Education Commons^™

Anecdotes, Experience, And ‘Learning By Osmosis’: The Role Of Professional Cultures In Preparing Teachers For Parent-School Engagement, Sue Saltmarsh, Amy K. Mcpherson, Sayan Chakrabarty, Stephen Winn, David Saltmarsh

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Initial teacher education and experiences of the professional cultures of teaching contribute to teachers’ understandings about how to engage with parents. Drawing on qualitative research data, and informed by Michel de Certeau’s theory of culture and everyday life, this paper explores how everyday beliefs and professional practices that shape relationships between teachers and parents can remain relatively stable despite changing expectations of policy-makers and communities. The paper argues that equipping pre-service, beginning and experienced teachers and school leaders with research-based understandings about these cultural dynamics is crucial to informing professional practices that support meaningful and effective parent-school engagement.

The Elephant In The (Class)Room: Parental Perceptions Of Lgbtq-Inclusivity In K-12 Educational Contexts, Jacqueline Ullman, Tania Ferfolja

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

While little is known about parental beliefs and desires regarding LGBTQ-inclusive education, assumptions about these appear to justify teachers’, curriculum writers’ and policy makers’ silences regarding sexuality and gender diversity in the K-12 classroom. Thus, in order to better inform educators’ practices, this paper presents an analysis of interview data from focus groups with parents from across the Australian state of New South Wales. Findings highlight parents’ desires for LGBTQ-inclusivity, not only as a protective factor for sexuality and gender diverse students, but also to engender social cohesion and prepare all students for adult life in the modern social landscape. …

A Healthy Dose Of Race? White Students’ And Teachers’ Unintentional Brushes With Whiteness, Samantha Schulz, Jennifer Fane

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports on efforts by three Australian academics to develop students’ sociocultural awareness (in particular, their racial literacy) during a time of mounting pressure on teacher educators to narrow and standardise their approaches. The field of health education provides a vehicle for research; however, it is not the paper’s central foci. Of key concern is the development of a critical disposition in students – a disposition geared toward teaching for social equity. Learning of this nature transcends topic domains, and therefore allows for collaboration between academics in different parts of teacher education. Specifically, the paper focuses upon ‘whiteness’ and …

Volunteering Within Initial Teacher Education: Factors That Boost And Block Participation, Daniella J. Forster, Jennifer Archer, Rukhsana T. Tajin

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Voluntary professional experience can be a powerful way for initial teacher education (ITE) students to develop an understanding of schools and their communities. Do ITE students make use of these opportunities? There is little Australian research that explores genuine volunteering that does not “require” students to engage with the community. We conducted an on-line survey with 141 ITE students who were eligible to participate in a volunteer program. What factors reduced volunteering and what factors enhanced it? The results showed that, while students value volunteering and can point to benefits that come from it, most are unable or unwilling to …

Collaborative Teaching And Self-Study: Engaging Student Teachers In Sociological Theory In Teacher Education., Vivienne Hogan, Linda Daniell

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article presents some of the findings of a three-year project researching the impact of changes made to teaching and learning in a first-year sociology paper for primary and early childhood education (ece) student teachers. The context of the research is an undergraduate Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programme situated in the School of Education in a New Zealand University. Through self-study, teacher educators sought to gain a deeper understanding of how changes made to the paper influenced their teaching and student learning.

A collaborative teaching relationship was particularly important for the teacher educators to share concerns and present ideas for …

The Relationship Between Alienation Levels Of Physical Education Teacher Candidates And Their Attitudes Towards The Teaching Profession, Mustafa Kayihan Erbas

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study aimed to determine the alienation levels and attitudes of physical education teacher candidates towards the teaching profession and identify the relationship between their alienation levels and their attitudes towards teaching. The relational research model was used in the study. The study group consisted of 695 teacher candidates (M_age = 21.53, SD = 2.284) of which 276 (40%) were female and 419 (60%) were male, all of whom were studying in physical education and sports teaching departments. In the data analysis, a t-test for independent groups was conducted to determine whether the alienation levels and the attitudes towards …

Teacher Professional Standards, Accountability, And Ideology: Alternative Discourses, Katarina Tuinamuana

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teacher professional standards and accountability are today writ large on the landscape of both schooling and teacher education practice around the world. This paper explores some of the related debates through a discussion of four discourses on teacher professional standards: namely, discourses of commonsense, professionalism and quality, managerialism/performativity, and strategic manoeuvring. It is argued that each of these discourses legitimises particular understandings of standards and quality, illustrating the competing set of lenses through which they are viewed, as well as the broader ideologies from which they emerge, including neoliberalism and technical rationality. These discourses also represent the interpretive practice that …

Becoming A Teacher And Staying One: Examining The Complex Ecologies Associated With Educating And Retaining New Teachers In Rural Australia?, Margaret Plunkett, Michael Dyson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The problem of teacher retention has intensified in Australia, particularly in rural areas, with a number of studies suggesting that beginning teachers are not entering the profession with a commitment to remaining there. This paper reports on a study of 102 new teachers graduating from a rural campus of a major Australian university. Utilising a self devised survey over a 3 year period, graduate reflections were captured on what it meant for them to become a teacher. The research sought to determine graduates’ goals and aspirations for working in the profession in both the long and the short term. Participants …

Building Teacher Capital In Pre-Service Teachers: Reflections On A New Teacher-Education Initiative., Tania Ferfolja

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This discussion considers a new pre-service teacher education initiative at the University of Western Sydney, called Classmates. Classmates aims to prepare pre-service teachers to work in diverse and challenging schools. The paper argues that the neo-liberal industrial model of mass teacher education may be limited in its capacity to adequately prepare pre-service teachers for the difficulties they may encounter in a society where socio-cultural inequality is growing. It points out that pre-service teacher-education needs to build teacher capital to better prepare graduates and to buffer the transition from tertiary student to beginning teacher. Classmates offers one way that this may …