Identifying threshold concepts in the careers of educational developers

The purpose of this multiple case study was to identify threshold concepts in the careers of educational developers. Twenty-one common threshold concepts emerged, with one threshold concept common among all participants: Facilitating a change process. The remaining 20 threshold concepts were captured in the following three categories: (1) Ways of knowing and being that facilitate change in individuals and in groups; (2) Ways of knowing and being that facilitate systemic change and (3) Core ways of knowing and being. Study results may provide guidance for the design of initial and ongoing formation programmes in educational development.     

Co-teacher noticing: implications for professional development

ABSTRACT

Federal laws require schools to incorporate co-teaching environments, often comprised of an inclusion specialist and content specialist. Research shows individual teachers can make improvements to their practice by engaging in critical reflection through noticing. The authors present a research-based professional development model designed for teachers to improve and enhance their co-teaching practices. Findings included: teachers’ beliefs on teaching became more aligned; teachers’ beliefs on collaboration were inconsistent; teachers tended to focus on their teaching, not on student learning; and, teachers were non-cognizant of their beliefs toward teaching and co-teaching. We articulate ideas resulting from these findings for enhancing professional development experiences for co-teachers.     

Comparison of Quebec and British teachers' beliefs about,training in and experience with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Abstract

This study compares belief patterns of teachers from Quebec and Britain about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It also compares teacher training in ADHD in both countries, as well as their experience with students who have this disorder. The results indicate that: (1) teacher belief patterns about ADHD in Quebec and Britain are different, although teachers from both countries have predominant beliefs about ADHD that are of an allopathic medical nature; (2) British teachers have received less information on ADHD in their initial training than Quebec teachers; and (3) British teachers are contacted more often than Quebec teachers by doctors when they have a youngster using medication to treat ADHD in their classroom. Results are discussed from a sociological and an educational perspective.     

Translation and validation of the Epistemic Belief Inventory with Turkish pre-service teachers

The purpose of this study was to translate the original version of the Epistemic Belief Inventory developed by Schraw, Bendixen, and Dunkle (2002) for pre-service teachers in a Turkish context and validate its construct. Studies on the epistemological beliefs of Turkish students have been heretofore limited in number and have been largely conducted using adapted versions of the Schommer (1990) instrument. First, the original questionnaire was translated from English to Turkish and then was scrutinized by experts in language, content, measurement, and evaluation. Then, the revised questionnaire was administered to 166 Turkish pre-service teachers. The results of exploratory factor analyses suggested 3 epistemological belief dimensions – quick learning, innate ability, and certain knowledge. The results of the study further revealed support for multidimensional theories of epistemological beliefs among pre-service teachers. In order to verify the results of the present study, further examination of pre-service teachers' epistemological belief systems is necessary.     

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.     

Imagining a different life in school: educating student teachers about ‘looked after’ children and young people

The research described in this paper concerns the acquaintance of student teachers with the educational and wider pastoral experiences of children and young people who are or have been ‘looked after’ and who they may well teach at some point, together with the familiarisation of student teachers with the ‘looked after’ system in the UK. We discuss an exploratory awareness‐raising curriculum project within a Teacher Education Department at a University in the UK that utilises digital multimedia to develop a ‘community of awareness’ of young people and student teachers. As a result of this work, the student teachers were able to reflect on their pedagogical knowledge and practices related to teaching and wider pupil pastoral care. Further, those involved in the project therefore not only learned how to use technology, but to apply it in meaningful, productive ways, which were potentially transforming in terms of appreciation and knowledge of diversity. Benefits for the participants – the young people involved and the student teachers, as well as implications for both student teachers’ understanding of diversity and limitations of the technology – are discussed.     

Pre-service teachers’ science beliefs,attitudes, and self-efficacy: a multi-case study

The aim of this multi-case study was to explore the extent and nature of changes in elementary pre-service teachers’ beliefs, attitudes, and self-efficacy toward science and science teaching as a result of participating in a science methods course. The study specifically focused on three groups of pre-service teachers based on their varying beliefs, attitudes, and self-efficacy prior to the course. The study examined factors that may have contributed to changes in these domains as well as interrelationships among the three constructs.     

Teachers conceptualizing childhood: conversations around fictional childhood texts

This article offers a unique perspective on teacher thinking by connecting the study of early childhood teachers’ beliefs with the field of childhood studies, and with film and literature studies. The purpose of the research is to examine (a) how films can be used to evoke responses in teachers about their implicit beliefs in childhood and (b) the processes through which the teachers generate conceptualizations of childhood. Focus group discussions following viewings of short film clips were conducted with five experienced teachers. Thematic analysis suggests that the selection of film narratives influences the patterns of beliefs expressed by the teachers. Conversation analysis reveals that the teachers tended to use both their own memories of childhood and their identification with children to cross boundary spaces in time (past, present, and future), and between adulthood and childhood. The teachers tended to shape their beliefs in dichotomous renderings as oppositions to others, but also to display a playful willingness to surrender themselves to interior spaces of boundary crossings, and to share and dialog their discoveries with others. In terms of implications of the study for teacher education, the use of books and films seemed to provide teachers with tools to discuss and situate their understandings of childhood in ways that involved processes of memory, identification, lived experience, and teacher practice.     

明清时期徽州商人的民俗信仰：类型与功能

徽商的民俗信仰体系包括祖先崇拜、乡土神信仰、儒学崇拜、财神信仰、行业神信仰、自然崇拜等诸多层面。徽商的民间信仰对于徽商个体、群体乃至社会都有重要的功能,不仅可以调适心理、规范道德情操,而且有利于推动文化教育,强化群体协作和社会整合。徽商在历史上的发展走向在某种程度上与其民俗信仰息息相关。     

镇沅县苦聪人的原始宗教信仰

苦聪人属拉祜族支系,有着自己独特的文化。其中,宗教信仰是苦聪人在当地长期的生产生活实践中,伴随着与外界自然环境的接触及联系而逐渐产生出的,具有鲜明的地方性、民族性和历史性。