Research-based and hands-on practical teacher education: an attempt to combine the two

Abstract

This article, based on the analysis of responses given by 27 students in initial teacher education, gives an account of how education theory can be conceived by students as relevant to their teaching practice. Research on teacher education in many countries has revealed that students regard theory and practice to be inconsistent or to belong to different worlds in initial teacher education. This may have a potentially negative effect on the teachers' opportunities for future professional development, as such development should be based on the ability to view one's own teaching practice from a critical, theory-and research-based perspective. In the research and development project reported in this article, the PIL-project, the students' teaching practice was chosen as the pivotal point for all the other activities involved in the teacher education programme. Results indicate that when questions emerge from the students' own experience, theory is often found useful in discussing and understanding their practical experiences. The results further show that the students' choice of theory when discussing their teaching practice is eclectic. Students tend to choose theory with direct relevance to their daily tasks in the classrooms. The implication for initial teacher education is that the educational theory taught should more often address the immediate challenges faced by the students doing their teaching practice.

Grounding Teacher Education in Practice Around the World: An Examination of Teacher Education Coursework in Teacher Education Programs in Finland, Norway, and the United States

“…Program 2a was engaged in a major redesign shortly before our data collection, emphasizing ways of strengthening the links between coursework and field placement (Engelien, Eriksen, & Jakhelln, 2015). Program 2b has employed a cooperative partnership model with their placement schools since 1998 (Haugaløkken & Ramberg, 2007), including experimenting with concurrent versus interval-based practice periods (Waege & Haugaløkken, 2013). Furthermore, the programs were all (a) university-based teacher education programs that (b) prepared teachers at the secondary level (Grades 8-13), (c) were situated in urban areas, and (d) were seen as rather selective.…”

Opportunities to analyse pupils’ learning within coursework on campus: a remaining challenge in teacher education

“…Both Norwegian programmes have worked to ensure a closer connection between fieldwork and coursework (Engelien, Eriksen, and Jakhelln 2015;Waege and Haugaløkken 2013). Compared to the the Nordic countries, American teacher education is characterised by great diversity (Zeichner 2016).…”

Knowledge Discourses and Coherence in Professional Education

“…Teacher education is characterised by a variety of knowledge discourses. Examples include discourses that emphasise research-based education (Afdal & Spernes, 2018;Munthe & Rogne, 2015), professional relevance and practical knowledge (Afdal, 2017;Waege & Haugaløkken, 2013), and the importance of schooling as a tool for social justice (Cochran-Smith, 2010; Pantić, 2017). In educational policy, knowledge is increasingly used as a policy tool to shape both teacher education and notions of teacher professionalism (Mausethagen, Prøitz, & Skedsmo, 2017;Mausethagen & Smeby, 2016).…”