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Full-Text Articles in Education

Teachers’ Perceptions And Experiences During An Annual Performance And Development Cycle, Kerry Elliott, John Hattie, Lorraine Graham Jan 2022

Teachers’ Perceptions And Experiences During An Annual Performance And Development Cycle, Kerry Elliott, John Hattie, Lorraine Graham

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this study, the perceptions and experiences of eighteen teachers across three primary schools in Victoria, Australia, were examined as they participated in an annual performance and development cycle, guided by the Australian Teacher Performance and Development Framework. The study sought to investigate teachers’ experiences and perceptions of the cycle to understand the aspects perceived as valuable to these teachers. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were held with teachers at the beginning and end of each school’s annual performance and development cycle, and responses were thematically analysed. Findings suggest that school leaders perform a critical role in the …


An Examination On Views On Teaching Practicum Held By Associate Teachers: A Qualitative Case Study, Gülten Koşar Jan 2022

An Examination On Views On Teaching Practicum Held By Associate Teachers: A Qualitative Case Study, Gülten Koşar

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

: Seeing the significance of exploring associate teachers’ views about teaching practicum, this qualitative case study aims to seek answers to the questions of what the self-perceived roles of four Turkish associate teachers in teaching practicum are and what their perceptions concerning the adequacy of the length of teaching practicum in Turkey are. Additionally, the present research targets finding answers to the questions of whether teaching practicum contributed to the professional development of the last trainee teachers the associate teachers have mentored and if mentoring fosters their own professional development. The results indicated they considered offering professional and emotional support …


University English Teachers’ Professional Development Through Academic Visits: Using Identity As A Theoretical Lens, Feng Ding, Rui Eric Yuan, Fiona Curtis Jan 2022

University English Teachers’ Professional Development Through Academic Visits: Using Identity As A Theoretical Lens, Feng Ding, Rui Eric Yuan, Fiona Curtis

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Academic visitor programs aim to enhance university teachers’ teaching and research capacity and intercultural competence. Its impact, however, has remained under-researched. Using the data collected from two rounds of in-depth interviews with 13 Chinese university English teachers over a year and a half, this study explored their experiences as academic visitors in the UK through the lens of professional identity. Findings revealed that the participants came with various expectations and negotiated and constructed different identities during their academic visits. The participants’ developing identities in turn affected their investment in their professional development in their situated contexts. The study provides important …


Teacher Education For A Rural-Ready Teaching Force: Swings, Roundabouts, And Slippery Slides?, Philip Roberts, Natalie Downes, Jo-Anne Reid Jan 2022

Teacher Education For A Rural-Ready Teaching Force: Swings, Roundabouts, And Slippery Slides?, Philip Roberts, Natalie Downes, Jo-Anne Reid

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The preparation of teachers for rural schools has been a significant focus of research for many decades. In this paper we update previous reports of the extent of Initial Teacher Education courses that prepare teachers for rural schools in Australia. We found that despite significant and continued calls for rural teacher education, there are still very few rural-teaching units offered in teacher education courses, and there are no courses at all that seek this as an explicit outcome. As the Australian Professional Standards for Teaching claim the importance of teachers understanding students and their contexts, we argue that effective teacher …


Changing Needs Of Special Education Preservice Teachers In The Practicum, Stella Gidalevich, Maayan Shalev Jan 2022

Changing Needs Of Special Education Preservice Teachers In The Practicum, Stella Gidalevich, Maayan Shalev

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Self-determination theory (SDT) suggests that people strive to fulfill three basic needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness. In teacher education research, fulfilling those needs is connected to positive skill development and increased wellbeing of preservice teachers and their students. Teacher education programs for special education preservice teachers (SEPT) include a professional experience in various school settings with neurodiverse students. This professional experience gives rise to specific needs for these SEPT. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 SEPT, studying at various stages of two teacher education programs. The findings were analyzed qualitatively. Results revealed developing and changing needs throughout the educational …


Engaging First Year Students In Assessment Rubrics: Three Personal Experiences, Katherine Ashman, Kristina Turner, Dona Martin Jan 2022

Engaging First Year Students In Assessment Rubrics: Three Personal Experiences, Katherine Ashman, Kristina Turner, Dona Martin

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In a direct effort to build a greater understanding of higher education teaching and learning opportunities, this study shares the journey of three university lecturers working to ensure best practice outcomes from criterion-referenced assessment [CRA]. The work was built on a belief that our respective higher education undergraduate students did not fully value the design structure or feedback outcomes inherent in CRA. Using a collaborative autoethnographic lens we pooled experiences, outcomes, challenges, assumptions, and accounts of unconscious biases from across our different tertiary education schools and subjects. Our examination enriched our understanding, our teaching, and our student outcomes. In sharing …


What Is Discussed In Mentoring Dialogues? An Analysis Of How Relations Of Control Influence The Content In Mentoring, Monika Merket Jan 2022

What Is Discussed In Mentoring Dialogues? An Analysis Of How Relations Of Control Influence The Content In Mentoring, Monika Merket

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Both international actors, like the OECD, and Norwegian policies for teacher education aim to increase students’ academic competence and the collaboration between university and practice. Mentoring dialogues between students and mentors in practice are in the intersection between university and the profession. Thus, this gives the mentors the responsibility to realize these policy intentions. This actualizes what is discussed in mentoring and how the negotiation of control between mentors and students has impact on what policy intentions are recontextualized in mentoring. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate which intentions are realized in mentoring through the use of criteria and the …


Preparing Initial Teacher Education Students For Flexible Learning Programs, Jeff Thomas, Bianca Coleman, Ebba Herrlander Birgerson Jan 2022

Preparing Initial Teacher Education Students For Flexible Learning Programs, Jeff Thomas, Bianca Coleman, Ebba Herrlander Birgerson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In Australia, there is currently no official training pathway or qualification required for working in Flexible Learning Programs (FLPs). This causes a problem for both new teachers wishing to work in this area and for employers who have no way of knowing whether a new teacher has the appropriate skills or knowledge to teach in this alternative context. To address this problem, we designed and implemented a program during which Initial Teacher Education (ITE) students were given the opportunity to experience teaching in a FLP. Here we report on the experiences and perceptions of the preparation program from the perspectives …


Australian Teachers’ Perception Of Their Preparedness To Teach Traumatised Students: A Systematic Literature Review., Glenys M. Oberg, India Bryce Jan 2022

Australian Teachers’ Perception Of Their Preparedness To Teach Traumatised Students: A Systematic Literature Review., Glenys M. Oberg, India Bryce

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

There are many studies documenting the negative impacts of trauma in childhood. However, despite schools and teachers being a known protective factor which have the potential to modify the negative impacts of complex trauma, limited research examining the perspectives of primary teachers working with traumatised children and their perceptions of preparedness to teach students living with complex trauma has been conducted. Thus a systematic literature review was conducted to collate and synthesise available empirical research on this topic. The review followed PRISMA guidelines and searches were conducted across academic databases for peer reviewed studies published between 2011 and 2022. Only …


Academic Freedom In Teacher Education; Between Certainty And Uncertainty, Marita Cronqvist Jan 2022

Academic Freedom In Teacher Education; Between Certainty And Uncertainty, Marita Cronqvist

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this study, academic freedom in teacher education is related to preservice teachers’ possibilities to develop critical and autonomous thinking in teaching practice. Self-awareness and self-confidence provide certainty to deal with the uncertain situation in teaching where creativity and judgment must be given priority over an instrumental teaching based on authorities, effective methods or ready-made solutions. Teacher educators thus need to promote academic freedom as both certainty and uncertainty. The aim of this paper is to provide enhanced understanding of the meanings and implications for teacher education of academic freedom, in the tension between certainty and uncertainty, based on a …


Australian Professional Standards For Teachers: Perspectives Of Western Australian Primary School Teachers, Thomas Bertram Quinlivan, Grace Oakley, Jennifer K. Shand Jan 2022

Australian Professional Standards For Teachers: Perspectives Of Western Australian Primary School Teachers, Thomas Bertram Quinlivan, Grace Oakley, Jennifer K. Shand

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This qualitative study investigated the perspectives of Western Australian teachers at the Proficient career stage on the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST), or ‘the Standards’. Fifteen teachers from five independent schools participated in semi-structured interviews and five themes were identified, under the broad categories of Strengths and Challenges of the Standards. Strengths identified were that the Standards support professional practice and career development and are user-friendly. Challenges identified were that the Standards can present challenges to professional practice and are problematic in the way that they are presented. Importantly, participants felt that the Standards ignored important social and relational …