This study was undertaken to explore and describe how English language is being taught and how the curriculum guidelines that emphasise learner-centredness are being interpreted by teachers in primary schools in Malaysia. Specifically, it focuses on whether teachers implement learner-centred classroom practices and describes teachers’ knowledge and beliefs about learner-centredness. Finally, the study focuses on teachers’ views on possible issues and challenges in implementing learner-centred approaches in Malaysian primary English classrooms. Four teachers from different school categories in a northern state in Malaysia participated in this research representing rural, town and two vernacular schools (Chinese and Tamil). Using ethnographic approach, the study involved qualitative/ exploratory approaches by documenting, describing and analysing data gathered from semi-structured interviews, observation plus note-taking, video-recording of classroom and video-stimulated recalled interviews. Findings indicate that teachers did not fully embrace the principles of learner-centredness but minimally integrated some learner-centred practices at varying degrees particularly in allowing more learner participation, introducing varied materials and activities, introducing activities that involved some discussion and discovery and encouraging interactions between learners and teachers in the target language. The findings also found some efforts to encourage self and peer-evaluation. Two fundamental principles of learner-centredness i.e., collaboration and negotiation of learning objectives and identification of learner objective and subjective needs were not found in any of their practices regardless of the school categories. Teacher’s interpretations of learner-centredness revealed superficial understanding about learner-centred practices. Consequently, recommendations were proposed in terms of improved teacher training, an outline of an idealised working construct and definition of learner-centredness to use in ELT classroom, areas of change needed in the education system in Malaysia and future research areas to investigate learner-centredness.

This research investigates concepts of subject knowledge in English held by teachers acting as student mentors in primary schools, in an Initial Teacher Education and Training (ITET) partnership. A case study approach draws on evidence from documentary sources, interviews with mentors and taperecorded conversations between mentors and student teachers, following the observation of English lessons. During the past 25 years teachers' professional identities have been restructured through a series of Government interventions into the curriculum and teachers' working conditions, culminating in the introduction of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. It has been argued that these reforms have established a 'culture of compliance' within the teaching profession. Government intervention has taken place in ITET, which has been regulated through OfSTED inspection. Since 1992 schools and Higher Education Institutions have been required to establish training partnerships. A National Curriculum for ITT was introduced in 1997. It is suggested that opportunities for student teachers to learn through reflective practice are constrained by policy directives affecting ITET and primary schools. The management of student teachers' learning, and the assessment of their progress is the responsibility of a designated student mentor. Previous research indicates that primary mentors do not place a high priority on supporting the development of student teachers' subject knowledge. Evidence from the case study suggests pnmary mentors implicitly distinguish between different forms of subject knowledge for teaching. They hold a developmental model of learning to teach which seeks to move student teachers towards an awareness of the needs of learners. Mentors' conceptions of subject knowledge in English are circumscribed by the curriculum and pedagogical approaches recommended in the National Literacy Strategy. The subject specialism and personal interests of mentors are also a significant factor in these conceptions. Mentors who have entered the profession more recently appear to be more accepting of the content and approaches of the NLS. Much of the literature on mentoring assumes an underpinning model of the reflective teacher. The mentoring practices examined in the case study were situated within the context of the school and delivery of the NLS requirements. It is suggested that it may be unrealistic to expect broader reflective discussion on curriculum issues within the current policy context and structures of school experience. A re-examination of the ways in which student teachers' experiences in schools are conceptualised and organised, in terms of professional learning, may thus be necessary.

This research, set in the context of primary schooling in Scotland, set out to explore different stakeholders' perceptions of the extent to which teachers are prepared for making dependable assessment judgments in primary schools; this 'preparedness' referring collectively to factors that serve to support teachers' assessment practice. The study examined the national assessment system; the quality assurance of teacher judgments; perceptions of trust; the provision of continuous professional development activities; assessment for monitoring purposes; and self-evaluation among the various actors. Using questionnaires, focus groups and interviews ,data was collected from teachers, headteachers, and senior personnel within local authorities throughout Scotland. The design of the local authority interviews was based on the data gathered from the various teacher responses and was designed to draw out a local authority perspective on the same matters. The overall results suggest that there are teachers who feel that they have not been fully supported in delivering dependable assessment judgments, with particular reference to a perceived pressure to test children in order to meet targets. There is evidence to suggest that the pressure to meet or exceed targets goes beyond schools to local authority level. The results also suggest that teachers do not feel that their assessments are afforded a high level of trust by all stakeholders. The quality assurance procedures used within local authorities had not been communicated to all of the teachers in the surveys, and there was little evidence of effective and sustained moderation activity. The Scottish Survey of Achievement (SSA), the national monitoring sampling system, appears not to have engaged teachers nor fully met the accountability needs of the local authorities. There also appears to be growing interest in the use of standardised assessment for accountability purposes.

In the child-centred approach, which is an integral part of early childhood education, child development is facilitated through interaction with the social and physical environment. Kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong have been criticized for not incorporating this perspective into their practice. This failure is often justified by the pressure of external constraints such as the demands of the academic curriculum, parents' expectation of success and the emphasis on discipline within the Chinese culture. The aim of this study was to explore the extent to which such constraints were affected by the stage of a teachers' professional development. The classroom practice of nine Hong Kong kindergarten teachers was analyzed and post lesson interviews were carried out. These nine case studies attempted to identify the various coupling strategies used by analyzing the curriculum management, pupil-teacher interaction and classroom management procedures operating inside each classroom. The data suggested that the professional development of all nine teachers was limited by their inability to extend their thinking beyond their own personal concerns so that the needs of the children were not the major determinant of their classroom practice. Instead, external constraints dominated the teachers' thinking. All the teachers were competent in time management but appeared to lack awareness of the conditions necessary to teach 'for understanding' rather than for 'knowledge acquisition'. Various ways of bringing about a transformation in teachers' thinking to improve the quality of the children's learning experience are considered. It is argued that to confront and modify the teachers' personal beliefs cognitive dissonance must be induced as a first step in this process of re-orientation. The presence of suitable role models during training is also essential. The relative merits of 'action research' and joint collaborative activity with experts (in the form of 'assisted performance' or 'apprenticeship') are also discussed.

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This study is about teacher development for early career primary teachers, undertaken at a time of particular interest in providing a coherent professional development programme for teachers in the first five years of their career. It was undertaken from my perspective as a primary headteacher with the desire to improve the experience of professional development for these teachers. The research was undertaken by means of questionnaires and interviews and provides a picture professional development provision that is fragmented and lacking in coherence. While enjoying a relatively wide range of activities and experiences overall, early career teachers appear to have a more limited ongoing provision. This seems to be only loosely linked to any personal needs that may have been identified. A lack of rigorous evaluation procedures may well contribute to the situation where there is little clarity about the outcomes of professional development activities and experiences. Teachers are aware of a wide range of outcomes and value those that support them in their teaching. It is their own teaching that appears to be the focus of teachers' attention in relation to professional development rather than children's learning. Teachers, aware of pressures to meet exacting requirements in their work, appreciate opportunities to learn from those who have experience of similar situations. Professional development can result from meeting the challenges that teachers face in the early stages of their career, but the climate in which those challenges are met can be of crucial importance. As a consequence of the research conclusions are drawn which can inform my own practice, and also provide material for the consideration of others who have an interest in, or responsibility for, facilitating and nurturing the professional development of early career teachers.