Preparing primary school teachers to teach religious education

Under the guidelines for Initial Teacher Training, all potential primary teachers are required to learn about teaching religious education. However, religious education is not a high priority on ITT programmes and trainees may often have little introduction to it. Given the sensitive nature of religious education, what is the best way to prepare trainees for teaching religious education, and how far do we need to take into account their views about the subject? This article reports on a study involving trainees on a one‐year PGCE course. All the students were preparing to teach in primary schools and were not specialist religious education trainees. The aim of the study was to discover how trainees felt about teaching religious education in the primary school and how far their feelings linked to their views about religion. The conclusions suggest that any effective preparation of the trainees needs to recognise the diversity of their starting points and allow them opportunity to reflect on their views of religion and religious education.     

Lost in transition: supporting Key Stage 2/3 English trainees during secondary placement

Key Stage 2/3 trainees undertake their second school placement in secondary schools having completed a placement in a primary school in the first year of their training. While trainees will have been prepared at their higher education institution, the experience itself can be daunting for reasons other than the fact that this is their first secondary placement. These reasons are discussed in this article, and focuses on how a lesson-planning document was developed at one institution to support English trainees through this placement. The aim of this article is to raise awareness in partnership schools of the specific needs of Key Stage 2/3 English trainees.     

城乡小学英语教师培训差异研究

小学英语教师培训由于面对城乡两大不同的培训群体,两者在诸多方面都存在差异。本文立足重庆,调查研究重庆市主城区及周边农村地区小学英语教师培训现状,剖析两种培训在参训对象、培训需求和培训内容等方面反映出的差别。     

The nature,extent and effects of emotional abuse on primary school pupils by teachers in Zimbabwe

OBJECTIVE: The study seeks to determine the nature, extent and effects of emotional abuse; and who the perpetrators are in Zimbabwean primary schools. METHOD: Data collection was twofold because this involved reported cases of emotional abuse and the use of two questionnaires to collect data on the forms of emotional abuse perpetrated on pupils by teachers. First, data of reported cases of emotional abuse were collected from six regional offices of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture in Zimbabwe. The rationale was to determine forms of emotional abuse perpetrated on pupils by teachers in Zimbabwean primary schools. Second, the Teacher Trainees Questionnaire and the Teacher Questionnaire were administered to randomly selected samples of 150 primary school teacher trainees and 300 primary school teachers. Random numbers were used in the selection of the teachers and teacher trainees. The rationale for using teachers and teacher trainees was to make an in-depth analysis of the forms of emotional abuse perpetrated on pupils by teachers and to determine who the perpetrators are in this form of child abuse. In this study, emotional abuse shall refer to constant belittling of a pupil, the absence of a positive emotional atmosphere, verbal abuse, shouting, scolding, use of vulgar language, humiliation and negative labeling of pupils, and terrorizing of pupils by teachers in schools. RESULTS: The study found that the majority of teacher trainees and teachers believe that shouting, scolding, use of vulgar language, humiliation and negatively labeling of pupils as stupid, ugly, foolish is mainly done by female teachers in schools. However, 52.7% of the teacher trainees indicated that it is the male teachers who "use vulgar language on pupils." This study found some of the forms of emotional abuse that are perpetrated on pupils by teachers in schools. The findings seem to be consistent with the literature available on the gender of perpetrators associated with this form of child abuse. CONCLUSION: It is clear that emotional abuse exists in Zimbabwean primary schools and female teachers appear to be the main perpetrators of this form of child abuse. This form of child abuse may involve one perpetrator and a series of victims.     

Do we need more male primary teachers? Tensions and contradictions in the perspectives of male and female trainees

Primary teaching Initial Teacher Training courses across the UK have been under pressure from central government, Ofsted and the media to recruit more male students to their courses with the aim of increasing the proportion of males in the primary teaching workforce. This is because increasing the number of male role models in primary schools has been mooted as the solution to boys’ underachievement, especially in reading and writing. There is, however, little evidence showing any correlation between boys’ educational outcomes and the number of male primary teachers in schools. The purpose of the project reported in this paper was to ascertain the beliefs of the future primary school workforce about this focus on the need for male role models in schools. A mixed-methods approach was employed: 120 male and female primary trainees were surveyed and a further 48 took part in group interviews, all of whom were based in an Initial Teacher Training department in a university in North West England. Results indicated that although aspiring teachers felt that males and females could make equally good role models for children their personal value systems perpetuated the myth that boys need male role models to achieve better educational outcomes.     

乌鲁木齐市首批教师发展学校教师专业发展及培训需求调查研究

文章通过随机抽取8所首批确立的教师发展学校154名中小学教师,从教师专业发展的基本情况、培训需求、校本培训开展、专业发展四个层面进行了调查、分析,从培训院校、中小学、教师个体三个层面提出了教师专业发展的对策。     

案例教学在双语培训中的运用

对小学数学少数民族教师进行双语培训,最终目标是要达到能用汉语讲授数学课。文章从案例教学的基本特征、选取案例的基本原则、对案例教学的组织等方面阐述了案例教学在双语培训中的运用。     

Choice and diversity in English initial teacher education (ITE): trainees’ perspectives

In England, there has been an expansion of different routes into teaching resulting in an increasingly complex and diverse pattern of training provision. This reconfiguration of becoming a teacher is driven by concerns to improve the quality of teachers who are better able to raise standards in schools as well as to ensure a regular supply of teachers for the nation’s children. In consequence, there has been a move towards more school-based and school-led programmes set in a market-driven approach to pre-service teacher preparation. A great deal of research has focused on the implications of these structural changes in English teacher education, while much less attention has been paid to the perceptions and experiences of those who enrol on these diverse teacher education programmes.

This paper draws on a series of in-depth interviews with twelve trainee teachers following some of the different pathways into teaching in secondary schools. It explores the trainees’ rationale for choosing their route and how they describe the advantages and disadvantages of their chosen pathways.     

Training special educators: sustaining professional development in special school placements

With the rapidly changing demographic due to survival rates from medical advances, the need to strengthen training on SEND is now recognised, and special school placements valued, having been previously marginalised within initial teacher training. Practices developed since 2008 at one university to support progression of trainees to gain advanced and specialist skills in SEND were evaluated for effectiveness. This involved ten school mentors, 14 primary trainees on four‐week extended enrichment placements and three trainees with prior experience on final formally assessed seven‐week placements in special schools. This article presents the resulting consolidated developmental placement structures and a proposed compulsory one‐week model for trainees to gain core skills, underpinned by a shared understanding of trainee professional development needs and related support systems. Quality mentoring practices and sustaining trainees' emotional learning journey were integral to their developing pedagogical skills and understanding, so endorsing the debate for more humanistic approaches to teacher training.     

Professional knowledge learned and professional knowledge applied: A case study of two trainee English teachers

This article reports on one strand of a collaborative research project undertaken at the Faculty of Education, which sought to explore trainee teachers' development of assessment understandings and practices during their PGCE, and over the following two years. Using two case studies of English trainees, we explore the ways in which they seek to bring together effective assessment principles embedded in the research literatures they encountered in their training with the classroom focused, 'tried and tested' approaches in their placement schools. The resulting demands on professional knowledge 'pure' and 'applied', and some resulting tensions are investigated though interviews with the trainees concerned.     

Meeting the requirements of the initial teacher training national curriculum for the use of information and communications technology in subject teaching,with one year's cohort of postgraduate primary trainees

Abstract

This article reports on a small-scale investigation into the effectiveness of a new information and communications technology (ICT) module for Postgraduate Certificate of Education primary trainees. The trainees are audited and later surveyed. Those involved with training in the school/university partnership are also questioned about the trainees' use of ICT in the classroom. A survey of attitude towards the use of ICT in primary schools gives interesting results which in many ways reinforce the expectations of this type of investigation. Two definitions of the usefulness of work with computers in the primary school are offered: for future functionality, and for wider learning benefits. The article concludes that the module was effective, but with certain provisos. The notions of future functionality and wider learning benefits are highlighted as an area for further investigation with a view to recommending more explicit involvement of trainees and with more well-defined, subject-centred work in ICT     

小学全科型卓越教师的内涵、特征与培养路径

儿童的认知世界并无学科之分,在启蒙教育阶段实施综合性养成教育,可以更好帮助儿童从立体的生活世界过渡到具有整体图式的认知世界,全科型卓越教师的提出与素养教育的现实诉求相契合。儿童认知规律和国内外全科教师研究都表明,小学全科型卓越教师的本质内涵不是能胜任全部科目的教学,而是能否遵循儿童认知发展规律,有效整合各学科知识,并具备设计和实施这类整合性课程教学的能力,更好促进儿童品性的发展。但是,目前小学全科型卓越教师的培养在教师教育的课程体系和师资队伍中都还存在若干挑战。可从师资队伍建设、课程与教学改革和增强职业吸引力三个路径入手,探索小学全科型卓越教师的有效培养。     

The challenges of beginning teachers in urban primary schools

This study provides insight in the variety of urban-related challenges that beginning teachers experience in urban schools. Literature on urban teaching focuses on teaching children from low socio-economic status (SES) and/or culturally diverse backgrounds. In many European cities, however, schools are populated by both children from relatively high and from low-SES backgrounds. This study examined the problems and challenges of beginning teachers in Dutch urban primary schools. Teachers were interviewed at schools with different student populations. Results showed that, although many of the challenges that beginning teachers experienced concern the same themes, their actual manifestation differed related to schools’ student populations. For instance, the problem of ‘parental contact’ referred to both the extreme involvement and demands of highly educated wealthy parents at some schools and the diverse backgrounds of parents at other schools. Results of the study can be used to develop adequate preparation and support for beginning urban teachers.     

The attitudes and opinions of Cypriot primary teachers about the use of the Internet for their professional development and as an educational tool

This article explores the attitudes and opinions of Cypriot primary teachers about the use of the Internet for their personal development and as an educational tool. It also examines the teachers’ concerns about the implementation of the Internet in schools and their opinions about what has to be done in order to ensure its effective integration into the educational settings. The research revealed that Cypriot primary teachers had positive attitudes towards using the Internet both for their professional development and as an educational tool. The only factor that appeared to have a significant positive relationship with the attitudes of the teachers was the degree of confidence in using the Internet. Additionally, teachers considered training in the use of the Internet as the most important need for its effective implementation in primary schools.     

指向小学英语教师专业发展的课堂观察

课堂观察不仅能起教学评价和示范作用,更是促进小学英语教师专业发展的有效途径。在我国,新的教育教学改革对小学英语教师的专业发展提出了新的要求。本文根据《义务教育英语课程标准》（2011年版）的理念和要求,针对小学英语课堂观察现存的问题,就如何完善课堂观察对小学英语教师专业发展的作用提出建议。小学英语教师可以通过科学观课、合作观课来提升教学研究能力,从而促进教师专业的长足发展。     

A critical review of education support practices in Spain

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study is to analyse different models of educational support that are used in schools with public funding from the perspective of support teachers, counsellors and members of management teams. Participants were 79 professionals from the three areas mentioned above. The methodological approach was a phenomenological qualitative one using focus groups and subsequent qualitative analysis of the data. The systems of categories and subcategories underwent a progressive process of triangulation. The results show that professionals identify support practices that can be divided into two differentiated models: a traditional model linked to a medical perspective of providing personal support to the most vulnerable students and a support model consistent with inclusive education. There are also discrepancies among professionals, especially about the need for support to be provided within the reference classroom. The discussion focuses on identifying essential aspects, to more effectively support students and teachers in an ordinary school context. In addition, professionals question the regulations for their disconnection from the reality they experience in schools. All this requires a rethinking of the functions of support teachers supported by careful initial and ongoing training.     

Student teachers as creative writers: does an understanding of creative pedagogies matter?

Teaching creative writing in primary schools requires an understanding of creative pedagogies that value autonomy and for educators to draw on their own experiences of the creative writing process to support the development of their pupils. This article draws on evidence from 58 undergraduate primary student teachers to further understand how their appreciation of creative pedagogies, combined with their experiences of creative writing, impacts on their approach to the teaching of writing in primary schools. Evidence from questionnaires and interviews reveals that factors such as freedom, choice and focusing on the personal aspects of writing are valued but often because they make writing fun for children, rather than because they develop children's creative behaviours and creative writing. Student teachers' own personal experiences of these factors affect whether they are likely to integrate them into their future practice in school. It is argued that if students experience creative writing that is underpinned by a creative pedagogy within their initial teacher education, they will be better equipped to teach creative writing and prepare children for being writers.     

中小学教师数据素养的发展路径与培养策略

作为加快数据驱动教学范式转型的关键之所在,教师数据素养是教师适应时代发展需求的必备素养。文章首先通过文献梳理,介绍了教师数据素养和教师数据素养培养的相关研究成果;随后,文章分析了教师数据素养培养的理论与实践依据,并以此为指导,设计了中小学教师数据素养的发展路径;最后,文章从师范生教育、数据知识普及、数据素养培训、教学实践示范四个角度,提出了教师数据素养的培养策略。中小学教师数据素养的发展路径与培养策略的提出,能够为中小学教师数据素养的提升提供理论支持与参考依据。     

Variables affecting teachers' attitudes towards inclusive education in Bangladesh

Inclusive education is a worldwide reform strategy intended to include students with different abilities in mainstream regular schools. Evidence from previous research shows that success in implementing effective inclusive teaching practices in the school is contingent on teachers' positive attitudes towards inclusive education. This study was conducted in the context of primary education in Bangladesh aiming to examine variables influencing teachers' attitudes towards inclusion of students with disabilities in regular classrooms. Data for the study was collected from 738 teachers working in 293 government primary schools in Bangladesh. The results indicated that perceived school support for inclusive teaching practices and a range of demographic variables including previous success in teaching students with disabilities and contact with a student with a disability were associated with more positive attitudes of the teachers towards the inclusive education. The results are discussed with possible implications for educators, policy‐makers and international organisations working on the implementation of inclusive education.     

再论融合教育:普小教师眼中的"随班就读"

在中国 ,融合教育的主要安置形式是随班就读。本文使用开放式问卷 ,录音采访了大连市 1 1所普通小学的 2 3位班主任教师。研究的结果表明 :(一 )大连市的普小教师对特殊儿童随班就读基本上持接受态度 ,集中有近一半多的教师认为要视学生的残疾种类合程度来确定特殊儿童是否随班就读。(二 )在多数普小教师看来 ,特殊儿童与正常儿童之间的交往势必交顺利的 ,特殊儿童的社会融合经常出现在课外活动、集体活动、游戏的场合 ,而在课堂学习的情况下较难产生。 (三 )从社会融合的可利用资源中 ,社区、学校、家庭之间的相互支持、协作的桥梁并未建立起来。 (四 )普小教师对随班就读工作的建议是希望得到特殊教育知识的培训。