The accountability era in US teacher education: looking back,looking forward

Abstract

In keeping with the theme of the 40th anniversary issue of EJTE, this article looks back and forward at US teacher education accountability. It argues that “holding teacher education accountable” has been the major approach to reforming teacher education in the US for the last two decades, assuming that enhanced teacher education quality depends on vigilant public evaluation and monitoring of outcomes related to teacher education institutions, programs, and teacher candidates. This article looks back at the “era of accountability” by examining five policy, political, and professional developments that contributed to its emergence and strong hold on US teacher education. Looking forward to the future of teacher education accountability in the US, the article argues that we need a new approach – democratic accountability in teacher education – which is based on intelligent professional responsibility for students’ learning including democratic knowledge and skills, strong equity, and genuine collaboration with multiple stakeholders.     

重大疫情的课程价值及其实现路径——核心素养的视角

重大疫情对于教育发展不仅仅是一次挑战,更是重要的教育契机。挖掘重大疫情的课程价值对于从根本上提高教育对重大疫情的应对能力以及学生核心素养发展具有深远的意义。重大疫情的课程价值全面体现在对学生文化基础、社会参与和自主发展三大维度六大核心素养发展的促进上。实现重大疫情的课程价值应做到三个"统筹",即统筹三级课程共同回应重大疫情资源,统筹项目式学习和学科渗透双向并举开展重大疫情课程,统筹家校社合力推进重大疫情课程实施。     

关键能力视角下高职院校学生思政教育的若干思考

随着我国社会经济不断发展,高职院校如何有效开展学生思政教育工作成为重要议题。关键能力培养是高职教育培养目标中的重要内容,文章深入分析关键能力视角下学生思政教育中存在的问题,探究新时代背景下高职院校学生关键能力培养的内涵与培养路径,探索提升高职院校学生思政教育成效的策略。     

Multidimensional analyzing of the microteaching applications in teacher education via videograph

Microteaching is a practice – based teaching method that can be applied at various stages in teacher training programs and it gives the opportunity to engage in self-evaluation and to eliminate or correct inadequacies of both pre-service and in-service teachers. It is believed that this study is important in determining the inadequacies of prospective teachers through microteaching applications, and in determining the steps to be taken to eliminate the inadequacies. Therefore, this study aims to exhibit prospective teachers’ individual, methodological and social performances through two microteaching applications. It is found from this research that prospective teachers’ discipline over the classroom developed, and students’ motivation and their interest in the lesson increased with reinforcement and effective communication in the second microteaching application. This showed that feedback given at the end of the first microteaching application was effective.     

Teachers as mediators between educational policy and practice

Teachers obviously serve as the medium for causing the result of policy as they carry it into schools and classrooms and deliver it to pupils. They mediate between education policy and practice. Knowledge of the exact nature and effects of this vital role is limited. Drawing on a range of research and evaluation of both national and local policy in practice, carried out by the authors in England, this paper illustrates how teachers mediate policy and the resulting outcomes. Further, it proposes a typology of teacher adaptation to education policy. The paper argues that as yet the appropriate professional role for teachers within policy‐making and implementation has not been achieved, and outlines what this might be. Finally, it outlines some implications for teacher education.     

Teaching contributions from secondary school subject areas to education for sustainable development – a comparative study of science,social science and language teachers

Abstract

In many countries’ policy documents and curricula, teachers in the subject areas of science, social science and language are encouraged to collaborate on cross-curricular issues such as sustainable development (SD). This study is conducted in secondary schools (compulsory years 7-9) in Sweden and investigates the similarities and differences in the responses of ten teacher groups (forty-three teachers in total) to questions about their teaching contributions in their own subject areas to education for sustainable development (ESD). The overall aim is to understand how teachers of these three subject areas can contribute to cross-curricular teaching in teacher teams in the context of ESD. This is done by analysing the group responses from data collected in group discussions concerning the teaching dimensions what (content), how (methods) and why (purposes) in relation to ESD. We first analyse the teacher group responses and arguments regarding their contribution to ESD teaching from each subject area separately. Thereafter, we comparatively analyse how the different subject areas’ contributions overlap or complement each other in a potential collaborative ESD teaching. The results show that teachers from different subject areas stress different yet complimentary dimensions of teaching and perspectives of ESD. The implications for cross-curricular teaching in ESD are also discussed.     

Analysing the correlation between secondary mathematics curriculum change and trends in beginning undergraduates’ performance of basic mathematical skills in Ireland

The phenomenon in which students enter university under-prepared for the mathematical demands of their undergraduate courses, regularly referred to as the ‘Maths Problem’, has been widely reported in Ireland, UK, Australia, and the US. This issue has been of particular concern in Ireland recently, with beginning undergraduates’ performance of basic mathematical skills showing signs of significant decline in recent years. New mathematics curricula, commonly referred to as ‘Project Maths’, were gradually introduced into the Irish secondary school education system from 2010 onwards. These new curricula aim to place greater emphasis on student understanding of mathematical concepts, use of contexts, and applications of mathematics. This study analyses, through mathematics diagnostic test data gathered between 2008 and 2014, the change in the basic mathematical skills of beginning undergraduates over the time period in which the new mathematics curricula were introduced to secondary education in Ireland. It was found that students’ basic mathematical skills have declined over the time period during which the new mathematics curricula were introduced. Significant declines in beginning undergraduates’ performance of basic mathematical skills were observed during the period 2008–2014, particularly among students who have achieved Higher Level C grades and Higher Level D grades.     

Teacher evaluation in Portugal: persisting challenges and perceived effects

This paper reports on findings from a broader piece of research aimed at investigating the ways in which head teachers experience a new teacher evaluation policy in Portugal, particularly in regard to the challenges and perceived effects of the policy on school and on teacher development. Data were collected through a questionnaire with open and closed-ended questions. In total, 134 head teachers participated in the study. Findings suggest a number of tensions and problems, most of which are related to the key features of the model of teacher evaluation itself. Others issues pertain to the lack of recognition of the appraisers and to the emergence of tensions amongst staff leading to the deterioration of the school climate. Persisting challenges to policy implementation, perceived effects on teachers and schools as well as the dilemmas of head teachers are analysed. The article concludes with the discussion of ways forward.     

Modeling latent true scores to determine the utility of aggregate student perceptions as classroom indicators in HLM: The case of classroom goal structures

Measures of classroom climate such as classroom goal structures are often assessed through students’ perceptions; the aggregated means within classrooms are then sometimes labeled as “classroom characteristics.” The validity of these constructs is limited by the reliability of the measure at both the student and classroom level; yet, few studies accurately assess reliability when multilevel models are used. We demonstrate the use of a three-level hierarchical linear model to estimate latent true score measures of students’ perceptions of goal structures, appropriately adjusted for their nested structure. To investigate the distinctiveness of goal structures from teacher characteristics, we examined the inter-correlations among the student and classroom level variables, and predictors of each.     

理念创新呼唤师生角色新定位

本文从学生在教学活动中的地位、教师在教学活动中应发挥的作用两方面，说明了新的教育理念导致的师生在教学中角色的重新定位，并从社会经济发展需要的角度指出了其必要性。