More than canons: teacher knowledge and the literary domain of the secondary English curriculum

Background:?The matter of teacher knowledge in the curriculum subject of English is not simple. Certainly it is not easy to delineate what its ‘content knowledge’ should be and how this relates to other aspects of teacher knowledge. In the context of education policy in England, at a time of change when the nature of the subject and its pedagogy are under scrutiny, the issue acquires heightened relevance from an initial teacher preparation perspective.

Purpose:?This paper sets out to consider the following questions: how do teachers of English acquire their teacher knowledge? What is known about the nuanced process of teacher knowledge development in English? Curriculum content is one element of teacher knowledge, but in the literary domain of English it does not suffice to specify what and how much should be read. The questions are discussed from the perspective of the knowledge development of postgraduate English teachers during initial teacher preparation.

Sources of evidence:?Literature concerning the development of teacher knowledge and expertise both generally and in the curriculum subject of English is critically discussed. Within the literature, the notion of the mentor–novice dialogue is identified as an important way of developing teacher knowledge. Alongside the literature, three illustrative mentor accounts are presented, drawn from the experience of postgraduate students learning to teach English to secondary school pupils.

Main argument:?The mentor accounts suggest that the boundaries of English are not easily demarcated. They indicate that the knowledge developed is other than the ‘content’ knowledge that might be acquired through initial degree studies. It is argued that teacher education demands a conception of teaching that takes full account of this knowledge development. At the same time, specific dispositions that do not automatically follow from prior academic attainment appear to be relevant. It is suggested that how these are cultivated, and how they are distinctive to the subject discipline are important questions for initial teacher preparation.

Conclusions:?Whatever the new contexts for initial teacher preparation, understanding how teachers acquire and apply ‘teacherly’ knowledge deserves as much attention as the content of a subject or the prior attainment of entrants to the profession. Initial teacher preparation arrangements need to acknowledge the complexity of learning to teach English as a curriculum subject. Learning to teach is a nuanced process, requiring engagement with a dedicated pedagogical content knowledge. In literary English teaching, this comprises attention to micro and macro aspects concurrently, for example through attention to individual texts concurrent with consideration of conceptions of readers and reading.     

教师培养课程对全日制教育硕士专业知识发展的贡献——以D大学英语教育硕士为例

本文以D大学为个案,运用问卷调查法和文本分析法,对全日制英语教育硕士专业知识的发展状况进行了跟踪研究,着重分析了全日制英语教育硕士专业知识各基本成分与各类教师培养课程之间的关联。研究发现:全日制英语教育硕士专业知识整体发展较好,但各成分呈现不同程度的发展水平;不同类型教师培养课程对于英语教育硕士专业知识发展的贡献程度不同,教育实践课程对英语学科教学知识发展贡献最大,学科素养课程对英语学科知识发展有较高贡献,学科教学课程对课程知识积累有促进作用,教育理论课程对教育理论知识没有起到应然的促进作用;并据此得到一些有助于教师培养项目持续改进的结论。     

School English,literature and the knowledge-base question

This article takes up questions about knowledge and the school curriculum with respect to literary studies within subject English. Its intention is to focus on literary studies in English from the context of current waves of curriculum reform, rather than as part of the conversations primarily within the field of English, to raise questions about the knowledge agenda, and the knowledge-base agenda for teaching and teacher education. The selection of texts and form of study of literature within the English curriculum has long been an area of controversy. Without assuming a particular position on knowledge in this area, this article shows that important questions of what knowledge-base teachers are expected to bring to their work are elided both in current regulations and debates, and in research on ‘good teaching’ in this area. If ‘literary studies’ (as a discipline or university major) is itself an unstable and changing field, what kind of knowledge does a good English teacher bring to their work? This paper takes up these questions in the context of the Australian Curriculum and standards for teacher registration, but it also points to the way these issues about knowledge are of broader relevance for researchers and teacher education.     

Teacher education: Partnerships in pedagogy?

Initial training partnerships between schools and universities can appear to be driven by the demands of external accountability. Resultant managerial models of partnership support simplistic interpretations of application of subject knowledge: competence-based assessments and reflective practice in initial teacher training. A consequent focus on “performativity” (Ball, 1994) seems to militate against an emphasis on how student teachers best learn. A Neo-Vygotskian model which incorporates understandings of teaching and learning is offered as a possible framework for initial training partnership. Data collected from an early years teaching school-university partnership programme illustrate discussion of the framework. The complexity of roles and responsibilities in training partnerships is emphasized.     

Theories of Bernstein and Shulman: their relevance to teacher training courses in England using adult numeracy courses as an example

Since 2002, adult numeracy specifications have been introduced for the first time in England. This article investigates the relevance of Bernstein and Shulman's theoretical frameworks to teacher training using the new Level 4 adult numeracy teacher training programmes as an example. The article discusses Bernstein's theories relating to pedagogic methods of acquisition and transmission. It investigates the recontextualization process in which subject content and teaching standards may be translated into teaching approaches, which can be used by trainee teachers. It also investigates Shulman's model of pedagogical reasoning and action in relation to teacher training. The article bases its evidence on a research project, which evaluates teacher training courses in adult numeracy and literacy, and English for speakers of other languages in England. The article suggests that the two educationists' theories have significant relevance to the design and implementation of teacher training courses. It also suggests that they can be used alongside each other with each educationist's theories having their particular strengths. Bernstein's theories emphasize a rigorous approach to course structuring; Shulman's theories offer an insightful approach to how a trainee transforms subject and teaching standards knowledge and skills into possible teaching methods to help her learners understand the subject.     

An examination of knowledge prioritisation in secondary physical education teacher education courses

A number of terms have been used to describe knowledge needed for teaching, one of which is subject knowledge. How knowledge for teaching is conceptualised in teacher education prioritises some knowledge bases over other knowledge bases. Further, knowledge prioritised by student teachers is influenced by socialisation prior to and during an initial teacher education course and priorities for student teachers as they develop as teachers. Previous research in physical education teacher education points to the pre-eminence of content knowledge above other knowledge bases. The purpose of this study was to look at what knowledge is prioritised by student teachers, school-based mentors and university tutors working on three secondary physical education initial teacher education courses in England. Results showed that content knowledge was seen as having greater importance for student teachers and mentors, but university tutors generally conceptualised subject knowledge more broadly, suggesting that it should be seen as covering a number of knowledge bases needed for teaching. These results are discussed in relation to socialisation processes in education and phases of development. Although there is a clear physical education focus to this work, it is possible that student teachers learning to teach other subjects may also focus excessively on subject content knowledge above other knowledge bases.     

大学英语教师在教学改革中的专业发展问题探究

基于计算机和课堂的多媒体教学模式的大学英语教学改革对大学英语教师提出了更高的要求。大学英语教师的专业发展问题越来越受到教育界的关注。本文针对我国大学英语教师专业发展的现状,着重强调了大学英语教师的终身化学习理念,并提出建立多样性,多渠道的教师培训方式和以＂反思性教学＂为主的教师自主发展模式。     

合作学习在高职英语教学中的必要性探析

传统的教学模式一直占据着高职英语的主导地位,课堂教学以教师为中心,忽视学生个性、学习风格和学习策略潜能的发挥,重应试教育、轻素质培养,使学生厌倦英语学习。为了解决这些问题,调动同学们的学习积极性,要采用不同的教学方法去激发学生的英语学习兴趣。合作学习是在英语教学中组织学生进行小组学习活动,以学生为主体,教师变导师,引导同学们以小组的形式努力完成教师所布置的任务。实践表明,合作学习使学生的英语听说能力、实践能力、交流合作能力都有明显提高。     

中外英语教师在师范类英语课中的小组合作教学与教师发展

在师范类教法课上或英语师资培训课上实行中外英语教师小组合作教学是一项新的研究课题。本文主要探讨小组合作教学类型及其在中国师范类教法课中的应用,讨论中外英语教师在组建合作队伍、顺利进行合作教学中应注意的事项、对策和措施,最后提出小组合作教学能更好地利用外教资源培训中小学英语教师,使中小学英语教师尽快熟悉任务型教学方法,培养跨文化意识,体验和理解外国文化,适应和达到在中国中小学实行的英语新课程标准的要求。     

Trained for isolation: The impact of departmental cultures on student teachers' views and practices of collaboration

Today, isolated practice is regarded by most educators, administrators and policymakers as an inadequate way of performing teachers' work. Most teachers and teacher educators embrace the current dominant discourse on the virtues of teacher collaboration, but these beliefs do not always materialize in the way programs of initial teacher education are organized and in the way student teachers experience their practice training. This paper examines this contradiction by analyzing the network structure and contents of teachers' professional interactions with student teachers and among themselves in two secondary-school English departments. The data show that despite the formal arrangements and the discourses favoring collaborative practice, the student teachers within the two departments were socialized into professional cultures that framed their views of themselves and of teaching in essentially isolated ways. The paper discusses implications of these results for studies of collaborative cultures in teaching and for the training of beginning teachers.     

How do you get pre-service teachers to become ‘good at ICT’ in their subject teaching? The views of expert practitioners

The paper reports on a particular strand of the outcomes of the English contribution to an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development comparative study, ICT in Initial Teacher Training, which aimed to develop insights into how courses of initial teacher training prepare student teachers to use information and communications technology (ICT) effectively in their teaching. The paper extracts from the broader dataset the views of practitioners who were identified as being particularly ‘expert’ in their use of ICT, on what strategies and interventions are most helpful in developing teachers who are able to use ICT to enhance learning in their subject teaching, and also what it means ‘to be good at ICT’ as a subject teacher. Although some findings confirm research elsewhere on the importance of Technological and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) frameworks, other aspects of the study question some of the assumptions which have been made about teacher induction in this field in England, which may have implications for the training of pre-service teachers in other countries.     

英国信息通信技术教师的职前培养及启示

英国通过“合格教师资格”（QTS）标准既规范了职前教师教育,又保证了教师专业化。作为职前教师教育的一部分,英国的信息通信技术教师的职前教育具有强调学科专业知识基础、注重职业信念培养、加强大学与中小学合作、提供多元化立体评价等特点,在我国高中信息技术教师培养策略方面,可以尝试其培养模式,借鉴其培养内容,强化专业体验,有针对性地对课程进行评价。     

Putting meat on the bones: factors affecting student teachers’ confidence to teach reading

Teacher training, especially in the teaching of reading, has come to the forefront in policy making and teacher training institutions are now subject to even more rigorous inspection procedures than schools, much of this inspection focusing on the preparation of teachers of reading. Yet much of this development has rested on very little research evidence. We still do not know exactly what constitutes effective teacher training for reading teaching. Gill Scrivens’ study reported here makes a significant contribution to this area in that it highlights the fact that some earlier research studies have taken too simplistic a view of the training process. It also suggests practical ways forward in this area.     

新疆少数民族双语教育模式探讨

教学模式是保证双语教育培养目标有效实施的方案。依据新疆双语教育培养双语双文化人目标,文章通过研究国外双语教育模式以及深入的田野调查,构建出田野点乌鲁木齐市T区双语教育模式:早期部分浸没式,即从学前开始实施双语教育,在母语文与汉语文并行作为课程开设的同时,文科课程使用母语授课,理科及英语课程使用汉语授课,同时进行课程整合,大学时,班主任主要由汉语文老师担任等。同时探讨了民考汉教学模式:加授母语文课;升学考试(中考、高考)中用母语文成绩替换现有民考汉加分。     

Teacher knowledge about oral English instruction and teacher profiles: an EFL perspective

Teacher knowledge, as an important cognitive basis of teaching, has attracted tremendous attention in educational research in the last few decades. This study examines whether teachers’ self-perceived knowledge about oral English teaching differs with regard to their professional profiles in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context in China. A sample of 527 teachers from 56 universities in 29 cities across the country responded to a self-report questionnaire. Thirty teachers were interviewed. Teachers’ self-perceived knowledge was assessed by two factors: pedagogical content knowledge about oral English teaching (PCK) and knowledge of students’ oral English characteristics (KOS). The reliability and validity of the instrument are tested and presented. Results showed that EFL teachers generally reported having insufficient PCK and KOS. ANOVA and t-tests revealed no significant knowledge difference among teachers with different teaching experiences, training and overseas exposure. However, teachers’ learning experiences, self-perceived speaking ability and familiarity with teaching methodologies were found to influence teacher knowledge in a significant way. The findings highlight the need for the development of teacher knowledge about oral English teaching in the EFL contexts. Suggestions for further research are provided.     

Forces of Innovation and Inertia in the Late 19th Century French University System (with special reference to the academic institutionalisation of the social sciences)

In initial teacher training and when providing in‐service training for teachers we hope to make a contribution to science education by preparing people to become very good teachers of pupils. Recent Circulars produced by the Department for Education prescribing the content of teacher training courses in England include an explicit assumption that ensuring strong subject knowledge in teachers is the major contributor to good teaching and hence high standards in pupil achievement. This article reports on a small‐scale research project designed to look at the characteristics of good primary science teachers. The question is raised as to how these teachers came to be good teachers of science in the primary school. The findings call into question the efficacy of an approach to initial teacher education that focuses so much on the development of subject knowledge.     

The research-teaching nexus in nurse and teacher education: contributions of an ecological approach to academic identities in professional fields

In developing graduates for the knowledge society lecturers in higher education may seek to strengthen links between research and teaching. Much of the previous work on the research-teaching nexus is within traditional universities and subject disciplines. In aiming to deepen understanding of the research and teaching nexus this paper focuses on the academic identities of higher education lecturers working in newer higher education institutions and in the professional fields of nursing and of teacher education. A qualitative study, informed by professional identity construction as an ecological concept, was conducted. The findings align with previous studies concerning similarities between lecturers in nurse and teacher education, but they contrast with previous studies concerning differences between these two groups of lecturers. Similarities include the priority given by professional educators to their responsibility for preparing new clinical practitioners; the research-led model as the lecturers’ main approach to the research-teaching nexus; and their difficulties in coping with current demands in academic work. Differences between the two groups of lecturers include the way that ‘practitioner identity’ is positioned within their current academic identities and the way that they position initial education within the wider professional field. These differences indicate different kinds of connections between teaching and research. The paper proposes an ecological approach to understanding the research-teaching nexus.     

Adult numeracy teacher training programmes in England: a suggested typology

Nationally approved adult numeracy teacher training programmes were started in September 2002 following the introduction of subject specifications by the Department for Education and Skills and the Further National Training Organisation in England. These programmes delivered by higher education institutions and further education colleges were found to consist of a wide variation of course structure and delivery style. This article offers a conceptual typological framework to classify the diversity of these programmes. It uses examples of adult numeracy courses drawn from a research project which investigates the diverse curriculum approaches to teaching the subject specifications, the issues around implementation, and the way that subject knowledge was translated into classroom skills. The typology uses Bernstein’s theories on curriculum knowledge, transmission and recontextualization of pedagogic processes as a framework to classify and enhance our understanding of the raison d’etre of this subject area of teacher training courses, that is, to teach trainees how to be teachers of adult numeracy. The article also offers an ‘ideal’ teacher training course where some of its elements are drawn from best practices identified in the project. Finally, this article might act as a platform for practitioners to critically assess how adult numeracy teacher training courses might be structured and classified.     

学科教学知识再探三题

目前国内外关于学科教学知识的研究有三个问题需要进一步澄清:学科教学知识是否可以传递,学科教学知识的形成是否是各要素平均作用的结果,如何在教师培训中促进教师学科教学知识的发展。正确认识到教师的学科教学知识具有一定的可传递性,其形成不是各要素平均作用的结果,在不同阶段的构建具有量和质的变化,对于深入探究教师专业发展以及开展有效的教师培训具有指导意义。     

Combining ‘subject knowledge’ with ‘how to teach’: an exploratory study of new initial teacher education for teachers of adult literacy,numeracy and English for Speakers of other Languages

This paper is based on a research project that explored a UK Government initiative to improve the quality of teaching adults, numeracy, literacy and English as a second other language. The findings will be of interest to teacher educators generally and also to those involved in teaching adults, language, literacy and numeracy. The paper reports on the main findings of the research and sets the context for the presentation of models and concepts for rethinking how to meet the diverse prior experience and qualifications of those on teacher training programmes, as well as the challenges of relating a deeper understanding of ‘what you teach’ and ‘how you teach it’. Among the many issues raised by this paper, priority is given to the importance of the sequencing and organization of teacher training courses to meet the individual needs of trainees, who in the context of teaching adults in the UK have very different levels of teaching experience, prior subject knowledge and learning needs.