Beliefs of experienced and student teachers about the nature and purpose of social studies education in New Zealand elementary schools

This paper reports on an investigation carried out in New Zealand into experienced elementary and student teachers’ beliefs about the nature and purpose of social studies education. Since its inclusion in New Zealand's curriculum, social studies has been organized around the notion of citizenship education with curricula and programmes of work influenced by four overarching “traditions” – social studies as: citizenship transmission; social science; reflective inquiry; and personal, social and ethical empowerment. A 20-item scale based on these traditions was administered to 228 student teachers and 64 experienced teachers. A factor analysis indicated that participants' perceptions of the dimensions of social studies education were, with one exception, reasonably close to the four traditions. Despite the contested nature of social studies, the student and experienced teachers held similar positions on the relative importance of the traditions and dimensions. It is argued that this agreement arises, wholly or in part, from their common “apprenticeship of experience” in classrooms, the broader socio-historical context in which their beliefs were developed, the widespread influence of a prevalent educational discourse, and a shared lack of experience in formal knowledge associated with specific social science disciplines. It was concluded that the uncomfortable generational encounters often reported in the literature between novice and experienced teachers are unlikely to occur in relation to the teaching of elementary social studies in New Zealand.     

Students’ perceptions of written feedback in teacher education: ideally feedback is a continuing two-way communication that encourages progress

A small but growing body of research has investigated students’ perceptions of written feedback in higher education but little attention has been brought to bear on students’ emotional responses to feedback. This paper investigates students’ perceptions of written feedback with particular emphasis on their emotional responses within a teacher education programme in a regional Australian university. Online questionnaires were used to gather qualitative data from cohorts of distance students and on-campus students. The study found that students’ emotions strongly mediated their perceptions of written feedback. The paper concludes that in order to accommodate students’ emotional responses, effective written feedback should be aligned with pedagogies which specifically include the development of rich dialogue within the teaching and learning context.     

The change in epistemological beliefs and beliefs about teaching and learning: a study among pre-service teachers

This study investigated the change in Singaporean pre-service teachers' epistemological beliefs and beliefs about learning and teaching over the course of a teacher preparation program. An online survey was administered during the first week of a nine-month program and the same survey was administered after the 413 participants had completed all their course work and teaching practice. Participants exhibited significant changes in epistemological beliefs and beliefs about learning and teaching – participants indicated more relativistic epistemological outlooks and less constructivism in beliefs about teaching. At the end of the teacher preparation program, they seemed to less value effort in learning and believed more in innate ability.     

Illuminating the ‘boy problem’ from children's and teachers' perspectives: a pilot study

The apparent educational underperformance of boys has received phenomenal attention worldwide for many years. In the UK, it has led to various government reports and policies aimed at raising boys' achievement. This small-scale qualitative-interpretive pilot study, undertaken in one urban primary school in North Wales, reports the findings from exploring boys', aged six to seven years, perceptions of education. It also presents teachers' perceptions of how boys' learn and what they regard to be visible gender differences in the classroom. The research suggests that although many boys within this age group seemed generally positive about school and learning, certain issues were emerging for some boys that, if not addressed, could result in disengagement and/or underperformance. Factors include: issues related to boys' reading and literacy; boys' preference for screen-based, digital devices; gender binaries in relation to learning styles and behaviours; gender-specific syndromes; and teacher concerns about the impact of a ‘feminised’ education sector. The objective of this paper is to examine, after decades of research studies and government reports, what do we really know about the perceptions of young male learners and their experiences within the context of the primary classroom?     

Mathematics teaching during the early years in Hong Kong: a reflection of constructivism with Chinese characteristics?

This paper characterizes early mathematics instruction in Hong Kong. The teaching of addition in three pre‐primary and three lower primary schools was observed and nine teachers were interviewed about their beliefs about early mathematics teaching. A child‐centered, play‐based approach was evident but teachers emphasized discipline, diligence and academic success. Observations also revealed practices reflective of both constructivist and instructivist pedagogies. Results from interviews suggest that teachers' traditional cultural beliefs about instruction were challenged by western ideologies introduced in continuing professional development courses and by notions promulgated by the educational reforms. Both consistencies and inconsistencies between teachers' beliefs and practices were identified. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

The implementation and development of science process skills in the natural sciences: A case study of teachers' perceptions

Abstract

The notion of scientific literacy, with its concomitant emphasis on science process skills gave rise to this study. This case study research sought to explore the perceptions of four primary school Natural Sciences teachers with respect to the implementation and development of science process skills at classroom level in a disadvantaged urban primary school in South Africa. Qualitative data, generated via focus group interviews and classroom observations were analysed. These data revealed that the implementation and development of science process skills were strongly influenced by the teacher's confidence and understandings of these skills, and that these in turn could be coupled to their present and past experience of science process skills. A key recommendation of this study, that might go some way to addressing these issues, is the implementation of high quality and sustained (over a long period of time) appropriate in-service training of primary school Natural Sciences teachers.