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Global Perspectives on Teacher Learning: improving policy and practice

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Abstract

Incl. bibl. This booklet looks at all forms of teacher learning, formal and informal, from teachers. own early schooling, through their pre-service preparation and induction, and on to the end of their teaching career. It argues that to formulate policy and design effective programmes for teacher preparation and professional development, the whole spectrum of teacher learning must be considered. Much recent research and fresh knowledge have been brought together for the first time in this booklet. This includes literature on the nature of teacher preparation and professional development in developing countries (notably ambitious, innovative reforms), the rapidly growing body of research on teacher education and teacher learning in industrialized countries, the recently published analyses of the exceptional forms of professional development that exist in Japan and China, and the various positions taken by critics and proponents of teacher preparation and professional development as they exist today.

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... Addressing such drawbacks in pre-service teacher education programs is one aim of school-based professional development (PD) programs [14,15]. However, global reports indicate that establishing sustainable PD programs that can help to address such gaps and enable schools to respond to dynamic reform demands for teachers, in general [16,17], and for mathematics teachers, in particular, remains challenging [18,19]. ...
... In addition to individual teacher competence, a series of studies have shown that what happens in the classroom depends on a large number of situational factors, e.g., the relevant curriculum, adequate resources, reasonable class sizes, a good school leadership and accountability system, community involvement, a supportive policy environment, etc. (e.g., [5,14,28]). According to Cobb et al. [21], however, the institutional setting for how these factors operate in a particular school and how they affect instruction remains complex and difficult to understand. ...
... The consensus about the characteristics of effective PD programs and difficulties replicating such programs are widely apparent [16][17][18]. Schwille and Dembele [14] put this paradox of PD replicability as " . . . knowing what to do but not how to do it . . . ...
Article
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Existing initiatives in mathematics education demand establishing a continuous professional development program for teachers in Ethiopian schools. However, implementing such programs first requires an understanding of the school and district environment in which the participating teachers work, as mathematics instruction is in part a function of the environment. In many cases, school and district settings are dynamic, and it is difficult to incorporate unplanned and intervening factors into the change process. This case study attempts to investigate the influences of the school and district settings in promoting reform visions in mathematics education. This study applies the theory of communities of practice as a framework and qualitative coding of data to understand the dynamic school setting and its implications for the teaching practices of mathematics teachers. The findings reveal that the school setting does not adequately promote reform visions, but rather it maintains the practice that is supposed to be changed. The current situation includes an accountability system loosely connected to reform visions, the absence of reform-oriented school leaders and expertise to guide the teachers, and a lack of instructional materials that the teachers can refer to regarding the new reforms. This paper suggests a possible configuration of the school situation to promote an environment that fosters the teaching of mathematics toward reform objectives.
... There remain many unresolved controversies about formal teacher preparation, including how much of it is necessary and what kind it should be (Schwille and Dembélé, 2007). The EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005 comments upon its value as follows: ...
... Surprisingly, given the large amounts of money spent on teacher education and training, there are no definitive answers to these questions yet (see, for instance, Darling-Hammond, 2002, versus Walsh, 2002Schwille and Dembélé, 2007;Wilson, Floden, and Ferrini-Mundy, 2001). To be sure, there are inherent difficulties in answering these questions, given that schooling, teaching and teacher education must adapt to societal changes and differences. ...
... Il s'agit par la promotion des enseignants sur la base de la reconnaissance de leur expertise et sans qu'ils s'éloignent des classes et de leurs pairs, de favoriser la capitalisation et la transmission de l'expertise. Cela s'inscrit dans un « modèle de la cascade », qui désigne une modalité de formation continue consistant en la reconnaissance et la formation d'une petite partie des personnels enseignants dont la mission consiste ensuite à former leurs pairs au niveau des établissements (Schwille et Dembélé, 2007). De longue date expérimenté en Allemagne (OCDE, 1998), ce modèle s'est imposé concomitamment à la promotion des 46 Rappelons que si en France, les enseignants de l'enseignement secondaire général enseignent une seule discipline, ce n'est pas le cas dans beaucoup de pays européens. ...
... L'un des principaux arguments avancés pour la promotion des actions de DPC est le dépassement d'une conception classique, descendante de la formation des personnels enseignants, fondée sur des modalités transmissives (conférences, séminaires d'une journée) et très corrélée à la diffusion des réformes. La recherche a régulièrement signalé le caractère coûteux, inefficace et inefficient de cette conception classique, qui fait l'économie d'un diagnostic sur les besoins professionnels des enseignants, permet peu d'interactions entre les professionnels et n'a que peu d'effets en termes de changement des pratiques pédagogiques (Feiman-Nemser, 2001 ;Schwille et Dembélé, 2007). ...
... 'Teacher education' -the term that is increasingly predominant in European discourse, replacing the allegedly narrower idea of 'teacher training' with the holistic concept of a broader preparation of teachers as learning individuals -actually occupies a rather controversial position within the Bologna European Higher Education Area, for several reasons. As stated in a UNESCO report (Schwille & Dembélé, 2007), there seems to be a lack of international consensus on the best options for the policies and practices of teacher education, since institutional attempts to tackle open issues mostly reflect either national traditions or assumptions and decisions based on practical considerations. The activity of teaching, inasmuch as it is socially and contextually based, naturally reflects ideas and priorities about the aims and desirable outcomes of education and schooling, with underlying values and cultural traits, which are deeply rooted in national histories and traditions. ...
... Such differences are echoed in the variety of national 'filters' applied to select and qualify future teachers -that is, the mechanisms for quality control throughout the teacher education process -which can be either strict, quite general or even optional, and may concern mainly subject knowledge and academic qualifications, or also interpersonal competences and attitudes to the profession (Schwille & Dembélé, 2007). ...
... In traditional approaches to teacher education, dichotomies existed between theory and practice and between pedagogy and academic subject-matter. Student teachers learned Content Knowledge (CK) in academic departments and the pedagogy/methodology related to the teaching of that content in education departments (Schwille and Dembélé 2007). As a result, "the typical pre-service program" according to Feiman-Nemser (2001: 1014 was "a collection of unrelated courses and field experiences". ...
... Pedagogical capacity building was central to the success of TEIP. Sustaining and embedding TEIP reforms within the system will require good planning, clear-cut policy decisions and adequate funding for ongoing capacity building for all involved in the professional development of teachers (Schwille & Dembélé (2007). 10. ...
... In traditional approaches to teacher education, dichotomies existed between theory and practice and between pedagogy and academic subject-matter. Student teachers learned Content Knowledge (CK) in academic departments and the pedagogy/methodology related to the teaching of that content in education departments (Schwille and Dembélé 2007). As a result, "the typical pre-service program" according to Feiman-Nemser (2001: 1014 was "a collection of unrelated courses and field experiences". ...
... Pedagogical capacity building was central to the success of TEIP. Sustaining and embedding TEIP reforms within the system will require good planning, clear-cut policy decisions and adequate funding for ongoing capacity building for all involved in the professional development of teachers (Schwille & Dembélé (2007). 10. ...
Technical Report
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This paper provides a comprehensive review of the World Bank–supported Teacher Education Improvement Project for Grades 1– 4 Class Teachers in the West Bank and Gaza (2008–19) and has important policy implications for similar initiatives in other developing economies. A professional development index of teaching competences was created and used to redesign, develop, implement, and evaluate pre-service and in-service programs in line with international good practice. By linking pre-service to in-service, the index is innovative in capturing the continuum of a teacher’s professional development. The index as well as all elements of the pre-service and in-service programs were developed by Palestinians with consultant assistance. This developmental process strengthened the capacity of those involved and ensured understanding and ownership of outputs. The project resulted in an increase of fully qualified teachers from 54 percent in 2011 to 92 percent in 2018. In 2019, five of six university pre-service programs were granted unconditional accreditation by representative panels chaired by international experts. The project won the United Kingdom’s prestigious Times Higher Education Award for International Impact, 2018 due to its innovative approaches and potential for replication in other countries. The model of reform developed in the project is currently influencing the development of strategies for the coherent and systemic reform of teacher education in World Bank–supported projects in The Gambia and Zambia.
... Adquiere especial importancia en contextos de de gobierno municipal y Servicios Locales de Educación (SLE) | HORACIO SOLAR | ERNESTO TREVIÑO | ERNESTO SAN MARTÍN | PAMELA AYALA reforma educativa (Buchberger et al., 2000), ya que las cada vez más grandes demandas a la profesión docente exigen una mayor formación en la adquisición de nuevas competencias y habilidades. No obstante, la evidencia indica que las actividades de formación continua suelen ser muy heterogéneas y fragmentadas, prevaleciendo los talleres cortos y de bajo impacto (OECD, 2009), lo que la vuelve ineficaz e ineficiente (Schwille & Dembélé, 2007). ...
... Ahora bien, no basta con que los focos de apoyo se funden en un proceso de diagnóstico reflexivo, también es necesario que sean de alto impacto. En la literatura se destaca que las actividades de formación continua suelen ser muy heterogéneas, fragmentadas e ineficientes (Schwille & Dembélé, 2007;OECD, 2009), y esto mismo es declarado por los profesores, quienes sostienen que la formación debe extenderse en el tiempo (en contraste de los cursos cortos y aislados), tener una orientación práctica (más que teórica), ser flexible y adaptada al contexto. Así, los docentes abogan por instancias de aprendizaje continuas e integradas, focalizadas en la práctica más que en la teoría, y que posibiliten instancias para aprender con otros y compartir experiencias que podrían enriquecer el trabajo. ...
Chapter
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El objetivo del proyecto es generar un modelo de apoyo para el desarrollo profesional de profesores, en el contexto de los nuevos Servicios Locales de Educación (SLE). Con este fin, un objetivo anterior es caracterizar los focos de apoyo que requieren los docentes y el sistema escolar. La premisa del proyecto es que profesores destacados pueden ejercer de líderes intermedios, para acompañar a sus pares tanto en el mismo establecimiento educacional como en otros de la misma zona.
... And certainly, such classroom roles are critical. For instance, the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendations Concerning the Status of Teachers argues that the, "advance in education depends on … the human, pedagogical, and technical qualities of individual teachers" (ILO & UNESCO, 1966, p. 6; see also Craig et al., 1998;Darling-Hammond, 2000;Good et al., 2009;Leu & Ginsburg, 2011;Leu & Price-Rom, 2006;Mulkeen, 2010;OECD, 2005;Schwille & Dembélé, 2007;UNESCO, 2004;World Bank Education Team, 2011). ...
... Learning to be a teacher is a long-term process, which includes different stages: a) the apprenticeship of observation, b) formal preservice education, c) induction, and d) continuing professional development or inservice education. According to Schwille and Dembélé (2007): ...
Article
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This article analyzes three USAID education strategy documents (1998, 2005, and 2011) as well as USAID’s requests for proposals for three projects to assess how teachers are represented. The main findings indicate that USAID education strategy documents a) treat teachers as human capital, a human resource input, rather than as human beings and b) characterize teachers as implementers of policy rather than as key stakeholders who should also be involved in dialogue and decision making about educational policy at various levels of the system. These findings are compared with those resulting from a similar analysis of World Bank education strategy documents.
... Assim, enquanto estratégias da harmonização dos ciclos de estudos, de facilitação da mobilidade europeia e de articulação entre contextos de ES e contextos reais de trabalho, foram examinados: os requisitos de acesso à qualificação profissional 13 ; a duração da formação; os modelos de formação predominantes; a componente de prática de ensino supervisionada, e as condições de acesso à profissão (Quadro 1). Apesar da existência de muitas similaridades nas políticas de formação de professores, não só à escala europeia, como também à escala mundial, existe também muita variação na sua operacionalização (Schwille e Dembélé, 2007). Como se depreende pela leitura do quadro 1, as orientações emanadas pela CE são objeto de múltiplas interpretações, dando lugar a soluções diversas nos contextos nacionais. ...
... Socially just teacher education in any society is based on a critical stance that extends far beyond aims of mere 'tolerance' and 'management' of diversity (Dooly & Villanueva, 2006). This position also recognizes that teacher learning occurs in both formal and informal contexts and must occur longitudinally in order to be effective (Schwille & Dembele, 2007). Educational change that supports Indigenous communities' needs is facilitated by participatory approaches for local education development, when teachers as researchers critically reflect on local context, educational policies, and support community action. ...
... Too frequently, teacher educators do not put their lessons into practice. All of this supports the notion that teaching is something that is best learned in a classroom setting (Schwille and Dembele (2007). Similarly , Unver, Bumen, and Basbay (2010) claim that there are numerous issues with the program, including high student quotas, unsatisfactory student selection, a lack of motivation for the program and the courses among students and faculty, a lack of knowledge and pedagogical expertise among the faculty, ineffective class management, and a lack of specific institutions and people in charge of the program. ...
Article
The objective of this study is to find out the major problems and concerns of teachers in teacher education. This is a literature review based study. The descriptive method was employed in this study. The goal of a program called "teacher education" is to help educators become more effective and competent so they can fulfill the demands of their jobs and the problems posed by globalization. We must try to improve our teacher preparation program if we want to have good teachers. The findings indicate that teachers in Nepal confront a number of difficulties in their line of work. It was found that traditional curricula, a lack of developing creativity, life skills, and a lack of training in teaching skills, and traditional teaching strategies, low school supervision, insufficient empirical research, profit-oriented education, a lack of ICT-based teaching and learning, etc. are the main issues and problems in teacher education. Additionally, there is a serious issue due to the imbalance between the supply and demand for teachers. To improve the standard of teacher education, it is crucial to empower teachers to perform well. The corrective actions to enhance teacher education include proper scheduling and use of human resources, management of qualified staff, provision of adequate facilities and equipment, appropriate techniques, effective teaching practices, quality improvement, research skills, changes in the role of teachers, integration of ICT in teacher education, and other things. However, effective action should be taken by the central and local governments to strengthen the programs for teacher education.
... Depending on the level of competence, professionals join different education sectors and start professional practices. Professional preparation prepares the teacher for professional practices, and professional development is a collection of career-long processes (Schwille & Dembele, 2007). ...
Article
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Professional preparation is the dynamic and core element that prepares and develops teachers’ professional practices. In Bangladesh, female integration into the high-status profession (like teaching at Dhaka University) has been seen as female empowerment and freedom of choice. Female teachers are a significant and indispensable part of education at the University of Dhaka; currently, thirty-two percent (32%) of its teachers are female. Literature shows that female professionals are not necessarily free from gender prejudice. This research explores by using the development of a qualitative case study how social factors can affect female teachers’ professional preparation and the dynamics of the challenges. Data were collected from one (1) gender specialist and six (6) female faculty members of the University of Dhaka using semi-structured in-depth interviews. The analysis suggested that social factors have substantial effects on female teachers’ professional preparation that limits their professional credibility and competency. The study also identified the challenges that influence social factors. The paper presents a critical observation about the emerging contemporary issues and will contribute to ameliorating cognition about female teachers’ professional development at the University of Dhaka. Vol. 48 (University of Dhaka Centennial Special Issue), June 2022 p.71-82
... In addition, teacher educators and their practices are not studied as extensively as teachers and students although they are one of the decisive elements in the quality of education. Schwille and Dembele (2007) characterize teacher educators as follows: ...
Article
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There is an argument that Marshal McLuhan’s ‘the medium is the message’ adage is more likely to be underpinned in the context of teacher education since pedagogy is not only a means of delivering content in teacher education but also the content (what) in teachers’ professional preparation. The quality of teacher education depends heavily on the practice of teacher educators and the learning experiences of student teachers: Pedagogy of teacher education. The pedagogy of teacher education is conceptualized as teaching about teaching and learning to teach. Using primary data from teacher educators and student teachers and secondary data sources (documents and research studies), the paper examined and reflected on Ethiopian teacher education pedagogy. Questionnaire, interview and observation were used to collect primary data. The findings revealed ingrained assumptions that student teachers learn to teach by learning theories and facts of different courses through lectures, discussions, and group work. Teacher educators in the study characterized their typical classroom as a combination of ‘reviewing of the previous lesson, explanation, discussion, and lesson summary’ which inherently reflects features of a typical classroom in Ethiopian schools. When asked which pedagogies help student teachers to learn to teach, teacher educators mentioned group work, discussion, lecturing, oral questioning and classwork, quiz, and practicum (ordered in terms of frequencies). It is argued that teaching about teaching and learning to teach are customarily reduced to the delivery and learning of course contents rather than the ‘how’ of teaching through teacher educators’ modeling and reflection, student teachers’ school experiences, or other pedagogies that develop learning to teach among student teachers. Teacher educators’ practices, however, in some cases demonstrated elements of active learning techniques aimed at improving mastery of content and practicing teaching skills. However, their interview responses on preparing teachers largely lack pedagogies relevant to learning to teach. Efforts to improve the quality of education in general and teacher education, in particular, should prioritize the critical examination and reform of teacher educators’ preparation, professional developments, and pedagogical practices at teacher education colleges and universities.
... In the 1990s, when developing countries had difficulty in supplying a sufficient number of teachers to meet growing enrollment, they employed many teachers who had been insufficiently trained for the job. As a result, large numbers of teachers with little pre-service teacher education were recruited (Schwille & Dembélé, 2007). This may have led to the decision to focus on INSET. ...
Chapter
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This chapter highlights Japan’s programs/projects for improving teachers’ classroom practices, especially in mathematics and science education, at the primary and secondary levels over the last 50 years (from 1966 to 2015). Since the mid-1960s, Japan has placed a strong focus on teacher factors for improving the quality of education. Japan, mainly through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has been providing support to strengthen teacher capacity by working together with partner countries through trial and error on the ground. As the education agenda and practices place increasing emphasis on learning in the 2010s, JICA’s focus is shifting from “teacher capacity” to “children’s learning” by paying attention to consistency and coherence between curriculum, textbooks, lessons, and assessment. This chapter describes the features of and changes to Japanese approaches in this field by dividing it into five stages. The chapter also discusses the historical background of each stage and connections between the stages.KeywordsTeachers’ classroom practicesTeacher capacityChildren’s learningMathematics and science educationUniversal primary educationJapan’s ODABasic educationTextbook developmentLearning assessment
... There is a strong consensus across the field concerning the characteristics of effective contemporary models of TPD (listed in Table 1). However, impact tends to focus on teaching practices rather than student outcomes, where causality is hard to determine (as Schwille and Dembele [193] highlight). Moreover, the impact of specific factors Table 1 Key characteristics of effective TPD Characteristic Article sources ...
Article
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Pre-service education and in-service teacher professional development (collectively termed teacher professional development or TPD here) can play a pivotal role in raising teaching quality and, therefore, learning outcomes for children and young people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, TPD opportunities in LMICs are limited, unsustained, and often not informed by recent research evidence, and outcomes are mixed. Educational technologies offer potential to enhance formally provided programmes and informal peer-learning forms of TPD. We present the first systematic review of the literature pertaining to technology-mediated TPD for educators of school-aged learners in LMICs, aiming to characterise appropriate and effective uses of technology along with specific constraints operating in those contexts. An in-depth synthesis of 170 studies was undertaken, considering macro-, meso- and micro-level factors during TPD design and implementation in the 40 LMICs represented. Volume of publications increased dramatically over the review period (2008–2020), indicating that the field is rapidly developing. Results largely showed benefits for teachers, but evidence for sustainability, cost-effectiveness or tangible impacts on classroom practice and student outcomes was thin. Promising, locally-contextualised forms of technology-mediated TPD included virtual coaching, social messaging, blended learning, video-stimulated reflection, and use of subject-specific software/applications. We report on the variable effectiveness of programmes and limited attention to marginalised groups. To maximise effectiveness of technology-enhanced TPD, the role of facilitators or expert peers is paramount – yet often glossed over – and the interpersonal dimension of teacher learning must be maintained. Recommendations are made for researchers, policymakers, teachers and teacher educators.
... In other words, teaching in most cases is challenging because of its complex and unpredictable nature. Dealing with such challenging task of teaching requires proper preparation and ongoing professional development (Darling-Hammond, Hyler & Gardner, 2017;Schwille & Dembele, 2007;Brown, et. al., 2011). ...
Article
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Higher Diploma Program (HDP) was introduced in 2003 as a professional license program for practicing teacher educators in Ethiopian public universities. Initially, it was introduced across seven public universities in Ethiopia by the federal Ministry of Education. Gradually, the program has been adapted and institutionalized as a mandatory pedagogical training program for all teachers in the 45 public universities in Ethiopia. The duration of study for HDP is 9 months, with two face-to-face sessions per week. It is not common to find such an extended pedagogical training program being institutionalized and implemented across universities in the nation. Hence, this study attempts to investigate the institutionalization process of the HDP program across public universities in Ethiopia with a focus on the initiation and early years’ implementation phases of the program. The paper analyses the process on the basis of data collected through document reviews and interview. The study applied key informant interview and data collected from seven respondents in which one was from the Ministry of Education and the rest from the four HDP implementing universities. The author also drew on his personal and professional experiences in the Ethiopian higher education sector in the last two decades. The study identified characteristics of HDP that contribute to its institutionalization. These include evidence-based program design and implementation, strong moderation system, systematic institutional capacity development, engaging leaders, the preparation and use of tools or artifacts, and adaptability to ongoing changes. These characteristics can be taken as lessons for the future policy reform initiatives in the Ethiopian higher education sector.
... Awareness and focus on Continuing Professional Teacher Development (CPTD) has been having a growing focus throughout the world (Fraser, Kennedy, Reid & McKinney, 2007). This focus has been attributed to the recognition and enhancement of policy agenda of lifelong learning and of improving learner performance (Fraser et al., 2007;Coolahan, 2002;Schwille & Dembele, 2007). Existing research indicates that an inspired and informed teacher is the most important school related factor influencing learner performance (Bridge, 2017). ...
Conference Paper
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This paper examined the use of simulation-based learning to prepare accounting student-teachers on how to teach through the learner-centered approach during work-integrated learning (WIL). Accounting student-teachers are trained not only to transfer subject content knowledge and skills while studying to become accounting teachers. Instead, they are taught to assist learners in discovering new knowledge, skills and changed attitudes towards the subject. However, during WIL, accounting student-teachers are assigned to mentors that have an inadequate grounding in the learner-centred approach, thus leading the student-teachers to resort to the use of the traditional teacher-centred approach. Findings were reported on five accounting student-teachers placed in three schools for WIL, three experienced accounting teachers and an accounting subject advisor through Participatory Action Research (PAR). Classroom observations and Free Attitude Interviews (FAI) were used to generate data from the experience of student-teachers, and data were analysed and interpreted using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The findings reveal that simulationbased learning leads to effective learning as it provides a platform to practise the integration of a learner-centred approach in teaching accounting during WIL. Accounting student-teachers need continuous support in the integration of the learner-centred approach to cushion them from the adverse effects of falling behind in the contexts that require high skills.
... The activities were traditionally delivered in the form of workshops, lectures and conferences; hence, brief and fragmented (Collinson & Ono, 2001;Schwille & Dembele, 2007). ...
Thesis
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Several key teacher learning paradigms have supported the expediency of collegial work and peer support for learning and development among teachers. Amongst other domains, one significant collaborative model in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) is peer observation where there are ample opportunities for professional growth. There is much research on peer observation among pre-service EFL teachers in which efficiency of modelling and constructive feedback is evident. In-service teachers has had little attention in relation to teachers’ beliefs and attitudes towards the collaborative model of peer observation at later stages of teachers’ careers. This study examines how in-service EFL teachers perceives peer observation and its impact on their development within this collaborative framework. It also investigates the factors that contribute to the formation of these beliefs and perceptions. Three semi-structured interviews were conducted with a number of experienced EFL teachers in a Saudi higher education institute and an IPA approach was used to interpret the personal lived experiences of the research participants. The results revealed that (i) teachers’ beliefs and perceptions are mainly informed by their past experiences and professional coursework, (ii) the conflict between the multiple identities of the teachers interrupted their perceptions and influenced their beliefs about peer observation as an ongoing learning tool, (iii) there is a number of external and internal factors that affect teachers’ perceptions of peer observation and internal ones are more domineering, (iv) teachers undergo psychological and emotional tensions that may apprehend their practice of the peer collaborative work within the classroom context and (v) that those tensions are eluded by teachers by adopting other self-development activities.
... L'indicazione più rilevante che si ricava è una sorta di comunione tra la realtà osservata e quella sperimentata, tra la teoria e la pratica in modo che da una tale simmetria sia interna agli indirizzi di studio e di ricerca concertata fin dall'inizio col consiglio di corso di tirocinio, venga ricostruita una teoria interpretativa mai priva dell'esperienza dell'ambiente in cui si opera. Un esempio concreto di questa modalità di formazione è che del monte di orario di cui si dota questo specifico itinerario, 75 sono riservate a maturare un indirizzo specifico all'integrazione degli alunni con disabilità; c. gli insegnamenti di didattiche disciplinari dove, trovandosi in un contesto di carattere laboratoriale, essi sono determinati da molteplici fonti di sapere e storie didattiche, collocandosi così in linea con gli interessi pratici e i bisogni dei corsisti di stabilire una stretta relazione tra l'approccio disciplinare e l'approccio didattico; d. i laboratori pedagogico-didattici indirizzati prevedono la complementarietà tra la rielaborazione e il confronto delle pratiche educative e delle esperienze di tirocinio (Schwille, Dembélé 2007). ...
... Back in 1997, Brooks et al. went so far as to argue that the 'trend towards giving British secondary schools a fuller role in initial teacher education (ITE) had been gathering pace for much of the second half of this century' (Brooks et al., 1997, pp.163). Our concern is therefore not with how schools provide practical experience but with how schools collaborate with the HEI so that teachers move along the 'continuum of teacher learning' (Schwille and Dembele, 2007). As Musset explains: 'It appears that the responsibility for teacher education has typically been divided between these two types of actors (schools and HEIs), rather than shared 6 between both systems. ...
Article
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The DfE’s recent teacher training strategy, ‘Training the Next Generation of Outstanding Teachers’ argues that ‘where teachers have had extensive initial training in schools, they perform better’ (DfE 2011a, pp. 13). The strategy therefore argues that ‘schools should take greater responsibility in the system’ (ibid, pp.14), a move which follows in the footsteps of three-quarters of OECD countries (Musset, 2010, pp. 38). However, the DfE’s strategy also recognises that ‘universities bring great strengths to the training of teachers’ (DfE 2011a, pp. 14). The role of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in initial teacher training (ITT) will therefore not disappear but will need to be ‘reconceptualised’ (Sachs, J. 2003). Our research provides a successful model for collaboration between HEIs and schools. We show the measurable improvements to training achieved when Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) and its partnership of schools used a phased model in which we tapped into both parties’ different strengths. The HEI took responsibility for aggregating trainees’ experiences, co-ordinating a research based response and providing the space and theoretical frameworks for trainees to share, contrast and reflect on their in-school experiences. Meanwhile, schools brought an understanding of context which guided an appropriate response, provided trainees with opportunities to see theory in practice and a context for professional dialogue. In order to bring together these strengths, the HEI’s role started as that of initiator, then moved to that of facilitator and capacity builder and finally to evaluator and supporter.
... The task is really in two parts. First, improving access to schools requires a substantial number of new teachers, and second, as changes are made to improve the curriculum, new teachers and in-service teachers need improved education in content areas as well as new teaching methods (see for a similar experience in Mexico; Schwille and Dembélé, 2007;UNESCO, 2004;Chiba, ed., 2003). In the following sections, we first describe three projects which include teacher education as a key strategy for change within a larger context. ...
... Apart from its importance, a solid proof is needed to check the validity and impact of the training on teachers and students along with attainment and achievement aspects (UNESCO, 2006). Additionally, this program should be directed by data of teachers and students' learning along with results (Schwille & Dembele, 2007). ...
Thesis
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A research on PEELI (Punjab Education and English Language Initiative) program from 2013 to 2018.
... The teachers wish for consideration of their needs such as the physical training environment, and prefer not to attend short-term or compulsory training. PD models that are based on transferring predefined knowledge given in a dominant mode and in a very short time are not seen as effective (Schwille & Dembele, 2007). The teachers expect to be motivated in some way such as being awarded attendance certificates endorsed by the MoNE. ...
Article
Educational reform efforts support professional development (PD) programs for teachers as a means to establishing possible outcomes that may affect changing teacher practices, student learning, and impact on economic and educational foundations. PD programs require evaluation in order to appraise their effectiveness, and seeking participant opinion following program implementation is one such valid method. The aim of the current study is to determine in-service physics teachers’ evaluation about the impact of a long-term PD program. Qualitative research methodology was employed in this study. Research was conducted with seven teachers, with data collected through a workshop session evaluation checklist (WSEC) and a PD program evaluation interview protocol (PDEIP). Interviews were audio-recorded and then responses to each question transcribed. According to the WSEC data, all sessions broadly reached their aims. The session which teachers considered the least contributive to their developmental gain was on the topic of “Misconception.” The PDEIP results showed that teachers used more student-centered methods and more varied teaching materials in their lessons following their participation in the PD program. Following the PD program, some teachers reportedly started using placement assessment.
... In-service training is necessary also for practicing teachers who have already achieved credentials but want professional development and support. In many countries, these development programs are supported by the government and authorities as it is understood that in the teachers' professional lifetime, they cannot be expected to teach the same contents using the same methods (see Schwille and Dembélé 2007;Tatto 2008). Just as doctors are expected to follow the newest trends and technologies, teachers must be expected to keep up with the latest developments, both in content and pedagogical content. ...
Chapter
Updated Encyclopedia entry on Mathematics Teacher Identity
... A good teacher should be a life-long learner, and education and learning of teachers are fundamental aspects to achieve this 2,3 . The experts, policy makers and educational reformers differ in their perspective regarding what is important in teacher preparation and where or how they can be acquired, as these vary depending on the prior knowledge of teachers 4 . Also, teachers should strive to update their levels of knowledge and skills in order to improve their teaching efficiency. ...
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Education is the backbone for the growth and development of a nation. As India is an agrarian dominated economy, agricultural education plays an important role in providing human resources for improving agricultural productivity and natural resource management in a sustainable manner. The competence and performance of teachers are the key factors determining the quality of any educational programme. The current higher education sector in general and that of the agricultural sector in particular, is facing many critical challenges, including the quality of teaching. Identification of the key competences and characteristics of an effective teacher is essential for the selection, recruitment and in-service training of teachers. This article reviews the studies on teaching competences, covering the various dimensions, with special reference to agricultural education. The study calls for developing an appropriate competence framework to deliberate on the effectiveness of teachers, adjudge and prioritize areas for professional growth and development, and aid in planning their personal and career development. Strategies to enhance the competence of teachers so as to improve the quality of teaching in agricultural universities are also discussed.
... The task is really in two parts. First, improving access to schools requires a substantial number of new teachers, and second, as changes are made to improve the curriculum, new teachers and in-service teachers need improved education in content areas as well as new teaching methods (see for a similar experience in Mexico; Schwille and Dembélé, 2007;UNESCO, 2004;Chiba, ed., 2003). In the following sections, we first describe three projects which include teacher education as a key strategy for change within a larger context. ...
... The task is really in two parts. First, improving access to schools requires a substantial number of new teachers, and second, as changes are made to improve the curriculum, new teachers and in-service teachers need improved education in content areas as well as new teaching methods (see for a similar experience in Mexico; Schwille and Dembélé, 2007;UNESCO, 2004;Chiba, ed., 2003). In the following sections, we first describe three projects which include teacher education as a key strategy for change within a larger context. ...
... The teachers wish for consideration of their needs such as the physical training environment, and prefer not to attend short-term or compulsory training. PD models that are based on transferring predefined knowledge given in a dominant mode and in a very short time are not seen as effective (Schwille & Dembele, 2007). The teachers expect to be motivated in some way such as being awarded attendance certificates endorsed by the MoNE. ...
... Vandamálið við að mennta naegilega marga kennara hefur kallað á tilraunir með þróun óhefðbundinna leiða í kennaramenntun (Humprey, Wechsler og Hough, 2008;Lára Stefánsdóttir og Sigurjón Mýrdal, 1993;Þuríður Jóna Jóhannsdóttir, 2010;Þuríður Jóhannsdóttir, 2013). Í skýrslu frá UNESCO (Schwille og Dembélé, 2007) er fjallað um umbaetur í menntun kennara og hvað þurfi að gera til að laða f leiri í kennaranám. Víða er boðið upp á nám til kennsluréttinda þar sem leiðbeinendum sem starfa í skólum er boðið upp á fraeðilegt nám í fjarnámi/netnámi eða utan hefðbundins skólatíma, og þannig var fjarnámið við Kennaraháskólann skipulagt í upphafi (Lára Stefánsdóttir og Sigurjón Mýrdal, 1993). ...
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Minnkandi aðsókn að kennaranámi og skortur á kennurum veldur talsverðum áhyggjum. Fyrir um aldarfjórðungi var farið í átak til að fjölga réttindakennurum en hlutfall leiðbeinenda hafði verið hátt, einkum á landsbyggðinni. Farið var að bjóða upp á fjarnám og samið var við kennaramenntunarstofnanir um að taka við f leiri nemum. Hlutfall leiðbeinenda lækkaði í kjölfarið og einnig varð efnahagshrunið 2008 til þess að kennarar sneru aftur til starfa í grunnskólum. Nú hefur hlutfall leiðbeinenda hækkað að nýju og óttast er að fjöldi útskrifaðra grunnskólakennara með réttindi haldi engan veginn í við þann fjölda sem hættir störfum, meðal annars vegna aldurs. Brottfall úr grunnskólakennaranámi og hæg námsframvinda veldur einnig áhyggjum. Í þessari rannsókn er dregin upp mynd af bakgrunni grunnskólakennaranema við Menntavísindasvið Háskóla Íslands og kannað hvort munur sé á fjar- og staðnemum. Niðurstöður benda til þess að fjarnemar eigi síður háskólamenntaða foreldra en staðnemar og að börn kennara fari frekar í staðnám en fjarnám. Svipað hlutfall fjarnema og staðnema vinnur með námi en fjarnemar vinna mun f leiri tíma á viku. Til að mynda vinna 42% þeirra meira en 30 tíma á viku meðan hið sama á við um 4,5% staðnema. Það hvort nemar eru í stað- eða fjarnámi tengist ekki aðdráttaraf li kennarastarfsins en hversu ánægðir þeir eru með bæði námskeið í uppeldis- og kennslufræði og kennslufræði greina tengist aðdráttaraf linu, og þættir sem tengjast vettvangsnámi skipta miklu máli. Þetta er í takt við fyrri rannsóknir um mikilvægi þeirrar reynslu sem kennaranemar fá í starfi með námi og í æfingakennslu.
... También en el ámbito de la formación continua, el SDPD está alineado con la evidencia internacional que muestra que la preparación a lo largo de la trayectoria profesional es necesaria para el desarrollo de capacidades (IALEI, 2008) y es fundamental en situaciones de reforma educativa como la que vive Chile (Buchberger, Campos, Kallos, & Stephenson, 2000). Sin embargo, será necesario revisar los mecanismos de formación continua, pues aquellos más tradicionales que se conforman de cursos de corta duración no alcanzan los impactos de construcción de capacidades de enseñanza deseados (OECD, 2009;Schwille & Dembélé, 2007). ...
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This article explores the emotional and physical conditions experienced by Iraqi teachers after the fighting and displacement began in 2014 (IOM, 2018) in southern Mosul. It contributes to reducing the paucity of research on teacher well-being in conflict-affected contexts, showing that education can have a healing role for teachers, as well as for students. Teaching helps them to be resilient, to re-establish relationships, and to focus once again on their knowledge and skills. The paper draws on findings from hybrid research involving 35 teachers in 10 different primary and secondary schools in Ninewa governorate. The research explores their needs and challenges from multiple perspectives. While confronted with daily hardships and challenges, teachers do not want to abdicate their role as educators. Teaching helps them to have a sense of purpose. Their strong sense of vocation and motivation to continue teaching under such challenging circumstances add to the debate on teacher well-being and resilience.
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This Monograph is a product of my doctoral dissertation works. It explores how quality initial teacher education is manifested in Kosovo in the context of European initiatives for improving quality in initial teacher education. Drawing on the socio-cultural context of Kosovo, it examines empirical data and analyses key themes around the facets and tensions that characterise teacher educators, management staff, and student-teachers’ understandings and conceptualisations, cultures, values, and assumptions, their knowledge base experiences, and actions regarding quality initial teacher education and improvement process. The Monograph is the first of its kind to systematically research the landscape of the manifestation of quality initial teacher education in Kosovo in the context of European initiatives. From the comprehensive theoretical framework, the book puts forwards a uniquely developed analytical framework considering three quality manifestation dimensions: the institutional policy and practice dimension (organisational culture, management practices, institutional policy for quality assurance, cooperation with schools, etc.); the teacher educator practice dimension (classroom practice, roles of teacher educators, disciplinary cultures, etc.); and the programmes design and delivery dimension (development of student-teacher skills, knowledge, and values, transversal and research skills, programme content, learning outcomes and their assessment, etc.). Chapters offer an original and in-depth understanding of continuous education reform through European-led initiatives in efforts to improve quality in initial teacher education in Kosovo and critically discussed various tensions and contradictions. In order to better understand, tackle, and scaffold stakeholder tensions and contradictions, recommendations put forward by this Monograph suggest that initial teacher education context needs to be reconceptualised and treated as a broader/extended and context-free ecosystem. This contribution introduces shared education context taciticity as a novice notion to theorise an extended context of initial teacher education that can recognise all possible tensions and contradictions of stakeholder perceptions regarding quality initial teacher education for developing collective tacit knowledge towards a culture of quality in initial teacher education. This Monograph will be of great interest for teacher educators, educational researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in contexts undergoing a similar transition, informing wider discussions about understanding and improving quality in initial teacher education in the frame of European initiatives.
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The focus of this chapter is to describe efforts to implement reform-based mathematics practices in Kenya preprimary classrooms. As much of the research behind reform-based practices comes from high-income contexts, the authors explore how practices can be adapted to middle income contexts through a case study with seven teachers. Using observations, surveys, and interviews, they present data around two key strategies common in reform-based math: questioning strategies and small group, hands-on work. They show that teachers struggled to use open ended questions, which may be related to their pedagogical knowledge. Teachers were successful with implementing small group work, especially after they were comfortable with the content. They discuss what types of research are needed to better understand how reform-based math practices can be adapted to be used across countries with varying levels of resources.
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This book contains peer reviewed papers presented at the various conferences organized by the Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER) and especially the Social Sciences Research Division. Social sciences is currently at a cross roads. The subjects covered are so diverse and the methodologies so different that it is very difficult to compare results in order to advance the knowledge about the society. If we add the diversion of societies then it makes the communication between social scientists a thorny issue. The same social issue or problem is viewed differently depending on the country of origin of the principal investigator. However, bringing these social scientists together makes the communication easier and one can only hope that this can be for the best of social science research, useful to all societies of the modern turbulent world that we live in. This is exactly the mission of ATINER, i.e. to bring social scientists together in the historic city of Athens in order to discuss the current developments and the future prospects of social science research. This book includes 17 essays written by social scientists coming from 12 different countries and five continents (Russia, USA, Brazil, Turkey, India, Georgia, South Africa, Slovakia, Italy, Latvia, UK, and Germany). The same dispersion is noted in the topics covered. It is an anthology of essays determined only by the specific interests of the authors. The 16 papers are organized into two sections: the first on society which includes five papers and the second on behavior and attitude with eleven papers. Chapter one can be considered an introductory chapter to issues concerning the society. Kenneth Smith examines the concept of collective consciousness of society based on Durkheimian sociology one of the three modern founders of the discipline of social sciences. The other two are Marx and Weber. The term “modern” is used to highlight that social sciences was a favoured subject of ancient Greek Philosophers especially Plato and Aristotle. The former can be considered as the father of social sciences. Many ideas developed in the following chapters of this book depend on the foundations of social analyses such as the one described in this chapter. Chapter two deals with Russia’s disabled people. The emphasis is on vocational training. Olga Borodkina, based on empirical research, argues that inclusive education is lacking behind in Russia. Most Russian Universities cannot facilitate disabled people. The author concludes that there are improvements but further changes are needed which require the collaboration of the state, educational institutions, society and people with special needs. Chapter three examines the Latvian society from the prism of its ethnic and religious diversity. Julija Stare states that Latvia is one of the most diverse countries in the Baltics and Europe. The concepts of ethnicity and religion are examined by the author in terms of their interaction to produce a hybrid identity. The conclusion is that cultural diversity contributes to the creations of new, hybrid and different forms of identities. Chapter four investigates the Turkish society. Ayça Yılmaz Deniz looks at Turkey’s working conditions. The author uses qualitative research based on interviews of 44 workers. The conclusions show that although employees do not take part collective resistence, they develop individual resistence strategies which she analyse by reffering Bhabha's conception of mimicry. Chapter five looks at an important issue which relates to the spin off between research at a university level and the business sector. Sabrina Moretti & Francesco Sacchetti investigate the Italian case using the method of interviews of academics and examining how these researchers have reconciled the market demand for research and the academic objective of producing new knowledge. Chapter six Deborah Zuercher, Jon Yoshioka & Teresa Rishel deals with teacher quality using an experiment from two islands: Guam and American Samoa. Content Area Specialized Teacher (CAST) facilitators are used to promote professional development. They authors discuss the results fo their study and provide recommendations. Chapter seven is the first of the second part of the book which deals with behavior and attitudes. Sonia Sirtoli Färber looks at thanatology and mourning which includes different types of losses. Chapter eight is an application of applied behavior analysis. Ishhita Gupta, Shefali Thaman & S. P. K. Jena used two case studies to evaluate the intervention of differential reinforcement of other behavior. A number of important conclusions are drawn and suggestions are made for future research Chapter nine examines the aggressiveness behavior of 262 hopsital employees. Susan M. Stewart finds that dispositional aggressiveness was related to all forms of organizational injustice and workplace deviance. Chapter ten looks at the behaviour of Oidipus the lenses of Loewald’s ‘Waning of the Oedipus complex’. The author, Zelda G. Knight, claims that going back to the original interpretation different psychoanalytic perspectives regarding the process of ‘growing up, growing old, and in between the two’. Chapter eleven investigates the psychometric properties of the Death Obsession Scale (DOS) using a sample of South African university students. Solomon Mashegoane & Simon Moripe concludes that further studies are needed to test the basic hypotheses and the scale of measurement. Chapter twelve examines emotions in human relations Tomáš Sollár, Jana Turzáková, Martina Romanová & Andrea Solgajová look at the relevant literature of reading emotions through facial expressions. A sample of psychology student and nursing students in Slovakia and the results were analyzed according to standardized manifestations of basic emotions and neutral expressions. Various implications for education and training are discussed. Chapter thirteen measures passive discrimination using a lost-letter technique. This technique assesses community’s attitudes towards groups and institutitons. William Phillips, Afshin Gharib and Matt Davis sampled people from the USA, Poland, Italy and Germany. The basic hypothesis is that people are more likely to mail a letter addressed to an individual or organization that they feel neutral or positive about, than to mail a letter addressed to an organization or person they feel negatively about. They showed that there was no difference between the two names. Chapter fourteen uses a scale to incorporate three components of an attitude: cognitive, affective and behavioral. Nino Javakhishvili, Johann F. Schneider, Ana Makashvili and Natia Kochlashvili discuss this scale in terms of empirical evidence and conclude that “social distance and tolerance scales are good measures of ethnic attitudes and values”. Chapter fifteen studies integrated personality in a nontherapeutic background. Using a sample of public employees, Eva Sollárová and Tomáš Sollár show that more integrated persons choose proactively oriented strategies and high-integrated individuals are more likely to act proactively and make life opportunities. Chapter sixteen examines social workers. Ergun Hasgul and Ayse Sezen Serpen examines empathy amng social workers using a sample of Turkish social workers. They found that female social workers possess more emphatic skills than their male counterparts. Chapter seventeen uses evidence from Brazil to examine the rights of persons with disabilities. Raclene Ataide de Faria found that the group of people with intellectual disabilities is heterogeneous and their self-representation makes a positive self-image of themselves as students in regular schools.
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A teacher is critical in modeling a learner. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for teachers is important in attaining sustainable education. Africa has had several In-Service Training (INSET) systems as interventions towards CPD. Respective governments owning, managing, driving and sustaining INSET is vital if effective teacher profes­sional development aimed at sustainable quality teaching and learning is to be achieved in any country. However, the problem is the presence of unsustained CPD and INSET systems in Kenya, Malawi and Zambia running for short periods with unsustained continuity. With the view to propose owned and sustained INSET system, the objective of this qualitative research was to identify governmental strategies that would enhance CPD through sustainable INSET. Secondly, it was to clarify teacher professional development with the focus on implementation of programs at opera­tional levels, the role played by: individual governments through in- country trends and its structures as well as inter­national trends and cooperation. To achieve this, a qualitative study based on the Grounded Theory approach ex­amining historical records, perception and field visit was conducted. The data was analyzed with the support of ATLAS.ti 6.2 This paper discusses how the software worked to reduce the data so that it can be explained to the be­nefit of this research.
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The educational policies are often based on a stigmatized vision of the rural space, designed like a space marked by the delay of development and the refusal of modernity. Thus a “territorial ideology” is built, which grows like an alibi: the reports/ratios of force and the social stakes disappear behind the territory. This design, largely diffused, ends up influencing the representations of the local actors: whereas the school performances of the rural pupils are of good level, their school trajectories testify to a “identity discredit”, which influences their school and professional projects. On a plan plus general, the territorialized practices of the local actors remain rather largely unknown, whereas a better comprehension of the report/ratio to the territory could improve the effectiveness of the interventions of the public power, particularly in the field of education.
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The masterization process of initial teacher training, in Italy and in France, settles strong façon in the problem of links between teacher training and educational research. For us the monster crucial question is that a new compass is essential. The latter cannot be made up only by one theory of the intelligence in formation. If one wants to make flexible, economic and expert the formative offer, and to support the personalization of learning, the processes and the products of training, then it is necessary, from a point of view of education, to ensure the formation and the development of the talents. That gives effectiveness of the teachers. By consequence the professionality of the teacher, or its teaching action and not only didactic, is in any point similar (in term of risks, oblativity, aspect determining of its acts) to that of a doctor. Like the doctor of the life, the teacher is responsible for the spirit of his pupils; if the diagnosis is a strategic act for the doctor, in term of intervention and treatment, it is it also for teaching under educational diagnosis
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Investigación vinculada en evidenciar los efectos en la práctica didáctica-pedagógica de un grupo de profesores universitarios, posterior a su participación en un programa de formación docente institucional.
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The chapter describes research on the development of teaching and learning in a distance teacher education programme in Iceland. The focus is on challenges that school-based student teachers faced in learning to become online students and the way in which their experience of teaching in schools contributed to the development of teaching and learning in the programme. Cultural-historical activity theory was used for analysing the development of individuals and activity systems as a dialectical process. The expansive learning theory directed the contradiction analysis to reveal tensions and challenges in the development of practice within the programme, as well as future developmental possibilities. Data includes interviews with school-based student teachers and observation of face-to-face sessions, as well as transcriptions of online courses. Results indicate that a combination of non-traditional student groups and new online tools called for changed practice in teacher education and that a new model of teaching and learning is emerging. In order to develop this model, schools and the teacher education faculty need to look at the education of student teachers as a shared responsibility and negotiate acceptable arrangements for the institutions involved.
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The article reveals the elements of education for sustainable development in the Finnish education undergoing a reform. The reform movement in the Finnish education, incompatible with the global educational reform model, has laid the foundations for an effective education system with pedagogical principles fitting into the challenges of sustainable development. Finnish education following its own strategy of educational reforms has led to the smallest differences between the results of PISA tests among students in the world.
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Globally, economically disadvantaged and minority students are especially negatively impacted by less-qualified teachers, yet less-qualified teachers are disproportionately found in low-income, minority communities. Many countries struggle with the need for highly qualified teachers, in low-performing schools. This case study investigated how a private-public-international partnership fostered large-scale educational change in Egypt to improve teacher quality through teacher-of-teacher professional development. Employing interviews, surveys and document analysis, including evaluations of 720 experimental public schools in 27 governorates, with a sample of 90 educators, the study spotlights large-scale educational change. Change was initiated at the school level by leaders seeking educational change for equity, demonstrating qualities of transformative leadership. Preliminary findings of educators changing their mindset about pedagogy, accompanied by modifying practices and beliefs. Findings illuminate how the leaders’ utilized the existing centralized, hierarchical system, incorporating both upper and middle management to support change. We conclude that large-scale educational change can be initiated at the school level by courageous transformative leaders and that interconnectedness at all levels is essential for sustainability. The international partnership exemplified global interconnectedness and was advantageous to public-school reform. Finally, professional learning is a bedrock of school-reform and could be the place where knowledge frameworks are deconstructed and reconstructed.
Article
For education reform to move beyond policy rhetoric and find a place in teachers’ practice, the critical role of teachers must be acknowledged. Moving beyond a focus on the “what” of educational reform to the “how”, this study explores the enabling conditions for implementing learner-centred education in the Maldives. Using design-based research, an interventionist methodology, the key role of teachers and their professional development needs was investigated. A pedagogical intervention was developed and studied in a Maldivian island school. Data were collected through questionnaires, interviews and fieldnotes to document the processes and circumstances that influenced teachers’ enactment of innovative practices. The findings highlighted the importance of professional development focused on teachers’ access to new knowledge and ideas, the school-based conditions necessary for transferring knowledge into practice, and the need for ongoing refinement in working towards the desired pedagogical goal. The paper concludes with three overarching design principles, a theoretical output of design-based research, intended to inform similar innovations in other relevant settings.
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The last few years Virtual Reality (VR) based approaches have emerged lately as a new education paradigm. This paper addresses the possibility to cultivate reflection and empathy skills using a VR based framework targeting to maximize the professional development of teachers. Reflection and empathy are skills of paramount importance for teachers and an integral part of their professional development. The current research aims to investigate possible differences in cultivating reflection and empathy skills between participants who used a VR system and the control group who were trained in a real classroom environment. Experimental results indicate that the participants using the virtual classroom environment were able to better reflect and empathize with the students whereas participants from the control group tended to be more undecided. Moreover, the VR system gave the participants the opportunity to enter the students’ virtual body and understand the different perspectives affecting at a higher level the reflection process than the control group.
Book
Over the last three decades, a significant amount of research has sought to relate educational institutions, policies, practices and reforms to social structures and agencies. A number of models have been developed that have become the basis for attempting to understand the complex relation between education and society. At the same time, national and international bodies tasked with improving educational performances seem to be writing in a void, in that there is no rigorous theory guiding their work, and their documents exhibit few references to groups, institutions and forces that can impede or promote their programmes and projects. As a result, the recommendations these bodies provide to their clients display little to no comprehension of how and under what conditions the recommendations can be put into effect. The Education System in Mexico directly addresses this problem. By combining abstract insights with the practicalities of educational reforms, policies, practices and their social antecedents, it offers a long overdue reflection of the history, effects and significance of the Mexican educational system, as well as presenting a more cogent understanding of the relationship between educational institutions and social forces in Mexico and around the world.
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With No Child Left Behind Legislation, the United States Department of Education defined a Highly Qualified Teacher as a teacher who has earned a bachelor degree, full state certification, and demonstrated competency as defined by the state in each core academic subject he or she teaches (USDOE, 2002). The Obama Blueprint for Education (USDOE, 2010) introduces the term Teacher Effectiveness, a measure that places emphasis on the assessment of student outcomes, but the Blueprint maintains the requirements for Highly Qualified Teacher. There is a problem of shifting and indistinct definitions of teacher quality. As educators, we are accustomed to the creation and use of rubrics to assess knowledge, skills, and dispositions of learners, yet a consistent U.S. Federal rubric to assess Teacher Quality or Teacher Effectiveness is lacking. It is a challenge for teacher educators to create on target professional development for pre-service or in-service teachers when the target keeps moving. Defining Teacher Effectiveness is particularly challenging in diverse multicultural teaching contexts with compounding issues such as English Language Learner (ELL) adaptations and culturally relevant pedagogy. This exploratory case study describes teachers’ perceptions of Highly Qualified Teacher criteria and interventions that are being pilot tested to define and support Highly Effective teacher professional development in the Pacific.
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This study focused on analysing CPD provisions which are available for teachers in regular primary schools to ensure the effective teaching of learners with special education needs in Zimbabwe. The survey design which utilised a mixed methods approach was used. Questionnaires, face-to-face interviews and focus group interviews were used as instruments. The population comprised of 93 primary schools, 1457 teachers, 93 school heads and a District Education Officer in Gweru District. A sample of ten primary schools, ten school heads and one education officer purposively selected and one hundred and fifty teachers, selected through disproportional stratified random sampling procedure participated in the study. Results revealed that CPD provisions were grossly inadequate. The implication is that teachers’ effectiveness is compromised. The recommendations are that more school-based than out of school-based CPD provisions in the field of SEN should be made available to all teachers and appropriate CPD models should be used.
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Conventional teacher education programs follow an apprenticeship model and, in so doing, aspire to provide student teachers with pedagogical skills and techniques derived from a preexisting body of knowledge. In this contribution to HER's special series, "Teachers, Teaching, and Teacher Education," Kenneth M. Zeichner and Daniel P. Liston argue that the conventional approach inhibits the self-directed growth of student teachers and thereby fails to promote their full professional development. Illustrating an alternative model, the authors describe and assess the elementary student teaching program at the University of Wisconsin, Madison — a program oriented toward the goals of reflective teaching, greater teacher autonomy, and increasing democratic participation in systems of educational governance.
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This chapter discusses the context of the 1990s in which teacher education policy has been formulated. The focus is on three of the areas that are pushing for change: a conceptual shift from teaching to learning, a focus on effective school results, and the implementation in many countries of systemic education reforms. Though reference is made to conditions and constraints affecting teacher education in developing countries, the discussion emphasizes policy in the Latin American region. Consideration is given to conditions for implementation and sustainability of what appears on paper as interesting policy orientations. The importance of networking and interchange is seen as an important factor for broadening policy formulation and learning from experiences in teacher education reform.
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Lesson study, a Japanese form of professional development that centers on collaborative study of live classroom lessons, has spread rapidly in the United States since 1999. Drawing on examples of Japanese and U.S. lesson study, we propose that three types of research are needed if lesson study is to avoid the fate of so many other once-promising reforms that were discarded before being fully understood or well implemented. The proposed research includes development of a descriptive knowledge base; explication of the innovation’s mechanism; and iterative cycles of improvement research. We identify six changes in the structure and norms of educational research that would enhance the field’s capacity to study emerging innovations such as lesson study. These changes include rethinking the routes from educational research to educational improvement and recognizing a “local proof route”; building research methods and norms that will better enable us to learn from innovation practitioners; and increasing our capacity to learn across cultural boundaries.
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This study uses a national probability sample of 1,027 mathematics and science teachers to provide the first large-scale empirical comparison of effects of different characteristics of professional development on teachers’ learning. Results, based on ordinary least squares regression, indicate three core features of professional development activities that have significant, positive effects on teachers’ self-reported increases in knowledge and skills and changes in classroom practice: (a) focus on content knowledge; (b) opportunities for active learning; and (c) coherence with other learning activities. It is primarily through these core features that the following structural features significantly affect teacher learning: (a) the form of the activity (e.g., workshop vs. study group); (b) collective participation of teachers from the same school, grade, or subject; and (c) the duration of the activity.
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This article investigates teachers' subject-matter knowledge and its interrelations with pedagogical content knowledge in the context of teaching the concept of function. During the first phase of data collection, 152 prospective secondary teachers completed and open-ended questionnaire concerning their knowledge about function. In the second phase, an additional 10 prospective teachers were interviewed after responding to the questionnaire. The analysis shows that many of the subjects did not have a modern conception of function. Appreciation of the arbitrary nature of functions was missing, and very few could explain the importance and origin of the univalence requirement. This limited conception of function influenced the subjects' pedagogical thinking. Therefore, when describing functions for students, many used their limited concept image and tended not to employ modern terms. In addition, many chose to provide students with a rule to be followed without concern for understanding.
Article
This is a report of the first year of a longitudinal study to investigate changes in preservice teachers' knowledge and beliefs about reading instruction before, during, and after a fifth-year teacher education program. In particular, changes in global preprogram beliefs about education, teaching, and learning were traced as preservice teachers acquired specific knowledge of how to manage, assess, and instructionally facilitate students' learning through text. Researchers interviewed and observed 14 elementary and secondary preservice teachers as they entered the teacher education program, attended reading classes at the university, then taught reading in school classrooms. These qualitative data were analyzed to determine (a) the patterns of intellectual change from novice preservice teacher to beginning classroom teacher; (b) the personal, program, and contextual influences or constraints on that change; (c) the role of the cooperating teacher and university supervisor in supporting intellectual change; and (d) the nature of prior beliefs on identity maintenance while learning. Findings include the importance of understanding preservice teachers' prior beliefs to inform supervision and university course design, the value of cognitive dissonance in practice teaching contexts, the need to routinize classroom management knowledge before attending to subject-specific pedagogy, and the importance of the academic task as part of the teaching knowledge base.
Article
In this article, we explore the assisted performance that mentor teachers develop to help novice teachers learn to teach through analysis of the collaboration of a first-grade novice teacher and her mentor teacher in the context of the former's learning to teach mathematics in Shanghai, China. We briefly examine the possibilities and challenges associated with mentoring, describe how the novice's teaching changed over the course of her first year of teaching in the direction mathematics education reformers advocate, and explore the ways in which the mentor contributed to that development. The mentor contributed to the novice teacher's progress for several reasons. First, she developed and implemented a clear and consistent focus throughout different stages of the novice's learning and employed forms of mentoring that aligned with the kind of teaching reformers advocate. Second, the mentor also modeled, analyzed, and reflected on such mathematics teaching. Third, she defined and refined the zones of the novice's proximal development in learning to teach and pushed her to move gradually from one zone toward the other until she was able to function independently.
Article
This paper was written to stimulate discussions and debate about what a professional learning continuum from initial preparation through the early years of teaching could be like. Drawing on a broad base of literature, the author proposes a framework for thinking about a curriculum for teacher learning over time. The paper also considers the fit (or misfit) between conventional approaches to teacher preparation, induction and professional development and the challenges of learning to teach in reform-minded ways and offers examples of promising programs and practices at each of these stages. The paper is organized around three questions: (a) What are the central tasks of teacher preparation, new teacher induction, and early professional development? (b) How well do conventional arrangements address these central tasks? (c) What are some promising programs and practices at each stage in the learning to teach continuum that promote standards-based teaching and enable teachers to become active participants in school reform?
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This article presents an international perspective on Cochran-Smith and Fries’ (2001) recent analysis of the ways in which two competing ideologies are currently being employed in the United States in support of teacher education reform. In England over the last 15 years, teacher education has been fundamentally reformed and the arguments of both the “deregulators” and the “professionalizers” have been important in that process. Despite surface similarities, there remain important differences between the United States and England in how these two ideologies have been advanced and in the constituencies that have supported them. Teacher educators in England have been excluded from much of the public debate and the government has taken on the arguments of the professionalizers. What a comparison between these two countries demonstrates are the complexities involved in the globalization of ideologies.
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This chapter is a dialogue between two scholars - one Chinese and one North American. Each from her own perspective draws on field research and professional experience to analyze practices of teacher collaboration in China. The chapter considers how Chinese teachers work together as a matter of both formal organization and informal relations. The underlying cultural assumptions which support these practices are also discussed. Much of what is perceived to be dichotomous in the West (such as group vs. individual, hierarchy vs. equality, and control vs. commitment) is perceived to be reconciled within the complex historical, cultural, and political patterns which embed Chinese thinking and practice.
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I began this review with three objectives: (a) to determine whether recent learning-to-teach studies form a coherent body of literature, (b) to use any common themes that emerged from these studies to construct a model of professional growth for novice and beginning teachers, and (c) to draw inferences from the model concerning the nature of preservice teacher education programs likely to promote growth by capitalizing on naturally occurring processes and stages. I review 40 learning-to-teach studies published or presented between 1987 and 1991: 27 deal with preservice teachers, 13 with first-year or beginning teachers. All were naturalistic and qualitative in methodology. Studies within each of those divisions are clustered and summarized according to major themes that emerged from findings. The model I ultimately infer from the 40 studies confirms, explicates, and integrates Fuller’s (Fuller & Bown, 1975) developmental model of teacher concerns and Berliner’s (1988) model of teacher development based on cognitive studies of expertise. Preservice and first-year teaching appears to constitute a single developmental stage during which novices accomplish three primary tasks: (a) acquire knowledge of pupils; (b) use that knowledge to modify and reconstruct their personal images of self as teacher; and (c) develop standard procedural routines that integrate classroom management and instruction. In general, preservice programs fail to address these tasks adequately.
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The recent history of bilingual special education teacher training is discussed, and specific examples are cited of the need for cross-cultural skills which are found neither in bilingual/bicultural education nor in special education but are vital to working with culturally and linguistically different exceptional (CLDE) students. General and specific competencies for bilingual special educators are listed for the areas of instruction/curriculum, assessment and evaluation, classroom management, counseling, advocacy/public relations, and research. Characteristics of current teacher training programs are described. Five conditions are cited as being necessary to institutionalize bilingual special education as a regular part of college or university program offerings. Two model training programs are described--The Multicultural Institute for Change and the Bilingual Language Learning System (BLDS). Among recommendations are that curricula should be highly interdisciplinary, and that bilingual special education teacher competencies identified as critical by practitioners should be validated empirically before being used to design future training programs. (JW)
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The pressure towards more school-based teacher education pro-grams, visible in many countries, creates a need to rethink the re-lationship between theory and practice. The traditional application-of-theory model appears to be rather ineffective and is currently being replaced by other, more reflective approaches. However, until now the variety of different notions and assumptions un-derlying these new approaches have not provided a sound basis for further development. Two related theoretical bases are presented for a new paradigm in teacher education. Thefirst uses the concepts of episteme and phronesis to introduce a new way of framing rele-vant knowledge. The second is a more holistic way of describing the relationship between teacher cognition and teacher behavior, lead-ing to a model of three levels in learning about teaching, the Gestalt level, the schema level and the theory level, which are illustrated by interview data. Building on these two theoretical;frameworks, a so-called "'realistic approach" to teacher education is introduced. The teacher educator's role within this approach is analyzed as well as organizational consequences. First evaluative results are presented.
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Malawi adopted free primary education in 1994 following the democratic election of a new government. This resulted in a massive increase in the demand for primary teachers. Pre-career, full-time teacher education was replaced by the Malawi integrated in-service teacher education programme (MIITEP). This was a mixed-mode system where periods of college-based training alternated with distance and local level support for training with a school base. The programme was introduced in 1997 and has successfully trained over 18,000 teachers. This paper describes the programme, and presents evidence on different elements of its implementation. It draws attention to its strengths and weaknesses and some of the conditions which need to be met to improve its quality.
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The paper defines and analyses the differences between collaborative culture and contrived collegiality as forms of joint work and interaction among teachers. It uses the case of peer coaching, especially one variant known as technical coaching, to investigate and interpret these differences. Collaborative cultures comprise evolutionary relationships of openness, trust, and support among teachers where they define and develop their own purposes as a community. Contrived collegiality consists of administratively contrived interactions among teachers where they meet and work to implement the curricula and instructional strategies developed by others. Collaborative cultures foster teacher and curriculum development. Contrived collegiality enhances administrative control. Peer coaching of the technical kind, it is concluded, fosters implementation rather than development, education rather than training, contrived collegiality rather than collaborative culture.
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Upon its initial publication, many reviewers dubbed Dan C. Lortie's Schoolteacher the best social portrait of the profession since Willard Waller's classic The Sociology of Teaching. This new printing of Lortie's classic—including a new preface bringing the author's observations up to date—is an essential view into the world and culture of a vitally important profession.