Pre-service Programs Research Articles

Inquiry as a Compass: Revising a Social Studies Education Program Around Questions, Tasks, and Sources

In response to national and state trends promoting inquiry-based social studies over the last decade, social studies teacher educators at the University of Kentucky revamped their pre-service program to create alignment around the key inquiry concepts of questions, tasks, and sources. Part of the program revision involved the creation of a new observation instrument to assess students during their field experiences. Drawing from four years of data from the instrument, the authors discuss what the observational data reveals about the strengths and weaknesses of their students’ inquiry practices as well as what the data suggests about program coherence between university coursework and field experiences.

A Culture Among the Teachers: The White Habitus of Elementary Art

This ethnographic case study asks how White elementary art educators address cultures other than their own and how race and Whiteness operate in their curriculum work. This research involved three phases, where the researcher moved from observing teachers’ multicultural curriculum work to guiding critical reflection, and finally to collaboratively writing a critical curriculum that teachers then enacted. Findings suggest that teachers’ sociocultural knowledge shapes their teaching philosophies, often in dysconscious and embodied ways. Findings also suggest the habitus of art education has reinforced the notion of the arts as White property. This ideology was part of art education culture, norms, and behaviors embedded in both the formal and informal curriculum and maintained by the teachers’ preservice programs, their colleagues, and district leaders. These findings indicate the need for antiracist art education and mentorship preparing teachers to engage in intentional dialogue about race and identity, critically reflect on their curriculum work, and question the habitus.

Beyond constraints: interpreting voices to reframe preparation of teachers for inclusive kindergarten classrooms

ABSTRACT Despite increased governmental support and attention, improved collaboration with community-based professionals, and enhanced teacher knowledge and training in Hong Kong, studies continue to reveal the unreadiness or even resistance of kindergarten teachers to include children with special educational needs (SENs) in their classrooms. This study aimed to unveil the possible reasons behind such unreadiness and resistance among trained early childhood teachers. The research team interviewed four early childhood educators from Hong Kong with various positions, experiences, and standpoints to explore their perspectives on pre-service teacher education and practicums in preparing teachers to support children with SENs. The results indicated that, while trainee teachers had the necessary knowledge to work with children with SENs, they lacked opportunities and support to apply and connect theory to practice during their practicums. This could be due to constraints such as being assigned passive roles by mentors and trainees’ own complacency. Implications and recommendations for improving future pre-service programmes are discussed to better prepare teachers for inclusion. The analysis contributes an ecological perspective by investigating experiential learning as negotiated within dynamic sociocultural and structural forces, furthering understanding of influences shaping competence development.

Preservice program grants for HBCUs and MSIs to diversity disability personnel (ED)

Preservice program grants for HBCUs and MSIs to diversity disability personnel (ED)

Written and enacted policies in undergraduate music education admissions

Undergraduate music education programs are the most common pathway for someone seeking to become a music teacher. Admission into preservice programs may be a barrier for minority students. We conducted a collective case study and qualitative content analysis to examine the written and enacted policies of music education admissions at institutions within the BIG 10 academic conference. Utilizing Richerme’s feminine and poststructural extension of cosmopolitan ethics as a frame to consider our analysis, we considered how written policies present institutional priorities and compared them to enacted policies of local stakeholders. The results of this investigation highlight the varied interpretations of institutional and professional priorities, as well as the difficulty of determining responsibility and enacting change on the local level. Implications from this study include recommendations for changes to practice and policy, considerations for curricular shifts, and a discussion of ways to disrupt the seemingly iron-clad reproduction of a homogenous music education field that continues to exclude bodies and musicks that do not conform.

Exploring Chinese EFL pre-service teachers’ perceptions of self-directed professional development: The benefits and challenges disclosed

Teaching has long been regarded as a demanding and complicated job, in which teachers play a vital role. To be effective and successful in this profession, they need to constantly engage in professional development programs. However, such programs are mostly externally driven with teachers playing passive roles. Against this pitfall, self-directed professional development (SDPD) has recently captured the attention of educational researchers. Yet, the benefits and challenges of SDPD in pre-service programs are unknown in EFL contexts. To fill this gap, this study used a semi-structured interview with 50 Chinese pre-service teachers regarding their perceptions of this mode of professional development. The findings of thematic analysis obtained by MAXQDA software (v. 2022) revealed that the most frequent benefits of SDPD were being “needs-based” and “self-directed”, which, in turn, produce “flexibility”, “autonomy”, and “professional knowledge development” in teachers. Concerning the challenges in implementing SDPD, “lack of professional interaction/assistance” from external forces and being “labor-intensive” for teachers were posed most frequently by the participants. Despite these complexities, most of the Chinese pre-service teachers (82%) preferred self-directed and self-initiated PD given their potential and effectiveness. The study encourages EFL educators to revisit their perspectives, plans, and strategies regarding professionalism and professional development. FUNDING INFORMATION. This study is a part of a research project on ‘The Training Mode of the Five-Year Bilingual International Talents under the Background of New Liberal Arts Construction’ supported by Nanjing Normal University’s New Liberal Arts Research and Reform Project in 2021.

Crafting cartographic competence: A methodological approach for nurturing future geography teachers

Relevance. The reform of geography education poses new challenges for pre-service geography teacher training programs, particularly in developing cartographic competencies critical for effective teaching.Purpose. The purpose of the study is to examine methods for integrating pedagogical approaches, multimedia tools, and geographic information systems (GIS) to foster cartographic skills in future geography teachers.Methodology. A multimodal approach was implemented, integrating hands-on map reading, analysis of cartographic symbology, engagement with modern technologies like GIS, and field-based activities.Results. The multimodal approach proved effective in building requisite cartographic skills in pre-service teachers. Continuous monitoring and skills upgrading were key factors in preparing teachers capable of translating curricula goals into practical classroom applications. Specific results include improved map interpretation and spatial analysis abilities, proficiency in utilizing GIS software for data visualization, enhanced understanding of cartographic design principles, and the ability to develop engaging map-based learning activities.Conclusions. Developing robust cartographic competencies in pre-service programs enables future geography teachers to leverage maps, spatial representations, and geospatial technologies as powerful pedagogical tools. The immersive, technology-driven methods reflecting contemporary best practices produced educators proficient in cartographic instruction.

Teachers' Pre-Service Programs Curriculum to Prepare Professional Teachers at Education Faculties

The competency of teachers has a significant impact on the quality of education. The Education Faculties should prepare the teacher to be a professional teacher. The research aim is to find out the the program should pre-service program at faculties to ensure the qualified teacher in the future.The research methodology relies on a review of the relevant literature. The research findingwere the curriculum of the Teachers’ Pre-Service program should be considered are pedagogy and instructional strategies, subject matter expertise, child development and educational psychology, inclusive education, classroom management, assessment and evaluation, teaching practicum, ethics and professionalism, digital literacy and educational technology by combining theoretical knowledge and practical experiences, the teachers'' pre-service program at faculties of education prepares aspiring teachers to become certified educators.

Exploring Conceptions of ‘Number Sense’ Evident in Pre-service Programmes for Primary School Teachers: A Review of Texts Used Across 11 University Programmes

This paper examines the conceptions of ‘number sense’ as promoted in pre-service primary mathematics education courses at 11 South African Higher Education Institutions through the texts used by academics or prescribed for students. While all the participating institutions agree that the development of primary school learners’ ‘number sense’ is central to their mathematics methodology courses and that there is an overwhelming amount of research and literature on ‘number sense’ nationally and internationally, their conceptualisations of the nature of ‘number sense’ vary. Teacher educators, who develop pre-service teacher education courses, were asked to provide the texts, used to underpin the 11 universities’ mathematics education modules in the Bachelor of Education (Foundation and Intermediate Phases) and Post Graduate Certificate in Education (Foundation and Intermediate Phases) programmes. These texts were analysed drawing on Whitacre et al.’s emphasis on three ‘number sense constructs’ identified as Innate Number Sense, Early Number Sense and Mature Number Sense. The results show that there is no common language of description for ‘number sense’ across the 11 universities. This research implies that there is a need to develop a consistent understanding of ‘number sense’ and how it is developed across institutions.

Redesigning mathematics preservice teachers’ preparation for teaching with technology: A qualitative cross-case analysis using TPACK lenses

This qualitative cross-case study examined how a university redesigned instructional course for a preservice program supported the development of mathematics preservice teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) regarding the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in their instruction. This research occurred on the context of a redesigned Mathematics Teaching Practice IV course. This course was redesigned to include in it the six SQD-model (Synthesis of Qualitative Evidence) micro level for preparing preservice teachers to use ICT in mathematics teaching and learning practices and was taught by professors with strong ICT profiles. These course activities were organized and used during an entire semester and the combination of these group of activities was called Studying, Learning and Teaching mix. We observed the preservice teachers' practices in their design and teaching of high school lessons and conducted semi-structured interviews to assess their TPACK development. While there were observable features of TPACK development in the early TPACK levels as a result of the participants' experiences, the authentic teaching experience clearly challenged their attitudes and beliefs about teaching and learning mathematics and the role ICT might play in this process. The course experience provided multiple teachable moments for the course professors as they observed and described the preservice teachers’ TPACK levels. In the end, we found that the Case 1 of preservice teachers demonstrated multiple descriptors from the Accepting TPACK level while those in Cases 2 and 3 displayed descriptors primarily associated with the Recognizing TPACK level. Results suggest that their attitudes and beliefs were challenged through a constructive and iterative process that ultimately supported their TPACK development.

Attitudes towards Pedagogical Reflection among a Group of Pre-Service English Teachers

Reflective practice is an essential component of teacher training programs. Moreover, the experience of reflection in pedagogy students led to a deeper understanding of their teaching practices and increased confidence in their teaching skills. This article aimed to determine pre-service English teachers' attitudes towards reflective practice, focusing on their cognitive, affective, and behavioral components. The population of the study was 88 pre-service English pedagogy students, and the study used a quantitative methodology. A validated questionnaire was used to gather the data and treat it statistically. The results show that all participants had a favorable attitude toward the reflective practice, though there are significant differences among each group of participants. It is concluded that attitude towards reflection increases as students gain sufficient experience and knowledge conducting pedagogical reflection practices. The findings suggest the need for a framework to improve attitude components in the English pre-service program and to focus on reflective practice in the early stages of teaching practice to motivate and induce pedagogical reflection from the beginning of the program. This study might be beneficial for tertiary education to foster a positive reflective attitude towards reflection.

How are we preparing future English teachers?: A study of the curricular variations among selected efl undergraduate programs

In order to improve the pre-service formation in Ecuador, the government created an education standardized curriculum to be used for all Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) offering education undergraduate programs. Unfortunately, when designing this curriculum, curriculum developers did not consider the particularities of all different pre-service programs existing in the country, for instance, English language teaching and focused more on primary education. This lack of consideration for different education undergraduate programs resulted in difficulties in adopting the standardized curriculum in other specializations. This research presents the different variations existing among the English language teaching curricula which resulted from the attempts to adopt the standardized curriculum in English language teaching pre-service formation; as well as the challenges and difficulties that curriculum developers faced during this process. Using a mixed-methods research methodology, results showed that curriculum variations revolve around the total number of practicum hours, low percentage of the use of English as a means of instruction, scarce common academic subjects despite the existence of common profession[1]al competencies, and differences in the total number of instruction hours.

The distributed knowledge base: Preservice language teachers’ positioning in language–content teacher collaboration

Effective language–content teacher collaboration is beneficial when teaching content to English language learners through the medium of English. Preparing preservice teachers (PSTs) for collaboration is increasingly common, but there is still a perception that the English language teacher's role is more supportive than collaborative. In this paper, we report on research that provided English language PSTs with a more agentic, collaborative role. For data collection, we audio-recorded English language and content PSTs’ collaboration activities as part of preservice programs at an Australian university and interviewed the PSTs after they completed the collaboration activities. We used a framework of distributed knowledge base and positioning theory to analyse the data. The findings showed that English language PSTs positioned themselves and were positioned by the content PSTs as leading in the shared domains and language-related domains and as supporting in content-related domains of professional knowledge. We discuss implications for theory, research and practice in preparing language teachers for collaboration with content teachers.

Centring multilingual learners and countering Rrcism in Canadian teacher education

This article includes aspects of a larger study in which we critically examine how and what mainstream teacher candidates learn in preservice programs about supporting multilingual learners (MLs). Since 2015, the province of Ontario has required that all teacher candidates — not just future ESL specialists — be prepared to support MLs. Within this context, we provide a description and discussion of who multilingual learners are imagined to be in policy documents and by various actors in education, along with examples of teacher candidate learning from a mixed-methods case study of teacher-candidate learning in the Master of Teaching at the University of Toronto. Our article reveals the complexity of preparing teachers to support MLs and suggests possibilities for centring multilingual learners and countering racism in Canadian teacher education.

The effects of an early childhood-elementary teacher preparation program in STEM on pre-service teachers

The increasing interest in early and elementary STEM education comes with a need to increase training and support for teachers of children in the early grades. Early and elementary pre-service teacher preparation in science, math, and integrated STEM can play a critical role in enhancing teachers’ self-efficacy and pedagogical content knowledge in these areas. However, few quantitative research studies have been published on this topic, especially involving early childhood and elementary programs. Because few STEM courses are typically offered in these programs, we need courses and experiences that can be transformational. This study evaluates the short- and long-term impacts on pre-service teachers who participated in our STEM Collaboration approach (n=164), which was created to meet this goal through an innovative early childhood and elementary collaboration. Analyses of mixed methods data collected from surveys, tests, open-ended feedback, and a focus group revealed immediate, long-term, and positive impacts on science, math, and integrated STEM self-efficacy and pedagogical content knowledge. Participation in STEM education experiences in pre-service programs that include innovations such as collaboration across colleges and professionalization opportunities made a difference, and one that persisted.

Educators’ perspectives about teaching and supporting students with learning difficulties in reading

We explored the perspectives of school-based educators located in Victoria, Australia, regarding their support of students who have reading difficulties. An anonymous survey was completed by 523 participants, including educators, educational leaders and Student Support Services staff. Results revealed multiple areas of concern related to their capacity to work on reading intervention with these students. Although participants reported that students with reading difficulties were present in most classes, confidence to work effectively with these students was mixed. They described feeling poorly prepared by preservice programs and indicated that insufficient time and mentorship prevented them from serving these students optimally. As a group, they privileged many approaches that align with best practice for struggling readers, such as explicit instruction, but perceived that such practices are not always feasible to implement. Support was also strong for practices considered non-evidence-based, such as adhering to students’ preferred ‘learning-style’. Recommendations for school-based practice, with a specific focus on students with reading difficulties, are made.

Stop ‘under-mind-ing’ early childhood educators: Honouring subjectivity in pre-service education to build intellectual and relational capacities

The stubborn dominance of objectivity in child observation in pre-service early childhood education warrants letting go of as we confront its limitations as outdated, problematic, Eurocentric, neo-liberal and even racist. In the context of recent aims to establish ‘critically reflective’ practices, such as ‘pedagogical documentation’ and ‘collaborative inquiry’ as the ‘new way’ to ‘do’ early childhood curriculum planning in Ontario, Canada, the authors are concerned that the hard work of naming and creating conditions to ‘think together’ with concepts of subjectivity has been missed and misunderstood. The risk of missing this shared thinking and not persevering in the struggles of subjectivities, especially in curriculum courses and placement, underestimates and ‘under-minds’ the intellectual capacity of students and positions theory as neutral in its relation to practice. How, then, does one take up subjectivity and recognize its affordance in building the intellectual and relational capacity of pre-service students? What conditions need to be created to lead with critical thinking and engage in subjectivities in the context of early childhood education pre-service programs? Drawing on critical educational perspectives, the authors work to define subjectivity in the context of early childhood education; identify the conceptual barriers that they have encountered in their work as a professor and a field liaison; and propose potentially generative conditions for pre-service programs.

The National Teacher Shortage: Addressing the Needs of LGBTQ+ Educators to Increase Recruitment and Retention

The LGBTQ+ community is one overlooked and underresearched in education recruitment and retention, as compared with other minoritized groups. A growing teacher shortage is rooted both in recruitment and in retention and can be mitigated by examining policies that support equitable preservice programs and reduce high teacher rates of attrition. This article investigates the current teacher shortage, examines its roots in issues of retention and recruitment, and situates the role of LGBTQ+ educators. I propose that the teacher shortage could be mitigated by creating a pipeline more attuned to the needs of queer teachers and reimagining school systems to become more inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community. This article argues for increased representation and imagines a school system that actively recruits and retains LGBTQ+ people.

Novice Teachers’ Professional Identity Reconstruction

<p style="text-align:justify">A transition from pre-service training programs to teaching is a dramatic and somehow painful experience for novice teachers. The question is what difficulties novice teachers face and how they negotiate their professional identity to cope with difficulties and find joys in their career. This study is aimed to investigate novice teachers’ professional identity reconstruction, from their imaged-identities to their practiced identities. The use of semi-structured interviews collected data from four Vietnamese English as a foreign language (EFL) novice teachers. According to the data, cue-based was the most common type of novice teachers’ imagined identity. Regarding the practiced identities, the interviewees reported different professional identity reconstructions in the first five years of teaching practice. The participants’ excerpts enlisted some challenges that the novices faced such as students’ learning attitudes, working environments, or unorganized colleagues. Based on the research findings, some solutions were proposed in order to help novice teachers get through their difficult times at the very beginning of their career.</p>

Lesson Preparation Practices of Pre-service High School Science Teachers: Implications to Science Education

Teacher preparation is a vital factor in the development of effective future teachers. As such, this study tried to determine the pre-service teachers’ lesson preparation practices in one of the Teacher Education Institutions in the Philippines and provided descriptions of their practice teaching experiences particularly on lesson planning/preparation. Quantitative and qualitative methods of research were used wherein data were gathered through questionnaires, documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews. Results revealed that the pre-service science teachers followed the systematic method of lesson preparation with the use of detailed lesson plans. Their lesson preparation practices are good and they are already prepared to face and hurdle the task of a real classroom teacher. Despite these, there are still aspects in lesson preparation that needs to be further developed like the formulation of affective domain objectives as well as the selection of appropriate motivational and assessment techniques. To further develop the pre-service program for science education, the study recommends that Teacher Education Institutions continue to design programs and activities regarding pre-service teachers’ development not only in science but also in other subject areas to enhance their lesson planning skills.