The experiences of lesbian, gay, trans (The use of trans with an asterisk avoids the use of transsexual or transgender and promotes recognition of the inadequacy of such labels), bisexual and intersex (LGBTI) student teachers were recently investigated at a New Zealand faculty of education. Student teachers studying in early childhood education…

International practicum is disappearing from teacher education programs with the increasing pressures for "local experience". International practicum is seen as too different from local contexts to develop preservice teachers to meet professional standards. This study explores the teaching development of a group of 24 preservice teachers from a…

This paper applies the work of Jacques Lacan, a French psychoanalyst, to decipher the desire of the teacher in Aboriginal education. It argues that the images of Aboriginal people represented in Australian classrooms are effects of the teacher's Imaginary, the Imaginary being one of the three psychoanalytic domains theorised by Lacan over a period…

This study investigates the learning outcomes of 25 student teachers in an online video-based learning community (VBLC). Data were drawn from the student teachers' written comments and feedback recorded in the VBLC and the post-course interviews. Based on Biggs and Collis's Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes (SOLO) taxonomy, the majority of…

Teachers and policy makers often view the practicum as being the critical component of initial teacher education (ITE) programmes. While numerous studies have investigated the practicum in ITE, less attention has been given to the role practicum plays in the transition from preparation to teaching. This study investigated 12 New Zealand first-year…

Within the Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education (RIPPLE) at Charles Sturt University, teacher education researchers have been quick to respond to the opportunities created by what is known as "the practice turn" that characterises contemporary theory around the globe and across disciplines. We are working, together…

The instrument Samples of Teaching Performance (STP) was developed to assess student teachers' capacity to plan, deliver and evaluate a unit of instruction. The current study reports consequential validity data collected from supervisors (n = 20) and student teachers (n = 62) from three elementary and five secondary teacher preparation programs…

"Partnership between parents and teachers" is a taken-for-granted feature of the philosophy and practice of early childhood education. Yet, the literature suggests this rhetoric belies a more complex and problematic reality for teachers. Making connections with the families and communities they will serve may help teacher education students…

There is very little argument that one of the major developments to have impacted in schools in the past decade is the rapid and world-wide development of information and communication technologies (ICT), particularly the Internet. In Hong Kong, reforms in the ICT teacher training policy, and the fact that Hong Kong is a "wired" city, has resulted…

Professional experience in initial teacher education continues to be a very challenging area in which to work in Australian universities, given the changing times in which we live and the multiplicity of political, professional, economic and pragmatic issues that surround professional placements. The past decades have seen myriad responses to…

Educating a student on teaching placement involves a "village", just as it takes a whole "village" to raise a child. Creating a "village" around each student teacher gives them greater agency, a sense of belonging and being valued as a member of that professional "village". Participating students, teachers and lecturers share their perceptions of…

This article analyses the trajectories into teacher education of a group of child minders who are studying to become pre-school teachers. The specific focus is what impact their prior experiences and learning from pre-school have on their trajectories, and how these experiences and learning are recognised in the first year of teacher education. A…

The study investigates the actual genetic development of student teachers' interest in lectures given in a postgraduate language teacher education programme. Students recorded the nature and level of interest at various points of the lecture. The results show that students go through diverse patterns of interest trajectories and that, for the…

Over the past decade in Australia, a neo-liberal political climate has delivered to universities and schools increasing expectations concerning accountability and conformity within professional standards frameworks. This has contributed to growing pressure around Professional Experience programs within teacher education. In light of such…

This study investigates how peer assessment contributes to enhancing student teachers' preparation during field experience. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 72 student teachers. The findings showed that the student teachers have positive beliefs about peer assessment. They think that it can be beneficial if some changes are made in…