Freirean hope as educational construct for teacher education in South Africa

This article argues that South African teacher education and development policy lack an explicit philosophy of education and corresponding pedagogy that promote transformation and equality. After an analysis of some works by Paulo Freire, it is argued that it is in a Freirean philosophy of education and in a pedagogy of hope that the praxis of teacher education establishes the notion of teachers as unfinished beings and agents of hope. This article offers an opportunity to imagine what Freire’s Pedagogy of hope (FREIRE, 1994) could contribute to the dialogue regarding the policy, gazetted in 2011 and revised in 2015, on the minimum requirements for teacher education qualifications in South Africa. The fundamental role that teacher education institutions can play in contributing to the transformation of education is defended, particularly if the philosophy of Freirean education and a pedagogy of hope are compromised. The article concludes with an attempt at re-orientation of teacher education policy.

Sensemaking of University and District Stakeholders in Implementing a Teacher Residency Policy in Louisiana

A growing body of research has identified teacher residency’s potentials for improving and sustaining preservice teacher learning through a stronger district–university partnership. Drawing on sensemaking perspectives on education policy implementation, this qualitative case study examines how a variety of university and district stakeholders make sense of and implement a state-mandated teacher residency in Louisiana. Findings reveal that stakeholders are primarily making sense of the residency in isolation, leading to incoherent understandings and varied implementation practices. Opportunities to improve stakeholders’ collective sensemaking and collaborative implementation and to optimize the benefits and potentials of teacher residency partnerships are discussed. This study has implications for teacher education policy implementation and continuous inquiry into the complexities of teacher preparation.

Outputs of a PhD Course on the European Policy of Foreign Language Teacher Education

The European Commission has developed several standard documents for foreign language education including teacher education and opened access for the common use of all European counterparts. This study is based on a PhD course aiming at increasing awareness of and fostering deep research about foreign language teacher education policy in Europe. The study aimed to scrutinize the opinions of the PhD students in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) about the European foreign language teacher education policy. In the study, the case study research design was adopted, utilizing qualitative data. The participants of the study were selected via total count sampling model and covered all of the PhD students (N = 9) taking the course entitled “Foreign Language Teacher Education Policy in Europe” with the code: IDO710 within the ELT program of the Hacettepe University Graduate School of Educational Sciences in the Fall Semester of 2020–2021 academic year. The data were collected via students’ self-reflection reports after the course had been completed and were analysed using content analysis as one of the qualitative data analysis methods. The results showed that at the end of the course the participant students’ awareness was highly increased about the European foreign language teacher education policy and related documents; they decided to make use of these documents in their own contexts; they had a deeper understanding of the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher education; and they became determined to carry out further research on the effectiveness of the European documents on EFL teacher education in Turkey.

Education Reforms for Equity and Quality: An Analysis from an Educational Ecosystem Perspective with Reference to Finnish Educational Transformations

The article starts with the serious question of why educational reforms do not lead to better learning. Although access to education has increased remarkably, the quality of education can be very low. The reality is that by 2030 there will be 800 million young people who do not have basic skills in reading and math. The answers will be sought from the concept of the educational ecosystem and how different subsystems, such as curriculum system, evaluation systems, teacher education policy, and the labour market, should be interconnected, and the systemic changes supported by all these subsystems. The basic conditions are that different actors and stakeholders work in collaboration, there are active interactions within and between different subsystems for supporting both equity and quality in education. Educational reforms are complex processes and need diverse partners and governance in which trust is present. The article also provides a brief case description in Finnish contexts of how educational reforms have been implemented in the frame of the ecosystem concept. In the end, the article summarises how educational ecosystems could help in overcoming global learning crises.

A docência como profissão: O portfólio como dispositivo e política de formação docente no estágio supervisionado em educação física

The goal of this article is to analyze if the portfolio in teacher education policies and in the Supervised Internship (SI) in Physical Education (PE) constitutes a formative device and to contributes to the professionalization of teaching. This qualitative, documentary research used content analysis of Curriculum Guidelines for Teacher Education and 12 portfolios produced by PE interns from a public university in Brazil. The results integrate narratives of the interns' portfolios, identified by axes: diagnostic evaluation and teaching learning. Policies are interpreted with attention to the portfolio that was treated as a technical artifact of controlled rational activity (tensioning the notion of professionalization). We concluded that the use of portfolios expanded and differed from that foreseen by the literature and the current teacher education policy. Portfolio in SI in PE emerges as a possible open and flexible training device, which is consistent with the professionalization of teaching.

Recruitment and retention of male educators in preschools: Implications for teacher education policy and practices

In the study reported on here we employed the interpretivist qualitative approach to explore the recruitment and retention of male educators in preschool centres. Purposive sampling was used to select 2 preschool owners, 2 principals, 4 preschool educators and 2 male educators in the Foundation Phase. Data were obtained by in-depth interviewing and were analysed thematically. Results showed no male educators in preschools in the education district where the study was conducted. Misinterpretation of cultural roles, stigma, fear and prejudice, low educator status within the preschool sector and a lack of male recruitment policies were found to be negatively affecting the recruitment of males into the preschool sector. A gender balance that ensures that both female and male educators are recruited within the preschool sector would appear to be congruent with the philosophical underpinnings of the Social Role Theory (SRT). The Departments of Education and Social Development should, therefore, embark on awareness campaigns to educate all stakeholders on the need for a gender balance within the preschool sector.

Rethinking Teacher Education Policy in ICT: Lessons from Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) the during COVID-19 Pandemic Period in Korea

This paper examines ICT policy in education with a particular focus on teachers’ engagement in emergent remote teaching (ERT) during the initial COVID-19 school closure in South Korea. It involves a documentary analysis of newspaper articles on “starting school online” from the highest read daily newspapers published in South Korea, through which three issues regarding teachers and teaching are identified: teachers’ digital competency, teachers’ sense of professional identity, and the revalorisation of the teacher role. Discussion of the three issues points to the need to reflect on and rethink the government’s policies for ICT in education. This paper provides an overview of the ICT policies to show their overall inadequacy with respect to providing teachers with the necessary training and framework for technology-related professional development. It highlights the need to understand the changing nature of teaching and learning in a digital education environment and it suggests a possible redesign of the education and training provisions to teachers to support their professional competency in the digital age.