Australian Pre-service Teachers Research Articles

“Voices on the ground”: Solomon Islands teachers’ perceptions of hosting an Australian pre-service teacher education program

There is scant representation of the outcomes of international teaching experiences from the perspective of host teachers despite a growing number of these sorts of programs. Addressing this gap, we conducted focus group interviews with 21 Solomon Islands teachers/school leaders regarding their experiences hosting Australian pre-service teachers in their schools. Findings revealed a range of program benefits, challenges, and some suggestions for improvement, and overall showed the value of these types of programs for host country teachers. However, given the popularity of international study programs as an internationalisation strategy in higher education in Global North countries, and the likelihood of these programs to involve previously colonised, developing countries, the study's findings are important from an ethical standpoint, to explore potential colonising influences and power relations that may arise. As such, this study has implications for how international immersion programs should be planned and enacted to ameliorate potential.

Teaching physical education abroad: Perspectives from host cooperating teachers, local students and Australian pre-service teachers using the social exchange theory

Research on pre-service teachers (PSTs) in international teaching practicums often focus on their experiences rather than how it ameliorates the host communities. Constructs of Social Exchange Theory were used to explore benefits and challenges experienced by four Australian PSTs, two Chinese cooperating teachers (CTs) and 169 local students. The PSTs experienced personal and professional growth, the CTs gained new pedagogical insights, and local students experienced cultural immersion with improved engagement in physical education. Despite mutual benefits, challenges emerged from teaching differences, language barrier, and personal obstacles. These underscore the necessity of investing time and resources to minimise such challenges.

Exploring preservice teachers’ professional vision: Modes of isolation, ethical noticing, and anticipation in research communities of practice

Research-based teacher education programs are designed to develop preservice teachers' multifaceted attitudes to teaching, including their professional vision or the perceptual processes and ability to notice and interpret education fundamentals in a classroom. Nonetheless, such programs' influence on preservice teachers' professional vision remains unclear. Utilising Australian preservice teachers’ interviews, research projects and surveys in a research-based teacher education program built upon principles of Communities of Practice (CoPs), this study illuminates modes of isolation, ethical noticing, and anticipation in shaping their professional vision. The latter captures an emerging capacity to (re)structure schooling fundamentals as research/practice amalgamations rather than merely practice-driven constructs.

Long-term transformative learning from short-term outbound mobility programs and the connection to government’s soft power initiatives

ABSTRACT In this paper we describe the long-term impact of engagement in a short-term outbound mobility program (OMP) that connected Australian preservice teachers with Malaysian preservice teachers at an education institution in Kuala Lumpur. The university program was funded in the first iteration by Australia’s Study Overseas Short-term Mobility program and subsequent iterations by the New Colombo Plan. These grants are a government soft power initiative that partners Australian students with colleagues in Indo-Pacific countries to further Australia’s influence in the area. This qualitative research focuses on the transformative learning of graduate teachers who participated in a two-week OMP as undergraduates. Transformative learning occurs when new experiences challenge individuals’ prior knowledge, beliefs, practices, and basic assumptions about things, prompting them to reflect and consider new ways of thinking and being. Our research followed the Australian teachers up to seven years after they completed their Bachelor of Education program to learn what transformative learning from their engagement in the OMP was realised in their current teaching practice as a result of the government’s soft power initiative.

What counts as nature in designing environmental links to health education curriculum in initial teacher education?

ABSTRACT In this paper we report on a teacher education co-design project that explored Australian pre-service primary generalist teachers’ ideations of the pedagogical links between health education and nature. As part of their coursework in a Master of Teaching degree at an Australian University, students were invited to design a Victorian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education (VC:HPE) activity that connected primary curriculum (F-6) with nature. We conducted a 3-hour suite of online learning activities and prompts using Zoom, Padlet and Moodle. The data consists of the students’ curriculum design artefacts as well as recordings of the group discussions and non-assessment-based presentations of their work. Drawing on theories of child-nature interaction, we present an analysis of the ways in which n = 72 pre-service teachers across 18 groups of 4–5 educators conceptualised links between ‘nature’ and HPE across their activity designs. Prior to the workshop, the majority of pre-service teachers had not previously considered links between the HPE learning area and nature. Through the activities of the co-design workshop, students were surprised with the variety of pedagogical possibilities that were able to be made. There was much student discussion about the possibilities and limitations of balancing safety and risk in their nature-based activity designs. We present a thematic analysis of the quality of student-nature interactions in the groups’ learning designs through: (i) exploration; (ii) embodiment; (iii) cultivation; (iv) appropriation; and (v) representation. The analysis and discussion has implications for the way quality health education is linked to nature-based learning environments, teacher education and contemporary curriculum enactment that incorporates nature and the environment as part of the learning design.

Measuring Australian Preservice Teachers’ Asia Capability and Perceived Readiness to Teach the Asia Cross-Curricular Priority.

Measuring Australian Preservice Teachers’ Asia Capability and Perceived Readiness to Teach the Asia Cross-Curricular Priority.

Enquiring into a teacher performance assessment: towards intelligent professional responsibility in initial teacher education

Teacher education is broadly seen as a policy problem in that it has failed to produce sufficient ‘classroom ready’ teachers. One accountability measure that has been introduced in Australia to address this purported problem is the capstone teacher performance assessments (TPAs). All Australian pre-service teachers must pass this hurdle assessment to be eligible for teacher registration, and all teacher education providers must provide evidence of the effectiveness of their programmes in producing classroom ready teachers to maintain accreditation. The research presented in this article investigated the experiences of a consortium of teacher educators from four Australian universities that implemented a nationally endorsed TPA known as the quality TPA (QTPA). Intelligent professional responsibility was used to consider the experiences and possibilities for educators working in a policy context characterised by increasing accountabilities. Our findings suggest that the introduction of the TPA in Australia created momentum for building collaborative national teacher education partnerships with a focus on improving programme quality and graduate readiness to teach. Our data illustrate how the introduction of a TPA policy mandate in Australia created an external accountability context that allowed for teacher educators to bolster the quality of teacher education programmes from within.

Bandura’s Triadic Reciprocal Determinism model and teacher self-efficacy scales: a revisit

ABSTRACT This study aimed to reignite the discussion of the elusive concept of teacher self-efficacy through the lens of Bandura’s social cognitive theory and more specifically the Triadic Reciprocal Determinism model. It examined two commonly used teacher self-efficacy scales that were distributed to 154 Australian preservice teachers. Findings show that unfortunately the current scales do not fully capture the teacher self-efficacy construct; they generally assess one’s personal factors and the impact that they can have on teacher behavior, but very loosely try to capture the impact that the environment can have on one’s personal beliefs. Therefore, the results suggest that a new scale is needed in order to assess the reciprocated effects and understanding of teacher self-efficacy if it is to fully capture the elusive underpinning within the conceptual triadic reciprocal deterministic manner, which it should if it is to be fully understood and applied within the context of teaching.

Towards powerful knowledge: an Australian case study of prospective teachers’ knowledge and dispositions for sustainability education

Preparing school teachers goes beyond equipping them with instrumental knowledge of curriculum, pedagogy, and experiences of how this can be enacted in practice. They must be prepared to understand and encompass compelling social issues of justice, equity, and sustainability. To do this they need to understand pressing environmental issues as a forerunner to incorporate sustainability into their teaching. This paper uses survey data from a sample of 136 Australian pre-service teachers to gauge their knowledge and beliefs about sustainability, as well as their level of concern and their inclination to teach about it. The results show sound levels of knowledge of the biophysical environment, knowledge about the consequences of unsustainable practices and the effects of energy use and its contribution as one cause of climate change. Some also hold misconceptions about the causes of climate change. Most prospective teachers are ready to take action to protect earth systems through personal actions, and teaching and advocating within their school community, and less likely to undertake political activities beyond the school. Results from this sample are used to set out a challenge to use the concept of powerful knowledge in tandem with everyday knowledge to improve sustainability instruction in teachers’ preparation programs to capitalise on their potential to contribute to Education for Sustainable Development.

Australian pre-service primary teachers’ knowledge, attitudes, and skills regarding stuttering

Purpose: Exploring Australian pre-service primary teachers’ knowledge, attitudes, and classroom strategies regarding stuttering provides speech-language pathologists (SLPs) with information that can facilitate enhanced outcomes for school-aged children who stutter. Method: In this exploratory descriptive cross-sectional study, 51 final-year Bachelor of Education (Primary) students enrolled at an Australian university completed an online survey about stuttering. Result: Responses demonstrated positive and negative beliefs. Seventy-four per cent of pre-service teachers believed that stuttering has a psychological aetiology and that students who stutter are more likely to be shy or anxious. Participants agreed that their reactions and support offered would largely be based on their assumptions rather than knowledge. Conclusion: Pre-service primary teachers share similar misconceptions and unhelpful attitudes towards stuttering with previously evaluated populations. Implications for SLPs are discussed.

Intersex awareness and education: what part can health and physical education bodies of learning and teaching play?

ABSTRACT It is well-documented that schools fail to adequately engage with contemporary content about intersex awareness and education or inclusion of people with intersex variations. Where sexuality and relationships education are the remit of Health and Physical Education (HPE) curriculum in countries such as Australia, the learning area shows little obligation/response-ability towards the needs of students with intersex variations. It also fails to pay nuanced attention to non-dominant issues, knowledge, or people with respect to sex, gender and sexuality. Similarly, the normative endosex nature/focus of HPE/PE/sport and related professional education bodies (e.g. in teaching and coaching) ignore the need for relevant and affirming content about intersex bodies. A recent project reported here, created a collective narrative addressing how such HPE bodies of learning and teaching can advocate for and enact approaches that are inclusive, affirming, visible, and supportive in promoting and upholding the human rights and health needs of students with intersex variations. The research question driving the project was: What part can HPE bodies of learning and teaching play concerning intersex awareness and education? This original empirical research draws on the methodology and theory of narrative inquiry. The narrative was created between artefacts from a cohort of second year Australian pre-service HPE teacher education students in dialogue with teacher/researcher/expert/author bodies. The paper employs a recently developed Strategic Framework for intersex inclusion that promotes a positive whole-school approach, for educational institutions to be more inclusive, humane, safe and educationally relevant for people with intersex variations. This framework assists critical reflection on project findings. We argue that such engagement, as illustrated in this project’s scope, promotes a positive and diverse understanding about intersex in educational spaces, curriculum and pedagogies, guidelines, and policies, and ultimately reflect Australian Human Rights Commission recommendations and Australian anti-discrimination legislation.

Circuits of sympathy: Posthuman child, vibrant forces, things and places

New materialism has the potential to deepen critical engagement between vibrant things, everyday places and intra-actions between humans and non-humans in early childhood education. This article explores Australian pre-service teachers’ understandings of children and childhood when encountering the vibrant forces of things and places. The authors explore Jane Bennett's ‘circuits of sympathy’ to analyse the atmospheric forces encountered in pre-service teachers’ engagement with new materialism in their final year of study. Their research is guided by the following question: What happens when pre-service teachers conceptualise the posthuman child, things and places as related through circuits of sympathy? The authors suggest that sympathy, considered as a transformative agentic force, can generate connectivity across ideas, matter and practices, and adds depth and new perspectives to understandings of the posthuman child, with the result that new figurations of childhood emerge in this investigation. They conclude by discussing the implications of their study for posthuman research and how circuits of sympathy bring new atmospheric forces to childhood. The posthuman child, embedded in circuits of sympathy, is neither individualised nor collectivised but immersed in, and produced by, the circuit and its flows and disruptions. The modes and qualities of sympathy in the circuit shape what happens next: encounters that are sympathetically charged, are set to create new circuits of sympathy in their next encounters.

Books That Tell My Story: Transforming the Attitudes of Australian Preservice Teachers Towards Children’s Diverse and Multicultural Literature

Children’s literature is ubiquitous in Australian classrooms with picture books playing a particularly important role in early childhood classrooms. Teachers use children’s literature to teach early literacy concepts including vocabulary and to help children learn about the world and their identity. Historically, the majority of children’s literature has featured White characters and perspectives, excluding many children from seeing themselves and their lives reflected in books. The aim of this study was to explore how an assessment task that asked preservice teachers (PSTs) to select an underrepresented aspect of children’s literature, locate books on that topic, and reflect upon their own reading experiences as a child, could change their attitudes towards future classroom practice. Reflections from 40 PSTs revealed that many PSTs had not previously considered the experiences of children whose lives were not mirrored in books, the need for authentic texts written by people who identified as members of diverse groups, or the importance of diversity in children’s literature. Recommendations for teacher education programs in increasingly multicultural Australia are discussed.

Trauma-informed initial teacher education training: A necessary step in a system-wide response to addressing childhood trauma

The growing prevalence of students affected by complex trauma, and the significant implications of unresolved trauma for these students later in life, highlights the imperative for a system-wide response to address the effects of complex trauma in student populations. An important step in this system-level response is increasing the knowledge of pre-service teachers in trauma-informed education practice through initial teacher education programs. Trauma-informed education settings are increasingly being recognised as critical in the resolution of complex trauma for impacted learners; however, trauma-informed training in pre-service teacher education is lacking. While a small body of recent research has shown promise in increasing pre-service teacher knowledge and confidence in teaching children and young people affected by complex trauma, there is scant longitudinal data that informs us of how pre-service teachers may be implementing the knowledge they have learnt in their practice after they have graduated. Through survey data, the current study explored the perceptions of 124 Australian pre-service teachers’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and resilience related to working with trauma-affected students before and after completing a 6-week initial teacher education unit in managing student behaviours related to complex trauma, and 1 year after graduating. Key findings indicated pre-service teachers’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and resilience in teaching students with complex trauma increased dramatically from pre- to post- study of the 6-week unit and this learning continued to be evident 1 year into their teaching career. However, the data also suggest that these attributes are not something that develops quickly or without ongoing professional learning and practice. Although pre-service and early career teachers seem keen to advance their trauma awareness, it is important they receive ongoing support to develop their skills into their early careers. These findings have implications for the design of trauma-informed initial teacher education and the importance of additional early career professional learning.

Beyond curriculum knowledge: preparing Australian pre-service teachers’ ‘response-ability’ to 21st century student diversity and working in partnership with families

ABSTRACT In Australia, pre-service teachers are those enrolled in an accredited teaching training course (four years undergraduate and two years postgraduate) to become a qualified teacher. The term ‘classroom ready’ is a common description when discussing pre-service teachers’ capabilities upon completion of their course. In the Australian context, classroom ready means being equipped with curriculum content, pedagogical knowledge and skills, as well as catering for students with highly diverse needs and cultural backgrounds, and working in partnership with their families. This paper critiques recent policy developments, including the Australian Professional Standards for Teaching. These reforms will be outlined, together with key literature and current research on why developing family–school partnerships is a critical skill for pre-service teachers. We suggest that some of these reforms have led to the privileging of curriculum knowledge over the ability of pre-service teachers to work effectively with students and families in front-line contexts. Pre-service teachers need quality practical opportunities to exercise family–school partnership skills and become professionally competent to work with students and families from diverse backgrounds. With adequate attention to family–school partnerships in education policies and training courses, pre-service teachers can be better prepared to impact students’ learning and contribute to quality teaching classrooms.

Pre-service teachers’ reflections on their challenging experiences interacting with a parent avatar: Insights on deepening reflection on the simulation experience

ABSTRACT Australian preservice teachers (PSTs) are required to show evidence that they can ‘engage with parents/carers’ (AITSL Standard 7.3). This paper reports on a pilot study of PSTs, in their final year within an Initial Teacher Education programme, in a mixed reality learning environment immersing themselves in authentic and challenging conversations with a parent avatar. Based on data drawn from a survey of 57 respondents, the paper describes emergent themes gleaned from PSTs’ comments about their interactions. The findings identify key areas of focus in PSTs’ reflections and the ensuing discussion explores practical and theoretical considerations for deepening reflection on the simulation experience. It also highlights the benefit of simulation to provide PSTs the opportunity to practise difficult conversations with parents before they encounter the experience in the real world.

Teachers of TikTok: Glimpses and gestures in the performance of professional identity

During a tumultuous period marked by a global pandemic, forced lockdowns, and educational institutions going ‘digital by default’, TikTok has emerged as a key platform for teachers to connect and share their experiences. These digital practices have been widely celebrated for providing teachers with an outlet during a challenging time, though little is known about the particulars of TikTok's appeal among teachers and their followers. This article focuses on a teacher from South Australia, ‘Mr Luke’, whose upbeat TikTok videos capturing ‘#teacherlife’ have seen him grow a significant following. Drawing on interviews with Mr Luke and an Australian pre-service teacher who follows him, we consider their thoughts on TikTok and its relationship to professional practice. We identify key factors that have enabled TikTok's popularity among educators, with implications for both teacher education and social media scholarship.

Rite of passage into the teaching profession? Australian pre-service teachers’ professional learning in the Indo-Pacific through the New Colombo Plan

ABSTRACT A growing number of pre-service teachers (PSTs), who traditionally tend to be less internationally mobile than students in other fields, are participating in mobility programs to the Indo-Pacific region. This article analyses the extent to which Australian pre-service teachers’ international mobility experiences via the New Colombo Plan (NCP) contribute to the development of their professional capabilities and preparedness for the teaching profession. The research uses positioning theory as a conceptual framework to interpret how teachers make sense of their professional learning via international practicums. The PSTs’ perceptions and experiences disrupt the stereotype of the Indo-Pacific as nurturing a spoon-fed and rote learning culture that inhibits students’ independent learning. It shows how the Indo-Pacific region represents a powerful learning space for PSTs from an Anglophone country like Australia to learn to teach independently, develop ethnorelative perspectives, and enrich their professional capacities. The findings indicate that international practicums in the Indo-Pacific helped Australian PSTs build essential professional skills and enhance their preparedness to teach in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms both in Australia and internationally. Importantly, the study highlights how Indo-Pacific experiences support Australian PSTs’ development of empathy and awareness of social justice as well as the aspiration to work with disadvantaged and refugee children.

Pre-service Music Teachers’ Understanding of Blended Learning: Implications for Teaching Post COVID-19

The significant increase in online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic has created a heightened need for educators to implement teaching methods which do not rely solely on “face-to-face” learning within the same physical space. Blended Learning (BL) is one such approach, allowing for flexibility in the delivery of a class and constant access to unit materials. This paper reports on an investigation, by two Australian Pre-service Teacher (PST) educators, of their students’ understanding of BL at the beginning and end of a BL music method unit. Data were collected for three consecutive years with three separate cohorts. Findings indicated that the majority of the participants began the unit with little to no understanding of BL. This improved considerably through direct BL experience, with some exceptions. The implications for the development of flexible and responsive PST education in the current and post pandemic education environment are considered.

How do Australian pre-service teachers understand differentiated instruction and associated concepts of inclusion and diversity?

ABSTRACT Differentiated instruction is an inclusive approach that recognises and values diversities among students and adapts instruction to include every student. The concept of differentiation has been discussed over the past two decades. However, only limited attention has been paid to how pre-service teachers understand this phenomenon, while very little is known about how their beliefs about knowledge and knowing influence this understanding. This study investigated pre-service teachers’ understanding of differentiated instruction through the lens of epistemic cognition. The findings suggest pre-service teachers demonstrate a predominantly narrow understanding of differentiation, interpreting it as an instructional strategy of adapting teaching to support struggling learners. In addition, the findings also reveal that diversity is generally interpreted as referring to ‘others’ and inclusion is considered as a strategy to bring the ‘other’ people into the mainstream.