Employing the five-factor mentoring instrument : analysing mentoring practices for teaching primary science.

Primary science education is a concern around the world and quality mentoring within schools can develop preservice teachers’ practices. A five-factor model for mentoring has been identified, namely, personal attributes, system requirements, pedagogical knowledge, modelling, and feedback. Final-year preservice teachers (mentees, n=211) from three Turkish universities were administered a previously validated instrument to gather perceptions of their mentoring in primary science teaching. ANOVA indicated that each of these five factors was statistically significant (p<.001) with mean scale scores ranging from 3.36 to 4.12. Although mentees perceived their mentors to provide evaluation feedback (95%), model classroom management (88%), guide their preparation (96%), and outline the science curriculum (92%), the majority of mentors were perceived not to assist their mentees in 10 of the 34 survey items. Professional development programmes that target the specific needs of these mentors may further enhance mentoring practices for advancing primary science teaching.

Mainstreaming sustainability into pre-service teacher edcuation in Australia

There is a growing interest in and support for education for sustainability in Australian schools. Australian Government schemes such as the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI), along with strategies such as Educating for a Sustainable Future: A National Environmental Education Statement for Australian Schools(NEES(Australian Government and Curriculum Corporation (2005) and Living Sustainably: The Australian Government’s National Action Plan for Education for Sustainability (Australian Government 2009), recognise the need and offer support for education for sustainability in Australian schools. The number of schools that have engaged with AuSSI indicates that this interest also exists within Australian schools. Despite this, recent research indicates that pre-service teacher education institutions and programs are not doing all they can to prepare teachers for teaching education for sustainability or for working within sustainable schools. The education of school teachers plays a vital role in achieving changes in teaching and learning in schools. Indeed, the professional development of teachers in education for sustainability has been identified as ‘the priority of priorities’. Much has been written about the need to ‘reorient teacher education towards sustainability’. Teacher education is seen as a key strategy that is yet to be effectively utilised to embed education for sustainability in schools. Mainstreaming sustainability in Australian schools will not be achieved without the preparation of teachers for this task. The Mainstreaming Sustainability model piloted in this study seeks to engage a range of stakeholder organisations and key agents of change within a system to all work simultaneously to bring about a change, such as the mainstreaming of sustainability. The model is premised on the understanding that sustainability will be mainstreamed within teacher education if there is engagement with key agents of change across the wider teacher education system and if the key agents of change are ‘deeply’ involved in making the change. The model thus seeks to marry broad engagement across a system with the active participation of stakeholders within that system. Such a systemic approach is a way of bringing together diverse viewpoints to make sense of an issue and harness that shared interpretation to define boundaries, roles and relationships leading to a better defined problem that can be acted upon more effectively. Like action research, the systemic approach is also concerned with modelling change and seeking plausible solutions through collaboration between stakeholders. This is important in ensuring that outcomes are useful to the researchers/stakeholders and the system being researched as it creates partnerships and commitments to the outcomes by stakeholder participants. The study reported on here examines whether the ‘Mainstreaming Sustainability’ model might be effective as a means to mainstream sustainability in pre-service teacher education. This model, developed in an earlier study, was piloted in the Queensland teacher education system in order to examine its effectiveness in creating organisational and systemic change. The pilot project in Queensland achieved a number of outcomes. The project: • provided useful insights into the effectiveness of the Mainstreaming Sustainability model in bringing about change while also building research capacity within the system • developed capacities within the teacher education community: o developing competencies in education for sustainability o establishing more effective interactions between decision-makers and other stakeholders o establishing a community of inquiry • changed teaching and learning approaches used in participating teacher education institutions through: o curriculum and resource development o the adoption of education for sustainability teaching and learning processes o the development of institutional policies • improved networks within the teacher education system through: o identifying key agents of change within the system o developing new, and building on existing, partnerships between schools, teacher education institutions and government agencies • engaged relevant stakeholders such as government agencies and non-government organisations to understand and support the change Our findings indicate that the Mainstreaming Sustainability model is able to facilitate organisational and systemic change – over time – if: • the individuals involved have the conceptual and personal capacities needed to facilitate change, that is, to be a key agent of change • stakeholders are engaged as participants in the process of change, not simply as ‘interested parties’ • there is a good understanding of systemic change and the opportunities for leveraging change within systems. In particular, in seeking to mainstream sustainability in pre-service teacher education in Queensland it has become clear that one needs to build capacity for change within participants such as knowledge of education for sustainability, conceptual skills in systemic thinking, action research and organisational change, and leadership skills. It is also of vital importance that key agents of change – those individuals who are ‘hubs’ within a system and can leverage for change across a wide range of the system – are identified and engaged with as early as possible. Key agents of change can only be correctly identified, however, if the project leaders and known participants have clearly identified the boundary to their system as this enables the system, sub-system and environment of the system to be understood. Through mapping the system a range of key organisations and stakeholders will be identified, including government and nongovernment organisations, teacher education students, teacher education academics, and so on. On this basis, key agents of change within the system and sub-system can be identified and invited to assist in working for change. A final insight is that it is important to have time – and if necessary the funding to ‘buy time’ – in seeking to bring about system-wide change. Seeking to bring about system-wide change is an ambitious project, one that requires a great deal of effort and time. These insights provide some considerations for those seeking to utilise the Mainstreaming Sustainability model to bring about change within and across a pre-service teacher education system.

Benchmarking mentoring practices : a case study in Turkey

Throughout the world standards have been developed for teaching in particular key learning areas. These standards also present benchmarks that can assist to measure and compare results from one year to the next. There appears to be no benchmarks for mentoring. An instrument devised to measure mentees’ perceptions of their mentoring in primary science was administered to 304 preservice teachers in Turkey. Results indicated that the majority of mentees perceived they received mentoring practices, however, 20% or more claimed they had not received 24 of the 34 practices outlined on the researchbased survey. Establishing benchmarks for mentoring practices may assist educators to identify needs and developing programs that address these needs. This survey instrument can aid the identification of mentoring practices through the recipient’s perspective for advancing mentoring, which may ultimately have an effect on improving teaching practices.

The noblest of professions : schoolmasters at Hastings 1872-1894

The Noblest of Professions: Schoolmasters at Hastings 1872-1894 is a skilfully developed study of educational developments outside the Australian metropolises and in a small, but significant, pioneering rural community in the late colonial period. It is an important contribution to the formerly neglected field of local and regional history in Australia. It extends our knowledge of the life experiences of the schoolmaster in an isolated community and the regard local people had for him, together with the significant and varied social and leadership roles he played regularly and occasionally in rural affairs. The rural schoolmaster and his concerns are vividly brought to life in a compelling portrayal in this book. In all a very significant contribution to Australian history and to the history of education in its regional and local context.

Empirical reference points for Bernstein’s model of pedagogic rights: Recontextualising the reconciliation agenda to Australian schooling

In this chapter we use Bernstein’s (2000) model of pedagogic rights to examine the learning experiences for non-Indigenous teachers in two reconciliation projects. In the context within which we write, reconciliation is the process of establishing a culture of mutual respect between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians. In 1991, the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody linked the continuation of racism in Australian society to the weak coverage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content in the school curriculum (Reconciliation Australia 2010). Nearly two decades later, the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians issued by the council of Federal, State and Territory Ministers of Education proclaimed that curriculum should enable all students to ‘understand and acknowledge the value of Indigenous cultures and possess the knowledge, skills and understanding to contribute to, and benefit from reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians’ (MCEETYA 2008, 9). Education holds out promise not only of better life chances for Indigenous young people, but also of replacing myths with understanding and tackling prejudice and racism within the non-Indigenous population. Bernstein’s (2000) model of pedagogic rights promises some purchase on this pedagogic work by providing concepts for looking systematically at the participation of non-Indigenous teachers in education. As observed by Frandji and Vitale (Chapter 2, this volume), the model is not sufficient to achieve a democratic reality, ‘but simply provides a basis for problematizing reality and considering possibilities’.

Boundary crossing: A theoretical framework to understand the operation dynamics of industry-school partnerships

Industry-school partnerships (ISPs) are increasingly being recognised as a new way of providing vocational education opportunities. However, there is limited research investigating their impact on systemic (organisational and structural) and human resource (teachers and education managers) capacity to support school to work transitions. This paper reports on a government led ISP, established by the Queensland state government. ISPs across three industry sectors: minerals and energy; building and construction; and aviation are included in this study. This research adopted a qualitative case study methodology and draws upon boundary crossing theory to understand the dynamics of how each industry sector responded to systemic and human resource issues that emerged in each ISP. The main finding being that the systematic application of boundary crossing mechanisms by all partners pro-duced mutually beneficial outcomes. ISPs from the three sectors adopted different models, leveraged different boundary crossing objects but all maintained the joint vision and mutually agreed outcomes. All three ISPs genuinely crossed boundaries, albeit in different ways, and assisted teachers to co-pro-duce industry-based curriculums, share sector specific knowledge and skills that help enhance the school to work transition for school graduates.

Engaging elementary students in learning science: An analysis of classroom dialogue

Research over a long period of time has continued to demonstrate problems in the teaching of science in school. In addition, declining levels of participation and interest in science and related fields have been reported from many particularly western countries. Among the strategies suggested is the recruitment of professional scientists and technologists either at the graduate level or advanced career level to change career and teach. In this study, we analysed how one beginning middle primary teacher engaged with students to support their science learning by establishing rich classroom discussions. We followed his evolving teaching expertise over three years focussing on his communicative practices informed by socio-cultural theory. His practices exemplified a non-interactive dialogical communicative approach where ideas were readily discussed but were concentrated on the class acquiring acceptable scientific understandings. His focus on the language of science was a significant aspect of his practice and one that emerged from his professional background. The study affirms the theoretical frameworks proposed by Mortimer and Scott (2003) highlighting how dialogue contributes to heightened student interest in science.

Noviisiopettajana peruskoulussa : Aloittelevien opettajien autenttisia kokemuksia ensimmäisestä opettajavuodesta

As a Novice Teacher at Comprehensive School: The authentic experiences of the beginning teachers during their first year of teaching The aim of this study is to explicate the novice year of teaching in the light of teachers´ authentic experiences. The subject of this investigation is the teachers´ subjective world of experience during their first academic year of teaching and the sharing of these experiences in collaborative consulting meetings. The themes discussed in the meetings were introduced into the collaborative group by the novice teachers themselves, and the progress of discussion was con-trolled by them. The research data was gathered in a consultative working group where the way a novice teacher starts to interpret, analyze and identify his/her own complex and dynamic teaching situations was observed. The research data gathered in this way illuminates novice teachers´ world of experience and mental picture as well as the unconscious sides of school life. In a theoretical frame of reference, the work of a teacher is identified, according to systemic scientific thought, as a dynamic triangle in which the basic elements are the personality of the teacher, the role of the teacher and the school as an organization. These basic elements form a whole within which the teacher works. The dynamics of this triangle in a teacher’s work are brought to light through the study of the phenomena of groups and group dynamics since a teacher works either as a member of a group (working community), as a leader of a group (teaching situations) or in a network (parent – teacher cooperation). Therefore, tension and force are always present in teaching work. The main research problem was to explain how a novice teacher experiences his/her first working year as a teacher. The participants (n=5) were teaching at five different comprehensive schools in the city of Helsinki. This was their first long-term post as a teacher. The research data consists of seven collaborative consulting meetings, as well as recordings and transcripts of the meetings. A classificatory framework was developed for data analysis which enabled a sys-tematic qualitative content analysis based on theory and material. In addition to the consulting meetings, the teachers were interviewed at the beginning and at the end of the process of collecting the research material. The interviews were used to interpret the meanings of the content analysis based on raw data. The findings show that there is a gap between teacher education and the reality of school life, which causes difficulties for a novice teacher during his/her first teaching year. The gap is rather a global educational problem than a national one, and therefore it is independent of cultural factors. Novice teachers desire a well-structured theory of teacher education and a clear programme where the themes and content delve deeper and deeper into the subject matter during the study years. According to the novice teachers, teacher education frequently consists of sporadic and unconnected study and class situations. An individual content weakness of teacher education is the lack of insufficient initiation into evaluation processes. The novice teachers suggest that a student must be provided good-quality and competent guidance during the study years and during his or her induction. There should be a well-organized, structured and systematic induction program for novice teachers. The induction program should be overseen by an organization so that the requirements of a qualified induction can be met. The findings show that the novice teachers find the first year of teaching at comprehensive school emotionally loaded. The teachers experienced teaching as difficult work and found the workload heavy. Nevertheless, they enjoyed their job because, as they said, there were more pleasant than unpleasant things in their school day. Their main feeling at school was the joy of success in teaching. The novice teachers felt satisfaction with their pupils. The teachers experienced the more serious feelings of anger and disgust when serious violence took place. The most difficult situations arose from teaching pupils who had mental health problems. The toughest thing in the teacher´s work was teaching groups that are too heterogeneous. The most awkward problems in group dynamics happened when new immigrants, who spoke only their own languages, were integrated into the groups in the middle of the school year. Teachers wanted to help children who needed special help with learning but restated at the same time that the groups being taught shouldn’t be too heterogeneous. The teachers wished for help from school assistants so that they could personally concentrate more on teaching. Not all the parents took care of their children according to the comprehensive school law. The teachers found it hard to build a confidential relationship between home and school. In this study, novice teachers found it hard to join the teaching staff at school. Some of the teachers on staff were very strong and impulsive, reacting loudly and emotionally. These teachers provoked disagreement, conflicts, power struggles and competition among the other teachers. Although the novice teachers of the study were all qualified teachers, three of them were not interested in a permanent teaching job. For these teachers teaching at a primary school was just a project, a short period in their working life. They will remain in the teaching profession as long as they are learning new things and enjoying their teaching job. This study is an independent part of the research project on Interplay – Connecting Academic Teacher Education and Work, undertaken by the Department of Applied Sciences of Education at the University of Helsinki. Key words: novice teacher, emotions, groups and group dynamics, authority, co-operation between home and school, teacher community, leadership at school, induction, consulting

Avaliação da empatia em médicos de diferentes níveis de atenção à saúde

O desenvolvimento de habilidades de comunicação em médicos tem sido apontado como uma necessidade e uma competência fundamental para o exercício da medicina. A empatia é uma habilidade interpessoal que pode ser descrita como a capacidade de compreender o ponto de vista e os sentimentos de uma outra pessoa sem julgá-los e de comunicar esse entendimento de modo que a pessoa que fala se sinta verdadeiramente compreendida pela pessoa que ouve. Essa habilidade promove um senso de validação na pessoa que fala, especialmente em situações de conflito, reduzindo a probabilidade de rompimento e fortalecendo os vínculos interpessoais. A empatia dos médicos é atribuída à sua educação pessoal, sendo raro o desenvolvimento dessa competência social durante o curso de formação médica. O desconhecimento sobre essa habilidade e sua função no exercício profissional motivou a realização deste estudo sobre a empatia em médicos que atuam em diferentes contextos de atenção à saúde no município do Rio de Janeiro. Participaram desta pesquisa 75 profissionais, dos quais 25 atuavam no nível da Atenção Primária, composto por equipes de saúde da família e por centros municipais de saúde; 12 pertenciam a unidades mais especializadas que correspondem ao nível de Atenção Secundária e 38 trabalhavam nos ambulatórios de hospitais universitários da Atenção Terciária. Foi aplicado o Inventário de Empatia (I.E.), que avalia os quatro fatores que compõem a habilidade empática: 1) Tomada de Perspectiva: capacidade de compreender o ponto de vista e os sentimentos da outra pessoa; 2) Flexibilidade Interpessoal: capacidade de aceitar perspectivas muito diferentes das próprias; 3) Altruísmo: capacidade de suspender temporariamente as próprias necessidades em função do outro; 4) Sensibilidade Afetiva: sentimento de compaixão e de preocupação com o outro. Os resultados mostraram que o grupo avaliado obteve médias semelhantes às apresentadas nos dados normativos do I.E. nos fatores Tomada de Perspectiva e Flexibilidade Interpessoal, enquanto superou a média no fator Altruísmo e ficou abaixo da média no fator Sensibilidade Afetiva. Esses dados indicam que a amostra de médicos avaliada possui uma capacidade mais acentuada de sacrificar suas próprias necessidades para atender ao outro, ainda que não associada necessariamente a um sentimento de compaixão equivalente. Isto pode estar relacionado com a reduzida importância dada ao aspecto emocional na formação médica. Em relação à avaliação da empatia por contexto de atenção em saúde, não foi encontrada diferença significativa entre os grupos com exceção do fator Tomada de Perspectiva. Neste componente, os médicos do Programa Saúde da Família destacaram-se significativamente do grupo de Atenção Secundária, o que parece estar relacionado com a proximidade do profissional com o contexto de vida do paciente e com a educação continuada que recebem através de treinamentos e capacitações onde são valorizadas as habilidades de comunicação desses profissionais. A partir desses resultados propõe-se que o desenvolvimento da empatia seja incluído nos cursos de formação médica e no planejamento das condições de trabalho nos diversos níveis de atenção à saúde.

Instituto fanal cuja história: tradição, tecnologia e inovação na formação continuada de professores(as)

O presente trabalho buscou fazer um levantamento histórico do Instituto Superior de Educação do Rio de Janeiro ISERJ sob o enfoque político-pedagógico além de trazer conceitos e ações práticas de formação continuada dos(as) professores(as). Dentro dessa proposta, a pesquisa aborda questões relativas as Novas Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação como uma possibilidade complementar de formação continuada dos(as) professores(as) no Colégio de Aplicação CAP-ISERJ. O estudo foi realizado a partir da metodologia de pesquisa-ação pois acredita-se que este tipo de pesquisa favorece as discussões e a produção de conhecimentos entre todos os envolvidos pesquisador(a) e participantes. Essa pesquisa propicia uma relação profunda entre as ações e as resoluções de problemas num âmbito coletivo, cooperativo e participativo (THIOLLENT, 1997). A pesquisa foi realizada dentro do campus de trabalho da pesquisadora o que favoreceu a interlocução dos atores envolvidos permitindo o retorno ao meio pesquisado, não se limitando ao meio acadêmico. Desta forma, foi proposto ao final do trabalho, a criação de um ambiente virtual de aprendizagem, o Campus Online, baseado nas propostas do Ensino Online (SANTOS, 2006) que difere da tradicional Educação a Distância. A implementação do Campus Online implica em várias questões políticas, financeiras e pedagógicas contudo é motivada pelo desejo e necessidade de transformação das práticas pedagógicas.

Processo de trabalho em saúde bucal e necessidades de educação permanente: a experiência no PSF do Município de Petrópolis

A inserção das Equipes de Saúde Bucal no Programa de Saúde da Família (PSF) representa um desafio na mudança do modelo de atenção, tradicionalmente centrado no indivíduo e na doença para uma abordagem integral do indivíduo inserido em seu contexto familiar, comunitário e social. A formação do cirurgião-dentista, eminentemente técnica e voltada para o mercado privado, não contribui para subsidiar o serviço público com profissionais preparados, com conhecimento da realidade social e necessidades de saúde da população usuária do Sistema Único de Saúde. A presente pesquisa teve como objetivo principal conhecer o processo de trabalho das Equipes de Saúde Bucal no Programa de Saúde da Família do Município de Petrópolis, a partir das perspectivas dos profissionais cirurgiões-dentistas e identificar as tendências no manejo de situações-problema emergentes, no intuito de contribuir para o processo de Educação Permanente em Saúde. Com caráter exploratório e qualitativo, os métodos empregados foram a entrevista em grupo no formato de Grupo Focal, e inquérito realizado com o universo dos profissionais para caracterizar as atividades realizadas pelos cirurgiões-dentistas no PSF. Subsidiariamente foram incluídas informações provenientes de participação observante da autora. A análise do inquérito permite caracterização das atividades dos cirurgiões-dentistas no PSF, cuja visibilidade é ainda restrita, apontando condições de trabalho que permitem a realização da maioria das ações preconizadas nos documentos oficiais. A análise dos Grupos Focais pode subsidiar iniciativas de Educação Continuada e Permanente, destacando-se as seguintes temáticas: trabalho em equipe, organização e planejamento da assistência clínica e das ações coletivas, fortalecimento da supervisão, ferramentas para realização de diagnóstico coletivo e apoio à integração da saúde bucal ao processo de trabalho no Programa de Saúde da Família.

Tornar-se doCENte: uma viagem pelas experiências formativas de professores da Educação Infantil do Centro Educacional de Niterói de 1980 a 2006

Esta dissertação tem como centralidade investigar as narrativas de professores que atuaram no segmento da Educação Infantil do Centro Educacional de Niterói (CEN), entre 1980 e 2006. Esta pesquisa busca compreender, em um mergulho nas abordagens (auto)biográficas, como estes docentes viveram as ações de formação, ou de (trans)formação, desenvolvidas no espaçotempo desta escola, percebidas como movimentos instituintes. Por último, busca compreender os impactos que a experiência de ser docente no CEN, ou tornar-se doCENte, trouxe para a construção de sua identidade e de sua atuação pedagógica. Para a consecução destes objetivos, tornou-se necessário, em paralelo, compreender a escola e suas principais marcas identitárias. Sendo assim, a dissertação contempla também uma investigação sobre o contexto histórico de sua criação no final da década de 1950 e início da década de 1960. Elementos de uma viagem foram tomados como metáfora a fim de elucidar o itinerário da pesquisa e, assim, refletir acerca dos referenciais teóricos metodológicos que a perpassam e fundamentam, tais como os conceitos de história, experiência, narrativas (auto)biográficas, formação docente, movimentos instituintes, conversas e análise de conteúdo. A partir do entrelaçamento destes conceitos, tomados como fundamentais à investigação, da interlocução com o contexto histórico institucional e das conversas com os professores, vividas como parte do trabalho de pesquisa, esta dissertação busca compreender discursos, processos de formação e espaços formativos. Dentre as muitas reflexões que a pesquisa proporciona, destaco: a importância da busca pelo conhecimento como elemento constitutivo da identidade docente, ou seja, a formação docente deve ter com preocupação central a formação de professores pesquisadores; a necessidade do estreitamento do diálogo entre escola e universidade; e a transformação de cada escola em centro de formação docente, em fórum de discussão e construção de saberes e fazeres, em uma perspectiva pessoal e coletiva.

Valores e atitudes de médicos e pacientes sobre o processo de decisão clínica: o caso da terapêutica hormonal no climatério

Situado no contexto da qualidade em saúde, este estudo versa sobre a decisão clínica e autonomia do paciente. Parte-se da premissa que, demais da competência técnica profissional e utilização de tecnologia adequada, o respeito aos direitos dos pacientes é atributo essencial à boa qualidade do atendimento médico. Tomando como exemplo a abordagem terapêutica do climatério, foi feita análise qualitativa do processo de decisão clínica, com base nas informações obtidas através de entrevistas semi-estruturadas com médico ginecologistas e com pacientes em fase de climatério. O propósito foi buscar apreender os valores dos médicos e dos pacientes e tentar compreender a lógica de seus comportamentos e atitudes, no que se refere especificamente aos papéis desempenhados por eles nesse processo. Com base nos resultados da análise, discute-se a complexidade da aplicação do princípio da autonomia na prática clínica e apresenta-se uma reflexão sobre a acreditação, como estratégia possível de contribuição a esse processo e à melhoria da qualidade do atendimento médico, por sua grande identificação como os aspectos relativos aos direitos dos pacientes, aos processos de educação permanente e à melhoria contínua da qualidade.

Technologia kształcenia w praktyce pedagogicznej

The author presents the results of pedagogical research, which lead to the conclusion that such providing of teaching process that the goal would have a central position takes place rarely. In order to avoid it, alternative thinking should be developed in students - candidates for teachers. It is also necessary to devote more effort to the issue of teachers' self-education.