Anne McMaugh

Adherence issues in children and adolescents receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy

The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART) for the treatment of paediatric HIV infection poses additional adherence challenges for children and families living with HIV. A preliminary survey of 18 parents of children receiving HAART in Australia showed that although parents report high levels of child adherence to HAART, specific features of the medication regimen, such as taste and number of medications made administration of HAART extremely difficult. Moreover, interaction between the treatment regimen and the day-to-day lives of families increases the adherence challenge. While some agreement exists in relation to the concerns families have about negative aspects of HAART, the diversity of issues suggests the need for ongoing and individualized support and information to families.

En/countering disablement in school life in Australia: Children talk about peer relations and living with illness and disability

This paper reports the experiential accounts of 24 young people with physical disability or chronic illness as they make the transition to junior high school, with a particular focus on their social experiences with peers and friends. Children’s reports were examined in a reflexive, disability studies framework, in which commonalities and difference in experience were examined. These reports highlight a common experience of disability-related harassment and differential experiences of friendship, peer rejection and school culture. While children encounter and actively counter disablement in a variety of ways, it is clear that these children are also cognisant of the stigma, prejudices and disabling expectations that are at the core of these experiences.

Reflecting on the work of preparing teachers

As we enter 2009, it is fitting to reflect upon our closing comments in 2008, when we made a call for researchers to critically engage with the broader discourses and sociopolitical climate that shapes teacher education.

Ranking teacher education journals

The ranking of peer-reviewed academic journals within a discipline or scholarly field, and establishing the esteem in which specific journals are held, is an inevitably contentious exercise. Nonetheless, it is an increasingly common exercise given the global proliferation of research assessment frameworks (e.g., New Zealand’s Performance-Based Research Fund, and the Research Assessment Exercise in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong). In general, teacher education journals do not fare particularly well. Thomson’s ISI citation index, for example, regarded in many disciplines as the ‘gold standard’, currently includes only two teacher education journals in its Social Sciences Citation Index: Teaching and Teacher Education and Journal of Teacher Education. Despite its well-rehearsed limitations, such as its strong North American orientation, it appears that the ISI continues to be a highly and arguably overly influential tool in many research evaluation processes, regardless of its relevance to and coverage of the discipline under consideration. It has been heartening, therefore, that the Australian Department of Education, Science and Training, in preparation for the proposed introduction of Australia’s Research Quality Framework by the recently defeated Howard Government, has supported the development of discipline-specific journal rankings. The intent is for each discipline to determine and rank its own journal listings. In the discipline of education, the Centre for the Study of Research Training and Impact (SORTI) at the University of Newcastle, in conjunction with the Australian Association of Research in Education (AARE) has attempted the challenging task of developing esteem measures for peerreviewed journals in education. SORTI approached this challenge with an explicit commitment to drawing on ‘‘the collective wisdom of the profession, especially education researchers’’. Accordingly, it extended, via its website and through AARE networks, an open invitation to educational researchers and other stakeholders within Australia and internationally, to nominate peer reviewed educational research journals for inclusion in the exercise, and to rank the journals that were nominated. A total of 752 people responded. The methodology used by SORTI and outlined in its Working Report #13 (Centre for the Study of Research Training and Impact, 2007) has attracted considerable, and in some cases, critical comment. In response, some sub disciplines, for example, Vocational Education and Training, are developing their own lists of journals relevant to their sub discipline which will then be benchmarked against the SORTI lists. While the status of the SORTI rankings is currently unclear, an indisputable strength of the SORTI exercise is the large number of education journals considered, and their classification into 26 subcategories, including teacher education. This compilation of journals, at the very least, will be a valuable resource for educational researchers wanting to expand their knowledge of journals in their respective fields. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education Vol. 36, No. 1, February 2008, 1–3

Theorising teacher education

As editors, one of the key issues we consider when deciding whether to send a manuscript for review is how well the paper has been theorised. Many of the submissions we receive describe projects that have been undertaken but do not explain to readers how the issues described can be understood, as though the description contains self-evident truths. Many such papers are not sent for review because they lack adequate theorisation. But what is ‘‘theory’’ and why is it so important? Theory, according to Richard Pring, can be understood as ‘‘the assumptions which lie behind practice’’ and as ‘‘tightly organised systems of explanation’’ (Pring, 2004, p. 77). A more systematic explanation can be contrasted with ideas that are said to be ‘‘common sense’’. The importance of theorising teacher education is that it promotes scholarly inquiry, adds to a professional body of knowledge and has the potential to produce insights and alternative understandings. Teacher education as an academic field has a distinctly vocationalist aspect to it because of its role in preparing teachers to work as classroom practitioners and in other educational contexts. However, being a practitioner does not imply that practice is or should be disconnected from theory; quite the opposite. Lawes (2004) notes that there is a body of opinion that argues teaching is essentially a practical activity and as such emphasis in initial teacher training should be given to the development of classroom skills and pedagogical techniques. However, to do so would be to deny prospective teachers access to a vital aspect of the profession: being able to participate in an informed manner about the work that they do. As Lawes states ‘‘It is at the initial teacher training stage that expectations should be set and aspirations raised’’ (2004, p. 198). Theory also needs to be considered to be more than just a ‘‘theory of teaching practice’’. Deng (2004) argues that to consider teacher education as being only about applying theory taught at university in the classroom is to allow only the instrumental purposes of teacher preparation to be realised. Deng asserts that:

Teacher Education: Politics and practice

As this editorial is going to press, newspapers report (see The Australian, 19 July; The Age, 20 July; Sydney Morning Herald, 20 July) that the current Australian Minister for Education, Julie Bishop, is raising concerns about the quality of teaching and the standard of education in this country. This time the concern focuses on the number of science and technology graduates that universities are producing, and it is suggested that this problem stems, in part, from primary teachers failing to inspire their students’ interests in these areas. Previously the Minister’s message was that schools in all States and Territories should ‘‘put a structured narrative back into the teaching of Australian history’’ (Bishop, 2006). This call has been interpreted as a return to teaching the events and dates of history rather than an interpretation of the impact of these occurrences. As the epigraph suggests these concerns about educational quality are not peculiar to Australia, but are shared across many countries. Twelve months ago we solicited submissions from notable Australian teacher educators to address the ‘‘the politics of teacher education’’. This themed issue was conceived as a response to the growing number of reviews into teacher education and to controversial claims about teachers and their preparation. Our aim was to provide a forum for discussion and informed comment to facilitate a more critical discussion of these emerging concerns. Concerns about teacher education internationally are symptoms of the politicisation of education at all levels of its expression and articulation. The contested space of teacher education is now more than ever under threat. This threat also extends to the culture of educational research. The most recent inquiry into Australian teacher education provoked controversy and concern regarding teacher preparation programs and the quality of graduates emerging from these programs. It seems opportune to analyse critically the status of teacher education in Australia as it faces myriad challenges and the concerted Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education Vol. 34, No. 3, November 2006, pp. 271–273

Generational and situational change

We hope to encourage the contribution of papers that are characterized by a theoretical depth and a critical appraisal of the issues under consideration and believe that this would significantly enhance the scholarly standing of the Journal. This is consistent with our aim of raising the status of educational research and would promote more conceptual, analytical and critical reviews of teacher education. Because we aim to retain a broad readership for the Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education we consider it essential that the published papers are engaging and topical without sacrificing the quality of theoretical debate and scholarship. It is unfortunate that journals may alienate their readers in presenting theoretical or critical papers that exclude practitioner concerns. We would see it as vital, therefore, to make every attempt to engage with the practitioner concerns of the Asia-Pacific region, a fast developing region of the world, where east meets west in an exciting mix of cultures and traditions. We are also conscious that ‘generational change’ is an ever-present concern in teacher education circles, as new cohorts of teachers and teacher educators must emerge to succeed outgoing generations of researchers, scholars and practitioners. These concerns are equally relevant to the future of teacher education journals that must attract and represent the interests of new and emerging scholars in a competitive field of publication channels. We specifically want to encourage articles from postgraduate research students and to showcase this work in each journal issue, perhaps in a dedicated section if contributions of sufficient quality are made. To indicate our commitment to generational change we have created an administrative position for one of our postgraduate students to act as an editorial assistant, thereby fostering the acquisition of vital skills associated with editing a journal—an important, though often neglected domain of academic apprenticeship. This position will allow for mentoring in the craft of academic writing and critical appraisal of the writing of others. Together, we hope these strategies will provide emerging academics with an additional outlet for their work and will encourage practitioners to become involved in writing and research. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education Vol. 33, No. 1, March 2005, pp. 1–3

Editing a journal in the era of ERA

In 2008 we ended the year with an editorial speculating about the changing times facing teacher education in Australia and in many locations around the world. One of the changes we referred to was the research accountability exercise known as ERA (Excellence in Research for Australia). As editors we were curious about the impact this might have on journal and paper submissions, in particular. For this reason we are keenly observing the educational community for reactions and feedback that is likely to reflect on our work as editors. We now feel it timely to share with you some of our observations from the year 2009.

Two years in, two years out: Imagining the future of APJTE

Whether and how the future might be imagined are deep philosophical questions and the focus of much debate. Like Widdicombe (2006), we see imagining the future to be, at least in part, a retrospective act. As McNeil (2006, p. 63) reminds us, however, it also entails ‘‘sketching out the present’’ to identify ways of moving beyond what we currently know and do. Two years into our editorship of APJTE, it is timely to look back on changes during our ‘‘watch’’ to date, to identify where we see APJTE currently, and to envisage what APJTE might look like two years hence. Our editorship has brought continuities, but also changes. We have continued to promote the journal’s mission of promoting research and scholarship into teacher education and development, broadly conceived, and the sociocultural, political and historical contexts in which they are embedded. We have also maintained APJTE’s tradition of publishing an eclectic mix of articles that draw on diverse theoretical frames and methodologies. At the same time, however, we have made explicit our preference for articles that foreground critical perspectives and ethical considerations and provide another take on the taken-for-granted. Our aim is to continue that trajectory, with expectations that APJTE will continue to consolidate its standing amongst leading international teacher education journals. As citation counts and journal ranking exercises continue to gain momentum that goal gains increasing political salience. Over the past two years, we have welcomed the strengthening ties with APJTE’s sponsoring organisation the Australian Teacher Education Association (ATEA). Tangible signs of our closer association include the publication of presidential addresses to the 2005 and 2006 annual conferences of ATEA and the well-attended, pre-conference writing workshops for early career researchers and prospective contributors to APJTE that we have conducted in our capacity as Editors. As ATEA establishes and strengthens links with equivalent teacher education associations internationally, we hope to attract increasing numbers of submissions from members of those sister organisations. We are also keenly aware that part of APJTE’s remit, as its name reflects, is to take seriously the Asia-Pacific focus of the Journal. We now receive many submissions from the ‘‘Asia’’ focus of the journal’s remit, but not from the ‘‘Pacific’’ focus. We would like to redress this absence in the future and invite contributions from Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education Vol. 35, No. 1, February 2007, pp. 1–4

Researching Teacher Education in New Times

Teacher education and research into teacher education continues to face a climate of public and political scrutiny. In Australia, the Top of the class report documents no fewer than 100 inquiries, reports and political investigations of both teaching and teacher education that have been conducted over the past 20 years (House of Representatives, 2007). In international contexts, reviews of teacher education acknowledge that the teaching profession is facing a changing future and we still have much to learn about preparing teachers of the future (Cochran-Smith & Zeichner, 2005). Of no less concern to teacher education research, is the increasing diversity of both teachers and the students they teach. Zumwalt and Craig (2005) note increasing diversity within the teaching profession itself, while other reports have noted a growing dissimilarity between the teaching workforce and the students that they teach (House of Representatives, 2007). This dissimilarity reflects differing cultural and language backgrounds, while other research has noted ‘‘generational’’ differences in proficient use of technologies and emerging information and communication technologies (Mayer, 2005; Selwyn & Gorard, 2002). These discrepancies between the teachers of the future and the students they will teach parallel the changing face of teacher education students and the teacher education classes in which they study. As the papers in this issue demonstrate, teacher education research in new times is concerned with the political and epistemological discourses surrounding teacher education, and with the pedagogy and practice of teacher education in diverse teacher education classes. The first paper in this volume continues on from the recent special issue: ‘‘Robust hope in teacher education’’. In this paper Michael Singh examines the Top of the class report using five analytic strategies suggested by Raymond Williams. By employing this approach Singh aims to ‘‘make hope practical and robust’’ for beginning teacher education through research and analysis. Robbie Johnston critiques dominant discourses underpinning Australian national and state curriculum documents pertaining to studies of society and environment and illustrates how they shape pre-service teacher pedagogical decisions. She argues Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education Vol. 35, No. 4, November 2007, pp. 329–331