scholarly journals Turkish Primary Science Teachers’ Views on An Ideal Teacher Education System

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 193-201
Author(s):  
Ahmet Altindag ◽  
Hunkar Korkmaz Korkmaz

The goals of this descriptive study were to determine Turkish preservice science teachers’ views on an ideal teacher education system. The sample consisted of 137 preservice teachers including 74 females and 63 males. The questionnaire was based on the open-ended questions and was developed to investigate an ideal teacher education system components as perceived by the preservice science teachers. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. The results of this study shown that the Turkish preservice science teachers defined an ideal teacher education system components in the following: the personality of the teachers, the teacher educators as possessing professional knowledge, teacher education curriculum, and professional development process. These results and implications are discussed in the context of increasing expectations for demanded highly qualified teachers under provisions of the teacher education studies.   Keywords: Teacher Education; Primary Science Teachers; Ideal Teacher Education

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. I
Author(s):  
Cigdem Hursen

Dear Colleagues It is a great honour for us to welcome you as Editors of Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences, which has accepted publications indexed in qualified databases since 2006. Our main aim is to increase the quality of the journal day by day. We are ready to publish the new issue of Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences, which has seven articles written by authors from Nigeria, Cyprus and Turkey. The aim of this issue is to give the researchers an opportunity to share their academic studies. First of all, I would like to thank all authors who have contributed to this issue. The focuses of the articles are varied. For example, Abdulrasaq Hamzat, Ganiyu Bello and Isaac Olakanmi Abimbola examined the effects of the computer animation instructional package on secondary school students’ achievement in practical biology in Ilorin, Nigeria. The researchers recommend that biology teachers should employ computer animation instructional packages to teach the practical aspects of photosynthesis, among other biology topics. On the other hand, Necla Işıkdoğan Uğurlu and Nilay Kayhan in their study intended to evaluate children with different special needs medically and educationally, and as a result of their evaluations, to identify families’ expectations, opinions and suggestions concerning the special education process, services and the functioning of special education institutions. The study results show that children who were diagnosed/evaluated at an early stage were integrated into education earlier and benefit more from special education institutions compared to other children. Another study was conducted by Muhammet Bastug, Hasan Kagan Keskin and Mustafa Akyol. It was observed in this research how the endurance status of fluent readers and poor readers changed as the text became lengthier. A total of 40 students who were attending the 4th grade in primary school, 20 of whom were fluent readers and other 20 were poor readers, participated in the research. At the end of the study, it was seen that fluent readers’ reading rates did not differ significantly from the beginning to end of the text, whereas poor readers’ reading rates differed in favour of the first parts of the text. Also, the aim of the study of Gönül Akçamete, Nilay Kayhan, Emel Sardohan Yildirim constitutes what professional ethical principles in the field of special education should be, the degree of importance of these principles, and examining the extent of compliance of individuals working in special education with these professional ethical principles according to experts and teachers. Moreover, the purpose of this study was to develop a scale of principles in professional ethics for specialists and educators working in special education and to conduct its validity and reliability studies. As a result, the findings of this study showed that the scale is a valid and reliable tool that can be used with individuals who are working in the special education field. Another descriptive study conducted by Hünkar Korkmaz and Ahmet Altındağ had the aim to determine Turkish pre-service science teachers’ perceptions of an ideal teacher education system. The results of this study showed that Turkish pre-service science teachers defined an ideal teacher education system with the following components: the personality of the teachers, the teacher educators as possessing professional knowledge, teacher education curriculum and the professional development process. The aim of the study of Hayat Boz and Yakup Dağlı is to address the contribution of applying qualitative research methods for identifying educational activities planned for adults. Also, Deniz Özcan and Huseyin Uzunboylu in their study analyse the need for curriculum development of special education teachers who work at special education centres and schools with resource rooms with regard to different variables and determine their perceptions of self-efficacy. I would like to express my thanks to all authors preferring the Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences to publish their articles, and to all reviewers working seriously in this process. Best regards, Editor-in-Chief Prof. Dr. Huseyin Uzunboylu Executive Editor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cigdem Hursen  


Author(s):  
Colleen Conway ◽  
Shannan Hibbard

This chapter situates the study of music teacher education within the larger body of music education and teacher education research. It problematizes the terms teacher training, teacher education, and best practice and introduces the concept of teaching as an “impossible profession.” Goals of teacher education, including reflective practice and adaptive expertise, are discussed. The chapter outlines the challenges that music teacher educators face as they try to prepare preservice teachers for the realities of P-12 school-based music education while instilling in these new colleagues a disposition toward change. It concludes with narratives that examine teachers’ descriptions of classroom relationships throughout the lens of presence in teaching as a way to remind teacher educators of the importance of their work to push the boundaries of music teacher education in order to serve the profession at large.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-64
Author(s):  
Mara E. Culp ◽  
Karen Salvador

Music educators must meet the needs of students with diverse characteristics, including but not limited to cultural backgrounds, musical abilities and interests, and physical, behavioral, social, and cognitive functioning. Music education programs may not systematically prepare preservice teachers or potential music teacher educators for this reality. The purpose of this study was to examine how music teacher education programs prepare undergraduate and graduate students to structure inclusive and responsive experiences for diverse learners. We replicated and expanded Salvador’s study by including graduate student preparation, incorporating additional facets of human diversity, and contacting all institutions accredited by National Association of Schools of Music to prepare music educators. According to our respondents, integrated instruction focused on diverse learners was more commonly part of undergraduate coursework than graduate coursework. We used quantitative and qualitative analysis to describe course offerings and content integration.


2021 ◽  
pp. 209653112096678
Author(s):  
Guihua Zhang ◽  
Yuanrong Li ◽  
George Zhou ◽  
Sonia Wai-Ying Ho

Purpose: The Nature of Science (NOS) is an important component of scientific literacy. Science teachers’ Views of the Nature of Science (VNOS) directly affect their teaching behaviors. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore science teachers’ VNOS and find ways of improvement. This study was designed to comparatively investigate preservice science teachers’ VNOS between China and Canada. Design/Approach/Methods: The study employed a survey design to explore how Chinese and Canadian preservice science teachers understood the seven different aspects of NOS. Findings: Data showed that preservice science teachers in China and Canada both hold a modern view about science education. The level of Chinese and Canadian participants’ understanding of NOS was above the relatively naive level. Chinese teachers had better macro-understanding toward science education but their micro-mastery was insufficient. While the Canadian participants had a better understanding of the NOS than their Chinese counterparts. Originality/Value: Based on the research results and the experience of science education and teacher education in Canada, we suggested that there is a need to reconstruct the preservice science teacher education curriculum in China and promote the transformation in the science teacher educational system.


2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-40
Author(s):  
Britnie Delinger Kane

Background/Context The Core Practice movement continues to gain momentum in teacher education research. Yet critics highlight that equitable teaching cannot be reduced to a set of “core” practices, arguing that such a reduction risks representing teaching as technical work that will be neither culturally responsive nor sustaining. Instead, they argue that preservice teachers need opportunities to develop professional reasoning that takes the specific strengths and needs of students, communities, and subject matter into account. Purpose This analysis takes up the question of how and whether pedagogies of investigation and enactment can support preservice teachers’ development of the professional reasoning that equitable teaching requires. It conceptualizes two types of professional reasoning: interpretive, in which reasoners decide how to frame instructional problems and make subsequent efforts to solve them, and prescriptive, in which reasoners solve an instructional problem as given. Research Design This work is a qualitative, multiple case study, based on design research in which preservice teachers participated in three different cycles of investigation and enactment, which were designed around a teaching practice central to equitable teaching: making student thinking visible. Preservice teachers attended to students’ thinking in the context of the collaborative analysis of students’ writing and also through designed simulations of student-teacher writing conferences. Findings/Results Preservice teachers’ collaborative analysis of students’ writing supported prescriptive professional reasoning about disciplinary ideas in ELA and writing instruction (i.e., How do seventh graders use hyperbole? How is hyperbole related to the Six Traits of Writing?), while the simulation of a writing conference supported preservice teachers to reason interpretively about how to balance the need to support students’ affective commitment to writing with their desire to teach academic concepts about writing. Conclusions/Recommendations This analysis highlights an important heuristic for the design of pedagogies in teacher education: Teacher educators need to attend to preservice teachers’ opportunities for both interpretive and prescriptive reasoning. Both are essential for teachers, but only interpretive reasoning will support teachers to teach in ways that are both intellectually rigorous and equitable. The article further describes how and why a tempting assumption—that opportunities to role-play student-teacher interactions will support preservice teachers to reason interpretively, while non-interactive work will not—is incomplete and avoidable.


2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
Felicia Moore Mensah ◽  
Iesha Jackson

Background/Context The disparity between the race and ethnicity of teachers and students is expected to increase as our nation and classrooms continue to become more racially, ethnically, linguistically, and economically diverse. It is extremely important to think about not only the educational needs of such a diverse student population within schools but also who will teach these students. However, when looking at subject-matter specificity for the retention of Teachers of Color, such as science teachers, the picture becomes extremely serious when we understand teachers’ paths into and out of science and teaching. Purpose The purpose of the study is to analyze the experiences of preservice Teachers of Color (PTOC) enrolled in an elementary science methods course as they gain access to science as White property. Our analysis provides evidence that PTOC can break the perpetual cycle of alienation, exclusion, and inequity in science when they are given opportunities to engage in science as learners and teachers. In addition, we also offer insights regarding the role science teacher educators may play in preparing teachers and especially TOC for urban schools. Setting/Research Design The context of this study was a graduate-level preservice elementary science methods course at a large urban university in New York City. Multiple data sources included pre-post surveys, semester observation journals, final course papers, and a post-course questionnaire. Utilizing constructivist grounded during the initial phase of analysis and themes from critical race theory (CRT), our unique voices of color and positionalities allowed us to interpret the data from a CRT perspective and arrive at findings relevant to making science inclusive to PTOC. Conclusions/Recommendations In order to push the field of science teacher education toward social justice issues of access, opportunity, and enjoyment, efforts must focus on increasing representation of Teachers of Color in science education. The transformation of science teacher education to grant equitable learning experiences for Teachers of Color is needed. Further research on the experiences of science Teachers of Color, as well as Faculty of Color and their relationship with students, is highly encouraged. Both teacher preparation and science education must be open to interrogate and reveal structural forms of race, racism, and power that manifest through curriculum, structure, and pedagogy that cause alienation and exclusion for Teachers of Color. Therefore, we encourage science teacher educators to examine their own course curriculum, structure, and pedagogy through self-study and refection. Overall practices in teacher preparation must empower rather than impede progress toward important goals of CRT, and this may be achieved through building stronger relationships with PTOC and Faculty of Color across teacher preparation courses in support of these goals.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-114
Author(s):  
Rajashree Srinivasan

Reforming the teacher education system has been a key government policy towards improving school education in India. While recent curriculum and governance reforms articulate a new vision of teacher education that underscores a symbiotic relationship between teacher education and school education, it fails to engage enough with the most important participant of the teacher education system—the teacher educator. Changes to curriculum and governance process in the absence of a pro-active engagement of teacher educators with the reforms can do little to influence the teacher education processes and outcomes. The work of pre-service teacher educators is complex because their responsibilities relate to both school and higher education. The distinctiveness of their work, identity and professional development has always been marginalized in educational discourse. This article analyses select educational documents to examine the construction of work and identity of higher education-based teacher educators. It proposes the development of a professional framework of practice through a collective process, which would help understand the work of teacher educators and offer various possibilities for their professional development.


Author(s):  
Pauline Goh

Preservice teachers can no longer be prepared using conventional teaching approaches as these are inadequate to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills they require to perform the tasks of teaching effectively. Teacher educators need to use new pedagogies, and narrative pedagogy is seen as a teaching method which can better prepare preservice teachers for the challenging classrooms of today. My study explored nine preservice teachers’ experiences after the enactment of a narrative pedagogical approach in one of their courses within their teacher education program. I used Ricoeur’s framework of the prefigured and configured arena of education to analyse the rich interview and reflective data which emerged. Three themes for the prefigured arena emerged: (a) feeling the sense of responsibility, (b) feeling anxious, and (c) feeling the lack of experience and confidence. Similarly, three themes were found for the configured arena: (a) learning through emotions, (b) learning through insights, and (c) learning through discussion. The preservice teachers have interpreted and discussed “lived” stories and this has shifted the way they think about teaching. The results do offer teacher educators and educational stakeholders a stepping-stone to further pedagogical insight into using narrative pedagogy in teacher education.


Author(s):  
Anne S. Koch ◽  
Joseph C. Kush

In this chapter, student achievement, the differentiation of instruction, and 21st Century Skills are examined along with their relationship to the use of technology in an educational setting. Characteristics of highly qualified teachers are also examined from multiple standpoints within the educational system. Standards from INTASC, NCATE, NCTAF, and NCLB point to the importance of the university faculty and quality teacher education programs to support the needs of preservice teachers. In addition, the joining of business and education across the nation and the world to infuse technology into education has shown positive results. This merger between business and education exemplifies the need for the acquisition of 21st century skills needed for all students to be a literate part of the 21st century workforce.


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