Initial Teacher Education Students Research Articles

Promoting cultural understandings through collaborative teaching: virtual drumming opportunities in teacher education

ABSTRACT Valuing diversity in education and educational research is at the heart of higher education institutes. This research takes place in Australia, a multicultural society that is still predominantly Western Anglo-Celtic. Through blended modes of delivery, this paper focuses on three tertiary educators collaborative autoethnographic voices sharing how they used drumming as a conduit to teach about music and culture from different lands. In preparing initial teacher education students to be culturally responsive, they argue that pre-service teachers need to be exposed to different pedagogies and practices that foster cultural competencies. Through reflection and collaboration, they provide insight into promoting diverse music and culture that can build cultural competence and culturally responsive pedagogies. They recommend working with colleagues, culture bearers, and local communities locally or virtually as an effective way to promote intercultural understandings. This paper adds to the body of the literature for teacher educators to work reflexively in blended modes. Further research is required to support the value of teaching diverse music and culture to pre-service teachers.

Promoting a sense of belonging in university online learning: How and why initial teacher education students experience an increased sense of belonging

Despite evidence of practices that support online students in university learning, promoting engagement and building a student sense of belonging continue to be a challenge. To enhance student engagement, a suite of evidence-based learning design strategies was incorporated across online units of study in initial teacher education programmes at a regional Australian university. To determine the impact of these strategies or elements, students were surveyed regarding their perspectives on how the elements had positively impacted their sense of belonging within the online university community. The systemic functional linguistics Appraisal framework was used to analyse qualitative survey data, which reported students experienced an increased sense of belonging expressed as positive judgements of their own mental capacities. Students also expressed feeling cared for, valued and supported by academics and experienced enjoyment in their learning and reduced levels of stress. All elements were positively evaluated; however, unit coordinator behaviour, especially social capacity, was unexpectedly important in increasing student sense of belonging. Whilst ongoing incorporation of design elements to enhance engagement is important, the behaviours of unit coordinators actioned through these elements were paramount in promoting student belonging. Implications for practice or policy: Increasing levels of student belonging may be improved by including learning experiences that promote feelings of success and relationships with others. Unit coordinators can enhance online student belonging by using online learning design elements to demonstrate approachability, understanding, supportiveness, availability, presence, care and patience. Universities should consider adopting organisation-wide initiatives that promote consistent and visible learning design features and staff presence, with the aim of addressing attrition and retention challenges.

Cutting the Gordian knot of the education ‘crisis’ with teacher testing. A blunt instrument that crushes marginalised pre-service teachers

ABSTRACT This paper offers a brief yet evocative glimpse into marginalised pre-service teachers’ (PST) experiences of teacher testing in Australia’s High-stakes Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students (LANTITE). Utilising Critical Disability Theory (CDT)in particular, Goodley’s (2016) concept of neoliberal-ableism, we problematise teacher testing as a gatekeeping tool for students undertaking teacher education. The article highlights how neoliberal education policies in Australia have disempowered and turned away talented and empathetic future teachers. By illuminating their embodied experiences of stress and anxiety, we interrogate neoliberal discourses of power and how teacher testing is used as a blunt instrument to solve complex problems and funnel public funding to private corporations. As part of a larger longitudinal research project, we offer four narrative portraits giving voice to vulnerable PSTs who have become unwitting victims of the high-stakes test juggernaut. This article focuses on five emergent themes from the research: (a) the embodied impact of stress and anxiety on test-takers, (b) withholding of information regarding testing processes and support, (c) the lack of differentiation available to PSTs (d) impacts of edu-businesses and the business of education on vulnerable participants and (e) a passion for differentiation.

What is known about simulation technologies and their application to Initial Teacher Education: A scoping review

AbstractSimulation technologies are emerging as a possible solution to prepare Initial Teacher Education (ITE) students for the classroom and reduce undue pressure on supervising teachers. This paper presents a scoping review that reports on what is currently known regarding simulated technologies and their application to ITE programs. The review scoped the literature published between January 2013 and March 2023, with 16 studies identified for inclusion. Using descriptive statistics and a narrative synthesis method, this review maps the response to different types of simulation technologies and the impact of simulation on ITE students’ teaching skills and pedagogies. Unanimously, the studies agree that simulation is beneficial to ITE students as an authentic preparation tool to strengthen teaching skills and pedagogies. Conversely, ITE student responses to simulation are mixed. The research identifies the need for continued research and development in this emerging field. Longitudinal impacts of simulation in ITE programs are yet to be reported. This review recommends that future research builds upon the initial evidence, including larger participant numbers, clarifying the ideal duration of simulation for ITE students, and taking up a universal definition of simulation.

Interest in science and mathematics teaching among non-science/mathematics initial teacher education candidates

ABSTRACT Many countries are experiencing teacher shortages, with particularly long-standing issues in attraction and retention in secondary science and mathematics. Policy initiatives often focus on science and mathematics undergraduates, with the aim of encouraging them to consider teaching by offering scholarships into teacher education or fast-tracking into employment permanency. However, those who have already chosen to teach in non-science and mathematics teaching specialisations have already shown their interest in teaching and form a pool of candidates that may potentially be recruited into science and mathematics teaching pathways. While these non-science and mathematics teacher candidates could have the capacity to address in part longstanding science and mathematics teacher shortages, there is a lack of research examining their motivations from the perspective of initiatives that may attract them into science and mathematics teaching, and little that examines their science and mathematics backgrounds. We sought to address these gaps by surveying 349 initial teacher education (ITE) students from four Australian universities, examining their career motivations, interest in science and mathematics teaching, and science and mathematics backgrounds. We explored perceived barriers to secondary science and mathematics teaching, and responses to potential policy initiatives. We found that 61% of non-science/mathematics ITE candidates indicated high interest in secondary science or mathematics pathways. Policy options such as support for science and mathematics retraining after several years of teaching in their current subject area or level, were selected as likely to support this choice. Our results suggest considerable capacity for policymakers and tertiary institutions to design initiatives that may attract non-science/mathematics ITE candidates into science and mathematics teaching.

Cognitive, communicative, and cultural sensitivity competencies of future teachers in relation to textual mediation for adult immigrants

Due to the social circumstances leading to increased professional demand, it is necessary to provide more specialized training to initial teacher education students so they can address textual mediation for L2-learning adult immigrants. This research aims to understand how students in education perceive the impact of textual mediation on certain critical skills following a teaching intervention. There are few previous studies on textual mediation in the field of applied linguistics. A qualitative methodology evaluated an intervention involving 103 education students in focus groups. The results reveal that educational mediation with adult immigrants enhances oral and written communication skills, translation ability, note-taking, and creative text analysis. Linguistic adaptation and expanded cultural awareness are crucial in this process. As a practical application, the research underscores the importance of fostering cognitive, communicative, and cultural awareness competencies in initial teacher education students for effective language instruction to adult immigrants. Author: Beatriz Peña-Acuña, 0000-0002-0951-795X beatriz.pa@dfilo.uhu.es

Initial teacher education seminars and minority ethnic students: exploring dialogic teaching and engagement

ABSTRACT This small-scale action research acts on the calls for more inclusive and holistic higher education. It explores the impact of dialogic teaching approaches on student engagement, focusing on the experiences of initial teacher education students from ethnic minority backgrounds. The qualitative analysis reveals how these practices increase student engagement and contribute to better student experiences. Dialogic teaching cultivates safe learning spaces and empowers students to contribute more freely during seminars, improving their social, emotional, and personal engagement with learning. The students included in this study also perceived dialogic teaching practices as improving their experiences by supporting them in forming relationships. However, the analysis suggests that they do not fully remove all barriers to learning and engagement. Therefore, further research is needed to examine both the benefits and complexities of dialogic pedagogies in HE and the extent to which these practices contribute to fostering inclusive spaces within multicultural university settings.

Preparing to teach relationships and sexuality education: student teachers’ perceived knowledge and attitudes

ABSTRACT Children have a right to Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE). A key place for this to occur is in schools, and teachers’ comfort and competence in teaching is critical to delivering high-quality CSE. Good quality Initial Teacher Education (ITE) should provide student teachers with a strong foundation for the delivery of CSE and the creation of safe, supportive, and inclusive classrooms and whole-school cultures. This study examined primary ITE students’ perceptions of the quality of input, knowledge and confidence, and attitudes towards Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE). The study was conducted in Ireland where RSE is mandatory in the primary school curriculum. The level of input student teachers received in RSE was perceived to be insufficient, and less than that provided in other curricular areas. Student teachers reported moderate to high levels of perceived knowledge and comfort in RSE domains and high levels of commitment and intention to teach RSE once qualified. They overwhelmingly agreed that children and young people have the right to RSE. Student teachers reported being particularly unprepared to teach RSE to students with special educational needs and sexual and gender minority students. Recommendations are made for strengthening RSE input in ITE programmes.

Re‐imagining a decolonised, anti‐racist curriculum within initial teacher education in a Welsh university

AbstractChanges to the Welsh curriculum are becoming apparent. The Williams Report culminated in recommendations for schools and initial teacher education (ITE) on the inclusion and teaching of Black Asian and Minority Ethnic histories in Wales. The subsequent Welsh Government ITE action plan was designed to ensure the pro‐active recruitment of trainee teachers from Black and racially minoritised backgrounds in Wales. As a result of this legislation, a team of ITE lecturers in a school of education in a Welsh university formed a research triad and larger research collective, the idea being that we needed to decolonise our own pedagogy and curriculum delivery and re‐imagine ITE within an anti‐racist paradigm. It was key to reflect on our ITE provision, ensuring that our curriculum delivery reflected the ambition of the new Curriculum for Wales,* which encourages practitioners to think differently on what they teach, how they teach and what they want young people to learn. Using a patchwork methodology—which included ‘deep thinking and deep listening’—we examined our current ITE delivery and work that has been done thus far and looked at the gains and areas for development. It became clear that staff within our ‘ITE research collective’ were becoming more knowledgeable and confident in working within a racial dynamic, and consequently felt more able to impart knowledge when engaging with other ITE colleagues and students. This paper charts our ongoing journey and makes recommendations gained from our experiences.

The teaching of Indigenous knowledge and perspectives in initial teacher education: a scoping review of empirical studies

ABSTRACT This scoping review examines the literature on teaching Indigenous knowledge and perspectives in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes. The study explores how these programmes integrate Indigenous knowledge and perspectives into their curriculum and pedagogy to prepare teachers to work with Indigenous students and communities. The review identifies empirical studies focusing on the experiences of ITE students, faculty, and Indigenous knowledge keepers, highlighting common themes and best practices. The findings suggest that while many ITE programmes have incorporated Indigenous knowledge and perspectives into their curriculum, there is a need for greater attention to the pedagogical approaches used to teach this knowledge. There is also a need for programmes to build stronger relationships with Indigenous communities and to ensure that Indigenous knowledge is taught by teachers/educators who have received some training in consultations with the Indigenous knowledge keepers. The study highlights the importance of ongoing reflection and evaluation of ITE programmes to ensure that they are preparing the preservice teachers confident enough to embed Indigenous content in their teaching and, at the same time, meet the needs of Indigenous students and communities.

Double trouble: the legacy of COVID-19 for early-career teachers and their pupils in wales

ABSTRACT This paper highlights the potential double trouble of early-career teachers, who were negatively impacted by a disrupted Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and/or induction period, being charged with supporting pupil cohorts whose learning was also uniquely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from interviews (n = 40) and an online survey (n = 465) with initial teacher education (ITE) stakeholders (school and HEI-based) from across Wales. The data illuminated how ITE students’ experiences of practice were profoundly impacted as schools responded to the constantly changing learning and teaching context. Concerns articulated portray an uncomfortable picture with extensive and multifaceted inequalities identified in terms of both pupils’ and student teachers’ experiences - with vulnerable learners in both groups reported to be the most impacted. This paper highlights the likely legacy of the pandemic on the ongoing development of both pupils’ and student teachers’ (now early-career professionals) and the double trouble this may present. We suggest that there is an ongoing need to further support the professional formation of these early-career teachers impacted by the pandemic in a sustained and individually tailored way. This will be particularly important in equipping them to support the complex needs of the multiple COVID-19 impacted cohorts they will continue to teach.

Non-Indigenous Initial Teacher Education students navigating the cultural interface

ABSTRACT Despite strong policy impetus to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content across all levels of education in Australia, it is frequently reported that these aims are not being met. Settler ignorance and resistance are key contributing factors. However, recently, in our experiences teaching Initial Teacher Education (ITE) courses in the university sector, we found students who are, without being required to, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content into their lesson plans, representing a shift from this dominant discourse about teachers and students. In this small-scale qualitative study, we sought to expand the dialogue from why non-Indigenous teachers do not include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content to a strengths-based understanding of why others do. Using ‘yarning’ approaches we interviewed four non-Indigenous ITE students to understand the factors that shaped their decisions and how they navigated the cultural interface. We put forward that students felt morally compelled to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content in their lessons. They were deeply concerned with ethics, actively positioned themselves as ‘learners’ and privileged First Nations voices to mitigate their positioning as non-Indigenous teachers. We conclude with implications for policy responses and questions about institutional responsibility.

Online learning and language

Online learning is a well-established mode for tertiary education and training. However, technology-mediated learning at a distance continues to face challenges to participant engagement, despite the proliferation of models of effective online learning and the implementation of increasingly sophisticated technologies to enhance learning (Bragg, Walsh & Heyeres, 2021). The critical need to build and maintain relationships for effective learning continues to be confounded by the geographic and temporal distribution of online participants as well as the nuances of the technology in use. Online learning occurs in collaborative text-spaces within learning management systems, social media spaces and their attendant learning objects such as forums, many of which foreground language as the primary resource for making meaning with others. As such, ongoing challenges to engagement in online learning may be viewed with fresh eyes by considering the language-based interpersonal affordances of these text-spaces. This pecha kucha presentation examines how the language choices made by learning facilitators impact on student engagement in online learning. It draws on a case study of the strategic use of evaluative language – the language used to express feelings and build relationships - by one teacher educator to engage initial teacher education students in online learning. Underpinned by the Systemic Functional Linguistic model of language (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2014) and following Martin & White (2005), appraisal analysis of weekly forum posts across three iterations of a unit of study shows how changes to language choices made by the teacher educator positively impacted on student engagement. This illuminates the relationship between online learning and language, and how judicious use of language-based meaning making resources can be used to improve online participant engagement.

Will There Be Teachers? An Analysis of the Congruence of Religious Beliefs of Initial Teacher Education Students and the Patron’s (Religious Education) Programme for Catholic Schools

For historical reasons, the vast majority of primary schools in the Republic of Ireland are under the patronage of the Catholic church. Patronage involves a number of responsibilities, including the provision of a Patron’s Programme. Traditionally in the form of Religious Education (RE), such programmes should satisfy the curricular requirement for religious/ethical education and act as an expression of school ethos. In order to meet this responsibility, the Irish Episcopal conference in 2015 published its first curriculum in Religious Education, which forms the basis for the Grow in Love programme for pupils from Junior Infants to Sixth Class in all Catholic primary schools. However, effective teaching and learning of RE is dependent on the ‘buy in’ of those teaching it. The religious beliefs, understandings, and practices of those teaching RE are influential in this regard. Drawing from the data of a large-scale, multi-phase study, this paper describes the religious identity and beliefs of first-year students entering an Initial Teacher Education programme in Ireland—in this case, the Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree—to qualify as primary-level teachers. It situates the data in the wider context of religious identity and beliefs in Ireland and goes on to explore how the religious profiles of these students fit with the required understanding, knowledge and ability to teach Religious Education in Catholic schools. Findings indicate that the majority of these students identify as Catholic and believe in God. For most, God is important in their lives. However, there is a complexity to these beliefs, with a significant number who do not know what to think. This paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for the teaching of Religious Education and for the patrons of Catholic schools.

Welcome, How Can I Help You? Design Considerations for a Virtual Reality Environment to Support the Orientation of Online Initial Teacher Education Students

Alongside the rapid and broad uptake of online learning in higher education, fully online students report feeling isolated and disconnected from their institutions. Although formal course content may be expertly designed to engage online learners, much of the information provided to support higher education students’ orientation to the institution and to study is presented online in a written static form. Such presentations may not be accessible and engaging and may contribute to feelings of disconnection. Technologies such as virtual reality (VR) are being used in higher education to engage, motivate and connect students in their learning. This paper reports on the early design stages for a VR that aims to support initial teacher education students to connect and engage with key orienting information. The design of the VR was achieved by following a user-centred, iterative engineering design process and design principles of spatiality, interaction and narrative. The VR environment emulates the School of Education’s physical, on-campus reception area to provide an immersive experience where students have a choice in the types and format of key study information they receive. This experience was designed to be utilised in online orientation but also throughout students’ first year of study. Future research directions include collecting student responses to the VR to inform how students can be involved in enhancing the VR so that it supports their learning and sense of connection. Furthermore, future research can aim for the expansion of the VR inclusive of additional information, rooms and buildings and increased capabilities such as gamification and mobile access. This will enable the creation of a valuable teaching resource for online programs.

Problematising Irish student-teachers’ (dis)engagement with sociology of education in initial teacher education programmes

In this paper, we argue that the foundation disciplines have experienced increased marginalisation within initial teacher education (ITE) in Ireland, even though they are acknowledged in policy, curriculum, and programme development. This marginalisation has occurred because of several developments. The reconceptualisation of ITE in Ireland in 2011, foregrounded a more practice-orientated approach which we argue has contributed to a more ‘mono-dimensional conceptualisation’ of teacher education (Winch et al., 2015). The continued division between the foundation studies and school placement has not helped the ‘cause’ of foundation disciplines, particularly as students are not afforded the opportunity to regularly integrate their learning and foundation studies are not assessed as part of the school placement experience. Drawing on a quantitative study of student teachers in one Irish ITE college, this paper explores their engagement with, and attitude toward sociology and most especially their application of sociological theory in practice. The study found that while students understand sociological concepts, and its importance in education, they do not embrace the transformative potential of sociological concepts for their own identity as a teacher or engage in any meaningful way to interrogate systematic inequality in either education or society. Our findings suggest that ITE students do not have the opportunity to engage in the deep conceptual analysis that is required to implement fully inclusive and culturally responsive pedagogies, a necessity in teh face of a diverse society and homogenous teaching population. The data suggest that students have a utilitarian approach to sociology as a non-pedagogical discipline, and this has repercussions for both the teaching of sociology of education and for students own professional development. We need to reassert the value of the foundation disciplines, particularly sociology of education, as an important pillar of ITE students' professional development. It is incumbent upon foundation discipline teacher educators to reclaim their space, by highlighting the disconnect between theory and practice, and by creating authentic space for students to develop and employ a sociological lens in their journey to becoming open-minded, empathetic and culturally competent teachers.

Designing an English language and literacies knowledge and skills test for Initial Teacher Education students in South Africa

Since 2016 the Primary Teacher Education (PrimTEd) project has assessed first and fourth year student teachers' English language and literacies knowledge and skills with a view to optimising what is offered in teacher education courses. In 2021, after a critical review of these English language assessments, a process of test redesigning that also provides professional development opportunities for language teacher educators, was initiated. In this paper, we report on this process of modifying an existing test and discuss a new design that is still a work in progress, in order to make it more responsive to the English language needs of the student teachers. We argue that the emerging test has the potential to contribute to improved English language teacher education at universities and to improved teaching and learning of languages and literacies in South African primary schools.

What students can teach each other: Promoting optimal voice use for teaching through a speech-language pathology student-led voice clinic

Initial teacher education (ITE) students experience voice problems while studying and subsequently in their careers with the potential to impact their teaching careers. Education about voice and vocal techniques required for teaching is not routine in teacher education. Speech-language pathology (SLP) programs require clients for voice-related training. This descriptive study considered student experiences and perceptions of benefit related to an SLP student-led voice clinic for ITE students. A cross-sectional survey revealed that 28.9% of ITE students presented with a voice problem on the Screen6, and 24.4% perceived themselves as vocally handicapped (VHI-10). Findings support the importance of routine screening of voice in ITE students, and that a student-led clinic may address preparation/training needs of both ITE and SLP students.

Bridging the theory-practice divide in teacher education through process drama pedagogy: “You fully experience what you're learning”

In this article, we critically examine one example of the theory-practice divide in initial teacher education (ITE) in the context of process drama. We report findings from research in Aotearoa New Zealand, where we explored ITE students’ experiences of embodied learning through process drama, on campus and in primary schools. Through a sociocultural lens, we analysed survey data and focus group interview transcripts. Our findings evidence the rich embodied learning through process drama that takes place on campus, but is rarely enacted in schools. We argue embodied learning can bridge the divide to merge theory and practice.

Arts-based critical service-learning experiences as transformative pedagogy

Abstract Initial teacher education programs regularly engage students in service-learning programs, providing an additional pathway to personal, professional and pedagogical transformation in their learning journey. One of those pathways is through service-learning placements in community arts projects. This paper reports on a study of arts-based service-learning programs at two universities. Eight initial teacher education (ITE) students were interviewed after their placements and a number of key themes emerged. These include the importance of productive discomfort as part of the service-learning experience and transformative pedagogy resulting from the art-based experience. This paper also explores some critiques of traditional service-learning models that have opened spaces for critical service-learning approaches. The analysis of ITE students’ narratives led to findings about the path of transformation from traditional to critical service-learning approaches through arts-based projects, an area which has been largely unexplored in previous research. The paper concludes with discussion of future avenues for related research that orientate service-learning in the arts towards social and creative justice.