Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Introduction By Max Angus, Guest Editor, And, Contents Page, Max Angus

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This issue will focus on the National Schools Project, an ambitious action research project involving 200 schools across the country. At one level, the Project is only incidentally pertinent to teacher educators - it has been a large, costly attempt to change the way schools operate; should it succeed in the longer term in achieving its purposes, prospective teachers will require a new range of skills and understandings. There is a second more immediate reason. In some states, teacher educators have played an influential role as 'critical friends' of school staff engaged in the taxing task of changing the way …

Research And Development As An Essential Work Practice For Teachers., Sharan Burrow

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Educators who have promoted the societal value of life-long learning must take heart from the growing acceptance by business and industry leaders that career-long education and development is essential for their survivaL This dawning realisation has been prompted by the harsh realities of competitive, global economics. Increasingly business leaders recognise that managers and employees must learn and adapt or contract and shut down. Ironically, much of the tough language of business and industry in regard to essential learnings and understandings (competencies) can be found in documented debate, system reports and teacher discourse of the seventies, a discourse labelled 'soft' by …

Partnership : Beyond Consultation, Susan Groundwater-Smith, Judy Parker, Michael Arthur

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In recent years, in Australia, there has been an increasing acknowledgment that work practices need to be developed around the concept of partnership with less intrusive and coercive management regimes. All participants are recognised as agents of the productive process, albeit on different scales and at different rates. Partnership does not preclude an understanding that some will be more advanced in their skills and understandings than others, that some will be in need of greater assistance than others. What is distinctive is that involvement in development will be collaborative, rather than coercive; cooperative, rather than competitive; enabling rather than disabling, …

Creating A Collaborative Culture In A National Schools Project School., John Rooney, Alastair Drew

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The school's desire to be a part of the National Schools Project arose from its local circumstances. Situated in the northern suburbs of AdelaIde, Salisbury North Primary School caters to a highly disadvantaged community. Over 80 per cent of students are from households whose income is low enough to qualify for government assistance. This figure has been steadily rising over the last few years. The student population is also remarkably diverse. Of an enrolment of 280 children in year levels 3-7, thirty percent are of non-English speaking background, twenty five percent are part of a new arrivals program, and over …

Qualifications Of Entrants Into Graduate Diploma Courses Of Education, Bruce Haynes

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The qualifications of those offered places in Graduate Diplomas in Education at Edith Cowan University in 1994 were of high quality and similar to the qualifications of students in these courses In recent years. An account of the quality of those qualifications is presented here to assist those wishing to judge the quality of teachers. Impressions of the quality of teachers in schools are formed by people using various types of evidence. Teachers' salary scales, levels of industrial dispute, academic qualifications, socio-economic origins, children's examination results, level of juvenile criminal and anti-social behaviour, public utterances by teachers and their representatives, …

Employment Of Interns Completing The University Of South Australia's Diploma In Education Course In 1992-1993., Tom Gad, David Homer

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Andy and Speedo (1993) describe the University of South Australia's intern-based Diploma in Education in which the university, four participating secondary schools and the Education Department formed a partnership allowing students to spend the majority of their time in the four schools and a home base in one of the schools.

Creating Waves : Towards An Educological Paradigm Of Teacher Education., David Tripp

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this paper it is argued that teacher education has already gone through two major stages (or waves) in its development, and is perhaps about to embark on a third. The first part presents a broad history of various models in terms of three major variables: where pre-service learning is located, how the study of education is constituted, and who controls accreditation. It is suggested that Australia is likely to return to an earlier model of teacher education unless teacher educators themselves produce a better way in which to meet current criticisms. A new' educological' model is proposed which involves …

Its Time For A Total Curriculum Approach To Preservice Teacher Education Programs : A Personal Viewpoint., Ian Macpherson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article contests the ways in which preservice teacher education programs have been conceptualised, planned and implemented in universities. The article, therefore, is NOT about responding in technocratic ways alone to institutional, practising school, and employer constraints. Rather, it is about conceptualising preservice teacher education programs so that intending graduates work towards becoming reflective practitioners with a commitment to social justice. Such a conceptualisation is considered appropriate given the increasing diversity of learners and learning settings; the increasing complexity of communities and society; the growing possibilities for engaging in truly collaborative approaches to teacher education; and the expanding challenge of …

A Meeting Of Minds : Journals, Gloria Latham

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

It is a circuitous and often lonely journey being educated and educating others. I have found journal writing to be a buffer against the isolation by recording moments along the path and lingering from time to time on a fresh idea or a memory. Reflective journals fill my bookshelves and feed my professional practice as I continue to map my journey. This is why when I first heard I would be teaching a new subject entitled, 'Reflective Learning and Teaching' with a three year journal component I felt confident, I knew I could share my own use of the professional …

What Motivates People To Become Teachers., Don Alexander, David Chant, Bernard Cox

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

There is no shortage of attempts to explain why people want to be teachers, and many of these attempts are used to frame this paper. Most of the research cited comes from the United States, some comes from Australia, and a few references are made to research from other countries. What attracts people to teaching has been a popular research theme for several decades, and it has been simultaneously quite popular in many countries. In Israet for example, 9.9% of all educational research done between 1974 and 1985 related to "teachers' education, attitudes and behaviours" (Peritz, 1989:62). Prominent among the …

"New Production Concepts" And The Reconstruction Of Teacher Education : A Post-Fordist Critique., Susan L. Robertson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The purpose of this paper is to critically analyse the reconstruction of teacher education in order to initiate a more systematic debate.To undertake this task, I will first locate the current proposals for the reform of teacher education in a brief historical context, before moving on to outline the proposed changes to teacher education. I will argue that these policy shifts must be understood within the wider post-Fordist debate and that the new production concepts of skilling, reprofessionalism and task integration provide a useful basis on which the current restructuring proposals. I will conclude my analysis by arguing that while …

Contents Page, And, Introduction By Rod Chadbourne, Guest Editor, Rod Chadbourne

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In 1992, the Commonwealth Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET) released a policy document titled: "Teacher Education: A discussion paper." Among other thought provoking points, it presented Australian teacher educators as relatively old and lacking current teaching experience in schools. According to the discussion paper, 81 % of teacher educators are over 38 years old, 37% are over 48, only 20% taught in schools during the 1980's, and more than 50% were school teachers before 1973 (pp 11- 12). Further, consistent with their "obsolescent teaching experience" (p.12), teacher educators "simply pass on the theory of teaching" (p.17) and many …

An Evaluation Of A Professional Development Model For Primary School Administrators, Wayne S. Mcgowan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Better Schools advocated a decentralisation in the administrative structure and a devolution of responsibilities within Western Australian education system. One outcome was the establishment of twenty nine school districts in 1987. Since then, these districts have faced the problem of providing for the professional development needs of their primary school principals. In response to this situation different districts have developed different models for the training and development of principals. This research evaluates, as a case study, a particular model developed in one of the districts. To help preserve the anonymity of the district chosen, it is referred to throughout the …

Promoting Reflection During Practice Teaching In An Australian University : Clarifying The Rhetoric And The Reality, Ross Brooker, Thomas A. O'Donoghue

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper focuses on the promotion of reflectivity during practice teaching amongst student teachers at a university in Australia. By way of background, current criticisms of what is termed the "technocratic" approach to teacher education are outlined and the emphasis which is placed on the development of the "reflective teacher" as a counterforce to this approach is considered. It is then argued that the "technocratic" position and the "reflective teacher" position need not necessarily be viewed as being in conflict. Rather, the contention is that they are both satisfactorily accommodated within Van Manen's (1977) "theory of reflectivity". For the study …

Partners In Teacher Education : A Programme In Alberta, Glenda Campbell-Evans

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

A persistent quest for improvement and change seems to be characteristic of Western education. New ways of thinking, doing and knowing occupy the time and energy of educators at all levels. Educators concerned with the pre service education of teachers plan and deliver programmes which vary from institution to institution. In Canada, some teacher education courses are school-based, some are traditional, some are developed from a school-university partnership model and some follow a discipline based degree. This article presents a descriptive account of the Teaching Partnership programme; a school based teacher education initiative implemented in September 1993 in Alberta, Canada. …

End-On Innovation : A School-Based Approach To Secondary Teacher Education, Kym L. Adey, Graeme Speedy

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

One year "end-on" teacher education programs following a degree have long been a common approach to initial preparation of teachers, particularly secondary teachers. These programs have also been the subject of consistent criticism. They have been variously described as too brief, too theoretical, overcrowded with too many topics, superficial, short on school practice. Major reviews such as the Report of the National Inquiry into Teacher Education (Department of Education 1980) and the Discipline Review of Teacher Education in Mathematics and Science (DEET 1989) have recommended increasing both the length of the programs and their emphasis on preparation for classroom practice. …

A School-Based Initiative : An Opportunity To Better Understand The Practicum, Jeff Northfield

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Each year since 1987 a group of 16-20 Dip. Ed. students at Monash University has been placed in three or four schools for an extended ten week experience. As a member of the staff at Monash, I have spent half-time in the schools during this practicum supervising student teachers, arranging school experience activities and conducting seminars for student teachers and school staff. In 1993 I had a half-time teaching allotment in one of the schools so that my classroom also became a source of common experiences for follow-up discussion. This paper outlines the restructuring of the traditional preservice program that …

Preservice Intern Teaching : A P-12 Approach In The University Of Melbourne Bachelor Of Teaching Degree For Graduates, Jocelyn Grant

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The report of the consultancy on future directions of the Institute of Education at the University of Melbourne (September 1992) recommended the replacement of concurrent undergraduate courses with a two year course in education for graduates in which the student spends an extensive period in schools. However, forms of school based teacher education had been practised for twenty years. This commitment to the role of schools in teacher education in the Diploma in Education, Bachelor of Education (Secondary) and Bachelor of Education (Primary) courses was a major factor in the development of the Bachelor of Teaching degree which will be …

Learning To Teach, Teaching To Learn, William Louden

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Clandinin, D., Davies, A, Hogan, P and Kennard, B. (1993)( Eds). Learning to teach, teaching to leam. New York: Teachers College Press. 238 pages.

Dow, G. (1979). Leaming to teach: Teaching to learn. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. 262 pages.

Reflective Practice In Teacher Education, John Smyth

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this paper I want to raise four issues: Why the interest in reflective approaches, now? What is to be gained from this approach? What are some of the advantages? What are the drawbacks? The basic argument of the paper is that the notion of "reflective practice" has generally had a positive history and connotation in schools, and that it is worth persisting with, but unless we develop some touchstone principles to guide us as to what it means to act reflectively, there is a distinct danger that a constructive and useful approach will be "at risk" as good ideas …

"I Wasn't Aware, Until I Was Aware" : Teaching Gender Equity To Second Year Education Students, Lesley Newhouse-Maiden, Susan Cullen

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The study sought to ascertain the success of a preservice unit in which one module focussed on developing 'gender fair' attitudes in education students. The subjects of the study were students in their second year of a Bachelor of Education degree studying the 'Social Justice and Equity in Schools' unit. Collaborative action research methods were used to collect data over a three month period. It was found that 85% of students attempted to use gender fair approaches and material when observed on teaching practice. While the outcome of pre-service teacher education was positive, it was acknowledged that there was always …

Clio And The Curriculum: History And The True Professional, Thomas A. O'Donoghue

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

For many years the history of education had a prominent place as a subject in courses for the education and training of teachers. At least three major aspects are discernible in the history programmes in question: the ideas of the ideologues of the subject, the history of institutions nourishing them, and a narrative study of education systems with the focus on Acts and "Great Men". One of the foci in each case was the curriculum. By the late 1960s the subject was so firmly entrenched in courses that Simon (1969: 91) could argue as follows: "There is no need to …

Back To The Future: The De-Professionalisation Of Initial Teacher Education In England And Wales, Peter Gilroy

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In many ways this paper reads like a report from an educational battlefield. From the 1980s those involved with initial teacher education in England and Wales can be seen as dealing with sporadic sniping at their work, followed by more substantial skirmishes, culminating in the 1990s with fUll-blooded assaults. This paper begins by describing the position being attacked, identifies the first intimations of aggression, then focuses upon the battering inflicted, in the 1990s upon initial teacher education. The analysis which follows indicates that, savage though it has been, the attack on initial teacher education is in some ways only a …

School-Based Teacher Education In The United States : An Uneven Evolution, Mary K. Ducharme, Edward R. Ducharme

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

What does school-based teacher education mean in the United States? Certainly, it does not mean that funding, decision-making and management of programs are the province of individual school districts; in the United States, teacher education is firmly ensconced in higher education. The overwhelming majority of teachers are prepared in colleges and universities, licensed by individual states, and employed by local school districts. Law, tradition, and funding suggest that this general pattern will not change soon. While teacher education is located primarily in higher education institutions, school-based teacher education exists. It exists in many forms, ranging from student teaching and other …

School Experience : A Collaborative Partnership, William Young

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper describes a number of special features of the school based internship program which has been developed at the University of New England (Northern Rivers). Arrangements are described for interns' time spent in classrooms, collaborative teaching strategies which underpin these placements, the security which supports interns' practice, and approaches to integrate their practice with university studies. Processes of appraisal of interns' development are explained, and the potential of mentoring for their teachers' professional development is examined.

In Search Of The Expert Pedagogue: How Is The Expert Physical Education Teacher Perceived?, Christine Albert

Theses : Honours

Like most professions, teaching needs to be concerned with the notions of expertise and effectiveness. This study aimed to determine how the expert physical education teacher is perceived by pupils, student teachers, and teacher educators. Perceptions were compared and contrasted to identify both areas of discrepancy and consensus with respect to subjects' views of expertise. Subject groups involved in the study consisted of 30 year 10 pupils, 30 student teachers completing a BArts degree majoring in physical education (3rd year), and 28 teacher educators (physical education specific). Perceptions of expertise were determined through the administration of a questionnaire which specifically …

An Evaluation Of The Procedures Used To Assess And Remediate The Perceived Writing Difficulties Of Undergraduate Students In The Faculty Of Education At Edith Cowan University, Les Puhl

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The standards of written literacy of teacher-education students at Edith Cowan University are perceived by many staff to be inadequate. The Faculty of Education's response to this perceived inadequacy is to carry out a mandatory skills-based remedial writing programme for students whose literacy competencies are judged to be deficient, The instrument used to assess the students' literacy competencies is the English Skills Assessment test. The students' performances in the various skills which the test purports to measure, also determine the area in which they are given remedial instruction if the results of the test suggest this is necessary. However, many …

Staff Development Through The Colloquium Process, Tim Emery

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study examines the Colloquium which is a professional development process used in Catholic schools. The Colloquium was designed to help people employed in catholic schools renew their vision of care and service to students and to seek to reshape the curriculum to reflect Gospel values more clearly. This thesis was a research evaluation of the Colloquium process and aimed to exploreits effectiveness in te1ms of its impact on the teachers and their work in Catholic schools. The study is based on the theoretical domains of faith development, school improvement end staff development. The design of the study involved before …

A Gender Analysis Of Teacher Feedback In Coeducational Secondary Physical Education Lessons, Paul R. Watson

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the verbal feedback distribution patterns of teachers in coeducational secondary physical education lessons were gender equitable. Previous literature indicated that inequality in verbal interaction and feedback existed in coeducational secondary physical education classes. This inequality tended to favour males to the disadvantage of females.

Fourteen lessons by male teachers and fourteen lessons by female teachers were video-recorded. The study utilized a modification of the systematic behaviour observation instrument developed by Siedentop (1983). Data obtained were categorized for analysis and interpretation. Statistical procedures were applied to establish the significance of the findings. …

Reading "Academic Writing", Mary Scott

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Helping studetns learn how to learn is now a concern for most U.K. institutions of higher education. The study skill given most emphasis is "academic writing", no doubt because it is on the quality of their written assignments that students' success or failure larely turns.