Implications For Teacher Education Research Articles

Navigating controversy and neutrality: pre-service teachers’ beliefs on teaching climate change

Teachers’ climate change knowledge, beliefs, and the controversy surrounding the topic influence their curricular decisions. However, there’s limited understanding of pre-service teachers’ competencies and beliefs to address controversial aspects. This qualitative interview study with nine pre-service teachers in Switzerland explores their perspectives across the audience segmentation groups of Global Warming’s Six Americas and their preparedness to teach controversial aspects. The thematic analysis revealed distinct differences. Teachers’ beliefs influenced their teaching intentions, avoiding bias and controversy. Factors like inadequate pedagogical and content knowledge, the controversial nature of the topic, and perceived pressure result in teachers adopting a neutral stance. Yet, the interpretations of ‘controversy’ and ‘neutrality’ vary individually and contextually. Climate change is often approached as a scientific issue, focusing on private sphere actions, neglecting critical discussions, and hampering transformative learning. These findings highlight the importance of recognizing diverse perspectives in addressing controversial aspects – with implications for teacher education.

Re-engaging dialogue about the DAP debate: Implications for teacher education

Re-engaging dialogue about the DAP debate: Implications for teacher education

The Role of Units Coordination in Preservice Elementary Teachers' Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching

ABSTRACT This study used units coordination as a theoretical lens to investigate how whole number and fraction reasoning may be related for preservice teachers at the conclusion of a math methods class. The study contributes quantitative evidence that units coordination provides a common foundation for both mathematical knowledge for teaching whole number addition and subtraction and for mathematical knowledge for teaching fraction multiplication and division. An analysis of PSTs’ written responses to two different types of tasks (referent unit and appropriateness of proportional reasoning) revealed that some aspects of mathematical knowledge for teaching rational number and the multiplicative conceptual field are associated with units coordination (referent unit tasks), whereas others are not (appropriateness tasks). A logistic regression of PSTs’ conceptions of multidigit number on their scores on these tasks provided empirical evidence that the most sophisticated conceptions of multidigit number (corresponding with having interiorized three levels of units) were associated with referent unit tasks but not associated with appropriateness of proportional reasoning tasks. Together, these findings support the claim that units coordination has promise for explaining the relationship between teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching multidigit addition and subtraction and fraction multiplication and division. Implications for teacher education are discussed.

How Does Contemporary YA Literature Represent Rural People and Places?

This article presents a critical content analysis of representations of rural people and places in contemporary, middle grades and young adult novels. Interrogating representations is vital for implementing critical rural place pedagogies. Findings indicate this award-winning text set included diverse representations of racial, religious, and sexual identities. Characters often felt a sense of place-based belonging and identity but also experienced tensions of feeling stuck. Rural places were frequently depicted as places of despair and pervasive poverty, with a lack of middle or upper-middle income representations. Implications for teacher education are presented with suggestions for critical place pedagogies and developing counternarratives that convey the diversity of rural people and places.

Exploring Chinese kindergarten teachers’ identities and emotions: A sociocultural perspective

This study explores the identities and emotions of 12 Chinese kindergarten teachers from Shenzhen and Shanghai. Using the cultural–historical activity theory (CHAT) framework, we examined how daily tensions shape teachers' identities and emotions. An activity systems analysis identified five emotion-related identities that teachers frequently perceived. The study highlights tensions arising from misaligned objectives, power dynamics, and teacher identity. It suggests that teachers' emotions reflect their notions of self regarding how they believe they should be, act, and understand. The study has implications for teacher education and development, illustrating the complex interplay between teachers’ identities, emotions, and sociocultural contexts.

Pedagogical content knowledge in prospective elementary teachers’ descriptions of teaching and learning of fractions

ABSTRACT This study investigates the pedagogical content knowledge identified in six prospective elementary teachers’ written teacher practicum reports. Focusing on the three categories of pedagogical content knowledge included in the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching framework, the study analyzes the prospective teachers’ descriptions and combines their knowledge of fraction content with knowing about students, teaching, and curriculum. The results indicate that prospective teachers describe teaching and learning of fractions mainly on a general pedagogical level. Moreover, they do not differentiate characteristics for elementary students’ fraction difficulties and misunderstandings as well as fraction core contents in the curriculum. The findings are discussed in relation to the Swedish teacher education context in which the study was conducted. Implications for teacher education are also discussed.

Teacher Preparation for Culturally Responsive Teaching: Implications for Teacher Education

ABSTRACT Diverse students in K-12 schools face many challenges to succeed, including the cultural incongruity between their home cultures and school. A widening achievement gap over the pandemic has prompted research from the culturally responsive teaching (CRT) perspective. This quantitative study aims to understand K-12 teachers’ self-efficacy in CRT and to identify specific aspects of teacher preparation that may contribute to teacher confidence in CRT. Data was collected from teachers (N = 564) nationwide using the Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy (CRTSE) scale during the 2020–2021 school year. Findings suggest that teachers are less confident in teaching strategies addressing cultural differences. Specific types of teacher preparation were found to be significant factors in raising teachers’ CRT confidence.

Constructing expertise: reframing intelligence with preservice teachers

ABSTRACT We argue that part of inclusive teacher preparation is building a mindset that positions all learners as valuable and capable members of the classroom community. A key piece of developing this mindset is engaging pre-service teachers in authentically rethinking their understanding of intelligence and expertise. This article is a descriptive piece of an inclusive education teacher preparation programme making changes to construct teachers and peers with intellectual disability as experts to help develop future teachers. We describe the programme and two features that position people with intellectual disability as experts: hiring a teaching assistant with an intellectual disability for an introductory special education course and embedding a semester-long experience that pairs pre-service teachers with college students with intellectual disability. We describe these experiences and what preservice teachers shared about them. Implications for teacher education and future research are discussed.

Teachers as street-level bureaucrats: Navigating language ideologies and restrictive language environments

ABSTRACT This critical literature review employs a novel combination of theoretical perspectives to examine the ways teachers navigate restrictive language policy. Specifically, we examine the documented effects of California’s Proposition 227 on pre-service and in-service teachers’ language ideologies and classroom practices. In our investigation, we explored the link between restrictive language policy and language ideologies by addressing an overarching question: How are language ideologies related to restrictive language policy? We also sought to answer the questions: How did teachers’ language ideologies impact the implementation of Proposition 227? And, how did Proposition 227 affect teachers’ language ideologies and practices? We discuss our findings and how pre-service and in-service teachers, as street-level bureaucrats, possess agency to resist harmful language policies in restrictive language environments. Finally, we conclude with implications for teacher education, highlighting the role teacher educators play in helping to foster educational equity.

Investigating preservice teachers’ attitudes toward lesbian, gay, and bisexual students in Luxembourg

AbstractLesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) students face victimization in multiple contexts, including the educational context. Here, teachers can serve as an important resource for LGB students. However, teachers who are prejudiced against students from sexual minorities might not be able to fulfill this role. Accordingly, it is important to find out more about teachers' attitudes and their correlates, as such information can provide starting points for sensitization interventions in teacher education programs, which have the potential to improve the situation of LGB students in the school setting. In the present preregistered questionnaire study, we investigated the attitudes of 138 preservice teachers from the University of Luxembourg toward LGB students and tried to identify predictors of teachers’ attitudes. Results suggested that Luxembourgish preservice teachers hold mostly positive attitudes toward LGB students. Using correlation and multiple regression analyses, we identified the frequency of participants’ contact with LGB people in family or friend networks, hypergendering tendencies, sexual orientation, and religiosity as reliable predictors of attitudes toward LGB students. Age, gender, and right-wing conservatism did not reliably predict preservice teachers’ attitudes in the regression models. Our findings thus offer support for intergroup contact theory and have implications for teacher education in Luxembourg.

Citizenship and Democracy in the Texas Social Studies Curriculum: A Historical Comparison

Using exploratory qualitative document analysis, this article examines the conceptions of citizenship and democracy in Texas's social studies curriculum standards. In a historical comparison of standards from 2011 and 2018, conceptions of citizenship and democracy are compared to definitions developed by international civic education experts. Citizenship and democracy in the Texas curriculum are identified as inconsistent with the definitions of those terms developed by civic education experts. Instead, the terms are seen to be related to Barber’s (1984/2003) thin democracy and procedural conceptualizations of citizenship. Moreover, conceptions of the terms remain the same from 2011 to 2018. Implications for teacher education and public school practice are discussed. Recommendations for future research are presented. Included among recommendations for future research is the analysis of curriculum documents in additional U.S. states and curriculum documents in countries outside the United States.

How constructivism influences pre-service teachers’ beliefs and practices and child self-regulation

ABSTRACT Project Construct is a learner-centered constructivist framework that emphasizes positive teacher-student relationships, autonomy, and child-led experiences. Constructivist pedagogy promote cognitive, behavioral, and academic outcomes. Yet, novice teachers struggle to grasp constructivist teaching practices and tend to emphasize teacher-directed activities. The present study investigated whether the opportunity to learn and apply constructivist teaching approaches in an elementary school setting would affect education students’ understanding of constructivism and children’s self-regulation. Eight education students participated in a 4-week summer undergraduate class in a public-school setting. Students’ understanding of constructivist principles was assessed through a 30-statement questionnaire. Kindergarten classrooms were randomly assigned to either the Project Construct classroom where Education students participated in or the control classroom. Children’s self-regulation skills were assessed through the Head Toes Knees and Shoulders (HTKS) Task before and after the 4-week class. Results revealed that Education students’ knowledge of principles of constructivism grew significantly from the beginning to the end of this semester. Children’s performance on the HTKS grew significantly in the Project Construct and control classrooms, although there were no significant differences between the Project Construct and control classroom. These findings have implications for teacher education and how constructivist pedagogy can affect child self-regulation.

Affordances, translanguaging and the international preservice teacher

ABSTRACT Pedagogical translanguaging (TL) represents a contemporary and valuable instructional approach for bi/multilingual students. Researchers have identified the instructional practices and their affordances among bi/multilingual teachers who share a home language with their students, the dominant language used in the students’ home or community, and those who do not. However, research set in the United States into bilingual, international preservice teachers (PSTs) has not been forthcoming. This article reports on findings from two PSTs enrolled in a university practicum teaching course. One PST shares a home language, Spanish, with her students while the other, who is an international multilingual PST, does not. The aim of this research was to deepen an understanding of how each describes the affordances connected to pedagogical TL in their 15-week university practicum course and the connected practicum teaching experience. Data collection included interviews and weekly written assignments from the university course. Drawing on multi-case study design, findings revealed the ways that a linguistic repertoire, which included the ability to use Spanish, was instrumental in how they described the affordances related to pedagogical TL both in their classroom and in the connected practicum teaching site. Implications for teacher educators in multilingual education are given.

The role of research experiences in developing pre-service teachers’ epistemic beliefs

Persistent concerns about the theory-practice gap and desires for an ‘evidence-informed’ teaching profession have prompted research into how teachers' epistemic beliefs influence their acceptance or rejection of educational research. This study analyses longitudinal interview data from six pre-service teachers (PSTs) to explore how experiences of conducting research (in the domains of science or education) during initial teacher education (ITE) contribute to epistemological development. These research experiences provided opportunities for ad-hoc epistemological development, even in the absence of intentional efforts. Epistemic beliefs sometimes appeared to be supplanted, counterproductively, from science to education. The implications for teacher education and research are discussed.

Supervisory Relationships, Constructing Academic Identity, and Transition to the Researcher: An Interpretative Single-Case Study

The present interpretative case study aimed to explore constructing researcher identity through successful dyadic supervisory relationships. The only participant in the current single case study was Ako, a recently graduated doctoral student who published some papers with his supervisor and kept that intimate and fruitful relationship after graduation. The data were collected through in-depth interviews, journals, and narration. Thematic analyses (Braun & Clarke, 2006) were conducted to analyze the collected data. In line with Wisker’s (2012) framework, the findings generated four themes, including _supervisor's qualities, supervisor’s affective expectations, supervisee’s journey, _and _relationship enhancement. _The results revealed that a full-fledged and intimate supervisory relationship, in both formal and informal settings, contributed to developing researcher identity. The results have some implications for teacher educators, university managers, supervisors, and doctoral students.

TEACHERS’ BELIEFS ABOUT CLASSROOM LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT: COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSION AS A MEDIATIONAL SPACE

In recent years, numerous studies have been conducted on language teachers’ beliefs about language assessment; however, teachers’ collaborative discussion as a mediational tool has received scant attention. The present study aimed to investigate non-native language teachers’ beliefs about classroom language assessment regarding features of effective assessment, assessment of learners by teachers, peers, and themselves, benefits of assessment, informal assessment vs. formal assessment, and continuous assessment. Participants of the study were positioned in two collaborative discussion groups of novice and experienced teachers. Analysis of the data indicated that the teachers in each focus group held similar beliefs about most of the issues on classroom language assessment. The findings also demonstrated that the participants believed in the important role of classroom language assessment for different purposes, the utilization of both informal and formal assessment, and the utilization of continuous assessment as a fair mode of assessment. Furthermore, they believed that classroom language assessment should accurately assess what is taught in the course while focusing on all four language skills and sub-skills. Although they had positive attitudes toward teacher assessment and self-assessment, they were not in favor of peer assessment. The results of this study have implications for teacher education as adequate attention should be paid to teachers’ assessment beliefs due to their vital role in classroom assessment. Collaborative discussions can be enacted in teacher education to shape and reshape teachers' assessment beliefs.

The Social Justice Core Practices of Philadelphia Educators: A Modified Delphi Study

To live justice-oriented commitments in teaching practice, approaches spanning Social Justice Teacher Education, the Core Practice Movement, and Context-specific Teacher Preparation might dovetail by identifying “social justice core practices” (SJCPs) novices learn to enact. At the intersection of the situated and critical perspectives underlying these three approaches, this study investigates the SJCPs of Philadelphia educators and how they characterize their contextuality. A modified Delphi study drawing on the expertise of 27 local social justice educators revealed group consensus on 13 SJCPs. Further qualitative analysis surfaced four patterns related to contextuality: SJCPs as responses to macrosociopolitical inequities, manifesting critical praxis; the role of school, district, and professional constraints; the need to situate and adapt SJCPs for the subject area and grade level; and the inseparability of identity and positionality from enactment. From this site-specific approach positioning local educators as experts, implications for teacher education’s role in shaping a more justice-oriented profession are discussed.

Evidence-based teaching: effective teaching practices in primary school classrooms

Understanding and measuring effective teaching practices in low- and middle-income countries is a complex process that requires a contextualised knowledge of teaching quality, as well as adaptable instruments that can reliably capture teachers’ varied classroom behaviours. One approach developed with these purposes in mind is Teach Primary, a classroom observation framework designed and revised in 2021 by the World Bank. This framework captures the time teachers spend on learning and the quality of teaching practices which help to enhance pupils’ cognitive and socio-emotional skills, as well as aspects of the physical environment which may influence teaching quality. Using the Teach Primary framework, this article examines evidence regarding effective instructional practices in primary school classrooms, with highlighted examples from low- and middle-income countries. It also sheds light on the criticality of instrument contextualisation, given variations in how practices can be valued and implemented in different settings and how structural quality factors can influence teachers’ use of strategies. Challenges and limitations relating to the use of the Teach Primary framework are discussed, along with implications for teacher education and evaluation.

Reimagining teacher education for immigrant students in the context of global migration: Teacher educators’ perspectives

Global migration presents a pressing need for teachers and teacher education to become responsive to the changing demographics of schools in many countries. Yet, teacher education has been slow in developing practices to prepare teachers to meet the needs of immigrant students. Using humanizing pedagogy as a lens, this study draws on interviews with 22 teacher educators from Türkiye, the United States, and Hong Kong to examine how they prepare teachers to teach immigrant students. Findings highlight: (1) personal and professional contexts; (2) professional practices; and (3) supports for/barriers to change. Implications for teacher educators and teachers are discussed.

Epistemic governance of community readiness in ITE discourse

ABSTRACT This critical discussion paper explores the epistemic governance of “community readiness” in and for teacher education. Classroom ready is often interpreted as technical skill which places emphasis on practice to the detriment of more complex interpretations of the relational nature of teachers’ work, leading to a potential narrowing of teachers’ professional roles. Importantly, classrooms do not exist in a vacuum. We seek to untangle the discursive clusters and processes that can be taken for granted in terms such as “community” and the implications for teacher education that serves quality education and teaching.