Postgraduate Certificate In Education Course Research Articles

Using a functional multilingualism framework and online learning to develop professional repertoires and racial literacy for trainee mathematics teachers in London, England

ABSTRACT This article is a narrative case study of language provision for trainee mathematics teachers on a one-year initial teacher training course: a Postgraduate Certificate in Education in London, England. It draws on Heugh’s (2018) (Conclusion: Multilingualism, Diversity and Equitable Learning: Towards crossing the ‘Abyss’. in The Multilingual Edge of Education 2018 (pp 341-367) Palgrave MacMillan) description of Functional Multilingualism; Muscovitch’s (2015) Academic Literacy in Mathematics for English learners in The Journal of Mathematical Behaviour, 40, 43-62) to intertwine the development of professional language repertoires with the praxis of school mathematics pedagogy; and digital multimodal literacies to promote writing, professional language repertoires and critical language awareness. It models practices and tasks designed to improve outcomes in the Postgraduate Certificate in Education course and address the lack of confidence felt by trainee teachers when teaching multilingual classes. These develop safe spaces that allow for sharing of school practicum experiences and is a context for discussion of race literacy and other aspects of diversity and inclusion referred to in the Equalities Act (2010). Drawing on innovation over a four-year period (2017–2021) the case study provides a variety of starting points to develop consistency within the many initial teacher training routes leading to Qualified Teacher Status and for collaboration between schools and Higher Education Institutes during further two years of school-based training required in England before final recognition as a fully qualified teacher.

Exploring the mindset and resilience of student teachers

ABSTRACT Previous research has shown that a growth mindset can alter the way we think and learn. With teachers’ retention being a problem in the United Kingdom, this article presents the findings of a study examining student teachers’ mindset and resilience. The participants included student teachers across seven different Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) subjects (n = 118), who completed a mindset and resilient questionnaire during their PGCE year, with follow-up interviews with their PGCE course leaders. The student teachers’ mindset and resilience are explored in relationship to their achievement on the course, their gender and the subject area. There was no difference in mean resilient scores for teaching grades, but student teachers who received a ‘satisfactory’ teaching grade were more likely to have a more fixed mindset than those who received a ‘good’ grade.

Remote tutor visits to practicum settings and the changing dynamics between university tutors, school-based mentors and pre-service teachers

ABSTRACT The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic gave rise to swift and unprecedented changes in practice in pre-service teacher preparation programmes. Providers of pre-service education have made pragmatic adaptations to course provision, including adopting the practice of ‘remote’ visits to schools to assess pre-service teachers during practicum and to meet and discuss the pre-service teachers’ practice with school-based mentors. Taking the form of a case study, this paper explores the views of University Tutors in relation to the impact of the use of remote school visits on the training experience. Seven University Tutors from a university in the North West of England delivering a Secondary Postgraduate Certificate in Education Course with Qualified Teacher Status responded to the invitation to participate. The data, gathered from written statements from participants, highlights that changing practices have seen increased opportunities for developing pre-service teachers’ autonomy and reflective practice and opportunities for University Tutors to ‘see’ mentors more frequently, and build relationships. There is evidence of shifts in agency that may have the possibility of enriching pre-service teachers’ experiences and facilitating opportunities for reflective practice and critical discussions. However, whilst the paper reports that shifts in agency within the training triad has the potential to be liberating, it also reports potential concerns with regard to equality within the training and assessment process. In accessing University Tutor voices about matters that involve them, this paper draws attention to both the challenges and opportunities faced by providers of pre-service education in the absence of accessing school settings.

Pre-service teachers’ views about the nature of science and scientific inquiry: The South African case

The convenience sample used in the study reported on here consisted of 91 students enrolled in the primary and middle school Postgraduate Certificate in Education course for 2 consecutive years at a South African university. We used the Student Understanding of Science and Science Inquiry instrument to answer questions about these students’ knowledge of the nature of science and scientific inquiry compared to that published for pre-service primary and middle school teachers from China, Turkey, and the United States of America (USA), whether the changes proposed for the instrument enhanced its reliability, and whether any correlation could be found to these students’ age and educational factors. The findings show that these South African student teachers shared similar levels of knowledge of the nature of science and scientific inquiry to their counterparts from Turkey and the USA, all of which were less sophisticated than that of the Chinese students. The test was found to have a high degree of reliability in the South African context, with the proposed changes to the instrument doing little to enhance this. The older students and those who did not study any tertiary science or mathematics courses scored statistically significantly higher. We suggest that the confirmatory nature of tertiary practical science work and exposure to the complexity of science in postgraduate work or employment in industry could explain these findings. Keywords: international comparison; nature of science knowledge; pre-service teachers; scientific inquiry

Perceptions of the research–practice nexus: a case study of a secondary Postgraduate Certificate in Education course

ABSTRACTThere is continued debate in the literature about the research–practice nexus, but a lack of agreed understanding relating to the topic remains. This paper aims to generate a greater understanding of how the alleged gap between research and practice was perceived within the context of a single case study of a Postgraduate Certificate in Education course at a university in England. An interpretative approach was taken, with both Course Leader and student teacher perceptions being explored. Interviews with participants, a lesson observation, and course documents were thematically analysed. This study found that participants perceived both gaps and bridges between the nexus. Gaps related to prioritisation, status differentials, and a perception of formal research being out-of-touch. Links related to participants’ informal research activity and instrumental use of others’ research within practical scenarios. Recommendations include reflection upon values in research and increased encouragement of positive researcher–teacher working relationships.

Dissonance and Continuity in the Mathematical Education and Training Experiences of Pre-service Secondary Mathematics Teachers

The education and professional development of pre-service mathematics teachers occur across different contexts. Key contexts of mathematics learning and learning to teach are school, university undergraduate mathematics and mathematics teaching-related learning in teacher education courses. International literature suggests that each of these contexts legitimises different views of mathematics teaching and learning. For pre-service teachers traversing these contexts, moves between sites can be experienced in more continuous or more dissonant ways. The disjunctures associated with dissonant experiences lead to openings for value judgments related to the distinctions that are drawn, opening possibilities for a wider range of pedagogic decisions. In this paper, we explore, through interviews with four pre-service teachers in one post-graduate certificate of education (PGCE) course, perceptions of continuity and dissonance across sites related to mathematics and mathematics education, and teaching and learning. Our findings point largely to experiences of continuity between the high school and undergraduate contexts, with the PGCE course recognised as different from these contexts.

The Relevance of Social Sciences Teacher Education Programme in Preparing Effective Secondary School Educators

In Mauritius, the teaching of social studies presents educators with a unique set of challenges, as they are expected to have multi-disciplinary knowledge and multi-dimensional skills to be effective in classrooms. Many of these social studies educators have undertaken the PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education) course offered by the Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE), which is the leading teacher training institute in the country. This paper explores the relevance of the social sciences teacher education programme offered by the MIE in preparing secondary school educators to meet the challenges in their practice in the wake of current curricular reforms. The study used focus group discussions as the main tool to gather in depth views of the participants. Preliminary findings tend to show that although educators may possess skills, lack of mastery in multi-disciplinary knowledge influences their proficiency in classrooms. An analysis of the different modules of the social sciences programme also shows a gap between the educators' needs and the modules offered.

Exploring the relationship between reflexivity and reflective practice through lesson study within initial teacher education

Purpose– A priority for initial teacher education (ITE) is the development of reflection by pre-service teachers (PSTs) in preparation for transition towards qualified teacher status. Whilst much literature exists on the practice of reflection, little attention has been placed on under-standing and developing the processes that inform this practice. Drawing upon the concepts of strong structuration theory (SST), the purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the role Lesson Study can play in developing PSTs’ processes of reflexivity whilst enhancing their reflective practice.Design/methodology/approach– Participants were two cohorts of Secondary Physical Education PSTs (n=40), completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Education course (PGCE). Action research methodology was adopted during school placements, when PST dyads engaged in cycles of Lesson Study. Data obtained through group discussion boards, questionnaires, group and individual interviews, were subjected to inductive analysis, comparing key patterns to locate themes.Findings– Drawing upon illustrations collated when exploring the enhancement of their reflective practice, the findings illustrate how PSTs (agents-in-focus) were able to pre-reflectively and critically draw upon embodied dispositions and practices to engage with the external structural elements of their training programme. Such interactions enabled them to demonstrate enhanced forms of active agency and knowledge, developing practices beyond traditional support structures of the training programme.Originality/value– In drawing upon these illustrations, this paper explores how the application of SST further enhances understanding of the underlying reflexive processes that shape PST’s interaction with the structures of ITE. Furthermore, it draws attention to the part Lesson Study can play in developing creative, confident and reflective pedagogy by PSTs. In doing so this paper contributes to the growing body of literature that illuminates how Lesson Study may enhance the experiences and professional development of PSTs.

An investigation of pre-service teachers’ learning in physical education teacher education: schools and university in partnership

ABSTRACTThis study explores the role of school and university partnership teams in the professional development of physical education (PE) pre-service teachers (PSTs) during their one year Postgraduate Certificate in Education course in England. The paper focuses on the key influences and processes that impacted on PST subject knowledge development. An interpretive methodology informed by constructivist grounded theory [Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. London: Sage.] was adopted. This research highlights that the process of knowledge development in physical education teacher education (PETE) is socially constructed and complex. Much of the PSTs’ development was influenced by various communities of practice, particularly their school placements’ PE departments, but also their university-based learning community. Of these, the legitimised practices within the PE departments were found to be especially important to PSTs’ development. University-based learning was credited by PSTs with enhancing their holistic understanding of the learning process, developing those aspects of critical pedagogy that were under-developed in schools. This study identifies the capability of school/university partnerships to facilitate enhanced knowledge development in PETE. Taking into consideration the evolving nature of PETE within a political context that is progressively moving towards an entirely school-based model, an evidence-based debate over the manner and nature of the subject knowledge to be developed is needed.

Peer-learning between pre-service teachers: embracing Lesson Study

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore a model of Lesson Study owned entirely by pre-service teachers (PSTs), conveying its potential to facilitate mutual spaces of learning between peers beyond formal hierarchical relationships with expert teachers. Fuller’s (1969) conceptual framework of teacher development informed the study, consisting of self, task and impact “phases of concern”.Design/methodology/approach– Participants were secondary physical education PSTs (n=17), completing a university-led postgraduate certificate in education course. Action research methodology was adopted during school placements, when PSTs engaged in Lesson Study with peers. Data obtained through a group discussion board, individual questionnaires and interviews, were subjected to inductive analysis, with key patterns compared to locate themes.Findings– All PSTs felt Lesson Study contributed positively to their training, reinforcing perceived benefits of cycles of action for planning, observing a lesson, reviewing and adapting the plan before re-teaching the revised plan. Findings reveal increased confidence in reducing self and task concerns through four emergent themes: acquiring content and pedagogical knowledge; developing the planning process; understanding individual learners’ needs; and embedding reflective practice. Mutually supportive peer-learning environments created pedagogic space beyond formal mentoring processes, augmenting learning to teach and the understanding of learners’ needs.Research limitations/implications– Endorsement of Lesson Study by PSTs as a method of engaging in a positive peer-learning climate suggests the workability of this model.Originality/value– Findings contribute to existing literature exploring the effectiveness and impact of Lesson Study within initial teacher education.

‘You Have to Give Them Some Science Facts’: Primary Student Teachers’ Early Negotiations of Teacher Identities in the Intersections of Discourses About Science Teaching and About Primary Teaching

In the broadest sense, the goal for primary science teacher education could be described as preparing these teachers to teach for scientific literacy. Our starting point is that making such science teaching accessible and desirable for future primary science teachers is dependent not only on their science knowledge and self-confidence, but also on a whole range of interrelated sociocultural factors. This paper aims to explore how intersections between different Discourses about primary teaching and about science teaching are evidenced in primary school student teachers’ talk about becoming teachers. The study is founded in a conceptualisation of learning as a process of social participation. The conceptual framework is crafted around two key concepts: Discourse (Gee 2005) and identity (Paechter, Women’s Studies International Forum, 26(1):69–77, 2007). Empirically, the paper utilises semi-structured interviews with 11 primary student teachers enrolled in a 1-year Postgraduate Certificate of Education course. The analysis draws on five previously identified teacher Discourses: ‘Teaching science through inquiry’, ‘Traditional science teacher’, ‘Traditional primary teacher’, ‘Teacher as classroom authority’, and ‘Primary teacher as a role model’ (Danielsson and Warwick, International Journal of Science Education, 2013). It explores how the student teachers, at an early stage in their course, are starting to intersect these Discourses to negotiate their emerging identities as primary science teachers.

The career development of recently qualified British South Asian women teachers: “Everybody’s the same. I don’t feel my ethnicity is an issue at all.”

This article reports on the final year of a four year research project into the influences on British South Asian women’s choice of teaching as a career and on their subsequent career development. The research cohort was interviewed during their initial teacher training year on a PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate of Education) course in the English West Midlands, followed by subsequent interviews in the first and third years of their careers as teachers. Findings from the first phase of the research – into the reasons for selecting teaching as a career and issues faced during training – were previously published, subsequent findings are captured in this article. Our research suggests that British South Asian women teachers at the start of their careers face, and largely cope with, broadly similar opportunities and challenges to other beginning teachers. Despite some particular tensions created by their work, family and community lives these teachers successfully established themselves as well respected individuals, fully capable of skilfully balancing their professional and personal commitments. Respondents did not report any particularly significant issues relating to their ethnic, cultural or religious affiliations, in contrast to the findings of a number of previous studies.

Kintanti politika, kintantys laikai: mokytojų ugdymas Anglijoje (arba vandens iš vonelės išpylimas kartu su kūdikiu)

ProfessorDepartment of Education, School of Arts and Education30 Southgate Rd., Potters Bar Herts, EnglandE-mail: g.hilton@mdx.ac.ukDaug metų Anglijoje egzistavo įvairūs būdai rengti specialistus darbui mokykloje, bet dauguma mokytojų buvo parengiama organizuojant pobakalaurinius pedagoginius kursus. Du trečdaliai visų šių studijų, skirtų vidurinės mokyklos mokytojo profesiniam pažymėjimui įgyti (būsimiems pradinės mokyklos mokytojams gerokai mažiau), vyksta mokyklose, po to kai universitete išklausomi ugdymo teorijos pagrindai, mokymo ir mokymosi, klasės valdymo ir kiti pedagogo profesijai svarbūs dalykai. Ši studijų programa yra įgyvendinama kartu su partnerinėmis mokyklomis, kuriose parengti mentoriai prižiūri, kaip vyksta praktinis studijuotų teorinių dalykų pritaikymas mokyklose. Šiuo metu valstybės sekretorius, kuruojantis švietimo reikalus, teikia siūlymus perkelti visą mokytojų rengimą iš universitetų į mokyklas ir perduoti visą mokytojų rengimo kontrolę mokykloms. Toks siūlymas remiasi nuostata, kad mokymas – tai „amatas“, o ne akademinė disciplina. Dauguma pedagogų praktikų pasisako prieš tokią idėją ir pameistrystės modelį rengiant mokytojus, bet ar jie bus išgirsti?

Stability in motivation during teacher education

This study is the second from a longitudinal project examining students’ motivation for teaching. The first study examined those entering the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course at four universities in Norway. The current study examines motivation among the same cohort of students at the end of the course, and reports on their experiences with teacher education in relation to motivation. The results indicate stability in motivation among the prospective teachers. Moreover, the PGCE course fulfils the students’ expectations in various degrees. They express satisfaction with the practical teaching experience but are more critical towards the lack of coherence in the course work. Not knowing if they want to become teachers, 24% of the students are ambivalent about teaching. They have taken the PGCE course primarily for the sake of having multiple options in the job market; this motive is an emerging trend that requires further examination.

Influences on British South Asian women’s choice of teaching as a career: “you’re either a career person or a family person; teaching kind of fits in the middle”

This article reports the findings of the first year of a four year research project into the influences on British South Asian women’s choice of teaching as a career. Trainees from minority ethnic groups on a secondary PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) course in the English West Midlands were invited to discuss, both in focus groups and in response to semi‐structured interview questions, the reasons why they chose to enter teacher training and the issues they faced during the training period. The results reported here highlight the strong, positive influences of family and culture on the trainees’ choice of career, and their perceptions of why teaching offers them flexible and high status employment at the point of career entry. Subsequent research has tracked these trainees’ at the culmination of their first year of teaching, and will also monitor their views at the end of their third year in schools. The study is located in the UK, referring to both policy and literature relevant to this context. In contrast to the findings of much published research into the experiences of minority ethnic trainees in Initial Teacher Training (ITT) in the UK, which present negative perceptions of the training process, this study found that British South Asian women were broadly positive about the courses they took, their relationships with tutors, teachers and mentors, and the provision made for them by partnership schools. They were mainly optimistic about their prospects of career advancement and confident that they could combine a job in the teaching profession with other life demands relating to family, religious faith, culture and community.

Are they just lazy? Student teachers' attitudes about dyslexia

It is highly likely that teachers' abilities in dealing with different forms of learning difficulties will be affected by their knowledge about and attitudes towards those difficulties. Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) provides a useful framework within which to explore such attitudes and was used as the starting point for investigating trainee teachers' attitudes towards aspects of dyslexia. It is assumed that new teachers will enter the profession with a set of intentions according to personal beliefs, normative views within the teaching profession and the sense of competence and power they feel in dealing with dyslexic difficulties. The purpose of this study was to probe student teachers' attitudes at a prestigious School of Education in the Southwest of England. Four hundred and eight primary and secondary Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) students responded to a survey asking about their attitudes toward dyslexia. The student teachers expressed strongly positive attitudes toward the construct of dyslexia, with the majority expressing confidence in their ability to support dyslexic pupils. Females held significantly more positive attitudes toward dyslexia than males, but there were no significant differences according to PGCE course subject. Students who took the survey before and after teaching practice demonstrated some small but significant changes in attitude scores over that time. It is proposed that a new breed of teachers may be entering the teaching profession with positive beliefs about their ability to help dyslexic pupils, but who remain unclear as to how this can be accomplished. Some implications for action and suggestions for future research are provided.

Pre-service physical education teachers’ perceptions of subject knowledge: Augmenting learning to teach

This paper explores pre-service teachers’ perceptions of subject knowledge as they learn to teach during a one-year postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) programme in England. The article examines the impact of pre-service teachers’ previous experiences and individual subject knowledge profiles on their development during their PGCE course. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 pre-service teachers (6 male; 6 female) over a period of three years at the beginning, middle and end of their 36-week teacher education programme in 2005/6. Pre-service teachers also completed weekly reflective commentaries on their learning to teach via a virtual learning environment (VLE). Analysis of the data involved the use of NVIVO software within a grounded theory framework. Pre-service teachers’ value judgements on aspects of their own subject knowledge, as well as the sources and means through which this knowledge was acquired are identified with a view to augmenting their learning experiences. The paper asserts that recent education reforms in England have restricted opportunities for pre-service teachers in England to develop their practical subject matter content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge and concludes with recommendations to enhance the quality of the existing framework postgraduate teacher education in England.

Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and student motivation

This article analyses the results from a study conducted among the total population of full‐time Postgraduate Certificate in Education course (PGCE) students in Norwegian universities (N = 283) in the autumn of 2006. The students responded to a questionnaire examining their motivation to take the PGCE course and their motivation to become teachers. The findings show a relatively high motivation among the students, but they also reveal much uncertainty about their future job as teachers. Twenty‐five percent of the students do not know if they are going to enter the teaching profession. They take a PGCE course primarily because they want more options in the job market. The general view among the students is that they need the PGCE course to be confident in the teaching role and they think it will be a demanding course. The main motivation to become teachers is that the students want to continue working with their academic subject, which they in turn want to teach to others.

Put posters over the glass bit on the door and disappear: tutor perspectives on the use of VLEs to support pre-service teachers

This study examines the perspectives of teacher tutors on the value of the online components of PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education) courses at the University of Ulster. The work has been undertaken as part of the ESRC-funded project, A Values-based Approach to Teacher Education. It is set within the value-laden contexts of government investment in ICT infrastructure and strategy and of the post-RAE2001 angst that has been evident among researchers in educational informatics. The study draws upon elements of Community of Practice theory, seeking evidence for commonalities of domain, community and practice. Evidence of these is to be found in the responses of the tutors and the online community is particularly valued as an antidote to the tendency of teachers: to hide away in classrooms … and put posters over the glass bit on the door and disappear.

DEPTH2: developing professional knowledge in D&T secondary initial teacher education

There are various aspects to teachers’ professional knowledge, some such as subject knowledge are more easy to articulate than others, for example knowing how to construct a scheme of work. Student teachers need to be able to understand the various aspects of teachers’ professional knowledge in order to be able to help themselves reflect on and develop these various aspects. This research builds on earlier work conducted with design and technology colleagues in a number of different countries and teacher training institutions (see Banks et al., International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 14, 141–157, 2004). Leach and Banks, together with other colleagues, developed a visual tool for discussing the aspects of professional knowledge that student teachers are required to develop and this formed the basis of this research (Leach and Banks, Investigating the developing ‘Teacher Professional Knowledge’ of student teachers, 1996). The research was carried out with a cohort of 1-year Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) students on a conventional face-to-face programme. There were 11 in the group with six male and five female and the majority were aged under 25; this is atypical of this course both for gender and age, but this constituted the 2004–2005 intake. There were three data collection points: September 2004, on their first day of their course; January 2005 following their first school placement and June 2005 at the end of the course. The findings indicate the students’ development across the PGCE course in each of the areas relating to knowledge of subject, pedagogy and school. In each area there is a growth in their knowledge and a development in the complexity of their understanding. The students’ knowledge developed from a generalised understanding to a more specific and sophisticated one. It is hoped to be able to continue this research during the induction year of each successful student.