Justice,practice and the ‘Real World’: pre-service teachers’ critically conscious visions for teaching amid the complexities and challenges of learning to teach

Stemming from a problem of practice in the author’s justice-oriented social foundations course, this article investigates the relationship between pre-service teachers learning critical conceptual tools about justice and equity, and the ‘problem of enactment’ of leveraging that learning in their practice. Drawing on a theoretical framework linking Social Justice Teacher Education (SJTE) and Practice-based teacher education (PBTE), this study employed practitioner research methodologies and critical qualitative research methods to explore how pre-service teachers themselves negotiated the intersection of justice and practice. Three inductive findings emerged: they conceptualized professional visions oriented toward the ‘bigger picture’; the complexities of teaching complicated living these visions in practice; and their status as novice practitioners mediated their readiness to integrate justice and practice. The article concludes with a discussion of lessons learned for connecting justice and practice in social foundations specifically, and possibilities for convergence between SJTE and PBTE more broadly.     

Taking a risk to develop reflective skills in business practitioners

Critical reflection can support alternative decision-making in business practice. This paper examines the effectiveness of a risk-based pedagogy to engage practitioners in reflective thinking. Educators adopting a radical pedagogy in professionally accredited programmes face multiple challenges: learners often resist the process of self-reflection and stakeholders expect instrumental outcomes. A longitudinal study of human resource practitioners uses an interpretivist methodology to examine reflection through student-led learning and experiential activity. Findings show that a pedagogical method that overturns learner expectations stimulates dynamic discussion and reflection on experience. Implications are that effective risk-based teaching relies on establishing two conditions: (1) a scaffold structure which supports learner improvisation and (2) a lecturer willingness to continually orchestrate chance elements to maximise learning. This study contributes a practice-based understanding of the theoretical development of risk pedagogy, and adds new insights on the process of facilitating reflective skills to enable business practitioners to confront unpredictable work situations.     

Reflection in Higher Education: A Concept Analysis

Despite the widespread adoption of reflective practices across many fields of study, a critical analysis of the concept of reflection and its application within higher education has been lacking. This article provides an examination of several major theoretical approaches to reflection including those of Dewey; Loughran; Mezirow; Seibert and Daudelin; Langer; Boud, Keogh and Walker; and Schön. Commonalties in terminology, definitions, antecedents, context, process, outcomes, and techniques to foster reflection are addressed. The implications of the findings for higher education are explained.     

A transdisciplinary evaluation framework for the assessment of integration in boundary-crossing collaborations in teacher education

This study provides a) an evaluative framework for boundary-crossing collaboration in teacher education which is inspired by the discourse of transdisciplinarity. In addition, it offers b) empirical insights about so-called Transdisciplinary Development Teams, which comprise practitioners, researchers, and student teachers. The framework bases on (1) epistemic, (2) social, and (3) organisational integration characteristics such as (1a) mutual learning, (1b) knowledge integration, (2a) perceived trustworthiness, (2b) appreciation within the team, and (3a) collective ownership of goals. Drawing on a written survey with n = 62 participants, the empirical study provides findings on three research questions. First, all dimensions of integration characteristics have been rated high on average. Second, the results of a one-way ANOVA establish that the main actor groups perceive the work in Transdisciplinary Development Teams as integrative with regard to previously stated characteristics. Third, the analysis of a manifest path model substantiates theoretically assumed effect relationships. Subsequently, transdisciplinary dimensions of integration characteristics appear suitable for assessing boundary-crossing collaboration in teacher education.     

Feedback sessions as mediation spaces: empowering teacher candidates to deepen instructional knowledge and engage in the construction and transformation of theory in practice

ABSTRACT

The process of engaging in classroom research provides teacher candidates with opportunities to enter into the kind of deep, self-reflective work that we believe is an important capacity to build in teachers as they begin to engage in the construction and transformation of theory and knowledge within their own unique contexts. Our Action Research (AR) process involves multiple opportunities throughout their coursework, advising, and feedback sessions to try to promote the development of this capacity. These opportunities serve as a holding space where candidates are both supported and challenged through interactions with their research advisors, other faculty members, their peers, and panelists consisting of educators from the field. In this paper, we present what we believe to be important elements of AR that emerged from our final feedback sessions with 13 teacher candidates in our program as they prepared for the professional presentations. We found that considering these feedback sessions as mediation spaces (1) empowers teacher candidates to externalize and deepen personal understandings of their research through dialogical discourse with expert others, and (2) negotiate their power and emerging practitioner researcher identities.     

藏传佛教中的居士群体及其文化特征

无论从事相或理论上看，居士始终是佛教的基本力量。藏传佛教居士从护持佛法、财力供养、译介经典、修行述、授徒讲学、建寺立宗各方面贡献巨大。又因为全民信教以及密宗无上等背景，藏传佛教居士有重视师承、重视密宗等特征。     

Early years practitioners’ knowledge of early signs of autism in England

This research explores early years practitioners’ knowledge and ability to recognise the signs of autism and provide appropriate support. It was carried out using semi-structured interviews with six UK-based early years practitioners who have worked with children with autism. The findings highlighted that early years practitioners are aware of autism but have a limited understanding of the early signs of the condition. Furthermore, there are inconsistencies in training and collaboration in early years settings. All these factors influence whether the practitioners are able to recognise the early signs of autism and provide appropriate support. This study highlights the need to address the issue of training provided to early years practitioners.     

浅析教育实践者轻视理论的原因——由“理论脱离实践”想到

当前教育领域中存在着比较严重的轻视理论的现象,针对这一现象,本文首先分析了教育理论的属性以及教育理论和实践的关系问题,并在此基础上重点剖析了教育界轻视理论的深层原因。     

Educating pre-service teachers: towards a critical inquiry workforce

ABSTRACT

The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers identify a range of supposedly demonstrable capabilities for graduate teachers. Elaborations privilege the realization of Standards through mentoring, and feedback from senior colleagues. As manifestations of the logic of neo-liberalism they operate as audit technologies for pre-service teachers and their learning. In this paper, we argue for the preparation of graduate teachers who can engage in critical inquiry as means for expanding professional learning, developing pedagogical practices and improving student learning. We report on the preparation of 4th year pre-service teachers to undertake critical inquiry into an aspect of pedagogic practice during their final practicum placement. We first address instrumental framings of teacher preparation. A case is then made for critical practitioner inquiry as an alternative. Empirical data is drawn from the ‘practice architectures’ of an Australian teacher education program as these relate to developing pre-service teacher inquiry designs. We present inquiry questions, abstracts and reflections developed by pre-service teachers over a seven-year period in two discipline groupings, Health and Physical Education and Mathematics and Science, as evidence of possibilities for preparing graduates for a critical inquiry workforce. We conclude in arguing that these possibilities are vital in times framed by a narrowing technical and standardized educational environment.