scholarly journals A Finnish model of teacher education informs a South African one: A teaching school as a pedagogical laboratory

Author(s):  
Anni Loukomies ◽  
Nadine Petersen ◽  
Jari Lavonen

In this study, we examined student teachers’ learning during their teaching placement period in Finland and South Africa. The setting of the inquiry in both countries was a ‘teaching’ school, affiliated to a university teacher education programme. The teaching school is also referred to as an educational innovation that was transferred from the Finnish context to the South African context. Data were collected through an interview protocol. The findings show that the students, like many of their counterparts in different parts of the world, focused on teaching tools and methods as well as classroom management as a gateway to their teaching career. The extended teaching placement period at both the university teaching schools was expected to yield some findings about the intersection of teaching practice and its supporting theories because of the close collaboration of the schools and the universities. Some of the findings satisfied this expectation while other parts did not, confirming that initial teacher education may be regarded as a platform for learning to be teachers, but it has its own limits even in a pedagogical ‘laboratory’. The transfer of the educational innovation was regarded as successful.

Author(s):  
Darshana Sharma

Teaching Practice is widely recognised as the sine-qua-non of any teacher education programme. It is a component in the teacher preparation programme where prospective teachers are provided with an opportunity to put their theoretical studies into practice, get feedback, reflect on practice and consequently further improve their teaching skills. As teaching practice is an important component of a teacher education programme, considerable attention must be given to make it more effective and fruitful. This paper is based on a research study conducted to know pre-service teachers' experiences of the quality of teaching practice and the common concerns they have during teaching practice. On the basis of focussed group discussion a total of five themes were identified, these are (1) usefulness of teaching practice (2) experiences/concerns with pupils' behaviour (3) experiences/concerns with own behaviour (4) experiences/concerns with supervisors' behaviour (5) experiences/concerns with institutional and personal adjustments. The outcome of the focussed group discussion was used to prepare a structured questionnaire. Among other things, the study recommended rigorous practical training in lesson planning, demonstration lessons by teacher educators, simulated teaching before the commencement of practice teaching, school orientation programmes, a separate internship of two weeks and writing a journal by student teachers during teaching practice.


Author(s):  
Sue Garton

The last 20-25 years have seen a significant shift in the views about what teachers need to know to be able to teach. This shift has led to new developments in the theory of second language teacher education (SLTE) and a growth in research in this area. One area of research concerns the attitudes and expectations of those learning to become teachers. While most studies in this area focus on teacher education programmes in BANA countries, this article looks at data from student teachers studying in Russia and Uzbekistan. The study employed a quantitative and qualitative research design, using a researcher-designed on-line questionnaire. Through snowball sampling, data from 161 students and recent graduates in the two countries were collected, analysed, and compared to investigate the content of SLTE programmes. The study identified what the novice teachers felt were the strengths and weaknesses of their programme, and what changes they would like to see. Results showed that while the respondents were mainly satisfied with their methodology, and theoretical linguistics courses, they felt the need for more practice, both teaching and language practice. The data also revealed that, in Uzbekistan in particular, the idea of global English struggles to take hold as native-speaker models remain the norm. The implications of the study underline the need for SLTE to explicitly link theory to practice and to promote the idea of varieties of English, rather than focus on native-speaker norms.


Author(s):  
Brendan Mac Mahon ◽  
Seán Ó Grádaigh ◽  
Sinéad Ní Ghuidhir

Research on the use of iPad in initial teacher education is limited. This paper outlines a study to examine how the professional learning and pedagogical knowledge development of student teachers could be supported following 1:1 iPad deployment on a second level initial teacher education programme in Ireland. Findings show that iPad can be utilised both as an effective pedagogical tool and as a medium for the creation of new learning spaces where student teachers' professional and pedagogical knowledge development is supported through feedback, peer-learning, resource sharing and critical reflection. Creating resources with and for iPad as part of a collaborative design process can also support student teachers in developing and integrating technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) within their approaches to teaching, learning and assessment. Implications for initial teacher education providers and the integration of technology within schools are outlined.


Author(s):  
Saif Al-Maamari ◽  

Educational system in Oman is attempting to educate Omani students to be "good" citizens in an increasingly globalized society. However, a few studies that have been conducted until now in Oman revealed a gap between the intentions of the educational policy of teaching citizenship education in the schools and the actual practices of teacher education preparation programs. Therefore, any endeavor to develop citizenship in Oman schools will not achieve its goals without taking teacher education into account both pre-service and in-service. Accordingly, the present study aims to propose a framework for developing citizenship education in the initial teacher education in Oman. This descriptive study highlighted the gap between the policy and practice in social studies teacher education. The international literature reveals that student teachers feel insufficiently prepared to develop citizenship and Omani student teachers are not exceptional. Thus, the present study proposed a framework to incorporate citizenship education in the current teachers' preparation programs. Furthermore, the study reveals the inadequate presence of the topic of citizenship in teacher education. Therefore, teachers' understanding of citizenship becomes shallow, which undoubtedly leads to superficial learning on the part of the students. Therefore, a framework was proposed to develop citizenship in teacher education. This framework consists of the rationale behind the change, the Layout of the ground for change in teacher education, the mechanisms of the change, and the areas of the change.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 107-119
Author(s):  
Rita Prestigiacomo ◽  
Jane Hunter ◽  
Simon Knight ◽  
Roberto Martinez-Maldonado ◽  
Lori Lockyer

Data about learning can support teachers in their decision-making processes as they design tasks aimed at improving student educational outcomes. However, to achieve systemic impact, a deeper understanding of teachers’ perspectives on, and expectations for, data as evidence is required. It is critical to understand how teachers’ actions align with emerging learning analytics technologies, including the practices of pre-service teachers who are developing their perspectives on data use in classroom in their initial teacher education programme. This may lead to an integration gap in which technology and data literacy align poorly with expectations of the role of data and enabling technologies. This paper describes two participatory workshops that provide examples of the value of human-centred approaches to understand teachers’ perspectives on, and expectations for, data as evidence. These workshops focus on the design of pre-service teachers enrolled in teacher education programmes (N = 21) at two Australian universities. The approach points to the significance of (a) pre-service teachers’ intentions to track their students’ dispositions to learning and their ability to learn effectively, (b) the materiality of learning analytics as an enabling technology and (c) the alignment of learning analytics with learning design, including the human-centred, ethical and inclusive use of educational data in the teaching practice.   Implications for practice or policy: Pre-service teachers ought to be given opportunities to engage and understand more about learning design, learning analytics and the use of data in classrooms. Professional experience placements for pre-service teachers should include participatory data sessions or learning design workshops. Teacher education academics in universities must be provided with ongoing professional development to support their preparation work of pre-service teachers’ data literacy, learning analytics and the increasing presence of data.


2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rea Raus ◽  
Thomas Falkenberg

Abstract Transforming our educational systems to support sustainable development is a challenge that involves all levels of education – policy, curriculum and pedagogical practice. One critical dimension to look at is a teacher’s identity as it influences a teacher’s decision-making, behaviour and action. The ecological self is the concept that is used in the context of sustainability. This paper discusses the emerging ecological self of one student teacher during her initial teacher education programme. The concepts of the teacher’s self and the ecological self form a lens through which the story of this student teacher is examined. The paper focuses on one part of a broader, longitudinal study of student teachers and their understanding of pedagogy and connectedness with nature in the context of the need for reorienting teacher education towards sustainability. Sterling’s (2001) conceptual framework of ecological view on education is taken as a tool to analyse the collected data. The results indicate that deep connectedness to nature and empathy are framing the holistic view on learning, teaching and a teacher’s self.


2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-105
Author(s):  
Nabi Bux Jumani

A fundamental component in professional education is the link between theory and practice. However, students in professional education programmes experience a lack of coherence between theory and practice which is often described as theory practice gap. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between theory and practice in MA Education Programmes offered by International Islamic University and to contribute with knowledge about how to bridge the gap between theory and practice in teacher education programme. Data were obtained through focus group interview with 40 MA Education female students who completed their four months teaching practice in December 2011. Data reveal that student teachers are quite satisfied with their pedagogical preparation and find difference in theory and practice in teacher education institutions and practice schools in Pakistan. Data indicate that student teachers were not allowed by schools to implement their learnt teaching strategies.


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