scholarly journals What Do We Mean by “Reform?”: On the Seductiveness of Reform in Teaching and Teacher Education and It's Mischievous Influences

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert V. Bullough
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Alternative Conception ◽  
Literary Critic ◽  
Learning Problem ◽  
Educational Improvement ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Terministic Screens

Drawing on literary critic Kenneth Burke's concept of “terministic screens,” the author explores some of the history and a few of the troubling implications for the work of teachers and teacher educators that flow from the idea of reform. Concluding that “reform is a bad idea,” the author argues for an alternative conception of educational improvement, one that is more life-affirming and hopeful. Seeking to weaken the conceptual and ethical hold of reform on policy-makers and educators, the author argues with John Goodlad that educational improvement first and foremost must be understood as a learning problem, an issue of educational renewal.

When Asked, Teachers Said…

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-29
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
United States ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
The United States ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Racial Hierarchies ◽  
The U.S

The authors perceive that institutionalized racial hierarchies are the greatest barrier to educational equity in the United States. While P-12 teachers may express the desire to make their classrooms spaces of joy, creativity, and intellectual brilliance, it is primarily through intentional skills development that teachers succeed. The authors assert the need for greater investments by school districts and teacher education programs in professional development for in-service P-12 teachers that further empower them and, in turn, their students, to contribute to the dismantling of racism in the U.S. Teacher educators, administrators and policy makers need to position themselves as cultivators and supporters of P-12 teachers in ways that encourage and sustain their antiracist advocacy and equity work in their teaching.

Investigating Differences in Teacher Practices Through a Complexity Theory Lens: The Influence of Teacher Education

2017 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan D. Martin ◽  
Sherry Dismuke
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Elementary Teachers ◽  
Complexity Theory ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Practices ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Education Coursework

How to prepare teachers to be effective in our nations’ classrooms seems to get increasingly complex, yet the links between teacher education and teachers’ eventual practices are little understood. Using complexity theory as a theoretical framework, this mixed-methods study investigated writing teacher practices of 23 elementary teachers. Twelve teachers had participated in a comprehensive course focused on writing, either at inservice or preservice levels. The other teachers had not taken any course focused on writing and had little to no writing professional development. Despite the small number of participants in our study, quantitative analysis demonstrated significant differences on multiple, effective practice indicators. These findings were borne out in qualitative analyses as well. Clear connections of teachers’ practices and understandings and the course were noted. These findings contribute to understandings of the ways in which teacher education coursework makes a difference in optimizing candidate learning and reducing the variability across teacher practices and subsequent student learning opportunities. Findings suggest implications for policy makers, teacher education programs, as well as for teacher educators and researchers.

Commentary: Should Mathematics Teacher Education Be Politically Neutral?

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathew D. Felton-Koestler ◽  
Courtney Koestler
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
Mathematics Teacher ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Mathematics Teacher Education ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mathematics Teacher Educators ◽  
Political Landscape ◽  
The Face

Many current and prospective teachers, policy makers, and members of the public view mathematics as neutral and objective, and they expect mathematics teaching and teacher education to be neutral as well. But what would it mean to think of mathematics teacher education as politically neutral? Below we consider some questions that we see as highlighting why mathematics teacher education cannot be neutral. We are not the first to raise these issues, but we appreciate the opportunity to discuss and reflect on them among a community of mathematics teacher educators. Although these questions have always been relevant, we see their importance growing in the face of the increased mathematization of our world and a highly polarized political landscape with a seemingly increased public acceptance of oppressive discourse and actions (Potok, 2017).

scholarly journals Operationalising the Concept of Mediation in L2 Teacher Education

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghasemali Azadi ◽  
Reza Biria ◽  
Mehdi Nasri
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Deep Insight ◽  
Positive Perception ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Item Questionnaire ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
One Way Anova

This study aims to operationlise the mediation concept on L2 teacher education. Sixty-two EFL teachers at Isfahan high schools were selected, a 30-item questionnaire was employed, and T-test and one-way ANOVA were used. The findings revealed mediation roles of the teacher educators were instructional while integrative and participative roles were not attended. Teacher educators presented knowledge, skills, and experiences in the forms of lectures and seminars with little attention to workshops and panel discussions. BA holders showed positive perception towards mediation role of teacher educators while MA holders did not. The least experienced L2 teachers indicated the most positive attitude towards the mediation role of the teacher educators while the most experienced L2 teachers showed the least positive attitude. The findings presented L2 teachers a deep insight of the mediation concept, teacher educators a better picture of possible flaws of their role, and policy makers to amend related drawbacks.

scholarly journals HUMAN RIGHTS AND EDUCATION: CONCEPT AND PRACTICES

2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-181
Author(s):  
Tayyaba Zarif ◽  
Safia Urooj
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Department Of Education ◽  
Basic Question ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Education Concept

Human values and core principles of societies like self-respect, dignity, fairness, equality, dignity, non-discrimination and sharing have long been discussed and valued all over different societies and communities around the globe. These universal core principles are a reflection of the human rights; so the common skeleton of framework, philosophy and concept of human rights should be worldwide or universal. This implies that the recognition of human rights is supposed to be the goal of every state. Other than this central point, can we actually know the concept and dimensions of human rights? This basic question brings out the subject of education of human rights & human rights in education. Keeping in view this context the main objective of author is to study the perception/concept & practices of Teacher Educators about Human Right Education (HRE) & Human Right in Education. The population in this study comprised of Teacher Educators of Department of Education & teacher education of public universities of Sindh, where target population was Department of Education / teacher education of three randomly selected public universities. The target sample was sixty percent Teacher Educators from each department which were selected by random sampling. The research was descriptive in nature & qualitative & quantitative by method. A questionnaire with open and close ended questions was used to collect data and the data was analyzed with the help of percentages& theme analysis to inquire the concept & practices. Visualized findings sum-up the concept and practices about the theme with a few recommendations for practitioners and policy makers.

scholarly journals Grounding Teacher Education in Practice Around the World: An Examination of Teacher Education Coursework in Teacher Education Programs in Finland, Norway, and the United States

2017 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inga Staal Jenset ◽  
Kirsti Klette ◽  
Karen Hammerness
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
The United States ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
International Programs ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Education Coursework ◽  
Successes And Challenges

Worldwide, teacher educators and policy makers have called for teacher preparation that is more deeply linked to practice. Yet we know little about how such linkages are achieved within different international programs. We examine the degree to which programs provide opportunities to learn that are grounded in practice, during university coursework. We report on observation data ( N = 104 hr) from the methods courses in six programs in Finland, Norway, and California. Using an analytical framework decomposing the conception of “grounding in practice” in teacher education, this article provides evidence regarding the successes and challenges of incorporating practice in teacher education.

scholarly journals Research for policy and practice in teacher education: The case of the Professional Practice Schools research project

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maureen Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
Study Approach

This article starts from an acknowledgement of the complexity of connecting research, policy, and practice in teacher education. Using the framework of a practice architecture, I use a case study approach to explore how researchers, policy-makers, and teacher educators experienced a research project aimed at exploring the conditions for the establishment of Professional Practice Schools in South Africa. My discussion highlights the importance of seeing policy work as action-oriented inquiry, where the experiences of those directly involved in a policy are taken into central consideration. I outline enabling and constraining factors in supporting positive interconnections in this case study. I end the article by offering a hopeful view of conditions of possibility for further engagement between different sectors in the research-policy-practice nexus.

Pushing the Boundaries from the Inside

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Colleen Conway ◽  
Shannan Hibbard
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Adaptive Expertise ◽  
Music Teacher Education ◽  
Classroom Relationships ◽  
School Based

This chapter situates the study of music teacher education within the larger body of music education and teacher education research. It problematizes the terms teacher training, teacher education, and best practice and introduces the concept of teaching as an “impossible profession.” Goals of teacher education, including reflective practice and adaptive expertise, are discussed. The chapter outlines the challenges that music teacher educators face as they try to prepare preservice teachers for the realities of P-12 school-based music education while instilling in these new colleagues a disposition toward change. It concludes with narratives that examine teachers’ descriptions of classroom relationships throughout the lens of presence in teaching as a way to remind teacher educators of the importance of their work to push the boundaries of music teacher education in order to serve the profession at large.

Music Teacher Education Program Practices: Preparing Teachers to Work With Diverse Learners

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-64
Author(s):  
Mara E. Culp ◽  
Karen Salvador
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Diverse Learners ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Music Teacher Education ◽  
Education Programs

Music educators must meet the needs of students with diverse characteristics, including but not limited to cultural backgrounds, musical abilities and interests, and physical, behavioral, social, and cognitive functioning. Music education programs may not systematically prepare preservice teachers or potential music teacher educators for this reality. The purpose of this study was to examine how music teacher education programs prepare undergraduate and graduate students to structure inclusive and responsive experiences for diverse learners. We replicated and expanded Salvador’s study by including graduate student preparation, incorporating additional facets of human diversity, and contacting all institutions accredited by National Association of Schools of Music to prepare music educators. According to our respondents, integrated instruction focused on diverse learners was more commonly part of undergraduate coursework than graduate coursework. We used quantitative and qualitative analysis to describe course offerings and content integration.

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