Teacher Education In Australia Research Articles

Online mentoring and peer support: using learning technologies to facilitate entry into a community of practice

A vital aspect of any professional education is the opportunity for students to engage in meaningful practical experiences. In pre-service teacher education in Australia, this vital teaching practice component has undergone challenges in recent years due to increasing student numbers (linked to the increasing demand for new teachers) and limited resources in university and school sectors. As such, initiatives to enhance the practical component of this professional degree have been sought. This paper details the methodology and outcomes associated with a pilot project that utilized asynchronous Web-based communication tools to facilitate mentoring and peer support through the teaching practice experience. Analysis of the online discussions and interviews with participants provides an indication of the nature of the interactions and the perceived value of the intervention, and informs the potential for larger-scale implementation.DOI:10.1080/0968776020100105

Directions and Priorities in Teacher Education

This article identifies directions/priorities in contemporary teacher education in Australia, and indicates the challenges that confront leadership. Examining directions in teacher education programs, research, the conduct of the practicum, relationships with schools, flexible delivery and intemationalisation, a dominant theme is the need for strong, collaborative and symbiotic school-university partnerships in the education of prospective and current teachers.

The changing landscape of teacher education in Australia

In this paper we argue that the nature of reform in teacher education in Australia is occurring in a context of significant economic change and restructuring across the whole public sector. However, while there is ongoing radical change in the field of higher education and school education we would contend that there has been relatively little state mandated revision of the form and content of teacher education programs. We describe reforms that occurred over the past decade that have had an impact on teacher education. To date policies regarding teacher education in Australia have not been specifically concerned with reforming of the teaching profession as an individual entity but rather a reconceptualising the contexts in which teachers work, particularly with respect to regulatory frameworks. What has changed is the relationship between the academic providers, the system providers of teacher education and the profession itself; and the ways in which there is an increasing acknowledgment of the role of teacher workplace learning as a vehicle for continuing professional development. This is a point we take up later in the paper when we outline two recent initiatives that have been part of the broader education and industrial reform agenda.

Teaching ‘not less than maths, but more’: an overview of recent developments in adult numeracy teacher development in England, with a sidelong glance at Australia

In this article the authors draw on our experience in teaching, teacher education and research in the field of adult numeracy. An overview is given of recent developments in the preparation, professional development and accreditation of adult numeracy teachers in England, with some reference to parallel developments in adult literacy. This is set in a wider international context through a brief review of recent developments in adult numeracy teacher education in Australia.

The social construction of pedagogic discourse in physical education teacher education in Australia

AbstractOnce the exclusive domain of teacher education, physical education in Australian tertiary institutions has during the last twenty years evolved into a series of discipline‐based fields concerned with human movement studies, leisure studies and sport science that have begun to feed new vocational opportunities in the sport, exercise and leisure industries. Concomitant with these changes in the social organization of knowledge in tertiary physical education has been a realignment of school physical education programmes, particularly in the senior school curriculum. Inevitably, the once sole focus of physical education in tertiary institutions on teacher education is now being forced to reinvent itself in light of these dynamic changes in the social organization of school and university knowledge. Following the work of Bernstein, Goodson and others, this article analyses current policy and practice in physical education teacher education and identifies several future scenarios. The first part of the article provides an historical overview of the emergence of new forms of tertiary knowledge in physical education from the mid‐1970s until the present. The second part provides a similar overview of developments in school physical education with a focus on senior school and matriculation physical education during the same period. The third part analyses the current state of affairs in the social organization of knowledge for physical education teacher education. In the fourth part, a series of questions is raised concerning relationships between knowledge in physical education teacher education, school physical education and university forms of the field through the presentation of several future scenarios. The article concludes with several proposals for policy development concerned with physical education teacher education programmes.

Teacher Education in Australia: What difference does a new government make?

The election of a Coalition government in Australia during 1996 raised the prospect of a fundamental change in direction for teacher education. This article examines what progress the Coalition has made after nearly a year in office, its approach to innovations generated under the previous Labor regime, and issues that remain on the agenda. The paper concludes by considering what opportunities exist for teacher educators to participate in the reform process and the possible consequences of leaving it to the new government.

Editorial Teacher Education in Australia: The State of Play

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsElizabeth HattonElizabeth Hatton is an Associate Professor in Social Foundations at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst. She was formerly a primary school teacher. Her research interests are in the sociology of teaching and the sociology of teacher education. She is President of the Australian Teacher Education Association (ATEA)

Charles Sturt University Extended Practicum Program: Deliberative and Serendipitous Learning

Two recent trends in teacher education in Australia have been partnerships and internships or extended practica. Both of these trends are underpinned by a recognition of the importance of site‐based learning as part of teacher education and professional development. Whilst many extended practicum programs in Australia are in their infancy, it is worth examining the grounds on which they were established and the opportunities they provide for the participants. This paper is concerned with an Extended Practicum Program (EPP) that is based on a partnership between Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, the New South Wales Department of School Education (NSW DSE) and the New South Wales Teachers Federation (NSW TF).

IT in education and teacher education in Australia

Abstract Responsibility for education at all school levels in Australia is the constitutional prerogative of the states and territories while almost all the funds are produced via Commonwealth taxation. On the other hand, university education, including those faculties responsible for teacher education, come directly under Commonwealth control. These arrangements have been questioned often, particularly in terms of assuring the Commonwealth that ‘they are getting value for their money’. In recent years, there has been a number of moves towards a more national approach to education and many of these have incorporated statements concerning the role of technology in education. This paper sets the context of these developments as they have impinged on teacher education and provides specific examples from two institutions.

Teacher Education in Australia

Teacher Education in Australia

Teacher education in Australian Universities in a period of change: Predictions and preferences for the year 2000

Predictions and preferences for teacher education in Australia in the year 2000 were identified by surveying teacher educators. The survey was undertaken in 1991, soon after dissolution of the binary system in Australian higher education and at a time of increasing government concern about teacher education. Respondents commented on the future research and teaching missions of teacher educators, the representation and status of teacher education within Australian universities, and relationships between teacher educators, schools and government. Forecasts concerning teacher education in the year 2000 were generally pessimistic, and they conveyed the sense that the training of teachers will be governed by an agenda over which teacher educators have limited direct control. The results of the survey are discussed with reference to the impact that recent changes in the Australian higher education system have had on teacher educators.

Early Childhood Teacher Education in Australia

Abstract The complexity of preparing personnel for early childhood services seems common to many countries of the world. Issues and problems include length of courses, pre‐requisites for entry to courses, core curriculum content, age range covered in courses, education and care elements and practicum requirements. This paper discusses early childhood teacher education provision in Australia and acknowledges that teacher educators in countries of the world have much to share and the discussion of solutions can only better the preparation of early childhood courses. A common theme is the need to raise the status and strengthen the early childhood profession by the provision of quality courses.

Australian Experiences with the Effective Classroom Integration of Information Technology: implications for teacher education

ABSTRACT In 1992 an Australia‐wide survey was undertaken to determine the most appropriate and effective ways by which classroom teachers have acquired the necessary skills and knowledge to use technology in their curriculum. The survey examined current and changing practice and identified factors which the teachers considered promoted or hindered the effective integration of computer technology. Many teachers felt that their teacher training (pre‐service and in‐service) did not prepare them to effectively integrate computers into their teaching, that it did not include enough time for them to become comfortable with the software, nor did it include support to help them troubleshoot during the early implementation stages. This paper discusses these aspects of the survey results and the implications for teacher education in Australia.

Trends, issues, and themes shaping teacher education in Australia

Trends, issues, and themes shaping teacher education in Australia

Restructuring Teacher Education in Australia

Abstract Debate on teacher quality and quality in teaching and teacher education has been as vigorous in Australia as it has been in the UK and the USA. In Australia, however, reform in teacher education has been subsumed within a national metapolicy of corporate federalism which is an amalgam of beliefs or discourses including neo‐corporatism, economic rationalism, corporate managerialism and human capital. The paper analyses the most recent document on reform of teacher education in Australia (the Ebbeck Report) and shows how its policy formulation is influenced by the discourse of corporate federalism. It also shows how micro‐economic reform in this sector is related to reforms in other sectors of education.

Towards a Critical Practice of Teacher Education in Australia

Towards a Critical Practice of Teacher Education in Australia

Early childhood teacher education in Australia

The nature and form of early childhood courses in Australia varies from State to State but certain characteristics prevail and assist in illustrating the present condition of early childhood teacher education in this country. However, recently proposed changes to teacher education #opK‐12#cp, as set out by the Australian Education Council #op1990#cp, would bring about a new style of preparation for early childhood teachers in Australia. This new direction is being questioned by early childhood teacher educators and alternative plans for modification of course structures are being generated. The present study collated details of accredited undergraduate early childhood courses throughout Australia, highlighted State characteristics and proposed areas for change and issues for further debate, particularly in the face of a national movement of reform in teacher education in Australia.

Corporate federalism and the reform of teacher education in Australia

Since 1983, the Hawke Labor government has been engaged in a process of national restructuring of the private and public sector. In Australia, however, it has not always been recognized that education, including teacher education is an industry, is expected to contribute to this national reconstruction, and is itself currently undergoing a restructuring which is revolutionary in extent and effect. With the Green and White Papers on higher education (Dawkins 1987, 1988), the Commonwealth Government effectively established a unified national system of higher education. The Australian Education Council (AEC) comprised the Federal and State Ministers of Education subsequently established a working party to produce a Green Paper, Teacher Education in Australia: Report to the Australian Education Council, (February, 1990) (hereafter referred to as the report) and a supplementary document.

Preferred Models of Early Childhood Teacher Education

Early childhood teacher education in Australia continues to be a topic of contention. The erosion of specialized early childhood courses during the early 1980's was indicated by Briggs (1984) in the face of then new shared structures with primary teacher education. Restructuring of courses at that time was brought about by amalgamations of many higher education institutions which provided courses for teachers. At that time, the tertiary education sector began what has become the most significant post-war re-arrangement of higher education Australia has witnessed. Course developments in 1984 were illustrative of the kinds of amalgamations which were taking place and attention was on "rationalization" of many courses within the college sector as it moved towards university designation.

Teacher Education in Australia: interesting programs

Teacher Education in Australia: interesting programs