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     

A school‐based project in five kindergartens: the case of teacher development and school development

Kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong are blamed for not putting child‐initiated learning theory into practice. Their competence is challenged. An earlier study (Li, 2003 Li, YL. (2003). Roadblocks to educational reform: investigating knowledge and practice of Hong Kong kindergarten teachers. International Journal of Educational Reform, 12(3): 217–229.  [Google Scholar]) suggested that the professional development of kindergarten teachers was limited by their inability to extend thinking beyond their own personal concerns so that the needs of the children were not the major determinant of their classroom practice. It was argued that to confront and modify the teachers' personal beliefs the presence of models, action research and joint collaborative activity were the keys. This report was a follow‐up study of a school‐based project, providing opportunities for teachers to engage in collaborative investigation of school curriculum and of pedagogical innovations. In this study, the practice and belief of a group of around 60 teachers were tracked during their participation in the project and the merits of peer coaching, mentoring and collaborative teamwork were examined. Classroom observations and semi‐structured interviews (40–60 minutes) were adopted as the main research procedure. Teaching records, videoed teaching episodes and feedback on project workshops were sources of data collected for triangulation. The findings of the study suggest that collegiality holds some promise for change in teachers' practice, though questions concerning the constancy of change are of concern.     

Teachers’ beliefs about the development of teacher–adolescent trust

In this study, we examined teachers’ beliefs concerning the meaning and nature of teacher–student trust in a diverse sample of secondary-school teachers (n = 34). Using a grounded-theory approach, a process model of teacher–adolescent trust emerged based on semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Antecedents of trust could be categorised as a function of student ecology (e.g. home environment) and teacher and student actions, including: demonstrating care, being consistent and reliable, making personal connections and engaging in helpful behaviour. Other teacher actions included drawing upon personal resources such as efficacy, social roles and available instructional approaches. Unique student actions highlighted the importance that teachers place on compliance with social norms and honest, responsible behaviour. Perceived benefits of trust reflected changes in: classroom climate, quality of social interactions, available teaching methods and positive student behaviours. Finally, teachers discussed ways in which trust evolved over time. Model processes and new hypotheses generated by the model are discussed in the light of current literature on adult–child relationships and trust in schools.     

Strategy‐based development of teacher educators' ICT competence through a co‐operative staff development project

An ICT strategy and an implementation plan for teacher education were created in a co‐operative process. Visions and expectations of staff members and students were registered by questionnaires and by making notes during sessions in which the strategy was created. Thereafter, an implementation document, where the staff development programme and plans of how to develop ICT infrastructure and to integrate ICT to teacher education, was created. A large programme for staff ICT skills development was implemented and a new infrastructure (a new domain and websites etc.) was developed over a two‐year period. On the basis of staff self‐evaluation data, staff ICT skills developed substantially and ICT use as part of teacher education grew more versatile. On the basis of our experiences and the data collected during the project, a list of properties needed for a successful staff development project is given.

Une stratégie TIC et un plan de mise en ?uvre relatifs à la formation des enseignants ont été mis en place dans le cadre d'un processus coopératif. Les visions et les attentes des membres du personnel et des étudiants ont été répertoriées au moyen de questionnaires et en prenant des notes lors des sessions durant lesquelles la stratégie a été mise en place. Après cela, un document de mise en ?uvre portant sur le programme de développement du personnel et sur les plans visant à améliorer l'infrastructure TIC et à intégrer les TIC dans la formation des enseignants a été rédigé. Un programme extensif portant sur le développement des compétences en matière de TIC du personnel a été mis en ?uvre et une infrastructure nouvelle (nouveau domaine, sites Internet etc.) a été développée sur une période de deux ans. Sur la base des données d'auto‐évaluation du personnel, les compétences TIC du personnel ont connu une amélioration substantielle et le recours aux TIC dans la formation des enseignants est devenu plus varié.

Eine ICT‐Strategie und ein Realisierungsplan für die Lehrerausbildung wurden in einem kooperativen Prozess aufgebaut. Visionen und Erwartungen der Personalmitglieder und der Studenten wurden durch Fragebögen und Erfassung von Notizen in den Sitzungen ermittelt, in denen die Strategie erarbeitet wurde. Danach wurde ein Realisierungsdokument erstellt, das das Personalentwicklungsprogramm und die Pläne zur Entwicklung der ICT‐Infrastruktur und zur Integration der ICT in die Lehrerausbildung beinhaltete. Es wurde ein umfangreiches Programm für die Entwicklung der ICT‐Kenntnisse des Personals realisiert und eine neue Infrastruktur (eine neue Domain und Websites usw.) über einen Zeitraum von zwei Jahren entwickelt. Aufgrund der Selbstbewertungsdaten des Personals entwickelten sich ihre ICT‐Kenntnisse wesentlich und die Anwendung der ICT als ein Teil der Lehrerausbildung wurde vielseitiger.

En un proceso cooperativo se han creado una estrategia de TIC (Tecnologías de la información y de la comunicación) y un plan de implementación para la formación de profesores. Se han registrado los puntos de vista y las expectativas de los miembros del personal y de los alumnos mediante cuestionarios y tomando notas durante las sesiones en las que se creó la estrategia. Posteriormente, se redactó un documento de implementación, con el programa de desarrollo del personal y los planes sobre cómo desarrollar la infraestructura de TIC e integrar las TIC en la formación del profesorado. Se implementó un programa más grande para el desarrollo de las aptitudes en TIC del personal y se desarrolló una nueva infraestructura (nuevos dominio y sitios web, etc.) en un período de dos años. Sobre la base de los datos de la autoevaluación del personal, las aptitudes en TIC del personal se desarrollaron considerablemente y el uso de las TIC como parte de la formación del profesorado fue más versátil.     

Democratising the curriculum or training the children of the poor: school‐based vocational training in Australia

This article examines the views of staff employed in UK higher education institutions (HEIs) about how those institutions are dealing with the impact of recent UK equality legislation and related European employment directives. Assumptions underlying current approaches to equality in UK HEIs are examined, particularly the notion of meritocracy, which advocates job selection and promotion based on normatively and culturally neutral measures of merit. The article is based on a project funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, using qualitative case studies of six English, Welsh and Scottish HEIs. The project data suggest that equality policies for staff and students are in tension with each other, that staff policies may clash with other institutional policies, for example on research excellence or enhancing the student experience, and that the rhetoric of equality policies is not always matched by the day‐to‐day experience of staff. The article suggests that the case study UK HEIs, with their continued focus on meritocracy and excellence, have not yet adapted to the new climate of employee equality legislation and perhaps need to consider a different approach than the meritocratic one.     

Teachers’ and teacher educators’ lives: the role of emotion

This paper reports research which focuses on ways of enhancing understandings by teachers of the key role that emotions play in their personal professional growth. It combines the narrative, autobiographical accounts of teachers attending part-time masters degree programmes in England (Continuing Professional Development and School Improvement) and Northern Ireland (Personal and Social Development) with an interrogation of the underlying values which affect the practices of their tutors. It reveals the effects of powerful and often unacknowledged interaction between personal biography and professional and social contexts upon teachers in schools and higher education.     

Teachers’ professional development in Nanoscience and nanotechnology in the context of a Community of Learners

ABSTRACT

This case study focuses on teachers’ professional development in NanoScience and nanoTechnology (NST). In the context of a Community of Learners (CoL), in-service teachers in collaboration with science education researchers, nanoscience researchers and experts from science museums, developed a teaching module. This module integrates NST topics along with aspects of science communication, i.e. development of science exhibits and socio-scientific issues, e.g. ethics regarding the research in this field. The data were gathered over 1-year period by using video recordings and interviews. The Interconnected Model of Professional Growth was used to study the processes that support teachers’ professional change in this context, as they are elicited from their interactions in the CoL. Our findings indicate that the dynamic of teachers’ interactions with colleagues and the mediating processes that impact on their professional learning, are crafted on the basis of the emerged challenges in each phase of module’s design and development. These findings give an insight on teachers’ professional learning as they transfer their professional knowledge regarding scientific topics which are innovative to them, i.e. NST, into their teaching practice. In this respect, this study contributes to research literature relevant to teachers’ professionalisation in order to implement innovations in the classroom.     

Questioning the evidence for a claim in a socio‐scientific issue: an aspect of scientific literacy

Understanding the science in a ‘socio‐scientific issue’ is at the heart of the varied definitions of ‘scientific literacy’. Many consider that understanding evidence is necessary to participate in decision making and to challenge the science that affects people’s lives. A model is described that links practical work, argumentation and scientific literacy which is used as the basis of this research. If students are explicitly taught about evidence does this transfer to students asking questions in the context of a local socio‐scientific issue? What do they ask questions about? Sixty‐five primary teacher training students were given the pre‐test, before being taught the ‘concepts of evidence’ and applying them in an open‐ended investigation and were tested again 15 weeks later. Data were coded using Toulmin’s argument pattern (TAP) and the ‘concepts of evidence’. After the intervention it was found that, in relation to a socio‐scientific issue, they raised significantly more questions specifically about the evidence that lead to the scientists’ claims although questions explicitly targeting the quality of the data were still rare. This has implications for curricula that aim for scientific literacy.     

A computer‐based learning environment in the field of Newtonian mechanics

This paper describes a Computer‐based Learning Environment (CBLE) whose objective is to stimulate and support learning in the field of Newtonian mechanics through exploratory activities in various microworlds. The structure of the microworld TABLE is described in detail. A pilot study is presented: it concerns the modelling process of the learner knowledge in the topic involved and the evaluation of the impact of the exploratory activity on student learning. Some suggestions drawn from the results are discussed.     

Some sources for the history of teacher‐training in England and Wales

Abstract:

Though his best‐selling novel of school life Eric, or, Little by Little: A Tale of Roslyn School has over the years been the subject of much attention, the wider educational thought and practice of Frederic William Farrar, teacher, novelist, scientist, classicist, theologian, and Dean of Canterbury, has for the most part been neglected by scholars. This paper discusses certain aspects of Farrar the educationist, including his distinctive evangelical attitude toward children; his fervent criticism of the prevailing Classical public school curriculum; his advocacy that much more science be taught; his strong antipathy to corporal and other punishment; his distaste for the increasing athleticism in the public schools; his view of the main purpose of education, namely the inculcation of morality, religious conviction, and intellectual rigor.     

Teachers’ experience from a school-based collaborative teacher professional development programme: reported impact on professional development

The aim of this study was to find out how science teachers who have participated in a one-year school-based collaborative teacher professional development programme, perceive the programme’s impact on their professional development. Constant comparative analysis was used on data from three schools to generate the findings in this study. The results indicate that participating teachers perceived a clear effect on their teaching practice and ways of thinking about teaching science. In addition, the findings identify a positive effect on the teachers’ attitudes towards collaboration. The article further discusses how reflection seems to contribute to the teachers’ professional development.     

The impact of an Irish‐medium education option in initial teacher training on a third level institution

Abstract

This paper is based on a small‐scale study carried out to evaluate the change situation that arose in a Belfast third level institution with the introduction of an Irish‐medium option in initial teacher training within the BEd degree in 1996. Data were collected from stakeholders by way of questionnaire and semi‐structured interviews with a focus on four aspects. The first of those aspects was the change's impact on the institution. Stakeholders’ perceptions of the change was the second aspect and included academic staff, management, students taking the Irish‐medium option and head‐teachers in Irish‐medium schools. The third aspect was the way in which the academic staff coped with the change situation and the fourth was the likely future of the provision. The paper reports on recommendations around both the use of a second language as a teaching medium in teacher training and striking a balance between subject‐content and language teaching in teacher training for Irish‐medium education.     

In an ICT‐based teacher‐education context: why was our group ‘the magic group’?

This article deals with a group of distance learning student teachers, who, after the course was completed, called themselves ‘The Magic Group’. The concept ‘magic’ refers to the reflective and productive learning process the group members experienced, a process far beyond their individual borders. The collaborative process was conducted by means of portfolio, peer learning through feedback and LMS (Learning Management System). The aim of the article is to focus on the most important assumptions for the group's successful learning process.

Cet article porte l'attention sur un groupe d'étudiants en formation d'enseignants en ligne qui, après les études, s'est appelé ‘Le groupe magique’. Le concept ‘magique’ se réfère à l'aspect réflexif et productif du processus d'apprentissage tel qu'il a été ressenti par les participants, ce processus ayant dépassé de loin leurs capacités individuelles d'apprentissage. Le processus collaboratif a été mené à l'aide de portfolio, de tutorat entre étudiants et d'une plate‐forme LMS (Learning Management System). L'objectif de l'article est de mettre en évidence les principaux facteurs qui auraient contribué à la réussite du processus d'apprentissage.

Éste artículo trata de un grupo de estudiantes que están estudiando métodos de enseñanza por la red y preparando para ser profesores. Después de había realizado sus estudios el grupo se llama ‘El grupo mágico’. La palabra ‘mágico’ hace referencia a la experiencia del grupo de un proceso de aprendizaje, productivo y reflexivo, un proceso que rebasó las posibilidades de cada estudiante individual. El proceso de colaboración se compuso de portafolios y de consejos y consultas de los compañeros estudiantes por medio de la red y de un programma de LMS (Learning Management System). Éste artículo tiene el propósito de enfocar a los aspectos más importantes para el aprendizaje muy bueno de ‘El grupo mágico’.

Dieser Artikel handelt vom Fernstudium einer Referendarengruppe, die sich nach Abschluss des Kurses als ‘The Magic Group’ bezeichnete. Der Ausdruck ‘magic’ bezieht sich auf den reflektierenden und produktiven Lernvorgang, den die Gruppe erlebte, und der die Grenzen von dem, was sie als Einzelne erreicht hätten, weit übertraf. Arbeitsweisen bei dieser Zusammenarbeit waren der Einsatz von Portfolio, Lernen durch Feedback von Mitstudierenden, sowie LMS (Learning Management System). Die Absicht des vorliegenden Artikels ist, die wichtigsten Voraussetzungen für den erfolgreichen Arbeitsprozess der Gruppe zu beleuchten.     

Learning to become a teacher in Australia: a study of pre-service teachers’ identity development

This study aims to examine how pre-service teachers learn to teach in Australia context during their practicum and how this learning experience constructs their identities as teachers through activity theory framework. Data were drawn from interviews with two pre-service teachers, interviews with their supervising teachers and university mentors, lesson plans, and supervising teacher’s feedback. The findings indicate that the two pre-service teachers’ identity formation is a continuing process and an outcome of the collective activity through their interaction with their coordinating teachers, mentors and students. We argue that teachers’ identity formation is related to their agency to seek and offer support to others. The pre-service teachers could produce and reproduce their identity in the relevant community through their agentive action to interact with others.     

An analysis of the effects of in‐service teacher training on Turkish preschool teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion

Any implementation of an inclusive policy is largely dependent on educators’ attitudes. In Turkey, many teachers who educate preschool children with Special Educational Needs (SEN), and who have not received in‐service teacher training (INSET) are observed to have negative attitudes towards their SEN students. The aim of this article is to examine differences between the attitudes of preschool teachers before and after an INSET course. Sixty‐six preschool teachers were selected for this study which had a single group pre–post‐test design. The teachers’ opinions and attitudes relating to mainstreaming SEN students in regular educational environments were assessed using the ‘Opinions Relative to Mainstreaming’ scale. The data indicate that these teachers were affected by the INSET programme in such a way that their attitudes towards the inclusion of SEN students became more positive.     

Industriousness and development of the school‐system in the eighteenth century: the experience of Norwegian cities

This article discusses how the Norwegian urban school system was developed during the eighteenth century. In the cities, there were laws for Latin as well as Danish schools. During the eighteenth century, schools for poor children were established, while towards the end of the century the importance of the school system in relation to the economic functioning of society was discussed. A broader range of schools was developed in most cities, meant for children of different social origins and social prospects, and different for boys and girls. The article argues that the school system was used to make the population more industrious during a period when trade capitalism made the social division in society sharper and different forms of organisation of labour were attempted. The attention on children’s education was turned from consideration of the children’s spiritual future to their preparation for a working life that served economic ends.