Becoming a teacher in a gambling city: a case study of two pre-service teachers’ motivation for teaching in Macau

The present case study investigates the teaching motivation of two pre-service teachers studying in teacher education programs in a Macau university. The findings indicated that while Macau is a gambling center and abundant job opportunities are provided by casinos, both participants were highly motivated to improve the teaching and learning situation in Macau and bring positive changes to the Macau educational context. The findings also demonstrated the facilitative role of teachers and teacher educators in the formation of the motivation of student teachers. The study concludes with implications for enhancing the motivation of pre-service teachers, and the role of teacher education programs in Macau and other similar contexts.     

A journey from the classroom to the world of educational reform: a study of three Korean teachers’ practitioner inquiry

This article explores three Korean teachers’ experiences of carrying out practitioner inquiry as a means of providing meaningful teaching under the test-centred schooling regime in Korea. Practitioner inquiry is a concept that includes multiple genres of educational research such as action research, teacher research, and self-study that aim to change practitioners’ individual practice and, ultimately, the schooling in a society. Based on the analysis of qualitative data, the researcher found that teachers developed their knowledge and expertise in their specific areas of interest and developed strong motivations for transforming the education system. However, their inquiry was limited in practice due to the imposition of test preparation and a prescribed national curriculum. As a result, greater collaboration among practitioners, which not just involves teachers, but wider entities such as administrators, policy makers, and researchers, is required to challenge the current unjust system.     

Compounding roles: A study of Washington’s principals

A survey of principals and assistant principals in Washington State has revealed mounting changes in the role of these school leaders. In addition to impacts felt from state-wide education reform activities, the school principals of Washington State who participated indicated that their role is becoming more complex and onerous; the image suggested is ‘layer-upon-layer’ of devolved responsibility. Through analysis of the survey data, a picture emerges of a complex role engaged by committed (if overloaded) professionals. Three themes of principal role change are discussed: complexity, capacity, and threats to morale. New means of understanding principal roles, combined with clear understanding by policy-makers is crucial to ensure the on-going effectiveness of school leaders.     

The origin of counting: A study of the early meaning of ‘one’, ‘two’ and ‘three’ among Basque- and Spanish-speaking children

This study examines the beginning of the conceptual understanding of the first number-words and what role language can play in developing the notion of numbers. To that end, 2?- and 3?-year-old Basque and Spanish monolingual children's (N = 131) basic numeracy skills are analysed by means of two different experimental procedures: Give-N (in which children are requested to gather sets of objects) and How-Many (based on the ability to count collections). The paper accounts for differences as regards the performance in the Give-N procedure between children with different linguistic backgrounds. In accordance with previous research, this finding can be related to the dissimilar ways by which languages (Basque and Spanish, in this case) express grammatical number, supporting the idea that language plays a definite role in the emergence of the earliest set-size meanings of ‘one,’ ‘two,’ and ‘three’ number-words. Eventually, the work attempts to contribute to the growing body of evidence that shows that the meaning of the count-list appears from mapping numerals onto numerical cognitive representations produced by early core systems of numbers.     

Examining teachers’ use of computer-based technologies: A case study

This paper presents a case study that illustrates the extent to which technology is used in and out of the classroom in the elementary schools of Turkey. The data were collected through interviews, observations and document analyses. The results show that teachers use technology for administrative purposes, technology education, non-educational purposes, instructional preparation, teacher-directed instructional delivery, student homework and instructional assessment. This study further reveals that teachers’ use of technology is very limited. If teachers use technology for instruction, it is almost always to support their traditional teaching methods.     

A narrative analysis of a teacher educator’s professional learning journey

This article reports on a narrative analysis of one teacher educator’s learning journey in a two-year professional development project. Professional development is conceived of as the complex learning processes resulting from the meaningful interactions between the individual teacher educator and his/her working context. Our analysis indicates that the capacity to manage such interactions contributes strongly to teacher educators’ experience of vulnerability. We analytically describe three strategies (building positive self-esteem, sustaining moral commitment and purpose, and strategical compliance) to cope with this vulnerability and their impact on processes of professional development as well as the outcomes of it. Understanding the role of the working context – and vulnerability as a structural characteristic of that context – in professional development processes adds to existing knowledge of teacher educators’ professional lives and development.     

“Becoming” a mentor between reflective and evaluative discourses: A case study of identity development

This case study interpreted the experiences of a teacher as she grew her coaching and mentoring practices by working with preservice teachers and participating in professional development focused on reflective coaching, mentorship, and literacy teaching. We drew on the notion of “becoming” from critical and sociocultural theories in analyzing how she constructed a teaching identity through mentoring, and how her identity enabled her to enact reflective coaching practices. Our findings outline her agentic moves to provide the preservice teacher with reflective support, rather than evaluative critique, in opposition to the surveillance and regulation that characterize many existing teacher evaluation models.     

A critical scholar’s journey in China: A brief Freirean analysis of insider–outsider tensions

As a full-time foreign faculty member in the Chinese Normal university system for the past five years, I analyze the contested terrain of being a critical, Freirean educator/researcher as an insider and outsider of Chinese and Western academic systems and societies overall. This autobiographical analysis is within the contexts of China’s academic focus on raising their global higher education rankings, along with self-reflectivity of my own multiple, often-conflicting identities and Western-centric Orientalism, theorized by Edward Said, in my legitimization of academic work. The following themes are analyzed through critical and Freirean frameworks: pursuit for top rankings coinciding and conflicting with scholarship breadth and depth, academic freedom, and politics of education; constructs of “harmony” that grounds teaching and research; and select pedagogical commonalities and differences between the East, the Global South, and the West. The article delves into preconceptions, including my own, on what is “worthy” academics from China, “the East”, “the West”, and the “Global South” with self-reflectivity of problematizing such terminology that covers such immense diversity in all aspects of contexts, including education which underscores the very problems with rankings, especially global rankings which are often Western-centric. All themes will be analyzed within my own, conflicting insider-ness and outsider-ness.     

End of journey,end of story? A longitudinal study of involuntary work transitions among laid-off workers

The purpose of this study is to increase knowledge regarding involuntary work transitions among laid-off workers. It is part of an ongoing cooperation with two outplacement agencies enrolling white-collar workers. The particular arrangements, which are based on collective agreements, include relatively generous support, both economically and regarding the educational and counselling arrangements offered. A narrative research approach is used and the analysis is based on interviews with 15 people, conducted on two occasions with about a year in between. Conceptualizing the transition as a biographical learning process, the findings point out a great variety within and between cases. While the basic distinction is drawn between people who have changed their status and those who have not, a number of rhetorical varieties are identified, pointing to different modes of biographical learning. The originality of the paper lies in its narrative approach and the particular conceptual framework showing that biographical learning is a vital part of enforced work transitions.     

Becoming Australian: a review of southern Sudanese students’ educational experiences

This research presents a review of the literature around meeting students’ learning needs in Australian schools. It is referenced to one group of students with refugee experience who have been in Australian schools for over 15 years; students with a background of oracy from Southern Sudan. The development of psychological health and literacy competencies are two of the most critical and complex responsibilities undertaken by education, and, in the case of these students two of the most significant when considered in relation to successful settlement, acculturation and assimilation. In presenting this literature, the bigger picture of how schools can fail, not only these students, but for any number of students from diverse backgrounds, becomes startlingly obvious, as do the ways in which the current political agenda inherent in the public education system in Australia privileges students of specific class and culture. Finally, recommendations are made regarding the development of policy and the concentration on pedagogical practices which acknowledge and respect the strengths and capabilities of this group of students.     

A tale of two cities’ university rankings: comparing Hong Kong and Singapore

Hong Kong and Singapore were former British colonies, have a predominant Chinese population and value. They began to develop quickly in the late 1960s, become financial hubs of the world in the 21st century. This paper reviews the tertiary education development of the two cities, particularly on the perspective of university rankings. It first elaborates about the emergence of university rankings, and the reason why it becomes a growing exercise, and who would be the benefactors of these exercises. Then it examines the performance of universities of the two cities in the international university ranking systems, makes a general assessment about the relative merits of the higher education systems in both cities. The paper requests ranking comparisons on the detailed items rather than just the sums, and argues that universities in the two cities are on par.     

Teachers’ use of learning progression-based formative assessment to inform teachers’ instructional adjustment: a case study of two physics teachers’ instruction

ABSTRACT

To explore the affordances of learning progressions (LP) in support of teachers’ formal and informal formative assessment (FFA and IFA) practices, we conducted a case study with a fine-grain-sized energy LP. The study first theorises an LP-based formative assessment model, which proposes the use of LPs in clarifying learning objectives, eliciting and interpreting students’ understanding, and acting in instruction. Then, we examine multiple iterations of two high-school teachers’ lesson plans and their enactment of the lessons to identify the instructional adjustments teachers made as part of the LP-based FFA and IFA after professional training. We found that both teachers refined the learning objectives and activities and most of their adjustments promoted students’ learning progression; their adjustments have an interdependency between objectives and activities. Both made more adjustments in the IFA than in the FFA, but the alignment with the LP was higher in FFA than in IFA. Contrary to the researchers’ expectations, both teachers perceived the LP as a content structure. However, in practice, both employed it as a reference to interpret students’ responses by comparing these responses against their own expectations. The teachers also reported collecting assessment information during teacher-student interactive activities and using this material to infer the level of students’ understanding in order to decide on the next instructional activities. Both teachers reported that the process of directly engaging with the LP formatively resulted in their having a much more nuanced sense of students’ understanding when they revisited and altered the sequence of the learning activities.     

Examining students’ perceptions of plagiarism: A cross-cultural study at tertiary level

Plagiarism continues to dominate the academic world as one of its greatest challenges, and the existing literature suggests cross-cultural investigation of this critical issue may help all shareholders who detect, are confronted by and struggle with this issue to address it. Therefore, the present study, drawing upon a cross-cultural investigation using a questionnaire, aimed to investigate the differences between three groups of students, namely, Turkish (n = 106), Georgian (n = 83) and German (n = 72) regarding their tendency to conduct academic theft. It also investigated ways in which to plagiarise and reasons for and awareness of this issue. The results show that lack of time, busy schedules and weak academic writing skills are the most frequent reasons for plagiarism. However, in contrast to previous studies, the role of the Internet was found to be minimal in relation to increasing plagiarism. It is also worth noting that the German participants were found to have a higher level of sensitivity to this academic malpractice and were seen to be much more successful at identifying it. The article concludes with workable suggestions on how to discourage academic theft at universities.     

A journey of negotiation and belonging: understanding students’ transitions to science and engineering in higher education

The paper presents results from a longitudinal study of students’ decisions to enrol on a higher education science programme and their experiences of it. The aim is to give insights into students’ transition process and negotiation of identity. This is done by following a cohort of 38 students in a series of qualitative interviews during a 3-year period starting as they were about to finish upper secondary school. We find that the students’ choice of study is an ongoing process of meaning-making, which continues when the students enter higher education and continuously work on their identities to gain a sense of belonging to their science or engineering programme. The use of a narrative methodology provides understanding of choice of study as involving changes in future perspectives and in the interpretation of past experiences. Further, we gain access into how this meaning-making process over time reflects the students’ negotiations in terms of belonging to higher education and their coping strategies when their expectations of their new programme interact with their first-year experiences.     

Assessment and the aims of the curriculum: An explorer’s journey

This article considers lessons learnt through involvement in several assessment projects. Early experience, in university work and in school examinations, led to an opportunity to help establish a novel system of assessment for an innovative school curriculum. Different lessons were then learnt from work on a national survey of school students’ learning of science, and different lessons again while leading a group to advise the UK government on a new scheme for national testing of all students. Many welcomed the group’s advice but politicians rejected it; however, the recoil from this defeat led to very rewarding work on formative assessment. The article ends with reflection on the conflict between the summative and the formative and ways to resolve that conflict, along with the full benefit of formative approaches that investment can secure to help teachers share responsibility for high-stakes summative assessments.     

The challenges of instructors’ and students’ attitudes in digital transformation: A case study of Saudi Universities

Education and Information Technologies - Digital Transformation (DT) has become the core motivator for almost all organizations worldwide. In order to cope up with the new demands, Higher Education...