The Significance of Physical Education Content: “Sending the Message” in Physical Education Teacher Education

Mind-body dualism has likely influenced how many view human beings and their behavior—mind (i.e., thinking) is elevated over body (i.e., performing)—even in Physical Education Teacher Education. The problem is that such a perspective makes physical education content (i.e., dance, games, play, and sport) subsidiary to more “intellectual” or “academic” content. This article invites Physical Education Teacher Education faculty to consider how to effectively “send the message” to future physical educators that physical education content is valuable and respectable and in many ways epitomizes intelligent human behavior. Specifically, Physical Education Teacher Education faculty are invited to (a) challenge traditional definitions of intelligence and introduce alternative definitions, (b) participate regularly in their own playgrounds, (c) provide a sufficient dose of activity courses in their curricula, (d) teach activity courses, (e) establish a performance-oriented culture, and (f) administer performance and/or game play evaluations.     

When the “Other” Is the Teacher: Implications of Teacher Diversity in Higher Education

The Urban Review - Using qualitative methods, I explore these questions: What is it like for women of color to teach in predominantly white universities? What happens in the classroom of a...     

Becoming “Effective” Citizens? Change-Oriented Service in a Teacher Education Program

The authors investigated the impact of 22 pre-service teachers’ participation in a change-oriented service-learning project on their conceptions of citizenship as civic actors and civic educators. The goal of this project was to push students toward adopting more critically conscious and activist conceptions of citizenship as aligned with the needs of a democratic society. Using Eyler and Giles’ (1999) typology of effective citizenship as an analytic framework, we describe how students’ participation in this project led to demonstrated growth along all five dimensions of effective citizenship. Yet, analysis revealed that, despite the project’s change-orientation, students’ conceptions of citizenship failed to move beyond personal responsibility to include enhanced social consciousness and the importance of collective action. Thus, we raise critical questions about what constitutes “effective citizenship” in a democratic society and the role of higher education in preparing teachers to embody and enact such a vision.     

Creating “Invited” Spaces for Counter-Radicalization and Counter-Extremism Education

In this article we present an articulation of how “invited spaces” can foster inclusive and authentic participation and public discourse on issues related to extremism and radicalization. Conversations on these issues that are of crucial importance to the general public are usually held in closed spaces or in spaces that are set up by those in power. Subsequently, we present an account of Symposia on Teaching About Extremism, Terror, and Trauma (TETT), as a transformative invited space in which conversations around extremism, terrorism, radicalization, and counter-radicalization took place with an aim for interchange of ideas between various stakeholders (public, policy makers, researchers, community-based organization [CBOs], nongovernmental organizations [NGOs], and students). We briefly report some of the salient conversations and the questions that come out of these conversations at TETT 2016. Finally, we make an attempt to answer one of these questions: What kind of pedagogy is needed to counter extremism and radicalization?     

Parents’ Expectations About Participating in Antenatal Parenthood Education Classes

Our objective was to assess parents’ expectations about participating in antenatal parenthood education classes and to determine whether their expectations might be related to gender, age, and educational level. Data from 1,117 women and 1,019 partners residing in three cities in Sweden were collected with a questionnaire in a cross-sectional study. Participants believed that antenatal education classes would help them to feel more secure as parents and to be better oriented toward childbirth. Men had more positive expectations about the childbirth than the women. The participants mostly wanted help in preparing for parenthood and in learning infant care skills, followed by help in preparing for childbirth. The participants’ expectations were affected by gender, age, and educational level. The expectant parents appeared to want more focus on preparation for parenthood than on childbirth.     

Revisiting “The Master's Tools”: Challenging Common Sense in Cross-Cultural Teacher Education

Although school climate has been thought to be especially important for racial minority and poor students (Booker, 2006 Booker, K. C. 2006. School belonging and the African American adolescent: What do we know and where should we go?. The High School Journal, 89(4): 1–7. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Haynes, Emmons, &; Ben-Avie, 1997 Haynes, N. M., Emmons, C. and Ben-Avie, M. 1997. School climate as a factor in student adjustment and achievement. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 8(3): 321–329. [Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), little research has explored the significance of racial climate for these students. Furthermore, research in the area has tended to treat race, socioeconomic class, and gender separately, ignoring the ways in which they interact. Using quantitative survey data from 842 African American and white middle school students, this study examined the associations of race, class, and gender with school racial climate perceptions. Results indicated students’ perceptions of racial climate differed by race, class, and gender. African American, poor, and female students perceived the racial climate in more negative terms than their white, non-poor, and male counterparts, respectively. Results also indicated joint associations between race and class and climate perceptions. Non-poor, African American students perceived a more negative racial climate than did non-poor Whites. There was limited support for a race and gender interaction. African American females tended to perceive less racial fairness in school than African American males. We discuss the conceptual and methodological tradeoffs of examining students’ school racial climate perceptions from a perspective that considers race, class, and gender jointly.     

The Association Between a Community College’s Teacher Education Program and the 4-year Graduation Rates of Black and Hispanic Teacher Education Students

ABSTRACT

In response to a shortage of qualified Black and Hispanic teachers, community colleges (CC) have developed certificate programs and Associate of Arts degrees in teacher education to address shortages of minority teachers in the nation’s classrooms. We examined one CC’s effectiveness in transferring Black and Hispanic students to university teacher education programs and the association with Black and Hispanic students graduating with a bachelor’s degree. We compared enrollment and transfer student data for the 2003 community college teacher education program cohort to graduation data for native-to-university students of two 4-year universities. Data were analyzed using chi square and phi coefficients. The CC Black and Hispanic students graduated at the same rates as the native-to-university students and higher than their peers of the same races, regardless of major, who began at 2-year colleges at the national level. We encourage CC teacher education programs to invest resources to increase enrollment of Black and Hispanic students to address the growing need for minority teachers to serve in urban communities.     

Science Teacher Education in Brazil: 1950–2000

This paper analyzes the most significant events occurring in Brazil’s educational, social and political areas over the last half century, viewed against a background of relevant worldwide events. The hypothesis presented here is that the relations between the country’s educational policies, the demands of the various segments of academia, and the public school system have always been strained. This strain has contributed positively to the evolution of academic knowledge and production, to the design of more modern curricular projects by institutional authorities, and to the initial recognition of the specific construction of school knowledge by the school system itself. However, the interaction of these major institutions lacks a crucial element—one that would lead to an effective change in the education of science teachers and produce a positive impact on Brazil’s schools—namely, the wholehearted participation of science teachers themselves. With this analysis, we intend to contribute by offering some perspectives and proposals for science teacher education in Brazil.     

The Australian Science Teacher: A Typology of Teacher–Student Interpersonal Behaviour in Australian Science Classes

This study reports the first development in Australia of science teacher typologies of teacher–student interpersonal behaviour. Students' perceptions of teacher–student interpersonal behaviour were measured using the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI). Earlier work with the QTI in The Netherlands has revealed eight different interpersonal styles, which were later confirmed with an American sample of secondary school teachers. The present study investigated the extent to which typologies found in earlier studies also apply to a sample of Australian secondary school science teachers. Data were first checked to examine whether the eight profiles found in The Netherlands and the USA were also present in the Australian data. A cluster analysis using various clustering methods and procedures was used to determine Australian typologies and compare these with earlier Dutch findings. Results of the cluster analyses were verified by analyses of variance, by plotting QTI scale scores graphically, and by presenting a set of sector graphics to two independent researchers and having them sort these into different profiles as found in the statistical analyses. The resultant typologies and implications for professional development and research are presented.     

What Ought to Be Done to Promote Education for Sustainability in Teacher Education?

Teachers are major players in the development of future citizens who have the knowledge, understanding, skills, values and dispositions to respond to existential threats such as climate change, land degradation, sea level rise and population growth. Yet, this type of education, often captured under the name of Education for Sustainability (EfS), is often rejected by teacher educators and, thereby, mostly not included in the education of future teachers. This paper draws on learning from a long-term collaborative project to argue for the promotion of EfS in teacher education and to offer a set of propositions or strategies for doing so. The paper will interest academics and researchers within and beyond teacher education who are interested in change towards sustainability through education.     

The Teacher’s World: Heideggerian Authenticity and Existential Thinking in Initial Teacher Education

In this study, it is argued that Heidegger’s philosophic pedagogy—the realization that we are always already philosophical (ontological) beings—should constitute an integral part of a school-based approach to initial teacher education curriculum. Beginning teachers need to be equipped with an intimate understanding of a teacher’s world to experience the unified nature of this world and experience disruptions and perplexity within it to learn to renew their attunement to the unity of this world. This can only be done by being immersed within the praxis of teaching from the very start. Clinical experience and coursework should not be treated as two separate domains that are somehow externally interlinked. The starting point and the unit of analysis for the curriculum should be the teacher’s world. Clinical experience and coursework can then become meaningful distinctions and moments within a holistic understanding of this world.     

Making Connections： Values,Challenges and Successes in the Implementation of Eportfolios in Teacher Education at a Community College in New York City

This paper triangulates perspectives on reflective pedagogy （Yancey, 2009）, integrative learning （Eynon, 2009） and technology integration into learning and teaching （Wenzlaff, 1998） in order to connect the dots among a set of values, challenges and opportunities that concomitantly emerge from using eportfolios （electronic portfolios） in teacher education at BMCC （Borough of Manhattan Community College） in New York City. The aim of this paper is to share insights that could help to inform and encourage best practices across community colleges and other higher education institutions.