Work Of Teacher Educators Research Articles

Transformational Spaces in Teacher Education

We are articulating and advocating for the inclusion of educational opportunities that allow future teachers to experience pedagogy linked to the practice of freedom. Creating such a space is important if future teachers are to recognize their professional responsibility to critique and participate in the transformation of educational policies and practices. Hence, the theoretical avenues that converge in Media Action Projects, or MAPs, are traced. Pedagogically, MAPs are disquieting because they foster an investigative stance toward the world, rather than an acquiescent stance that is knee deep in “certainties.” More specifically, media production work is used to address a local problem, as students are required to see, question, and act. If the work of teacher educators is intended to impact the knowledge, skills, and disposition of future teachers, is it not worth considering the transformational spaces afforded by MAPs?

Institutionalising Research in Teacher Education: The creation of a research centre as a means of lifelong learning for teacher educators

SUMMARY Teacher education is being challenged by a new global context in which research becomes an integrated part of the work of today's teacher educators. This paper focuses on the efforts made by one of the Norwegian university colleges to institutionalise research among the academic staff. It provides an account of different steps taken by the college's leadership, together with a group of teacher educators/researchers, to establish a research environment at the institution and describes the strategy used to stimulate research among its academic staff. Part of the discussion focuses on hindrances for establishing a research environment in an institution that has a strong teaching-dominated tradition and is the result of a merger of various previously independent small colleges. The paper presents a narrative of some specific events that have had a special impact in the establishment of a research centre at the college.

Getting the Most Out of School- Based Initial Teacher Education: Professional Development Possibilities for Teachers

This paper considers the ways in which teachers might benefit professionally from their involvement in school- based ITT. Based on a qualitative investigation conducted in a large English comprehensive school, and informed by a number of preliminary investigations in other schools, the paper considers teachers' claims about their profes sional development through working with student teachers. Nevertheless, whilst a large member of positive outcomes are reported, the paper sounds a note of caution, suggesting that many conditions must be satisfied in order for teachers and their schools to benefit significantly from their teacher education work.

The Impact of an Alternative Evaluation for Group Work in Teacher Education on Students' Professional Development

This research studies the effectiveness and impact of the use of an alternative evaluation tool for group work in teacher education courses. It shows that as a newly developed alternative evaluation for group work, the tool has displayed positive results and effectiveness in promoting students' learning in the social foundation courses and in their professional and personal development. The merits of this alternative evaluation reside in facilitating higher motivation, participation, critical thinking, and application. More importantly, it fosters a democratic and constructive environment and allows students to develop their professional thinking, knowledge, and skills through direct experience. The results of this study also point out the issues and concerns for further study.

Caring and Empowerment: A teacher educator's reflection on an ethical dilemma

Despite a growing interest in the lives and work of teacher educators, there has been little explicit examination of the ethical dimensions of their professional practice - or of the ethical dimensions of teaching in higher education in general. This article contributes to efforts to address these oversights. More specifically, it documents aspects of my reflection on an enduring ethical dilemma I encounter as a university-based teacher educator; How to enact my commitment to professional practice grounded in an ethos of caring (Noddings, 1984) for my students, without being drawn into the abyss of endless and ultimately disempowering emotional labour that caring can entail (Bateson, 1989)? In attempting to resolve this dilemma I identify an alternative conceptualisation of caring as mutual empowerment and draw on Tom's (1997) notions of deliberative relationships, transparency of practice and presence. Although the context of this article is teacher education, I believe that these notions have relevance for university teachers in most disciplines, and especially for those preparing students for entry into the 'caring professions'.

Teacher education reform as a story of possibility: lessons learned, lessons forgotten—the American Council on Education's Commission on Teacher Education (1939–1942)

The history of teacher education generally is reported as one of impossibility rather than possibility. This view is encouraged by lack of knowledge of past achievements. The little known but monumental project described in the eight volumes of the American Council on Education's Commission on Teacher Education (1939–1942) is reviewed in light of lessons learned about reform. Many of these lessons confirm the value of recent work in teacher education that maximizes participation, builds partnerships between schools and higher education, and forms student cohorts as a means for overcoming program fragmentation. Additional results are identified that deserve renewed consideration, results that emerged from projects that opened up possibilities for reform, including the value of child study as a form of professional development and as a means for educational renewal.

Teachers for the South: Pedagogy and Educationists in the University of Tennessee, 1844-1995

The latest cycle of national educational critiques and reforms has created an interest in gaining historical leverage on teacher education. With a broad audience in mind, Professor Allison provides a case study of the work of teacher educators in the academy and the field. He critically examines educationists' scholarship, status in the university, service to school and teachers, and impulse to engage in social reform. This is the first book-length study of the history of teacher education in the South.

Mokytojų rengimo problemos ir perspektyvos užsienyje ir Lietuvoje

Straipsnio tikslas – išanalizuoti ir palyginti dabartines Vakarų Europos, JAV ir Lietuvos mokytojų rengimo ypatybes, problemas ir ateities perspektyvas. Šiuolaikinis pedagogų rengimas vakarų šalyse vis daugiau kritikuojamas dėl jam būdingos inercijos ir konservatyvumo, pedagogikos teorijos ir praktikos integracijos trūkumo. Lietuvos pedagogų rengimo problemos artimos Vokietijos, Prancūzijos, JAV ir kt. šalių pedagogų analizuojamoms kandidatų tapti pedagogikos studentais atrankos, studijų programų sudarymo ir finansavimo, absolventų bedarbystės problemos. Daugiaplanei ir sudėtingai šiuolaikinio mokytojo rengimo problemai spręsti reikalingas sisteminis požiūris ir veiksmai. Tuo tikslu VPU galėtų imtis iniciatyvos ir kartu su Švietimo ir mokslo ministerija koordinuoti visų lygių mokytojų rengimą ir su tuo susijusius mokslinius ir metodinius klausimus. Aukštosios mokyklos nesirūpina savo diplomantų rengimu tolesnei veiklai, t. y. dirbti ne pagal profesiją, papildomai mokytis, persikvalifikuoti (bedarbystės atveju). Mokytojų rengimas, nežinant, ar yra jų paklausa, nuostolingas valstybei, šeimai ir kiekvienam absolventui. Kadangi nemaža dalis jaunųjų mokytojų dirba ne pagal profesiją, būtų tikslinga įvertinti tai ir studijuojant suteikti papildomai specializacijas dirbti kitose veiklos srityse, t. y. turėti ryšių su keliais galimais darbdaviais. Pasigendama mokytojų rengimo ideologijos ir politikos.

A Discipline-Based Professional Development Faculty: A Case for Multiple-Site Collaborative Reform in the Disciplines

PDS work occurs in far more elementary than high school settings (Berry & Catoe, 1994; Whitford, 1994). Admirable as the interdisciplinary work of Sizer and the Coalition of Essential Schools and teacher educators collaborating with coalition high schools is (Miller & Silvernail, 1994; Whitford, 1994), many teacher educators work in content-based departments or teach content area methods in Arts and Sciences departments. The first attempt of the University of Georgia at a secondary school PDS collaboration failed, as have many others (Cohen, 1994). We floundered for local and personal as well as institutional and generic reasons (Clifford & Guthrie, 1988; Goodlad, 1990). However, a variety of collaborations emerged from that work. In this article, I describe a partnership among two English Education faculty members and 25 English teachers in six local high schools. I argue that a multiple-site, discipline-based professional development faculty provides another model for PDS principles-in-action when geography, resources, student numbers, and institutional realities force individual faculty members to move outside a whole school-college PDS concept at the secondary level. In this context, we can examine issues of university and school reform, the departmentalization of both high school and college programs, and changing goals and concomitant roles for all participants to build a powerful local network for ongoing collaborative inquiry. To provide some context for the professional development faculty model, I first describe the school-university conditions that led to its design. An Aborted PDS Collaboration The College of Education at the University of Georgia chose not to participate in the Holmes Group in the 1980s, citing a commitment to undergraduate teacher education in a state that expected its flagship university and largest college of education to produce annually a significant number of teachers for Georgia schools and enable them to complete degree requirements in 4 years. Secondary preservice teacher education in the College of Education is based in the departments of Language (English/ language arts and foreign language), Mathematics, Reading, Science, and Social Science. Each department includes faculty members specializing in elementary or secondary programs. Elementary faculty members in each department support the Elementary Education department's preservice methods program; secondary faculty members run department-based preservice teacher education programs grounded in strong arts and sciences majors. Although these departments are organized as a School of Teacher Education, preservice teacher preparation is not the major element of most faculty members' research agendas. Instead, departments and faculty members have established reputations and careers in content-based research on teaching and learning. The national reform movement affected the University of Georgia in indirect ways including a collegewide forum in 1990-1991 to discuss recent research in teacher education, participation in Goodlad's study of teacher education programs (1990), a Georgia Professional Standards Commission shift from centralized to programmatic sign-off for teacher certification, growth of the League of Professional Schools initiated at the University of Georgia (Allen & Glickman, in press; Lunsford, 1995), and a dean from a teacher education department, All these events encouraged anew focus on teacher education as a process of coreform with schools. However, the sheer number of faculty--200 in the college and 70 in teacher education--made collaboration across departments rare and difficult. Supported by funding from the Coca-Cola Foundation in the late 1980s, faculty members in the Elementary Education department and colleagues in the content departments established PDS collaborations with four local schools (Allexsaht-Snider, Deegan, & White, 1995). …

Teacher Educators, Student Teachers and Biographical Influences: implications for teacher education

The importance of acknowledging the influence of biography in understanding teachers’ work is well established in recent literature. Drawing upon data arising from a study of teacher educators and their students, we consider the influence of biography on the work of teacher educators and student teachers. We draw comparisons between the ways in which they make connections with their demographic characteristics, their personal and educational histories and their understanding of their work. We evaluate the data against two major positions in the literature on biography and draw some implications for teacher education.

The National Training Reform and the Preparation of Teachers: new approaches

Abstract The series of Australian Government policy initiatives somewhat misleadingly known as the national‐training‐reform agenda (FitzGerald, 1994) represent a new reference point for faculties of education engaged in the preparation of teachers. The ideas first floated in Australia Reconstructed (ACTU, 1987)—the creation of a high‐wage, high‐skill economy based on a national system of skills formation and skills enhancement—reflected three underpinning principles on which government, unions and employers were united. These principles—a move away from time served and towards competencies achieved, a system of nationally recognised qualifications and a central role for industry in the specification of standards—continue to enjoy such tripartite support and are central to the implementation of training reform. Lundberg (1994) identified five main themes of the training‐reform agenda, namely, nationally consistent competency‐based training, national recognition of competencies however attained, an open training market, fair participation in vocational education and training, and an integrated entry‐level training system. The effect that the implementation of reforms to the training system is having on the work of those teaching in schools is only now becoming apparent (Schools Council, 1994a). This paper describes the approaches used by the Faculty of Education and Training at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and considers the impact that the changed training system might also have on the work of teacher educators in higher education in Australia.

The Environmentally Educating Teacher: Synthesis of an Implementation Theory for Pre-service Courses

ABSTRACTThis paper sets out to establish a tentative implementation theory which can inform the work of teacher educators working with novice (student) teachers in their initial professional development related to environmental education. The paper begins with an exploration of the problem of how to encapsulate environmental education within pre-service programs by looking at attempts over the years to encourage and stimulate the professional development of the environmentally educated teacher through pre-service programs. The paper then reports on research carried out by the method of deliberative inquiry which examined the work of two environmental education initiatives: the OECD-funded ENSI project, a co-operative curriculum development program based in primary and secondary schools; and the European Union-funded EEITE program, a development initiative based in universities offering pre-service courses in eleven European Union member states. The paper discusses how ENSI'S aims and guiding principles and EEITE'S organizing principles, key elements and program characteristics were considered and a tentative implementation theory established. This theory, it is argued, constitutes a criterial framework of process skills and values which can inform and guide the inclusion of environmental education within pre-service teacher education programs. The paper ends with a call for a critique of the theory presented.

The Mentoring of Counseling Students: A Concept in Search of a Paradigm

The author suggests uniform domains and specific behaviors necessary to become “mentoring” supervisors in counselor education. The proposed paradigm was derived from Anderson and Shannon's (1988) work in teacher education.

Professionalization in teaching and teacher education: Some notes on its history, ideology, and potential

The more recent calls for school reform have focused on a re-visioning of the work of teachings and teacher education. A central rhetoric in the current climate is related to the professionalization of teaching. We can view the public discourses as not simply a formal mechanism for describing events but as part of their context serving to align loyalty and social solidarity with particular values and social interests. My intent in this discussion is to raise questions about how the word, professionalization, is used within the social and political contexts in which teaching occurs. At the same time, I propose that there are certain issues in teaching that professionalization can address. In particular, I examine tensions of modernity and a post-modernity for considering the power relations in which the professional production of knowledge and the development of expert-mediated systems of ideas occurs.

La professionnalité dans l'enseignement et la formation des enseignants : notes sur son histoire, son idéologie et son potentiel

The more recent calls for school reform have focused on a re-visioning of the work of teachings and teacher education. A central rhetoric in the current climate is related to the professional ization of teaching. We can view the public discourses as not simply a formal mechanism for describing events but as part of their context serving to align loyalty and social solidarity with particular values and social interests. My intent in this discussion is to raise questions about how the word, professionalization, is used within the social and political contexts in which teaching occurs. At the same time, I propose that there are certain issues in teaching that professionalization can address. In particular, I examine tensions of modernity and a post-modernity for considering the power relations in which the professional production of knowledge and the development of expert-mediated systems of ideas occurs.

Shaping Australian teacher education: Teacher educators’ AARE research interests

Turney and Wright (1990) argue that Australian teacher educators, because of their demographic characteristics (predominantly male, locally born of British background, urban orientation), have difficulty in (i) modelling appropriate teacher behaviour for their mainly female clientele; (ii) exemplifying principles of non-sexist and multicultural education; and (iii) adequately preparing teachers to work in rural schools. Teacher educators’ work does not merely consist in face-to-face teaching. Another important aspect of the work of teacher educators is research. Research is the means by which teacher educators produce useful knowledge and may be an important means of overcoming the determining effects of demographic characteristics. It is interesting therefore to examine the research endeavour of teacher educators through a content analysis of AARE Annual Conference (1991) abstracts to assess the extent to which teacher educators focus their research on issues relevant to (i), (ii) and (iii). As it turns out, research in these areas is sub-optimal.

The Dynamics of Personal Knowledge and Teacher Education

ABSTRACTThis article presents a Janus perspective at the halfway mark of Stage One of the Section Eleven project—a research enterprise that follows teachers through their pre-service year at a Faculty of Education and their first two years following the conferring of the Bachelor of Education degree. The research is based upon what Michael Connelly has called “the working assumption that day-to-day teacher education work constitutes a laboratory for the study of teacher education.” The first section of the paper describes the genesis of the project and the overall composition of the “section eleven” class. It is followed by a brief overview of the project's original goals, its sources of data and a description of the evolving methodology. The second section of the paper describes the beginning stages of the individual journeys for four of these student teachers from their arrival at a Faculty of Education through to the end of their first four months as beginning teachers. Our conclusions are tentative, a...

Industry‐related Work in Initial Teacher Education: a decade of development

In the last decade, against a background of growing links between industry and schools, industry‐related work in teacher education has undergone a considerable expansion, in terms of numbers of cou...

’Girlies on the Warpath’: addressing gender in initial teacher education

ABSTRACT Gender issues in education are not simply a woman's problem. They constitute a more general problem of theorising about the nature and processes of education. Where studies advocate the eradication of inequality via education it is most often teachers who are seen as the crucial agents of change. Despite this recognition, surprisingly little attention has been paid to preparing teachers for taking on such a task. This paper considers, firstly, how and why teacher education in England and Wales largely fails to provide a framework or ethos conducive to the inclusion of a gender perspective. Secondly the paper examines some of the ways feminists are responding, arguing that despite institutional and informal resistance, good anti‐sexist work in teacher education is happening and should not be overlooked.

Enterprise, Economic and Industrial Awareness: making the links in initial teacher education ‐‐ two case studies

Abstract Two case studies of work in initial teacher education provide the stimulus for a discussion of the incorporation of enterprise, economic and industrial issues within student programmes’. The first case study describes a seminar at Manchester University where these issues are introduced to students within the constraints of a 36‐week PGCE course. The second describes IT‐INSET activities undertaken by primary BEd students from Edge Hill College of Higher Ecucation. A number of issues are raised, not least of which is the need to overcome student concerns about the incorporation of the National Curriculum cross‐curricular themes into teaching. The conclusion reached is that much work remains to be done and some possible future developments are examined.