Education Commons^™

A Cognitive Analysis Of Students' Activity: An Example In Mathematics, Jean-Francois Hérold

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this paper, we argue for an engagement of productive connections between research findings and teaching, this since the vocational training of the teachers. We exemplify how analyses of written tests by using a cognitive approach lead to better interpretations and understanding of the learner’s knowledge. We show how a teacher can do it and we discuss the possibility of introducing it to the available scientific knowledge in teacher education, in order to include it in the current practices of teachers’ methods.

An Exploration Of The Relationship Between Teachers’ Psychological Capital And Their Collective Self-Esteem, Charmaine S. Bissessar

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teachers who possess high levels of psychological capital and collective self-esteem are better able to cope with the spate of school violence, student/student bullying, and other current issues confronting the education system globally, regionally, and nationally. A teacher psychological capital high in hope, optimism, self-efficacy, resilience, and collective self-esteem translates into educators who possess a more positive outlook and can impart and influence how their students perceive themselves. No known research exists in the Trinidadian context linking both psychological capital and collective self-esteem. This study expands the body of research in these two areas, locally, by reporting the findings of …

Trainee Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Students With Specific Learning Disabilities, Stuart Woodcock

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Policies on the inclusion of students with special educational needs in mainstream classrooms have focused attention on how general education teachers perceive these students. Furthermore with specific learning disabilities forming a large group of diverse students, and teachers’ attitudes often not changing over the career span, preparing teachers for inclusive education is vitally important. This study aimed to identify the attitudes of trainee¹ teachers towards students with specific learning disabilities and differentiation of the curriculum. Significant differences were found between the attitudes of primary and secondary school trainee teachers, and the influence of training. There were no differences in …

Teachers’ Knowledge Of Anxiety And Identification Of Excessive Anxiety In Children, Clea Headley, Marilyn A. Campbell

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study examined primary school teachers’ knowledge of anxiety and excessive anxiety symptoms in children. Three hundred and fifteen primary school teachers completed a questionnaire exploring their definitions of anxiety and the indications they associated with excessive anxiety in primary school children. Results showed that teachers had an understanding of what anxiety was in general but did not consistently distinguish normal anxiety from excessive anxiety, often defining all anxiety as a negative experience. Teachers were able to identify symptoms of excessive anxiety in children by recognizing anxiety-specific and general problem indications. The results provided preliminary evidence that teachers’ knowledge of …

Self- Efficacy And Participation In Choosing The Teaching Profession As Predictors Of Academic Motivation Among Arab Student's Girls, Qutaiba Ali Agbaria

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The purpose of this study is to examine the link between learning motivation among teaching trainees and self- efficacy and the rate of participation in choosing the profession of teaching. The main assumptions: There will be a clear positive link between the rate of self-efficacy of students and academic motivation, with its various elements. There will be a clear positive link between the rate of participation in choosing the profession (teaching) and academic motivation.

The sample included 181 female students. The sample was random relative to students of each academic year and specialization.

The findings of the study corroborated most …

Personality Types Of Hong Kong Kindergarten Teachers: Implications For Teacher Education, Yau-Ho Paul Wong, Zhang Li-Fang

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

While an individual’s personality is related to his or her well-being, little research has examined kindergarten teachers’ personality. This research was the first to investigate Hong Kong kindergarten teachers’ personality types using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Three hundred and seventy-one kindergarten teachers voluntarily responded to the MBTI. Findings showed that Hong Kong kindergarten teachers were predominantly of the sensing-feeling-judging personality types, characterized by being realistic, conventional, and considerate to others’ feelings. In addition, principals and head teachers in kindergartens tended to be extraverted. Results also suggested a very low percentage of intuitive kindergarten teachers, indicating that teachers’ personality types …

Does Study Of An Inclusive Education Subject Influence Pre-Service Teachers' Concerns And Self-Efficacy About Inclusion?, Stuart Woodcock, Brian Hemmings, Russell Kay

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Survey data were collected from pre-service teachers studying at a large regional Australian university. These data were examined with the purpose of determining whether pre-service teachers’ views (and concerns) about inclusion and their confidence to teach in inclusive classrooms had changed as a result of studying an inclusive education subject and undertaking a practicum linked to that subject. The results of an analysis based on mean values indicated that the various concerns, namely, resources, acceptance, workplace, and academic standards, did not change markedly as a consequence of the subject and practicum experiences. This analysis also showed a hierarchy of concerns …

Cultivating Teachers’ Morality And The Pedagogy Of Emotional Rationality, Minkang Kim

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teachers are expected to act ethically and provide moral role models in performing their duties, even though teacher education has often relegated the cultivation of teachers’ ethical awareness and moral development to the margins. When it is addressed, the main theoretical assumptions have relied heavily on the cognitivist developmental theories of Piaget and Kohlberg. A major pedagogical problem in adopting these theories of moral reasoning is that they may not help teachers to act as moral agents in real-life classrooms. This paper argues that one underlying difficulty is the insufficient attention given to the role of emotion in moral reasoning, …

Behind Cultural Competence: The Role Of Causal Attribution In Multicultural Teacher Education, Yan Yang, Diane Montgomery

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In an attempt to bridge the gap between achievement motivation and multicultural teacher education, this study explored the relationship between causal attribution of cultural awareness and cultural competence among preservice teachers. Participants were 793 preservice teachers from two large public universities who reported their causal attributions of cultural awareness and their cultural competence. Canonical correlation analysis results showed two significant relationships between causal attribution and cultural competence. Personal control over the causes of cultural awareness was found to be positively related to praxis, i.e., behavioral outcome; whereas attributions to internal and stable causes were positively associated with knowledge as major …

High School Dropouts Returning To Study: The Influence Of The Teacher And Family During Secondary School, Robert Whannell, William Allen

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study investigated the influence of the teacher and family relationships during secondary school for 18 to 22 year old students who had dropped out of secondary school and were attempting to gain access to tertiary study through a tertiary bridging program at a regional university. 144 students from two student cohorts completed a questionnaire intended to facilitate an understanding of how social context influenced secondary school attrition. It was identified that students who had not completed secondary school reported significantly lower levels of emotional engagement with school and poorer relationships with teachers. The study concluded that the residential situation …

Transference And Psychological-Mindedness In Teachers, Erin Hanifin, Stephen Appel

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The article is an argument for the relevance for our understanding of the pedagogic relationship of Freud’s discovery of transference. Commonalities between teaching and psychoanalysis are reviewed prior to a discussion of how the concept of transference might be applied to teaching, particularly to improving the teacher’s ‘psychological-mindedness’. The article concludes by considering the moral/professional issue of teachers making use of the transference processes at work in their classrooms.

Four Book Reviews, Carlisle Sheridan, Ann Crittenden, Bruce Haynes, M. Wild, A. M. Blackmore

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Fox, Mem. (1993) Radical reflections : passionate opinions on teaching, learning, and living. Sydney, Harcourt Brace.

Ingvarson, L, and Chadbourne, R (Editors) (1994) Valuing teachers' work : new directions in teacher appraisal. Camberwell, Vic : Australian Council for Educational Research.

Shears, L. (Editor) (1995) Computers and schools. Camberwell, Vic : ACER.

Maltby, F., Gage, N. L. & Berliner, D. (1995) Educational psychology : an Australian and New Zealand perspective. Brisbane : John Wiley.

The Process Of Learning, Peter Cole

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Biggs, J. B. and Moore, P.J. (1993) The Process of Learning (3rd ed.) Sydney : Prentice Hall. 582 p.

Evans, G. (Ed.) Learning And Teaching Cognitive Skills; And, Biggs. J. (Ed.) Teaching For Learning: The View From Cognitive Psychology., Denise Kirkpatrick

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Evans, G. (Ed.) Learning and teaching cognitive skills. ACER, Melbourne, 1991. Biggs, J. (Ed.) Teaching for leaming: the view from cognitive psychology. ACER, Melbourne, 1991.

Critical Thinking In Teacher Education: A Process-Oriented Research Agenda, Paul Hager, Michael Kaye

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In recent years, critical thinking has become a central focus of education, especially in North America. Within this focus, there has been a major debate regarding the generalisability of specificity of critical thinking. The main issue in this connection appears to have been whether critical thinking needs to be closely linked with traditional disciplines. If critical thinking is really as vital as its proponents maintain, then it will also be important in applied fields such as teacher education. It is our intention in this paper to explore the implications, for teacher education, of taking critical thinking seriously.