\u27I do lots of things that the University would not approve of\u27. What counts as professional knowledge in the eyes of pre-service and beginning teachers -implications of the encounter for the role of teacher educators in pre-service middle school preparati

This paper is an account of teacher educator perceptions of the take-up by beginning teachers of the values and practices advocated in pre-service education. Methodologically grounded in a critical ethnographic account, two teacher educator/researchers retell their understanding of the one-month experience as middle school classroom teachers in an allocated school. The paper examines the consequences of what counts as professional knowledge in the eyes of pre-service and beginning teachers and the implications of the encounter for the role of teacher educators in preservice preparation. The purpose of the research is to consider the well-researched issue of the rejection of academic training (to greater or lesser extents) that is experienced by very many preservice and beginning teachers at some stage after experience in schools. As an exemplary colleague teacher said to us as we negotiated our participation in the school: &quot;I do lots of things that the University would not approve of&quot;. Our argument is that teacher education needs the kind of participatory inquiry represented by the undertaking and methodology of this project. The paper is the \u27primary record\u27 (Carspecken 1996) of the research and works to open the next phase, the dialogical stage of the research process.<br /

The Civic School : Australian-Indonesian professional collaboration to model and audit the development of democratic primary classrooms and teacher language using the index for inclusion

The study is a pilot project in Australian-Indonesian institutional collaboration for the professional development of primary school teachers in West Sumatra in citizenship education. Senior staff in the department of Pancasila and Citizenship Education at the State University of Padang (UNP), West Sumatra initiated the project. UNP staff sought the collaboration of the Faculty of Education at the University of Tasmania for bringing about and sustaining changes in teacher practice needed to implement the new civic goals in the 1999 Suplemen. The Index for Inclusion was used to model and audit the development of democratic primary classrooms and language use in a cluster of Padang schools in West Sumatra. The paper describes the background to the project and how the Index for Inclusion was understood during the initial two-week implementation phase by teachers and school principals. The significance of the study lies in the potential of the Index for Inclusion internationally to citizenship education, a field of education that was not considered in the initial development of the Index project and the contribution of the multiple fields of inquiry to the evolving theoretical understandings of inclusive education.<br /

Reading for meaning : problematizing inclusion in Indonesian civic education

This paper reports on the use of the Index for Inclusion in five socioeconomically different primary school contexts in Indonesia. The research was designed and developed through Australian and Indonesian teachers and teacher educators collaborative efforts over a year. The work took place during the post‐Suharto reform period and focuses on the field of Civics education. The research examines what the ethic of inclusion means to teachers participating in political and educational democratization as they attempt to embrace and develop citizenship classroom practices that feature respect for difference. The theoretical interest is in both citizenship theory and inclusion; showing how the civic cultures of school and nation intersect; and the implications of that intersection for inclusion theory and cross‐cultural theorizing of inclusion more broadly.<br /

Investing in teachers

This evaluation compares evidence from the literature with Australia’s experience in supporting teacher development in a range of developing countries. It uses case studies to good effect in explaining choices made, the extent to which expectations were or were not met, and the lessons for future Australian assistance for teacher development. The evaluation found mixed results. In cooperation with governments and other donors, Australia has made positive contributions, such as improving teacher frameworks and curriculums, and training teachers through a range of interventions. However, there is room to improve—for example, in enhancing policy, strengthening analysis and negotiating new investments—so teacher education and training will result in better teaching and learning in schools. A significant limitation, acknowledged in this evaluation report, is insufficient attention to measuring learning outcomes. Follow-on evaluations involving the Office of Development Effectiveness are expected to help fill this gap

Freedom without truth, faith without reason, knowledge without wisdom: Challenges to a Catholic philosophy of education in a changing world

The initial pencil line drawn on the blank sheet of this study, so to speak, was the Latin tag: 'In necessariis unitas; in dubiis libertas... : Unity in what is essential; liberty in matters of doubt...' The rest of the design proceeds from this first determining stroke - including the governing question: What are the unifying essentials (and hence non-essentials) of a modern Catholic philosophy of education? Catholic; philosophy; education: all are emotive concepts (the last, especially so) and therefore prone to eliciting mismatched interpretations. By scrutinizing these three elements singly and conjointly, this study questions the adequacy of meeting inherent demands and problems with little more than partial or exclusive means (as the title suggests). The adoption of a more universal approach is shown to be necessary for such endeavours to attain a fuller realization of their purported raison d'etre. Within this background and context, the first chapter also examines key concepts of this topic in terms of how the Church itself defines them. Contrasted, is the tension between calls from the Church to adhere to certain basics as against the lack of a sense of shared purpose prevalent in Church institutions. The highly topical Rosmini case is used by detractors to discredit the continuity of Catholic Church policy. As the focus of the second chapter, the recent Rosmini development introduces this controversial thinker while also conveniently leading in to the concept of organic change in the Church. The disputed relevance for Catholic education of Aquinas and his key principles is investigated next, with reference to past and present Church teachings. Chapter four traces the lasting effects of the John Dewey legacy, with the new theme that Dewey's thought has made tangible inroads into sectors of Catholic education. The nature of the home education movement - particularly in its Catholic manifestation - is tied in with elements of the foregoing in chapter five. The conclusion discusses the extent to which reconciliation is possible between the various strands mentioned above, and the resultant educational implications. Throughout, the intervention of Rosmini' s thought and an Australian emphasis (where applicable) lend to the originality of this study

Shaping Reading Pedagogy and Assessment for Sustainable Learning

This symposium assembles a number of studies that argue the importance of comprehension in reading pedagogy and assessment if improved learning outcomes from schooling are to be achieved. It addresses the subtheme questions concerning which assumptions and principles should underpin pedagogy and assessment for sustainable futures, and what the relationship should be between international assessments and local conditions and priorities