Can we [not] challenge power? Ethical dilemmas experienced by teacher candidates in secondary education practicum in urban China

Not] speaking truth to power: Ethical dilemmas of teacher candidates during practicum

This study analyzes the English teacher candidate’s use of instructional media in the teaching practicum. The English teacher candidate who became the participant in this study was doing their teaching practicum in MTsN 5 Jember. This study applied the qualitative case study design. Interview and observation were done one time to select the participant. The four-times classroom observations and questionnaires were used in order to collect the data. This study employed the model of Creswell in analyzing the data. The findings of this study showed that the English teacher candidate applied one type of instructional media namely Visual Media. Those were Picture and Whiteboard. The way the teacher candidate implemented the instructional media was almost the same in each meeting of the teaching and learning process. However, the students’ participation and response were not always the same in every meeting. It depended on the way the teacher candidate managed the class activity.

Please fill up the following information accurately. (Please use Times New Roman, 12 pt. Learning while teaching: Student teachers’ reflections on their teaching practicum Teaching practicum of English language teachers has been the heart of many studies in the recent years. However, most of those studies focused on the graduates of teacher training programs. In Turkey, graduates of English Language and Literature (ELL) departments are also qualified to be an English teacher as long as they have a teaching certificate given by the universities after an intensive program called as pedagogical formation. This study focused on the teacher candidates, who are graduates of ELL programs. More specifically, it aimed to investigate what those teacher candidates think they have learned through their intensive and short teaching practicum experience and the challenges they have met. For this purpose, the study adopted qualitative research methodology and 8 participants took part in the study. The data were collected via reflective journals and semi-structured questionnaires and were analyzed through thematic content analysis. Results indicated that student teachers’ learning outcomes could be grouped under three themes such as pedagogical strategies, developing professional identity and developing positive feelings whereas the challenges could be grouped under four themes such as classroom management, time management, mixed ability classes and difficulties in using technology. Based on the findings, some recommendations were yielded. Information about Author(s)* Author 1 Author (Last name, First name) Koksal, Dincay Affiliated institution (University) Country Email address koksal.dincay@gmail.com Department & Rank Corresponding author (Yes/No) Write only one corresponding author. Author 2 Author (Last name, First name) Genc, Gulten Affiliated institution (University) Country Email address gulten.genc@inonu.edu.tr Department & Rank Corresponding author (Yes/No) Author 3 Author (Last name, First name) Affiliated institution (University) Country Email address Department & Rank Corresponding author (Yes/No) Author 4 Author (Last name, First name) Affiliated institution (University) Country Email address Department & Rank Corresponding author (Yes/No)

Plurilingualism is an inclusive language teaching approach to sustain multilingual societies, but there is little investigation on teacher candidates’ (TCs) beliefs and challenges before and after its implementation. This interpretive qualitative study introduced plurilingualism in teacher education at a Canadian university. Sixteen TCs participated in the study, which 1) investigated TCs’ conceptualizations of plurilingualism, and 2) examined TCs’ perceptions of overall affordances of critical plurilingual pedagogies before and after their practicum. For four months, participants experimented with plurilingual pedagogies such as translanguaging and cross-linguistic analysis, designed tasks, and taught lessons. Five types of data were generated: 1) weekly annotations of readings on Perusall, 2) designed language tasks, 3) task delivery demonstrations, 4) lesson plans, and 5) final reflection after the teaching practicum. Inductive content analysis was conducted on NVivo with data triangulation. Findings suggest that TCs shifted their views of language, and aligned plurilingual pedagogies with equity, diversity, inclusion and decoloniality principles. Findings also show that TCs transgressed the monolingual discourses often present in schools, and felt empowered after the training. We call for the inclusion of critical plurilingual practices in teacher education programs for the sustainability of multi/plurilingualism.

Although not new, participatory art practices are finding their way into art education theory; however, practices have yet to take hold in schools or teacher practicum. In this qualitative study, four teacher candidates’ efforts to implement two socially engaged art projects in a middle school are examined to better understand how participatory art can be utilized to engage teacher candidates more fully in the collective shaping of their teacher selves, curriculum, and schools. Data included teacher candidates’ written reflections and transcribed interviews and researcher field notes. Despite limitations related to quality of teacher and middle schooler participation, findings suggest that, while imperfect and emergent, the projects provided an opportunity for teacher candidates to sketch a social/teacher practice by activating shared spaces of participation, provoking contention in shared authorial spaces, and challenging conceptions of art.

This study relied on sociocultural understanding of teacher learning, which highlights how teacher candidates construct their own learning and adjust or extend their instructional values, priorities, and beliefs within their teaching contexts (Johnson, 2009). It used activity theory as a conceptual framework (Engeström, 1999) and explored how teaching practicum experiences contributed to 5 ESOL teacher candidates’ learning in a 13-month intensive MA TESOL program. Findings from the study illustrate that the teaching practicum made significant contributions to ESOL teacher candidates’ learning to teach in the program. Through the teaching practicum, teacher candidates (a) learned how to navigate in the school context, (b) learned about the nature of establishing relationships with the other members of the teaching community, (c) used the mediating artifacts with the support of mentors and supervisors, (d) found opportunities for constructing a mutually informative and dialogical relationship between theory and practice, and (e) gained closer understanding of ELLs.

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the extent and nature of changes in personal and professional behaviors, values, and attitudes of 46 Canadian teacher candidates who participated in a three week teaching practicum in Kenya. All participants completed a pre and post practicum Global-Mindedness Survey (Hett, 1993), participated in interviews, and engaged in personal and public reflections. Our results suggest that the Kenyan practicum significantly increased the teacher candidates’ global-mindedness and intercultural competence. The teacher candidates’ teaching practice was positively affected as reflected in their increased commitment to build community, improved skills in teaching English language learners, their ability to globalize the curriculum, and their confidence in the realization that they were their own greatest teaching resource. We theorize planned transformative learning opportunities during the cultural immersion of international practicums can greatly enhance the intercultural competence of teachers in today’s diverse classrooms.

ABSTRACTLearning to teach is a complex process that hinges on teacher candidates’ personal experiences, values, beliefs and characteristics, as well as the contexts they are exposed to. Student teaching as a transitional period may create dilemmas for teacher candidates, who are new to the profession and still learning about what it means to be a teacher. Thus, this study examined the dilemmas experienced by a group of Taiwanese teacher candidates during the student teaching phase. Using the framework of dilemmatic spaces, we identified the sources of their dilemmas and the decisions they made towards the dilemmatic situations and further examined how they justified their decisions. Our findings suggest that conflicting ideologies and teacher candidates’ identities as student teachers are the main sources of their dilemmas. In response to the dilemmas, teacher candidates showed different decision-making trajectories that revealed the different actions and justifications they took within the dilemmatic space.

As a response to interaction with the school environment during teaching practice, emotional experiences in teaching are still a challenge for future English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher candidates. Despite the growing focus on emotional studies, there is a lack of exploration of EFL pre-service teachers' (PSTs) emotional geographies during teaching practicum. To address this gap, it is crucial to investigate PSTs’ emotional geographies in teaching practicum. Hence, this qualitative case study enlisted four EFL PSTs from one of the state Islamic institutes in Southeast Sulawesi who have completed teaching practice in two schools in Kendari, Indonesia. The data were collected through written reflection, interviews, and focus group discussions (FGD). Afterwards, data were analyzed following the thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) using the framework of emotional geographies of teaching (Hargreaves, 2001). Results show that participants showed positive and negative emotions during their teaching practice in moral dimensions. Those emotions are implicated in developing their competencies, including professional and cognitive aspects. These emotions influence students' study and follow-through, fostering a positive attitude. The study emphasizes the importance of EFL pre-service teachers developing emotional awareness and building strong connections within schools to successfully address challenges during their teaching practices.

This research aimed to determine how prospective secondary school language teachers conduct their teaching practicum in the United Kingdom and Türkiye. The study was designed using a multiple-case holistic design. Accordingly, data for the research were collected through document analysis and interviews. Data related to the teaching practicum in the Turkish Language Teaching program at Kırşehir Ahi Evran University Faculty of Education in Türkiye were obtained through document analysis. Data regarding the teaching practicum in the Postgraduate Certificate in Education program for secondary English teaching at the University of Reading Faculty of Education in the United Kingdom were obtained through document analysis and interviews with faculty members at the institution. It is evident that while the instructional content of teaching practicums in both nations exhibits substantial similarities, a notable disparity emerges with regard to the temporal extent of the practicum experience afforded to prospective secondary school language educators. As a result, the process of teaching practicums for secondary school language teacher candidates differs between Türkiye and the UK in terms of practicum hours, school diversity, and assessment methods.

The aim of this study is to develop a measurement tool that evaluates the teaching practicum to shed light on the expectations and attitudes of English teacher candidates in relation to teaching practicum. In this context, two measurement tools; expectation scale and reaction scale were prepared based on the amalgamation of Kirkpatrick Training Evaluation Theory (2000) and EPOSTL(2007). This study was conducted to have an overall critical analysis of the current practicum program applied in Turkey to determine the pre-service teachers’ views about the existing model and what could be done to make up for the deficits in the current implementation. Within the scope of the study, validity and reliability studies were conducted. For research validity; a pilot study was conducted at a state university with senior level ELT students at 2018-2019 spring academic year. As a result of the pilot study item writing and item pooling stages were completed. Expert opinion was received from three academicians from the field in order not to assess the face validity, content validity and construct validity. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were conducted with 294 senior level ELT students who were taking the School Experience course at 2019-2020 fall term around various universities in Turkey. Working groups were determined based on maximum diversity sampling method. The expectation scale had 85 items at the beginning. According to the results of the structure validity of the research; the expectation scale had a) university supervisors, b) mentor teachers, c) school administrators, d) peer pre-service teachers, e) students, f) practicum school, g) teaching practicum and h) other stakeholders. Parts. The eight-factor structure scale consisted of 73 items. The reaction scale had 44 items at the beginning. As a result of the analysis, the reaction scale consisted of three-factor structure consisting of 39 items. These factors were determined as a) attitudes at the end of the practicum training as a teacher candidate, b) attitudes in relation to the teaching practicum and c) pre-service teachers reactions about teaching practicum. As a result of the CFA application, it has been observed that the scale shows good fit values in general. In line with the applications and analyzes, it can be said that the scales are valid, reliable and they have sufficient values in terms of psychometry.

Consistently on surveys and program evaluations our teacher candidates and graduates report that the most important part of our Bachelor of Primary Education Studies (BPES) program is the integration of in-school professional experience, or practicum, with the university coursework. This 9-month consecutive teacher education program, which builds upon a previously earned bachelor degree, prepares teacher candidates to teach from junior kindergarten to grade 6. Like Rob, many of our teacher candidates comment about the benefits of engaging in their teaching practicum in such close proximity to their time in the university classroom, and about the way this structure encourages a dialogue between these different aspects of their preparation to be teachers. In a similar way, Clift and Brady (2005) contended that the practicum was the most memorable part of their preservice program and described how it was critical to assisting preservice teachers to form their professional identities.

This study investigated the types of teacher talks in classroom interactions; those are direct and indirect influences as proposed by Flanders (1970). Besides, the analysis of the teachers’ difficulties during their talks was found out since the subjects in this study were teacher candidates. They had been taught about teacher talk during their micro teaching and teaching practicum classes. Therefore, the proposed research questions were: 1) What are the direct and indirect influences of teacher talks for young learners that appeared in EFL class? 2) What are teacher’s difficulties during teacher talks? To answer the research questions, qualitative research was employed in this study by using observation sheet and questionnaire. The participants were five pre-service teachers from English Education Department of a private university in Jakarta. The teachers had joined teaching practicum in school so that they had had experiences in teaching primary school students. Based on the result, indirect influence of teacher talk were more frequently used (59%). Teachers indirectly influences the students by asking questions. Meanwhile, the direct influence gained 41% of the whole teacher talks with giving direction as the highest frequency (30%). Furthermore, vocabulary and grammar became the main factors of difficulty in teacher talk. Teachers sometimes got confused on how to deliver the certain expressions or give instructions, which made them less confident, especially when they felt nervous. This study was hopefully beneficial for the English department and universities to provide better learning process, other teachers’ candidates that still improve their speaking skills to be more aware of their talks during teaching, and future researchers to broaden the field of study.

ABSTRACTThis article reports the perceived learning of a group of Chinese teacher candidates who audited an ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) literacy course while participating in an exchange programme between Southwest University in China and the University of Windsor in Canada. Data were collected through 1) reflective notes written by visiting students and 2) semi-structured interviews conducted with them towards the end of their visit. The majority of participants stated that the learning experience helped them to realise the important role theory plays in the learning of ICT and to seek ideas of how to creatively integrate ICT in their future classrooms. Participants with limited ICT knowledge and skills reported that by being exposed to various functions of frequently used programmes and many free software programmes, they felt more confident in using ICT in their own teaching. Furthermore, those with strong ICT backgrounds found that the course helped them to understand the relationship among ICT, society, and pedagogy. The teacher candidates’ perceived learning included aspects of culture and pedagogy in addition to ICT knowledge and skills. Coming to know in ways like this is critically important to international partnerships and foundational to reciprocal learning where each learns from the other.

From the moment there is genius, there is something that belongs to no school, no period, something that achieves a breakthrough. --Gilles Deleuze & Felix Guattari, The Anti-Oedipus from A Thousand Plateaus ... to begin always anew, to make, to reconstruct, and to not spoil, to refuse to bureaucratize the mind, to understand and to live life as a process--live to become. --Paulo Freire While I was observing teacher candidates at a University in the Midwest U.S. a few months ago, I expected to hear questions and comments from the teacher candidates on the value of philosophy in education. But, as these future teachers considered the works of John Dewey, I listened intently to their interactions. At one point, the professor of the course said, We need an intelligent theory of education which is different from an ideology. Unexpectedly, a teacher candidate said, Well, can't we just get rid of the classroom? There was a long pause and some nervous laughter that ensued. These teacher candidates were not suggesting that schools or classroom spaces be removed from being a central figure of an education system. Rather, these teacher candidates were raising the issue of how learning occurs and in what types of conditions, or spaces, these occurrences materialize. Reflecting on this moment in preparation for this article led me to think about the rules and norms that encode modern schooling practices--things so simple as a classroom with four walls, a space for formal learning. I wonder about the current ideologies that govern modern schooling practices in formal and informal spaces, and importantly, for this article, the ideologies that govern teaching preparations and teaching practices in contested, alternative spaces. What happens if we fail to see alternative spaces? I tend to believe that much happens beneath the surface when we are engaged in educational theory and research. The argument of this article is primarily a theoretical one that engages with conceptual ideas in critical geography scholarship and more recent theorizing in comparative education literature on globalization and education. I see continuity within the critical geography theorizing found in Edward Soja's work in Seeking Spatial Justice and more recent literature on scale by comparative education researchers (Roberston & Dale, 2008). Thus, I explore the relationship between critical geography and comparative education research on globalization theory. As Helfenbein (2010) notes, Critical geographers are interested in space, place, power and identity (p. 304). This article engages with these elements of spatial analysis but by drawing attention to the nuances of space as distinct from place. In addition, it argues that we need to theorize space as relational and fluid through poststructuralist theories of offered by the work of Gilles Deleuze, Felix Guattari, Huge Tomlinson, and Graham Burchell entitled, What is philosophy? and the individual work of Gilles Deleuze entitled Bergsonism. (1) Ultimately, in examining the critical geography literature from Edward Soja (2010), this article tests the limits of Edward Soja's conception of space. In addition, I discuss a teaching experience in Cuba to shed some light on how we might reconceptualize space as distinct from place. I will spend some time drawing out the distinction between space and place and am ultimately concerned with what and who constitutes space. Finally, I argue for a more nuanced theorization of space using Deleuzian (1988, 1994) concepts of and multiplicity to understand space as fluid, contested, negotiated and emergent. Within this latter discussion of Deleuze's concepts I will define becoming and argue that it is a concept that can potentially capture the materiality of lived experiences in spaces of possibility. The call for a nuanced post-structuralist conceptualization of space draws attention to alternative spaces that are not governed by normative, positivistic ontologies, and thus merges the historical, the social and the spatial. …