Showing papers on "Teacher education published in 2001"

Preparing teachers for culturally diverse schools : Research and the overwhelming presence of whiteness

Abstract: This article reviews data-based research studies on preservice teacher preparation for multicultural schools, particularly schools that serve historically underserved communities. In this article, the author reviews 80 studies of effects of various preservice teacher education strategies, including recruiting and selecting students, cross-cultural immersion experiences, multicultural education coursework, and program restructuring. Although there is a large quantity of research, very little of it actually examines which strategies prepare strong teachers. Most of the research focuses on addressing the attitudes and lack of knowledge of White preservice students. This review argues that although this is a very important problem that does need to be addressed, it is not the same as figuring out how to populate the teaching profession with excellent multicultural and culturally responsive teachers.

Guidelines for Quality in Autobiographical Forms of Self-Study Research:

Abstract: The authors situate the origins of self-study in four developments within education: the growing prominence of naturalistic inquiry methods, the rise of the Reconceptualist movement in curriculum studies, the increased involvement of international scholars in teacher education research, and the re-emergence of action research and its variations. They focus on autobiography and correspondence (e-mail, letters, recorded conversations) not only because these are the dominant forms of self-study but because of the demands they present for producers and consumers. The work of C. Wright Mills (1959)is used to provide a framework for determining what makes a piece of self-study writing research. Mills argues that personal troubles cannot be solved as merely troubles, but must be understood in terms of public issues and history (p. 226). Insights are drawn from literary conventions. A set of guidelines are provided for consideration by self-study researchers in their quest for greater quality.

Professional development and reform in science education: The role of teachers' practical knowledge

Abstract: In this article, professional development in the context of the current reforms in science education is discussed from the perspective of developing teachers' practical knowledge It is argued that reform efforts in the past have often been unsuccessful because they failed to take teachers' existing knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes into account Teachers' practical knowledge is conceptualized as action-oriented and person-bound As it is constructed by teachers in the context of their work, practical knowledge integrates experiential knowledge, formal knowledge, and personal beliefs To capture this complex type of knowledge, multimethod designs are necessary On the basis of a literature review, it is concluded that long-term professional development programs are needed to achieve lasting changes in teachers' practical knowledge In particular, the following strategies are potentially powerful: (a) learning in networks, (b) peer coaching, (c) collaborative action research, and (d) the use of cases In any case, it is recommended that teachers' practical knowledge be investigated at the start of a reform project, and that changes in this knowledge be monitored throughout the project In that way, the reform project may benefit from teachers' expertise Moreover, this makes it possible to adjust the reform so as to enhance the chances of a successful implementation © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc J Res Sci Teach 38: 137–158, 2001

Classroom Management: A Critical Part of Educational Psychology, With Implications for Teacher Education

Abstract: Research on classroom management is reviewed, with an emphasis on lines of inquiry originating in educational psychology with implications for teacher education. Preventive, group based approaches to management provide a basis for teachers to plan and organize classroom activities and behaviors. Studies of teacher expertise and affect provide additional perspective on teacher development and on factors that influence management. Cooperative learning activities and inclusion of children with special needs illustrate particular contexts that affect management. Utilization of classroom management content in educational psychology components of teacher preparation is discussed.

Preventing Conduct Problems, Promoting Social Competence: A Parent and Teacher Training Partnership in Head Start

Abstract: Studied the effectiveness of parent and teacher training as a selective prevention program for 272 Head Start mothers and their 4-year-old children and 61 Head Start teachers. Fourteen Head Start centers (34 classrooms) were randomly assigned to (a) an experimental condition in which parents, teachers, and family service workers participated in the prevention program (Incredible Years) or (b) a control condition consisting of the regular Head Start program. Assessments included teacher and parent reports of child behavior and independent observations at home and at school. Construct scores combining observational and report data were calculated for negative and positive parenting style, parent-teacher bonding, child conduct problems at home and at school, and teacher classroom management style. Following the 12-session weekly program, experimental mothers had significantly lower negative parenting and significantly higher positive parenting scores than control mothers. Parent-teacher bonding was significantly higher for experimental than for control mothers. Experimental children showed significantly fewer conduct problems at school than control children. Children of mothers who attended 6 or more intervention sessions showed significantly fewer conduct problems at home than control children. Children who were the "highest risk" at baseline (high rates of noncompliant and aggressive behavior) showed more clinically significant reductions in these behaviors than high-risk control children. After training, experimental teachers showed significantly better classroom management skills than control teachers. One year later the experimental effects were maintained for parents who attended more than 6 groups. The clinically significant reductions in behavior problems for the highest risk experimental children were also maintained. Implications of this prevention program as a strategy for reducing risk factors leading to delinquency by promoting social competence, school readiness, and reducing conduct problems are discussed.

Teaching Languages to Young Learners

Abstract: About the book: Recent years have seen rapid growth in the numbers of children being taught foreign languages at younger ages. While course books aimed at young learners are appearing on the market, there is scant theoretical reference in the teacher education literature. Teaching Languages to Young Learners is one of the few to develop readers' understanding of what happens in classrooms where children are being taught a foreign language. It will offer teachers and trainers a coherent theoretical framework to structure thinking about children's language learning. It gives practical advice on how to analyse and evaluate classroom activities, language use and language development. Examples from classrooms in Europe and Asia will help bring alive the realities of working with young learners of English.

Toward a Postmethod Pedagogy

Abstract: As a consequence of repeatedly articulated dissatisfaction with the limitations of the concept of method and the transmission model of teacher education, the L2 profession is faced with an imperative need to construct a postmethod pedagogy. In this article, I conceptualize the parameters of a postmethod pedagogy, offer suggestions for implementing it, and then raise questions and concerns that might come up in implementing it. Visualizing a three-dimensional system consisting of the parameters of particularity, practicality, and possibility, I argue that a postmethod pedagogy must (a) facilitate the advancement of a context-sensitive language education based on a true understanding of local linguistic, sociocultural, and political particularities; (b) rupture the reified role relationship between theorists and practitioners by enabling teachers to construct their own theory of practice; and (c) tap the sociopolitical consciousness that participants bring with them in order to aid their quest for identity formation and social transformation. Treating learners, teachers, and teacher educators as coexplorers, I discuss their roles and functions in a postmethod pedagogy. I conclude by raising the prospect of replacing the limited concept of method with the three pedagogic parameters of particularity, practicality, and possibility as organizing principles for L2 teaching and teacher education.

Co-Constructing Inquiry-based Science with Teachers: Essential Research for Lasting Reform.

Abstract: In this article we assert a potential research agenda for the teaching and learning of science as inquiry as part of the JRST series on reform in science education. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of cognitive and sociocultural constructivism, cultural models of meaning, the dialogic function of language, and transformational models of teacher education, we propose that more research is needed in the areas of teachers' beliefs, knowledge, and practices of inquiry-based science, as well as, student learning. Because the efficacy of reform efforts rest largely with teachers, their voices need to be included in the design and implementation of inquiry-based curriculum. As we review the literature and pose future research questions, we propose that particular attention be paid to research on inquiry in diverse classrooms, and to modes of inquiry-based instruction that are designed by teachers. fl 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 631 - 645, 2001 Today's reform rhetoric has revived the concept of inquiry as representing the essence of science education. Reform documents such as the National Science Education Standards are promoting inquiry as the ''central strategy for teaching science.'' The editors of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching have encouraged dialogue on the efficacy of programs, such as inquiry-based science, that are being initiated or implemented in our schools. The editors state, ''this reform effort represents unfinished business for the science education community. Despite the seeming efficacy of the goals and claims that underlie current reform, there has been little formal, scholarly effort on the part of the science education community to ground the reform carefully in research.'' As part of a series of articles in JRST that explore the relationship between research and reform, this article discusses the need for research on the topic of inquiry. The purpose of this article is to propose a direction for future research on inquiry that places teacher knowledge, actions, and meanings for inquiry-based science at the center of the reform process. The proposal of a research agenda for inquiry approaches that are centered on teacher beliefs and knowledge may accelerate the production of a research literature that bridges the theory - practice gap in this important area. In this article, we present the position that additional

Teacher Turnover, Teacher Shortages, and the Organization of Schools

Abstract: Contemporary educational theory holds that one of the pivotal causes of inadequate school performance is the inability of schools to adequately staff classrooms with qualified teachers. Contemporary theory also holds that these staffing problems are primarily due to shortages of teachers, which, in turn, are primarily due to recent increases in teacher retirements and student enrollments. This analysis investigates the possibility that there are other factors that might have an impact on teacher turnover levels, and, in turn, the staffing problems of schools, factors rooted in the organizational characteristics and conditions of schools. The data utilized in this investigation are from the Schools and Staffing Survey and its supplement, the Teacher Followup Survey, a large, comprehensive, nationally representative survey of teachers and schools conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. The results of this analysis show that, net of teacher effects, there are significant effects of school characteristics and organizational conditions on teacher turnover which have largely been overlooked by previous research. For example, the data show that while high-poverty public schools have moderately higher rates, contrary to conventional wisdom, neither larger schools, nor public schools in large school districts, nor urban public schools have especially high rates of teacher turnover. In contrast, small private schools stand out for their high rates of turnover. Moreover, the data show, again contrary to popular wisdom, that the amount of turnover accounted for by retirement is relatively minor, especially when compared to that resulting from two related causes – teacher job dissatisfaction and teachers pursuing other jobs. The data show that, in particular, low salaries, inadequate support from the school administration, student discipline problems, and limited faculty input into school decision-making all contribute to higher rates of turnover, after controlling for the characteristics of both teachers and schools. The results of this investigation suggest that school staffing problems are neither synonymous with, nor primarily due to, teacher shortages in the conventional sense of a deficit in the supply of teachers. Rather, this study suggests that school staffing problems are primarily due to excess demand resulting from a "revolving door" – where large numbers of teachers depart their jobs for reasons other than retirement. This study also suggests that popular education initiatives, such as teacher recruitment programs, will not solve the staffing problems of such schools if they do not also address the organizational sources of low teacher retention. Disciplines Educational Administration and Supervision | Education Economics | Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education | Teacher Education and Professional Development Comments View on the CPRE website. This report is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_researchreports/12 ctp Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy U N I V E R S I T Y O F W A S H I N G T O N Teacher Turnover, Teacher Shortages, and the Organization of Schools by Richard M. Ingersoll University of Pennsylvania

Building classroom community at a distance: A case study

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to analyze a five-week graduate-level education course taught entirely at a distance via the Internet using the Blackboard.comSM e-learning system, with emphasis on exploring the dynamics of sense of classroom community. Subjects were 20 adult learners, evenly divided between males and females, who were administered the sense of classroom community index at the beginning and end of the course in order to measure classroom community. Findings indicated that on-line learners took advantage of the “learn anytime” characteristics of the Internet by accessing the course seven days per week, 24 hours per day. Sense of classroom community grew significantly during the course. Females manifested a stronger sense of community than their male counterparts both at the start and end of the course. Additionally, female students exhibited a mostly connected communication pattern while the communication pattern of males was mostly independent.

Sticks, Stones, and Ideology: The Discourse of Reform in Teacher Education

Abstract: Many highly politicized debates about reforming teacher education are embedded within two larger national agendas: the agenda to professionalize teaching and teacher education, which is linked to the K–12 standards movement, and the movement to deregulate teacher preparation, which aims to dismantle teacher education institutions and break up the monopoly of the profession. In this article, the authors analyze how these two agendas are publicly constructed, critiqued, and debated, drawing on public documents from each side and using the language and arguments of the advocates themselves. The authors argue that, despite very different agendas, the discourse of both deregulation and professionalization revolves rhetorically around the establishment of three interrelated warrants, which legitimize certain policies and undermine others. Taken together, what Cochran-Smith and Fries label “the evidentiary warrant,” “the political warrant,” and “the accountability warrant,” are intended by advocates of competing...

Making Sense of Language Teaching: Teachers' Principles and Classroom Practices

Abstract: From observed lessons and subsequent interviews and elicitation procedures, 18 experienced teachers of ESL to adults and children in an Australian context described their classroom practices and explained these in relation to the underlying language teaching principles that they saw as guiding their work. The purpose of the study was to discover the meanings the teachers gave to their classroom work in terms of the particular relationships they identified between practice and principle. Despite being undertaken within a particular teaching situation, the study revealed both individual and group diversity in the practices they adopted and in their underlying principles. In addition, a practice widely adopted across the group appeared to be based upon diverse principles, just as a single principle that was commonly shared among the teachers was associated by them with a wide range of practices. Closer examination of the whole group data, however, revealed a particular pattern in the links that the teachers made between principles and practices. The complex relationships uncovered in the study between thinking and action in the work of experienced language teachers have implications for curriculum innovation, teacher education, and for language classroom research.

Examining Pedagogical Content Knowledge: The Construct and its Implications for Science Education

Abstract: Acknowledgments. Foreword L. Shulman. Section I: Introduction. 1. Pedagogical Content Knowledge: An Introduction and Orientation J. Gess-Newsome. Section II: The Literature. 2. The Complex Nature and Sources of Teachers' Pedagogical Knowledge G. Morine-Dershimer, T. Kent. 3. Secondary Teachers' Knowledge and Beliefs about Subject Matter and their Impact on Instruction J. Gess-Newsome. 4. Nature, Sources and Development of Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Science Teaching S. Magnusson, et al. 5. Domains of Teacher Knowledge W.S. Carlsen. Section III: Emerging Lines of Research in Science Teacher Education. 6. Assessment and Measurement of Pedagogical Content Knowledge J.A. Baxter, N.G. Lederman. 7. Changing our Teaching: The Role of Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Elementary Science D.C. Smith. 8. Reconceptualizing Secondary Science Teacher Education N.G. Lederman, J. Gess-Newsome. 9. Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Co-Participation in Science Classrooms K. Tobin, C. McRobbie. Section IV: Impacts of PCK on the Development of Science Teacher Education Programs. 10. Constructing a Framework for Elementary Science Teaching Using Pedagogical Content Knowledge C. Zembal, et al. 11. Incorporating Subject Matter Specific Teaching Strategies into Secondary Science Teacher Preparation M.L. Niess, J.M. Scholz. 12. The TRIAD Approach: A Consensus for Science Teaching and Learning C.L. Mason. Notes on Contributors. First Author Index. Subject Index.

Citizenship education and diversity : Implications for teacher education

Abstract: In the first part of this article, the author argues that teachers should help students to develop a delicate balance of cultural, national, and global identifications because of the rich diversity in the United States and throughout the world. To help students become effective citizens, teachers need to acquire reflective cultural, national, and global identifications. In the second part of this article, the author describes how he tries to help the students in one of his teacher education courses to challenge and critically examine their cultural and national identifications.

Changing epistemological beliefs in pre-service teacher education students

Abstract: A teaching programme designed to foster the reflection on and development of more sophisticated epistemological beliefs was implemented with 29 pre-service graduate teacher education students at the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. As part of the year-long teaching programme, students were required to reflect in journal entries on the content of an educational psychology unit in relation to their epistemological beliefs. The students engaged in this teaching programme (the research group) were interviewed in relation to their beliefs at the beginning (Time 1) and conclusion (Time 2) of the teaching programme. Students in a comparison group were not encouraged to explicitly reflect on their epistemological beliefs. They were asked to complete written statements about their beliefs about knowing at the beginning (Time 1) and end (Time 2) of the year-long unit. Schommer's (1988, 1990) epistemological beliefs questionnaire was administered to both the comparison and research groups at...

Preparing Teachers to Teach Science and Mathematics with Technology

Abstract: Oregon State University has developed a teacher preparation model for preparing teachers to teach with technology. Student teachers develop extensive plans for implementing hands-on technology activities integrated with teaching science or math content. Following instruction, their reflections are directed toward student learning of science and math with technology. Does the technology support or hinder conceptual development? Ultimately, they recognise enhanced instructional outcomes related to the science and/or math of the technology. Recognition of this key factor enhances their understanding of integrating technology in a manner that extends student learning beyond traditional science or math outcomes.

Predictors of Mainstream Teachers´ Attitudes Toward ESL Students

Abstract: Relatively little research exists on the nature of mainstream teachers' attitudes toward ESL students, nor is much known about the predictors of these attitudes. We report on a survey of 143 junior high/middle school mainstream teachers in a community of approximately 80,000 in the Great Plains region of the United States. On average, respondents had 15.5 years of teaching experience and had worked, over the previous 6 years, with 11.2 ESL students from 3.2 distinct regions of the world. Most reported a neutral to slightly positive attitude toward the prospect of teaching more ESL students in the future. The results support a multipredictor model of teachers' ESL-related attitudes. The predictors include completion of foreign language or multicultural education courses, ESL training, experience abroad, work with diverse ESL students, and gender. We suggest that these predictors collectively tap into a teacher's exposure to cultural diversity and that this exposure underlies positive ESL-related attitudes among mainstream teachers. Thus, we argue that preservice and in-service teachers should have increased opportunities for exposure to cultural diversity.

High School Teacher Attitudes toward Inclusion.

Abstract: This article reports the general findings of a survey study designed to extend knowledge about high school teacher attitudes toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms. Specifically, the study examined the extent to which high school teacher attitudes toward inclusion are affected by classroom experience level, gender, amount of special education training, and content or subject area taught. The participants, included 125 teachers from a large suburban high school in San Antonio, Texas, voluntarily completed an Inclusion Survey that measured teacher attitudes using a twenty-item, four-point, forced-choice Likert scale. The Inclusion Survey measured teacher attitudes in four domains: Teacher Training, Academic Climate, Academic Content/Teacher Effectiveness, and Social Adjustment (students). The data was analyzed using analysis of variance factorial techniques (ANO VA). Analyses revealed a significant difference between the amount of training or experience the teachers had in teaching students with disabilities and the presence of positive or negative attitudes toward inclusion. Teachers who reported higher levels of special education training or experience in teaching students with disabilities were found to hold more positive attitudes toward inclusion. This result suggests that teachers with special education background or training and those who already have positive attitudes towards students with disabilities may be predisposed to seek out additional inclusive education practices and be more willing to be assigned to general education classrooms in which students with special needs are included. Today's high school teachers and administrators, like their elementary counterparts, are increasingly being called upon to provide inclusive education programs to better meet the educational needs of students with disabilities and others at risk for school failure. However, efforts to restructure or transform high schools into inclusive environments can be exacerbated by a number of structural, curricular, instructional, and expectancy factors, and conditions that are not found in elementary schools and need to be considered and addressed (Scanlon, Deshler, & Schumaker, 1996; McCory-Cole & McLesky, 1997). Central among these factors and conditions are the teachers who are being asked to teach academically diverse groups of students in their classrooms. For example, compared to their elementary counterparts, most high school teachers commonly work with more than 125 students on a daily basis in settings where instruction is often didactic, directed to large groups, and limited by the amount of individual instructional contact time (Schumaker & Deshler, 1994; Zigmond, 1990). Furthermore, the majority of high school teachers are prepared as content specialists, and many are not inclined to make adaptations for individual students, e.g., use of alternative curricula, adapted scoring/ grading, alternative plans (Bacon & Schultz, 1991; Houck & Rogers, 1994; Schumm & Vaughn, 1991). Moreover, many of today's high school teachers plan and direct their instruction toward the above average student with evaluation based on a norm or average level of performance (JCTPSD, 1995). Contemporary high school programs are expected to prepare students to meet the complex demands of society. One common expectation is that high school teachers provide quality learning opportunities and instruction sufficient to enable all students to learn advanced or complex curricula as well as to demonstrate "academic excellence" as delineated in national, state, and district goals measured by student performance on standardized tests. Another expectation is that high school teachers and programs prepare all students to meet graduation requirements and to acquire the necessary academic, cognitive, social, and technological skills required for successful and productive independent living along with entry into colleges, universities, or the work force (McCrory-Cole & McLesky, 1997). …

Perceptions and knowledge of preservice and inservice educators about early reading instruction

Abstract: A major conclusion from research regarding children with poor reading performance is that early, systematic instruction in phonological awareness and phonics improves early reading and spelling skills and results in a reduction of the number of students who read below grade level. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions and knowledge of presevice and inservice educators about early reading instruction. The results indicated that these educators expressed positive attitudes toward explicit and implicit code instruction, with inservice educators more positive about explicit code instruction than preservice educators and preservice educators more positive about implicit code instruction. Preservice and inservice educators demonstrated limited knowledge of phonological awareness or terminology related to language structure and phonics. Additionally, they perceived themselves as only somewhat prepared to teach early reading to struggling readers. These findings indicate a continuing mismatch between what educators believe and know and what convergent research supports as effective early reading instruction for children at risk for reading difficulties. Implications support continuing efforts to inform and reform teacher education.

Voices of authority : education and linguistic difference

Abstract: Preface Introduction Symbolic Domination, Education and Linguistic Difference by Monica Heller and Marilyn Martin-Jones Constructing Legitimate Language: Ritualization and Safetalk Co-Constructing School Safetime: Safetalk Practices in Peruvian and South African Classrooms by Nancy Hornberger and Keith Chick Codeswitching and Collusion: Classroom Interaction in Botswana Primary Schools by Jo Arthur Language and Educational Inequality in Primary Classrooms in Kenya by Grace Bunyi The Contradictions of Teaching Bilingually in Post-Colonial Burundi by Lin Ndayipfukamiye Turn-Taking and the Positioning of Bilingual Participants in Classroom Discourse in British Primary Schools by Marilyn Martin-Jones and Mukul Saxena Symbolic Domination and Codeswitching in Hong Kong Secondary Schools by Angel Lin Coping With Contradiction and Creating Ambiguity "Like You Are Living Two Lives In One Go": Negotiating Different Social Conditions for Classroom Learning (in a Further Education Context in Britain) by Celia Roberts and Srikant Sarangi Constructing Hybrid Post-Colonial Subjects: Codeswitching in Jaffna Classrooms by Suresh Canagarajah Language Values and Identities: Codeswitching in Secondary Classrooms in Malta by Antoinette Camilleri Classroom Interaction and the Bilingual Resources of Migrant Students in Switzerland by Lorenza Mondada and Laurent Gajo Authority and Authenticity: Corsican Discourse on Bilingual Education by Alexandra Jaffe Language of State and Social Categorization in an Arctic Quebec Community by Donna Patrick Contestation and Struggle Collusion, Resistance and Reflexivity: Indigenous Teacher Education in Brazil by Marilda Cavalcanti Telling What is Real: Competing Views in Assessing ESL Development in Australia by Helen Moore Legitimate Language in a Franco-Ontarian School by Monica Heller Youth, Race and Resistance in Multilingual Britain: A Sociolinguistic Perspective by Ben Rampton Conclusion: Education in Multilingual Settings: Stakes, Conditions and Consequences by Monica Heller and Marilyn Martin-Jones

A Comparison of Preservice Teachers' Mathematics Anxiety before and after a Methods Class Emphasizing Manipulatives.

Abstract: The changes in levels of mathematics anxiety among future teachers in two different mathematics materials and methods classes were investigated. The changes were a function of using: (a) Bruner's framework of developing conceptual knowledge before procedural knowledge, and (b) manipulatives to make mathematics concepts more concrete. The sample included 87 preservice teachers enrolled in mathematics methods courses. Two strategies were used to gather data both at the beginning and ending of each quarter. First, future teachers completed 98-item, Likert-type questionnaires. Second, some of the factors that influence the levels of mathematics anxiety were determined through the use of questionnaire-guided narrative interviews. Multivariate analysis of variance was employed as the quantitative measure for comparing mathematics anxiety both at the beginning and ending of the quarter. Data revealed a statistically significant reduction of mathematics anxiety levels (p < .05). Tukey's HSD was used to determine that a significant difference in mathematics anxiety levels occurred between the classes in the fall and winter quarters. Results of the study have implications for teacher education programs concerning the measurement of mathematics anxiety levels among future teachers and the determination of specific contexts in which that anxiety can be interpreted and reduced.

Documenting Science Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge Through PaP-eRs

Abstract: This paper examines science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge and ways in which that knowledge might be captured, articulated and portrayed to others. The research from which this paper is drawn has involved interviews with experienced science teachers in an attempt to make the tacit nature of their practice explicit. Initially, case methodology was envisaged as being a way of documenting these teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. However, over time, the form of knowledge and information that we were gathering and attempting to portray extended beyond that which could reasonably be described as being case-based. Hence we have developed an approach to articulation and portrayal based on what we call the CoRe (Content Representation) – which represents the particular content/topic of the science teaching – and PaP-eRs (Pedagogical and Professional experience Repertoire) – which help to illuminate specific aspects of the CoRe and therefore offer insights into pedagogical content knowledge itself. The results of this study offer new ways of conceptualising what pedagogical content knowledge is and how it might be captured, documented and disseminated.

“Posts” Perspectives on Anti-Oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms

Abstract: What could it mean for educators within the “core disciplines” to teach in ways that challenge multiple forms of oppression? This article explores the implications of various “posts” perspectives on anti-oppressive education—especially poststructuralist perspectives—for social studies, English, mathematics, and science classrooms. The author focuses on two main theoretical constructs: unknowability, multiplicity, and looking beyond the known; and resistance, crisis, and resignifying the self. Implications for teacher education conclude the article.

Approaches to Multicultural Education in Preservice Teacher Education: Philosophical Frameworks and Models for Teaching

Abstract: The authors in this article connect teacher education to multiple theoretical frameworks around the ongoing debate and issues of multicultural education. Connecting conservative, liberal, and radical theories of multicultural education particularly to preservice teachers, the authors argue that a more eclectic theoretical avenue must be striven and struggled for if there exists any hope in transforming schools, particularly, as they note, in urban environments. Practical avenues are discussed that promote such a multilayered interpretive/analytical approach to social change.