Schulpraktika in der Lehrerbildung. Theoretische Grundlagen, Konzeptionen, Prozesse und Effekte = Pedagogical field experiences in teacher education. Theoretical foundations, programmes, processes, and effects

Seit mehr als zwanzig Jahren werden in der tertiären Lehramtsausbildung Schulpraktika reformiert und neuerdings in ihrem zeitlichen Umfang relativ zur Studienzeit vergrößert. Zum Gegenstand reger Forschungsaktivitäten avancierten Schulpraktika jedoch erst im letzten Jahrzehnt. Hiermit werden ein Überblick über das Forschungsfeld (Grundlagen der schulpraktischen Komponenten der Lehrerbildung; Forschungsmethodik) vorgelegt und aktuelle Forschungsergebnisse zu zentralen Aspekten der Wirksamkeit von Praktika und Effekten von Mentoring präsentiert. In englischsprachigen bzw. deutschsprachigen Beiträgen wird der Forschungsstand in Deutschland, den Niederlanden, Österreich und der Schweiz sowie den USA aufgezeigt. Der Band richtet sich an Personen, die in der Lehrerbildung tätig sind, also an Dozent/inn/en in Hochschulen und Seminaren, an Lehrerbildungsforscher/innen sowie an Fachpersonen in der Bildungsadministration und interessierte Studierende.

Pedagogical field experiences in teacher education: Introduction to the research area

Research on pre-service teacher internships has become a dynamic area of investigation in teacher education whose growth seems to correspond with increased activity at the institutional level over the past two decades. Introducing or expanding field experiences has been a common strategy in nearly all teacher education programs for the last twenty years, and reforming teacher education with a focus on its practical aspects still ranks near the top of education policy agendas. This article provides an introduction to the research field, addressing five basic issues: (1) precision in the definition of the construct, (2) main sources of research literature, (3) elaboration of the construct in terms of effects and mediating variables, (4) the methodological challenges of empirical research, and (5) major areas of future research. Emphasis is placed on the often ignored aspect that internships elicit both intended and unintended effects, including not only positive but also adverse side effects.

Oral Health Education Program on Dental Caries Incidence for School Children.

OBJECTIVE This 3-year retrospective controlled clinical trial assessed the effect of a school-based oral health education program on caries incidence in children. STUDY DESIGN A total of 240 students, aged 5 to 7 years, from two public schools in Monte Sião, Brazil, were included in this study. A school-based oral health education program was developed in one of the schools (experimental group), including 120 students, while the 120 students from the other school did not participate in the program (control group). All children were initially examined for dental caries (dmf-t), and after 3 years, 98 children from the experimental group and 96 from the control group were again examined and answered a questionnaire on oral health issues. The between-groups difference in caries incidence on permanent teeth was calculated using Poisson regression analyses. Logistic regression was used to observe the association between caries incidence and other variables. RESULTS More students from the experimental group stated knowing what was dental caries and declared that they use dental floss daily, but no significant differences in caries incidence was observed between the experimental and control groups. CONCLUSION The school-based oral health education program is not adequately efficient to decrease caries incidence after three years, but some issues about oral health knowledge could be slightly improved.

Multigrade teaching in primary education as a promising pedagogy for teacher education in Austria and Finland

This chapter focuses on teaching practices used in multigrade classes and the importance of them being incorporated in teacher education as promising pedagogies for future use. Multigrade classes - defined as classes in which two or more grades are taught together - are common worldwide. Hence, there is a need for teacher candidates to become familiar with how to teach in split grade classrooms. However, research on multigrade teaching as well as its development in teacher education studies has been neglected, even though multigrade teachers need special skills to organize instruction in their heterogeneous classrooms. We argue that in successful multigrade teaching practices, the heterogeneity of students is taken into account and cultivated. Based on content analysis of teacher interviews conducted in Austrian and Finnish primary schools, we recommend teaching practices such as spiral curricula, working plans, and peer learning as promising teacher education pedagogies for future multigrade class teaching. We also suggest that the professional skills required in high-quality teaching practices in multigrade teaching should be further studied by researchers and educators.