Cinders in Snow? Indigenous Teacher Identities in Formation

The identity work engaged in by Indigenous teachers1 1. We use the term ‘Indigenous’ here to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people working in Australian schools, although most of our informants to date are from Victoria, NSW and Queensland, who do not use the term ‘Indigenous’ when identifying themselves and their communities, preferring ‘Aboriginal’, ‘Koori’ or ‘Murri’.. View all notes in school settings is highlighted in a study of Australian Indigenous teachers. The construction of identity in home and community relationships intersects with and can counteract the take up of a preferred identity in the workplace. In this paper we analyse data from interviews with Indigenous teachers, exploring the interplay between culture and identity. We foreground the binary nature of racial assignment in schools, demonstrate how this offers contradictory constructions of identity for Indigenous teachers, and note the effects of history, culture and location in the process of forming a teaching ‘self’.     

EGO‐TRAP: A Mobile Augmented Reality Tool for Science Learning in a Semi‐formal Setting

Abstract EGO‐TRAP is a cellphone‐facilitated interactive narrative game created at the Experimentarium in Copenhagen. Designed to support scientific literacy among students from upper secondary schools, the project is part of a reform that has increased focus on educational methods and alternative learning resources in Denmark since 2005, and that explores the educational potential of museums and science centers outside formal school settings. EGO‐TRAP can be called a “digital narrative” or Augmented Reality (AR)—a digital extension of a physical setting.     

From 'Special Needs' to 'Quality Education for All': a participatory,problem-centred approach to policy development in South Africa

This paper provides insight into the unique process of education policy development in South Africa, in particular the work of the National Commission on Special Needs in Education (NCSNET) and the National Committee on Education Support Services (NCESS). The process has been characterized by a fully democratic, participatory approach ensuring maximum involvement of all stakeholders at all levels of society. In addition, the process has been problem-centred—focusing on meeting the complex challenges within a developing context. The most significant aspect of the Report of the NCSNET and NCESS is that it provides conceptualizations that reflect a break away from traditional models of special needs education. The shift in thinking from ‘special needs education’ to ‘barriers to learning and development’ has broadened the concern from a small group of learners who are vulnerable to exclusion from education to all learners who are subject to exclusionary pressures within school and community. Finally, the delays in finalizing the policy process since the release of the Report of the NCSNET and NCESS are analysed and interpreted in the light of complexities in the transformation process in South Africa.     

Developing as a teacher in the fields of science and technology

In universities, development as a teacher may be contradicted with developing as a researcher. Most previous studies have investigated pedagogical development merely as a result of pedagogical training and ignored the dual teacher-researcher identity. This study examines what kind of meaningful experiences are perceived to have triggered and influenced the process of developing as a teacher in the fields of science and technology. The data were gathered by interviewing 10 academics who had participated in a pedagogical training offered by a Finnish technical university between 1999 and 2009. Based on a narrative analysis utilizing dimensions of transformative learning, the results highlight the influence of the working environment and experiences, and imply that teacher development process in the fields of science and technology can be better understood in terms of becoming a teacher, rather than as a continual, conscious development process. The resulting teacher-researcher identity provides a basis for pedagogical development.     

Discipline‐based academic development through a tripartite partnership

Abstract

This paper describes a discipline‐based academic development project based upon a tripartite relationship between departmental staff, work‐based practitioners and the central academic development unit which took place over one academic year within the Department of Physiotherapy, Queen Margaret College, Edinburgh. The purpose of the project was to discuss and debate the concept of the ‘reflective practitioner’, to develop strategies for enabling undergraduate students to be reflective, and to devise a framework for assessment of reflective practice in clinical work‐based learning. The outcomes of the project, most important of which was a change in the learning experience for students, demonstrate that academic development can be valuable and productive when undertaken as a partnership and placed in a disciplinary context. The authors identify key elements important to the success of the academic development process which should be applicable in similar situations and which could serve as guidelines for the planning and delivery of staff development through similar kinds of partnerships.     

Visualisations as a means for exploring academics’ teacher identities

Academics’ teacher identities is a relatively little explored area. This paper explores this through an analysis of drawings by academics. The data consist of 90 drawings. The participants are academics who have attended basic courses in university pedagogy. The drawings were content analysed. In the drawings, the academics expressed themselves as teachers through the teaching context and the actors, artefacts and activities of teaching and learning. By drawing attention to these elements, academics can be encouraged to reflect on their beliefs about teaching and teacher role.