Education Commons^™

The Merging Of Institutions: Contextual Decisions And Teacher Training, D. M. Cavanagh

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

With the Fraser's razors in operation and the impending collapse of numerous College's of Advanced Education as independent autonomous institutions and the unitary vision of the Correy Committee on a teacher training style for New South Wales, certain cautionary warnings should be uttered concerning the direction that teacher training could take if such stupidity is allowed to go unchallenged. The necessity for such warnings is fairly obvious: (1) there may exist in the shuffle for compliance a built in bias towards rigidity in teacher training; (2) political expediency or economy may become confused as good common sense; (3) educational principles …

An Ethnographic Approach To The Initial Professional Education Of Teachers, K. J. Stevens

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Educational ethnography has become part of the research tradition of both sociology and anthropology, that is, "research on and in educational institutions based on participant observation and/or permanent recordings of everyday life in naturally-occurring settings" (Delamont & Atkinson, 1980). While most graduate students of education will today be familiar with ethnographic research, this paper outlines a way in which first year students can also make creative use of some aspects of this approach.

During their professional education, pre-service teachers are expected to make the transition from the status of student to that of teacher. For some this is an abrupt …

The Early Childhood Multicultural Classroom: Implications For Teacher Education, Rita Kino

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article records findings and impressions gained from a selfbrlef·ing study of multicultural early childhood settings in British schools~ It begins by providing background information which motivated interest in the work. It presents the issues relevant to early childhood multi· cultural programmes around which questions were asked of ~nd administrators in a wide range of British early childhood settings. Conclusions are then presented, founded on replies to these These conclusions are useful for interpreting attitudes to the issues which are prevalent in Britain and may have a bearing in the Australi!ln early childhood setting.

Student Variables: Adjust For Pre-Service Teacher Needs, David W. Van Cleaf

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Older students are returning to colleges and universities in ever increasing numbers. A recent article in "The Chronicle of Higher Education (Margarrell, 1981) reported that one third of the college and university population is now twenty-five or older.

College and university courses that were once populated by a relatively honogeneous group of younger students may need modifications. The older students are likely to be more mature learners and bring with them a wider experiential background. Therefore, assignments, instruction and experiences that were included to educate a younger population may need to be re-defined in order to address the educational needs …

Use Of Student Perceptions In Facilitating Improvement In Classroom Environment, Barry J. Fraser, Teresa Seddon, Jeffrey Eagleson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Probably the best known and most widely used technique for studying teaching in order to improve it is classroom interaction analysis (Dunkin & Biddle, 1974; Peterson & Walberg, 1979). The coding ot classroom communication (usually verbal) according to category schemes has been used extensively and successfully in preservice and inservice education as a way of making teachers aware of and subsequently improving their own teaching. Used for this purpose, interaction analysis has provided teachers with a method of obtaining specific feedback on their classroom practice and a firm basis for reflection, discussion, and improvement related to their teaching.

As an …

Changes In Beginning Teachers' Attitudes Towards Individualised Teaching Approaches During The First Year Of Teaching, A. J. Rentoul, Barry J. Fraser

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

It is generally acknowledged that the beginning months of teaching can be a formidable and even painful ordeal for many teachers. For this reason, the beginning teacher has been the focus in a number of key studies conducted recently in various countries. The recent Auchmuty Report has recommended that teacher education research should include "Iongitudinal studies of the socialisation of teachers, covering ... the early years of teaching, with particular reference to the acquisition of professional attitudes and values." The present research is consistent with this recommendation because it represents one of the few existing studies of specific pedagogical attitudes …

New Wine, New Bottles : Some Recent Developments In History Teaching And Assessment In Victoria And England, David Stockley

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article examines recent developments in the structure and assessment of Year 12 Australian History in Victoria and discusses the assumptions underlying those developments. Comparisons are drawn with the Schools Council "History 13-16" Project in England. A number of implications stemming from these changes are then discussed in the context of teacher education. We shall see that a new wine of history content and method is now being put in a new bottle of assessment forms.

A Delphi Study Of Lecturer Role Performance, David Battersby

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The use of student rating questionnaires to assess the teaching performance of lecturing staff in institutions of higher education has been widely debated. In the light of arguments for and against student ratings, it seems realistic to suggest that the evidence gained from their use probably falls far short of a complete assessment of a lecturer's teaching contribution. However, if teaching performance is to be evaluated, then systematic measures of student attitudes, opinions and observations can hardly be ignored. It was on the basis of both these views that a study was undertaken in New Zealand which focused on the …

Implentation Of A School-Based Science Programme : A Case Study, Adrianne Kinnear

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper tells the story of the first two years of a science programme which was planned and implemented by the staff of a local primary school. The programme formed the core of a submission for government funding as a school-based innovation. The study describes the degree to which the submission's aims were achieved and attempts to analyse the factors contributing to the project's outcomes.

A Typology Of Teaching For Use In Teacher Education, Lewis Wilson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Often when educators 'talk about teaching', they mention 'the nature of the child' and the expectations the child brings to the learning situation. Student teachers also bring expectations to learning situations in College. Though teacher educators inculcate respect in their students for pupil expectancies in school they can ignore the anticipations and concerns of their student teachers. A particular expectancy of many student teachers is that, while at College, they will be taught 'how to teach'. One can justifiably ignore this expectancy to a degree because ultimately each student teacher should develop his or her own style of teaching. To …

Alternative Teacher Education Programmes, Leonard H. King

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In trying to determine how and why alternative teacher programmes evolved, a number of critical questions come to mind. For instance what is meant by the concept of alternative? What are some reasons for the existence of alternative programmes? For the purposes of this paper, an alternative teacher education programme will be viewed as the provision of a programme option to the regular programme, that is, another complete programme in a teacher education institution which is fundamentally different.

Beginning Teachers : A Review Of Research, David Battersby

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

During the 1940's and early 1950's a small number of studies of beginning teachers were completed. However, in the late 1950's, particularly in Britain and the United States, the joint problem of teacher shortages and the high drop-out rate of young teachers gave rise to a new wave of studies on beginning teachers. In the last two decades, the recognition of this need has resulted in reports of over 250 studies and a plethora of literature about the beginning teacher. In categorising this material, a broad distinction has emerged between the theory-based research and literature and that which is orientated …

The Teachers Of The English Teachers : The Influence Of The School, The Community And The Training Institution, D. M. Murison

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

At the moment, teacher educators are being forced to contemplate their contribution to the making of a good teacher more seriously than before. Those who feel most vulnerable are the method teachers, since the failures of students in their first year of teaching are most often attributed to the method teacher. I will take English teachers as my example partly because that is my area of immediate concern, partly because so many teachers trained in other areas find themselves teaching English at some stage, and partly because in most states English is a compulsory study up to the end of …

A Communicating Styles Survey Of Primary School Teachers In North Queensland, Brian Noad, Ken Stafford

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study has focused on identifying inservice primary school teachers' communicating styles. An underlying assumption is that no one style can be considered good or bad; and, no style is preferred as more right than another. However, if clusters of primary school teachers' communicating styles can be identified it could provide empirical data on the ways teachers transmit and receive information. Such data might be useful to teacher educators for designing and implementing inservice programs based on the ways teachers transmit and receive information. Hence, the effectiveness of inservice education efforts might be improved because they could be related to …

Work Experience And Trainee Teachers, Roger B. King, Bruce T, Haynes

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

An educational policy problem currently receiving some scrutiny is the advisabi lity of school teachers being persons with experience of work and life situations outside of educational institutions (See Williams, 1979, Vol. 1, p.99 and The Schools Commission, 1979). Proposals on this matter include enrolment of more mature age students in teacher training; requiring teacher trainee students to have significant work experience prior to or during their period of training; providing teachers with seminars and other interactive opportunities for improving their knowledge of industry, the world of work and the wider society; and providing opportunities for secondment of teachers to …

Application For A Change Agent Strategy In Dissemination Of An Australian Innovation, Barry J. Fraser, David L. Smith

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Several excellent reviews of the general education change and innovation literature exist and this literature indicates that a widely adopted strategy for planned development and dissemination of curriculum innovations has been the Research, Development and Diffusion (RD&D) model. This empirical-rational strategy involves the initial development of teacher-proof curriculum packages followed by mass dissemination which assumes that teachers' adaptation and translation problems have been largely anticipated and accommodated. The RD&D strategy, however, has recently provoked increasing skepticism because teachers and schools often have failed to adopt new curriculum materials, to implement them in ways envisaged by the developers, or to continue …

Attitudes Towards Migrants And Needs In Teacher Training : Some Research Findings, R. W. Sealey

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The area of immigrant education has become a major source of interest, concern, comment, and research in recent years. This interest has its origins in the concern felt and views expressed at various conferences that many pupils in our schools are in need of an educational approach which will take cognisance of their linguistic and cultural differences.

Mature Aged Students In Teacher Education, Roger B. King, Bruce T. Haynes

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Mature age students in Teacher Education (21 and over on first enrollment) differ notably in what they look for in their course from the younger students. Analysis of a survey of third year Diploma of Teaching students’ ratings of the relevance of units for teaching showed that students over 25 years of age rated the Education and Educational Psychology units significantly more relevant to teaching than did the younger students. The older students also rated Language Arts units and a Remedial and Special Education Unit as significantly more relevant and Art Education units , Physical Education units and Science Education …

Training Teachers To Plan, Philip Deschamp, David Tripp

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

As part of an attempt to understand why teachers use particular approaches to planning, this study addressed the question of how primary teachers are taught to plan by training institutions in Western Australia. The main reason for conducting this survey was the assumption that, although teachers' planning is influenced by other factors (such as the particular requirements ofthe schools in which they teach, what they believe to be their role as teachers, and the characteristics of the particular students) a major influence, especially if they are new to teaching, is how they were taught to plan during their initial training.

Success And Failure In Tertiary Education, With Reference To School Attended : A Re-Examination, E. P. Otto

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The first part of this paper reviews the research evidence accumulated to date which bears on the question, "How useful is information about a student's secondary school for an assessment of his likelihood of succeeding in tertiary studies?" Knowledge of whether a student entering university or college comes from a State, Catholic or other Private school appears to be useful to personnel making admissions decisions. The differing academic performance of students from these three types of schools is largely, unrelated to faculty choice, tertiary entrance qualifications, aptitude and intelligence. The way a student approaches his University or college work seems …

Mathematics Education, English Technological Universities And Variety Of Entry Into The Teaching Profession, A. G. Shannon

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The purpose of this paper is to raise the issue of genuine variety of entry into the teaching profession in Australia. The author's interest in mathematics and technological institutions has been used to focus the discussion on specific features, but his experience as a member of the Course Assessment Committee of the NSW Board of Teacher Education has made him aware of wider implications beyond the features peculiar to mathematics. Mathematics education itself is a term which can include the teaching of mathematics, studies about the learning of mathematics, and the preparation of mathematics teachers. The various aspects of mathematics …

Pecuniary Implications Of The Proposal For Extending The Teacher Education Programme In Universities, Ross J. Harrold

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The proposal by Fielding, Cavanagh and Widdowson is that universities should replace the present four-year pre-service teacher training (both end-on and concurrent) with a four-phase scheme requiring five years for the completion of the three pre-service phases. The first phase comprises three years' study towards a relevant undergraduate degree. The second is one year's internship in a school, under the tutelage of a 'master teacher'. In the third phase, the student returns to his Alma Mater to complete one year's study of the fundamental aspects of educational knowledge. The trainee becomes a fully certified teacher at the completion of this …

Student Teacher Performance Related To Cognitive Style, Brian Noad

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Research conducted in the field of cognitive style suggests there are certain learning styles which can be identified, defined and measured. However, the literature points out that a neglected aspect of research is an exploration of relationships between students' cognitive styles and performance. The goal of this study was to explore whether the cognitive style manner of reasoning scales were jointly and differentially, related to student teachers' academic performance. The sample consisted of 40 primary school student teachers enrolled in the second year of the Diploma in Teaching course at the Townsville College of Advanced Education, Townsville, Queensland. Data was …

Psychodrama As A Personal Growth Experience : A Programme For Teacher Trainees, John Carroll, Noel Howieson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Churchlands College was established in 1972 and was drawing up its first course submission when legislation separating teacher training institutions from the State Government Education Department was passed. With autonomy from the outset, staff were able to plan courses consistent with their own values and expertise. The College as a whole adopted a three-pronged approach to teacher preparation with programmes in curriculum and instruction methods, education and educational psychology and in personal and professional growth and development. Each department considered its possible contribution to these streams. I n considering its contribution to the personal growth programme for trainees the Psychology …

Diploma In Education? Rethinking The Curriculum., A. J. Fielding, D. M. Cavanagh, R. E. Widdowson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

For well over half a century the traditional end-on diploma year has been under fire from university departments, students, and the teaching profession. How is it possible in one year for students to reach adequate levels of knowledge and understanding in a large number of subjects, epistemologicalIy diverse and frequently outside their undergraduate experience? The answer of course, is that it is not possible to believe otherwise is to labour under gross delusion. A university department of education, acting with the best of intentions, cannot give more than cursory attention to even the most essential elements of a preservice programme …

Teacher Representation And Some Problems For Changing Structures Of Teacher Education, Lyn Yates

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Two issues concerning the structure of teacher education are important in Australia today, and have significance for how the substance of that education, and of what is involved in being a teacher, are conceived. One is a long established debate about the role of teachers in the schools (in contrast to 'academics') in deciding the direction which teacher education should take and in taking responsibility for it. The second issue of structure concerns the function and relation to each other of different education programmes which a teacher may undertake in the course of his career. These include, for example, the …

Study Behaviour And Tertiary Academic Achievement, E. P. Otto

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Sufficient time and effort expended in study have been shown to be essential pre-requisites to satisfactory examination performance at tertiary level. This paper presents the results of an investigation into the relationship between academic achievement and the variables of student attitudes toward study, effort expended in studying, the availability of a study room and scholarship status. All these variables were significantly related to examination performance during various years of the courses studied. The effects of the study variables operated differentially for males and females in the sample.

Continuing Education For Indonesian Language Teachers In Victoria, Australia, Lambert Kelabora

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The last ten years have witnessed a significant growth in the teaching of Bahasa Indonesia in Australia. Of the 98 Indonesian language teachers in 1975, 62 (63%) responded to the present study. Amongst them were eight native speakers of Bahasa Indonesian who are all teaching at private schools. This paper explores the needs for and the provision of in-service training amongst these teachers. Some suggested solutions to the problems in this field will be implicit in the analysis.

English Literature As A Liberal Study In Primary Teachers' Colleges., D. M. Murison

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In 1972, in a survey of literature teaching in Victorian primary teachers' colleges, all but one had a year of compulsory adult literature. At the time, most English lecturers considered this to be essential. However, now much has changed, and literature lecturers, faced with offering courses which are no longer compulsory, have thought again.

The Reorganisation Of Teacher Education In The U.K. And Ontario : Implications For Australia, E. Nowotny

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

I visited the U.K. and Ontario in late September and October 1976 to study the reorganization of teacher education which was taking place as a response to a sharp decline in the demand for teachers consequent on a falling birth-rate and a deteriorating economic situation. The main advantage of the study was that it provided a perspective in which the current situation in Australia (and specifically in W.A.) in regard to an 'over-supply' of teacher education trainees could be more objectively evaluated in a context of common problems. The fact that the problems, particularly in England, are more urgent, complex, …