Digital Commons Network^™

"Network Teach": How A Student Led Organisation Supports The Transition To University, Deborah Callcott, Marianne J. Knaus, Judy Warren, Ashleigh Wenban

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

It is well documented that the first-year experience is crucial to student success at university. The transition to university provides many challenges for students from a personal, social and academic perspective. Over several decades, universities across Australia have implemented strategies to improve the attrition rate of first year students. This paper discusses a program designed to meet the specific needs of students in the School of Education, at a university in a metropolitan suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The Network Teach program is unique in that it is a student-run organisation. It offers social networking and academic support systems to …

Dynamic Variables Of Science Classroom Discourse In Relation To Teachers’ Instructional Beliefs, Sibel Kaya

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The current study examines if the occurence of dynamic variables namely, authentic questions, uptake, high-level evaluation and student questions in primary science classrooms vary by teachers’ instructional beliefs. Twelve 4^th grade teachers from two different schools volunteered to participate in the study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to determine teachers’ instructional beliefs, classroom practices and dynamic variables of classroom discourse. Results showed that teachers were more teacher-centred in their classroom practices than their instructional beliefs. There were no differences among teachers with different instructional beliefs in …

The Reasons And Motivation For Pre-Service Teachers Choosing To Specialise In Primary Physical Education Teacher Education, Sharna Spittle, Michael Spittle

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study explored the reasons for pre-service teachers choosing to specialise in primary physical education and how these choices related to their motivation. Pre-service teachers who then elected to specialise in primary physical education (n = 248) completed the Attractors and Facilitators for Physical Education (AFPE) questionnaire and the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS). The main reasons for specialising in primary physical education were sport and physical activity, confident interpersonal service, and role models. Pre-service teachers who were also completing health as a teaching method reported lower perceived demand than pre-service teachers who were completing other teaching methods. The strongest …

Research And Reflective Practice In The Esl Classroom: Voices From Sri Lanka, Andrzej Cirocki, Sujeewa Tennekoon, Alicia Pena Calvo

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Modern language education favours the model of a reflective teacher-researcher who is engaged in both individual and collaborative curriculum revision and teaching-learning environment improvement. The present paper addresses the issue of classroom research and reflective practice in current ESL pedagogy and teacher professional development. The theoretical introduction is followed by research findings recently gathered from Sri Lankan ESL teachers. The study aimed at ascertaining the extent to which Sri Lankan ESL teachers are involved in classroom research and discussing various reasons why they assume or do not assume the role of a teacher-researcher. The study reports interesting findings, calling for …

The Casual Approach To Teacher Education: What Effect Does Casualisation Have For Australian University Teaching?, Christopher J. Klopper, Bianca M. Power

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Universities in many countries are struggling to adapt to the competing forces of globalisation, new managerialism, entrepreneurialism and new technologies and quality agenda demands. Diminishing resources caused by restricted funding and an aging and diminishing academic workforce pose barriers. One solution to staffing shortages is the casualisation of academic teachers increasing causal or sessional teaching staff who take on significantly increased teaching responsibilities. This article explores the casualisation of university academics and reports on preliminary findings of a small scale sessional teacher development program that used data from a questionnaire on demographics of a small group of 22 sessional teaching …

Multiple Intelligences Theory, Action Research, And Teacher Professional Development: The Irish Mi Project, Joan Hanafin

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper presents findings from an action research project that investigated the application of Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory in classrooms and schools. It shows how MI theory was used in the project as a basis for suggestions to generate classroom practices; how participating teachers evaluated the project; and how teachers responded to the professional experience. Teachers reported successful student outcomes including more interest and motivation, better recall and deeper understanding, higher attainment, improved self-esteem, and more fun and enjoyable classroom experiences. For teachers themselves, the project was a challenge. They needed more planning time, more persistence, more collegiality, and more …

“On The Way To School”: Structural Analysis Of The Relational Path Between Social Context Variables And Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Among Pre-Service Palestinian Teachers In Israel, Sami Mahajna

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

While many researches have focused on the self-efficacy's effects, few researches studied antecedents' variables of self-efficacy. The present study purpose was to examine how social context, motivational and teacher training variables related to teachers' self-efficacy. The study examined a theoretical model that links between Social Context variables and self efficacy through motivational and teacher training variables. 218 Arab teacher students' citizens of Israel participated in the study. Structural equation modeling showed direct correlations between self efficacy and Teacher training variables but not with Social Context variables. These results showed specifically, the importance of expressive skills in promoting teaching self efficacy.

To Whom It May Concern

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

In the closing decades of the 20^th Century the long tradition of writing and storytelling focused on nature and place began to attract for the first time a substantial, theorised body of critical response, usually brought together under the rubric of ecocriticism (Hornung ix). Landmark anthologies (e.g. Warren; Plant) and monographs (e.g. Buell; Murphy) began laying out a rough map of the theoretical territory and there were heated and lively contributions and contentions from different disciplinary perspectives, including philosophy (Plumwood; Cuomo; Warren); sociology (Salleh; Gare); politics (Bookchin; Eckersley). In 2011, Buell, Heise and Thornber offered a thoroughgoing review of …

Human Rights And History Education: An Australian Study, Nina Burridge, John Buchanan, Andrew Chodkiewicz

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The place of education for and about human rights within the school curriculum remains contested and this paper reports on the first national cross-sectoral investigation of its place in Australian curricula and more specifically in national and state History curriculum documents. Opportunities for the inclusion of human rights based studies were examined across school learning stages, taking into account explicit and implicit, compulsory or elective, as well as curricular and extra-curricular dimensions. Given the continued importance of History as a learning area there is a need to strengthen the available explicit and mandatory opportunities for students to learn about human …

The Role Of Different Types Of Feedback In The Reciprocal Interaction Of Teaching Performance And Self-Efficacy Belief, Nalan Akkuzu

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The purpose of this study was to explore the role of feedback based on self-efficacy belief sources in the reciprocal interaction of teaching performance and self-efficacy beliefs. A single case study design was employed to address and began to bridge the gap in our understanding of the relationship between feedback, self-efficacy belief and teaching performance. The data for this study were collected in the form of semi-structured interviews from 6 volunteer 5^th-grade chemistry student teachers. The data were analyzed based on an inductive analytical approach. The results indicated that different types of feedback based on self-efficacy belief …

Pre-Service Teachers’ Motivation In Using Digital Technology, Alexander S. Yeung, Eng Guan Tay, Chenri Hui, Jane Huiling Lin, Ee-Ling Low

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Digital technology (DT) has a significant role to play in modern education. This study examined motivational goals of student teachers in initial teacher education in Singapore and the influences of goals on their use of DT personally and in the classroom. The participants (N=312) responded to a survey about their motivational goals (learning vs. performance) and DT application (personal vs. classroom application). Results showed that personal use of DT, especially for younger teachers, was clearly more than classroom application. Females were found to have higher performance goal. Structural equation modelling found that learning goals were positively related to …

Crises In Efl Proficiency And Teacher Development In The Context Of International Donation And Transformation Discourses, Dereje Tadesse Birbirso

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Since 2000, Ethiopia has been working to come out of social crises, modernise itself and achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Although provided with billions of dollars by the West and their international agents, little has been changed and the crises seem never to abate, especially in the educational system. This study, thus, critically analysed a paradox of Ethiopia’s educational problems: the crisis in teachers’ EFL proficiency, on the one hand, and the discourses of international aids and transformation of her educational system, on the other. The main participants are 25 randomly selected EFL teachers and teacher educators from all corners …

A Study Of Children’S Musical Preference: A Data Mining Approach, Hoi Yin Bonnie Yim, Yee Ling Boo, Marjory Ebbeck

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Musical preference has long been a research interest in the field of music education, and studies consistently confirm the importance of musical preference in one’s musical learning experiences. However, only a limited number of studies have been focussed on the field of early childhood education (e.g., Hargreaves, North, & Tarrant, 2006; Roulston, 2006). Further, among these limited early childhood studies, few of them discuss children’s musical preference in both the East and the West. There is very limited literature (e.g., Faulkner et al., 2010; Szymanska, 2012) which explores the data by using a data mining approach. This study aims to …

Facebook As An Informal Teacher Professional Development Tool, Charmaine S. Bissessar

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Synchronous and asynchronous communication provide a resource in terms of curriculum, planning and implementation of lessons as well as a source of kinship of like-minded teachers who find in each other sympathetic and empathetic sounding boards. Interviews with four administrators and 22 members of the Trinidadian teachers’ Facebook site A Teacher’s Voice (ATV) revealed that the site is used by its 4,895 members as an informal professional development tool and allows for the nourishing of teachers’ personal development. According to these interviewees, ATV helps to develop teachers professionally through the provision of information on: (a) curriculum; (b) teaching methodologies; (c) …

Complying With School Accountability Requirements And The Impact On School Leaders, Graeme Lock, Geoff Lummis

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Within an era of seemingly ever-increasing school accountability to both Federal and State jurisdictions in Australia, the impact of such requirements has received little attention in the literature. This research project was designed specifically to investigate the impact of compliance requirements on school leaders’ workloads.

The literature reviewed finds that detraction from the key role of leading teaching and learning due to spending so much time on compliance requirements leads to disenchantment with the role of the principal and is a leading contributor to why so few aspirants are pursuing a career as a principal.

Eleven semi-structured interview questions were …

A Guide For Educators To Move Beyond Conventional School Playgrounds: The Re-Aim Evaluation Of The Lunchtime Enjoyment Activity And Play (Leap) Intervention, Brendon P. Hyndman, Amanda C. Benson, Amanda Telford

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Despite an increase in the provision of effective school-based interventions in recent times, there is an absence of literature for teachers focusing on the translation of promising interventions into real-world practice. The aim of this research was to provide a social-ecological guide for teachers of the external validity of implementing the Lunchtime Enjoyment Activity and Play (LEAP) school playground intervention. This research presents the process evaluation of a school playground intervention using RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) as the theoretical evaluation framework. Data collection consisted of a mixed methods approach for two and a half years including a teacher …

Problematising The Role Of Personal And Professional Relationships In Early Career Teacher Resilience, Lisa H. Papatraianou, Rosie Le Cornu

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Formal processes such as ongoing induction, mentoring and professional development are commonly recorded as factors that can enhance early career teacher resilience. Yet, informal processes, including the support provided by personal and professional networks are not often acknowledged nor made explicit. Drawing on two qualitative studies, we examine teachers’ informal significant relationships as these appeared to play a particularly key role for their resilience. We argue that it is problematic to represent early career teachers’ support providers in two distinct categories – personal and professional, as has often been perpetuated in the literature. The article explores the various types of …

Reconciling Dilemmas Of Social Justice In Literacy Lessons: A Case Study Of Preservice Primary Teachers, Beryl Exley, Annette Woods, Joanne Lunn, Sue Walker, Chrystal M. Whiteford Ms

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Literacy is promoted as one factor in overcoming disadvantage. In this paper, we employ Fraser’s (1997 & 2008) framing of social justice in order to analyse the disparate agendas of literacy education for improved outcomes in national policy. We do this to better understand the dilemmas confronting preservice teachers as they prepare to become teachers in complex education contexts. We then examine what 20 preservice primary teachers say about social justice in interview responses to a scripted scenario. Our findings demonstrate that most preservice teachers are trying to demonstrate that they have a well-placed commitment to teaching for social justice, …

Are They Genuinely Novice Teachers? - Motivations And Self-Efficacy Of Those Who Choose Teaching As A Second Career, Tili Wagner, Dalia Imanuel-Noy

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The research is based on the trend of broadening unique teacher training programs. It is a mixed-method research aiming to explore the motives of three groups of Graduate-Retraining-Program (GRP) who opted for teaching as a second career and their self-efficacy

The research population comprises 82 participants from three specialized teacher's education programs. Tools include a closed self-efficacy and a semi-structured motivation questionnaires and interviews.

Findings: motives relate mostly to psycho-ideological aspects; three efficacy dimensions relating to Teaching Tasks (TT), Teacher-Student Relations (TSR), and Influence in the Organization (IO); The TT dimension is the highest, while the IO dimension is the …

Title: How Do Preservice Teacher Education Students Move From Novice To Expert Assessors?, Peter R. Grainger, Lenore Adie

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Despite the acknowledged importance of assessment in education, there has been minimal research into the preparation of preservice teachers for the important role of involving preservice teachers in marking, grading, moderating and providing feedback on student work. This article reports on a pilot project in which preservice teachers participated in an ongoing peer assessment and social moderation process in a dedicated course on assessment. The purpose of the project was to investigate specific ways in which key assessment processes can be effectively taught to preservice teachers. The research involved 96 preservice teachers who completed a Likert scale survey and free …

Relations Between Teachers’ Classroom Goals And Values: A Case Study Of High School Teachers In Far North Queensland, Australia, Claudia E. Pudelko, Helen J. Boon

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

To date, there is an empirical gap in the evidence of the relations between teachers’ classroom goals and values, two key variables linked to students’ achievement motivation. The purpose of this study was to investigate this relationship in an Australian teacher sample. We surveyed 102 high school teachers from seven schools in Cairns, Queensland using items of Wentzel’s Classroom Goals Scales and Schwartz’s Portrait Values Questionnaire. Results showed several positive associations between teachers’ classroom goals and values. Social goals were linked to a wide range of values, while academic goals were linked to specific value dimensions, e.g. mastery approach goals …

The Relationship Between Alienation Levels Of Physical Education Teacher Candidates And Their Attitudes Towards The Teaching Profession, Mustafa Kayihan Erbas

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study aimed to determine the alienation levels and attitudes of physical education teacher candidates towards the teaching profession and identify the relationship between their alienation levels and their attitudes towards teaching. The relational research model was used in the study. The study group consisted of 695 teacher candidates (M_age = 21.53, SD = 2.284) of which 276 (40%) were female and 419 (60%) were male, all of whom were studying in physical education and sports teaching departments. In the data analysis, a t-test for independent groups was conducted to determine whether the alienation levels and the attitudes towards …

Are Australian Pre-Service Physical Education Teachers Prepared To Teach Inclusive Physical Education?, Scott J. Pedersen, Paul D. Cooley, Keira Hernandez

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Abstract: Australian pre-service physical education (PE) teachers must be prepared for the reality of teaching in inclusive classrooms. Past studies have indicated that the amount of academic preparedness can affect pre-service PE teachers’ intentions to successfully teach in inclusive settings. The current study measured these intentions in a sample of pre-service PE teachers from two different universities. This modified survey required participants to respond to two separate scenarios: one teaching inclusive PE to a student with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and one to a student with autism. All participants completed an adapted PE unit with an embedded practicum of different …

Seconding Teachers To The Academy: An Alternative To Traditional Approaches Of Sessional Staff Employment, Jackie Walkington

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

There is a multiplicity of challenges related to employing, supporting and retaining quality sessional (casual) academic staff in higher education. An approach trialled in an Australian education faculty specifically addressed issues of quality and quantity, support and inclusion, motivation and engagement, efficiency and effectiveness. While contextually relevant to an education faculty, the learning gained has potential for other faculties/institutions to provide modifications to traditional models of employing sessional staff. Amongst the significant benefits of a seconded teacher approach were greater engagement in the faculty, enhanced continuity and consistency of commitment compared to traditional models of employing sessional staff. An understanding …

Pre-Service Visual Art Teachers’ Perceptions Of Assessment In Online Learning, Jeanne M. Allen, Suzie Wright, Maureen Innes

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Abstract: This paper reports on a study conducted into how one cohort of Master of Teaching pre-service visual art teachers perceived their learning in a fully online learning environment. Located in an Australian urban university, this qualitative study provided insights into a number of areas associated with higher education online learning, including that of assessment, the focus of this paper. Authentic assessment tasks were designed within the University’s learning and teaching framework of constructive alignment and were sequenced across the three semesters of the visual art program. Analysis of data collected through a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews revealed that participants …

Mathematics, English And Gender Issues: Do Teachers Count?, Gilah C. Leder, Helen J. Forgasz, Glenda Jackson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Pedestrians were stopped in the street and asked about their views on the teaching and learning of mathematics and English for boys and girls. Many commented on the importance of teachers for both subject areas; some respondents self-identified as teachers. In this article we present findings on the gendering of mathematics and English and the impact that teachers can have on learning outcomes in these disciplines. The data reveal that mathematics is endorsed by many as a male domain and English as a female domain, and that teachers play an influential part in the learning outcomes – achievement, future participation, …

Investigating The Literacy, Numeracy And Ict Demands Of Primary Teacher Education, Helen De Silva Joyce, Susan Feez, Eveline Chan, Stephen Tobias

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The pre-service programs delivered in Australian teacher education institutions are expected to graduate students who meet externally determined standards, including standards in literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology. These programs are also expected to educate future teachers in professional knowledge and practice, as well as prepare them to engage in professional learning continuously throughout their careers. This paper reports on the first phase of a project that investigated the literacy, numeracy and ICT demands of assessment tasks across the four years of the Bachelor of Education (Primary) program at a regional university.

How Creative Are Iranian Efl Teachers?, Reza Khany, Mahnaz Boghayeri

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The study of creativity has been of great interest to educationalists in general and language teaching practitioners in particular. With all these however, very little if any has been reported on the issue in Iranian EFL context. Having this in mind and drawing on the latest profile of creativity, effort was made to see how creative Iranian EFL teachers are. In so doing, a total of 36 English language teachers filled a checklist designed based on EFL Teachers’ Creativity Profile (EFLTCP). The results indicated that the participants’ perception did not match the way they performed their activities in the classroom. …

Engaging In Deep Cultural Learning Through The Intersection Of Multiple Contexts, Maria Northcote, Peter Kilgour, Daniel Reynaud, Phil Fitzsimmons

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The type of learning that takes place in teacher education courses typically results in pre-service teachers developing a mixture of knowledge, skills and values that enable them to become effective teachers in schools in the future. During their journey to become qualified teachers, pre-service teachers typically engage in coursework and experiential-based learning.

By engaging in coursework experiences, an overseas practicum and an overseas study tour, students experienced a range of reflection-promoting activities and contexts during which they broadened and deepened their understanding of cultures other than their own.

Using a cross-case analysis approach, the data gathered in these three cases …

Norms And Varieties Of English And Tesol Teacher Agency, M. Obaidul Hamid, Lingyan Zhu, Richard B. Baldauf Jr.

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The growing recognition of the plurality of English underling the World Englishes (WE) paradigm has problematised the conventional second language acquisition (SLA) views of errors. If English use in emerging English-speaking contexts is to be judged by local norms, as argued by WE scholars, applying exocentric norms in these contexts can be inappropriate. On the other hand, despite the significant growth of WE, varieties of new Englishes have yet to develop widely acceptable endocentric norms. These developments have raised a critical question: How can TESOL teachers distinguish between errors in the SLA sense and varietal features in the WE sense? …