Troubling identities: teacher education students` constructions of class and ethnicity

Working with diverse student populations productively depends on teachers and teacher educators recognizing and valuing difference. Too often, in teacher education programs, when markers of identity such as gender, ethnicity, 'race', or social class are examined, the focus is on developing student teachers' understandings of how these discourses shape learner identities and rarely on how these also shape teachers' identities. This article reports on a research project that explored how student teachers understand ethnicity and socio-economic status. In a preliminary stage of the research, we asked eight Year 3 teacher education students who had attended mainly Anglo-Australian, middle class schools as students and as student teachers, to explore their own ethnic and classed identities. The complexities of identity are foregrounded in both the assumptions we made in selecting particular students for the project and in the ways they constructed their own identities around ethnicity and social class. In this article we draw on these findings to interrogate how categories of identity are fluid, shifting and ongoing processes of negotiation, troubling and complex. We also consider the implications for teacher education.

Is it only 'what works' that 'counts' in new knowledge economies? Evidence-based practice, educational research and teacher education in Australia

Recent texts on globalisation and education policy refer to the rapid ¯ow of education policy texts producing or responding to common trends across nation states with the emergence of new knowledge economies. These educational policies are shaping what counts as research and the dynamics between research, policy, and practice in schools, creating new types of relationships between universities, the public, the professions, government, and industry. The trend to evidence-based policy and practice in Australian schools is used to identify key issues within wider debates about the `usefulness' of educational research and the role of universities and university-based research in education in new knowledge economies.

Regulation and autonomy in teacher education: government, community or democracy?

Current attempts in industrialised countries to regulate teacher education in increasingly prescriptive ways raise profound social, ethical and pedagogical issues. This paper looks at the challenge such prescriptions pose and suggests that such regulation serves the democratic state less well than a more autonomous form of education. The implications of this alternative for teacher education are explored.

Assessment as a strategic tool for enhancing learning in teacher education: a case study

This small exploratory case study describes an attempt to integrate the academic and practical aspects of a teacher education course in order to promote deep understanding of children's ways of understanding mathematics. The assessment regime of the course was used as a strategic tool for engaging students, and the assessment tasks themselves were used as the means of generating genuine integration, or case knowledge, of the content of the course. The results indicate that the approach was effective in achieving the aims of the course, and student reaction to the approach was extremely positive.

Beyond pretence: new sensibilities for computing and communication technologies in teacher education

Making particular reference to schools’ traditional relationships with CCTS (and the kinds of ‘pretend’ and ‘artificial’ learning/assessment tasks that this relationship has historically produced), this paper details a research and teaching agenda focused on exploring the potential of having students work on tasks with value to local and/or school communities. The paper maps the informing theories and current practices of schools
participating in the ‘knowledge producing schools’ (KPS) agenda. Particular attention is given to the ways in which KPS schools are better positioned to respond to the needs of diverse student/community populations, particularly those students traditionally perceived as ‘at risk’.

Redefining teacher education through a `multiple space` model: examining the forgotten spaces that teachers work in

This paper maps the current debates surrounding school-based and university-based teacher education models, and presents a ‘multiple-space’ model of teacher education that both explores and values the many ‘forgotten’ spaces that teachers work in. It draws from a variety of research studies, including my own doctoral work, to argue for a new approach to teacher education programs. I suggest that in order for teacher education to move beyond separatist, binary models, we need to adopt a ‘multiple-space’ view of learning to be a teacher that embraces the notion that teachers do not learn about theory in a university space, nor do they simply work in a classroom space.

Masakhane: drumming up an effective music curriculum for pre-service teacher education

The introduction of African indigenous music to a generalist primary teacher education course transcended both cultural differences and personal inadequacies of students. It provided a cohesive bond for promoting the learning of music that is aptly represented by the African concept of masakhane (building together). This research demonstrated the effectiveness of Africa music for promoting cross-cultural music education, thereby providing a worthy model for implementation in other teacher education programs. According to findings from a questionnaire survey and interviews, students reported they were able to more effectively engage with, know, create, perform, teach and experience music through African rather than just the Western music. This experience provided students with new musical knowledge, understandings and skills as well as giving them insights into another musical tradition and culture. Students also perceived Indigenous African music as a source of motivation, interest and enjoyment, thereby promoting their creativity and musical learning. As global citizens, we need to embrace diversity and change not only in our immediate teaching contexts but also in broader educational policy. This curriculum clearly enhanced the effectiveness of music within a teacher education course and by extension has the potential to contribute to a greater professional and public good in education.