Learning In Teacher Education Research Articles

Enacting anti-bullying procedures in dynamic school environments: insights from primary school principals in the Republic of Ireland

ABSTRACT This paper explores how primary school principals in the Republic of Ireland engage with the Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools (DES 2013b). Informed by theoretical literature on policy enactment, the paper illustrates the complex, context-dependent process of enactment. Through qualitative interviews with ten primary school principals, the research uncovers the challenges they face in enacting standardised anti-bullying procedures in their unique school environments. The findings highlight the crucial role of principals in cultivating a positive school culture and managing the expectations of various stakeholders, including parents and teachers. Although distributed leadership is encouraged, the paper reveals that principals often carry the primary burden of responsibility, leading to feelings of isolation and significant pressure. Additionally, the research identifies considerable gaps in teacher education and professional learning. The paper advocates for more flexible, context-sensitive policies that provide better support for school leaders and recommends improved professional learning, shared leadership, and parental engagement to enhance the effectiveness of anti-bullying efforts. As the Department of Education in Ireland revises its anti-bullying procedures, this paper offers critical insights that can guide the development of more effective, supportive policies tailored to the complex realities faced by school leaders.

Examining the Implications of Islamic Teacher Education and Professional Learning: Towards Professional Identity Renewal in Islamic Schools

Teachers in Islamic schools are often required to navigate complex identities. They balance personal and/or school-based religious obligations with contemporary secular-based commitments to meet organisational demands for institutional compliance. Behaviourally, the motivations and attitudes of teachers play a vital role in shaping a learning environment that fosters a sense of community and caters to the needs of students. However, recent studies on Islamic education suggest a real struggle in managing such complexities. Consequently, scholars have called for specialized programs to counter such issues, focusing on the need for schools to renew their commitment to promoting educational values, principles and practices that are rooted in the Islamic tradition. Several higher education institutions have responded to this call by establishing programs in Islamic studies and Islamic education. Nevertheless, there is limited knowledge of the organisational and behavioural significance of such programs on the professional identity of teachers. Using semi-structured interviews, this article presents findings from four teachers who had completed a postgraduate qualification in Islamic education at an Australian university. The six-phase thematic data analysis, informed by Muslim identity and an Islamic worldview, revealed that secular teacher education provided participants with ‘a license to teach’ but lacked in ‘nurturing a purpose for teaching’. The findings also revealed a distinct connection between Islamic teacher education, professional learning and professional identity, whereby Islamic-based pedagogies ‘enlightened and empowered’ teachers toward becoming ‘faith-centred’ in their professional practice. While the study was limited to four teachers, it contributes knowledge to the Islamic education, organizational and behavioural fields of inquiry in two ways, by underlining that (i) the professional identities of Muslim teachers are shaped by a knowledge-seeking mindset, and (ii) Islamic teacher education and professional learning create pathways towards the renewal of teachers’ professional identities in Islamic schools.

Teaching twenty-first-century skills: examining collaborative learning in initial teacher education in Finnish universities

ABSTRACT This study investigated whether and how research-based knowledge on collaborative learning is applied as theoretical content and a pedagogical approach in the Initial Teacher Education (ITE) curricula in Finnish universities. It adopted a qualitative approach, triangulating curriculum documentation and in-depth interviews with curriculum development experts responsible for designing ITE. Results suggest CL's central ideas are present in the curriculum documentation and transversally addressed as a teaching practice of group work, highly dependent on the teachers’ approach. However, the up-to-date empirical discoveries of the learning mechanisms involved in CL processes are not visible in the formal curriculum, creating tensions between content/theory and method/pedagogy. The study uses the Finnish case to critically discuss the challenges of evidencing clear guidelines on CL in ITE curriculum. It emphasises the importance of addressing CL theories and practical methods in ITE to bridge gaps between theory and practices, preparing teachers for contemporary teaching and learning. contexts.

Cultivating STEAM teachers: A regional resource‐based model for normal university students in Chongqing

AbstractThe cultivation of innovative talents with interdisciplinary skills is a central goal of STEAM education, and the success of STEAM education hinges on the availability of qualified STEAM teachers. This study explores how to integrate STEAM awareness, understanding, and curriculum development into the teacher education and major course learning system of normal university students in Chongqing, China. Drawing upon the region's rich resources, the study proposes a three‐level STEAM teacher training model. At the macro level, the model advocates for a collaborative educational ecosystem involving government, schools, businesses, and society. At the meso level, it presents a 4‐year curriculum model that progressively cultivates preservice teachers' interdisciplinary thinking, integration skills, and pedagogical competence. At the micro level, the model explores effective pedagogical methods and strategies for implementing STEAM projects in real‐world teaching scenarios. This regional resource‐based model offers a “Chongqing plan” for training STEAM teachers and ensuring a sustainable supply of innovative talents to support the region's economic and social development.

Beliefs in Online Professional Learning in Early Mathematics Teaching and Their Effects on Course Engagement

This study focused on the effects of an early math online professional learning course offered to preschool teachers. The course was designed to inform participants' knowledge of developmental progressions and promote daily mathematics instruction that encouraged students to view their world through a mathematical lens. A survey of preschool teachers' beliefs was administered to participants of the course to determine if participants' beliefs changed significantly and how their pre-course beliefs influenced their engagement in the course. Findings indicate that the course impacted preschool teachers regardless of their area of responsibility, education level, or experience level. The teachers' comfort with teaching math to young children and perspectives about age appropriateness of mathematics were both positively influenced by the course. The teachers with the most positive initial beliefs had a higher rate of course completion. Implications for the field of preschool teacher education and online professional learning environments are discussed.

Case Studies as a Tool for Merging Theory and Practise in Foreign Language Didactics

This study examines the implementation of the case study method in the Didactics of a German course at the University of Ljubljana. It was introduced in response to the challenges of combining theoretical knowledge with practical application in foreign language teacher education. The research explores how this method, traditionally used in disciplines such as law and medicine, enhances the learning experience for pre-service German language teachers. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study collects quantitative and qualitative data from first-year Masters students to assess the effectiveness of the method in improving critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and the ability to apply theoretical concepts in the classroom. The results indicate that while students found the case studies highly effective in linking theory and practice and motivating learning, there is room for improvement in developing critical thinking and teaching skills. The study concludes that the case study method is a valuable tool for experiential learning in teacher education and offers significant potential for wider application across university courses.

여자교사체육교육공동체 원더티처의 결성과 활동 탐구

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the formation of the female teacher physical education community called Wonder Teacher and the professional development activities of physical education classes and to find their meaning. Methods: Participants in the study selected four of the management teams that can give in-depth answers to the story of community formation and program planning and operation. Participation and observation, documents, and in-depth interviews were used for data collection, and a qualitative research method was used to describe the formation and activities of Wonder Teacher, analyze them inductively, and interpret them. Results: As a result of the study, Wonder Teacher was formed for solidarity and harmony of female physical education teachers. The wandering of female physical education teachers led to the birth of a community through the awakening of the truth that they were not alone. The main activities of Wonder Teacher were found to be practical training by subject, online open lectures, and sports clubs, and each activity was pursuing customization, inclusion, and Work-life Blending. The researcher derived the meaning of Wonder Teacher formed for solidarity and harmony of female physical education teachers and continued various activities as an ensemble. In addition, the necessity of forming a teacher learning community with various ages, genders, and motivations was suggested. Conclusion: The formation and activities of Wonder Teacher, which started with the wandering of female physical education teachers, is leading to the improvement of female teachers' professionalism in physical education. These are the directions for voluntary professional development activities of female teachers through the teacher learning community. It is expected that this study will present implications for the composition, operation, and support of the in-service teacher education and teacher learning community and serve as the basis for research on the female teacher learning community in the field of physical education.

Laying Foundations for Islamic Teacher Education

Increasingly, educators committed to the vision of Islamic schooling are expressing sentiments of moral dissonance. On the one hand, they choose Islamic schools because they aspire to affect hearts, nurture whole human beings, and grow spiritually while impacting their learners’ sense of higher purpose. On the other hand, they are up against an era of globalised educational reform, characterised by neoliberal-engendered market forces and neoliberal policy logic that promote performativity and efficiency. This narrows what counts as learning, technicises the art of teaching, and assumes all learning that counts is visible and measurable. The teacher education and ongoing professional learning that educators working in Islamic schools have access to remains bifurcated. It is unable to address how an educator committed to tarbiya as “soul-making” ought to navigate aspirations with realities. This paper serves as the introduction to a special issue (SI) dedicated to conceptualising why Islamically grounded teacher education is needed and what it may entail. This SI will also offer empirical studies related to existing Islamic teacher education and professional learning programmes that capture essential reflections for a burgeoning subfield of Islamic Education Studies. In this introduction specifically, the co-editors and a co-author colleague make three big moves to lay the foundations for Islamic teacher education, including (1) establishing urgency for why Islamic teacher education is needed, (2) conceptualising what makes teacher education “Islamic”, and (3) providing an example of one Islamic teacher education programme’s attempt to advance a coherent professional learning journey for Islamic school educators. Together, these three moves serve as an attempt to redress bifurcation and advance a contextually relevant in-road to teacher education that is rooted in an Islamic paradigm and worldview while conversant with contemporary debates in education.

Collective learning in pre-service teacher education: exploring challenges, negotiations, and co-constructed solutions towards continuing professional learning and development

ABSTRACT Despite extensive research on professional learning and development in education, there is a significant gap in adopting action research methods as a localised approach to explore professional learning, especially in the pre-service domain. This article delves into the process of collective experiences, joint negotiations, co-constructed solutions, and reflective practices among pre-service teachers, cooperating teachers, and the university mentor throughout the five-phase teaching practicum, driven by action research methods. Through first- and second-person inquiries, observations, reflective notes and sharing sessions as research instruments, findings reveal that joint reflective discourse among stakeholders led to a deeper understanding of unvoiced challenges in teaching practicum, including teaching approaches, classroom management, diversity, learner differences, multiple roles, and heavy workloads. Findings explore how interactive processes within and among individuals facilitate ongoing negotiation and the development of shared solutions, fostering a dynamic and transformative professional learning environment for both pre-service teachers and in-service educators. Creating a platform for the recursive sharing of perspectives is crucial for promoting continuous professional learning during a teaching practicum. This entails promoting active dialogues among school placements, universities, and local authorities, facilitating the exchange of critical reflections, and ultimately supporting continuing professional learning and development in education.

Evaluating the effectiveness of a blended learning system for developing technological andragogical content knowledge (tack) in community educators

Objective: The relevance of content knowledge, as well as andragogical knowledge and technological knowledge, is rapidly coming into focus as a challenge to turn into Technological Andragogical Content Knowledge (TACK). This study aimed to understand better the substantial variations in learning outcomes attributed to each of the seven sub-indicators of comprehension of technological andragogical content knowledge. Method: This study part of quantitative study. The data were gathered twice in this research, once before and once after the TACK intervention program began, to examine the impact of the TACK training paradigm. The TACK Training Model Development program was offered to 97 instructors from 28 Community Learning Activity Centers in the West Sumatra Province, Indonesia. These instructors engaged in the program on a voluntary basis. Result: The results of this study show that there was a statistically significant difference in TACK among currently practicing educators. This study suggests that a blended learning system for educational applications as an intelligence tutor may provide an alternate means of guiding educators. The findings of this research align with other research suggesting that the blended learning strategy has great potential for future TACK-based professional learning enabled by data analytics. This study's findings add to the expanding body of literature on blended learning in teacher education and teacher professional development, which seeks to enhance how adult instructors get specialized professional training to significantly impact their students' achievements. Conclusions: According to the findings, the TACK of the participants showed substantial signs of improvement. These findings contribute to the relatively small body of research that has been done on TACK, which helps adult educators further their professional development through the support of a blended learning system. This allows them to acquire the knowledge necessary to andragogically incorporate digital technology into students' educational experiences in Community Learning Activity Centers. This investigation has the potential to serve as a case study of the integration of blended learning with adult learning theory.

Navigating Remote Learning in Teacher Education: An Examination of ICT Integration and Its Impact on Academic Success

Navigating Remote Learning in Teacher Education: An Examination of ICT Integration and Its Impact on Academic Success

Complexity, Struggle, and the Dialogical Self: Learning from New Teachers to Shift the Paradigm of Teacher Education and Professional Learning

Getting started in any new profession can be daunting, but the learning curve associated with becoming a teacher is particularly steep given the complexity of both the act of teaching (e.g., planning lessons, assessing learning) and the roles teachers occupy (managing relationships, responding to policy directives) that new teachers must master with levels of support that are, historically, uneven. This transition is further complicated by simplistic notions that dominate conceptions of teacher learning and practice. This article draws upon a study of the challenges new teachers encounter and the participants’ responses to those challenges. The data index the importance of viewing teacher development, practice, and identity formation from a complexity perspective. Working from the data generated during this study of the new teachers’ lived experiences, which are situated against a backdrop of the literature chronicling a problematic lack of progress in supporting new teachers, this article describes how Dialogical Self theory can play a crucial role in a paradigm shift in approaches to teacher development and practice that accounts for complex and contextually dependent nature of teacher learning, practice, and identity formation.

E-learning-oriented assessment and collaborative reflection for situated learning in language teacher education

Online teacher education programs can be more situated by engaging student teachers in Internet-based collaborative reflection (ICR) and e-learning-oriented assessment (ELOA) via Web 2.0 technology. Thus, this study explored how the role of English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) student teachers’ ICR practices and ELOA can enhance student teachers’ situated online teacher education. In this qualitative study, 15 Iranian EFL student teachers were chosen purposively within a transcendental phenomenology to conduct ICR on ELOA practices during situated learning in online teacher education. The results showed that implementing ICR on ELOA tended to enhance student-centered teacher education; collaborative and reflective teacher development; social, professional, cognitive, and emotional growth; and the connection of teaching, learning, and assessment within online teacher education. More specifically, ELOA practices allowed for meaningful tasks and authentic activities based on practical experience, triggered continuous feedback on EFL student teachers’ performance via technology, directed online learning and teaching, and enhanced a performance-based and learning-oriented assessment process. Pedagogical implications for the design of student teacher programs are discussed.

Social Emotional Learning in Teacher Education: Biographical Narrative as a Method for Professional Development

Social emotional learning (SEL) of teachers is crucial both to teachers and their students. Thus, teachers’ professional development should focus on cognitive, emotional, and social skills in order to promote teachers’ identity formation. Teacher professional development is a life-long process that begins in teachers’ education. The Biographical Narrative, the story about our lives, was chosen as a method with the potential to promote SEL. Eighteen preservice teachers participated in a workshop focusing on emotional and social skills as part of professional development and shared their Biographical Narrative with the group. Data from the reflections of 12 participants were collected and analyzed qualitatively. The purpose of the study was to understand preservice teachers’ perceptions about their professional development, and the contribution of the Biographical Narrative to the social emotional learning of the tellers, the listeners, and the group. The findings revealed that the participants related to cognitive, emotional, and social aspects of development. The developmental process occurs throughout all stages of the method—planning, performance, and reflection. In addition, the Biographical Narrative influenced not only the tellers, but also the listeners and the group. Implications are discussed regarding teachers’ professional development as preservice teachers and as teachers in their work in schools.

Flipbook and e-learning for teaching English to elementary school teacher education students

The purpose of this study is to investigate the lecturers’ and students’ perception of flipbooks and e-learning in enhancing English learning for teacher education students, the influence of technology integration on student-centered pedagogy for teacher education students, and the use of flipbooks and e-learning to improve English skills for teacher education students. Thirty students and nine lecturers from elementary school teacher education programs at three Indonesian universities participated in this study, which used the qualitative descriptive technique. They attend Universitas Halu Oleo Kendari in Southeast Sulawesi, Universitas Borneo Tarakan in North Kalimantan, and Universitas Negeri Jakarta in Jakarta. Data collection was conducted through documents, observations, interviews, and questionnaires. This study found that both lecturers and students positively perceive flipbooks and e-learning as tools for enhancing English learning in elementary school teacher education. Flipbooks effectively present complex concepts, while e-learning provides accessible, diverse resources that develop digital skills. Technology integration significantly benefits student-centered pedagogy but also poses challenges such as technical issues and increased workloads. The study highlighted the need for interventions to improve students’ listening and speaking skills, suggesting that combining effective teaching methods and digital media can enhance English language proficiency and the overall learning experience. It is suggested that more efforts should be directed toward promoting technology pedagogy content knowledge that fosters students’ higher-order thinking skills in English teaching materials for elementary school teacher education programs in higher education in Indonesia.

Transformative Way of Becoming a Teacher: A Phenomenological-Hermeneutic Analysis of Class Teacher Education in Finland

Transformative learning in teacher education qualitatively changes future teachers’ meaning systems of learning, teaching, and education. In this study, I explored transformative learning in Finnish class teacher education. Data were collected by observing student teachers over two academic years. Data also contains writings that student teachers produced during that period. A phenomenological analysis focused on the general characteristics of the transformative way of becoming a teacher and identified a process consisting of four phases: starting point, crack, ambivalence, and transformation. A hermeneutic analysis was used to interpret how the process occurred in practice. The results suggest a long and ambivalent process, which challenges educational policy discourses that emphasize efficiency and speed.

교사의 설명하기 역량 향상을 위한 교사교육과정 자료 분석 연구

This paper analyzes and reports on teacher education curriculum materials developed to enhance the explaining skills of mathematics teachers from the perspectives of practice-based teacher education (PBTE) and constructivist learning environments (CLE). Originally developed by TeachingWorks, these materials include three main types of explaining (demonstrating, explaining, and modeling) and aim to develop preservice teachers' abilities to select and use the appropriate type of explaining in different pedagogical situations. Through this analysis, the paper shows how the three elements that PBTE argues are necessary for enhancing teacher professionalism are operationalized in the study materials and how the ability to explain, reflecting CLE, is incorporated as a learning objective. Based on these findings, the paper highlights considerations for the design and implementation of PBTE aimed at enhancing teacher professionalism in the classroom.

Can service scholarships boost academic performance? Causal evidence from China’s Free Teacher Education scholarship

Can service scholarships boost academic performance? Causal evidence from China’s Free Teacher Education scholarship

Signature pedagogies of teacher education in physical education: a scoping review

ABSTRACT Introduction and purpose There is a need for contemporary studies which establish a shared language to further analyze and develop pedagogies in the field of teacher education in physical education (PE). This includes both initial teacher education (PE-ITE) and continuous professional development (PE-CPD), holding the responsibility for preparing pre-service teachers (PSTs) and teacher educators, as well as facilitating the ongoing professional learning of in-service teachers (ISTs) and teacher educators. This study entails a comprehensive scoping review covering the period from 2015 to 2023, encompassing studies within the broad field of teacher education in PE across international contexts, all examined through the perspective of Shulman’s, L. S. (2005. “Signature Pedagogies in the Professions.” Daedalus 134 (3): 52–59) concept of signature pedagogies. The purpose was two-fold: (1): to map the current literature on teacher education in PE (including PE-ITE and PE-CPD for both ISTs and teacher educators), and (2) to propose a preliminary shared language of signature pedagogies of teacher education in PE. Theoretical lens Signature pedagogies refer to the forms of teaching-learning that leap to mind when thinking about the preparation and ongoing learning and development of teachers (i.e. pre-service teachers, in-service teachers and teacher educators; Shulman, L. S. 2005. “Signature Pedagogies in the Professions.” Daedalus 134 (3): 52–59). Signature pedagogies are both pervasive and routine, cutting across topics and courses, programs, and institutions, and are described through three layers of structure – the surface, deep, and implicit. Method The research process was guided by a five-stage framework for conducting a scoping review. In line with the specific purposes articulated above, the research question guiding the review was: What is known from the literature on signature pedagogies of teacher education in PE? The search was restricted to articles published between 2015–2023. Both empirical and conceptual articles (i.e. those with data collection and those without) were included, provided the inclusion criteria were met. A total of 465 articles were included in the review, and the pedagogies identified from each article were co-constructed into themes/categories. Findings and discussion Three signature pedagogies of teacher education in PE across international contexts are identified and presented in terms of their surface, deep and implicit structure, including: (auto)biographical pedagogies, experiential pedagogies, and pedagogies of professional learning. Subsequently, we explore the similarities and differences between each of the three groups of pedagogies and what makes a pedagogy of teacher education in PE distinct from a pedagogy of teacher education more broadly. Conclusion and further research This study offers a preliminary shared language of teacher education pedagogies in the field of PE and is intended to open a dialogue around preparing and supporting pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and teacher educators in the context of PE. While this review represents an initial step in addressing a gap in the literature by exploring and articulating teacher education pedagogies in PE, there remains a need to analyse their use across teacher education contexts and to consider how this shared language might inform a more intentional practice of these pedagogies within and across teacher education contexts in ways that might ensure more authentic, transformative and equitable teacher education practices in PE.

Collaborative advocacy for multilingual learners: Developments from coursework into practice

AbstractAdvocacy is widely expected of teachers working with multilingual learners (MLs) and is included in TESOL standards and teacher education scholarship. Recent research on language teacher advocacy demonstrates the importance and necessity of advocacy for MLs and their families. However, few studies document how teachers collaboratively advocate for their MLs and how they develop collaborative alliances to implement their advocacy. This article contributes to the growing conversation of how teachers advocate collaboratively for MLs by examining a cohort of teachers from their English as a second language (ESL) certification courses into their teaching practice. Dialogic discourse analyses of 3 years of discussions show how teachers develop their community advocacy plans and stances collaboratively. The authors conclude with implications for preparing teachers to advocate collaboratively for MLs and their families.