Paul F. Conway

The journey inward and outward: a re-examination of Fuller's concerns-based model of teacher development

Abstract This study re-examines Fullers widely cited model of teacher development. Fullers model of teacher development, based on an analysis of teachers’ concerns, posits a three-stage model of teacher development moving from (1) concerns about self, to (2) concerns about tasks, to (3) concerns about students and the impact of teaching. The study examined Intern teacher development during a two-semester Internship program in teaching by focusing on the patterns of Interns’ evolving concerns and aspirations. Six Interns were interviewed about their hopes and fears three times one-to-one and in focus groups over a 6-month period. Our claims both support and extend Fullers developmental model. Interns’ concerns appeared to shift, as Fuller predicted, from self, to tasks to students—a journey outward. However, their concerns and aspirations also shifted from those about personal capacity to manage their classrooms to concerns about their personal capacity to grow as a teacher and person, as their understanding of teaching and all it involves changed—a journey inward. We argue that the pattern of Interns’ concerns and aspirations moves outward, as suggested by Fuller, but also inward with heightened reflexivity and attention to development of self-as-teacher during the Internship.

Anticipatory reflection while learning to teach: from a temporally truncated to a temporally distributed model of reflection in teacher education

Abstract This article argues that current reflective practitioner models have a temporally truncated bias that has resulted in an emphasis on retrospective over prospective reflection. The temporally distributed nature of prospective teacher thinking is illustrated using data from a study that examined six Intern teachers’ future-oriented reflection. Themes that emerged from Interns’ graphical depictions and verbal descriptions of the Internship were (i) the discrepancy between anticipated and actual experience, (ii) the reliance on cultural grand narratives, and (iii) the role of hope. I make a case for finding more of a balance between memory and imagination in teacher education pedagogy.

Methodological Choice and Its Consequences for Possible Selves Research

The literature on possible selves has grown significantly since the development of the construct in the mid-1980s. Situating our discussion of possible selves in the long-standing and extensive literature on self and identity, our goal in this article is to examine methodological choice and its consequences within possible selves research for both the researcher and the participant. Toward this goal, we reviewed 141 empirical articles and highlight here 4 methodological clusters within them, including the original predominant cluster, involving structured survey and interview, and 3 more recent less frequently employed clusters: narrative, visual, and drama. In this article, we discuss various limitations and advantages of each cluster, focusing on researcher investment (e.g., time, resources), researcher role (e.g., information gathering, intervention), the nature of participant input, and what is learned by each approach. In our conclusion, we outline areas of future development and concern for the study of possible selves and the development of self-knowledge and identity more generally. We argue that for possible selves research to prosper conceptually, it is vital that researchers attend carefully to their methodological choices and the implications of those choices for what can be learned.

A rising tide meets a perfect storm: new accountabilities in teaching and teacher education in Ireland

This paper examines the emergence of new accountabilities in teaching and teacher education in Ireland in the 15 years period 1997–2012. Framing accountability in terms of the three main approaches to it globally in education systems, that is, compliance with regulations, adherence to professional norms and attainment of results/outcomes, we identify significant changes, particularly, in compliance- and results-driven accountability. A ‘rising tide’ of accountability, due to the interrelated influences of the European higher education space, education legislation and professional self-regulation policies (i.e. Teaching Council), is evident since the late 1990s. This was punctuated by a ‘perfect storm’ in 2010 comprising ‘bad news’ from PISA 2009, the economic bailout and strategic leadership at a system level. The cumulative impact of the ‘rising tide’ and ‘perfect storm’ is evident in how they reframed both ‘to whom’ and ‘for what’ accountability in teacher education relates. Significantly, the new accountabilities in teaching and teacher education reflect a move towards the dominant global education reform movement (Sahlberg 2007) with its emphasis on standardisation, narrow focus on literacy and numeracy and higher stakes accountability.

Novice teachers as ‘invisible’ learners

The present study focuses on the way novice teachers, who are part of a one-year postgraduate diploma in post-primary teaching, have opted to negotiate their status as school teachers. In particular, it asks why novice teachers prefer to hide as they scramble to learn how to teach. On the basis of three separate interviews spaced out though the teaching year 2009 (January, March, May), a team of university-based tutors probed for student reactions to competence-based issues. Adopting a sociocultural perspective, this study drew upon roughly 10% of the pre-service student cohort (n = 17), each in a different placement location. The study looked, in particular, at their negotiating power, particularly the effect of school supports for their reality as learners. Findings suggest that without quality mentoring support, our pre-service teachers prefer to become ‘invisible’ as learners. Three pre-professional stances are identified: fragile, robust and competitive. The key finding is that none of these pre-professional stances mitigate pre-service students’ lack of negotiating power. On the other hand, informal school-based supports can help students considerably.

Images of heroes and heroines: how stable?

Abstract Heroic images are presented here as constructed possible selves which may play an important role in self development. A questionnaire was given to 510 Irish and 190 U.S. third and fourth grade children in a study designed to investigate (1) their conceptions of the heroic and (2) the effects of a classroom intervention on the Irish childrens choices of heroes and heroines. The educational program was constructivist and designed to challenge children to reconsider their ideas about heroic figures and to engage in discussion designed to promote prosocial attitudes in concrete ways. While national origin and gender strongly influenced childrens heroic images, there were strong factor structure similarities in U.S. and Irish samples. “The good” was the first factor, the fifth an antiheroic factor, and the others reflected figures from film, television and sport. In addition, gender differences in the choice of proximal and distal heroic figures were identified. Prosocial effects due to the intervention program were encouraging and discussed within the context of Irish educational objectives.

Authoring oneself and being authored as a competent teacher

What kind of self is being made available and denied to student teachers as they participate in life in their teaching practice schools? In addressing this question empirically, the article seeks to show the forms of meaning being made and experienced by student teachers and the identities that are authored, authorised and constrained. A sociocultural perspective on professional learning, with its emphasis on participation agency and identity, illuminates aspects of the process of becoming a teacher and highlights the tension that is there for students within available meanings. Having to opt to be a teacher at the expense of a learner identity constrains what is available to be appropriated in professional settings with potential consequences for how beginner teachers frame themselves, their learners and their colleagues.

Cultural Flashpoint: The Politics of Teacher Education Reform in Ireland

Abstract The publication of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009 (Cosgrove et al., 2010; Perkins et al., 2010) reading literacy results heralded a crisis of confidence in educational standards in Ireland. This article examines the national and international context of teacher education reform and the politics of the policy response to the perceived crisis. In essence, this response represents a system shift toward the global education reform movement (GERM) characterized by standardisation, narrowed curriculum focus, and stricter accountability.

InFo-TED: bringing policy, research, and practice together around teacher educator development

This chapter is contributed by InFo-TED, the International Forum for Teacher Educator Development. This newly established community brings together people from across the world to exchange research, policy, and practice related to teacher educators’ professional learning and development. We define teacher educators broadly as those who are professionally involved and engaged in the initial and on-going education of teachers. Our contention is that while there is general agreement about the important role played by teacher educators, their professional education is under-studied and under-supported. Here, we elaborate the rationale for this initiative, delineate our conceptual framework, and provide examples of steps taken in Belgium, Ireland, and Norway to develop the professional identities and knowledge bases of those who educate and support teachers, and conclude with implications for a implications for a scholarly study agenda having to do with research, policy, and practice relating to teacher educators’ professional development.

Global Perspective on Political Definitions of E-learning: Commonalities and Differences in National Educational Technology Strategy Discourses

The apparent immense educational potential of the new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has captivated politicians, policy makers, educational leaders, teachers, communities, and business over the last decade around the world. For example, Education in and for the Information Society, a UNESCO publication, launched in conjunction with the United Nations and International Telecommunications Union-led World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), held in Geneva in December 2003, reminded readers that educational ICTs are seen as having the capacity