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Full-Text Articles in Education
Changing Needs Of Special Education Preservice Teachers In The Practicum, Stella Gidalevich, Maayan Shalev
Changing Needs Of Special Education Preservice Teachers In The Practicum, Stella Gidalevich, Maayan Shalev
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Self-determination theory (SDT) suggests that people strive to fulfill three basic needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness. In teacher education research, fulfilling those needs is connected to positive skill development and increased wellbeing of preservice teachers and their students. Teacher education programs for special education preservice teachers (SEPT) include a professional experience in various school settings with neurodiverse students. This professional experience gives rise to specific needs for these SEPT. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 SEPT, studying at various stages of two teacher education programs. The findings were analyzed qualitatively. Results revealed developing and changing needs throughout the educational …
Preservice Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Through Covid-19: A Large Scale Survey Of Students At A Regional University In Australia, Tania Leach, Anh Hai Le, Georgina M. Barton Dr
Preservice Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Through Covid-19: A Large Scale Survey Of Students At A Regional University In Australia, Tania Leach, Anh Hai Le, Georgina M. Barton Dr
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Throughout 2020, the world was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the context of higher education, the pandemic critically affected professional experience, a core component of teacher education. This paper shares data from a large-scale survey about teachers’ sense of self-efficacy and the impact of COVID-19 on professional experience. Findings showed that the disrupted context had a moderate effect of pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy in relation to their classroom management, instructional strategies, and student engagement. Qualitative results illuminated that the modes of learning, changing classroom contexts and communication between the pre-service teachers, school and their university were the underlying contextual …
Preservice Teachers’ Encounters With Dual Language Picturebooks, Nicola Daly, Kathy G. Short
Preservice Teachers’ Encounters With Dual Language Picturebooks, Nicola Daly, Kathy G. Short
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Our action research explored the potentialities of dual language picturebooks related to language inquiries with preservice teachers. For six weeks, preservice teachers browsed picturebooks featuring English and another language, starting with a familiar language and moving to unfamiliar languages. After browsing, we shared our responses to the books, made connections across books, and engaged in experiences to think about language. Initial comments indicated that readers were not familiar with dual language picturebooks and connected to their own complex personal relationships with language. The preservice teachers engaged in inquiries around audience and book design, including issues such as Indigenous books signalling …
Aboriginal Community-Led Preservice Teacher Education: Learning From Country In The City, Katrina Thorpe, Cathie Burgess, Suzanne Egan
Aboriginal Community-Led Preservice Teacher Education: Learning From Country In The City, Katrina Thorpe, Cathie Burgess, Suzanne Egan
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
In Australia it is well documented that teachers continue to struggle with implementing Aboriginal content, pedagogies and engaging with Aboriginal communities. This paper describes a research project analysing place-based learning for preservice teachers at an urban university led by Aboriginal community members. We argue that place-based learning is critical in developing preservice teacher’s knowledge and confidence in Aboriginal education. Surveys, individual and group yarns provided in-depth data from 64 participants completing elective courses including place-based ‘Learning from Country’ (LFC) experiences. Three key findings emerge from the data. Firstly, the utility of an experiential ‘learning by doing’ approach, secondly, the profound …
The Exclusive White World Of Preservice Teachers’ Book Selection For The Classroom: Influences And Implications For Practice, Helen Adam, Anne-Maree Hays, Yvonne Urquhart
The Exclusive White World Of Preservice Teachers’ Book Selection For The Classroom: Influences And Implications For Practice, Helen Adam, Anne-Maree Hays, Yvonne Urquhart
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This paper reports on a study of the children’s book preferences of 82 Preservice teachers (PSTs) at one Western Australian University. The study found PSTs preferred older books published during their own childhood or earlier. Further, representation of people of colour was limited to only 8 of 177 titles listed by PSTs. Key influences on their preferences were their personal favourite books and those used by mentor teachers during practicum experience. The outcomes of this study have implications for curriculum development and implementation of Initial Teacher Education courses, and in turn, for equitable outcomes of the future students of PSTs.
Final Year Preservice Teachers' Views Of Professional Experience In Partnership Schools, Dianne M. Toe, Christine Ure, Damian Blake
Final Year Preservice Teachers' Views Of Professional Experience In Partnership Schools, Dianne M. Toe, Christine Ure, Damian Blake
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This study investigated the perspectives of preservice teachers’ (PSTs) on their final year placements in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programs offered at Deakin University, Victoria, Australia. It compared the views of PSTs in two placement models; the Alliance school (partnership)and non-Alliance school (or conventional) models. The Alliance model draws on Activity Theory (Engeström, 2015) to strengthen the links between theory and practice in ITE, providing additional support during school placements through an ‘in situ’ boundary crosser. These boundary crossers use an Assessment Circle process that supports professional conversations about teaching and learning. A mixed method approach has been used to …
Preservice Teachers’ Sense Of Belonging During Practicum Placements, Yvonne Dewhurst, Michelle Ronksley-Pavia, Donna Pendergast
Preservice Teachers’ Sense Of Belonging During Practicum Placements, Yvonne Dewhurst, Michelle Ronksley-Pavia, Donna Pendergast
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Practicum placements in schools are keystone features of preservice teacher education, yet inconsistencies in their nature and quality are pervasive. This phenomenon was explored in two cultural contexts, with a focus on ‘belonging’, which the literature reveals may impact practicums and commitment to the profession. Interviews were conducted with six primary school preservice teachers in Australia and Scotland, about their lived experience of belonging/non-belonging during practicum. Hermeneutic phenomenological analysis revealed four themes in both cultural contexts: 1. Being welcomed; 2. Settings and procedures; 3. Interpersonal interactions; and, 4. Strategic behaviours. This study indicates belonging as crucial to preservice teachers’ cognition, …
Professional Knowledge Landscapes In Online Pre-Service Teacher Education: An Exploration Through Metaphor, Frances Quinn, Jennifer Charteris, Peter Fletcher, Mitchell Parkes, Vicente Reyes
Professional Knowledge Landscapes In Online Pre-Service Teacher Education: An Exploration Through Metaphor, Frances Quinn, Jennifer Charteris, Peter Fletcher, Mitchell Parkes, Vicente Reyes
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This paper explores metaphors as a process of professional learning, and as a research method to interrogate professional knowledge landscapes (PKLs) within the flexible space and time of online pre-service teacher education. The methodology comprised five pre-service teacher educators with different disciplinary areas of responsibility engaging in metaphorical analysis of our teaching work. We found that the metaphors that frame our e-pedagogy are multiple, reflecting a range of theoretical positions and objects of our teaching work, sometimes internally contradictory notions of education and e-learning, and the complexities of our individual and collective PKLs. We argue that it is crucial in …
An Investigation Of Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs About The Certainty Of Teaching Knowledge, Leila E. Ferguson, Jo Lunn Brownlee
An Investigation Of Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs About The Certainty Of Teaching Knowledge, Leila E. Ferguson, Jo Lunn Brownlee
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Beliefs about the certainty of teaching knowledge may influence how preservice teachers engage with and learn from knowledge sources in teacher education, and their subsequent practice. In light of inconsistencies in prior findings that mainly employ epistemic questionnaires, we extended research focusing on a contextual analysis. Sixty-six elementary and lower-secondary preservice teachers in Norway responded to the Beliefs about the Certainty of Teaching Knowledge (BECK) scale in the first and second year of study, respectively. Participants believed knowledge about teaching and learning was more tentative and evolving at T2 than at T1 (t (65) = 2.0, p = .049, Cohen’s …
A Systematic Review Of The Research On The Knowledge And Skills Of Australian Preservice Teachers, Jennifer Stephenson
A Systematic Review Of The Research On The Knowledge And Skills Of Australian Preservice Teachers, Jennifer Stephenson
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Since knowledge and skills related to curriculum content and pedagogy are crucial for teachers, it is of interest to explore the research relating to what preservice teachers know and can do. Refereed journal articles published between 2005 and 2015 that reported on the assessment of the knowledge or skills of Australian preservice teachers are reviewed. Data were extracted from 52 articles relating to the context of the research, participants in the research and the adequacy of the knowledge and skills of preservice teachers. Most authors expressed some concern about the level of knowledge and skills of preservice teachers and where …
Examining Preservice Teachers’ Reflective Thinking Skills In The Context Of Web-Based Portfolios: The Role Of Metacognitive Awareness, Emine Adadan, Diler Oner
Examining Preservice Teachers’ Reflective Thinking Skills In The Context Of Web-Based Portfolios: The Role Of Metacognitive Awareness, Emine Adadan, Diler Oner
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This mixed method study aimed to examine if, and then potentially how, the level of preservice teachers’ metacognitive awareness (MA) influences their reflective thinking on their teaching practicum experiences in the context of web-based portfolio construction. Data sources included two sets of reflection task responses and a Likert-type metacognitive awareness inventory. Data from these sources were coded and analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods. The total number of high-level reflective thinking indicators produced by the preservice teachers with high MA was notably higher than those generated by the preservice teachers with low MA. A Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test revealed a statistically significant …
Attracting Preservice Teachers To Remote Locations, Kenneth D. Young, Peter Grainger, Dennis James
Attracting Preservice Teachers To Remote Locations, Kenneth D. Young, Peter Grainger, Dennis James
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Teaching in rural/remote regions poses many challenges to teachers and is identified as a priority research area by the state government. Despite initiatives by the state government and university providers to solve the issue through various incentives designed to attract teachers, the problem remains significant. This research describes and analyses the impact of a regional university initiative to attract teachers to rural and remote locations in Queensland. The data was gathered through analysis of responses from preservice teachers completing education degrees at a regional university in Queensland. The data revealed that a pre-graduation teaching placement to a rural/remote region resulted …
The Impact Of Intercultural Experiences On Preservice Teachers’ Preparedness To Engage With Diverse Learners, Denise A. Beutel, Donna Tangen
The Impact Of Intercultural Experiences On Preservice Teachers’ Preparedness To Engage With Diverse Learners, Denise A. Beutel, Donna Tangen
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
The diversity of student populations globally is increasing more rapidly than the diversity of the teaching workforce. Concerns are that beginning teachers are ill-prepared to meet the needs of the diversity of students in their classrooms. This lack of preparedness has been partially attributed to inadequate preparation within teacher education programs. We advocate that preservice teachers need to understand how their prior intercultural experiences can be utilised to better prepare them for teaching diverse groups of learners. This qualitative study (n=40) draws on Hammer’s (2009) Intercultural Development Continuum to explore the impact that these experiences have on shaping preservice teachers …
Exploring Models Of Team Teaching In Initial Foreign/Second Language Teacher Education: A Study In Situated Collaboration, Malba Barahona
Exploring Models Of Team Teaching In Initial Foreign/Second Language Teacher Education: A Study In Situated Collaboration, Malba Barahona
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
The demonstrable potential of team teaching as a productive mechanism for developing collaborative teacher learning is now broadly understood in the field of teacher education. However, there is less evidence of the use of such collaborative teaching as a means of strengthening initial foreign/second language teacher education. This paper reports on the findings of a multiple case study in Chile that explored team teaching in a foreign language teacher education program. The study is illuminated through the lens of cultural historical activity theory framework (CHAT) and draws on the analysis of semi-structured interviews, work shadowing observations and reflections. The outcomes …
From Swan To Ugly Duckling? Mentoring Dynamics And Preservice Teachers’ Readiness To Teach, Mahsa Izadinia
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.
The Effect Over Time Of A Video-Based Reflection System On Preservice Teachers’ Oral Presentations, Michael Cavanagh, Matt Bower, Robyn Moloney, Naomi Sweller
The Effect Over Time Of A Video-Based Reflection System On Preservice Teachers’ Oral Presentations, Michael Cavanagh, Matt Bower, Robyn Moloney, Naomi Sweller
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
We report the development of preservice teachers’ oral presentation performance based on a technology-mediated Video Reflection system. Participants video-recorded oral presentations and uploaded them to an online blog to view and reflect on their performance and that of their peers. Four presentations by forty-one participants were analysed using a range of criteria based on what we call the Modes of Communication (voice, body-language, words and alignment between them) and the Constructed Impression of the communication acts (confidence, clarity, engagement and appropriateness). Results indicate a significant improvement across all criteria with a decreased rate of improvement for later iterations.
Professional Dialogue, Reflective Practice And Teacher Research: Engaging Early Childhood Pre-Service Teachers In Collegial Dialogue About Curriculum Innovation, Kym M. Simoncini, Michelle Lasen, Sharn Rocco
Professional Dialogue, Reflective Practice And Teacher Research: Engaging Early Childhood Pre-Service Teachers In Collegial Dialogue About Curriculum Innovation, Kym M. Simoncini, Michelle Lasen, Sharn Rocco
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
While embedded in teacher professional standards and assumed aspects of teacher professionalism, willingness and ability to engage in professional dialogue about practice and curriculum initiatives are rarely examined or explicitly taught in teacher education programs. With this in mind, the authors designed an assessment task for pre-service teachers that required them to interview their supervising teachers about the implementation of sustainability as cross-curriculum priority in the Australian national curriculum, and to write a reflective account of the process. Forty-seven early childhood pre-service teachers and their supervising teachers consented to the interview transcripts and reflective accounts being used as research data. …
Title: How Do Preservice Teacher Education Students Move From Novice To Expert Assessors?, Peter R. Grainger, Lenore Adie
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 …
Classroom Profiling Training: Increasing Preservice Teachers’ Confidence And Knowledge Of Classroom Management Skills, Cliff Jackson, Kym Simoncini, Mark Davidson
Classroom Profiling Training: Increasing Preservice Teachers’ Confidence And Knowledge Of Classroom Management Skills, Cliff Jackson, Kym Simoncini, Mark Davidson
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Classroom management is a serious concern for beginning teachers including preservice teachers. The Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment (DETE) has developed the Essential Skills for Classroom Management (ESCM), a system of positive and pro-active strategies for maintaining supportive learning environments. In addition, the DETE offers Classroom Profiling, a data driven, non-judgmental process to allow teachers to reflect on the classroom management strategies they employ. This qualitative study investigated whether Classroom Profiling training could increase preservice teachers’ knowledge and confidence in using ESCM. Fifteen preservice teachers in their final year of a Bachelor of Education degree in Far North …
A Tale Of Five Countries: Background And Confidence In Preservice Primary Teachers In Drama Education Across Five Countries, Deirdre E. Russell-Bowie
A Tale Of Five Countries: Background And Confidence In Preservice Primary Teachers In Drama Education Across Five Countries, Deirdre E. Russell-Bowie
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
In many public primary schools across different countries, generalist primary teachers are required to teach all subjects, including music, dance, drama and visual arts. This study investigates the background and confidence of preservice primary teachers from five countries in relation to drama and drama education. It also examines if there is a difference between the preservice teachers’ perceptions of their own background and confidence in drama education in relation to each of the five countries (Australia, South Africa, Namibia, USA and Ireland). On investigating the differences between countries, there were significant statistical differences in the means of responses from preservice …
Attitudes Of Preservice Teachers Towards Teaching Deaf And Esl Students, Claire Ting, Linda Gilmore
Attitudes Of Preservice Teachers Towards Teaching Deaf And Esl Students, Claire Ting, Linda Gilmore
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This study explored preservice teacher attitudes towards teaching a deaf student who uses Australian Sign Language (Auslan) compared to a student who is new to Australia and speaks Polish. The participants were 200 preservice teachers in their third or fourth year of university education. A questionnaire was created to measure attitudes, and participants were also asked to list teaching strategies they would use with the two students. A factor analysis yielded two subscales: Teacher Expectations and Teacher Confidence. Results showed that teachers had higher expectations of the Auslan student than the Polish student, and were more confident about teaching the …
Transforming Selves For Inclusive Practice: Experiences Of Early Childhood Preservice Teachers, Joseph S. Agbenyega, Sunanta Klibthong
Transforming Selves For Inclusive Practice: Experiences Of Early Childhood Preservice Teachers, Joseph S. Agbenyega, Sunanta Klibthong
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
In this paper we discussed the impact of ‘spaces of difference’ on teachers’ professional learning to embrace and celebrate diversity, as perceived by early childhood preservice teachers who share their opinions through online group discussions. Spaces of difference is a first year undergraduate course unit designed to support preservice teachers’ professional education to embrace and implement inclusive practice in early childhood education. Informed by Critical theoretical ideas of Bourdieu (Capital, Field, Habitus), we investigated early childhood preservice teachers’ concept of spaces of difference and their personal transformations. Results of this qualitative study suggested that teachers’ understanding of space extended and …
Developing Preservice Primary Teachers’ Confidence And Competence In Arts Education Using Principles Of Authentic Learning., Deirdre E. Russell-Bowie
Developing Preservice Primary Teachers’ Confidence And Competence In Arts Education Using Principles Of Authentic Learning., Deirdre E. Russell-Bowie
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Arts education research over the years has highlighted the situation of non-specialist preservice primary arts teachers as having little confidence in their own artistic ability and their ability to teach the arts to children. Added to this, problems such a lack of resources, confidence, priority, time, knowledge and experience appear to inhibit the regular teaching of the arts by generalist classroom teachers while at the same time, face-to-face hours for preservice primary arts education have decreased significantly over the recent years. This paper describes how one subject within a Primary Teacher Education course responded to these challenges. This subject was …