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Full-Text Articles in Education
Evaluating An English Language Teacher Education Program Through Peacock’S Model, Abdullah Coskun, Aysegul Daloglu
Evaluating An English Language Teacher Education Program Through Peacock’S Model, Abdullah Coskun, Aysegul Daloglu
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
The main aim of this study is to draw attention to the importance of program evaluation for teacher education programs and to reveal the pre-service English teacher education program components that are in need of improvement or maintenance both from teachers’ and students’ perspectives by using Peacock’s (2009) recent evaluation model in a Turkish university context. The study is based on the data collected from teachers and fourth year student teachers who have had experience with the new teacher education program initiated by Higher Education Council (HEC) in 2006-2007 academic year. The data collected by means of questionnaires and interviews …
The Interconnectedness Of The Roles Of Mentors And Mentees In Pre-Service Teacher Education Mentoring Relationships, Angelina Ambrosetti, John Dekkers
The Interconnectedness Of The Roles Of Mentors And Mentees In Pre-Service Teacher Education Mentoring Relationships, Angelina Ambrosetti, John Dekkers
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This review of the research literature focuses on the interconnectedness of the roles of mentor teachers and pre-service teachers. In order to examine the interconnectedness of mentors and mentees, the paper firstly delves into what mentoring is and what contextual factors influence mentoring in pre-service teacher education. It then examines the research literature on mentors and mentees and the roles they undertake in a mentoring relationship. Emerging from the examination of the roles is identification of how the relationship functions with regard to the mentor and mentee who work together to achieve specific goals. The paper highlights the fact that …
The Construction Of Education As An Area Of Study At Murdoch University: 1974-2003, Di Gardiner, Tom O’Donoghue, Marnie O'Neill
The Construction Of Education As An Area Of Study At Murdoch University: 1974-2003, Di Gardiner, Tom O’Donoghue, Marnie O'Neill
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This paper is concerned with the extent to which both structural and agency factors were at play in the establishment and maintenance of an innovative model of Education Studies at Murdoch University in Western Australia, from the mid 1970s to 2003. Regarding structural factors, the fact that the University was established as one of a number of ‘new’ universities on the national scene, with a brief to break out of the curricular traditions of the established universities, meant that there was latitude for the adoption of new curriculum structures in outlining the parameters of Education Studies. However, it required the …
Interactive Whiteboards And The First Year Experience: Integrating Iwbs Into Pre-Service Teacher Education, Chris Campbell, Dona Martin
Interactive Whiteboards And The First Year Experience: Integrating Iwbs Into Pre-Service Teacher Education, Chris Campbell, Dona Martin
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
The focus of this paper is on how pre-service teachers investigate using interactive whiteboards (IWBs) to incorporate e-teaching into their lessons. Digital convergence in the classroom makes technology an integral part of teaching rather than an add-on feature (Kent, 2004a, 2004b). To establish a context for the use of IWB in schools, the paper first examines relevant literature on IWBs. It then describes a program designed to link knowledge gained in a first-semester Information and Communication Technology (ICT) unit of a first year pre-service teacher undergraduate course with the practical use of IWBs in a mathematics education unit, Working Mathematically, …
Teachers’ Influence On Integration Of Tools Into Mathematics Teaching, Sibel Yesildere
Teachers’ Influence On Integration Of Tools Into Mathematics Teaching, Sibel Yesildere
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This paper examines the process through which three pre-service teachers learn to use mathematical tools; it also looks at pre-service teachers’ instrumentation of tools into mathematics teaching. Three pre-service teachers were studying at a primary mathematics teacher training program at Dokuz Eylül University in Turkey. During an eight-week period, workshops were conducted on curriculum tools with pre-service teachers. Subsequently, pre-service teachers’ lessons were observed in real school settings. The findings are underpinned by the theoretical framework based on the instrumental approach to tool use. Results indicate that pre-service teachers had difficulty in applying the appropriate use of tools, and teachers’ …
Historical Novels: Engaging Student Teachers In K-10 History Pre-Service Units, Grant Rodwell
Historical Novels: Engaging Student Teachers In K-10 History Pre-Service Units, Grant Rodwell
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
No abstract provided.
Mentors Report On Their Own Mentoring Practices, Peter Hudson
Mentors Report On Their Own Mentoring Practices, Peter Hudson
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Implementing an Australian National Curriculum will require targeting both teachers and preservice teachers. Classroom teachers in their roles as mentors are well situated for developing preservice teachers. This mixed-method study presents mentors’ reports on their mentoring of primary preservice teachers (mentees) in mathematics (n=43) and science (n=29). Mentors claimed they mentored the teaching of mathematics more than the teaching of science; 20% or more indicated they did not provide mentoring practices for 25 out of 34 survey items in the science and 9 out of 34 items in the mathematics. Mentors also claimed that professional development on effective mentoring can …
A Partnership In Induction And Mentoring: Noticing How We Improve Our Practice, Juilianne Moss
A Partnership In Induction And Mentoring: Noticing How We Improve Our Practice, Juilianne Moss
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This article focuses on the induction and mentoring of early career teachers. The context is a suburban primary school in Victoria, Australia, as the school develops mentoring networks for graduate and beginning teachers. Instigated from a school–university partnership, the research draws from the traditions of practitioner research. In the research design and likewise in successful mentoring the importance of a genuine commitment to the discipline of reflective practice or what we have come to describe as “ noticing ” (Mason, 2002; Moss et al., 2004) is illustrated. The approach offers a new method for small scale–close up research in teacher …
The Impact On Final Year Pre-Service Secondary Teachers Of A Unit In Teaching Literacy And Numeracy Across The Curriculum, Paul White, Maya Cranitch
The Impact On Final Year Pre-Service Secondary Teachers Of A Unit In Teaching Literacy And Numeracy Across The Curriculum, Paul White, Maya Cranitch
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Addressing literacy and numeracy as social practices in different teaching content areas create challenges for teachers and teacher education. Literacy and numeracy skills and understandings are generally addressed incidentally in teacher education courses and often overlooked by teachers in secondary schools. This paper reports on a study which examined the impact of a unit called ‘Curriculum Literacies’ in the final year of a Secondary Bachelor of Teaching/ Bachelor of Arts course. The unit developed students’ personal skills and understanding of literacy and numeracy and their application to teaching in particular discipline areas. Findings show the unit had positive effects on …
Minding The ‘P’S For Implementing Online Education: Purpose, Pedagogy, And Practicalities, Wendy Sutherland-Smith, Sue Saltmarsh
Minding The ‘P’S For Implementing Online Education: Purpose, Pedagogy, And Practicalities, Wendy Sutherland-Smith, Sue Saltmarsh
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Online education has a presence in most Australian universities, and its uptake has been broadly understood as being driven by external imperatives associated with intensive competition within the global knowledge economy. However, the implementation of online education does not take place uniformly, and tensions can arise as a consequence of the considerable variation in approaches taken by institutions, faculties, departments and individual educators. In this paper, we analyse interview data from five Australian universities to consider how senior administrators, teacher educators and educational designers interpret the drivers of and barriers to online education. Our findings indicate that there are considerable …
Teachers Of Poor Communities: The Tale Of Instructional Media Use In Primary Schools Of Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia, Mehadi Abdo, Tesfaye Semela
Teachers Of Poor Communities: The Tale Of Instructional Media Use In Primary Schools Of Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia, Mehadi Abdo, Tesfaye Semela
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of working conditions at school on teachers’ level of instructional media use in the primary school system of Gedeo Zone, southern Ethiopia. The survey was made on a sample of 139 (24.4 % female and male 75.6 %) teachers who were randomly drawn from 9 primary schools (four rural and five urban primary schools). The instruments used to generate data were self-reported questionnaires tapping the level of instructional media use and the associated school-level environmental factors. The findings based on Factor Analysis revealed three independent dimensions of school environment factors …
Schools As Sites Of Race Relations And Intercultural Tension, Fethi Mansouri, Louise Jenkins
Schools As Sites Of Race Relations And Intercultural Tension, Fethi Mansouri, Louise Jenkins
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Australia’s education system endeavours to provide an environment in which students can learn in a safe and comfortable manner, free of fear of verbal or physical abuse. However, for many schools, the ability to create this safe environment has been undermined by a recent rise in society-wide intercultural tensions that inevitably permeate the school boundary. Empirical data from a national project about racism among Australian youth provides evidence that these intercultural tensions are generating an unsettling level of verbal, and in some cases, physical abuse in Australian secondary schools. These project findings inform the discussion presented in this paper that …
Barriers To Providing Physical Education And Physical Activity In Victorian State Secondary Schools, Kate A. Jenkinson, Amanada C. Benson
Barriers To Providing Physical Education And Physical Activity In Victorian State Secondary Schools, Kate A. Jenkinson, Amanada C. Benson
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
An on-line questionnaire was completed by 115 physical education teachers to establish the barriers to their implementation of physical education in Victorian state secondary schools. In addition, the barriers perceived by teachers to impact on students’ participation in school-based physical education and physical activity were examined. The barriers to the provision of physical education were found to be largely institutional, although two-thirds of respondents recognised their own difficulties in engaging students when teaching as potential obstacles to student participation. Students were also perceived to be influenced by their own (45 per cent) and their peers (62 per cent) low levels …
Stress Among Prospective Teachers: A Review Of The Literature , Sallie Gardner
Stress Among Prospective Teachers: A Review Of The Literature , Sallie Gardner
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Student-teacher distress has the potential to impact on the individuals who are to become teachers, the profession and the education system. This review examines what is known of psychological distress among university students, teachers and student-teachers, the demands associated with their practical experiences and the known impact of psychological distress. A brief overview of contemporary stress management approaches is also presented. The reviewer contends that the potential problem for prospective teachers requires a holistic approach, beginning through understanding contemporary strategies available to individual university students, and preventative stress management programs provided within tertiary education, which may be made available to …
Meeting The Standards? Exploring Preparedness For Teaching, Karen Swabey, Geraldine Castleton, Dawn Penney
Meeting The Standards? Exploring Preparedness For Teaching, Karen Swabey, Geraldine Castleton, Dawn Penney
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This research focused on the perceptions of pre-service and beginning health and physical education (HPE) teachers in relation to their preparedness for teaching. A questionnaire was designed to engage with teacher professional standards addressing (i), professional knowledge; (ii), professional relationships and (iii), professional practice. Follow-up interviews with randomly-selected teachers facilitated deeper interrogation of the issues. Findings indicated that both groups felt that their training had prepared them well in relation to most elements of the three aspects of the professional standards. Pre-service teachers had concerns with some elements of professional knowledge: specifically, knowledge and understanding of numeracy, ICT and literacy …
The Relationships Between University Students’ Chemistry Laboratory Anxiety, Attitudes, And Self-Efficacy Beliefs, N. Izzet Kurbanoglu, Ahmet Akim
The Relationships Between University Students’ Chemistry Laboratory Anxiety, Attitudes, And Self-Efficacy Beliefs, N. Izzet Kurbanoglu, Ahmet Akim
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
The aim of this study is to examine the relationships between chemistry laboratory anxiety, chemistry attitudes, and self-efficacy. Participants were 395 university students. Participants completed the Chemistry Laboratory Anxiety Scale, the Chemistry Attitudes Scale, and the Self-efficacy Scale. Results showed that chemistry laboratory anxiety was correlated negatively to chemistry attitudes and to self-efficacy. On the other hand, chemistry attitudes were found to be positively associated with self-efficacy. The path model showed that self-efficacy predicted chemistry laboratory anxiety in a negative way. Also, self-efficacy has a direct and positive effect on chemistry attitudes which in turn affects chemistry laboratory.
Preparing Quality Teachers: Making Learning Visible, Felicity Mcardle
Preparing Quality Teachers: Making Learning Visible, Felicity Mcardle
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Teacher quality is recognised as a lynchpin for education reforms internationally, and both Federal and State governments in Australia have turned their attention to teacher education institutions: the starting point for preparing quality teachers. Changes to policy and shifts in expectations impact on Faculties of Education, despite the fact that little is known about what makes a quality teacher preparation program effective. New accountability measures, mandated Professional Standards, and proposals to test all graduates before registration, mean that teacher preparation programs need capacity for flexibility and responsiveness. The risk is that undergraduate degree programs can become ‘patchwork quilts’ with traces …
Chinese Teachers’ Views On The Increasing Use Of Putonghua As A Medium Of Instruction In Hong Kong Schools, Xuesong (Andy) Gao, Pamela Pui-Wan Leung, John Trent
Chinese Teachers’ Views On The Increasing Use Of Putonghua As A Medium Of Instruction In Hong Kong Schools, Xuesong (Andy) Gao, Pamela Pui-Wan Leung, John Trent
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
The use of a particular language as medium of instruction (MOI) is a complex issue in multilingual and post-colonial contexts such as Hong Kong, on which teachers’ voices are often neglected. To capture their voices, this paper reports on an interpretive inquiry of eight experienced Chinese teachers’ professional experiences with a focus on their perceptions concerning the increasing use of Putonghua as MOI in Chinese classes in Hong Kong. Through a collaborative interpretative process, the study revealed a wide spectrum of perceptions including reservations and enthusiasm for the switch to Putonghua as MOI. The findings suggest that the participants’ perceptions …
Increasing Effectiveness Of Strategic Planning Seminars Through Learning Style, Nail Yildirim
Increasing Effectiveness Of Strategic Planning Seminars Through Learning Style, Nail Yildirim
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This research tests the effectiveness of taking learning style variables from the Kolb learning model in designing strategic planning seminars. We observe in our research that the participants in the seminar – school principals – positively judge the effectiveness of the seminar. The research also tests the seminar’s effectiveness in terms of the appropriateness of the schools’ strategic plans. The research finds that the plans are largely successful. The findings indicate that the effectiveness of in-service training seminars increases when the learning styles of the participants are taken into account when planning the seminars.
Negotiating Identities In The Transition From Graduate Student To Teacher Educator, Melody Viczeko, Lisa L. Wright
Negotiating Identities In The Transition From Graduate Student To Teacher Educator, Melody Viczeko, Lisa L. Wright
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Although practitioners, policy-makers, and academics call for reform in teacher education, there is ambiguity surrounding the identity transformation of graduate students who “become” teacher educators. This self-study uses narratives, based on intricate personal and collaborative reflection, to explore how the assumption of new role identities is an intricate and ongoing process of learning and reflection. In addition to considering the complexities and interrelationships inherent in role socialization, implications for teacher education practice and policy are raised. We conclude that it is beneficial, for both teacher educators and preservice teachers, to engage in collaborative and relational forms of self-study that foster …
Sustaining Productive Collaboration Between Faculties And Schools, Cheryl Sim
Sustaining Productive Collaboration Between Faculties And Schools, Cheryl Sim
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Work integrated learning which is terminology now very familiar to all universities’ faculty members, has always been integral to initial teacher education programs. As a result of the complexities involved in this field, building effective partnerships with schools continues to be a major focus of education faculties. These complexities around a partnership between two very different institutional contexts require negotiating a relationship that is of value to all involved. The concept of communities of practice can provide a framework to establish the collaboration needed. The Australian Commonwealth government conducted in 2007 a national inquiry into the effectiveness of the teacher …
Attitudes Toward Communication Skills Among Students’-Teachers’ In Jordanian Public Universities, Fathi M. Ihmeideh, Aieman Ahmad Al-Omari, Kholoud A. Al-Dababneh
Attitudes Toward Communication Skills Among Students’-Teachers’ In Jordanian Public Universities, Fathi M. Ihmeideh, Aieman Ahmad Al-Omari, Kholoud A. Al-Dababneh
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
The present study was carried out to determine the positive and negative attitudes among 289 students of class teachers and childhood teachers' disciplines using the communication skills attitude scale (CSAS) in Jordanian public universities. GPA, year level of students were recorded. Overall results of study revealed that the mean of positive attitude score was 4.03. The mean of negative attitude scale score was 3.63. There were no significant differences between class teachers and childhood teachers students in their positive and negative attitudes toward communication skills. Students with grade point averages 2 and more have positive attitudes toward communication skills than …
“My Two Masters”: Conflict, Contestation, And Identity Construction Within A Teaching Practicum, John Trent
“My Two Masters”: Conflict, Contestation, And Identity Construction Within A Teaching Practicum, John Trent
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This paper reports the results of a qualitative study into the teaching practice experiences of eight preservice English language teachers in Hong Kong. Using in-depth interviews, the preservice teachers’ practicum experiences are explored in terms of their understandings of the requirements of their teacher education institution and their teaching placement school, their relations with full time teachers within their placement schools, as well as their own beliefs about the teaching and learning of the English language. A contribution of this study is to examine these experiences through the lens of teacher identity construction. Results indicated that participants constructed rigid divisions …