Initial Teacher Preparation Research Articles

Initial teacher preparation program in Saudi Arabia: history and framework for transformation toward a new era

Initial teacher preparation program in Saudi Arabia: history and framework for transformation toward a new era

Navigating Tensions in the Design of a New Equity Centered Elementary Teacher Preparation Program

ABSTRACT Working as concerned colleagues grappling with the notion that today’s schools reflect the social inequalities that exist in today’s society and are often characterized by racial, ethnic, social class, linguistic and cultural diversity with school curricula, instructional strategies, and teacher demographics that rarely reflect this diversity, this qualitative self-study sought to explore the following question: What tensions did a team of teacher educators experience and navigate when designing an equity centered initial teacher preparation program at a Historically White Institution (HWI)? This paper illuminates our design process, three significant tensions that emerged, and the corresponding navigation strategies that were utilized to implement our vision of progressive teacher education, with the goal of highlighting the complexity inherent in enacting an equity centered teacher preparation program that seeks to address the opportunity gaps that emerge in school contexts.

Exploring student teachers' stressors in teaching practice in the COVID-19 era in Masvingo District, Zimbabwe

This study explores student teachers' resilience in teaching practice in the COVID-19 era in Masvingo District, Zimbabwe. More specifically, the study was intended to gain insights into the significant teaching practice COVID-19-induced teaching practice stressors. This research study contributes new knowledge to the ongoing discourses about student teachers' resilience in teaching practice in the COVID-19 era. To explore student teachers' resilience on teaching practice in COVID-19 era, the study employed a qualitative social constructivist approach through a phenomenological research design. Data were generated through focus group discussions and in-depth semi-structured interviews. One teachers' college was conveniently sampled, and twenty-one student teachers and six student teachers' mentors were purposively sampled from three primary schools in Masvingo District, Zimbabwe. Data were analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. The thematic findings revealed that student teachers teaching practice in the COVID-19 era are subjected to teaching practice stressors induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as fear of contracting the COVID-19 virus, illness, isolation, stigmatization and death, anxiety, uncertainty, hopelessness, economic hardships, prolonged teaching practice period, school closures, transference of face-to-face teaching to online learning. Finally, thematic results revealed that the capacity for resilience can be developed during initial teacher preparation, so the study recommends that the teacher education curriculum include a module on resilience.

Developing a Virtual Oral Inquiry Community for Teacher Educator Professional Learning: A Case Analysis

ABSTRACT Amid an international turn toward clinically based initial teacher preparation, the field of teacher education needs promising mechanisms to drive the professional learning of the teacher educators enacting the turn. This article introduces an example of one such mechanism by presenting and analyzing the case of a virtual oral inquiry community that supported the professional learning of three clinically based teacher educators affiliated with separate teacher preparation programs. Informed by the principles of andragogy, the inquiry community reformulated practitioner inquiry (the systematic, intentional study by educators of their own professional practices) into a new cycle of oral inquiry that teacher educators used to learn together across contexts. Practices associated with the teacher educators’ inquiry cycle (selecting common texts, returning to local practice, reconnecting, sharing problems of practice, and analyzing common texts in relation to local problems) generated both personal and collective impacts significant to their learning. The teacher educators developed a strong sense of interpersonal trust that made it possible for them to become vulnerable about their practices. Together, they developed shared understandings of problems of practice affecting clinically based teacher educators, which addressed a shared problem of professional isolation and enhanced their ability to sustain their professional learning over time.

A Framework for Curriculum Literacy in Initial Teacher Preparation: Policy, Practices, and Possibilities

A Framework for Curriculum Literacy in Initial Teacher Preparation: Policy, Practices, and Possibilities

Successful Practices of Novice Urban Physical Education Teachers

Purpose: Guided by the cultural relevance cycle, this study examined experiences of two novice physical education teachers in urban schools. We focused on successes that teachers encountered while navigating their novice years. Methods: Two purposefully sampled participants completed five journal entries and five semistructured interviews lasting between 45 and 90 min each. To promote trustworthiness, we utilized multiple coders, a peer debriefer, and triangulated data from multiple sources. Participants reviewed themes and responded to researchers’ interpretations. Results: We present the results through three major themes. The first theme involves knowledge of students and community. The second theme describes belonging in the school and community, and the third theme discusses curricular realignment. Discussion and Conclusion: By focusing on elements that empowered novice teachers to find success, initial teacher preparation programs and in-service teacher mentoring programs in urban school districts might identify teaching experiences that may contribute to novice teacher retention.

Comparing STEM and Non-STEM Teachers’ Self-Efficacy in Multicultural Classrooms: Insights from TALIS 2018 U.S. Data

AbstractDrawing on U.S. data from the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018, this study first compared STEM and non-STEM teachers’ self-efficacy in multicultural classrooms (TSMC), then identified the factors related to TSMC for each group of teachers, and lastly explored the similarities and differences among the factors. Results from general linear model univariate analysis revealed that STEM teachers scored significantly lower in TSMC than their non-STEM counterparts. Results from multilevel modeling analysis indicated that gender and professional development needs were significant predictors of TSMC for both groups; factors such as initial teacher preparation, professional development topics, and school instructional leadership emerged as significant predictors only for non-STEM teachers. The implications and significance of these results were discussed.

The relationship between opportunities to learn in teacher education and Chinese preservice teachers’ professional competence

ABSTRACT Although research on the relationship between opportunities to learn (OTL) in teacher preparation and preservice teachers’ learning outcomes, including aspects of their knowledge, has significantly increased in recent years, the relationship between OTL and preservice secondary school teachers’ cognitive competence and, particularly, the situated aspect of competence, in Mainland China remain poorly understood. This paper examines this association based on a study involving 583 preservice teachers chosen from four preservice teacher education institutions. The results revealed that the preservice teachers received adequate OTL in various domains, such as tertiary-level mathematics and mathematics education pedagogy. However, mainly due to the influence of academically oriented teacher preparation models in Mainland China, there were quite weak overall connections between OTL and the four examined aspects of teachers’ professional competence (mathematics content knowledge, mathematics pedagogical content knowledge, a mathematics instruction-related perspective on noticing, and a general pedagogy-related classroom perspective on noticing). Comparatively speaking, relatively strong associations existed between OTL in teaching methods, school-based teaching practicums, and the situated aspect of competence (e.g. noticing). These findings show that, to a great degree, initial teacher preparation in Mainland China does not relate closely to preservice teachers’ professional competence.

Early Career Teachers’ Motivation, Preparation, and Self-Efficacy

Drawing on data from 355 early career teachers in the Teaching and Learning International Survey 2018, linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between Initial Teacher Preparation (ITP), motivations to become a teacher, and teacher self-efficacy (TSE). Results indicated that ITP and motivations statistically significant predicted overall TSE and each TSE component. The descriptive results showed that the ITP item, “teaching in a multicultural or multilingual setting” was ranked lowest; the means for the social utility value were ranked higher than that of the personal utility value; and multicultural classrooms component was ranked lower than instruction, management, engagement.

PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ CONCEPTIONS OF CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Initial Teacher Education is designed to prepare pre-service teachers to teach and also establish a platform on which continuing professional development (CPD) can be erected. This qualitative study explored forty-six pre-service teachers’ conceptualisation of teachers’ CPD. The pre-service teachers, taking Mathematics as their major subject of specialisation, were in their final year of their four-year degree programme at a selected university in the central province of Zambia. Data for the study were collected using an open-ended questionnaire and follow-up interviews. By analysing the collected data using thematic analysis, this study found that pre-service teachers presented four diverse conceptualizations of CPD: CPD as lifelong learning, CPD as meetings, CPD as furthering one’s studies and CPD as a programme mandate for teachers. The findings and their implications for mathematics teacher educators and initial teacher preparation programmes, with a role to prepare preservice teachers for CPD, are discussed.

CPI Special Issue: "All That Glitters is Not Gold: Culturally Responsive Online Assessment and Pedagogy in Uncertain Times"

Introduction to the Summer, 2023 (Volume 15, No. 10) Special Issue of Cultural and Pedagogical Inquiry titled "All That Glitters is Not Gold: Culturally Responsive Online Assessment and Pedagogy in Uncertain Times featuring Guest Editors Kim Koh, Jennifer Lock and Cecelle DePass. This Special Issue captures poems, narratives, reflections, and studies on assessment and pedagogical practices from elementary schools to initial teacher preparation programs during the pandemic.

Comparative Study of UCC and UEW B.Ed JHS Visual Art Options as Initial Teacher Preparation for the New Creative Arts and Design Curriculum for JHS

Purpose of the study: The purpose of this study, therefore, is to compare the developed JHS visual art curricula of the two universities (UCC and UEW) as being implemented in the colleges of education, vis-a-vis the new JHS Creative Arts and Design curriculum to find out which of the curricula covers all aspects of Creative Arts and Design in JHS.
 Methodology: The study adopted a qualitative research approach using document analysis and autoethnography as data collection instruments.
 Main Findings: The study found that whereas UCC offers a combined major of visual art, UEW offers visual art as a standalone programme but both models of visual art education do not meet the full complement of the Creative Arts and Design subject in the JHS because the performing art aspect is not catered for in both models.
 Novelty/Originality of this study: The study recommends that both curricula should be reviewed to factor in the performing art aspect of the JHS Creative Arts and Design subject to enable them to train teachers who are fit for purpose.

Teaching French as a Second Language in Canada: Convergence Points of Language, Professional Knowledge, and Mentorship from Teacher Preparation through the Beginning Years

French as a second language (FSL) teachers in Canada face unique circumstances and challenges in the profession, from their initial teacher preparation into the beginning years of teaching and beyond. These challenges play a role in the long-standing FSL teacher shortage across Canada. To better understand the complexity and nuance of issues facing teachers of FSL in minority settings, we conducted a study in 2021 across different regions in Canada that included 29 focus groups with a total of 89 participants from three key stakeholder groups: teacher educators working in faculties of education; school district and board representatives; and FSL teachers, with a focus on recently graduated novice teachers. In our analysis, we found that participants’ unique and contextualized experiences are framed around two key points of convergence in our data: access and conceptualizations. We present and discuss these findings, considering practical and ideological elements stemming from these points of convergence. We then conclude the paper with a synthesis of the complexities and interconnectedness inherent in the factors related to FSL teacher preparation and support, including a reflection on what this might ultimately tell us about the FSL teacher shortage.

Saha Tecrübesinde Ortaya Çıkmakta Olan İngilizce Öğretmen Adayı Kimliği ve Kapasitesinin Gelişimi

Teacher identity and capacity are constantly evolving constructs in the formation and development of which field experience (FE) in initial teacher preparation programs performs a pivotal role. The review of related literature unveils that more research is needed to scrutinize the place of FE in the development of pre-service English teachers’ (PSETs) identity and capacity as teachers. For this reason, this qualitative case study is conducted in an attempt to explore the place of the context in which pre-service English teachers (N = 10) had their FE in the development of their teacher identity and capacity. Additionally, it investigates if any changes in the beliefs they had held about how English should be taught occurred after having completed their FE. The data was obtained from in-depth interviews, reflective journals, and metaphors created by the participants for the teaching profession. The findings revealed that the FE exerted impact on the development of the PSETs’ emerging teacher identity and capacity, and changes took place in their views about how English should be taught after having completed the FE. The implications of the findings for initial English language teacher education are discussed.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CHALLENGES: CURRENT AND RETROSPECTIVE PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHERS

While teaching challenges have been shown to affect teacher performance in multiple ways, little is known about the transformations occurring in language teachers' perceptions of challenges over time. Hence, this study purported to analyze EFL teachers' current and retrospective perceptions of challenges associated with language teaching tasks. Quantitative data were collected utilizing a questionnaire and processed through Friedman’s ANOVA and a Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test. A within-subjects comparison revealed a statistically significant difference between current and retrospective perceptions of challenges with a large effect size on all language teaching tasks included in the questionnaire, indicating that experience was a causing variable contributing to transformations in teachers' perceptions of task difficulty. The principal shifts in the participants' views were documented on such tasks as student engagement with language material, effective instruction for all learners, personalizing teaching, and planning and managing instruction. The teaching experience played a less decisive role in the case of teaching speaking, student motivation, teaching vocabulary, teaching reading, student assessment, and knowing students. Notably, the areas persisting as very challenging regardless of experience were teaching speaking, motivating learners, teaching writing, and listening. The study's findings hold implications for initial teacher preparation and development, highlighting areas calling for more attention. The paper presents the results of a rather small-scale investigation tackling only a few of the multiple areas of language teaching which potentially challenge language teachers. Likewise, due to a small research sample (n=208) and its limitation to the context of Ukraine, this study does not claim the generalizability of its findings. Nevertheless, the findings reveal in highlighting the tasks posing a substantial challenge to EFL teachers both at the outset of their career and following years spent in it.

신규교사의 교직적응 유형과 적응에 영향을 주는 정책 분석

Objectives The purposes of this study were to investigate types of novice teachers’ induction and to analyze policy supports. Methods Teaching and Learning International Survey(hereafter TALIS) 2018 data collected by OECD in 2018 were analyzed. Specifically, using responses from elementary school teachers of Korea, latent profile analysis was implemented to identify novice teachers’ induction types. And multinominal logistic analysis was performed to specify policy supports which had impacts on induction types. Results Main findings were as follows. First, novice teachers’ induction was categorized by four types. Second, school size and social capital of individual schools, and policy supports including initial teacher preparation and feedback experiences had impacts on induction types. Conclusions As a result, novice teachers’ induction types were differentiated by contexts and circumstances of individual teachers. Therefore, the individualized and customized policy supports by induction types should be designed for novice teachers’ successful induction process.

Beyond reactive responses to enduring growth: the transformation of principles and practices within initial teacher education

ABSTRACT A previous special issue of this journal (Vol 46, 4) demonstrated the significant challenges for programmes of initial teacher preparation unleashed by the Covid-19 pandemic. After forcing urgent changes, the pandemic also prompted some teacher-educators to reconsider fundamental principles underpinning their programmes, as they decided which innovative approaches to retain. Using an established model of professional growth that distinguishes between temporary ‘change sequences’ and enduring ‘growth networks’, this paper examines how opportunities for learning afforded by the pandemic were transformed into sustained professional growth. Adaptions in response to successive waves of infection created a continuously evolving ‘change environment’, stimulating new kinds of pedagogy while affording or constraining different kinds of feedback on its effectiveness. We consider published examples of professional responses to this changing context alongside vignettes from our own professional practice to examine what is needed for teacher-educators to move beyond crisis management, recognising opportunities for sustained growth. By focusing on different emphases given at different points to the processes of enactment and reflection, we explore the extent to which teacher-educators went on to interrogate the established principles of their teacher education programmes and we consider the potential impact of such interrogations.

Four spheres of student-teachers’ professional identity formation through learning about curriculum development

ABSTRACT Teachers’ professional identity is multifaceted and fluctuating, and while it is formally developed during initial teacher preparation, it is influenced by experiences before and beyond teaching programmes. The aim of this paper is to investigate the extent to which a module on language curriculum development may influence the professional identity formation of international and UK student-teachers enrolled in a master’s programme in teaching English to speakers of other languages at a UK university. The study was carried out with 30 student-teachers in 2021, and data were collected from an ecological perspective as data sets came from the regular module delivery. Findings show that the student-teachers articulated four spheres of professional identity. Located in the past, the language learner identity helped them reflect on good practices. Their present student-teacher identity was characterised by their acknowledgement of language education as a research-informed area. Drawing on these two spheres, they displayed two future spheres of professional identity: teacher identity and curriculum developer identity. The latter demonstrates that the module not only enabled the participants to imagine a new career path but also helped them reflect on their anticipatory agency and self-efficacy.

Preparing Mainstream Teacher Candidates to Work with English Language Learners: Dissonance and Care Developing Agency

<p style="text-align:justify">The increase of English language learners (ELLs) in the United States of America (USA) public school classrooms and the diversification of the global education landscape urges initial teacher preparation programs to equip mainstream teachers with appropriate skills, knowledge, and dispositions to teach ELLs. This paper reports findings from a focus group study on elementary teacher candidates' (TCs') field experiences with ELLs. Based on interviews with four groups of TCs who completed their two practicums with ELLs, the study illustrates how mainstream TCs perceive their field experiences as future teachers of ELLs. The findings suggest that TCs recognize dissonances and develop care toward ELLs through their engagements in ELL-specific field experiences. The study also demonstrates how the recognition of dissonances led to changes in TCs' beliefs and values, which was observed through their imagination. Informed by their field experiences with ELLs, TCs began forming professional agency as future teachers by imagining specific teaching strategies, methods, and approaches they would like to implement with ELLs. Implications and future directions of teacher education programs are also discussed.</p>

Assessment of Initial Teacher Preparation: A Tracer Study of Serving NCE Graduates of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto State, Nigeria

The study assessed how adequately prepared serving Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto (SSCOE), Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) graduates were by their Initial Teacher Preparation (ITP) to teach at Basic Education level. It was Mixed method that involved Descriptive Survey and Case Study research design and the population of the study are all the 7, 246 NCE graduates teaching in primary schools across the 23 LGEAs in Sokoto state represented in the multi-stage sampling procedure by 357 serving SSCOE Sokoto NCE graduates as recommended by Research Advisor (2006). Triangulation was used in data collection; the instruments were two Researcher-designed questionnaires for the teachers and Head-teachers of primary schools they teach, Researcher-designed Classroom Observation Checklist for teachers and In-depth Interview guide. All the instruments were validated by team of experts and supervisors from the Department of Educational Foundations, Usmanu Danfodiyo, University, Sokoto. While reliability index (.61, .68 and .63) of Questionnaires and Checklist were obtained through Test-re-test method using Spearman Rank Order Correlation. For the Qualitative interview, a technique of repeating question in a slightly different form during the interview was used. Data was analysed using frequency and mean score as well as thematic analysis. Among the findings of the study were serving SSCOE Sokoto NCE graduates perceived themselves inadequately prepared by their ITP in some pedagogical areas namely Classroom management, application of instructional materials and management of school records and thus one of the recommendations was that Colleges of Education, SSCOE in particular should give extensive ITP to the NCE pre-service teachers on pedagogical aspects of training especially those considered inadequate by the College’s serving graduates.