scholarly journals Framing heuristics in inclusive education: The case of Uganda’s preservice teacher education programme

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Proscovia S. Nantongo
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teacher ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
Primary Teacher ◽  
Primary Teacher Education ◽  
Group Interviews

Background: Recent education-related research has raised concerns about the persistent exclusion of vulnerable learners in Uganda. The Revised Primary Teacher Education Curriculum of 2013 marked an ambitious yet inconclusive attempt to advance the implementation of inclusive education but has encountered deeply entrenched sociocultural exclusionary practices among education experts.Objectives: This study aimed to explicate education practitioners’ interpretations of Uganda’s flagship inclusive education programme in preservice primary teacher education.Method: Drawing on the conceptual vocabulary of frame analysis and the qualitative analysis of individual and group interviews and classroom observations, the interpretations of inclusive education implementation in preservice primary teacher education in Uganda were examined. The participants included policy design experts, curriculum design experts and classroom practitioners.Results: Three main findings emerged. Firstly, interpretations of inclusive education displayed a narrow framing heuristic of inclusive education as a perfunctory, daily practice rather than a pathway for reflective, inclusive pedagogical engagement. Secondly, the heuristic encouraged the treatment of inclusive pedagogy as a ‘label’ under a specific rubric referring to sensory impairments or disabilities – a historical device for sociocultural exclusion. Thirdly, inclusive education was a praxis but was misframed from its original intentions, causing tension and resentment among practitioners. These findings contribute to the debates on the sustainability of inclusive education beyond preservice teacher education.Conclusion: Uganda’s flagship inclusive education programme in preservice primary teacher education was fraught with tensions, ambiguities and an overt, urgent need for change.

scholarly journals Organising the ‘industrialisation of instruction’: Pedagogical discourses in the Swedish Primary Teacher Education programme

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-59
Author(s):  
Lena Sjöberg
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
Primary Teacher ◽  
Local Policy ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
Primary Teacher Education ◽  
Pedagogical Discourses ◽  
Empirical Material

This study examines the organisation of the Swedish Primary Teacher Education (PTE) programme by studying a local educational policy practice. The empirical material consists of policy documents and interviews with teacher educators at a large university. The study focuses on the pedagogical discourses in teacher education, by studying whether the examinations, courses, and education are based on insulation or integrating principles, that is, strong or weak classification. The results of the study show that both the national policy text and the local organisation are based on principles and rationalities of strong classification, where the local policy practice is both constructed through and affected by commodification and market rationalities.

Drivers and Blockers: Embedding Education for Sustainability (EfS) in Primary Teacher Education

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Primary Teacher ◽  
Education For Sustainability ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
International Trends ◽  
Primary Teacher Education ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
School Curricula

AbstractThe growing emphasis on sustainability in school curricula in Australia reflects international trends in education. Teacher education is a vital strategy for the incorporation of Education for Sustainability (EfS) in school curricula. Research to identify drivers and barriers to embedding EfS across a primary teacher education program in an Australian university is the focus of this article. Using a mixed methods approach, data were gathered through document and unit outline audits, a self-efficacy pre-service teacher (PST) survey, and staff and PST focus group interviews. The audits identified a foundation of EfS principles and content across units. Lecturers identified societal and personal drivers and blockers to embedding EfS across the course, with lack of time considered the biggest blocker, which is also consistent with existing school-based research on the nature of teachers' work. PST responses described successful learning outcomes; however, confidence towards teaching sustainability varied. PST reported that the incorporation of community networks in their course provided enriching experiences. Embedding EfS involves values, sustainability concerns and appropriate knowledge and skills. Successful implementation will depend on the development of appropriate understandings of teacher educators.

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