scholarly journals Fragmented boundary zones between theory and practice in preschool teacher education in Sweden

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-105
Author(s):  
Jan Gustafsson Nyckel ◽  
Rolf Lander ◽  
Per-Olof Thång

Research dealing with preschool teacher education has been, for a long time, criticalof a binary divide between theory and practice. Based on that issue, this studyinvestigates a preschool teacher education programme in Sweden. It focusses onreflection upon theory and practice as an affordance offered to students in studies andwork. The study used a questionnaire with two groups: campus studentsfollowing the regular programme and students who were nurses already working atpreschools. Analysis shows a fragmented education where the groups faced differentproblems, but also that neither of them could connect reflections on theory andpractice at the workplace to their own learning approaches in either studies orworking matters. How the students experienced affordances depended on theireducational skills and knowledge, and the programme relied mostly on individualreflection as the solution to the binary divide. This reliance seemed to work better forcampus students, who were challenged by the new environmental affordances. Thestudents in the field-based programme were close to the preschools’ pedagogicalmicro-practice, which limited the possibility for critical reflection on theory andpractice and its contextual conditions, especially for students who were nurses.Workplace routines seem to structure the students’ learning instead.

2021 ◽  
pp. 113-145
Author(s):  
Pia Williams ◽  
Sonja Sheridan ◽  
Elisabeth Mellgren

Swedish preschool teacher profession has changed. In the preschool teacher education, students must develop professional identities and know how to independently take responsibility for pedagogical activities, teaching and providing for children’s right to care, play, development and learning. The aim of this study is twofold: to investigate how students articulate their conditions for learning and professional development in their teaching practice, and to study how their education may be affected by being carried out in preschools of varying quality. The study is based on quality evaluations with the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) at 153 Swedish preschools. The quality evaluations were related to a survey that 125 students answered in a preschool teacher education focusing on equivalence, the relationship between theory and practice and the quality in their teaching practice. The research questions we posed were: What characterizes the quality of preschools? Which aspects contribute to equality in teaching practice? How do the students describe the quality of the preschool? Bronfenbrenner’s ecological system theory frames the study. The analysis was informed by an interaction between empirical data and theory and thus was an abductive analytical process. The results show that the quality of preschools varies, creating unequal conditions for student learning. The students report inconsistent conditions for their learning in preschool.  The political investment has enhanced the collaboration between preschool teacher education and preschool and visualized critical aspects, forming a point of intersection for the preschool teacher profession's quality.


Author(s):  
Jailani Md Yunos ◽  
◽  
Lai Chee Sern ◽  
Nor Hidayah Hamdan ◽  
◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Darshana Sharma

Teaching Practice is widely recognised as the sine-qua-non of any teacher education programme. It is a component in the teacher preparation programme where prospective teachers are provided with an opportunity to put their theoretical studies into practice, get feedback, reflect on practice and consequently further improve their teaching skills. As teaching practice is an important component of a teacher education programme, considerable attention must be given to make it more effective and fruitful. This paper is based on a research study conducted to know pre-service teachers' experiences of the quality of teaching practice and the common concerns they have during teaching practice. On the basis of focussed group discussion a total of five themes were identified, these are (1) usefulness of teaching practice (2) experiences/concerns with pupils' behaviour (3) experiences/concerns with own behaviour (4) experiences/concerns with supervisors' behaviour (5) experiences/concerns with institutional and personal adjustments. The outcome of the focussed group discussion was used to prepare a structured questionnaire. Among other things, the study recommended rigorous practical training in lesson planning, demonstration lessons by teacher educators, simulated teaching before the commencement of practice teaching, school orientation programmes, a separate internship of two weeks and writing a journal by student teachers during teaching practice.


Author(s):  
Indrajeet Dutta

With the onset of a new academic session, teacher education programmes across the county will be in a new avatar. The revamping of a teacher education programme has been on the cards for several years but stiff resistance from different quarters of the educational community made it impossible to do so. The revised secondary teacher education programme is new in several counts. Firstly, curricular areas have been made more contextual, class, student and community based. Secondly, teaching pedagogy has been made more child centred, experiential and reflective. Thirdly, internship model has been introduced giving more thrust on acquisition of skills and competencies in actual classroom and real settings rather than artificial settings. But, the reform has brought several challenges in its realm which teacher education programmes and institutes have to face. The present paper deals with the new challenges like demand for teacher education programmes, the role of private teacher education institutes and their increasing focus on commercialization, demand for teacher educators and whether the new system is pro-rich or pro-poor student etc.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arab World English Journal ◽  
Morshed Salim Abdullah Al-Jaro ◽  
Adelina Asmawi ◽  
Zuwati Hasim

This study aims to analyse the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in the current curriculum of the English teacher education programme (ETEP) at a Faculty of Education in a Yemeni University. PCK and teaching competencies take shape within the initial preparation of ETEP in which student teachers spenda long time receiving knowledge and understanding the teaching context before they practically experience teaching at schools. During their BA study, students are required to study 49 courses which can be categorised into four main components: skills, linguistics, literature and professional. This study analyses the content of the curriculum courses so as tovisualise the way student teachers translate what they have learned into pedagogical practices during their teaching practices. In this study, the curriculum content of ETEP is qualitatively analysed using the inductive approach. Categories emerged from the analysis demonstrate various aspects of student teachers’ PCK. The analysis reveals that the pedagogical skills courses are not enough to enhance and strengthen the student teachers’ PCK needed to be reflected in their teaching practices. The findings show that the curriculum lacks courses necessary to provide student teachers with basic knowledge and pedagogical principles which are of vital significance to demonstrate their understanding before they are practically engaged in the teaching experience.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 107
Author(s):  
Peter Wekesa Wamalwa ◽  
Edwin Nyongesa Masibo

Teacher education programme is a critical component of education and the life of any society. It normally lays the very foundations of the society. It spurs and pushes the various aspects of development in the society through well-established culture and character of such a society. But for this programme of education to perform this development function efficiently it must be well designed, developed and constantly reformed and modernized so as to keep it abreast with the emerging issues both in education and society. This process is only possible through the conduct of regular studies in education and society to establish new developments and also facilitate the generation of relevant innovations to promote the quality of Teacher education programme. However, there is no evidence that such a process has ever been initiated and conducted in Teacher education programme since the inception of this programme in modern Africa. This paper is designed to explore the importance of Teacher education programme in modern Africa, the relationship between Teacher education programme and development in modern Africa, the roe of this programme in modern Africa, strategies of harnessing the programme for development in modern Africa and the challenges of the programme in modern Africa. This narrative is likely to shade light on the need of Teacher education programme in development in modern Africa and the role of innovative research in this process. Hence, set in motion the desired development in modern Africa.


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