Teacher Education Practices Research Articles

Connecting Theory and Practice in Teacher Education: Issues and Challenges

The study aims to explore the course teachers’ perceptions towards teaching practice. To meet the research objectives, interpretive paradigm was used adopting phenomenological research design based on qualitative research. The course teachers of teaching practice (Course No. Ed. 440) were its informants. They were selected purposively from Prithvi Narayan Campus, Pokhara, which is the largest constituent campus of Tribhuvan University. In-depth interviews were taken with six course teachers from different subjects to generate information. Though teaching practice is the core of teacher education program, it has some constrains. The course is designed to provide the hands-on experience to the prospective teachers through rigorous practice under the close supervision of course teachers, but the output is not found as expected and the program is also not free from criticism. The study revealed that the program was not achieving its objectives prescribed by the curriculum. It was just becoming teaching not training in reality. Lack of motivation and dedication of prospective teachers; similarly, devotion and integrity of supervisors, cooperation of cooperating schools, university’s policies, job opportunities in home country, unfair and flexible evaluation practices were explored as the main issues and challenges for its effective implementation and output. The findings of the study will be useful to the policymakers, professionals, prospective teachers and other stakeholders to reform the present phenomenon.

비판적 관점을 바탕으로 한 유아사회교육 교과목 수강 이후 사회교육에 대한 유아교사의 인식 변화

Objectives This study explores early childhood teachers’ perception shifts on social studies after taking a teacher education course called ‘social studies in early childhood’ designed from a critical perspective. Specifically, it attempts to identify effective teaching methods for transformative learning. The study utilizes critical theory and transformative learning theory as theoretical frameworks. Methods A survey consisting of seven open-ended questions was distributed to the teachers enrolled in class. Results The study found that the teachers have changed their perspectives in two ways. First, the teachers redefined the meaning of social studies and expanded their understanding of the subject. Second, they learned the importance of maintaining critical perspectives when perceiving the subject and society. Conclusions Based on the findings, the study stresses the importance of holding critical perspectives as teacher educators and suggests ways to incorporate their perspectives into instructional practices in teacher education.

It is a never-ending journey

The purpose of this study was to analyze the contribution of collaborative reflection to individual and collective processes of learning how to become a facilitator in Physical Education teacher education (PETE). Collaborative self-study of teacher education practices (S-STEP) was used as methodology. Participants were three teacher educators from Brazil, Turkey, and the USA. Group meetings, individuals’ memory work, field notes, and reflective journals were the data sources. Data were collaboratively analyzed by using constant comparative content analysis. Results were organized in two themes: (a) Challenges and opportunities to become facilitators; (b) Self-study: the rise of new insights; which represented their pathways to become facilitators in PETE programs. This self-study process challenged the understanding of the process of becoming a facilitator and demonstrated that this process is a never-ending journey in which teacher educators’ careers are continuously shaped and redefined.

A Critical Study on Pandemic Online Teaching Challenges and Its Impact on Teaching Learning Methods

The covid-19 pandemic has adversely affected the economy, business and human lifestyle, which proved to be very destructive in the decade years. Worldwide, many countries have implemented control measures like temporary suspension of schools, offices, and stores and social segregation between the countries. In this pandemic condition, most universities, schools and colleges started to implement digitalized learning processes globally. This study investigated the online teaching challenges and their impact on teaching-learning methods during the covid-19 pandemic. This research explored the various aspects and dimensions of online education teaching and learning practices which are prevalent in education sectors. The study is conclusive, and it provided specific suggestions, recommendations and conclusions for improving online TLP (teaching-learning practices) in higher education sectors. The primary data was collected from 100 teachers and 100 students in some selected colleges through a structured questionnaire. The secondary data was collected from various published sources like journals, magazines and articles from 2019 to till date. Further, the collected data has been processed in IBM SPSS software for statistical analysis and testing of the hypothesis; based on the analysis, the ANOVA, chi-square, standard deviation, mean, frequency distribution and graphs were plotted in the analysis part. Based on the analysis, the result of the study indicated that the majority of the respondents are adapted to online learning practices, and they motivate themselves to attend online classes during the pandemic period. The survey of the study indicated that there is a positive impact on students’ perception towards online learning systems and the adaption practices in the higher education sector. The quality of online learning depends upon the teaching pedagogy, innovative teaching methodology, collaborative learning and motivating students during the online learning process. The teaching faculties should motivate the students through their effective teaching method to engage the students in entire online classes. The teachers should appreciate and encourage the students during online learning to motivate and engage themselves in attending the classes. The teachers need to improve their teaching pedagogy during their online classes to engage and motivate the students during this pandemic period.

Online teaching and learning practices in teacher education after COVID-19: lessons learnt from the literature

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic forced higher education institutions and teacher education programmes to transition from face-to-face to remote teaching. In this new educational environment, universities and schools had to make changes to address emerging teaching and learning needs. This literature review study provides an overview of research on teaching and learning practices published after the outbreak of COVID-19 in the context of teacher education. It aims to examine their characteristics after the pandemic and analyse issues that have affected their development. Based on the inclusion criteria, 28 papers were considered in the analysis. Findings point to the social and collaborative dimension of teaching, the caring component and the adoption of a more democratic and inclusive approach to teaching and learning. Personal and contextual factors and the challenges encountered related to poor interaction and difficulties in assessing students’ performance are also identified. Implications for rethinking current online teaching and learning practices in the context of teacher education are discussed.

Integration of Computer Virtual Reality Technology to College Physical Education

The progress of the times has brought about a leap forward in people’s thinking. Under the rapid economic development environment, the physical field of young people has been unable to withstand the current teaching system, and many problems of poor physical fitness have emerged. In order to solve similar problems, to improve the physical quality of young people, it is bound to find a new teaching method different from the traditional physical education teaching in a special environment, The research on the integration of virtual reality technology and teaching has been rolling forward and never stopped in recent years. With the continuous upgrading of virtual reality technology, virtual reality devices that can be used have already joined the ranks of families. Let these virtual reality devices connect to the Internet through the WEB application settings, and then design according to different situations has become a reality. This research is an application development based on Web virtual reality technology, including network virtual reality technology, application modeling design and the use of Internet connection. With reference to this application, physical education teaching and classroom practice data, this research mainly introduces the current research situation of virtual reality technology and teaching, and establishes the model based on the integration of Web application design and virtual reality technology, Extract, including but not limited to the number of projects, activities and experiences, use the Internet of Things data upload and data processing technology to complete the data screening, obtain valuable data, and then use these data for the practical application value of virtual reality technology in physical education teaching. Complete the improvement. It is in line with the integration of modern virtual reality technology and physical education teaching to obtain data that can reflect the real situation, then conduct practical teaching, obtain reliable practical data, and evaluate teaching. It can be clearly seen from the research results that the combination of virtual reality technology and physical education teaching is of great significance to improve students’ interest in learning and enthusiasm for sports, but there are also some shortcomings, such as different teaching steps and goals will affect students’ enthusiasm for learning. Therefore, further improvement is needed to find a stable way to improve students’ enthusiasm for learning. The integration of virtual reality technology and physical education teaching is proposed.

Cultivating Critical Consciousness in Special Educators: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Latinx Teacher Candidates’ Critical Consciousness

ABSTRACT The majority of teacher preparation for culturally and linguistically diverse student populations has focused on the development of beliefs and attitudes of White general education teachers. This leaves much to be understood as to the development of belief systems of teachers with Latinx heritage and how they relate to their students with disabilities. This study applied theories of critical race theory and funds of knowledge to better understand how the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of our teacher candidates were key to fostering the development of their teacher identities. This resulted in the development of the Cultivating Critical Consciousness in Educators Framework (CCCE), a comprehensible framework for understanding the beliefs and practices essential for educators to practice critical consciousness. Findings demonstrate within group diversity of beliefs varying along a continuum of dysconscious to critical consciousness related to systemic racism, ableism, discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender expression, and sociolinguistic issues. Implications for teacher education practice and future research also are shared.

Reflective practice in second language teacher education: a scoping review

ABSTRACT The present scoping review aimed to systematically review the corpus of data sources including 92 published papers, which were identified and retrieved based on the study criteria. The papers were coded using categories which were operational definitions of reflection and reflective practice, unit of analysis, theoretical frameworks, levels of reflection, research methods, data collection instruments, and the complexity of second/foreign language (L2) teacher reflection. The results indicate that (a) current definitions of teacher reflection are general and descriptive, (b) the focus is heavily on in-service teaching contexts, (c) there is a growing interest in qualitative methodological approaches and a need for principled mixed methods research is greatly felt, (d), there is an overriding emphasis on reflection-on-action approaches, (e) and most of the studies portray reflection at descriptive and comparative levels, failing to encourage teachers at the critical level. The findings also suggest a need for applying and extending the benefits of reflection to different real-life contexts where teachers work, and a call for new research orientations to address the complex dynamics of teacher reflection. The implications of the study are discussed in detail.

Views of pre-service teachers on the research-based teacher education approach

In this study, the aim was to complete an investigation based on the views of pre-service teachers taking a scientific research methods course grounded on the critical features of the research-based teacher education approach. Within this scope, answers to the questions of “what are the views of pre-service teachers about (a) the outcomes provided by the research methods course, (b) the reasons for teachers to have research competencies, and (c) the professional function of scientific studies?” were sought. This research was designed with the basic qualitative research pattern. The researcher developed an interview form comprising open-ended questions to specify the views of pre-service teachers, which were the research target. To create the study group for the research, criterion sampling was chosen from the targeted sampling methods. The study was completed with 110 pre-service teachers attending the educational faculty of a state university in Turkey. A detailed analysis process was completed in four stages for the research data. Analyses were performed on statements reporting a total of 684 views. Pre-service teachers showed development in 25 subcategories classified into research competence, professional competence, and personal growth. Teachers’ need for research competency was justified based on the needs of contemporary teachers, the requirements due to the nature of the class, and ensuring the optimal conditions for effective teaching. Pre-service teachers’ views on the professional function of scientific studies were examined under five categories. These are reliable knowledge, real context, ideal practice, beyond experience, and distance from being guides. The research findings can be interpreted as the fact that teacher education practices which take the principles of the research-based teacher education approach into account have the potential to achieve the teacher qualifications targeted by this approach. Considering the potential of these qualifications to fulfill the complex and high-level expectations demanded from the teacher, it is recommended that studies be conducted on how the principles of research-based teacher education can be integrated into existing teacher education programs.
 Received: 17 September 2021Accepted: 20 September 2022

Core Practices for Preservice Teachers in Health Education Teacher Education

This article discusses core teaching practices for health education by defining, unpacking, and describing the use of core practices in teacher education. Core practices offer health teacher-educators and health educators a set of teaching practices that can be introduced during professional preparation and then refined and mastered as health educators begin and continue their careers. Implementing core practices in health education allows teacher education programs to specifically define what they teach and to determine standards of competence for their graduates.

Innovative Practices in Teacher Education

Innovative Practices in Teacher Education

‘Yes, but you were born in France’: Practiced language policies with culturally and linguistically diverse students in an elementary classroom in France

This case study investigated the practiced language policies of a French elementary school educator, Catherine, as she implemented the French National Cycle of instruction for the early elementary grades with a culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) class of students. The findings revealed that macro-level policies—such as curriculum and teaching practices perpetuated monolingual ideologies and an overall republican goal of integration—limited Catherine’s practices in her work with CLD students. The study highlights the critical need for continuing reform in practices in teacher education and development in France, as well as in the ways that CLD students are served in French public schools.

Representational scaffolding in digital simulations – learning professional practices in higher education

PurposeTo advance the learning of professional practices in teacher education and medical education, this conceptual paper aims to introduce the idea of representational scaffolding for digital simulations in higher education.Design/methodology/approachThis study outlines the ideas of core practices in two important fields of higher education, namely, teacher and medical education. To facilitate future professionals’ learning of relevant practices, using digital simulations for the approximation of practice offers multiple options for selecting and adjusting representations of practice situations. Adjusting the demands of the learning task in simulations by selecting and modifying representations of practice to match relevant learner characteristics can be characterized as representational scaffolding. Building on research on problem-solving and scientific reasoning, this article identifies leverage points for employing representational scaffolding.FindingsThe four suggested sets of representational scaffolds that target relevant features of practice situations in simulations are: informational complexity, typicality, required agency and situation dynamics. Representational scaffolds might be implemented in a strategy for approximating practice that involves the media design, sequencing and adaptation of representational scaffolding.Originality/valueThe outlined conceptualization of representational scaffolding can systematize the design and adaptation of digital simulations in higher education and might contribute to the advancement of future professionals’ learning to further engage in professional practices. This conceptual paper offers a necessary foundation and terminology for approaching related future research.

Relationships between teacher education mechanisms and teacher practices, self-efficacy, and job satisfaction in the U.S.: An analysis of TALIS 2018

This study (N = 1175) examined relationships between mechanisms of teacher education and lower-secondary teacher practices, self-efficacy, and job satisfaction in the U.S. Through secondary analysis of Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018 data, we investigated relations between these important constructs and various formal and informal pre-service and in-service teacher learning activities (e.g., types of professional development, induction, mentoring, teacher cooperation). Multi-level regression analyses adjusted for the TALIS sampling design—and controlling for an array of teacher and school characteristics—revealed evidence for the potential value of a variety of teacher-education mechanisms. For instance, we found evidence for the potential benefit of teacher cooperation, particular pre-service teacher education foci, and specific in-service teacher education activities. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Apropriação do conceito de desenvolvimento sustentável por professores de uma escola normal

[Introduction] Sustainable development is still a difficult concept to articulate in the pedagogical practice of teachers. [Objective] Integrate the concept of sustainable development in the curriculum at the Escuela Normal Superior Santa Ana by the teaching group of natural sciences and environmental education through the space-context strategy. [Methodology] The critical-reflexive paradigm was assumed with a qualitative methodological approach, and action research as a methodological design, where the products of the teaching work were inputs for the evaluation of the intervention. The data collection techniques were the interviews, the documentary review specifically of the Institutional Educational Project, the School Environmental Project and the curricular proposal of the science area and as an instrument a questionnaire validated by 5 experts. The interpretation and analysis of the data were carried out through a triple entry table in the light of the referents and the theories. [Results] The concept of sustainable development was strengthened in the teaching group, subsequently, a proposal was developed aimed at making adjustments to the plan of the area of natural sciences and environmental education, and incorporating the Place Base Education approach into the curricula, the competences and the goals of sustainable development. [Conclusions] The intervention proposal managed to raise awareness among the teaching staff of redesigning the curriculum in order to assertively articulate the concept of sustainable development.

Margaret Thatcher’s UK School Reforms - Aims, Impact, and Legacy

Rarely have changes to state funded school education in the United Kingdom (UK) been as significant or lasting as during the 1970 - 1990 period, under the direction of Education Secretary, and then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. This article will establish Thatcher’s place in the timeline of UK state funded education, before discussing the major changes to educational policy and teaching practice during the Thatcher premiership, including the complex socio-economic, cultural, and political context of these changes. Of particular interest is the 1988 Education Act, and the legacy this has had on UK schools and education.

Understanding SEL to Create a Sense of Belonging: The Role Teachers Play in Addressing Students’ Social and Emotional Well-Being

This inquiry examines the benefits of utilizing social-emotional learning in today’s classrooms to address students’ academic and social-emotional needs. Now, more than ever, as teachers have transitioned from remote instruction to face-to-face or blended learning, particular emphasis must be placed on addressing students’ social and emotional needs (Fagell, 2021) while addressing learning loss. Social-emotional learning (SEL) may have been in place in school systems before the COVID-19 pandemic; however, understanding SEL and the instructional practices that contribute to developing a learning environment that nourishes students’ sense of belonging is necessary to inform teacher pedagogical practices post-pandemic. Teachers play a critical role in establishing a learning environment suitable for nurturing students’ sense of belonging (Jennings & Greenberg, 2009). As teachers attempt to provide a sense of normalcy in the classroom, they must skillfully balance designing instruction, creating an inviting classroom community, and helping students “feel” safe and supported.

Effective writing pedagogy in Aotearoa New Zealand’s bicultural context: a review of literature

ABSTRACT Reported trends signal that current approaches to teaching writing are not working as well as they could to engage all students. This review of literature focuses on a culturally responsive ethos for the teaching of writing in Aotearoa New Zealand, incorporating information from over 80 publications from 2000 to 2020. The new understandings generated through this analysis are presented in three sections guided by Indigenous Māori concepts: whakapapa, manaakitanga, whanaungatanga. This review indicates all writing practitioners should teach in ways that honour identity, language, and culture as foundational strengths from which to build in the teaching and learning of writing. Finally, some directions for teacher education and classroom practices are proposed.

Examining Physical Education Teaching Practices During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Purpose/Method: This qualitative case study examined through an interpretive worldview how current high school (HS) physical education (PE) teachers (n=14) implemented online experiences that could have influenced students’ interpretations of their vicarious experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic (spring/fall of 2020). The study sought to better understand teachers’ perceptions of how social modeling of PA was implemented online, how online PA experiences impacted opportunities for social comparison among the students, and what teachers’ opinions of these practices were in relation to supporting students’ PA self-efficacy. Results: The results found that the study participants differed in their opinions on the most effective ways to provide students with PA demonstrations and implement students' PA experiences during online instruction. Many of the teachers relied more on online videos to demonstrate PA, resulting in a decrease in teachers personally modeling PA themselves (theme 1). Due to the stress of the pandemic on students’ well-being, teachers and their school districts prioritized students’ social and emotional health which influenced how teachers had students participate in PA online (theme 2). This resulted in fewer PA experiences with students participating in front of each other and none of the teachers requiring students to model PA for peers online. Conclusion: This study serves as a starting point to better understand how teachers implemented online instructional practices that could have influenced students’ interpretations of their vicarious experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic. The information collected in this study can be used by current PE teachers to design future online practices.

Analysing students’ experience of bodily learning – an autoethnographic study of the challenges and opportunities in researching bodily learning in own teaching practice1

This article explores the challenges and opportunities in trying to capture students’ experience of bodily learning based on own teaching practice in teacher education. Applying a sensory autoethnographic approach, I study my bodily and emotional experience during the analytical process investigating my students’ experience of bodily learning as part of their education in becoming teachers of physical education. I ask the following research questions: What was my bodily and emotional perception of analysing the students’ experience of bodily learning? How can these bodily and emotional experiences illuminate the challenges and opportunities in researching students’ experience of bodily learning in own teaching practice? In analysing the reflection notes through the concepts of embodied affectivity, embodied interaffectivity and body memory, this study shows that analysing students’ experience of bodily learning from own teaching practice illuminates various dilemmas. First, my body memories of being in the same situation the students referred to, reactivated my memories of being the teacher educator in the same situation. Second, conducting a thematic analysis excluded dimensions of the students’ experience of bodily learning. Third, a shared emotional approach enabled me to capture the students’ experience of bodily learning in my own teaching practice.