Australian undergraduate primary school student‐teachers’ responses to child sexual abuse and its mandatory reporting

This study aims to understand how primary school teachers, as mandatory reporters of child sexual abuse, are responding to child sexual abuse and its mandatory reporting, even though many teachers do not receive a compulsory course in Child Protection and its legal requirements in their pre‐service university training. A cohort of 81 Australian final fourth‐year Bachelor of Education (Primary) student‐teachers was asked about four aspects of it. Qualitative data gathered from these student‐teachers’ questionnaires provide important insights into their knowledge of child sexual abuse; their knowledge of Department of Education policy on it; their professional competence in mandatory reporting of it; and their recommended educational and professional training in it. The results show that all of these student‐teachers feel inadequately prepared to address child sexual abuse and mandatory reporting in schools, being unaware of both knowledge of it and the Department’s policy, even though many recognise the gravity of sexual abuse for the child survivor and the need, and seriousness, of child protection. Finally, these student‐teachers all want better training about these issues during their four‐year degree. In conclusion, these results, and some recommendations, may provide a guide for curriculum planners to design compulsory and appropriate pre‐service university courses to enhance student‐teachers’ knowledge, skills and competencies about child sexual abuse and its mandatory reporting.     

Teaching about Human Relationships Education for primary school student‐teachers using an interactive CD‐ROM

Human Relationships Education is a very important part of primary school student‐teacher education. All primary school children need sound guidance and enhanced knowledge about puberty, growing up successfully, and feeling competent and confident in themselves. An interactive multimedia CD‐ROM was designed and developed for some Australian university student‐teachers in the final fourth year of their Bachelor of Education (Primary School), and addresses the Human Relationships Education curriculum. This paper analyses some of the pedagogies used in this pastoral care learning as examples of a Constructivist approach to designing multimedia interactivities based on Anderson and Krathwohl's learning framework. Such an approach may be useful for other educational designers to improve student‐teacher involvement in their pastoral care learning, to provide pedagogical variation and to use interactive multimedia, thus enhancing learning outcomes for student‐teachers and, in turn, their primary school students.     

How do primary school teachers develop knowledge by crossing boundaries in the school–university partnership? A case study in China

University experts typically serve as knowledge sources for teacher learning. Experts in China are no exception. Nevertheless, minimal attention has been focused on knowledge flow between experts and teachers, and its contribution to teacher knowledge development. Drawing on the perspective of knowledge process across boundaries, this qualitative study investigates knowledge growth of primary school teachers involved in a small-scale school–university partnership in Northern China. In-depth interview was adapted as the main approach to collecting data. Nine participating teachers, two school administrators, and one university expert were interviewed. Findings show that expert-led knowledge transfer (knowledge-for-practice is directly delivered) and teacher-involved knowledge translation (knowledge-in-practice is reframed and situated) are the main focus of the partnership studied. However, collaboration-oriented knowledge transformation (altering existing knowledge and creating knowledge-of-practice) is insufficiently emphasised. Furthermore, this study discusses significant implications for advancing the transformation of knowledge and expert–teacher collaborative knowledge creation as well as for further study.     

Greek primary school teachers’ awareness of the special features of scientific language: implications for science curricula and teachers’ professional development

This exploratory study aims at investigating first the extent to which Greek primary school teachers recognize the features of scientific language (an archetype for the academic language employed in all school disciplines), and second and most importantly the functional role they attribute to these features in the construction of scientific discourse. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 teachers. Two versions of a one-page extract, varying in linguistic specialization, were used as stimuli-materials. Teachers correctly recognized the linguistically highly specialized version, but they were less able to spontaneously mention specific features (mainly syntactic complexity and terminology) contributing to this specialization. Worse still, they failed to recognize syntactic complexity as a feature of the specialized extract even after they were explicitly probed to do so. Moreover, teachers were found to only be partially aware of the functional role these features play in constructing the scientific world-view. Specifically, teachers seem to put emphasis on the communicative rather than the epistemological role of the corresponding linguistic features. These findings stress the need for certain interventions both at initial and in-service level of teacher education as well as at the level of science curricula.     

Trainee teachers’ experience of primary science teaching,and the perceived impact on their developing professional identity

This study took place within an environment of educational change in teaching and assessment in the UK, where the National Curriculum (NC) and National External Examination syllabi undertook significant revision. Science education specifically, has seen aspiration raised to allow pupils to achieve a greater depth of understanding at Key Stage 4 and hence facilitate advanced study. Central to the development of effective scientific understanding is teacher preparation. This study examined the factors that impacted on the experiences of primary teachers during their training. Questionnaires completed by a sample of one hundred and sixteen trainee teachers followed by semi-structured interviews of sixteen trainees were used as a means of interpreting Post-Graduate Certification in Education (PGCE) trainee teachers’ experiences during taught university sessions and school based training. The findings showed that the majority of the trainees rated their training highly, and perceived themselves to be confident primary science pedagogues. They felt, however that the very limited opportunities to observe and teach science during their training negatively influenced their overall development.     

Is changing teaching practice the mission impossible? A case study of continuing professional development for primary school teachers in Senegal

This paper reports on research into a continuing professional development (CPD) project, Projet de Renforcement de l’Enseignement des Mathématiques, des Sciences et de la Technologie (PREMST) [Strengthening Mathematics, Science, and Technologies in Education Project]. The literature review reveals few examples of CPD changing the teaching practices of teachers, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. By using the cases of five teachers, this research seeks to understand the complexities of pedagogical change. The research found that PREMST has helped teachers envision how teaching should be conducted, but it has not necessarily brought a positive change in the learning of pupils because it has not changed how teachers think about teaching. Given the difficulties involved in pedagogical change, emphasising specific skills may have been the necessary and practical first step, but changing these teaching practices is not enough. The research found that teachers still paid little attention to the learning of individual pupils. The research concludes that the recently initiated practice of lesson study shows considerable potential to build on what has already been achieved.     

Learning‐to‐learn and learning‐to‐teach: the impact of disciplinary subject study on student‐teachers’ professional identity

A coherent view of student‐teachers’ preparation and the learning experiences to which they are exposed are key to sustaining the relevance of university‐based teacher‐education programmes. Arguably, such coherence is lacking and the research base to an understanding of the student‐teacher experience is still a relatively limited one. This paper takes the view that student‐teachers’ epistemological growth is a key component of their professional development, their sense of identity as intending teachers, and their successful entry into a teaching career. In adopting a phenomenographic approach it explores a chain of evidence which demonstrates that immersion in the processes of learning and knowing, within a specific disciplinary context, had a significant impact on students’ emerging professional identities and on their values as teachers which extends beyond the subject matter itself. Arguably, the findings of this case‐study hold important implications for a teacher‐education programme and for effective pedagogic practice.     

Measuring challenge,fun and sterility on a ‘phunometre’ scale: evaluating creative teaching and learning with children and their student teachers in the primary school

‘It was the funnest week in the whole history of funnest weeks’: our case study, the second phase in a three-phase research project, evaluates the successes and limitations of creative teaching and learning during the ‘The Creative and Effective Curriculum’ module for PGCE primary student teachers which includes a one-week placement in school. Student teachers', children's and teachers' perspectives pointed to a range of factors necessary for effective and creative teaching and learning. These included learning which is ‘fun’, achievement through intrinsic motivation, willingness to take risks and learn from mistakes, children's ownership of learning and the teacher's role as facilitator. Our findings enabled us to formulate ‘phunometre scales’ which we suggest can be used to assess both the organisation of learning areas and also planned activities in terms of their capacity for learning which is both challenging and fun.     

‘Everyone thinks that I just need to know a few words and sing some songs to teach English to the kids’: primary school English language teachers struggled for their professional legitimacy

Language teachers’ struggles for professional legitimacy have emerged as an area of interest in the field of language teaching research. Grounded in Wenger’s concept of ‘trajectories of learning’, the current study explored the fight for legitimate status of two primary school English language teachers in Vietnam. Data for this article were collected through life-history interviews in which the two participating teachers were encouraged to tell stories about the early days of their teaching careers. The findings of the study reveal that the participants struggled for professional legitimacy during the early stage of their teaching careers. Beyond the school setting, the two teachers encountered negative attitudes towards their teaching profession as teaching languages to young learners was not highly valued in society. Based on the findings, the study pointed to the issue of power relations which, although regarded as a barrier to teachers’ professional legitimacy, is not adequately addressed in the concept of ‘trajectories of learning’. The study also revealed some implications for legitimising language teachers’ professional status.     

Deficiencies in the Focus: Rural Teacher Policy Evolution Analysis—Reflections on the Ten-Year Implementation of the Outline of China’s National Plan for Medium- and Long-Term Education Reform and Development (2010–2020)

Rural teachers are a weak part of China’s teacher team. Over ten years, China has been continuously making up deficiencies in its policy, with the focus first on rural teachers, teachers of village schools and teaching sites, then further on the rural teachers in the contiguous poverty-stricken areas, national-level poor counties, and finally on teachers of areas of extreme poverty like the “three regions” and “three prefectures.” The construction of the rural teacher policy system has been continuously strengthened by refining supplement, enhancing security, optimizing management, and improving quality, which has effectively helped with the problem of “teachers are unwilling to teach, to stay, or to teach well in rural areas,” and laid a solid foundation for improving the quality of rural teachers and narrowing the gap between urban and rural education. However, there are still deficiencies in the policies concerning rural teachers. Further investigation and monitoring are needed to consolidate the foundation for policy improvement research and reflect the rural point of view in policy making.