Demographic differences in changing pre‐service teachers’ attitudes,sentiments and concerns about inclusive education

The preparation of teachers for regular schools has clearly needed to undergo quite significant change in recent years. One major adjustment has been the necessity to prepare teachers for progressively more diverse student populations as they will increasingly be required to teach in inclusive classrooms. Many teacher education institutions are, therefore, offering units of work that aim to tackle this. Utilizing an international data set of 603 pre‐service teachers, consideration is given to the effect of a range of demographic differences on changing pre‐service teacher attitudes toward inclusion; sentiments towards people with a disability and in reducing their concerns about inclusion when involved in a focused unit of work. Pre‐ and post‐training comparisons are made which identify a range of variables that impact on changing pre‐service teacher perceptions about inclusion. The discussion focuses on the importance of differentiating teacher preparation courses to address these different needs of pre‐service teachers.     

Extended services in schools: developing resources to prepare student teachers for a rapidly changing working environment

The role of schools in providing extended services to their communities continues to undergo change and development. This has raised issues regarding the training of student teachers who are increasingly likely to take up appointments in schools offering extended services. This research project investigated the development of resources to prepare student teachers for a changing working environment. The project used a case study approach to gather data from primary and secondary schools providing extended services. From these case studies training materials were developed and trialled with focus groups of students in initial teacher training. Findings demonstrate the importance for tutors in initial teacher education to have access to authentic school‐focused materials to assist them in equipping students for the realities of school life.     

Developmental assessment: lifting literacy through professional learning teams

Outcomes and findings from an evidence‐based approach to targeting primary school students’ developmental reading comprehension levels for effective learning are described. Nineteen schools participated in a literacy assessment project designed to monitor and improve the reading comprehension achievement levels of their students. The project integrated a developmental approach to learning and teaching, information derived from standardised reading comprehension assessments, and professional development for teachers. Reading comprehension achievement across the schools increased at a higher rate than typically expected. Teacher discourse about teaching and learning changed from discrete skill and resource focused, to developmentally focused. The centrality of a professional learning team approach to change for the student, teacher and school is discussed.     

Gender politics in 21st century literacy reform

From 2001 to 2004 Education Queensland undertook significant literacy reform in schools through the Literate Futures Project. Research into the impact of this reform has revealed that significant demands were placed on women at all levels, from those producing resources to those leading change within schools. Although the reform was a government response to globalisation, many women were driven by a commitment to a collaborative approach to professional learning that addressed equity and improving educational outcomes for all students. But what was the cost of this commitment to the project? Failure to acknowledge the emotion work demanded by educational reform effectively silences women and the significant contribution they make. This paper examining a 21st century literacy reform draws on the work of Fraser and Boler to argue for gender justice and acknowledgement of emotion work.     

Promoting school libraries and schools library services: problems and partnerships

Literuture Matters was a two‐year, national programme in England designed to promote partnerships between schools library services and initial teacher training institutions. Its aim was to raise awareness of the role of the schools library service in promoting children's books and reading for pleasure. There were positive effects, in the short term, on student teachers, teacher educators and library staff. Potentially sustainable partnerships were developed, but structures and funding are needed to ensure a long term impact over new teachers' careers.     

Practical work: Its effectiveness in primary and secondary schools in England

We report here on the first of two evaluations of a national project (Getting Practical: Improving Practical Work in Science—IPWiS) designed to improve the effectiveness of practical work in both primary and secondary schools in England. This first baseline evaluation of the effectiveness of practical work is based on a study of a diverse range of 30 practical lessons undertaken in non‐selective primary (n = 10) and secondary (n = 20) schools prior to the teachers undertaking a training intervention designed to improve their effective use of practical work. A multi‐site case study approach employing a condensed fieldwork strategy was used in which data were collected, using audiotape‐recorded discussions, interviews, and observational field notes. The analysis, based on work by Millar et al. and Tiberghien, considers what students do and think relative to what their teacher intended them to do and think. In both primary and secondary schools, the widespread use of highly structured “recipe” style tasks meant that practical work was highly effective in enabling students (n = 857) to do what the teacher intended. Whilst tasks in primary schools tended to be shorter than in secondary schools, with more time devoted to helping students understand the meaning of new scientific words, neither primary nor secondary teachers' lesson plans incorporated explicit strategies to assist students in making links between their observations and scientific ideas. As such, tasks were less effective in enabling students to use the intended scientific ideas to understand their actions and reflect upon the data they collected. These findings suggest that practical work might be made more effective, in terms of developing students' conceptual understanding—an aim of the IPWiS project—if teachers adopted a more “hands‐on” and “minds‐on” approach and explicitly planned how students were to link these two essential components of practical work. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 1035–1055, 2012     

Alternatives pour la formation des enseignants: deux expériences en Grèce du nord

The author analyses two experiments with alternative forms of training of teachers of modem languages, carried out in Greece in 1982 to 1985. Examining first the ideology of training, she first calls in question some basic assumptions concerning teacher models and the processes of training, which risk perpetuating traditional, teacher‐taught, attitudes. The concept of training is set against that of teacher autonomy; the rigidity suggested by ‘training’, it is suggested, can be counter‐productive. The approach adopted in the experiments described has been that of maximising autonomy.

The first experiment extended over three years, commencing 1982. It aimed at reestablishing the theory‐practice link, in the hope of bringing into being a ‘teacher‐researcher’. The strategies adopted are described, with an emphasis on the multiplier effect of the first group on return to their schools, and with a subsequent extension to initial training as well as in‐service. Despite difficulties, positive results were achieved.

The second experiment commenced in 1983 and drew upon the existing project. It aimed at the production of new curricula and evaluation methods, and upon new curriculum materials. Teachers were actively involved in the process, their involvement being essential in the eyes of the project team. The experience was highly innovatory, leading to a complete restructuring of class activities and to the emergence of new pupil‐teacher relationships, and of a new learning transaction.     

The challenge of continuation: Schools’ continuation of the Respect program

The Respect program is a whole school approach to prevent and reduce problem behavior. The purpose of this study was to investigate which conditions in schools helped them to continue the program successfully after the end of the 1-year implementation period. The study also looked at the actual continuation after the program end. Especially, we looked at which strategies and structures promoted change beyond the implementation phase. The project groups at four Norwegian schools implementing the program were interviewed at the end of the implementation period and again 2? years later. The main findings suggest that involvement in the Respect program enables schools to implement change. However, it is challenging for the schools to continue the work afterwards. The one school that successfully continued the work after the program was characterized by strong and supportive leadership, leadership at many levels, they made plans and saw them through, renewed activities and new members of staff were introduced to and included in the work according to the program principles. These elements were more or less lacking at the other three schools, at least after the active program period. A main finding is that a 1-year program period is not long enough for most schools to implement and continue an extensive whole school program like Respect.     

Changes to a Chinese pre‐service language teacher education program: analysis,results and implications

The current nation‐wide reform of Chinese primary and secondary education prompted an empirical research project, “An empirical investigation of in‐service English teachers1 1. In this paper, the term “English teacher” refers to a teacher of English language, who teaches English as a second or foreign language. View all notes in primary and secondary schools and a study of a pre‐service language teacher education program”, conducted at Baoding, China. This project is considered as potentially relevant to other Chinese and Asian nations that are engaged in the transformation of their provision of English language instruction. This project was developed in two stages: first, it sought data from in‐service English teachers, using questionnaires and interviews with English teachers from schools differentiated by geographical context and system; and second, these data were used to inform the design of a new pre‐service English teacher education program. In this paper, the consultative processes of Stage 1 are discussed and the teachers' proficiencies in the new direction of teaching English are critically examined. On the basis of these data, reflections and implications of the strengths and weaknesses of the present pre‐service language teacher training program are made.     

Widening access to educational opportunities through teaching children how to reason together

This paper reports on a project to explore the impact of promoting exploratory talk as the medium of teaching across the curriculum for 6‐ and 7‐year‐old pupils in three primary schools in the UK. We found that this focus on teaching through exploratory talk (which we call the Thinking Together approach) enabled the children to work together more inclusively and more effectively, improving their social skills and, at the same time, their use of language for reasoning and learning.     

Teacher training for moral education in China

Moral education as a concept is very comprehensive in China. It is implemented in two ways, one of which is through subject‐based moral education, the other is by means of all kinds of extra‐curricular activities. There are three groups of moral educators: teachers of subject‐based moral education, Party administrators and class teachers. The initial training of these teachers is undertaken at three levels of teacher training institutions: teachers' universities, colleges or schools. Three in‐service training approaches are described and illustrated: the first takes place in teachers' universities; the second is a school‐based approach; and the third is characterized by cooperation between university and school. Challenges for the further improvement of the training of moral educators are outlined and some suggestions made.     

A ‘quiet revolution’? The impact of Training Schools on initial teacher training partnerships

This paper discusses the impact on initial teacher training of a new policy initiative in England: the introduction of Training Schools. First, the Training School project is set in context by exploring the evolution of a partnership approach to initial teacher training in England. Ways in which Training Schools represent a break with established practice are considered together with their implications for the dominant mode of partnership led by higher education institutions (HEIs). The capacity of Training Schools to achieve their own policy objectives is examined, especially their efficacy as a strategy for managing innovation and the dissemination of innovation. The paper ends by focusing on a particular Training School project which has adopted an unusual approach to its work and enquires whether this alternative approach could offer a more profitable way forward. During the course of the paper, five different models of partnership are considered: collaborative, complementary, HEI‐led, school‐led and partnership within a partnership.     

The Needs of Secondary School Information Technology Co‐ordinators in the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

This paper reports on a survey of secondary schools in the West Midlands, England, in 1991 and was conducted to measure the tasks required of information technology co‐ordinators and the training requirement of their schools. The main emphasis of information technology work was still on taught, examination courses and there was a perceived need for information technology awareness courses for all pupils. Many co‐ordinators had no clear perspective of the level of information technology permeation across the curriculum in their schools, and thus demonstrated an urgent need for audits of staff awareness and pupil access. Information technology co‐ordinators also saw a need for further in‐service training for many staff to enable delivery of their pupils’ information technology entitlement. Most staff training was school based and included collaborative teaching and courses run by the school staff. Little use was made of co‐operation with subject staff from other schools or outside specialists. The co‐ordinators defined their needs as being predominantly in the areas of time for co‐ordination duties, assessment of information technology across the curriculum, and training in new developments in the wider aspects of information technology.     

Neo‐liberal Subjectivities and the Limits of Social Change in University–Community Partnerships

In this paper the authors analyse a university–school partnership that went awry. It was designed to develop a new set of philosophical principles to inform work with violent student behaviour in schools. The project brought together a team of researchers from the university and school sector with a strong record of examining and improving the management of behaviour in classrooms. The authors sought volunteer school‐based educators to work with them as co‐researchers. Despite the team's strong school‐based research background, the mutual interest in developing a new approach to work with violence, and the strong collaborative base, they found themselves, as the initiating research team, unable to progress in the ways they had anticipated. This paper analyses the dynamics at work in that lack of progress. The analysis is put forward with the hope of enlivening discussion about what makes for successful collaborative projects between schools and universities.     

Sustainable development in early childhood education: in‐service students' comprehension of the concept

The purpose of this article is to explore day care attendants' comprehension of the concept of sustainable development (SD) and to analyse the associated pedagogical practices at their place of work in pre‐schools. The empirical data comprise written exam reports from 32 practising day care attendants attending an in‐service education course. The participants study early childhood education (ECE) part time at Mälardalen University, Sweden, and the rest of their time they work in their pre‐schools. The analysis was based on a qualitative content analysis approach, and the results show a multi‐faceted understanding of the concept. SD was seen as a holistic approach, an environmental issue or a democratic issue. The article explores how these different ways of approaching the concept relate to different attitudes and day‐to‐day practices in the pedagogical programme in the pre‐schools.     

Coaching doctoral students – a means to enhance progress and support self-organisation in doctoral education

In this paper we focus on individual coaching carried out by an external coach as a new pedagogical element that can impact doctoral students’ sense of progress in doctoral education. The study used a mixed-methods approach in that we draw on quantitative and qualitative data from the evaluation of a project on coaching doctoral students. We explore how coaching can contribute to the doctoral students’ development of a broad set of personal competences and suggest that coaching could work as a means to engender self-management and improve relational competences. The analysis of the participants’ self-reported gains from coaching show that doctoral students experience coaching as an effective method to support the doctoral study process. This study also provides preliminary empirical evidence that coaching of doctoral students can facilitate the doctoral study process so that the doctoral students experience an enhanced feeling of progress and that they can change their study behaviour in a positive direction. The study discusses the difference between coaching and supervision, for instance power imbalances and contrary to earlier research into coaching of doctoral students this study indicates that coaching can impact the supervisor–student relationship in a positive way.     

Political issues in the evaluation of in‐service programmes for teachers

Chadwick, G.F. “Political issues in the evaluation of in‐service programmes for teachers,” Revue ATEE Journal 3 (1980) 207‐214.

The article focuses on the political dimensions of course evaluation. It begins by looking at the external and internal pressures faced by staff evaluating in‐service teacher training courses in a polytechnic. The suggestion is made that in‐service education courses at North East London Polytechnic attempt to change the power balance between training institutions and teachers working in schools, through developing teacher awareness and competence. Some of the difficulties faced by this approach are considered: (1) the inherent conservatism of the profession; (2) constraints imposed by the accepted style of evaluation; (3) overall agreement on aims; and (4) the difficulties of teachers in classrooms.     

Changing standards? Children's awareness and knowledge of features of written standard English at ages 10–11

This paper reports the findings of a small‐scale research project, which investigated the levels of awareness and knowledge of written standard English of 10‐ and 11‐year‐old children in two English primary schools over a six‐year period, coinciding with the implementation in the schools of the National Literacy Strategy (NLS). A questionnaire was used to provide quantitative and qualitative data relating to: features of writing which were recognised as standard or non‐standard; children's understanding of technical terminology; variations between boys' and girls' performance; and the impact of the NLS over time. The findings reveal variations in levels of recognition of different non‐standard features, differences between girls' and boys' recognition, possible examples of language change, but no evidence of a positive impact of the NLS. The implications of these findings are discussed both in terms of changes in educational standards and changes to standard English.     

From ‘doing’ to ‘doing with learning’: reflection on an effort to promote self-regulated learning in technological projects in high school

Project-based learning is undoubtedly one of the best instructional methods for developing students’ broad learning capabilities, beyond teaching specific subject matter. However, experienced engineering teachers often tend to concentrate on merely teaching pupils the technical side of project work. This paper describes a programme aimed at fostering self-regulated learning among high schools pupils working on projects in electronics, control systems and robotics. The programme sought, for example, to promote pupils’ conceptual knowledge regarding the subjects they dealt with in their projects, enabling the learners to gain experience using simulation, laboratory testing and troubleshooting in a system that they were constructing. The change in project work also required pupils to document systematically all stages of system development and reflect on their learning by preparing a printed or web-based ePortfolio on the project. Outcomes of the in-service training course given to teachers countrywide and the first signs of change in project work in schools are reported.     

Sexuality and relationship education training to primary and secondary school teachers: an evaluation of provision in Western Australia

This paper describes the formative, process and short term impact evaluation of sexuality and relationships education (SRE) training for teachers in Western Australia (WA) over a three year period. The training represents one component of a broader project, the aims of which are to improve teacher’s confidence and skills in delivering SRE, and to support schools to implement effective comprehensive SRE. Formative evaluation conducted prior to the development of the training, found although most respondents were relatively confident and skilled in facilitating SRE, the need for ongoing professional development was highlighted, especially in areas such as gender diversity, pornography, sexting, violence and working with specific groups. Training focusing on the new Australian Health and Physical Education curriculum and mandatory assessment was identified as a need. Workshop evaluation found statistically significant improvements in attitudes towards SRE and increased comfort in teaching SRE, facilitating discussion and facilitating skills and activities, after the workshop. The evaluation identified the need for an integrated and coordinated whole school approach and efforts to engage teachers with lower levels of confidence in teaching SRE. Changes to the Australian Curriculum provide opportunities to enhance the development of SRE in schools. Longer-term impact evaluation is required to identify whole school changes.