scholarly journals Curriculum flexibility in a blended curriculum

Author(s):  
Herma Jonker ◽  
Virginie März ◽  
Joke Voogt

This study offers insights into the processes that play a role in realising curriculum flexibility. Curriculum flexibility is conceptualised in terms of adaptability and accessibility of the curriculum to students’ needs and capabilities. To realise curriculum flexibility, the teacher education institution in this study designed a blended curriculum with face-to-face and online components. This flexible curriculum aimed at increasing student enrolment and allowing for variety in students’ graduation portfolios. Through semi-structured interviews with 10 teacher educators, conditions that could foster or hinder the realisation of flexibility were investigated. Results indicate that different contextual, teacher-, and student-related conditions were perceived to affect (further) curriculum flexibility. Furthermore, teacher educators identified several challenges related to these influential conditions, which were recognised as tensions. Based on a discussion of these findings, recommendations for research and practice are given.

sjesr ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 545-554
Author(s):  
Haji Karim Khan ◽  
Yasmeen Batool ◽  
Farah Deeba

Taking the lenses of cultural perspectives, this study has investigated the role of teacher educators in transforming the teaching and learning beliefs of prospective teachers in a formal teacher education program in a remote mountainous region of Pakistan. We used a qualitative exploratory approach to conduct the study and collected data from eight teacher educators through semi-structured interviews, non-participatory observations of the classroom practices, as well as researchers' field, notes Findings, showed that the changing culture of teacher education in Pakistan seem to redefine and reinterpret teacher educators' roles in transforming prospective teachers' beliefs. As a result, teacher educators saw themselves as role models, counselors, mentors, storytellers, and listeners. These findings have pertinent implications for the teacher educators' roles in similar settings.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 321-343
Author(s):  
Roba Danbi ◽  
Dereje Tadesse

This paper assesses the role played by the institutional context in the preparation of critically reflective TEFL teachers in the Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching (PGDT) program of Dilla, Haramaya, and Hawasa Universities, Ethiopia. It examines the extent to which structured opportunities for reflection are used in the three institutions. A combination of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies was employed for collecting information regarding reflective practice in the PGDT program of the three universities. Multilevel mixed-method sampling techniques were utilized to select participants. Data were collected using questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and observation, and interpreted using simple statistical analysis and descriptive narrative approach. The study shows that most of the participants lack sufficient theoretical and practical knowledge of reflective practice. It shows that structured opportunities for reflection were not created for student teachers to practice reflection. The researchers, therefore, recommend that the government, curriculum designers, teacher education institution, and teacher educators create a common understanding about the goal of the program, and deliberately setup some structured opportunities to promote reflection in the institutions.


Author(s):  
Maurice Schols

<p><span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;">New technologies are transforming every aspect of today’s education, and teacher educators, teacher education institutions and policy makers are universally underscoring the need for adequate technology professionalisation programs. However, traditional professional development opportunities still leave much to be desired because educators perceive most of workshops, training and off-campus days as being separate from engagement with authentic teaching contexts. We conducted this study to explore and identify factors that foster teacher educators engagement in technology learning. Fifteen teacher educators from three interdisciplinary teams at a Dutch teacher education institution volunteered to participate in this qualitative study. We gathered data through reflective reports, semi-structured interviews and field observations. We found four factors that fostered teacher educators’ engagement in technology learning and that are in line with the international engagement literature. The implications of the findings might contribute to teacher educators’ technology professional development on both an individual level and institutional level. </span></span></p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 350-367
Author(s):  
Kirsti Marie Jegstad ◽  
Astrid Tonette Sinnes ◽  
Sigrid Marie Gjøtterud

Teacher education programs have an especially important role in reorienting education to realise education for sustainable development (ESD). In this paper, we investigate how ESD can be realised in science teacher education and we present findings from a case study in a Norwegian teacher education institution that has the overall aim of educating teachers who can contribute to sustainable development. Data was collected through participant observation and interviews, and, together with instructional artefacts and student assignments, analysed based on a model for science ESD. The paper provides an example of how ESD can be realised through a strengths model where ESD is founded in the strengths among the teacher educators and existing teaching practices. The results indicate that an emphasis on experiential learning and sociocultural learning theory builds a thorough foundation for ESD. However, the teaching has to be explicit in order to reach all student teachers.


2022 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-119
Author(s):  
Arlon Ponce Cadiz

While learning assessment serves as feedback for teachers in maintaining or improving teaching practice, reflective practice play can be seen in how pre-service teachers plan, design, implement and evaluate their teaching approaches. Practicing reflection can help pre-service teachers starting to embrace the value and passion of teaching which manifests in their professional teaching practice. This study was conducted to determine the reflective practice of pre-service teachers and their teaching practicum experience. Involved in this study were 103 pre-service teachers from the government Teacher Education Institution. The study used self-developed survey questionnaires on pre-service reflective practice and beliefs about their teaching practicum. Results showed that there is a significant relationship between the reflective practice of pre-service teachers and their beliefs about teaching practicum. On the other hand, reflective practice as well as the beliefs of male and female pre-service teachers about their teaching practicum does not have a significant difference. Teacher educators should impart reflective practice as part of their teaching practicum. For further research, a wide scope of study may be conducted involving different Teacher Education Institutions in private and public Higher Education Institutions to verify the findings in this study.


2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia Chong

Purpose – Quality assurance and management is vital for the continuous improvement of the content, delivery and development of teacher education programmes. This paper seeks to explore theoretical issues and ideas in assessing the quality preparation of teachers in the Singapore context. Design/methodology/approach – An academic quality framework provides an architectural approach to optimizing quality processes, transitioning from a disjointed set of quality processes to an integrated workflow based upon established best practices. Findings – The architectural framework provided a systematic focus to develop and sustain the academic quality of the teacher development programmes. Quality change and developments occur through collaboration and learning. The emphasis is on quality management as a process-oriented strategy. Originality/value – There is a shift in paradigm from traditional models of programme evaluation to a systems approach that incorporate multi-dimensional models to impact administration, teaching and research in a teacher education institution. Thus Singapore's teacher education quality management should be considered beyond a set of measurement tools towards a systematic, scheduled and focused examination as a whole, as a process-oriented strategy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mr. Parmanand Barodiya ◽  
Mr. Saurveer Singh ◽  
Mrs. Anupam Choudhary

Professional development to incorporate ICTs into teaching and learning is an ongoing process. Teacher education curriculum needs to update this knowledge and skills as the school curriculum change. The teachers need to learn to teach with digital technologies, even though many of them have not been taught to do so. The aim of teacher training in this regard can be either teacher education in ICTs or teacher education through ICTs. A teacher‘s professional development is central to the overall change process in education. In planning the integration of technology in Teacher education it is important for teacher education, Institution to understand the knowledge and skills necessary for teachers to effectively use ICT in their instructions. Teachers need technical assistance to use and maintain technology. In this paper discuses to study of Teacher education, to know the Significance of ICT in teacher education and to provide the some Suggestions of teacher education.


2017 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Uzma Parveen Et al.,

Teacher education is a professionally oriented activity in the sense that the skills, attitudes, and knowledge provided herein, have a direct bearing on the teaching assignment of teachers. The criticism of recent years on existing teacher education program is adequate testimony that we have so far not fully succeeded to bring available research findings to bear upon the education of the teachers. It was a survey type of study which required the collection of data from the prospective teachers, who had gone through the practicum experience. The data comprised of the views of prospective teachers about practicum. A convenient sample of 400 prospective teachers, from the institution of three universities, having practicum experience was selected. It includes 200 prospective teachers of B.Ed. and 200 of M.A Education program with equal numbers from both genders. M.A Education prospective teachers were from AIOU and Punjab University, whereas B.Ed. were from AIOU and the University of Education. The prospective teachers viewed that less cooperation and mutual understanding exist among faculty members and cooperative teachers. The teacher education institution and its faculty should develop a good understanding and proper liaison with the staff of the cooperative schools for proper planning conduct and evaluation activities of practicum programs.


Author(s):  
Bethy Leonardi ◽  
Sara Staley

Generations of education scholars have positioned issues that affect LGBTQ youth as critical to conversations about equity, diversity, democracy, and social justice in schools. Those voices, for generations, have been relegated to the periphery of those conversations at best and have been silenced at worst. Relatedly, university-based teacher education programs have been remiss in their attention to issues of gender and sexual diversity, systematically sending teachers into the field largely unprepared to create contexts that are safe for LGBTQ youth and to affirm gender and sexual diversity. With growing attention to issues that affect LGBTQ youth, both in educational research and practice as well as in the larger sociopolitical discourse, teachers are on the front lines. They are charged with navigating the complexities of students’ identities, the contexts in which they teach, local politics, and their own deeply held beliefs—and they are often, unsurprisingly, doing so with little or no support. That support needs to start much earlier. Teacher education programs—and teacher educators—are implicated as central in changing the discourse around what counts as (non)negotiable in learning to teach. By supporting preservice teachers’ learning around gender and sexual diversity, their processes toward that end, and their engagement in queer practices, teacher educators and teacher education programs can work toward paying down the debt owed to teachers in the field and to LGBTQ students and families who have long suffered the consequences of silence.


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