Education Commons^™

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 …

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.

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 …

Implentation Of A School-Based Science Programme : A Case Study, Adrianne Kinnear

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper tells the story of the first two years of a science programme which was planned and implemented by the staff of a local primary school. The programme formed the core of a submission for government funding as a school-based innovation. The study describes the degree to which the submission's aims were achieved and attempts to analyse the factors contributing to the project's outcomes.

A Typology Of Teaching For Use In Teacher Education, Lewis Wilson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Often when educators 'talk about teaching', they mention 'the nature of the child' and the expectations the child brings to the learning situation. Student teachers also bring expectations to learning situations in College. Though teacher educators inculcate respect in their students for pupil expectancies in school they can ignore the anticipations and concerns of their student teachers. A particular expectancy of many student teachers is that, while at College, they will be taught 'how to teach'. One can justifiably ignore this expectancy to a degree because ultimately each student teacher should develop his or her own style of teaching. To …

Alternative Teacher Education Programmes, Leonard H. King

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In trying to determine how and why alternative teacher programmes evolved, a number of critical questions come to mind. For instance what is meant by the concept of alternative? What are some reasons for the existence of alternative programmes? For the purposes of this paper, an alternative teacher education programme will be viewed as the provision of a programme option to the regular programme, that is, another complete programme in a teacher education institution which is fundamentally different.

Beginning Teachers : A Review Of Research, David Battersby

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

During the 1940's and early 1950's a small number of studies of beginning teachers were completed. However, in the late 1950's, particularly in Britain and the United States, the joint problem of teacher shortages and the high drop-out rate of young teachers gave rise to a new wave of studies on beginning teachers. In the last two decades, the recognition of this need has resulted in reports of over 250 studies and a plethora of literature about the beginning teacher. In categorising this material, a broad distinction has emerged between the theory-based research and literature and that which is orientated …

The Teachers Of The English Teachers : The Influence Of The School, The Community And The Training Institution, D. M. Murison

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

At the moment, teacher educators are being forced to contemplate their contribution to the making of a good teacher more seriously than before. Those who feel most vulnerable are the method teachers, since the failures of students in their first year of teaching are most often attributed to the method teacher. I will take English teachers as my example partly because that is my area of immediate concern, partly because so many teachers trained in other areas find themselves teaching English at some stage, and partly because in most states English is a compulsory study up to the end of …

A Communicating Styles Survey Of Primary School Teachers In North Queensland, Brian Noad, Ken Stafford

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study has focused on identifying inservice primary school teachers' communicating styles. An underlying assumption is that no one style can be considered good or bad; and, no style is preferred as more right than another. However, if clusters of primary school teachers' communicating styles can be identified it could provide empirical data on the ways teachers transmit and receive information. Such data might be useful to teacher educators for designing and implementing inservice programs based on the ways teachers transmit and receive information. Hence, the effectiveness of inservice education efforts might be improved because they could be related to …

Application For A Change Agent Strategy In Dissemination Of An Australian Innovation, Barry J. Fraser, David L. Smith

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Several excellent reviews of the general education change and innovation literature exist and this literature indicates that a widely adopted strategy for planned development and dissemination of curriculum innovations has been the Research, Development and Diffusion (RD&D) model. This empirical-rational strategy involves the initial development of teacher-proof curriculum packages followed by mass dissemination which assumes that teachers' adaptation and translation problems have been largely anticipated and accommodated. The RD&D strategy, however, has recently provoked increasing skepticism because teachers and schools often have failed to adopt new curriculum materials, to implement them in ways envisaged by the developers, or to continue …

Attitudes Towards Migrants And Needs In Teacher Training : Some Research Findings, R. W. Sealey

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The area of immigrant education has become a major source of interest, concern, comment, and research in recent years. This interest has its origins in the concern felt and views expressed at various conferences that many pupils in our schools are in need of an educational approach which will take cognisance of their linguistic and cultural differences.

Nutrition And The Primary School Child, Andrew P. Hills

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

With a greater range of foodstuffs available today, it is necessary to educate children in choosing the correct foods to eat, and why they should eat them in preference to others. The concept of nutrition is related closely to the growth and well being of the child and subsequently should be an important part of a child's primary school education.

Mature Aged Students In Teacher Education, Roger B. King, Bruce T. Haynes

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Mature age students in Teacher Education (21 and over on first enrollment) differ notably in what they look for in their course from the younger students. Analysis of a survey of third year Diploma of Teaching students’ ratings of the relevance of units for teaching showed that students over 25 years of age rated the Education and Educational Psychology units significantly more relevant to teaching than did the younger students. The older students also rated Language Arts units and a Remedial and Special Education Unit as significantly more relevant and Art Education units , Physical Education units and Science Education …

Work Experience And Trainee Teachers, Roger B. King, Bruce T, Haynes

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

An educational policy problem currently receiving some scrutiny is the advisabi lity of school teachers being persons with experience of work and life situations outside of educational institutions (See Williams, 1979, Vol. 1, p.99 and The Schools Commission, 1979). Proposals on this matter include enrolment of more mature age students in teacher training; requiring teacher trainee students to have significant work experience prior to or during their period of training; providing teachers with seminars and other interactive opportunities for improving their knowledge of industry, the world of work and the wider society; and providing opportunities for secondment of teachers to …

Training Teachers To Plan, Philip Deschamp, David Tripp

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

As part of an attempt to understand why teachers use particular approaches to planning, this study addressed the question of how primary teachers are taught to plan by training institutions in Western Australia. The main reason for conducting this survey was the assumption that, although teachers' planning is influenced by other factors (such as the particular requirements ofthe schools in which they teach, what they believe to be their role as teachers, and the characteristics of the particular students) a major influence, especially if they are new to teaching, is how they were taught to plan during their initial training.

Teacher Denigration : Societal Expectation, Or Par For The Course?, D. M. Cavanagh

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Once the classroom door is closed the teacher is in charge, though reminiscent of power tripping, is a popular assertion fraught with misconceptions of some magnitude. This paper attempts to explore such an assertion in the hope that once the content of the assertion is identified the training and education of the teacher would be more efficient and effective.

Qualitative Evaluation Concepts And Cases In Curriculum Criticism / Willis, G., Ed., Mccutchan, Berkely, 1978, I. Kerr

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In the introduction to the book Qualitative Evaluation the editor, George Willis, provides a careful analysis of the nature, potential and limitations of qualitative evaluation. The format of the book is such that the initial readings elaborate on aspects of his analysis. Then follows the case studies which chronicle a large variety of educational situations, the reports of which further elucidate one's understanding of qualitative techniques. The final chapters of the book are designed to synthesize the facets of qualitative evaluation presented in the case studies and to give some perspective to the functions of criticism in the field of …

Pecuniary Implications Of The Proposal For Extending The Teacher Education Programme In Universities, Ross J. Harrold

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The proposal by Fielding, Cavanagh and Widdowson is that universities should replace the present four-year pre-service teacher training (both end-on and concurrent) with a four-phase scheme requiring five years for the completion of the three pre-service phases. The first phase comprises three years' study towards a relevant undergraduate degree. The second is one year's internship in a school, under the tutelage of a 'master teacher'. In the third phase, the student returns to his Alma Mater to complete one year's study of the fundamental aspects of educational knowledge. The trainee becomes a fully certified teacher at the completion of this …

Success And Failure In Tertiary Education, With Reference To School Attended : A Re-Examination, E. P. Otto

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The first part of this paper reviews the research evidence accumulated to date which bears on the question, "How useful is information about a student's secondary school for an assessment of his likelihood of succeeding in tertiary studies?" Knowledge of whether a student entering university or college comes from a State, Catholic or other Private school appears to be useful to personnel making admissions decisions. The differing academic performance of students from these three types of schools is largely, unrelated to faculty choice, tertiary entrance qualifications, aptitude and intelligence. The way a student approaches his University or college work seems …

Mathematics Education, English Technological Universities And Variety Of Entry Into The Teaching Profession, A. G. Shannon

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The purpose of this paper is to raise the issue of genuine variety of entry into the teaching profession in Australia. The author's interest in mathematics and technological institutions has been used to focus the discussion on specific features, but his experience as a member of the Course Assessment Committee of the NSW Board of Teacher Education has made him aware of wider implications beyond the features peculiar to mathematics. Mathematics education itself is a term which can include the teaching of mathematics, studies about the learning of mathematics, and the preparation of mathematics teachers. The various aspects of mathematics …