The purpose of this research is to seek the connection between professional development and an MA thesis research project, which is conducted as part of initial teacher education in Finland. This article examines the experiences of teachers with work experience, but without an official qualification, who recently completed their MA thesis. The…

Studies conducted outside Africa show that professional development experiences of physical education (PE) teachers are shaped by the manner in which PE is situated (and stereotyped) in the school system. Given the contested nature of teacher development, it is important to continually explore the phenomenon in different national contexts.…

This is the story of a beginning teacher, Ben. Ben was part of a mixed-method, qualitative study directed at exploring the student-teacher relationship experiences of beginning teachers. Time, mentor relationships and student-teacher relationships were all found to play an important role in the willingness, longevity, and efficacy of beginning…

This paper reviews a classroom practice designed to help teacher candidates become more critically reflective practitioners in regard to multiculturalism, language, and practice. The literature on teacher education and multicultural discourse theory serves as theoretical background. A questionnaire was used to collect data about student attitudes…

Positive claims are made for the adoption of practices that permit greater levels of involvement in teacher appraisals. The assumption is that when teachers are more involved in observing and evaluating their teaching, corresponding increases in empowerment and autonomy occur as a direct result. This paper challenges this claim by arguing that…

This paper examines the views of student teachers in Hong Kong on two mechanisms--supervised teaching practice and onsite peer observation (OPO)--which involve school-university partnership. Data were collected by using self-administered questionnaires (n = 59) and semi-structured interviews (n = 40). Results of the study indicated that student…

This article presents the finding of an interim evaluation survey commissioned by the Education Bureau of Hong Kong on the effectiveness of the curriculum reform initiated in 2001. Drawing upon change theories for analysis of the study, the article examines the perceptions of both principals and teachers on the effectiveness of short-term…

Informed by an amalgam of notions drawn from constructivist, socio-cultural, metacognitive and self-regulation theory, the discourse created to describe assessment to enhance learning has gone through a number of iterations or discursive shifts. As a result, the current discourse is both ambitious and complex with the roles and responsibilities…

As part of an on-going project designed to impact teacher quality at the pre-service, induction, and professional development levels, this paper summarizes the parametric results of a series of four different workshops conducted in the summer of 2007. In an effort to glean a better understanding of their knowledge, attitudinal, perceptual, and…

This study examines the emerging teacher literacy identities of Ian and AJ, two preservice teachers in a graduate teacher education program in the United States. Using a poststructural feminisms theoretical framework, the study illustrates the embodiment of literacy pedagogy discourses in relation to the literacy courses' discourse of…

This paper reports on phase 1 of a project commissioned by Learning and Teaching Scotland to explore the continuing professional development (CPD) needs of teachers in Scotland in years 2-6 of their careers. Nominal group technique (NGT) was employed to identify the CPD needs of year 2-6 teachers and to identify the relative priority of these…

Drawing on the principles of formative assessment identified by the Assessment Reform Group in England, Assessment is for Learning was a major Scottish initiative to improve children's learning. This paper surveys the implementation of formative assessment strategies during school placements by three cohorts of final-year Bachelor of Education…

This study investigated high school teachers' perceptions of the motivational needs of their students and the strategies they used to address those needs. Participants were 96 teachers in 15 high schools in a Southwestern state in the USA. Data were collected via paper-based questionnaires addressing teachers' perceptions of: supportive classroom…

Reggio-inspired professional development for teachers and instruction for children is possible in racially, linguistically, and economically diverse urban public schools lacking the financial resources available at other preschools typically using Reggio programs in the United States. These case studies of two teachers illustrate what is possible…

This multi-layered qualitative study explored a learner-centered curriculum intervention designed to support constructivist learning with practicing PK-12 teachers in a United States university Masters degree program. Research questions that guided faculty inquiry were: 1) How do practicing teachers understand the principles of learner-centered…