Inclusive and Different?” Discourse, Conflict, and the Identity Construction Experiences of Preservice Teachers of English Language Learners in Australia

This article reports the results of a discourse-theoretic study that considered the perspectives of one group of preservice mainstream teachers in Australia concerning their preparedness to teach English language learners (ELLs). Framed by a theory of teacher identity and using in-depth interviews, the paper explores the perceptions and experiences of six preservice teachers, revealing the presence of two dominant discourses of ELLs: a discourse of equity and inclusiveness and a discourse of difference. The results suggested that these discourses interacted in ways unanticipated by policy makers and that an unintended consequence of this discursive interplay was that participants experienced conflict between the professional identity positions that were made available to them within these discourses. The ways in which this conflict might be overcome to support the identity construction goals of teachers of ELLs are discussed and suggestions for future research considered

How are Preservice Teachers Discursively Positioned During Microteaching? The Views of Student Teachers in Hong Kong

This paper reports the results of a qualitative study that used in-depth interviews to understand the experiences and perceptions of six pre-service teachers as they engaged in microteaching at a tertiary institution in Hong Kong. Using a framework grounded in dialogism and positioning theory, the study describes the ways in which different discourses offer, as well as deny, positions to the pre-service teachers as they planned and implemented microlessons. The results suggest that competition between these discourses to position pre-service teachers can result in microteaching being associated with negative emotional experiences, such as disappointment, isolation, and frustration. This emotional dissonance is shown to lead some pre-service teachers to question the efficacy of microteaching. The paper therefore argues that it is imperative for teacher educators to support pre-service teachers’ engagement in microteaching by revealing the presence of these discourses and by exploring how the latter can exercise agency by accepting, resisting, or rejecting the positions made available to them during their microteaching experience. Suggestions for future research are also considered

“My Two Masters”: Conflict, Contestation, and Identity Construction Within a Teaching Practicum

This paper reports the results of a qualitative study into the teaching practice experiences of eight preservice English language teachers in Hong Kong. Using in-depth interviews, the preservice teachers’ practicum experiences are explored in terms of their understandings of the requirements of their teacher education institution and their teaching placement school, their relations with full time teachers within their placement schools, as well as their own beliefs about the teaching and learning of the English language. A contribution of this study is to examine these experiences through the lens of teacher identity construction. Results indicated that participants constructed rigid divisions between different identity positions that they took on, resisted, and rejected during their teaching practice experiences, and that relations between these identity categories were often characterized by antagonism. It is argued that such antagonism may be detrimental to the preservice teachers during their practicum and as they move into full time teaching positions. How these divisions might be challenged is discussed and implications for future research are considered

Teacher professional development through a school-university partnership. What role does teacher identity play?

This study examines the continuing professional development of one group of secondary school English language teachers who participated in a school-university partnership in Hong Kong. Grounded in a framework of teacher identity and using in-depth interviews conducted over the entire 12 month period of the partnership, the study explores the teacher’s professional development experiences in terms of their negotiation of membership within and across multiple communities. Results suggest that the teachers’ experienced professional development through partnership partly as identity conflict, as they negotiated recognition of the competencies they associated with the partnership within the different communities of teachers in which they participated. It is argued that such identity conflict can inhibit the opportunities for professional development that partnerships potentially offer teacher and schools and that a critical understanding of the contribution of partnerships to the professional development of teachers and other stakeholders within and beyond the partnership is necessary

A United Nations Renaissance: What the UN is, and what it could be

This short introduction to the United Nations analyzes the organization as it is today, and how it can be transformed to respond to its critics. Combining essential information about its history and workings with practical proposals of how it can be strengthened, the authors examine what needs to be done, and also how we can actually move toward the required reforms. This book is written for a new generation of change-makers - a generation seeking better institutions that reflect the realities of the 21st century and that can act collectively in the interest of all

A Biblical-Theological Framework for Human Sexuality: Applications to Private Sexuality

What are good sexual acts? It is not that surprising when cultural voices, without reference to God, argue for the inherent goodness of all “unharmful” sexual desires and acts. Regrettably, ethical pragmatism has influenced some Christian sexual ethics, and this influence is particularly evident with the issue of masturbation. What God defines as good sexual acts are those that fulfill his unitive and procreative purposes for sex within marriage. Given God’s unitive and procreative purposes for sex within the context of marriage, we argue that masturbation is a categorically impermissible act because it fulfills neither of these purposes, and we counter Christian arguments for its permissibility. God calls Christians to deal with sexual desires, including good sexual desires, through either marital sexual expression or Spirit-enabled self-control