Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

“Miss, I Am Not Being Fully Prepared”: Student - Teachers’ Concerns About Their Preparation At A Teacher Training Institution In Jamaica, Carmel G. Roofe, Paul Miller

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The issue of teacher preparation continues to occupy academic discourse relating to student outcomes and student achievement (Stronge, Ward & Grant, 2011). Research has supported the view that there is an inextricable connection between student outcomes, quality of teaching and teachers, and teacher preparation (Darling-Hammond 2005; Grover 2002). Similarly, theories about students’ self efficacy beliefs (e.g. Bandura, 1977; Dweck, 2000) and Institutional Habitus (Bourdieu, 1977) have been advanced in relation to students’ study experience, motivation and coping mechanisms. Using data from a focus group comprising 30 third year students enrolled in a four year teacher training pogramme in Jamaica, this …

Conceptualising Changes To Pre-Service Teachers’ Knowledge Of How To Best Facilitate Learning In Mathematics: A Tpack Inspired Initiative, Frank G. Bate, Lorraine Day, Jean Macnish

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In 2010, the Australian Commonwealth government initiated an $8m project called Teaching Teachers for the Future. The aim of the project was to engage teacher educators in a professional learning network which focused on optimising exemplary use of information and communications technologies in teacher education. By taking part in this network, participants were afforded opportunities to transform their practice through a range of localised initiatives that applied information and communications technologies to the art and science of teaching and learning. One of these initiatives involved re-engineering a university mathematics unit targeted at pre-service teachers. Information and communications technologies were purposefully …

Education For Sustainability: A Case Study Of Pre-Service Primary Teachers' Knowledge And Efficacy, Gerard Effeney, Julie Davis

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study investigated the relationships between knowledge and efficacy for teaching sustainability in a sample of 266 pre-service primary teachers at a large, metropolitan university in Australia. A survey gathered information about the participant’s attitudes and self-efficacy for education for sustainability, along with their perceived and actual knowledge of environmental sustainability issues. The participants typically believed they were confident in their abilities to engage with education for sustainability with self-efficacy increasing with increased levels of perceived knowledge. However no relationship was found between perceived knowledge and actual knowledge which suggests that the participants either do not feel constrained by their …

Teachers’ Knowledge Of Anxiety And Identification Of Excessive Anxiety In Children, Clea Headley, Marilyn A. Campbell

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study examined primary school teachers’ knowledge of anxiety and excessive anxiety symptoms in children. Three hundred and fifteen primary school teachers completed a questionnaire exploring their definitions of anxiety and the indications they associated with excessive anxiety in primary school children. Results showed that teachers had an understanding of what anxiety was in general but did not consistently distinguish normal anxiety from excessive anxiety, often defining all anxiety as a negative experience. Teachers were able to identify symptoms of excessive anxiety in children by recognizing anxiety-specific and general problem indications. The results provided preliminary evidence that teachers’ knowledge of …

Beginning Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Pedagogical Knowledge And Skills In Teaching: A Three Year Study, Doris Choy, Angela F. L. Wong, Kam Ming Lim, Sylvia Chong

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the beginning teachers’ perceptions of pedagogical knowledge and skills in teaching in Singapore. Data was collected from the beginning teachers at three time points: the exit point of the teacher education programme, the end of their first year and third year of teaching. In this three year study, the focus is to examine the beginning teachers’ perceptions of their development in the following teaching related factors: lesson planning, classroom management and instructional strategies. The results showed that beginning teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and skills increased significantly, but at different rates, in all three …

The Moral Imagination In Pre-Service Teachers’ Ethical Reasoning, Amy Chapman, Daniella Forster, Rachel Buchanan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper will discuss findings from a teaching project pilot study designed to investigate the ways in which pre-service teachers understand and reason through ethical tensions perceived to arise during their final professional experience situation. The project utilised an assessment strategy based on the ‘community of inquiry’ model to document the ways in which pre-service teachers understand and reason through ethical tensions perceived to arise in their profession. Whilst there is significant research examining the pedagogical development of pre-service teachers’ knowledge and skills after their internship experience, there is little research examining their experience of ethical tensions, nor ways to …

“When The Wattle Comes Out, The Turtles Are Ready”: Success Of The Enhanced Teacher Training Program, Ingrid Harrington

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teacher preparation and preparedness have been the focus of much research connecting quality teaching and learning, retention, and teacher satisfaction (Halsey, 2005; Hayes, Mills, Christie, & Lingard, 2006; MCEETYA, 2006). The successful recruitment and retention of teachers to rural and remote schools Australia-wide has been problematic for all states and territories (Vinson, 2002). Education departments have implemented a number of immersion programs with success (Halsey, 2005) in order to empower new teachers with the cultural and classroom awareness necessary for teaching in Indigenous communities. In 2006, the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education and Training (DET) implemented the Enhanced …

“I Am A Pibidiana”: Societal Relations As The Locus Of Sustained Development In A Teacher Education Program In Brazil, Michele Salles El Kadri, Wolff-Michael Roth

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Many teachers point to the theory-practice gap between university training and their school-based work. Coteaching in conjunction with cogenerative dialoguing as a means of teacher induction has been shown to overcome this gap. In this paper, we articulate teacher development in the praxis-centered {coteaching | cogenerative dialoguing} setting of one Brazilian teacher education program in terms of changing societal relations. We draw on Vygotsky, Leont'ev, and Dewey's ideas on development. The results exhibit the experience of teaching generally and the extant societal relations specifically as the condition for teacher development. Implications for teaching education programs are discussed.

How Can Technology Make This Work? Preservice Teachers, Off-Campus Learning And Digital Portfolios, Wendy Moran, Les Vozzo, Jo-Anne Reid, Marilyn Pietsch, Caroline Hatton

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Utilising appropriate Information Communication Technologies (ICT) as instructional tools in teacher education can be a challenging yet worthwhile endeavour. This paper reports the difficulties and benefits of a recent inter-university project requiring preservice primary teachers to construct professional digital portfolios using the support of ICT. Challenges with regard to communication and learning were numerous as 34 preservice teachers (PSTs) from three universities in NSW (situated in country towns, and in Sydney) worked together as a collaborative learning community. Meeting regularly face-to-face during the 12-month process was not always possible and so ICT resources were employed to facilitate instruction and communication. …

Turkish Primary School Teachers’ Opinions About Problem Posing Applications: Students, The Mathematics Curriculum And Mathematics Textbooks, Çiğdem Kılıç

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Problem posing is one of the most important topics in a mathematics education. Through problem posing, students gain mathematical abilities and concepts and teachers can evaluate their students and arrange adequate learning environments. The aim of the present study is to investigate Turkish primary school teachers’ opinions about problem posing applications for students, the mathematics curriculum and textbooks. A 30-item questionnaire was developed by the researcher and administered to 18 primary schools. Altogether, 277 primary school teachers participated in the study. The results showed that Turkish primary school teachers have positive views about problem posing applications related to students but …

Building Early Career Teacher Resilience: The Role Of Relationships, Rosie Le Cornu

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

There are serious concerns around the sustainability of teaching given the attrition rate of early career teachers. In Western countries we know that between 25% and 40% of beginning teachers are likely to leave the teaching profession in the first 5 years (Ewing & Smith, 2003; Day & Gu, 2010). Clearly, there is a need to better understand the experiences of early career teachers and to investigate, in new ways, how the problem of teacher attrition can be addressed. This paper is based on a collaborative qualitative research project funded by the Australian Research Council that aimed to investigate the …

Literacy Coaching Roles In Diverse Contexts Of Teaching And Learning: New Ways Of Working, Lisa J. Van Leent, Beryl Exley

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

As the demands placed on the literacy coach have evolved, so too have the roles of these educational providers who are often responsible for working with school teams to turn around student performance on standardized literacy tests. One literacy coach based in a Queensland primary school recounts her experiences via open-ended interview over a two year period. We offer a theorisation of the newways of working as a literacy coach in a context of teaching and learning marked by diversity.

Pre-Service Teachers’ Preferred Methods Of Assessment: A Perspective From Saudi Arabia, Amani K. Hamdan Alghamdi

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teacher-candidate course assessment is one topic that has not been adequately explored in teacher education literature where pre-service teachers’ voices are rarely heard. Assessment methods in pre-service teacher programs across the world, including in Saudi Arabia, have received little exploration in the literature. This mixed-methods study explored a group of female pre-service teachers (n = 83) enrolled in a Diploma of Education program to identify their preferred method of assessment for their learning. The results showed that these individuals preferred a group assignment, consisting of a written report and an oral presentation, over an individual assignment, consisting of an …

How School And University Supervising Staff Perceive The Pre-Service Teacher Education Practicum: A Comparative Study, Jeanne M. Allen, Angelina Ambrosetti, David Turner

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Abstract: This paper reports on research conducted in two Australian universities to evaluate factors that are perceived to significantly impact on the professional experiences of pre-service teachers during practicum. Contextualised within teacher education programs in an urban university in Tasmania and a regional university in Queensland, the particular focus of this paper is the beliefs and experiences of school and university supervising staff members regarding the efficacy of the practicum in enabling students to integrate into practice the knowledge and skills they have acquired in their university coursework. Findings generated from the comparative analysis of both mixed methods studies revealed …

Pre-Service Secondary Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Inclusive Education, Shane Costello, Christopher Boyle

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The attitudes held by pre-service teachers have been shown to affect their willingness and ability to implement an inclusive approach to education. A sample consisting of 193 pre-service secondary teachers enrolled in secondary education courses at an Australian university were surveyed to determine their attitudes towards inclusive education, with a particular focus on attitudinal changes across the years of study. Results indicated that pre-service secondary teachers held positive attitudes towards inclusive education; however there was a significant decline in positive attitudes through the years of study. Pre-service secondary teachers enrolled in postgraduate programs were more inclusive than those enrolled in …

Middle Level Mathematics Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Growth Through Professional Development: Differences Based On Mathematical Background, Tara Stevens, Zenaida Aguirre-Munoz, Gary Harris, Raegan Higgins, Xun Liu

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Profile analyses were used to investigate differences in the self-efficacy growth of teachers with more and less mathematics background as the teachers participated in professional development across two summers. Professional development activities were associated with increases in teachers’ self-efficacy; however, without considering mathematics knowledge for teaching, teachers with more math background tended to benefit more than those with less background. Nonetheless, teachers with less math background had higher levels of teacher self-efficacy although this gap was closed by the last measurement. Such considerations are important when designing professional development as teachers may have different needs based on specific characteristics such …

Second Life, First Experiences:Using Virtualworlds In Teacher Education, Judith L. Wilks, Lisa Jacka

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Innovating in a higher education teaching context is never a straightforward matter. There are many factors influencing how, what, and when we teach, and the students’ experiences of these things. This is especially so in the context of pre-service teacher education, forever evolving in response to rapidly changing technological, political and socio-cultural landscapes. In this paper we relate and reflect on the innovation of utilising the 3D immersive virtual world of Second Life in two secondary education units of study. We discuss and interrogate our own and our students’ experiences when we used Second Life to teach in during the …

The Lived And Living Bodies Of Two Health And Physical Education Tertiary Educators: How Embodied Consciousness Highlighted The Importance Of Their Bodies In Their Teaching Practice In Hpe, Jennifer A. Mcmahon, Helen E. Huntly

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports on narrative research that focuses on two tertiary Health and Physical Education (HPE) educators’ bodies. In particular, it explores how their lived encounters impacted upon their everyday teaching practice. Narrative accounts are used to present their lived and living bodies in this research. Findings suggest that they were enacting body pedagogies and embodied experiences in various ways influencing pedagogical practice and at times colliding with pre-service teachers’ bodies. ‘Embodied consciousness’ highlights an importance for all educators to better understand how their bodies are positioned and thus influence their practice. This research acknowledges the body as a site …

Workplace-Based Practicum: Enabling Expansive Practices, Bruce A. Pridham, Craig Deed, Peter Cox

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Effective pre-service teacher education integrates theoretical and practical knowledge. One means of integration is practicum in a school workplace. In a time of variable approaches to, and models of, practicum, we outline an innovative model of school immersion as part of a teacher preparation program. We apply Fuller and Unwin’s (2004) expansive and restrictive conceptual framework of workplace learning to a case study of an immersive practicum experience to discuss themes of participation, personal development and institutional arrangements in relation to school-based practicum. Enablers and constraints are identified for our immersion model of workplace-based practicum. Based on the data analysis …

Teacher Identity In The Early Career Phase: Trajectories That Explain And Influence Development, Chad M. Morrison

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Early career teaching is a difficult phase to navigate with many newly qualified teachers choosing to leave the profession within the first few years. The professional identities of these and other teachers are shaped by challenging and unanticipated experiences. The schools where this teaching takes place also have profound influence on these teachers’ individual responses to their new roles. This paper reports on how the contexts and professional environments of fourteen early career teachers contributed to the establishment of three distinct trajectories of teacher identity: the emergent, tenuous and distressed. An examination of their developing identities revealed the influential experiences …

Teachers’ Perceptions On The Changes In The Curriculum And Exit Examinations For Biology And Human Biology, Mirko Krüger, Mihye Won, David F. Treagust

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In the age of educational accountability, national and state-wide measures are assumed to secure and improve the educational quality. However, educators often wonder how much a new accountability measure may improve the actual teaching and learning practices when the agents of change (teachers) are not active participants of such educational reform. Nevertheless, in Australia, the National Curriculum is rolling in for the first time for K-10 school education in 2012-13. In Western Australia, the new Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) system with new compulsory exit examination requirements has been implemented recently for Years 11-12. In this study, using the …

Learning To Teach English Language In The Practicum: What Challenges Do Non-Native Esl Student Teachers Face?, Zhengdong Gan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study investigates the challenges sixteen non-native preservice ESL teachers in a Bachelor of Education (English Language) (BEdEL) programme from Hong Kong experienced in an eight-week teaching practicum. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and reflective journals were collected from all 16 participants to obtain a detailed description of the participants’ perceptions of their field-based practicum experiences. Results indicate that the preserviece teachers’ practicum was characterized by a reality shock due to difficulties in experimenting with pedagogical practices they were taught in the BEdEL programme, and a lack of sense of control in class. This reality shock could destabilize the already …

Ensuring Student Success: Establishing A Community Of Practice For Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Preservice Teachers, Radha Iyer, Martin Reese

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper discusses the primacy of communities of practice within learning contexts at university and during practicum for culturally and linguistically diverse preservice teachers. The study illustrates that learning occurs when there are adequate opportunities for participation and practice. Data from interviews with 28 culturally and linguistically diverse preservice teachers illustrate that tensions created by social, cultural differences impact upon modes of identification and dimensions of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998). The study concludes by reiterating the importance of establishing proactive communities of practice to ensure success in learning and practice for this group of preservice teachers.

The Effects Of Problem-Based Learning On Metacognitive Awareness And Attitudes Toward Chemistry Of Prospective Teachers With Different Academic Backgrounds, Cemal Tosun, Erdal Senocak

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The aim of this study was to reveal the effects of Problem-based Learning (PBL) on the metacognitive awareness and attitudes toward chemistry of teacher candidates with different academic backgrounds. The study was carried out on one group using both pre- and post-test experimental studies. The findings of the study were obtained through quantitative approaches. The sample of the study was 70 first-year undergraduate students at a state university in Turkey taking General Chemistry/General Chemistry-II classes. The study was implemented during the spring semester of the 2011-2012 academic years and for a period of 20 hours. Quantitative data was obtained using …

Emerging Critical Literacy In Teachers As Novice Researchers, Jennifer Mitton Kukner

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper explores the experiences of three teachers as novice researchers as they taught full-time in a university English language school in Turkey. Viewing the participants’ experiences as researchers through a narrative understanding of teacher knowledge and a critical literacy lens enhanced their critical cognisance of their positioning as women instructors in a higher education setting. Their research experiences were shaped not only by their classroom concerns but also by expectations and larger social narratives that lived beyond their classroom doors. This study focuses specifically upon English language teachers and acknowledges the intersection of gender roles and contextual constraints as …

Self- Efficacy And Participation In Choosing The Teaching Profession As Predictors Of Academic Motivation Among Arab Student's Girls, Qutaiba Ali Agbaria

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The purpose of this study is to examine the link between learning motivation among teaching trainees and self- efficacy and the rate of participation in choosing the profession of teaching. The main assumptions: There will be a clear positive link between the rate of self-efficacy of students and academic motivation, with its various elements. There will be a clear positive link between the rate of participation in choosing the profession (teaching) and academic motivation.

The sample included 181 female students. The sample was random relative to students of each academic year and specialization.

The findings of the study corroborated most …

Learning About The Effects Of Context On Teaching And Learning In Pre-Service Teacher Education, Lisl Fenwick, Maxine Cooper

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Preparing teachers to work effectively within increasingly diverse contexts is a key goal of teacher education programs. This study analyses the extent to which a semester unit within a teacher education course provided pre-service teachers with the understanding and practices required to teach in low socio-economic status (SES) contexts. The results suggest that a unit, which emphasises links between theory, historical perspectives and practice, can effectively provide pre-service teachers with the key understandings and skills associated with improving equity outcomes in education. However, when the ideas being presented conflict with pre-existing, strongly held ideas about the role of schooling, practices …

Teacher Retention And Attrition: Views Of Early Career Teachers, John Buchanan, Anne Prescott, Sandra Schuck, Peter Aubusson, Paul Burke, Jordan Louviere

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The provision and maintenance of quality teachers is a matter of priority for the profession. Moreover, teacher attrition is costly to the profession, to the community and to those teachers who leave feeling disillusioned. There is a need to investigate the experiences of early career teachers to consider how these issues contribute to decisions about staying in or leaving the profession. This paper reports on an aspect of a larger study on teacher retention. It describes and analyses the experiences of teachers participating in the study and highlights implications for teacher retention. The study proposes the notion of ‘resilient stayers’, …

Novice Teachers Learning From Others: Mentoring In Shanghai Schools, Hairon Salleh, Charlene Tan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper explores critically the practice of teacher mentoring in Shanghai schools. It begins with a review of the literature on teacher mentoring, which is followed by an introduction to education and teacher mentoring in the schools. The next section critiques teacher mentoring in Shanghai and we highlight three key characteristics and strengths of the practice of teacher mentoring that ensure the effectiveness and smooth implementation of mentoring in Shanghai schools. In terms of the weaknesses, we argue that the success of teacher mentoring in Shanghai is inhibited by a performative culture that emphasises examination scores and an instrumental view …

Debunking Myths: Reading Development In Children With Down Syndrome, Kathy Cologon

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

There is a considerable and growing body of research investigating reading development in children with Down syndrome. However, there appears to be a common gap between the research evidence and instructional practices. It has been argued that teachers have insufficient information to enable them to implement effective literacy instruction with children with Down syndrome. This has important implications for teacher education. The current paper draws on past and current research evidence to consider five common misunderstandings or ‘myths’ that exist in regards to reading development in children with Down syndrome regarding (1) receptive and expressive language, (2) phonological awareness and …