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Teacher Development : Curricular Problems And Paradigm Possibilities, Darol Cavanagh

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper attempts to analyse sections of Fielding's 'non-deterministic' model of teacher development from a curriculum perspective. The need for such an analysis is obvious, since there has been a spate of reports on teacher education in recent years; Auchmuty (1980) at the national level and Correy (1980) at the State (N.S.W.) level, to name just two. An implicit assumption of these reports is that there is a need to know what teacher development is, how it is being conducted in institutions, if it can be improved and if so, how. Such reports often suffer a similar fate; the rhetoric …

Some Implications Of A Non-Deterministic Model Of Teacher Development, Barry A. Sheehan, Ramon Lewis

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Since the 1950s, pre-service teachers and teacher educators have been caught in a quagmire of confusion as teacher education came to be held in increasingly poor repute. More recently, in Britain and Australia particularly, colleges and faculties of education took the major brunt of cuts in spending on education. Most of the old certainties - the certainty of a job at the end of one's training; the certainty of the absorption model of teacher training characterised by the 'give 'em a bit of everything and turn 'em loose' philosophy; the certainty of tenure in a college lecturing position - vanished …

Scientific Theory And Teacher Education Theory, John H. Chambers

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

According to the empiricist tradition, science starts with observation. The observer should in an unprejudiced fashion faithfully record what he sees, hears, etc., about him. From his (admittedly) limited number of observation statements, the laws and theories of science can be established by generalization. Chalmers summaries the view when he writes, If a large number of A's have been observed under a wide variety of conditions, and all those observed A's without exception possessed the property B, then all A's have the property B. (1976,5) There are more sophisticated versions of the empirical account, but the core of them is …

The Morality Of Moral Education, C. T. Symes, A. J. Fielding, J. D. Mackenzie

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The Background - Moral Education as the Traditional Source of Personal Development. One of the abiding interests of moral philosophy is how some measure of competence at existence can not only be attained, but attained to an excellent degree. The idea that man is born imperfect but may so order his life that he approaches a more complete state of perfection has been echoed in the words and deeds of men through the ages. It is reflected in our willingness to revere those men and women who in their lives neared the condition of existential entelechy. Throughout the ages, for …

Reconceptualizing The Curriculum Development Process Through In-Service Education, Kerry J. Kennedy

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Recent studies published by the National Science Foundation and the Rand Corporation have indicated the immense difficulties that confront anyone seeking to bring about change in education (Helgeson, Blosser and Howe, 1977; Suydam and Osborne, 1977; Wiley, 1977; Berman and McLaughlin, 1978). In particular, these studies indicate the special problems posed by attempts to implement curriculum change. On the one hand, there has been strong teacher resistance to externally designed products. Perhaps the most startling result of the NSF studies was the reported lack of use of the major curriculum projects of the 1960s and 1970s. On the other hand, …

Personal Construct Theory As A Basis For A Non-Deterministic Model Of Teacher Development, Tony Fielding

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In an earlier paper (Fielding, Cavanagh and Widdowson, 1978), an attempt was made to portray the developmental aspects of the pre-service teacher education experience as a process of role integration. It was assumed that the student integrates several new roles into personality in dealing with the tasks of becoming a teacher. The paper's main assertion was that the tasks could not be adequately completed unless they were accompanied by role transformations and integrations. In this paper further ideas are presented which may provide additional understanding of the process of role integration. The central theme of these ideas is that role …

Less Idealism And More Realism : The Programme For Teacher Education, David Mcnamara

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

First, on a positive note, I wish to nominate three issues which are implicit in Fielding's paper which busy teacher trainers and educational researchers often set aside, possibly because of the disturbing consequences of thinking seriously about them. The first is that he is prepared to recognise the limitations, indeed failings, of contemporary teacher training* programmes, in so far as available evidence indicates that training effects are rapidly 'washed out' when beginning teachers enter the classroom and that, setting aside periods of school-based practice, students are disenchanted with teacher training courses (for example, see Desforges & McNamara 1977; Shaw, 1981; …

Carpenters Or Cabinet-Makers : The Developing Role Of Teachers In Urban Society, Crispin Jones

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Fielding's article is a brave attempt to make more systematic the present inchoate organisational structures by which we train and in-service educate teachers. In England and Wales, government cuts in education have led to, amongst other depredations, many thousands of newlyqualified teachers being unable to find jobs. One of the consequences of this is that most of the teachers in British schools in the year 2000 are already in post, already initially trained. The concern of many teacher educators therefore, has partly moved away from initial teacher training (IT) towards the provision of a more efficient and comprehensive pattern of …

Use Of Student Perceptions In Facilitating Improvement In Classroom Environment, Barry J. Fraser, Teresa Seddon, Jeffrey Eagleson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Probably the best known and most widely used technique for studying teaching in order to improve it is classroom interaction analysis (Dunkin & Biddle, 1974; Peterson & Walberg, 1979). The coding ot classroom communication (usually verbal) according to category schemes has been used extensively and successfully in preservice and inservice education as a way of making teachers aware of and subsequently improving their own teaching. Used for this purpose, interaction analysis has provided teachers with a method of obtaining specific feedback on their classroom practice and a firm basis for reflection, discussion, and improvement related to their teaching.

As an …

The Merging Of Institutions: Contextual Decisions And Teacher Training, D. M. Cavanagh

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

With the Fraser's razors in operation and the impending collapse of numerous College's of Advanced Education as independent autonomous institutions and the unitary vision of the Correy Committee on a teacher training style for New South Wales, certain cautionary warnings should be uttered concerning the direction that teacher training could take if such stupidity is allowed to go unchallenged. The necessity for such warnings is fairly obvious: (1) there may exist in the shuffle for compliance a built in bias towards rigidity in teacher training; (2) political expediency or economy may become confused as good common sense; (3) educational principles …

Writing The South-West Language, Wilfrid Douglas

Research outputs pre 2011

This book was intended primarily for South-west Aboriginal adults who were asking for help in writing their own language.

For a period, many of the South-west people were ashamed to speak their own language in front of "Wetjalas" (i.e. European Australians). A number of factors have changed this attitude so that, to-day, most of the people have become rightly proud of their old culture and language and many are attempting to salvage what they can of the South-west traditions.

Search '82 : A Report Of The May Vacation Programme For Gifted And Talented Children, Lou Thompson

Research outputs pre 2011

The report which follows has been prepared by the committee responsible for the organisation of 'Search 82' • From the time of the announced amalgamation of the four campuses to form the Western Australian College of Advanced Education, a group of representative from each campus with concern and expertise in the area of gifted education, has been meeting. on a-regular basis. The May vacation programme was a combination of their efforts and the group is continuing to meet in order to ensure a coordinated approach. While all members of the committee contributed a great deal, special recognition. must be given …

Report Of The Programme Review Committee, John Liddelow, Derek Briggs, John Williamson, Brian Lawrence

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

Teacher Education - Today And Tomorrow, Geraldine C. Gilliss

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teacher education today presents a formidable challenge to both policy makers and curriculum designers. In its broadest aspect, teacher education faces the same problems as the schools it serves - i.e., how to choose from the whole array of the world's knowledge the selection of information and skills which will most benefit its clients. In addition, teacher education works within much more stringent time constraints. While the predominant preparation pattern in Canada is the four-year Bachelor of Education, which may contain up to two years of professional content, the largest province and largest producer of teachers, Ontario, still adheres to …

Classroom Management: Managerial Functions In Teaching, Richard Coatney

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Classroom management has long been a concern of educators. Traditionally, the term has referred to the use of discipline by the teacher to minimize student disruptions in the classroom. Recently, conceptions of classroom management have emerged that are broader than the traditional one. For example, Berliner speaks of the teacher as an executive (1982).

Today's teacher is best conceived of as an executive. The modern teacher does not just dispense information, he or she really manages access to information. The modern teacher doesn't just give love, he or she provides environments that provide students security and rewards so they can …

A Research Base For Art Curricula In Teacher Education, Rob Fielding

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In order to determine the general achievements and attitudes of incoming student teachers into the Institute of Advanced Education at James Cook University, the author designed a series of tests which were used to indicate the chievements of students in terms of their knowledge and skills in the visual arts and the attitudes which they held towards this field. The information obtained in the author's opinion, is most helpful in the development of courses which most appropriately prepare student teachers for the role of teach ing art in the schools.

Student Variables: Adjust For Pre-Service Teacher Needs, David W. Van Cleaf

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Older students are returning to colleges and universities in ever increasing numbers. A recent article in "The Chronicle of Higher Education (Margarrell, 1981) reported that one third of the college and university population is now twenty-five or older.

College and university courses that were once populated by a relatively honogeneous group of younger students may need modifications. The older students are likely to be more mature learners and bring with them a wider experiential background. Therefore, assignments, instruction and experiences that were included to educate a younger population may need to be re-defined in order to address the educational needs …

The Communicative Approach To Language Teaching: Some Important Aspects, Roland T. Williams

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The past decade in the study and teaching of language - foreign Ianguages (FLI. English as a second language (ESLI. and English as a foreign language (EFL) - has seen a shift away from perceiving language as 'code' (a linear sequence of structural elements) to perceiving language as the performance of communicative acts within social contexts. Up to the early 1970s language teaching was seen as a matter of exposing students to sequentially·graded grammatical structures (for example, the pres~nt continuous verb form, I am walking might l;Ie taught before the past form I walked) and invented language forms divorced from …

The Early Childhood Multicultural Classroom: Implications For Teacher Education, Rita Kino

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article records findings and impressions gained from a selfbrlef·ing study of multicultural early childhood settings in British schools~ It begins by providing background information which motivated interest in the work. It presents the issues relevant to early childhood multi· cultural programmes around which questions were asked of ~nd administrators in a wide range of British early childhood settings. Conclusions are then presented, founded on replies to these These conclusions are useful for interpreting attitudes to the issues which are prevalent in Britain and may have a bearing in the Australi!ln early childhood setting.

An Ethnographic Approach To The Initial Professional Education Of Teachers, K. J. Stevens

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Educational ethnography has become part of the research tradition of both sociology and anthropology, that is, "research on and in educational institutions based on participant observation and/or permanent recordings of everyday life in naturally-occurring settings" (Delamont & Atkinson, 1980). While most graduate students of education will today be familiar with ethnographic research, this paper outlines a way in which first year students can also make creative use of some aspects of this approach.

During their professional education, pre-service teachers are expected to make the transition from the status of student to that of teacher. For some this is an abrupt …

Discrepancy In Attitudes To Australia Between Educated And Non/Low-Educated Lebanese Immigrants, Abrahim W. Ata

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Educational experience prior to immigration usually influences the overall ability to adjust in a new culture, including formulation of attitudes, perception and indeed the ability to acquire a new language. The latter in particular can serve quite accurately in determining the degree of acculturation and a potentially successful interaction with the host culture.

Indeed, an attainment of a high level of education (including the acquisition of a new language) does not imply a complete cultural integration. One can, however, safely state that the Lebanese immigrants who have attained a high level of education are better adjusted, more easily accepted by …

Do Early Field Experiences Make A Difference In Perceived Professional Development And Commitment To Teaching Of University Students Preparing To Become Elementary School Teachers?, F. W. Sesow

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Although the concept of early field experiences in teacher/preparation programs is not unique, the attempts to measure the effectiveness of directed experiences in elementary schools for freshmen and sophomores is limited. These experiences have been included in preparation programs as a response to students and faculty feeling a need for direct concrete experiences during the early phases of the preparation program. This need is based on the theory that students should have concrete professional field experiences prior to enrolment in professional courses which should allow for greater understanding of the abstract theories and concepts of teaching and learning presented by …

Western Australan State Schools : Women In Promotional Positions In The Primary Division, Pauline Hutchinson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper examines past trends, prevailing statistics and social attitudes regarding promotional opportunities for males and females in the Primary Division of the Education Department of Western Australia. The purpose was to explore why males occupy most executive positions despite the fact they constitute a minority in the total workforce.

Changes In Beginning Teachers' Attitudes Towards Individualised Teaching Approaches During The First Year Of Teaching, A. J. Rentoul, Barry J. Fraser

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

It is generally acknowledged that the beginning months of teaching can be a formidable and even painful ordeal for many teachers. For this reason, the beginning teacher has been the focus in a number of key studies conducted recently in various countries. The recent Auchmuty Report has recommended that teacher education research should include "Iongitudinal studies of the socialisation of teachers, covering ... the early years of teaching, with particular reference to the acquisition of professional attitudes and values." The present research is consistent with this recommendation because it represents one of the few existing studies of specific pedagogical attitudes …

Cultural And Linguistic Factors Affecting The Educational Achiements Of Aboriginals - An Aboriginal Perspective, Vic Forrest

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Much has been written on Aboriginal education both within Western Australia and Australia generally but, in terms of the delivery of education to Aboriginal students, it can be argued that there has been little change in the attitude of those in control. This paper, in looking at Aboriginal education, will examine some of the following points: definitions of Aboriginality; the nature of cultural differences; the exclusion years in Western Australia; Government policies; language as a barrier; and current achievements of Aboriginal students.

South West Aboriginal Studies Bibliography : With Annotations And Appendices, Anna Haebich, Lois Tilbrook

Research outputs pre 2011

The south west of Western Australia was the first region of the state to experience the impact of European settlement, when the Swan River Colony was founded in 1829. Yet the Aborigines of this unique area have remained largely obscured in its history for almost a full 150 years. This is ironical, as their counterparts of the Pilbara, Goldfields and Kimberleys, feature prominently in literature, and have captured the imagination of artists, writers and academic researchers alike.

There are several reasons for the neglect of the original inhabitants of the south west by observers of the day, and later by …

Proceedings Of The Seventh Annual Science Education Conference: Theme: Science Education In The Eighties, Denis Goodrum (Ed.)

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

Teaching Children With Special Needs: A Western Australian Perspective, Kevin Casey

Research outputs pre 2011

The education of children with special needs in Australia gained considerable impetus from the report of the Interim Committee for the Australian Schools Commission under the chairmanship of Professor Karmel when, in 1973, it made strong recommendations for a substantial increase in the government expenditure on special education. It highlighted inadequacies in the existing services in special education both in terms of facilities and manpower and suggested greater responsibilities for the education of handicapped children be taken by the State Education Departments. The upgrading of qualifications of teachers in Special Education and the necessary establishment of suitable courses in Australian …

New Wine, New Bottles : Some Recent Developments In History Teaching And Assessment In Victoria And England, David Stockley

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article examines recent developments in the structure and assessment of Year 12 Australian History in Victoria and discusses the assumptions underlying those developments. Comparisons are drawn with the Schools Council "History 13-16" Project in England. A number of implications stemming from these changes are then discussed in the context of teacher education. We shall see that a new wine of history content and method is now being put in a new bottle of assessment forms.

A Delphi Study Of Lecturer Role Performance, David Battersby

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The use of student rating questionnaires to assess the teaching performance of lecturing staff in institutions of higher education has been widely debated. In the light of arguments for and against student ratings, it seems realistic to suggest that the evidence gained from their use probably falls far short of a complete assessment of a lecturer's teaching contribution. However, if teaching performance is to be evaluated, then systematic measures of student attitudes, opinions and observations can hardly be ignored. It was on the basis of both these views that a study was undertaken in New Zealand which focused on the …