Near-Peer Feedback: Shaping EFL Teacher Identity and Enhancing Classroom Learning

Near-peer models are well-established within the medical field and the benefits of these models have been demonstrated convincingly by research. However, near-pear practices and research exploring these practices seem to be scarce in humanities and especially in the context of language teaching and learning. With a noticeable disparity in research and practice, this qualitative study explored the role of near-peer feedback in shaping the identities of pre-service teachers who taught English as a Foreign Language. Moreover, it explored the role of near-peer feedback in enhancing student learning. The participants in this qualitative study were students enrolled in their fourth year and second year of Bachelor studies in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Prishtina. Fourth-year students were undergoing their pre-service teacher education, whereas second-year students were involved in an integrated-skills course designed to improve their language skills, particularly in writing. One hundred ten student reflections were analyzed to gain insight into their experiences when engaging in near-peer feedback. Findings from this study not only support existing research in the medical field regarding the benefits of engaging in near-peer feedback, but they also offer important evidence regarding the role of near-peer feedback in shaping teacher identity in pre-service teachers and enhancing learning for language learners. Findings from this study also create a basis for near-peer feedback practices in English language teaching and learning.

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The purpose of this study is to examine the structural relationships between learning engagement, teaching efficacy, and professional identity of pre-service early childhood teachers in China. To achieve this, the study theoretically explored each variable and constructed a research model to identify and validate the relationships and mediating effects among the variables. To establish the research model and test the hypotheses, the researcher conducted a survey from April 27 to April 30, 2024, involving fourth-year university students from six universities, including Lingnan Normal University in China. All participants had a semester (approximately 16 weeks) of internship experience before graduation. A total of 223 valid questionnaires were collected and analyzed using SPSS 25.0. The results of the study’s hypotheses are as follows. Firstly, learning engagement had a significant positive impact on the teaching efficacy of pre-service early childhood teachers in China. Secondly, teaching efficacy had a significant positive impact on the professional identity of pre-service early childhood teachers in China. Thirdly, learning engagement had a significant mediating effect in the relationship between learning engagement and professional identity of pre-service early childhood teachers in China. The results of this study provide practical significance for personnel involved in pre-service teacher education in China, offering guidance on how pre-service teachers in China can enhance their professional identity. Additionally, the findings of this study serve as a valuable resource for research in the field of pre-service teacher education.

University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine changes in eight preservice teachers’ professional identity and the factors contributing to such changes during a four-week block practicum.Design/methodology/approach– A qualitative case study design was used and the data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with preservice teachers and their mentors, reflective journals and observation checklists. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the data.Findings– The findings showed high levels of confidence and development of teacher voice by the end of their four-week block practicum. The findings also suggested that positive mentoring relationships contributed to changes in the preservice teachers’ teacher identity.Research limitations/implications– Despite focussing on a relatively small number of preservice secondary teachers during the first four-week practicum of a single teacher education program at a Western Australian University, this research highlights the need to maintain constructive mentoring relationships with preservice teachers to provide positive influences on their professional identity. In order to facilitate this, preservice teacher education programs should provide thorough training for mentor teachers.Originality/value– This work highlighted the crucial role of mentor teachers in creating positive impacts on preservice teachers’ professional identity, such as development of their confidence and teacher voice. This paper provides useful insights for researchers, mentor teachers, and preservice teacher education policy developers.

Retaining quality teachers and declining numbers of language programs that will help students reach the goal of high proficiency levels for their success in today’s world has been a challenge in recent years. Language teachers have a great role to play in addressing the 21st-century learning needs of the students, e.g., critical thinking skills, which greatly rely on their innovative teaching pedagogies. This current study aimed to investigate the preparedness and effectiveness of the preservice English teachers with their instructional strategies in integrating critical thinking skills in language instruction. The population of the study was comprised of preservice English teachers assigned in secondary schools during their practice teaching stage. A modified researcher-made questionnaire-checklist was developed and validated with items on a four-point Likert Scale used to evaluate the strategies employed in integrating critical thinking skills in English language teaching through consecutive actual classroom teaching observations by the two (2) groups of mentors and by the preservice teachers themselves. The data revealed that based on the three (3) raters, the preservice English teachers have extensively integrated critical thinking skills in language instruction through the use of the higher-order- level of questioning along with analyzing, evaluating, and creating. The reported highest mean was in creating, and the lowest was in evaluating. The PSETs' extent of integration of critical thinking skills was secondly manifested through the provision of communicative tasks. The PSETs have signified three (3) communicative tasks that obtained the highest mean scores: [24] role plays (mean=3.53), [25] paired-shared activities (mean=3.52), and [19] small group work (mean=3.51). Likewise, they have identified the three (3) communicative activities with the lowest means, namely: [23] keeping a diary (mean=2.54), [6] interviews (mean=2.55), and jigsaw activities (mean=2.62). It was concluded that the preservice English teachers have extensively integrated critical thinking skills in English language teaching though there are instructional strategies along with questioning strategy through the use of higher-order-level of questions and the provision of communicative tasks that garnered low mean scores which recommend preservice English teachers to enhance maximum utilization of these teaching skills for effective integration of critical thinking skills in language instruction and eventually cater the learning needs of the 21st-century language learners. Hence, a capability enhancement program or training on the integration of critical thinking skills to preservice English teachers was also recommended based on the findings of the study.

Teacher-education institutions are established to provide quality and holistic pre-service education to prospective teachers. This study was conducted to specifically look into the Pre-service-Teacher Education (PTE) in terms of personal preparation, professional preparation and classroom management and Practice-Teaching Performances (PTP) among the fourth year Bachelor in Elementary Education (BEEd) students of Mindanao State University-Maigo School of Arts and Trades (MSU-MSAT). This study measured the level and relationship of PTE of the students and their PTP. It employed descriptive method which involved all the 30 fourth year BEEd students. The data were derived through a questionnaire; and chi-square was used for the statistical computation. Results revealed that the fourth year BEEd students had an outstanding performance in personal - professional preparations, classroom management and had good performance in practice teaching, but average in English and Filipino languages. Since the computed chi-square values were more than the critical values with one degree of freedom, the null hypotheses were rejected implying that PTE and PTP had significant relationship. In conclusion, PTE teachers have an appreciable performance in terms of personal -professional preparation, classroom management and average in practice teaching. PTE influences the performance in practice-teaching. As recommendations, pre-service education teachers should attend seminar workshop on language and personality development to be cautious in the medium of communication and on their mannerisms for practice teaching. The department should conduct PTE seminar to make them more prepared for teaching. Future researchers should conduct related study on pre-service- teacher education efficacy.

Teacher identity has become an issue in teaching and teachers’ professional identity development since the identity influences teachers’ teaching pedagogies and teachers’ development. Many studies have explored teachers’ identity from in-service teachers’ perspectives. Somehow, small attention has been paid to teachers’ identity construction from pre-service perspectives in Indonesian context. To fill this gap, this research investigated how Indonesian pre-service teachers constructed and reconstructed their identities through peers’ feedbacks in a micro-teaching class. There were three pre-service teachers from Sanata Dharma University who participated in this study. The data were obtained through field observations and interviews. Using Yuan and Lee’s (2015) theory, the study investigated the cognitive, social and emotional processes of their teacher identity construction. The findings of the study suggested that pre-service language teachers developed and modified their identities through peers’ feedbacks in a teaching practicum. The findings also showed that feedbacks delivered positive and negative impacts to pre-service teachers’ identity construction. Although some of the pre-service teachers did not change their beliefs, they still used the feedbacks to prepare for their next teachings. The study supported the theory that teacher identity affected to pre-service teachers’ teaching pedagogies. This paper suggested some implications for policy makers, language teacher education, and pre-service teacher education. A further research with a longer duration is expected.

This study aimed to explore elementary English teachers’ experiences and perceptions of English pre-service teacher education (PRESET). In addition, it investigated the impact of PRESET on the teachers’ English language teaching (ELT). It also examined the teachers’ perceptions of ELT as pre-service and novice English teachers. Fifty elementary English teachers participated in the survey. Among them, ten teachers participated in the focus group research, and their interviews, reflection journals, and lesson observations·analysis were collected and analyzed qualitatively. The results are as follows: Overall, the teachers perceived the PRESET curriculum, teaching practicum, extracurricular activities, and the preparation for the Teacher Employment Test positively in terms of their adaptability into real-life ELT. At the same time, some teachers did not find PRESET particularly useful for their current teaching, because it was not applicable to their real English classroom context. It is implied that PRESET should be improved in order to heighten the teachers’ development of English language and English instructional skills, leading to their learners’ English communicative competence. In particular, there is a need to develop the Teacher Employment Test to measure and support the teachers’ English teaching skills more effectively. Important implications regarding elementary English teacher education will be further discussed.

Historically, the field of middle-level education has taken it as a given that teachers of young adolescents should be specially prepared to teach in the middle grades, developing a teacher identity that centers around responding to and advocating for the age group above an identity as a subject area teacher. Defined broadly as teachers’ dynamic conceptualizations of themselves as educators and their related roles, decisions, and actions, teacher professional identity has garnered considerable attention in the research literature as a potential source of leverage in multiple dimensions of schooling, preservice teacher education and in-service teachers’ professional learning, and teachers’ professional lives. Teacher identity at the middle level is ideally grounded in a deep commitment to helping young adolescents realize their power and possibilities. While the literature on teacher identity development is well-established in some educational contexts, studies specifically examining the potentially unique developmental trajectory of teacher identity among middle-level educators remain limited. To address this gap, we conducted a review of the literature to address the question: what does the research say about middle-level teacher development and identity? Our review identified 26 relevant sources on middle-level teacher development and identity, published from 2015 through the first half of 2024, and yielded key ideas within three themes: (a) the development of teacher identity, (b) the intersectionality of teacher identity, and (c) critical consciousness, agency, and teacher identity. This review identifies both progress and gaps in the current literature, recognizes potential future directions for research on middle-level teacher identity, and offers possible implications for preservice and in-service middle-level teacher education.

Education plays a significant role in changing the behaviour, perceptions, feelings, and beliefs of the individual. The ability of a teacher to teach is dependent on their attitude toward the profession. The teacher helps create a conducive and learner-friendly atmosphere in the classroom through his attitude. It has a positive impact on the learning ability of children. The quality of education through pre-service and in-service teacher Education Programmes (PIEP) uplifts the standard of education in the whole country. These programmes help to support and develop the necessary pedagogical skills and competencies among teacher educators. The objective of the present study is to measure the attitude of pre- Service teacher educators towards the teaching profession. The sample consists of 30 Teacher educators. The study uses an Attitude towards the teaching profession scale standardized by Tewari to collect data. Statistical measures are employed to find the difference in attitude towards the teaching profession among pre-service teacher educators. The results reveal that significant differences do not exist between the attitude towards the teaching profession and pre-service teachers’ locale. There is a significant difference in attitude towards the teaching profession among pre-service teacher educators concerning their gender.

The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes and competence perceptions of first- and fourth-year preservice physical education teachers regarding teaching. A total of 262 preservice physical education teachers, of whom 126 (%48,1) were in the first year and 136 (%51,9) were in the fourth year ( (age)=21,06±2,15) participated in the study. The “Attitude Toward Teaching Scale” (ATTS) and “Preservice Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Perception Scale” (PTSEPS) were used as the data collection tools, and a “Personal Information Form” (PIF) was used to obtain the independent variables of the study. The T-test and Pearson correlation test were used in the data analysis. As a result of the analyses, it was observed that the attitudes of the first-year students towards teaching were more positive than those of the fourth-year students. Competence perceptions were found as high in the fourth grade. According to the gender factor, significant difference was observed in both attitudes towards teaching and perceptions of competence between first- and fourth-year. When the relationships between the two dependent variables were examined, it was determined that there was a moderate positive correlation between the attitudes and competence perceptions of both the first-year students and the fourth-year students with regard to teaching. In order for preservice teachers to maintain a positive attitude towards teaching, it is considered that they should be supported with curricular training programs during the student period, and through in-service training throughout their professional lives after graduation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected educational practices worldwide, including English language teaching and learning practices like teaching speaking courses. It has also shifted face-to-face learning into distance learning modes. Implementing e-portfolios in assessing students' speaking performance seems to be an alternative as this technique could be implemented fully online. However, how well e-portfolios facilitate students' learning engagement in speaking courses, especially during online learning, has been little documented. Thus, this study aims to explore the students' learning engagement and the challenges of implementing e-portfolios in an online speaking course. Using a single case study in an English Language Department at a public education university in Indonesia, the study involved ten participants selected using a purposive sampling technique. Data were collected from various resources, such as phone interviews, videos, and reflection journals, as data/source triangulation. The data were then analyzed using a theoretical thematic analysis technique. The findings revealed that the participants had active participation and showed almost similar engagements in cognitive, affective, and behavioral domains during the online speaking course. However, the students also faced several challenges that inevitably affected their feelings. Few implications are also discussed pertaining to conduct English language teaching practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To ensure the quality of pre-service science teacher education, the National Institute of Education in Singapore continuously review the programmes offered to students who aspire to become a teacher. There are two key teacher education programmes to cater to interested students with different backgrounds – the 16-month Post-Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) and the 4-year Bachelor of Science (Education) programme. Both programmes are built on the key principles of Teacher Education for twenty-first-century framework of V3SK (values, skills, and knowledge). The three values fundamental to pre-service teacher education in general are (1) learner-centred values, (2) teacher identity, and (3) service to the profession and community. These values are deliberately worked into all programmes to enable the development of pre-service teachers into teachers who are ready for twenty-first-century classrooms. This chapter delves into the details of how the PGDE and the undergraduate programme prepare future-ready science teachers to teach science in schools. Besides presenting the structure of the teacher preparation programmes, we use personal narratives to present the lived experiences of pre-service teachers enrolled in the programmes to bring to life the programmes. We end the chapter with four recommendations for pre-service science teacher education in the years ahead.

Background/Context: This paper explores how intersectionality and DisCrit can be used as analytic tools to scaffold preservice teachers’ ability to see the ways in which referrals to and services within special education reproduce inequities as a function of race and perceptions of ability that are rooted in White, middle-class, able-bodied norms. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: This qualitative study analyzes White preservice teachers’ understanding and application of intersectionality and DisCrit. Applying critical theoretical perspectives, preservice teachers engage in identifying instances of oppression in society and schools and naming the resulting harm to Black students and families. This paper focuses on the following research questions: How do White preservice teachers engage with critical frameworks intended to unearth the impacts of racism and ableism on Black students? What do their responses reveal about preservice teachers’ level of critical consciousness? Population/Participants/Subjects: Participants in this study were preservice general education teachers in the last semester of coursework of an intensive 12-month master’s program in secondary education at a large predominantly White Midwestern university. This study focuses on four self-identified White able-bodied and one White (dis)abled preservice teacher who represent exemplars of the types of engagement evidenced by preservice teachers within the course. Intervention/Program/Practice: The course that was the site of this study focused on preparing preservice teachers to teach and support Students Identified with (Dis)abilities in middle and high school classrooms. The first portion of the course focused on analyzing the history of racism and ableism in special education using critical frameworks. These class sessions provided preservice teachers with frameworks they could apply to their experiences at their school sites and language they needed to discuss racism and ableism. Research Design: This article reports on a qualitative case study of general education preservice teacher engagement with the critical frameworks of intersectionality and disability critical race theory (DisCrit) in a predominantly White teacher education program. Data Collection and Analysis: For the duration of the course, video recordings of whole group discussions and audio recordings of small group discussions were collected. Descriptive and in vivo coding were employed during the first level of coding to closely highlight participants’ perspectives that were rooted in their own language. The second level of analysis captured the content of the ideas expressed by preservice teachers when engaging and employing critical frameworks, and the third level of analysis captured preservice teacher engagement in ways that demonstrated either active adoption, quiet adoption, resistant engagement, or resistant deflection of course material. Findings/Results: There is a fluidity in which preservice teachers move through levels of engagement (active adoption, quiet adoption, resistant engagement, or resistant deflection) when explicitly taught critical frameworks to help them identify and disrupt inequity, in this case, racism and ableism in schools. For example, a preservice teacher may experience dissonance when there is misalignment between their previously held assumptions and new learning. At first, they may resist this knowledge and then adopt new perspectives over time. They may also go back and forth between resistance and adoption, or they may remain resistant throughout the course. Additionally, a preservice teacher may actively adopt course content and frameworks that align with their previous orientations and quietly or actively adopt new frameworks over time. Conclusions/Recommendations: Teaching critical frameworks is an important tool to understanding preservice teachers’ orientations toward inequity. Choosing critical frameworks that undergird teacher education courses supports the development of objectives that are antiracist/antiableist. It also provides teacher educators guidance in choosing materials/artifacts that will encourage preservice teachers to discuss the implications of those frameworks. Critical frameworks provide a method of helping preservice teachers see inequity that aspects of their privilege render invisible and provide an assessment tool for teacher educators to analyze preservice teachers’ orientations toward inequity and how this manifests in their orientation toward students of historically marginalized groups.