Illustrations of the analytic memo as reflexivity for preservice teachers

This study illustrates the use of analytic memos during the action research process as a space to support preservice teachers’ emerging teacher identity and construction of practice through critical reflexivity. The authors reviewed 34 sets of analytic memos written by graduate preservice teachers by asking, ‘How are preservice teachers using the space of the analytic memo during the action research process as critical reflexivity?’. Reflexivity is understood in this work as a method of self‐inquiry, and positions teacher identity as fluid and subject to multiple and often competing discourses. The outcome of this analysis demonstrates how emerging action research questions reflect emerging teacher identity; the power of dialogue within the memos to act as a ‘corrective moment’; and the elliptical nature of action research as preservice teachers confront contradictions and paradoxes in learning to teach. The authors suggest that the analytic memo can act as a vehicle of agency and transformation, a space where preservice teachers may practice reflexivity as they begin to critically construct their practice, create and re‐create their teacher identity, and confront assumptions about teaching and learning.     

Troubling reflexivity: the identity flows of teachers becoming mothers

This paper explores the transition to first‐time motherhood as experienced by a small sub‐sample of women engaged in the professional care of young children. In the context of a wider study of motherhood in the UK, their experience of combining work with new motherhood was distinctive. Women who professionally care for young children present a counter‐narrative to the view that teaching and motherhood can be blended. Negotiating the boundaries between work and motherhood produced a troubling reflexivity in which difficult feelings emerged and collided. Working in urban education involves emotionally intense forms of attachment that are disrupted by pregnancy. Becoming a mother prompts a renegotiation of professional and personal boundaries, leading women to pursue mothering as a separate enterprise, marked by individual solutions to care and career. Separating themselves from their working environment, women simultaneously isolate themselves from their middle‐class counterparts who pay for childcare and return to work.     

Encounters with identity: reflexivity and positioning in an interdisciplinary research project

This paper discusses researcher identity, positioning, and reflexivity as they relate to the experience of a researcher on an interprofessional research project. The project collected video recordings of students and healthcare professionals in university and clinical settings. During the process of data collection, ‘conversations’ emerged between the researcher and participants. They occurred before and after recordings took place and outside of the planned methods of data collection. These unaccounted-for-encounters between the researcher and participant produced a negotiated understanding of who each other were and how it related to the research process. But dichotomous notions of insider and outsider identity seemed too fixed to examine the social construction of knowledge produced in these encounters. This paper examines the methodological reflections on those unaccounted-for-encounters, which emerged as instances of participant focussed reflexivity. It aims to demonstrate how positioning can offer a more refined means with which to highlight the processes and practices which participants and researchers undertake in interaction. These researcher–participant encounters were sites of knowledge construction transversing professional and educational territories and transient opportunities for negotiated intersubjectivity. As such, they highlight the role that positioning can play in not only individual methodological matters but for multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, or transdisciplinary research teams.     

Second-wave white teacher identity studies: toward complexity and reflexivity in the racial conscientization of white teachers

Abstract

In this article, we introduce our special issue, ‘Second-Wave White Teacher Identity Studies: Toward Complexity and Reflexivity in the Racial Conscientization of White Teachers.’ We characterize white teacher identity studies as a developing field with important implications for education research and teacher education. Early work in this field focused on documenting, how white teachers denied and evaded the significance of race and white privilege in their work and lives. The articles in this special issue exemplify a second wave of white teacher identity studies which builds on and responds critically to this earlier work. Crucial concerns of this second-wave work include attending to the nuances and complexities of white racial identities, as well as examining the pedagogical, curricular, and institutional contexts within which these identities are taken up.     

重庆市农村教师队伍持续发展方略探析

促进重庆市农村教师队伍持续发展的方略是：政府及时巩固已有成果,大力加强政策保障;提高工资福利,增强农村教师职业的吸引力;实现管理大改观,提高农村教师职业认同度;高度重视农村教师对于农村社会的特殊价值;改革师范教育,确保农村教师来源量足质优;多管齐下,全面提高农村教师职后培训质量;大力促进农村教师学习研究以实现自主发展。     

Teacher mediation of curriculum making: the role of reflexivity

This research explores curriculum making by teachers and offers a nuanced way of understanding these practices through the concept of reflexivity. The study draws from a collective case study of teachers in an online focus group, in order to identify and analyse diverse thinking on the curriculum making by teachers from Scotland and Wales. A WordPress® page was set up to generate both synchronous and asynchronous discussions over a period of five weeks to discuss curricular issues. Six teachers from Scotland and three teachers from Wales participated in the discussions. Data collection tools comprised iteratively designed interview questions and an Internal Conversation Indicator (ICONI), for indicating participants’ dominant mode of reflexivity. Data were analysed thematically, drawing from Margaret Archer’s theoretical constructs relating to reflexivity and internal conversation. Data analysis suggests that reflexivity provides a useful lens for understanding teachers’ particular approaches to curriculum making. The research suggests that curriculum making practices can be understood, at least partially, in relation to different modes of reflexivity. Further research is needed to substantiate these arguments and provide a richer picture of curriculum making.     

When rural meets urban: the transfer problem Chinese pre-service teachers face in teaching practice

Traditional teacher education’s supposed failure to prepare prospective teachers for classroom realities (the transfer problem) is a widely discussed topic in the teacher education literature. Previous studies have focused on causal relationships between teaching and such factors as pre-service teacher education programmes, contextual factors in the practicum school, and transition shock; however, most of these studies have been set in developed countries, and have paid little attention to the interactions among such factors. This study, involving 35 East China Normal University pre-service teachers, explores the transfer problem in a rural/urban divide context, discusses the possible impacts of pre-service teachers’ previous educational experience (i.e. before teacher education) on their teaching, and examines the interactions among teachers’ previous education experience, teacher education, and practicum schools.     

Teaching in rural Turkey: pre-service teacher perspectives

Despite preliminary findings that preparing teachers for rural positions is of great importance in Turkey’s conditions, little has been reported regarding the measures that need to be addressed in order to effectively prepare teachers for remote areas. In response to this gap, the present study aimed to provide some preliminary views about the expectations of pre-service teachers in relation to rural teaching from a qualitative research paradigm. Data were collected through an open-ended questionnaire from 115 senior pre-service teachers in a large Turkish university. Thematic analysis of the data revealed that participants had polarised views about the issue. While some of them viewed the experience positively, others highlighted the potential challenges. Pre-service teachers’ vague and dichotomous images concerning rural teaching suggested that they had some preconceptions formed through media representations or word of mouth. Implications for teacher education and professional development, along with directions for future research were included.     

Promoting NQT linguistic awareness of dialogic teaching practices: a dialogic model of professional development

This study offers an insight into the experiences of three newly qualified English primary teachers and their pupils as they sought to develop dialogic teaching in lessons. It draws upon a range of literature from the field of classroom talk, with a particular focus on the work of Robin Alexander to underpin teacher/researcher professional discussion and analysis of periodic video recordings of talk in these classrooms. Supplemented by teacher interviews, the research examines the extent to which a dialogic approach to teacher professional development might facilitate teacher self‐evaluation as a means of developing a more dialogic classroom. In doing so, it seeks to exemplify key talk moves (dialogic bids) that these teachers used to open up dialogic spaces in lessons. The research concludes that raising teacher awareness of such talk moves through professional discussion and reflection upon teaching can provide teachers with a metacognitive resource for talking about and furthering dialogic teaching practices.     

河北省农村教师素质提离工程刍议

农村义务教育在我国全面建设社会主义新农村、构建和谐社会当中,具有基础性、先导性和全局性的重要作用;普及和巩固农村义务教育,是深入实施科教兴国战略和人才强国战略的根本保证;实施农村教师素质提高工程,是教师队伍建设的重中之重。     

Short-term volunteer teachers in rural China: challenges and needs

The brain-drain caused by imbalanced economic development has produced a lack of qualified teachers in rural China. Short-term volunteer teaching has emerged as a response. Despite the popularity of such programs, little systematic data have been gathered regarding their strengths and weaknesses. A short-term volunteer teaching program was studied. The volunteer teachers’ characteristics and teaching experience in the program were explored. It was found that volunteers did not receive sufficient training or support from the agency. Therefore, they experienced substantial challenges on site and suffered from burnout. Based on the volunteer teachers’ opinions and agency staff’s suggestions, the authors propose ways to improve short-term volunteer teaching programs in China.     

Quality Talk and dialogic teaching—an examination of a professional development programme on secondary teachers’ facilitation of student talk

This study used the Quality Talk and dialogic teaching approach with a group of secondary school teachers (N = 7) to train their facilitation of dialogical discussions by small groups of students. The study used video and audio analysis to assess the teachers’ observable behaviours during these discussions, before and after professional development; for example, types of Quality Talk questions asked. The study also used face‐to‐face interviews, held before and after the professional development, to investigate the teachers’ beliefs about learning through discussion. Results show that although the number of high‐quality questions from the teachers did not increase, the quality of the questions students asked of each other did improve, and resulted in extended periods of dialogic spells. Positive developments were found for teachers’ beliefs about the use of dialogue to foster deeper thinking with their secondary school‐aged students.     

农村幼儿园组织气氛与教师工作满意度的关系

以农村幼儿教师为被试,采用问卷调查的方式考察了农村幼儿园组织气氛与幼儿教师工作满意度的关系。研究表明,农村幼儿园的组织气氛比较积极,教师对同事行为、亲密行为及园长的支持行为等积极气氛的知觉高于对园长的限制行为和教师的疏离行为等消极气氛的知觉。幼儿教师的工作满意度总体上处于中等偏高水平,教师对＂工作本身＂满意度最高,对＂工作报酬＂满意度最低。幼儿园组织气氛与教师工作满意度相关显著,园长的支持行为和教师的同事行为可以很好地预测幼儿教师的工作满意度。     

Developing different identity trajectories: lessons from the Chinese teachers

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate how three Chinese teachers developed their teacher identities in a reform context. Drawing upon data from a larger social historical study, the work-life narratives of the three teachers at different stages of their careers were used as case studies to showcase three types of teacher identity development trajectories, namely, learning to be both professional educator and subject teaching expert，learning to be subject teaching expert, and navigating to balance between educator and subject teacher. This study also investigated the factors that influence identity development trajectories of teachers and develops a conceptual framework for understanding teacher identity development in China. The framework shows that Chinese teachers’ exertion of their individual agency is embedded in the institutional context. Meanwhile, interpersonal relationships can work as a buffer to alleviate the tension between the institution and individual teachers. The study also shows the ways in which Chinese teachers’ exert their agency when developing their identities. The findings have significant implications for teacher education in terms of how to develop positive teacher identity over the course of a teacher’s career.     

农村中小学教师职业认同现状调查分析

教师良好的职业认同是稳定农村教师队伍、提高农村教育质量的关键.四川省农村中小学教师的职业责任感较强,但职业认同度不高;教师的职业认同在性别、年龄、学历、任教学科上差异明显.究其原因,教师的职业认同受到职业认识、职业贲任、职业满意度、职业压力等因素的综合影响.     

法国教师供给政策对我国农村教师供给政策的启示

文章通过对法国中小学教师供给政策中的职前成本及补偿、在职收益政策、在职成本补偿政策进行分析,运用微观经济学的成本-收益、偏好理论、效用理论对法国中小学教师供给政策进行解读,以期从中得到一些可资借鉴的农村教师供给政策理念。     

西部边疆少数民族地区农村小学教师科研现状的调查及思考

教育科研是提高教师教学质量的有力途径,通过问卷调查和访谈,西部边疆少数民族地区农村小学数学教师在进行教育科研活动方面存在许多问题,具体反映在:对教育科研有严重的畏难情绪和较强的自卑心理;对教育科研的重要性认识不到位,自觉性、主动性不够,不能很好地处理教学与科研的关系;教师缺乏教育科研相关理论知识;缺乏强有力的外部支持等;从而造成教师科研水平低,科研能力薄弱。因此,要加强宣传与组织,增强科研活动的自觉性、主动性;增加教育科研投入;强化教师培训,拓宽培训途径;注重创设良好的教育科研氛围等。     

Educating teachers in Hong Kong for leadership in the age of the internet: a re-conceptualisation

There is very little argument that one of the major developments to have impacted in schools in the past decade is the rapid and world-wide development of information and communication technologies (ICT), particularly the Internet. In Hong Kong, reforms in the ICT teacher training policy, and the fact that Hong Kong is a ‘wired’ city, has resulted in pre-service teachers being well versed in the technical competencies of computer usage and its pedagogical manifestations. However, there has been scant attention paid to the fact that students are actively engaged in large-scale autonomous, teacher-less learning via the Internet. In this paper, it is argued that for teachers to be leaders in contemporary classrooms, teacher education programs need to focus more on the deeper and wider implications of ICT and the Internet in education than has hitherto been the practice.     

贵州省农村中学物理实验骨干教师培训方案设计

根据国家基础教育发展和素质教育对初中物理教师提出的新要求,基于贵州省农村中学物理教师的现状,指出省级农村中学物理实验骨干教师培训的目标和任务,设计了培训模块、培训内容、培训方式、培训教学模式、考核评价办法等,以期在培训中能够着力解决农村中学物理教师在实验教学中遇到的实际问题。     

贫困地区农村中小学教师在职培训问题与思考

在重庆市第二期国家贫困地区义务教育工程教师培训中,笔者深感中小学在职非学历短训中存在的不少问题严重影响了培训的效果。在以"二期义教工程"师资培训为个案的研究中,结合重庆贫困地区的实际情况,提出对贫困地区农村中小学教师在职培训的几点思考。