scholarly journals Teacher-Candidates' Perceptions of School Climate: A Mixed Methods Investigation

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Cherubini
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
School Climate ◽  
Beginning Teachers ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Hidden Curriculum ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Teaching Experience

Preservice teacher-candidates are assigned to a number of different schools for their practicum experiences and as a result are immersed in a variety of school cultures and their respective climates. Interestingly, though matters related to school climate and the hidden curriculum are discussed in the literature, there is a lack of comprehensive research around preservice teachers’ expectations and observations during their formal teacher education program. Given that beginning teachers’ experiences are intensely impacted by their observations and experiences throughout their teacher training, the purpose of the study was to investigate teacher candidates’ beliefs about the climate of schools at the beginning and near completion of their teacher education program. More specifically, this study employed a mixed methods research design to determine how beliefs about the hidden curriculum of schools compared to teacher candidates’ impressions as they gained practice-teaching experience in various schools. The results may induce preservice education faculty to evaluate the underlying pedagogical causes that profoundly illuminate and engagingly implicate the tensions within teacher candidates’ expectations of school climate and their observed realities.

“If Not Me, Then Who?”

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Ann Ethridge ◽  
Vickie E. Lake ◽  
Amber H. Beisly
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Early Childhood Teacher ◽  
Agents Of Change ◽  
Sense Of Power

Research has indicated that teachers typically do not view themselves as advocates for many reasons such as fear of personal and professional risk (Peters & Reid, 2009). Participants include both preservice teachers and graduates of an early childhood teacher education program. This chapter addresses how the program utilized intentional assignments and group and individual scaffolding as preservice teachers moved from experiencing service learning to pure advocacy. Through a mixed methods study, preservice teachers began to see themselves as agents of change with increased confidence and sense of power. These transformations continued as graduates of the program reported they were still engaging in advocacy.

scholarly journals The Development of Pre-Service Teachers’ Understanding of the Knowledge Necessary to Teach Mathematics: A Case Study in Malawi

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Everton Lacerda Jacinto
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Mathematical Knowledge For Teaching ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Teaching Mathematics ◽  
Initial Moment

Globally, progress in education has been made in recent years to promote learning opportunities for all. However, significant gaps remain in lowincome countries. In Malawi, a developing country where the educational system is under development, primary education is a major concern. Several initiatives have been made to bridge this gap through improving the quality of teacher education, but research has shown that there is still a need to further understand the learning process of preservice teachers during the teacher education program. The present study aimed to gain knowledge about the primary preservice teachers’ process of learning, particularly, the development of their understanding of the knowledge necessary to teach mathematics. The current study addressed the question: How do pre-service teachers develop their understanding of the knowledge necessary to teach mathematics throughout teacher education? In the study, the knowledge necessary for teaching mathematics refers to the knowledge that teachers need to carry out the tasks of teaching mathematics. To further examine this matter, the overall question was divided into three sub-research questions: (1) What understanding do pre-service teachers have of the knowledge needed to carry out the tasks of mathematics teaching at the beginning of their teacher education? (2) To what extent does the pre-service teacher’s understanding of the knowledge needed to carry out teaching tasks evolve through the discussion of practical experiences in college? (3) How do pre-service teachers develop their understanding of the knowledge necessary to carry out the tasks of teaching throughout teacher education? These questions were compiled into a qualitative case study with six preservice teachers in a two-year primary teacher education program at a college in Malawi. Each of these pre-service teachers represented a different profile with teaching experience, subject preferences in high school, and a favorite subject to teach during college. The research occurred over three different moments in a two-year teacher education program in which the pre-service teachers were enrolled: an initial moment at the beginning of the program consisted of a questionnaire survey and individual interviews; a second moment during teaching practice that involved mathematics lessons observations and post-lesson interviews; and a third moment at the end of the program that included a focus group discussion. The data gathered were transcribed and analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. The themes of analysis were designed based on the six domains of mathematical knowledge for teaching theory. Findings show that pre-service teachers develop different paths of development of their understanding of the knowledge needed for teaching mathematics during teacher education and that such development has influences in how they acknowledge effective teaching in Malawi. The current thesis includes four articles that present the main data and results of the study. The first two articles present findings from an analysis of the pre-service teachers’ understanding of the subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, and the third article presents an analysis of the pre-service teachers’ understanding when discussing teaching practice. The fourth article explores the understanding pre-service teachers developed throughout the teacher education program. The contribution of this thesis is to not only offer new empirical and theoretical insights to teacher education but also to suggest a path for further research in teaching knowledge.

“If Not Me, Then Who?”

2019 ◽  
pp. 1264-1285
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Ann Ethridge ◽  
Vickie E. Lake ◽  
Amber H. Beisly
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Early Childhood Teacher ◽  
Agents Of Change ◽  
Sense Of Power

Research has indicated that teachers typically do not view themselves as advocates for many reasons such as fear of personal and professional risk (Peters & Reid, 2009). Participants include both preservice teachers and graduates of an early childhood teacher education program. This chapter addresses how the program utilized intentional assignments and group and individual scaffolding as preservice teachers moved from experiencing service learning to pure advocacy. Through a mixed methods study, preservice teachers began to see themselves as agents of change with increased confidence and sense of power. These transformations continued as graduates of the program reported they were still engaging in advocacy.

scholarly journals E-Portfolios and Practicum in Teacher Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Christine Ho Younghusband
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Professional Standards ◽  
K 12 ◽  
The University ◽  
Principles Of Learning

   The Teacher Education Program at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) implemented three initiatives in 2018 to improve the practicum experience for teacher candidates. One of these initiatives was to extend the use of e-Portfolios into final practicum. E-Portfolios are first developed by teacher candidates in EDUC 431, the Education Technology course, but they were asked to continue its use in the following term during final practicum. The extended use of e-Portfolios served as one response in the teacher education program to BC’s Curriculum (2021) and changes in the K-12 system, which in turn modelled several aspects of BC’s Curriculum such as personalization, Core Competencies, formative assessment, and the First Peoples Principles of Learning. Including final practicum as part of the e-Portfolio, teacher candidates were able to deepen their understanding of the Professional Standards for BC Educators (2019), reflect on their teaching experience, and conclude the program with a presentation at the Celebration of Learning. Teacher candidates were able to maintain an e-Portfolio during final practicum, identify additional artefacts to demonstrate their understanding of the professional standards, and create a digital narrative describing who they are as educators. 

The teacher in me

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Woods ◽  
Mary Alice Barksdale ◽  
Cheri F. Triplett ◽  
Ann Potts
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Beginning Teachers ◽  
Preservice Teacher ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Preservice Teacher Education ◽  
Teaching Profession ◽  
Unexpected Finding ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe a study of identity development in the context of a preservice teacher education program that used a variety of approaches to support development of understanding of cultural diversity. Design/methodology/approach – Fifty preservice teachers in a graduate program in elementary education participated in the study. Of the 50 participants, 47 were Caucasian, two were African American and one was originally from India, but was a US citizen. The analyses were qualitative. A phenomenological approach to data analysis was taken, viewing the drawings and written explanations created by the participants as independently occurring phenomenon (as compared with data that might be considered for grounded theory or constant comparison) (Hycner, 1985; Moustakas, 1994). Findings – Overall, the low number of drawings and writings that included representations of cultural, linguistic, special needs and gender diversity suggests of a lack of understanding about the significant roles of these student characteristics in the lives of elementary teachers dedicated to meeting student needs. Given the strong focus on diversity education in this preservice teacher education program, this was an unexpected finding. One explanation is that preservice and beginning teachers are highly involved in identifying their own beliefs and values about teaching and exploring how their personal characteristics can be reconciled and applied in their specific teaching contexts. Originality/value – It is imperative that teacher education programs effectively address diversity in the classroom for the population typically entering the teaching profession. While many programs spend considerable time and effort “teaching” multicultural concepts, few, if any, have asked students to look inward in the way we did on this study.

scholarly journals Cultivating Agentic Teacher Identities in the Field of a Teacher Education Program

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Anne Block ◽  
Paul Betts
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Teacher Identity ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Strong Connection ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
The University

Teacher candidates’ individual and collaborative inquiry occurs within multiple and layered contexts of learning. The layered contexts support a strong connection between the practicum and the university and the emergent teaching identities. Our understanding of teacher identity is as situated and socially constructed, yet fluid and agentic. This paper explores how agentic teaching identities emerge within the layered contexts of our teacher education program as examined in five narratives of teacher candidates’ experience. These narratives involve tension, inquiry, successes and risks, as teacher candidates negotiate what is means to learn how to teach, to teach and to critically reflect on knowledge needed to teach. We conclude that navigating teacher identity is a teacher candidate capacity that could be explicitly cultivated by teacher education programs.

Transformational Learning for Community Health

2014 ◽  
pp. 164-181
Author(s):  
Carlos E. Quiñones-Padovani ◽  
Clarena Larrotta
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Physical Education ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Transformational Learning ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Physical Education Teacher ◽  
Education Teacher ◽  
Physical Education Teacher Education

The qualitative research study explored in this chapter took place in a physical education teacher education program at a large public university in Puerto Rico. Study findings are relevant for similar programs in the United States. The research questions guiding the chapter are: (1) What can physical education teacher candidates do to help promote community health awareness? (2) What does transformational learning look like for physical education teacher candidates in a physical education teacher education program? (3) From the point of view of the university instructor, what are the challenges training physical education teacher candidates to promote health awareness? Data collection sources include: The researcher's journal, informal conversations with physical education teacher education university colleagues from different institutions, alumni questionnaire responses, electronic communications with 11 physical education teacher education program graduates, and documents (e.g., the National Association for Sports and Physical Education Standards, and the Physical Education Teacher Education Standards). The authors draw on transformational learning theory as a framework to inform the study, and narrative analysis plays a central role reporting study findings. The chapter includes the following sections: a theoretical framework section discussing how transformational learning theory informs the study; a relevant literature section that provides the definition, benefits, and connection with concepts such as physical activity, community health, and effective teaching in physical education; a qualitative methodology section that describes the study setting and participants; data collection sources and data analysis procedures; a study findings section that is organized by research questions; an implications for practice section; and conclusion.

Elementary Preservice Teachers and Questioning Strategies in Mathematics

2019 ◽  
pp. 60-65
Author(s):  
Sandra Browning
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Field Experiences ◽  
Inservice Teachers ◽  
Questioning Strategies ◽  
Elementary Preservice Teachers ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Cognitive Rigor

Research has demonstrated an interest in the relationship between teachers’ questioning strategies and children’s ability to reason and learn (Baroody & Ginsburg, 1990; Buschman, 2001; Fennema, Franke, Carpenter & Carey, 1993). Helping preservice teachers develop effective questioning strategies is an important component of a teacher education program. This session describes an exploration designed to determine if EC-6 preservice teachers can (a) recognize effective questioning strategies when observing inservice teachers and (b) use Hess’s Cognitive Rigor Matrix to analyze the level and effectiveness of their own questioning strategies during field experiences.

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