scholarly journals Research-Based Learning in Initial Teacher Education in Catalonia

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
Ingrid Agud ◽  
Georgeta Ion

The teaching profession is undergoing significant changes, some of which are imposed by the new paradigm of education. This new context marks the shift from the teachers’ position as ‘knowledge users’ towards the more complex position of ‘knowledge creators’. In this new professional culture adapted to a changing society, teaching as a profession is understood as undergoing a continuous transformation and innovation process, while the professionals in the educational field appear to be research users and research promoters able to think thoroughly about their own professional needs and the new topics arising in their field. There is, therefore, a shift from a passive to an active position, enabling educators to become aware of how complex their field is and to understand that it cannot be acknowledged and managed from outside the social, cultural, historical, philosophical, and psychological contexts shaping it. Taking into consideration the characteristics of the new professional culture, this paper is focused on the development of research skills as one of the teachers’ core skills. The study is framed at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, where the Student Perception Research Integration Questionnaire (SPRIQ) of Visser-Wijnveen et al. (2015) was applied to measure students’ perception of research integration in university courses (n=113). Additionally, analysis of the documents on the syllabus of each course of the BA in Primary Education programme was applied to review the research component of initial teacher education curricula. Findings from students’ responses show that they are more consumers than producers of research. We emphasise the importance of student teachers being able to both consume as well as produce research in order to develop professionally.

Author(s):  
Brendan Mac Mahon ◽  
Seán Ó Grádaigh ◽  
Sinéad Ní Ghuidhir

Research on the use of iPad in initial teacher education is limited. This paper outlines a study to examine how the professional learning and pedagogical knowledge development of student teachers could be supported following 1:1 iPad deployment on a second level initial teacher education programme in Ireland. Findings show that iPad can be utilised both as an effective pedagogical tool and as a medium for the creation of new learning spaces where student teachers' professional and pedagogical knowledge development is supported through feedback, peer-learning, resource sharing and critical reflection. Creating resources with and for iPad as part of a collaborative design process can also support student teachers in developing and integrating technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) within their approaches to teaching, learning and assessment. Implications for initial teacher education providers and the integration of technology within schools are outlined.


Author(s):  
Saif Al-Maamari ◽  

Educational system in Oman is attempting to educate Omani students to be "good" citizens in an increasingly globalized society. However, a few studies that have been conducted until now in Oman revealed a gap between the intentions of the educational policy of teaching citizenship education in the schools and the actual practices of teacher education preparation programs. Therefore, any endeavor to develop citizenship in Oman schools will not achieve its goals without taking teacher education into account both pre-service and in-service. Accordingly, the present study aims to propose a framework for developing citizenship education in the initial teacher education in Oman. This descriptive study highlighted the gap between the policy and practice in social studies teacher education. The international literature reveals that student teachers feel insufficiently prepared to develop citizenship and Omani student teachers are not exceptional. Thus, the present study proposed a framework to incorporate citizenship education in the current teachers' preparation programs. Furthermore, the study reveals the inadequate presence of the topic of citizenship in teacher education. Therefore, teachers' understanding of citizenship becomes shallow, which undoubtedly leads to superficial learning on the part of the students. Therefore, a framework was proposed to develop citizenship in teacher education. This framework consists of the rationale behind the change, the Layout of the ground for change in teacher education, the mechanisms of the change, and the areas of the change.


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.


Author(s):  
Gara Latchanna ◽  
Mittireddy Venkataramana ◽  
Abebe Garedew

The paper attempts to provide a snapshot of the current practices in the Professional Development of Teachers (PDoT) in four selected countries namely, Ethiopia, Finland, India and Singapore. PDoT has been analysed in the form of a continuum of Initial Teacher Education (ITE), Induction and Continuous Professional Development (CPD). The survey of literature revealed that for ITE in two countries, i.e. Ethiopia and India, the system was unable to attract competent applicants, as a result ofwhich the professional competence of teachers suffered. On the other hand, Finland and Singapore were the epitomes of having effective ITE system. The ability to attract candidates with high potential into ITE, right amount of emphasis on theory and practice in ITE programmes, the existence of effective CPD and rigorous professional development community involving the ministry of education, universities of teacher education and schools, and high prestige for the teaching profession enabled Finland and Singapore to be the star performers in PDoT. In Finland, the provision of one-year CPD training on special needs education to all teachers and professional autonomy to teachers were the salient features whereas in Singapore, a monthly stipend for student teachers during initial teacher education and multifarious career tracks for the teacher were a few additional features. 'This survey of literature has presented significant lessons drawn from eachrespective country regardingpractices in PDoT.


Author(s):  
Anni Loukomies ◽  
Nadine Petersen ◽  
Jari Lavonen

In this study, we examined student teachers’ learning during their teaching placement period in Finland and South Africa. The setting of the inquiry in both countries was a ‘teaching’ school, affiliated to a university teacher education programme. The teaching school is also referred to as an educational innovation that was transferred from the Finnish context to the South African context. Data were collected through an interview protocol. The findings show that the students, like many of their counterparts in different parts of the world, focused on teaching tools and methods as well as classroom management as a gateway to their teaching career. The extended teaching placement period at both the university teaching schools was expected to yield some findings about the intersection of teaching practice and its supporting theories because of the close collaboration of the schools and the universities. Some of the findings satisfied this expectation while other parts did not, confirming that initial teacher education may be regarded as a platform for learning to be teachers, but it has its own limits even in a pedagogical ‘laboratory’. The transfer of the educational innovation was regarded as successful.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brendan Mac Mahon ◽  
Seán Ó Grádaigh ◽  
Sinéad Ní Ghuidhir

Research on the use of iPad in initial teacher education is limited. This paper outlines a study to examine how the professional learning and pedagogical knowledge development of student teachers could be supported following 1:1 iPad deployment on a second level initial teacher education programme in Ireland. Findings show that iPad can be utilised both as an effective pedagogical tool and as a medium for the creation of new learning spaces where student teachers' professional and pedagogical knowledge development is supported through feedback, peer-learning, resource sharing and critical reflection. Creating resources with and for iPad as part of a collaborative design process can also support student teachers in developing and integrating technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) within their approaches to teaching, learning and assessment. Implications for initial teacher education providers and the integration of technology within schools are outlined.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 368-386
Author(s):  
Lexie Grudnoff ◽  
Helen Dixon ◽  
Jill Murray

Abstract The international problem of differential achievement between groups of students has particular significance for New Zealand given its persistent problem of inequitable outcomes for Māori and Pasifika students, and those from poor communities. This qualitative study investigated how engagement in teacher inquiry supported student teachers’ understandings of, and practice for, equity. The 28 participants were in a one-year, equity-oriented Master’s initial teacher education programme. The data set comprised 84 research-related assignments participants completed for their teacher inquiry course. Thematic data analysis showed that the structured inquiry process supported participants to challenge inequity by problematizing student engagement and to address this by using a range of evidence to enhance their teaching. Overall, the study suggests that inquiry as research process and stance, along with the application of the Facets equity framework in authentic teaching and learning contexts, is a powerful source of student teacher equity-focused professional learning and practice.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiria McRae ◽  
Robin Averill

Teacher commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi is emphasised within the latest Code of Professional Responsibility and Standards for the Teaching Profession (Education Council, 2017). Teachers must explicitly demonstrate commitment to tangata whenuatanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This mandate is encouraging for Māori education needs and aspirations. We describe the use of a culturally sustaining teacher practice framework to examine Māori education policy implementation implications within an initial teacher education te ao Māori course. We explain how course content, delivery and assessment aspects can be critiqued and policy implications identified to illustrate the usefulness of the framework for teacher educators and practising teachers. We demonstrate how the framework can be a useful tool for teacher educators to examine culturally sustaining practice in preparing themselves and student teachers to work effectively with indigenous learners.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 60-70
Author(s):  
Pipit Novita ◽  

This research explores student teachers' motivation to join teacher education and its relation to their career intention to join the teaching profession. The qualitative study was conducted in the English department of private and state teacher education in Indonesia. A total of 14 student teachers (20-23 years old) took part in the interview. The findings show that most student teachers chose Initial Teacher Education (ITE) because of external motivation factors such as the alternative option of not being accepted at their desired faculty or following parents’ suggestions. Besides that, considering the internal motivation factor, one of the common reasons students chose English teacher education was the interest in English, which was also viewed as transferrable skills that could be useful to many other job possibilities. The findings show that only a few of the participants who prioritised their career to become teachers. The findings might contest the generalisation that often associates student teachers’ motivation to join teacher education to become teachers. Even though the assumption is valid to some extent, the nuances in the student teachers’ motivation to choose teacher education might need to be considered, especially in the context when joining teacher education is relatively easy because there is no high-stake test involved and teaching might be perceived as an unattractive career intention. The findings also indicate that as motivation is fluid, abstract, and hard to measure, teacher education overlooks this element in the admission process. However, forgetting the importance of student teachers’ motivation in teacher education could lead to a more severe problem in the quality of graduates and education in the long run.


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