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Relationships Always Matter: Findings From A Phenomenological Research Inquiry, David Giles

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports on findings from a hermeneutic phenomenological research inquiry which explored the nature of relational experiences in teacher education. Stories of the lived experience of relationships in an educational context were hermeneutically interpreted against the philosophical writings of Heidegger, Gadamer, Levinas, and Buber. The research found that relationships are essential to the experience of education whether they are recognised or not. While the relationship matters to the experience, the relationship lies out of sight and is largely taken for granted. On other occasions, the assumption that relationships matter is called into question. In these times, the relationship is …

The Effects Of Professional Development Initiatives On Efl Teachers’ Degree Of Self Efficacy, Mohammad Nabi Karimi (Allvar)

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Despite the importance of teacher efficacy, there has been little research on the effects of interventions intended to increase it. Thus, the present study considered the potential of Professional Development (PD) in enhancing teachers’ beliefs about their teaching ability. The study was quantitative in nature and utilized the reliable survey instrument known as “Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale”. Two groups of English as a Foreign language EFL teachers (an experimental group and a convenience sample of control teachers) were surveyed in the study in a Pre-test Post-test (and delayed Post-test) Control Group Design. After administering a Pre-test on self-efficacy which …

Pre-Service English Teachers’ Perceptions Of An Overseas Field Experience Programme, Chi Cheung R. Yang

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper aims to present a small group of pre-service

English teachers’ perceptions towards the overseas field experience

programme jointly organised by a university in Canada and the

teacher trainer institute in Hong Kong. The study involved seven

Canadian Year 3 and 4 B.Ed. TESL students who participated in the

investigated eight-week overseas field experience programme to Hong

Kong. A purely qualitative method was adopted in which a semistructured

interview was conducted and the participants were asked to

keep fieldwork logs to obtain their views of the programme. The

results of the study show that the participants were highly positive …

Enabling Group-Based Learning In Teacher Education: A Case Study Of Student Experience, Terry A. De Jong, Marguerite Cullity, Yvonne Haig, Sue Sharp, Sue Spiers, Julia Wren

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

“Teacher education ill prepares pre-service teachers for the classroom.” Research conducted in a teacher education program at Edith Cowan University (ECU) responded to this criticism. This longitudinal case study selected group work (i.e., group-based learning) to investigate the quality of its teacher education program. Phase one explored teacher educators' perceptions of group-based learning. Phase two explored pre-service teachers' perceptions and experience of group-based learning. This phase used student ‘voice’ (i.e., through focus groups, confirmed field notes, summary sheets) to convey their ideas and experiences when studying in a group and/or implementing group-based learning in the classroom. This paper discusses phase …

Listening To The Concerns Of Student Teachers In Malaysia During Teaching Practice, Pauline S. Goh, Bobbie Matthews

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study examined the concerns and experiences of

Malaysian student teachers during their practicum. The 14

student teachers who volunteered were asked to maintain a

reflective journal throughout their practicum to document their

teaching concerns and confidence to teach. Eighteen derived

concerns were identified and placed into four main themes: (a)

classroom management and student discipline; (b) institutional

and personal adjustment; (c) classroom teaching; and (d)

student learning. Specific comments were sought to provide

citations that represented their concerns. This paper has

intended to draw attention to the underlying reasons given by

student teachers about their concerns prior to and …

Reflection At The Interface Of Theory And Practice: An Analysis Of Pre-Service English Language Teachers’ Written Reflections, Amanda Yesilbursa

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study was conducted to identify the characteristics of a

group of Turkish pre-service English Language teachers’ reflective

writing. A mixed method approach was taken in the analysis of their

written reflections on a video-recorded microteaching experience at the

end of a campus-based methodology course. First, qualitative analysis of

the written reflections revealed the modes and themes of reflection.

Second, the crosstabulations of the emerging reflective and thematic

categories were calculated to investigate how each category interacted.

The analyses revealed that while most of the reflection was descriptive

and focused on the self, some of the participants engaged in reflection …

Teacher Student Control Ideology And Burnout: Their Correlation, Gokhan Bas

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The purpose of this study is to examine the correlation between elementary teachers’ student control ideologies and their perceived burnout levels and to determine to what extent teachers’ student control ideologies predict their burnout. Three hundred and seventy-six teachers from 12 elementary schools in Nigde, Turkey participated in the study. Teachers were chosen by the three-layer group sampling method according to the socioeconomic structures of their districts. In this study, the Student Control Ideology Scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory were used to collect data to answer the research questions. The correlative investigation model was adopted in the research and …

Teaching Teachers About Emotion Regulation In The Classroom, Leanne Fried

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Emotions affect, and are intertwined with, many of the

cognitive processes of learning and also classroom motivation and

social interaction. There are often times within daily classroom life that

students and teachers are required to, or feel compelled to, regulate

their emotions. Limited research has shown that particular aspects of

classroom environments can enhance emotion regulation strategy

development. In addition, research indicates that some emotion

regulation strategies are more effective than others, with antecedent

strategies appearing favourable. Using a self-regulation perspective,

this article takes a broad look at emotion regulation in the classroom

through a review of relevant research, including …

The Promotion Of “Character” And Its Relationship To Retention In Higher Education, Karen Noble, Robyn Henderson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

With transition to university a strong focus across most higher

education institutions, undergraduate teacher education programs have been

increasingly scrutinised regarding their (in)ability to adequately prepare students

for the challenging social contexts that they will meet. As a result, there has been

a burgeoning of approaches which initiate beginning students. In the Education

Faculty of a regional Australian university, the FYI (First Year Infusion/For Your

Information) Program attempts to build capacity among pre-service students in a

supportive learning community. In an intentionally created context, the program

provides a Learning Circle approach to student support. Through consciously

infusing the value of …

Revisiting And Rewriting Early Career Encounters: Reconstructing One ‘Identity Defining’ Moment, Joanne Yoo

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

There has been much research conducted into the effects of early career experiences on future practice. The research indicates that early career academics are particularly susceptible to burnout, as they are still developing their professional knowledge base, and are therefore more reliant on their theoretical knowledge or idealism to interpret practice. They may also be more self-critical and may begin identifying with their negative self-perceptions. The current article describes the importance of re-storying the negative perceptions of one’s early career practices; it asserts how hidden stories can encourage beliefs of incompetency that continue to disempower teacher practice. To illustrate, it …

Paradox, Promise And Public Pedagogy: Implications Of The Federal Government’S Digital Education Revolution, Rachel Buchanan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The use of digital technology in the classroom is a significant issue for teachers as they are under increasing pressure to teach in technologically mediated ways. This ‘digital turn’ in education has culminated in the Australian federal government’s Digital Education Revolution, which represents a multi-billion dollar commitment to putting computers in schools and the implementation of technological pedagogical practice. This paper focuses on the confluence between globalised economic process, the Digital Education Revolution, and the discourse of the digital native; and describes the way in which students’ use of digital technologies is identity forming. I examine the Digital Education Revolution …

The Relationship Between The Level Of School-Involvement And Learned Helplessness Among Special-Education Teachers In The Arab Sector, Agbaria Qutaiba

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Acquired or learned helplessness is one of the most popular research subjects reported in the psychological literature in recent decades. The present study examined the relationship between involvement in decision-making at the school and learned helplessness among special-education teachers in the Israeli Arab sector. The importance of this study lies in its focused examination of variables that correlate with states that have an adverse effect on the education system, such as stress and burnout. Special-education teachers were randomly selected from several special-education schools. The findings gave considerable support to the hypotheses that predicted a negative correlation between school involvement and …

Reviewing The Literature On “At-Risk” And Resilient Children And Young People, Ria Hanewald

Australian Journal of Teacher Education