Teacher educators working on their own professional development: goals,activities and outcomes of a project for the professional development of teacher educators

This article reports on the professional development of teacher educators within the context of a national project, ‘Professional Quality of Teacher Educators,’ where a professional standard and a standards‐based procedure of (self‐)assessment and professional development have been created and effectively implemented. This project offered a unique opportunity to analyze the goals, activities and outcomes of the process of professional development of teacher educators in a situation in which this development is promoted by the professional group as a whole. In our research, we used 25 completed portfolio's made by teacher educators participating in the standards‐based procedure of (self‐)assessment and professional development. We found that teacher educators, participating in this procedure, prefer the development of their knowledge and skills over the development of their attitudes and beliefs. For their professional development, the teacher educators experiment with new activities within the work‐situation and interact with colleagues within their professional community, more than that they study theory or reflect on their work. The participating teacher educators experience a positive impact at the personal level (change in cognition and behavior). More than one‐third of them share outcomes with others. Above, they report a more positive self‐esteem and more enthusiasm for teacher education. This article may motivate other countries or institutions to invest in the professional development of teacher educators. Further research is necessary on the essence of the professional qualities of teacher educators and the relation of their professional development with student learning.     

How I teach evidence-based epidural information in a hospital and keep my job

A childbirth educator reveals her dilemma in teaching evidence-based practice in today's high-tech birth climate. She focuses on strategies to use when sharing epidural information with expectant parents.     

Inclusive Pedagogy in Light of Social Justice. Special Educational Rights and Inclusive Classrooms: on whose terms? A Field Study in Stockholm Suburbs

The question of inclusive education is not straightforward. Despite all its good intentions, inclusive education, in practice faces numerous challenges today. This study analyses these challenges in the Swedish special education context. The author explores special educators’ experiences, possibilities and challenges when applying inclusive education. Findings reveal positive attitudes to the concept of inclusive classrooms. Nevertheless, teachers face more than a few grey areas that need to be put in place in order to achieve socially and cognitively inclusive classrooms.     

教育界与近代边疆教育——以参与边疆教育事业的轨迹为中心

20世纪上半叶是新式教育在中国取得长足发展的重要时期.作为推动新式教育发展的重要力量,我国教育界广大人士在致力于城市教育和乡村教育改革的同时,也在祖国辽阔的边疆民族地区留下了他们活动的深深印记.教育界人士的这些实践活动,为近代边疆教育事业的初步转型做出了一定贡献;他们对边疆教育的研究成果以及在办学过程中积累的宝贵经验和教训,迄今仍然具有重要的启迪意义.     

Down Memory Lane: Recollections of Lamaze International's First 50 Years

The 42-year involvement of one member of Lamaze International is chronicled through a decade-by-decade review of personal memories. The history of Lamaze International is shared through the recollections of her roles as a childbirth educator, faculty member, and member of the board of directors.     

What once was old is new again

Through seminars and continuing educational opportunities, recently certified Lamaze childbirth educators beginning their teaching careers have learned of the changes in birth practices over the past 50 years. However, they may not have heard the personal stories about the locations and conditions in which Lamaze educators first taught. In this column, five childbirth educators share their memories of the birthing climate, teaching strategies, class populations, and other aspects of Lamaze childbirth education 50 years ago and how the "old ways" compare with today's classes. Their stories not only provide an important, historical perspective to build on the past and improve future educational opportunities for expectant women and their families but also illustrate Lamaze's ongoing efforts to promote natural, safe, and healthy birth practices.     

Steps toward innovative childbirth education: selected strategies from the blueprint for action

To mark the 50th anniversary of Lamaze International, Childbirth Connection celebrates landmark accomplishments in education for childbearing women and families, and takes stock of the changing educational needs and preferences of current childbearing families in looking toward the future. Childbirth Connection's multi-year, multi-stakeholder Transforming Maternity Care initiative resulted in two landmark reports: 2020 Vision for a High-Quality, High-Value Maternity Care System and Blueprint for Action: Steps Toward a High-Quality, High-Value Maternity Care System. Selected recommendations of greatest relevance to the field of childbirth education are discussed, and the new Transforming Maternity Care Partnership is introduced.     

University‐based teacher education in the field of tension between the academic world and practical experience in school: a Norwegian case

Teacher education at the university has to relate both to the school and to academia. Since these two worlds have values that to some extent diverge, teacher education is placed in a field of tension between the requirement to adapt to academic standards, norms, and values and the requirement to maintain a close professional relationship with the practice of teaching in schools. This article gives an account of a Norwegian experience of this field of tension. The purpose of this article is to discuss, interrogate, and identify problems inherent in the tensions between academia and the proximity to the field and the need for robust knowledge production through research and the ‘tips for teachers’ approach. Teacher education has shown adaption to the structures of the university but also developments that point in another direction; this divided culture requires a sharper focus on the complexity of the inherent issues involved.     

Agencies,educators, communities and wildfire: partnerships to enhance environmental education for youth

We studied seven programs that engage youth from 10 to 18 years old in wildfire risk reduction in their communities in the United States through in-depth interviews to examine the nature and role of community-school partnerships in resource-focused environmental education. While the programs use a variety of strategies, from Scout badge to summer school, they exhibit several common dimensions: they all engage youth in community projects; they all arise from partnerships between resource agencies, community organizations, and educators; they all began when people familiar with both wildfire and youth education saw an opportunity to improve the community and educate youth through action; and all partners are able to contribute to the common program yet retain their individual identity as they meet their own mission-based goals. We use themes and quotes to illustrate these common dimensions for establishing community-school partnerships that could build action competence through environment-based education projects.     

Teachers in international schools: a global educational ‘precariat’?

An over-looked global educational development has been the exponential growth of ‘international schools’. The field in 2014 involved almost 350,000 educators in over 7000 English-medium schools in non-English-speaking countries. This is expected to rise to half a million educators, mainly American and British, in 10,000 schools by 2022. The field has never constituted a ‘system’, and it remains largely uninspected, unmonitored and unregulated. There was substantial evidence from both social media comment and real-life reports in the popular press during 2013 and 2014 that the field is becoming an increasingly precarious one for teachers.