RORRISON
work for them (practicum learning principle 3). Similarly, despite my view that the
Swedish preservice teachers appeared more confident while teaching in these more
harmonious classrooms, reader/respondents in each of the three countries
responded in similar ways in relation to the importance of clearly articulated
practicum learning outcomes and the importance of acknowledging diverse cultural
and socio-political settings.
While there are a range of theories for the difference between the classroom
ecologies and cultures, it appears that the socio-cultural-political differences may
be an interesting point of departure for this study. Referring to Kemmis and
Smith´s (2008) concept of practice architectures, how the policies and practices
have developed through sayings, doings and relatings, may be one way to explain
these differences. However the most important issue is that there are some quite
distinct and unexpected differences that we can learn from.
DIFFERENCES IN CLASSROOM DYNAMICS/ECOLOGY
Although not relating directly to the seven guiding practicum learning principles,
what did come up repeatedly in the field notes were references made by me, as
researcher, to ‘less pressure’, ‘more harmony’, ‘more valuing of the role of the
preservice teachers in the school’ and ‘calmness in the schools and classrooms’.
Indeed the comment about calmness and harmony occurred more than any other
individual idea. On re-viewing the field notes from both the Australian and
Canadian observations it is consistently clear that the words ‘calm’ or ‘harmony’
hardly featured at all. While I am not suggesting that the more rowdy, more noisy
or less calm classroom climates in the Australian and Canadian practicum
classrooms suggest there is less pupil learning (the PISA scores for Australia and
Canada would dispute such a claim), what I am suggesting is that such an
environment appears to be less conducive to preservice teacher learning. There
seems to be so much more focus on the management of the classroom relationships
(some still refer to this as behaviour management) that there seems to be so little
space for preservice teacher learning about and ‘practising’ their teaching. On the
other hand the Swedish preservice teacher seem to have more space to develop
their classroom persona and self-efficacy. Interestingly there are also a significant
number of comments of concern from Swedish reader/respondents to the practicum
stories (discussed below) noting the pressure the teachers and mentors in the
stories seem to be under, with not enough time to spend quality time with the
preservice teachers.
In terms of the valuing of the role of the preservice teacher in the schools, there
are several comments in the field notes and they occur on each site. Firstly there
was the luncheon and tour organised by one of the local municipalities for the new
group of preservice teachers5, there are welcomes and farewells organised at
individual schools and there appears to be full support in terms of the provision of
keys, office space and access to computers. It may be that when the presence of
––––––––––––––
5 JärfällaMunicipality, organised by Gabriella Vuorenlinna
38
BORDER CROSSING IN PRACTICUM RESEARCH
preservice teachers in a school is supported financially and viewed as an
expectation and requirement of the profession, the preservice teachers and the
benefits they might bring are valued. Furthermore with the placement continuing
for several years the experience appears to be held in a much different light from
the situation where the preservice teachers are placed for a block of time and then
moved elsewhere. Previously I have considered the connection between practicum
placement and future employment as unethical and not productive but this system
where the preservice teacher and the placement office work together and the
placement is long term, has changed my view. The structure where placements are
negotiated with the local authority officers rather than directly with the schools
appears to reduce the tensions and reliance on ‘good will’ that I experienced so
strongly in Canada and Australia.
In a similar vein there are many comments throughout the Swedish field notes
about more time given to teachers for preparation and planning. This could be
partly a result of the specialist rather than generalist preparation of the teachers for
teaching in the early years and a clearer definition of subject teacher roles in the
later years, though clearly mentor teachers are provided with extra time for
preservice teacher discussions and support. A system that releases teachers from
the stresses of continuous classroom interrelationships and continuous pastoral care
duties would certainly allow for more productive preparation and planning.
Security personnel in schools in Sweden, which “reduces the insurance costs”
(February 2009, personal communication), also appears to release teachers from
some of the ‘policing role’ and may give them more time to focus on their planning
and their teaching, while the informality within the teacher/pupil relationships, lack
of uniform and the refined comfort of place I sensed in schools also influence the
classroom ecology. I believe it is also significant that after school care is an aspect
of school life, rather than a service that is organised and paid for quite separately
from school, as it is in Australia and Canada. It appears that school isn’t a place
where kids go just to learn, it is a part of their life and an important part of the
community. The sharing of ‘school dinners’ in Sweden is another example of this
and apart from the nutritional benefits it is also indicative of this community
attitude. Right from pre-school (previously known as ‘dagis’) where the children
appear to attend from the age of one, to the ‘gymnasium’ (final years of schooling)
where the pupils are generally older than those in Australia and Canada, there
appears to be a quite different relationship between pupil and teacher. This
relationship is further supported by the procedures and processes during the
compulsory years, where the pupils and teacher stay together for several years. In
the Australian and Canadian schools I visited the classroom teacher generally
teaches all of the core subjects in the belief that the children are too young to have
a range of teachers to relate to. In Sweden there are often separate teachers for the
core subjects yet the classroom teacher works with the class for several years,
developing a strong ‘pastoral care’ relationship. Consequently the preservice
teachers ‘major’ in subject disciplines rather than ‘primary’ or ‘early primary’
levels.
39
RORRISON
CONCLUSIONS
As a teacher educator based in universities for the last ten years, fully committed to
the role of the university based education of teachers I am beginning to change my
view of practicum learning and the role of the school community and school based
mentors. Over the last decade the schools, the pupils in the schools, the role of the
school, the teachers, the preservice teachers and society have been changing at an
unprecedented rate. While I am not prepared to completely relinquish the role of
the university in preparing teachers, I am beginning to see that the ‘practicum turn’
as we have called it in this book, might change the balance of the way the learning
of preservice teachers is viewed. As Marland (2007) suggests, teacher education
does provide the preservice teacher with “new perspectives on teaching and
learning that may challenge student teachers´ existing values, beliefs, attitudes and
perspectives and they provide opportunities for student teachers to acquire new
skills and behaviours that are crucial to their professional development (p. 11).”
With more and more teachers in schools maintaining the currency of their
professional knowledge through further study and research, it may be time to put
more value on their role as teacher educators and educational leaders, similar to the
model of the VCR and basgrupp system in Sweden. I believe that previous
attempts to devolve initial teacher education to the schools in Australia has been
based on economic rationale but now I am becoming aware that it is possible
through an educational rationale. If preservice teachers are valued in the way I
have observed in the Swedish schools, where they are not relying on teachers to
volunteer to mentor preservice teachers as is the case in Canada and Australia, but
where they are “obliged to contribute to the teacher student training program” as is
stated in the Degree Projects and School Development Handout from Upplands
Vasby, Sweden, (dated 2009-01-13), then transformation is possible. In Sweden
there appears to be general acceptance of the different expectations of pupils,
parent, the community and the National Agency of education, and teachers are not
expected to enact a set syllabus but create learning experiences within the
guidelines, that are suitable for the individual pupil (personal communication,
March, 2009). In this climate a different practicum relationship is possible.
Complex ideas about the practicum and what it looks like in three different
countries have been collected from observations in classrooms and responses from
reader/respondents to the author/researcher´s twelve stories about these
observations. Partial understandings by the author/researcher have been connected
with the understanding of the reader/respondents to develop more general
abstractions through seven guiding principles of practicum learning. The
relationships, connections, inconsistencies and silences in current practice are
described in an effort to begin to uncover the understandings, beliefs, attitudes or
habits that make things the way they are in the practicum. Through the critical
spiral these have been re-viewed, or viewed with fresh eyes, so these previously
‘habitual’ actions or ‘uncontested’ beliefs around practicum practices can be talked
about in different ways to uncover why we do what we do and why we do things
differently in different international contexts. In an effort to move “beyond merely
identifying problems with current approaches” (Mishra and Koehler, 2006 p. 1019)
40
BORDER CROSSING IN PRACTICUM RESEARCH
I believe I have offered some fresh ways of talking about the practicum in an
endeavour to provide information on which to base sound and pragmatic decisions
about practicum learning for preservice teachers. In doing so I have also uncovered
the fragility yet richness of cross international research and perhaps some
‘unwelcome truths’ (Kemmis, 2006; 2007).
To remain true to my own critical spiral analytical design the next step (phase 4)
is to once again visit Australian and Canadian schools armed with this deeper
practicum understanding and view of the ‘practicum turn’. While the practicum
learning principles have been a valuable guide or framework for constructive
thinking or development of international conversations in relation to practicum it
may also be time to move beyond pragmatism and build a more theoretical
contribution to support the ‘practicum turn’.
APPENDIX 1
Guiding Principles
Guiding Practicum Learning Principle 1: Productive and transformative
pedagogies linked to transparent and robust theories of learning should be clearly
constructed, and the related teaching experiences carefully scaffolded, for
preservice teacher learning during the practicum. (Theories of Learning)
Guiding Practicum Learning Principle 2: Collaborative relationships between
schools and university schools of education should be underpinned by a shared
understanding of how theory and practice intersect to inform preservice teachers
about engaging pupils in quality learning that will prepare them for a future of
change, challenge and lifelong learning. (Collaborative Relationships)
Guiding Practicum Learning Principle 3: The different learning needs of
preservice teachers must be recognised and they should be given the space at university
and in the schools to learn about teachers´ work in ways that are empowering and
transformative for their practice. (Recognition of Different Learning Needs)
Guiding Practicum Learning Principle 4: Worthwhile outcomes must be
established and clearly articulated for any observation and teaching experience
during the practicum. The diverse cultural, socio-political and learning contexts of
practicum settings should be transparent, valued and shared in collegiate ways as
part of learning about teaching. (Transparency)
Guiding Practicum Learning Principle 5: It is the responsibility of teacher
educators, as committed and informed teachers, to support classroom teachers to
mentor the preservice teacher learning while maintaining a receptive and involved
interest. Timely guidance and support will foster successful learning relationships
while conversations with peers will aid reflection and transformation of the sense
of ‘self’ as a teacher within a learning community. (Learning Community)
Guiding Practicum Learning Principle 6: Conversations about the practicum
learning experience can prepare preservice teachers to look with a fresh lens on
contentious and previously silenced issues. Narrative grounded in ‘truly
conceivable experience’ can provide examples of quality mentoring and pedagogy
as a valuable teacher education resource. (Reflective Dialogues)
41
RORRISON
Guiding Practicum Learning Principle 7: Increased collaboration between
universities at a national and international level is necessary if we are to develop a
conceptual framework to articulate the important understandings of practicum
learning. (International Perspectives)
NOTES
iAcknowledgements
Thank you to the municipalities of Järfälla, Upplands Vasby, Södertälje, Solna, Sollentuna and the staff
and preservice teachers in those regions for their support and guidance. Thank you to staff at Stockholm
University and particularly Centre for Regional and Educational Development.This study was made
possible in part by a Charles Sturt University Education for Practice Institute (EFPI) seed grant and
support from the Centre for Regional and Educational Development, Stockholm University.
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SIRKKU MÄNNIKKÖ-BARBUTIU AND DOREEN RORRISON
WITH LIN ZENG
3. MEMORABLE ENCOUNTERS
Learning Narratives From Preservice Teachers´ Practicum
Practicum is an important part of the teacher education program and an important
part of becoming a teacher. We believe that to understand the conditions and
processes of practicum, special attention needs to be focussed on the preservice
teachers´ own accounts of their practicum learning experiences. In this chapter, we
are exploring practicum learning from the preservice teacher perspective as
described ‘in their own voice’ and ‘in their own worlds’. We have conducted a
parallel study with Australian, Chinese and Swedish preservice teachers in an
effort to identify the distinguishing features of each context. Through gaining a
greater awareness of the particularities of the lived experience of the preservice
teachers and the mediating preconditions that frame the practicum in these three
countries, we can contribute to our common knowledge about teacher education in
general and the practicum in particular. Besides, we will argue, becoming a teacher
and being a teacher have a certain universalism which makes it possible for us to
recognise through comparison of sayings, doings and relatings, what makes a
particular practice architecture work and where we might envisage changes. The
preservice teachers´ narratives expose strongly personal and individual learning
encounters with themes of enactment, revelation and transformation.
ABOUT PRACTICUM
Practicum has many names. Practicum, professional practice, supervised
professional experience, internship, school-based training/education, work place
learning or more traditionally ‘student teaching’ refer to the period of time that the
preservice teachers spend engaged in activities through observation and
participation in authentic situations in a teaching and learning setting. It is not
altogether clear from the extant literature how practicum should be constructed and
it appears to be often left to chance (Rorrison, 2007, 2008, 2010). A purpose of
practicum is to give preservice teachers opportunities to get acquainted with the
practice of their future profession and learn about teachers´ work. As Mattsson
(2008, p. 219) notes, “the professional practice of a teacher is complex, uncertain,
dynamic and rich in its particularity”. This complexity and uncertainty makes it
very hard for a preservice teacher to fully understand and ‘make their own’ the
meaning of their professional practice experiences. Practicum is the setting to
begin the arduous work of constructing what has been named ‘professional practice
M. Mattsson, T.V. Eilertsen and D. Rorrison (eds.), A Practicum Turn in Teacher Education, 45–66.
© 2011 Sense Publishers. All rights reserved.
MÄNNIKKÖ-BARBUTIU AND RORRISON
knowledge’ (Shulman, 1986, 1987). Smith (2008) gives examples of how
preservice teachers learn during practicum through “noticing, naming and
reframing” (p. 77) their experiences. She argues that by ‘naming’ experiences in
the practicum, preservice teachers are taking ownership of them, as language plays
a key role in making sense of the teaching experiences. Through ‘reframing’ or
what we might consider “carefully cultivated thoughtfulness” (van Manen, 1990, p.
131), preservice teachers can learn about their practice. This process of iterative
examination leads to restructuring and reinvention, which helps preservice teachers
to understand practicum with theoretical terms. When the process is made public
through narratives, sharing and critical examination becomes possible contributing
to both collective and individual learning, as Smith shows in her study (2008).
The narrative approach puts the language in a central position. Communication
and articulation requires a language; in the case of teaching, a particular language
of teaching. Research suggests that preservice teachers often lack this language
(Männikkö-Barbutiu, Fåhraeus & Sjögrund, 2007, p. 45) but through exposure to
the language of the profession at school and at the university they start to repeat
what they hear and read. They do not necessarily understand the full meaning of
the concepts and terms at first as they are only repeating them. Through exposure
and their own experiences they gradually grasp the tacit meanings of the
professional language. The true internalisation of the professional language is only
achieved after a longer process of reflection and action. Kemmis and his associates
write about the “sayings, doings and relatings” (Kemmis & Grootenboer, 2008) as
a way of describing the socialisation into a society, family or a profession:
We become speakers of shared languages which allow us to understand
ourselves, others and the world (through our sayings). We become part of
shared practices and activities through which our lives are constituted
(through our doings). And we become part of groups through which we form
identities and take roles in relation to others... and find ourselves included
and excluded...(through our relatings). (p. 38)
Practicum is also seen as the specific social context where preservice teachers
participate, test and develop theories and actions that belong to the discourse of the
social practices present. The practicum context is formalised through rules,
regulations, specific tasks, goals and practices that form the specific “practice
architectures which define the context” (Kemmis & Grootenboer, 2008, pp. 57-58).
The notion of practice architecture and ‘learning architectures’ (Lave and Wenger,
1991) that refer to the way practice is shaped in its cultural-discursive, social-
political and material-economic dimensions, are also important to this project. It
appears to us that the preconditions that mediate the practices of the practicum are
so complex that it is difficult for educational research to address them through
conventional methods. The current turn in the extant literature abounds with
questions around the limitations of a narrow view of practice (Lather & Moss,
2005, p.2; Lampert, 2010, p. 23). As a consequence our study attempts to harness
methodologies that might uncover deeper or new understandings. It appears that
current thought in Australia, Sweden and China is consistent with Mattsson´s
46
MEMORABLE ENCOUNTERS
(2008) view that we should give “a higher priority to formation of professional
identity and construction of professional practice knowledge” (p. 222) through
carefully constructed practicum learning experiences.
METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK
It is generally believed that preservice teachers´ interpretations and reflections on
classroom events during their practicum are central to their development. Writing
about their enlightening experiences, ‘critical incidents’ (Tripp, 1993) or ‘bumpy
moments’ (Romano, 2005) as well as their developing ‘repertoire’ (Hashweh,
2005) and ‘transformations’ (Gess-Newsome & Lederman, 1999; O’Sullivan 2002;
O’Sullivan, Morrell & O’Connor, 2002) might enable us to better understand the
learning that takes place during practicum. By studying authentic, real-life
situations we wish to place a distinct focus on the voices and lived experience of
the preservice teachers. We asked the preservice teachers to identify a memorable
moment during their practicum, reflect on their learning from that moment and
explain their understanding of how their life experiences influence their current
positioning. Preservice teachers from Australia, China and Sweden were asked
three open questions:
What was the most memorable/critical moment in your practicum? (description)
What did you learn from this moment? (reflection)
How have your own socio-cultural background, your previous life and
professional experiences and your university studies affected your becoming
a teacher? (contextualisation)
It was hoped that by describing, reflecting and contextualising, the respondents
would engage in a reflexive and enlightening narrative experience. The
accounts that emerge from this reflection on the practicum were part of the
preservice teachers´ formal program of acting and reflecting in Sweden and
Australia. To facilitate analysis the Swedish accounts were translated into
English (by the Swedish researcher) while the Australian responses were
analysed exactly as the preservice teachers wrote them. In China the accounts
were gathered during and after focus groups that were organised specifically to
ask the questions and gather the data. When the questions were first posed each
preservice teacher responded orally, then overnight wrote their response in
English for the researchers or responded a second time while the researcher
typed the response in English and checked it continually with the preservice
teacher in order to secure correct interpretations. The written texts were then
discussed individually with their authors to facilitate understanding and
accurate interpretation by the Swedish and Australian researchers and to make
sure that the preservice teachers were able to give expression to their
experiences in a way they found accurate and meaningful although not in their
first language. There was a high correlation between the original recorded
account and the written or repeated account.
47
MÄNNIKKÖ-BARBUTIU AND RORRISON
Writings from a total of 27 preservice teachers (nine from each site) have been
included in this analysis. The majority of the respondents are female which reflects
the general gender situation in teacher education in these three countries. The
accounts were selected randomly from the total of 71 responses and the age of the
respondents reflects the preservice teacher population. The Chinese preservice
teachers had mainly entered university straight from school while the Australian
and Swedish preservice teachers included many mature age students. In China the
preservice teachers were selected by the local researcher through their strong
English language skills and were all fourth year preservice teachers with the final
practicum period just behind them. In Sweden, the responding preservice teachers
were studying in either their second or fourth year while in Australia the group was
in their final (fourth year) of study.
NARRATIVES AS A WAY TO AUGMENT PRESERVICE
TEACHER PERSPECTIVE
The responses of preservice teachers can be seen as a form of stories or narratives
about their practicum experiences. A narrative, on a very basic level, can be
defined as an account of something that has taken place or as Labov (2006) says,
“a story about something” (p. 37). Through encouraging preservice teachers to
write about their practicum experiences with the help of the three orienting
questions, we are engaging in a narrative inquiry, as we believe that in this way we
can try to understand the lived experiences of these preservice teachers and
perhaps translate this understanding into meaningful social and educational
implications (Phillion, He & Connelly, 2005). As a narrative can be understood as
a form of knowledge of social life, and a form of communication (Czarniawska,
2000, p. 2), it helps people to structure their experiences and make sense of them
(Larsen, 2002, p. 123; Reissman, 1993, p. 19). Thus analysing narratives, we
believe, will give us access to the specific and unique in practicum experiences
rather than the collective and static (Kiser, 1996, p. 250).
We see language as a social practice that people use in order to reflect upon the
world and themselves, though we acknowledge that from a ‘critical’ view, a text
can be read from several different perspectives. This means that a text has several
voices (Cherryholmes, 1988, p. 61) or we can look at it as a critical or purposeful
conversation (Burgess, 1988; Smyth, Dow, Hattam, Reid, & Shacklock, 2000).
Understanding a text is dependent on the reader´s ability to see its social, cultural,
and linguistic contextuality. As a text is always socially and historically situated, to
capture its meaning is to reveal its contextual dependency while texts are also
imbued with relations of power and interest, as well as with human choices.
Clandinin and Connelly (1989, 1994) view narrative as a frame through which
people make sense of their lives. People are engaged in telling and retelling their
stories through a process of reflection and through conceptual changes that
naturally occur through the making of connections and linking understandings.
Narrative analysis involves the researcher actively engaging with the voice of the
participant in a particular time, place or setting (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000;
48
MEMORABLE ENCOUNTERS
Clandinin, 2007) as they describe it. Leavy (2008) takes up this idea suggesting
that
Narrative inquiry attempts to collaboratively access participants´ life
experiences and engage in a process of storying and restorying in order to
reveal multidimensional meanings and present an authentic and compelling
rendering of the data. (p. 27)
In order to understand narrative it is important to establish its relation to all aspects
of the relevant discourse. Some researchers understand narratives as possible forms
of discourse (Mottier, 1999; Robertson, 2002). Chatman (1978) offered another
definition by claiming that a narrative contains both a story (histoire) and a
discourse (discours) while Kim (2006) applies a polyphonic approach in the study
of an alternative high school in Arizona and suggests that the method is useful for
“interrogating the nature of dominant stories” (p. 11). We believe that writing
about a memorable/critical moment gives the preservice teachers opportunities to
structure their experiences, to look at them from a distance and to gain new
understandings of critical situations and of their own actions in these situations.
Also, the writing helps the preservice teachers to give voice to their experiences
and “new insights” (van Manen, 1990, p. 156) and develop their professional
language.
THREE DIFFERENT PRACTICE ARCHITECTURES FRAMING PRACTICUM
In this section, the Australian, Chinese and Swedish contexts of this study are
described. It is to be noted that the practice architectures described are local in their
nature, representing only the teacher education programs at these particular sites
and institutions at the particular time of the study.
The context of the Australian students
To gain registration as a teacher preservice teachers spend between 30 and 145
days in schools depending on their course and must provide evidence of meeting
graduate level standards during practicum. There have been continuous national
and state inquiries related to teacher education over the last ten years. The most
recent paper “National system for the accreditation of pre-service teacher
education programs – Proposal for consultation” was published in September 2010
(Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2010). Seven standards
in the three domains of Professional Knowledge, Professional Practice and
Professional Engagement are currently being considered in the development of a
national Teachers´ Registration document. These standards support the Melbourne
Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (2008)that describes
national aspirations for young Australians for the next decade and commits
Australian Education Ministers to specific educational goals.
The practicum placement of preservice teachers can be challenging. In most
cities and regions schools are allocated to the local university. A significant issue
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concerning placement is the ‘voluntary and ad hoc nature’ of the process. Each
semester schools are contacted by the university and invited to place preservice
teachers. There is some payment involved but it is fairly insignificant for the
commitment of engaged mentoring. The preparation of mentors is also fairly ad
hoc. Some universities run mentoring workshops while others rely on school
leaders to offer site based professional learning. Consequently some preservice
teachers have a quality learning experience while others complain about a ‘sink or
swim’ attitude. Other methods of providing work experience have been tried. Some
universities offer community placements (after school facilities, holiday programs,
disadvantage programs) while others pursue interstate, intra-state and international
programs. Several universities place students in Indigenous communities or remote
schools. A ‘teaching school’ program where partnerships are developed between
schools and universities with the schools committed to placing large numbers of
preservice teachers has also had some success.
Traditionally the Practicum has been a separate subject with placement
organised through a practicum office and practicum learning outcomes designed by
academics and negotiated with schools. Practicum assessment can involve ‘tick
box’ competency charts or outcomes based rubrics completed by mentors,
assessment by university and adjunct staff or portfolio style evidence of attaining
outcomes presented by the preservice teacher. Increasingly the teacher registration
boards´ professional standards are being used to assess readiness for the teaching
profession. The entire process is fraught with problems of perspective, paradigm
differences and the challenges of variation in schools, classes, mentoring styles and
expectation. More recently, possibly due to funding cutbacks but also with claims
of better integration between theory and practice, we are seeing the practicum
moved into the other curriculum subjects at the university. Options of half days,
full days, a few days a week or blocks of teaching are offered to accommodate the
range of demands on the preservice teachers´ time.
The context of the Chinese students6
Most often, practicum in China occurs near the end of the teacher education
program, generally at the 7th semester. The duration of practicum in China varies,
from four to six weeks in three-year teacher colleges to eight to ten weeks in four-
year teacher colleges and normal universities. The content of practicum involves:
classroom teaching, classroom management as well as educational investigations
and research.
In the selection of university tutors, emphasis is placed on understandings of
teaching, teaching profile and familiarity with the basic conditions in primary and
secondary schools. At the same time certain requirements are also mandated for
instructive teachers at schools, such as they must have at least three years of
teaching experience in a certain subject area, or they should be backbone teachers
––––––––––––––
6 This section was provided by our colleague Lin Zeng at the University of Liaocheng, Shandong
province, China.
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MEMORABLE ENCOUNTERS
in a certain school. The preservice teacher is instructed to maintain a clear idea of
all the pupils in their class, not only about their study but also about their
psychology. They are instructed to prepare detailed lesson plans, give lessons first
to university tutors and instructive teachers at schools, then modify and supplement
their lesson plans according to tutors´ and teachers´ advice, then finally give a
formal lesson. After class, the preservice teacher is instructed to check pupils´
homework and also support and guide/counsel pupils. Besides, the preservice
teacher is also expected to be able to promote pupils´ interest in studying and to
give guidance in their learning methods.
Great importance is attached to preservice teachers´ evaluation. They are to fill
in practicum workbooks to record their teaching process and write practicum
diaries to record their reflections on teaching. When they give lessons, the
university tutors and instructive teachers at schools must be present and they must
give comments on this classroom teaching after class. Most often the preservice
teachers themselves will try to attend each other´s lessons and record as well, so as
to give reasonable comments after class. At the end of practicum, preservice
teachers must report what they have done, experienced, thought and reflected on
during their clinical teaching and must write a self-evaluation.
With the development of teacher education, some of the universities and
colleges providing teacher education programs in China have begun to reform the
traditional practicum, and “Shi Xi Zhi Jiao”7 has been implemented after years of
exploration. In 2007 the Ministry of Education published the “Advice on the
promotion of preservice teachers´ Shi Xi Zhi Jiao”, which made clear the
significance, the organisation and leadership, as well as the financial support of Shi
Xi Zhi Jiao. It aims to both accomplish the task of practicum and provide support
to education in poor rural areas. In the Chinese university where this collaborative
and narrative research was conducted, the traditional practicum and Shi Xi Zhi Jiao
co-exit, while some departments (Department of Education Science, for example)
try to explore other kinds of practicum that will fit their own characteristics. The
duration of Shi Xi Zhi Jiao is a whole semester (generally the 5th or the 6th
semester). During the semester, preservice teachers will live in the school and
work with other teachers and study with their pupils all day long. Compared with
the traditional practicum, preservice teachers now have more possibilities to
participate in classroom teaching and other educational affairs of the school. They
can experience more and reflect more on teaching. It is found that through the
whole-semester practicum the vast majority of preservice teachers strengthen their
professional ideals to be a teacher in the future, while a minority remain depressed
about their teaching career and determined not to enter into schooling. This may
––––––––––––––
7 “Shi Xi Zhi Jiao”: “Shi Xi” means preservice teachers will go to the poor rural areas to have their
practicum for a whole semester. “Zhi Jiao” means practicum will help promote the development of
local education. Because education in the poor rural areas is lagging behind, it is believed that
through preservice teachers’ practicum, lots of fresh new teaching methods and teaching thoughts
are brought to local education.
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reduce the number of novice teachers who have to retreat from teaching during the
induction period because of the difficulties they had not anticipated.
The context of the Swedish students
In Sweden, there can be distinguished two separate traditions in the development
of teacher education, the older, so-called seminar tradition and a later university
tradition. Both have their ideological base in the German ‘bildung’ tradition but
where the seminar tradition relies on the master-apprentice model of learning, the
university tradition puts emphasis on applied theory. In the seminar tradition, the
practice and the concrete are in focus whereas the university tradition builds its
activities around theory and abstraction.
The Swedish teacher education reform of 2001 (Proposition (1999/2000:135) En
förnyad lärarutbildning (LUP) introduced a term ‘academic vocational/professional
education’ that emphasises the integration of practice and theory in what can be
called a professional project of becoming a teacher. The goal is to educate teachers
who are aware of their societal task as educators and who learn to become ‘reflective
practitioners’ developing practice grounded theory as a foundation of their work. The
aim is to combine seminar and university traditions into something new where
practice has a central role in the academic studies. This means that preservice
teachers need to be exposed to practice, explore it and eventually understand it and
learn to be part of it, act in it and reflect upon it. Practice should be part of the
learning experience.
However, at the same time, the word ‘practicum’ (praktik) was replaced by
‘school-based education’ (verksamhetsförlagd utbildning, VFU) in contrast to
‘campus-based education’ (campusförlagd utbildning). This change of vocabulary
emphasises the geography of practicum rather than the content of it. Also, the
focus has shifted into ‘education’ from ‘practice’. This could be seen as a part of
making the teacher education in Sweden ‘more academic’, the word ‘academic’
having the meaning ‘theoretical’. This is contradictory to the reform aims of
integrated practice and theory.
School-based training or practicum was to be integrated into the courses or parts
of the courses throughout the whole program. The content of the previous courses
on pedagogical content knowledge (ämnesdidaktik) were to be integrated into the
subject/subject area courses. For each course containing practicum, the content and
learning outcomes for the school-based training were to be defined and stated in
the course syllabus. Particular tasks for the practicum (VFU-uppgifter) were to be
designed for each course, and the examination of each course had to be revised
now that the achievements from the school-based training had to be considered as
part of the course achievements.
Three parties were now involved in organising practicum: course teachers at the
university, preservice teachers and teachers at the schools. The new form of
cooperation had to be orchestrated and, especially, institutions with large numbers
of preservice teachers had to make great efforts in developing a new system and
organisation for practicum.
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MEMORABLE ENCOUNTERS
Preservice teachers receive their practicum placement at the beginning of their
studies. They are also part of a base group (basgrupp) during their studies. The
purpose of the base group work is to give preservice teachers opportunities to
reflect upon issues that are relevant to their professional development and future
profession. Base group work should be done under guidance of an experienced
pedagogue with the ability to challenge from a professional perspective the issues
raised by the preservice teachers. Base group work is now obligatory.
Preservice teachers plan, carry out and evaluate teaching and other educational
activities during their practicum. They also participate in and explore other aspects
of the school activities with a particular focus on the purpose of the course they are
currently taking. Common tasks during the practicum could be; participation in the
pedagogical work, planning, evaluation, contacts with parents, conflict solving and
participation during lunch and other breaks. The practicum periods can vary from
one day to several weeks depending on where in the program the practicum is
situated.
Varying contexts
The Australian preservice teachers involved in this study are in their final year of a
four year course enriched through its focus on the knowledges and learning
preferences of diverse populations, particularly the Australian Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islanders. The Chinese preservice teachers come from different
departments in one university in Shandong Province and they have completed a
whole-semester practicum. The Swedish preservice teachers involved in this study
are a group who take a course “Children, technology and creative methods, 30
ECTS” where the school-based component consists of two consecutive periods,
one of two weeks and the other of three weeks. The preservice teachers thus come
from three different practicum architectures where the Swedish one could be
described as an integrated practicum while the Chinese practicum is the opposite,
standing alone, separated/dis-integrated from the other studies. The Australian
practicum architecture provides a mixture as the practicum is partly integrated yet
the subject outcomes focus on group work, collaboration and community
engagement.
MEMORABLE MOMENTS – NARRATIVES FROM PRACTICUM
When the preservice teachers were introduced to the research project and the
research questions, the memorable moment was defined loosely as “something that
you experienced as important and as a key event in your professional development”.
They were encouraged to choose freely, the only criterion being that the event should
be an authentic, lived experience from their own practicum experiences, not
something they had heard or read about. The choice of the memorable moment by
preservice teachers varies, of course, and is partly steered by the different contexts of
the preservice practicum. The responses show that the Swedish preservice teachers
are concentrating on classroom situations and learning/teaching styles. Alternatively
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the Australian preservice teachers invariably chose to use their community project as
the frame for their stories. In a similar way the Chinese preservice teachers focused
on their recent regional classroom situations.
Listening to the preservice teacher voice
Across the three settings, it is the emotion registered in the narratives that emerges
as one of the strongest themes. “I felt”, “I was nervous”, “I was glad”, “I was sad”,
“I was surprised”, were frequent comments. The whole register of emotions is
represented in the stories as the events are described through the perspective of the
narrator though they often focused on their pupils or one specific pupil. The
narratives are primarily positive, they describe the narrator in a positive light,
solving a specific problem or finding a solution to a tricky classroom situation.
Frequently the emotive language is reminiscent of stresses and changed
perceptions, ‘through difficulties to victory’ kinds of stories.
Despite the different contexts, the memorable moments reveal the struggles that
preservice teachers go through during their learning to become a professional
teacher. They write primarily about varied encounters with the pupils as they are
faced with the real, everyday issues of the teaching profession. They write about
situations that were unexpected, not previously dealt with in ‘theory’ classes,
calling for action on their part in using their developing knowledge to explore
possible courses of action. They also bring the ideas of various educationalists to
the conversation.
Through immersing ourselves in the narratives from 27 preservice teachers and
from our deep engagement with the data, six emergent themes were identified:
1) Practicum as enactment;
2) Development of teacher identity;
3) Revelations about range of pedagogical and subject knowledge;
4) Little focus on support and guidance;
5) Critical encounters with pupils;
6) Ideological transformations.
Within each of these themes there are a range of sayings, doings and relatings
presented by the preservice teachers as well as reflections and suggestions for future
action. Although it is clear to us as researchers that each of the responses lies within a
particular practice architecture and reflects this, responses to the final question
provides evidence that many of the preservice teachers are aware of this also.
Emphasising the authenticity of the preservice teacher voice, we now support the
emerging of these themes with quotations from the preservice teacher narratives.
Practicum as enactment
Practicum is a time when preservice teachers can focus on being a teacher. In the
practicum they can take action and play out what they believe they know about
54
MEMORABLE ENCOUNTERS
teaching. They can try out different strategies, personas, teaching methods and
pedagogies to gain new understandings of the dynamics of teaching and learning.
In the excerpts that follow, preservice teachers write about their experiences.
Although each is unique they provide evidence of the first theme that emerged -
the practicum as a time to enact their understandings:
…what I learnt from this situation was to handle a problem that will appear
many times during my coming years as a teacher. Teaching is often about
deciding on the spot and make things work. That is why it is important as a
teacher to take time for reflection, to have time to think through the situation
at hand and see if one can act in the same way next time. (Swedish preservice
teacher 7)
…I decided that the children would complete the worksheet first, so I read
through the worksheet with the children and explained what I wanted them to
do. This was all fine until the children started to complete the worksheet and
realised it was too hard and they did not know what to do. I had children left,
right and centre asking me what they needed to do. I felt like I had no control
over the class and they were not listening to me. The associate teacher
stepped in and spoke to the children and gave me an idea of what to do next.
The children were still restless and I was glad when the lesson was finally
over. (Australian preservice teacher 3)
Soon I realised that all the pupils who raised their hand did not do so in order to
contribute to the discussion. There was always someone who wanted to talk
about something else... On several occasions I had to try to make the pupils
who were carried away to focus back to the subject we were talking about but
had little success. My problem was simply how does one know when one of
these pupils raises their hand that they will actually say something that is
relevant for the lesson and not something else? (Swedish preservice teacher 4)
The most memorable moment in my practical may be the class where I came to
realise that children learn better when they are more interested in something or
by playing. …At last I wanted to try something new. I just asked my pupils to
play games called “the explicit seven and the implicit seven” during my class.
…I really did not know whether I could achieve my goal. I just told them the
rules of the game: children should count the numbers one by one – when they
meet a number that has the number seven (explicit seven) (for example number
17) or a multiple of seven (the implicit seven) for example 14, they should clap
their hands instead. To my surprise almost everyone then remembered the
multiplication principles of seven. At that time I finally realised the truth of
teaching. (Chinese preservice teacher 3)
Development of Teacher Identity
The development of teacher identity is a liberating experience for the preservice
teachers. When they can finally feel confident to call themselves a teacher it is
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MÄNNIKKÖ-BARBUTIU AND RORRISON
because they feel that they have become a member of a professional group with
whom they share practices through drawing on and contributing to the teaching
culture. Lampert (2010) suggest that “Learning the practice of teaching is not only
about learning to do what teachers do but learning to call oneself a teacher and to
believe in what teachers believe in” (p. 30). Bullough (1991, 1997) has shown the
importance of identity for the development of practice. He demonstrates how a
strong self-image as a teacher helps preservice teachers to grow and learn from
their observations of teachers, while a weak self-image does not seem to provide
that support. Clearly an understanding of the personal self lays a foundation for the
development of the professional self. The narratives of the Swedish preservice
teachers reflect uncertainty concerning themselves as teachers.
I started the teacher education program with a lot of opinions and positions,
which I was sure about. The further I have come with my studies the fewer are
the things that I am certain about. Today I think that I gain more wise answers
and possibilities if I ask questions, if I am questioning and evaluating, than if I
keep to the accepted truths in a way that I did four and a half years ago when I
started the program. (Swedish preservice teacher 7)
It is in these situations that I feel insecure, I do not have enough knowledge
nor experience so that I would know how to act. But thanks to this situation I
have got one piece to my jigsaw puzzle of becoming a teacher. (Swedish
preservice teacher 1)
The Swedish preservice teachers differ from the two other groups. Chinese
preservice teachers seem to be full of self-confidence and they clearly see
themselves as teachers. Their certainty could be culturally determined. The voice
of the Chinese preservice teachers is that of ‘should’. They describe how things
‘should’ be done. They have a clear image and opinion about how things ‘should’
be, and they give a strong voice for teacher engagement.
Well, being a teacher is not easy work, so we should remember this point,
that is, never give in and never give up… You know everyone has the right to
be educated. I just want to talk about this one point. (Chinese preservice
teacher 4)
At last, when they sang their favorite song on the stage, tears ran down my
face. I learned that teachers should try to provide the opportunities for
students to cooperate, and can put what they learn into practice. (Chinese
preservice teacher 7)
The Australian preservice teachers, on the other hand, seem to be inspired by the
challenge of the community based professional experience project where it is not
only their self efficacy but that of the group that is the focus.
On reflection …I have decided that my most memorable moment was when the
group completed the mural. It was a fantastic and satisfying moment as a group
when we were able to stand back and reflect on our achievements as a group
and within the school.… The mural enabled the pupils of the school to learn in
56
MEMORABLE ENCOUNTERS
a manner that was cross-curricular. It also enabled us as teachers to leave a
monument within the school that will last for many years to come. …
Personally I have learnt about my own role as a team member, the importance
that I contribute to the team and communicate with all members of the team. I
have also learnt to take initiative…(Australian preservice teacher 9)
Revelation of range of pedagogical and subject knowledge
Many of the memorable moments narrated by the preservice teachers are reflected
on as ‘a surprise’. They seem to have fairly vague picture of teacher´s everyday
work. The image from their own school years prevails: being a teacher means to
stand in front of the class and mediate knowledge. All the work before and after,
behind the scene so to speak, seems to come as a surprise. The importance of
planning and preparations and how much energy and effort such planning requires
of them is presented often as a ‘revelation’. Another surprise for the preservice
teachers is the realisation of the range of activities, behaviours and learning styles
that need to be managed continually and simultaneously in the classroom and that
they are in charge of that management. Practicum appears to be a time when
preservice teachers find themselves in precarious situations in the classroom with
pupils. Several of the Swedish preservice teachers discuss specifically the
difficulties of handling situations with pupils who do not conform and in the
Australian and Chinese narratives this issue is never far from the surface even
though there may only be oblique references.
…it will help to ensure that I will always try to be prepared and plan for
success. (Australian preservice teacher 8)
The impression given to the students was very important -a good beginning
means I can be a good teacher, it tells the students that I can teach them well.
(Chinese preservice teacher 6)
…My evening was spent planning the lesson and to figure out good and
educational questions for the children. When I came to school the day after, I
felt excited and happy with what I had planned. I had put a lot of time to get
it right and try to imagine myself the time that is required when planning,
something that I need to practice more. (Swedish preservice teacher 9)
I also learned that when planning experiences it is important to have at least
thought about variations that could be used that are less challenging or more
challenging just in case the children find the work too challenging or not
challenging enough. I was not that prepared, therefore had to make it up as I
went. (Australian preservice teacher 6)
Little focus on support and guidance
Interestingly these preservice teachers write relatively little about the external
support of a supervisor, mentor or associate teacher. For the Chinese preservice
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teachers the university employed supervisor is a lifeline of support and advice and
the supervisors are employed solely for that purpose and take their role very
seriously, yet there is little comment beyond an acknowledgement by one
preservice teacher that they appreciated their support. The Australian preservice
teachers make little comment about the teacher educators from the university
despite their role in designing and planning the practicum experience. Their
attitude to the personnel in the schools however is quite different. They see them as
professional colleagues to whom they look for support. Preservice teacher 3
comments “As graduate teachers, we demonstrated the capacity to liaise,
communicate and interact effectively…” reflecting the view that they are
beginning to see themselves as teachers. The nature of their practicum, which is
one of working with others to develop a community event of benefit to the school,
may account for this. Alternatively the Swedish preservice teachers look for very
little support other than confirmation from their supervisors. One comments that
the supervisor is a good role model and another that they look to them for
confirmation. Only one of the preservice teachers in the study writes extensively
about her relationship to the supervisor.
I smiled for myself as the idea worked…if I had not earlier observed and
watched my supervisor and how she works with the children, I would never
have come up with the idea. …I have been lucky to have my supervisor; she
is a calm and harmonious person who sees children as individuals. …She has
been an incredible model for me during my practice and she has got so many
positive qualities that I will take with me to my future profession as a
teacher. (Swedish preservice teacher 6)
The first memorable moment is the time when my supervisors came to see
me. They went to my primary school regularly and tried their best to solve
my problems in teaching the children. They offered me so many useful
advices that benefited me a lot. (Chinese preservice teacher 8)
My supervisor said that even she learns new things every day and that as a
teacher you cannot do more than your best. This is something I really will
take with me to my future profession. (Swedish preservice teacher 1)
Through honest dialogue and conversations with associate teachers whom I
have had on professional experiences, I have learnt to accept perspectives
other than my own, go beyond the limits of my own knowing, cultures and
life experiences, and learn how to create a classroom community where my
students also learn and enact these qualities. (Australian preservice teacher 3)
Critical encounters with pupils
Many of the preservice teacher narratives describe the critical encounters with
pupils. The reality of the classroom may be different from that described in the text
books but realisation of the importance of teaching and learning in the lives of the
pupils is an important part of the preservice teachers´ coming of age. They
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MEMORABLE ENCOUNTERS
suddenly realise that learning to be a teacher is for the benefit of the pupils, not for
their own grades.
In the excerpts below we will read how preservice teachers learn from their
encounters when students ‘act back’ in the practicum classroom.
In the future I will regard a child as an individual who has the potential and
talent. Motivation increases children´s performance as lessons become more
fun. …I think it is important to be flexible and if necessary change the methods
and adapt them to different situations. (Swedish preservice teacher 8)
The thing which I find most difficult and which I try hardest to achieve is to
catch (the interest) of all the students and to make my subject interesting...If
the introduction is boring or difficult, one looses concentration
easily...(Swedish preservice teacher 1)
I think that it is important not to push these children to do bothersome exercises
in front of a whole class. It is important to do it right with students from the
beginning, as a teacher to let children learn to know each other in a playful
manner. There should not be any requirements of answering a lot of right
answers to different assignments. I think that it is important to let students be in
small groups when they are doing oral assignments. It gives students a big self-
esteem to be able to do oral presentations. (Swedish preservice teacher 5)
One of the most memorable moments is that in one of my music lessons I
asked my students to listen to a song called TongHian. During their listening,
their emotion was so colourful and lovely. Can you imagine? As the music
was going some shook their heads, and touched their desk with two pens;
some closed their eyes and tapped the desks with fingers like playing the
piano; while others clapped their hands to catch up with the beat. Looking at
their lovely emotion I couldn’t help smiling and I was greatly inspired by the
moving and tireless sprit of children. (Chinese preservice teacher 3)
Communicating is very important; we need to trust each other. As a teacher
we must often sum up and often reflect about what the students need and we
must make sure we meet these needs. Unless we meet their needs the
learning is very limited. (Chinese preservice teacher 5)
As I thought more and more about that morning, I thought about what would
have happened had I dismissed that story about the river, rather than
emphasising its significance. If I had dismissed that first story, I figured that
the girl who told it wouldn’t tell me more, and nor would the other four. I
would leave not having learned anything about Aboriginal culture, and they
would leave feeling unworthy. (Australian preservice teacher 7)
It was a journey in which I formed many deep and meaningful relationships
with students and staff and different community members that I was very sad
to leave behind …. It was because of these relationships that I was able to
learn as much as I did, be my best and help the students achieve their best.
(Australian preservice teacher 5)
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Ideological transformations
The sixth of the emerging themes in the narratives that we chose to label as
‘ideological transformations’ refers to the underlying philosophies that define the
purpose of teaching for the preservice teacher. It could also be presented by the
specific values and standards that define education, the disposition of phronƝsis in
Aristotelian terms. This is strongly represented in the Australian responses as well
as in the Chinese ones. Interestingly, the Swedish narratives seem to be more
subtle in this respect. The so-called ‘value base’ (värdegrund) of the Swedish
educational system can be found implicitly in the descriptions of individualised
teaching and learning. It is notable how all the narratives, despite the nationality of
the author, discuss individualism, respect, inclusion and trust as central and
important aspects of teacher-pupil relationship.
Everyone needs respect so we should treat the students equally. Everyone can
reach their potential, and have the right to do so. (Chinese preservice teacher 5)
All these experiences have taught me to face life positively and by myself.
(Chinese preservice teacher 9)
When I came into classroom of Grade 3, I saw my students staring at me with
kind and hopeful smiles. They were 9 or 10 years old, and expected to learn.
When I saw the naïve children, I decided to be a good teacher, who can give
them knowledge and broaden their outlook. (Chinese preservice teacher 2)
Individual rights can be protected, including those of minority groups. In this
way, the children also develop expectations of their teacher. (Australian
preservice teacher 3)
Being good at sport I had never thought about it before…. But even if a
child does not have a range of abilities to be able to participate, they have
the right to be able to - at their own level. (Australian preservice teacher
8)
As Kreiberg (1992) rather harshly points out, as a teacher, I will have the
power, through words, to bring a child´s world crashing down, to divide
students amongst themselves and turn them against one another. By ignoring
them, I will have the power to make them insecure and fearful. I like to think
that if Kreiberg is right I will also have the power to do the opposite; by
using what I say and what I do to make a child´s day, to make them feel
special and to give them confidence in themselves. The ‘moment’ that I had
with those students during the community engagement process was brief, but
the more I reflect on it, the more aware I become of what that moment meant,
and I believe that I will be a better teacher for it. (Australian preservice
teacher 7)
During the time I have studied at the University, I have learnt
tremendously… I have widened my views on people. I think in a totally
different way now than before I started... (Swedish preservice teacher 5)
60
MEMORABLE ENCOUNTERS
DISCUSSION
The purpose of our study has been to explore the practicum experiences from the
preservice teacher perspective. The data gives us a rich picture of the experiences in
the three different practice architectures. Deeper analysis of the emergent themes has
exposed what might be considered as meta-themes that inform us about the
preservice teacher experiences. It emerges that each of the themes highlight that the
preservice teachers focuses on their individual perspective and how that is enacted in
their teaching and learning relationships. Becoming a teacher seems to be more of a
personal journey than we previously understood, one that includes as we have
presented above, themes of enacting understandings, developing a teacher identity,
revelations about teachers´ work, critical encounters and transformations in
positioning or ideology. Although the path of these changes is strongly influenced by
the local practice architecture which can be either integrating or dis-integrating and
the mentors or teacher educators who can support and guide the preservice teachers´
learning, these collective and systemic structures are seldom acknowledged by the
preservice teachers. Instead it appears that when asked to identify memorable or
critical moments preservice teachers seldom consider experiences beyond personal
encounters with the pupils, teachers´ work or their own transformations.
About the individual particularities of becoming a teacher
The narratives of practicum that we have analysed in this study illustrate the
individual ‘sayings, doings and relatings’; how each individual preservice teacher
has acted in the classroom and how they have re-acted as they have come to realise
the consequences of their actions in the everyday situations of teaching and
learning. The majority of the descriptions are thus about ‘doings’ and ‘relatings’
connected to these ‘doings’, often coloured by personal histories in the educational
contexts. Each individual takes notice of things that they have been sensitised to
notice through their personal history. For example if one has been bullied at
school, one is likely to react to such behaviour in the classroom one now enters as
a teacher. Or had they found their own classes uninteresting, they now make every
effort to bring excitement to learning.
We have named this chapter as ‘memorable encounters’ as the enactments and
‘relatings’ seem to be the themes occupying the preservice teachers the most.
However, the narratives give very little evidence of how these encounters and
enactments are identified and developed for preservice teacher learning, which
makes us wonder whether teacher education fully appreciates the individual
particularities of becoming a teacher and fosters them adequately. If teacher
education were to turn to the practicum encounters and the narratives that emerge
to supplement the current offerings, enhanced understanding may result.
About the integration/dis-integration of becoming a teacher
The Swedish preservice teachers in this study seem to experience their practicum
as fragmented and see themselves as visitors in the school although the intentions
61
MÄNNIKKÖ-BARBUTIU AND RORRISON
of the ‘integrated practicum’ is quite the opposite. This integration of practicum
into university studies seems to have the effect of alienating the practicum from the
school context and reducing the socialisation of the preservice teachers into the
teaching culture of the schools. Consequently, integration on one level may mean
dis-integration on another. It is to be noted that Swedish teacher education is
undergoing a new reform that will change the practicum architecture once again
introducing longer and independent practicum periods while in some institutions in
Australia the practicum is becoming more ‘integrated’ which might result in more
fragmentation!
The Chinese ‘dis-integrated’ practicum takes the preservice teachers away from
their university studies and gives them the opportunity to become immersed into
the teaching culture. The intention here is to bring innovation and renewal to the
rural schools. The Chinese preservice teachers seem to be happy and enthusiastic
about the challenge given to them. They are aware of the historical momentum and
they are eager and willing to play an active role in it as teachers. They see it as a
mission and a calling, not just any job. They are aware of the huge gap between the
urban and rural areas in China and wish to make their contribution by bringing
education to the countryside. Historically education in China can be described as
teacher-centred and text-driven with both the teacher and the text regarded as
authoritative sources of knowledge (see for example Cortazzi & Lixian, 2001). The
ideological base of education, Confucianism, requires passive transmission and
uncritical assimilation of knowledge which still seems to be the dominant ‘ethos’
in the educational field, although ideas of a more learner-centred approaches are
being introduced (Ministry of Education, 2001). There appears to be a paradigm
shift in the attitudes of the Chinese preservice teachers. They have become aware
that the learning relationship should be about transformation (change of ideas and
developing understanding) not transmission (rote learning) and for this to occur
they must plan carefully for pupil engagement and consider the individual pupil
needs. Yet, despite this shift there is much comment about success and winning in
their narratives, which belongs in a different paradigm. Many of the Chinese
preservice teachers discuss being friends with the pupils which perhaps takes their
new understanding of the learning relationship a little beyond the ideal respectful
teacher/learner dyad. This also happened in Australian schools in the 1970s but
now the pendulum has swung back slightly to maintain the professional ‘space’.
The Australian range of different practicum experiences in the university where
this research was conducted gives the preservice teachers opportunities for
‘immersion’ in the school ecology as well as an opportunity to stand back and re-
view their role as a colleague and contributing school community member.
About the universalities of becoming a teacher
Even though the practicum experiences can be seen as strongly situated, there is also
a sense of what we will call universalism that is similar to what Kim (2006)
discussed as the ‘dominant stories’. The narratives from the three different countries
and cultures and different educational systems show clearly how learning teaching
62
MEMORABLE ENCOUNTERS
and becoming a teacher hold universal features that can be distinguished despite the
veil of cultural differences. In all three countries, the reasons for becoming a teacher
and acting as a teacher are coloured by a great deal of idealism; there is a strong
belief of being in a position where making a difference becomes not only possible
but a necessity. We also note a strong urge to act on the disposition of phronƝsis, to
act wisely and prudently as well as an ambition to act in the critical-emancipatory
paradigm, to work for a better world in a sense that each child deserves to be seen
and deserves to be given learning opportunities. The strong belief in education may
take somewhat different expressions in the West and in the East as the Western
preservice teachers talk about ‘inclusion’ as a democratic right of every child to be
educated, whereas in China ‘inclusion’ is about filling the gap between the rural and
urban communities and working for a wider societal transformation.
Critical encounters as learning opportunities
The memorable experiences of the preservice teachers are often about challenging
or remarkable encounters, interactions that demand special understandings about
the sayings, doings and relatings, and about the consequences of the different
alternatives. These encounters are difficult because they reveal the limitations in
the preservice teacher repertoires as the immediateness of the situation calls for
action but the preservice teachers do not feel prepared for that action. Of course,
these difficult encounters are excellent learning experiences and provide the
preservice teachers with opportunities for development of their professional
practice knowledge. They widen their repertoire and deepen their understanding of
the presence of individual learners in the classroom and the uniqueness of each
teaching and learning situation. The insecurity or uncertainty expressed by
preservice teachers would suggest that the practicum and the preservice teachers
should be carefully managed and the outcomes clearly articulated. Most preservice
teachers appear to develop their self-efficacy and confidence as teachers as they
begin to know their students and their classroom ecologies.
That is not to say that the practicum experiences are not daunting or
challenging. They sometimes leave the preservice teachers uncertain, perplexed
and frustrated, wondering ‘if they did the right thing’, ‘what could they have done
instead’ or ‘did they fail to engage all the pupils in learning’. Within these
narratives of practicum experiences there are rich messages suggesting that there is
much learning happening in practicum. To make this learning explicit teacher
education could name these experiences in a more systematic manner – not just as
an experience but an opportunity to deepen the conversations about learning
teaching. Careful observation, identification of learning and re-flection (see chapter
8 in this volume), together with peers and mentors insightful understanding, might
lead to transformation and true change. As Smith (2008) so rightly suggests putting
experiences into words is crucial in making sense of one´s teaching experiences
(p. 77). Writing about the practicum experiences in the short narratives gives the
preservice teachers an opportunity to “notice, name and reframe” (Smith, 2008,
p. 77) their practicum experiences. It is, however, important that their voices are
being heard by the teacher educators and that their learning in the practicum is
63
MÄNNIKKÖ-BARBUTIU AND RORRISON
acknowledged as part of their scholarship. This is what we understand as the
‘practicum turn’. Through understanding preservice teachers´ practicum learning
as assessable, authentic and central rather than peripheral, constructed, and hard to
assess, practicum learning can fill a critical role in teacher education.
CONCLUSION
The differences and similarities between the three countries serve to highlight the
effects of the local practice architecture on the preservice teacher practicum
learning experiences. The different development of teacher education in the three
countries can account for many of the differences while the similarities, especially
in terms of the individual pathways and the disparate needs of the preservice
teachers, suggest that workplace learning for students of teaching remains an
important aspect of their education.
We remain committed to the practicum in teacher education as both
foundational and transformative in the words and hearts of the preservice teachers.
Researchers have suggested in the past that preservice teachers claim that the
practicum is the most important aspect of initial teacher education. This study
confirms this through its focus on the preservice teacher experience.
It is evident that the practicum can be an important learning experience on many
levels. The preservice teacher narratives provide witness of personal growth and
deepening insights on the complexities of the teaching profession. They also reveal
the frustration and uncertainty that the preservice teachers feel when facing
situations where their careful planning is set aside by unexpected events in the
classroom or the school. But despite the hardships, preservice teachers look back at
their practicum with a certain pride and recognition of its important role in their
learning and developing teacher identity. Practicum as a whole is a memorable
moment filled with memorable encounters.
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Sirkku Männikkö-Barbutiu
Dept of Education in Arts and Professions,
Stockholm University,
Sweden
Doreen Rorrison
School of Teacher Education,
Charles Sturt University,
Australia
Lin Zeng
School of Education,
University of Liaocheng,
China
66
PART II
DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND
NATIONAL CONTEXTS
TOR VIDAR EILERTSEN, ELI MOKSNES FURU AND
KARIN RØRNES
4. LEARNING BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL
Preservice teachers as partners in school development
‘School development’, ‘learning schools’ and ‘teachers as researchers’ have been
recurring themes both in educational policy documents and in professional
literature over the last three to four decades. Conclusions vary when it comes to
assessing the degree of correspondence between rhetoric and practice in terms of
these concepts. Although there is a growing body of literature indicating the
opposite, the predominant conclusion is that researching teachers and learning
schools has not as yet been an integral part of the lives of schools and teachers, at
least in the Nordic countries. There are a number of ways to understand and
explain the mismatch between policies and practice; one is concerned with the role
of teacher education. Based on experiences from a research and development
program aiming to strengthen the interplay between theory and practice, especially
by integrating preservice teachers in school development projects, this chapter will
focus on the way initial teacher education can play a constructive role in the quest
for more reflective and inquiring teachers and schools.
TEACHING AND RESEARCHING – CAN THE TWAIN MEET?
Although the idea of teacher as researcher was internationally coined more than 30
years ago by Lawrence Stenhouse (1975), the notion can be traced back to
prominent educationalists like Dewey and Piaget (Kincheloe, 2002). In Norway it
was introduced as a strategy for improving the work of teachers and raising their
professional standards and esteem as early as in the late forties (Strømnes, 1967).
Researching teachers and learning schools are key concepts in recent policy
documents underpinning the latest curriculum reform in Norway and the ensuing
reform of teacher education.8 However, in our efforts to motivate and qualify both
student and established teachers for individual and collective development it is
important to critically examine not only the possibilities, but also the challenges
and obstacles we are confronted with when trying to realise the visions of
Stenhouse and many others.
––––––––––––––
8 The Knowledge Promotion Reform` (2008) is the latest and current national curriculum reform in
primary and secondary education in Norway, introduced in 2006.
M. Mattsson, T.V. Eilertsen and D. Rorrison (eds.), A Practicum Turn in Teacher Education, 69–89.
© 2011 Sense Publishers. All rights reserved.
EILERTSEN, MOKSNES FURU & RØRNES
After reviewing a large amount of literature on the matter, Roger Hancock (2001)
found reasons to pose the following question: “Why are class teachers reluctant to
become researchers?” According to him, the researching teacher is a rather rare
species, mostly detected in in-service and other educational settings or in
collaborative projects, more often initiated by college or university staff than by
teachers. In his well-informed discussion of barriers to teachers´ engagement in
research, Hancock emphasises the conditions of work (intensely social and with little
time for data collection, reading and reporting), the intuitive nature of teacher
thinking and decisions, and teachers´ lack of formal training, professional status and
self-esteem as researchers. Research, regardless of methods and paradigms, always
demands a certain detachment from the locus of study, and time-out for data-
collection, reading and writing tends to collide with “the ethic of care” that is integral
to good teaching practice. According to Hargreaves (1994) this also explains
teachers´ tendencies to distance themselves from teamwork and other collaborative
arenas so often seen as fundamental prerequisites of teacher research and learning
schools. Consequently, as comparative studies of professions also indicate, the
learning strategies of teachers, compared to professions like engineers and nurses, are
less oriented towards research and external knowledge structures and more oriented
to drawing on successful experience and intuition (Jensen, 2007).
It appears that some contemporary literature offers contrary views to Hancock.
For example Cochran-Smith & Lytle (1999) investigated the renewal of teacher
research movement in America ten years after its inception and found that
“Teacher research has become prominent in teacher education, professional
development, and school reform…” (p. 3). Meanwhile the lesson study approach to
professional inquiry and development that has been widely used in Japan for many
decades, has also gained movement status, adopted by western teachers and
educationalists (Fernandez & Yoshida 2004, Perry & Lewis 2008). More recently
Zeichner (2003), reviewing research on the professional development impact of
school-based teacher research programs, concludes that teachers, provided they are
granted time and autonomy to frame their projects, engage in long-lasting inquiries
that are more authentic, informative and challenging than daily staffroom
discourse. However, Zeichner also questions the ability and opportunity teachers
have for disseminating their research writing to others and the methodological
aspects of their research more generally.
Although there are indications that the focus on teacher research and practice-
based professional development is moving from being not only ‘sayings’ but also
‘doings’ and ‘relatings’ (Kemmis, 2009), the issue of the reflective and inquiring
teachers and schools is still a rather complex one, involving a number of
challenges and dilemmas that need to be put on the agenda. This is also the case in
teacher education. It is not merely a question of equipping teachers and student
teachers with the tools of the trade: methods, theories and documentation skills. It
appears that structural and cultural issues are deeply involved, as well as the way
teachers and teaching are organised in space and time and more fundamentally the
ethos of the teaching profession. Initial teacher education is faced with these
challenges in its own particular ways. Our argument, which will also be
70
LEARNING BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL
empirically substantiated, is that preservice teachers´ participation in school-based
communities of learning and development is a more powerful approach to sustain
teachers as inquiring partners in school development than individualistic, student-
based projects. If this is the case, there are, in our view three major challenges. We
call these: the availability challenge, which questions the availability of innovative
schools and tutors that are able and willing to integrate, scaffold and facilitate
student teachers´ participation; the organisational challenge, where school
development is a continuous and on-going process including crucial incidents and
events that do not always coincide with formal practicum periods, demanding more
flexible timetables and course designs.Last, but not least, preservice teachers, as
opposed to qualified, practising teachers, are faced with the challenges of ‘double
qualification’, where they are expected to both acquire and go beyond traditional
ways of teaching, assessing, and organising within narrow timeframes. We also
believe that transcending established practices in this way also involve phronƝsis,
moral, practical and critical judgements and dispositions.
These are the questions and issues raised in this chapter. They are based mainly
on preliminary experiences from a project at the University of Tromsø that is part
of a broader, national research program aiming to improve teacher education in
Norway and in particular the practicum and the interplay between theory and
practice.
PRACTICUM AS AN INTEGRATIVE ELEMENT IN TEACHER EDUCATION:
THE PIL PROJECT
Although there has been a steady move towards establishing partnerships between
universities/colleges and schools, the traditional pattern has been that the two “are
operating within two separate circuits” (SINTEF 2008, p. 35). This is the essence
of numerous national evaluations of teacher education programs in Norway, paving
the way for a number of initiatives, including PIL (In direct translation: “Practicum
as an Integrative Element in Teacher Education”). Internationally there appears to
have been a growing emphasis on making teacher education more ‘practical’,
based on a number of educational and political motives. The influential OECD
report “Teachers matter” (2005) is one of many policy documents that highlight
the important role of the practicum and the necessity of bridging the gap between
academia and schools.
Tromsø is one of six participating HEIs (higher educational institutions) in PIL,
financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and operating from 2008-2010.
The national project plan has ‘partnership’ as a key concept and invites the
applicants to continue the process of developing viable models of cooperation
among the various stakeholders in teacher education. In addition to the structural
and organisational aspects, there is also a focus on content and the relational
qualities of the partnerships. PIL Tromsø is the project that has most consistently
pursued the ambitions of integrating preservice teachers in school development
projects during their practicum. According to the general vision and aims of the
University of Tromsø, teacher education should be responsive to the great variety
of schools and their environments throughout the northern region of Norway. In
71
EILERTSEN, MOKSNES FURU & RØRNES
PIL this is met partly by student teachers´ participation in schools outside urban
Tromsø and partly by their involvement in the ‘High North’ project, a
comprehensive curriculum project developing content and methods reflecting
regional topics and issues in and across subjects. PIL also offers an opportunity for
students to combine action learning and internationalisation as a result of a long-
term cooperation between The University of Tromsø and Helsingborg municipality
in southern Sweden.9
Our project is also inspired by a metaphor that signals a particular kind of
practice architecture, that of the ‘platform’. First coined by Smith (2000) and
further developed by Ponte, van Swet, and Smith (2007), it symbolises a
framework of teacher education that is more flexible and open to student teachers´
individual needs and interests. It is partly related to this that one of our aims is to
continue our pursuit for new ways of documenting and presenting the results of
student teachers´ projects, partly inspired by experiences and models developed at
Stockholm university (Mattsson, 2008, Eilertsen &Ström 2008). Instead of the
traditional written report and internal examinations preservice teachers can present
their projects to school staff or at seminars, conferences or workshops, using a
variety of genres and formats.
It should also be mentioned that PIL also coincided with the launch of a national
Masters program piloted at Tromsø University that prepares teachers for the
primary and lower secondary school levels with an emphasis on school
development and innovation. Ideas and experiences from PIL will be implemented
in this pilot as will be discussed later.
LEARNING SCHOOLS AND THE FRAMEWORK OF TEACHER EDUCATION
Not withstanding the inherent challenges and obstacles discussed above, there is a
growing body of knowledge that confirms the merits of systematic, individual and
collective inquiries and reflection. Some of these empirical contributions have been
influential references in the construction of policy documents underpinning the
latest educational reforms both in Scandinavia and in the OECD countries. One of
the most cited is the work of John Hattie (2009) who has made a synthesis of more
than 800 meta-analyses identifying factors influencing the learning outcomes of
schools, not only in terms of narrow, academic standards but also when broader
civic objectives are taken into account. According to Hattie, successful schools are
characterised by a culture of cooperation and educational reflection:
They question themselves, they worry about which students are not making
appropriate progress, they seek evidence of successes and gaps, and they
seek help when they need it in their teaching. (p. 261)
––––––––––––––
9 Helsingborg has made action learning a hallmark of their schools via extensive inservice programs
up to master level for teachers and school leaders. This offers opportunities for student teachers to
observe and contribute to action learning projects (Eilertsen and Jackhelln 2008)
72
LEARNING BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL
These processes mentioned by Hattie are seen as a joint staff enterprise with a
continuous focus on practice. However, teachers´ professional growth and
development demands more than the casual sharing of experiences, it is essential to
make teaching and learning visible. When teachers´ practice and pupils´ learning is
visible it can be monitored, feedback can be provided and necessary changes can
be made. There are two vital conditions for this to happen; one is that the school
staff develops a repertoire of methods to make teaching and learning transparent,
the other is the availability of time and arenas to share, discuss and reflect on the
actual outcomes. Furthermore, the acquisition and development of concepts and
theories to make sense of the data at hand and transform it into constructive,
professional learning experiences is essential (Dale, 2005; Rönnermann, 2008). We
will return to the question of what and more importantly, whose theories shortly.
Finally, teachers should understand practice not only as a question of
methodological and technical procedures, but also as praxis: a morally informed
enterprise based on an obligation to act wisely as an educator (Kemmis &
Grootenboer 2008). Praxis also includes sayings, doings and relatings in a social
context, activities that are placed within and influenced by a complex interplay of
larger societal forces and the ‘practice architectures’ of human endeavour. As
Kemmis & Grootenboer (2008) suggest:
The way these practice architectures are constructed shapes practice in its
cultural-discursive, social-political and material-economic dimensions,
giving substance and form to what is and can be actually said and done, by
with and for whom (p. 58).
The need for both the ‘dipped and main lights’ on the practice, and praxis of
teaching is a demanding challenge for experienced teachers and even more so for
preservice teachers. Understandably their prime concern is the pedagogical content
knowledge, teaching methods and the relational and social aspects of classroom
leadership. It is, however, vital to motivate, inspire and provide those who are
about to enter the profession with the necessary tools to consider both the micro-
level world of teaching as well as its moral, contextual and broader setting. If we
neglect to do this, we are compromising vital goals and values both in teacher
education and in the system it is catering for.
The crucial question appears to be: should teacher education be organised and
designed in order to meet these aspirations? Generally the research literature on
teacher education can be summed up by rephrasing the title of the OECD-report
mentioned above: Teacher education more or less does not matter (Korthagen,
2010; Wideen et al, 1998; Cochran-Smith & Zeichner, 2005). This is especially
true when it comes to the capacity of teacher education to transform and change
the practice and organisation of teaching and schools. An important reason for this
is the pervasive socialisation effects of ‘before’ and ‘after’: preservice teachers´
extensive institutional experience before entering teacher education and the modus
operandi of the schools they are appointed to after having qualified. Nevertheless
we think there are approaches and strategies that can be pursued to change the
picture of initial teacher education as being an insignificant episode, and the
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practicum plays a crucial role in these. We base this partly on our own experiences
of inviting and including preservice teachers in action research projects as part of
their practicum (Eilertsen & Valdermo, 1997; Tunberg, 2006). Being part of and
socialised into a culture of inquiry and having the opportunity to contribute as
legitimate, peripheral participants (Lave & Wenger, 1991) means that preservice
teachers are provided with experiences, competencies and even the confidence that
is likely to make a difference in their later professional practice. Our approach is
thus a reflection of a general movement in preservice teacher education from a
traditional individualistic and technical ‘teaching practice’ via a reflective, but still
individualistic ‘practicum’, to the notion of ‘learning communities’, captured in the
contemporary concept of professional experience as discussed by Le Cornu &
Ewing (2008).
This view can also be linked to developments of the pedagogy of teacher
education to which Korthagen and his colleagues (2001) have made significant
contributions. Their point of departure was a discontent with the meagre results of
their own teacher education practice, based on the traditional ‘theory-to- practice’
approach. The underlying premise of this approach is that preservice teachers
should be provided with the necessary theories that they should apply in the
practicum and later professional work. Instead, Korthagen (2001) launches what he
calls the ‘realistic’ approach in teacher education, putting practice first and with the
gradual integration of experience and theory:
According to this more constructivist view, the preservice teacher develops
his or her own knowledge in a process of reflection on practical situations,
which creates a concern and a personal need for learning (p. 15).
Korthagen believes this is a more powerful way to develop, challenge or alter what
he calls preservice teachers’ ‘gestalts’, described as the amalgamation of cognitive
preconceptions, ideas, experiences, values, sentiments and emotions. By doing we
can also inspire and motivate theoretical studies. (For current research on student
teachers´ gestalts, see Männikkö-Barbutiu & Rorrison, Chapter 3, this volume).
Returning to the issue of ‘what and ‘whose’ theories as mentioned earlier, the
realistic teacher education approach is deeply rooted in the practical knowledge
regime (Dale, 2005: Eilertsen & Jackhelln, 2008) especially through its emphasis
on knowledge as phronƝsis and education as a practical discipline. Korthagen
(2001) makes a distinction between theory with a capital T (epistƝmƝ) and theory
with a small t (phronƝsis). He purports that theories with a small t are developed as
an integral part of professional performance as well as via more systematic
inquiries, gradually adjusting to and integrating T-theories. This kind of knowledge
or theory has practice as a starting point – it is situational and action oriented.
Korthagen´s (2001) ‘realistic approach’ also emphasises contextual and critical
reflections in the comment:
…even within the boundaries of the micro situation, preservice teachers´
reflection should involve the moral implications of their behaviour,
especially the question of whether this behaviour reproduces social injustice.
(p. 67)
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LEARNING BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL
Furthermore, the situational aspect of the realistic approach also highlights the
situated and distributed nature of knowledge and learning in order for teacher
education to make a difference. According to Korthagen (2010), “It implies an
emphasis on the co-creation of educational and pedagogical meanings within
professional communities of teachers-as-learners…” (p. 104). In PIL, our point of
departure is that preservice teachers´ participation in professional communities of
teachers-as-learners is a fruitful way of promoting the developmental aspects of
their gestalts, and by this hopefully also a critical disposition. In the rest of the
chapter we will illuminate these ambitions more and the organisational and
practical challenges they are met with, based on experiences from two of the
‘corner stone’ projects that preservice teachers have been involved in. The
presentation draws on a variety of data including interviews and narratives of
preservice teacher, mentors, school leaders, preservice teachers´ course-work and
examinations, and observations.
PRESERVICE TEACHERS´ R&D PARTICIPATION: TWO CASES
NAVIGARE: Developing the learning environment by promoting children´s social
competence
Funded by the Norwegian national program “The Knowledge Promotion Reform –
from Word to Deed” (2008) five schools in Tromsø established a joint, network-
based project: Navigare Necesse Est” (The Navigare project). In addition to the
five schools the network also included the local education authorities and the
University of Tromsø, the latter to provide professional support and evaluation.
One of the authors (KR) was one of two researchers involved in this role. The
rationale behind the project was to develop pupils´ social competencies and
schools´ learning environment by implementing the research-based program PALS
(A Norwegian acronym for positive behaviour, supportive learning environment
and cooperation) (Arnesen, Ogden and Sørlie, 2006).10 PALS is a program that
reflects the growing emphasis on approaches to school development and
professional learning that can document their effects via accountable, empirical
research. This and similar, evidence-based approaches to school change could be
seen as a continuation, or return of, the positivistic, top-down models of
educational research, a paradigm that was challenged in the 1960s. However,
rather than just following prescribed procedures the schools and their leaders chose
an implementation strategy based on internal and cross-school networks and
dialogue conferences. Thus they combined and balanced a top-bottom with a
bottom-up perspective, an instructive case of school innovation, also seen from a
preservice teacher´s point of view.
––––––––––––––
10 In connection with the Knowledge Promotion Reform (2008) four research groups were mandated
by the national school authorities to evaluate various programs targeting behavioural problems and
suggesting strategies to implement lessons learned from these. PALS was one of these, and one of
us (KR) chaired one of the groups.
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EILERTSEN, MOKSNES FURU & RØRNES
PIL in Navigare – organisational and practical challenges
Being one of the stakeholders in Navigare facilitated the linking of PIL and the
Navigare schools. PIL gave us the opportunity and resources to expand preservice
teacher participation by designing an alternative and more comprehensive
practicum model. Four preservice teachers (2008/2009) and six preservice teachers
(2009/2010) from the initial teacher education program (primary/lower secondary
level) volunteered to participate in the practice pilot. Instead of having the normal
six weeks of concentrated and supervised practice they would have seven to eight
weeks practice spread over a year, in one of the Navigare schools. They were also
invited to take full part in the in-service courses, dialogue conferences, reflection
groups and other relevant arenas.
First year experiences highlighted the multitude of practical problems that arise
when interventions into established systems are made. Schools have their
timetables and schedules that are tight both for school leaders and teachers. That
was also the case at university level even though only a limited number of
preservice teachers were involved. For example when the school set their parent
meetings, it did not correspond with the preservice teacher´s schedules even
though we did agree how important attendance at the meeting would be. It appears
that the university system were less flexible than schools, as curriculum is
fragmented and cooperation between teacher educators is variable. However,
according to Fullan (1991) the most fundamental prerequisite of change is
meaning, not structures and systems as such. He suggests, “Solutions must
come through the development of shared meaning. The interface between
individual and collective meaning and action in everyday situations is
where change stands or falls” (Fullan, 1991, p. 5). If we follow this line of thought
it becomes obvious that the more we talked about why it was important to
develop a new kind of practice in the teacher education – the more flexible
the system tended to be. We began to understand the meaning of the changes we
were instituting rather than allowing ourselves to be stymied by the structural
problems.
Despite the practical problems the first year of the initiative gave us some
important data about how to organise practice. Preservice teachers and their
mentors at school concluded that practice had to be extended if preservice
teachers were to follow ongoing school development as well as having the
ordinary classroom practice. Allocating two of six weeks to PALS-related
activities like staff meetings and dialogue conferences left too little time for
more ‘traditional’ classroom activities. This was also pointed out by the
preservice teachers, who were in a relatively early, ‘acquiring’ stage of their
study career (second year).
Experiences from the first year in the project led to some changes in the second
year of implementation. Firstly it was possible to start the planning process at an
earlier stage and therefore improve the implementation both on campus and in the
two Navigare schools involved. Secondly, by working in close cooperation with
both the school leaders and the university practice coordinator, we managed to find
school mentors that strongly identified themselves as teacher educators. This was
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also a process of promoting shared meaning of the aims and rationale behind the
project in a better way than in the first year. As well as this the second year
practicum had expanded time frames and was better aligned with crucial school
activities. This also necessitated a change in the campus based component of their
program by establishing dialogue conferences, partly to compensate for lectures
they were missing, but more importantly as a meeting place for preservice
teachers, school mentors and university lecturers to address relevant issues and
integrate theory and practice.
The dialogue conference – a place to learn and re-learn
Dialogue conferences are democratic conversations that link the discourse of
theory with practical discourse. Traditionally they involve researchers and
practitioners collaborating to produce new knowledge and practices (Lave and
Wenger, 1991/98; Lund, 2008). In our case it included mentors, preservice teachers
and occasionally also school leaders and the themes included professional issues
related to Navigare as well as of more general nature. For example issues related to
school and home cooperation, the challenge of a multicultural school and
behaviour problems in schools were discussed. The dialogue conferences took
place both on campus and at the school and we noticed that more teachers
participated when we moved out of the university.
In this way Navigare proved to be a fruitful learning environment for preservice
teachers in many ways. They could observe and practice various strategies for
developing pro-social behaviour, they could see and contribute to professional
collaboration and dialogues, and they could also have close-up experiences that
allowed for a more critical stance towards PALS with insight into the challenges of
collective school development. Some of these findings are illustrated by the
following excerpts from stakeholders´ narratives.
Teacher/mentor´s voice:
After five hours of teaching I felt quite exhausted, but the dialog
conference was so inspiring. As I see it, we need more of this because it is
way too seldom that we get input and the opportunity to discuss important
professional issues with colleagues. Student teachers in the group made me
reflect not only on what I do, but why I do it. Placing the dialogue conference
at the school is a good thing.
Student´s voice:
We have learnt so much more about how to face and prevent behavioural
problems than we ever could have done at campus. You need theory, but
even more of you need to experience theory as helpful in order to deal with
real problems in practice. Through teachers´ examples I have come to realise
that children can learn social competence through meaningful work in the
classroom, and I want to read and learn more about this.
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EILERTSEN, MOKSNES FURU & RØRNES
Teacher educator´s voice (reflection note after a dialogue conference):
I do believe Korthagen is right when he points out that we need a shift in
our thinking on how preservice teachers learn. We are caught up in this
understanding about how important theory (with capital T) is – but so are our
partners at school, too. We do all have experiences with education in this
tradition. So how can we make a shift – we really need a lot of
communication about why it is important to learn from practice, but also how
we do it (construction of dialogue conferences).
Narrative analysis has enabled us to summarise what we have learned as follows:
1. If we are to link practice and theory in teacher education, it is necessary to
create meeting places and to think location. Dialogue conferences at the
school facilitate teacher participation and signal an appreciation of theory
with t.
2. Dialogue conferences can (and should) be a democratic context that empowers
the participators. Our experiences differ in this aspect, as some of the theory
with “capital T” tended to take up too much space.
3. The meeting of teachers, preservice teachers and teacher educators on arenas
like this challenge the professional role of the latter, necessitating a closer
cooperation between universities and schools.
It should be mentioned that the dialogue conference was not an alternative but
rather a supplement to the more traditional teaching strategies. In addition the
preservice teachers had traditional sessions, including lectures and seminars. Being
a rather small and select group of preservice teachers, campus became a place
where we met in order to discuss and reflect together on topics of mutual interest.
The teacher educator´s role changed to guidance rather than “dissemination”,
leading to the preservice teachers becoming more responsible for their own
learning, and they actually began to act like someone dedicated to the profession
of teaching. This became more and more visible as their own practice-based
project took form, as illustrated by the following e-mail from one of the PIL-
students: “Here is an article I find interesting (web reference). If you can find time
you have to read it.” It happens rarely that a young preservice teacher, in her
second year, gives her teacher such an input – and of course we discussed the
article later on.
Change in the documentation and examination strategies
Changing the practicum organisation and content also implied a change in the
examination and documentation strategies. The oral theoretical knowledge test at
the end of the year was replaced by a developmental, practice-based project
assignment. Early in the practice period the preservice teachers were asked to
identify a practical problem, many of which were more or less linked to Navigare,
and find ways of learning more about it. Assisted by their mentors they managed to
find many interesting cases to investigate, such as:
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– Does a project like Navigare stimulate and develop individual teacher´s
competence?
– How can teachers promote social and academic competence for children with
behaviour problems?
– Does Navigare have an impact on the learning environment?
– How does it affect classroom teaching and learning activities that aim to include
and individualise?
– How can I as a teacher motivate and strengthen children´s social and academic
learning?
– What values can be found in Navigare´s social competence curriculum, and how
are these values manifested in everyday school life?
Working on practice based projects like these throughout one year had implications
both for the campus and school based part of the teacher education program. In
sessions on ‘action research’ or ‘research methods’ it made it possible to link
theory to preservice teachers´ hands-on experiences. We recognised that these
preservice teachers started to use concepts like ‘empirical data’; ‘scientific
methods’, ‘paradigm’ and they had discussions indicating that they were beginning
to develop a more professional language when they talked about their practice
experiences.
This was also noticed by the preservice teachers´ school mentors.
They really challenge me, and I have to be more aware of my own reasons
and pedagogical arguments for doing so and so in the classroom. And since
the students use research methods like systematic observation, interviews and
questionnaires, we now meet to discuss, evaluate and plan their teaching in
the light of this more “scientific” feedback. Actually I had to revitalise my
own knowledge about scientific methods.
Becoming critical?
Bearing in mind the preservice teachers´ young age and the early stage of their
study career, we asked if it was possible to use the Navigare participation as a
point of departure for developing a more critical stance towards the philosophy and
practice of social skills development? Understandably, most of the preservice
teachers found it difficult to have substantial objections to the Navigare approach,
even though their practice mentors encouraged critical feedback. However, both
supervisors and the rest of the staff predominantly subscribed to the theory and
strategies of Navigare, making preservice teachers accept this as a kind of “best
practice” that was difficult to question:
The teachers are so positive and I’m really impressed by the way they
manage to include everyone in classroom activities. Even the children with
learning disabilities and highly aggressive behaviour seem to have found
their place in this learning environment. So how can I be critical to this?
(Preservice teacher).
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Being part of the staff for a whole year, the preservice teachers developed a closer
relationship with their supervisors and staff than in ordinary practicum settings,
participating in a variety of activities and arenas and thus socialised into the school
culture more consistently than in more traditional settings. This is of course
positive, but it might also limit the possibility of a more detached and constructive-
critical disposition. Nevertheless we find examples of this, as illustrated by the
following cases.
Firstly, based on teachers´ questionnaires one of the students concluded that
there seemed to be a lack of common conceptualisation of values and values
education. Furthermore, she became concerned about the place of values in her
own teacher education, finding it more or less none-existent. Practicum feedback
and assessment were mainly targeting performance and technical issues;
fundamental themes like values education and concepts of knowledge were rarely
on the agenda.
Secondly, another student, investigating the level of Navigare implementation,
found that teachers were reluctant to respond to a questionnaire (only 30%), and
their main objection was the problem of anonymity. The preservice teacher´s
tentative explanation was related to a discrepancy between the collective
agreement of Navigare as a successful innovation, and the actual level of teacher
implementation. Based on participation, observations and informal conversations,
it appeared that the strategy was not successful in all classrooms, but this was
rarely spoken of.
These cases indicate that, given the opportunity to observe and participate,
preservice teachers are able to raise critical-constructive and morally informed
questions about educational practices even at early stages of their educational
program. We think, however, that it is vital that this is initiated, stimulated and
even modelled by teacher educators in order to gradually become a more
permanent disposition. Our experiences also indicate that the dialogue seminars
may serve as a powerful arena for addressing topics like these.
THE HIGH NORTH PROJECT
The second major developmental project with preservice teacher participation, the
High North (HN) project, was initiated by Tromsø municipality, aiming to
strengthen the regional focus in primary and lower secondary school curriculum,
update teachers and students on regional knowledge development and ultimately
promote a regional identity that encourage young people to stay or return to the
region. Traditionally school textbooks have neglected this kind of knowledge, for
example, contemporary topics related to industrial and cultural modernisation and
expanded cross-border cooperation (especially with Russia). Although science
initially had a prominent part, HN also includes social, cultural and historical
topics. A number of schools and their teachers were engaged in developing and
trying out materials and teaching methods, the project also includes in-service
programs for teachers in cooperation with the University of Tromsø. In 2008/2009
two preservice teachers had their practicum at one of the participating schools, a
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small, multi-aged grouped school typical of the rural parts of the region. In the
second year, 2009/10, five preservice teachers participated in different schools, two
of these in the same rural school, and we will focus on this case in particular.
Although the school had initiated its project, the teachers were open to change
the focus to match it with the preservice teachers´ qualifications. Whereas the
Navigare preservice teachers were at an early stage of their study, these two
preservice teachers had qualifications in biology and chemistry at a Masters level.
Consequently it was decided that the school´s HN-project should focus on energy
and environment, and the preservice teachers´ topic became the following: What
challenges do we meet when starting oil production in Northern Norway? As
fisheries are still very important regionally and in this particular village, the
conflict between new and traditional industries and the environmental issues more
generally are of vital interest. The aim of the project was to present different views
on this issue based on relevant and updated knowledge, ending in a plenary
discussion where they would present the perspective of oil companies, fishermen,
politicians and environmental organisations. During the practicum period the
pupils were interviewing researchers from the Ocean Research Institute and
representatives from fishery organisations.
The second year preservice teachers involved were also highly qualified, each
with a Masters in science, one of them specialising in marine biology. Based on the
positive experiences from the first year the school matched their HN-project period
with that of the student teachers´ practicum, 2009/2010 focusing on the local
marine ecology system. The project was an advanced combination of theoretical
and conceptual approaches, sampling of maritime species by using traps,
implementing a number of digital learning and documentation resources (the latter
in the form of digital portfolios both individual and group-based) that included
logs, field study reports and concept mapping. Thus the project met a number of
curricular subject and general aims, including scientific understanding and
practice, in addition to those of HN. In this sense the project combined an inquiry-
oriented approach at both a pupil and a preservice teacher level.
Lessons learned: Preservice teachers´ voices
Based on data collected and preservice teachers´ interviews in particular we have
grouped the experiences into four categories. The first is concerned with the level
of trust and responsibility that their participation involved. The second is the
extended access to pupil and community background as references and resources in
their teaching. The third is concerned with the authenticity aspect of their project
and teaching experiences and fourthly their membership in extended networks of
professional exchange, participation and learning.
Trust and responsibility
From the very first planning meetings and onwards the preservice teachers felt that
mentors, principals and staff signalled a great amount of trust and confidence in
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them. This was especially due to their solid subject content competencies
evidenced by comments like:
Together we have been working with marine biology for over 10 years, so we
were happy when we could choose to work with the local marine ecology
during the practicum.
Because of this they were given extensive freedom in the planning and
implementing of their HN-project: We got the chance to work as “real” teachers!
The preservice teachers felt in many ways that they soon became part of the
teacher team, not only in their practicum classes. Due to their science
qualifications they were also asked to give lessons on marine resources and other
topics in other classes. In addition they felt that the pupils accepted them as
teachers because of their high qualifications. As well as their strong subject matter
knowledge some of the preservice teachers were also very proficient in the use of
ICT as teaching and learning tools. This provided an interesting challenge to their
local mentors in the sense that their competence in these two areas resulted in
mostly positive feedback. This possible problem was however recognised at the
out start, and a joint decision was made to provide a closer follow-up from
university science staff than normally was the case.
Pupils and community background
The second year the preservice teachers spent the two practicum periods at the
same school, giving them extended opportunities to get acquainted with the pupils
and the local community setting of the school before they launched their project.
An important lesson learned was pupils´ extensive involvement in practical
activities related to local industries and work-life, compared to their more urban
counterparts. The preservice teachers therefore decided to vary the methods and
use practical tasks as well as visualisations:
We also discovered that the pupils were very proficient in the use of ICT. As
the project should be presented at a web site we decided to put all the written
texts into the web folders from the beginning.
As the lessons would be presented on the HN web site, it was important to pay
special attention to the fieldwork procedures:
It was necessary to have that in mind when planning the project.
When the preservice teachers initially introduced the local ecology project to the
pupils, they showed great interest but they also claimed to know their maritime
surroundings very well. However, by exploring different concepts, the pupils
realised that they had to work hard to understand the complexity of the ecology.
After having finished the fieldwork and collected the traps, the pupils actually
discussed if and how they could repeat the investigations during their summer
vacation.
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The pupils had also informed and discussed the project with their parents and
cited what mum and dad had said about it.
To the preservice teachers this was an indication that the project had expanded the
traditional boundaries of schooling and learning. In Bernstein´s (1971) terms a
weaker division between the local and school knowledge and culture became
obvious.
Authenticity
From the very beginning the preservice teachers and the pupils knew that the result
of the project should be presented at a HN web site, giving the project a very
distinct element of authenticity both to preservice teachers and pupils: “The pupils
worked very hard with their tasks, because they knew that other teachers and
pupils could use it”. According to the preservice teachers this was, for example,
manifested by pupils continuing their work after lessons and asking them for help
and guidance. The preservice teachers valued the participation highly, especially
emphasising the authenticity of the project and the many degrees of freedom they
were granted in their practicum. One of the second year participants put it like this
in her examination report:
This was a pilot project and the idea was that other teachers might use the
material and the teaching methods. Working with this project resulted in an
extended practicum period both in time, quality and challenges. It has given
us many new thoughts and perspectives we want to follow up after this
practicum and we are satisfied with having had courage to try new things.
Networks of professional exchange, participation and learning
The HN project arranged seminars for all the schools and teachers involved and
also included the participating preservice teachers. These gave them access to
project experiences from other schools as well as input from invited lecturers on
relevant topics. Furthermore they gained access to discussion groups and plenary
sessions on subject matter and cross-curricular, methodological and organisational
issues and challenges: “By listening to what other teachers were doing, we got
ideas about how the project could be carried out. We were also told that 3-4 weeks
was a reasonable timeframe for a project like ours”.
In addition to the HN arrangements all participating preservice teachers
presented their projects at PIL-seminars for all PIL-students, university staff and
school mentors. This gave them the opportunity to present and exchange
experiences from the various projects and across primary and secondary school
levels.11 In addition to this the seminars served as a trial and “simulation” arena for
––––––––––––––
11 One of PIL’s aims was to serve as an arena for different preservice student categories to meet and
learn, and thus also contribute to building a more unified professional identity in times of increasing
differentiation of teacher education.
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those who were invited to present their projects at various national and
international conferences, whether alone or together with tutors and university
staff: “You want to work extra hard with it to give a good presentation”. One of
the preservice teachers sums up her general experiences from her PIL participation
in the following way, reflecting the voices of many of her preservice teacher
colleagues:
It has been very rewarding for me to have had the opportunity to be ‘co-
researcher’ during my practicum. It has made my time as student teacher
exceptionally interesting and motivating. I have participated at seminars and
conferences, being both observer and contributor. I am many experiences
richer and have gained an extended insight into my future profession. In
particular I appreciate the professional discussions I have had with other
students, teachers and researchers.
The voices of school staff
According to mentors and school leaders, the preservice teachers were seen as
valuable contributors to their project with subject qualifications both beyond, and
complementary to, that of the staff. Being a small school with few teachers, two extra
teachers expanded the scope of competencies and activities considerably. When the
principal was asked to present the activities at his school at a ‘half-way’ seminar of
HN recently (June 2010), his presentation was based entirely on the preservice
students´ projects, emphasising also how they, due to their subject, digital and
didactical competencies, not only contributed significantly to the students, but also to
school tutors´ and staff learning. Both projects have been included in the collection
of teaching and learning resources presented at the HN homepage. The staff
expressed their experiences with the preservice teachers like this:
The preservice teachers took the responsibility from the first day at school.
When the students presented the projects, the pupils said -Wow, are we going
to learn this? It required both courage and advanced subject qualifications to
plan and carry out a field study investigation like this together with the pupils.
We have never done that before. Perhaps we might do this on our own once we
have seen how the students have conducted it. More generally, discussion with
the preservice teachers is an opportunity to reflect on our own practice.
DISCUSSION
PIL has been, and still is, investigating various approaches to more innovative
‘practice architectures of practice’ in initial teacher education. The concept
‘innovative’ in this context has a double meaning. Firstly it refers to preservice
teachers participation and engagement in school-based development. Secondly it
implies a more flexible, dialogical and network-based relationship between theory
and practice; an innovation at the level of teacher education. We use the concept
‘platform’ (Ponte et. al 2007) as a metaphor to underline this particular aspect of
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the practice architecture of practicum and teacher education, as opposed to the
more rigid frameworks of ‘programs’, ‘courses’ and the like. Making preservice
teachers partners in school development require opportunities for participation that
transcends the traditional practicum periods and provide closer and more versatile
links between universities and schools and different and more varied ways of
reporting and examining. PIL has shown that it is a demanding but possible
enterprise to challenge institutional structures and cultures to allow for expanded
preservice teacher participation, especially when the number of participants is low,
as in our trial cases. However, even with small, group-based participation and quite
a few schools and tutors involved, the necessary planning and following up has
proven to be time consuming, way beyond that of ordinary practicum
arrangements. Although the ambition should be to offer more than just a handful of
especially motivated and qualified preservice teachers the opportunity of
combining ‘acquisition’ and ‘innovation’, our concern is that this kind of
professional experience cannot realistically be made available to all preservice
teachers. One way ahead however could be to form partnerships with a number of
innovative schools that could more formally and consistently offer opportunities
for preservice teacher participation, mandated in the school-university contract.
PIL coincided with the planning and early implementation of a national master
program pilot, catering for teachers at primary/lower secondary level, and with a
strong R&D profile. Included in the pilot, and as a way of strengthening all teacher
education programs, there was a comprehensive effort and fiscal support to recruit
and develop what is called ‘university schools’ that, similar to university hospitals,
are arenas of research and innovation in partnerships between teachers/supervisors,
university teacher educators and preservice teachers. In addition to increasing the
possibilities of preservice teachers´ participation this will also formalise and
hopefully reduce the amount of planning and organising involved.
The notion of practice architectures link organisational changes like these to
institutional and macro-level trends and developments that are cultural-discursive,
social-political and material-economic (Kemmis & Grootenboer, 2008). PIL is thus
part of a larger story of institutional and cultural change, similar to the fore-
mentioned teacher research movement (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999; Somekh &
Zeichner, 2009) and other manifestations of more innovative, change-oriented
professional roles in schools. Although these can also be identified in the
Norwegian/Scandinavian context, it is our contention that the majority of
innovative activities in our schools are still the informal, small-scale and individual
or team-based improvements and expansions of methods, content and classroom
organisation. These are by no means inferior, but rather complementary to more
formal, collective and visible enterprises and they are vital contributions to
preservice teachers´ practicum learning experiences. PIL´s concern has been to
adjust the balance between these two, offering preservice teachers not only the
possibility of individual action learning projects, but also opportunities for
observing, participating in and contributing to more formal, school-based
innovations. Launching and applying for funding for a project labelled “preservice
teachers as co-researchers”, was therefore a risky enterprise, relying on the
availability of existing, relevant projects. At the time of our submission, Navigare
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EILERTSEN, MOKSNES FURU & RØRNES
was well under way, involving cooperation with teacher educators, including one
of the authors.12 Luckily, the High North project period coincided with that of PIL,
offering ample opportunities for student participation in development activities that
also matched the overall visions and goals of the University of Tromsø: a research
and educational institution responsive to the needs and challenges of the Northern
Region. Apart from these two, school based projects of the more formal kind have
been relatively hard to come by.
The obvious lesson learned from this is that universities and teacher education
institutions should engage in participatory research and development, not only within
the framework of university schools, but more generally. This is in line with political
initiatives in Norway, encouraging and even mandating institutional cooperation
between schools and universities as a prerequisite for accessing R&D-funding, as
was the case with Navigare. Within the framework of the new Master qualification
pilot, a direct input from PIL was the institutionalisation of the dialogue conference,
consisting of four conferences in the first year (2010/11). These were important
arenas for the integration of theory and practice, of theories with small and capital
letters, and they focused on a variety of experiences and topics but often with R&D-
related issues as a point of departure. The R&D element will become increasingly
focused throughout the teacher education program, starting with the novice,
‘acquisition’ phase at bachelor level and gradually moving to the more mature
‘transition’ position at master´s level. Furthermore we saw the dialogue conference
as an important organisational tool for preservice teachers and other stakeholders to
present and disseminate experiences and findings from R&D projects, and thus make
them available also to preservice teacher colleagues who were not participating
directly. This can partly solve the availability dilemma mentioned above.
PIL has shown that preservice teachers in their early study career (second year)
can make worthwhile contributions to school development by posing critical
questions to innovation practice and implementation (Navigare). Preservice
teachers at the other end of their teacher education can contribute in ways that can
be characterised by rephrasing the well-known conceptualisation of Lave &
Wenger (1998) in their theory of situated learning. That is ‘Legitimate, central (as
opposed to peripheral)participation’ as was the case in the HN project in particular.
This also gave opportunities to focus on the role of education and knowledge in a
regional context and the dilemmas and challenges of contemporary developments,
economically, ecologically and culturally, promoting critical and moral reflections
both on the pupil and preservice teacher level.
An important finding of this project is that we see preservice teachers´
achievements partly as a result of their access to expanded arenas of professional
discourse and exchange, compared to more traditional practicum arrangements. In
addition to the everyday discussions with mentors and others, their participation
included school based seminars, regional conferences and in some cases also
presentations at national and even international conferences. In addition to the
––––––––––––––
12 Another relevant project that was intended for teacher student participation, concerning ICT in
teaching and learning could not be included due to financial delay.
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LEARNING BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL
learning potential of these events we also highlighted the element of authenticity in
their contributions that was very different from that of traditional examinations. Their
work had an additional audience, not only conference and seminar participants, but
also practising teachers who were potential users of their materials, as in the HN case.
In both cases we found it necessary to change the examination formats in order
to make them more compatible with the particular practice architectures of PIL. In
NAVIGARE there was a change from an oral examination to a written project
report that was presented and received feedback from fellow-preservice teachers,
supervisor teachers and university teachers while it was underway. In the HN
project preservice teachers were given credit for their comprehensive
developmental Work was supplemented with a shorter (compared to the
‘traditional’ examination papers) essay, reflecting on the learning process.
Although it was not a formal part of the examination procedures, their various
presentations were also part of their “expanded” documentation and dissemination
of their learning outcomes.
According to Fishman (2000) the overall aim of teacher research is to improve
the quality of teaching (as is also the case in projects involving preservice
teachers). As reported in these research contributions, it not only increases
teachers´ practical and theoretical repertoire but also their enthusiasm for the
teaching profession, their self-confidence and ultimately their professional
authority (Zeichner, 1999; Furu, 2008). Although it is difficult to abstract
confidently in our case due to the small and select group of preservice teachers,
there certainly are indications that pre-service teacher participation in school based
projects might have empowering potential. Both preservice teachers and mentors
use concepts like “challenging” and “courage” in describing their experiences,
concepts that are closely linked to professional authority, empowerment and
“teacher strength” (Furu, 2008). To us this is not based merely on “sayings” like
these, but also on numerous observations of preservice teachers´ “doings” and
“relatings” in communities of practice and learning.
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