Teacher educators’ professional journeys: pedagogical and systemic issues affecting role perceptions

ABSTRACT

Teacher educators in many countries share similar concerns as they aspire to improve education for learners and stimulate interest in further study and careers. The roles and professional development of school teachers have been researched, but little attention has been given to teacher educators. Using a small-scale, illuminative study in England and South Africa, this paper examines pedagogical implications of progression from classroom teacher to teacher educator-tutor. Systemic issues include attitudes to personal scholarship in moving to high stakes academic environments requiring research. In both countries, there were issues of student teachers’ subject knowledge and their capacity to translate knowledge for learners. South African teacher educators were concerned about student teachers’ lack of appreciation of the integrity of conceptual understanding and sequencing of topic content. Implications for the professional development of teacher educators and their role identities are considered.     

Learning other people’s history: pre-service teachers’ developing African American historical knowledge

Drawing from the historical lens of cultural memory, I examined the development of three social studies pre-service teachers’ African American history knowledge. The participants were engaged in a rigorous summer reading program dedicated to learning African American history. This qualitative case study examined both pre and post interpretations of African American history and discussed the varied ways the subject was interpreted by the pre-service teachers. The findings indicated that the reading program influenced African American history knowledge both positively and negatively. The paper ends with recommendations for teacher educators interested in expanding the development of pre-service teachers’ knowledge of African American history.     

Facilitators and barriers to African American high school students' self-determination skill expression

We conducted four focus group interviews with 24 high school youth to examine facilitators and barriers to African American high school students' expression of various self-determination skills (e.g., choice/decision making, self-advocacy, goal setting, and attainment etc.). The majority of our research participants were African American, with one student identifying as multiracial (African American and White). Key findings revealed that personal (e.g., desire to graduate from school) and contextual factors (e.g., school counselor and teacher support) influenced the participants' expression of multiple self-determination skills. We also found that some of the participants' motives for utilizing or not utilizing specific skills were influenced by what they perceived as racist, punitive, and restrictive school practices (e.g., teachers holding negative perceptions about African American students and school counselors restricting their access to advanced courses). Findings from this study support ongoing calls for educators to consider students' cultural backgrounds and lived experiences when promoting their expression of self-determination skills.     

The challenge of repositioning: Teacher learning in the company of others

In this article, the author uses positioning theory to better understand the complexity of teacher learning about culture in the company of diverse colleagues. Analysis of a yearlong dialogic professional development experience among high school English teachers revealed that although an African American male's storyline informed the group of otherwise white teachers, his position as cultural “expert” limited his and his colleagues ability to reposition themselves. Teacher educators working with increasingly diverse teacher cohorts must consider how best to maximize learning opportunities, open communication, and free participants from subject positions (such as “expert”) that may inhibit overall group learning.     

Teaching about Diversity in Black and White: Reflections and Recommendations from Two Teacher Educators

In this article, two teacher educators reflect on their experiences teaching a diversity course for preservice middle-school teachers. The first author is an African American male teacher educator, and the second author is a White female teacher educator. While the authors bring distinct experiences, backgrounds, and epistemologies to this work, both seek to prepare preservice teachers with the skills and dispositions needed to meet the needs of culturally diverse students. Including their narratives in their own words, the authors share their experiences teaching this course and make recommendations for those doing this work in their respective spaces.     

The pain and lessons of constructing and becoming the “other”

Abstract

The United States and its public schools are becoming increasingly diverse, yet teachers, prospective teachers, and teacher educators remain predominantly European American. This situation raises a number of questions for teacher educators and teacher education students committed to multicultural education. One challenge to avoid when discussing issues of diversity within largely monocultural learning environments is the unintentional construction of the “Other.” This article describes the painful experiences and interactive reflections of a student of color and a White teacher educator when the student became the “Other” in a preservice teacher education course. The student, her peers, and the instructor describe how the unfortunate incident was turned into a teachable moment and a transformative learning experience that gave deeper, personal meaning to the theories they discussed in the course.     

Social justice teacher educators: what kind of knowing is needed?

ABSTRACT

What do teacher educators need to know and do in order to move from espousing to enacting social justice in their own teacher educating practice? This article addresses this question by examining scholarship that focuses on the preparation of preservice teachers for social justice. Using five knowledge domains for teaching (personal, contextual, pedagogical, sociological, social) as an analytic lens, the authors examined teacher education literature published between 2010 and 2016 in three international journals from Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. The study reveals that teacher educators in different contexts seem to highlight personal and contextual knowledge in their preparation of equity-minded preservice teachers and provides insight into how they conceptualise educational equity and social justice. The study illuminates what is likely in place in initial teacher education programmes, and what may be needed or missing if teacher educators are to prepare teachers for today’s diverse classrooms.

Abbreviation ITE: Initial Teacher Education ITE     

Seeing What They Want to See: Racism and Leadership Development in Urban Schools

This critical race theory (CRT)-framed qualitative study (n = 9) examined racism within a context of urban teacher leadership development. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with three White principals, who each identified one White and one African American teacher as “most promising” leadership potential. These teachers were interviewed, leading to analysis of principal support and teacher perceptions of being supported. The findings clarify principals who adopted a language of equity, while simultaneously arguing that their White teachers were more effective (based erroneously on the belief that the White teachers’ students had higher test scores). The African American teachers, on the other hand, were framed as experts in culturally responsive approaches, given increased teaching responsibilities, and not provided similar leadership opportunities. This difference in opportunities and expectations had lasting impacts on the African American teachers, who internalized the lack of resources and negative messages they received from their principals. The paper concludes with CRT implications for inclusive leadership development processes.     

Redefining professional identity: the voice of a language teacher in a context of collaborative learning

Following a narrative and biographic approach, in this study, we present the case of an in-service language teacher and her professional learning trajectory in the context of the project ‘Languages and education: constructing and sharing training’. This project aimed at the construction of a collaborative teacher education context for learning and transformation of experiences, views and practices in language education, and involved teachers, teacher educators and researchers. Based on a single case study, the analysis tries to disclose the teacher’s discursive displacements as hints of professional transformation while she reinterprets the learning taking place in the collaborative education process. The signs of change are visible in the way she constructs meanings regarding her professional identity, re-identifies her mission as a language teacher and reconsiders her professional identity. Finally, we reflect upon how collaborative teacher education scenarios may foster teachers’ personal professional learning and renewed self-images.     

The Experiences of African American Physical Education Teacher Candidates at Secondary Urban Schools

Presently, most physical education teachers in the United States are White Americans and from middle class families. In fact, 83 % of all teachers in public schools are White Americans, whereas approximately 10 % of all African American teachers are representative of all teachers in the United States. A student might feel cultural dissonance that she or he is behaving appropriately based on the student’s cultural norm and upbringing, but the teachers who have different cultural and ethnic backgrounds than the students may inappropriately interpret or respond to the behavior. Therefore, it is important to study African American pre-service physical education teachers’ student teaching and field-based experiences with ethnically diverse adolescence (e.g., African American students), because they have the potential to develop a positive relationship between school support, teacher support, and academic achievement and influence student learning, motivation, and engagement in physical education. The purpose of this study was to describe and explain the experiences of African American physical education teacher education (PETE) candidates at secondary urban schools. The research design was explanatory multiple-case study situated in activity theory. Participants were seven African American PETE candidates. The qualitative data sources were interviews, weekly journal reflections, and e-portfolios. The results were (a) navigating power relationships between cooperative teachers and students, (b) a ‘shocking’ experience: Feeling under-prepared, and (c) encountered cultural normalcies and stereotypes in teaching physical education. PETE programs must better prepare teacher candidates for working in urban schools with greater cultural competence and higher self-efficacy.     

Taiwan Elementary Teachers’ Views of Science Teaching Self-Efficacy and Outcome Expectations

This paper presents the results of a case study involving 282 Taiwanese elementary science teachers at the elementary level. These teachers provided responses to the science efficacy instrument (STEBI-A) and also provided personal data regarding how their years of general (YTE) and science (YTS) teaching experience may have influenced student achievement in science. Researchers used two multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to investigate the interaction and influence of YTE and YTS upon the personal science teaching efficacy (PSTE) and science teaching outcome expectations (STOE) of these teachers. The results advocate the position that the years of general teaching experience of elementary science teachers in Taiwan have a significantly greater impact upon their personal science teaching efficacy and science teaching outcome expectations than years of teaching science. This evidence calls into question whether Bandura and Tschannen-Moran’s view of teacher efficacy as both context and subject matter specific at the elementary level can be applied to Taiwan elementary teachers who teach science. The results of this study should benefit educators and policy-makers with respect to future elementary teacher education throughout Taiwan and other developing nations. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Teacher educators’ personal practical knowledge of language

This paper describes teacher educators’ understanding of language for classroom communication in higher education. We argue that teacher educators who are aware of their personal practical knowledge of language have a better understanding of their students’ language use and provide better support for knowledge construction. Personal practical knowledge originates from teachers’ professional practice and is based on their past experience, current awareness and future expectation. Data from focus group interviews with teacher educators (N = 35) were used for content analysis. Findings demonstrate an emerging conceptualization resulting in two language modalities of personal practical knowledge, specified as: ‘language-sensitive and interpersonally oriented’ and ‘language-focused and pedagogically oriented.’ The insights contribute to building a professional practical knowledge base of language and communication-oriented teaching.     

The Malaysian Teacher Standards: a look at the challenges and implications for teacher educators

Talks of education transformation to improve the quality and outcomes of education in Malaysia culminated in the articulation of standards for teachers. The all new Malaysian Teacher Standards (MTS) launched in 2009 is to establish ??high competency?? standards for the teaching profession and to increase the status of teachers in Malaysia. This article briefly describes the standards that concern teachers and teacher educators alike. It is proposed that there are three challenges to the standards system that teacher educators may face. First, on transforming ingrained beliefs, values and biased perceptions of teaching that student teachers bring to the teaching institution. The second centers on the rhetoric-reality gap of the MTS itself, while the third challenge involves the actual training of teachers. Given these three challenges, this article also outlines several avenues for teacher educators to consider as they set out to better understand and re-design teacher education programs in this standards-based era of educational transformation. The discussion of the challenges and the proposed resources to meet the challenges are by no means exhaustive or acts as a conclusion but rather to create awareness for further discussion and analysis of the implications proposed in this article.     

I felt so guilty: emotions and subjectivity in school‐based teacher education

Research in the field of emotions in relation to teaching is relatively new, but expanding. However, studies addressing the emotional dimension of preservice teacher education, particularly with respect to the role of school‐based teacher educators are currently under‐represented in the literature. This paper reports findings from a study focussed on the emotional dimension of the practicum for school‐based teacher educators as they support preservice teacher colleagues. It adopts a qualitative method informed by feminist post‐structural theory in an attempt to give meaning to teachers’ narratives of their personal responses to supporting a less than successful preservice teacher. The study investigates teachers’ shifting sense of agency throughout the experience as they work within apparently intersecting discursive frames. The case study reveals the depth of emotions experienced by teachers and examines the impact of the emotions on teacher identity. It appears that the tertiary sector has failed to recognise the emotional costs of such experiences and the associated needs of school‐based teacher educators. Finally, the paper asks in what ways can staff in universities work collaboratively with teachers to address the concerns being raised by a study such as this, as there appears to be a genuine need to assist teachers copes with the emotional outcomes of working with problematic preservice teachers.     

Adoption of information communication technology by teacher educators: one-on-one coaching

Abstract

Research evidence suggests teacher educators who role model the use of information communication technology (ICT) in their practice help their students build confidence and competence as ICT users. This research finding is also supported by feedback from Louisiana Tech University students in teacher education. Research also indicates that a number of factors impact the adoption of ICT in the practice of teacher educators. This research has examined one of these factors, namely the benefits of one-on-one coaching for teacher educators by technology coaches as they worked together to learn to use technology. Participants included 33 teacher educators from Louisiana Tech University and 14 pre-service teachers. The pre-service teachers served as technology coaches and worked with the teacher educators in their offices and classrooms as they learned to use technology for their personal benefit and to integrate technology into their teaching. Interviews and observations indicated that coaches as well as teacher educators benefited from the relationship and both groups increased their technology competency.     

Designing the ideal school as a transformative process: an approach to promoting teacher identity in pre-service teachers

This paper presents an approach to planning academic courses for pre-service teachers and for researching development of teacher identity. The approach was implemented in a course, conducted in an Israeli Master Teach program, designed to foster pre-service teacher identity transformation. The research described here addresses two questions: (1) To what extent does the approach contribute to the understanding of teacher identity formation? (2) Using this approach, how can pre-service teacher educators support teacher identity transformation? Using a metaphorical tool, students designed their ‘ideal school’ at the beginning and at the end of the course. Identity transformation was evaluated by comparing their designs. Demonstration of this approach methodology is presented through an analysis of the designs of one female student. Findings highlight the potential of this approach to reveal and cope with obstacles inhibiting transformative learning: narrow, imbalanced, inconsistent, and shallow perspective; rigid patterns of thinking; and lack of emotional awareness.     

How African American Parents Understand Their and Teachers' Roles in Children's Schooling and What this Means for Preparing Preservice Teachers

Preservice teachers are socialized by their own raced, classed, and gendered experiences to expect “caring parents” to behave and contribute in certain ways to their children's schooling. Preservice teachers who come from widely divergent backgrounds from the communities in which they serve can sometimes be skeptical of parents who are not involved in children's schooling in ways that are familiar from their own upbringing. Moreover, much of the existing scholarship on parent involvement and the transition to school takes a top-down approach that discounts the important knowledge parents bring to the table. This is a study of African American parents of young children who were preparing to transition to kindergarten or first grade that proposes an alternate conversation about what we can learn from parents when we examine their ways of framing and enacting “involvement” in their children's school lives. African American parents and caregivers (N?=?25) participated in qualitative interviews. Thematic analyses of the interviews revealed that participants constructed preparation for the transition to school broadly, as preparation for the “real world.” I will discuss the implications of the study for teaching, teacher education, and future research, so that preservice teachers and teacher educators can begin to build a greater imagination for parent involvement.     

Development in South African Primary Mathematics Teacher Educators’ Work with In-Service Teachers

This paper focuses, empirically, on the developments seen in a group of South African early grades’ mathematics teacher educators in the course of a university-provincial education department partnership project. This project sought to support the district Mathematics Subject Advisers to support, in turn, teachers to implement an intervention consisting of a sequence of four lessons focused on multiplicative reasoning. Outcomes based on pre- and post-tests administered by the Subject Advisers suggested substantial pre- to post-test improvement at the student level. Subject Adviser observations and reflections pointed to successes in engendering more dialogic conversations between mathematics teachers and mathematics teacher educators focused on mathematics and its teaching and learning. The ‘double move’ of increasing overlap between the subject adviser and teacher communities, coupled with evidence that implementing the intervention had enabled the Subject Advisers to develop their mathematical and pedagogical understandings, provides a useful way of considering development in the capacity of mathematics teacher educators to support mathematics teaching and learning.

     

Feedback sessions as mediation spaces: empowering teacher candidates to deepen instructional knowledge and engage in the construction and transformation of theory in practice

ABSTRACT

The process of engaging in classroom research provides teacher candidates with opportunities to enter into the kind of deep, self-reflective work that we believe is an important capacity to build in teachers as they begin to engage in the construction and transformation of theory and knowledge within their own unique contexts. Our Action Research (AR) process involves multiple opportunities throughout their coursework, advising, and feedback sessions to try to promote the development of this capacity. These opportunities serve as a holding space where candidates are both supported and challenged through interactions with their research advisors, other faculty members, their peers, and panelists consisting of educators from the field. In this paper, we present what we believe to be important elements of AR that emerged from our final feedback sessions with 13 teacher candidates in our program as they prepared for the professional presentations. We found that considering these feedback sessions as mediation spaces (1) empowers teacher candidates to externalize and deepen personal understandings of their research through dialogical discourse with expert others, and (2) negotiate their power and emerging practitioner researcher identities.     

Responding Creatively to Challenges in Teacher Education: four women teacher educators tell their stories

This paper reports on a study that has mapped the stories of a group of women teacher educators. While the focus is on the period of change during the last 10 years from primarily teachers’ colleges to university‐based teacher education, the broader context of the individual women's lives is explored as well. The stories are mapped against each other and against relevant literature. In this way the study considers the challenge of change on the experiences of these women teacher educators. This study has been informed by feminist theory and has been constructed within a framework which is both narrative and collaborative. As Acker notes ‘one advantage of narrative is that history makes itself evident in the world of its actors’. In this way the intersections of the personal histories and biographies of the teacher educators within the social context in which they work are examined. These women teacher educators’ stories demonstrate similarities and differences in actions and reactions to the challenges they have faced in the last decade in teacher education. The similarities and differences are due to individual histories, career experiences and the character of the institutions in which they live their professional lives. In presenting this paper, the key focus is on reporting how the forces inherent in the changing nature of the educational environment have impacted on these teacher educators in such a way as to present challenges for each in the way they have developed in their profession as teacher educators.