Irish physical education cooperating teachers’ experiences of learning to become a ‘teacher of teachers’

This article presents case studies detailing the learning trajectories of two physical education (cooperating) teachers as they strive to establish and maintain their identity as competent and confident supervisors to pre-service teachers on school placement. The cooperating teachers who participated in the study share their experiences in attempting to construct a professional identity within the school placement triad. Lave and Wenger’s (1991) theory of situated learning and the concept of legitimate peripheral participation were employed to investigate each of the cooperating teacher’s journeys in their attempt to shape their professional identity through participation in a variety of professional learning communities. The data revealed that the cooperating teachers experienced various forms of legitimate peripheral participation and, as a result, their learning trajectories and attempts to construct professional identities were diverse. The cooperating teachers’ learning did not always follow a positive trajectory, often meeting obstacles, resulting in the teachers experiencing both highs and lows during the supervision process. </p

The complexity of professional identity: Chinese university teachers teaching in physical education teacher education (PETE) programmes

In this study, we explore how Chinese teachers, who are involved in PETE programmes in universities, understand their professional identity and what specific factors influence their professional identity as teacher educators. Initially, a sample of 15 Chinese university teachers involved in PETE were interviewed and five follow up interviews were conducted. The results expressed that Chinese university teachers lacked an understanding of the term ‘teacher educator’. Noting the diverse responsibilities and teaching to different groups of students, the majority of the participants perceived their professional identity more as university teachers than as teacher educators. One of the most significant factors positively impacting participants’ professional identity as teacher educators was their level of interaction with pre-service teachers. There is a need for future research on the diverse work of university teachers involved in teacher education and how their multifaceted roles and responsibilities may influence professional identity as teacher educators.</p

Chinese higher education-based physical education teacher educators’ professional learning needs for involvement in research activities

Research activity is one of the key professional learning needs noted by teacher educators working in higher education. The purpose of this study is to explore what research activities Chinese higher education-based physical education teacher educators (PETEds) prioritised and, in turn, expressed their aligned research-related professional learning needs. A sample of 15 Chinese higher education-based PETEds was interviewed. The results conveyed that Chinese PETEds had a strong desire to avail of research-related professional learning activities, with the majority prioritising peer-review publication. The motives for PETEds to be involved in research tend to be extrinsic to the individual and include pressures aligned to the evaluation of their academic position and institute requirements. PETEds who entered teacher education with a PhD were expected and supported to do research, while PETEds without a PhD requested opportunities to undertake a PhD abroad. While it was easier for PETEds to undertake collaborative research with a research group within their faculty/department, there was a lack of collaborative research external to the faculty/department as well as a lack of international collaboration.</p

Teacher educators’ engagement with school-based assessments across Irish teacher education programmes

There is a shift towards increased accountability and assessment in schools and this is echoed in an Irish context, with assessment a neglected area of study in teacher education programmes. The aim of this study is to explore teacher educators understanding of school-based assessment practices and how they prepare pre?service teachers to assess in schools. Interviews with a sample of teacher educators attached to 13 Irish teacher education programmes, residing in two associated higher education institutes, conveyed the policy implications of curriculum change, the need for assessment literacy professional development and the consideration of standalone assessment modules or an embedded approach to assessment in teacher education programmes. </p

A moral madness between policy and practice in the caring role of the cooperating teacher in school placement in Ireland

Recent policy in Ireland enhanced the position of school placement  in Initial Teacher Education programmes. This paper considers how  care ethics has a vital role in sustaining the goodwill of the coop-eration and guidance from professionals who mediate the school  placement setting, noting values of reciprocal caring in placement  mentor-mentee roles similar to studies from the international community. Using a qualitative approach, 38 Irish primary and post-primary cooperating teachers were interviewed during this cross-sectional study in order to ascertain insight into the lived experience of classroom teachers during school placement. Participants  acknowledged the cooperating teacher role as professionally  demanding, a rewarding experience, but also crucially linked to  a duty and care premise. Participants show an emplacement of  being within a moral dilemma symptomising a moral madness.  Recommendations include enhanced collaborative policy development, an understanding of care in such policy, and a national  approach to continuous professional development of cooperating  teachers </p

Developing micro-teaching with a focus on core practices: the use of approximations of practice

Micro-teaching as a pedagogical approach is practiced in many higher education programmes focused on building knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes that can be applied in a professional setting. The previous literature attests to the usefulness of micro-teaching experiences in supporting the development of the beginning professional. This paper describes the design and implementation of a micro-teaching programme in one teacher preparation programme with a dual focus on core practices and Approximation of Practice (AoP). AoPs, in this instance, are defined as opportunities to engage in core practices that are proximal to the practices of a particular profession. The paper begins by exploring practice-based education, focusing on core practices and approximations of practice. Micro-teaching as a pedagogical approach is briefly introduced before describing the design and implementation of a specific enactment of pedagogy, a micro-teaching programme using core practices and AoPs. Opportunities and challenges of designing and implementing the micro-teaching programme are discussed and problematised. Finally, some practice considerations are offered to the broader higher education audience regarding the use of AoPs in higher education in the preparation of beginning professionals.</p

Illusions of online readiness: the counter-intuitive impact of rapid immersion in digital learning due to COVID-19

Framed from a socio-cognitive perspective, and the contemporary increased salience of digital learning readiness and competence, the purpose of this study was two-fold: to validate Online Learner Readiness Scale in a new context and to explore potential variances in online readiness within a student-teacher population between less (pre-COVID) and more experienced (during COVID) groups. A CFA was used to examine the suitability of the OLRS in an Irish context, and variances between groups based on gender and professional experience were explored. Two cross-sectional datasets were gathered from student teachers from a university teacher education programme in the Republic of Ireland (n1 = 281, n2 = 154). The analysis demonstrated significantly lower perceived online readiness in the more experienced ‘during COVID’ cohort compared to ‘pre-COVID’ cohort. This counter-intuitive finding is in direct contrast to prior research, and potential influencing factors include the sudden immersion in an entirely digital learning environment. The more experienced cohort reported significantly lower online readiness across all five components of the OLRS. The findings are discussed in the context of a major shift in the student-teacher learning experience due to COVID-19. Implications for future research are explored in the context of increasingly digitised teaching and learning environments during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.</p

Disorienting dilemmas and transformative learning for school placement teacher educators during COVID-19: challenges and possibilities

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in teacher educators dealing with multiple problems caused by the disruption to the professional preparation of pre-service teachers. This led to modified  arrangements for teaching, learning and assessment on an  emergency basis. For teacher educators, the challenges and disruptions caused by school and HEI closures may also be seen as opportunities to learn and reshape traditional roles  and practices. In this study, we sought to understand how  COVID-19 shaped and transformed the lived experience of teacher educators involved in school placement in Ireland. This research utilises Mezirow’s Transformative Learning framework  starting with the disorienting dilemma of COVID-19 and maps  the teacher educators’ responses to the resultant challenges  and possibilities. Using a qualitative approach, the researchers analysed data from online surveys, focus groups and reflections,  to consider continuity and change through the ‘Now What’ stage of Rolfe et al.’s framework. The insights gained from this research will add to the growing international literature on the changes to pre-service teacher education provision, by presenting the persistent challenges of dealing with COVID-19 and potential changes within the practicalities of school placement in Ireland. </p