ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Barriers Encountered in the Transfer of Educational Training to Workplace Practice in Saudi Arabia
Author: Almannie, Mohamed
Date: 2015-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Barriers,Transfer of Training,Technology Transfer,Organizational Development,Outcomes of Education,Questionnaires,Teacher Attitudes,Administrator Attitudes,Work Environment,Faculty Development,Program Effectiveness,Program Evaluation,Developing Nations,Expectation,Collegiality,Supervisor Supervisee Relationship,Change Strategies,Educational Administration,Teacher Surveys,Elementary Secondary Education,Graduate Students

This study introduces a critical issue in the practicality of training programs, not only in Saudi Arabia, but also in other developing countries where billions of dollars are spent on training human resources without evaluation of these programs on workplace practice and organization development. This study investigates barriers encountered in the transfer of training to workplace practice in a sample of 90 teachers and school principals, who completed the LTSI questionnaire. We found that although trainees have high expectations for training programs, they faced several barriers in the workplace: 65% of trainees showed limited transfer of training to the workplace due to a lack of encouragement from management; 55% had difficulties applying what they had learned; 45% of trainees considered their work environment unsuitable for transfer of training lessons; 72% faced a lack of cooperation from management; and 64% faced a lack of cooperation from colleagues. This study confirms the results of an earlier study on female school principals in Saudi Arabia. We recommend that the Ministry of Education limit such barriers by training managers and supervisors to be receptive to changes in workplace practice, to be accountable for providing better environments, and to be active in giving feedback on training lessons to employees. This study has implications in Saudi Arabia, and other developing countries facing these same barriers.
Chinese Students' Attitudes Towards the Use of English-Medium Instruction into the Curriculum Courses: A Case Study of a National Key University in Beijing
Author: Muthanna, Abdulghani
Date: 2015-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Asians,Language of Instruction,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Student Attitudes,Language Attitudes,Semi Structured Interviews,Foreign Countries,Positive Attitudes,Graduate Study,Undergraduate Students,Higher Education,Educational Quality,Reputation,Competition,Language Proficiency,Educational Strategies,Qualitative Research,Case Studies

This article outlines the necessity for investigating the attitudes of local students towards the use of the English-medium instruction (EMI) strategy in their programs in China. It starts by presenting an overview of English as a global language, how English is emphasized in China, and briefly presents the concept of &quot;Attitude&quot; and how the motivation factor plays a significant role in the conception processing of attitudes. Semi-structured interviews with six graduate students majoring in different programs are conducted. The analysis of the interviews identified that the participants hold very positive attitudes towards the use of the EMI strategy at their current programs. The participants, furthermore, expressed their complete readiness to join post-graduate programs wherein only the EMI strategy is implemented. In addition to the factors identified in the literature, the current article also recognized new factors that led the participants to conceiving positive attitudes: maintaining a global friendship, obtaining a leadership position, and acquainting with international scholars. Moreover, it is argued that &quot;quantity&quot; precedes &quot;quality&quot; in higher education institutions. Finally, the article provides a suggestion for how to meet the students' language needs and maximize the competition in obtaining top world-class university rankings.
Rater Perceptions of Bias Using the Multiple Mini-Interview Format: A Qualitative Study
Author: Alweis, Richard L.
Date: 2015-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Interviews,Interrater Reliability,Qualitative Research,Semi Structured Interviews,Personality Traits,Behavior,Data Analysis,Test Format,Test Reliability,Test Validity,Item Analysis,Experimenter Characteristics,Medical Education,Teacher Attitudes,Administrator Attitudes,Test Bias,Response Style (Tests),Questioning Techniques,Medical Schools,Graduate Medical Education

Introduction: The Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) format appears to mitigate individual rater biases. However, the format itself may introduce structural systematic bias, favoring extroverted personality types. This study aimed to gain a better understanding of these biases from the perspective of the interviewer. Methods: A sample of MMI interviewers participated in a series of primary and follow-up one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Interviews pursued subjects of perception of biases (including norming; applicant personality, appearance and behavior; and interviewer personality) associated with the MMI process. Emergent qualitative data analysis was performed using the constant-comparative method. Results: A number of perceived biases were identified by subjects, sub-grouped into cultural factors, personality factors, perception of prior preparation, concerns with norming, and biases associated with specific applicant characteristics. Discussion: While the MMI appears to help mitigate individual rater biases, our analysis suggests that raters perceive structural systematic biases may be introduced by the question type and format of the MMI itself. Whether rater awareness of these biases mitigates them, and whether these herald other unconscious biases is unknown.
Is &quot;Education&quot; Becoming Irrelevant in Our Research?
Author: Webster, R. S.
Date: 2004-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Research,Accountability,Research Problems,Role of Education,Educational Attitudes,Foreign Countries

It is argued in this paper that in a culture of &quot;performativity&quot; research into &quot;education&quot; is often avoided. It is observed in many research publications that attention is given to techniques of learning, teaching, management, social equity, identity formation, leadership and delivery of the curriculum, without a justification being offered as to why such instrumental approaches should be regarded as being &quot;educational&quot;. Often research quite unproblematically adopts rational-economic justifications couched in terms of &quot;efficiency&quot; and &quot;effectiveness&quot;. Such approaches are however identified as nihilistic and not educational (Blake &quot;et al.&quot;, 2000). In his book &quot;After Virtue&quot; (1984), Alasdair MacIntyre argues that the language of morality is under a state of grave disorder. It is here argued that similarly the language of education is also under threat of becoming 'irrelevant' in a highly technocratic world. Pring (2000) describes the discourse of education as consisting of five concepts: learning; teaching; process; worthwhileness; and personhood. It is proposed here that these latter three in particular are too often being neglected in our research. This paper seeks to examine how these two concepts of &quot;worthwhileness&quot; and &quot;personhood&quot; are integral to education, and how researchers may usefully integrate these into their own research practices.
Reflection: Journals and Reflective Questions: A Strategy for Professional Learning
Author: Clarke, Maggie
Date: 2004-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Reflective Teaching,Journal Writing,Questionnaires,Internship Programs,Student Teachers,Reflection,Group Discussion,Qualitative Research

Reflective journals have been used widely in teacher education programs to promote reflective thinking (Freidus, 1998; Carter &amp; Francis, 2000; Yost, Senter &amp; Forlenzo-Bailey, 2000). Smyth (1992) advocated that posing a series of questions to be answered in written journals could enhance reflective thinking. It was for this reason that reflective responses to directed questions were introduced in 2002 and subsequently in 2003 in the Bachelor of Education 4th year primary internship program at the University of Western Sydney, Australia. The internship program provided a sustained ten-week period of time in a school that afforded student teachers the opportunity to examine their practice in an authentic setting of teaching. This paper reports on the process undertaken to assist internship students to understand the reflection process and their responses to reflective questions. These responses are analysed in relation to the internship students' professional learning using a framework described by Dietz (1998).
Cooperating Teachers as School Based Teacher Educators: Student Teachers' Expectations
Author: Atputhasamy, Lourdusamy
Date: 2005-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Student Teachers,Cooperating Teachers,Teacher Educators,Student Teacher Supervisors,Practicum Supervision,Expectation,Feedback (Response),Classroom Techniques,Questionnaires,Statistical Analysis

The National Institute of Education (NIE), Singapore adapted and implemented a Partnership Model with schools in 1999 to help student teachers translate what they have learned in the teacher education programme into practice during the Practicum. This was realized through the utilization of classroom practitioners as cooperating teachers (CTs) to monitor and supervise student teacher's teaching. This study explored the expectations of the student teachers from their cooperating teachers and the type and level of help they received from their cooperating teachers during the practicum. The areas in which help is desired and considered important by student teachers fall under four broad categories: help in teaching the curriculum subjects, help in classroom management, information to function well in the school environment, and help in evaluating and providing feedback on their teaching. The level of help provided in these areas was below the level of student teachers' expectations. The article suggests how the role and status of the CTs may be improved to become effective partners in teacher education.
What Music Teachers Want: The Emergence of a Unified Understanding of an Ideal Teacher Education Course
Author: Ballantyne, Julie
Date: 2006-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teacher Burnout,Teacher Education Programs,Music Teachers,Secondary School Teachers,Music Education,Teacher Attitudes,Program Design,Educational Change,Semi Structured Interviews,Foreign Countries,Sampling,Educational Philosophy,Questionnaires

&quot;Burnout&quot; and praxis shock seem to be causing teachers to leave the profession early. Much research suggests that this is a reflection on the quality of teacher education programs. Interviews with teachers who were in their first four years in the secondary music classroom reveal how they view their pre-service preparation, and therefore provide an insight into how pre-service teacher education might be effectively reconceptualised. This paper explores the relationship between Zeichner and Liston's (1990) teacher education &quot;traditions&quot; and early-career music teachers' perceptions of an &quot;ideal&quot; teacher education course. Analyses of interviews with 15 early-career secondary classroom music teachers suggest the emergence of a common understanding regarding the design of effective music teacher education programs. Rather than representing any of Zeichner and Liston's four traditions in particular, early-career music teachers speak of a music teacher education approach that incorporates all of the traditions in an integrated way. This understanding of an &quot;ideal&quot; teacher education course should be considered when designing or reconceptualising teacher education courses in order to provide improved opportunities for future music teachers.
Learning &quot;Through&quot; or Learning &quot;About&quot;? The Ridiculous and Extravagant Medium of Opera : Gardner's Multiple Intellegences in Pre-Service Teacher Education
Author: White, Julie
Date: 2004-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Opera,Multiple Intelligences,Preservice Teachers,Foreign Countries,Student Attitudes,Performance,Action Research,Teaching Methods,Teacher Education Programs,Learning Processes

In recent years, pre-service teacher education has attempted to incorporate into programs an understanding of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences as it applies to schools. In this paper the tension between &quot;learning about&quot; multiple intelligences and &quot;learning through&quot; multiple intelligences supports Gardner's (1993) distinction between &quot;understanding&quot; and &quot;coverage&quot;. This paper examines the use of the performing arts in the professional studies component of our teacher education program. During 2002 at The University of Melbourne, a group of education students were offered the opportunity to develop an opera in order to learn about assessment and curriculum. Thirty-seven of the students volunteered to be involved and over a period of six months met this challenge. Our action research study asked two critical questions. To what extent is the understanding of multiple intelligences by pre-service teachers improved by &quot;learning through&quot;? Can pre-service teachers address fundamental issues in curriculum and assessment through the development of a performance? This experience would be of value to other teacher educators.
Students' Observations and Perceptions of Teacher &quot;Performances&quot; in the Classroom
Author: Dalley-Trim, Leanne
Date: 2007-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Student Evaluation of Teacher Performance,Teacher Characteristics,Educational Practices,Teaching Methods,Learning Activities,Teacher Effectiveness,Teaching Styles,Teacher Student Relationship,Foreign Countries,Case Studies,Observation,Questionnaires,Semi Structured Interviews,Qualitative Research

This paper documents students' observations and perceptions of their respective teachers' &quot;performance&quot; within the context of four year nine English classrooms. Drawing upon student interview data--and signalling researcher observations on occasion--it identifies key themes pertaining to the performances of the teachers. Specifically, it addresses the students' perceptions of the qualities or characteristics of their teachers, and the sets of practices employed by the teachers; and the students' views of the types of learning activities with which--and the classroom contexts within which--they were expected to engage. The paper identifies those teacher performances deemed by students to be &quot;effective&quot; and &quot;ineffective&quot; and the constitution of these performances, and draws conclusions as to what we, as educators, might learn from the students with regards to effective teach-er/ing practice. Finally, it is noted that while this paper draws specifically upon student observations and perceptions of English teachers' performances, these offer valuable insights for all teachers--teachers of all subjects and across all sectors of education.
Establishing Professional Identity: Narrative as Curriculum for Pre-Service Teacher Education
Author: Hooley, Neil
Date: 2007-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Preservice Teacher Education,Professional Identity,Foreign Countries,Personal Narratives,Curriculum Development,Teacher Education Curriculum,Inquiry,Qualitative Research,Commercialization

It is unclear to what extent Australian teachers over recent years have resisted the impact of globalisation, marketisation and commodification on education generally and their daily work in classrooms specifically. Do teachers still see education as a public good, of personal and democratic importance in its own right regardless of the socio-economic background of students, or is education a critical component of material gain and individual, competitive advancement? Have teachers confronted these issues in reference to their own professional identities, in developing a strong relationship with their own knowledges as the essence of their educative role with young people? This paper suggests that such matters are still being played out in Australia, although the apparent weakness of the relationship that teachers have with their personal professional knowledge has contributed to an increasing commodification of education, especially in regards the Year 12 certificate. It is proposed that reconstructing initial teacher education on the basis of systematic narrative inquiry might collectively refocus the practice of teacher educators and preservice teachers so that a community indeed moral imperative to learning is established. The discussion outlines connections between professional identity and narrative research and questions of credible and authentic learning for teacher education.
My Story in a Profession of Stories: Auto Ethnography-- An Empowering Methodology for Educators
Author: Dyson, Michael
Date: 2007-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Autobiographies,Ethnography,Research Methodology,Figurative Language,Qualitative Research,Personal Narratives,Story Telling,Transformative Learning,Foreign Countries

This paper highlights a distinctive way to research and present issues within education using metaphor and the qualitative narrative methodology known as auto ethnography. Auto ethnographic writing links the personal to the cultural and is recognised as a methodology that combines the method with the writing of the text, which in turn explicates the personal story, or journey of the writer, within the culture in which the investigation, or experience, takes place. Although auto ethnography has not been common within education its value and the perception of its worth is changing. This paper uses auto ethnography to investigate and relate a personal encounter occurring within a particular educational and social context. It also presents a framework for perceiving the rise in consciousness, facilitated by the use of metaphor, as one moves through the &quot;Landscape of Action&quot; and the &quot;Landscape of Consciousness&quot;, to the &quot;Landscape of Transformation&quot;.
Changing Perceptions of Knowledge: Evaluation of an Innovative Program for Pre-Service Secondary Teachers
Author: Hooley, Neil
Date: 2005-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Secondary School Teachers,Preservice Teachers,Instructional Innovation,School Organization,Teacher Education Programs,Foreign Countries,Graduate Students,Integrated Curriculum,Mentors,Program Descriptions,Partnerships in Education,Student Projects,Work Environment,Experiential Learning,Educational Change,Knowledge Base for Teaching,Program Evaluation

Pre-service programs for secondary teachers have traditionally involved method subjects, where participants are inducted into the curriculum practices of two disciplinary or subject areas. In 2003, Victoria University of Technology, Melbourne, enrolled a small group of fourteen pre-service teachers into an innovative Graduate Diploma of Secondary Education that directly challenged these program assumptions. Method subjects were collapsed into an integrated study of the theory, skills and practices of classroom work and connections were drawn between all enrolled subjects or knowledge. Another key feature of the program involved all pre-service teachers being placed at the one school for their partnership experience, including classroom teaching and a requirement to undertake an applied curriculum project negotiated as being important for the school. Mentor teachers from the school presented a series of evening tutorials on issues such as systemic requirements, curriculum innovation and school organization. This approach to site-based teacher education builds on a project funded by Department of Education, Science and Technology and conducted by Victoria University some years ago. The paper describes the evaluation of the program and suggests some curriculum changes and the resources required. It also provides some advice for the establishment of similar site-based work that attempts to break the mould of traditional thinking on separated knowledge in teacher education.
Assessing the Nature of Science Views of Singaporean Pre-Service Teachers
Author: Thye, Tan Lip
Date: 2004-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Preservice Teachers,Science Instruction,Teaching Methods,Student Attitudes,Measures (Individuals),Questionnaires,Teacher Education

Despite the many developments in the teaching of science, an aspect that continues to be neglected appears to be the character and nature of science (NOS). This is becoming especially important in the light of recent developments in pedagogy, as, for example, more teachers adopt constructivist methodologies and computing technology enables simulations that may blur the lines between models and reality. From the literature, it is known that teachers' modern NOS conceptions, though not a sufficient condition for transmission of modern NOS views, is necessary. In this study, pre-service teachers' NOS conceptions are assessed with an adapted Views of the Nature of Science (VNOS) instrument, originally designed by Lederman, Abd-El-Khalick, Bell, and Schwartz (2002). The modified instrument is an eight-item, open ended questionnaire--designed to elicit descriptive responses to common NOS misconceptions. Responses were analysed into coded categories of &quot;informed&quot;, &quot;uninformed&quot;, and &quot;ambiguous&quot;. It was found that a significant proportion of teachers possessed uninformed views. Some implications for teaching and teacher education are presented in this paper for discussion.
Teachers' Stories of Change: Stress, Care and Economic Rationality
Author: Easthope, Chris
Date: 2007-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Stress Variables,Faculty Workload,Case Studies,Foreign Countries,Caring,Teacher Attitudes,Teacher Effectiveness,Economic Factors,Educational Change,Ideology,Educational Administration,Secondary School Teachers,Interviews

The impact of economic rationalism on teachers' working lives has been documented extensively, particularly in the UK. This article provides a case study of its impact in the early 1990s in a small Australian state, Tasmania, to illustrate that although the particular institutional forms through which it is expressed may differ its impact is similar. We do this by focusing on teachers' stories of change that have stress as a major theme. Stress is partially explained by increased workloads, teachers teaching outside their specialist areas and a changing student population. However, the ideology of economic rationalism has heightened stress because of the perceived lack of administrative care. A major stressor is trying to maintain a professional ideology of caring while, concurrently, accommodating to economic rationality. The clash of ideologies leads teachers to reduce commitment by leaving teaching, moving to part-time employment, withdrawing into classroom teaching and/or rationalising their workload with, they perceive, a decrease in the quality of teaching.