Showing papers in "Australian Journal of Teacher Education in 2010"
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of the research literature focuses on the interconnectedness of the roles of mentor teachers and pre-service teachers, identifying how the relationship functions with regard to the mentor and mentee who work together to achieve specific goals.
Abstract: This review of the research literature focuses on the interconnectedness of the roles of mentor teachers and pre-service teachers. In order to examine the interconnectedness of mentors and mentees, the paper firstly delves into what mentoring is and what contextual factors influence mentoring in pre-service teacher education. It then examines the research literature on mentors and mentees and the roles they undertake in a mentoring relationship. Emerging from the examination of the roles is identification of how the relationship functions with regard to the mentor and mentee who work together to achieve specific goals. The paper highlights the fact that limited research has examined mentor and mentees as interconnected partners in mentoring relationships. The paper outlines how the mentoring relationship participants can actively participate and interact. In conclusion, the paper provides a definition for mentoring that embraces essential mentoring components for pre-service teacher education contexts.
234 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore some of the teaching aspects related to the development of learner autonomy and propose a framework of skills that could be used by teachers as a guide to increasing learner responsibility.
Abstract: In recent years there has been a growing recognition of the importance of learner autonomy and the role of individual learners in directing their own learning process, both inside and outside the classroom (Alford and Pachler, 2007; Benson, 2000; Breen, 2001; Conacher and Kelly-Holmes, 2007). However, in practice it is not always clear how to support learners in this role, and how to ensure they are ready to assume it. This paper explores some of the teaching aspects related to the development of learner autonomy and proposes a framework of skills that could be used by teachers as a guide to increasing learner responsibility. Although this framework was developed in the context of language education, its underlying theories apply to all educational settings.
165 citations
TL;DR: The authors investigated student teachers' beliefs about learner autonomy in the Turkish educational context and found that most student teachers do not want their future students to take part in the decision-making process concerning the time and place of the course and the textbooks to be followed.
Abstract: This paper aims to investigate student teachers' beliefs about learner autonomy in the Turkish educational context. In a study in the ELT Department, Gazi University, a questionnaire developed by Camilleri (1997) was administered to 112 student teachers. Twenty volunteer student teachers were interviewed in groups to identify their further general attitudes towards learner autonomy. The overall study findings indicate that student teachers are positive towards the adoption of learner autonomy principles. Most student teachers, however, do not want their future students to take part in the decision making process concerning the time and place of the course and the textbooks to be followed. In light of the findings, teacher educators are recommended to encourage their student teachers to engage in out-of-class tasks; to involve them in decision-making on the learning/teaching processes and to employ portfolios and teacher logs for the development of practical knowledge and thinking operations.
153 citations
TL;DR: The barriers to the provision of physical education were found to be largely institutional, although two-thirds of respondents recognized their own difficulties in engaging students when teaching as potential obstacles to student participation as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: An on-line questionnaire was completed by 115 physical education teachers to establish the barriers to their implementation of physical education in Victorian state secondary schools. In addition, the barriers perceived by teachers to impact on students' participation in school-based physical education and physical activity were examined. The barriers to the provision of physical education were found to be largely institutional, although two-thirds of respondents recognised their own difficulties in engaging students when teaching as potential obstacles to student participation. Students were also perceived to be influenced by their own (45 per cent) and their peers (62 per cent) low levels of interest when choosing to participate. An awareness of these barriers has implications for physical education teaching, curriculum design, teacher training and adolescent participation in the school environment.
139 citations
TL;DR: In the context of recently published academic discrepancies between Queensland students and students from other Australian states, final year pre-service teachers were surveyed to explore their understanding and knowledge of climate change.
Abstract: In the context of recently published academic discrepancies between Queensland students and students from other Australian states, final year pre-service teachers were surveyed to explore their understanding and knowledge of climate change. Their responses were compared to those of secondary students to discern any significant gains in knowledge as a consequence of tertiary teacher training.
Responses from a survey completed by a sample of 107 pre-service teachers and 310 grade 10 secondary students were examined for their level of understanding and knowledge, models of explanation and sources of information of the phenomenon.
Results showed similarities between the two groups, with knowledge and understanding of climate change remaining unacceptably low in pre-service teachers, including those secondary specialists citing science and environmental studies (SOSE) as their focus of study.
The study highlights the need to develop tertiary science curricula to bridge pre-service teachers’ knowledge and understanding gaps of important school curriculum topics while embedding these in broader considerations of curriculum planning.
107 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the importance of program evaluation for teacher education programs and reveal the pre-service English teacher education program components that are in need of improvement or maintenance both from teachers' and students' perspectives by using Peacock's recent evaluation model in a Turkish university context.
Abstract: The main aim of this study is to draw attention to the importance of program evaluation for teacher education programs and to reveal the pre-service English teacher education program components that are in need of improvement or maintenance both from teachers' and students' perspectives by using Peacock's (2009) recent evaluation model in a Turkish university context. The study is based on the data collected from teachers and fourth year student teachers who have had experience with the new teacher education program initiated by Higher Education Council (HEC) in 2006-2007 academic year. The data collected by means of questionnaires and interviews revealed that although participating teachers and student teachers have similar views about some program components, they hold different ideas about the balance among linguistic and pedagogic competences in the program. While teachers believe that the program does not suffice to improve student teachers' linguistic competence, student teachers think that the pedagogic side of the program needs to be improved.
99 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the relationship between chemistry laboratory anxiety, chemistry attitudes, and self-efficacy, and found that chemistry attitudes were positively associated with selfefficacy.
Abstract: The aim of this study is to examine the relationships between chemistry laboratory anxiety, chemistry attitudes, and self-efficacy. Participants were 395 university students. Participants completed the Chemistry Laboratory Anxiety Scale, the Chemistry Attitudes Scale, and the Self-efficacy Scale. Results showed that chemistry laboratory anxiety was correlated negatively to chemistry attitudes and to self-efficacy. On the other hand, chemistry attitudes were found to be positively associated with self-efficacy. The path model showed that self-efficacy predicted chemistry laboratory anxiety in a negative way. Also, self-efficacy has a direct and positive effect on chemistry attitudes which in turn affects chemistry laboratory anxiety. Finally, chemistry laboratory anxiety was explained negatively by chemistry attitudes. Results were discussed in the light of literature.
98 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a mixed-method study presented mentors' reports on their mentoring of primary preservice teachers (mentees) in mathematics (n = 43) and science (n= 29).
Abstract: Implementing an Australian National Curriculum will require targeting both teachers and preservice teachers. Classroom teachers in their roles as mentors are well situated for developing preservice teachers. This mixed-method study presents mentors' reports on their mentoring of primary preservice teachers (mentees) in mathematics (n=43) and science (n=29). Mentors claimed they mentored the teaching of mathematics more than the teaching of science; 20% or more indicated they did not provide mentoring practices for 25 out of 34 survey items in the science and 9 out of 34 items in the mathematics. Mentors also claimed that professional development on effective mentoring can enhance their skills. Implementing an Australian National Curriculum necessitates professional development for mentors on effective mentoring practices in order to increase the quality and quantity of mentoring for enhancing preservice teachers' practices.
96 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the effect of problem posing instruction on the attitudes toward mathematics and mathematics self-efficacy of elementary prospective mathematics teachers was examined using a pre-test-intervention-post-test experimental design.
Abstract: Research on mathematics teaching and learning has recently focused on affective variables, which were found to play an essential role that influences behaviour and learning. Despite its importance, problem posing has not yet received the attention it warrants from the mathematics education community. Perceived self-efficacy beliefs have been found to be a strong predictor of mathematical performance, while problem posing is considered to be a fundamental ability in mathematical learning. On the other hand majority of research in this area present a positive relation between attitude toward mathematics and success. Therefore, it is shown that attitude toward mathematics is a determinative of success or failure. In this respect this study examines the effect of problem posing instruction on the attitudes toward mathematics and mathematics self-efficacy of elementary prospective mathematics teachers. The study used a pre-test-intervention-post-test experimental design. Quantitative research techniques were employed to gather, analyze and interpret the data. The sample comprised 82 elementary prospective mathematics teachers. In the result of data analysis, it was determined that the effect of problem posing instruction on the attitudes toward mathematics and mathematics self-efficacy of elementary prospective mathematics teachers was in a positive way and at significant level.
91 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined student beliefs about the attributes of effective lecturers of English as a foreign language (EAs) and found that students were generally supportive of participatory modes of instruction, but contained different views about how aggressively lecturers should enlist participation.
Abstract: This study, conducted in a Korean university setting, examines student beliefs about the attributes of effective lecturers (1) of English as a foreign language. Student opinions about rapport and delivery type attributes are particularly informative. Rapport attributes were the major focus of discussion and viewed as particularly important in Korean university contexts where student anxiety about interacting in English often inhibits effective English language learning. Discussion about delivery attributes was generally supportive of participatory modes of instruction, but contained different views about how aggressively lecturers should enlist participation. The beliefs of Korean university students revealed in this study can, if seen as appropriate, be used by existing practitioners and teachers in training to guide instructional approaches.
86 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a review examines what is known of psychological distress among university students, teachers and student-teachers, the demands associated with their practical experiences and the known impact of psychological stress.
Abstract: Student-teacher distress has the potential to impact on the individuals who are to become teachers, the profession and the education system. This review examines what is known of psychological distress among university students, teachers and student-teachers, the demands associated with their practical experiences and the known impact of psychological distress. A brief overview of contemporary stress management approaches is also presented. The reviewer contends that the potential problem for prospective teachers requires a holistic approach, beginning through understanding contemporary strategies available to individual university students, and preventative stress management programs provided within tertiary education, which may be made available to future student-teachers. Much is known anecdotally about the stressors on teachers, especially following the ever-increasing demands of change associated with developments in technology, and
TL;DR: Findings revealed that the majority of pre-service secondary teachers feel that their teacher education courses lack a focus on cultural and linguistic diversity in schools.
Abstract: Cultural diversity is evident throughout schools in Victoria, Australia. Many students are new arrivals from war-torn countries including Sudan, Afghanistan and Iraq. To what extent do teacher training courses in Victoria prepare pre-service teachers to cater for the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) students? This paper reports findings from a qualitative study on pre-service preparation for teaching CALD students in mainstream secondary schools. It investigated ways in which CALD student needs are addressed in secondary teaching courses in Victoria. Data included course outlines, questionnaires completed by forty-one final year pre-service teachers, and interviews with four final year pre-service teachers. Findings revealed that the majority of pre-service secondary teachers feel that their teacher education courses lack a focus on cultural and linguistic diversity in schools. Course content analysis supports this. Courses need to be updated to address the needs of teachers of CALD students, and consequently of the students themselves. This paper provides practical ways to begin this process.
TL;DR: In this paper, a study was carried out to determine the positive and negative attitudes among 289 students of class teachers and childhood teachers' disciplines using the communication skills attitude scale (CSAS) in Jordanian public universities.
Abstract: The present study was carried out to determine the positive and negative attitudes among 289 students of class teachers and childhood teachers' disciplines using the communication skills attitude scale (CSAS) in Jordanian public universities. GPA, year level of students were recorded. Overall results of study revealed that the mean of positive attitude score was 4.03. The mean of negative attitude scale score was 3.63. There were no significant differences between class teachers and childhood teachers students in their positive and negative attitudes toward communication skills. Students with grade point averages 2 and more have positive attitudes toward communication skills than students with grade point average less than 2. Senior students have high positive and less negative attitudes toward communication skills than sophomore and junior students.
TL;DR: In this article, the reflective engagement of pre-service teachers in a structured classroom activity reinforces the application of the teaching-learning process in the classroom and enables them to construct meaning from that application.
Abstract: The repeated use of reflection throughout their teacher preparation experience can be useful in encouraging growth and improving pedagogical knowledge, teaching performance and professional development among pre-service teachers. This study looks at how the reflective engagement of these teachers in a structured classroom activity reinforces the application of the teaching-learning process in the classroom and enables them to construct meaning from that application. It seeks to identify ways in which the teachers engage in reflection; determine their levels of reflective engagement; examine what they discover about teaching through reflection; and establish how this reflection affects their pedagogical ability.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that schools as microcosms of social realities have the potential to change social attitudes gradually, including those about diversity, culture and race, and support teacher education programs which explore the ways in which issues of race, culture, and diversity can be incorporated in the content choice in school curriculum.
Abstract: Australia's education system endeavours to provide an environment in which students can learn in a safe and comfortable manner, free of fear of verbal or physical abuse. However, for many schools, the ability to create this safe environment has been undermined by a recent rise in society-wide intercultural tensions that inevitably permeate the school boundary. Empirical data from a national project about racism among Australian youth provides evidence that these intercultural tensions are generating an unsettling level of verbal, and in some cases, physical abuse in Australian secondary schools. These project findings inform the discussion presented in this paper that schools, as sites of intercultural relations, reflect wider societal attitudes. Nevertheless, this paper also contends that schools as microcosms of social realities have the potential to change social attitudes gradually, including those about diversity, culture and race. To do so, schools need to be supported by teacher education programs which explore the ways in which issues of race, culture and diversity can be incorporated in the content choice in school curriculum. This will influence positively the way in which graduating teachers approach diversity and inter-cultural tensions within their own classrooms and the wider school.
TL;DR: This article conducted a qualitative study into the teaching practice experiences of eight preservice English language teachers in Hong Kong and found that participants constructed rigid divisions between different identity positions that they took on, resisted, and rejected during their teaching practice experience, and that relations between these identity categories were often characterized by antagonism.
Abstract: This paper reports the results of a qualitative study into the teaching practice experiences of eight preservice English language teachers in Hong Kong. Using in-depth interviews, the preservice teachers' practicum experiences are explored in terms of their understandings of the requirements of their teacher education institution and their teaching placement school, their relations with full time teachers within their placement schools, as well as their own beliefs about the teaching and learning of the English language. A contribution of this study is to examine these experiences through the lens of teacher identity construction. Results indicated that participants constructed rigid divisions between different identity positions that they took on, resisted, and rejected during their teaching practice experiences, and that relations between these identity categories were often characterized by antagonism. It is argued that such antagonism may be detrimental to the preservice teachers during their practicum and as they move into full time teaching positions. How these divisions might be challenged is discussed and implications for future research are considered.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe three Australian projects that support the cultivation of teachers' beliefs, knowledge and skills for critical reflection and leading change in schools, drawing on critical social theory.
Abstract: Australian policy initiatives and state curriculum reform efforts affirm a commitment to address student disengagement through the development of inclusive school environments, curriculum, and pedagogy. This paper, drawing on critical social theory, describes three Australian projects that support the cultivation of teachers' beliefs, knowledge and skills for critical reflection and leading change in schools. The first project reports on the valued ethics that emerged in pre-service teacher reflections about a Service-learning Program at a university in Queensland. The second project reports on a school-based collaborative inquiry approach to professional development with a focus on literacy practices. The final project reports on an initiative in another university in Victoria, to operationalise pedagogical change and curriculum renewal in Victoria, through the Principles of Learning and Teaching (PoLT). These case studies illustrate how critical reflection and development of beliefs, knowledge and skills can be acquired to better meet the needs of schools.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the responses of 90 final-year English language teaching student teachers and eight of their trainers at Sultan Qaboos University in the Sultanate of Oman, to a survey about the roles, approaches and strategies used to help the student teachers to reflect on their teaching.
Abstract: Reflective teaching practice has become a central theme in professional growth at the pre-service teacher education level almost everywhere. English language teaching (ELT) teacher trainers, like any other teacher trainers, have a powerful role to play in fostering reflection in their student teachers through the approaches and strategies they incorporate in their training, which can have implications related to the perceived worth of reflective practice. This quantitative study describes the responses of 90 final- year ELT student teachers and eight of their trainers at Sultan Qaboos University in the Sultanate of Oman, to a survey about the roles, approaches and strategies used to help the student teachers to reflect on their teaching. The results show that while the trainers have helped their student teachers to develop as reflective teachers, there are certain practices and aspects adopted by the trainers that need to be reconsidered, as they can have negative implications for teacher preparation.
TL;DR: In this article, a tertiary music educator prepares primary pre-service teachers to engage, explore and experience music education within the Bachelor of Education (primary) course at Unnamed University.
Abstract: As teaching is a highly skilled and complex profession, pre-service teachers’ need to develop a series of attributes for their practice in relation to pedagogy, content, student learning, classroom management and their ability to engage in reflection. Through reflective narrative, this article seeks to share how a tertiary music educator prepares her generalist primary pre-service teachers to engage, explore and experience music education within the Bachelor of Education (Primary) course at Unnamed University. It also presents one pre-service teacher’s experience of teaching music during her school placements in 2009 in what she calls ‘putting theory into practice’ moving from student identity to teacher identity. Although the ‘hands-on’ approach to teaching and learning on-campus and when on school placement provide pre-service teachers with knowledge, skills and understanding, the continued support of professional learning is well recognised and will be an ongoing process as pre-service teachers create their own professional identity.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focused on the perceptions of pre-service and beginning health and physical education (HPE) teachers in relation to their preparedness for teaching, and a questionnaire was designed to engage with teacher professional standards addressing (i), professional knowledge; (ii), professional relationships and (iii), professional practice.
Abstract: This research focused on the perceptions of pre- service and beginning health and physical education (HPE) teachers in relation to their preparedness for teaching. A questionnaire was designed to engage with teacher professional standards addressing (i), professional knowledge; (ii), professional relationships and (iii), professional practice. Follow-up interviews with randomly-selected teachers facilitated deeper interrogation of the issues. Findings indicated that both groups felt that their training had prepared them well in relation to most elements of the three aspects of the professional standards. Pre-service teachers had concerns with some elements of professional knowledge: specifically, knowledge and understanding of numeracy, ICT and literacy as they related to the teaching of HPE; and behaviour management. Beginning teachers had similar concerns in relation to professional knowledge and about their ability to plan and use valid and reliable assessment strategies. Data supported previous research that emphasised the ongoing nature of learning as a teacher.
TL;DR: The authors provides a roadmap used by one large Faculty of Education in Queensland for reforming and reconceptualising the curriculum for a 4-year undergraduate program, in response to new demands from government and professional bodies.
Abstract: Teacher quality is recognised as a lynchpin for education reforms internationally, and both Federal and State governments in Australia have turned their attention to teacher education institutions: the starting point for preparing quality teachers. Changes to policy and shifts in expectations impact on Faculties of Education, despite the fact that little is known about what makes a quality teacher preparation program effective. New accountability measures, mandated Professional Standards, and proposals to test all graduates before registration, mean that teacher preparation programs need capacity for flexibility and responsiveness. The risk is that undergraduate degree programs can become 'patchwork quilts' with traces of the old and new stitched together, sometimes at the expense of coherence and integrity. This paper provides a roadmap used by one large Faculty of Education in Queensland for reforming and reconceptualising the curriculum for a 4- year undergraduate program, in response to new demands from government and the professional bodies.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the relationship between the level of job satisfaction of high school teachers and types of personality and evaluated the differences of the levels of jobs satisfaction in accordance with the personality features.
Abstract: Teachers are loaded important responsibilities in educational process. The productivity and effectiveness of them are influenced by promotion, charging, job security, technological level, course load and working schedule which all are determined mostly by their institutions and influenced by noncognitive characteristics such as age, gender, family structure and finally influenced by personality types and characteristics, attitudes and behaviors, social values, competency and other personality characteristics of teachers. Purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between the level of job satisfaction of high school teachers and types of personality and to evaluate the differences of the levels of job satisfaction in accordance with the personality features. Method: The study covers teachers working in state schools in the central sub province of Sivas. Total number of the teachers work in 25 high schools at the area was one thousand and thirty-six. Fifty percent of the schools were included into the sample, and questionnaire was applied to 482 teachers. Data of the study were obtained from the questionnaire that determined the socio-demographic characteristics of the teachers, occupational satisfaction scale that determined their job satisfaction and the personality scale that determined their personality characteristics. Findings: Thirty-two percent of the teachers that answered the questionnaire were women and sixty-eight percent were males. The average score given by the teachers to all the statements in the scale in general is (O=3.55); and it is seen that teachers are satisfied with their jobs near to an intermediary level. It is seen that more than half (62%) of the teachers have extrovert personalities. Proportion of the teachers with introvert personalities within the sample was 32%. When the differences of points that teachers obtained in the job satisfaction scale and points obtained for each of the statements included in the scale used to evaluate their personality characteristics were compared, it was found that their job satisfaction showed significant differences in terms of characteristics of liking competence, being ambitious in the social area and occupation, getting angry easily, and hiding their feelings.
TL;DR: A program is described designed to link knowledge gained in a first-semester Information and Communication Technology unit of a first year pre-service teacher undergraduate course with the practical use of IWBs in a mathematics education unit, Working Mathematically, in second semester.
Abstract: The focus of this paper is on how pre-service teachers investigate using interactive whiteboards (IWBs) to incorporate e-teaching into their lessons. Digital convergence in the classroom makes technology an integral part of teaching rather than an add-on feature (Kent, 2004a, 2004b). To establish a context for the use of IWB in schools, the paper first examines relevant literature on IWBs. It then describes a program designed to link knowledge gained in a first-semester Information and Communication Technology (ICT) unit of a first year pre-service teacher undergraduate course with the practical use of IWBs in a mathematics education unit, Working Mathematically, in second semester. During this transfer of knowledge, pre-service teachers also explore the pedagogical implications of using IWBs in the classroom.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on integrating acting theories in pre-service English teacher education so as to improve nonverbal immediacy behavior and to contribute to the development process of teacher identity.
Abstract: This research study focuses on integrating acting theories in pre-service English teacher education so as to improve nonverbal immediacy behavior and to contribute to the development process of teacher identity. Studies on incorporation of acting literature into teacher education provide educators with some significant findings clearly indicating that certain teacher competences can be fostered effectively by benefiting from acting theories and practices. While focusing on different aspects and competences of the teaching profession, these studies are in a general accord with the idea that teacher education programs should give more attention to actor preparation theories and techniques so as to promote effective teaching at all levels of instruction. The results indicate that the nonverbal immediacy behavior of pre- service teacher trainees improved significantly via an acting course for teachers. Also, prospective teachers displayed a remarkable development in constructing their professional identities.
TL;DR: The Project Supervision project as discussed by the authors was designed around a community of practice involving teachers -both experienced and preservice -and teacher educators to develop professional development materials for school supervisors/mentors.
Abstract: Work integrated learning which is terminology now very familiar to all universities' faculty members, has always been integral to initial teacher education programs. As a result of the complexities involved in this field, building effective partnerships with schools continues to be a major focus of education faculties. These complexities around a partnership between two very different institutional contexts require negotiating a relationship that is of value to all involved. The concept of communities of practice can provide a framework to establish the collaboration needed. The Australian Commonwealth government conducted in 2007 a national inquiry into the effectiveness of the teacher education programs in Australia (Commonwealth of Australia, 2007). One of the recommendations from the inquiry was to provide funds directly to Education faculties to assist in the improvement of the professional experience (or practicum) component of teacher education courses. This paper describes and examines a project that was funded and implemented in 2009. Project Supervision aimed to develop professional development materials for school supervisors/mentors. The process to achieve this was designed by the author around a community of practice involving teachers - both experienced and preservice - and teacher educators.
TL;DR: This article conducted a study on pre-service teachers' background and confidence in music and visual arts education and found that 25% of the subjects agreed or strongly agreed that they had a good background in music education and 16% indicated that they did not have one.
Abstract: This paper reports the findings of a study on pre-service teachers' background and confidence in music and visual arts education. The study involved 939 non-specialist pre-service primary teachers from five countries. Initially the paper identifies the students' perceptions of their background and confidence in relation to music and visual arts education. Secondly it examines any differences between the visual arts and music education background and confidence of Australian students and those from the other four countries. Results indicated that 25% of the subjects agreed or strongly agreed that they had a good background in music education and 16% indicated that they had a good background in visual arts education. In relation to confidence, 56% of the respondents indicated they felt confident teaching visual arts and 50% felt confident teaching music. There were also significant differences between countries in relation to background and confidence in the two art forms.
TL;DR: In 2010, the first formal study of the reciprocal mentoring innovation was presented in this article, where teachers from visual arts, music, drama, and mathematics were matched to mentors.
Abstract: The 2007 "Top of the Class" report on the Inquiry into Teacher Education in Australia found teacher induction failure and high attrition rates were endemic in most Australian states. Mentoring was advocated as an important mechanism for countering the debilitating drain attrition exerted on the profession (more than 30% within the first years in most developed nations). Reciprocal mentoring represents a departure from traditional mentoring arrangements in that it aligns two professionals with skills of equivalent importance and stature but in different discipline areas/domains. The importance of "reciprocity" in sustaining mentoring relationships is a distinctive theme in the conceptual framework for the model. In 2010 Graduate Diploma pre-service teachers from visual arts, music, drama and mathematics will be matched to mentors in reciprocal mentoring residencies in the first formal study of the mentoring innovation. This paper acts in the capacity of a prolegomena, describing the work undertaken to date and over-viewing the reciprocal mentoring which will occur in 2010.
TL;DR: In this article, the impact of working conditions at school on teachers' level of instructional media use in the primary school system of Gedeo Zone, southern Ethiopia was investigated, which revealed that the level of use of instructional Media is low with an average frequency of use swinging between once in two weeks to twice in three weeks during four weeks of instruction, and the implications of the findings related to pre-service and in-service teacher training are also discussed.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of working conditions at school on teachers' level of instructional media use in the primary school system of Gedeo Zone, southern Ethiopia. The survey was made on a sample of 139 (24.4 % female and male 75.6 %) teachers who were randomly drawn from 9 primary schools (four rural and five urban primary schools). The instruments used to generate data were self-reported questionnaires tapping the level of instructional media use and the associated school-level environmental factors. The findings based on Factor Analysis revealed three independent dimensions of school environment factors related to the use of instructional media by teachers. It is further disclosed that the level of use of instructional media is low with an average frequency of use swinging between once in two weeks to twice in three weeks during four weeks of instruction. The implications of the findings related to pre-service and in-service teacher training are also discussed.
TL;DR: In this article, a sample of 81 students between the ages of 18 and 22 years in a tertiary bridging program at a regional university completed a questionnaire examining how demographics, social context, academic engagement and the ability to cope with the curriculum complexity influenced academic success in high school and adversely affected their preparedness for tertiary study.
Abstract: A sample of 81 students between the ages of 18 and 22 years in a tertiary bridging program at a regional university completed a questionnaire examining how demographics, social context, academic engagement and the ability to cope with the curriculum complexity influenced academic success in high school and adversely affected their preparedness for tertiary study. The demographics of the study participants, including socio-economic status, private/public school attendance and first in family to attend university were such that the study participants could not be considered to be members of a disadvantaged group. The study supports the hypothesis that a number of the study participants are casualties of their schooling and their poor long term academic performance at high school occurred due to poor student-teacher relationships with associated poor academic engagement. The implications for educational pedagogy for educators in tertiary bridging programs are discussed.
TL;DR: This article examined the consonance and dissonance between prospective teachers' values and practices in terms of their conceptions about teaching/learning and conceptions about assessment, as well as explore the patterns of those consonance/divergences between the two values.
Abstract: This study aimed to examine the consonance and dissonance between prospective teachers' values and practices in terms of their conceptions about teaching/learning and conceptions about assessment, as well as to explore the patterns of those consonance and dissonance between prospective teachers' values and practices. The sample consisted of 304 prospective teachers majoring in teaching science, art, special education, music, Turkish literacy, mathematics, English language, and classroom teaching domains in a large university located in the north-west of the Black Sea region in Turkey. Overall results of the study showed that the prospective teachers valued constructivist teaching/learning, making learning explicit, and promoting learning autonomy more than they practised, whereas they practised traditional teaching and performance orientation more than they valued. Results also revealed that the prospective teachers believed that constructivist teaching/learning, traditional teaching/learning, making learning explicit, promoting learning autonomy, and performance orientation were both valuable and applicable. These results also provided evidence that there were both consonance and dissonance between prospective teachers' conceptions about teaching/learning and conceptions about assessment.