Australian and US preservice teachers' perceptions of the gender stereotyping of mathematics

Historically mathematics was considered a pursuit more suited to males than females. Using a new instrument, contemporary high school students' beliefs about the gender stereotyping of mathematics have been measured and an apparent change in beliefs reported. The same instrument was administered to preservice teachers in Australia and the USA. These countries share common social and cultural characteristics and both were active in addressing identified female disadvantage in mathematics education outcomes. The preservice teachers were asked to respond to the survey items as they believed high school students would answer. The Australian and US preservice teachers' responses were compared. The results are reported and discussed in this paper.

Elements of a model of effective teachers

Much research in teacher education has concentrated on individual elements of effective teaching such as the best way to teach content. There has been less emphasis on understanding the complex process of effective teaching in its entirety. Teacher educators are in the business of creating effective teachers and as such need a clear, evidence based model of an effective teacher. We believe that current models of effective teachers are limited because they fail to give sufficient emphasis to many important aspects of effective teachers and fail to integrate these components into a coherent whole and so provide a language for discussion of and a conceptual framework for developing teacher education.

This paper discusses the elements needed for a model of an effective teacher. This model emphasises not only the domains of effective teaching which receive most of the attention in teacher education and evaluation, namely content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and, more recently, pedagogical content knowledge but also takes into account the teacher's personal knowledge and knowledge of context. We suggest that it is not just this knowledge that teachers have in these domains but the way this knowledge overlaps and interacts both within the teacher and with the teacher's physical, social, intellectual and emotional environment.

An examination of the effective teacher challenges not only teacher educators to rethink the way we educate both preservice and inservice teachers; but also the way we assess, judge and reward teachers.

Lessons for 2003 from 1993 : primary teacher standpoint on policy backlash against the gender inclusive curriculum

In this paper, I provide evidence of policy 'backlash' against feminism from the standpoint of the practitioner. When asked, in a case study of Victorian primary schools how the gender inclusive curriculum was conceptualised and enacted, practitioners critique the conservative policy shift that they observed. I premise this paper on the notion that critical reflection on the specificities of policy discourse from the previous decade represents transformative work for the contemporary policy context. I conclude with a discussion of how research agendas in the current era of uncertainty can be re-assessed in the light of this study.

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.

Teacher attitudes and perceptions of primary school music education at independent schools in South Africa

As South Africa enters the new millennium and is currently in its second term of democracy, the question remains: is outcomes-based education preliminary the way forward for learners in South Africa. The new education system recognises the importance of arts education and specifically music education at the primary school level. This article focuses on music education at independent schools in Gauteng, South Africa. The reporting of this article is based on the author's doctoral thesis entitled "Outcomes-based music education in the foundation phase at independent schools in Gauteng, South Africa". The principal form of research was a questionnaire sent to music teachers at primary schools registered with the Independent Schools Council (ISC). The purpose of the questionnaires was to contribute to a study on teachers' perceptions, attitudes and opinions regarding music education and outcomes-based education. The questionnaire was divided into three main sections, namely: personal and professional details, outcomes-based education and general information. Both open and closed types of questions were employed. The questionnaire yielded both ambivalent views about the change of the education system as well as the inclusion of music as an area of learning within "Arts and Culture". It also identified current teaching trends and exposed areas of weakness that call for attention.

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.

Getting abstracted: teacher educators as research writers

While the term 'early career' researcher, is a familiar identity label within competitive Australian Research Council grant writing and bidding, it is a strange appellation in Australian Faculties of Education, where many early career academics have, in fact, carried out successful professional careers in education for 10-15 years before they embark on mid-career doctoral work. In this sense, they are more mid than early career. While they are not novices, however, they are often positioned as beginners with regard to accessing the journal, conference and other discourse communities of the academy. This paper explores the tensions and anxieties experienced by mid-career researchers in teacher education as they begin to publish from their dissertations and extend the audience for their doctoral work. It focuses on the writing of abstracts, which it is argued is a rich site for both text work and identity work and a practice which goes beyond technique to questions of identity and the promotional economies of academic work.

Teacher renewal: collaboration and collegiality

This paper draws in part on findings gathered for the evaluation of the Victorian Department of Education and Training (DE&T) response to the federal Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) funded Quality Teacher Progam (QTP). The paper reports on findings from one strategy, the Local Area Project and focuses on aspects of that project that relate to teacher renewal and enhancement of professionalism. The findings suggest that the professional development opportunities offered by participation in Local Area Projects have, through collaboration and collegiality, enhanced teacher professionalism and provided an environment for teacher renewal.

Learning to be a teacher - examining the role of self-as-researcher in a phenomenological study

Many qualitative studies position the researcher as either an impartial observer or as an active participant in any given gathering of humanistic data. This paper presents the researcher in a different paradigm and emphasises the importance of the researcher's story being told as well as those of the participants. The paper presents the research of a doctoral study that used a phenomenological framework and adopted a narrative inquiry approach. Narrative inquiry was used as it recognised that particular research interests often have their genesis in the researcher’s own experience and background. This study focused on how you can explore the role of self-as-researcher in order to be open to listen and report on the findings of those who we study.

Progressive discourse in mathematics classes - the task of the teacher

This paper uses data from two mathematics lessons to explore the nature of progressive discourse and examine critical features of teacher actions that contribute to mathematics classrooms functioning as communities of inquiry. Features found to promote progressive discourse include a focus on the conceptual elements of the curriculum and the use of complex, challenging tasks that problematised the curriculum; the orchestration of student reporting to allow all students to contribute to progress towards the community's solution to the problem; and a focus on seeking, recognizing, and drawing attention to mathematical reasoning and justification, and using this as a basis for learning.

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.