Graduate Teacher Education Program Research Articles

Tracer Study of the Graduate Teacher Education Programs

This research aimed to comprehensively understand postgraduate programs’ knowledge, skills, contribution, and relevance. It also sought valuable insights for program enhancement. Employing a descriptive study approach, both qualitative and quantitative data were investigated. Quantitative data was analyzed through arithmetic means, while thematic analysis was employed for qualitative data assessment. Thirty-one Master of Arts in Education (M.A.Ed.) and Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) participants meeting specific criteria were selected using purposive sampling. Data collection followed a systematic process with ethical considerations at the forefront. Findings revealed that participants highly rated satisfaction, program contribution, and relevance to their teaching education. Recommendations included enhancing school site accessibility, offering flexible learning methods, improving document processing efficiency, involving students in research, expanding graduate courses, bolstering internet connectivity, and strengthening student-teacher relationships. The graduate curriculum significantly contributed to personal and professional growth, enabling competency in current roles. Consequently, the study suggests adapting graduate programs based on benchmarked best practices from state universities to fortify the graduate education program.

History, Development, and Enlightenment of Adapted Physical Education National Standards

As the total number and proportion of individuals with disabilities worldwide are increasing, the international community is paying more and more attention to the equal education rights of individuals with disabilities. Since the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act issued in 1975, physical education (PE) played a significant part in special education. According to the requirements of the United States federal legislation, a national certification examination system has been established and developed subsequently to better promote the development of physical education for children with disabilities. The National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities (NCPEID) has formulated the Adapted Physical Education National Standards (APENS). The first version of APENS was developed in 1995 to certify adaptive sports professionals across the United States. The second edition came out in 2006. In addition, many undergraduate and graduate teacher education programs use APENS as a basis for preparatory courses. At some universities, completion of APENS has become a graduation requirement. The NCPEID reviews APENS every few years to keep it up to date, and it also reviews national tests as needed to reflect current knowledge and practice. This paper was to understand the primary contents of APENS. We found that the APENS include Human Development, Motor Behavior, Exercise Science, Measurement and Evaluation, History and Philosophy, Unique Attributes of Learners, Curriculum Theory and Development, Instructional Design and Planning, Teaching, Consultation and Staff Development, Student and Program Evaluation, Continuing Education, Ethics and Communication. These standard fields guide teachers, administrators, and families in basic knowledge, skills, and attitudes. In addition, the establishment of APENS has reference value and significance for the system construction, legal regulations, discipline construction, personnel training, peer education, community support, and other aspects of PE for individuals with disabilities in China.

Effects of a collaborative AR‐enhanced learning environment on learning gains and technology implementation beliefs: Evidence from a graduate teacher training course

AbstractBackgroundThe unimaginable power of emerging technologies has transformed education in terms of content creation and instructional design. Due to high value of AR/VR in education, teachers of the 21st century are expected to empower themselves professionally to be able to utilize these technologies in their instructional practices. Despite detailed examination of teachers' readiness for using AR in terms of perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs, very few studies have incorporated AR in teaching theoretical courses of graduate teacher education programs by utilizing constructivist pedagogical strategies.ObjectivesThe current study investigated the impact of a collaborative AR‐enhanced learning environment on learning gains and technology implementation beliefs in a graduate teacher training course.MethodsThirty‐one in‐service teachers participated in the study as the experimental (n=15) and control (n=16) groups. An AR app was developed for teaching 20 key concepts of the course Language Curriculum Design. The experimental group was instructed to work collaboratively with the app to learn the content, while the control group learned the concepts using the app in a lecture‐based class. Learning gains were assessed by midterm and final exams and a term project.Results and ConclusionsThe results showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in learning the content and completing the project; and they had more positive technology implementation beliefs at the end of the experiment. Also, the participants were found to have positive attitudes towards the educational and pedagogical values of AR; and if the curricular and situational constraints are removed, they are highly motivated to use AR in their classes.ImplicationsThe findings demonstrated the feasibility of incorporating AR technology into teaching abstract concepts in Art and humanities disciplines; and how teacher educators can benefit from integrating a collaborative approach with AR technology to teach advanced courses.

Empowering Current and Future Educators: Using a Scalable Action Research Module as a Mechanism to Promote High-Quality Teaching and Learning in STEM

Professional development in action research methods can increase educators’ dispositions toward the adoption of evidence-based practices and data-based decision making. However, an in-depth review of the literature revealed that extant forms of action research professional development (ARPD) may not be accessible to all educators as they are often relegated to full-semester undergraduate and/or graduate courses, internships, and teacher education programs. To address this issue, we designed, implemented, and assessed a scalable active-learning module on action research to strengthen the cognitive and affective outcomes of prospective and in-service STEM teachers (N = 26) enrolled in a cross-listed Scientific Teaching course, all of whom had not previously conducted action research. This three-session module integrated case studies, collaborative practice, group discussions, and instruction on action research theory and data collection methodologies. Analysis of pre-/post-intervention survey responses revealed that participants expressed greater self-efficacy related to their ability to design and conduct action research, strengthened knowledge of the process of action research, and greater awareness of the utility of data to inform research and teaching. When asked about the benefits of engaging in action research, participants suggested it could enhance their pedagogical content knowledge and reflectivity. However, participants identified logistical issues such as time constraints and resource availability, lack of institutional support, and possible student resistance to data collection as potential barriers to future action research practice. Overall, our module provides a scaffold to enculturate in-service educators to inquiry dispositions while offering a scalable approach to help prospective teachers in their transition to in-service practice.

The Whole is Greater than the Sum of the Parts: A Self-Study of Equity and Inclusion in Online Teacher Education

ABSTRACT This self-study examines the intersectionality of online teaching, inclusive teaching practices, and culturally responsive teaching in an online graduate teacher education program. Inspired by student perceptions of the promotion of equity and inclusion in the online program, our critical friends group engaged in ongoing reflection and discourse about our current practice as teacher educators and as a program. At the onset of the self-study, we believed that our practices were promoting inclusivity and equity for our students. We discovered, however, that despite our intentional efforts to model and promote these, we each had room to improve our practice. As a result, we engaged in professional development to better equip ourselves to model and promote equity and inclusion in our online teacher education program. We found that there is considerable overlap in research-based effective practices for online teaching, culturally responsive teaching, and inclusive teaching. We have provided recommendations for teacher educators to consider as they design for and model the intersectionality of equity and inclusion in their practice.

Global Identity Development in Teacher Education with Modifications Prompted by COVID-19

Education systems face pressures from globalization. Thinking more globally, developing a more global identity, and demonstrating intercultural competence are valued in teacher education as reflected in accreditation standards. These anticipate the requirements of future students’ more diverse generations who must function in an increasingly interconnected and intercultural globalized world. This article describes a course that fits into an undergraduate or graduate teacher education program, and that fosters intercultural competence and global identity through online course delivery combined with experiential learning in a destination country. This course won the 2019 College-Level Course Award from the Association for Distance Education and Independent Learning. Travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated developing alternatives to the study abroad component of this course. These virtual solutions are described and can be used in a variety of contexts. © 2021. Common Ground Research Networks, Meg Milligan, Paige Paquette, All Rights Reserved. All Rights Reserved.

Graduate Teacher Education in the Philippines: Observations and Prospects

In cognizance of the role of graduate education in human capital development and nation building, the present study aimed to assess the status of graduate teacher education in the Philippines by describing the profile of graduate teacher education programs in both public and private higher education institutions (HEIs). To achieve the purpose of the study, the researchers used a descriptive research design wherein profile data on HEIs’ program offerings, program accreditation levels, and enrolment and graduation data were gathered from the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED) 2017 databases. The research yielded results which served as basis for the researchers in making observations and identifying prospects for improvement of the quality of profile and status of the country's graduate teacher education programs. The implications of the results to policy development, curricular reforms, and future research are discussed.

Self-directed Learning in Music Teacher Education: Perspectives from Pre-service Music Teachers in South Korea

This aim of this study is to investigate the perspectives of Korean pre-service music teachers on self-directed thesis seminar conducted in the graduate teacher education program. This research focused on 1) the attitude of pre-service music teachers towards self-directed thesis seminar and 2) the impact of self-directed thesis seminar on the progress of the pre-service music teachers’ performance. Ten pre-service music teachers participated in the researcher’s thesis seminar. The results demonstrated that most of the participants were anxious and insecure in managing the various educational resources as well as monitoring the progress of their study. However, the self-directed thesis seminar has indirectly provided the participants with a new learning environment to manage their own goals, initiate their own learning, and responsible for their own progress and outcomes. The findings also showed that collaborative learning is essential as an instructional approach in self-directed learning to enable the participants to share their views from different perspectives and develop critical thinking.

Repositioning White Monolingual English-Speaking Teachers’ Conceptions of Language: Counterstories and Embodied Learning

Countries are seeing a rise in the number of families and schoolchildren who do not speak English as a first language. This study focuses on how two White monolingual English-speaking elementary teachers positioned language as it related to their Spanish-speaking students within a graduate teacher education program in the United States. Our work builds on previous cultural immersion studies by using embodied cognition and Latino Critical Theory (LatCrit) as analytical tools. Findings indicate that embodied experiences can increase teachers’ awareness of how speakers of English and Spanish are positioned by the dominant culture while LatCrit theory can illuminate future steps.

“I Needed to Rediscover who I Really Was”: An Inquiry into the Impacts of one Graduate Teacher Education Program for Early Elementary Teachers

This paper reports on the impacts on teachers of a new Masters in Education program developed for early elementary teachers at one small Canadian university. Central to the program are concepts of the child as competent and capable, and a view of professional learning as democratic, critically reflective and a way to enhance teacher agency. Our findings are based on interviews and focus group conversations with several members of one of the cohorts who completed the program. In our thematic analysis we determined that teachers reported changes in their practices including slowing down and listening to children as well as increased flexibility and ability to relinquish control. Additionally, teachers spoke of increased confidence in themselves and the children in their classrooms as a result of participating in this program. Keywords: early elementary grades, graduate teacher education, early elementary pedagogy, democratic professional learning, teachers’ agency Cet article fait etat des impacts sur les enseignants d’un nouveau programme de maitrise en education developpe par une petite universite canadienne pour les enseignants du primaire. Le programme est centre sur le concept selon lequel l’enfant est competent et capable, et sur une perspective de l’apprentissage professionnel comme etant un processus de reflexion critique qui est democratique et susceptible d’augmenter chez les enseignants le sentiment de pouvoir agir. Nos resultats decoulent d’entrevues et de conversations avec des groupes de discussion impliquant plusieurs membres d’une cohorte ayant complete le programme. Notre analyse thematique revele que les enseignants ont signale des changements dans leurs pratiques; entre autres, ils ont indique qu’ils ralentissaient et ecoutaient les eleves, etaient plus souples et se sentaient en mesure de ceder le controle. De plus, les enseignants ont reconnu que leur participation au programme avait entraine une augmentation de leur confiance en soi et en les eleves. Mots cles : premieres annees du primaire, etudes superieures en enseignement, pedagogie des premieres annees du primaire, sentiment chez les enseignants de pouvoir agir.

“I Needed to Rediscover who I Really Was”: An Inquiry into the Impacts of one Graduate Teacher Education Program for Early Elementary Teachers

This paper reports on the impacts on teachers of a new Masters in Education program developed for early elementary teachers at one small Canadian university. Central to the program are concepts of the child as competent and capable, and a view of professional learning as democratic, critically reflective and a way to enhance teacher agency. Our findings are based on interviews and focus group conversations with several members of one of the cohorts who completed the program. In our thematic analysis we determined that teachers reported changes in their practices including slowing down and listening to children as well as increased flexibility and ability to relinquish control. Additionally, teachers spoke of increased confidence in themselves and the children in their classrooms as a result of participating in this program. Keywords: early elementary grades, graduate teacher education, early elementary pedagogy, democratic professional learning, teachers’ agency Cet article fait état des impacts sur les enseignants d’un nouveau programme de maitrise en éducation développé par une petite université canadienne pour les enseignants du primaire. Le programme est centré sur le concept selon lequel l’enfant est compétent et capable, et sur une perspective de l’apprentissage professionnel comme étant un processus de réflexion critique qui est démocratique et susceptible d’augmenter chez les enseignants le sentiment de pouvoir agir. Nos résultats découlent d’entrevues et de conversations avec des groupes de discussion impliquant plusieurs membres d’une cohorte ayant complété le programme. Notre analyse thématique révèle que les enseignants ont signalé des changements dans leurs pratiques; entre autres, ils ont indiqué qu’ils ralentissaient et écoutaient les élèves, étaient plus souples et se sentaient en mesure de céder le contrôle. De plus, les enseignants ont reconnu que leur participation au programme avait entrainé une augmentation de leur confiance en soi et en les élèves. Mots clés : premières années du primaire, études supérieures en enseignement, pédagogie des premières années du primaire, sentiment chez les enseignants de pouvoir agir.

‘It’s an adjustment’: The experiences of stay-at-home mothers in graduate teacher education programs

It is important that teacher education programs be aware of their students’ lives and experiences both inside and outside of the classroom. This is especially true in the case of students who are also stay-at-home mothers who are trying to balance the demands of their personal and professional lives and to adjust to the differing expectations for each. This study was designed to explore the experiences of 10 stay-at-home mothers who decided to return to school to become teachers. Results indicate that the students felt that motherhood helped them to be more tolerant and understanding, but that it was often difficult to balance their dual roles of mother and student. Implications for graduate teacher education programs and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Field Experience: Experiential Learning as Complementary to the Conceptual Learning for International Students in a Graduate Teacher Education Program

This study examined the value of field experience as a component of study for international students in a Graduate Teacher Education program at a Midwestern liberal arts university. The purpose of the field experience was to provide a contextual basis for student learning. The espoused research method included a quantitative component via survey and qualitative data, through a focus group interview and participants’ field notes. As a result, there is evidence to suggest that the field experience program, as a component of the graduate education program for international students was valuable. Participants described it as being relevant and real. As evident from the field notes, participants reflected on the opportunity for cross-cultural application of their learning, while emphasizing that the learning was palpable and reinforced their conceptual learning. Through the field experience program, participants reported that they gained in-depth insight on leadership and classroom instruction; therefore, they were able to improve their craft as educational leaders. Moreover, evidence from this study also suggests that participants were prepared to approach meaningful educational reform upon returning to their homeland, in Saudi Arabia.

Characterizing the motives and environmental literacy of undergraduate and graduate students who elect environmental programs – a comparison between teaching-oriented and other students

One aspect of the increasing position of sustainability in higher education is establishment of distinct interdisciplinary environment-oriented programs. The point-of-departure of this study is differentiation between teaching- and non-teaching-oriented students, in view of their different respective professional roles in society. The motives and environmental literacy (EL) of incoming students were investigated in three types of sustainability programs in Israel: undergraduate teacher-training, graduate teacher-education and graduate non-teacher programs. For all students acquiring knowledge was the major motive for studies. Undergraduate student-teachers demonstrated the least developed EL, although it is slightly higher than that found for incoming student-teachers a decade ago. Graduate teacher-students displayed strong identity as educational agents-of-change and role-models; however, their limited environmental-knowledge raises questions concerning providing knowledge foundations in undergraduate teacher-training programs, indicating the necessity to supplement this in graduate teacher-programs. Graduate non-teacher students perceive their continuing sustainability-oriented studies as a means for developing an environmental career and enter these programs relatively environmentally-literate. The implications focus on necessary components and characteristics of sustainability-programs directed to teaching- and non-teaching-oriented students. These include the necessity to strengthen the environmental-knowledge component in programs directed to teachers; and embed opportunities for professional internships within graduate programs for non-teachers seeking environmental careers.

Do Graduate Teacher Education Programs Change Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Inclusion and Efficacy Beliefs?

ABSTRACTThis study compared changes in attitudes toward inclusion and efficacy of 98 general and 76 special education students completing their master’s degree. Data were collected at the beginning of the program, at the end of the first semester—upon completion of an Introduction to Inclusion course—and at the end of the program. Results indicated that, though attitudes toward inclusion became significantly more positive among special education students throughout the program, general education students’ attitudes became significantly more positive only after completion of the inclusion course but later significantly regressed. These findings support those of other studies that demonstrate improvements of attitudes after one course. Efficacy scores followed a similar pattern for general and special education students with significant increases from the beginning to the end of the program. Implications for elementary education programs for general educators are discussed, taking into account that all teachers should be prepared to teach all students.

Rethinking Nativeness: Toward a Dynamic Paradigm of (Non)Native Speakering

The “NNEST Movement” has been instrumental in documenting the privilege of native speakers, the marginalization of their nonnative counterparts, and the factors that may influence an individual falling into one category or another. More recently, scholars have adopted a poststructuralist orientation toward language and identity that resists dichotomized framings of language and language users. This article extends the poststructuralist orientation to consider how and why such abstract idealizations of native and nonnative speakers—what I term (non)native speakered subjectivities—emerged historically and are continuously reified and (re)produced through everyday discourse. Throughout this discussion, I weave illustrative examples from a participant in a semester-long ethnographic study that took place in a graduate teacher education program. In the conclusion, I consider implications for future theorizations of (non)native speakering as well as possibilities for increasing equity in the field of ELT.

Changes in Residents’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs in a Clinically Rich Graduate Teacher Education Program

ABSTRACTIncreasing the clinical preparation of teachers in the United States to meet greater rigor in K-12 education has become a goal of institutions of higher education, especially since the publication of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education Blue Ribbon Panel Report on Clinical Practice. Using a theoretical framework grounded in teacher self-efficacy, this article documents changes in perceptions of effectiveness in a cohort of preservice teachers over the course of a year-long clinically rich graduate-level residency program. Using the categories of the rubric that were being utilized for classroom observations, we surveyed residents about their perceptions of their own effectiveness in these areas prior to and at the conclusion of the residency program.

GRADUATE DEGREES ABROAD: BUILDING CULTURAL AND INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS FOR A RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGY IN TEACHER EDUCATION

This paper is a discussion of the development of graduate programs in Nassau and Freeport, Bahamas. In 2010, our university made a conscious decision to offer an off-shore graduate program to Bahamian educators, at one specific site (one island), in response to a particular request. Today, we offer five different programs at three sites (2 islands) to teachers, school administrators, counseling professionals and organizational leaders across a range of institutional contexts. To date, over 20 professors from our School of Education have traveled in order to provide face-to-face off-shore instruction to Bahamians wishing to continue their education, in order to enhance professional learning and growth. Several of the administrators and faculty members who have been involved have begun to examine their experiences, individually and collaboratively, and are exploring the possibilities of future expansion of the international program, due to the success of the graduate programs offered in the Bahamas. This paper describes one of these sites, and the experiences of one administrator and one faculty member, of teaching, lessons learned, and suggestions for institutions of Higher Education considering developing off-shore graduate teacher education, educational services and organizational leadership programs.

Developing Competencies for Education for Sustainable Development: A Case Study of Canadian Faculties of Education

Education is paramount when trying to enable a change in values and attitudes towards sustainability. Higher education in faculties of education plays an important role in working toward this change because of its impact on future and practicing teachers in the school systems. This study inquires into the current role of education for sustainable development (ESD) in undergraduate and graduate teacher education programs at Canadian universities, with a particular focus on promising practices and initiatives toward a reorientation of teacher education for sustainability. A qualitative case study approach was used identifying promising initiatives as well as challenges and enablers of reorienting teacher education toward sustainability at four Canadian universities. The discussion of results is framed by how identified initiatives relate to the development of core ESD competences for educators as established by UNECE (2012). The results of the study suggest the importance of experiential, inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional learning, of problem-based learning around real-life issues with community and the natural environment, and of building partnerships with colleagues, students, and community organizations.

ESL Teachers/ESL Students: Looking at Autoethnography through the Lens of Personetics

This qualitative, naturalistic study examines thoughts expressed in autoethnographies and accompanying notes written by ESL teachers/learners who are enrolled in a graduate teacher education program in the US. These data are then juxtaposed with the Freirean idea that English learners can be empowered if they analyze their personal paths critically. The authors illuminate the practical aspects of autoethnography as a method of introspective, critical analysis, where personetics (Brudny, 2003) can be defined as the process of looking at one’s own identity and learning. ESL learners/teachers are thus illuminated as “personal linguacultures” (Risager, 2008, p. 3) who are unique but have something in common with L2 writers from around the world. The process of writing an ESL autoethnography helps them evaluate their own objectives and goals, we postulate, and enables them to become aware of their own ESL writing as an L2 learning and teaching tool. Specific practical ramifications for the ESL writing classroom are mentioned.