Gayla Rogers

Violence and Subjectivity in Teacher Education

Caught between the demands of the normative (what they believe they ought to be and value) and normalisation (what professional others tell them that they should be and value), teacher candidates often experience themselves as belated even though they are newcomers to the profession—simultaneously heirs to a history and new to it. In this paper we illustrate and explore the tensions that result between ‘new’ and ‘old’ in teacher education. Drawing on Lyotards concept of the différend, we examine the narratives of a practicum triad—one student teacher and his two mentors—as they each attempt to make sense of their irreconcilable differences. We conclude by discussing how the profession might fulfill its obligation to judge the adequacy of new teachers while remaining hospitable to the difference they introduce.

THINKING CRITICALLY: AN APPROACH TO FIELD INSTRUCTOR TRAINING

This study evaluated a ten-week course designed for social work field instructors interested in developing a critically reflective approach to field instruction. The course trained participants to think critically about their role in preparing professional social workers. A pretest-posttest nonequivalent compari son group design was utilized. The Watson—Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal was used as the measurement instrument. Using t-tests, the findings indicate that the participants significantly increased their overall ability to think critically when compared to the control group. The implications for practicum instruction are addressed.

Conflict in the Preceptorship or Field Experience: A Rippling Tide of Silence

A major component of the educative process in the professional disciplines is the field education/preceptorship experience in which students are afforded opportunities to develop professional competence under the tutelage of a practising professional and/or a university instructor. During this time students are exposed to competing discourses about what it means to think and act as nurses, teachers, doctors and social workers. Frequently, field teaching is characterized by conflictual situations involving students, field instructors and university faculty. Such conflict is poorly understood as indicated by the lack of literature available in the professional disciplines. The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomenon of conflict within the context of field teaching in professional education. Pivotal to this study was the issue of making sense of the conflict that prospective nurses, teachers, social workers and doctors experience in professional education within the practice realm and how such discourses shape their professional identities, practices and ultimate social values. At issue is the social construction of meaning that takes place within professional education. This study was conducted from the perspective of four professional programs including education, medicine, nursing and social work. The researchers focused on the final year of each program at a time when students were engaged in a major field / preceptorship experience in hospitals, schools, communities and social agencies. The experiences derived from the nursing data are presented in this paper.

Training Field Instructors British Style.

A system recently introduced in Britain for training and accrediting social work field instructors addresses concerns about the quantity of competent field instructors and the quality of field education in social work programs. This article discusses the British training/accrediting system for field instructors, its impact on field education in the UK, and its implications for North American schools of social work, field education, and accreditation standards.

Beyond the Mission Statement: Alternative Futures for Today's Universities

ABSTRACT Many post-secondary institutions utilize the mission statement as the key tool for positioning and marketing their strategic direction. Unfortunately, most mission statements found in higher education are far too simplistic and general to give substance and direction to differentiation and positioning of universities. This paper presents findings from a three-month participatory action research process at a large urban Canadian university seeking to establish a marketing mind set. Five possible futures reflecting the range of thinking regarding the role of universities emerged from the research process. Each alternative represents separate and different possible directions, the implications of which become more evident by contrast.

Virginia: A Story of Conflict in Social Work Field Education

This article considers the case of Virginia, a social work practicum student who experienced conflict in her field placement, in light of Heilbruns notion of liminality—that is, being poised on uncertain ground, leaving one condition or self and entering another. In addition, Virginias experience is explored within the complex web of power and resistance that characterized her relationship with the field instructor, the agency director, and the school.This article considers the case of Virginia, a social work practicum student who experienced conflict in her field placement, in light of Heilbruns notion of liminality—that is, being poised on uncertain ground, leaving one condition or self and entering another. In addition, Virginias experience is explored within the complex web of power and resistance that characterized her relationship with the field instructor, the agency director, and the school.

Transformation in higher education: a learner–needs segmentation leads to improved learner satisfaction

Segmentation is a marketing concept that can be applied in a post-secondary context. This article delineates the outcome of applying a learner–needs segmentation that resulted in significantly improved learner satisfaction scores in a professional faculty at a large public university. Our original work described the purpose and value of learner–needs segmentation to enable a better understanding of the undergraduates at a larger urban university. This article describes how a single faculty implemented a learner–needs segmentation to underpin curriculum redesign, program realignment and services to its students.

Understanding Individual Differences in University Undergraduates: A Learner Needs Segmentation Approach.

The purpose of this study was to use the marketing concept of segmentation in a post-secondary context in order to gain a better understanding of undergraduate students. Most post-secondary institutions segment their learners in traditional ways based on demographic characteristics such as age, year of program, gender, special needs, and grade point average. The establishment of identifiable learner-based segments is a unique, and arguably a critical, first step which can be of benefit to institutions as they develop recruitment strategies and academic programs that best serve the needs of their unique mix of undergraduate learners.

Falls the shadow and the light: liminality and natality in social work field education

This article is situated within an experience of conflict for Tina, a social work student, who is caught between her beliefs about the virtues of social work practice, and her disillusioning encounter with the schools administration. In this paper, we interpret Tinas experience of conflict by drawing on the central concepts of liminality and natality, and how she moves through disillusionment to illumination, thereby generating new self-understandings and meanings of social work practice. We conclude with the pedagogical implications for students, and educators, and that as messy and complex as the liminal is, it is also vital to the creation of new understandings and regeneration of meaning in professional education.

Peer Collaboration: A Model for Field Instructor Development and Support

Abstract Social work field instructor training, an area of ongoing development in most schools of social work across North America, is typically designed to teach field instructors strategies for effectively educating their practicum students. An important component of field instructor development is the provision of opportunities to critically reflect on field instruction practices. “Peer collaboration,” a type of “learning from each other” offers a compelling adjunct to ongoing field instructor development and support. The Peer Collaboration Model described in this paper aims to improve instructional competency through the development of critically reflective teaching practices. It outlines the basic theoretical premises of peer collaboration and presents the results of the first Peer Collaboration project piloted in a large urban school of social work with a group of field instructors. Issues of recruitment and supporting a peer collaboration program are presented. Lessons learned from the formative and summative evaluations of the process and outcomes, along with recommendations, are discussed.