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.     

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.     

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.     

论中小企业规范化管理的导入机制的建立

中小企业追求发展壮大,推进管理升级,加快实现规范化管理是必由之路,而导入规范化管理,是一个继承和创新的渐进过程,需要通过理念确立、规划布局、资源整合、企业文化塑造,建立一整套导向、激励、约束、协调机制。     

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.     

Challenges and barriers to Austrian early childhood educators' participation in online professional development programmes

Online professional development programmes have a long tradition in adult education. However, in early childhood education, such programmes are only just beginning to be developed. Before online professional development courses can be made inclusive, accessible and widely available to early childhood educators, they must meet a few basic requirements. The present study provides insights into essential aspects that need to be considered when setting up online professional development programmes, a field which is still in its infancy in Austria. The results of a representative survey (n = 317) demonstrated that early childhood educators' digital competencies are highly variable and cannot be taken for granted. The survey results also stress the need to provide educators with functional digital devices appropriate to their work environment. Early childhood educators' interest in online professional development programmes is very high, in recognition of the advantages afforded by flexible participation options independent of users' time constraints or location. The development of attractive, compelling and accessible online professional development courses can contribute to current professionalisation efforts in the field of early childhood education.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

• Online professional development has already a very long tradition in the field of adult vocational training but not in Early Childhood Education.
• The possibility of attending online professional development programmes independent of a participant's time constraints or location is viewed as a particularly beneficial advantage.
• Online professional development programmes positively affect the professionalisation of educators. For this reason, they must increasingly be integrated into the field of early childhood education.

What this paper adds

• In the field of early childhood education in German-speaking regions, online professional development training courses are only beginning to be developed.
• This paper examines the challenges and barriers for early childhood educators associated with implementing online professional development programmes for early childhood educators.
• The survey was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and includes current data on the ongoing digitalisation boom.

Implications for practise and/or policy

• Online professional development courses should not be understood as competition for conventional face-to-face programmes. Instead, they act as a useful supplement.
• Media competencies are a fundamental prerequisite for everyday professional life—early childhood educators need functional media devices, stable internet connections, and support structures in IT and computer literacy.
• Early childhood educators require effective instruction in using online professional development programmes to expand online professional development programmes in their field. They must also address compelling topics in early childhood education relevant to educators' practise.

     

Feedback consistencies and inconsistencies: eight mentors’ observations on one preservice teacher’s lesson

Mentors play a key role in developing preservice teachers for their chosen careers, and providing feedback appears as a significant relational interaction between the mentor and mentee that assists in guiding the mentee’s practices. But what are mentors’ perspectives on providing feedback to their mentees? In this case study, eight mentors viewed a professional video-recorded science lesson facilitated by a final-year preservice teacher during practicum for the purposes of providing oral feedback in a simulated mentor–mentee discussion. Findings showed that mentors’ feedback was variable in both their positive feedback and constructive criticisms and, in one case, the feedback was contrasting in nature. Implications are discussed, including preservice teachers receiving feedback from more than one mentor and universities researching the design of valid and reliable tools to guide mentors’ oral feedback     

我国县域义务教育学校教师流动制度：现状、问题与对策——基于31个省（自治区、直辖市）现行相关政策文本的分析

我国县域义务教育学校教师流动制度存在的问题主要是政策类型失真、政策要素失全、运作模式失范、保障措施失力与理论基础失实。完善我国县域义务教育学校教师流动制度的政策建议主要有把准政策类型、完善政策要素、规范运作模式、强化保障措施与重建理论基础。