“Separating the Wheat from the Chaff†– Failures in the Practice based Parts of Swedish Teacher Education

Per Lindqvist, Ulla Karin Nordänger

Abstract


The present case study is part of a larger project where the overall ambition is to understand how an organization, through its way of arguing for the failures in student teaching, at the same time constitutes what is accepted as sufficient teacher quality. The article examines the students short comings from the supervisors and teacher educators perspectives. The analysis shows that the indicators of failure include passivity and rigidity, lack of posture, social timing and self-awareness. The indicators can be categorized into two groups of failures, "those that are of too light weight" and "those carrying some weight". Critical for the categorization was the time for the discovery of the short comings as well as the assessors' experiences of hope for development. The result is then set in relation to the on-going discussion in Sweden about the possibility of introducing an aptitude test before admission to teacher education.

https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.17.1.6


Keywords


Student teaching, failures, aptitude tests, teacher education, teacher competence

Full Text:

PDF

References


Applegate, J.H. (1987). Teacher Candidate Selection.An Owerviev.Journal of Teacher Education, 38:2, 2-6.

Association of Teacher Educators (2008). Handbook of research on teacher education: enduring questions in changing contexts. (3. ed.) New York: Routledge.

Björklund, J. (2011). Lämplighetstest för blivande lärare. [Aptitude tests for prospective teachers] Sveriges Radio, Ekot/ Nyheter, 2011-06-14.Available: http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=83&artikel=4554298 ).

Brear,P. D. &Dorrian, J. (2010). Does Professional Suitabiliy Matter? A National Survey of Austarlian Counselling Educators in Undergarduate and Post-Graduate Training Programs.International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling.32(1), 1-13.

Clandinin, D.J. & Husu, J. (red.) (2017). The Sage handbook of research on teacher education. London: SAGE Publications.

Cochran-Smith, M., McQuillan, P., Mitchell, K., Gahlsdorf Therell, D., Barnatt, J., D'Souza, L., Jong, C., Shakman, K., Lam, K. & Gleeseon, A.M. (2012). A Longitudinal Study of Teaching Practice and Early Career Decisions: A Cautionary Tale. AmericanEducational Research Journal, 49(5), 844-880, https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831211431006

Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, K. (2011). Research Methods in Education. 7th Ed. Milton Park: Routledge.

Danyluk, P., Luhanga, F., Gwekwere, Y., MacEvan, L. & Larocque, S. (2015). Failure to fail in a final pre-service teaching practicum. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 6(3), https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2015.3.5

DN (2006). “Var fjärde examinerad lärare borde ha blivit underkändâ€. [Every fourth graduated teacher should have been failed] DN debatt 2006-11-28. Available: http://www.dn.se/debatt/var-fjarde-examinerad-larare-borde-ha-blivit-underkand

Duffy, K (2003). Failing students.A qualitative study of factors that influence the decisions regarding assessment of students’ competence in practice. Caledonian Nursing and Midwifery Research Centre, School of Nursing, Glasgow Caledonian University, Available: http://science.ulster.ac.uk/nursing/mentorship/docs/nursing/oct11/failingstudents.pdf

Duffy, K. &Hardicre, J. (2007). Supporting failing students in practice 1: assessment. Nursing Times; 103(47), 28-29.

Gardesten, J. & Hegender, H. (2015). Underkännanden inom verksamhetsförlagd lärarutbildning: Resultat frÃ¥n en â€forskningsexpedition i svÃ¥rframkomlig terrängâ€. [Failures in student teaching: Results from a research expedition in impassable terrain] UtbildningochLärande, 9(2).

Glaser, B. & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory. Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press

Goodwin, A. L. &Oyler, C. (2008).Teacher educators as gatekeepers. Deciding who is ready to teach. In M. Cochran-Smith, S. Feiman-Nemser, & D. J. McIntyre (Red.).Handbook of Research on Teacher Education (ss. 468-489). New York: Routledge.

Hartman, J. (1998). Vetenskapligt tänkande [Scienticic thinking]. Lund: Studentlitteratur

Hegender, H. (2010). The assessment of student teachers' academic and professional knowledge in school-based teacher education. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. 54. 151-171, https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831003637931

Knudson, R. & Turley, S. (2000). University Supervisors and At-Risk Student Teachers. Journal of Research and Development in Education, 33(3), 175-186

Johnsson, J. & Yates, J. (1982). A national survey of student teaching programs. DeKalb, IL:Northern Illinois University. (Eric Dokument Reproduction Service No Ed 232963)

Lawson, T., Cakmak, M., Gunduz, M & Busher H. (2015). Research on teaching practicum – a systematic review. European Journal of Teacher Education, 38(3), 392-407, https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2014.994060

Leshem, S. (2012). The group interview Experience as a Tool for Admission to Teacher Education. Education Research International.Volume 2012. Article ID 876764, 8 pages, https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/876764

Olkin, R., &Gaughen, S. (1991). Evaluation and dismissal of students in master's level clinical programs: legal parameters and survey results. Counselor Education and Supervision, 30, 227–288.

Raths, J., & Lyman, F. (2003). Summative evaluation of student teachers: An enduring problem. Journal of Teacher Education, 54(3), 206-216, https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487103054003003

Riechman, B. (2016). Who am I? Where am I Going? And which Path should I Choose? Developing the Personal and Professional Identity of Student-Teachers International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research 15(9), 71-83,

Riner, P. S. & Jones, W. P. (1993). The reality of failure: Two case studies in student teaching. Teacher Education and Practice. 9(1), 39-48.

Sandholtz, J. H. &Shea, L.M. (2012).Predicting Performance: A Comparison of University Supervisors’ Predictions and Teacher Candidate Scores on a Teaching Performance Assessment. Journal of Teacher Education. 63(1), 39-50., https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487111421175

Sikula, J., Buttery, T. J. & Guyton, E. (red.) (1996). Handbook of research on teacher education: a project of the Association of Teacher Educators. 2. ed. New York: Macmillan

Sjöberg, M. (2006). Prövad-granskad-godkänd. Till det goda lärarskapets och lärarutbildningens historia. [Tested – examined – passed.] In Sjöberg (Ed.) â€Goda lärare†Läraridentiteter och lärararbete i förändring. [â€Skilled teachers†Teacher identities and teachers’ work in flux] SkapandeVetande, nr 49. Linköpings universitet.

Sudzina, M. R., Giebelhaus, C. & Coolican; M. (1997). Mentor or tormentor: The Role of the Cooperating Teacher in Student Teacher Success or Failure. Action in Teacher Education. 18(4), 23-35

Sudzina, M. R. & Knowles, J. G. (1993). Personal, Professional and Contextual Circumstances of Student Teachers Who “Fail†: Setting a Course for Understanding Failure in Teacher Education. Journal of TeacherEducation. 44(4), 254-262.

Yin, R. K. (2006). Case Study Methods. In J. L. Green et al. (Eds.) Handbook of complementary methods in education research. London:Lawrence Erlbaum.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


e-ISSN: 1694-2116

p-ISSN: 1694-2493