Lee Sophie Minghuei, Fu Jen Catholic University

The present education policy aims to develop a society with multicultural values in Taiwan. In order to adjust teaching methods for students of mixed ethnic background there is a need to promote greater awareness of cultural differences. Empirical data from author’s doctoral research in 2005 illustrate how the use of different research methodologies can provide a holistic view of teachers’ perceptions. The purpose of the case study used by the author was to try to understand what goes on in the school context from the teacher’s perspective as a way of contributing to the development of inclusive Aboriginal education.

The main research question asks whether the new Aboriginal Education policy in Taiwan creates reform or resistance at the local school level and how these different responses are reflected in the teachers’ classroom teaching. The study of teachers’ perceptions and change of classroom practice is a complex task. The mixed methods approach is proposed to add the fabric required, illustrating the depth and flexibility needed to explore the educational issues (Merriam 1998). Mixed methods are a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches that maintain methodological rigor as well as measures for reliability and validity (Creswell & Miller 2000; Denzin & Lincoln 2003).

Survey questionnaires were conducted in 55 primary schools and the survey return rate of 89% (n=607) is considered to be a very useful rate of response. Factor analysis resolved seven factors which yielded high internal consistency and content validity. The researcher completed semi-structured interviews (n=48) that examined the personal views of teachers. Three themes were uncovered from the interview data: policy; pedagogy and curriculum; and school and family. The findings from the parallel mixed method analysis will be discussed in this paper.

Zhan Suxian, Macquarie University

Robertson Greg, Macquarie University

In 2001, within the field of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) among Chinese primary and secondary schools, the Chinese Ministry of Education promulgated a new edition of national English Language Curriculum Standards. In this new syllabus a task-based approach (TBA) is recommended for teachers to adopt in their classrooms. Therefore, in order to facilitate teachers’ behavioral change in their classroom teaching, this doctoral thesis research attempts to provide a professional development program for in-service English teachers. It intends to achieve the following purposes: 1) assist teachers to build a common understanding of TBA; 2) enhance English teachers’ understanding of TBA and pedagogical practices in classroom teaching; 3) and improve students’ communicative competence, particularly oral communication. This project seeks to merge the newly mandated top-down syllabus with classroom activities. It may help inform the process of implementing the recommended TBA in the national English syllabus.

In this article, a pilot study is conducted to explore teachers’ theoretical orientation in language teaching. On the basis of these data, a questionnaire will be validated concerning the relationship between teachers’ theoretical orientation and their pedagogical decision–making. Specific suggestions for teacher professional development programs regarding methods for aligning teachers’ belief systems with the theoretical underpinning of TBA are anticipated.

Lau Ching-heung, Doris, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

Chan Sok-ching, May, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

Mok Mo Ching, Magdalena, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

Learning is the focus of attention for any educational enterprise. Consequently, the quality of assessment of the extent to which learning has occurred is of crucial importance. Assessment plays an important role in education in Hong Kong as in other places. Nevertheless, how to design an assessment that is of high quality, or how to fully utilise the results of the assessment to understand more deeply about the ability of our students is a demanding task for most teachers. It is not uncommon for teachers to assume that those students who cannot get good assessment results are weak students or that they have learning problems. Teachers rarely question the quality of assessment items to be the source of problems. In other words, teachers seldom consider the possibilities that the items may be too difficult, or unsuitable for the students’ levels. In fact, it is worth investigating both the students’ and items’ performances for the assessments in order to understand more about the ability of our students. Under such circumstances, Rasch Measurement Model is a tool that teachers may consider to assist them for interpreting and analyzing the alignment between student ability and assessment item difficulty. In Rasch modelling, the data are checked, using a set of procedures and criteria, for the extent to which they match with the theoretical model. In particular, the point-measure correlations, and the INFIT and OUTFIT statistics are used to assess the goodness of fit between model and data. This study aims to illustrate how teachers can make use of these statistics from Rasch modelling to support them in the implementation of learning oriented assessment. The study will be based on assessment data obtained from two classes of Primary Three Students in a local school in July 2006. In the study, we will focus on the implication of misfit persons and items by using Rasch Measurement Model so as to discuss ways for understanding our students and improving the items setting process in designing assessment tasks.

Ho Siew Yin, Nanyang Technological University

Yeap Ban-Har, Nanyang Technological University

Recent global reforms in the mathematics curriculum have propelled problem solving from an important component of school mathematics to a core competency in mathematics learning. The problem solving curriculum in Singapore acknowledges and reflects this emphasis. The current Teach Less Learn More initiative continues the Singapore Ministry of Education’s vision to help every pupil develop competencies that are useful in a global, technological-based economy. Teachers, rather than providing all the explanations, are encouraged to help their pupils master the basics and to apply these basics to a wide range of situations. In order to contribute to the realization of this vision, teachers need to develop good practices in the mathematics classrooms. Good practices in the mathematics classroom can be characterized as providing pupils with opportunities to develop competencies and attitude that put them in good stead in the global, technological economy, and aiming to develop good thinking in students through enhancing pupils’ thinking skills and thinking habits (Yeap, 2006). One part of the Think-Things-Through (T3) Project aims to study how teachers can be engaged in developing innovative approaches and exemplify good practices. In traditional mathematics classrooms, teachers provide all the explanations and answers. It is argued that in good practices, teachers should be engaged in a wider range of roles other than the traditional one. How can and to what extent do teachers develop such good practices? Do teachers create environments and opportunities to engage their pupils in developing good thinking skills and thinking habits? Are teachers able to guide their pupils to develop key ideas in mathematics and extend their own knowledge? This paper offers a lesson as an illustration of good practice in the mathematics classroom. A teacher-innovator model for good practices, which comprises of four stages, is proposed to investigate the extent of teacher development.

Ponniah logendra s, Taylor's College, Malaysia

The purpose of this study was to investigate problem solving in the field of calculus. The study investigated the metacognitive thinking strategies employed by lecturers that were considered as subject matter specialist. The study developed and operationalized a metacognitive thinking strategies model. This model was then tested for its reliability and its predictive nature towards problem solving skills in non-routine calculus problems. A questionnaire was then administered among 480 first year undergraduate students who were selected randomly. The rate of return was about 90%. Using principal component analysis (PCA) the study successfully identified seven underlying dimensions of metacognitive thinking strategies. They are Self-efficacy, Define, Explore, Accommodate, Strategize, Execute and Verify. Finally, the researcher applied multiple regression analysis to evaluate the predictive ability of the identified predictor and the performance on routine and non-routine calculus problems. The study found that problem solving skills is acquired through practice and utilization of thinking strategies which is the corner stone on which advance mathematical ideas and particularly calculus are build on. This study revealed that there are six meaningfully predictive factors of calculus problem solving performance. It found that “strategize” is the major predictive of calculus problem solving performance, followed by “accommodate self-efficacy, define, explore and then execute”. Further analysis revealed that Strategies, Accommodate and Self-Efficacy were considered most significant with substantial practical importance. With these findings, educators will be able to clinically evaluate a person's ability to regulate, monitor and control his or her own cognitive processes. Instructional strategies can then be developed for those individuals having difficulty functioning in the learning environment.

Chan Sok-ching, May, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

Lau Ching Heung, Doris, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

Mok Mo Ching, Magdalena, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

Hong Kong Teachers understand students’ abilities and ranked students’ position by the scores of quizzes, tests and examination. Setting items for assessing students is therefore one of significant tasks for Hong Kong teachers. Teachers usually set items to access their students based on what they taught in the classroom. Teachers do not usually consider whether the items are set appropriately to measure their students’ abilities. On the other hand, it is important for the teachers learn the quality control of item settings. Rasch measurement is a quality control mechanism and good for diagnosis. The area of diagnosis includes item misfit between items and persons, and probability of a person’s correctly answering the item against his ability. The diagnostic information obtained can be used by teachers to enhance their assessment tools such that teachers are better informed about their students’ learning. Nonetheless, such diagnoses are under-utilised. The aim of this study is to illustrate how the diagnostic information can be generated from Rasch measurement using the Winsteps software, and how teachers can make use of such information to enhance assessment tools. In particular, this study focused on how to use one of the Item Characteristic Curve as a diagnostic tool in order to analyze the relationship between students’ abilities and item difficulties. Based on this analysis, teachers can discern the quality of items in the assessment and hence obtain more accurate estimates of students’ abilities and item difficulties. The sample for the study involved about 150 Primary Three students from a local school. Students’ basic competencies in mathematics at end of Key-Stage-I were gauged in June 2006 using an assessment tool designed by the authors. Rasch measurements of the students were obtained using the Winsteps software. Item Characteristic Curves of the items were analysed to diagnose the psychometric qualities of the assessment tool. Implications for teachers in setting assessment were discussed in the paper.

Chu Wai Kit, Immanuel Lutheran College

In 1998, the Education Department (ED) announced “Information Technology for Learning in a New Era: Five-year Strategy – 1998/99 to 2002/03”(1st ITE Strategy). Notwithstanding the achievements of IT in education in these five years, there are identified problems and upcoming new challenges which HK need to tackle in order that IT in education (ITE) can make further progress.

In July 2004, the Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB) issued the “Information Technology in Education – Way Forward” (2nd ITE Strategy). One of the solutions to the challenge of empowerment of teachers with IT stipulated in the new 2nd ITE Strategy is to transform at least two of the existing “Centres of Excellence”(CoE) to become “Learning Centres”(LC). Immanuel Lutheran College (ILC) has been selected as the pilot LC in secondary education. ILC works closely with Department of Mathematics, Science and Social Sciences (MSST) of the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) and the Information Technology in Education Section (ITE Section) of EMB.

The LCS is a major step undertook by the ITE Section of EMB to improve the quality of teachers’ professional development for ICT-integrated pedagogy in the Science Education Key Learning Area at junior secondary level. Teacher Learning Community and School-Based Support Scheme being two core values of the LCS are found to be effective because teachers who are interested in new pedagogies will receive support from teachers without and within the LC. This is very different from the traditional teacher professional development courses.

The introduction of the LCS has opened a new horizon for teachers’ professional development for ICT-integrated pedagogy. The scheme was announced to 23 countries in the 2nd Innovative Teacher Conference 2005 held at Seoul of KOREA. It was introduced to educators from different countries in the Conference on Research and Practices in Science Education 2005 and the Hong Kong International IT in Education Conference 2006 – “ Capacity Building for Learning through IT” in Hong Kong. Educators from Vietnam and Taiwan visited our LC in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

Tsui King Yuk Anita, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

Reflection is at the heart of continued professional development ( Moore, 2002). Many educators view that reflective abilities are desirable characteristics of teachers (Gore and Zeichner, 1991; Herrmann and Sarracino, 1993). Killon and Todnem (1991) indicate in their study of in-service teachers that reflective thinking can be a tool for continued personal and professional development. My previous study (Tsui, 2004) corroborates their viewpoint. Empirical work on reflection in early childhood teachers in-service is seriously underplayed. The purposes of this study were to explore the elements of early childhood teachers' pedagogical reflection as well as factors affecting the development of reflective thinking among early childhood teachers in the authentic settings. Two beginning and two experienced early childhood teachers were recruited from four preschools in Hong Kong. All participants attended an intervention exercise within ten months. The interventions took the form of interviews, workshops and documents. Findings were emerged in the form of themes and categories: on reflective thinking, on children learning, interaction with children, teachers' teaching, curriculum issues, school context and personal characteristics. Several school factors as well as the mechanism of how these factors affecting reflective thinking and its development were identified in this study. We need to probe deeper into the factors, both school workplace conditions and personal factors.

Ng Siew Ling Connie, Nanyang Technological University

Critical thinking has always been a central goal of education, but having critical thinking skills does not necessary mean that the person will use these skills even when the situation requires the application such skills. Good critical thinkers need to have both thinking skills and the dispositions to use these skills. Education institutions should, in addition to teaching critical thinking skills, cultivate learners’ critical thinking dispositions.

Educators need to measure critical thinking dispositions so that they have a means to determine whether a learners’ poor performance on a thinking skill test is due to a lack of ability or a lack of disposition. This will help educators to decide on the appropriate intervention to implement.

Some approaches that have been used to measure critical thinking skills include surveys, scoring rubrics and essay tests. In this paper, different approaches to measure critical thinking dispositions are reviewed and the pros and cons of each approach will be discussed. The discussion would be helpful to educators who would like to measure the critical thinking dispositions of their students.

Shen Yih-Jiun, Texas Tech University

The current status of play therapy in the elementary schools of Taiwan was investigated in relation to its compatibility with Chinese culture and its potential for wider societal adoption.

Play therapy, the therapeutic use of play primarily developed to help children with mental problems and further developed to facilitate developmental adjustment in normal children, has been introduced into Taiwanese society and dramatically attracts the attention of elementary school counseling professionals. The western play therapy technique has proven effective with increasing use in many American, European, and some Asian countries. However, as Taiwanese counseling professionals work on indigenous counseling and seek innovative approaches to facilitate students’ positive development and effective learning, the void of a sound empirical background needs to be filled. Whether these new techniques can effectively improve elementary school counseling and education in Taiwan, whether Taiwanese children can indeed benefit from this western technique, and whether this kind of educational investment is profitable rely on the insights and experiences of the Taiwanese related to this topic, particularly counselor trainers and school counselors. In this phenomenological qualitative inquiry, seven participants, four counselor educators and three elementary school counselors, in West Taiwan voiced their perceptions. Seven assertions (e.g., affirmation of play therapy compatibility in school counseling, affirmation of play and its therapeutic values regardless of cultural heritage, insufficient resources for professional growth) emerged from the interviewing data, implying that the potential for adopting play therapy in Taiwanese school counseling is embedded in the society. However, there are insufficient facilities and a lack of play therapy resources. Further investigation of the infrastructure in school counseling is necessary via the collaborative efforts of mental health and educational professionals, the government, as well as the whole society. Suggestions for practice and research regarding the development of play therapy and school counseling are presented.

Montgomery Alison, University of Ulster

O'Connor Una, University of Ulster

The 1990’s have been described as the ‘decade of citizenship’ (Dahrendorf 1996), that is, a period during which citizenship has become ‘institutionalised’ (ibid). In Europe, this has presented educators with challenges about how young people may be prepared to become reflective, participative citizens, and empowered to engage with issues such as diversity, equality and social justice. In Northern Ireland, despite the ongoing instability of the political process, there is evidence of a genuine will to recognise and affirm diversity, and to create a more equal and democratic society. This is demonstrated through the recent inclusion of citizenship education in the Northern Ireland Curriculum for schools. While perceived as an exciting opportunity for teachers and pupils, it has been acknowledged that it also presents specific challenges for the acquisition and development of knowledge, resources and pedagogy. It also requires educators to reflect on their personal values and attitudes in relation to many ‘citizenship’ issues.

This paper focuses on student and beginning teachers in Northern Ireland, and considers in particular, the nature of their early engagement with citizenship. In doing so, it references findings from two research projects, one of which considers the implementation of the citizenship curriculum and another which investigates the values dimension of teacher education. It explores student teachers’ perceptions and understanding of the concept of citizenship education at different stages in their initial professional development, examines the nature of the preparation they receive to teach citizenship and reports on their early experiences teaching citizenship in the classroom. In reflecting on these different issues, the paper concludes by highlighting a number of factors which impact on the effectiveness of beginning teachers’ engagement with citizenship, including their personal biographies, the nature of their skills development, and the influence of different educational contexts.

Fu Anquan, Hunan Normal University

Zhao Qiong, Zhejiang Normal University

Teachers’ professionalism development is an important and popular tendency of the international teachers’ education reform as well as a main topic of teachers’ education practice. With the rapid social, economic and cultural development, China also steps up to keep its pace with the development of international teachers’ education and begin to make new experimental research on teachers’ education development. Thanks to the language environment, English education, in china, is different from any other area in the world. Hence, the EFL/EFT （ English as Foreign Language Learning/Teaching ） teacher professional development has been evolved with its own characteristics. The paper first makes an analysis on the connotation of the teachers profession and its history, pointing out the special nature of EFL/EFT teachers development in China, and further declares that the key point of EFL/EFT teachers professional development should be centered on teachers’ scientific language teaching theory understanding, their knowledge structure widening and self-perfecting teaching awareness arousing. The strategies of undertaking English teachers professional development are put forward at last, that is, English teacher should try to take class diary-based observation and take action research combined with school-based curriculum.

Wang Jing-Ru, National Pingtung University of Education

This study is intended to develop a set of indicators to assess elementary teachers’ quality in science teaching. A series of process was used to determine empirically the extent of consensus about the quality of elementary science teachers. That included literature analysis, penal meetings, and field observations followed by a two-round Delphi survey. The draft survey with 32 items was administered to 23 experts from various teacher education institutes to collect and distill knowledge through a structured process. Under each item, the experts were requested to express their opinions about the levels of importance and the extents of feasibility. Among 23 experts, 22 experts completed the whole process. The outcome of the research was a set of 36 items grouped into five competency categories, including understanding and practicing fundamental beliefs and knowledge, subject matter knowledge, general teaching knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and professional growth. In terms of the format of the indicators, in addition to the discussion of good quality of elementary science teaching, each indicator was expressed in the form of competencies and followed by three elementary science teaching examples to indicate three different levels of teaching performance: successful, partially successful and unsuccessful.

The draft of the ESTPI was field-tested with 16 student teachers who were involved in an elementary science methods course. The course lasted for one semester and involved student teachers learning in two very different sites, university and the school placement, with two teachers, university instructor and elementary science mentors. Student teachers’ professional growth in elementary science teaching was evaluated against the indicators of the ESTPI. A process of student teachers’ professional growth were indicated, for example, they understood and built effectively upon students’ interests and prior experiences, but had difficulties in alignment between teaching goals and assessment. Implications for the improvement of science teacher training program were presented.

Hensvold Inger, Stockholm Institute of Education

In this study digital portfolio is introduced as a tool to help student teachers in their metacognitive thinking and learning. 190 students answered (2006) a questionnaire with open questions about their learning in the first course in the teacher education at Stockholm Institute of Education. The students worked regularly in peer groups accompanied by feedback to each other´s drafts. They also judged their own learning process. Some of these responses have been analyzed. The students descriptions about teacher education in relation to digital portfolio is categorized in three categories: to document and reflect; parallel processes between teacher education and their future work as teachers; learning a new, digital, tool.

The result from this study resembles the outcome from an earlier study (2003) concerning preschool teachers. The study described how preschool teachers experienced their teacher education in relation to their work with children. 15 preschool teachers were interviewed four years after they obtained their teaching degree. Their experiences was presented in terms of three themes: personal and professional development due to working in small groups; new ways of thinking due to the problem-based approach and new ways of thinking due to the content of teacher education.

Both the students (2006) and the preschool teachers (2003) focused on the educational situation, the learning process and their personal development. The answers of the students and the preschool teachers could be related to general goals in the Swedish curriculum concerning the ability to work independently and reflect about their work; to cooperate and learn from others. The majority of the students (2006) described the digital portfolio as a relevant tool regarding the changing role of teachers.

Pang I Wah, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

Tao Sau Wai, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

The issue of teacher stress has received increased attention worldwide and in local schools and by the Government. The perceived stress of teachers has been coupled with the implementation of the education reform, one of which is the promotion of inclusive education in the region. The causes and coping of stress of individual teachers in their daily work in working with students with challenging behavior have not been well informed. This research aims to fill that gap and explore the impact of students’ behavioral and emotional problems on teacher stress. It will determine which emotional or behavioral aspects of students create stress in teachers. Eventually it is expected to develop an instrument that will enhance teachers’ awareness of their attitudes and needs when they are handling challenging students.. This study is part of a cross-national comparison of teacher stress and burnout related to emotional and behavioral problems of students. The current paper will report (1) the incidence of challenging student behaviour in classroom; (2) the level of perceived stress of teachers associated with various challenging behaviors; (3) how do other variables, such as teacher efficacy and negative attitudes towards students, explain the level of perceived stress associated with students with behavioral / emotional problems? (4) If possible, the concerned teacher stress among different school / national settings

Bodenhorn Nancy, Virginia Tech

Guidance and counseling in the U.S. has gone through many modifications. Historically grounded in career development for high school students, the profession currently incorporates career, academic, and personal/social development for all academic levels. The lines between these areas of development are superficial, and the commonality of potential future directions of school counseling is holistic development. Various movements within the profession are advocating for the profession to: increase its focus on academics and equity issues; return its focus to career development as the ultimate goal that incorporates the other areas; and/or serve as managers of external resources to provide personal counseling for the students and families who require this support. Some of the needs served by school counselors in U.S. schools may be applicable to students in Asian countries, others may be inappropriate. Research on the impact of guidance and counseling programs on student development and achievement is unfortunately in its infancy, yet is showing positive results. Therefore, this presentation will focus on the past, present, and future practices in school counseling based on both research and experience working with a variety of cultures. The presenter has twenty years of experience as a school counselor, four of which were at the International School Bangkok, and six years of teaching and researching school counseling at the university level.

Salite Ilga, Daugavpils University

Pipere Anita, Daugavpils University

The article describes the building of capacity of Institute of Sustainable Education in training for educational research aimed toward the sustainable development (SD) and education for sustainable development (ESD).

The paper reflects on the process of educational action research in teacher education oriented toward the creation of dialogical learning environment for educational research training. It shows the acquisition of research skills by in-service teachers from the Master degree program in Education.

The action research process in the context of several study courses is based on “cascade” approach to research training envisaging the following stages:

(1) Teacher’s offer for scientific dialogue:

The strategies of pilot research are demonstrated and students become the participants of the research. They learn the course content and usage of several research tools (e.g. Cmaps, V-diagrams). Teacher presents the example of scientific article containing the results of research where students have participated.

(2) Students’ offer for scientific dialogue:

Students analyze the article using the mastered tools of scientific analysis and complement the article with their own comments and conclusions.

(3) Teacher’s offer for scientific dialogue:

Teacher creates the design for the qualitative evaluation of students’ reflections on the article and the scientific review on students’ methodological perspectives and research strategies. Teacher encourages the students to create their own research design using the acquired analytical tools, content of the study course, and individual experience obtained during this action research.

(4) Students’ offer for scientific dialogue:

Students critically evaluate their own research design from the methodological point of view, conduct the pilot research, and analyze its’ results.

Therefore, the students acquire different research skills, become the research experts themselves, and identify the elements of SD/ESD in their experience and encountered articles. This experience helps to construct their new attitude to master thesis in education and research as such.

Alcorn Noeline, The University of Waikato

Teacher eduction has been undergoing a transformation from a practice-based to a research based profession. But there are a range of challenges for those charged with developing a research culture in the field. Staff appointed for their professional expertise have to undergo a new apprencticeship as researchers. The transition is easier if they can perceive research as professional enquiry which will enhance practice. But while calls for educational policy and practice to be evidence-based have become insistent, there is ongoing contestation of the purpose and value of educational research. This paper addresses the scepticism and criticism of research from practitioners, politicians and policy makers and from within the research community itself. It examines the impact of national research assessment processes on educational research and explores the wider call for evidence-based practice internationally. It then draws attention to three research studies in teacher education which are possible models for a principled and methodologically inclusive way forward and develops a set of principles for guiding future development in teacher education and educational research.

Wang Wenfeng, The University of Hong Kong

This paper will report on a study which explores teachers' experience in the implementation of a new English language curriculum in China. Teachers' experience is defined in three dimensions: teacher beliefs, teacher attitudes and concerns, and classroom teaching. This is a qualitative study adopting a case study method. Six teachers from two schools in Guangzhou city will be the participants. Data will be collected through document analysis, semi-structured interview and classroom observation. The study will look into how teachers perceive the new curriculum, how they teach according to the new curriculum, what factors are affecting their decision-making in the implementation process, and how teachers think the curriculum should be revised. A model for implementing curriculum change in the Chinese context will be proposed in this paper.

Ee Jessie, Nanyang Technological University

Lee Ong Kim, Nanyang Technological University

Lim Swee Eng, Audrey, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

Are teachers consciously aware of the strategies for enhancing the metacognitive processes of their students? To a large extent teachers' abilities to motivate and empower students to self-regulate their own learning processes is and has been the cause for concern among many educators even to date. Educators must focus on teaching students how to think, how to learn and to take active control over their own learning so that they are responsible for their own learning outcome. In this paper, a comparative study of teachers’ knowledge of metacognitive instruction in Hong Kong and Singapore were examined. MANOVA and a regression analysis were used to examine the patterns of teachers' knowledge of metacognitive instruction. The implications from the findings will be drawn with a view to enhance teacher education programmes.

Zhao Qing, Vanderbilt University

Cobb Paul, Vanderbilt University

Looking at students’ work has increased in popularity in mathematics teacher professional development as a promising means of supporting teachers’ learning (Ball & Cohen, 1999; Kazemi & Franke, 2003; Little, 2003; Stein, 2001). Because students’ work constitutes an indispensable aspect of teachers’ instructional practices, making it a focus of activity is conjectured to enhance the pragmatic value of professional development in relation to the teachers’ classroom practices. In addition, discussions of students’ written mathematical solutions are considered likely to give rise to opportunities for teachers to gain insights into the diversity of students’ reasoning that would be useful when they attempt to build on their students’ solutions while conducting whole class discussions.

The use of students’ work reflects a recent research effort to relate professional development activities to teachers’ experiences, needs and practices that transpire in the setting of the classroom (Ball&Cohen, 1999; Nelson, 1997; Borko, 2004; Schifter, 1998). However, up to this point, little conceptual work has been done to spell out the theoretical underpinning of using students’ work in professional development, and more importantly, of supporting teachers’ learning in professional development in relation to their classroom practices. The analysis in the proposed paper will draw on a long-term collaboration with a group of middle-school mathematics teachers in an urban district in USA to begin the conceptualization of the challenges involved in this matter. In doing so, I adopt a sociocultural perspective to understand people’s activities across multiple settings with an emphasis on artifacts (e.g., students’ work) that function as reifications of practices (Wenger, 1999). More specifically, I will build on Beach’s (1999) notion of consequential transitions to conceptualize the role of students’ work in supporting changes in teachers’ classroom practices via the means of professional development.

Tang Wai-yan, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

‘Liberal Studies’ has been fervently promoted as an initiative aiming at redeeming the quality of education in Hong Kong for the past year. This paper is the result of a critical analysis of its discursive formation process and particularly explores how teachers’ role has been defined. An extensive study based on government documents and media both printed and electronic will be conducted and analyzed. It is observed as revealed by the current discourse that the role of teachers has been shaped within a positivist paradigm, which conceptualizes knowledge construction and the notion of teaching and learning within an input-process-output model. Consequently, teachers only serve to implement what has been passed down, a role likening to a technician meant not for provoking thought. It is argued that the capacity of leading thought provoking dialogue, which a technician is by nature not able to accomplish, is the fundamental prerequisite for teachers who are entrusted to teach the subject of ‘Liberal Studies’. This paper argues that the notion of ‘Liberal Studies’ has to be re-conceptualized within the post-positivist paradigm which considers knowledge as something that emerges inter-subjectively. It entails that the encounter between teachers and students plays a pivotal role in co-constructing the world. Knowledge constructed in such a way implies the importance of what Gadamer has coined the ‘fusion of horizons’, based on which Mikhail Bakhtin’s and Martin Buber’s dialogism will be used under the umbrella term ‘dialogic hermeneutics’ to assert that the key of cultivating the spirit of ‘liberal studies’ in our students is an ethical rather than a technical issue. In short, in response to the positivist’s deficiency in shedding light on how ‘Liberal Studies’ should be oriented, a post-positivist way of thinking is proposed and is regarded more illuminating in terms of its emphasis on divergent thinking, which celebrates dialogue – the breeding ground for liberal inquiry, rather than merely convergent thinking, which tends to reach a closure in a monologic way. The former encourages the development of teacher leadership while the latter heads towards an opposite direction.

Feng Jiping, UNESCO-APEID Associated Center, East China Normal University

Ren Youqun, East China Normal University

Quality is at the heart of education and teachers play a crucial role to provide quality education. Currently, China has more than 10 million school teachers, supporting the world’s largest education system. After more than one hundred years of development, teacher education in China, as a changing system, has come a long way and is now experiencing a crucial transition period in the context of globalization and China’s social and economic reform. This article first reviews the new developments of teacher education in China, then it examines the emerging challenges, discuss the major problems with the existing teacher education for development. Finally, based on its analysis,the article argues about the policy implications for strategic reform.

Akita Kiyomi, The University of Tokyo

Foreign researchers introduced lesson study in Japan as a way to support teachers’ professional development to their coutries (Stigler & Heibert, 2002; Lewis, 2002; Arani & Matoba, 2002; Watanabe, 2002; Fernandez, 2004). Most of them introduced it in the form of an established typical learning system for Japanese teachers. Nevertheless, the essence of lesson study varies markedly from school to school. In most schools, lesson study works well for training novice teachers, but it does not work well for the life-long professional learning of experienced teachers. To adapt lesson study for life-long learning, two studies were conducted. Study 1 was a descriptive study of the actual situation concerning lesson study and collegiality in Japan, and Study 2 was an action research of an innovative lesson study method in pilot elementary schools. In Study 1, 765 teachers at 23 elementary schools and 12 junior-high schools in two middle-sized cities answered a questionnaire. The results showed that veteran teachers had no opportunity to show their lessons to colleagues; the teachers’ level of satisfaction with lesson study was predicted by the frequency of lesson study in one year and the frequency of discussing lessons in daily conversations with colleagues. Study 2 involved action research in three elementary schools for two years, comparing them with control schools in the same city, using a questionnaire about the teachers’ discourse related to lesson study and the pupils’ attitude with regard to participating in the lessons. The action research involved transforming lesson study from a transmission model to a collaborative knowledge-building model. Consequently, an innovative learning theory for teachers and a learning system that they could use in their schools were designed. The manner in which teachers observed lessons and how they discussed lesson study changed. Moreover, the pupil data showed that pupils in the pilot schools participated in lessons more actively than did pupils in the control schools.

Garner Philip, University of Northampton

Rose Richard, University of Northampton

The role of a school-based practicum for international students within Masters-level courses in Education is not widespread in England. Whilst most programmes rely on access to schools or other educational settings in order to provide an essential context and a means of linking theory with practice, few provide a work-based component which is formally assessed - in spite of the widely acknowledged benefits of school-based postgraduate courses (Robinson & Sebba, 2003). Meanwhile, such approaches have become statutory in initial teacher certification in England (TTA, 2003) and in many other countries (Jones, 2000; Clarke, Power & Hine, 2001; Blake & Monahan, 2006)

This paper reports on the experiences of a small group of full-time students from China all of whom are enrolled on an MA course in Education at an English university. The course requires all overseas students to undertake a long-term placement in a local school. The case-study views of six students were gathered using semi-structured interviews, based around six broad themes: ‘first impressions’, ‘settling-in’, ‘cultural distinctions and counterpoints’, impact on student-learning, links to generic MA experience and importance to the overall international school experience. The study indicates that such approaches are regarded as both an attractive and academically valuable element of M-level provision. The participants viewed the experience as being both of intrinsic and generic benefit to them. But they also believe that such opportunities need to be offered within a supportive framework, in which explicit links are made between any practical placement and other course requirements. Further, they suggest that the choice of work-setting for a placement is of crucial importance to success and imply that University courses which have embedded and extended links with partner schools and other vocational settings are more likely to result in a positive student experience.

Lin Sheau-Wen, National Pingtung University of Education

Tai Tsui-Hua, Raey Guang Elementary School

The purpose of this study was to describe three elementary science mentor teachers’ mentoring process and their own development during a year-long professional development intervention in the form of a mentor teacher study group directed toward fostering educative mentoring for student teachers. The collaborative action research was utilized to involve the mentor teachers to inquiry their mentoring. The database consisted of field notes of weekly meetings, interviews on mentor teacher, and copies of mentor and student teachers’ written works on mentoring. Triangulation was conducted to enhance the validity. During the mentoring, the mentor teachers interviewed student teachers to know their background and experience for planning mentorship, provided observation schedules for student teachers to observe mentors’ science teaching, discussed student teachers’ science lesson plans, and observed student teachers’ science lessons and gave feedback. The mentor teachers reported that serving as mentors enhanced their collaboration with other members of this study group and added new instructional strategies to their teaching repertoires. The mentor teachers reflected and discussed on both their science instruction and mentoring that were beneficial to mentors, student teachers, and their students. This study contributed to the research on educating student teachers to become real practitioners and on the mentor teachers’ development.

Perselli Victoria, Kingston University

Davis John, Kingston University

Lancaster-Smith Gregory, Kingston University

At the School of Education, Kingston University (UK) we have much experience in designing and teaching courses which enable educators and policy makers to research their own professional practice, whether in initial teacher education, continuing professional development or across the disciplines. Until recently this has centred largely on the English education system and UK education policy. Expanding the reach of our work to reflect the needs, interests and desires of clients beyond this particular geopolitical map, or of those whose research foci involve cross-cultural exchange, has been an exciting challenge.

In our presentation we will compare and contrast two models of Masters level courses that aim to respond to current demands in terms of themes and issues of education in cross-cultural or international settings, as well as to provoke critical, reflexive analysis of their content. The first of these, MA Education (English Language Teaching) reflects an expressed need among students, teachers and educators for opportunities to develop their capability to teach the English Language, in their own setting, to a high level of pedagogy and practice. In designing this course we have located ELT within a contextual framework of the English National Curriculum, current and recent historical practices of English teaching in the UK and key interrelated areas such as teaching for inclusion and multimedia developments. The second, MA Education (International), mindful of the many controversies and dilemmas of policy makers and practitioners in educative settings (Education, the Social Sciences, the ‘Caring Professions’), offers similar themes, but with a particular emphasis on the nature and role of education in matters of global concern. Both courses provide enhanced opportunities to develop appropriate research skills such as self-study, action research and comparative methods. Our presentation aims to unpack some of our experiences to date and invite audience observation and critique.

Hameedy Mansoor A., University of Alzahra

Jafary Roqieh, University of Alzahra

From a constructivist perspective, teacher education programs need to help with the development of a scientistic attitude in teachers in order to facilitate such a development in students. What is meant by "scientistic" is that which is associated with scientists. Scientists are constructivists by the very nature of their work -construction of knowledge at the species level- although they may consider themselves of a different philosophical persuasion. Philosophical persuasions in teacher education programs, and in teachers themselves, are determining factors in defining educational goals and influential in the utilization and promotion of different instructional methods. The conventional methods are least constructivist as they are reductionistic and one-dimensional, and emphasize bottom-top processing. The post-conventional methods, on the other hand, are much more constructivist in nature, as they are holistic and multidimensional, and emphasize top-bottom processing. Hence, their use both requires and promotes a scientistic attitude among teachers and students alike, and could lead to higher affective-behavioral-cognitive achievements (cognaffective behaviors!).

The performance of the 20 million strong student population of Iran in different arenas has provided the Ministry of Education with the incentive to toy with the idea of educational reform and instructional improvement. One medium through which such changes have been introduced is the in-service training program wherein the new methods of teaching/learning are introduced, albeit within a conventional setting! However, despite the efforts and the expenditures, the new methods have not caught on and only some teachers use their renditions of the constructivist approaches in their classrooms. Therefore, additional effort, through comparative/evaluative studies, is needed to show the practicality and effectiveness of these approaches versus tat of the conventional methods. The present study has been such an effort.

Two selected classrooms using the two approaches were observed, tested, and interviewed on multidimensionality of their achievement and higher “cognaffective” behaviors. Results show the relative supremacy of the cooperative method over the direct method of teaching in all, except the affective, dimensions. It could be that the attitudes have not turned fully scientistic, and the new methods are not fully internalized.