'Global’ is not just ‘out there’ but also ‘right here’: expectations and experiences in internationalised and globalised higher education

This paper reports on a study that took a cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional approach to investigate postgraduate student expectations and experiences in internationalised and globalised higher education. The researchers drew on Giddens’ theory of structuration1. They explored the way samples of specialist medicine trainees in the UK and pre-service teacher education students in Australia identify and make meaning of their circumstances in an era that is increasingly characterised by greater internationalisation of the student body and more globalised curricula. In this paper, we discuss some of the tensions students reported encountering, and propose several ways in which such tensions might be counteracted.

Developing teachers of inquiry: an emerging humanities model of inquiry (HMI)

Inquiry pedagogies have been an integral mode by which understandings connected to the Humanities have been developed in primary classrooms. For the purposes of this paper, the Humanities incorporates areas of learning associated with Civics and Citizenship, History, Geography and Economics. In primary classrooms, these discipline areas have often been taught in interdisciplinary ways through other iterations such as Social Studies and Studies of Society and Environment. This paper is a reflection on the work with pre-service teachers in a quest to disrupt more traditional and transmissive pedagogies for teaching and learning in this area. It proposes a new way of conceptualising inquiry for rigorous and disciplinary learning.

A “partnership in teaching excellence”: ways in which one school-university partnership has fostered teacher development

This paper reports on some of the factors that contribute to an effective partnership between an urban Australian university and a State Department of Education. The partnership, currently in its third year of implementation, entails as a key purpose the development of school Centres of Excellence which contribute to the preparation of pre-service teachers. The foundational aims of the partnership include addressing the gap between theory and practice, facilitating pre-service teacher recruitment and providing a guarantee of future employment for identified Faculty of Education students through the provision of pre-service teacher scholarships. Data for the study were collected via two program reviews, conducted at the end of the first and third years of the program. Findings point to ways in which the partnership has enhanced pre-service teacher engagement and learning and also indicate ways in which partners in both institutions might further strengthen the partnership.

Using online video-recorded interviews to connect the theory and practice of inclusive education in a course for student teachers

This article reports on a study into university preservice teachers’ perceptions of online video-recorded interviews as an alternative to the traditional lecture format in a course on inclusive education. With the aim of assisting preservice teachers to link theory and practice, the series of video-recorded interviews focused on key concepts around educating students with diverse needs and abilities. The interviews were conducted between the course coordinator and a number of professionals with relevant field experience in special education and inclusion, and were then made available to preservice teachers online. Survey data indicated that this type of delivery model was perceived as effective in promoting engagement and learning, and in facilitating an understanding of the connection between theory and practice. Implications for teacher education are discussed.

Assessing for work integrated learning experiences : a pre-service teacher perspective

A critical aspect of the debate about work integrated learning in the university context is the blurring of boundaries and responsibilities in terms of student learning. In an Australian pre-service teacher education program this blurring of boundaries is apparent in stakeholder tensions about the nature and role of assessment during the practicum. In the study reported in this paper students responded positively to the content of assessment tasks but maintained that their efforts to implement the associated planning in the workplace were stymied because of disparate understandings between university and school staff about the purpose of the task.

The graduate teacher workforce : shaping teacher quality in Australia

Studying the Effectiveness of Teacher Education (SETE) is a four-year, mixed-method, longitudinal study investigating graduate teachers’ perceptions on the effectiveness of teacher education. The main target population were new teacher education graduates (those who graduated in 2010/2011) registered as teachers in Victoria and Queensland. The secondary target population were the school principals in those schools where the graduate teacher was employed. Identification of the main target population is drawn from Teacher Registration Authority databases. The quantitative component of the SETE project involves tracking teacher education graduates through a series of four surveys, collecting data on the influence of initial teacher education on graduate teachers’ perceptions of their preparation and effectiveness across key areas and in diverse school settings.

Understanding the balance of experienced teachers' ICT learning

In the Information Age, ICT learning requires a balance between the concrete and experiential learning process and the abstract conceptualisation of Andragogy. Future Teacher Professional Development will need to understand the complexities of the concrete experience and the abstract conceptualisation of new knowledge. Professional Development will need to comprehend how experienced teachers as digital immigrants learn. It will further need to understand what abilities are essential for these experienced teachers and how they develop an awareness of their ICT learning. This paper will examine a study that was undertaken with a group of Post Registration Primary School Educators. These experienced teachers undertook the Post Registration or fourth year of their Bachelor of Education (Primary) course at an Australian Educational Institute. These experienced teachers with limited ICT exposure went through an ICT learning process over a period of one year. They finally acquired the ICT knowledge and skills, however within the time span of one year, theoretical pedagogy was absent or minimal.

How ready are you? A preliminary investigation into the workplace readiness of final-year education students at a regional university

One criticism of teacher-training programs is that they do not sufficiently prepare graduating teachers for the transition between higher education and the demands and practicalities of classroom teaching. This lack of workplace readiness or 'teacher ready' status of graduates has been attributed to insufficient pre-service practical experience and the failure of training programs to adequately coach pre-service teachers in the delivery of quality pedagogy (Nelson, 2005). On the other hand, the Australian Council of Deans of Education (2005, p. 3) argues that teacher-training programs should provide foundational knowledge and skills with the onus on the profession to build on these foundations and elevate the teacher 'to the point of full and complete practitioner-readiness'. Central Queensland University has tried to respond to these concerns through the introduction of the Bachelor of Learning Management. This paper reports on a preliminary investigation into the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the program in preparing graduates and enabling workplace readiness. Towards the end of 2005 a cohort of final year students was asked to identify their levels of confidence in the transition from university to work; and how the cohort could have been better prepared. It is intended that the issues identified will be translated into recommendations for future program improvements.

Using feedback from stakeholders to strengthen the student teacher experience during field experience

This paper reports a study into key stakeholders’ perceptions of a teacher education program in the context of field experience. Located in an urban Australian university, the study draws on data collected from students, university supervisors and teachers to provide insight into three inter-related issues. First, it projects an understanding of how different stakeholders perceive and enact their roles and responsibilities during field experience. Second, it contributes an understanding about factors that enhance and impede students’ capacity to integrate theory and practice and, third, it shows the fundamental role that effective university-school partnerships play in enabling student engagement in teacher education. The paper concludes by proposing ways in which the study’s findings can be used to improve teacher education.

A Meadian analysis of pre-service and beginning teacher practice

This paper uses Mead’s theory of emergence to examine the theory-practice gap in pre-service teacher education. The paper argues that the theory-practice gap in pre-service teacher education under present institutional arrangements is axiomatic in the process of emergence from pre-service to graduate teachers. The argument draws on interview and focus group data collected via a study of first-year graduate teachers of an Australian pre-service teacher education programme. An interpretation of the data using Mead’s theory of emergence demonstrates that role taking and self-regulated behaviour inhibit the trainee teacher from exercising the power of agency to implement theory learned at university into practice in the classroom. Thus, Mead’s theory of emergence explains the obduracy of the gap between theory and practice in teacher education.

Enriching interdisciplinary connections : student engagement in theory and practice in higher education programs in Australia and the UK

This paper provides insight into how postgraduate students in two pre-service disciplines, namely medicine and education, identify and make meaning of their circumstances in the globalised era of tertiary education.
Drawing on elements of Giddens’ theory of structuration, we discuss some of the tensions students have reported encountering in an era which is characterised by greater internationalisation of the student body and more globalised curricula.

International ‘benchmarking’ studies and the identification of ‘education best practice’: a focus on classroom teachers and their practices

 Abstract:The disproportionate focus on classroom teachers and their instruction—teacher effectiveness—in order to confront and address under-achievement and disadvantage appears as a contemporary education policy theme in Australia. Phrases such as ‘high performing schooling systems’, ‘the best teachers’, ‘high performing countries’, ‘quality teaching’, ‘under-performing schools’, ‘the right change’, ‘operationally feasible’, ‘targeting of reforms’, ‘degrees of under-performance’, ‘educational drivers’, ‘teacher quality and improved teaching’ and ‘external standards and governance’ are constantly mentioned and given continual attention and prominence by policy-makers. The paper questions and critiques a policy-making direction that uses teacher effectiveness research to force and steer reform in education. The distinctive and narrow concern with teacher effectiveness works to the specific exclusion of breadth and scope concerning debate about broader education related issues and questions, for example, matters of student achievement, exclusion and disadvantage. This article uses a qualitative research approach informed by critical theory to examine three influential private sector reports on education and schooling: The McKinsey Report ( 2007 )—How the world’s best-performing school systems come out on top, The Nous Group ( 2011 )—Schooling Challenges and Opportunities and The Grattan Institute ( 2012 )—Catching up: Learning from the best school systems in East Asia. The article subjects the reports to close critical scrutiny and examination and finds that classroom teachers are positioned so that their specific and explicit instruction becomes the differentiating ‘variable’ in matters of student achievement and success.

New directions in education? A critique of contemporary policy reforms

This paper draws on facets of Foucault's theoretical resources to critique current education policy reform from within the Australian State of Victoria, namely the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development's (DEECD) discussion paper New directions for school leadership and the teaching profession. Implicit in the reform effort is decentralization, including penalties for “underperforming” classroom teachers and “ineffective” teacher education courses. Principals will hold a pre-eminent rank in the reforms proposed as they are charged with their oversight and implementation, including intervening in the education and preparation of pre-service teachers.

Improving online communication for students in higher education contexts

The study reported here sought to identify Higher Education students’ preferred modes of online communication whilst studying a wholly online research subject at University. The teacher education student participants from an Australian university were required to collaboratively conduct inquiry research projects in groups whilst relying upon computer-mediated communication. How do students communicate as a collaborative research group whilst only meeting online? The data were collected via the use of online pre-test and post-test surveys conducted ‘prior to’ and ‘post’ involvement in the unit of study and descriptive statistical analysis was applied. The findings revealed that important influences affecting students’ choice of communication mode included their own views on the capacity of online communication, their prior experience and the availability and accessibility of the modes. Furthermore, it was found that when given a choice, students preferred the use of asynchronous forms of digital communication to synchronous forms. Recommendations for improving online teaching, learning and research contexts in Universities are provided and the importance of considering blended mode delivery for wholly online units is argued.