Initial Teacher Education Students Research Articles

Exploring student teachers’ motivations and sources of confidence: the case of outdoor learning

ABSTRACT Outdoor learning has become an important part of policy and practice across several European contexts. While research indicates that outdoor experiences can enhance learning and mental health outcomes, studies have also identified a number of barriers to providing such experiences the most prevalent being that of teachers’ confidence. Acknowledging the role of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in preparing teachers for the demands and complexities of providing meaningful, safe and relevant outdoor learning experiences, this article explored teachers’ experiences both in general, and within a one-year ITE course in Scotland, employing a qualitative methodology. In particular, semi-structured interviews were used with seven ITE students. Results yielded through thematic analysis revealed mastery experiences as being preferred, while vicarious experiences were also seen as useful. In addition, previous experiences in adulthood and childhood impact on the motivation of student teachers to teach outdoors. Implications for ITE programmes are presented.

Teaching on insecure foundations? Pre-service teachers in England’s perceptions of the wider curriculum subjects in primary schools

ABSTRACT Subject marginalisation is an on-going concern across the primary education sector, particularly for the arts and humanities. This poses issues for pre-service teacher partnerships and for higher education institutions (HEIs) evaluating the role of subjects within their teacher training courses as they reform their curricula to prepare students to teach across diverse educational contexts. Through the interpretation of student voice, we disseminate a case study with primary initial teacher education (ITE) students that investigates learner perceptions of their training in under-represented foundation subjects. Emerging themes include tensions between university and school-based practices, and between curriculum models, together with the need to develop student adaptability and self-direction. The authors propose that if ITE students explore and take on the dispositions of changemakers, they will become equipped with the self-efficacy and adaptability needed to develop secure bases for teaching foundation subjects as they begin their careers.

Psychological characteristics and development of initial teacher education students’ reflective abilities at non-degree granting and degree granting institutions: A comparative analysis

Psychological characteristics and development of initial teacher education students’ reflective abilities at non-degree granting and degree granting institutions: A comparative analysis

Wanting to become PE teachers in Spain: connections between previous experiences and particular beliefs about school Physical Education and the development of professional teacher identities

ABSTRACT Physical Education (PE) teachers have previous experiences that both shape their particular beliefs about the role and purpose of this school subject as well as their pedagogical practice. The present study aims to examine and deepen our knowledge of future Spanish PE teachers’ previous experiences of and beliefs about PE that condition their pedagogical practice and intentionality within this school subject. The data reported on in this paper were generated through questionnaires, life-history stories and semi-structured interviews with 24 initial teacher education students in the second year of a degree specialising in PE at a Spanish university. The data was analysed using content and narrative (thematic) analysis. The students, far from being tabula rasa, in their responses show how their previous socialisation period, their subjectivities and identities constitute particular beliefs about PE teaching. More specifically, the results reveal four key themes in the student teachers’ experiences and beliefs that represent four different factors influencing future PE teacher identities: (1) ‘Sport’; (2) ‘PE for health’; (3) ‘A focus on pedagogy’; and (4) ‘A critical orientation’. In conclusion, the study reaffirms the need for further reflection on how previous experiences and beliefs influence the development of professional teacher identities as part of initial teacher education in PE.

Initial teacher education in England and the Covid-19 pandemic: challenges and opportunities

ABSTRACT This paper examines the impact and implications on initial teacher education (ITE) of the crisis brought about by the Covid-19 lockdown of schools and universities from the perspectives of four university providers in England. The start of the pandemic meant that, in England, schools were closed to all but vulnerable pupils and the children of ‘key workers’, and so the normal placements of students in teacher education (ITE students) could not continue. The ‘virtualisation’ of the ITE programmes by, in some cases, both schools and universities, raised significant issues of both equity and pedagogy. The loss of time on school placement had the effect of lost opportunities for practising teaching but increasing the time for reading and reflection. We consider the effects on a teacher education programme when the practicum experience is abruptly curtailed, yet the programme is able to continue in a different way. We present a model framework for a new digital pedagogy for ITE and discuss the opportunities and affordances available as the post-Covid educational landscape emerges, and suggest that the Covid-19 crisis provides an opportunity to reflect on the idea that practicum experience may be a necessary but not, in itself, a sufficient condition for teacher learning.

Learning to teach without school-based experience: conundrums and possibilities in a South African context

ABSTRACT Covid-19 and the resultant national lockdown saw thousands of initial teacher education students in South Africa moving at short notice to online learning. For teacher educators this represented significant technical and pedagogical challenges, as they faced the task of adapting their teaching to an online modality, while simultaneously maintaining the academic integrity of their modules. Schools too were closed, creating the possible scenario that new teachers might graduate with little or no practical exposure to the classroom. A previously unheard-of question emerged, namely whether a period of immersion in schools was a non-negotiable in learning to be a teacher. Put otherwise - would it be possible to prepare good teachers while schools were closed for large parts of the year? The article outlines some debates relating to teacher education that emerged in South Africa during this time, linking these to the concepts of situational learning, relational learning and pedagogical reasoning. Questions are then posed as to the potential longer-term implications of this period for teacher education pedagogy in South Africa.

Religions and beliefs in changing times: perspectives of student stakeholders in third-level educational contexts in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland

ABSTRACT Religions and beliefs are complex, contested and challenging aspects of the educational systems and cultural landscapes both in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and in Northern Ireland (NI); part of a long and protracted history of colonial oppression and political struggles underpinned by religious and ethnic divisions. The deficit in the literature on third-level students’ attitudes to religion and belief in the ROI and NI was a springboard to this multi-disciplinary funded research. Perspectives of 900 second-year university initial teacher education (ITE) and social science students, from 6 tertiary educational contexts were explored within an analytical framework provided by the European Values Survey and the European Social Survey for understanding values and beliefs among its citizenry. The research was undertaken to understand students’ attitudes to a belief diverse society involving newly arrived immigrant and refugee groups. The authors argue that based on the research findings key issues such as religious or belief bias, and fear of religious or belief other, emerge for student stakeholders which will inform their professional practice(s). Research of this nature is particularly important in the context of Ireland (ROI and NI) where religious diversity has underpinned political turmoil and educational and cultural division in the past.

’Prepare yourself’: Testing the literacy skills of graduating teachers

The 2016 introduction of national literacy and numeracy exit testing for all Australian teacher graduates was a significant policy decision that adds further pressure on the tightly regulated area of Initial Teacher Education. There are implications to examine from this specific mandate about the nature of the testing, the capabilities of future teachers, and contemporary conceptions of literacy. Initial Teacher Educators of literacy also need to consider how they might address the preparation of their preservice students to satisfy the test requirements while extending them beyond meeting one achievement measure to fulfil their career ambitions. This paper explores the impact of the policy regulation on preservice teachers, specifically, in relation to their personal literacy skills and test preparedness. Against this background of legislative requirements, the project reported here adopted one approach to address students’ literacy needs by developing customised online literacy support. Research conducted with the first cohort of participants to evaluate this intervention had two purposes. First, to obtain students’ evaluation of the online resource and their assessment of its usefulness as a tool for their learning. Secondly, to gather students’ views about their confidence in their personal literacy skills, and their opinions about the introduction of the LANTITE literacy test (ACER, 2019). The self-reported data prompt further discussion about the preparation of Initial Teacher Education students and the nature of literacy development for beginning teachers. There are ongoing challenges for teacher educators as we prepare our future teachers for professional accreditation that requires the demonstration of a specific set of skills. Literacy competency and linguistic achievement cannot be assumed. It is essential to build rich contemporary conceptualisations of literacy, to develop tertiary students’ personal and professional confidence across a range of multiliteracy practices and multimodalities, and to extend these well beyond any single test measure.

Using video as a form of artistic communication: preparing for undergraduate assessment in Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

Abstract In a fast-evolving Higher Education (HE) landscape amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for a Lecturer in Education to be dynamic and innovative with assessment pedagogy is no longer a desired skill but mandatory. In response to the demand from students as consumers and other key stakeholders, our innovative and somewhat artistic license in the learning context. At the student-facing edge of HE, Lecturers react to the ever-changing landscape with dynamism to positively impact the student experience. These continued efforts to provide the best student experience, enables HE institutions to remain competitive with Initial Teacher Education (ITE) provision as part of a cutthroat consumer driven marketplace. This article will present how video as a form of artistic communication supported year one ITE students to make sense of institutional assessment methods. Qualitatively, this research was focused on student perceptions gathered through a questionnaire. Student accounts expressed overwhelmingly that the use of video as a form of communication was easier to understand than written formats. The article concludes that to support a diverse student population at a distance and online, a choice of artistic assessment formats including video should be provided. The evidence herein shows that both student understanding and outcomes of assessment were statistically improved and that the format itself facilitated a willingness to engage online in a purposeful way with assessment. Students also repeatedly revisit assessment materials embedded in a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).

Training Teachers for and through Citizenship: Learning from Citizenship Experiences

This article illustrates how one university-based initial teacher education (ITE) course sought to develop links with civil society organisations to develop meaningful active citizenship education. The purpose of the project was to enhance citizenship education for ITE students preparing to become secondary school teachers. The article discusses recent developments in theorising teacher education 3.0 to ensure teachers are empowered to engage with a wide range of social and political challenges affecting young people and their communities. It then describes a small project that involved university staff and students in a local community organising project, bringing together a range of local community groups to work together for social justice. The article explores how student teachers working within that community organising group developed an increasingly politicised view of their role—as public sector workers in a politicised policy landscape; as potential agents for the promotion of democracy; and as political actors in their own right. The article concludes that these insights into practice illustrate the potential for a broader conception of teacher education, involving civil society partners beyond schools and universities.

Partnership within the Context of Mentoring Initial Teacher Education Students in Scotland: Progress or Maintaining the Status Quo?

This qualitative research study concerns mentoring primary education student teachers within the context of Scottish Initial Teacher Education. With reference to partnership in ITE, it focuses on understandings about relationships between local authority and school, and between school and university within the mentoring process. Within an instrumental, collective case study research design, semistructured interviews of mentors and student teachers were used to gather data alongside a constructivist grounded theory approach to analysis. Findings suggest that relationships are remote, in contrast with recent recommendations made by the previous and latest reviews of Scottish teacher education, and in the literature about effective ITE partnership. Conclusions provide examples of evolving enhanced partnerships and suggest the need for continued consideration of such developments to promote quality and consistency across ITE placement mentoring experiences.

Changing the Lens: Mapping the Development of Research Dispositions in Programmes of Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

The vision for ITE in Wales requires that NQTs understand how to conduct 'close-to-practice' research and are able to articulate evidence-informed approaches to pedagogy (Furlong, 2016; Welsh Government 2018). This paper describes the processes by which one HEI-school partnership (the APLP) developed programmes of ITE to respond to this vision, specifically focussing on the journey of the student-teacher through the development of four research dispositions. The programmes seek to ensure that ITE students develop an 'inquiry stance', where this reflects the understandings of Cochran-Smith (2011) who uses the term inquiry to refer to teachers' questioning, and the metaphor of stance to allude orientation and position. In order to support the research skills needed to adopt an inquiry stance, the work of Orchard and Winch (2015) has been adapted and distilled into four dispositions for the student?teacher and progression steps have been identified for differing levels of study. The research dispositions and associated knowledge, skills, understandings and behaviours have been mapped through the content of the modules in each ITE programme on offer. We include a consideration of the tensions apparent in the development of detailed module content and conjecture that these may be an inevitable result of the professional habit of performativity that results from education systems historically driven by structures of accountability.

Teacher Candidates’ Views On Self And Peer Assessment As A Tool For Student Development

This phenomenological research explores the opinions of social studies teacher candidates about self and peer assessment. It is a descriptive study using qualitative data from a sample of 21 teacher candidates. Research data were collected using a semi-structured interview and the researcher's observation notes. The data were analysed using the descriptive content analysis method. The findings showed that self and peer assessment could serve as a powerful learning activity rather than simply an assessment tool. The results also indicated that self and peer assessment support the development of skills, such as self-regulation, critical thinking and decision-making. Teacher candidates reported that self and peer assessment had positive effects, such as recognizing their own shortcomings, learning by sampling from peers’ work, constructive contribution to each other's work, comprehension of the skills and criteria that form the basis of assessment, being part of the assessment process, gaining assessment skills, recognizing individual differences and developing critical thinking skills. Self and peer assessment facilitate the development of a learning environment that is more cooperative, participative and appropriate to the educational needs of initial teacher education students in the 21st century.

An evidence-based case for quality online initial teacher education

The rapid expansion of fully online delivery of initial teacher education (ITE) seen in the past decade has generated some concerns about impact on teacher quality. This is set within broader, sustained concerns about ITE generally. Much of the criticism of online ITE has been made without sufficient evidence to support the claims, largely due to the still-nascent evidence base. The data presented here contributes to that evidence base by providing demographic and academic achievement insights for cohorts of graduate teachers (N = 2008) across the years 2012 to 2018 who have engaged in fully online ITE at an Australian university. The literature has recognised the traditional barriers to accessing higher education for many of these students, including women, the mature-aged, and those with family and work responsibilities. Performance data for online ITE students within their programs demonstrates that they are breaking through these barriers associated with the digital divide. Analysis of who these people are, where they come from, and how they are performing provides valuable insights into online ITE, at a time when the value of broadening access to education and digital equity are being widely acknowledged.

“In LANTITE, No One Can Hear You Scream!” Student Voices of High-Stakes Testing in Teacher Education.

This article investigates pre-service teachers’ experiences of undertaking LANTITE, a high-stakes literacy and numeracy test for initial teacher education students. In this mixed methods study, 189 initial teacher education students from 28 Australian universities participated in an online questionnaire, with 27 students going on to take part in semi-structured telephone interviews. Indicative findings give voice to those most impacted by the implementation of LANTITE in 2017, revealing student concerns about the processing and return of results, and test anxiety. This study provides a unique insight into the experiences of completing this high-stakes test.

Policy effects of regulating admission into initial teacher education degrees in New South Wales

ABSTRACT The low Australian Tertiary Admissions Ranks (ATARs) of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) students are routinely highlighted in the media and in reviews of ITE, with the perception that such students will be unable to become effective teachers. As part of the NSW Government’s Great Teaching, Inspired Learning (GTIL) Framework, minimum academic entrance standards were introduced in 2016, with the intention of improving both teacher status and quality. Drawing upon Ball’s notion of policy effects and policy enactment, this paper critically explores these increased academic admissions requirements and reports on one aspect of a multiple case study research project. In doing so, I respond to the following research question, “what are the first and second order effects of policy designed to regulate admission into ITE in NSW?” Using interviews with senior ITE academics and university student recruitment personnel, findings from the study indicate that the policy has impacted the structure of ITE degrees, the quality, number and diversity of ITE students and is possibly excluding potential ITE students. I argue that despite these effects, in practice the same students are entering ITE, therefore demonstrating the disjoint between intention and enactment in policy implementation.

Development of initial teacher education students’ sets of values during pursuing undergraduate degrees

Development of initial teacher education students’ sets of values during pursuing undergraduate degrees

“We learnt lots in a short time”: Cultural exchange across three universities through songs from different lands

Establishing strong connections between universities within initial teacher education (ITE) programs not only takes time, but it also presents opportunities and challenges. Tertiary music educators are called to prepare ITE students/pre-service teachers to be culturally responsive. This article forms part of our wider study “See, Listen and Share: Exploring Intercultural Music Education in a Transnational Experience Across Three Universities (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Australia; Deakin University, Australia; and Universitat Jaume I of Castelló, Spain). For this article, we draw on student web survey data, anecdotal feedback, and our reflections. We employ Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis as a tool to thematically group our surveys into three broad overarching themes to inform our findings and discussions. We argue that music education is an effective vehicle for exploring culture and diversity through song. Our findings show that our ITE students built positive attitudes about using songs in their generalist primary and early childhood classrooms. They also recognized the importance of collaborative sharing using face-to-face and Skype. This project proved a worthy experience for all concerned, it formed a rich part of our professional learning. We encourage others to consider the approach as one way to promote multicultural music and cultural diversity within ITE programs and across other educational settings.

Australia’s Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students: Trends in Numeracy for Low- and High-Achieving Students

The numeracy capabilities of pre-service teachers are a recent focus in the Australian educational system. In this article, we discuss findings from an analysis of data from the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students (LANTITE), which is administered by the Australian Council for Educational Research. In our analysis, we considered numeracy test data from 20 students from one Australian university: those who achieved the 10 highest and the 10 lowest overall numeracy scores in 2016 at this university on their first attempt of the test. We found that these groups clearly have particular characteristics that were linked to their success or failure on the numeracy test. We discuss programs and resources that the university has made available for students in preparation for the LANTITE and provide additional suggestions to support such students going forward.

Can Secondary Teaching Graduates Support Literacy in the Classroom? Evidence from Undergraduate Assignments

Education policy in Australia and comparable countries requires that all secondary content teachers actively teach the literacy of their learning area and support the literacy development of students in their classes. In this paper we present evidence on the capacity of graduating teachers to meet that obligation. We review assessment data from 393 Initial Teacher Education students who completed a core unit in secondary curriculum literacy prior to graduation. We report that while the majority met the unit requirements, approximately 30% graduated as teachers with marginal or inadequate capacity to teach the literacy of their subject or support student learning through literacy. Approximately 12% of the sampled cohort failed the unit on their first attempt; yet 76% of those who failed went on to graduate. We show that such performance is consistent across the secondary disciplines included in the survey. We pose the questions as to whether secondary teachers with a marginal command of literacy strategies and poor literacy knowledge can be expected to provide effective literacy support, and whether education policy goals and provision of training in this area are therefore realistic.