Quinta Kools

What and how teacher educators prefer to learn

In which areas and domains do individual teacher educators prefer to work on their professional development? What kind of learning activities do they want to take on and with whom? Are there significant differences in these preferences between teacher educators? This article reports on a recent survey (N = 268) about the professional development of teacher educators and differences in learning preferences between less and more experienced teacher educators and between university-based and school-based teacher educators. Findings show, for example, that while most university-based teacher educators were mainly interested in improving their teaching, less experienced school-based teacher educators were more focussed on aspects such as coaching skills. In this study, ‘learning profiles’ have been developed for four categories of teacher educators. These profiles may help to create more meaningful arrangements for teacher educators’ initial education and further professional development in a context where teacher education is required to have a more school-based as well as a more research-based orientation.

Measuring student teachers' basic psychological needs

In Self-Determination Theory, basic psychological needs for relatedness, autonomy and competence are distinguished. Basic psychological need-fulfilment is considered to be critical for human development and intrinsic motivation. In the Netherlands, the concept of basic psychological need-fulfilment is introduced in the curricula of many teacher education institutes. This study reports on five teacher education institutes for primary school teachers where study coaches made use of a Dutch version of the Basic Psychological Needs Scale (BPNS) to collect data to be used in a discussion with student teachers about their intrinsic motivation for a specific part of the teacher education course. On the basis of the outcomes of this discussion, study coaches and student teachers derived consequences for day-to-day practice in their classrooms. The data which resulted were also used to establish whether the theoretical distinction between three basic psychological needs was found in this sample of student teachers in the Netherlands. The results show that the constructs of relatedness, autonomy and competence were found and could be measured using a 14-item five-point scale, based partly on the original BPNS and partly on new items that focus on different sources of perceived need-fulfilment, namely teacher education in general, the study coach and fellow students.

Professional development of teacher educators: what do they do? Findings from an explorative international study

The attention being devoted to teacher educators as professionals and their professional development is unquestionably increasing. Whilst much of that attention is being directed at teacher educators in different countries, international comparisons have been quite rare to date. The research question addressed in this study was: ‘Do experienced teacher educators from different countries differ in their concerns, professional development activities and developmental goals?’ Interviews were conducted with 25 participants from 10 different countries, all of whom were experienced teacher educators. Teacher educators’ concerns varied in the course of their careers. During their induction their primary focus tended to be on survival, whereas later on in their careers their concerns became linked to their own professional identity and their students as individuals. Participants from all the participating countries were involved in a range of developmental activities. A large majority was involved in research-related activities which they perceived as an important tool in their professional development. All the participants had plans for their further professional development but sometimes foresaw hindrances to the realisation of those plans, such as a lack of resources and time. The interview data did not provide evidence to suggest clear country-specific differences. In fact, the opposite would appear to be the case: teacher educators from different countries seem to have similar concerns, and their current professional development activities and plans for future development are also quite comparable.

Supporting the professional development of teacher educators in a productive way

This study reports on what 13 teacher educators going through a procedure to become registered as a teacher educator in 2011–2012 learned, what goals they formulated for their further professional development and what activities they planned to achieve these goals. The methods used in this study are mainly the same as were used at the time the first cohort went through the registration procedure in 2002. The 2012 cohort participated in a supportive programme, whereas the 2002 cohort did not. This enables a comparison of the results of both studies and thus some insight into the possible benefits of integrating a registration procedure with a supportive programme for the professional development of teacher educators.

Teacher educators as curriculum developers: exploration of a professional role

Abstract Teacher educators arguably fulfil several roles in their professional context: they can be seen as role models or teachers of teachers, and have additionally been characterised as researchers, mentors, gatekeepers, brokers, and curriculum developers. To address a perceived gap in the literature on the latter role, a quantitative and qualitative exploratory study into educators’ own perceptions of their role as curriculum developers was conducted at a large teacher education department in the Netherlands. Seventy-five educators completed a digital questionnaire. Their responses reveal that the participants generally consider themselves to be curriculum developers, are aware of the responsibilities this professional role entails, and can pinpoint concrete practices in which the role becomes visible. The findings furthermore suggest that educators have been prepared for and develop professionally in this role in a variety of ways, mostly through informal learning with their colleagues at the workplace. Based on these findings, recommendations are made to inform educational practice, policy, and research.

Toetsen van academische- en onderzoekvaardigheden

Studenten uit hbo en wo doen onderzoek als onderdeel van hun opleiding. Voor hbo-studenten gaat het om praktijkgericht onderzoek dat ondersteunend is aan hun beroep, bij wo-studenten fungeert het onderzoek als bewijs voor startbewaamheid voor zelfstandige wetenschapsbeoefening. In beide gevallen is het beoordelen van onderzoekvaardigheden niet eenvoudig omdat zowel het proces van onderzoek (hoe is het uitgevoerd?) als het product (wordt de onderzoeksvraag beantwoord, is er een ontwerp of prototype?) worden meegenomen. De meest voorkomende manier om de onderzoekvaardigheid van studenten te beoordelen is door studenten een verslag te laten schrijven over het door hen uitgevoerde onderzoek. Voor de (formatieve en summatieve) beoordeling wordt doorgaans gebruikgemaakt van een rubric met criteria die ontleend zijn aan stappen uit het onderzoeksproces. De criteria kunnen betreft inhoud en weging verschillen voor hbo en wo.

Fostering teacher educators’ professional development in research and in supervising student teachers’ research

Abstract Most teacher educators who work at institutes for higher vocational education have faced a new role since the European Community aimed to upgrade the general quality of education. Research tasks have been added as a new important core business for institutes that used to be mainly focused on education. Teacher educators therefore have to become familiar with research knowledge and skills, and with the skills to supervise student teachers in conducting research. Professional development activities have been set up to prepare them for it. In this explorative study, we investigated the extent to which four different professional development activities within three Dutch institutes for teacher education contributed to the knowledge and skills needed for these new tasks. We gathered data by interviewing 12 teacher educators. In addition to some striking differences, we found corresponding positive experiences in all four activities. Exchanging experiences and discussing issues with colleagues was perceived to be the most outstanding part of each activity. This research has yielded necessary insights into constructing professional development activities. It is clear that any professional development activity about research should be consistent with teacher educators’ daily practices and concerns.

Toetsen van onderzoekvaardigheden

In dit hoofdstuk beschrijven we hoe onderzoekvaardigheid van studenten in het hoger onderwijs kan worden beoordeeld