Papua New Guinea gained its independence from Australia in 1975. However, as a developing nation, PNG has continued to depend on external assistance for its development programs. Extensive foreign aid has been expended primarily to enhance the quality of education. To explore the issue of foreign aid and its impact on PNG as a postcolonial society, the dependency and postcolonial theories were adopted to guide the discussion. The theorist Beeby argues that in order to improve the quality of education, the level of general education and training of teachers in developing countries must be raised. This has occurred in PNG but it has not significantly enhanced the quality of education. Consequently, the issue explored concerns the type of educational change occurring in PNG primary teachers’ colleges (PTCs) and its leadership. Globalization processes were adopted to guide the exploration of the education reform and its impact on the quality of education in primary teacher education in PNG. The following questions focused the content of the study:1. What is the quality of education being experienced in the Catholic Primary Teachers’ Colleges? 2. What are the lecturers’, students’, and recent graduates’ perceptions of the recent Primary and Secondary Teacher Education Project innovations occurring in the teachers’ colleges? 3. How is the curriculum in the teachers’ colleges perceived by the lecturers, students and recent graduates? 4. How is leadership demonstrated in the three Catholic Primary Teachers’ Colleges? The epistemological framework of the research was constructionism adopting an interpretivist approach. The specific interpretivist perspective employed was symbolic interactionism because symbolic interactionism places emphasis on the importance of understanding, interpretation and meaning. A case study approach was adopted as the methodology for this research because of the nature of the research purpose. This study involved a total of 166 participants consisting of staff and students from the three Catholic primary teachers’ colleges, representatives from the Catholic Church, National Department of Education (NDOE), Primary and Secondary Teacher Education Project (PASTEP) and other education officers. The data was gathered through a variety of methods including in-depth interviews, participant observation, focus groups, and documentary analysis. The major conclusions that emerged from this study revealed that educational change in primary teacher education has been implemented. However, the study concluded that the quality of leadership demonstrated to lead the educational change was disappointing. Inadequate leadership at the administration and curriculum levels had a negative influence on the quality of education. Achieving quality education was also hampered by inadequate funding, scarcity of resources and inappropriate infrastructure in all the institutions. The two-year trimester program has improved access and quantity but at the expense of quality. To assist primary teacher education implement the reform agenda, foreign aid was required. PASTEP was introduced and the contribution made by PASTEP was substantial. However, the study concluded that some of the strategies adopted by PASTEP to conduct its programs were questionable because there was evidence of hegemonic and colonial practices found among some of its workforce. In accepting foreign aid projects, PNG needs to establish strategies to ensure equitable partnerships with all stakeholders for sustainable development in education. In this respect, the findings of this study may serve as a guide for future decisions about educational leadership, curriculum innovation, donor funding agencies and policy generation.

“Practicum” refers to the time students undertaking initial teacher education programs spend in schools during their training. Its purpose is to enable the university and accredited teachers to assist student teachers to gain experience in translating educational theory into classroom practice. It is recognised as a vital component of teacher education. In 1998 the Australian Catholic University (ACU National) Melbourne campus, introduced the ‘extended practicum’ into their teacher education program. The extended practicum, undertaken by students in their final year, is significant to student learning as it enables them to spend an extended period of time with the same group of pupils. However, to date this program has not been formally evaluated. This study used qualitative methodology to investigate the effectiveness of the extended practicum in the Bachelor of Education course offered through the Trescowthick School of Education at ACU National Melbourne Campus. Literature pertaining to the development and current understandings of the practicum in teacher education and the partnership between the university and schools in managing the practicum was reviewed. Questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and focus groups were used to gather data about the experiences and reflections of pre-service teachers, first year teachers, supervising teachers and university staff involved in the extended practicum. The data were analysed and key themes were identified and compared between groups. The findings suggested that while all stakeholders recognised the importance and value of the extended practicum in teacher education, their ideas about its major aims and strengths differed. A number of issues were identified that could improve the quality of the extended practicum and thus enhance the learning experience for pre-service teachers. These issues included preparation of the pre-service teachers, length and timing of the practicum, supervision and assessment of pre-service teachers during the practicum, professional development for supervising teachers and most importantly improved communication between the university and schools. Information from this study can inform the development of the extended practicum, and as a consequence, the total practical teaching program at ACU, (National), Melbourne. This will further support the ongoing relationships between the university and schools and teachers who support the program and who provide an improved learning opportunity for pre-service teachers.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1951. / Typescript. Type C project. Sponsor: Ernest Osborne. Dissertation Committee: Ruth Cunningham, Emma D. Sheehy, . Includes bibliographical references (leaves 153-154).

A partir de deux enquêtes (par questionnaire et par entretien) et la mobilisation d'un cadre de référence centré sur l'analyse de l'activité (didactique professionnelle, clinique de l'activité, didactique de la géographie), cette recherche a pour objectif de comprendre comment s'organise l'activité de préparation des séances de géographie des maîtres de cycle 3.Cette recherche montre qu'au-delà de l'activité productive que constitue la préparation des séances de classe, cette activité peut dans certaines circonstances être une activité constructive et être à l'origine d'un développement professionnel pour le maître.Cette activité de préparation se fait à partir d'un compromis entre la lettre et l'esprit des programmes et des arbitrages qui peuvent avoir des conséquences pour le maître mais aussi pour les élèves (préparations d'activités de bas niveaux cognitifs ou qui permettent aux élèves de « se construire un rapport géographique au monde »). / From two inquiries (by questionnaire and by interview) and the mobilization of a reference frame centered on the analysis of the activity (professional didactics, clinic of the activity, didactics of the geography), this research aims at understanding how the activity of preparation of the geographic session of class by the french schoolteachers is organized.This research shows that beyond the productive activity of the preparation class, this activity may in certain circumstances also be a constructive activity and be at the origin of a professional development for the schoolteacher.This activity of preparation which is made from a compromise between the letter and the spirit of the programs and arbitrations which can have consequences for the schoolteacher but also for pupils (either activities in class of low cognitive levels or which allow the pupils " to build themselves a geographical relationship to the world ").

This thesis reports the findings of a research study conducted in an initial primary teacher education college in Dublin, exploring how teacher education students experienced and constructed meaning from a pre-service RE course which recognized the importance of a focus on their inner lives. The study, which adopted a qualitative interpretive approach, was conducted using semi-structured interviews with twelve past students from a recently-graduated year group of one hundred students. The study hoped to uncover how a focus on the inner life was taken up by the research participants in relation to their personal and professional wellbeing and their role as educators in general and religious educators in particular. While it did not seek to generalise as a result of the findings, confined as it is by time and circumstance, nevertheless aspects deemed worthwhile by the research participants may also be deemed worthwhile by the reader and indeed may not be confined to the domain of RE. The findings have been framed generally against the three themes of ‘particularity’, ‘inner-ness’ and ‘ongoing-ness’. The theme of ‘particularity’ relates to the participants’ epistemological journey, as it is concerned with how concrete elements of the course supported inner life work. The theme of ‘inner-ness’ relates to the participants’ ontological journey, as it is concerned with how participants experienced and made meaning from the space provided by the course for inner life work. The theme of ‘ongoingness’ relates to the total RE journey from primary and secondary school to college and into their teaching lives and its impact on participants’ inner lives. What is clear from participants’ responses is that the RE course, and particularly the elements of the RE course that had a focus on the inner life, had a significant impact on participants’ identity, both personal and professional, at an important stage of their development and personal story. The study demonstrates the importance of inner life work for teacher education students and contributes a level of insight into how students appropriate and construct meaning from a created and creative space that supports a focus on that inner life.

The thesis covers the subject about challenges in the multilingual classroom. How the pupils' education works in regards to the teachers’ perspective is the focus for this thesis. The purpose of the thesis is to examine how four primary school teachers view the teaching in the multilingual classroom. The thesis has a qualitative research approach where the method choice is semi-structured interviews with the primary teachers. Four interviews where conducted with primary teachers with proper and relevant education for the selected grade.   The data were analysed by a qualitative content-analysis. The different title in the background section constitutes this thesis theme. The theoretical frame of the thesis is the sociocultural perspective with focus on Vygotskijs theory about teaching. This study builds upon the perspective that teaching is an interaction between people and that the language is seen as a tool to gain knowledge.  The result of the thesis shows that the multilingual classroom increases the awareness of the primary teachers concerning clear instructions and explaining the tasks in different ways. The primary teacher treats every individual in the classroom from his or her former experience, knowledge and language. Furthermore the thesis shows the importance of a good relation with the native language teacher. A good cooperation with the native language teacher increases the language development for the multilingual pupils. For example using the same books but in different languages showed better language development. The result of the thesis also shows that a cooperation between the home and the multilingual pupils' guardians do not differ from the cooperation with other guardians, but it shows in this thesis the importance of having a regularly and mutual cooperation. / Studien behandlar ämnet det flerspråkiga klassrummet. Hur elevernas undervisning fungerar utifrån lärarens perspektiv är fokus i denna studie. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur fyra grundlärare i förskoleklass till årskurs tre ser på lärandet i det flerspråkiga klassrummet. Studien har en kvalitativ forskningsansats där metodvalet är semistrukturerade intervjuer av grundlärare i de aktuella årskurserna. Fyra intervjuer genomfördes med grundlärare med behörighet i förskoleklassen till årskurs tre. Datamaterialet analyserades genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. De olika rubrikerna i bakgrunden utgör denna studies teman. Studiens teoretiska utgångspunkt är det sociokulturella perspektivet med utgångspunkt i Vygotskijs teori om lärande. Denna studie bygger på perspektivet att lärandet sker i samspel med andra samt att språket betraktas som ett redskap för att tillägna sig kunskap.  Resultatet visar att grundlärare anser att flerspråkiga elever i klassrummet ökar deras medvetenhet om att vara tydliga med instruktioner och förklaringar på olika sätt. Grundlärarna bemöter varje individ i klassrummet utifrån dess tidigare erfarenheter, kunskapsnivå och språk. Vidare framkommer i resultatet betydelsen av en god kontakt med modersmålsläraren. Ett samarbete med modersmålslärare gynnar språkutvecklingen för de flerspråkiga eleverna, där arbete med samma texter sker både hos modersmålsläraren och i klassen. Resultatet av studien visar även att samverkan mellan hem och skolan med flerspråkiga elevers vårdnadshavare inte skiljer sig från samverkan med övriga föräldrar, men det framkommer i denna studie att det är betydelsefullt att ha ett regelbundet samarbete.

This study investigates the nature of the mathematical understanding possessed by preservice teachers as they enter Early Childhood and Primary Teacher Education Programmes. The subjects comprised thirty students divided into groups of ten to represent three levels of mathematics competency as measured on a mathematics competency test. Evidence of mathematical understanding was gathered from videotaped interviews in which students were required to provide solutions for a set of six tasks. The analysis of student performance included monitoring students' ability to provide multiple representations for tasks as well as the students' demonstration of connections between mathematical ideas. The results show that preservice teachers entering the Early Childhood and Primary Teacher Education Programmes at the University of Canberra do so with weak understanding of many of the mathematical concepts that are fundamental to primary level mathematics curricula. The type of understanding demonstrated by these students was predominantly instrumental in nature. Differences between groups were found with reference to the amount of confidence and interest displayed during tasks. The implications of these results on mathematics teacher education are discussed. The study identifies the need for alternative assessment protocol for mathematics screening of preservice teachers. Discussion of appropriate techniques for the reconstruction of mathematical understanding is also considered.

April 28th 2010 the Swedish parliament decided that the combined teacher exam will be divided into four parts. This means that the education for preschool teachers and primary school teachers will have to be separated and future teachers will have to decide before their studies what ages they want to work with. To investigate if this could affect the quality of the choice I have interviewed 5 new teachers from the combined teachers program about what ages they wanted to teach before they began to study and what ages they wanted to teach after completed studies. I did this to see whether the choice was influenced by the educations or not. It turned out that all 5 had an idea of what ages they wanted to teach in before they began the educations and only one of my interviewees changed her mind during the studies. The others felt that their choice was confirmed during the educations. It was mainly during the practical training that they received an idea of what it was like to work as a teacher. Four of them received a positive image of what it was like to work in preschool, while several of them said they got negative experiences from primary school. This could be one of the reasons why four of the five interviewees work in preschool today. The person who changed her mind changed from wanting to work in primary to wanting to work in preschool after the practical training. The interviewees chose the profession that they perceived filled their need of affection, appreciation and acknowledgement. They also thought that the profession they opted out seemed more difficult than the profession they have today. They identified themselves no more or less with any career before they began the studies and feel today that they can only identify with the profession they want, which in all except one case, is the profession they’ve got. The idea of what teachers are like changed during the studies and became more positive and reality based. All interviewees got more knowledge about teachers and their work during the studies and had a better understanding to base their decision on after completed studies.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 298-315). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 298-315). Also available on the Internet.