University Teacher Education Research Articles

Dialogical experiences in, for, and from technologically mediated contexts in teacher education

This work proposes an analysis of pedagogical experiences developed in the context of university teacher education in dialogue with two different chronotopes: habitual face-to-face teaching modality and exceptional non-face-to-face teaching modality due to the COVID lockdown. We consider here two cases of Language and Literature teacher education courses in two universities in Argentina. Both experiences share the search for an equitable, dialogical interaction, in which there is a recovery of the students’ opinions and criteria for the progressive and collaborative elaboration of knowledge. From a qualitative perspective, we resorted to autoethnographic narratives elaborated by the responsible teaching teams of the courses. In the approach we propose, there is a dialogue among different elements of our inquiry: a dialogue between the conceptions that we assume as teachers and researchers about teaching in face-to-face and virtual environments; a dialogue between the conceptualizations and concrete teaching-decisions; between the contexts of performance and the possibilities offered by virtuality; between the pedagogical experiences and the narratives; between the records and other materials that allow us to reconstitute these experiences; and between our voices and the voices of students and graduates who give us back evaluations and sustain the continuity of the dialogue. The analysis accounts for the definition of different chronotopes in the experiences and moments addressed. In both cases, the differences observed respond to contextual factors, particularities of the courses and the previous experiences that the teaching teams have had with ICT. Beyond the above-mentioned differences, for the exceptional non-face-to-face proposals, a greater stability in the proposed sequences and in the dynamics involved is observed in the two experiences, which seeks to generate greater predictability.

KHÁM PHÁ CÁC YẾU TỐ ẢNH HƯỞNG ĐẾN QUẢN LÍ HOẠT ĐỘNG BỒI DƯỠNG NĂNG LỰC NGHỀ NGHIỆP GIẢNG VIÊN SƯ PHẠM TẠI CÁC TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC SƯ PHẠM VIỆT NAM

This article presents results of interviews with 38 managers, officers and teacher educators at two teacher education universities in Vietnam about factors affecting management of teacher educators’ professional development activities. The new point of the study is an analysis of internal and external factors that affect managing professional development activities of the teacher educators through different voices of managers and teacher educators in teacher education universities in Vietnam. The results of the study can contribute to the proposal of professional development policies for the teacher educators in the context of reforming the general education program.

Employability of technology and livelihood education graduates

<span lang="EN-US">This paper examines the job-seeking experiences of the 2019 Bachelor of Technology and Livelihood Education (BTLE) graduates from a teacher education university. Identifying these graduates’ employability is vital to the field of educational research, particularly in determining the impact of a higher education institution’s BTLE program. Employing quantitative research design through a survey of 50 graduates, this research revealed that great majority of them have been employed, with majority securing education-related jobs within a year after graduation, while some having chosen careers unrelated to their pre-service education. Strategies for job search and reasons for job offer acceptance vary from traditional, economic concerns, to complexities of work opportunities and requirements. They have also reported that the pre-service courseworks they undertaken have, to a great extent, relevance to the improvement of their skills in problem-solving, communication, critical thinking, human relations, knowledge/technical, leadership, research, and information technology thus making it aligned with current employment and/or self-employment demands. Apart from presenting the reasons of their employment acceptance and post-college education undertakings, this paper also outlines the challenges in securing employment. Thus, such issues forwarded by the paper, arising from academic training vis-à-vis actual industry works, are strong points for pre-service BTLE program enhancements.</span>

Implementation of Open and Distance Learning Programmes in Primary Teacher Education in Zimbabwe

The Department of Teacher Education (DTE), through its affiliate teacher training colleges has mandated the roll out of open and distance learning mode in its programmes. This preferred critical path is intended to assist trainees with the needed mental, emotional and material support during their period of Teaching Practice. This case study examined the implementation of Open Distance Learning (ODL) in a primary teacher education college in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe. Mixed methods research approach was used in this study in which case study and survey techniques were employed to understand the way in which quality is assured in the provision of student support. The study used a random sample of 80 student teachers and 30 lecturers to obtain information for analysis and interpretation. 5 heads of departments were selected purposively to contribute to the study. The findings of the study were that most student teachers are deployed to rural-based schools with low access to the internet, making fruitful study a challenge. It was also established that the modules supplied to student teachers when going out to schools are of academic importance although their quality and selective coverage of the curriculum hamper intended academic growth. The study recommended that sensitisation programmes be instituted to change the mind-sets of people towards positive use of technology for quality Open and Distance education delivery.

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ENGLISH LEARNING BASED ON MODEL OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE (ICC) FOR IMPROVING STUDENTS’ COMMUNICATION INDEPENDENCE

The purpose of this research is to determine the implementation of English learning based on the intercultural communicative competence (ICC) model to increase student independence in communication. Students can develop their talents, interests, knowledge, attitudes, awareness, behaviour, and skills when talking with people from different cultures (foreigners). The method approach in this research is qualitative-grounded theory using the techniques and data analysis of Miles and Huberman (1994), namely data collection, data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification. The number of participants in this research consisted of eleven participants in the fourth semester and eleven participants in the sixth semester, so total participants were twenty-two participants in this research, this sample was taken randomly. The results of this study show that students could not implement five dimensions, namely skills: interaction (11), knowledge: social (5), awareness: practice (5), attitude: 4 and behaviour: 3. Conclusion of this research, the students of the English Education Department, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education University of Muhammadiyah Mataram implemented three main dimensions encompasses skills: The ability to interact, knowledge: social knowledge, and awareness: awareness to do the practice.

Examining the socialization of new faculty members through the cultural lens

The study explores new faculty socialization in Vietnam. At the same time, it seeks to understand the organizational culture of institutions of higher learning in Vietnam, particularly teacher education universities, through the dimension of socialization. An illustrative case study is used as it helps to focus on understanding a phenomenon in a given context-new faculty socialization in a Vietnamese university-especially when this phenomenon is as complex as the organizational culture whose parts socialization partially represents. The study also introduces the application of the three-level theory introduced by Schein to investigate matters regarding socialization, considered a dimension of organizational culture. The research showed that socialization mainly depends on the departments, as well as the learning history, skills, and proactivity of the faculty members. The institution has few strategies and activities to help new academics integrate into the work environment. From the organizational-culture perspective, there are various factors that influence the socialization process and are considered fundamental including norms for teacher trainers and hierarchical culture within the university.

Narrating Stories about Research Units in Israeli Teacher Education Colleges

ABSTRACT The main purpose of this paper was to follow the development of research units in Israeli colleges of education: To learn about the challenges they faced, their contribution to individual teacher educators as well as to teacher education colleges’ research capacity. The study is autoethnographic. Thirteen veteran research unit members authored 46 stories narrating significant experiences they had. Six themes were identified in the stories: Nurturing individual research capacity, developing the college’s research culture, human and power relations, ethics, resources and units’ development over time. The themes are aligned with three preconditions for research capacity building: expertise, motivation and opportunities, and involve both the individual (micro-level) and institutional (meso-level) contexts. The autoethnographic genre enabled us to link individuals’ actions and teacher education colleges. The study shows that although research units were effective in enhancing research capacity, their actions also had unintended consequences, and suggests ways to counteract them.

STEAM conceptions, competencies and attitudes in higher education: a pilot study

The rapid development of the STEAM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) has allowed education based on this approach to be considered as a key and essential component for 21st century education, where students are required to have a range of science and technology skills, skills and knowledge, in addition to providing them with a range of tools to cope with the various situations that arise, many of them complex and challenging; the objective of this paper is to show the preliminary results of a pilot study that was carried out to validate two instruments that were designed in order to evaluate the competences and attitudes in STEAM education of students and university teachers. To meet this objective, four stages were implemented that included the following moments: Phase 1. Estimation of the distribution of data, Phase 2. Pilot study, Phase 3. Estimation of reliability and internal consistency. Phase 4. Preliminary results. The main results show favorable indicators in understanding, relevance and satisfaction of the items and an adequate internal consistency around the values of reliability and validity.

Preparing Australian Special Educators: Courses and Content

The characteristics and content of post-graduate courses in special and/or inclusive teacher education in Australian universities were examined using publicly available material on university websites. Content analysis was guided by a set of content area elements covering desirable skills and knowledge for special educators that were identified in the Australian literature. The presence or absence of these content elements in each course and in core or elective units was coded for 28 courses from 21 universities. All or most courses covered generic content such as teaching strategies and evaluating and using research. However, more specialist content, such as explicit teaching strategies and instruction in literacy and numeracy, was absent from over half the courses. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of the limitations necessarily imposed by the inclusion of only publicly available online information.

THE ONLINE STUDY OF LITERATURE IN ISRAELI TEACHER-EDUCATION COLLEGES: FRAMEWORK AND GUIDELINES

Studying literature online has become common in teacher-education colleges since the increase of online learning in the higher education arena. The aim of this study was to identify the primary components of online literature lessons as perceived by preservice teachers (PSTs). Using a qualitative, multiple case study approach, data from a heterogeneous population of 90 PSTs attending three Israeli teacher-education colleges were retrieved, using discussions, questionnaires, and interviews. Thematic-cognitive data analysis yielded three major themes related to technological aspects, teachers’ knowledge, and PSTs' subjective experiences of an online literature lesson. Based on these findings, a theoretical model was constructed for developing guidelines for teaching literature online. Given that there is no existing framework for conducting literature lessons online, this study contributes to the literature by extending the resources available for understanding and researching pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching literature.

Instructors’ Perceptions of Teaching Online during Emergency Remote Teaching: The Case of a Teacher Education College

Instructors’ Perceptions of Teaching Online during Emergency Remote Teaching: The Case of a Teacher Education College

Evaluation of Virtual Workspace Laboratory: Cloud Communication and Collaborative Work on Project-Based Laboratory

This study evaluated the success or failure of using Virtual Workspace (VW) in a project-based physics laboratory. This study uses a qualitative approach with 4E evaluation methods: educational effectiveness, ease of use, involvement, and environment. Data were collected through a questionnaire to evaluate the implementation and practical functions of the VW CCCW. In addition, data were also collected using interview techniques to find out how the perceptions of students and instructors or lecturers during project-based physics practicums apply VW CCCW. The sample of this study consisted of 126 respondents consisting of 104 prospective physics teacher students, 12 lecturers of basic physics courses, and ten laboratory instructors representing public and private teacher education universities in Aceh. The evaluation findings show that VW has been successfully implemented and tested. The use of virtual workspaces as a tool in practical work is very effective in training 4C skills. Therefore, as an implication in the 4.0 revolution era, virtual workspaces in practicum can be a new way to work collaboratively with task management, creative action plans, communication and problem solving, critical thinking and completing projects, and practicum performance evaluation and assessment.

How environmental and individual factors dynamically influence student teacher professional agency during teacher education

ABSTRACT Understanding how student teacher professional agency (STPA) develops during teacher education is crucial for educators and curriculum developers interested in strengthening it. To explore this process comprehensively, environmental factors (i.e., curriculum coherence between theory and practice and the learning environment) and individual factors (i.e., professional identity) were considered. This study utilized quantitative cross-sectional data of 362 students who were in different stages of their teacher education in a Finnish university. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and network analysis were applied over the data to better understand the interactive processes of the factors being investigated. The results indicated that different aspects of curriculum coherence, learning environment and professional identity dynamically influence STPA during teacher education by changing their relationship with it over time.

When the Cheese Moves: How Arab and Jewish Education Students Perceive the Transition to Distance Practical Teaching During the Covid-19 Crisis

The goal of the current study was to examine teaching students’ positions and perceptions regarding the transition to an online format for practical teaching during Covid-19, and whether differences exist between Jewish and Arab students’ positions. The study also examines teaching students’ technological and pedagogical self-efficacies for distance teaching and the extent of differences between the Arab and Jewish students’ self-efficacies. In addition, the study examined which background and personality variables predict positions and perceptions. The findings are based on a questionnaire completed by 279 Arab and Jewish teaching students from two Israeli teacher education colleges that transitioned to online practical teaching as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the questionnaire findings and to expand on topics not referred to in the questionnaire. The study reveals that teaching students accept the importance of the distance teaching experience during training in order to prepare them for the changing reality. Nevertheless, this cannot fully replace field experience because of the need for support and the limited ability to learn from the distance experience about face-to-face teaching.

Perceived Impact of Collaborative Partnerships on Student Teachers’ Core Skills of the 21st Century: A Case of East-Central and Southern Ethiopia

The study explored the perceived impact of collaborative partnerships on the core skills of the 21st century in learning institutions East-Central and Southern Ethiopia using the descriptive research design. The study involved 7 colleges of teacher education and 35 secondary schools with 6021 college teachers, secondary school teachers and student-teachers. The researchers randomly sampled 853 respondents. Questionnaire was used as the major instrument for data collection and 3.50-4.00 = strongly agree, 2.50-3.49= agree, 1.50-2.49 = disagree and 1.00-1.49 = strongly disagree. Respondents considered collaborative partnership to have impact on the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills, research conducting skills, communication skills, creativity and innovation skills and life and career skills. Based on the conclusions, the researchers recommend that the Ministry of Education, colleges and schools should work collaboratively to improve the colleges and schools' curricula in a ways that encourage sustainable collaboration so as student teachers may develop various skills that are necessary for their future careers.

Revisiting Thompson’s Multicultural Disposition Index in preservice English teacher education in Indonesia

Despite the growing body of literature recognizing the importance of multicultural education in the 21st Century, little is known about the preservice English teachers’ (PSETs) multicultural disposition (MD) in the Indonesian setting. This survey study examined the Multicultural Dispositions Index (MDI) of PSETs. The 22 items of Thompson’s (2009a) MDI scales with four dimensions, i.e., cross-cultural competence, multicultural worldview, knowledge of professional and personal self, and professional skills and commitment, were adopted to explore the PSET MDI in this study. It was a nine-type self-report scale. The study involved 185 PSETs (aged 17–22 years; 146 females and 39 males) from one of well-established teacher education universities in Indonesia. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis was conducted to confirm the underlying MDI dimensions. The findings showed that the PSETs MDI was best represented by 18 items that emerged into the same four dimensions. It means the PSETs in Indonesia possess the four dimensions of multicultural dispositions, facilitating them to navigate school-level multicultural education. Four items from the original 22 items of MDI must be due to the cross-loading and low factor loading since the value was found to be more than 0.50. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that the MDI be revised when used in the Indonesian multicultural context.

Cultural Production, Reproduction and Subversion of Gender Stereotyping among Pre-Service Science Teachers: Insights from Science Educators

We perceive contestations between science, education and women’s engagement and have raised disruptions in their act of knowing and mobility in science education. This study explored science educators’ views, beliefs and actions of reproduction and subversion of gender stereotyping at a teacher education college in Nigeria. Six science educators were selected based on comprehensive gender information that facilitated conduction of the study. The six educators were purposively selected out of 11 educators who completed and returned the questionnaire. A qualitative approach and case study framed the research using instruments such as questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observation schedules. Thematic analysis and coding were done. Educators consciously and unconsciously reproduced gender stereotypes beliefs and practices. Educators explicitly and implicitly engaged in unequal distribution of cognitive activities amongst pre-service teachers influenced by their practice of cultural norms and patriarchal ideology. The findings revealed multiple oppressions females faced, contradictory science classrooms, and political and democratic classroom space for negotiating and renegotiating discriminatory classroom beliefs, perception and views of educators during science engagements. However, several possibilities such as political advocacy, productive activism and transformative resistance for educators to re-negotiate discriminatory gendered space through constructive gender equality awareness for freedom and intellectual growth in science education could be emancipatory possibilities.

An Analysis of Teacher Education Mission Statements in the United States

This study analyzed all available teacher preparation program mission statements in the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (n = 475) using exploratory sequential mixed methods, intersecting theory with qualitative and quantitative analysis. First, we inductively constructed a five-tiered framework for categorizing mission statements and identified patterns of orientation with varying degrees of commitment to social justice. We then examined specific characteristics (religious affiliation, region, degree of urbanization, public versus private, nonprofit versus for-profit) of each institution using Pearson chi-square statistical tests of homogeneity, Monte-Carlo simulations, and pairwise comparisons using Fisher exact tests. We found that those programs located in urban areas, the Mid East, and Far West regions have a higher frequency of mission statements with justice characteristics when compared to those in rural areas and the Southeast region. However, analysis of religiously-affiliated and secular programs, as well as private and public teacher education institutions, revealed no meaningful frequency differences.

Assessing and priming pre-service teachers’ attitudes about online privacy and their protection strategies for social networks, email and cloud storage

ABSTRACT With the ubiquity of digital media, managing personal data has become part of our daily lives. Teachers have to manage not only their own data, they also manage students’ sensitive data and furthermore have to teach data protection to students. In Switzerland, teacher education colleges have hence started to educate students about privacy and data protection. To do this effectively, it is important to understand pre-service teachers’ attitudes about online privacy and to assess their knowledge about protection strategies. Therefore, we tested whether existing scales for attitudes (perceived severity, perceived vulnerability, self-efficacy) about online privacy in social networks can be applied to pre-service teachers and be extended to e-mail and cloud storage. We then explored how these attitudes relate to protection strategies. Except for perceived vulnerability regarding social networks, we succeeded in reliably measuring the three different attitudes in the three domains. Priming did not change the attitudes. However, we did find that self-efficacy was related to the degree to which students report using data protection strategies. This suggests that to motivate pre-service teachers to engage in data protection, teaching them these strategies is more effective than making them more aware of their vulnerability and the severity of data breaches.

The possibilities and potential of a pedagogical partnership between university and community-based initial teacher educators for LGBTQ+ specific inclusion and diversity

In this study, we explore the possibilities and potential of a pedagogical partnership between university and community-based initial teacher educators for LGBTQ+-specific inclusion and diversity. We map and discuss important initial teacher education (ITE) and broader inclusion and diversity policy contexts relevant to this pedagogical innovation as part of a Sociology of Education module. We describe and conceptually frame the innovation as equity, social justice, inclusion and diversity focused, and as rooted in democratic ITE reform. We then explore its impact on student teachers by drawing on the discussion board posts and reflections required as part of the module. Based on our findings, we offer ITE system-focused, ITE programmatic and personal reflections as teacher educators to conclude in considering how such pedagogical partnerships and innovations can enhance ITE for inclusion and diversity and, fundamentally, in pursuing more democratic schools and society.