Digital Commons Network^™

Mindfully Teaching In The Classroom: A Literature Review, Nicole J. Albrecht, Patricia M. Albrecht, Marc Cohen

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The practice of mindfulness is being used with increased frequency in schools around the world. In the current literature review we outline some of the core concepts and practices associated with mindfulness and discuss studies analysing the process of mindfulness teacher training. Preliminary research in this emerging field suggests that mindfulness has the potential to improve classroom management, teacher-student relationships and instructional strategies. Mindfulness instructors recommend that before teachers can feel comfortable and effectively teach mindfulness in the classroom they need to embody and practice mindfulness in their own lives. It is proposed that in order to improve our knowledge …

Understanding Teacher Attraction And Retention Drivers: Addressing Teacher Shortages, Jennifer A. Ashiedu, Brenda D. Scott-Ladd

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The attraction and retention of teachers is a problem faced by schools worldwide and possibly more so in the public sector. One possible solution to this problem is likely to be better targeting of attraction and retention drivers of value to teachers. This paper presents the findings from a qualitative study conducted in Australia. The study used electronic in-depth interviews and an online survey to interrogate the reasons teachers are attracted to the profession and what drives their decision to either stay or leave. Participants in the study were both serving and retired teachers. The majority of respondents cited intrinsic …

The Teachers’ Role In Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs: Implications For Teacher Education., Laura Scholes, Christian Jones, Colleen Stieler-Hunt, Ben Rolfe, Kay Pozzebon

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In response to the diverse number of child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention programs currently implemented in school contexts, this paper examines key considerations for selecting such initiatives and the multiplicity of understandings required to inform facilitation of contextually relevant prevention curriculum. First, the paper examines concerns about the lack of explicit professional development for educators concerning child protection, and the need to develop understandings about prevention program best practices within pre-service and in-service training. Second, drawing on a systematic review of literature, the paper identifies five key considerations to inform teachers’ selection and facilitation of CSA prevention curriculum in school …

Teacher Education Partnerships: An Australian Research-Based Perspective, David Lynch, Richard Smith

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article reviews literature about partnerships between teacher education faculties and schools that indicates not just heightened interest in recent years, but also significant progress. Despite interest and progress, conceptual and practical difficulties remain in establishing, developing, nurturing and implementing successful partnerships so that core interests of partners are satisfied. Against this background, the article examines the experiences of an Australian teacher education faculty that sought to enhance its arrangements with local schools by reorganizing and staging a teacher education program through a community of practice. Data drawn from a study of the emergent partnership confirm the trends in the …

Are They Ready? Final Year Pre-Service Teachers' Learning About Managing Student Behaviour, Judith H. Peters

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper presents findings from a study addressing final year pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their confidence and competence in managing student behaviour. Data were collected by means of a written survey administered shortly after the end of their last professional experience. Themes derived from analysing survey responses are examined in relation to seven principles identified by the MCEETYA funded Student Behaviour Management Project as best practice in Australia (De Jong, 2005). The findings reveal that although the majority of participating pre-service teachers felt confident and competent to manage student behaviour, their reporting of strategies indicated a narrow ‘behaviourist’ conception of …

Professional Pathways Of Aboriginal Early Childhood Teachers: Intersections Of Community, Indigeneity, And Complexity, Alma Fleet, Kerrie Wechmann, Ryan Whitworth

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Little information is available about the employment trajectories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander peoples pursuing university professional qualifications. This article describes a context in which cultural space, issues of identity, pragmatics of employment, family and community and a bureaucratic regulatory environment intersect to create scenarios that are multi-facetted and layered in complexity. As has been demonstrated clearly in other arenas (Richardson & Watt, 2006), the move towards professional teacher education qualification is not linear or straightforward. To add to the knowledge base in this area, the focus in this study is on university graduates of a teacher education degree …

Education Direct: An Alternative Entry Pathway To Pre-Service Teacher Education, Kevin Pilkington, Graeme Lock

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Universities in Australia are offering alternative entrance pathways to attract students from a range of backgrounds. These alternative pathways will undoubtedly be reviewed due to the recommendation in the Review of Australian Higher Education (Bradley, Noonan, Nugent & Scales, 2008) concerning increasing the diversity of university entrants.

This paper discusses an alternative entry pathway, Education Direct (ED), offered by the School of Education at Edith Cowan University, and commences with a review of the literature about such pathways. The next section explores the development and nature of the ED pathway, before outlining the research design and identifying the research questions, …

Teaching Students With Disabilities: A Web-Based Examination Of Preparation Of Preservice Primary School Teachers, Jennifer Stephenson, Sue O'Neill, Mark Carter

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

With increasing expectations that preservice teachers will be prepared to teach students with special needs in regular classrooms, it is timely to review relevant units in teacher education courses. Units relevant to special education/inclusion in primary undergraduate teacher preparation courses in Australian tertiary institutions, delivered in 2009, were examined. Information was gathered through a series of Google searches, and available information was very limited for some units. Sixty-one units in 34 courses met criteria for inclusion. Units typically ran for one semester with 30-40 hours of instruction. Just under half the instructors for whom relevant information was available had an …

Critically Reflective Leadership, Christine L. Cunningham

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Critical Reflective Practice (CRP) has a proven reputation as a method for teacher-researchers in K-12 classrooms, but there have been few published examples of this method being used to document school leaders’ work-based practice. This article outlines adaptations made by the author from an original CRP method to a Critically Reflective Leadership (CRL) method that she developed to document her own lived experiences as a principal and then director of an American International School in South America. The method described in this paper may be useful for school leaders who wish to become practitioner-researchers in their own work places. The …

Elementary Teacher Education In Papua New Guinea: Towards A Culturally Connected Perspective Of Teaching, Casper Hahambu, Joanne M. Brownlee, E. Anne Petriwskyj

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Global and national agendas for quality education have led to reforms in Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) elementary education, but criticism of the learner-centred Western pedagogies has emerged. One key influence on quality teacher education relates to perspectives of teaching. Existing research shows teachers’ beliefs and perceptions of teaching influence their practice, however to date little research has investigated perspectives of teaching for elementary education in PNG. This single exploratory case study investigated the perspectives of teaching for eighteen elementary teacher trainers as they studied for a Bachelor of Early Childhood (Teacher Education). The study, drawing on an interpretivist paradigm, analysed …

Service-Learning: A Valuable Component Of Pre-Service Teacher Education, Dianne J. Chambers, Shane Lavery

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

There is recognition that involvement in service-learning can impact positively on the development of pre-service teachers professionally, culturally and academically (Billig & Freeman, 2010; Anderson, 1998). This article explores and describes the experiences of pre-service teachers in the School of Education at the University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) who are undertaking two service learning units as part of their teacher education. This research is based on qualitative data collected from pre-service teachers on completion of their service learning units. Initially, service-learning as a concept is explored with particular reference to four basic elements identified in the literature (Jacoby, 1996; …

The Transforming Power Of Narrative In Teacher Education, Esther Yim-Mei Chan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The focus of this study is to examine pre-service teachers’ experiences of learning through narrative inquiry that gives insight into how teachers’ development and knowledge construction can be improved. The article begins by inquiring into the learning culture in the Hong Kong context and explaining how the examination system affects knowledge construction. Then it discusses the use of narrative curricula to promote students' thinking and self-reflection. A case, explored through a teacher educator's interpretations of experience, is presented to demonstrate how narrative inquiry is able to change the learning habits of pre-service teachers and what it can do to transform …

Teacher Professional Development: Who Is The Learner?, Kirsten Petrie, Clive Mcgee

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

One of the challenges in in-service teacher education is how teachers can be given professional development (PD) that enables them to respond to national curriculum and policy change. In recent years primary teachers in New Zealand have been inundated with Ministry of Education-funded professional development programmes to help them implement a plethora of curriculum policy and reform initiatives. This paper explores how the design and delivery of one PD programme, the Physical Activity Initiative (PAI), positioned and supported teachers as learners. An evaluation of the programme sought data from 25 teachers and 14 advisers to schools. The focus was the …

Work Integrated Learning And Business Education: A Legitimate Reverse Mapping Approach?, David Holloway, Donell Holloway

Research outputs 2012

This paper investigates whether work integrated learning (WIL) can be effectively implemented by using students existing workplace experiences (full-time or part-time). Students had to be in a work placement as a precondition for unit enrolment. The learning outcomes focussed on the ‘authenticity’ and relevance of University based learning when mapped against students ‘real world’ work experiences. Students were asked to reassess, question and integrate their individual (and collective) work-based experiences and acquired ‘real life’ knowledge against their business-based university learning. Students concluded that the learning topics had provided critical and personally useful insights into their own and the wider work …

Ethical Research In Indigenous Australian Contexts And Its Practical Implementation, Graeme Gower

Research outputs 2012

This paper is based on a three year longitudinal case study involving a number of Indigenous Australian communities in metropolitan, rural and remote settings. It will briefly discuss current ethical guidelines which have been developed by the National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for the conduct of research involving Indigenous Australian subjects (2003). These guidelines are in addition to the National Statement on ethical conduct in research involving humans (1999) and are aimed at incorporating values and principles of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander cultures in the conduct of research. In the case of Indigenous communities, research has historically …

The Loneliness Of The Long-Distance Principal: Tales From Remote Western Australia, Graeme Lock, Fiona Budgen, Grace Oakley, Ralph Lunay

Research outputs 2012

This research investigated the experience of leadership in an isolated school. Data were obtained through structured and semi-structured interviews (Burns, 2000) with a total of eight principals whose experience of leadership in remote communities ranged from new recruits to several decades. Three research questions guided the investigation: What are the social-biographical characteristics of principals in isolated schools? What are the characteristics of the schools? What are the professional and pedagogical aspects of their current position? The interviews were conducted while the principals were gathered at a central location for professional learning workshops prior to the beginning of a new term. …

Welcome To The Outback: The Paradoxes Of Living And Teaching In Remote Western Australian Schools, Graeme Lock, Fiona Budgen, Ralph Lunay, Grace Oakley

Research outputs 2012

Teaching in remote schools can prove to be a challenging experience. Twenty three teachers from remote schools, located in Western Australia, were interviewed about their teaching and living experiences in isolated communities. The interview questions were designed to elicit information regarding three areas: demographic information; reasons for applying for a position in an isolated school and living in a remote community; and, professional factors impacting on the respondents. Interviews were conducted during a residential professional development session and involved twenty-three teachers with wide ranging ages and teaching experience. These teachers identified a number of affective factors including what attracted them …

Edith Cowan University 1991-2001: The Journey So Far, Ruth Callaghan

Research outputs 2012

In celebrating the 20th anniversary of Edith Cowan University (ECU), we have reflected on: our history; our rapid growth in student numbers; course offerings; infrastructure; and the many achievements of our talented people and, of course, the University as a whole. In looking to the future, we recognise the strength and determination of the people who make up our University community will drive our continued success - our students, staff, alumni, partners, and members of committees, Boards and Council.

Is Being “Smart And Well Behaved” A Recipe For Happiness In Western Australian Primary Schools?, John O'Rourke, Martin Cooper, Christina Gray

Research outputs 2012

Little is known about the relationship between students’ perceptions of their behaviour and intellectual status within the classroom and their happiness. Educational practitioners consistently confront misbehaviour and academic failure; whether this is an indicator of student happiness is unclear. In this exploratory research two hundred and fifty six students were asked to self-rate their happiness via a faces scale. These students also completed a self-concept scale focussed on behavioural adjustment and intellectual and school status to determine whether these were factors that impacted on their happiness. Additionally, parents and teachers rated the participant’s happiness. The findings of this research indicate …

Interprofessional Clinical Placement Involving Speech Pathology And Counselling Psychology: Two Students' Experiences, Natalie Ciccone, Lynn Priddis, Amanda Lloyd, Deborah Hersh, Ashleigh Taylor, Georgina Standish

Research outputs 2012

This paper examines the interprofessional learning of a speech pathology and counselling psychology student in an interprofessional placement within an institution of the Department of Corrective Services in Perth, Western Australia. The institution is a pre-release centre that promotes rehabilitation and community reintegration in which up to six women are able to have their children, aged 0–4 years of age, live with them. The students provided a program to the mothers to facilitate development of a healthy mother–child relationship and the children’s communication development. This paper utilised qualitative descriptive analysis to explore two examples of student learning and found perceived …

Embodying Knowledge Of Breast Cancer In A Disembodied Community?, Vanessa Bradshaw, Cynthia Witney, Lelia Green, Leesa Costello

Research outputs 2012

Few life experiences have a greater impact upon the sense of self than the diagnosis of a life-challenging illness. Breast cancer is such an illness, and the sudden transition from 'well' to 'ill' is unsettling for a person's sense of knowing who they are in 'their' own body. What you know about your body, what others know about your body and what your biology knows about your body become suddenly problematic. This paper addresses what people know about their bodies before and after experiencing a breast cancer diagnosis by examining relevant theory and empirical data drawn from an online community …