International Portal of Teacher Education
The online resource of academic content on teacher training and teacher education
Section archive - Programs & Practicum
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361 items
51
This paper undertakes a critical review and analysis of the recent developments in teacher education in Pakistan to situate different models of teacher education funded by donor agencies against international development in teacher education and the political economy dynamics of teacher education in Pakistan.
The paper’s central thesis is that despite the prevalent and overwhelming trends, of which Pakistan is possibly a willing or unwitting recipient, there are clear indications that the so-called international standardisation of teacher education models and practices are being critically considered and that more contextualisation is required.
This paper recommends areas of research to support iterative development of contextual models of teacher education through an evidence-based approach.
This can then better inform teacher education policies and practices.
Also, it can focus on the desired teacher development outcomes within the context of a developing country and the educational milieu that is particular to Pakistan.
Published: 2020
Updated: Dec. 14, 2020
52
The purpose of this study is to examine student teachers’ and teacher educators’ understandings of and approaches to teacher-researcher development in initial teacher education in Kosovo within the research-based education movement.
The study used a qualitative research design.
The data were collected through open questionnaires (n = 270 student teachers), interviews (n = 15 teacher educators), and programme content (n = 5) at two initial teacher education institutions in Kosovo.
Using Healey and Jenkins’s research curriculum categories as a guiding framework, the study identified four clusters of contradictory understandings and approaches relating to teacher educator practice and programme values and goals, fragmenting the context of teacher-researcher development in Kosovo.
In order to build consensus in teacher-researcher development, coordinated efforts are recommended to address the current isolated and differing understandings and practices within the broader context of initial teacher education.
Published: 2020
Updated: Dec. 13, 2020
53
Many teacher preparation programs offering dual certification have engaged in program redesign to establish greater integration between general education and special education. This article presents findings from an exploratory case study that examined the perspectives of former preservice teacher candidates and school personnel regarding an integrated yearlong dual certification internship.
Findings indicated research participants
(a) placed value on the breadth and authenticity of the experience;
(b) built deep relationships with students and staff that contributed to building confidence; and
(c) felt the structure and impact of the model yielded positive outcomes for both the school and for preservice teacher candidates. Implications for practice include suggestions for how teacher preparation programs might move toward integrated models of dual certification teacher preparation and explore the importance of clinically rich partnerships that benefit both preservice teacher candidates and field sites.
Published: 2020
Updated: Sep. 10, 2020
54
This paper describes the development, implementation, and follow up study of a program for undergraduate research in education, student teachers as action researchers (STAR).
Students in a new urban education honors program at a large public university were given coursework in action research, developed a research plan in their practicums, implemented it during their student teaching, and presented the results at an undergraduate research conference.
After examining student projects, faculty experiences, and follow-up interviews with the participants, the authors found that while there are challenges, the STAR program provides a useful introduction to teacher action research that empowers new teachers, giving them confidence and an early desire to use data to improve their instruction and benefit their students.
We conclude with implications for modern classrooms and insights into expansion or adaptation of the technique for interested teacher educators.
Published: 2020
Updated: Aug. 30, 2020
55
This paper focuses on how people learn to become teachers.
It draws on the experiences of student-teachers and tutors at a College of Education in the south of Ghana who engaged with an iterative data-generation process over one academic year.
While increasing attention is given to the learning experiences of children in Sub-Saharan Africa, teachers’ learning experiences remain under-explored, under-documented and under-theorised.
It makes an original contribution to the study of pre-service teacher education by combining a sociocultural lens on learning and becoming with an analytical framework based on the capability approach.
This illustrates how student-teachers’ freedom to learn is facilitated and constrained by structured and social contexts within a pre-service programme.
The paper shows how understanding different perspectives on valued ‘beings and doings’ of teaching can help re-interpret and re-imagine processes for ‘becoming’ a teacher, which has practical application at policy and institution level.
Published: 2020
Updated: Aug. 29, 2020
56
This article examines the development of pre-service teachers’ job-related perceptions of teaching in rural areas in the Free Teacher Education (FTE) programme in mainland China. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 22 teacher educators and 11 pre-service teachers, this study found that pre-service teachers’ perceptions were constructed through relative perspectives, professionality orientation, and realistic expectations during the process of FTE teacher education.
Pre-service teachers employed utilitarian concerns to increase access to prestigious universities to the detriment of their academic interests.
The professionality orientation of the FTE programme held a profile of isolated curriculum modules, urban-centred approach, and theory-practice divide, resulting in pre-service teachers’ fragmented body of knowledge and weak rural consciousness.
Although participants saw significant improvement in living and working conditions of rural schools, their negative perceptions were magnified due to this weak rural consciousness.
This study argues that the FTE programme needs to integrate separated courses and embed the components of rural settings in addition to current financial incentives.
Published: 2019
Updated: Aug. 29, 2020
57
This essay critically examines the circulation of what appear to be a small set of ‘core’ ideas that are influencing national and institutional policies of teacher education.
The author explores the emergence of new players in teacher education internationally, including individuals, corporations, and international bodies.
Using policy documents, influential research studies, university program statements, and interviews, the essay provides a discursive analysis of the contradictory voices in what is becoming a global conversation of teacher education.
In many ways, these ideas marginalize the voices of teachers and teacher educators.
They tend to narrow the definitions of education and teaching.
As a counterpoint to these widely circulating arguments, the author explores how reciprocal teacher education exchange programs in China and the US create opportunities for alternative constructions of visions of teaching and teacher learning.
Published: 2019
Updated: Aug. 24, 2020
58
Considerable attention over the past several years has been given to empathy as a desirable teacher disposition.
Situating empathy in a slice of the research on dispositions, the author identifies and explores several problems surrounding empathy related to expectations, definitions, measurement, inferential accuracy, and the realization of social justice.
An argument is made for listening to learn as an alternative to empathy as a teaching disposition and virtue.
Published: 2019
Updated: Aug. 20, 2020
59
This study focuses on the perspectives of teachers who were recent graduates of two initial English language teacher education programmes in Chile, who had undertaken action research projects as part of their degree programme.
It also engaged the university-based supervisors who had overseen this work.
These experiences are analysed in the context of the guiding epistemological and political foundations of action research. The outcomes of this research suggest that the use of action research in initial teacher education contexts may be more problematic than it is often assumed; particularly, where student teachers’ work is professionally isolated.
From this, it is suggested that action research in initial teacher education needs to be conscious of potential constraints in school-based contexts, as these may act to limit the current and prospective impact of this learning experience.
Published: 2019
Updated: Apr. 21, 2020
60
This research aimed to investigate the teacher empowerment strategy in Indonesia, which has been conducted by employing a community-based teacher training program.
This study has highlighted several research questions:
What is meant by community-based training program?
Why is the training program needed? Who is the target of the training program?
What model has been used to implement the training?
What are the results of the training that has been executed?
The research data were collected by means of documentation studies and interviews.
The data analysis was carried out quantitatively and qualitatively, where the quantitative analysis was processed based on the document study data, meanwhile the qualitative analysis was performed based on the interview data.
The research results showed that community-based teacher training was transformation of teacher development strategy as a follow-up on teachers’ competency test in Indonesia.
The community-based teacher training succeeded in increasing the professionalism of teachers in Indonesia, particularly in terms of implementing their pedagogical and professional competencies.
The training is also successful in motivating the teachers to engage themselves in continuous learning efforts through building strong teachers’ network and working collaboratively with colleagues.
Quantitatively, training was proven to increase the average of teacher competency by 23.97 (on a scale of 100).
Published: 2019
Updated: Jan. 30, 2020