Examining new models of teacher education: Teaching and learning from synchronous-service teachers
Presented by Dr Matthew Thomas
with Expert Panel Discussion
The landscape of teacher preparation is experiencing changes worldwide, particularly in light of new models of teacher education that provide alternative routes to the teaching profession.
This presentation focuses on the experiences of a group of alternative route teachers engaged in traditional teacher education coursework in the United States. It draws on longitudinal interview data to explore two lines of inquiry at two points of their professional trajectories. First, it posits that during their teacher education experiences these teachers are neither pre-service nor in-service teachers in the traditional sense, but ‘synchronous-service teachers’ who are simultaneously being and becoming a teacher. Second, it explores their reflections as alumni of one controversial alternative route program as they consider the impact this model of teacher education had on their pedagogical practice and broader career development, regardless of whether they remained in the teaching profession.
The presentation further brings these findings into dialogue with examples from different comparative contexts around the world (e.g., Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom). It concludes by raising critical and provocative questions about the global proliferation of alternative teacher education models that espouse commitments to social justice but advance specific notions of meritocracy and societal change that continue to privilege certain students and teachers over others.
Dr Matthew A.M. Thomas
Matthew A.M. Thomas is a Senior Lecturer in Comparative Education and Sociology of Education at the University of Sydney, and the International and Alumni Coordinator for the Sydney School of Education and Social Work. He holds a PhD from the University of Minnesota and an MA from Columbia University, Teachers College. Matthew has worked as a public school teacher in the United States and as an educational researcher and consultant in Australia, Mali, Nigeria, Indonesia, Tanzania, and Zambia. His research examines educational policies, pedagogical practices, teachers’ lives, and the changing roles of teacher education institutions.
Expert Panel on Teacher Education:
- Associate Professor Deborah Price (Associate Head of School Academic: Professional Engagement & Enterprise, School of Education, UniSA)
- Dr Sam Schultz (Lecturer,College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University)
- Ms Victoria Warren (Head of Undergraduate Teaching (Curriculum) and Senior Lecturer, Tabor College)
- Dr Hannah Soong (Senior Lecturer, School of Education, UniSA)
