scholarly journals Working with student teachers ‘at risk’ during early childhood practicums: Reflections from five Associate Teachers

Teachers Work ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1 & 2) ◽  
pp. 14-30
Author(s):  
Sue Stover

In this study, the focus is on five Associate Teachers’ remembered experiences of working with early childhood Student Teachers nearing graduation who were at risk of failing practicum. Using Rogoff’s overlapping ‘planes of analysis’, the subjective experiences of the Associate Teachers are analysed, bringing into focus the personal, interpersonal and institutional complexities involved in attempting to assess the Student Teacher on practicum. Ethical and philosophical issues become apparent, particularly in the clash between protecting a Student Teacher’s privacy and the open communication valued in the relationship, between Associate Teachers and the Initial Teacher Education provider.

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

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


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-181
Author(s):  
Karen Blackmore

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore whether aspects of co-coaching could support primary science teacher education in a university–school initial teacher education (ITE) partnership program in England. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methodological approach was taken, comprising of student teachers responding to a coaching questionnaire blended with a qualitative exploration of audio-recorded student teacher co-coaching conversations. Informal student teacher discussion groups were used as a means to discern their attitudes and beliefs pertaining to co-coaching within taught university sessions. Findings Analysis and subsequent integration of data showed that many aspects of co-coaching supported student teacher pedagogical knowledge acquisition and professional development. Additionally, questionnaire responses and small-group discussions revealed that student teachers developed positive attitudes to this mode of learning. Originality/value This study evaluates the innovative use of co-coaching techniques during primary teacher science education, and the outcomes have clear implications for the design of ITE programs in England and potentially further afield.


2022 ◽  
Vol 2022 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Fjolla Kaçaniku ◽  
Irene Maderbacher ◽  
Franz Erhard ◽  
Blerim Saqipi

The motivation for career choice motivation of student-teachers is a well-studied topic with a representative theoretical basis in teacher education research that has a long-standing tradition in the international research landscape. However, in understanding the pressing questions of why young people choose to become teachers, only a few longitudinal and comparative studies have been carried out that focus on the development of motivation for choosing a teaching career. This longitudinal study reports on the effects of time within initial teacher education and how it influences student-teacher attitudes and motives about the teaching profession. This article is a product of a larger study that aims at addressing the existing literature gap by examining student-teacher change in attitudes of becoming teachers in Austria and Kosovo starting from initial teacher education, during early stages of their teaching career as novice teachers, and to more advanced stages of their teaching career. This is a panel study located within a longitudinal design. In this study, a questionnaire and student-teacher reflection texts were used as instruments. Data were collected in three phases during which 673 student-teachers participated in face-to-face administered questionnaire as follows: 341 (phase 1), 185 (phase 2), and 147 (phase 3), as well as 19 student-teacher reflections. Questionnaire data were analysed using the general linear model (GLM) with repeated measures test, whereas the reflection text data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings in this longitudinal study provide evidence that student-teacher attitudes and motives for becoming teachers can change over time during the initial teacher education in Austria and Kosovo, and they can be influenced by in-school experiences during teaching practice. The study concludes that motives for choosing a teaching career are primarily intrinsic, are not time-stable, and change over the course of studies. The study findings have clear implications for initial teacher education programs in addressing changes in student-teachers’ attitudes of becoming teachers. The insights gained from the findings of this study lead to recommendations that initial teacher education programs should strengthen teaching practice to better manage the preparation of students and teachers and their entry into the teaching profession.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wasyl Cajkler ◽  
Phil Wood

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study an adapted version of lesson used with mentors and student-teachers in a one-year initial teacher education (ITE) programme for prospective teachers of geography and modern languages. In partnership with eight secondary schools, the effectiveness of the lesson study cycle was evaluated as a vehicle for exploration of approaches to aid student-teacher learning during school placements. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 12 lesson study case studies were completed and analysed. Findings – Three principal findings emerged: first, most collaborating mentors and student-teachers reported that they engaged in a reflexive process, exploring the complexity of teaching, each learning more about the characteristics of teaching; second, in cases where collaboration allowed student-teachers a degree of autonomy, lesson study provided a collaborative scaffold for understanding the complexity of teaching, contributing to professional development along a continuum which the authors tentatively term “pedagogic literacy”; third and less positively, some mentors struggled to shed the shackles of traditional roles, dominating the discourse as advice-givers so that a traditional “parallel” approach to mentoring continued. Originality/value – The work expands the experiential base of lesson study efforts in ITE in the UK and elaborates a view of teacher learning that challenges reductive approaches to the preparation of new teachers. For the first time, it presents student-teacher and mentor perspectives on the use of lesson study in teaching practice in England.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-94
Author(s):  
Gary D Kinchin

The views and beliefs held by entering student teachers can be shaped by their expectations of teaching and initial teacher education. Whilst interest has investigated student teachers’ expectations little exists in physical education. This qualitative paper examines the entering expectations held by 24 PGCE secondary physical education student teachers. Informed by the published literature on student teacher expectations and the specific purposes of this study, data were collected from participants on the first day of their initial teacher education course in the form of an open-ended survey that included eleven items. Participants discussed a range of expectations related to course content, pedagogy, course structure and staffing responsibilities and contributions. Student teachers should be encouraged to explore their expectations and consider which specific elements align with initial preconceptions concerning their teacher education.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-90
Author(s):  
Minerva Rosas ◽  
Verónica Ormeño ◽  
Cristian Ruiz-Aguilar

To assess the progressive teaching practicums included in an English Teaching Programme at a Chilean university, 60 former student-teachers answered a questionnaire with both Likert-scale and open-ended questions. The issues assessed included the relationship between the progressive teaching practicums and the curriculum’s modules and sequence, and the skills developed while implementing innovation projects during the student-teachers’ two final practicums. Quantitative and qualitative data analyses allowed us to identify both strengths and weaknesses. The participants highlighted strengths in the areas of teaching strategies, critical thinking skills and professional and pedagogical knowledge. Among the weaknesses, they identified limited supervision and feedback, and diverging views on teaching education between the university and the schools as the most difficult to deal with. These findings may be useful for introducing improvements in Initial Teacher Education aimed at reducing problems and discrepancies and devising suitable induction processes.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamile Hamiloğlu

This article is a review on student teacher (ST) learning in second language teacher education (SLTE) and it aims to establish a context for ST learning for professional development in SLTE research and frame its contribution to the current research literature. To achieve this, it conducts an overview on concepts of interest, and it places in perspective some of the key previous findings relating to the research at hand. Broadly, it is to serve as a foundation for the debate over perspectives of second/foreign language (S/FL) student teachers’ (STs’) learning to teach through their professional development with reference to both coursework and practicum contexts.Keywords: student teacher learning, second language teacher education (SLTE), professional development


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