The Battle Against Being Educated

This small-scale qualitative research inquiry investigates how a small sample of experienced teachers dealt with disruptive students in their classes in the Lifelong Learning Sector (LLS) in West Yorkshire. I wanted to continue my earlier writing on these issues by listening to what teachers said about their challenging experiences on the front line of the classroom interfacing with negative student behaviour. I firstly discuss a research instrument for collecting this data from these teachers’ experiences, and also explore their strategies for dealing with disruptive student behaviours. It seemed very important to hear from practitioners rather than relying on what textbooks advised. Previously I was interested in the experiences of trainee tutors facing these difficulties; in this piece I am more concerned with how experienced tutors deal with these unpleasant circumstances. I outline the findings that this questionnaire elicited in terms of key negative incidents that these teachers had experienced in class and the strategies they had deployed to overcome the social and emotional challenges of disruptive student behaviour. I briefly summarise these tutors’ perspectives on the support they felt they did or did not receive on these issues. I conclude with an analysis of the findings and question the problematics of this research, its meaning, validity and possible application in other teaching contexts.

Disruptive Students' Exchange Programme : a case study in two secondary schools

South Africa’s Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) has put forward ‘open learning’ as an educational approach to addressing issues of access and success in the post-school education and training sector. This chapter investigates the possibilities and limitations of online assessment to advance DHET’s open learning agenda in the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sector. Adopting a social justice lens, this chapter explores how online assessment has the potential to encourage as well as constrain ‘parity of participation’ (Fraser,1995) from an economic, cultural and political perspective. A small empirical study involving interviews with four staff members from Tshwane North TVET College’s Open Learning Unit and four students is employed to illuminate the themes of social justice. The findings indicate that online assessment has the potential to aid economic justice by creating the conditions for working individuals to improve their qualifications whilst working, but lack of access to material resources, such as suitable technologies and data, can be a deterrent. Culturally, in relation to pedagogy, the findings illustrate the potential for online assessment to support learning by providing immediate feedback and creating opportunities for self-assessment, although academic integrity surfaces as a major concern. Politically, the findings indicate how a lack of national policy can hinder the successful operationalisation of online assessment at the course and institutional level. The chapter highlights the need to develop policies that correspond with the philosophies and practices of online assessment and open learning. It proposes that principles of open learning, combined with the affordances of online assessment, allows for an opportunity to explore different modes of assessments fromthe fit-for-purpose perspective.

The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of the classroom management challenges novice teachers experience in their first year of teaching. In addition, novice teachers experience challenges because of the differences they face in the theory they have studied and the actual class situation that they have to manage. For this purpose, a basic qualitative research design was employed, and in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with novice elementary-secondary school teachers using purposive sampling. The novice teachers who attained a degree in teacher education did their first job in public elementary schools in Lahore and had less than two years of experience, which was the sample of this study. It was found that the majority of the teachers opted for this profession by choice and were satisfied with their job. It was found that they have learned classroom management in teacher education programs, such as developing lesson plans, managing class routines and class rules, monitoring students’ work, and involving students through class participation and activities. The novice teachers developed class rules, prepared in class with content preparation and planned activities, established rapport with students, and roamed around students to monitor their learning. However, novice teachers faced challenges related to students’ behaviors because of high-class strength, unwillingness to learn, disruptive students, and frequent absenteeism from class. Novice teachers could be facilitated by providing support to address these challenges.

Background: This study examined teacher educators’ perceptions of play-based learning in the context of university-based teacher education programmes in Palestine. Methods: Using a cross-sectional, multi-method design, we explored factors relating to teacher educators’ capability, opportunity and motivation to incorporate play-based learning into their practice. Thirty-six staff from four Palestinian universities completed an online survey and 17 were interviewed. Results: Teacher educators recognise the value of play-based learning and are motivated to apply this pedagogical approach. However, attempts to incorporate play-based learning into their practices is affected by insufficient knowledge and skills to apply play-based learning in practical contexts. Furthermore, social cues, cultural norms and physical challenges currently limit their opportunity to adopt play-based approaches. Conclusion: Our findings highlight that Palestinian teacher educators are motivated to embrace play-based learning as a pedagogical approach and recognise the importance of using play-based learning in educational practices. The findings can inform future professional development programs for teacher educators.

The book offers a view on the role of teacher educators as transformation agents of language and literacy practices in South African classrooms and PGCE/teaching programmes. The book explores the way in which the authors themselves as teacher educators/facilitators and researchers show how multilingualism and multiliteracies can be curated by working with different modalities and exposure to different school spaces across the economic spectrum in South Africa. The book offers a view on how teacher educators and pre- service teachers can build collaborative relationships with each other in developing creative ways in which their own positioning and knowledge aid in developing linguistically rich learning environments, breaking down the status quo of coloniality in education. Through the perspective of ‘third’ spaces (Guiterrez, 2008) the authors demonstrate ways in which pluriversality (Mignolo, 2013) can emerge through collaborative language practices in the classroom, which by and large paves the way for decolonised education in South Africa.

School Reform: The District Policy Implications of the Effective Schools Literature

<p>Intercultural language teaching and learning (ILTL) in Asian contexts is an area of growing interest. Reflecting this growth, this study investigated the viability of adopting an intercultural stance in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction at tertiary level in Indonesia. The research was carried out in three phases. Phase 1 was a document analysis of Indonesia’s English language education policy (ELEP). Phase 2 was a case study which investigated the ELEP underlying two English programmes at a Private University of Indonesia (PUI). It focused on examining the construction of culture and language in curricula of two English programmes, teachers’ beliefs and practices, and students’ beliefs. Phase 3 was an autoethnographic study of my own ILTL in one of the English programmes in PUI. The data was collected from records of my autobiography and one-semester of reflective teaching practice. The findings of the three phases showed challenges and opportunities of cultivating interculturality in the context. First, the findings of Phase 1 revealed how the need for cultivating respect for cultural diversity – for political unity and social harmony – within the country influenced the ways in which culture and language were constructed in the ELEP. Since policies relating to cultural and linguistic diversity at the national level were influenced by political agenda, they also highlighted an essentialist view of culture. Second, the findings of Phase 2 echoed the findings of Phase 1. The data revealed deeply ingrained essentialist beliefs about culture, and a separation of culture and language in the design and implementation of the curriculum. However, some teaching staff aspired to cultivate intercultural understanding and to help students to understand their own culture and other cultures. Third, the findings of Phase 3 showed the complexity of implementing ILTL. This included challenges in the forms of linguistic goals imposed by the curriculum, no in-house community of practice, and multifaceted classroom behaviour. Despite this, the opportunities for cultivating interculturality were also present in the forms of teaching resources that reflect global and local linguistic and cultural diversity, teacher’s questions that prompt students to decentre, and various activities for students to be active in their own learning (such as group or pair discussions, rehearsals, and role-plays). On top of that, this phase revealed the complexity of collecting evidence of students’ learning and my ethical dilemmas due to various philosophical views embedded in my identities, the teaching context, and the construct of ILTL. Through its three-phase approach, the study brought outsider and insider dimensions to the task of understanding the fertility of the ground for intercultural teaching in the context of tertiary English classroom in Indonesia. It revealed that the implementation of ILTL can be initiated by teachers who are willing to take an intercultural stance; however, they also need support from community and policy makers to smooth the process and maximise the outcome. It is hoped that the study can inform the work of teachers, teacher educators, and policy makers regarding what it means to be an intercultural learner and teacher in tertiary education in Indonesia and elsewhere.</p>

1 Literature reviewOne of the important areas of study in second language teacher education (SLTE) research is the exploration of cognitions1 or mental lives (Borg, 2003) which has generated a great deal of interest since the 1970s. Throughout recent decades the cognitive dimension of teaching has been emphasized. The emphasis is mainly given to thinking and cognitions underlying their classroom instructional practices (Borg, 2006; Zheng, 2009). In fact, teacher education research has made significant contributions to the study of beliefs by examining the complex interactive relationship between teacher beliefs and classroom instructional practices so as to improve language teacher education (Borg, 2003; Gabillon, 2005; Phipps and Borg, 2007; Richards, 2008; Zheng, 2009; Wright, 2010; Busch, 2010; Phipps, 2010; Kuzborska, 2011; Borg, 2011; Inozu, 2011; Kelly, 2011). In this respect, an increasing amount of research has examined how beliefs are somehow reflected in classroom practices and how these cognitions influence and/or guide both pedagogical decisions and actions in classrooms (see, for example, Borg, 2003, 2006). Rather, teachers do in classrooms is in some way influenced by they actually think about L2 learning and teaching (Borg, 2009). Teachers' cognitions seem to have an influential effect on the way they teach, or rather, beliefs guide their classroom practices, as McDonough (1995: 9) suggested what we believe we are doing, we pay attention to, we think is important, how we choose to behave, how we prefer to solve problems, form the basis for our personal decisions as to how to proceed. However, beliefs are not always necessarily reflected in classroom practices (Phipps and Borg, 2007; Borg, 2009), that is, instructional practices may not sometimes be consistent with their own beliefs. In short, beliefs are viewed as a key aspect in SLTE and have recently become an important research area. Undoubtedly, this research has generated significant pedagogical implications for both pre-service and in-service teacher education. What is generally accepted so far in the research literature about the relationship between teacher cognitions and classroom instructional practices is summarized as follows (Borg, 2009: 3):- teachers' cognitions can be powerfully influenced by their own experiences as learners;- these cognitions influence and how teachers learn during teacher education;- they act as a filter through which teachers interpret new information and experience;- they may outweigh the effects of teacher education in influencing teachers do in the classroom;- they can be deep-rooted and resistant to change;- they can exert a persistent long-term influence on instructional practices;- they are, at the same time, not always reflected in teachers do in the classroom;- they interact bi-directionally with experience (i.e. beliefs influence practices but practices can also lead to changes in beliefs).Research on learning to teach which involves a complex developmental process has mainly focused on beliefs and perceptions (Johnson, 1994; Raths and McAninch, 2003), previous learning experiences within formal language classrooms (Velez-Rendon, 2006) and challenges of initial instructional practices during the practicum (Hudson et al, 2008), among other issues.Where do beliefs come from? The overall conclusion that can be drawn from the current SLTE research literature is that beliefs generally derive from their own learning experiences as language learners within formal classrooms (Pajares, 1992; Velez-Rendon, 2006; Ellis, 2006) - through apprenticeship of observation (Borg, 2004)-, early teaching experiences and teacher training courses (Popko, 2005) which significantly influence the way they view and approach teaching (Woods, 1996), even though other sources or factors that also contribute to the formation of cognitions are as follows: teaching experiences of works best in the classes (Mattheoudakis, 2007), principles derived from an approach or method (Richards and Lockhart, 1994) and knowledge sharing with colleagues (Sengupta and Xiao, 2002). …

Previous work on new teacher professional identity has focused on identity as a process of negotiation between individual and contextual factors. These negotiations are often filled with a struggle between personal agency and structures that prevent the enactment of an ideal professional self. This study introduces and discusses three teacher professional identity orientations (self, classroom, and dialogic) and the implications of each orientation on a teacher’s professional identity and classroom practice. While each focal teacher featured in the study drew from similar sources of professional identity (experiences as students, classroom practical experience, and theory/research), the teachers varied in the degree of importance accorded to each identity source. This variation led to differences in approach to their roles as teachers as well as differences in their work with students. Using a qualitative, comparative case study methodology to highlight features of each professional identity orientation, this study provides evidence of discourse related to each orientation and discusses implications of identity orientation in each case study teacher’s classroom practice. After the discussion and analysis of the data, the author offers recommendations for teacher educators (pre-service and in-service) and researchers related to understandings of professional identity development and implications for the work of pre-service teacher education and continuing professional development.

In an effort to navigate the treacherous path between professionalism and social relevancy, this essay takes up an area of professional philosophy — epistemology — with the intention of reclaiming the integrative role John Dewey held for philosophy and classroom practice. Deron Boyles asserts that epistemology can and should represent an area of inquiry that is relevant and useful for philosophy of education, especially as it develops classroom practices that foster inquiry. He specifically seeks to revive Dewey’s conception of warranted assertibility in an effort to show the value of fallibilist epistemology in practical and social teaching and learning contexts. By highlighting the distinctions between traditional epistemology and Dewey’s conception of knowing, Boyles demonstrates that epistemology has value insofar as it highlights a more useful, instrumentalist theory of knowing that is applicable to classroom practice.

This study focuses on a particular type of knowledge which is referred to throughout as tacit knowledge and has been identified as a personal form of knowledge, which plays a key role in the practice and professional development of teachers. In the context of initial teacher education tacit knowledge is important to consider as what student teachers are learning and how they are learning it is of current, pressing concern to initial teacher education in England. The role of and access to tacit knowledge in student teacher learning were investigated using a case study approach employing stimulated recall interviews wherein mentors were asked to reflect upon their teaching and explain their teaching actions. Stimulated recall interviews involved student teachers taking on the role of interviewer. Thematic analysis of data revealed that student teachers probed key teaching episodes and encouraged mentors to reveal complex decision making which may otherwise have remained undisclosed. Main findings show that both student teachers and experienced teachers see tacit knowledge as useful in the learning to teach process. Interviews reveal that observable teaching actions had complex underlying reasoning and this was elicited via objective-led dialogue between student teacher and mentor, post-teaching. Student teachers were able to independently select teaching events to examine further, and were able to understand their mentor’s actions and judgements more deeply as a result of stimulated recall interviewing. The implications arising out of this study include a need for change to observation and debriefing practices in school, with student teachers and mentors becoming more aware of the value and purpose of tacit knowledge. The benefits of student teachers being instrumental in initiating and asking questions which can elicit experienced teachers’ tacit knowledge are clear; and findings show the potential for student teachers to become more pivotal in their own learning. Where stimulated recall interviews were used mentors were encouraged to reveal embedded reasoning underpinning their classroom practice.

The implementation of technology enhanced learning in higher education is often associated with changes to academic work. This article reports on a study of staff experiences with curriculum development and teaching in multiple modes of blended and online learning in a Bachelor of Education degree. The findings indicate that the changes experienced by these teacher educators were significant but not wholesale. More specifically, the findings highlight three particular areas of change that impacted on their role as teacher educators: changed pedagogical practices, particularly in staff-student communication, interaction and relationship building with students; increasing workloads associated with flexible delivery; and changed needs for staff capacity building related to issues of quality in technology enhanced learning.

Learning and teaching languages in technology-mediated environments : why modes and meaning making matter

This case study analyzes how a Taiwanese EFL teacher participating in a U.S. based MATESOL program made sense of systemic functional linguistics (SFL) and genre based pedagogy in designing and reflecting on literacy instruction for EFL learners in Taiwan. Using longitudinal ethnographic methods, the findings indicate that this teacher’s conceptualization of grammar shifted from a traditional sentence-level, form-focused perspective to a more functional understanding operating in interconnected ways across genre and register features of texts. This shift occurred as she developed an ability to use SFL to discover how language works in children’s literature. However, the degree to which this teacher was able to use SFL and genre based pedagogy in classroom practice was influenced by the mandated curriculum framework and assessment practices in the context of where she taught when she returned to Taiwan. The implications of this study relate to re-conceptualizing grammar in EFL instruction and teacher education in Asian contexts.