Global Teacher Education Research Articles

Through tensions to identity-based motivations: Exploring teacher professional identity in Artificial Intelligence-enhanced teacher training

This mixed-methods case study explores teacher professional identity (TPI) tensions and motivations for Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration in teaching within a Chinese university-level AI-enhanced teacher training programme. Surveys were completed by 216 attendees, followed by in-depth qualitative analysis of 15 selected teachers. The study reveals TPI groupness-individuality, humanity-technology, and continuity-openness tensions. Three conceptual models are introduced: Human Intelligence and AI as Navigator, Collaborator, and Inventor. It underscores the critical role of tailored AI-enhanced teacher training in harmonising educators’ diverse identities and motivations with technological advancements, signalling a strategic approach for effective AI integration in global teacher education.

Challenges in teacher education

Teacher education is influenced by a global meta-narrative that states that improving the quality of teacher education will lead to improved pupil outcomes, which in turn will lead to economic competitiveness in the global context. Thus, teacher education is seen as a powerful lever for achieving this ambition and is therefore positioned as a policy problem. This article outlines some of the key global challenges both in terms of global teacher education policy and in relation to wider societal influences. It problematises the notion that global challenges can be addressed by wholesale global solutions, arguing that liberal democratic governance in the global north mitigates against longer-term reform that does not achieve results within one election cycle. Instead, the article suggests that certain programme/partnership-level changes can work in powerful ways to achieve the ambition of more socially progressive teacher education

Cross-Cultural Experiences in Teacher Education: Indonesian Pre-Service English Teachers' Perspectives on International Teaching Practicum

This study addresses a significant gap in current literature concerning the international teaching practicum experiences of Asian pre-service teachers specializing in English education. Focusing on three Indonesian pre-service teachers, the research explores their experiences during international practicum in the Czech Republic, Thailand, and Malaysia. Methodologically, the study employed in-depth semi-structured interviews, along with the analysis of narrative journals and artifacts from the International Teaching Practicum (ITP) program, following the thematic analysis approach by Braun and Clarke (2006). This involved meticulous examination of data, coding, and thematic classification to derive meaningful interpretations. Key findings highlight the challenges faced by participants, including language barriers and cultural adaptation. Despite these challenges, participants reported substantial growth in confidence and self-assurance, fostered by active participation in teaching and learning activities. Significantly, the practicum provided valuable insights into multicultural education, deepening the participants' understanding of different teaching methodologies, the role of teachers, and the nuances of local educational systems. The implications of this study are far-reaching, particularly in enhancing multicultural competence in teacher education. By shedding light on the under-researched area of international teaching practicum involving Asian contexts, the study contributes essential insights into the evolving landscape of global teacher education.

The ongoing crises facing teacher education: reclaiming creativity and rethinking knowledge post-pandemic

ABSTRACT In 2022, after two years of the COVID virus profoundly interrupting social connection, learning, work and human mobility, governments worldwide turned material and rhetorical attention to life ‘post-pandemic’. Understandably, teachers who were central in keeping communities virtually connected during the pandemic—are positioned as core to a return to the quality of life and to gaining social futures beyond COVID-19. This is reflected in the theme of the 64th ICET World Assembly Building Creative Global Teacher Education Communities Post-Pandemic. This conceptual paper, given initially as a keynote at this conference, argues that for teachers, the state of crisis has not abated, rather, post-COVID educators are ‘returning’ pre-existing and enduring social, environmental and workforce crises that have been amplified during the global health crisis (Rosehart et al. 2022). The paper contends that for teachers to respond to the major social and environmental justice issues of our time, it is important to examine the structures and practices which standardise and regulate teachers and teaching and limit the creativity required for powerful knowledge building. Drawing on recent research, the paper offers an example of the ways in which teachers might be supported to reimagine disciplines and subjects in order address and respond to the major crises of our time.

A Global Teacher Education Vision for the Prevention of Gender-Based Violence

This paper invites consideration of the role of global teacher education provision in developing global citizenship and social justice aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 10. It explores how global teacher education resources, with and for social justice, can influence knowledge, skills, attitudes and habits to support and strengthen initiatives for the prevention of gender-based violence. Through an autoethnographic research approach, the paper reflects on the extent to which an inclusive learning design, shared across different country contexts, can contribute to a process of empowered learning for the prevention of gender-based violence. The findings and results of this study suggest that inclusive learning design can enhance the process and practice of creating spaces for developing collaborative awareness and communities of practice to prevent gender-based violence through education.

Content Learning through Languaging: Translingual Practices in a Graduate-level Teacher Preparation EMI Course in South Korea

A shift in the global teacher education landscape has led to an increase in the number of teacher candidates from all over the world seeking out degree-granting programs in non-Western, Asia-Pacific countries, including South Korea. While teacher education programs in Asia-Pacific countries are accepting more teacher candidates from abroad, few studies have examined teacher education practices and their effectiveness in this context and whether they prepare teachers to deal with the diversifying student population worldwide. While many higher education institutions in Asia-Pacific countries use English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in response to the increasing number of students from abroad, research contends that high-quality learning opportunities for these students are limited. This study explored alternative approaches to facilitating teacher candidates' acquisition of content knowledge and promoting fluid stances in languaging. The purpose of this study was to examine international teacher candidates' content learning and languaging experiences in a graduate-level multicultural education course that employed EMI and translingual practices. Data collection consisted of two questionnaires, and individual in-depth interviews in the 2021 fall semester (September to December). Study results report the impact of EMI and translingual practices on prospective teachers' content and language acquisition, as well as their evolving perceptions of bilingualism and multicultural education. Implications for research and teacher education practice are discussed.

Book review: From ‘Teach for America’ to ‘Teach for China’: Global teacher education reform and equity in education, by Sara Lam

Book review: From ‘Teach for America’ to ‘Teach for China’: Global teacher education reform and equity in education, by Sara Lam

Using a global competence model in an instructional design course before social studies methods: A developmental approach to global teacher education

This case study describes the design, learning experiences, and student outcomes in one Instructional Design course with an explicit focus on globally competent teaching. We make the argument that forefronting global competence in an Instructional Design course, prior to social studies methods, is a necessary precursor to accelerate students’ progress on a pathway towards teaching for global competence. In support of this argument, we (a) describe the ways in which an Instructional Design course in one university forefronted global competence; (b) explain the short- and long-term outcomes of this design; and (c) highlight four students to illustrate how the Instructional Design course helped to move students along a pathway towards global competence. We nest our approach within a globally competent teaching framework.

Globalization, Global Mindsets and Teacher Education

ABSTRACT Globalization is undoubtedly affecting every aspect of our lives. The reach and the reality of globalization means that what happens “there” to “them” now affects what happens “here” to “us.” The destinies of billions of people around the planet have become inextricably tied, connected by multiple networks, whether virtual, commercial, political, trans-familial, socio-cultural, or educational. This is the globalized space in which today’s teachers operate, it is the space they must navigate, they have no choice to do otherwise than to look, know, think, understand and teach beyond the boundaries of the(ir) local. But what exactly does that mean in practice? In response, I begin first with a brief discussion about globalization—what it means, and how it is—or perhaps not—affecting teaching and teacher education. I then discuss the mindsets teachers (and therefore teacher education/educators) need to cultivate along four dimensions in the context of globalization: the curricular, professional, moral, and personal. I then close with two immediate actions we should take as/to be a global teacher education community.

‘Am I an easy unit?’ Challenges of being and becoming an activist teacher educator in a neoliberal Australian context

ABSTRACT Over the past decades, a body of scholarship has highlighted the possibilities of critical pedagogies in Health and Physical Education Teacher Education (HPETE) (Fitzpatrick, 2018. What happened to critical pedagogy in physical education? An analysis of key critical work in the field. European Physical Education Review, 1–18; O’Sullivan, 2018. PETE academics as public intellectuals and activists in a global teacher education context. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 23(5), 536–543; Walton-Fisette & Sutherland, 2018. Moving forward with social justice education in physical education teacher education. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 23(5), 461–468). Although we have a body of research on social justice and critical pedagogy in HPETE, there is much to learn about the challenges activist teacher educators face in the process of being and becoming activists, especially in neoliberal contexts. This collaborative self-study explores the challenges of being and becoming an activist teacher educator in a neoliberal Australian context and how those challenges were negotiated. Participants included the lead researcher and a critical friend. Data collected included: (a) lead researcher observations collected as field notes; (b) lead researcher reflective diaries after each teaching episode; (c) meetings between the lead researcher and the critical friend; (d) material produced in the lead researcher’s classes. Data analysis involved induction and constant comparison. The lead author faced internal and external challenges. First, the lead author had to negotiate her struggles to share power with students. The teacher educator started to be seen as a ‘very cool person’, teaching ‘an easy unit’. Second, the teacher educator struggled to understand the complexities of teaching in a neoliberal context. The teacher educator [with the help of the critical friend] negotiated those challenges by understanding the importance to set expectations for learning within an activist approach and understanding the power of activist approaches to challenge a neoliberal system. Future studies should continue to explore the challenges activist teacher educators face in a context where students are socialized in neoliberal context, and educator’s performance is measured in the same system.

Culturally and Ecologically Sustaining Pedagogies: Cultivating Glocally Generous Classrooms and Societies

Generosity is a shared virtue with distinct expressions across cultures and regions. This article engages 26 teacher education students in a/r/tographic exploration of local cultures and ecologies during a 1-week global teacher education program at a large, urban university in China. Participants across eight Chinese provinces/municipalities, and the nations of Brazil, Canada, South Africa, South Korea, and the United States reflected on and shared local cultures and ecologies via photo collage, autobiographical reflection, children’s book creation, and lesson plan creation. This article presents a generosity-inspired theory for culturally and ecologically sustaining pedagogies to demonstrate how local cultures and ecologies shape global norms and understandings and make a case for why such local generosity must be sustained. A/r/tography emerged in this article as a meaningful pedagogical practice for examining, sharing, and appreciating local cultural and ecological generosity across global contexts.

‘I became a teacher that respects the kids’ voices’: challenges and facilitators pre-service teachers faced in learning an activist approach

ABSTRACTSeveral studies demonstrate the benefits of educating for social justice in physical education teacher education programs [O’Sullivan, M. (2018). PETE Academics as public intellectuals and activists in a global teacher education context. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 23(5), 536–543], which supports that pre-service teachers (PSTs) have the capacity to be active agents of change. In working with social justice, PSTs engage in what can be a very personal struggle with their own stereotypes and assumptions about the people they are working with [Oliver, K. L., Oesterreich, H. A., Aranda, R., Archeleta, J., Blazera, C., Crux, K., … Robinson, R. (2015). ‘The sweetness of struggle’: Innovation in physical education teacher education through student-centered inquiry as curriculum in a physical education methods course. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 20(1), 97–115]. Although the challenges that PSTs faced to learn an activist approach to teaching are described in the literature, there is little research that aims to understand how these challenges progress across time. The aim of this study is to explore the challenges pre-service teachers faced when learning to use an activist approach across time. Participatory action research framed this 3-semester study (18 months). Participants included 10 pre-service-teachers, 90 youth, and two researchers. Data collected included: (a) collaborative PSTs group meetings; (b) PSTs reflective diaries after each teaching episode; (c) lead researcher observations collected as field notes; (d) PSTs generated artifacts; and (e) PSTs interviews and focus groups. Data analysis involved inductive and constant comparison. Results conveyed: (a) the PSTs’ assumptions about what student-centered pedagogy meant and the challenges of overcoming their misconceptions about teaching and learning; and (b) the PST’s struggles in coming to understand themselves as activist teachers, with dispositions as advocates of social justice. Future studies should continue to explore the challenges and facilitators PSTs face when learning an activist approach aimed at empowering both students and teachers to develop a critically conscious understanding of their relationships with the world through their effort to name and change the world together.

Where are the “People Like me”?: A Collaborative Autoethnography of Transnational Lives and Teacher Education in the U.S.

ABSTRACTGlobal multicultural teacher education courses and programs have made claims to offer Prospective Teachers (PSTs) a global understanding of diversity and multiculturalism. However, there is very little research that has examined the classroom experiences of PSTs and teacher educators. Drawing on a collaborative autoethnography, this article explores the ways our transnational identities shaped our experiences (as a PST and a teacher educator) in a global teacher education course focused on diversity and multiculturalism. We were guided by the following research question: How do we, as South Asian transnational migrants, experience the curriculum of a global multicultural education course in the United States? We found that the curricular nationalism within multicultural education courses often negates any critical engagement with the influence of transnationalism on immigrants and their educational experiences. Transnational migrants are expected to translate their experiences, cultural practices, and life ways to fit into the container of the U.S. nation-state. Furthermore, there was a visible absence of narratives and research about transnational lives and identities in the course curriculum. As teacher education programs prepare PSTs to enter classrooms with growing immigrant populations, it is important that we attend to this glaring gap in both practice and research.

PETE Academics as public intellectuals and activists in a global teacher education context

I spent part of my sabbatical leave interviewing teacher educators from nine countries across three continents exploring teacher education contexts both nationally and locally and the nature of the...

A critical policy analysis of ‘Teach for Bangladesh’: a travelling policy touches down

ABSTRACTThis paper provides a critical policy analysis and network ethnography of Teach for Bangladesh (TfB). We demonstrate that TfB is a localised version of a global teacher education policy – Teach for All/America (TfAll/A). Santos, Boaventura De Sousa [2002. The Processes of Globalisation. Translated by Sheena Caldmell. Eurozine: Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais and Eurozine, August, 1–48] has written about the ways some national policies travel globally. He calls these ‘globalised localisms’. When they touch down and are taken up in another national context, he calls this a ‘localised globalism’. We see TfB as a ‘localised globalism’. This paper is focused on documenting and analysing the policy network that has enabled a globalised localism, TfAll/A, to be taken up as a localised globalism in Bangladesh through TfB. We see this as the emergence of network governance in a developing world primary schooling context. The analysis shows how pivotal to TfB is the boundary spanning networking of its founder, who connects the global to the local, the private to the public, and the provision of social services to philanthropy.

Rethinking the hermit kingdom: US social studies teachers’ cross-cultural professional development in South Korea

This study explores the experiences of 34 US social studies teachers who participated in a cross-cultural professional development in South Korea, and the impact of the programme on the participant teachers’ perceptions and practices of global education. Drawing upon a postcolonial lens, this mixed-method study takes a critical look at (a) how social studies teachers who mostly had limited previous knowledge of and experiences with the host country experienced cross-cultural learning and (b) how the teachers’ experiences were applied to their perceptions on global education and actual curricular and pedagogical changes in the classroom. The findings of this study provide solid empirical evidence on the possibilities and limitations of such international professional development, particularly in non-Western contexts, and discuss the implications on global teacher education.

Partnership for Global Learning and the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

This paper introduces the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UWO), through its overall profile, mission and vision statements, and demographics. In addition, the text provides information about admission requirements for future undergraduate and graduate students at UWO. Further, the text outlines information on undergraduate and graduate admissions, as well as exit requirements in the College of Education and Human Services. The purpose of such information is to provide context for planning regarding collaboration in the global teacher education program at Jeju National University. The text concludes with statements about potential for partnership for global learning through the College of Education and Human Services at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.

Alternatives to a master’s degree as the new gold standard in teaching: a narrative inquiry of global citizenship teacher education in Japan and Canada

Neoliberal agendas, globalism and the marketisation of higher education have had profound implications for teacher education throughout the world, including increasing standardisation, accountability and credentialism. The rhetoric is ‘teachers need better training’. However, raising the bar to a master’s degree without analysing carefully the rationale for such a reform seems short-sighted. What alternatives are there to a master’s degree as a standard in teacher accreditation? What are the significant issues facing learners of the twenty-first century? In a post 9/11 world, with drastic changes stemming from globalisation, what is important? Teachers need global citizenship education to nurture global citizens who have the knowledge and skills required to critically evaluate phenomena in a rapidly changing world. In this paper, a narrative case study of a unique initial teacher education programme at a Japanese university is juxtaposed with discussion of a well-established Canadian programme offering multiple pathways into teaching. The results show that effective teacher induction integrating global citizenship education and providing a gradual acculturation into teaching is possible within undergraduate programmes, providing opportunities for sharing the transcultural personal, practical and professional knowledge of teachers.

An Ethics of Recognition in Global and Teacher Education: Looking through Queer and Postcolonial Lenses

Global education and teacher education struggle to address a wide range of objectives surrounding curriculum. Some of these objectives are market-driven while others emphasise critical democracy. A theoretical framework is presented that combines literature from queer theory and postcolonial theory to better understand curriculum through a poststructural ethics of recognition. Recognising individuals and groups beyond normalising discourses and creating third spaces are the main themes of this ethics in curriculum work and global teacher education. These interpretations are illustrated with a brief example of a teacher education project that encouraged dialogue about global inequities and colonisation between pre-service teachers in the Philippines and the United States.

Globalization and the Reform of Faculties of Education in Egypt: The Roles of Individual and Organizational, National and International Actors

In this paper we outline the history of institutionalizing pre-service teacher education in Egypt, and then examine efforts in the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s to reform faculties of education. We document previous criticisms of and proposed changes in teacher preparation programs, but note that concerted reform efforts occurred only after the Egyptian government in the 1990s focused on improving educational quality, including teacher preparation, and the World Bank and USAID also put the issue pre-service teacher education on their agendas – and committed funds for this purpose. We also describe how the proposed reforms of policy and practice (e.g., improving assessments of entrants and graduates, increasing a focus on practice versus theory in coursework, expanding the amount of time devoted to field experiences, and organizing “induction” programs to support and guide new teachers) reflected global teacher education reform discourses characteristic of the 1990s and 2000s. However, rather than treating globalization as a process without real actors, we trace how these ideas were promoted by many Egyptians and non-Egyptians (e.g., faculty of education staff and Ministry of Higher Education personnel, but also World Bank staff, USAID personnel, and members of the two international organization-funded project teams). In examining the planning and implementation of two internationally funded faculty of education reform projects, we explore the interplay between and among local and global actors and identify individual and organizational factors that enabled or constrained these efforts to achieve significant and sustainable improvements in the quality of pre-service teacher education in Egypt.