Mature student experiences in teacher education: widening participation in Greece and England

In the context of the growing number of mature students entering higher education in Europe, this study breaks new ground in comparing the personal and professional identities of mature student teachers in Greece and England. Using an analytical model of student success by Zepke and Leach (2008 Zepke, N. and Leach, L. Linking soft skills and student engagement in second chance education. Paper presented at the Comparative Education Society of Europe (CESE) annual conference. July7–10, Athens, Greece.  [Google Scholar]), the research sought to identify the factors affecting the progress and development of 30 mature student teachers (15 in each country). It was found that individual motivation and prior experience were assets in the development of the student teachers, while peer and family support were vital success factors. In the English context, the importance of institutional support from university and school-based tutors was also strong. Barriers included financial difficulties and domestic responsibilities, which had a particular impact on mature women students. Some recommendations to improve institutional support for mature student teachers are made in conclusion.     

Exploring student teachers' motivation change in initial teacher education: A Chinese perspective

Informed by a multiple, integrated perspective on teacher motivations, this study explores ten student teachers' motivation change throughout a pre-service language teacher education program in China. Drawing on data from the participants' personal reflections, focus group interviews, and individual interviews, this study reveals how the participants' motivations were shaped and reshaped through their professional practice and social interactions in relation to their self-efficacy, outcome expectations, professional autonomy, and social support in their learning context. This study concludes with some implications for policy makers and teacher educators on how to cultivate and promote pre-service teachers' motivations and commitments towards teaching as a life-long career.     

Theorising how student teachers form their identities in initial teacher education

This article investigates the forming of student teacher identities in initial teacher education. By analysing student narratives of school experiences the article argues that although reflective, reflexive and critical discourses are helpful interrogatory tools, they presuppose a prior subjectivity which fails to acknowledge the idea that it is through such discursive practices that subjectivity emerges. Such discourses also suggest an emancipatory project grounded in rationality. The article demonstrates that these reflective discourses fail to take into account non‐symbolizable and non‐rational aspects of experiencing that have powerful ontological effects on subjectivity and identity. Such aspects are structured in student narratives through fantasy, which allows students to understand their experiences as consistent and meaningful.     

Exploring student learning approaches on an initial teacher education programme: A comparison of mature learners and direct entry third-level students

This article compares the learning approaches of students on an initial teacher education programme. Using a mixed method approach, the study examines differences between mature learners and direct entry students, across the domains of deep, strategic and surface learning approaches. Following the quantitative phase, group interviews were conducted to gain additional insights into the factors, which impacted learning approach. Significant differences were evident between both cohorts. The key categories that contributed to learning approach included; motivation to learn, collaborative and competitive learning, prior educational experiences and school placement. The findings provide insights into the diversity of student cohorts.     

Practicalising theoretical knowledge in student teachers' professional learning in initial teacher education

This paper reports the findings collected from a four year longitudinal study aiming to investigate the professional learning of student-teachers in Bachelor of Education programmes. Four case studies which suggest a typology of ways of practicalising theoretical knowledge with one extreme as the testing out of teaching approaches mainly to find out their practicality in the school context to the other extreme whereby the student-teacher sought to work out a schema or personal theory were identified. Influences from the campus-based and the field-based components of the teacher education programme are drawn. The paper ends with implications for initial teacher education.     

Mature student teachers in initial teacher education in Greece: personal and academic identities

This qualitative study examined mature student teachers in initial teacher preparation for primary schools in Greece. More specifically it sought to identify the profile of mature student teachers, their intentions to become primary school teachers, their academic needs, concerns and expectations as well as their coping strategies across private and public spheres in university departments preparing primary school teachers. Adapting an ethnographic research approach and a case study design, 15 mature student teachers were followed throughout the final year of their studies, investigating patterns of personal and academic identities developed in order to become primary school teachers. Mature student teachers consist of a limited number in the total higher education student population. However their skills and experiences can be regarded as significant in course completion and contributing to a high standard of education in both the university and primary schools.     

Deepening the exchange of student teaching experiences: implications for the pedagogy of teacher education of recent insights into teacher behaviour

How can teacher education seminars be arranged in such a way that theory is integrated with student teachers’ practical experiences? In order to study this key question, we first present a theoretical framework on the sources of teacher behaviour, and discuss its implications for practices within teacher education. Next, we describe our development research study, which led to the identification of three approaches that can help to integrate student teachers’ experiences with theory. We introduce a five-step procedure characteristic of all three of them illustrating each approach with real-life examples of interventions and their effects.     

Crossing the boundaries of imagination: The role of a public library exhibition in global learning for student teachers and teacher educators

In this paper, we utilise the theoretical concept of ‘boundary crossing’ to explore how, as Australian university teacher educators, we worked with library curators and a class of student teachers to mount a public exhibition of their group work. We consider how the students crossed ‘boundaries of imagination’ in symbolic representation and critical analysis by creating artistic installations to express global education themes. We reflect on what we, the university educators, learned about crossing institutional and pedagogical boundaries to mutually facilitate new learning. We argue for the importance of shared public pedagogy as offering new avenues for teacher education and of connecting with local communities.     

First year expectations and experiences: student and teacher perspectives

Transitioning from high-school to university can be difficult, and many university teachers feel students are often ill-prepared for the change. To investigate this 233 Humanities and Science students at the University of Adelaide were surveyed 6 months into their first year regarding experiences of teaching and learning at university. 189 students were also surveyed 18 months after commencement, to gain retrospective views of their transition year, as were lecturers and tutors of both groups. Results were compared to similar Orientation Week questionnaires that focused on expectations. Questions included reasons for selecting degrees, quality of teacher feedback and perceived impact of outside commitments. Even though student expectations, student experience, and teacher views differed, remarkable similarities emerged across the two degree programs (Science and Humanities). Our findings thus highlight a call for non-specialised transition programs to meet the needs of first year students and facilitate the transition from secondary to tertiary education. All authors contributed equally to this work.     

The workplace experiences of beginning teachers in three countries: a message for initial teacher education from the field

Previous research indicates that beginning teachers are not fully prepared for what awaits them in the workforce. This study highlights the value of partnerships among higher education providers, schools and employers and links the experiences of beginning teachers to initial teacher education (ITE). Real-life experiences from the field provide information regarding beginning teachers’ complex teaching positions that is beneficial to prospective teachers and teacher educators. This transnational qualitative study, completed in Norway, South Africa and Australia, adopted a Vygotskian social constructivist theoretical stance. Gadamer’s hermeneutic philosophy was applied to offer an in-depth understanding of the effects of classroom experiences on beginning teachers’ professional identities and feelings of ‘belonging’ and ‘at homeness’ in their positions. The results of this study highlight the school leaders’ perceptions of how well graduate teachers are prepared to meet the demands of the workforce. The study concludes by demonstrating the value of linking beginning teachers’ experiences to interventions and the development of ITE programmes. This study’s evidence-based findings support its recommendations for policy-makers and its reflections on the link between ITE and employment.     

Alternative placements in initial teacher education: An evaluation

The paper evaluates a programme of short alternative placements for final-year B.Ed. students in Northern Ireland, which aims to broaden student teachers’ experience and develop their transferable skills. The alternative placement programme is set first in an international context of evolving pre-service field placements and then set in a local context marked by a surplus of teachers; a Revised Curriculum that emphasises the importance of employability, lifelong learning, and enterprise and entrepreneurship; and the introduction of the Extended Schools programme. The evaluation is based on feedback from the 2007 to 2008 cohort of students whose comments confirm the value of exposing student teachers to non-traditional educational environments.     

Becoming a teacher: Experiences of female trainees in initial teacher education in Nigeria

This article foregrounds the experiences of female trainees on a scholarship programme for initial teacher education aimed at increasing the number of qualified female teachers from rural northern Nigeria, and boosting female pupil enrolments. Challenging conditions in colleges of education, including curricular shortcomings, overcrowding, limited resources and inadequate learning support were compounded by non-academic factors – especially financial, and gendered constraints. Collectively, they threatened student retention, learning and attainment, and the programme’s gender equity goals. Findings highlight the need to move beyond increasing numbers of female student-teachers, to improving quality in teacher education, paying attention to out-of-college conditions too.     

Assessment of the practicum in teacher education: advocating for the student teacher and questioning the gatekeepers

This paper reports on research that suggests a new view of assessment of the practicum in teacher education. By transcending the stereotypes of “failing” student teachers who do not achieve traditional benchmarks, this new lens highlights the complexity, diversity and inequality of experiences through listening to the voices of the student teachers and their mentors. By valuing context and focusing on progress and development rather than absolute attainment, teacher educators are challenged to reflect on their own role as mentors and educators through guiding principles of practicum learning. These guiding principles of practicum learning are the result of significant observation in the practicum classroom followed by critical analysis of data provided as narrative. A more humane, trusting and respectful attitude towards assessment is suggested.     

Powerful pedagogical strategies in initial teacher education

The development of beginning teachers’ practice during a school placement is a multiplicity of mediated interaction between university and school based systems. Both systems have the common aim of training effective teachers. However day‐to‐day internal institution matters can cause tension between the learning goals set out for the beginning teacher by the university and the schools’ drive to ensure maximum student performance in ‘high stake’ national tests. The aim of the intervention was to set up structures which might enable beginning teachers to develop the capacity to think about and reflect explicitly on their practice, through purposive activity in an authentic classroom environment. The context of the activity was a secondary science course which aimed to encourage new teachers to empathize with secondary school pupils (aged 11–16) and understand their conceptual difficulties in learning about science within the constraints of a ‘curriculum delivery’ lead culture. The dialogue engaged in as part of the intervention helped beginning teachers to think critically about practice during school placements.     

Reframing the practicum: Constructing performative space in initial teacher education

This paper points to a neglected dimension to Schön's work on the reflective practitioner: his distinctive characterisation of the practicum. We argue that Schön's understanding of the practicum is integrally related to his understanding of the reflective practitioner. The appropriation of the latter concept within programmes of initial teacher education has tended to go hand in hand with a different model of the practicum that regards this as being synonymous with practice in schools. We outline a number of ways in which the practicum, as described by Schön, is significantly different from this. We identify key aspects of Schön's characterisation of the practicum and describe one alternative approach to initial teacher education that uses microteaching as a practicum context. This is a significant issue because concern has been expressed both as regards the quality of new teachers’ reflection and the perceived inability of TEIs to change student–teachers’ preconceived notions of learning and teaching.Whilst research into student teachers’ perceptions of microteaching has generally viewed this process positively, we were interested to research whether this remained the case once students had made the transition to teaching. The voices of recently qualified practitioners who have been through this programme are drawn upon as illustrative of the key features of this process which they identify. The article is a contribution to the discourse upon reflective practice and initial teacher education and also makes a contribution to debate concerning the preferred location of initial teacher education.     

When is student teaching teacher education?

This paper presents a conceptual framework that relates empirical aspects of student teaching (facts about the experience) to considerations of value (what student teachers ought to learn). First, the authors explain what they mean by calling student teaching an “occasion for teacher learning.” Next based on their observational and interview data, the authors present two cases of student teaching to illustrate how the relative influence of program, setting, and participants interact to shape opportunities for teacher learning. One teaching episode that elicited considerable pride in each student teacher is presented to highlight how and what the students teachers learned. The conclusion appraises the lessons learned in student teaching in terms of the framework and suggests how teacher educators can increase the educative power of the student teaching experience.