orientations such as self-concept and interest have mostly been neglected areas of study. As individuals develop domain-specific motivational orientations, they compare their achievement in an external frame to the achievement of their peers, and they compare their achievements in an internal frame across domains. The effects of these psychological processes on domain-specific motivational orientations are described by the generalized internal/external frame of reference model (GI/E model). We assessed the professional knowledge (CK and PCK) and motivational orientations (self-concept and interest) of N = 200 pre-service physics teachers from 12 teacher education institutes in Germany. To investigate the predictions of the GI/E model, we utilized structural equation modeling. In line with the GI/E model, the analysis revealed that pre-service teachers use social comparisons. Pre-service teachers with a higher CK/PCK also showed a higher CK/PCK self-concept. We also identified instances of internal comparisons as we found that a high level of CK corresponds with a lower PCK self-concept. While we could not identify the same effects from professional knowledge on interest, self-concept mediated the effects from professional knowledge on interest. The results suggest that interdependencies between professional knowledge and motivational orientation should be given more consideration in teacher education research and should also be addressed more explicitly in teacher education.     

Learning‐to‐learn and learning‐to‐teach: the impact of disciplinary subject study on student‐teachers’ professional identity

A coherent view of student‐teachers’ preparation and the learning experiences to which they are exposed are key to sustaining the relevance of university‐based teacher‐education programmes. Arguably, such coherence is lacking and the research base to an understanding of the student‐teacher experience is still a relatively limited one. This paper takes the view that student‐teachers’ epistemological growth is a key component of their professional development, their sense of identity as intending teachers, and their successful entry into a teaching career. In adopting a phenomenographic approach it explores a chain of evidence which demonstrates that immersion in the processes of learning and knowing, within a specific disciplinary context, had a significant impact on students’ emerging professional identities and on their values as teachers which extends beyond the subject matter itself. Arguably, the findings of this case‐study hold important implications for a teacher‐education programme and for effective pedagogic practice.     

Longitudinal study of stages of beginning teacher development in a field‐based teacher education program

Abstract

Field‐based teacher education programs are part of a growing trend in education to provide long‐term classroom teaching experience and acculturation to the school environment as part of the certification process. This article reports on a study of stages of teacher development across ½ years of full‐time teaching as teacher candidates work to complete coursework in fulfillment of a masters of education program. Beginning teachers completed a Teachers Concerns Checklist at six points in the program. Factor analysis and ANOVA were utilized to develop a chronology of stages across these years to inform programmatic development. Findings suggest reduced concerns for classroom management as full‐time teaching begins and increased concerns for delivery of instruction as teachers are immersed in full‐time teaching. Strong concerns for professional development emerge only after a full year of teaching. Implications for the academic program, supervision, and future research are discussed     

Editorial

Teacher research serves as an innovative redirection of the tradition of framing the education of teachers around curriculum policies. It recognizes and encourages teachers as agents of knowing and constructors of knowledge. It is inquiry‐based, frequently collaborative, and invariably generative of teachers’ craft knowledge. British Columbia is currently in the middle of a most ambitious revision of its education system. This system‐wide attempt at innovation has provided an enabling context within which teachers in the province could engage in classroom‐based research as they attempt to build a learner‐focused curriculum. This article describes the teacher research efforts that have been taking place in the province, and attempts to derive important implications for educational policy. Teacher research permitted teachers to honour the educative agenda of schools, suggesting that more, rather than less, structures like teacher research groups be provided for in the implementation of complex educational innovations, and recognizing that posing questions about teaching and learning represents the essence of being a professional educator. Teacher research groups also provided support, stability and challenge in a community of inquirers, suggesting that such structures are necessary for teachers to engage in continuous, public and systemic critique of proposed changes in school. Finally, teachers were enabled to clarify the principles of learning embedded in the new programmes, to distinguish between learner‐focused and learner‐directed teaching, and to address matters of substance rather than react to the change process.     

大学英语教师专业发展理论探究

随着社会的进步,教育改革也越来越深入,教师专业发展也越来越备受重视。文章通过全面梳理关于国内外教师专业的相关发展理论,从而进一步提出更新颖的、更有利的英语教师专业的发展理论,并进一步阐述英语教师专业发展相关基本理论。     

校本教研对教师专业发展的影响情况调查报告

促进教师的专业发展,提高教师的专业素质已成为现代教育领域的一个热点问题。校本教研是源于学校发展的需要,旨在满足学校每个教师需要而展开的教研形式,是促进教师专业发展的有效方式。本研究采用问卷调查和访谈法,从教师对校本教研的看法、教育观念、教育知识、教育能力等四个方面来调查分析校本教研对教师专业发展的影响情况。     

Have conceptual reforms (and one anti‐reform) in preservice teacher education improved the education of multicultural,multilingual children and youth?

This article examines three conceptual reforms in US teacher education (competency‐based teacher education (CBTE), reflective teacher education (RTE) and constructivist teacher education (CTE)) for their effects on the education of multicultural, multilingual youth, as well as considering alternative certification (AC), known here as an ‘anti‐reform’. The author suggests that although each reform made incremental improvements in the ways that preservice teachers are prepared to teach multilingual and multicultural learners, none significantly altered the education of under‐served children and youth. For instance, CTE points out the importance of prior knowledge, but fails in connecting its core concepts with culturally relevant instruction. CBTE, while also generally failing to alter teacher preparation for multicultural learners, did try to make explicit connections for preservice teachers. RTE made explicit the moral consequences of working in diverse communities but fell short when it altered the apprenticeship–mentor relationship. AC of teachers is presented as the work of neo‐liberals whose largely successful efforts to deregulate teacher preparation offer both an improvement and retrenchment for urban children and youth. Finally, the article links the field’s focus on the preparation of teachers for diverse students and the moral dimension of teacher education, concluding that such a connection may be the only way to maintain the professional school preparation of teachers.     

Japan's teacher acculturation: critical analysis through comparative ethnographic narrative

Cross‐cultural teaching and research in Canada and Japan is reported. Ethnographic narrative methods were used to examine Japan's teacher acculturation. Canada's teachers are largely required to work in isolation, to learn their practice through trial and error. There is little provision for mentorship and insufficient time to reflect. In contrast, Japan's teachers have opportunities for reflection, collegiality and collaboration. Moreover, effective induction practices have evolved gradually, becoming a tacit part of teaching culture. Japan's teacher acculturation is characterized by significant teacher relationships; leadership and guidance; and further cultivated through professional development. However, undeveloped pre‐service programmes, one‐way, ‘top–down’ pedagogical exchanges, and ineffective mentors are contentious issues, hampering teacher education reforms. Nevertheless, Japanese induction practices challenge us to ameliorate teacher education to focus more on the needs of beginning teachers.     

Experiences of pioneers facilitating teacher networks for professional development

This study presents an exploration into facilitation practices of teacher professional development networks. Stimulating networked learning amongst teachers is a powerful way of creating an informal practice‐based learning space driven by teacher needs. As such, it presents an additional channel (besides more formal traditional professional development initiatives) for teacher education and sustained professional development. This study describes a set of challenges facilitators of teacher networks encounter and presents ways to overcome them. Successful facilitation is the cornerstone for vital teacher networks in which they share knowledge and develop their practice.     

VOICES IN EDUCATION: ACCOUNTABILITY IN TEACHER EDUCATION AND THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON TEACHER QUALITY

Abstract

This article explains several reasons why multicultural preservice teacher education is important and suggests some ways it can be better accomplished. The authors make a strong case for teacher education programs to be more deliberate about preparing European Americans to teach ethnically diverse students of color. They argue that this explicit professional preparation is needed because of the increasing racial, cultural, and linguistic divide between teachers (predominately European American) and K–12 students (increasingly from ethnic groups of color). Two other factors underscore the need for more multicultural teacher education: the fear of diversity and the resistance to dealing with race and racism frequently expressed by students enrolled in teacher education programs. To overcome these problems and better prepare preservice teachers to work effectively with ethnically diverse students the authors suggest a two‐part program of professional development.     

Living with CATE: the case of reflective student teachers

This paper considers the effect of the introduction of market forces into teacher education both in terms of the loss of autonomy on the part of the providers, the teacher educators, and in terms of the growth of ownership by the consumers, the student teachers, of their learning. Specifically it identifies the paradigms of teacher education which are absent from the Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (CATE) criteria, such as enquiry‐oriented teacher education, but which are important for promoting professional self‐awareness amongst teachers. This paper describes and evaluates an exercise undertaken by student teachers on a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) course which both promotes self‐reflection and meets some of the criteria set by CATE. It concludes that it is possible to promote self‐reflective teaching within the confines of the CATE criteria so long as certain procedures are followed.     

A Vygotskian perspective on teacher education

Contemporary teacher education demonstrates the continued use of competency‐based, personality‐based and inquiry‐based approaches. These approaches are commonly regarded as representing alternative paradigms for designing curriculum and pedagogy. From a Vygotskian perspective, characterized by the use of bridging concepts relating individual functioning and personal development to sociocultural process and setting, these approaches may serve to provide elements for a more comprehensive paradigm of professional development. Drawing on Vygotskian theory, a teacher‐education environment offers support to trainee teachers for developing a professional identity. A central element is that trainees explore the practice of teaching for its underlying public meanings and as these meaning relate to their own structures of personal meanings. Such an exploration involves the shaping and testing of personally‐meaningful action in professional practice. Commitment to meanings found to be valid and practicable constitutes the core of professional identity. The task students face in developing professional identity on the basis of an assignment of meaning to teaching needs an appropriate teacher‐education environment. These conditions are worked out from a Vygotskian perspective on professional development.