Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Addressing The Social Loafing Problem In Assessment Practices From The Perspectives Of Tanzania’S Pre-Service Teachers, Joseph Reginard Milinga, Ezelina Angetile Kibonde, Venance Paul Mallya, Monica Asagwile Mwakifuna

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Recent developments of higher teacher education in Tanzania have witnessed high student enrolments necessitating change of an emphasis from individual assessment to group-based assessment practices. In this context, informed by the constructivist philosophical perspective, this article reports on the pre-service teachers’ voices regarding the prevalence, impacts and counteractive strategies of social loafing. The pre-service teachers are drawn from one higher education institution in Tanzania that serves as a case study. It draws on qualitative data collected from a sample of purposively selected undergraduate pre-service teachers. The study found social loafing tendencies to be commonplace and with far-reaching consequences amongst students …

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 …

Student Teachers’ Cognition About L2 Pronunciation Instruction: A Case Study, Michael Burri

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In view of the minimal attention pronunciation teacher preparation has received in second language (L2) teacher education, this study examined the cognition (i.e. beliefs, thoughts, attitudes and knowledge) development of 15 student teachers during a postgraduate subject on pronunciation pedagogy offered at an Australian tertiary institution. Findings revealed that, as a result of taking the subject, student teachers’ cognition shifted from teaching individual sounds (i.e. segmentals) to favouring a more balanced approach to pronunciation instruction. That is, teaching the melody of the English language (i.e. suprasegmentals) was seen as important as teaching segmentals. Non-native speakers’ self-perceived pronunciation improvement, an increase …

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 …

Teacher Education And Experiential Learning: A Visual Ethnography, Maureen F. Legge, Wayne Smith

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Abstract: This article reports research that critically examined our teacher education outdoor education pedagogy. The purpose was to use visual ethnography to critique our teaching over twenty years of annual five-day bush-based residential camps. The bush camps were situated in an outdoor education programme contributing to a four-year undergraduate teacher education Bachelor of Physical Education in Aotearoa New Zealand. The research method involved photo-elicitation of selected photographs representing students’ experiences and our practices. We each wrote about the photographs using introspection and recall to create a layered narrative analysis reflecting on the educative focus of the images. We responded to …