44 research outputs found
Connecting does not necessarily mean learning: Course handbooks as mediating tools in school-university partnerships
Full text linkThis is the author's accepted manuscript (titled "Course handbooks as mediating tools in learning to teach"). The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2011 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.Partnerships between schools and universities in England use course handbooks to guide student teacher learning during long field experiences. Using data from a yearlong ethnographic study of a postgraduate certificate of education programme in one English university, the function of course handbooks in mediating learning in two high school subject departments (history and modern foreign languages) is analyzed. Informed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory, the analysis focuses on the handbooks as mediating tools in the school-based teacher education activity systems. Qualitative differences in the mediating functions of the handbooks-in-use are examined and this leads to a consideration of the potential of such tools for teacher learning in school–university partnerships. Following Zeichner’s call for rethinking the relationships between schools and universities, the article argues that strong structural connections between different institutional sites do not necessarily enhance student teacher learning
A focus on time-lapse ethnography::learning to teach
Full text linkThis article makes the claim that developing ethnographic work through follow up interviews can add to our understanding of researched phenomena and explores how using concepts from Bourdieu and theories on the social construction of time strengthen the research design and add a stronger longitudinal diachronic element to data analysis. Extending an ethnographic study of learning to teach by interviewing respondents nine years after the study and after the completion of their teacher education course is shown to develop insights around the initial research results by focusing on the temporal aspects of data. Adopting this methodological approach can develop small-scale qualitative work and contribute to an accumulation of research results to avoid simply revisiting familiar research ground.© 2018, Taylor & Francis. The attached document (embargoed until 04/07/2019) is an author produced version of a paper published in Ethnography and Education uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self- archiving policy. The final published version (version of record) is available online at the link below. Some minor differences between this version and the final published version may remain. We suggest you refer to the final published version should you wish to cite from it
Contradictions in children centre provision:the art of the possible in multi-professional work
Full text link© 2019, Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. The attached document (embargoed until 05/05/2021) is an author produced version of a paper published in INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EARLY YEARS EDUCATION uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self- archiving policy. The final published version (version of record) is available online at the link. Some minor differences between this version and the final published version may remain. We suggest you refer to the final published version should you wish to cite from it
The different learning opportunities afforded student teachers in four secondary school subject departments in an initial teacher education school-university partnership in England
No full textThis article investigates the learning opportunities in school subject departments for student teachers when participating in a postgraduate certificate of education (PGCE) course in England. The paper draws upon data gathered from a year-long ethnographic study to explain why learning opportunities were different for student teachers in separate school departments. Discussion focuses on three identified types of learning (learning by imitation, enculturation and innovation) and analyses how initial teacher education (ITE) resources were used within the school departments in order to work on student teacher learning. The paper concludes by highlighting some pertinent issues for ITE, and the implications of these for designing ITE programmes in the future
Capturing the object of initial teacher education by studying tools-in-use in four school subject departments
No full textThis paper makes the claim that student teachers' learning depends a great deal on the individual school department where they are working, its social practices and the relationships of the teachers involved in initial teacher education (ITE). The paper considers how using a Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) lens to view data generated on school ITE activity helps to focus vital social, cultural and historical dimensions of practice. The research uses an activity system as a descriptive heuristic to explore whether understandings of the object and tools of school-based ITE activity systems are shared. The findings illustrate differences in the kinds of teacher learning possible, afforded in relation to the ways in which the object of the ITE activity system was constructed, and the tensions that emerged in interaction with other related activity systems. The necessity of negotiating and renegotiating the system's object regularly is emphasised in order for collaborative work in ITE to be successful in helping create opportunities that develop teachers through expansive learning
Creating expansive learning opportunities in schools::The role of school leaders in initial teacher education partnerships
No full textThis article analyses the learning opportunities afforded pre-service teachers when participating in a primary school placement in London, England as part of their university teacher education course. Cultural historical activity theory is used as a theoretical framework to address how pre-service teacher learning opportunities are constructed. Building on a previous year-long ethnographic study which explored how and why pre-service teacher learning opportunities differed in school settings, this paper introduces a small scale pilot study. The study integrates developmental work research into an initial teacher education school/university partnership, and considers the role of the school leader in this. Possibilities for pre-service teachers, teachers and teacher educators to work together in a research process that is integral to an initial teacher education partnership are forwarded, with the aim of ensuring that critical enquiry and learning are kept at the forefront of the activity.<br/
A new research agenda for teacher education: the value of a partnership approach to classroom-based research
No full textThis paper takes up ideas from previous research projects which advocate student teachers undertaking research activity as part of their teacher education course. The aim is to strengthen the call for maintaining university input into teacher education preparation, which is currently being marginalised by new policies increasingly promoting school-based training for teachers in England. Twelve Religious Studies student teachers undertook classroom research during their school teaching practice or practicum (each observing and interviewing three different teachers with the same class with a focus on differentiation). Qualitative data content analysis was used to explore the data. Teacher educators generated data on the reflections of these student teachers. Findings suggest that conducting research was a significant learning event for the student teachers in that their development as researchers helped their appreciation of the importance of differentiation strategies when teaching in diverse classrooms. Further developments for extending the learning opportunities for all involved in teacher education utilising the expertise of the academy are forwarded. A video conference with others undertaking similar research in the USA helped to explore the findings from an international perspective
Learning to teach: a focus on the personal rather than the technical aspects of teacher education
Full text linkThis study compares interview data from four pre-service teachers who took part in an ethnographic study in 2006 whilst on their teacher education course and then were interviewed again in 2015 about their subsequent careers. Their conceptualisations of knowing and of becoming a teacher are explored in order to comment on the process of learning to teach. The article uses concepts from Heidegger’s philosophical enquiry into Being (readiness-to-hand and authenticity) to comment on the longitudinal data analysis. Viewing the interview data through a Heideggerian lens in order to consider the experience of teachers enhances an appreciation of the learning process and helps the researcher see respondents as subjects beyond the fieldwork. Heidegger’s ideas are forwarded as a way for pre-service teachers themselves to consider their own conceptualisations of knowing and becoming so as to recognise and understand what it means to be a teacher. This approach to pre-service teacher education is considered in relation to current research on teacher education and the concerning rate of teacher attrition. With many teacher education systems increasingly focusing on the technical and measurable aspects of teachers’ work the paper promotes a need for opportunities to enquire into and develop the personal, philosophical and theoretical perspectives of teacher education
Learning on the job::A Cultural Historical Activity Theory approach to initial teacher education across four secondary school subject departments
No full textDimensions of Fit for Doctoral Candidates:Supporting an Academic Identity
Full text linkWith an expectation that different doctoral programmes may encourage and support different student learning identities, this paper compares the experiences of doctoral candidates participating in doctoral studies in England and Germany. A comparison of the experiences of doctoral candidates as expressed through interviews is viewed through the lens of the theory of fit. This theory considers the alignment of values between those engaged in PhD study and the programmes created to support them. The paper claims that the identification of dimensions of fit is helpful for considering the data generated on the learning experiences and self-expressed identities of the doctoral candidates. Addressing how dimensions in relation to culture, environment and vocation change and strengthen or loosen the alignment between doctoral candidates’ values and those affecting their doctoral work are important for supporting progress. These dimensions should be discussed in order to develop supervisory, programme and university support for doctoral learning.© 2021, Taylor & Francis. The attached document (embargoed until 24/09/2022) is an author produced version of a paper published in RESEARCH PAPERS IN EDUCATION uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. The final published version (version of record) is available online at the link. Some minor differences between this version and the final published version may remain. We suggest you refer to the final published version should you wish to cite from it
