Professionalism And Teacher Education

This book explores how educators are proactively working to reclaim teacher professionalism by engaging in exemplary practice and promoting quality education for all. It examines voices in contemporary Australian teacher education and how professionalism can contribute to achieving the multiplicity of purposes in education. The work of contemporary teachers and teacher educators, and perceptions about this work, have changed significantly. In recent times, governments have identified key issues linked to the quality of teachers, as presented in multiple inquiries, creating shifts in public policy and increasing regulation. Educators must work towards improving public and policy maker perceptions of teaching as a profession. Teacher educators make an important contribution in engaging in ongoing scholarship and debate that examine research and practice and speak back to managerial discourses on professionalism. It is through this work that educators shape and re-shape understanding of what it means to be a professional.

Papers presented at the 39th Annual Conference of the Indian Association of Teacher Educators, held at Allahabad during 10-11 February 2006.

Teachers from further and higher education are rarely considered together. This book explores the differences and similarities that exist between these groups. It provides an up-to-date account of developments and brings together arguments and debates about both groups of teachers to challenge some strongly held beliefs. Focusing on aspects of teachers' professionalism, Jocelyn Robson considers what 'professionalism' may mean and ways in which 'professionalism' has been studied. She goes on to consider: professional standards, training and qualifications professional identities and communities opportunities and strategies for professional development and renewal key debates in the literature and the most significant policy developments the main challenges currently facing the teaching profession in further and higher education.

This book provides a wide-ranging review of the current state of teacher education, with contributions by an international group of teacher educators. It focuses on issues confronting teacher educators today and in the coming decade, including the impact of globalization on the profession of teaching, and the need for teacher education to adapt to changing accountability requirements, and establish a set of minimum standards that qualify a person to teach.

The complexity of the various forms of knowledge and practices that are encountered by teachers, university lecturers, teacher trainers, student teachers, policy makers and researchers, demands careful thought and reflection. Professional Knowledge in Music Teacher Education focuses on how knowledge is understood, what theories are held and the related assumptions that are made about teachers and learners, as well as how theory and practice can be understood, with useful and imaginative connections made between the two in music teacher education. Internationally renowned contributors address a number of fundamental questions designed to take the reader to the heart of current debates around knowledge, practice, professionalism, and learning and teaching in music as well as considering how all these elements are influenced by economic, cultural and social forces. The book demonstrates how research can inform pedagogical approaches in music teacher education; methods, courses and field experiences, and prepare teachers for diverse learners from a range of educational settings. The book will appeal to those interested in the development of appropriate professional knowledge and pedagogic practices in music teacher education.

Values and Professional Knowledge in Teacher Education provides distinctive insights into potential strengths to develop trainee teachers’ values within school-based training. Looking at the personal moral and political values of trainees as fundamental to strategic and critical professional knowledge, the book considers a key question about training contexts: to what extent is teacher education embedded in the purpose and rationale of the school so that trainees’ values, and consequently their autonomy and identity, can flourish? The book is research focused and offers case studies that offer vicarious experiences which resonate with the professional needs and concerns of teacher educators. The book opens with a reflective narrative on the experience of a teacher educator in England. Further chapters explore international perspectives on values and professional knowledge in teacher education, applied theoretical principles for developing the relationship between trainee teachers’ values and their professional knowledge, the impact of university and school-based training contexts on the development of values-based professional knowledge, and the challenge of a values-based professional knowledge to current teacher education practice. Values and Professional Knowledge in Teacher Education will be of great interest to academics and post-graduate students in the field of education, university and school-based teacher educators, trainee teachers, researchers, policymakers and school leaders.

This book promotes the idea that professionalism among teachers should be marked by democratic relations, rather than by managerialism and performance management. It provides a thorough investigation of issues around the participation of trainee teachers in the Lifelong Learning Sector, by reflecting on their experiences and questioning how well initial teacher education prepares teachers as professional practitioners in the sector. The reflexive nature of the book promotes a deep discussion of the nature of professionalism, drawing upon the works of John Dewey, Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu, and places initial teacher education in the Lifelong Learning Sector firmly within the policy and ideological context of regulation, audit and control. It also illuminates pertinent discussions around teacher agency through a consideration of confidence, excellence, and routinised practices. Finally, the book takes us ‘through the looking glass’ to reveal the tensions within the teacher education curriculum as it prepares trainee teachers for a ready-made world, whilst at the same time attempting to encourage principles of social justice, inclusive practice and education as a democratic endeavour. It will be compelling reading for students and researchers working in Education and Sociology, particularly those with an interest in lifelong learning and teacher training.

This book focuses on the professional development of teacher educators, forming a definitive and expert resource for all those interested in this area of professional learning. It offers an in-depth overview of existing international research and professional development initiatives in the area of teacher educators' learning. The book highlights relevant research on the topic, identifies the lessons learnt from recent initiatives, and indicates ways forward for teacher educators' professional learning internationally. It provides a unique combination of six years of pan-European collaborative work, resulting in a book with clear relevance and appeal to both academics and practitioners internationally. The book conceptualizes teacher educators' professional development, in order to deepen understanding of how and why learning occurs and conducts empirical research into the professional development needs of teacher educators internationally using quantitative and qualitative methods in order to redress gaps in existing research. This book will be of great interest to academics, researchers and post-graduate students in the fields of teacher education and professional development and learning.