Teacher education in schools: an international comparison

Learning at the workplace is an important development in teacher education in secondary education. In this study we look at the school‐linked models for teacher education that exist in England, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. The characteristics of these models and their possible consequences for the quality of teachers are investigated. We observed among others a substantial variation between countries on matters of integration between the institution and the school, the emphasis on academic or practical training, embedding of teacher education and duration of teacher education.

La formation en alternance constitue un point culminant au sein des Instituts Universitaires de Formation des Maîtres. Dans le cadre de cette recherche, nous avons voulu examiner quelques modèles de formation dans un certain nombre de pays de l'Union Européenne, en l'occurrence, la France, l'Allemagne, le Royaume‐Uni, les Pays‐Bas et la Suède. Ce travail porte sur les caractéristiques de ces modèles et leur impact sur la qualification professionnelle des Maîtres. Force est de constater des différences substantielles entre ces pays en ce qui concerne le degré d'intégration entre les Instituts et les établissements scolaires, l'articulation pratique‐théorie, la validation de la formation, la titularisation et, enfin, la durée de la formation.

En la formación (universitaria) de los profesores se ve un desarrollo importante: el aprendizaje por el futuro profesor (participando) en el centro escolar. En el cuadro de esta investigación examinamos algunos modelos para la participación de los centros de formación de los profesores en los institutos escolares, en los países Francia, Alemania, el Reino Unido, Holanda y Suecia. Se han analizado las características de estos modelos y sus posibles consecuencias para la calidad profesional de los profesores. Comprobamos e.o. que existen diferencias destacantes entre los países mencionados en cuanto al grado de integración entre los centros de formación de profesores y los institutos escolares, el enfásis en la formación práctica o contrariamente en la formación teórica de los futuros profesores, los métodos de examinación y la validación y la duración de la formación del profesor.

Lernen am Arbeitsplatz ist eine bedeutsame Entwicklung in der Lehrerausbildung. In dieser Untersuchung betrachten wir Modelle für das berufliche Lernen in der Schule in Frankreich, Deutschland, Großbrittannien, den Niederlanden und Schweden. Untersucht wurden die Merkmale dieser Modelle und die möglichen Konsequenzen für die Qualität von Lehrern. Wir stellen unter anderem wesentliche Differenzen zwischen den Nationen fest im Grad der Integration zwischen Ausbildungsinstitution und Schule, in der Gewichtung der akademischen gegenüber der praktischen Ausbildung, in den Prüfungsmethoden und in der Dauer der Lehrerausbildung.     

Effective teacher professionalization in networks?

Teacher professionalization has been focused to strongly on external experts and a one-size-fits-all set of solutions that often fail to distinguish between the needs of different teachers. This article describes a research into teacher networks that might be more successful vehicles for professional development of teachers. The results show that networks that focus on (self-) reflection, that exploit subgroups and networks meetings with a strong content focus, that stimulate enthusiasm and are instructive, that build a community of teachers and that make room for application of new materials/methods in the classroom, are the most promising ways for professional development and job motivation.     

Contextual Influences on School Effectiveness: The Role of School Boards

The purpose of this research project is to investigate if characteristics of school boards and their administrative control do explain variance among schools in pupil achievement in the cognitive domain. A combination of findings of research on school effectiveness and organizational effectiveness, gives the ground for the framework of school boards’ administrative control used in this study. A random sample of 133 school boards and one specific primary school, selected out of the total number of schools they oversee, was drawn. The findings show that characteristics of school boards do explain variance in cognitive achievement. Even after controlling for student background and school characteristics, school boards do make a difference. School boards that involve school team and parents (committee) in their decision‐making process manage schools with relatively better results in the cognitive domain.     

Variation in Effectiveness Between Private and Public Schools: The Impact of School and Family Networks*

Abstract

Building upon the assumption that cohesion between different levels of the school is essential to the schools’ effectiveness, the hypothesis is tested that a close kinship between school and parental community causes a positive effect on student outcomes in primary schools. Recent theories regarding the effects of ‘functional communities’ on academic achievement mainly focus on the characteristics of the parental community that surrounds a school. Recognizing, however, that schools differ regarding their responsiveness to the role of parents and other actors around the school, our expectation is that a definition of functional community which comprises interactions between characteristics of the parental network around the school and the governance structure of the school offers a better explanation of variation in student achievement. Based on a national sample of 90 schools for primary education in the Netherlands, our analysis shows that the differences in math achievement for public and private primary schools are mediated by characteristics at both the family and the institutional level. It also indicates that characteristics at the institutional level are conditional for the effects of parental networks around schools.

     

Pre-university Chemistry Students in a Mimicked Scholarly Peer Review

Peer review is a significant component in scientific research. Introducing peer review into inquiry processes may be regarded as an aim to develop student understanding regarding quality in inquiries. This study examines student understanding in inquiry peer reviews among pre-university chemistry students, aged 16–17, when they enact a design of a mimicked scholarly peer review. This design is based on a model of a human activity system. Twenty-five different schools in Brazil, Germany, Poland and The Netherlands participated. The students (n?=?880) conducted in small groups (n?=?428) open inquiries on fermentation. All groups prepared an inquiry report for peer review. These reports were published on a website. Groups were randomly paired in an internet symposium, where they posted review comments to their peers. These responses were qualitatively analyzed on small groups’ level of understanding regarding seven categories: inquiry question, hypothesis, management of control variables, accurate measurement, presenting results, reliability of results, discussion and conclusion. The mimicked scholarly review prompted a collective practice. Student understanding was significantly well on presenting results, discussion and conclusion, and significantly less on inquiry question and reliability of results. An enacted design, based on a model of a human activity system, created student understanding of quality in inquiries as well as an insight in a peer-reviewing practice. To what extent this model can be applied in a broader context of design research in science education needs further study.