Assessing the mess: challenges to assemblage theory and teacher education

This article examines the Deleuzian concept of ‘assemblage’ in educational research in the context of Teacher Education (TE) for the ‘continuing education’ or ‘Lifelong Learning’ sector. Drawing on Deleuze’s creative approach to analysis, it draws a portrait of practice which identifies problems and successes in specific cases of TE with wider applicability. I argue that the concept of assemblage recognises developmental practices in distinctive ways and that it challenges the centripetal views implied by other models’ elision of more specific types of convergence, each of which is analysed. This is followed by suggestions which could help provide scope for creativity in research and practice in TE, if a set of challenges can be met. I argue that a situated and dynamic epistemological model is offered by assemblage theory which recognises not just the spatial but also the temporal and political complexities of actual practice.     

Teachers’ democratic assignment: a critical discourse analysis of teacher education policies in Ireland and Sweden

ABSTRACT

The needs of a globalized economy are rapidly changing what is legitimated as school knowledge and values, and calling up new understandings of teachers’ role in stimulating democratic spaces. We have termed this Teachers’ Democratic Assignment. We examine changing notions of teachers’ democratic assignment in Ireland and Sweden using a Critical Discourse Analysis. We tested our hypothesis that teachers’ democratic assignment has changed in unprecedented ways using an analysis of policy documents in teacher education. Our findings reported a substantive converging paradigm shift from a predominantly progressive (reconstructivist) curriculum discourse where democracy was seen as inextricably linked to everyday practice in the early years of this century, to a more essentialist (perennialist) discourse in recent times. The findings will have interest for a wider audience and have implications for the role of democracy in teacher education as well as the question of education as a social responsibility for a vibrant democracy.     

Korean media discourse on international education

ABSTRACT

This paper analyses the representation of international education in the Korean print media, by comparing texts produced by the leading conservative (Chosun) and progressive (Hankyoreh) newspapers in 1997 and 2014 (N?=?271 articles). We find a major expansion and diversification of media articles on international education, including rising numbers of articles mentioning non-traditional destinations (beyond USA and UK), written or shaped by non-traditional media producers (i.e., educational agents), and including individual-utilitarian and positive themes. We quantify, and find statistically significant correlations among, three key variables (destination, media producer, discourse theme). Articles mentioning non-traditional destinations are more likely to be written or shaped by agents than by journalists only. Articles mentioning non-traditional destinations and articles written or shaped by agents include relatively more positive and individual-utilitarian themes (but not more individual-expressive themes) than do articles not mentioning non-traditional destinations and articles written by journalists only. Theoretically, we link the evolution of media discourse to neo-liberal structural and ideological changes that encourage market competition and consumer choice.     

Disruptive design in pre-service teacher education: uptake,participation, and resistance

This paper begins the exploration of disruption as an analytical construct that allows for the investigation of how individual learning and changes in local practice mutually influence the other within a purposefully designed learning context. We seek to describe the types of learning experiences that emerged using disruptive pedagogies and tools within a series of methods courses in an undergraduate elementary teacher education program. The intent of the designed context was to disrupt the traditional practices of teacher education courses by creating a participatory environment where students participated in the creation of course content through their engagement with social media and each other. We define disruption as an innovation that requires students to challenge or change their epistemologies and participation in their learning. This paper addresses a designed disruption that was created in the context of an elementary methods course. The results demonstrated diverse consequences for participants, their activity, and our understanding of their learning. These findings provide a starting point for examining the implications of disruptive practices within pre-service teacher education programs.     

Teachers' knowledge in argumentation: contributions from an explicit teaching in an initial teacher education programme

Many researchers have highlighted the important role of teachers in creating and managing argumentative, as well as the need for teachers, during their training, to have opportunities to develop knowledge about arguments, enabling them to work from the perspective of argumentation. This study investigates to what extent a context of explicit teaching of argumentation contributed to developing this knowledge. The data sources include video records of explicit teaching of argumentation, collection of materials produced and used by pre-service teachers, and field notes. Analysis of the data indicates that the explicit teaching of argumentation influenced the conceptual learning of pre-service teachers concerning the elements interwoven into argumentative practice, especially evidence and justifications, and the development of pedagogical aspects in the context of argument. Although the pre-service teachers had expressed some teaching knowledge of argumentation in classroom discussion situations, the use of this approach in teaching situations still appears to be challenging for these teachers. The findings of this study highlight contributions to the area of teacher education in argumentation in terms of knowledge that is essential to plan and conduct argumentation-based teaching, and also to the structure of the initial teacher training programmes directed at teaching in argumentation.     

主体性教师：教师教育的反思与变革

确立主体性的教师教育观念，建立一体化的教师教育体制，创建主体性的教师教育过程，实行主体性的教育管理方式，是主体性教师素质的培养要求。本通过主体性教师的概念界说、教师教育的现实反思和改革构想，旨在探寻我国教师教育改革与发展的途径与方法。     

重庆市教师教育的现状、问题及归因分析

重庆市已经形成由综合性大学、地方师范院校共同承担教师教育的多元开放式格局,教师教育的学科门类齐全,学历层次多样,尤其在教师职后培训方面特色突出。同时存在着师范生接受教师教育的积极性还不高、农村教师继续教育培训效果不令人满意等问题,充分认识这些问题并进行积极归因分析,是促进重庆市教师教育健康发展的重要保障。     

Beginning teachers and inclusive education: frustrations,dilemmas and growth

Scholars report desirable outcomes for all participants in classrooms where diverse learners are welcomed members. Data suggest teachers leave the profession early because of the demands of their work made increasingly difficult by the diverse range of students, lack of assistance to support the diverse range of student needs and the resulting burnout. This paper presents qualitative data from six beginning teachers, juxtaposed with the author's personal narrative, to illustrate the ongoing problems beginning teachers face, contending with political, historical and cultural barriers when teaching students with diverse learning needs. Despite policy advances and mandated courses in inclusive education in initial teacher education, beginning teachers are overwhelmed by the magnitude of teaching diverse learners in contemporary classrooms. Of note in the data are the preservice teachers’ fluid conceptions of inclusive education. The polarity of success and failure of inclusive education is re-envisaged through Deleuze and Guattari's [(1987 Deleuze, G., and F. Guattari. 1987. A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. Trans Brian Massumi. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. [Google Scholar]). A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. Trans Brian Massumi. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.] rhizome. The data illustrate the challenges and messiness of learning to become an inclusive educator. It is important to listen to the experiences of beginning teachers given the value of supportive classroom environments for students with diverse needs and the impact creating these environments has on beginning teachers’ longevity in the profession.     

Outcomes of primary teacher education in Finland: an exit survey

Seven final year cohorts of Finnish pre-service primary teachers (N = 384) were given an exit survey, which measured their estimated attainment of knowledge and experience in the 10 domains of professional activity considered critical for new teachers in the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) standards. The results indicated that the profile of the graduates was uneven, showing low levels of satisfaction in the fields of special education and cooperation but high levels of satisfaction in the fields of reflective practice and planning. The satisfaction with the estimated knowledge and experience achieved was divided into three components of pedagogic, instructional and complex skills satisfaction. The central role of teaching practice was considered to be reflected in the results. The areas of low satisfaction were those in which the amount of teaching practice in the teacher education curriculum was considered insufficient to generate enough experience. This was especially so in the field of special education and in meeting the diverse needs of students. The 10-item INTASC scale showed sufficient psychometric qualities. The results are also discussed in terms of the suggested exceptional quality of Finnish teacher education.     

Interactive TV as an option in early childhood teacher education

Abstract

The qualitative study examined the processes and approaches to collaboration, reflection, and dialogue of preservice and mentoring teachers who were engaged in a yearlong internship experience. Within the context of a university course grounded in constructivism, social constructivism, and the concept of teacher as researcher, the study explored the social interactions of the teachers throughout the course of the school day. Teachers were observed in the process of planning and reflecting on daily classroom activities through collaborative meetings with a focus on the teaching and learning process. The preservice teachers were educated in the use of the main principles described by the Reggio Emilia Approach ‐ collaboration reflection, and dialogue (Edwards, Gandini &; Forman, 1998) and thus, served as a guide for the collaborative interactions with the mentoring teachers.     

Creating scientific dialogue through social media: exploration of Saudi pre-service science teachers

Background: This study explored how Saudi Arabian pre-service science teachers’ (PST) use of social media (SM) creates scientific dialogue.Design and method: Data were collected via (a) in-depth interviews with eight science PSTs completing their practice teaching during a field experience course (2017 academic year at a Saudi Arabia Eastern province university), (b) focus groups with 21 female science students being taught by the PSTs, and (c) an analysis of SM artifacts (i.e. PST’s students’ Tweets and Snapchat comments about their SM-based science homework).Results: Findings from content analyses indicate that the PSTs overwhelmingly perceived SM-based science teaching as providing their students with opportunities to pose critical questions, improve science learning, and engage in scientific dialogue and argumentation. Students welcomed the SM-based science learning, saying it excited them, made them want to learn science and helped with collaborative science learning. The majority (87%) of PST’s students expressed an interest in using SM to engage with science concepts. Also, findings affirmed that social media serve as mediating agents for reaching students in their learning Zone of Proximal Development; that is, SM-scaffolded science learning. The findings are considered in terms of further pre-service science teacher education and Saudi-based educational research.     

Troubling the discourse of teacher centrality: a comparative perspective

The belief in the central role of the teacher has a long and comparative history. This article aims to critically analyse the discourse of the centrality of the teacher by both historicising and problematising the ideas and practices associated with this discourse. First, the article describes the discourse as it was taken up during the twenty‐first century when the teacher was viewed as the linchpin to building universal education systems. The idea that the ‘master makes the school’ is examined and the policies that stemmed from this thinking (e.g., the establishment of formal teacher training, teacher testing and certification) are outlined. The contemporary manifestations of this discourse are then described to show how the pervasive belief in the central role of the teacher has influenced education policy reforms, which like teacher policy reforms in the nineteenth century operate to shape and regulate the profession. Further discursive effects are analysed including the de‐contextualisation of educational reform and the de‐professionalisation and de‐politicisation of teachers and their work. The relationship between effective schools research and the centrality of the teacher discourse is also considered within the contemporary moment. This comparative study refers to the discourse of the centrality of the teacher in Australasia, Europe, Great Britain and North America, and suggests that our collective focus on the teacher has had some serious, unexpected effects on teachers and the work they do.     

Positioning young refugees in Australia: media discourse and social exclusion

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article was to examine how media attention affects the social exclusion of young refugees negotiating their way towards settlement in Australia. Emerging stereotypes and prejudices against young male refugees require new ways of understanding the impact of global, national and local issues on their social exclusion. The article brings together the impact of (a) the global politicisation and backlash against refugees, (b) Australians negative perception of refugees and (c) the increased reporting of young African-Australian and Pasifika-Australians as the perpetrators of youth violence. The article recognises the overlapping dimensions of social exclusion for young refugees and considers their ‘spatial’, ‘relational’ and ‘socio-political’ exclusion. The examination of media reporting of a landmark legal case of discrimination and racial profiling reveals a discourse of media attention that has perpetuated the social exclusion of a group of young African-Australian refugees living on a Melbourne public housing estate. The sensationalist and prejudicial media connection of the landmark legal case, youth violence and young African-Australians living on the Flemington Estate demonstrates the challenges young male refugees face in negotiating their settlement in Australia. This article makes a contribution to understanding the multi-dimensional nature of youth exclusion in contemporary times.     

Concepts,policies and practices of teacher education: an analysis of studies on teacher education in Portugal

Education policies, and in particular those related to teacher education, are central to the construction of Europe as a knowledge society and for facing the social and economic challenges that European countries must respond to in this millennium. This article presents an analysis of studies on the evaluation of in-service teacher education conducted in Portugal since 1992. Based on the results of this analysis, the study develops a reflection on the concepts, policies and practices of in-service teacher education, contextualising it within a wider equation related to teachers’ education in Europe. The study consisted of content analyses of scientific articles, research reports, studies of evaluation and legal documents that provide the guidelines for in-service teacher education in Portugal. At the end, a final reflection and some general recommendations for teacher education are presented. There is a focus on the importance of placing in-service teacher education at the centre of educational contexts and on the problems that this causes in teachers’ work, emphasising its importance for social justice in Europe.     

The role of lesson analysis in pre-service teacher education: an empirical investigation of teacher learning from a virtual video-based field experience

A video-based program on lesson analysis for pre-service mathematics teachers was implemented for two consecutive years as part of a teacher education program at the University of Lazio, Italy. Two questions were addressed: What can preservice teachers learn from the analysis of videotaped lessons? How can preservice teachers’ analysis ability, and its improvement, be measured? Two groups of preservice teachers (approximately 140 in total) participated in the program. A three-step lesson analysis framework was applied to three lesson videos: (1) goal(s) and parts of the lesson; (2) student learning; and, (3) teaching alternatives. Preservice teachers’ ability to analyze lessons was measured through an open-ended pre- and post-assessment. In the assessment, preservice teachers were asked to mark and comment on events (in a lesson not included in the program) that they found interesting for: teachers’ actions/decisions; students’ behavior/learning; and, mathematical content. A coding system was developed based on five criteria: elaboration, mathematics content, student learning, critical approach, and alternative strategies. In both studies, the ability to analyze instruction improved significantly on all five criteria. These data suggest promising directions for the development of both an instrument to measure lesson analysis abilities and a model for teacher learning.     

Making the Personal Professional: Pre-service teacher education and personal histories

Pre-service teachers tend to use their personal experiences as critical filters in accepting and integrating course content that is intended to develop professional decision-making frameworks. This may restrict their abilities to deal with pedagogical issues associated with the acceptance of diversity and individuality, and encourage an unthinking acceptance of the status quo in classrooms, schools and society. To address this problem and nurture the growth of 'reflective practitioners', we structured the content and experiences of one unit of the Graduate Diploma of Education (secondary) to allow for the integration of personal life histories with other views and perspectives. This paper reports on the use of this life-history approach, its potential and its limitations.     

Rationality and rationalisation in teacher education policy discourse in New Zealand

Background:?A newly elected centre-right coalition government in New Zealand was forced to deal with the cumulative fiscal consequences of two unforeseen challenges: a global financial crisis in September 2008 and two major seismic events in the country's second largest city in 2009 and 2010. This paper examines the way in which policies for initial and continuing teacher education were reshaped thereafter and the justifications provided by government for these changes.

Purpose:?The paper examines the plausibility of the government's contemporary ‘crisis’ discourse and aims to show how ‘rational’ education policy changes also carry broader ideological and political agendas for teacher education. Thus, current changes to teacher education policy are located in the historical context of trends over the last two decades.

Sources of Evidence:?The paper uses official statements by government and officials to show how they justified the policy changes as the only possible responses to an external economic crisis. Secondary sources of statistical economic data and policy texts are used to demonstrate that equally plausible alternative responses were overlooked, rejected or ignored.

Main argument:?The paper construes teacher education policy as both text and discourse. It is argued that the media statements of politicians and officials are intended to secure popular approval for public education austerity measures, while at the same time masking an underlying political and ideological project and ignoring the informed policy rebuttals of some educationists.

Conclusions:?The steps taken in New Zealand to respond to a short- to medium-term national fiscal crisis have major long-term consequences for teacher education. Most apparent is the continued failure to acknowledge the major incremental reductions in public subsidies for initial teacher education that have occurred year on year since the early 1990s and, instead, to reiterate the new public management ideology of further public service efficiencies.     

The building blocks of digital media literacy: socio-material participation and the production of media knowledge

This article outlines the knowledge and skills students develop when they engage in digital media production and analysis in school settings. The metaphor of ‘digital building blocks’ is used to describe the material practices, conceptual understandings and production of knowledge that lead to the development of digital media literacy. The article argues that the two established approaches to media literacy education, critical reading and media production, do not adequately explain how students develop media knowledge. It suggests there has been too little focus on material practices and how these relate to the development of conceptual understanding in media learning. The article explores empirical evidence from a four-year investigation in a primary school in Queensland, Australia using actor–network theory to explore ‘moments of translation’ as students deploy technologies and concepts to materially participate in digital culture. A generative model of media learning is presented with four categories of building blocks that isolate the specific skills and knowledge that can be taught and learnt to promote participation in digital media contexts: digital materials, conceptual understandings, media production and media analysis. The final section of the article makes initial comments on how the model might become the basis for curriculum development in schools and argues that further empirical research needs to occur to confirm the model’s utility.     

Social justice and school linkages in teacher education programmes

This paper investigates current research into the role of education in combating social injustice, assembles this research to indicate key features of a teacher education programme that would assist education for social justice, and links these features to one innovative university teacher education programme to ascertain some of the practical difficulties in establishing such a programme. The research indicated key approaches that would enhance the probability that graduates from teacher education programmes will be able to pursue social justice initiatives.     

The professional identities of teacher educators in three further education colleges: an entanglement of discourse and practice

Initial teacher education programmes have been identified as crucial to meeting the twin policy aims of professionalising the further education (FE) workforce and achieving improved learner outcomes, yet college-based teacher educators are underrepresented in published research and commentary. Drawing on a case study of teacher educators employed by three FE colleges in England, this paper argues that the contested and politicised nature of the FE sector presents a unique set of circumstances that distinguishes this population from other members of their professional group and severely restricts the identities available to them. Through a thematic discursive analysis of documentation, observation and interview data, it is argued that FE positions teacher educator identity through political governance, through the business practices of colleges and through the sector’s historical relationships with vocational and higher education. Within this distinctive context, teacher educators experience competing identities of ‘qualified and credible’, ‘teacher’, ‘different from others’, ‘part of FE’ and ‘employee’ that are entangled with the dominant discourses of English further education. After discussing the implications of these findings for a professional profile of teacher educators, the paper concludes that teacher educators are better understood as a heterogeneous occupational group in order to avoid obscuring professional concerns linked to policy landscapes.