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Showing papers in "Journal of In-service Education in 2008"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A teacher professional identity scale was developed for Hong Kong in-service teachers to measure the professional identity of teachers as mentioned in this paper, which included 19 items including roles and practices of teachers in both pilot and main studies.
Abstract: A teacher professional identity scale was developed for Hong Kong in‐service teachers to measure the professional identity of teachers. Most studies of professional identity have been qualitative. The present study tried to examine this important concept using a quantitative method. Based on various studies, one of the ways of understanding the professional identity of teachers was through teachers’ roles and practices. This study described the procedure for developing a professional identity scale according to the practices of professional teachers. The final version of the scale included 19 items. Overall, this scale was found to be valid and reliable for measuring the professional identity of Hong Kong in‐service teachers in both pilot and main studies.

66 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on how faculty can be guided in the mentoring process and how formal mentoring programs improve practice, as well as the impact on new faculty and faculty mentors.
Abstract: The present article focuses on how faculty can be guided in the mentoring process and how formal mentoring programs improve practice, as well as the impact of formal mentoring on new faculty and faculty mentors. The empirical case study described features a new faculty mentoring program in its second year of development in a university research culture in Florida, USA. A goal of early‐stage faculty mentoring programs might be to attain what Gladwell refers to as the ‘tipping point,’ where faculty mentoring becomes contagious. Perspectives and strategies used to create not only an effective mentoring program within research cultures but also a movement entrenched in faculty–faculty mentoring are highlighted. Results from program assessment data are reported, with insights and recommendations from faculty mentors and mentees.

62 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Leaders in Education Programme as discussed by the authors is a six-month full-time program for specially selected vice-principals and ministry officers in Singapore to prepare them for school leadership.
Abstract: The Leaders in Education Programme is a six‐month full‐time programme for specially selected vice‐principals and ministry officers in Singapore to prepare them for school leadership. This paper describes and analyses the design of the programme and identifies the key underlying principle as that of knowledge construction, sharing and application using a social constructivism paradigm. In particular, it examines one particular component, the Future School project, in detail so as to illustrate these principles and how they operate in action. Drawing from the experiences of the Future School project, this paper suggests some pointers to designing a programme for school leadership.

45 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors examined the effects of professional development on teachers' use of sheltered instruction and found that teachers demonstrated increased knowledge of the sheltered instruction as measured through structured interviews and increased their use of it as measured by classroom observations.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of professional development on teachers' use of sheltered instruction. The participants included 23 teachers from the same elementary school who participated in all components of the study over a span of two years. Teachers demonstrated increased knowledge of sheltered instruction as measured through structured interviews. Teachers also increased their use of sheltered instruction as measured by classroom observations. Results from this study contribute to the research base on the impact of quality professional development in improving teachers' use of instructional techniques, and add to the paucity of research specifically focused on the improvement of instruction for English language learners.

44 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: For example, from September 2007 teachers in FE colleges in England are required to participate annually in at least 30 hours of continuing professional development (CPD) in order to maintain their qualified status.
Abstract: After years of neglect, the New Labour government has identified the further education (FE) sector in England as being the crucial means to achieve two policies at the centre of their project: social justice through widening participation in education and enhancing the skills of the nation’s workforce to compete in a globalised economy. This has led to FE and the staff who work there being more and more closely scrutinised and directed by the government, and from September 2007 teachers in FE colleges in England are required to participate annually in at least 30 hours of continuing professional development (CPD) in order to maintain their qualified status. This and many of the other government initiatives are associated with restrictive and impoverished notions of professionalism, but the sanctioning of CPD chosen and recorded by the staff themselves, rather than their employers, may allow room for a more meaningful and autonomous professionalism to evolve.

41 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a model of online professional development that is consistent with recommendations from the fields of teacher education, technology staff development and online learning is presented to exemplify the model's core components and interactions.
Abstract: This article provides a model of online professional development that is consistent with recommendations from the fields of teacher education, technology staff development and online learning. A graduate mathematics education course designed and implemented using the model is presented to exemplify the model’s core components and interactions. The model has been used to develop courses in using the World Wide Web to enhance the teaching of children’s literature, mathematics, science, social studies, multicultural education, parental involvement, literacy, inquiry‐based learning and English as a second language. The model’s components and pedagogical foundations are applicable for the design and implementation of online courses in other disciplines with field‐based learning experiences. Unique features of the model are also shared as well as findings from a formative evaluation study.

37 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The paper focuses on the first two years and reports on the relationships between teachers and teaching assistants, linking the findings from the research to that reported in the literature and analysing the similarities and differences.
Abstract: Over recent decades there has been pressure on schools and teachers, in England, to transform teachers’ working practice by advocating an improved role for teaching assistants. In reforming the workforce, the government also intended to support schools in building the momentum for change, whilst raising standards of pupil achievement and enhancing the quality of teaching and learning. After briefly outlining national policy the paper describes the collaboration between Roehampton University, London, and Surrey 4S regarding a three‐year training and research project to investigate different models of effective practice between teachers and teaching assistants. The project is supported by the European Social Fund and named ‘New Partnerships for Learning’. The paper focuses on the first two years and reports on the relationships between teachers and teaching assistants, linking the findings from the research to that reported in the literature and analysing the similarities and differences. The research has i...

32 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The main goal of the study was to examine if the participants would improve their reflective thinking skills using structured reflective tools, i.e. videotaping, the assessment rubrics, reflective writing guidelines, coaching and the reflective practice model.
Abstract: As a part of the United States Department of Education Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants (TQE) program, a professional development project was conducted to support selected urban teachers from a Professional Development School to think reflectively about their teaching and learning. The 24 survey items were developed based on the three domains of Danielson’s teaching practice. Using the survey, the eight participating teachers and 15 external reviewers were asked to assess the videotaped teaching performances three times. The main goal of the study was to examine if the participants would improve their reflective thinking skills using structured reflective tools, i.e. videotaping, the assessment rubrics, reflective writing guidelines, coaching and the reflective practice model. In addition the study examined if there were any significant differences in the three ratings. The results indicated that several items showed the significances among the ratings, and half of the participants evolved to the stage ...

29 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article explored the degree to which adult learning traits are embedded in optional seminars, the primary form of formal in-service teacher training in Cyprus and a traditional, structural approach towards teacher development.
Abstract: Despite controversy in the literature, the present article assumes that the adult learning theory provides a powerful framework for evaluating training practices. This study explores the degree to which adult learning traits are embedded in optional seminars, the primary form of formal in‐service teacher training in Cyprus and a traditional, structural approach towards teacher development. A quantitative research design is employed, with a nationally representative number of participants. Teachers’ views indicate adult learning as multidimensional, with the emerging factor structure similar to that derived from relevant literature, as to the extraction of the factors: orientation to learning, readiness to learn, accumulated experience and self‐concept. Two additional factors – organization of seminars and dissemination of results – show that these two dimensions should also be taken into consideration in training design. Although teachers’ views about optional seminars appear predominantly positive, such ...

27 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper explored the ways in which participating in a study group helped five US middle school teachers alter their construction of knowledge and found that the support and collegiality of the group demonstrates how collaborative groups can develop professional growth.
Abstract: The present study explores the ways in which participating in a study group helped five US middle school teachers alter their construction of knowledge. The members came together to improve their knowledge on assessment for learning in response to school‐level and district‐level pressures. The analysis was a recursive review of teacher statements and actions in the study group as well as the classroom through the lens of pedagogical content knowledge. The support and collegiality of the group demonstrates how collaborative groups can develop professional growth. The examination of the data looked at how participation in a study group focused on assessment for learning changed the structure of pedagogical content knowledge for participating teachers and what components of the study group led to those changes.

25 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the compulsory professional development (CPD) needs of mentors within post-compulsory Initial Teacher Training (ITT) provision in England and apply the ideas of Weber, Foucault, Habermas and Bourdieu in interpreting the implications for post-Compulsory ITT mentor CPD training.
Abstract: This paper discusses the compulsory professional development (CPD) needs of mentors within post‐compulsory Initial Teacher Training (ITT) provision in England. The discussion applies the ideas of Weber, Foucault, Habermas and Bourdieu in interpreting the implications for post‐compulsory ITT mentor CPD training. The paper’s primary and secondary research findings appear to indicate that mentors within this field of education struggle to gain the professional acceptance that Weber has popularised. Alongside struggling to achieve professional recognition it can also be argued that post‐compulsory ITT mentors may not use the same ‘discourse’ or ‘way of talking’ about teaching as their mentees. This finding is relevant to the work of Foucault. The subsequent attempt to achieve ‘collaboration’ and the potential ‘contestation’ that may be experienced links to the work of Habermas and Bourdieu.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the focus is on the way newly qualified teachers describe how they function in the school and kindergarten organizations, and the focus shifts from the perspective of the new teachers to that of the organization leaders, who emphasize that professional competence is complex.
Abstract: This article is based on a Norwegian study. The focus is two‐fold, including the views of both new teachers and leaders on the issue of leadership and professionalism. First, the focus is on the way newly qualified teachers describe how they function in the school and kindergarten organizations. The discussion explores how new teachers’ meetings with these organizations influence their daily life as teachers, and thereby their progress toward proficiency. Secondly, the focus shifts from the perspective of the new teachers to that of the organization leaders, who emphasize that professional competence is complex. In their view, it includes important aspects of the teacher’s role such as authority, leadership and how to act as teachers—important elements in the development of professionalism in this field the first years as teachers.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined various aspects on in-service education, including views on the effectiveness of inservice, teacher and headteacher priorities in determining inservice needs and the constraints on providing inservice courses.
Abstract: Improving the quality of teaching is an educational priority in Kenya, as in many developing countries. The present paper considers various aspects on in‐service education, including views on the effectiveness of in‐service, teacher and headteacher priorities in determining in‐service needs and the constraints on providing in‐service courses. These issues are examined though an empirical study of 30 secondary headteachers and 109 teachers in a district of Kenya. The results show a strong felt need for in‐service provision together with a firm belief in the efficacy of in‐service in raising pupil achievement. Headteachers had a stronger belief in the need for in‐service for their teachers than did the teachers themselves. The priorities of both headteachers and teachers were dominated by the external pressures of the schools, in particular the pressures for curriculum innovation and examination success. The resource constraints on supporting attendance at in‐service courses were the major problems facing h...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors seek to develop an understanding of how mentors operating in different phases learn to mentor and to sustain their growth as mentors and to identify how they construct their "communities of mentoring".
Abstract: Behaviourist and cognitive theories of learning view learning as a process of individual internalisation. Social theorists view learning as a process that is socially constructed and developed in social contexts. Wenger suggests that professional practice is a social process that is constructed in communities. Mentoring in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) has been a feature of the ITE landscape since the advent of the internship schemes but might be viewed by many teachers acting as mentors to be a small part of their remit. Some mentors while part of school communities might be seen as discharging their mentoring responsibilities in a relatively isolated manner. This study seeks to develop an understanding of how mentors operating in different phases learn to mentor and to sustain their growth as mentors and to seek to identify how they construct their ‘communities of mentoring’.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors re-examine the implications of research carried out on the Teacher Induction Scheme and reveal the limited role played by universities in the induction of newly qualified teachers.
Abstract: Scottish universities, with schools of education or equivalent, have gained a significant role in all other areas of the emerging national Framework for Continuing Professional Development, with the exception of the new one‐year Teacher Induction Scheme. However, in the light of renewed political calls for local authorities and universities to act in partnership at all stages of teacher professional development, this paper re‐examines the implications of research carried out on the Induction Scheme, which reveals the limited role played by universities in the induction of newly qualified teachers. The barriers and opportunities faced by universities in seeking a role in the induction and early professional development of teachers are discussed.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Assessment as integral to good teaching and learning has come to be accepted as a core principle underlying curricula in many educational systems around the world as mentioned in this paper, and the evidence that high qu...
Abstract: Assessment as integral to good teaching and learning has come to be accepted as a core principle underlying curricula in many educational systems around the world. Indeed, the evidence that high qu...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the effects of a continuing professional development (CPD) initiative that provided collaborative group work skills training for primary school teachers and found that the CPD promoted effective discourse and pupil dialogue during science lessons.
Abstract: The present study investigated the effects of a continuing professional development (CPD) initiative that provided collaborative group work skills training for primary school teachers. The study collected data from 24 primary school classrooms in different schools in a variety of urban and rural settings. The sample was composed of 332 pupils, aged 9–12 years old, and 24 primary school teachers. Results indicated that the CPD initiative had a significant impact on the attainment of pupils in science. In addition, data indicated that the CPD promoted effective discourse and pupil dialogue during science lessons. Pre‐test and post‐test observation scores were significantly different in terms of children giving of suggestions or courses of actions, offering of explanations, and telling someone to say something or carry out an action. Increases in effective dialogue were significantly correlated to increased science attainment, and teacher evaluations of the impact of the CPD were positive. Significant correl...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors trace the history of union involvement in learning and skills policy from the neo-corporatism of the 1960s and 1970s through the voluntarism of the 1980s and 1990s to the present "post-voluntary" era.
Abstract: This article traces the history of union involvement in learning and skills policy from the neo‐corporatism of the 1960s and 1970s through the voluntarism of the 1980s and 1990s to the present ‘post‐voluntary’ era. It sets out the political background against which the development of union learning representatives can be contextualised. The article outlines the significant capacity building in unions such as union learning representatives under New Labour. This has been seen as contributing to the Government’s skills strategy, particularly in opening learning opportunities to those with few or no qualifications. It suggests, however, that the low level of collective bargaining over learning and skills and continuing employer prerogative over job‐specific training and skill utilisation limits delivering the broad union learning agenda at the workplace. If unions and union learning representatives are to advance this agenda, then this will require increased collective bargaining over training and a greater ...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article explored the perspectives of newly qualified teachers in England entering the profession in 2005 and 2006 about their training and induction to meet the needs of pupils with English as an additional language (EAL).
Abstract: The present study explores the perspectives of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) in England entering the profession in 2005 and 2006 about their training and induction to meet the needs of pupils with English as an additional language (EAL). Findings from a survey and from interviews revealed that the greatest concerns of NQTs related to the teaching of literacy and the assessment of EAL pupils' language skills. Perspectives on initial teacher training offered by English higher education institutions were mixed, with greatest importance given to the quality of school placements offered by training providers. Collaborative support was reported to be available in the induction year, by the third term of which confidence levels had risen. NQTs had found ways to develop their skills in teaching and assessing pupils with EAL. Nevertheless, while encouraging, the reported levels were not yet such that either teachers or the Training and Development Agency for Schools, the body responsible for teacher training in ...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The extent to which the materials are interpreted as encouraging innovation in primary teaching—a bonus—and as requiring high levels of mediation and developmental work in order to access this potential—an onus is considered.
Abstract: Teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD) in England is a controversial area, and there is arguably little evidence of a ‘coherent’ framework around which consistently high‐quality CPD has been developed, provided and accessed despite the establishment of the General Teaching Council in 2000, the publication of the CPD Strategy in 2001 by the Department for Education and Employment, and the extension of the Training and Development Agency for Schools’ remit to include CPD in 2005. This paper presents the findings of research commissioned by the Primary National Strategy to evaluate the CPD materials arising from the document Excellence and Enjoyment: A Strategy for the Primary Years. It reports on teachers’ views of the materials and discusses their possible contribution to the development of a systematic and sustainable approach to primary CPD. The paper considers the extent to which the materials are interpreted as encouraging innovation in primary teaching—a bonus—and as requiring high levels...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors argue that union learning representatives must go beyond advocating for better access to professional development and should raise more fundamental questions about the nature of professional development in the education system it serves, drawing on Gramsci's notion of the "organic intellectual".
Abstract: Teacher education and continuing professional development have become key areas of controversy in England since the period of school‐sector restructuring following the 1988 Education Reform Act. More recently, teacher training and professional development have often been used to promote and reinforce a narrow focus on the government’s ‘standards agenda’. However, the emerging discourse of ‘new professionalism’ has raised the profile of professional development in schools, and, together with union learning representatives, there are opportunities to secure real improvements in teachers’ access to continuing professional development. This article argues, however, that union learning representatives must go beyond advocating for better access to professional development and should raise more fundamental questions about the nature of professional development and the education system it serves. Drawing on Gramsci’s notion of the ‘organic intellectual’, the article argues that union learning representatives hav...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Informa/Taylor and Francis Group as mentioned in this paper have published a study on the Taylor and Francis group's Taylor-and-Francis Group (T&F) approach to cancer detection.
Abstract: Original article can be found at: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t716100715~db=all Copyright Informa / Taylor and Francis Group

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the competing demands being made upon ULRs and the implications for their role in the union and the delivery of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in the workplace.
Abstract: This article suggests that the union learning representative (ULR) is increasingly situated at the heart of trade union activity. The paper draws upon recent research based on interviews with national trade union officers and case studies of union learning activity to explore the competing demands being made upon ULRs and the implications for their role in the union and the delivery of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in the workplace. It finds that whilst the government’s learning and skills agenda has moved away from a broad conceptualisation of learning for social and self‐development and towards an increasingly narrow interpretation of lifelong learning based upon employability, ULRs and trade unions have not abandoned this vision. At the same time, union expectations of the role of the ULR appear to have shifted and they are increasingly seen as part of wider union recruitment and organising strategies. The case studies suggest that where efforts are made to integrate ULRs into the wider uni...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Learning Representatives Project (LSP) as mentioned in this paper is based on the British model and was originally proposed by the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NCTU) to train union representatives.
Abstract: In 2005 the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, the central organisation of unions in New Zealand, initiated a Learning Representatives Project based on the British model. The Government approved an eight-month programme to be funded through its Tertiary Education Commission to ‘scope the project’. Work began not just on scoping, but on building support from unions and industry for the project. Initial contacts were made with industry, unions affirmed their support, training material was developed, provision was made for the recognition of the training of representatives by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, and a number of human resources and training and development staff from key companies promised their support: a matter of note given later difficulties experienced by the project team in achieving the same level of support from more senior management. But it was early days and support from practitioners was encouraging. The scoping phase was sufficient to indicate to government that the project was viable. The next step was a two-year pilot programme that was launched in July 2005 by the Minister of Education at a function at parliament with special guest Judith Swift from the British union learning representative programme. Although still at an exploratory stage, the project was expected to be running effectively in a selection of enterprises and industries by June 2007. That target was achieved in terms of number or representatives and number of worksites but in no way was the project embedded in the work practices of participating companies or even in the organising plans of unions. That now is the task of the

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an initial assessment of the significance of learning agreements for the development of socially responsible approaches to professional and human resource development within the workplace, and they argue that the most socially responsible approach is associated with learning partnerships in which there is a relatively even balance of power between employers and unions.
Abstract: This article draws upon original qualitative data to present an initial assessment of the significance of learning agreements for the development of socially responsible approaches to professional and human resource development within the workplace. The article suggests that the adoption of a partnership‐based approach to learning is more important for the advancement of social responsibility in relation to professional and human resource development than formal learning agreements, but that such agreements contribute to the sustainability of learning partnerships when they establish or strengthen mechanisms for social dialogue. The paper also argues that the most socially responsible approaches to professional and human resource development are associated with learning partnerships in which there is a relatively even balance of power between employers and unions.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: How the second main cohort of multi‐establishment representatives operate within their local authority area is examined and how their relationship with local authority CPD quality improvement officers has developed since the publication of an earlier evaluation.
Abstract: Union learning representatives have become significant in the Scottish educational system—particularly in response to the McCrone Report, which dealt with the future of continuing professional development (CPD) of Scottish teachers and made significant recommendations in this area. The Educational Institute of Scotland, the teacher union that represents the overwhelming majority of teachers in Scotland, took up the challenge and launched a learning representatives initiative with the expressed desire that these representatives work to advise, broker and facilitate improved CPD opportunities for their colleagues. The aim of our article is two‐fold. Firstly, to examine how the second main cohort of multi‐establishment representatives operate within their local authority area; and, secondly, how their relationship with local authority CPD quality improvement officers has developed since the publication of an earlier evaluation that examined the first main cohort of Educational Institute of Scotland multi‐est...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider the in-service learning opportunities arising from the emergence and early formation of the learning representative scheme in New Zealand and make comparisons with the scheme in the United Kingdom.
Abstract: This article considers the in‐service learning opportunities arising from the emergence and early formation of the learning representative scheme in New Zealand. Drawing on an interview study with respondents from the major stakeholders involved in the design of the scheme and subsequent ongoing research, the article makes comparisons between the scheme in New Zealand and its counterpart in the United Kingdom. The article suggests that in New Zealand both the training for learning representatives and the forms of learning they are likely to facilitate for others have tended to be more standardised initially than was the case with their UK counterparts. A tripartite framework that did not exist in the United Kingdom and the initial smaller scale of the New Zealand learning representative project facilitated greater standardisation of the process by which people acquired the skills and knowledge to be learning representatives. The greater standardisation of the training that learning representatives may fac...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the background to the establishment of Danish trade union Educational Ambassadors based on two case studies is examined. In the main it is a historical analysis that discusses t...
Abstract: This viewpoint article examines the background to the establishment of Danish trade union Educational Ambassadors based on two case studies. In the main it is a historical analysis that discusses t...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors outline the approach of one higher education institution in England to the research dialogue involved in designing an M.A. education programme that focuses on partnership collaborations in postgraduate professional development with school-based staff groups as a catalyst to sustainable school improvement.
Abstract: This paper outlines the approach of one higher education institution in England to the research dialogue involved in designing an M.A. Education programme that focuses on partnership collaborations in postgraduate professional development with school‐based staff groups as a catalyst to sustainable school improvement. The paper draws on the model of communities of practice as a tool to support its argument. It identifies target areas to address: the identification, recognition and accommodation of individual school staff needs; constraints and tensions of participation; the benefits of workplace‐based postgraduate professional development tailored to continuing professional development needs; and the value‐added benefits of the programme over non‐accredited in‐service training. It also recognises the continuing dialogue needed to address emerging and changing needs and to assess the impact of the programme over a period of time.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Results show that most teachers found that their ECLAS‐2 training was insufficient to accurately administer the test and interpret the results.
Abstract: A nine‐item survey was administered to 47 New York City public school kindergarten through third‐grade teachers to determine their experiences during training in the administration and interpretation of the Early Childhood Literacy Assessment System (ECLAS‐2). Results show that most teachers found that their ECLAS‐2 training was insufficient to accurately administer the test and interpret the results. Furthermore, information about what teachers do with the ECLAS‐2 data once they are collected indicates that approximately one‐half of the teachers are utilizing the data to inform their teaching decisions. The results of this investigation indicate that proper assessment training can influence how teachers collect and use data. Recommendations for improvement in assessment training are provided.