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Full-Text Articles in Education

Participant Perspectives And Critical Reflections On Language Teacher Education By Distance, John S. Knox Jan 2017

Participant Perspectives And Critical Reflections On Language Teacher Education By Distance, John S. Knox

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Language teaching is a profession which is international in character. Language teachers often work and study in foreign countries, and distance education has become very important in the education of language teachers. Drawing on two international surveys, this paper explores language teacher education by distance from the perspective of students (i.e. trainee or practicing language teachers) and teacher-educators in such distance programs. There are significant educational advantages for language teachers who choose to study by distance, and e-learning technologies have enhanced these benefits. This paper also includes an in-depth analysis of the qualitative survey responses from two individual students, highlighting …


The Changing Roles Of Science Specialists During A Capacity Building Program For Primary School Science, Sandra Herbert, Lihua Xu, Leissa Kelly Jan 2017

The Changing Roles Of Science Specialists During A Capacity Building Program For Primary School Science, Sandra Herbert, Lihua Xu, Leissa Kelly

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Science education starts at primary school. Yet, recent research shows primary school teachers lack confidence and competence in teaching science (Prinsley & Johnston, 2015). A Victorian state government science specialist initiative responded to this concern by providing professional learning programs to schools across Victoria. Drawing on cultural historical activity theory (CHAT), this paper reports the analysis of transcripts of interviews with 17 science specialists from eleven schools. It presents the various perceived and enacted science specialist roles, and how they changed over time. The CHAT analysis of the transcripts revealed seven different stages describing trajectories of the science specialism. The …


Exploring Student Teachers’ Views On Eportfolios As An Empowering Tool To Enhance Self-Directed Learning In An Online Teacher Education Course, Micheal M. Van Wyk Jan 2017

Exploring Student Teachers’ Views On Eportfolios As An Empowering Tool To Enhance Self-Directed Learning In An Online Teacher Education Course, Micheal M. Van Wyk

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper explores Economics student teachers’ views on ePortfolios as an empowering tool to enhance self-directed learning in an online teacher education course. An interpretive phenomenological research approach was employed for data collection and a purposive convenient sampling technique was selected to collect data. Only Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) and Batchelor of Education (BEd) Senior Phase/Further Education and Training Economics Subject Methodology (SDEC00N) student teachers registered on myUnisa for the modules were targeted. Multiple sections from the ePortfolios that had been considered for the purpose of this study were taken from their creative writing assignments, …


From Swan To Ugly Duckling? Mentoring Dynamics And Preservice Teachers’ Readiness To Teach, Mahsa Izadinia Jan 2017

From Swan To Ugly Duckling? Mentoring Dynamics And Preservice Teachers’ Readiness To Teach, Mahsa Izadinia

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study focuses on two preservice teachers who experienced significantly different mentoring relationships in their two placements during a one-year teaching degree in a university in Western Australia. Data were collected through three rounds of semi-structured interviews, reflective journals and classroom observations. The findings indicated that mentor teachers’ mentoring styles considerably informed the preservice teachers’ perceptions of themselves as teachers and facilitated or inhibited their professional development. Implications for practice include teacher education programs invest more time and rigour in selecting and preparing mentors for their crucial role.


How Ideological Differences Influence Pre-Service Teachers’ Understandings Of Educational Success, Justin Sim Jan 2017

How Ideological Differences Influence Pre-Service Teachers’ Understandings Of Educational Success, Justin Sim

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper explores how popular ideological discourses within public policy are influencing the views and practices of pre-service teachers at a university in Melbourne. The research began by examining how educational success has been historically understood by individuals vis-à-vis government discourse. Three values and four corresponding ideological positions were used to create a theoretical framework. The researcher then surveyed a small cross-section of pre-service teachers to investigate how these values contributed to their understandings of educational success, and how these understandings were used to justify their receptions of neoliberal reforms in education. The data shows that democratic equality was the …


The Effect Of A Professional Development Model On Early Childhood Educators’ Direct Teaching Of Beginning Reading, Gemma E. Scarparolo, Lorraine S. Hammond Jan 2017

The Effect Of A Professional Development Model On Early Childhood Educators’ Direct Teaching Of Beginning Reading, Gemma E. Scarparolo, Lorraine S. Hammond

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Research over the last 15 years has reported that for professional development to be effective, in terms of changing teachers’ knowledge and/or instructional strategies, it needs to be conducted taking into consideration the following factors: teachers’ existing knowledge, experience and attitudes towards the professional development, school administrative factors, opportunities for classroom-based follow-up and gathering data concerning student achievement to measure the impact or effectiveness of the professional development. These factors were all carefully considered when creating, planning and implementing the professional development model for this study. The results indicate that an evidence-based professional development model which included a workshop, classroom …


Primary Mathematics Trainee Teacher Confidence And Its Relationship To Mathematical Knowledge, Stephen J. Norton Jan 2017

Primary Mathematics Trainee Teacher Confidence And Its Relationship To Mathematical Knowledge, Stephen J. Norton

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The purpose of this paper is to examine trainee primary school teachers’ confidence in their mathematical content knowledge (MCK) and confidence to teach specific primary mathematics concepts (mathematics pedagogical content knowledge –MPCK) which was correlated to their actual MCK on specific tasks. For this correlational study survey and test data were collected from a cohort of 210 trainee teachers. It was found that confidence to do and to teach mathematics was reasonably strongly correlated with competence. Trainee teachers’ confidence varied greatly depending on the specific mathematics they were attempting. When presented with specific tasks, trainees were well aware of the …


Improving The Computational Thinking Pedagogical Capabilities Of School Teachers, Matt Bower, Leigh N. Wood, Jennifer W.M. Lai, Cathie Howe, Raymond Lister, Raina Mason, Kate Highfield, Jennifer Veal Jan 2017

Improving The Computational Thinking Pedagogical Capabilities Of School Teachers, Matt Bower, Leigh N. Wood, Jennifer W.M. Lai, Cathie Howe, Raymond Lister, Raina Mason, Kate Highfield, Jennifer Veal

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The idea of computational thinking as skills and universal competence which every child should possess emerged last decade and has been gaining traction ever since. This raises a number of questions, including how to integrate computational thinking into the curriculum, whether teachers have computational thinking pedagogical capabilities to teach children, and the important professional development and training areas for teachers. The aim of this paper is to address the strategic issues by illustrating a series of computational thinking workshops for Foundation to Year 8 teachers held at an Australian university. Data indicated that teachers' computational thinking understanding, pedagogical capabilities, technological …


Enhancing Phonological Awareness And Orthographic Knowledge Of Preservice Teachers: An Intervention Through Online Coursework, Marleen F. Westerveld, Georgina M. Barton Jan 2017

Enhancing Phonological Awareness And Orthographic Knowledge Of Preservice Teachers: An Intervention Through Online Coursework, Marleen F. Westerveld, Georgina M. Barton

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The teaching of reading is a core priority across the education sector. In an attempt to better prepare our next generation of professional teachers of reading, academic staff at an Australian university implemented coursework changes that were designed to enhance the phonological awareness and orthographic knowledge of first-year preservice teacher education students. All students were asked to complete written surveys measuring phonological awareness and orthographic knowledge during class-time at the start and end of their first semester of study. During the semester, students were expected to complete two online modules on phonological awareness and orthographic conventions and pass an online …


Exploring The Impact Of Postgraduate Preservice Primary Science Education On Students’ Self-Efficacy, Christina Maria Norris Jan 2017

Exploring The Impact Of Postgraduate Preservice Primary Science Education On Students’ Self-Efficacy, Christina Maria Norris

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The effectiveness of science teaching in primary school is dependent upon teachers’ self-efficacy to teach science. Low self-efficacy has been linked to avoidance of teaching primary science; therefore, preservice teacher self-efficacy requires fostering to have graduates keen to teach primary science. Through an embedded mixed method intrinsic-case study, this research explored the impact of postgraduate preservice primary science education on students’ self-efficacy. This research examined the postgraduate students’ self-efficacy as the lens to determine the effectiveness of the design and pedagogical instruction of the unit and its tutors. Data sources included the use of pre/post surveys encompassing the Science Teaching …