Teachers' Conceptions of Education: A Practical Knowledge Perspective on 'Good' Teaching

Research on teachers' practical knowledge is considered to be an alternative to several other research approaches to teaching which study teaching from a limited point of view and from an outsider's perspective, often with the aim of exerting control over teachers. It is argued that research on teachers' practical knowledge takes into account in a better way what really matters in teaching because it emphasizes the knowledge and beliefs of teachers themselves about teaching. In this study, the issue of 'good' teaching is highlighted from a perspective on teaching based on teachers' practical knowledge. The conceptions of education of eight experienced teachers were investigated with a multi-methodical approach. Teachers' conceptions of education consist of their views on the objectives of education, the contents of the curriculum, and the role of the teacher and the students in the teaching and learning process. Several contextual factors and teachers' interpretations of these factors seem to exert influence on teachers' conceptions of education, such as the schools in which they work, the characteristics of the students and subjects they teach, and general developments in society. It is concluded that it is difficult to give a precise definition of good teaching from a practical knowledge perspective because of the personal and context-embeddedness of teachers' practical knowledge. However, the results indicate that research on teachers' practical knowledge adds new information to the discussion of good teaching when compared with the results of more traditional research approaches to teaching.     

Decision-Making Behaviour of Potential Higher Education Students

This paper examines the decision-making behaviour adopted by candidates hoping to gain entry into Higher Education. Whether or not the potential students operate a systematic process, thinking logically throughout each step and choosing the alternative with the most favourable ranking, is worthy of discussion. Secondary research confirms the many variables influencing this process, particularly within the USA. However, in-depth knowledge concerning the criteria that British students employ and their thoughts regarding decision-making is limited. Hence an exploratory study incorporating Sixth Form pupils of a High School in the NW of England and students from across the UK attending an open-day at a university also in the NW was undertaken. Results indicate that applicants do follow the sequential stages from 'problem recognition'to 'evaluation of alternatives' using parents' as well as teachers'advice throughout, although there seems to be a gap in the information needs of potential students, which many universities are not currently satisfying.     

Attitudes to the Teaching of History and the use of Creative Skills in Japan and England: a comparative study

Students in Cambridgeshire comprehensive schools and in Yamanashi junior high schools aged between 12 and 13 years were given the same questionnaires which explored their views on the nature of history and their experience of history teaching methods. They undertook a test on the creative use of four historical pictures dealing with life for black South Africans in the 1970s, a topic which none had studied at school. The English National Foundation for Educational Research non‐verbal test of intelligence was also administered. In spite of the fact that the use of sources and empathetic historical thinking do not form part of the Japanese historical curriculum, the Japanese students did not perform significantly worse than the English, for whom the interrogation of sources and the deployment of creative thinking are a normal part of the history curriculum. If Japanese teachers want to make a change in their students’ attainment in history, there will be no alteration until there is a change in attitude about the nature of history, the way it is taught and the manner in which is is assessed.     

‘Teaching is a co-learning experience’: academics reflecting on learning and teaching in an ‘internationalized’ faculty

This paper reports on a study that took place in a faculty of humanities and social sciences at a UK university. The institution had recently undergone a radical restructure and the vision for the future presented by the new senior management team highlighted internationalization as one of four major areas for growth. The internationalization agenda was largely focused on increasing recruitment, but provided an opportunity to engage the academic community in a discourse about what internationalization meant for them and the challenges and opportunities it presented. Emerging themes relate to experiences and understandings of internationalization, with implications for learning and teaching, and student induction and support. The value of discourse about pedagogical development and practical innovations and the sharing of best practice are suggested as means to achieve conceptual change and a broader vision of internationalization.     

Teacher research and the aims of education

We report on the development of a course for experienced teachers in the Netherlands, intended to enhance their professionalism by engaging them in doing research based on reflection on the aims of their educational efforts. The course was accompanied by design-based research. The research question was whether and how the course stimulated teachers to connect doing research and taking a reflective stance; the results were used to improve the course, thus creating a cyclical design. Although the course was positively evaluated by the participants, reflection on its results made clear to us that our approach in the combination of learning to do research and reflecting on aims is not enough to make teachers into critical research-minded professionals. A more context-aware view of their learning process is necessary: the institution school limits their possibilities. The implication is that both our course and our research effort have to be critically revised. Instead of looking for causal effects, one should be aware of traces of development that may or may not be caused by the intervention.     

“I Have Seen the Opportunities That Science Brings”: Encouraging Girls to Persist in Science

Women are underrepresented in science careers. To overcome this, it is important to explore how to encourage girls to continue to study science. This intervention involved girls aged 12–14 attending interactive science sessions at a university. Girls completed questionnaires before and after the session. Through the intervention, girls became more likely to believe they could succeed in science and saw it as both more useful and interesting. However, the timing of this intervention appeared to be too late. Many girls had already decided on a career and stated that they would be unlikely to continue to study science if it was not needed in their chosen career.     

Culture Shock and Higher Education Performance: Implications for Teaching

The globalisation of higher education brings together learners and teachers from differing systems, creating a heterogeneous and diverse environment. Yet many higher education institutions typically rely on foreign students themselves to adapt to their new higher education environments. An investigation was undertaken as to whether traditional approaches are effective and efficient in meeting the needs of the internationally mobile student. Using data from the last ten years (1999 to 2009) from a post‐1992 University in the North West of England an analysis of over 15,000 postgraduate assessments found a significant performance difference between home country students and international mobile students. Results found that home country students perform significantly better than international students, although the latter perform better in examinations than in coursework. However, there is a substantive improvement during the dissertation stage for both groups. Possible reasons for such variations in performance are explored.     

The effects of realism in learning with dynamic visualizations

Two experiments are reported that investigated the relative effectiveness of a realistic dynamic visualization as opposed to a schematic visualization for learning about cell replication (mitosis). In Experiment 1, 37 university students watched either realistic or schematic visualizations. Students' subjective task demands ratings as well as their performance in a multiple-choice test and a pictorial test clearly demonstrated the superiority of the schematic dynamic visualization. In Experiment 2, 83 students were given the two visualizations in four different orders of presentation. Students showed the same performance irrespective of whether they watched the schematic visualization twice, first saw the schematic and then the realistic visualization or vice versa. Only students, who watched the realistic visualization twice, had far lower learning outcomes. Contrary to our expectations, for both experiments, students' prior knowledge did not moderate the results.     

Challenging traditional classroom practices: Swedish teachers’ interplay with Finnish curriculum materials

In the current paper, we present an analysis of a case study in which we have followed Swedish primary teachers who voluntarily began using translated Finnish curriculum materials, i.e. a textbook and teacher guide, in order to reform their mathematics teaching. The multifaceted data, consisting of questionnaires, interviews, protocols from collegial meetings and classroom observations, were gathered during the period 2010–2014. The analysis of the interplay within this cross-cultural setting reveals the special characteristics and the challenges existing in practice. Both the experienced and inexperienced teachers offloaded a great deal of their agency to the materials in order to become familiar with the ideas they mediated. Yet, the lack of a clear rationale behind the organization of the materials, as well as the suggested activities connected to taken-for-granted features of the Finnish teaching tradition, made fruitful interaction problematic. The changes teachers made in their classroom practice were tightly connected to the support offered in the materials, without which the teachers abandoned their new classroom patterns. Based on the results of this study, we suggest a number of general aspects that we regard as important to consider when implementing curriculum materials developed within another cultural-educational context.