Cascading the use of Web 2.0 technology in secondary schools in the United Kingdom: identifying the barriers beyond pre-service training

This paper reports on research that took place at two universities in the United Kingdom, over two years. The research focuses on the use of Web 2.0 technology, specifically blogs, with pre-service teachers, both during their university programme and the first year of teaching as full-time newly qualified teachers (NQTs). The purpose of this research was to add to a developing body of knowledge by identifying whether technology used by pre-service teachers during their training course can be cascaded into their practice once qualified. Key findings identify a number of enablers and barriers to cascading technology in the classroom; these include curriculum time, pupil skills and support. The research concludes that early professional support and development should continue during the early years of teaching and assumptions about new teachers as champions of cascading innovative use of Web 2.0 technologies into their practice as NQTs may be over-optimistic.     

农村教师配置的深层困境——基于川南H县的实地考察

根据对川南某县的实地考察,发现义务教育教师资源的均衡配置依然任重道远。在强制性的分配制度打破以后,诱致性的激励制度尚未建立,导致新增农村教师质量尚需提高。而考调制作为一种较为有效的教师进城选拔方式,却造成了更多农村优秀教师的流失。从学校层面来看,校长虽然有较强的原动力提高教师队伍水平,但在很多现实矛盾中,往往忽略了配置教师的质量。就相关利益群体来看,农村群体是松散的,对教师配置决策施加的影响非常有限,而城市群体是强有力的,对教师配置决策可以施加较大压力,这强化了教师配置的城市化倾向。     

The importance of networks for newly qualified teachers in upper secondary education

Background and purpose:?The interest in raising the competence of teachers through networks and network activities is increasing. This article is based on the voices of four newly qualified teachers who give us the opportunity to listen to experiences in authentic surroundings. The purpose of this article is to gain better insight into the type of networks newly qualified teachers maintain, develop and create to develop as teachers. The research question is: What is the importance of networks for the professional development of newly qualified teachers in upper secondary education?

Main argument:?The main finding of the article, based on in-depth interviews with four newly qualified teachers, is that being acknowledged by colleagues is decisive for professional development. Furthermore, the school’s programme of meetings to some extent contributes to developing the respect and trust of the newly qualified teachers, who also need to find time and opportunities for reflection in personal networks outside school. The relational and emotional aspects of the teaching profession produce a need for guidance processes where the ethical dilemmas of the profession can be raised. When these dilemmas arise, the newly qualified teachers actively look outside school to grasp opportunities for professional development. The teachers appear to be very active in their own professional development, and they have ambitions to develop as teachers for the benefit of the pupils and the school.

Conclusions:?Systematic guidance is highlighted as fundamental for these teachers’ learning.     

Newly qualified teachers’ professional digital competence: implications for teacher education

The professional digital competence (PDC) of teachers is of growing importance in classrooms, now that digital resources and digital media are becoming important parts of teachers’ everyday practice. This study explores how newly qualified teachers are prepared to use information and communication technology (ICT) in their initial teacher education (ITE). We present findings of a nationwide survey in Norway on 356 newly qualified teachers. It explores how these teachers’ ICT self-efficacy is related to how they perceive the quality of, and contributions from, their ITE related to ICT and the development of their PDC. In general, newly qualified teachers report fairly poor quality and contribution of ICT training during their teacher education. We claim that continuous effort is needed to review the quality of ITE and contribute specifically to the development of PDC and developing student teachers’ ICT self-efficacy in ITE.     

Teachers' views of their pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties

This paper explores the perceptions of a small group of teachers of pupils with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) in north‐eastern England. The focus of the paper is their views of their pupils who have PMLD. A total of 14 teachers were interviewed, both individually and in small groups over a four‐year period. This paper stems from the individual interviews, which were validated at the group interview stage. Through the interviews we hear how neurological, developmental and co‐existence issues help shape teachers’ views of their pupils. Thirty years ago this group of pupils received their education from the Department of Health; today they are in schools and we hear the teachers in this project reflect on their students’ learning needs in positive and professional ways. What emerges through this research is the need for teacher educators to support professional development experiences that enable teachers to integrate the distinct perspectives of parents and the more contemporary theories of disability into their understandings of this group of learners. In this way, teachers of pupils with PMLD would build upon their professional knowledge base to include wider parental and societal perspectives.     

Explicit and implicit perspectives on research-based teacher education: newly qualified teachers’ experiences in Finland

Much of the international debate and research on teacher education has centred on how the preparation of teachers should be organised. In contrast to many other countries, teacher education in Finland has been university-based for decades and has a strong research-based approach. This inductive study describes newly qualified teachers’ (NQTs) experiences of research-based teacher education. The study uses data from semi-structured interviews with 10 newly qualified primary school teachers that were conducted in 2016, directly after they had finished their master’s degrees but had not yet begun to work as teachers. A qualitative content analysis identified three main knowledge areas that describe NQTs’ experiences: personal development, teacher professional competence and research competence. The results demonstrate that students in research-based teacher education gain a solid basis for their future teacher profession, as well as experiencing legitimacy and a high level of status in society. Their education encourages them to become innovative and professional teachers who are prepared to honour the trust and autonomy given to them by society.     

Reducing discrepancies between teachers’ espoused theories and theories-in-use: an action research model of reflective professional development

This article reports on an action research project in which two New Zealand classroom teachers worked with a university researcher to investigate the effects of their knowledge, thinking, and beliefs on the ways in which they mediated students’ learning in teacher–student interactions. Working in a small community of practice over a two-year period, the group carried out four cycles of action research. They gathered information through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations, and engaged in professional reading, reflection, and discussion. Initially the group found discrepancies between the teachers’ espoused theories and their theories-in-use. Implicit beliefs and routinised behaviours were found to have a detrimental influence on the nature of the teachers’ interactions with students. Through examination of their own practice and participation in reflective professional development, the teachers were able to make incremental changes and improvements in their interactions with students.     

The positioning of students in newly qualified secondary teachers’ images of their ‘best teaching’

Asking newly qualified teachers (NQTs) to provide images of their ‘best teaching’, and encouraging subsequent reflection on these images, has the potential to enhance their understanding of themselves as teachers as they explore their often unconsciously held assumptions about students and classrooms. This paper reports aspects of a study of 100 New Zealand secondary NQTs as they constructed and explained images of themselves when ‘teaching at their best’ at three points over the first 18 months of full-time teaching. The article shows how these images of ‘best teaching’ may represent the NQTs’ pedagogical creed, and explores the nature of relationships and ways of working with students described within this developing pedagogy. It concludes by indicating implications from this study for teacher education pedagogies and programmes.     

Newly qualified teachers' learning related to their use of information and communication technology: a Swedish perspective

This qualitative study focuses on newly qualified teachers’ use of information and communication technology (ICT) as a tool for meeting the challenges of their everyday work. The overarching aim is to investigate whether they can contribute to new knowledge about learning in ICT contexts. Theoretical points of departure concern the changeable nature of learning in situations where ways of communicating knowledge and skills are changed. The study draws upon interviews and observations. The findings show intersections picturing the new technique as partly changing the circumstances for teaching, learning and collaboration between colleagues. The new teachers’ utterances show that ICT utilisation is extensive and exhibits great variation both among female and among male participants. Boundary‐crossing changes become visible in the collaboration between more experienced teachers and those who are newly qualified, especially when they work on a common development project. However, there are relatively few teachers who bring up active ICT use in connection with pupils’ learning. Changed roles because of ICT competence raise questions about the importance of systematic ICT features within teacher education. Many of the newly qualified teachers wish they had more knowledge about ICT and related techniques. Another question is whether newly qualified teachers who show interest in using the technique can take on the role as agents of change in their active and creative use of ICT.     

Primary Teacher Education in Rural Cameroon: Can Informal Learning Compensate for the Deficiencies in Formal Training?

The objective of the research on which this article reports was to evaluate the training conditions of primary school teachers in rural Cameroon, so as to identify alternative paths towards their qualification through informal learning in the workplace and outside. Following Denzin’s (2009) between-methods triangulation approach, quantitative techniques, including statistical analyses and standardised questionnaires, were applied in addition to qualitative techniques, such as face-to-face interviews and observations of practising teachers and experts. The article presents the most common learning strategies of teachers in rural areas of Cameroon and recommends seminal solutions for teacher education. It can be concluded that informal learning in the workplace corresponds to traditional ways of learning in collectivist-oriented, oral societies in rural areas. Therefore, the combination of informal methods with formal structures of teacher education could improve the current educational system of many African countries, and provide a solution to meet the high demand for qualified staff within restricted budgets.     

The impact of prospective teachers’ perceived competence on subsequent perceptions as schoolteachers

This longitudinal study examines connections between 110 teachers’ perceived professional competence acquired during professional preparation and later perceptions as schoolteachers in Norway. The results indicate that theoretical understanding plays an important role in schoolteachers’ professional competence development and that prospective and practising schoolteachers do not tend to perceive themselves as either good theorists or good practitioners. Furthermore, the results contradict research arguing that the teacher education programme has limited effect. Instead, the results indicate that the level of perceived competence acquired during professional preparation in the general teacher training programme is of major importance for perceived mastery of teaching as a schoolteacher. In addition, the results also underscore the importance of experiencing continuing mastery of teaching requirements for supporting perceptions of teaching specific self-efficacy over time. This finding again supports previous research that has emphasised the importance of supporting teaching specific self-efficacy during both the period of teacher education of prospective teachers and the induction period of newly qualified teachers.     

Learning from teaching: pre-service primary teachers’ perceived learning from engaging in formal Lesson Study

While there is abundant research reporting the impact of Lesson Study as a professional development framework for qualified teachers, its potential within initial teacher education remains relatively unexplored. We present a particular model of formal Lesson Study which has been experienced annually for a decade by Irish pre-service primary teachers. This study examines the perceived effects on learning of this Lesson Study model on a large sample of pre-service primary teachers (N?=?225) who worked in 45 different lesson study groups over a 10 year period (2008–2017). Data analysis reveals that participants’ perceptions of learning fell within two distinct themes namely ‘An awakening regarding teacher content knowledge’ and ‘Cornerstones of learner-centred practice’, each of which consisted of rich inter-connected sub-themes. As a result of engaging in Lesson Study, participants report an increased awareness of the importance of deep content knowledge in addition to adopting a learner-centred approach to their practice. Participants also believed that Lesson Study enhanced their professional knowledge and skills in the curricular area of focus (mathematics, in this case). While this study focuses on self-report data, these opinions are fundamental given research which proposes that interventions will fail if participants judge them to be ineffective.     

Developing mathematical thinking in the primary classroom: liberating students and teachers as learners of mathematics

This paper reports on a research study conducted with a group of practising primary school teachers (n = 24) in North East Scotland during 2011–2012. The teachers were all participants in a newly developed Masters course that had been designed with the aim of promoting the development of mathematical thinking in the primary classroom as part of project supported by the Scottish Government. The paper presents the background for this initiative within the context of the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence reform. Particular attention is given to the epistemological positioning of the researchers as this influenced both the curriculum design process and also the theoretical framing of the research study which are both described. The project was set up within a design research framework, which aimed to promote classroom-based action research on the part of participants through the course and also research by the university researchers into the process of curriculum development. The research questions focused on the teachers’ confidence, competence, attitudes and beliefs in relation to mathematics and their expectations and experiences of the impact on pupil learning arising from this course. Empirical data were drawn from pre- and post-course surveys, interviews and observations of the discussion forums in the online environment. Findings from this study highlight the way the course had a transformational and emancipatory impact on these teachers. They also highlight ways in which the ‘framing’ of particular aspects of the curriculum had an oppressive impact on learners in the ways that suppressed creativity and limited the exercise of learner autonomy. Furthermore, they highlight the ways in which a number of these teachers had experienced mathematics as a school subject in very negative ways, involving high levels of ‘symbolic violence’ and of being ‘labelled’.     

Still motivated? The motivation for teaching during the second year in the profession

This article presents the results from the third study in a longitudinal research project examining newly qualified teachers’ (NQTs) motivation for teaching and how they retrospectively value their teacher education. The findings indicate that teachers enjoy the profession one-and-a-half years after graduation. They are motivated both by working with their subject matter and by teaching. Retrospectively, NQTs criticize parts of the post-graduate certificate in education (PGCE) course. Although the teachers seem content in their profession, this study reveals a high rate of attrition, with 40 percent having left the profession, and a prevalent ambivalence about their professional future.     

Newly Qualified Teachers in Post-primary Schools in Northern Ireland: the support provided for their needs and their own vision for induction

This paper reports research on the needs of newly qualified teachers in post-primary schools in Northern Ireland. The views and experiences of newly qualified teachers who were awarded qualified teacher status in 1997 were sought on the effectiveness of their Initial Teacher Education programme, and on teaching and support in their induction year. The results showed that they were generally satisfied with initial training and enjoyed the rewards of seeing pupils learn, but they had concerns about discipline and the pressure of time. The Head of Department emerged as a crucial figure and the role of teacher tutor was important. The Career Entry Profile was not extensively used by either the newly qualified teachers or members of senior management to set targets. An ideal induction programme should include greater internal and external support tailored closely to newly qualified teachers.     

The effect of an intervention to improve newly qualified teachers’ interpersonal style,students motivation and psychological need satisfaction in sport-based physical education

Recent developments in self-determination theory research in the educational setting (e.g., Reeve, Deci, & Ryan, 2004), suggest that teachers’ interpersonal style should be considered as consisting of three dimensions: autonomy support, structure and interpersonal involvement. Based on this theoretical proposition, the purpose of the present study was to test the effects of a training program for three physical education newly qualified teachers on the aforementioned teachers’ overt behaviors and students’ psychological needs satisfaction, self-determined motivation and engagement in sport-based physical education. After a baseline period of four lessons, the teachers attended an informational session on adaptive student motivation and how to support it. The training program also included individualized guidance during the last four lessons of the cycle. Results revealed that from pre- to post-intervention: (1) teachers managed to improve their teaching style in terms of all three dimensions, and (2) students were receptive to these changes, as shown by increases in their reported need satisfaction, self-determined motivation and engagement in the class.     

贫困地区乡村小学教师职业疏离现状与形成机制研究

乡村小学教师的职业倦怠与疏离已经成为影响乡村教育发展的障碍,贫困地区乡村小学教师的职业疏离感更为严重。该研究以四个贫困县乡村小学教师群体为例,通过建立二元Logit模型,对该群体的职业疏离感形成原因进行分析。研究发现,贫困地区乡村小学教师的疏离感,并非完全如已有研究所述,受城市化驱动或因入职初期经验不足等因素影响。乡村教师生活压力大、职业上升空间狭小以及教学任务繁重是导致他们职业疏离的主要原因。同时作为社会学学科,不能忽视政策环境对乡村老师疏离感的影响,撤点并校后教育资源向中心学校和县城学校高度倾斜,如农村学校生师比高,职称评聘困难,社会保障力度不够,使得乡村老师感受来自多方面的排斥,他们地位被边缘化了,这是乡村教师疏离感形成的深层原因。     

可行能力视角下的农村基础教育问题探析

根据印度经济学家阿玛蒂亚＆#183;森的可行能力理论研究发现,当前中国农村基础教育中存在师资力量短缺、教育经费不足、办学条件差以及辍学率高等问题,这是由于权利保障不平衡、城乡发展差距大、城乡二元结构化、教育信息公开化程度不高以及政府对农村教育关注度不够等因素所造成。运用阿玛蒂亚＆#183;森的工具性自由理论探析,这些问题要通过提高农民的可行能力来解决。     

新教师初入职阶段专业学习的教育社会学分析

新教师初入职阶段的专业学习是成功进入教师职业的关键。大量研究表明,新教师的工作实践状况和工作环境极大影响着其专业学习。国内已有研究在教师专业学习的目标、内容、途径与方法等方面进行了有益的探索。怎样理解和解释新教师初入职阶段的专业学习,进而分析其生存和发展状态？运用伯恩斯坦的教育符码、社会分工、教育话语等教育社会学理论可以为之提供帮助,也为教师教育的改革和发展提供些许建议。