Education Teacher Preparation Research Articles

Studies in Mathematics Education: Curriculum Analysis from Indigenous Knowledge and Gender Perspective

This paper aims to analyze the curriculum of the course ‘Studies in Mathematics Education (Math Ed. 539)’ from indigenous and gender perspectives. For, the curriculum of that course, particularly objectives, contents, textbooks, teaching/learning methods and evaluation are visualized and analyzed. The experiences and insights of two teachers of that course were included and analyzed concerning to IK and gender perspectives, by taking in-depth interviews with the help of semi-structured interview guidelines. The result shows that there are sufficient space and provision of incorporate IK in the curriculum and teachers are trying to implement this course as much as possible from the cultural perspective of mathematics education. The curriculum displays gender friendly and neutral aspects in terms of gender and teachers are using gender friendly methodology while implementing the course. However, the evaluation system is not more flexible as expected by female teacher. Thus, the inclusion of IK with particular local knowledge and making gender friendly curriculum is necessary for the courses of teacher preparation in mathematics education.

Modeling Conspicuous Collaboration for Preservice Teacher Candidates Enrolled in Higher Education Courses

Preservice and inservice teachers in higher education should have the opportunity to observe conspicuous collaboration in action. When collaborative efforts are overt and used as teachable moments, the possibilities are clearer and the results more impactful for all participants. In this program description, the authors share benefits, challenges, structures, and implementation techniques for modeling conspicuous collaboration in higher education teacher preparation. In order to provide models of conspicuous collaboration, the authors participated in a project to co-teach aspects of general and special education teacher preparation courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The instructors examined their own courses, analyzing the content for each class to design class activities and assignments that could successfully be accomplished by working together and completing meaningful learning activities in multiple ways. Each faculty member delivered their assigned course, adding special collaborative learning activities and assignments that allowed students to have interactive and collaborative experiences while seeing the impact of collaboration of the instructors. Opportunities to demonstrate collaboration became apparent to the authors as students questioned repeatedly how rural K-12 teachers work to best meet the needs of their students. Preservice and inservice teachers in higher education should have the opportunity to observe conspicuous collaboration in action. When collaborative efforts are overt and used as teachable moments, the possibilities are clearer and the results more impactful for all participants. In this program description, we share benefits, challenges, structures, and implementation techniques for modeling conspicuous collaboration in higher education teacher preparation. To provide models of conspicuous collaboration, we collaborated in a project to co-teach general and special education teacher preparation courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. We examined our own courses to design class activities and assignments that could be successfully co-taught. Each of us delivered our individual course, adding special collaborative learning activities and assignments that allowed students to experience interactive, collaborative learning while observing the purposeful collaboration of their instructors. Both of us—together with our preservice and inservice teachers—realized that optimal collaboration included clarifying roles and responsibilities, displaying respect toward the collaborative partner, holding one another accountable, setting aside time for planning and debriefing, and considering ways to combine classroom assignments and learning activities that met the requirements of both courses.

Reframing the policy discourse: A comparative analysis of teacher preparation for rural and remote education in Australia, South Africa and Mexico

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has highlighted a ‘vicious cycle of decline’ in rural, regional and remote (RRR) regions, with significant inequalities in educational outcomes between rural and urban areas. However, interventions have not resulted in transformative or lasting improvements to education in rural contexts. This paper presents a cross-comparative country analysis of current global policy on RRR education. We used a policy analysis framework to interrogate national policy texts concerning teacher education for RRR contexts in three countries - Australia, South Africa and Mexico. A rigorous selection process of the literature yielded 17 key policy texts, which were examined for the influences, practices, language and outcomes relating to teacher education preparation for RRR locales. Findings highlighted a legacy of historical influences and a metrocentric bias in policy texts, with limited examples of assets-based education. We argue that these factors may be perpetuating the significant and persistent disadvantage in RRR education. We recommend an alternative policy discourse that recognises the productivities and potentialities of an assets-based approach within the local context, where school leaders and teachers are positioned as central change agents in RRR education.

Faculty Co-Teaching with Their Teacher Candidates in the Field: Co-Planning, Co-Instructing, and Co-Reflecting for STEM Education Teacher Preparation

Co-teaching is a fieldwork model in teacher education used to describe the shared responsibility of educators engaging in the process of planning, teaching, and reflecting to support student learning. While research often describes this model between teacher candidates and mentor teachers, this research examined co-teaching between university faculty and teacher candidates. The research questions included: (1) How do teacher candidates experience and perceive a co-teaching model with their faculty? and (2) What elements of teacher candidates’ experiences during co-teaching reflect the cognitive apprenticeship model of learning? Through this study it was identified that teacher candidates co-teaching with their faculty led to strengthened understanding of integrated STEM education, particularly in STEM content and PCK. Making thinking visible using cognitive apprenticeship through co-teaching led to teacher candidates developing an understanding of STEM education in their personal teaching practice and building their capacity to become confident and resourceful STEM educators.

Reimagining an elementary teacher education preparation program: Striving for integrated teaching

Despite elementary teacher education programs preparing preservice teachers in the main content areas of literacy, math, science, and social studies, few elementary school classrooms teach all four content areas on a regular and thorough basis. Therefore, elementary education teacher preparation programs should be redesigned to support an integrated teaching model of all four content areas in order to better prepare preservice teachers (PST) to serve elementary students. The main research question for this study was "How does a collaborative and integrated elementary education program impact PSTs’ knowledge and understanding of an integrated K-6 elementary classroom?" The sample included 12 preservice education students at a Midwest, private liberal arts university. The study occurred over three semesters in a newly developed integrated elementary education program. Data tools collected included: field experience lesson plans, preservice classroom observations, a survey of experiences, video-recorded lessons, and the edTPA. When looking at the different types of integration, the most common was interdisciplinary teaching where one content area supported the work of another. The lack of integration may be due to limited or no tools available to support preservice teachers to teach in this fashion. To answer the research question, it was found that the PSTs graduated from the preservice program and entered their own classrooms with a vague understanding of integrated teaching. Although our program was integrated in the delivery of content and field experience, the transparency was not revealed to the PSTs during their methods classes and field work.

The development of the Arabic language curricula in public education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: تطور مناهج اللغة العربية في التعليم العام بالمملكة العربية السعودية

The study aimed to identify the developments that took place in the Arabic language curricula in public education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which are the development of curriculum objectives, evaluation of Arabic language curricula, methods and techniques of education, strategies for teaching education and teacher preparation in general education. I took the historical approach as a research method, and I used the documents to discover the development of the Arabic language curricula. I explained the stages of development. They were presented in the form of simplified and clear tables, and I made some recommendations and proposals in the current study. Finally, I came to identify the developments that took place in the Arabic language curriculum in public education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Component of Teacher Preparation in Special Needs Education in Cross River State

The component of teacher preparation in special needs education in Cross River State is what this paper is all about. This paper discussed the competencies required by special needs education teachers in the classroom and interdisciplinary collaborations the paper also discussed that special teacher education refers to the policies, procedures, and provisions designed to equip prospective teachers and teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and skills they requires to perform. advancement in technology and specific needs of individual with disabilities, special needs education teachers can be training through; online programme and professional certificate programme. The paper concludes that teachers have to be considered as the major stakeholders in the implementation.

Cross-Institutional, Interdepartmental UDL Infusion in Elementary Education Teacher Preparation Curriculum

The following describes a journey of collaboration across disciplines to support Universal Design for Learning (UDL) curriculum and assessment enhancements in an Elementary Education teacher preparation program within a college of education (COE). As a collaborative partner with a public university in Florida, a public state college in Florida completed a review and enhancement of the Elementary Education teacher preparation curriculum using The Roadmap for Educator Preparation Reform to create an overt and measured use of the Universal Design for Learning framework. This project was supported through a grant from the Florida Department of Education FLDOE 171-5015A-8CC01.

The Special Education Teacher Pipeline: Teacher Preparation, Workforce Entry, and Retention

We used data on the student teaching placements, degrees, teaching credentials, and workforce outcomes of more than 1,300 graduates of special education teacher education programs in Washington to provide a descriptive portrait of specific measures of special education teacher preparation and their relationships with workforce entry and early-career retention. Although rates of workforce entry and retention for these special education candidates were high, we documented considerably lower rates of entry into and retention in special education teaching positions for candidates who hold a dual endorsement in special education and another subject. These patterns have potential implications for the state’s new dual-endorsement requirement and for dual-licensure programs more broadly. Student teaching with a cooperating teacher who is endorsed in special education was also associated with a higher likelihood of becoming a special education teacher, even when controlling for whether the placement was in a special or general education setting.

Opinions of the Teaching Staff at Taibah University About Islamic Education Teacher Preparation Programs in the Light of the Requirements of Intellectual Security

The current study aims to explore the realm of preparing Islamic education teachers in the light of the intellectual security requirements from the point of view of teaching staff at Taibah University. The researcher used the descriptive approach and designed a questionnaire to review the opinions that consisted of two main topics. The first topic is the intellectual security requirements for the academic preparation program (the Specialist Academic Aspect – the Cultural Aspect – the Educational Aspect “Professional”) to encounter radicalism and terrorism. The second topic is the proposed concept to encounter the obstacles to fulfill intellectual security requirements in the preparation colleges programs. Each main topic is subdivided into a set of clauses (42 clauses) for the two topics. The study sample consists of (83) teaching staff members at the preparation colleges. The study has been applied to the study sample during the first semester of the academic year 1439 – 1440 A.H. The study findings show the following: 
 
 
 The first topic achieved (78.55%) of the opinions of the study sample members about the preparation program of the Islamic Education teachers in the light of the intellectual security requirements for encountering radicalism and terrorism.
 The second topic achieved (93%) of the opinions of the study sample members about the proposed concept to overcome the obstacles to meet intellectual security requirements in the preparation programs.
 There are no differences of the statistical significance level (50. = ∞) among the study sample members toward the questionnaire according to the faculty type for the first topic and the tool in general. 
 There are no differences of the statistical significance level (50. = ∞) among the study sample members toward the questionnaire according to the faculty type for the second topic and the tool in general. 

Transition services for high school students with intellectual disability in Saudi Arabia: issues and recommendations

In 2005, Saudi high schools began providing transition services for students with intellectual disability. However, recent studies have found that these services need improvement. Therefore, this study explored current transition services to help identify challenges that weaken these services and to recommend improvements for them. Eleven teachers of students with intellectual disability were interviewed, and data were analyzed qualitatively. Study findings concluded that four main issues must be addressed to advance Saudi transition services: (1) special education teacher preparation programs, (2) transition services’ policies and regulations, (3) Individualized Transition Plans, and (4) collaborative practices.

Teachers’ beliefs in providing education to indigenous learners: meaning, context and purpose

This study determined the beliefs of teachers teaching Bagobo- Tagabawa learners in five remote secondary schools in Davao del Sur. It sought to understand beliefs as well as the factors that shaped these beliefs. Sentiment analysis was also done to further understand the nature of these beliefs. Using convergent parallel mixed method, the researcher conducted a survey to 48 teachers, 3 sets of focus group discussions and 14 in-depth interviews. Results indicated that the teachers held both learner- centered and non- learner centered beliefs about learners and learning and teaching. They also portrayed roles in the classroom as educator, counsellor, controller, resource provider, second parents and learners. Cultural context, institutional context, self- awareness, self- reflection and personal beliefs, prior experiences, teacher education preparation and learners’ needs, interest and performance were the factors that shaped teachers’ beliefs. Teachers and IP learners conveyed the following sentiments: angry, anticipation, disgust, fear, joy, sadness surprise and trust during the interviews.

Innovative learning environments in New Zealand: Student teachers’ perceptions

Innovations in schooling and the architectural design of schools offer the opportunity to re-examine existing pedagogical practices. Graduating teachers need to be ready to teach and conversant with changing school environments and approaches to school organisation. However, there is a dearth of research that explores the student teachers’ perceptions of their experiences on practicum in innovative learning environments (ILEs). This article discusses the perceptions of over 100 student teachers undertaking primary teaching qualifications in New Zealand. An online questionnaire asked for responses to a range of statements about innovative learning environments (ILEs) and teacher education preparation for this type of school environment. Analysis of the findings indicated a wide range of experiences on professional practices, with more experience of ILEs generally leading to more positive perceptions of these environments. Student teachers perceived that more course-based preparation about ILEs was needed, though others perceived that the best way to learn about ILEs was during professional practice placements.

State of the art: a forty-year reflection on the Spanish language preparation of Spanish-English bilingual-dual language teachers in the U.S.

ABSTRACT This state-of-the-art paper is centered on bilingual education teachers’ linguistic qualifications with special reference to Spanish competencies needed to meet the needs of emergent bilingual education learners in the U.S. The paper spans over a forty-year period drawing on the experiences and related publications of the principal author beginning in the mid 1980s and up to the present. In doing so, key themes, questions and challenges related to the special issue are highlighted based on the series of publications from 1993 to 2020. Insights into the ways language ideologies and politics of bilingual education teacher preparation entities undermine this need are addressed. Drawing on language education policy planning, the author then offers three paths forward given that not much progress has been made since the inception of bilingual education in the U.S. with regard to the preparation of linguistically qualified bilingual education teachers with specific reference to their Spanish competency.

Revealing Whiteness in Preservice Music Teacher Preparation

Educational institutions and teacher education preparation programs tend to reflect White Eurocentric beliefs and values. Additionally, White preservice teachers may have little understanding of their own cultural backgrounds, as they are largely unexamined in a structure of White norms. In this paper, I draw upon elements of critical whiteness studies as a framework to further analyze data from a prior, larger study about an immersion field experience to reveal the ways in which whiteness was largely unacknowledged but always lurking in the background of the experience—in participants’ discourses about their experiences and interactions with students of color in the music classrooms. This deepened understanding of whiteness embedded in the experience was imperative for considering how to better facilitate field experiences for White preservice music teachers and how to better prepare them to work successfully with students of color.

Pre-Service Teacher Experiences during COVID 19: Exploring the Uncertainties between Clinical Practice and Distance Learning

Teacher preparation programs assist candidates with the pedagogical, theoretical, and practical application of teaching and learning. This article explored the dialog between a state education agency and teacher preparation programs’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The author presents a research study of current teacher performance expectations (TPEs), online readiness, and the design of distance learning in pre-service teacher clinical practice. The participants are 10 current pre-service teachers. The researcher collected data from fieldwork supervisors, observations, and survey results from participants. Kolb’s experiential theory was used in the analysis of co-requisite policy and observations of field experiences of students in a teacher education program. The article analyzed data that suggested that in-person observations and opportunities to practice classroom instruction contribute to teacher readiness and relationship building in comparison to online learning. Furthermore, states will have to re-assess their teacher certification requirements, quality control efforts, and mandatory exams since COVID-19, which may lead to the reauthorization of the pre-service guidelines. Program learning outcomes and critical assignments that allow candidates to demonstrate content knowledge and instructional delivery are being compromised. The finding were that pre-service candidates did not have the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of specific teacher performance expectations within the distance learning format. This article aims to encourage further research teacher education and distance learning to discuss potential alternatives to certification and creative ways to embed flexibility into teacher preparation. Substantial changes can lower the quality of a program and significantly decrease effectiveness while increasing data misrepresentation. Distance learning can potentially limit quality supervision and teacher mentoring. In addition, pre-service teachers will enter classrooms with substantially fewer clinical practice hours.

Is Self-Efficacy a Key Factor for Effective Teacher Educators?

Globally, there is an overwhelming concern over the quality and relevance of education. Education being the social system of society, plays a key role in reforming and reconstructing the society from time to time. Teacher Education Programme plays an important role in shaping and moulding the habits, manners and above all, the character of pupil-teachers to become effective teachers. Teacher educators have the responsibility to prepare teachers having all these qualities. So, there is a need of special education and training for the preparation of such teacher educators. An important factor which can determine professional effectiveness of teacher educators is self-efficacy. It means teacher educators must also have some sense of belief that they can make a difference to the lives of children they are teaching and that those children are learning. In this context the study started with the question, is there any difference in professional effectiveness of teacher educators with reference to occupational self-efficacy? For this, a sample of 300 teacher educators from government and private institutions were identified. Professional Effectiveness Scale prepared by the researcher and Occupational Self- Efficacy Scale (OSES) developed by Pethe, Chaudhari and Dhar were used as tools in this study. F-test was used to examine whether the difference found in mean scores is significant or not. Significant differences in professional effectiveness were found between the teacher educators having average and low occupational self-efficacy and the teacher educators having high and low job value at 0.01 level of significance. However, no significant difference in professional effectiveness was found between the teacher educators having high and average occupational selfefficacy .

Emotional Dimensions of Teaching in Elementary Education Preparation

Student teaching is a pivotal event in teacher education preparation programs, and there is a need to investigate emotions in teaching. This study examined how one elementary program navigated the emotional dimensions of teaching. Findings revealed that the emotional dimensions of student teachers were influenced by individualized factors unique to the teacher; certain emotions were perceived as more acceptable to express; and supervisors needed to support student teachers to manage and respond to the emotional dimensions of teaching. The recommendation is to go beyond the technical and academic aspects of teaching and address the emotional dimensions to best prepare the whole teacher.

TOLERANCE EDUCATION AS THE CONDITION OF PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS` PROFESSIONAL TRAINING: THE FRAMEWORK OF MODERN APPROACHES

Today, the issue of tolerance in society is extremely important for all countries of the world, and in particular for China. For some countries, its relevance is related to religious aspects, for others – to socio-ethnic, linguistic and other ones. China defines tolerance as an urgent need of modern Chinese society not only through internal processes, but also because of the intensification on the strategy “One Belt – One Road”.Scientists consider the preparation of future teachers for tolerance education as a process aimed at obtaining a complex of pedagogical, psychological, methodological and special knowledge necessary for the implementation of educational work in theindicated direction of education. These processes are to begin from the very first days of a child’s stay in primary school, therefore, special attention in the PR China is paid topreparing teachers of primary school and preschool institutions of all forms of ownership and organization for the education of tolerance.

Preparation of Teachers for Ecological Education of Preschoolers Taking Into Account the Natural and Sociocultural Environment of the Kindergarten

A teacher is a key figure in ecological education of preschoolers for their safe and happy future life. Intensiveness of preschooler’s development, dependence of his life from grown-ups, direction of development to future life requires to raise social ecological responsibility of teachers before the future generation. The purpose of the article is to show the specific character of teachers’ training as the organizational and pedagogical condition of ecological education of preschoolers in the conditions of natural and sociocultural environment of a kindergarten. Analysis of theoretical sources and teaching practice allows you to identify the most valuable content lines and technological mechanisms of professional training of preschool students and practicing teachers for environmental education of children. The research methods are the analysis of the theory and practice of environmental education of preschoolers, professional training of teachers, generalization, and correlation of the analysis results with the goals of sustainable development, comparison, systematization, questioning of teachers of preschool educational organizations. Achieving the goals of sustainable development of society makes it necessary to focus the content and technologies of organizing environmental education for children on the knowledge of the consistency of the structure and functioning of the natural and sociocultural world, the allocation of ecosystems of different levels in it. In this case, the semantic needs of the future will be reflected in the pedagogical design of the present. Determination of the system-forming role of environmental education will optimize professional training and comprehend the unity of natural science and humanitarian knowledge. Strengthening the personal orientation of education by taking into account the level of training, individual interests, preferred styles of information processing, increases cognitive activity and creative self-realization of each student. The use of project activities and interactive forms and methods of designing environmental education for children create conditions for improving the professional qualities of teachers, increase the value of training. Thus, the directed specificity of the content of vocational education of kindergarten teachers from the perspective of the future increases their social and environmental responsibility to future generations and the effectiveness of the results of environmental education of preschoolers in the process of professional implementation. Keywords: professional training, ecological education of preschoolers, natural and sociocultural environment, system-forming role of ecological education, social ecological responsibility