This paper introduces a study of an experimental training methodology for promoting lesson analysis skills in student teachers. This methodology is based on the idea that the quality of lesson analysis skills depends mainly on teachers' perception of relevant instructional events and on their understanding of these events. The experimental…

This article contributes to a body of work that addresses the process of "becoming a teacher" and focuses on the relationship of the higher education (HE) (theoretical) component of the teaching qualification to the (practical) placement experience that student teachers undertake. This study approaches the data through the concept of…

Student teachers studying to become primary school teachers in New Zealand can spend up to 24 weeks on professional teaching practice in schools. This paper describes a model (based on the Conversational Framework by Laurillard), developed after conducting an action research study requiring critical reflection on the practice of giving feedback to…

In this paper, we report on an inquiry exploring the experiences of 10 mainland Chinese student teachers of English so as to understand why they came to Hong Kong for a teacher education programme. The study revealed that these students were largely attracted to teaching in Hong Kong because of its extrinsic benefits such as professional…

In this article, the author describes a project wherein she conducted a qualitative case study of four elementary student teachers from a large, research university in the Rocky Mountain Region, USA. The student teachers were in a traditional teacher education programme in which they took a series of courses followed by 16 weeks of student…

Giving effective instructional explanations requires a special type of pedagogical content knowledge, that is, foreseeing where students could employ different assumptions in building their understanding of a specific content. This paper proposes the importance of rehearsing instructional explanations and fine-tuning the coherence and…

The diversity and complexity of the post-modern era places new and important challenges on teacher education. The crucial role that personal dispositions have for professional learning needs to be better understood and acknowledged. Teacher training programmes need to focus more on objectives such as promoting conflict literacy, self-awareness,…

This study seeks to discover the attitudes to inclusion of those about to embark on initial teacher education in Northern Ireland and the extent to which an extended teaching practice in a non-selective placement school can influence attitude change. A cohort of 125 student teachers responded to a survey that explored their attitudes towards a…

Northern Ireland has invested heavily in the use of technology enhanced learning at all levels of education. Alongside this, radical changes to the school curriculum and the planned move away from academic selection towards a more inclusive system are challenging those involved in Initial Teacher Education to find ways to improve teaching and…

A group of postgraduate (secondary school) student teachers attending a teacher training course in York (England) and Stavanger (Norway) completed a questionnaire at the start (N = 174) and at the end (N = 128) of their course which explored their views regarding the factors accounting for pupil misbehavior, the frequency of pupil misbehavior, the…

Considerable activity has occurred in the recent past regarding policy-making around Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in the school curriculum. Teaching about sustainable development involves complex and contested ethical and political issues. This case study research investigates how four student teachers taking part in a one-year…

The social class attainment gap in education is now attracting an increased level of concern. Despite the efforts of the British New Labour government to address the continuing underachievement of working class pupils in England, there has been little progress. This paper reports on one aspect of a wider research study carried out in an Initial…

This paper examines the context of teacher education in which certain students work as teachers whilst at the same time they study in a teacher education programme. The two phenomena that are discussed are the integration of theory and practice, and learning while working. These are located in the wider framework of teachers' pedagogical thinking,…

This article explores the development of a generative, research-based approach to mentoring initial teacher training students in a Training School/university partnership. Drawing on data from mentors, trainees and pupils it describes two phases of development, both of which use video recordings of participants' classroom practice to stimulate…

The aim of this study is to discuss the experiences of prospective teachers during their school placements. For this aim, 41 prospective teachers taking School Experience II and Teaching Practice courses wrote and submitted a one- to two-page reflection of their field-based experiences at the end of the semester. Prospective teachers' written…