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Articles 1 - 30 of 36
Full-Text Articles in Education
The Inclusive Secondary Teacher: The Leaders’ Perspective, Michelle Pearce, Jan Gray, Glenda Campbell-Evans
The Inclusive Secondary Teacher: The Leaders’ Perspective, Michelle Pearce, Jan Gray, Glenda Campbell-Evans
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Australian legislation and policies over the last fifteen years have reinforced the rights of students with disabilities to be included in mainstream classrooms. To make this a reality, change has been necessary in a number of areas such as teacher knowledge, resource allocation, curriculum reform, and support services. This paper presents a profile of an inclusive secondary school teacher from the perspective of Australian educational leaders. A qualitative methodology was used in this study. Fifty leaders in inclusive education across Australia were interviewed. Shulman’s (1986) model of teacher knowledge was used to analyse and report the data. The paper identifies …
Configuring Of Masculinity In An Ethnocentric Community School, Dimitri Garas, Sally Godinho
Configuring Of Masculinity In An Ethnocentric Community School, Dimitri Garas, Sally Godinho
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This paper presents snapshots of a qualitative study that investigated how Year 8 boys in an ethnocentric community school configured their constructions of masculinity. Fifteen boys participated in focus group discussions that extended over a six-week period. For one focus group, the boys were invited to bring a ‘totem’, which was an embodiment of their masculinity. The findings from the focus groups revealed both collective and individual constructions and enactments of masculinities that were talked into existence and transmitted through hegemonic discourses. Yet the findings also revealed the boys’ individual agency to engage with other ways of doing and being …
A Partnership Based Approach To Professional Learning: Pre-Service And In-Service Teachers Working Together To Teach Primary Science, John Kenny
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This paper reports on a partnership based approach for preparing pre-service primary teachers to teach science. It involved forming three-way or "triadic" partnerships, consisting of a final year pre-service primary teacher and an in-service colleague, to teach science in the colleague teacher’s classroom, with the support of a teacher-educator. The pre-service teachers had to collaboratively plan, develop and deliver a sequence of science lessons and take major responsibility for teaching a 90 minute science lesson, at least once a week over a six week period. The data was collected during 2007 and 2008. The pre-service teachers kept a reflective journal …
Developing An Early Childhood Teacher Workforce Development Strategy For Rural And Remote Communities, Anne Price, Elizabeth Jackson-Barrett
Developing An Early Childhood Teacher Workforce Development Strategy For Rural And Remote Communities, Anne Price, Elizabeth Jackson-Barrett
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
The North West Early Childhood and Primary Teacher Workforce Development Strategy offers students in the Pilbara and Kimberley the opportunity to enrol in a Western Australian University’s fully accredited Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary) part time and externally – so they can continue to live and work in their communities. The Western Australian Department of Education and Training (WA DET) and the Commonwealth Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) have funded the project, enabling the University to provide mentoring support and provision for Recognition of Prior Learning, on a case-by-case basis, depending on their individual …
L2 Teachers’ Pedagogic Knowledge Base: A Comparison Between Experienced And Less Experienced Practitioners, Ramin Akbari, Leila Tajik
L2 Teachers’ Pedagogic Knowledge Base: A Comparison Between Experienced And Less Experienced Practitioners, Ramin Akbari, Leila Tajik
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Second language teacher education community has become increasingly interested in the pedagogical knowledge base of teachers as a window into practitioners' mental lives. The present study was conducted to document likely differences between the pedagogic thoughts of experienced and less experienced teachers. Eight teachers participated in the project. Data were collected through the use of stimulated recall. The analysis of the data shows that there are differences both in the number and the order of the thoughts teachers produced in different groups. Experienced teachers produced an average of five pedagogical thoughts per minute, while their less experienced counterparts produced 3 …
Teaching Out-Of-Field In Western Australia, Andrew Mcconney, Anne Price
Teaching Out-Of-Field In Western Australia, Andrew Mcconney, Anne Price
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
A former head of the American Federation of Teachers, Albert Shanker, once called out-of-field teaching education’s “dirty little secret” (Ingersoll, 2003, p. 5). The practice of allowing or assigning teachers to teach subjects or year levels for which they do not have any formal qualifications has lead to considerable debate within the educational community. Such concerns over the possible negative impact of out-of-field teaching on students, teachers and the broader school community led the Western Australian College of Teaching (WACOT) to commission an exploratory empirical study of the extent of the phenomenon in Western Australia. This paper presents the main …
‘Motivation In Action’ In A Collaborative Primary Classroom: Developing And Sustaining Teacher Motivation, Veronica Morcom, Judith Maccallum
‘Motivation In Action’ In A Collaborative Primary Classroom: Developing And Sustaining Teacher Motivation, Veronica Morcom, Judith Maccallum
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This paper examines how the process of scaffolding students to solve their social issues developed mature participation for both the teacher and students. A sociocultural perspective framed the research as the underlying assumption is that students learn from each other, mediated by the teacher or more capable peers. The study provides evidence that teachers play a significant role in mediating positive relationships amongst peers, which in this case, sustained the teacher’s motivation to engage in the challenging and at times exhausting process. The teacher used weekly class meetings to negotiate with students how to share ‘power’ and model democratic decision-making. …
How Can Preservice Teachers Be Measured Against Advocated Professional Teaching Standards?, Peter Hudson
How Can Preservice Teachers Be Measured Against Advocated Professional Teaching Standards?, Peter Hudson
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Australia has had many inquiries into teaching and teacher education over the last decade. Standards for teaching have been produced by national education systems with many state systems following suit. The Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) advocates ten professional teaching standards for teachers and preservice teachers. How can preservice teachers be measured against advocated professional standards? This study investigated 106 second-year preservice teachers’ perceptions of their development against the QCT standards. A pretest-posttest survey instrument was developed based on the QCT standards and administered to these preservice teachers before and after their science education coursework. Percentages, ANOVAs and t-tests were …
The Attractors Of Teaching Biology: A Perspective From A Turkish Context, Ahmet Kilinc, Ahmet Mahiroglu
The Attractors Of Teaching Biology: A Perspective From A Turkish Context, Ahmet Kilinc, Ahmet Mahiroglu
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Because the teaching occupation plays a crucial role in a country’s development, policymakers and teacher recruitment units all around the world strive to understand how to attract individuals to this profession. However, research regarding the attractors of teaching has been conducted almost entirely in developed countries and has not focused on particular subject areas to be taught. In addition, only limited lists of attractors have been used. Accordingly, the main purpose of this study was to examine what attractors influence people who choose teaching biology as a career, and what about the Turkish culture has caused people to make this …
E-Portfolios As A Pedagogical Device In Primary Teacher Education: The Aut University Experience, Marguerite Maher, Philippa Gerbic
E-Portfolios As A Pedagogical Device In Primary Teacher Education: The Aut University Experience, Marguerite Maher, Philippa Gerbic
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Portfolios have a long tradition in teacher education and now these are available in electronic form. At the same time, there are increasing demands for primary teachers to be technologically capable and confident in classrooms. When teacher educators wish to respond through the introduction of new technologies such as e-portfolios, there are significant issues of professional learning. This paper discusses one response, a collaborative self-study, around the introduction of an e-portfolio as a pedagogical device. It highlights two key aspects of the study: first, it considers how collaborative self-study as a methodology proved crucial for sustaining lecturer motivation and commitment …
Teacher Educators Embrace Philosophy: Reflections On A New Way Of Looking At Preparing Pre-Service Teachers, Amanda Mergler, Elizabeth Curtis, Rebecca Spooner-Lane
Teacher Educators Embrace Philosophy: Reflections On A New Way Of Looking At Preparing Pre-Service Teachers, Amanda Mergler, Elizabeth Curtis, Rebecca Spooner-Lane
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Over the last decade in Australia, the role of the teacher has changed. Teachers are now expected to model and foster in their students a wide range of skills such as critical thinking, self-regulated learning, knowledge of self and others and lifelong learning. These changes are having a significant impact on the design of pre-service teacher education programmes, with university educators re-evaluating the teacher training curriculum and embedded pedagogical processes in order to consider how they might develop these skills in pre-service teachers. One approach is to consider the processes and practices inherent in philosophical inquiry. This paper reports on …
Sustainability In An Online Community Of Practice: The Case Study Of A Group Of Secondary School Educators In Victoria, Ria Hanewald, Roland Gesthuizen
Sustainability In An Online Community Of Practice: The Case Study Of A Group Of Secondary School Educators In Victoria, Ria Hanewald, Roland Gesthuizen
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This paper reports on Information Technology (IT) secondary school educators in Victoria and their involvement in an online community of practice. It examined the social effects of the online mailing list technology on their participation and factors that influenced their collaboration with other colleagues. In mapping these elements, the motivations of educators and the effects on online communities of practice can be distilled and then used to build and sustain other architectures of participation. It was found that mailing list subscribers seem to trade a currency of support, thoughts, ideas and answers, which helped them in their day-to-day teaching. Online …
Indicators Of Late Emerging Reading-Accuracy Difficulties In Australian Schools, Susan A. Galletly, Bruce Allen Knight, John Dekkers, Tracey A. Galletly
Indicators Of Late Emerging Reading-Accuracy Difficulties In Australian Schools, Susan A. Galletly, Bruce Allen Knight, John Dekkers, Tracey A. Galletly
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Late-emerging reading-accuracy difficulties are those found present in older students not showing reading-accuracy difficulties when tested in earlier years (Leach, Scarborough and Rescorla, 2003). This paper discusses the constructs of reading-accuracy and late-emerging reading-accuracy difficulties. It then discusses data from a cross-sectional study of Australian readers from Years 1 to 8, which suggests a likelihood of late-emerging reading-accuracy difficulties being present in Australian readers. Results showed a steady increase in the proportion of low achievers (SS<90), and a higher number of boys than girls being low achievers. The results provide evidence for the importance of reading-accuracy screening of students in primary and middle school years, and for reading instruction at all year levels to be focussed where needed on reading accuracy.
Prospective Primary School Teachers’ Perceptions On Boiling And Freezing, Erdal Senocak
Prospective Primary School Teachers’ Perceptions On Boiling And Freezing, Erdal Senocak
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions of prospective primary school teachers on the physical state of water during the processes of boiling and freezing. There were three stages in the investigation: First, open-ended questions concerning the boiling and freezing of water were given to two groups of prospective primary school teachers (Group-A had science background; Group-B had non-science background). Second, the participants’ answers were examined and analyzed. Finally, those participants who had misunderstandings were given semi-structured interviews to have a deeper insight into their perceptions. The results showed that the participants in Group-B held more misunderstandings …
Tracing Literacy Journeys: The Use Of The Literacy Autobiography In Preservice Teacher Education, Debra Edwards
Tracing Literacy Journeys: The Use Of The Literacy Autobiography In Preservice Teacher Education, Debra Edwards
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This paper analyses the use of literacy autobiography as a way for preservice teachers to examine their own understandings of literacy, multiliteracies and literacy teaching. We reflect on what we as lecturers have learnt about our students and their literacy experiences, about our own literacy experiences and values, as well as what the students learnt through completing a literacy autobiography. Specifically we look at whether the use of the literacy autobiography has been useful in expanding students’ understandings of literacy
Swapping The Boardroom For The Classroom, Matthew Etherington
Swapping The Boardroom For The Classroom, Matthew Etherington
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This study inquires into the practicum experiences of 10 second career pre-service teachers who were enrolled in two accelerated graduate teacher education programs at a well established university in Ontario Canada. The objective was to understand the actuality of the teaching experience for teacher candidates with previous careers. The data collection drew on a semi-structured interview format and spanned nearly a six month period. The results suggest that second careerists draw heavily on their experiences from first careers and these experiences continue to shape their interpretations, attitudes and beliefs about teaching during and after the practicum. The conclusions recommend that …
Exploring Professional Development Practices For Vocational Education And Training Practitioners, Kim Williams
Exploring Professional Development Practices For Vocational Education And Training Practitioners, Kim Williams
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This paper addresses the practice of professional development within the Vocational Education and Training (VET) arena. The study object was to gain the perceptions held by a selected group of VET educators in the tourism and hospitality sector of the professional teaching/training competencies required for effective practice. The study was conducted utilising narrative inquiry, a qualitative research technique. The investigation concentrated on a case study context of educators currently working within a department of tourism and hospitality at a VET registered training organisation. Interviews were conducted with 10 front-line teaching educators and 4 management Heads of Department. Findings indicated that …
The Benefits Of Employing A Hybrid Evaluation Approach, Enacted Through Evaluation Survey And Reflective Journaling In Teacher Education In The Cayman Islands, Mark A. Minott, Allan E. Young
The Benefits Of Employing A Hybrid Evaluation Approach, Enacted Through Evaluation Survey And Reflective Journaling In Teacher Education In The Cayman Islands, Mark A. Minott, Allan E. Young
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
The main purpose of the study was to ascertain the benefits of employing a hybrid evaluation approach to assessing a teacher education programme’s objectives or intended outcomes. The benefits of employing the hybrid evaluation approach enacted through its evaluation survey component was seen in the fact that it acts as a guide for participants’ thinking, facilitates the acquisition of a broad overview of their thoughts and could provide stakeholders with statistical data, if needed. The benefit of employing the hybrid evaluation approach enacted through its reflective journaling component, was seen in the fact that journaling helped participants to carry out …
A Structuration Theory Analysis Of The Refugee Action Support Program In Greater Western Sydney, Loshini Naidoo
A Structuration Theory Analysis Of The Refugee Action Support Program In Greater Western Sydney, Loshini Naidoo
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This article uses Gidden’s structuration theory to analyse the Refugee Action Support program in Greater Western Sydney. The study shows that many refugee students in Australian high schools experience difficulty with academic transition in mainstream classrooms due to their previous experiences in war-torn countries. As a result of the trauma suffered, many refugees have difficulty adjusting to the host society. The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that many of the refugees may not previously have had any form of formal schooling. Their literacy development may therefore be impacted by both individual and structural factors. Structuration theory helps us …
Educational Beliefs Of Higher Education Teachers And Students: Implications For Teacher Education, Maria Northcote
Educational Beliefs Of Higher Education Teachers And Students: Implications For Teacher Education, Maria Northcote
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This paper is founded upon the premise that ‘common sense’ understandings about boys persist within This paper begins by acknowledging the established and powerful link between educational beliefs and the teaching and learning practices of teaches and students. Based on this belief-practice connection, the paper documents the findings of a study that investigated the beliefs of a group of higher education teachers and students, most of whom were teaching and learning in a teacher education context. The paper concludes with a set of practical suggestions for university teachers and students involved in teacher education courses. The suggestions have been constructed …
Social Justice, Pedagogy And Multiliteracies: Developing Communities Of Practice For Teacher Education, Wendy Cumming-Potvin
Social Justice, Pedagogy And Multiliteracies: Developing Communities Of Practice For Teacher Education, Wendy Cumming-Potvin
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Celebrating and responding equitably to diversity have become increasingly essential for teachers’ work in the new millennium, which is characterized by shifting local and global communities. Aiming to broaden conceptions of teacher education within a predominantly ‘back to basics’ literacy environment, this article draws on selected results from a qualitative study underpinned by the metaphor of communities of practice (Wenger, 1998; Wenger et al., 2002). Conducted in Western Australia, the project involved a small group of pre-service teachers using a pedagogy of ‘Multiliteracies’ (The New London Group, 2000) in face-to-face and on-line settings to construct understandings about literacy learning and …
A Values, Skills And Knowledge Framework For Initial Teacher Preparation Programmes, Sylvia Chong, Horn Mun Cheah
A Values, Skills And Knowledge Framework For Initial Teacher Preparation Programmes, Sylvia Chong, Horn Mun Cheah
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
The purpose of this paper is to introduce an integrated values, skills and knowledge (VSK) framework for initial teacher preparation programmes. The VSK framework articulated, in broad terms, the desired skills and knowledge components for beginning teachers, with the underlying core values permeating the programmes. The paper has two parts, the first of which details the development as well as the conceptual underpinning of the VSK framework. Part two, through a programme evaluation, discusses the validity and reliability of items developed through the VSK framework to measure the values, skills and knowledge that student teachers perceived through their initial teacher …
Reflecting On Improving Our Practice: Using Collaboration As An Approach To Enhance First Year Transition In Higher Education, Sharn Donnison, Debra Edwards, Diane Itter, Dona Martin, Zali Yager
Reflecting On Improving Our Practice: Using Collaboration As An Approach To Enhance First Year Transition In Higher Education, Sharn Donnison, Debra Edwards, Diane Itter, Dona Martin, Zali Yager
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
This paper is concerned with teacher collaboration in Higher Education. Specifically, it focuses on how a ‘community of practice’ emerged and developed during the process of enhancing first year transition for pre-service teachers. It is written from the perspective of five teacher educators and is situated within the literature of the first year in higher education and teacher collaboration. In this paper we describe how the process of conceptualising an innovative first year teacher education program, designed to facilitate student retention and engagement, increased our own engagement, motivation and teaching practice. Our experiences suggest that collaboration in Higher Education is …
The Effect Of A ‘Learning Theories’ Unit On Students’ Attitudes Toward Learning, Ahmet Kara
The Effect Of A ‘Learning Theories’ Unit On Students’ Attitudes Toward Learning, Ahmet Kara
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
People can improve themselves cognitively, professionally, academically, and in terms of their quality of life by continuous learning. Teachers, who are charged with bringing up new members of society, have to be aware of the importance of developing the ability to learn. This study examined how their knowledge of learning theories affected the attitudes of teacher candidates toward learning. For this purpose, students were given a scale of attitudes toward learning, as a pre-test and a post-test after introduction to the subject of learning theories. Data obtained from 150 participants were processed in SPSS 15.0; paired samples t-tests, independents samples …
Reading In The Hyperconnected Information Era: Lessons From The Beijing Ticket Scam, Alison Ruth
Reading In The Hyperconnected Information Era: Lessons From The Beijing Ticket Scam, Alison Ruth
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
In this paper I argue that the kinds of literacy needed for making sense of information on websites is more nuanced and embedded in our everyday context that we are currently providing for learners. The kinds of analysis of websites which allow the processing of information in context are presented. This is demonstrated by an analysis of a scam site, which sold non-existent tickets to the Beijing Olympics and a description of a phishing attempt at Twitter. The skills required to understand information presented on the web have evolved far quicker than the parallel shifts in road safety skills, and …
Learning By Doing: Preservice Teachers As Reading Tutors, Suzanne Dawkins, Marie-Eve Ritz, William Louden
Learning By Doing: Preservice Teachers As Reading Tutors, Suzanne Dawkins, Marie-Eve Ritz, William Louden
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Whilst early childhood educators are well aware of the importance of meeting the needs of individual children when teaching ‘struggling readers’, finding the time for frequent one-on-one support is difficult. Studies have established that with a well developed and structured tutoring programme, as well as high quality training and supervision, volunteers can be used to provide tutoring in a one-on-one early intervention reading programme. The current study suggests that there is an opportunity for preservice teachers to gain valuable information to increase their knowledge of the reading process, while providing effective support to schools as trained tutors. The small-scale exploratory …
Interdisciplinarity: Bridging The University And Field Of Practice Divide, Cathryn Hammond, Faye Mccallum
Interdisciplinarity: Bridging The University And Field Of Practice Divide, Cathryn Hammond, Faye Mccallum
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Modeling inter-disciplinary teaching and learning practices within a critical pedagogical framework has produced powerful learning outcomes for graduates of the Primary/Middle Bachelor of Education degree at the University of South Australia. This paper explores the notion of how best to prepare beginning teachers to work with students in their middle years of schooling in Studies of Society and Environment. Of particular focus are teacher education courses that model interdisciplinary ways of working. The inquiry found that interdisciplinary course work was replicated and built upon by beginning teachers and where schools encouraged the notion of interdisciplinarity beginning teachers flourished as designers …
Transformational Learners: Transformational Teachers, Marguerite Jones
Transformational Learners: Transformational Teachers, Marguerite Jones
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Transformational learning, according to Mezirow (1981), involves transforming taken-for-granted frames of reference into more discriminating, flexible ‘habits of mind’. In teacher education, transformative learning impacts on the development of students’ action theories, self-efficacy and professional attributes. Although considered imperative to reflective practice, not all students take a transformative, ‘double-loop’ approach to learning; reflexive and adaptive learning are also identifiable. This paper discusses the integration of the three learning approaches in the conceptualisation of LEARnT Theory (Jones, 2008), whereby Learning evolves as: Efficacy informs Actions, and Reflection impacts Theory building. LEARnT integrates reflexive, adaptive and transformative approaches. In Reflexive approaches, learning …
The School Professionals’ Role In Identification Of Youth At Risk Of Suicide, Shelley Crawford, Nerina J. Caltabiano
The School Professionals’ Role In Identification Of Youth At Risk Of Suicide, Shelley Crawford, Nerina J. Caltabiano
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
The school professional is in a unique position to play a strategic role in the early identification and prevention of youth suicide. The current study assessed North Queensland teachers’ knowledge on youth suicide. The sample comprised 201 secondary school teachers. A survey research design was used and data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Teachers scored, on average, 69% of the knowledge statements correct; however only 15% correctly recognized a high-risk situation. There was substantial variability in the accuracy of knowledge on youth suicide with some teachers maintaining high levels of knowledge, and others having very little accurate information. Findings …
Exploring Greek Teachers’ Beliefs Using Metaphors, Kasoutas Michael, Malamitsa Katerina
Exploring Greek Teachers’ Beliefs Using Metaphors, Kasoutas Michael, Malamitsa Katerina
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
When teachers describe their roles through metaphors, they also construct specific personal meanings about teaching. Despite the frequency with which teachers and teaching are treated metaphorically there has been no previous systematic attempt to explore them in Greece. Our paper seeks to fill this void by examining the various metaphors used by teachers to describe the experience of teaching and suggests how and to what extent the understanding of the metaphors can be useful in exploring teachers’ beliefs and how they may contribute to teacher education programs. A questionnaire was devised to a sample of 156 in-service teachers which focused …