Who becomes a teacher and why?

This paper reports on a comprehensive review of international evidence, synthesising the findings of some of the strongest empirical work on the main factors influencing people's decisions to be teachers or not. Four search engines, including Google and Google Scholar and five electronic databases identified 517 studies of which 212 were included in this narrative synthesis. These studies highlighted three main motivating factors: intrinsic, altruistic and extrinsic, although the order of the ranking varies with subjects, phase of education and gender of teachers. In general, these studies reported that women are more likely to report being motivated by intrinsic and altruistic reasons, while men are more likely to cite extrinsic reasons. Across all cultures, men are reported to be more strongly influenced by social norms and expectations and were less likely to choose primary and early years teaching. Women are also more likely to experience higher levels of career satisfaction and less social dissuasion than men. Research on motivation to teach is also often focused only on those who have already made the decision to teach. Therefore, policies based on these studies might only be attracting those who are already persuaded. This paper argues that to improve recruitment of under-represented groups (e.g., males and STEM subject graduates), attention should instead be on those who might otherwise have gone into teaching, but have not. For this group, the review found that it is the status of the profession, the working environment and salary over the long term that are important

Parents', teachers', and students’ roles in parent-teacher conferences; a systematic review and meta-synthesis

The primary objectives of this review are (1) to provide an overview of what characterizes the research on Parent-Teacher Conferences (PTCs), and (2) to contribute to the understanding of the roles of parents, teachers, and students during PTCs. A systematic literature search was conducted in five databases, yielding 33 studies that met the inclusion criteria, representing 13 countries. Analyses of the data resulted in the identification of seven roles for teachers, nine roles for parents, and three roles for students. Across contexts, topics discussed during PTCs were found to be similar. These results have implications for the development of teachers’ communicative competence, home-school collaboration, and the emphasis on PTCs in teacher education. Limitations of the study and areas for future research are discussed.publishedVersio

A Norwegian Perspective: Student teachers` orientations towards cultural and linguistic diversity in schools

This is a qualitative study about Norwegian preservice teachers’ orientations towards teaching in multilingual and multicultural classrooms – contributing to global research in this field. The theoretical approach, and tool for analyses, is a framework for Linguistically Responsive Pedagogy developed by Lucas and Villegas (2013). Main findings are that preservice teachers express value for linguistic diversity and a reflective discussion about the relation between identity/language and culture. Talking about race and colour is, however, uncomfortable. Suggestions for further development in Initial Teacher Education are given, and also suggestions for further research.publishedVersio

Studentengasjement i høyere utdanning: Hvilken innsikt gir Studiebarometeret?

Studenter i høyere utdanning svarer på spørsmål utviklet av NOKUT hvert år. Denne studien, Studiebarometeret, er blitt et viktig verktøy til bruk i kvalitetsarbeid ved universiteter og høgskoler. I denne artikkelen, undersøker jeg hvordan student engasjement blir målt i Studiebarometeret. Studentengasjement er valgt fordi det er en viktig indikator på studiekvalitet. Det samvarierer positivt med læringsutbytte og deltakelse, og negativt med frafall. I denne artikkelen danner forskning om studentengasjement og om faktorer som kan fremme engasjement et bakteppe for en kritisk vurdering av innholdet i Studiebarometeret. Hovedspørsmålet som belyses er: Kan Studiebarometeret bidra til institusjoners kvalitetsutvikling for å fremme studentengasjement? Delspørsmål er: Hvordan måles studentengasjement i Studiebarometeret, og hva er mulige skritt videre for forskning om studentengasjement?publishedVersio

A systematic review of interventions promoting social inclusion of immigrant and ethnic minority preschool children

The aim of this review was to systematically examine interventions in preschools that promote social inclusion of children with immigrant and ethnic minority backgrounds. This systematic review was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. By a comprehensive literature search of relevant peer-reviewed articles in three databases, seven studies were selected as eligible in line with the a priori defined inclusion criteria. Data across included studies were synthesised using thematic analysis. Four prominent themes emerged from the studies: (a) a strength-based approach, not a deficit-based one; (b) involvement of family and the larger community; (c) importance of cultural brokerage; and (d) importance of intergroup contact to reduce prejudice, discrimination and improve social relations. The review highlights the paucity of interventions that promote the social inclusion of immigrant and ethnic background children in preschools. It also suggests that parent and community-based interventions can positively increase social inclusion amongst immigrant and native children. Additional well-designed interventions are needed to better understand and identify effective interventions targeting social inclusion of preschool-age children with immigrant and ethnic minority backgrounds.publishedVersio

What Characterizes Nordic Research on Initial Teacher Education: A Systematic Scoping Review

The main objective of this systematic scoping review is to shed light on ITE research in the Nordic countries during the past decade. The review includes 830 studies, following established procedures. Based on our analyses we find that Nordic ITE research is mainly on ITE for the compulsory and upper secondary school years. Researchers use qualitative data, view studies, and cross-sectional studies more than other methods and designs, and show more interest in STEM, pedagogy, and 21st century skills. A digital gap map accompanies this article and provides insight into future research needs

Peer Learning Groups for Teachers: A Norwegian Innovation

This paper presents a method used in Norwegian schools to enhance learning and development in groups of teachers. It is a peer based mentoring method that was first introduced in the 1980s and has developed in different ways over the years. Our focus is on the uncertainty that is characteristic of teaching and schools and the consequent need for teachers to be able to get together in organised groups to dwell on topics or problems in a reflective, critical and constructive way

Educating Norwegian preservice teachers for the multicultural classroom – what knowledge do student teachers and mentor teachers express?

This study is a contribution to the global discussion on how to prepare preservice teachers for diversity. Analyses are based on responses from national samples of pre-service teachers in their 4th year of teacher education (N = 654), and of collaborating mentor teachers responsible for the supervision of preservice teachers during field practice (N = 340). Each group responded to two questionnaire surveys sent out digitally which covered questions about their perceived competence and possibilities to learn about teaching in linguistically diverse classrooms. Results indicate variation in possibilities to learn, as well as perceptions of competence needed among both groups. Based on our results, we propose questions essential for development in teacher education programme: What do teachers need to learn about educational laws concerned with student's rights? How can programs ensure that preservice teachers get experience from linguistically diverse classrooms? How can teacher education programs ensure that preservice teachers develop critical reflection?publishedVersio

Lesson Study og lærerstudenters fokus på elevers læring i veiledningssamtaler

Søkelyset settes her på norsk grunnskolelærerutdanning og på veilednings-samtaler i praksisopplæring hvor Lesson Study ble innført som arbeidsmetode. Veiledningssamtaler i matematikk og naturfag analyseres ut fra et teoretisk rammeverk om hva som har betydning for elevers læring (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). Dette gir et grunnlag for å identifisere elevsentrerte, kunnskapssentrerte og vurderingssentrerte ytringer. Ytringene blir i tillegg knyttet til tre sentrale aspekter ved planlegging og gjennomføring av en forskningstime i en Lesson Study syklus: studentenes forskningsspørsmål, deres prediksjon av hva som kan forventes av elevene i forhold til dette læringstemaet og hvordan de vil observere elevenes læring. Analysene påpeker interessante forskjeller mellom studentgruppene på tvers av de to fagene. Studentene i mate-matikk valgte å legge opp undervisningen ut ifra lærebokens nivåinndeling av lærestoffet, noe som ser ut til å virke hemmende med tanke på elevobservasjon og prediksjon knyttet til det faglige emnet. Studentene i naturfag var mer opptatt av å formulere gode læringsmål og forskningsspørsmål. Veiledningssamtalene i naturfag hadde også et tydelig fokus på prediksjon samt aktiv elevobservasjon under gjennomføringen av undervisningsøkten. Resultater fra denne studien drøftes i forhold til hvordan lærerutdannere på campus og i praksisskoler bidrar til lærerstudenters muligheter for utvikling av nødvendig kompetanse for å kunne arbeide på forskningsbaserte måter i skolen. Resultatene viser også betydningen av å følge opp implementering av nye tiltak i lærerutdanninger.publishedVersio

Lærerprofesjonalitet i spenningsfeltet mellom policy og profesjon

Denne rapporten undersøker forestillinger om lærerprofesjonalitet, og på hvilken måte disse varierer mellom politiske myndigheter, Utdanningsforbundet, lærere og lærerutdannere. I rapporten undersøkes også på hvilken måte og i hvilken grad det skjer en forskyvning forståelsen av lærerprofesjonalitet over tid. Dokumentene som analyseres er valgt ut for å dekke både policy- og profesjonsnivået. De tre stortingsmeldingene som blir analysert kom i 1996, 2002 og 2008, forut for nye reformer i norsk lærerutdanning. I tillegg er et utvalg dokumenter fra Utdanningsforbundet studert. Til slutt har forestillinger om lærerprofesjonalitet blitt analysert på basis av to elektroniske spørreundersøkelser, som refereres til som LærerUtdannerdata (LU-data)