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1 – 10 of over 5000This study aims to selects a teacher training program located in China’s rural area and focus on its preservice teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education in China and their…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to selects a teacher training program located in China’s rural area and focus on its preservice teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education in China and their expectations of teacher training programs.
Design/methodology/approach
The selected teacher training program is in School of Education of a comprehensive university, located in a small town in Northeast China. Five preservice teachers in the Department of Teacher Education were interviewed. The interviewees were randomly selected among those who have already gained at least 60 credits of coursework prior to the interview. Each interview lasted for approximately 0.5 h. Interview notes were summarized and coded using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step approach. In addition to interview data, other data sources were used, such as classroom observation and review of curriculum and program requirement.
Findings
Although the selected teacher preparation program started offering some selective special education courses to preservice teachers, there are limited number of offerings and a lack of field placement in inclusive settings, and stereotypical opinions towards disabilities still exist as a roadblock for choosing special education teacher profession.
Research limitations/implications
The current study only focuses on one rural teacher training institution and report preservice teachers’ opinions toward teacher education curriculum, factors that lead to their decision in the teacher education major and their vision towards inclusion in China. Recommendations are provided to increase public awareness of disability, and create more field based experience in inclusive settings for preservice teachers. However, the result may not be generalized to reflect preservice teachers of teacher training institutions located in developed areas where there are rich opportunities for field experience in inclusive setting or special education programs, and who offer more extensive special education courses.
Practical implications
It is recommended that teacher preparation program modify curriculum and offer more special education courses, as well as develop connections with local special education schools and inclusive programs, thus creating more field based opportunities for preservice teachers to work with children with disabilities.
Originality/value
There are limited studies on rural preservice teachers’ attitudes towards being a special education teacher and how the teacher training programs prepare them to become a special education teacher. The current study fills the gap and conduct an interview study of preservice teachers’ from a rural teacher training programs perceptions of China’s special education, how they choose the program of study that prepare them to become a special education teacher, and their rating of the teacher preparation program.
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Ai Yue, Yaojiang Shi, Fang Chang, Chu Yang, Huan Wang, Hongmei YI, Renfu Luo, Chengfang Liu, Linxiu Zhang, James Yanjey Chu and Scott Rozelle
– The purpose of this paper is to explore whether an in-service life teacher training program can improve boarding students’ health, behavior, and academic performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore whether an in-service life teacher training program can improve boarding students’ health, behavior, and academic performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial to measure the effect of life teacher training on student health, behavior, and academic performance among 839 boarding students in ten central primary boarding schools in Shaanxi. And the authors also tried to identify why or why not life teacher training works. Both descriptive and multivariate analysis are used in this paper.
Findings
The authors find significant improvements in health and behavior. Specifically, compared to boarding students in control schools, 15 percent fewer students in treatment schools reported feeling cold while sleeping at night. The results also showed that student tardiness and misbehaviors after class declined significantly by 18 and 78 percent, respectively. However, the in-service life teacher training program had no measurable impact on boarding students’ BMI-for-age Z-score, number of misbehaviors in class, and academic performance. The analysis suggests that improved communication between life teachers and students might be one mechanism behind these results.
Originality/value
This is the first empirical work which explored how to improve the welfare of boarding students via their life teachers. Because of the sudden increase in boarding students in rural China, it is almost certain that school personnel lack experience in managing boarding students. As such, one promising approach to improving student outcomes might be in-service training for life teachers.
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Recently with increased legislative support and evidence-based studies on the importance of education for children with disabilities in China, special education programs and…
Abstract
Purpose
Recently with increased legislative support and evidence-based studies on the importance of education for children with disabilities in China, special education programs and intervention and rehabilitation services have received more and more attention. There are limited studies on special education programs for children with disabilities located in China’s rural areas. This paper aims to select one special education program in China’s northeast rural area with a special focus on its curriculum design, accommodative services and teacher qualifications. Recommendations were provided on how to modify the curriculum to meet each child’s special needs, increase social interaction among children, increase teacher qualifications and improve teacher family collaboration.
Design/methodology/approach
The participating program serves orphans and children with disabilities between 6 and 18 years old and provides them 9-year free education, along with free textbooks, uniforms, food and boarding. Currently, there are approximately 100 students and 40 teachers, one director and one nurse. The teacher/staff and student ratio is 1:3. Data were collected through classroom observation and interviews. Afterward, the interview data were transcribed. Data were analyzed following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step approach. The researcher reviewed the collected data, then coded the data and reviewed, refined and revised the codes, and finally themes and sub-themes were identified with quotations that support each theme/sub-theme.
Findings
The identified themes are accommodations, education plan and curriculum and teacher qualifications. Accommodations include, but are not limited to, visual and hearing aids. National unity textbooks were adopted, along with national syllabus objectives, as a guideline for instruction and evaluation of child progress. Teachers also adjust curriculum-based students’ individual needs. All teachers hold an associate degree in special education, and those who teach specials hold a higher degree in the specialty area. Given that there is no speech language pathologist, physical therapist, or occupational therapist, teachers with rich working experiences in the related field serve as special professionals.
Research limitations/implications
The current research reports the program design, accommodations for children with disabilities, curriculum and syllabus, parent/guardian role and teacher qualifications in the selected school. Given that the current study focuses on only one school located in the rural area of China’s northeast, it may represent special education programs in rural China, but it is hard to be generalized to provide a big picture of China’s special education programs in more developed, metropolitan areas.
Practical implications
The selected school offers accommodative services to students with disabilities; adjusts its curriculum to make it developmentally appropriate; and offers educational, medical and rehabilitation services to promote student development to the maximum. The selected school should improve teacher quality, increase social interaction between children with and without disabilities, modify the curriculum to cater to individuals with different severities of disabilities and increase family professional collaboration.
Originality/value
There is limited study on special education programs for young children with disabilities in China’s rural area. The current study fills this gap and studies a special education school that offers services to children as young as six years old located in a small town in the northeast of China. The special focus of the study includes program curriculum, accommodations, rehabilitation and intervention services and teacher qualifications in this program.
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Alan Chi Keung Cheung, Koon Lin Wong, Hong Fang Wang and Jian Bing Dai
The purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of a student teaching internship program on the self-efficacy of pre-service teachers in China.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of a student teaching internship program on the self-efficacy of pre-service teachers in China.
Design/methodology/approach
With 1,367 participants, structural equation modelling was used to evaluate the fit of the hypothetical model and a latent path analysis was conducted to identify the relationship among various variables.
Findings
The results suggested that the program had a significant impact on efficacy in terms of personal skills, general teaching skills and personal qualities of the student interns concerned. Although this study was set in rural China, the findings of this study offered insights for teacher education in other places.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge, no research studies have been conducted on this in-service teacher training program in a systematic and comprehensive way using a large sample size and involving all major stakeholders. The aim of the present study is to fill this gap, by exploring the experience of a large cohort of pre-service teachers participating in this student teaching internship program. Studying the experiences of these student teachers will illuminate some of the key challenges faced and how they impacted their teaching and learning during their teaching practices in rural areas. The findings may help teacher education institutions to review and enhance their existing approaches to teaching practices and professional development initiatives not only in rural China but in similar contexts in other countries.
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This article aims to describe and discuss four major innovations to improve the quality of teacher education including preparation programs and professional development programs…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to describe and discuss four major innovations to improve the quality of teacher education including preparation programs and professional development programs in recent years in China. The four major innovations include establishing the National Curriculum Standards for Teacher Education (NCSTE) and the National Teacher Certification Examination; implementing the “double development plan” to reform clinical practice; launching the “National Training Plan” to develop in‐service teachers; and consolidating the career ladder for teachers.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper takes the form of a review of the government documents and current literature.
Findings
The author argues that the four major innovations reflect the central trends to reform teacher education both in China and the USA – increased standards and accreditation, more clinical experiences in preparation, increased use of technology in teacher professional development, and more accountability and incentive for teachers.
Originality/value
When the world is faced with the globalized economy, cultural exchange and social equity issues, discussions about the recent innovations of China's teacher education will shed light on our understanding of better approaches to improve teacher quality that no doubt connect tradition and local practices with global convergence.
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Tessa Withorn, Jillian Eslami, Hannah Lee, Maggie Clarke, Carolyn Caffrey, Cristina Springfield, Dana Ospina, Anthony Andora, Amalia Castañeda, Alexandra Mitchell, Joanna Messer Kimmitt, Wendolyn Vermeer and Aric Haas
This paper presents recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper presents recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering various library types, study populations and research contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations, reports and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2020.
Findings
The paper provides a brief description of all 440 sources and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.
Originality/value
The information may be used by librarians, researchers and anyone interested in a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.
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The main purpose of this paper is to provide an evaluation of how Chinese managers perceive and respond to training and management development programmes that have been designed…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this paper is to provide an evaluation of how Chinese managers perceive and respond to training and management development programmes that have been designed and delivered by Western experts, and of the extent to which such programmes have been successful in achieving their learning outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Data have been collected from experience of a management development programme for Chinese managers in 20 state‐owned enterprises, and from interviews with 45 senior Chinese managers and officials who had been involved in a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the training of Chinese managers.
Findings
It was found that although considerable efforts had been made to train the largest possible number of managers, there was still a gap between what Chinese managers could do and what they had been expected to do in order to meet the demands of increasing economic reforms. Limited resources, inadequate means, traditional ways of learning, power relationships, and political restrictions are examples of some of the apparent obstacles to the efficient implementation of Western‐designed and delivered programmes of management development in China.
Practical implications
Management development programmes that do not take into consideration the cultural context in which managers were brought up and taught to think and operate may not be successful. It is only when Western providers of management education understand the culturally and politically bound learning habits of the Chinese they may be able to introduce some change in management and contribute to the development of China's economic reform process.
Originality/value
The paper is a further contribution to the ongoing debate on cross‐cultural training and could spark a useful discussion on the relevance of Western‐designed management development programmes in less developed countries in general and in China in particular.
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The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to introduce the overall situation of online teacher training in China, and then to analyze some typical state level e‐training…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to introduce the overall situation of online teacher training in China, and then to analyze some typical state level e‐training projects; second, to describe the problems that most teacher training agencies (TTAs) have. Also, this article presents the background, process and achievement of a practical model – e‐Training Community (eTC) – which integrates the advantages of professional organizations and TTAs.
Design/methodology/approach
This article reviews literature related to Ministry of Education (MOE) policies and general reviews or reports about China's teacher e‐training. The case study approach is applied in this study. The e‐Training Community is a particular cooperative model developed by the Distance Education College of East China Normal University. A survey and interview are applied to gain deep understanding of this model.
Findings
E‐learning is an effective way for teacher education in China to meet the challenge of massive and routine training. The recent projects initiated by MOE show that the trend of e‐training is on the right track. However, China's teacher e‐training still has a long way to go because most TTAs still do not have the ability to implement e‐training by themselves. The eTC model presented in this article shows its strength in solving this problem.
Practical implications
The development of distance education needs professional guidance. How to integrate professional strength of universities and practical strength of local agencies is key to improving the overall quality of teacher e‐training.
Originality/value
This article introduces and analyzes the eTC model, which is a creative model in the field of distance education in China. This model is a good example for professional organizations to push the e‐learning practice.
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Houbin Fang, Lili Wang and Qi Zhou
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of one online PD in PBL. Researchers want to investigate if a five-day international online PBL training will prepare…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of one online PD in PBL. Researchers want to investigate if a five-day international online PBL training will prepare teachers to implement PBL in their classrooms. Secondly, the researchers aim to determine if the training provides teachers with sufficient knowledge and support to ensure successful PBL implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants were given a 5-day (20 h) online PBL training created by one of the researchers with three frontline teachers. Seven trainers are divided into four groups for four groups of participants. Group A included Grade 1 and Grade 2 teachers, Group B included Grade 3 and Grade 4 teachers, Group C included Grade 5 and Grade 6 teachers, and Group D consisted of Grades 7 through 9 teachers. All the participants were given exactly the same surveys at the beginning and the end of the training.
Findings
Consistent with previous studies comparing in person and virtue PD programs, this five-day interactive PD program was effective in increasing teachers' knowledge of and ability to plan and implement PBL projects. Specifically, results showed that teachers' knowledge level of PBL shifted from a shallow understanding of what the name implies to a deeper, more comprehensive, and more concrete understanding of PBL essential concepts, its pedagogical values, specific process involved in a PBL project. In addition, the PD program increased teachers' comfort level and ability of planning and implementing PBL projects across grade levels and subject areas.
Originality/value
This research study supported the previous study results that virtual PD programs can be as effective as in person programs. Further, this is the study discovered the effectiveness of PBL training between the US and China through online format, which has not been conducted literately before. The positive results will be used to promote the online collaboration internationally in the future.
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Ping Gao and Ruling Zhang
The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, it provides an overview of the demand, capacity and challenges of teacher education in China. Second, it highlights the significant…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, it provides an overview of the demand, capacity and challenges of teacher education in China. Second, it highlights the significant contributions of China Central Radio and TV University (CCRTVU) to teacher education in the last three decades. Finally, it discusses challenges and issues for e‐learning as a new form of distance education for upgrading qualifications and promoting professional development of teachers and principals in remote, rural schools.
Design/methodology/approach
As a case study, this paper analyses CCRTVU's infrastructure and operational structure, and its unique position to bridge teacher education institutions and integrate educational resources.
Findings
When CCRTVU moves from TV broadcasting to e‐learning, it offers new and innovative forms of professional development for millions of school teachers and principals, and accompanying new challenges.
Originality/value
The paper suggests that rigorous research should be conducted to address what works and how to reach teachers and school principals in remote, rural areas.
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