{"title":"A Content Analysis of Documentation of Nature Play in Early Childhood Teacher Education Program in Australia","authors":"N. Green, Vicki Christopher, Michelle Turner","doi":"10.14221/ajte.2022v47n5.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2022v47n5.2","url":null,"abstract":"This study theoretically aligns with research that purports that nature play positively contributes to sustainability stewardship. Early childhood teachers can plan for and nurture children’s capabilities and dispositions for sustainability stewardship. Initial teacher education programs contribute to the professional learning of preservice early childhood teachers’ perceptions regarding nature play. This article details the findings of content analysis to explore and uncover the existence of nature play in online, publicly available documents representing twenty-two early childhood teacher qualifications. In what ways is nature play evidenced in early childhood initial teacher education programs in Australia? The findings highlight potential discrepancies between the values related to nature play in the early childhood field and the content in initial teacher education programming. The article concludes with implications for teacher education programs and proposed recommendations for ongoing research.","PeriodicalId":47550,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Teacher Education","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73027977","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Eva Ärlemalm-Hagsér, Laila Gustavsson, S. Thulin, N. Evans
{"title":"New Initiatives for Building Education for Sustainability in Initial Early Childhood Teacher Education in Sweden – Critical Aspects and Noticeable Needs","authors":"Eva Ärlemalm-Hagsér, Laila Gustavsson, S. Thulin, N. Evans","doi":"10.14221/ajte.2022v47n5.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2022v47n5.5","url":null,"abstract":"There is an identified need for research capable of enhancing understanding of effective practice in the embedding of Education for Sustainability (EfS) in Initial Early Childhood Teacher education (IECTE). Research further finds that innovative teaching strategies are needed to build new teachers’ capacity to prepare future citizens to manage critical sustainability challenges. This study meets this need by investigating how EfS is implemented in two IECTE programmes at two Swedish universities where EfS is embedded throughout the years of study, and the learning students demonstrate at the end of the programmes in relation to EfS. Findings reveal that students demonstrate a range of understandings related to EfS and the role of the early childhood teacher in EfS. Findings further suggest there is an overall need to deepen IECTE students’ EfS theoretical and pedagogical content knowledge to enable them to close a gap between the theory and teaching of EfS in early childhood education settings.","PeriodicalId":47550,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Teacher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83688586","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Impact of Problem-based Learning on Pre-service Teachers’ Mathematics Pedagogical Content Knowledge","authors":"David A. Martin","doi":"10.14221/ajte.2022v47n4.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2022v47n4.4","url":null,"abstract":"Predictors of teacher effectiveness in relation to student achievement are based on the ability to use a range of evidence-based teaching strategies. Australia’s Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group (TEMAG) report that some tertiary providers working with pre-service teachers (PSTs) are using pedagogical practices which are not informed by established research. This paper reports on the impact a student-centred, PBL teaching approach had on third-year Bachelor of Education PSTs’ PCK in a mathematics education subject, compared to a similar group taught using a conventional teacher-directed approach. A quasi-experimental group-by-time design was used to determine the impact of the intervention. Contrary to meta-analyses regarding the efficacy of PBL compared to teacher-directed instruction, findings from this study show the PSTs from the PBL group developed their mathematics PCK as well as those who were taught using a teacher-directed instructional approach, Wilks’ Lambda = .71, F (1, 35) = 14.33, p < .01.","PeriodicalId":47550,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Teacher Education","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83412007","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Changing Needs of Special Education Preservice Teachers in the Practicum","authors":"Stella Gidalevich, Maayan Shalev","doi":"10.14221/ajte.2022v47n4.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2022v47n4.2","url":null,"abstract":"Self-determination theory (SDT) suggests that people strive to fulfill three basic needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness. In teacher education research, fulfilling those needs is connected to positive skill development and increased wellbeing of preservice teachers and their students. Teacher education programs for special education preservice teachers (SEPT) include a professional experience in various school settings with neurodiverse students. This professional experience gives rise to specific needs for these SEPT. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 SEPT, studying at various stages of two teacher education programs. The findings were analyzed qualitatively. Results revealed developing and changing needs throughout the educational program, reflecting different settings and phases of the professional experience. SDT was found to be useful framework to interpret the findings. Implications for designing teacher education programs are discussed.","PeriodicalId":47550,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Teacher Education","volume":"180 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83010474","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Foreign Language Teachers’ Knowledge Base and the Influence of Teaching Experience","authors":"Lőrincz Marianna","doi":"10.14221/ajte.2022v47n4.6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2022v47n4.6","url":null,"abstract":"The present paper elucidated the issue of foreign language teachers’ knowledge base and the influence of teaching experience on their beliefs. A self-report questionnaire was utilised to explore what domains of knowledge language teachers prioritised in planning and delivering instruction, what sources they drew on to gain professional understanding and to compare teachers’ views relevant to the length of their experience. The analysis of data revealed quantitative dissimilarities in the assumed sources and knowledge domains, as well as teachers' instructional preferences. The study’s findings lend empirical evidence to the influence of experience on teachers’ cognitions and yield additional insight into the way language teachers gain their insider knowledge.","PeriodicalId":47550,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Teacher Education","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82318068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Teacher Efficacy in High Performing Teachers: Barriers and Enablers for New Graduates","authors":"Dianne Toe, L. Longaretti","doi":"10.14221/ajte.2022v47n4.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2022v47n4.1","url":null,"abstract":"Teachers with a high sense of self-efficacy are more resilient to difficulties, experience greater job satisfaction and have higher expectations of their students. This study investigated teacher self-efficacy in high performing teachers at two points in their development: 1) as preservice teachers, halfway through their undergraduate degree using the Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (TSES) (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) 2) as new graduates through a qualitative interview focused on efficacy. These 24 teachers participated in the National Exceptional Teaching for Disadvantaged Schools program (NETDS) at Deakin University during their BEd (Primary) degree. They demonstrated lower self-efficacy than their peers in Efficacy for Instructional Strategies (TSES). As graduates, however, they presented as confident teachers with high self-efficacy. It appears that their studies, their placements in low socioeconomic schools and as well mentored new graduate teachers, had helped make them into effective teachers who were ready for their new profession.","PeriodicalId":47550,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Teacher Education","volume":"237 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76266592","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
V. Tarrayo, Ali G. Anudin, Henelsie Mendoza, Erly Parungao-Callueng
{"title":"Challenges and Opportunities in Teaching Writing Online Amidst the Pandemic: Voices from English Language Teachers in Philippine Universities","authors":"V. Tarrayo, Ali G. Anudin, Henelsie Mendoza, Erly Parungao-Callueng","doi":"10.14221/ajte.2022v47n4.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2022v47n4.5","url":null,"abstract":"With the sudden transition to online instruction in most educational institutions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be assumed that there is paucity in research as regards the teaching of writing online during this crisis moment. To address this niche, 13 Filipino university English language teachers were asked to participate in both online semi-structured and follow-up email interviews to describe their experiences in teaching writing online during the pandemic, particularly the challenges they faced, their coping strategies to address these challenges, and the opportunities in online teaching they valued. The interview responses revealed three major challenges in teaching writing online: technological concerns and equity issues, vague response of schools to emergency remote teaching, and problems in assessment. Three key strategies to cope with these challenges were found: flexibility in communicating with students and in accommodating their concerns, initiatives for professional development, and gaining support from colleagues and students. Despite the challenges of online instruction, two opportunities for development in online writing instruction were identified: optimizing the use of online-teaching platforms and resources, and enhancing one’s reflective practice. Implications for teaching writing online in particular and for online learning and teacher education in general are discussed in the paper.","PeriodicalId":47550,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Teacher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89846368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Qilong Zhang, Joanne Hayes, Rawhia TeHau-Grant, Roberta Skeoch, Lois France, Ke Jiang, R. Barnes
{"title":"Positioning Dispositions in Initial Teacher Education: An Action Research Approach","authors":"Qilong Zhang, Joanne Hayes, Rawhia TeHau-Grant, Roberta Skeoch, Lois France, Ke Jiang, R. Barnes","doi":"10.14221/ajte.2022v47n4.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2022v47n4.3","url":null,"abstract":"In spite of debate, ambiguity, and tension around teacher dispositions, in the past over two decades, the place of dispositions in initial teacher education (ITE) has been widely supported among policy makers and researchers. Specifically, debate on whether dispositions are teachable has largely given way to action to foster dispositions. Adopting a two-cycle participatory action research design, this study explored ways to teach the first-year teacher candidates’ dispositions in an early childhood ITE programme in New Zealand. The intervention included eight focus dispositions and corresponding strategies to teach each focus disposition. Data collection methods included student self-assessment surveys, individual and focus group interviews with students and teaching staff, team meetings, and a variety of pedagogical documentation. Ethnographic content analysis generated three themes: legitimacy of the intervention, experiential orientation of the intervention, and effect of the intervention. The study exemplifies how dispositions intervention can be incorporated in ITE programmes.","PeriodicalId":47550,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Teacher Education","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88038240","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"University English Teachers’ Professional Development Through Academic Visits: Using Identity as a Theoretical Lens","authors":"Feng Ding, R. Yuan, F. Curtis","doi":"10.14221/ajte.2022v47n3.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2022v47n3.1","url":null,"abstract":"Academic visitor programs aim to enhance university teachers’ teaching and research capacity and intercultural competence. Its impact, however, has remained under-researched. Using the data collected from two rounds of in-depth interviews with 13 Chinese university English teachers over a year and a half, this study explored their experiences as academic visitors in the UK through the lens of professional identity. Findings revealed that the participants came with various expectations and negotiated and constructed different identities during their academic visits. The participants’ developing identities in turn affected their investment in their professional development in their situated contexts. The study provides important implications for academic visit programs which need to be designed in line with the complex needs and identities of university teachers.","PeriodicalId":47550,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Teacher Education","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79233754","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Theresa Bourke, L. L’Estrange, Jill Willis, Jennifer Alford, James Davis, D. Henderson, Mallihai M. Tambyah, Senka Henderson, Tricia Clark-Fookes
{"title":"ntegrated Curriculum Approaches to Teaching in Initial Teacher Education for Secondary Schooling: A Systematic Review","authors":"Theresa Bourke, L. L’Estrange, Jill Willis, Jennifer Alford, James Davis, D. Henderson, Mallihai M. Tambyah, Senka Henderson, Tricia Clark-Fookes","doi":"10.14221/ajte.2022v47n3.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2022v47n3.3","url":null,"abstract":"Demands that Initial Teacher Education (ITE) prepare teachers who can equip students to be agile real-world problem solvers are frequent. Guidance about ITE integrated curriculum approaches to achieve this aim is harder to find, a significant gap given increasing time and policy pressures for ITE educators. Drawing from an Australian context, this systematic review investigates how integrated curriculum is conceptualised and enacted in secondary schooling ITE courses. Three conceptions of integrated curriculum for ITE are highlighted – Interdisciplinary, Disciplinary Literacy, and Transdisciplinary approaches – alongside benefits and barriers to enacting integrated curriculum. Recommendations for further research and practice around integrated curriculum are proposed.","PeriodicalId":47550,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Teacher Education","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84949863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}