Education Commons^™

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 …